- Chapter Start –
When XiFei and the other ladies take a break around midnight, Fang DuoBing grabs the opportunity to go peek inside the library hall. Madam He is busy instructing the Baichuan Academy craftsmen who are all gathered around one of the tables.
Good.
Employing the stealth he's honed over the years while escaping from his mother and aunt, he sneaks off to the largest guestroom. He gives a perfunctory knock on the door before opening it and slipping inside.
Li LianHua is asleep in the big bed in the far corner while Di FeiSheng sits cross legged beside him, eyes open and staring straight at Fang DuoBing. Even from across the room, he radiates tension like a spring coiled too tight.
"I thought you'd be here sooner."
"I wanted to come sooner," Fang DuoBing tells him. He approaches the bed and kneels before it, like he had in that fisherman's hut – the one whose boat Li LianHua had jumped into. Li LianHua was already weakened then although he hadn't started bleeding from his apertures like tonight. His face is now clean of blood and his skin a pale grey, accentuated by the snowy white of his inner clothes.
He looks almost-
Fang DuoBing squashes that half formed thought at once.
"I wanted to come sooner," he repeats and gently presses two fingertips to the limp wrist lying outside the blanket. It takes far too long to find the weak, barely there pulse – he doesn't even dare breathe until he feels it.
"How's the antidote coming along? Wu Yan said Yao Mo and Guan HeMeng have started brewing it."
Fang DuoBing looks up at Di FeiSheng and nods.
"That's right." He pauses to clear his throat. "Xifei and her friends – you remember the Red Mountain ladies, don't you? – are hard at work polishing all the mirrors my mother has. Anyone who isn't on duty is helping, even Wu Yan and XunMing. My mother and Yun BiQiu have even designed something to hold all the mirrors in place."
The brief flash of surprise in Di FeiSheng's eyes, either at the work or the number of people involved, makes Fang DuoBing smile.
"Do you want to stretch your legs a bit? Take a look at the progress, maybe scare Yao Mo a little? I'll stay here with Li LianHua."
Di FeiSheng shakes his head at once, his gaze going to the sleeping man between them. That's when Fang DuoBing realises he's cradling Li LianHua's other wrist in his hand.
"I don't want to leave him."
"I know." Fang DuoBing squeezes out the cloth in the bowl of clean water on the bedside table and holds it out to Di FeiSheng. At the same time, he touches a fingertip to his own cheek, close to his mouth.
Frowning, Di FeiSheng wipes the indicated spot and blinks down at the smear of red on the cloth. Then he quickly wipes the rest of his face, looking self-conscious. Keeping his face solemn, Fang DuoBing holds out his hand for the cloth.
"In that case, I want to take a look at your back."
"It's fine."
"It could get infected."
"A mere scratch like that?" Di FeiSheng gives a dismissive snort.
"At least let me clean it."
"No." Now Di FeiSheng looks mutinous.
"Look, I'm already worried sick over him!" Fang DuoBing snaps before glancing at Li LianHua who doesn't even twitch. He exhales. "A-Fei, don't… don't make me worry about you too."
The way Di FeiSheng is staring at him now makes Fang DuoBing wonder just how many have dared to say that to his face apart from Li LianHua.
"Or would you rather I ask your very devoted Wu Yan to do it?"
Rolling his eyes, Di FeiSheng shifts around to present his back to Fang DuoBing. He unties his sash and shrugs out of his robe sleeves.
"Make it quick."
Pleased with this tiny victory, Fang DuoBing grabs the small bottle of ointment on the bedside table and stands up, only to gape at the network of thin white lines crisscrossing that broad back. Then he chastises himself for not expecting this after learning of Di FeiSheng's brutal childhood at Di Fortress.
"Not a pretty sight, is it?" Di FeiSheng's voice is deadpan.
Biting his lower lip, Fang DuoBing quickly shifts his gaze to the newer welts, two with crusted blood.
"You survived and got your revenge over your jailor. You also freed the other prisoners there. I can't see Li LianHua minding either way."
Di FeiSheng actually turns his head to squint at him out of one suspicious eye before turning back without saying anything. Fang DuoBing doesn't say anymore as he uses the wet cloth to clean off the dried blood before applying the ointment.
- o –
All one hundred and twenty mirrors have been polished to a high shine. Madam He thanks everyone and promises to keep them updated on the outcome. Then she waits for the guards and servants to go off yawning to their quarters before beckoning XiFei over.
"If I can get a good price for these mirrors at a later date, I will share the profits with you and your friends. Please don't tell the others."
"We won't. Thank you so much, He-tangzhu!" XiFei curtseys with a grateful smile.
Meanwhile, the contraption for holding and positioning the bronze mirrors in the centre of the courtyard is nearing completion. It's huge, made up of a dozen concentric circles of iron, two feet apart, resting on the ground in the centre and rising in height with the outermost circles three times a man's height. Brackets are affixed at intervals with adjustable holders for the mirrors.
