Snow falls and the wind blows

Chapter 90

The man, holding onto the handrail, slowly walked up to the two men. He looked Duan Chen up and down, then grabbed Duan Chen's wrist and pulled him upstairs. As he did so, he glanced back at Zhan Yun with a half-smile: "It seems you two are getting into the swing of things. Congratulations!"

As Zhan Yun watched him reach out and grasp Duan Chen's wrist, he noticed several gazes cast upon him from all around, some open and some hidden. He then reached out and pulled Duan Chen close to his waist, his handsome face revealing a hint of anger.

The man wasn't annoyed. He raised an arm to cover his mouth and smiled, a hint of understanding in his eyes: "It was Qingli who overstepped her bounds. Young master, please don't be angry with me!"

At this moment, Xiao Changqing and Zuo Xin also entered the hall, and someone else stepped forward to lead them. Duan Chen let Zhan Yun put his arm around her waist, and the two followed the man slowly up to the second floor.

As they reached a corner, Duan Chen suddenly stumbled, his left hand instinctively reaching for Zhan Yun's chest. He then used the opportunity to slip the object the man had previously placed in her palm inside Zhan Yun's clothes. Zhan Yun immediately tightened her embrace, her other hand quickly patting the back of Duan Chen's hand, seemingly to reassure her. Her wide sleeve conveniently concealed Duan Chen's movements. The two exchanged a glance, both with faint smiles, seemingly deeply affectionate, yet their eyes revealed a serious expression.

The three quickly arrived at the room they had visited before. The man grinned and took out the small silver box from the wooden cabinet in the corner. Just as he opened it, a figure darted in through the doorway. The figure was dressed in a gray, close-fitting outfit, with a black veil covering his face. His eyes were wide and bulging, with pupils as blue as the clear sky. He glared at Qingli and said, "Are you crazy! Put the box away!"

As Qingli smiled alluringly, she quickly opened the small box, took out several small paper packets, stuffed them into Duan Chen's hand, and pushed him towards the window: "Hurry up!"

At the same time, Zhan Yun blocked the man's advance, and the two started fighting in an instant.

Before they could take more than two steps toward the window, a bamboo arrow suddenly pierced through the glass and hurtled straight toward her chest. Duan Chen dodged it with a quick movement, simultaneously pulling Qing Li aside, and the two fell to the ground one after the other. With her arm pierced by the arrow, Duan Chen felt a sharp pain. Turning her head, she saw that the oozing blood had a deep, rich purple hue.

Qingli was terrified. She threw herself against the bedside, grabbed a dagger, knelt down next to Duan Chen, tore open the clothes on her arm, and slashed at her with the knife.

Zhan Yun and the other person were also shocked by the scene. Zhan Yun felt a chill run down his spine and his body suddenly turned cold. He couldn't care about anything else. He gritted his teeth and took the blow from the man's palm. At the same time, he punched the man hard in the chest, rushed over, grabbed Qing Li's wrist and took the dagger away. He knocked the man away with a palm and pulled Duan Chen into his arms.

Qingli was slammed against the bedside by his palm strike, blood gushing from her lips. Coughing, she shouted, "Quickly, cut the wound with a knife and suck out the poison. Otherwise, she's done for!"

Zhan Yun was startled upon hearing this. Looking down, he saw that the wound on Duan Chen's arm was gradually swelling, and although the blood that oozed out was not much, it had an eerie purplish-red hue. Zhan Yun gripped the dagger and slashed it with his backhand, lifting Duan Chen higher and bending down to suck the blood flowing from the wound.

Duan Chen had lost sensation in half of his body, a chill ran through his chest, and his vision blurred. As he regained some consciousness, he found himself being held in someone's arms. A faint tingling sensation ran through his upper arm. He managed to open his eyes and saw Zhan Yun spit out a mouthful of blood, look up at him with a faint smile, and then lean down again.

Duan Chen gradually recalled what had happened before, and hurriedly pushed against Zhan Yun's chest: "No, don't..." The arrowhead was clearly coated with deadly poison, and he was like this...

