- Chapter Start –

Sometime earlier at Lotus Tower…

"He's going to demand the Styx Flower from the Emperor, isn't he?" Fang DuoBing asks in disbelief.

Li LianHua nods, squeezing his eyes shut. Hulijing goes to nudge his hand with his nose, whining softly.

"He's going to get himself killed," Zhan YunFei says grimly.

"Don't say that!" He XiaoFeng exclaims.

"The Emperor is just and fair. I'm sure A-Fei will be fine." Madam He is smiling, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

"I must go." Li LianHua throws back the blankets and swings his legs to the floor, biting back a groan at the stiffness of his muscles. "That idiot isn't going to back down until he gets what he wants."

Look at how many times he's nagged him about their rematch!

"Li LianHua, you're going there yourself?" Zhan YunFei asks in disbelief.

Nodding, Li LianHua takes two steps and stumbles when his vision goes blurry. A hand grabs his arm, steadying him.

"You're not in a fit state to go anywhere," Fang DuoBing scolds.

"I must," Li LianHua insists, blinking until his vision clears. "XiaoBao, you know how hotheaded A-Fei is. If he angers the Emperor… I - I must go."

Fang DuoBing looks over at Madam He who nods.

"Very well. I'll get someone to bring my Cloud Chasing Carriage here and ask your a-die to accompany you two. He will try to seek an audience with the Emperor."

She doesn't mention that it's already night and that no one seeks an audience with the Emperor at such an hour. Unless it's a matter of life and death which, ironically, it is.

"I will accompany you all," Zhan YunFei promises.

"Let's have some dinner while we wait." He XiaoFeng opens the large basket on the table and starts taking out dishes.

Nobody has any appetite to eat, least of all Li LianHua. Even under the strict gazes of Fang DuoBing and Madam He, he can barely make himself swallow a few mouthfuls of rice and soup. They're halfway through the meal when the Cloud Chasing carriage arrives.

From the window, Li LianHua sees Minister Fang emerging, already garbed in his official hat and robes. As soon as he enters Lotus Tower, Li LianHua stands up and salutes him.

"Fang-daren, please accept my apologies for inconveniencing you."

"Li-shengyi, you have saved our country and cleared my family's name," Minister Fang replies. "I will help in any way I can."

- o –

Back at the Imperial Palace…

"Bring me the Styx Flower."

"At once, bixia!" Xuan YuanXiao salutes and leaves the room.

A roaring sound fills Di FeiSheng's ears, deafening him to everything else. Despite the Emperor and the Empress Dowager's genial expressions, he can't help turning to the others for some sign of confirmation that he had heard right.

Princess ZhaoLing is beaming at him with one or two tears escaping her eyes. Beside her, Yang YunChun has an equally wide smile and equally swimmy eyes. The roaring in Di FeiSheng's ears dissipates.

"Thank you, fuwang! I'm sure you won't regret this!" Princess ZhaoLing hurries over to her father.

Bringing his hands together, Di FeiSheng bows.

"Bixia, thank you. Taihou, thank you."

"Di FeiSheng, the Styx Flower comes with a condition." The Emperor leans forward, a shrewd glint in his eyes. "From now on, you and Li LianHua - if he lives - will be under constant scrutiny. Your correspondence will be monitored. While you two are free to live your own lives, where you go and who you meet will not be a secret from me."

Di FeiSheng stares at him in shock.

He had grown up at Di Fortress with a mind control bug planted in his head. He had been followed by Jiao LiQiao's spies wherever he went, caught and disabled, forced to kneel at her feet before the JinYuan Alliance. Having escaped all that, he would now be subjected to being watched by the Imperial Palace for the rest of his life.

And Li LianHua, who has always maintained that he had enjoyed the past decade of freedom and anonymity despite dying from the Bicha poison, what would he think?

Di FeiSheng closes his eyes, fancying he can already feel iron shackles closing around his wrists and ankles, heavy and cold. Everything in him surges up in protest, rebeling against the Emperor's condition.

But.

Li LianHua would be alive and healed and – provided he's not too angry at Di FeiSheng - they would get to spend the rest of his lives together.

Yes, it rankles and chafes to have to submit to such a condition, to know that there will always be eyes on the two of them.

But.

Li LianHua would be alive and healed.

