Mu Dishi knew Mo Ehuang's intentions clearly. He saw a hatred in her that ran even deeper than his own, a raw, consuming fury that would only end with his death. He knew she would never stop, whether she tried to kill him herself or used others to do it for her.
"I've had enough of this nonsense," Mu Dishi said, looking at Ma Jingguo.
"Me too," Ma Jingguo agreed.
As the two men turned to walk away, a voice called out, stopping them. "Mu gongzi, please leave the knife." It was Yong Gui.
"This knife belongs to Biming," Mu Dishi said. "I want to bury it in Mu's grave."
Yong Taihua stepped forward, his expression pained. "Shizun, that knife is evidence. Please, leave it."
But a new, furious voice rang out. Yong Da pointed a finger at Mu Dishi and roared, "Mu Dishi, everyone else might be afraid of you, but I'm not!" In a flash, he was in the air, flying toward Mu Dishi with his sword drawn.
Mu Dishi turned around, flicking his sleeve with a casual gesture. Yong Da fell instantly, screaming in agony as he clutched his left eye.
Mu Dishi's voice was soft, but the words were as cold as ice. "I hate when people point their fingers at me."
From the ground, Yong Da roared through his pain, "I'm going to kill you, Mu Dishi!"
Just then, the iron mask man, accompanied by Miao Mingzhu and twenty disciples of the Yueguang Sect, appeared in the distance.
The gathered martial artists collectively turned their attention from Mu Dishi to the approaching Yueguang Sect. With a single, unified motion, they moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Yong Gui, forming a solid defensive line at the front gate of Sword Village to face their new enemy.
Amidst the rising tension, Mu Dishi knew Ma Jingguo was furious at the sight of the man in the iron mask. He leaned in and said, "Jingguo, you are not his opponent."
Ma Jingguo looked at Mu Dishi and smiled. "I know," he replied softly.
Mu Dishi's voice was low and serious. "Don't fight him if you don't have to. He hasn't completed the Devil Fist manual, but his skills are still far superior to yours."
Ma Jingguo smiled. "I know. But Xiao shushu, I'm very happy."
Mu Dishi looked at him, baffled. "What are you happy about? They just accused me of murder."
Ma Jingguo's smiles widened. "Xiao shushu cares about my well-being. That makes me very happy."
Just then, eight people lowered a large sedan chair, and the man in the iron mask stepped out. At the same moment, Miao Mingzhu caught Kuo Lok's eye and smiled.
Bazar Batu saw the exchange and erupted in a fit of rage. "You are forbidden to look at her!" he yelled. "You can look at anyone else, but you can't look at her!"
Kuo Lok simply replied, "Oh," and lowered his eyes to the ground.
"Why?" Yan Zhanjin asked, his voice a sly tease. "Are you jealous?"
"Shut up," Bazar Batu snapped back, his eyes fixed on Miao Mingzhu. "If they start to fight, someone will die."
Chen Dandan grabbed Yan Zhanjin's right arm, her grip tight with fear. "Shixiong, I'm very scared," she whispered. "No wonder my father wants to stay on the mountain. There are cruel people everywhere out here."
Yan Zhanjin simply said, "Let's wait and see."
The man wearing the iron mask smiled at Mu Dishi. "My proposal is still valid," he said. "Join us, and we will conquer the Central Plains together."
Suddenly, Kuo Jin Song and Kuo Ju appeared from behind the crowd. Kuo Lok's face broke into a wide smile, and he ran toward Kuo Ju. His three friends had no choice but to follow their friend.
Kuo Lok smiled as he reached her. "Mother," he greeted.
"Silly child," Kuo Ju said, pulling her son into a hug. "You refuse to come home, so you made me walk all the way here."
"Sorry," Kuo Lok mumbled.
Kuo Ju then turned her gaze to the man in the iron mask. "Many years ago, your sect's leader lost to the Central Plains martial artists at this exact location," she declared, her voice ringing with authority. "Today, you will lose again."
The man in the iron mask simply smiled. "Are you sure about that?" he asked.
"I am sure," Kuo Ju replied, her voice filled with absolute conviction.
The man in the iron mask smiled. "But I believe I'll win today. At the most critical moment, someone will save me, and someone will defeat all your combined forces."
Kuo Jin Song stepped forward, his hands clasped behind his back. "Today is Senior Yong's funeral," he said calmly. "We should be respectful and set aside our differences."
The man's sneer was visible through the mask. "I didn't respect him when he was alive, so why would I respect him after he died?" he retorted. "This is ridiculous. No matter what strategy you try, we won't back down. This time, we will win."
"We will see about that," Kuo Jin Song said, his voice a low growl.
He immediately flew forward and began his attack on the man in the iron mask. Kuo Lok followed close behind his father, and together they launched their combined Dragon Palms at the masked man.
Just as their attack landed, Miao Mingzhu, Zhang Wei, and the Five-Colored Mice leaped forward. Zhang Wei lunged at Kuo Lok, successfully preventing him from continuing his assault with his father.
In the escalating chaos, Yong Taihua led his six classmates into the fray, moving to fight the Five-Colored Mice.
Miao Mingzhu flew toward Kuo Jin Song and, in one fluid motion, tossed a small, clear powder ball at him. She then flipped backward, a silver needle flashing from her fingertips toward the ball. The needle struck, and the powder ball exploded, showering its contents over Kuo Jin Song. He quickly flipped backward to evade the blast, but a cloud of the mysterious powder still settled on his face.
The man in the iron mask threw a powerful Devil Fist at Kuo Jin Song. Though Kuo Jin Song managed to block the blow, the sheer force of the attack sent him stumbling back several steps. Immediately, he felt his energy begin to drain from his body.