Zhan Yun wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her captive, and whispered in a hoarse voice, "Don't move, it'll be over soon."

The gray-clad man, who had been struck in the chest by Zhan Yun and knocked unconscious, regained consciousness and struggled to his feet. Upon seeing the scene before him, he was taken aback. Qing Li, meanwhile, rummaged through drawers and cabinets, seemingly searching for something.

The man trembled as he reached out and removed his veil, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He mumbled incoherently, "Qingli..."

Qingli's eyes were red with anxiety. She knelt on the ground, searching frantically, muttering, "Where is it? Where is it... Hurry, hurry! No more people can die, no more people can die..."

"Don't bother looking anymore, Qingli..." The man slowly gave a bitter smile, "That thing is gone."

Qingli froze, slowly turned around, glared at the man, and then pounced on him like a madwoman, shaking his shoulders and yelling, "You took it? Hand over the antidote now! Hand it over now! Neither of them can die! Neither of them can die!"

The man, shaken by the impact, coughed up another mouthful of blood, his hand trembling as he reached out to touch the man's cheek: "I didn't take it. You should know... I'll give you anything you want..."

"Where is the antidote?!" Qingli grabbed his outstretched hand and asked with red eyes.

The man spoke with difficulty: "It was taken away... Qingli, I, I always..."

Upon hearing the words "taken away," Qingli paused for a moment, then loosened her grip and burst into tears.

"Qingli, don't cry... I've always, always liked..." The man vomited blood as he spoke, gasping for breath. He reached up with one hand, trying to touch Qingli's arm, but his eyes gradually became glazed. "I...liked..." His voice gradually became sharp and breathy, but then stopped abruptly.

Qingli turned her head with her eyes half-closed, reached out and slowly covered his eyes, tears streaming down her upturned cheeks.

Zhan Yun sucked out more than ten mouthfuls of bloody water. Seeing that bright red blood was gradually flowing from the wound on Duan Chen's arm, she figured it was probably nothing serious. She slowly loosened her grip on his arm, a smile playing on her lips, her crescent-shaped eyes veiled with a faint mist: "Chen'er..."

Duan Chen collapsed into Zhan Yun's arms, pushing against his chest and shaking his head in repeated denials. Seeing Zhan Yun finally stop, his usually pink lips turned a deep purple, like blood, and his face was ashen, yet he still forced a smile… Duan Chen's eyes reddened, and he cried out, "No—"

Suddenly, a deafening shout came from downstairs. Duan Chen turned his head and saw a faint red flame shining from the doorway of the room. Qing Li reacted instantly, scrambling over to the two of them. She first helped Duan Chen up, and then together with Duan Chen, they helped Zhan Yun up.

Zhan Yun's body was gradually losing sensation, his limbs were unresponsive, his ears were ringing, and his vision was filled with thick black fog. Duan Chen, panting, propped himself up against the window and, through the thick smoke, saw a large, dark mass of people gathered downstairs, all wearing military uniforms. Some were shouting instructions at the front, while most were running around, carrying buckets of water.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind her. Qingli's eyes widened, and she turned around, trembling. She saw Zhao Ting rush in like a gust of wind, with several burns on his body, his hair also singed. Upon seeing Zhan Yun and Duan Chen, he breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed Zhan Yun's arm, and lifted him up: "What happened?"

"He's been poisoned. Take him downstairs first!" Duan Chen grabbed Zhao Ting's arm and pulled him towards the window, signaling him to hurry up and take him downstairs.

Zhao Ting rushed into the sea of fire to the second floor, originally worried that Duan Chen might encounter some misfortune, but he never expected that Zhan Yun had suffered such a serious injury, and he hesitated for a moment.

Duan Chen smashed the wooden window with one hand, knocking half of it off, and pulled Zhao Ting toward the window, pleading, "Please, take him downstairs first! He can't die!"

