After changing into a new outfit given to him by the boy's grateful mother, Bazar Batu and Kuo Lok thanked her and left the teahouse. They traveled for hours, the long road to Tianshan stretching out before them. As the sun began to set, they came across a small, abandoned temple.
Bazar Batu was about to step through the front door when Kuo Lok's hand shot out and rested firmly on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
"Stop," Kuo Lok said quietly. "There are many people inside."
Bazar Batu's eyes widened. He pulled his thumb up and gave a low whistle. "Wow, that's impressive."
"Let us go somewhere else," Kuo Lok suggested, not wanting to intrude on the quiet gathering.
Bazar Batu's mind, however, was already racing. A crowded, abandoned temple could only mean one thing: a meeting of martial artists. Eager to eavesdrop on their conversation, he scanned their surroundings, his eyes stopping on the temple's wall. It wasn't too high; they could easily climb it.
"Hey," Bazar Batu said, pointing to the temple's wall. "Let's climb over it to see what's going on. Who knows, we might find some skilled companions to travel with us to Sword Village."
Unbeknownst to Kuo Lok, Bazar Batu's true motivation for wanting more companions was self-preservation. He knew that after the roadside teahouse incident, a highly skilled martial artist would likely be chasing him. The more allies, the better.
"You want to go inside?" Kuo Lok asked, a note of hesitation in his voice.
"Yes," Bazar Batu replied, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Before Bazar Batu could even move, Kuo Lok's hand clasped his left shoulder. In a single, fluid motion, they soared over the wall, landing silently and perfectly beside one of the open windows.
Inside the abandoned temple, about thirty people were gathered, their figures huddled in the dim light of a few flickering lanterns. They spoke in low, hushed tones, the silence of the temple broken only by the murmur of their voices. These were representatives of smaller, newly established, or little-known clans and sects, united in their obscurity.
"Since Lu Da's death, I am convinced that the House of Gu has that piece of the map," Li Donghai declared, his voice firm with certainty.
"I heard that Lu Da stole something else entirely from the House of Gu," Fa Goutin countered. "They might not be after the map at all."
Lu Chuanli scoffed, a cynical smile on his face. "Chief Fa, you know better than that. In the martial arts world, a person's face is just a mask. You never know what's hidden behind it."
Fa Goutin leaned forward, his voice a low rumble. "The House of Gu is one of the four main households of the Central Plains' martial arts world. I don't believe Chief Gu is the type to covet another's treasure. Besides," he said, his gaze sweeping over the gathered people, "even if Chief Gu had the map, who among us would be brave enough to storm the Gu Manor to take it?"
The gathered martial artists nodded in silent agreement with Fa Goutin. They all understood that the Gu and Cao Manors were two of the four main households of the Central Plains, their power so absolute that they were forces no one dared to challenge.
"Chief Yang," Fa Goutin said, turning his gaze, "why did you call us here today?"
Yang Yun's voice cut through the murmuring crowd, a new authority in its tone. "The reason I've gathered everyone here today is not because of Lu Da's misfortune with the Gu family. There's something entirely different I want to discuss."
An eager voice from the back of the temple asked, "What is it?"
Yang Yun's gaze swept over the gathered martial artists. "I know many of the clans and even some of the Seven Sects are hesitant to pursue Mu Dishi," he began, his voice dropping to a persuasive tone. "But think about it. If we can create a perfect plan, if we succeed in capturing him... he'll be forced to draw us a brand-new map, a treasure map of our very own."
A silent agreement fell over the room. One by one, the thirty martial artists nodded their heads, their ambition and greed clearly visible in their eyes.
Fa Goutin let out a heavy sigh, a sound filled with weariness. "But... Mu Dishi is not someone we can capture easily," he said, the words a simple statement of fact.
Lu Chuanli chimed in, "He's like a ghost. His whereabouts are completely uncertain."
Suo Dongmei's voice cut through the air, sharp with bitterness. "He's not someone you can capture," she stated with cold conviction. "He killed my father and my jiu jiu. He even defeated the great Kuo Shifu. I don't see how any of you can defeat a man like that."
From outside the wall, for the first time, Kuo Lok turned and truly looked at the martial artists inside the temple. The mention of his father's name, Kuo Jing Song, had shattered his quiet detachment. He knew, as everyone in the martial arts world did, that his father was the greatest living martial artist. For someone to have defeated him meant that this Mu Dishi was no ordinary fighter.
