Chapter 28

The candlelight in the inner chamber of the Eastern Depot flickered in the draft blowing through the hall. The orange halo swayed against the damp, mottled stone walls, stretching Gu Jinghong's shadow long before twisting it into an eerie shape. In the bronze burner in the corner, a mixture of mugwort and sulfur burned, sending up curling smoke that drifted among the beams. It both dispelled the lingering traces of the Gu Poison and added a choking atmosphere to the enclosed space. He had kept watch by Shen Mingyue's bedside for three full night watches; the creases of his dark robes were steeped in cold sweat and the smell of medicine, and his reddened eyes were bloodshot. The dark circles beneath them spoke of days of exhaustion, and only his knuckles—still gripping his sword hilt with a pale coldness—testified to his unfailing vigilance. Shen Mingyue's breathing was as faint as a thread of gossamer, yet it was interspersed with broken, delirious murmurs. Large beads of sweat rolled endlessly down her forehead, soaking the silk embroidered with twin lotus flowers beside her pillow. On her pale face, her brows were furrowed from time to time, her features twisted in pain; at other moments, a look of terror surfaced, her eyelashes fluttering violently as though she were being tangled in an invisible nightmare. Gu Jinghong reached out to feel her wrist pulse, and when his fingertip touched that chaotic fluttering like a startled sparrow, his Adam's apple heaved heavily. In t…