Kneeling before Mu Dishi, Ma Jingguo's eyes were fixed on the greenish robe now smeared with blood. His mind screamed in protest; he couldn't accept this. A pain ten thousand times sharper than the arrow wound on Mu Dishi's arm tore through his heart. If he could turn back time, he would have thrown himself over Mu Dishi's body, shielding him from every arrow with his own flesh.
Although his heart ached to the point of numbness, Ma Jingguo looked at Mu Dishi with his big puppy eyes and a faint smile. "Xiao shushu, I'm sorry." He quickly tapped Mu Dishi's chest, first on the left side, then on the right.
"What are you doing? Release me," Mu Dishi said, his voice strained.
"Xiao shushu, I am a person of nothing," Ma Jingguo said, tears welling in his eyes. "No one will remember me if I die, but you are different. You are my everything. I know that if something happens to you, I will go crazy. I would turn the martial arts world upside down to seek revenge for you."
He chuckled; a bitter sound mixed with tears. "I would probably become the most hated demon roaming the martial arts world. Not only that, but countless lives would be lost. So, if one of us has to die, I would rather it be me. I can't be like you and peacefully seal myself inside a cave."
"Do you know how lonely someone could be to hide inside a cave?" Mu Dishi asked, his voice cracking. He was so surprised to feel his own tears running down his cheeks.
Ma Jingguo looked up, his face brightening as he saw Mu Dishi's tears. He knew those tears belonged to him and were shed because of him. He smiled and said, "I don't know... Xiao shushu chased me out before I had the chance to test it." Ma Jingguo held Mu Dishi's right hand and placed it against his own left cheek. "Xiao shushu, have I ever told you that I very, very like you?"
"Yes, now release me," Mu Dishi demanded.
Ma Jingguo smiled at Mu Dishi, "Xiao shushu, for you, I am willing..." He stood up and placed a kissed at the corner of Mu Dishi's eyes. He smiled down at Mu Dishi. "These tears are so sweet, Xiao Shushu.
"Jingguo, let go of me," Mu Dishi pleaded. "I won't die so easily. I've been soaking in medicine since a young age. Even a strong poison will take days to affect me permanently."
"Sorry," Ma Jingguo whispered, lowering his head and kissing Mu Dishi.
Ma Jingguo used his internal energy to guide the poison back to the open wound. He smiled at Mu Dishi, then lowered his head to Mu Dishi's injured arm and began to suck the poison from it.
Mu Dishi watched in horror as the roots of Ma Jingguo's hair slowly turned gray, the color spreading like a tide.
"Age under the sun," Mu Dishi mumbled in a terrified whisper.
Then, he watched as wrinkles began to form on Ma Jingguo's forehead.
"Jingguo, stop! Please stop!" Mu Dishi cried, tears streaming down his face. He watched in horror as the roots of Ma Jingguo's hair began to turn white. "Please stop! I've already watched my family die in front of me. I don't want to watch you die, too. Stop!"
But Ma Jingguo didn't. Mu Dishi could only watch helplessly as Ma Jingguo's hair slowly turned completely white, and his hands became old and wrinkled. When Ma Jingguo finally pulled away from Mu Dishi's arm, Mu Dishi stared in disbelief. The young man he had known was now in his seventies.
"Release me," Mu Dishi said, his voice pleading.
Ma Jingguo's shaking right hand finally released its hold. Mu Dishi immediately pulled Ma Jingguo into a tight embrace. "Why?" he asked, his voice thick with emotion.
"Because I love you a hundred times more than that bastard Wang Biming could ever love you," Ma Jingguo replied, his voice now a raspy old man's rumble. He chuckled weakly. "Xiao shushu, now it's your turn to call me shushu. Look at me, I'm much older than you."
"From now on, don't call me xiao shushu anymore," Mu Dishi said, kissing Ma Jingguo's left cheek. "You can call me by my name."
"No," Ma Jingguo insisted. "I like calling you xiao shushu. I feel special because I'm the only one who calls you that."
Miao Mingzhu cursed loudly outside of Mu Dishi and Ma Jingguo's house. "Mo Ehuang, you bitch! How dare you lie to me? Sending me an empty chest! If I find you, I'll turn you into my test subject. I'll test the strongest poison on you. I'll make sure you can't live or die, and you'll suffer in my hands forever."
When she arrived at the house, she found dead bodies everywhere. She saw an old woman lying on the ground, unable to move. She approached and saw that the woman was not dead.
Mo Ehuang saw Miao Mingzhu and grabbed onto her ankle, pleading, "Miss Miao, save me."
"Save you?" Miao Mingzhu laughed, a harsh, cold sound. "Why would I do that?"
She slowly knelt beside Mo Ehuang, her face turning serious as she grabbed Mo Ehuang's neck and squeezed, making her choke and gag. "You promised me three thousand gold ingots, but you gave me an empty money chest." She gave Mo Ehuang one last squeeze, stood up, and kicked her hand away from her ankle.
Mo Ehuang pleaded, "I'll pay you as soon as you help me."
Miao Mingzhu smirked and pressed one of Mo Ehuang's hands under her foot, causing Mo Ehuang to scream in pain. "Miss Mo, who do you take me for? I, Miao Mingzhu, only give people one chance to gain my trust, and you... you lost it." She looked down at Mo Ehuang. "Good luck lying in the sun. I think if you continue to expose yourself, you'll be at least a hundred years old by tomorrow morning."
