The Librarian and the Fox Princess: a Donghua Dijun and Bai Fengjiu story, V.I

Chapter 27 - As the World Falls Down

A/N: Chapter title is inspired by the song by David Bowie on the soundtrack for The Labyrinth.

Image credit of the scroll belongs to the owner.

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The little fox princess skipped off after Zhong Lin purposely trying to make her bells sound as she followed him to the other side of the study. Dong Hua was glad to see that he was able to do something that made her happy. He had spent the whole morning meditating and calming his energies after the previous night.

There were too many things that had unsettled him. Even though to her, it was her own dreamscape so she felt free to do anything she wanted, he could not help but wonder if she had been that way with other men. Apparently, based on what she had told him at the banquet, she had been around men from morning until night, all day and every day when he was in seclusion. He both loathed and was curious to find out what those true circumstances were.

She was such an innocent and trusting creature, he knew that there were other men like Yang Kai out there, who lusted after her and would want to take advantage of her. But how different was he?

He had finally come to admit to himself that he desired her in ways that made him uncomfortable. It was true that the unifier of the realms had never felt desire before he met her. He had seen countless of his subordinates lose their best judgment over love and desire. If he were to truly keep the realms safe from more war and destruction, he could not be distracted.

Before, he even went as far as believing that loving and being loved was a weakness that made one more vulnerable to the manipulations of the enemy.

When he said to Lian Song that beauty bored him, he had been completely honest. The Nine Heavens was filled with beautiful women. And even before he united the heavens and became its Emperor, women, demonesses or Celestials, had tried to infiltrate his military camp to try to seduce him. He had never wanted any of them in any way.

His little fox had set herself a part from those women the very moment she met him. She had a different kind of beauty where she was both gorgeous and cute to him at the same time. She never used her looks to her advantage and if anything she didn't have a clue about how beautiful she actually was. She also didn't need him. She was capable and that's what she knew about herself.

Countless people had come to Dong Hua over the years for protection and blessings, yet she offered her protection to him freely. It probably helped that she did not see him as Dong Hua Dijun from the beginning, but once she knew his true identity, while she was more hesitant or respectful in some ways, she was still herself. She chose to share her time, company, friendship, trust, protection, and even her food with him.

What he was truly conflicted with now, was that he was more conscious of how physically affectionate she was with him. She was so comfortable with him that she easily shared cuddles and snuggles and was starting to share her kisses with him. As much as he wanted to absorb and return every bit of affection she gave, he knew that his affection was coming from a far less innocent place than hers.

She trusted that he would never hurt her, which he already had done in the Real Dijun timeline. She had trusted that in her dreamscape, she was in complete control of everything, which with the presence of his desire, she wouldn't be.

He had to end the Dream Dijun timeline because he simply no longer trusted himself. Not only was it wrong to deceive her, it was too tempting. She was so sweet and practically offered herself to him without knowing what she was really doing. She didn't know that if she really kissed him, it would be Real Dijun who would be kissing her back. Every time she initiated a hug or a snuggle, it would be real Real Dijun who would be holding her.