The smoke by the window grew thicker, the temperature inside the room rose higher and higher, and the wooden planks underfoot began to loosen. Zhao Ting's eyes reddened with anxiety, and he gritted his teeth as he glanced at Duan Chen: "I'll be back soon, wait for me!"

With that, she hoisted Zhan Yun onto her shoulder, pushed off the windowsill, and leaped down to the second floor. Duan Chen had been holding on by sheer willpower, and chopping off half a window had exhausted most of her strength. As soon as Zhao Ting rushed out of the window, her body went limp and she was about to kneel down.

Qingli caught her and pulled a letter from his pocket, stuffing it into her hand: "Hold on, he can't die, and you can't die either! You both have to live!"

A series of snapping sounds came from above. Qingli looked up and shoved Duan Chen forward with all her might. Behind Duan Chen was the window she had previously shattered; with Qingli's forceful push, his body tumbled outwards. In her last glance, she saw the man in his red robes, gradually merging with the flames behind him, his jet-black hair sparkling, his face filled with a resolute smile, his alluring beauty almost blinding.

His body descended rapidly through the thick smoke. Duan Chen slowly closed his eyes, but in the next instant, he was pulled into someone's arms. At the same time, a slightly hoarse voice came from above his head: "My darling Luo'er, does closing your eyes mean you're scared?"

Duan Chen felt a tingling numbness on one side of his body, and a chill ran through him. He heard a slightly mocking greeting in his ear, and suddenly opened his eyes to find himself lying in Zhou Yufei's arms. Zuo Xin stood beside him, both of them looking disheveled, their faces covered in mud and their hair slightly singed.

Seeing Duan Chen open his eyes, both of them breathed a long sigh of relief. Zhou Yufei's eyes were also slightly moist. He cursed under his breath, then curled his lips into a teasing smile: "If you hadn't woken up, Master Zuo and I would have really had to die to atone for our sins!"

Duan Chen raised his hand and gently touched Zhou Yufei's shoulder, signaling him to put him down. He stumbled as soon as his feet touched the ground, and Zhou Yufei and Zuo Xin each extended an arm to steady him. Duan Chen looked up at Zuo Xin: "Where is Senior Xiao?"

Zuo Xin lifted the person up a bit with his arm: "Don't worry, we're going back to the Prince's Mansion with Zhao Ting."

Zhou Yufei's voice was also a little hoarse: "Zhan Yun's condition is not good. Zhao Ting and Senior Xiao had to take their people and leave first. I and Hall Master Zuo had just reached the bottom of the building when the entire second floor collapsed. We thought..."

Duan Chen forced down the sob in his throat, unaware that his phoenix eyes were already red and swollen: "I can't ride a horse. Can any of you give me a ride? Let's hurry back to the palace."

Zuo Xin had already led two horses over from the side. Zhou Yufei and his men leaped onto the horses, and the three of them raced back like madmen. When they were still more than ten zhang away from the Prince's mansion, Duan Chen barely managed to catch his breath, greeted Zhou Yufei in a low voice, braced himself on Zhou Yufei's shoulder, and leaped onto the eaves of a roadside house. He ran swiftly across the roof beams, and when he reached the roof in front of the Prince's mansion, he felt a tightness in his chest, his legs buckled, and he tumbled down from the eaves.

Several tiles crashed to the ground along with him. Duan Chen barely managed to sit up, a sweet taste rising in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Zhou Yufei and Zuo Xin rushed in through the gate, having heard the sound of tiles shattering from afar. Upon seeing this scene, their expressions changed.

With red-rimmed eyes, Zhou Yufei helped the person up and said in a hoarse voice, "Take it easy..."

Duan Chen's legs trembled uncontrollably, and she bit her lower lip until it bled. The two men couldn't bear to see her like this, so they each grabbed one of her arms and used their light-footed skills to lift her up and run towards the backyard. From afar, they could see the main house brightly lit, with servants carrying things in and out, but the entire courtyard was eerily quiet. Supported by the two men, Duan Chen stepped over the threshold and rushed inside, bumping headfirst into the Seventh Prince.