Keeping that at the forefront of his mind and pushing everything else aside, Di FeiSheng opens his eyes and draws a deep, calming breath.

"So be it," he states and feels a tiny curl of satisfaction when the Emperor's eyes widen just a bit in surprise. "No doubt your spies will find it a boring mission. I shall consider it as additional protection for us from the Imperial Palace. Li LianHua and I will be able to sleep soundly at night."

He even dares to smirk at the flash of annoyance crossing the Emperor's face. Then the doors burst open. Xuan YuanXiao rushes in, followed by Dian Qiu.

"The Styx Flower is gone!" Xuan YuanXiao announces, holding up an empty and familiar wooden box.

Di FeiSheng's poor heart skips another beat while the Emperor jumps to his feet.

"Who took it? How could this have happened?" They demand in unison.

"Fuwang, the flower was in the box when you took it from me. You saw it with your own eyes!" ZhaoLing says at once.

"What happened to it?" The Empress Dowager asks.

Xuan YuanXiao drops to his knees.

"As bixia commanded earlier, I kept this box in Minister Liu's office. When I went to retrieve it, the box was open and the flower missing."

Dian Qiu, also on his knees, salutes.

"Bixia, a dark robed figure on horseback was sighted galloping out the palace gates a few minutes ago. My men are giving chase as we speak."

"Retrieve the Styx Flower," the Emperor commands.

"At once, bixia!"

"The thief can't have gotten far," Di FeiSheng snarls. Spinning around, he rushes out of the room and down the long carpeted hallway. If he had looked over his shoulder, he would have seen Xuan YuanXiao and Yang YunChun hurrying after him, followed by Princess ZhaoLing who ignores her father and grandmother calling her.

Di FeiSheng pauses outside the main doors and looks around to get his bearings. After the heavy, perfumed air inside, the night air feels cool and refreshing on his face. The almost full moon illuminates the white marble steps and the vast courtyard before him.

As Xuan YuanXiao behind him starts calling for his guards, Di FeiSheng channels his Qi and rises into the air. He heads for the gates in the distance.

"A-Fei!"

"Di-mengzhu!"

He thinks he hears a couple of voices calling his name, but doesn't look back. There is only one thought burning in his brain, eclipsing everything else – getting back the Styx Flower and killing whoever took it.

- o –

There are multiple paths the thief might have taken on horseback. Di FeiSheng allows his instincts - honed to razor sharpness – to lead the way. Using qingggong to stay in the air allows him a better view of the surrounding area.

In a matter of minutes, he spots the lone horse galloping at breakneck speed down a side path in the distance, heading for a thick grove of trees. Putting on a burst of Qi, he gives chase until he overtakes the horse, spinning around and landing on the path in front of them. Caught by surprise, the horse rears up on its hind legs with a shrill whinny, unseating its rider who falls to the ground with a pained "oof!"

"Give me the Styx Flower!" Di FeiSheng orders as the spooked horse bolts, having either smelled Di FeiSheng's blood or sensed his killing intent.

The figure scrambles to his feet and almost falls again. He starts backing away, favouring his left leg, one hand clutching at the front of his cloak.

"Give me the Styx Flower!" Di FeiSheng repeats. Noted martial artists have quailed before his cold gaze, but the other man just shakes his head.

"I can't, gongzi. I need it." His voice is trembling, desperate. He backs away when Di FeiSheng advances on him. "Please, I need it for-"

He turns to run only to see half a dozen men on horseback blocking his way. Turning around again, he sees Di FeiSheng and stops, head turning right and left, searching for an escape route.

"I will not ask a third time," Di FeiSheng growls. If the Styx Flower wasn't so precious, he would have taken it by force already.

"Please! It's for my-" The man's voice cuts off on a gurgling sound as Di FeiSheng leaps forward and grabs him by the throat.

Voices begin shouting, but the words are just buzzing noises in Di FeiSheng's ear until someone lands beside him with a presence that's both familiar and unthreatening.

"A-Fei, wait!" A hand grabs his right arm and squeezes. "I want to see who it is."

With his other hand, Fang DuoBing pushes back the man's hood to reveal a long pale face with a moustache.

"Jian LingXiao?" He says in shock.

"Jian LingXiao… Jian-shengyi?" Yang YunChun jumps down from his horse and comes forward.

"You know this thief?" Di FeiSheng snarls, tightening his grip. "He's no doctor!"

