A bolt of lightning tore through the night sky as heavy rain poured.

Xiao Xiaoshen's roar from the ground suppressed even the thunder.

"Don't touch her."

As soon as he drew his broadsword, An Hong swiftly beckoned the Western Depot guards to swarm up.

Two of them protected their Master Ming Lan while the rest armed men surrounded Xiao Xiaoshen.

The swords scraped out of the sheaths and swished in the rain with a chilling shine.

The fierce fighting unfolded immediately with the bladed flickering in the glaring storm. The clank and rattle, along with the thunder, shook the sky.

On the other side, Gu Yunxi hardly rose from a rain puddle, her ears ringing and her eyes seeing stars.

Her head was numbed by the heavy raindrops, yet she gritted her teeth and forced herself to look up into Ming Lan's eyes.

His eyes were muffled by the curtain of rain, but the slender figure loomed still.

"Give me the antidote."

Gu Yunxi yelled.

Slap.

Another strike hit her cheek, and hence her thin body fell on the muddy ground again.

"Yunxi."

Xiao Xiaoshen yelled to her direction, slashing his sword up and down.

He could not recall how many people he had cut down; let alone how many wounds he had suffered. As soon as blood bloomed from the open flesh, it was washed away by the rain.

The attackers closed in like an impenetrable wall. As frantically as he fought back, he could not break through and approached her.

Ming Lan panted heavily and hurriedly approached Gu Yunxi, his immaculate python-patterned silk golden boots splashed along the way.

A eunuch closely followed the Master with an umbrella over his head. In a rage, Ming Lan suddenly turned around and kicked him over with the umbrella.

The heavy rain poured unsympathetically on Ming Lan, soaking his black hat and official robe and ruining his delicate makeup.

Seeming to pay no attention to that, he stood unshielded in the rain and raised his hand angrily again to the girl covered in mud.

The drenched woman tossed miserably in the deluge. Chocked by the rain, she coughed violently and spit foul blood.

The poison of Juehun Powder was breaking out in her, frying her organs and slicing her inside.

She twitched and rolled painfully, letting out a shrilling wailing.

The blood, black and sticky, burst out from her mouth. It fell in the rain and immediately diluted, spreading like ink in water, strangely beautiful.

Ming Lan stared blankly at her. His palm clenched into a fist before it landed.

With a few cracks, his long cared-for nails were broken. Blood gathered in his palm from the bleeding fingertips, dripping.

Without a single frown, Ming Lan did not seem to feel the extreme pain at all. His sharp and condescending look at the sorrowful red figure finally softened in the heavy rain.

"Beg me if you want the antidote. If you do, I will surely give it to you! But you, you... threatened me with your own life."

Ming Lan roared hoarsely.

Nowadays the Eastern and the Western Depots had reached the balance of power.

Leng Qingtang's Eastern Depot had cracked the corruption and speculation case of Jia Shuren, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Muyang. With the damsels rescued from the foreign country, he was only one step from obtain the handle to punish the Wans.

The Western Depot did not show weakness by controlling the antidote that determined Leng Qingtang's life.

Ming Lan knew that Leng Qingtang would definitely die if he refused him the antidote. The Western Depot would be rid of a political enemy through his death.

However, the major problem facing the Western Depot at the moment was that Emperor Jingxiao and even the entire capital had become aware of the case of Jia Shuren, thanks to the loaded convoy paraded by the Eastern Depot.

The culprit had surrendered to the law. Even if Leng Qingtang, Gu Yunxi, and all the guards of the Eastern Depot died, the court would send others to continue the investigation of Jia Shuren's network. In the end, the trouble would find the Wans.

This showed Leng Qingtang's cunningness. He knew that for the above-mentioned reason, his opponent would not dare to put him to death easily.

On the other hand, there remained the Imperial Noble Concubine Wan Yuyao besides the case. As long as she did not wish Leng Qingtang's death, the Western Depot dared not to overrule and kill Leng Qingtang willingly.

As Leng Qingtang lived another day, his Eastern Depot posed a threat to the Wan clan. To coerce Leng Qingtang, Wan Yuyao would need a powerful ace.

Under such circumstances, if anything happened to Gu Yunxi, the Wan clan would lose a pawn to restrain Leng Qingtang, which was a disastrous consequence.