"Lok ge ge, who is this Mu Dishi?" Bazar Batu asked, his voice full of curiosity.
"I don't know," Kuo Lok replied, shaking his head.
Just then, Suo Dongmei's sharp voice pierced the night. "Who is there?" she shouted, and in the same breath, three small daggers sliced through the air, aimed directly at the window where Kuo Lok and Bazar Batu were hiding.
Suo Dongmei burst through the window, followed immediately by the four other men. In a blur, Kuo Lok shoved Bazar Batu out of the way, taking the full force of Suo Dongmei's kick. The blow sent him flying back, but before he could recover, the remaining four men joined the assault. The six of them descended on him, fighting as fiercely as a pack of wolves attacking their prey.
Bazar Batu, witnessing the fierce attack, shouted, "Lok ge ge, be careful!"
In a moment of desperation, he grabbed the first thing he could find—a heavy stone—and hurled it at the back of one of the fighters. Without even turning his head, the martial artist swung his sword back, effortlessly batting the stone away. It shot back like a cannonball, striking Bazar Batu hard in the chest, the impact causing him to gasp for air as he stumbled backward, his back hitting the cold temple wall with a painful thud.
Kuo Lok, in a flash of motion, snatched Fa Goutin's hand from the air. Before Fa Goutin could react, Kuo Lok's other hand delivered a powerful punch to his abdomen, sending the man stumbling back several steps toward Bazar Batu.
Fa Goutin, snarling with pain and fury, lunged at Bazar Batu. Bazar Batu tried to scramble away, but Fa Goutin's hand clamped down hard on the back of his collar. Panicked, Bazar Batu reached inside his robe, frantically searching for something, anything he could use. His fingers closed around the small bag of make-up powder he had used for his disguise.
In a last-ditch effort, Bazar Batu flung the powder directly into Fa Goutin's face. Fa Goutin screamed in agony as the stinging powder burned his eyes. Blinded by pain, he lashed out with a vicious kick that sent Bazar Batu flying through the air and crashing into the abandoned temple.
Bazar Batu landed hard on his stomach. He slowly rolled over into a sitting position, only to find two swords crossed at his neck, their tips glinting menacingly.
Fa Goutin's face, a ghost-white mask from the powder, was contorted with fury. "Get up!" he snarled, his voice raw with rage.
Bazar Batu couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the sight.
"What are you laughing at?" Fa Goutin screamed, his voice filled with madness.
Bazar Batu cleared his throat. "Nothing," he said innocently.
Fa Goutin's rage only intensified. "Tie her hands!" he ordered his men, still blinded by fury and the powder's effects.
Just as the men moved to obey, the scene exploded with renewed chaos. Li Donghai came crashing through a window, landing ten feet away in a spray of splintered wood. A moment later, the front door burst open, and Kuo Lok sprinted inside, followed closely by a relentless Suo Dongmei and Yang Yun.
Kuo Lok's voice was a low, dangerous rumble. "Let her go."
"Let her go?" Fa Goutin bellowed, his voice raw with fury. "Why would I let her go? She threw some unknown powder in my face! Why on earth would I let her go?" He pointed a trembling, outstretched finger directly at Bazar Batu.
Bazar Batu took a deliberate step forward, and Fa Goutin's hand, still blindly searching, landed squarely on his right breast. Fa Goutin didn't turn to see what he'd touched. Instead, with a look of utter confusion on his face, he squeezed it twice, then murmured to himself, "Why… this is both soft and hard?"
"Shifu… shifu!" one of his disciples stammered, his face turning a shade of panicked crimson.
Fa Goutin gave one more perplexed squeeze, then turned his head, his eyes widening in a moment of slow-dawning horror. His hand was firmly on Bazar Batu's chest. With a choked-off cry of disgust, he snatched his hand away as if he'd been burned.
Bazar Batu's wails echoed through the temple, his sobs sounding utterly heartbroken. "How can I live with this humiliation?" he cried out. "Everyone here saw how this old fart molested me! You all must bear witness! I don't want to live anymore!" He sobbed harder, pointing a shaking finger at Fa Goutin. "You perverted old fart!"
Fa Goutin sputtered, his face a mix of rage and utter bewilderment. "It was not on purpose!" he protested.
Bazar Batu's sobs instantly stopped, his expression turning cold and sharp. "If it wasn't on purpose," he said, his voice now a low whisper, "then why did you have to squeeze it three times?"