She turned to walk away, but a sharp pain shot through her waist, and she was unable to take another step.
Suddenly, Mu Dishi appeared. He grabbed Miao Mingzhu and flew inside the bedroom, where he seated her on a chair.
"Cure him," Mu Dishi said coldly, pointing at the seventy-year-old Ma Jingguo.
"The Mu are doctors. The Miao are poisoners," Miao Mingzhu replied calmly, a smirk on her face as she looked at Ma Jingguo. "I'm sure you're very familiar with 'Age Under the Sun.' He can't expose himself to sunlight. During the day, he'll have to lock himself away in a dark place. If he exposes himself to the sun, he'll age faster and die sooner." She paused, her smile turning into a challenge. "I suggest you hide him somewhere no sunlight can get in. Somewhere like... the Mu Treasure Cave."
Mu Dishi demanded, "Gave him the antidote."
"What if I refuse?" Miao Mingzhu taunted.
"You will die," Mu Dishi said firmly.
"If I die, then he dies," Miao Mingzhu countered.
Mu Dishi knew she was right; he had no other option. If she died, Ma Jingguo would die too, and he wasn't strong enough to hold on much longer. "What will it take for you to save him?" Mu Dishi asked.
Miao Mingzhu smiled imperiously. "Mu gongzi, if you want me to help him, then we must trade. We will act according to the Mu's rules. You must exchange your most valuable item for his cure."
Mu Dishi considered his options. He knew that Ma Jingguo was the most important thing to him, but he also knew Ma Jingguo wasn't what Miao Mingzhu wanted. "What do you want?" he asked.
"The Mu treasure map," Miao Mingzhu replied.
"I tore it into five pieces and tossed it away," Mu Dishi said.
"But you must remember it," she insisted.
"I don't care about that map. I only glanced at it twice," he responded.
Miao Mingzhu scoffed. "Then you can watch him die."
Mu Dishi sighed. "Miss Miao, if you save his life, I will tell you how to open the door to the Mu treasure cave. Even if a person collects all five pieces of the map, they cannot enter without the key."
Miao Mingzhu looked up at Mu Dishi in surprise. "A key? Agreed. Release me."
Mu Dishi walked behind her and pulled out three golden needles.
Miao Mingzhu then went to the bed and took out her small green snake. "Where's the injury?"
"I was the one who got injured," Mu Dishi replied. "He sucked the poison out of me."
Miao Mingzhu scoffed, shaking her head. "Da ge, do you really not want to live that badly? That means the poison is in his blood."
"Can you still save him?" Mu Dishi asked.
"I can save his life, but some of the damage will be permanent."
Miao Mingzhu reached inside her shirt and pulled out seven small pouches. She took one pill from each pouch, placed them in Mu Dishi's hand, and gave him a teacup. "Crush these pills," she said with a smile.
Mu Dishi took the seven pills, used his internal energy to crush them into the teacup, and handed it back to Miao Mingzhu.
Miao Mingzhu pulled out her small green snake. "Baby, I'm sorry," she said before swiftly cutting off its head. She then poured the snake's blood into the teacup, mixing it with the crushed pills. She handed the cup to Ma Jingguo. "Drink it and used your eternal energy to guide the medicine into your bloodstream."
Ma Jingguo took the cup and drank the mixture. He then used his internal energy to open all of his critical acupoints, helping the medicine travel through his body. He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and instantly passed out.
"Jingguo!" Mu Dishi cried, rushing to his side. He grabbed Ma Jingguo's hand, only to find his body was as cold as ice. Mu Dishi's face went from pale to a mask of absolute terror.
As soon as Miao Mingzhu turned around, Honglei was already at her neck.
"Da ge, he's not dead," she explained calmly. "He's like this because the medicine is circulating through his blood, fighting the poison. He'll be asleep for a while, but he should wake up in an hour or so."
As the medicine took effect, Ma Jingguo's face slowly began to rejuvenate. An hour later, Mu Dishi watched as Ma Jingguo's complexion returned to normal, though his hair remained stark white. Suddenly, Ma Jingguo's eyes fluttered open.
"Xiao shushu... I'm very thirsty," Ma Jingguo said weakly.
From her seat at the table, Miao Mingzhu replied, "You won't be able to drink water until tomorrow morning."
"Why?" Ma Jingguo asked.
"Water will dilute the antidote," Mu Dishi explained. "You have to be patient and wait, okay?"
Miao Mingzhu turned to Mu Dishi. "Mu gongzi, I've cured him as promised. Give me the key."
"His hair?" Mu Dishi questioned, looking at Ma Jingguo's still-white hair.
"I told you," Miao Mingzhu said with a shrug. "There would be some permanent damage."
Mu Dishi took out his hairpin and handed it to Miao Mingzhu. "Miss Miao," he warned, "there are many hidden traps in that cave. I've only been there twice, and both times I was with Long da ye. I would prefer if you didn't seek out that treasure cave."
Miao Mingzhu laughed. "A cave full of treasures will always have traps." She took the hairpin from his hand and began to walk away.
"Miss Miao, wait," Mu Dishi called out. When she turned back, he added, "The Mu treasure cave only has death waiting for you. It doesn't hold what you seek."
Miao Mingzhu simply waved at him and disappeared out the front door.