Standing a few yards away, Kuo Lok knew he had to defeat Miao Mingzhu. Yet, he hesitated, unable to bring himself to harm a woman, even one who did not walk the same righteous path as him. This time, however, the stakes were too high. He turned back and looked at the crowd, seeing the people he had sworn to protect, now drained of strength and lying helpless on the ground. He knew in that moment he had to go against the moral code he had set for himself.
With a deep breath, Kuo Lok clasped his hands together and bowed to Miao Mingzhu. "Miao guniang," he said, his voice solemn. "I apologize."
He then flew toward her, launching his attack without further hesitation.
Sitting beside his brother, Bazar Bataar leaned in and quietly asked, "Batu, what are you trying to do?"
Bazar Batu's eyes swept over the poisoned martial artists. "What else?" he said, his voice laced with contempt. "These useless martial artists got themselves into this mess."
Yong Taihua gritted his teeth, his face a mask of helpless fury. "Watch your mouth!"
"Am I wrong?" Bazar Batu shot back, a defiant look on his face.
"Amitabha..." Monk Ling said, his voice quiet and respectful. "Benefactor Batu, who will fight the second and the third person?"
"I believe the second person to participate in this battle will be more skilled than the demon girl Miao Mingzhu," Bazar Batu said, his voice calm and clear. "And the third opponent will be the strongest of all three." He looked at Bazar Bataar and his wives, Li Jia and Li Jie.
"Ge," he said, "and the two of you will fight the second person. I..." He was cut off by a sudden cough, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. "I will fight the third person," he declared, his voice firm despite his pain.
"Batu," Li Jia began, her voice filled with concern. "You just said yourself that the last person will be the strongest."
"And you are seriously injured!" Li Jie added, her voice sharp with worry.
"They are right," Yong Gui said, his voice flat with certainty. "You will not defeat the third person."
"Don't worry," Bazar Batu replied, his voice calm. "We will win."
A look of sudden understanding dawned on Bazar Bataar's face. "I understand now," he said. "You're using Captain Li's horse-racing strategy."
Bazar Batu nodded in silent agreement.
Kuo Lok launched his Dragon Palm strike at Miao Mingzhu. The inner energy from the attack was so powerful that it shook the ground around them. Miao Mingzhu was fast, and her ribbons shot out, wrapping around Kuo Lok's arms and tying them tightly to his chest.
Before he could react, a small green snake slid from her sleeve and darted toward his face. Kuo Lok roared, using his inner strength to tear through the ribbons. With his free hand, he grabbed the snake by its head just as it was about to strike. The snake's body coiled tightly around his arm, but Kuo Lok gathered his inner energy into his fingertips and squeezed. After a moment, the snake's body slowly went limp, unwrapping itself from his arm and falling lifelessly to the ground.
In a rage, Miao Mingzhu launched another ribbon at Kuo Lok. He grabbed it and pulled her forward, his Dragon Palm strike hitting her right chest with a resounding thud. The blow sent her flying backward, and she landed in a crumpled heap in front of the iron-masked man's sedan chair, spitting up a mouthful of blood.
Miao Mingzhu looked at Kuo Lok, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Kuo Lok, you...you hit me for real?" she asked, a cough shaking her body.
Kuo Lok's expression was blank, devoid of emotion. "Guniang Miao," he said, "I'm sorry. Batu said that if I lost to you, she would never see me again. I don't want that, so I must win."
"You idiot!" Miao Mingzhu screamed, her voice hoarse with fury. "He's a man, not a woman!"
Kuo Lok's face remained blank. "I won't believe it unless Batu says it herself," he said dully. He turned and walked back, kneeling next to Bazar Batu. "I won," he said, his voice flat with exhaustion.
Bazar Batu's face broke into a relieved smile. "You won," he whispered. He then fell into unconsciousness.
"Ah Lok!" Zhou Goutin cried out, his voice laced with panic. "Transfer some of your inner energy to him! Otherwise, he will die!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Kuo Lok sat behind Bazar Batu and began to transfer his inner energy.
A middled-aged man walked calmly toward the martial artists. "I am Zhang Wei," he announced. "I will be the second person. Who will fight against me?"
Bazar Bataar stood up and, together with his two wives, walked toward the old man. "We will face you," he said.
"Three against one?" Zhang Wei asked, his voice flat with disapproval. "That is not our deal."
"You can choose more people to fight with you," Li Jia offered.
"We have always acted as one person," Li Jie added, a defiant look on her face.
"We, husband and wives, fight as one person," Bazar Bataar declared, his voice ringing with conviction. "It doesn't matter if one, ten, or a hundred of you charge at us; you will face the three of us."
"Alright," Zhang Wei said with a cold, simple finality. He drew his blade and lunged at the three of them.
"Benefactors, be careful!" Monk Ling called out, his voice filled with worry.
Yong Gui looked at Monk Ling and Li Kong Bai. "It has been twenty years," he said, his voice grim. "It seems the Yueguang Sect has gathered many great martial artists to their side."
"Zhang Wei," Li Kong Bai said, his voice filled with scorn. "You have degraded yourself and joined this demon clan. It is truly shameful."
Zhang Wei lunged, swinging his blade at Li Jia and Li Jie. The two women gracefully swung their bodies backward, avoiding his blade. In the next instant, Bazar Bataar flew past his wives and stabbed at Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei blocked the sword with his left hand, but Li Jia and Li Jie had already attacked from both sides. With his hands occupied, Zhang Wei had no choice but to block their blades with his own, while simultaneously swinging his foot at Bazar Bataar.