"I… I was wondering what it was," Fa Goutin stammered, his face draining of color.
One of his disciples leaned close, whispering in his ear. "Shifu, squeezing it three times… is considered on purpose."
Bazar Batu felt the cold orange juice drip from his upper chest down his abdomen. Tears streamed down his face as he wailed, "You squeezed my breast so hard, the milk is leaking!"
The two disciples with swords at his neck immediately looked down at his chest, their eyes wide. They stared in disbelief at the wet stain on his robe, which was indeed soaked where Fa Goutin's hand had been.
Li Donghai's face twisted in a snarl of pure fury. "Shut your mouth!" he bellowed at Bazar Batu. "If you speak another word, I'll kill you!" His gaze then shifted to Kuo Lok, his voice a low, dangerous growl. "And you, if you move, I will order them to kill her!" He turned to his men. "Tie his hands!" he commanded, his voice shaking with rage.
The two disciples quickly bound Kuo Lok's hands, then forced both him and Bazar Batu to sit together against the cold wall of the temple.
Li Donghai gestured to the two captives. "What are we going to do with them?" he asked.
Suo Dongmei's gaze was hard and unyielding. "We don't know how much they've heard," she said, her voice dropping to an icy tone as she turned to face them. "How much did you two hear?"
Bazar Batu gave a wry, confident smile. "We didn't hear much," he said smoothly. "But if you let us go, we'll hear nothing."
Suo Dongmei ignored his offer. "What are your names?" she demanded.
"Bazar Batu," he answered without hesitation.
Her stare, now cold and penetrating, shifted to Kuo Lok. "And you?" she asked.
Kuo Lok started to speak, but Fa Goutin's voice cut him off with a sneer. "What business does a Mongol have in the Central Plains?"
Bazar Batu lifted his head and looked at Fa Goutin with a smirk. "As far as I'm aware, the Mongols and the Song have signed a peace treaty," he said calmly. "Which means I can travel as I please." His smirk vanished, replaced by a theatrical wail. He buried his face in Kuo Lok's right shoulder. "But who would've thought that the martial artists in the Central Plains are so perverted? Lok ge ge, how am I ever going to face anyone again?"
Kuo Lok, still bound and a hostage himself, gently patted Bazar Batu's back. "Don't cry anymore," he said simply. "He told us it was an accident. He didn't mean to do it."
"How could you say that?" Bazar Batu cried out, his voice thick with theatrical indignation. "You weren't the one he placed his old, wrinkled hand on and squeezed your breast!"
A blank expression on his face, Kuo Lok simply offered, "Alright, how about in return, I squeeze his breast for you?"
Bazar Batu's eyes lit up, and he giggled, "Deal!"
This is a new kind of fool, Bazar Batu thought to himself, a slow smile spreading across his face. I've never met anyone so utterly simple-minded. Kuo Lok was undeniably a handsome young man, tall with a powerful build and exceptional fighting skill, yet his mind was as pure as a child's. He was a man who saw the world through a lens of innocence, someone who believed a problem could be solved with a simple act of fairness. He was easy to manipulate, a powerful weapon just waiting to be pointed.
"What are we going to do with them?" Yang Yun asked, his tone cold and pragmatic.
Suo Dongmei's eyes narrowed as she looked at the pair. "Why were you two eavesdropping on our conversation? What is your purpose here?"
Bazar Batu met her gaze with an innocent expression. "Who said we were eavesdropping on your conversation? Which of your eyes saw us eavesdropping? According to the law, you must have a witness before you can accuse us of a crime."
Fa Goutin's face flushed with anger. "You shut up!" he snarled.
"You should shut up, you old pervert!" Bazar Batu retorted, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Everyone here witnessed you molesting me!"
Fa Goutin's rage rose to a boil, his face turning a deep crimson as he struggled to find words. "You..."
A soft, melodic giggling echoed from the temple's front entrance, causing the entire group to turn in unison. The laughter grew closer, and a woman appeared, her figure a striking splash of black and red against the gloomy evening. A large, ornate silver necklace adorned her neck, and in her right hand, she held a small, vibrant green snake.
Yang Yun, his voice stern with authority, demanded, "Who are you?"
The woman's smile was both beautiful and unnerving. "I am Miao Mingzhu," she replied, her voice as light as her laughter. "Yueguang Sect."