It was late at night when Yongzheng decided to return. As he approached Yan Zhanjin's house, he saw Xue Horan lying motionless on the ground next to the front gate. He rushed forward, bending down to help Xue Horan up, only to find the Xue Horan's face covered in blood. He quickly scooped Xue Horan into his arms and rushed into the house.
Yongzheng shouted, desperation flooding his voice, "Yan yisheng, wake up! Horan is not good!"
The frantic yelling startled Rao Zhengsheng, who finally woke from the heavy medicine he had taken earlier. When he opened his eyes, he saw Yuan Xiurong sleeping on the nearby table. He called weakly, "Xiurong… Xiurong… wake up."
Yuan Xiurong immediately woke and walked to the bedside. She asked, "Rao gege, do you have any needs?"
Rao Zhengsheng said, "I heard Yongzheng calling for Yan yisheng. Has Hao'er arrived?"
"They arrived early this afternoon. You fell asleep, and we didn't wake you up."
"Help me up," Rao Zhengsheng insisted. "I want to see him to make sure he's okay."
"Rao gege," Yuan Xiurong protested, but seeing his fierce determination, she relented. "Help me up."
Meanwhile, Yan Zhanjin had frantically pushed all the drying medicinal herbs off the daybed outside the house onto the ground. "Put him here!" he instructed Yongzheng.
As soon as Yongzheng laid Xue Horan down, Yan Zhanjin felt for his pulse. "How did this happen? He was doing fine a moment ago."
Yongzheng was frantic. "I don't know. I don't know… I found him like this at the gate." He touched Xue Horan's forehead. "Horan…"
Xue Horan opened his eyes and looked briefly at Yongzheng, recognizing him. He said weakly, "Yongzheng, you are finally back." Then he closed his eyes again.
Yongzheng was about to impart some internal energy to stabilize Xue Horan, but Yan Zhanjin quickly stopped him. "No!"
"Why not?" Yongzheng demanded.
Yan Zhanjin explained the complexity of the attack. "Whoever did this must have strong internal strength. This person opened all the meridians in Horan's body and guided all the poison onto Horan's left arm." He looked sternly at Yongzheng. "If you transfer your energy into Horan, there will be two different kinds of energy flowing inside his body, and that will not be good. It may kill him immediately because the poison and the other person's energy flowing inside Horan will sense your internal energy as a threat. Once the other inner energy and the poison rush to attack your internal energy, it will cause the host to instantly die."
The immediate danger was not the lack of energy, but the volatility of the energy already inside Xue Horan.
Yongzheng asked, desperate for guidance, "What are we going to do?"
Yan Zhanjin rubbed his forehead. "I don't know. Let me think about it."
Rao Zhengsheng, aided by Yuan Xiurong, limped toward the daybed. He knelt directly in front of Xue Horan and called out, his voice thick with concern, "Horan..."
Hearing his voice, Xue Horan opened his eyes weakly and managed, "Da shixiong…"
Yan Zhanjin, who was observing the afflicted arm, suddenly panicked. He watched the visible poison slowly begin to retract from Xue Horan's left arm, flowing back toward his chest. "Not good!"
Rao Zhengsheng asked, "What's not good?"
"Whoever did this to Horan, I will kill him," Yongzheng raged.
Yan Zhanjin spoke quickly. "You should thank him for transferring the poison from Horan's body to his arm, but now the poison is slowly flowing back into his body. If the poison isn't cleared quickly, he will be as poisoned as before." He took out his silver needles and expertly blocked the poison's retreat, using the acupuncture points on the arm. "This will buy us some time." He looked at the three worried people. "Don't bother me, give me some time to figure out a solution." He stood up, then looked back at Yongzheng with a stern reminder. "Remember, I'll say it again, don't pass any inner energy to him."
As soon as Yan Zhanjin left, Yongzheng acted on his sudden, fierce resolve. He grabbed Rao Zhengsheng by the collar and pulled him up. He said madly, "You must marry Horan tonight!"
Rao Zhengsheng, though weak, was firm. "I will marry him. You don't need to tell me."
Yongzheng shouted, pointing at the poisoned boy, "He is like this because he did it for you! He is going to die! I want you to live up to your word. You must marry him tonight!" He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles were white.
Suddenly, he felt Xue Horan's small hand gently holding his own.
Xue Horan said softly, his voice barely a breath, "Yongzheng…"
The touch instantly deflated Yongzheng's rage. He knelt instantly in front of Xue Horan.
Xue Horan opened his eyes and said, his gaze distant, "Yongzheng… I want to look at the stars."
Yongzheng gently picked Xue Horan up and flew them to the top of Yan Zhanjin's house roof. He sat Xue Horan down on one side, and Xue Horan immediately leaned his head onto Yongzheng's right shoulder. Yongzheng felt tears begin to wet his shoulder.
Down below, Rao Zhengsheng, already gravely injured, was overwhelmed by the news that Xue Horan was hurt because of him. His surge of anger and worry was too much for his ravaged body; he vomited a mouthful of blood and immediately passed out inside Yuan Xiurong's arms.
Xue Horan spoke quietly, his voice fragile. "Yongzheng, if I die, can you bring my ashes back to Butterfly Island and bury it with my parents?"
"You will not die," Yongzheng insisted, his voice raw.
"Promise me that you will do this for me. Even at the end of my life, I didn't get what I wanted, but in the end, I get to die very happy because I met you. Yongzheng, do you remember when I scolded you, that you are not my da shixiong?"
"I remember," Yongzheng said.
"I want to take back what I said." He looked up at Yongzheng and smiled, a pure, peaceful expression. "I'm glad you are not him."