Madam He and Yun BiQiu keep a close eye as the craftsmen attach the mirrors to the brackets and make final adjustments. They will be on standby to ensure each mirror reflects as much moonlight on the antidote throughout the night.
Out of the corner of her eye, Madam He sees Fang DuoBing entering the courtyard and waves to him.
"Brat, you snuck off to see Li LianHua, didn't you? Come here, tell me what you think of this!"
"It's amazing, niang." Fang DuoBing takes a closer look at one of the holders, looking impressed despite having grown up with all the formidable defences guarding Tianji Hall.
"It is, isn't it? I must say Yun-yuanzhu's calculations are spot on."
"You two did a wonderful job and so did everyone else." Fang DuoBing peers over his mother's shoulder. "Yang-xiong, you're here."
"Fang-xiong." Yang YunChun offers a quick salute. "I've left Jian-shenyi's son with an aunt of mine. She's agreed to look after him and ZhaoLing-gongzhu insisted on footing the expenses."
"What a kind hearted princess," Madam He praises at once.
"Is she alright?" Fang DuoBing asks.
"My aunt? She doesn't mind since her children are already grown up."
"Uhm, I mean ZhaoLing-gongzhu," Fang DuoBing mutters, hunching a shoulder at his mother's widening grin.
"Ah." Yang YunChun leans in with a conspiratorial air. "She wanted to accompany me here, but was ordered by the Emperor and Empress Dowager to rest."
Fang DuoBing nods his thanks, still careful not to catch his mother's eye.
- o -
Guan HeMeng and the Drug Demon start brewing the antidote while the gigantic contraption is being assembled around them. Paying no mind to the hammering and clanging noises, they add the carefully weighed and prepped ingredients into the large pot on the stove.
The final and most important ingredient– the Styx Flower itself – will be added last.
By the time the final mirror is affixed in place, the two healers are bathed in the pearly glow of moonlight, highlighting the sparkly threads in Guan HeMeng's blue robes and turning the white of Drug Demon's hair silver.
Fang DuoBing sits with his family and their guests while Zhan YunFei accompanies Wu Yan and XunMing to give another update to Di FeiSheng. He turns at a nudge from Su XiaoYong and sees Yun BiQiu gazing intently at the two healers in the centre.
"He hasn't taken his eyes off Guan-dage, not even for a minute!" Su XiaoYong whispers gleefully.
Guan HeMeng looks less tidy than usual with a lock of hair falling over his eyes and his sleeves tied up. When he looks their way a second later, Su XiaoYong squeaks and Yun BiQiu drops his gaze at once.
"Fang DuoBing, we need your assistance to keep the Styx Flower stabilised."
"Right!" Fang DuoBing jumps to his feet and makes his way over to them, stepping neatly over the rows of metal on the ground. Keeping his gaze lowered to avoid being blinded by the moonlight, he nods at the Drug Demon who opens the lid of the wooden box.
The Styx Flower starts to activate at once, releasing a cloud of rest mist. Fang DuoBing aims a steady stream of Yangzhouman at it while Guan HeMeng swiftly plucks the red and white leaves and adds them to the pot.
Only when the pot is covered once more do the three of them resume breathing again.
"And now we wait for four hours," the Drug Demon says, glancing up at the moon in the sky.
Fang DuoBing follows his gaze, thankful it's a cloudless-
No. Don't even finish that thought!
- o –
Although Di FeiSheng spent the past ten years in solitude, healing from the injuries of the East Sea battle, he'd never felt time pass as slowly as it does tonight. He's aware that it's the early hours of the morning, but he's lost track of the exact time after such an eventful day. He only knows that with each passing second… each shallow breath… each tiny pulse, Li LianHua is one step closer to-
No.
He's still alive.
He's still here.
He's also woken up twice. The first time, he was lucid enough to ask where they were. The second time, he could only manage a look of sorrowful apology which, quite frankly, terrified Di FeiSheng.
He doesn't want apologies. He just wants Li LianHua to be cured, to regain his health and to live a long and happy life beside him. Leaning forward, he brushes Li LianHua's hair back with shaking fingers, not because his bangs are in the way, but because he can't help himself even though he still has Li LianHua's wrist in one hand to track his pulse.
Then he pauses and looks over his shoulder just as someone knocks on the door. Fang DuoBing enters, looking tired but smiling as he stands to one side. Guan HeMeng and the Drug Demon troop in next, each carrying a tray with several jars and cups.
"Zunshang, the antidote for Li-menzhu is ready," the Drug Demon says with a bow.
- Chapter End –
gongzhu = princess
menzhu = sect leader
niang = mother/mom
shenyi = doctor
tangzhu = hall master
xiong = older brother (formal)
yuanzhu = court master
zunshang = my lord