Zhang Wei quickly leaped backward, thrusting his heavy blade into the ground to anchor himself. He channeled all his internal energy into his palms, ready to intercept the attacks from Li Jia and Li Jie.
At that moment, Bazar Bataar sprinted forward. He planted his sword in the ground beside him and pressed his palms into the backs of his wives, sending his internal energy into their bodies to amplify their attack.
The combined internal energy of the trio was a powerful force, pushing Zhang Wei backward and separating him from his sword. In an instant, he was weaponless.
Bazar Bataar grabbed his sword and, with a clean forward somersault, leaped over his wives, slamming his sword toward Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei was forced to jump backward to avoid the strike.
In that same instant, the two women lunged forward, grabbing Zhang Wei's arms and pulling them apart. With Zhang Wei completely vulnerable, Bazar Bataar's sword came to rest cleanly at his neck.
"Qianbei, you lose," Bazar Bataar said, his voice respectful despite his victory.
Suddenly, the man in the iron mask flew forward and landed silently in front of the poisoned martial artists. "Who is next?" he asked, his voice cold and menacing.
At that moment, Bazar Batu weakly regained consciousness. "Lok gege," he asked, his voice a faint whisper, "did my da ge and his wives win?"
"Yes," Kuo Lok replied, a smile of relief spreading across his face. "They won."
Bazar Batu slowly stood up, pulling his hand gently from Kuo Lok's grasp. He walked with a slight limp toward the man in the iron mask. "I am your opponent," he said softly.
The masked man scoffed. "You?"
"Yes," Bazar Batu replied, his voice firm.
The masked man's tone was filled with cold mockery. "According to your conditions, you won't be able to win."
"I know," Bazar Batu said. He looked directly at the man in the iron mask. "We don't need to fight. I forfeit. You win."
The man in the iron mask was left speechless. "What?" he asked, his voice filled with confusion.
Bazar Batu smiled. "We only needed to win two of the three fights," he explained calmly. He then looked at Miao Mingzhu. "Miao guniang, now give us the other map."
"For a little boy, you are very smart," the masked man said, a cold, dark laugh in his voice. He reached out with a lightning-fast hand and grabbed Bazar Batu's neck. "Give me your map," he commanded.
Kuo Lok flew forward in a flash. "Let him go!" he yelled.
"Okay..." Bazar Batu panted heavily. He reached into his inner robe, pulled out the map, and tossed it into the air.
The man in the iron mask immediately let go of Bazar Batu's neck, leaped up, grabbed the old sheepskin, and flew back to his sedan chair. Bazar Batu coughed once, then collapsed unconscious into Kuo Lok's arms.
The masked man, Miao Mingzhu, Zhang Wei, and the other Yueguang Sect disciples all left. Kuo Lok carefully carried Bazar Batu into one of the guest bedrooms, laid him on the bed, and began to transfer his inner energy to save him.
After receiving Kuo Lok's inner energy, Bazar Batu's eyes fluttered open. He blinked slowly and murmured, "Lok gege."
He then began to cry, his body shaking with quiet sobs. Kuo Lok, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, looked at him in confusion. "Why are you crying?" he asked.
"I'm scared," Bazar Batu confessed, his voice trembling. "I don't want to die. There are so many things I haven't done. So much food I haven't even tasted." He looked at Kuo Lok, and his expression grew more serious. "The most important thing is... I'm scared that when I open my eyes again, I'll be dead, and I'll never see you again."
"We will find a way to cure this poison," Kuo Lok said, his voice filled with determination.
"Lok gege," Bazar Batu said, his voice weak. "Before I die, I want to come clean about something. I've wanted to tell you for a long time, but I was so afraid our friendship would change." He reached out and held Kuo Lok's hands. "After you hear what I have to say, if you don't want to be my friend anymore, I'll understand."
"Go on," Kuo Lok said calmly, his gaze unwavering.
"I'm not a lady," Bazar Batu confessed, his voice trembling. "I'm a boy. I wore a woman's clothes so I could escape my father's men." Kuo Lok simply nodded. "My father was forcing me to marry someone I didn't know, so in anger, I ran away from home." Tears streamed down his face. "Lok gege," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. You must be so disappointed. I'm so sorry."
Kuo Lok didn't speak.
"Lok ge," Bazar Batu said, wiping away his tears. "I'm not a lady. I know you won't be nice to me anymore. Since my brother is here, I'll go home with him." He looked at the floor, his voice barely a whisper. "I think, since the beginning, I was destined to die in that lonely desert town."
Kuo Lok looked down at the bed, his mind racing. He struggled for words. "Batu, I..."
"Yes?" Bazar Batu whispered.
Kuo Lok looked up, meeting his eyes. He reached out and gently wiped away Bazar Batu's tears, then pulled him closer. He leaned down and kissed Bazar Batu's lips. Bazar Batu's tears came in a fresh flood, but this time they were tears of relief. He wrapped his arms around Kuo Lok's waist and buried his face in his chest.
"Lok ge," Bazar Batu sobbed, his voice muffled. "I really don't want to die. I don't want to die."
Kuo Lok patted the back of his head, holding him close. "I promise you will not die," he said, his voice filled with unwavering certainty. He then kissed Bazar Batu's forehead.