"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Yongzheng asked, desperate to offer comfort.
Xue Horan then said, "I know it's a bit late, but I do want to travel this land with you."
"It's still not too late, Yan yisheng will find a cure," Yongzheng swore, clinging to hope.
Xue Horan lifted his sleeve and looked at the dark veins mapping the poison's confinement on his arm. "Yongzheng, there are still a few hours, when the sunrise I…"
"Don't talk," Yongzheng interrupted fiercely, pulling Xue Horan closer, refusing to let him finish the sentence.
The unforgiving chill of night hadn't yet broken, but the horizon was already in dramatic turmoil, igniting with hues from deep violet to a tender apricot. The land itself was hidden beneath a shroud of morning fog, a heavy curtain that carried the potent aroma of pine and wet ground. As the sun began its ascent, its pearly light barely managed to cut through the mist, transforming the distant tree line into sharp, dark figures awaiting the full brilliance of the new day.
Suddenly, Yan Zhanjin stormed out of his room, his eyes scanning the rooftop. He looked up at the two figures seated there and shouted, "I found a way to save you, but…"
Yongzheng swiftly picked Xue Horan up, and they flew down, landing precisely in front of Yan Zhanjin. Yongzheng demanded, "How? Tell me?"
Rao Zhengsheng also rushed out of the room, limping toward the physician. "Tell us quickly how to save Hao'er?"
Yan Zhanjin laid out the dangerous procedure. "The thing is, I'm going to make an opening in Horan's left arm, and then a person must suck out the poison."
Yuan Xiurong grasped the danger immediately. "In other words, the person who sucks the poison out will be poisoned?"
Yan Zhanjin took out a small, dark pill. "No, unless the other person takes this pill."
Rao Zhengsheng asked, "What kind of pill is this?"
Yan Zhanjin explained the counter-poison. "This poison is called seven steps, which is a very strong poison. The host that sucks the poison must have a stronger poison inside his body to fight against the weaker seven colors pill. After that, we will cure the seven steps poison."
Yuan Xiurong stared at the dark pill, her voice a frightened murmur. "Seven steps poison?"
Rao Zhengsheng asked, bewildered, "What is seven steps poison?"
Yan Zhanjin explained the horrifying name. "Seven steps poison, death within taken seven steps. The host cannot walk, just lie down. The poison will slowly flow throughout the body, and the host will die after twenty-seven days if the poison is not cleared."
Rao Zhengsheng immediately stretched out his hand to take the pill, but Yuan Xiurong quickly jerked his hand away. She angrily shouted, "What are you doing?"
Rao Zhengsheng was resolute. "Twenty-seven days are enough for Yan Yisheng to figure out a way to save me. Horan's time is running out."
Rao Zhengsheng and Yuan Xiurong quarreled endlessly, but Yongzheng didn't hesitate. He swiftly grabbed the pill and swallowed it. He then quickly sat down on the daybed and said firmly, "Let's begin."
At that exact moment, Cao Yanmei rushed out of the front door, shouting, "I'm here with the ingredients to save Horan!" She rushed into the backyard, with Dong Lanying following close behind.
Dong Lanying looked at the people gathered, sensing the chaos. "Da shixiong, I am back! What's wrong?"
Yuan Xiurong looked devastated. "It's too late now."
"Too late… How?" Dong Lanying questioned.
Cao Yanmei, confused and angry, rushed to Yongzheng. "How could it be too late? It hasn't been seven days!" She sat beside him and shook his arm. "What's wrong? Tell me?"
Yan Zhanjin cut through the confusion. "No time for you two! Horan, sit down next to Yongzheng right now!"
Yan Zhanjin roughly pushed Cao Yanmei away from Yongzheng. He spoke urgently, "Horan, hold still!" He looked directly at Yongzheng. "Yongzheng, you must keep sucking until you taste blood."
He pulled Xue Horan's sleeve up and made a small, quick incision where the rot had begun on his arm. As soon as the cut was made, Yongzheng immediately leaned down and began to suck the concentrated poison from the wound.
Everyone watched as Xue Horan stared at Yongzheng, silent tears streaming from his eyes. They couldn't guess his thoughts, and no one dared to speak. They could only watch him gaze at Yongzheng, who was risking his life for him.
After a tense half-hour passed, Yan Zhanjin began to see bright red blood dripping from the corner of Yongzheng's mouth—the signal that he had sucked through the localized poison and into the healthy tissue. He patted Yongzheng on the shoulder and said, "Enough, I believe all the poison has been removed."
Yongzheng took his mouth off Xue Horan's arm and looked up at him. Xue Horan immediately reached out a handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from the corners of Yongzheng's mouth.
Immediately afterward, Yongzheng suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood and slowly collapsed onto his side. Cao Yanmei quickly rushed forward and caught him.
Cao Yanmei shook Yongzheng anxiously. "Yongzheng… Yongzheng… wake up…"
Yan Zhanjin was already moving, his voice sharp. "Don't move him, unless you want him to die faster. Put him down." He looked at the stunned group—Rao Zhengsheng, Yuan Xiurong, Dong Lanying, and Cao Yanmei. "I will go ask for help. I need you to stay here to protect him and help him. Remember, he cannot walk."
Rao Zhengsheng, resolute despite his pain, affirmed, "Don't worry, I will use my life to protect him."
Yan Zhanjin rushed to the back of the house to his single stable. He untied his horse, Xiao Bai. He led Xiao Bai to the road and leaped onto the horse's back. He patted Xiao Bai lightly and commanded, "Xiao Bai, let's go find Yingjie."
Xiao Bai neighed once and took off, galloping at a frantic pace straight up North.