Four Dragon Island
Volume Two
The Dragon Eats Flowers

Summary by Amparo Bertram




A new, extra-poisonous type of opium has entered Bailong from the neighboring Blue Dragon's city, Qianglong. Max and Fei take a trip to the city, their only clue the dying words of an old man who loved botan flowers more than anything. Max is allowed into the Blue Dragon's private flower garden, but Fei isn't, so when Max comes out he immediately takes Fei in his arms and holds him close...to share the scent of the flowers that has lingered in his clothing.

Fei is propositioned by the owner of a brothel employing male prostitutes, and he recognizes the name of the establishment as the place the old man had come from. As he prepares to infiltrate the place, Max whispers to him, "Promise you'll come back." Max goes on to say that Fei has sworn to entertain him, so he's not allowed to go and get himself killed before he carries out that contract completely. He teasingly finishes with, "But if you get in trouble, don't expect me to help you."

Fei, of course, gets in trouble. He's overpowered and drugged by an assassin (who, it turns out, is the same person who was paid to throw him in the sea as an infant). The cord that bound his hair is sent to Max along with a botan blossom.

Max shows up at the Blue Dragon's flower garden, his voice and gaze pulling Fei out of his drugged half-dreams, and tosses Fei a sword to defeat the assassin. Then they burn the patch of flowers that Fei figures out had been the source of the poison. As they leave, Max says, "Come on, don't dawdle. Unless you want someone else to catch you." Fei cockily replies, "If that happens, a certain someone who can't sleep without his toy will just have to come rescue me."

The White Dragon goes to meet Fei once all the opium dealers are cleaned out of his city. Fei has still been suffering aftereffects from being drugged; it made him relive his nightmare of having been thrown into the sea, and he can't get the sound of waves out of his head. Seeing him watching the sea distractedly, Max cradles his face and says, "Don't let your attention wander. You vowed to look only at me." Then he stabs a jade earring into Fei's ear, marking him. That wipes all thought of waves from Fei's mind, and he leaves the nightmare behind him.

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