"He is! He's the ghost feared physician Jian LingXiao," Fang DuoBing assures him, trying to pry Di FeiSheng's fingers loose. "Li LianHua and I met him at Yuanbao Manor."

"Di-mengzhu, Fang-xiong is right. I can vouch that this is Physician Jian LingXiao," Yang YunChun speaks rapidly.

"I don't care who he is," Di FeiSheng hisses, ignoring how Jian LingXiao is wheezing for breath. "He stole the Styx Flower."

"Stole…" Yang YunChun turns pale. "Jian-shengyi, why were you at the palace today?"

Jian LingXiao just emits a gurgling sound.

"Tch, let him speak," Fang DuoBing admonishes, even slapping Di FeiSheng's arm a few times.

Eye twitching, Di FeiSheng loosens his grip just enough for Jian LingXiao to suck in much needed air and to start coughing. With a snort of disgust, Di FeiSheng flings him aside.

Yang YunChun quickly grabs Jian LingXiao's arm to keep him upright.

"Jian-shengyi, are you alright?"

"Just a sprained ankle, Yang-daren." Jian LingXiao is still gasping for breath. "Thanks to your introduction, Ma-shengyi was kind enough to listen to my son's plight. He was close to getting a breakthrough for the Tree Man Syndrome and promised to have a tonic ready today. But when I arrived this morning…"

His face crumples in grief.

"… his assistants told me he passed away last week and they cremated him together with all his research notes. His life's work – gone up in smoke!"

He starts weeping as the others exchange sober looks.

"I didn't know Ma-shengyi had passed away," Yang YunChun says after a moment.

"My wife is dead and my son is all I have! I prayed everyday that Ma-shengyi would be able to help him, but now he's gone and all his work as well! What will happen to my poor son?"

"Jian-shengyi, what happened then?" Fang DuoBing asked.

"I was about to leave the palace when I heard two servants whispering about a special flower that could cure any poison. Later, I saw ZhaoLing-gongzhu riding off with a wooden box, accompanied by Yang-daren."

"You followed us to Lotus Tower?" Yang YunChun exclaims in shock.

Jian LingXiao nods.

"I overheard you all talking about the Styx Flower and how it could cure Li LianHua. I thought it could help my son so -"

"So you stole it from Minister Liu's office," Di FeiSheng sneers.

"I would do anything to save my-" Jian LingXiao breaks off when steely fingers close around his throat once more, tightening like a vice.

"I was the one who found the Styx Flower after months of searching," Di FeiSheng hisses, cold eyes boring into the doctor's. "When Li LianHua gave it to the Emperor, I begged him to get it back!"

"Ahh…" Looking terrified, Jian LingXiao emits more gurgling sounds as his eyes start to bug out.

"He'll give it to you, now let go!" Again, Fang DuoBing tries to loosen Di FeiSheng's grip.

"No tricks or I will kill you," Di FeiSheng warns Jian LingXiao before releasing him, glaring at Fang DuoBing for daring to interfere.

Coughing, Jian LingXiao reaches inside his cloak with a trembling hand and brings out the Styx Flower.

"Arrest him at once!" One of the guards shouts, kicking his horse forward and unsheathing his sword.

Jian LingXiao tries to back away only to stumble on his injured leg. He flings out his arms to break his fall. The Styx Flower sails in the air and falls right in the path of the approaching horse.

"NO!" Heedless of the danger, Di FeiSheng lunges forward.

"A-Fei!"

Someone slams into Di FeiSheng, driving the breath from his lungs and sending both of them crashing to the ground. Right before his horrified gaze, the horse's hooves come down on the Styx Flower, trampling it into the dirt.

- Chapter End –

A/N: Thank you for reading! In Episode 16, Jian LingXiao begs Yang YunChun and Shi Shui to lend him the crystal skull to heal his son. Yang YunChun tells him it won't work without herb-nourished blood and promises to introduce him to an old Imperial Physician who's been studying the Tree Man Syndrome for half his life (wonder why, eh?). So Ma-shengyi isn't an OC, I just gave him a name... and ended his life XD

a-die = father
bixia = Your Majesty
daren = respecful title for superior
fuwang = royal father
mengzhu = director
qinggong = lightness skill to gain temporary flight
shengyi = doctor
taihou = queen mother