Mu Dishi's words struck Wang Biming like a thousand bolts of lightning, his lips trembling with the sudden, agonizing realization. The love he believed was rekindled was a fiction, a beautiful lie he had created in his own mind. He, too, had waited, but his was the only heart that had remained exactly the same since their last goodbye. Mu Dishi's heart had long since moved on.
A crushing silence descended on the small bamboo shed, a stillness as deep as the night. The only sound Wang Biming could hear was the painful thudding of his own broken heart.
"Is this because of the little white-haired man?" Wang Biming asked, a note of contempt in his voice.
"His name is Ma Jingguo," Mu Dishi replied, his voice firm.
"The Ma household held you captive!" Wang Biming snapped. "Why are you being so nice to your enemy?"
Mu Dishi met his gaze directly. "I hate the entire Ma household," he said, his voice cold and flat. "But not Jingguo."
Wang Biming reached out and held Mu Dishi's hand. "Dishi," he pleaded, his voice cracking, "you and I, our history is beyond..."
Mu Dishi pulled his hand away, his voice chillingly cold. "Biming, you are my past. He is my future." He immediately changed the subject. "Where is Long da ye?"
Wang Biming squeezed the hand he no longer held. "The only person who knows where shifu is... is the Yueguang Sect leader." A look of profound sadness crossed his face. "You have changed. You are no longer my little, cute Dishi."
"Time moves forward," Mu Dishi said simply. "We shouldn't stick to the past."
"I haven't changed," Wang Biming insisted, his voice cracking with desperation. "No matter how much time has passed, I haven't changed." He began to pace the small bamboo shed, a deep sigh escaping his lips. "This little shack once belonged to us. We used to cuddle in that bed when shifu went home." He stopped and looked at Mu Dishi, his gaze filled with a raw, painful envy. "Now, someone else cuddles you to sleep."
Mu Dishi, unwilling to continue the conversation, got up and walked out of the bamboo shed. Wang Biming quickly followed, grabbing his right hand and pulling him back into a tight embrace. He squeezed Mu Dishi's arms and kissed the back of his head.
"Dishi," Wang Biming said softly, his voice thick with emotion, "I really miss you."
He turned Mu Dishi around, only to see Ma Jingguo from a distance. A look of pure hatred crossed his face. He despised that little white-haired man.
"Biming, I've already said this," Mu Dishi replied. "I came with you because I need to know where Long da ye is. Furthermore, I still care about you, because you're the only family I have left. You should know me well enough to understand that."
"I do know you well," Wang Biming said, his voice pleading. "Once you make a decision, you never change it. Dishi... I've always wanted to hear you say you love me. Please, just say it once. If you do, I will no longer impose myself on you. We can focus on how to save shifu from now on."
Mu Dishi felt a wave of guilt. He had never once said "I love you" to Wang Biming, not in their entire lives. He knew the word was meaningless without the feeling behind it, but he saw no other way out. He looked at Wang Biming and spoke the words he didn't mean. "Biming, I love you."
A relieved smile spread across Wang Biming's face. He lowered his head and gently kissed Mu Dishi on the lips.
Just then, a heartbroken voice cut through the silence. "Xiao shushu..."
Mu Dishi immediately pushed Wang Biming away. He turned and saw Ma Jingguo standing there, staring at him, tears streaming down his face.
"Jingguo," Mu Dishi asked, his voice shaking, "why are you here?"
"I... I thought you were here," Ma Jingguo said, his voice choked with emotion. "I thought you were in danger. That's why I came. I didn't know I came at the worst possible time."
Mu Dishi's reply was short and without feeling. "I'm fine."
Though Ma Jingguo's heart ached with a pain he had never known, the thought of not having Mu Dishi in his life hurt even more. With trembling lips and gritted teeth, he forced himself to take a step forward. "I know," he murmured, his voice barely a whisper.
He moved closer to Mu Dishi, took out his handkerchief, and gently wiped his lips. "Do you know, I don't like it when other people touch you?" he said, his voice laced with both hurt and possessiveness. "Xiao shushu, why are you so careless? Even if he is your old lover, you shouldn't have walked away without telling me why. I don't accept it."
He folded the handkerchief and tucked it into Mu Dishi's robe. "Don't let anyone touch my lips again," he pleaded, his voice cracking with hope. He grabbed Mu Dishi's hand. "My dear xiao shushu, behave yourself. Let's go home."
Mu Dishi pulled his hand from Ma Jingguo's grasp. "I'm sorry," he said, "I have to go with him."
"Why?" Ma Jingguo asked, his voice raw with pain.
"It's none of your business," Wang Biming cut in sharply.
Ma Jingguo ignored him, his eyes fixed on Mu Dishi. "It's all my business if it has something to do with xiao shushu!" He grabbed for Mu Dishi's hand again, only for Mu Dishi to pull it away once more. "Give me a reason why you must go with him!"
Mu Dishi looked at him, his gaze heavy with resignation. "He knows where Long da ye is."
Ma Jingguo shouted, "Your Long da ye is dead! He's lying to you!"
"I promised to bury him with his lover," Mu Dishi replied, his voice heavy with determination. "Even if it's just his body, I still have to go."
