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Fei has moved onto Max's estate, yet a severe heat wave strikes the city and the resulting crime outbreak keeps him so busy that he never sleeps there. Finally he drops by Max's bedroom, noticing that his heart pounds more than ever at their proximity. When Max expresses frustration that his songbird won't stay in its cage, Fei counters that it's his own fault for choosing a bird with so little ability to please its master. As Fei then waits for the White Dragon to finish his official business, he succumbs to exhaustion and falls asleep. While he's sleeping, Max leaves to visit the Red Dragon for the summer festival. Worried at what mischief the White Dragon might cause, Fei chases after him, asking his Shulingfan friends to help him gain entrance to the Red Dragon's estate. They had recently captured an arsonist named Wooling who had tried to set fire to their store as a distraction to steal valuables. |
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The Red Dragon has been depressed ever since ordering the execution of a criminal. She spends all her time with one servant girl called Pashienhowa. She comes out to see Max and Fei, prompting the White Dragon to boast that he and his "flower" would stay together even if surrounded by flames. Pashienhowa protests to Fei that such devotion is unlikely, showing him a burn scar on her chest as proof. She is shocked to hear about the arsonist being kept in the Red Dragon's jail. Wooling uses his skills as an actor to distract his guard and escape, and Pashienhowa also runs away. |
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Fei investigates past arson cases on the trail of the escaped actor, the Red and White Dragons tagging along. The cases have two things in common: The victims had been distracted watching a play about the Holy Dragon falling in love with a human woman, the role of the Holy Dragon played by Wooling, and the one believed to have set the fire was a servant girl who vanished into the flames, though no body was ever found. The Red Dragon is furious upon realizing Fei suspects Pashienhowa of being the arsonist, but his suspicions are supported when they capture and question a member of Wooling's acting troupe. The Red Dragon admits she had been jealous of Max and Fei's relationship, they way they're always together and can communicate using just their eyes, and she had wanted Pashienhowa to be her Dragonstone. She is especially tormented because, in her city supported by the lumber trade, the punishment for arson is death. |
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Max suggests that the actor they captured is trying to frame Wooling and Pashienhowa. He recommends putting on the Holy Dragon play to draw out Wooling and uncover the truth. Shulingfan backs the play, though to save time they focus on the highlights: the Holy Dragon's love ballad and the maiden's sword dance. Fei volunteers to play the role of the maiden. Max, annoyed that Fei's attention is straying from him, warns that if his bird elects to enter the Red Dragon's cage, he will not hesitate to start a war with her. During the sword dance, Fei muses that although being separated from Max is more painful than death, some part of him doesn't want to stay "caged" for fear the capricious White Dragon will tire of him. Rather, he somewhat enjoys being chased, knowing that no matter where or for whom he "sings," he truly belongs to Maximilian alone. As the dance ends, Max comes onstage in place of the leading actor and, contrary to the script, pulls Fei to him, whispering that he will fight to keep Fei even if it means angering the Holy Dragon himself. |
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The plan succeeds, and they capture Wooling, who takes the blame for all the arson cases to protect Pashienhowa. Just as the Red Dragon is about to have him executed, however, Pashienhowa runs up and confesses to the crimes. She is the only survivor of a family whose lumber company had been attacked and burned by angry competitors. She had been too frightened to join her family in the flames then, and has been obsessed with fire ever since. As punishment, she drinks a bottle of poison she had obtained long ago from her grandmother. However, what the grandmother had given her was a sleeping potion. When she awakens, the Red Dragon orders her to pay for her crimes by marrying Wooling and together making more people happy through their acting than they had harmed. The two are then exiled from the south. Meanwhile, the White Dragon and Fei return to Bailong. On the way, Max pulls Fei close and whispers flirtatiously in his ear, making his heart flutter. Fei decides to stay at the White Dragon's estate that night. |