Hence came the courage behind Gu Yunxi and why she could stand in the rain outside the gate of Ming Lan's mansion, demanding for the antidote!

Moreover, Ming Lan knew why he snapped and slapped her like a demon. It was not because her self-harm behavior threatened the Wans and the Western Depot, but that she would willingly sacrifice herself for Leng Qingtang. Ming Lan took this in his eyes and was irritated inexplicably.

It was a sore and dull feeling, not unlike the pain to be dismembered by unaccountable isolation. It was for her persistent denial of defeat and determined protection of her beloved.

Heavy rain cascaded on the earth, submerging their ankles.

"Gu Yunxi."

Seeing her crawling towards him with her painfully twitched face, Ming Lan lost his composure. He yelled and knelt in the rain to embrace her in his arms.

"You are so stupid! Do you really want to die for Leng Qingtang? Are you insane? Why not subdue? You're driving me mad."

"Ming Lan, give me the antidote..."

Gu Yunxi's petite face was soaked; by rain or tears one could not tell. She grabbed his clothes with her icy cold hands and puked blood on him.

Ming Lan ignored the mess again. His limpid eyes were completely occupied by her pale and greenish face.

"You don't know him..."

Ming Lan suddenly said. More words came out of his bitterly curled lips.

"I give you the antidote now. I will also enlighten you on Leng Qingtang's true self!"

Decisively, he ordered his men,

"Bring the antidote!"

An Hong dared not to delay. He turned around and ran into the mansion. Before long, he returned with a small red-glazed wood box in his hands.

"Give it to him!"

Ming Lan hugged Gu Yunxi tightly and tilted his head impatiently at Xiao Xiaoshen.

The fighting stopped when the poison took effect in Gu Yunxi. Xiao Xiaoshen was outnumbered and collapsed in the rain due to physical exhaustion.

Dozens of wounds on his body were bleeding. The bright red blood dyed the ground.

An Hong walked to Xiao Xiaoshen and threw the box at him with proudly raised eyebrows.

"Take it."

He looked down at the defeated with a scornful smile on his lips, "When you return to Lord Leng, don't forget to remind him that his life was bartered for his woman."

Xiao Xiaoshen roared helplessly, raging in the water with turbid eyes that were bloody red.

Gritting his teeth and bracing himself against the ground, he struggled back to his feet. Yet with a stumble, he fell again in the mud.

"Xiaoshen, take the antidote back quickly to the Master..."

As if she had spoken her last wish, she tiredly smiled at Xiaoshen with relief and gloom. Then she lost consciousness and closed her eyes.

"Yunxi."

Xiao Xiaoshen reached to her, only to shrink under because of the stretched wound in the armpit.

Immobile, he picked up the red-glazed wood box and held it tightly in his palm, his face covered with cold rain and tears.

Powerlessly, he watched Ming Lan carry her into the mansion followed by the guards of the Western Depot.

The noisy street fell back into silence. What only remained on the earth was the white curtain of rain, humming endlessly.

...

Xiaoye Chamber in the Palace.

Waking up from a nightmare, Gu Yunyao screamed as her upper body bounced from the fancy bed carved with the moon rabbit in a bamboo forest.

"Lady, are you well?"

Song Qin, who was watching the night, heard the sound. She carried the train of her skirt and minced fast to the bedside.

The horror had yet eddied from her comely face. Gu Yunyao stared at the embroidered drapery blown by the nightly breezes, asking in shivering fear,

"What time is it?"

"It's just past noon, my lady."

"Well," Gu Yunxi closed her eyes slightly and stroked her chest. "Where is Lord Zhao?"

"My lady, Lord Zhao is not on duty tonight. He is sleeping in the side room."

"It escaped me... He has mentioned it during dinner..."

Gu Yunyao pressed her fingers at between her eyebrows and whispered.

Song Qin walked to the table and poured a cup of tea. She brought it to Gu Yunyao and asked with concern, "A bad dream, my lady?"

"Yeah," Gu Yunyao took a sip and then turned her sight to the candlelight by the table. The flickering light brightened her eyes up.

"I just dreamt of Yunxi. She was locked up in a big iron cage with a few ferocious wolves. They flared their teeth and clawed at her. When she spotted me, she cried, 'Sister, help me...'"

