As Ma Jingguo slid toward the light, he blinked and tried to brace himself, but the smooth tunnel gave him no purchase. He landed hard on his buttocks with a grunt of pain. He got up and started wiping the dirt off his clothes when he heard soft footsteps approaching. He slowly reached behind his back and grabbed the hilt of his dagger with his left hand.
"Ah Chen?..." a voice called out.
Ma Jingguo quickly spun around. It was Kuo Changchang. "Changchang shijie!" he said, relief flooding his voice.
"Why are you here?" she asked, her expression a mix of surprise and worry.
"I met Wenqian shijie," he replied.
"But why are you here and not at Mu Village?"
"Xiao shushu and I came here to see the Tianshan Mountains."
"Where is Mu Dishi?" she pressed. "I thought you told me you were going home with him."
"He's up there," Ma Jingguo said, his voice urgent. "Shijie, don't worry about the past. Let's find a way out of here first."
"I've already tried," Kuo Changchang replied, her voice tinged with despair. "There's no door or trap to open it from the inside. It can only be opened from the outside."
Ma Jingguo tried to reassure her. "Xiao shushu will definitely find a way to help us."
"You have that much confidence in him?" she asked.
"I do. He doesn't talk much, and he might seem cold on the outside, but inside, he's a warm, caring person."
"I don't believe that a cold-hearted killer like him knows how to care for anyone," Kuo Changchang said, her voice filled with skepticism.
Ma Jingguo sighed. "Shijie, since we can't do anything, all we can do is wait for someone to rescue us. Do you want to hear a short story about how I met xiao shushu and why I like him so much?"
"I'm very curious to know," she replied.
"You already know about my parents," Ma Jingguo began. "Since I can remember, we were always on the run. We never lived anywhere for more than a month, except for a monastery in Tibet. One night, my parents woke me up. We fled the monastery and returned to the Central Plains. We met xiao shushu on the outskirts of a village, but we were being chased by ten lamas. They killed both of my parents."
"Xiao shushu gave some money to a teahouse owner to help me bury my parents. I waited for him for two days, and on the third day, he showed up. At first, he strongly refused to take me with him because I was the son of his enemy, but in the end, he took me home."
Ma Jingguo continued to tell Kuo Changchang his life story. After two hours of talking, he finally finished.
"You like him because of rice congee and brewed medicine?" Kuo Changchang asked, her expression thoughtful.
"Mmm," Ma Jingguo confirmed.
"You've liked him since you were ten years old?" Kuo Changchang asked, her voice soft with surprise.
"Mmm," Ma Jingguo said again.
"I understand now why you refused to marry me," she said.
"Thank you, Shijie."
"What are we going to do?" she asked, looking around the small, dark room.
"Wait for either xiao shushu or shifu to come to our rescue," Ma Jingguo replied. "Wenqian Shijie already sent an urgent message to shifu and those of Tianshan Sect."
As Ma Jingguo and Kuo Changchang meditated, a hissing sound filled the small room, followed by a sweet, floral fragrance. White mist began seeping in.
"What is it?" Kuo Changchang asked, her voice tight with alarm.
"Shijie, try your best not to inhale too much of that white mist," Ma Jingguo warned. "Xiao shushu said the Yueguang Sect specializes in poisons."
They both covered their mouths, but it was too late. The sweet scent was overwhelming. Soon, the two classmates slowly drifted down to the concrete floor, lost in a deep sleep.
When Ma Jingguo regained consciousness, he saw Kuo Changchang lying on the floor. He shook her, but she remained unconscious. As he looked at her pinkish lips, an impulse to kiss her suddenly overwhelmed him. His lips were inches from hers when he realized what he was doing.
He quickly sat up and slapped himself hard. "What the hell are you doing?" he muttered. "The only person you can kiss is xiao shushu."
Ma Jingguo's body was wracked with hot flashes. He tore off his outer clothes, but the heat didn't subside. His member began to harden, seemingly on its own. The desire to undress Kuo Changchang grew harder and harder to resist. He realized the white mist they had inhaled must be a poison designed to cause arousal. His breathing became erratic as his erection grew more insistent. His body trembled, and he began to sweat profusely. He stumbled to a corner of the room and faced the wall, trying to fight the rising lust.
Suddenly, Kuo Changchang's soft hands wrapped around his waist, and she began kissing the back of his neck. Ma Jingguo's body trembled at her touch, his mind a desperate battlefield against overwhelming temptation.
Ma Jingguo quickly pulled Kuo Changchang's hands away. "Shijie, you have to fight it," he pleaded.
Kuo Changchang was breathing heavily. "Ah Chen, I can't resist this impulse anymore. I'm so hot."
He slowly turned to face her, looking at the half-naked Kuo Changchang. He saw her sweaty, long neck and could almost taste her desire for him. Fighting his own rising passion, he gently fixed her robe and moved to the other side of the room.
"Shijie, you must fight it," he repeated, turning to face the wall. He was panting heavily now, murmuring to himself, "Xiao shushu, hurry. I can't hold on much longer."
It felt like forever to Ma Jingguo, fighting against his own desires, but he was starting to feel weak and sleepy. "Shijie, don't fall asleep," he whispered weakly.
"Ah Chen," Kuo Changchang mumbled, her voice faint. "I feel my body shutting down. I can't move anymore."
"Shijie, hang in there. Don't fall asleep," he urged.
Kuo Changchang crawled over to him, her fingers weakly clutching his inner shirt. "Ah Chen... let's do it," she whispered, her shallow breath a warm puff on his shoulder. "I won't blame you. You don't have to take responsibility."
Ma Jingguo shook his head. "Shijie, I can't."
"I've already told you," Kuo Changchang said, her voice barely a whisper. "You don't need to take responsibility."