Wang Biming looked at Mu Dishi. "If you don't believe me, then you can stay with him," he said, and with that, he began to walk away. He knew Mu Dishi would follow. He also hoped Ma Jingguo would be foolish enough to attack him, because if he did, Mu Dishi would be forced to help him, creating an even deeper wound between Mu Dishi and Ma Jingguo. Afterward, Ma Jingguo would surely hate Mu Dishi, and he, Wang Biming, would be there to comfort the broken-hearted maiden.
Filled with rage at the sight of Mu Dishi quickly following Wang Biming, Ma Jingguo rushed forward. He gathered all the inner energy in his palm and lunged, aiming the full force of his attack directly at Wang Biming.
Just as he got close enough, Mu Dishi turned and delivered a swift counterattack. The blow struck Ma Jingguo's palm, sending him flying backward. He landed more than twenty feet away, a violent cough shaking his body as he vomited a mouthful of blood.
Ma Jingguo coughed, a scoff mixed with the blood that dripped from his lips. "I told you, Xiao shushu," he said, his voice laced with hurt. "If you ever want to kill me, use Honglei and aim for my heart." He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "Xiao shushu, I'm going to kill him."
"I won't let you," Mu Dishi said, his voice flat.
Ma Jingguo's eyes blazed with anger. "What if I am going to kill him?"
"I will stop you," Mu Dishi replied.
"The only way xiao shushu can stop me is to kill me," Ma Jingguo declared, his eyes fixed on Mu Dishi with a plea that went beyond words. "But I don't believe xiao shushu will kill me."
He took five steps forward, closing the distance between them. In one fluid motion, Mu Dishi unsheathed Honglei and pointed its tip directly at Ma Jingguo's left chest.
Undeterred, Ma Jingguo continued his advance. "I don't believe you will..." he said, his voice trailing off as he walked into the sword's path.
Wang Biming seized the moment, pushing Mu Dishi's right shoulder just as Ma Jingguo walked into the path of the sword. Honglei pierced Ma Jingguo's left chest, and he groaned in pain, his eyes flooding with tears. He looked directly into Mu Dishi's horrified gaze.
Mu Dishi's eyes widened in shock. He yanked the Honglei out of Ma Jingguo's chest and slowly backed away. As Mu Dishi retreated, Wang Biming calmly continued walking, leaving them both behind.
Ma Jingguo knew he was bound to get hurt again, but he never expected the pain to be this profound. This time, he felt a deep betrayal from the person he loved more than his own life. His lips trembled with a mixture of anger and anguish. He looked at Mu Dishi and spoke, his voice cold and unsteady.
"Xiao shushu, if you leave me this time," he said, his voice barely a whisper, "I really... I really am going to hate you. I will never forgive you."
Mu Dishi knew this might be his only chance to say what had to be said. He looked at Ma Jingguo, and though he knew Ma Jingguo loved him deeply, he also knew he had to be honest with his own heart.
"Jingguo," he began, "there are so many things I can't tell you, because I don't know the answers myself. My life belongs to Long da ye. Without him, I would have died as a child. He is like a father to me. For him, if there's even a chance, he's alive, I must go. Even if it means walking into a sea of fire or a mountain of swords, I have to find out, even if it's just to prove the rumors are false. I'm sorry, but I really have to leave with Biming. If my departure makes you hate me, then so be it. I just want you to know that I truly do love you."
"If you love me, then stay," Ma Jingguo demanded, his voice thick with anger. "We can go look for your da ye together!"
"If you come with me, Biming won't take me to see Long da ye," Mu Dishi replied. "That's his condition."
Ma Jingguo's mouth twisted into a laugh that was more a sob of pain. "So, in the end, you still choose him." He looked at Mu Dishi, the tears in his eyes a stark contrast to his cold expression. "Do you love him?"
Instead of answering, Mu Dishi silently reached into his robe, took out a small white ceramic bottle, and placed it on the ground. Then, without a word, he turned and followed Wang Biming.
As he watched Mu Dishi walk away, Ma Jingguo gritted his teeth, his jaw tight with a mixture of pain and rage. He murmured, his voice trembling with fury, "Mu Dishi, I really, truly hate you."
Ma Jingguo stood in the same spot long after Mu Dishi and Wang Biming were gone. His anger slowly vanished, replaced by a hollow sadness. He walked slowly toward the bamboo shed.
He looked to his left at the small kitchen, and a memory came flooding back: the time he'd tried to cook pork and burned it because his mind was filled with "dirty thoughts" of Mu Dishi. He remembered all the time Mu Dishi would sit at the stone table, just watching him. Tears began to stream down his face.
He walked into the shed and paused by the door, recalling the day he'd chased Mu Dishi from Shaolin. The rain had poured down, and he had stood in this very spot, staring at Mu Dishi's retreating back.
He saw the bed, the place where they had first made love. He stumbled toward it and collapsed, lying down with his right forearm over his eyes on the bed, and began to whimper, sobbing uncontrollably.
The bamboo shed was a place filled with memories. It was here that Ma Jingguo had first confessed his feelings to Mu Dishi; here that their relationship had begun; here that he had fallen in love, and Mu Dishi had accepted him.
But now, it was also here that it all ended. Their story started within these walls, and it was a cruel twist of fate that it would end here too.