The night shrouded the woods, and the air after the rain, thick with the scent of earth, enveloped the large county of Yu.
The mist had not yet dissipated, slowly seeping into the dilapidated wooden hut in the forest through the cracks in the window.
"Zhong Li, Zhong Li..."
Suddenly, a mournful voice, tinged with a trace of sorrow, sounded outside the hut.
Zhong Li leaned against a corner of the hut, sound asleep, her brow furrowed as if her sleep was restless.
"Zhong Li, Zhong Li..."
Another call, this time the voice sounded more ethereal than before.
Zhong Li was startled awake, her gaze darting around the room in a panic.
Suddenly, she noticed the table was empty, with only a torn garment thrown on the floor.
"A Wu!" Zhong Li realized, pushing herself up. She walked to the clothes and gently touched their temperature.
Cold.
A Wu had left quite some time ago.
"A Wu!" Zhong Li murmured softly, her brow furrowed.
Silence was her only answer.
Damn it, A Wu wouldn't have fallen asleep and met with an accident, would he?
Zhong Li remembered A Wu mentioning before that he would self-harm in his dreams. Her heart pounded with anxiety, and she quickly picked up the nearly extinguished oil lamp from the table, preparing to go out and search.
"Zhong Li, Zhong Li..."
As Zhong Li's hand reached the door, another call sounded. The voice seemed to be right outside the door, faintly chilling.
Her hand on the door bolt froze, unsure whether to pull or not.
"Zhong Li, Zhong Li..."
The voice continued to call, as if by her ear, yet also above her head.
Zhong Li's heart filled with dread. She quickly turned her head and glanced at the ceiling beam.
There was nothing around, yet her heart was about to leap out of her throat.
This was because the room felt like a coffin, suffocating her.
"Zhong Li, Zhong Li..."
The voice sounded again.
Zhong Li could bear it no longer and yanked the door open.
Simultaneously, a hand suddenly reached in from outside the door and gripped her neck forcefully.
The oil lamp in Zhong Li's hand fell to the ground. Her eyes widened as she stared at the woman in red clothing opposite her, who was gazing at her with blood-red eyes that seemed to have no whites.
"Ah..."
"Li'er, Li'er!"
Zhong Li screamed, her hands flailing wildly in the air, until a voice, warm and soothing like hot springs, permeated her heart.
She opened her eyes, looking at the man opposite her with a dazed expression.
Only when her pupils slowly focused did she recognize the person's face—Lu Wuxie.
"Li'er, are you alright?"
Zhong Li choked back the saliva in her mouth, her red lips trembling, unable to speak for a moment.
"Li'er, do you recognize me?" Lu Wuxie looked at the woman opposite him, her eyes still a little bewildered, and asked anxiously.
"Mm... Woo..." Zhong Li could no longer hold back. She gripped Lu Wuxie's body tightly and sobbed. She had never felt such fear, not even when she went with Lan Heng to find Xuan Qingzi and was interrogated alone in Xuan Qingzi's water prison; she had never been this afraid.
The dream had been too real, too terrifying. She felt like an ant in a matchbox, needing only a slight squeeze of a finger or a flame to vanish, leaving not even a speck of bone dust.
This was the first time she had felt death so close.
"It's okay, it's okay, it's all over. You were just dreaming." Lu Wuxie held her in his arms, his fingers gently stroking her back, hoping to calm her down.
"Mo Cang, hold me tighter, tighter." Zhong Li's hands trembled, her fingertips unconsciously tugging at the man's clothes as if wanting to tear them apart.
Lu Wuxie had never seen Zhong Li so fragile. He picked her up forcefully, his body pressed against her waist, leaving no space between them.
After a long while, when Zhong Li had finally begun to emerge from her fear, Lu Wuxie took the hot water handed by A Wu and slowly fed it to her.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked, looking down at the woman nestled in his arms.
Zhong Li licked her dry lips and nodded, saying, "I'm sorry to have made you..."
"Hush!" Lu Wuxie lowered his head and lightly kissed her newly moist lips, stopping her from saying anything too formal.
Zhong Li's cheeks flushed, and she pursed her lips, remaining silent.