"It's not that," Ma Jingguo replied.
"What is it, then?" she asked, her eyes pleading.
"I know that if you and I do that... xiao shushu... will never forgive me," Ma Jingguo said, his voice strained. "I can't lose him."
He pulled Kuo Changchang's hands away and weakly crawled to the other side of the room. "Shijie, don't come any closer to me. If I can't hold on any longer, I'll kill myself."
Ma Jingguo knew in his heart that if he and Kuo Changchang were intimate, Mu Dishi would never accept it. Mu Dishi would force him to marry her and disappear from his life forever. That was the last thing he wanted. He wanted Mu Dishi to be the first person he saw when he woke up and the last person he saw before he went to sleep. He reached behind his belt sash and took out his dagger. He decided that if no one came in time, or if he couldn't control his impulses, he would end his own life. He made a small cut on his left forearm.
Above ground, Mu Dishi kicked Miao Mingzhu hard on the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel on the pavement.
"Open the trapdoor," Mu Dishi demanded, his voice cold.
"Kill me," Miao Mingzhu replied defiantly. "There's no way I'm going to open that door."
"What do you want?" Mu Dishi asked.
"I've already told you what I want," she said with a seductive smile. "Handsome, your threats won't work on me. Besides, I hold the bigger card. You can do nothing but obey."
"You might have poison, but I can use these to make your life a living hell," Mu Dishi said, pulling out his golden needles.
Miao Mingzhu turned to look at the needles. "I'm not scared of your tiny little needles," she scoffed.
"The Mu Clan has its own method of torture," Mu Dishi replied. "Have you ever seen anyone laugh to death?"
Miao Mingzhu's eyes widened slightly. "Mu? Then you're Mu Dishi, the last survivor of the Mu Clan." She shook her head. "If Mu Jiao Long had joined our leader back then, the entire Mu Clan might not have been massacred."
From the entrance to the backyard, Fu Yuanjun, the ten elders, Nun Chingmei, Kuo Jing Song, Kuo Ju, Kuo Wenqian, and disciples from various small clans and sects walked in.
Elder Tong looked at the kneeling woman. "Dishi, who is she?"
"A branch leader of the Yueguang Sect," Mu Dishi replied.
"Childe Mu, where is Ah Chen?" Kuo Wenqian asked, her voice filled with panic.
"He fell into a trap under where we are standing right now," Mu Dishi said.
"Mu da ge," Fu Yuanjun said, "she refused to tell us where they've imprisoned the two?"
Mu Dishi nodded.
"Who says I refused?" Miao Mingzhu countered. "You didn't ask nicely."
"Then, Miss, please show us where the two are being held," Fu Yuanjun requested.
"Sure, follow me," Miao Mingzhu said with a smirk.
The group followed Miao Mingzhu down the underground stairs and into a large, open room.
"Where are they?" Fu Yuanjun demanded.
"Don't rush," Miao Mingzhu said with a smile. "I think we should stay here and wait for them to finish their work before barging in. After all, remember, Lady Kuo is still a woman."
"What are you talking about?" Kuo Wenqian asked, her voice laced with dread.
Miao Mingzhu giggled. "It would be our fault if we barged in while the two of them are being completely intimate with each other."
"Hold your tongue and open the trapdoor," Kuo Ju commanded. She scanned the empty room, her eyes noting that each of the twin candlesticks on the wall was spaced at an identical distance from the next. "Even if you don't tell us how to open the door, I might have already figured it out."
Miao Mingzhu scoffed. "Oh... so it's true that Kuo furen, the wife of Kuo shifu, is exceptionally smart. What a shame. Such a smart woman married to such a dumb man."
"I have never felt ashamed of marrying Jing Song," Kuo Ju replied. "I feel incredibly lucky to have a wonderful husband who trusts me enough to make the final decisions for him." She looked at Miao Mingzhu and mocked, "You will never be as lucky as this old lady to have such a man."
Miao Mingzhu's face darkened. "Let's see who has the last laugh."
"I believe the candle holders are the key to unlocking the trap door," Kuo Ju said, ignoring her.
"You three, go help," Fu Yuanjun commanded.
They followed Kuo Ju's instructions, pulling down each candlestick, only to find empty rooms behind them.
"There are only two candle holders left," Kuo Wenqian said nervously.
"Do it," Kuo Ju replied.
Kuo Wenqian pulled down the candlestick. With a low rumble, a fifteen-foot-wide wall slid down, revealing a sight that left everyone speechless. Ma Jingguo was on top of Kuo Changchang, kissing her passionately.
Miao Mingzhu erupted in laughter. "Ha...ha...ha... Kuo shifu," she cackled, looking at Kuo Jing Song and Kuo Ju. "Who would have thought a respectable man like you would have such a shameful daughter, behaving so shamelessly?"
"You shut up!" Kuo Ju screamed, her face contorted with rage.
Ma Jingguo felt a cool breeze on his back. He looked up, his vision blurry and unfocused, unable to make out the faces of the many people staring at him.
Kuo Ju rushed forward, pushing Ma Jingguo away from Kuo Changchang. She quickly pulled her daughter's robes back in place.
Meanwhile, Fu Yuanjun hurried to Ma Jingguo and helped him sit up.
"Xiao shushu," Ma Jingguo said weakly, his eyes half-closed. "She's not breathing." Then his eyelids grew heavy, and he lost consciousness.
Seeing the chaos erupt and everyone's attention fixed on the scene inside the hidden room, Miao Mingzhu realized that Mu Dishi was no longer among the crowd. Fearing he might have ruined her plan, she seized the opportunity to escape. She slowly backed away, blending in with those eager to get a glimpse of the two inside. Unnoticed, she slipped toward the stairwell and vanished into the shadows.