"Shifu..." Ma Jingguo murmured worriedly as he realized his master was being tricked by Miao Mingzhu's cunning.
The masked man prepared to strike again, but in a blur of motion, Ma Jingguo flew past, intercepting the punch. The powerful Devil Fist slammed into Ma Jingguo's right shoulder, and the sheer force sent him skidding several yards across the ground.
The man in the iron mask prepared to strike again, but before he could, Mu Dishi's guzheng string shot through the air and wrapped around the man's fist.
Suddenly, Kuo Changchang shrieked, "Ah Chen!" and rushed to Ma Jingguo's side. At the same time, Kuo Ju cried out, "Jin Song!" and ran to her husband.
Kuo Jin Song knelt and helped Ma Jingguo sit up. The moment he did, a mouthful of blood gushed from Ma Jingguo's lips.
"Jingguo," Kuo Jin song whispered, quickly checking his meridians. A visible sigh of relief escaped him. "Good, your meridians are fine."
"Jin Song, are you alright?" Kuo Ju asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," Kuo Jin Song replied, his voice strained.
Ma Jingguo looked up at his master, his eyes filled with a sad ache. "Shifu..." he began, coughing up more blood. "When I kowtowed before you and became your disciple, I considered myself a member of the Jinfeng Sect. I never imagined we would one day stand on opposite sides, but I want you to know that I never once betrayed your teachings."
He coughed again, more blood spilling from his lips. "Thank you for not kicking me out." His gaze then shifted to Kuo Changchang. "Shijie, I'm sorry. I should have made myself clear to you from the very beginning."
"It was my fault," Kuo Ju confessed, her voice full of regret. "I forced the two of you to marry without asking first."
Mu Dishi waved his strings at the man in the iron mask, but the man flipped backward to avoid the attack. Mu Dishi pressed his advantage, lunging forward to stab with Wang Biming's knife. The masked man, with a surprising grace, took out a scabbard and caught the blade perfectly. When Mu Dishi threw a powerful punch, the man blocked it, but the sheer force still sent him stumbling back twenty feet.
Seeing their leader falter, Miao Mingzhu, Zhang Wei, and the Five-Colored Mice retreated, regrouping to stand beside the masked man.
The sudden silence was broken by Mu Dishi's cold voice. "Who are you?" he demanded. "And why did you kill Yong Hao?"
A collective gasp swept through the crowd.
"Shizun," Yong Taihua asked, his voice filled with shock. "How do you know it was him?"
"Because of the scabbard," Mu Dishi replied. "That dagger doesn't fit in any other."
Yong Taihua immediately rushed to stand beside Mu Dishi, his sword pointed directly at the man in the iron mask. He asked, his voice cold and unwavering, "Did you kill my da ye?"
The man in the iron mask smiled. "Yes," he replied. "I killed that bastard."
Yong Taihua roared, "Why?!" His fury was so absolute he felt he could tear the man in the iron mask apart and eat his heart.
The man replied with gritted teeth, "He separated me from the one I love. If it weren't for him, that person would be standing by my side right now."
The crowd of martial artists and guests, all friends of Yong Hao, erupted in a shared rage. The sound of dozens of swords being drawn from their scabbards filled the air as they prepared to kill the man.
"You walked here on your own feet," Yong Taihua declared, his voice cold with rage. "But you won't be walking out with them."
The man in the iron mask chuckled, a sound that only seemed to fuel the martial artists' rage. He looked at Yong Taihua and said, "I believe I'll leave here safely."
Yong Taihua scoffed. "And I believe you'll die today," he retorted, his voice cold.
The man chuckled again. "Yong Taihua, do you know why I believe you're wrong?"
Yong Taihua gritted his teeth. "Why?"
The man pointed at Mu Dishi with a smile. "Because he will help me walk out of here."
Mu Dishi's voice was sharp with anger. "I will not help you."
The man in the iron mask's smile never faltered. "Trust me," he said. "You will."
The martial artists and guests gathered outside Sword Village did not dare to attack. They worried that if they angered Mu Dishi, he would pull out his guzheng strings and send them all to their graves.
"What do we do?" Lee Kong Bai asked, his voice filled with doubt. "It seems Mu Dishi is siding with the murderer."
"He killed Hao da ye," Yong Taihua snapped back, his rage burning away his fear. "My Shizun will not side with the murderer."
Monk Ling shook his head gravely. "We may outnumber them, but if we attack, we will surely lose."
"If Mu da ge's Killer Strings and that person's Devil Fist are used together," Fu Yuanjun said gravely, "we will face an unfortunate and inescapable outcome."
"How so?" Bazar Batu asked.
Elder Tong stepped forward, his expression grim. "The Devil Fist is most powerful when used with the Killer Strings. The person playing the strings can actually control the one with the fist, ordering them to kill as he pleases."
Monk Ling shook his head, sighing in despair. "Amitabha," he murmured.
"This time," Yong Gui said, his voice flat with realization, "the Yueguang Sect did not come unarmed."
Elder Tong offered a glimmer of hope. "The good news is he hasn't fully mastered the Devil Fist manual yet. He's relying on Mu Dishi's help."
"Mu da ge won't side with him," Fu Yuanjun said with absolute certainty.
Monk Ling stepped forward. "Benefactor, what is your name?"
The man in the iron mask responded, "I can tell you this much: my last name is Wang."
Elder Tong gasped in sudden understanding. "This old monk understands now! Wang Zedong was the leader of the Yueguang Sect. He was injured by Kuo shifu and forced to return to Tibet. If your name is Wang, you must be related to him!"
"You can all stop guessing who I am," the man in the iron mask said, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "I am the son of Wang Zedong, the next heir of the Yueguang Sect. Surrender now, and your clans and sects will be spared annihilation."