When A Wu came in with a new oil lamp, she asked, "How did you get here?"
Lu Wuxie took out a box from his embrace and presented it to Zhong Li, saying, "This brought me here."
"But your health..."
Lu Wuxie shook his head. "I took a dose of the medicine you put in the medicine box and came. Although you sent me a message saying you were temporarily safe, I was still worried. After arranging my other affairs, I rushed over.
Fortunately, I made it!"
Zhong Li knew what Lu Wuxie meant by "fortunately."
She raised her eyes and looked slowly at the door of the wooden hut, asking, "How long have you been here?"
"A cup of tea," Lu Wuxie replied.
"Then did you hear someone calling me outside the door?" Zhong Li asked again.
Lu Wuxie shook his head; the answer was obvious.
Zhong Li lowered her eyes, pondering the nightmare she had just experienced. The dream had been too vivid, and her sleep quality had always been excellent; she wouldn't easily have nightmares. Why had this happened?
"A Wu," she looked at A Wu, who was standing aside, consciously acting as a "third wheel," and asked, "Did you sleep well tonight?"
A Wu nodded. "County Clerk Zhong, tonight was the best sleep I've had in over half a month."
"Is that so?" Zhong Li murmured, "Then where is the problem?"
As she spoke, she turned her gaze back to the window behind her.
The mist was still thick, and not even a small shrub could be seen outside the window.
Could it be...
"I know!" Zhong Li suddenly exclaimed. "I know where the problem lies."
Lu Wuxie and A Wu exchanged glances, looking puzzled.
"The mist, the mist is poisoned. The composition of this poison is currently unknown, but it can disturb one's mind, and Tian Hua Fen is its antidote." Zhong Li said, her gaze sweeping past A Wu to Lu Wuxie opposite her. "Mo Cang ate it, so he wasn't affected when he arrived. A Wu ate it and had a good sleep.
But I didn't eat it, so I had nightmares. This also explains why A Wu has been having frequent nightmares and mental problems for the past half month. It's all this mist's fault."
"So that's how it is!" A Wu exclaimed upon hearing this, pounding the window sill forcefully.
"But..." Zhong Li scanned the window where mist was rising again, her brow furrowed with worry. "There are only five doses of the antidote. Including Jialin Jin, there are now four of us. If we have to wait until Lord Lan finishes investigating the case, we might all be trapped in our dreams."
Lu Wuxie pondered for a moment. "Yes, sitting here waiting for death is not a good plan. The most important thing now is to find out where the Shennü Sect has hidden this Tian Hua Fen."
Zhong Li thought for a moment. "When I was investigating Consort Rong's case, I found some records of medicinal herbs entering the palace in the Imperial Archives. It shows that most of the Tian Hua Fen originated from Liao Cheng. If that's the case, can we assume that Liao Cheng is a major source of Tian Hua Fen supply for the entire Nanyue Kingdom?"
"Yes!" Lu Wuxie nodded in agreement with Zhong Li's statement.
"Then, this large supply is now monopolized by the Shennü Sect. In doing so, the Shennü Sect can profit from it and also control the populace.
For the Shennü Sect to easily retrieve the Tian Hua Fen, its planting grounds must not be too far from Yu County. Have you found any hidden places around here, A Wu, living here for so long?" Zhong Li asked, looking at A Wu.
"There are hidden places..." A Wu scratched his head. "But Clerk Zhong, I'm just a warrior and don't know anything about herbs and plants. I don't know what Tian Hua Fen looks like."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li dipped some water and drew the outline of Tian Hua Fen on the table. "What I've drawn is Kuá Lóu. Tian Hua Fen is its root."
"Yes, yes!" A Wu looked for a moment, then realized. "I've seen this thing. In another part of the dense forest, a few miles north of Yu County, there are some abandoned courtyards where they plant this all over. I always wondered why these abandoned courtyards were filled with melon plants, thinking someone's master liked to eat them.
I never expected the root of this plant to be the antidote!"
Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie exchanged a glance.
Lu Wuxie looked at the sky outside the window. "It's about time. We need to return to the inn. We'll make further plans when we get back."