Song Qin found her eyes brimming with tears and consoled, "Lady, dreams are usually the opposite of the reality. You have been missing the young lady, and hence you dreamt of her. The fact that she encountered danger in the dream means that she is having a good time in the real life. So please don't worry."

Gu Yunyao sighed sadly and shook her head, "Although the Eastern Depot has handled two major cases in a row and Leng Qingtang is regaining his power, it's even stranger that I've heard nothing from Yunxi. She would get in touch with me if she were happy.

If it had been inconvenient to meet me due to business, she should have sent a word to me. Now days have passed, why can't I hear any news from her?

As long as she is with Leng Qingtan, I cannot rest my heart. No, Song Qin, tomorrow morning you will have Zhao An contact the outside and arrange for Yunxi to meet me as soon as possible."

"Yes, as you wish."

Song Qin nodded and took the teacup from her lady's hands. She comforted her, "My lady, it's still early. Let me help you to take another nap. Don't worry. The young lady will be safe and everything will be fine."

"I surely hope so."

Gu Yunyao sighed again and allowed Song Qin to help her down. She fell asleep after the maid tucked her in.

In the Mansion of Ming Lan.

In the bedroom, Ming Lan sat dazedly on a chair carved with roses and inlaid with jade in drenched clothes.

But he would not change his clothes or take off his hat. Regardless of his messy hair, he stared straight at Gu Yunxi, who was lying insentiently on the bed.

Beside him, a young eunuch was busy dressing his broken nails.

The mansion had been in turmoil. They bandaged her wounds, fed her with the concoction, and finally managed to pull Gu Yunxi back from the gate of death.

An Hong stood behind Ming Lan dumbfoundedly.

What a crazy and sleepless night!

An Hong thought to himself. His Master must have lost his senses tonight.

How could his Master, the man obsessed with beauty and cleanness, soak himself in rain and ruin his makeup?

His Master had always kept his boots clean and cherished each pair of them. He would change his footwear twice a day and have it dusted and tidied.

How could he stand his white robe, embroidered with dragons and cranes, to be stained with others' blood? Even if he had lost his temper, how could he willingly break his carefully polished nails?

How could his Master have a person covered in mud water lie on his perfumed canopy bed?

The Master was crazy! He was no longer the man he used to be.

The desolate soul hung on the rose chair was even more miserable than the man who had witnessed Leng Qingtang escorted to the central prison after the Spring Banquet incident!

"An..."

The person in the chair finally broke the long-held silence.

An Hong hurried forward.

The Master's pale lips squirmed mechanically, releasing a soft voice, "I... I must have gone mad tonight..."

An Hong shivered in shock, realizing that the Master was aware of his abnormality.

An Hong did not rush his reply, knowing well his Master's moody temperament. With his back arched and arms tightly by his torso, he waited as a humble listener.

"I have been wondering if there had been no prior plan and I had decided to kill Leng Qingtang, what would I have done had the beauty begging for the antidote? Would I have granted her wish and spared Leng Qingtang's life?"

"..."

An Hong raised his eyes silently to cast a quick glance at the Master and then bowed his head.

He knew the answer to the question but dared not to speak out to the Master. Nonetheless, the Master must have known it well in his heart even without his reply.

Ming Lan's voice was often bewitching and piercing. It was rare for it to be thus harsh and lonely.

He studied the woman on the bed with full attention and confessed slowly in a daze, "The beauty has always been arrogant. Had it not been for the poison, she wouldn't have allowed me to hold her. When she was in my arms, I felt a sting in my heart."

Speechless, An Hong rolled his eyes and said obediently, "Master, Gu... Miss Yun is already here, isn't she? You've exhausted yourself all night for her and were soaked in the rain. Be careful not to catch a cold. Why not have the servants to draw you a bath and then a good sleep? I'll watch her for you."

Ming Lan did not seem to hear him. He got up slowly and hobbled over to the bed.

His bandaged fingers caressed Gu Yunxi's swollen cheeks. In his deep gaze flowed a gentle sentiment.

Scanning her peaceful sleeping face, Ming Lan muttered to himself, "Such a silly girl. She will be afflicted with torment in the dog-eat-dog Palace. Only in this way can she open her eyes to the nature of the Eastern Depot's Master."