The crowd gasped, then fell into a strained, absolute silence as they witnessed the kiss between Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie. Faces in the assembled martial arts world went pale—some with disbelief, some with open disgust, and others simply paralyzed with shock.
Gu Tingfang was instantly consumed by rage. The fact that Gu Yingjie did not resist the kiss and, worse, the faint, relieved smile on Gu Yingjie's face, infuriated him further. He flew to the punishment ground, snatched the whip from the guard, and unleashed a powerful strike upon Zhu Mingyang's back himself.
Gu Tingfang continued the savage assault. After he hit Zhu Mingyang twenty-two times, Zhu Mingyang finally collapsed slowly to the ground, covered in blood, lying beside the handcuffed Gu Yingjie. The twenty-third blow, and then the twenty-fourth whip, finally fell directly onto Gu Yingjie's back.
Zhu Mingyang heard Gu Yingjie grunt in pain. He desperately tried to stand up, but his ravaged body wouldn't obey. He watched in agony as blood spurted from Gu Yingjie's once flawless back. The injury on Gu Yingjie's back hurt him more than his own wounds. After receiving the last, brutal whip, Gu Yingjie fainted.
Gu Tingfang looked at the guards, his voice low and absolute. "Hook him."
Zhu Mingyang, despite the horrific pain, slowly crawled towards Gu Tingfang, moving inch by agonizing inch using his elbows. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Gu Tingfang's hem. He pleaded, tears streaming down his blood-streaked face. "Chief Gu, I am begging you, please don't hook him. He will not survive."
Gu Tingfang ruthlessly kicked Zhu Mingyang's hand away, but Zhu Mingyang was determined. He tightly grasped Gu Tingfang's hem again. "Hook me. Hook me... I am willing to be hooked in his place."
Gu Tingfang coldly repeated the fact. "You are no longer his guard."
Zhu Mingyang looked up, sealing his fate with his unwavering conviction. "From the day he chose me as his guard, I was destined to die for him."
The profound courage of Zhu Mingyang shocked the old and new guards and all the masters present. In the history of the Gu Household, there had never been a guard willing to experience such extremes for his master.
Gu Tingfang looked down at the bleeding, tenacious man. After a moment of silence, he spoke the chilling decree. "Alright, hook him."
The two guards took out large fishhooks and pierced Zhu Mingyang's shoulders. The sharp hook tore through the front of Zhu Mingyang's scapula. Then, two chains slowly hoisted Zhu Mingyang's body up, leaving him suspended in the air. His blood dripped steadily, forming a spreading pool on the ground beneath him.
Zhu Mingyang looked down at the spot where Gu Yingjie had been lying and softly uttered his name, "Yingjie..." He watched helplessly as two guards dragged Gu Yingjie's unconscious, bloodied body away. "Yingjie... Yingjie...".
Yan Zhanjin, who had entered the manor separately, rushed toward the scene. He almost fainted when he saw Zhu Mingyang hanging in the air, dripping blood onto the pavement.
Yan Zhanjin shouted, his voice cracking, "Mingyang!" He turned his fury on Gu Tingfang. "Chief Gu, this is too cruel to punish someone!"
Gu Xiaowen stepped forward to silence him. "Yan Yisheng, let me remind you that this is the Gu's family, not Jinfeng Sect."
Yan Zhanjin stood his ground. "I know this is not Jinfeng Sector, but you don't have to be so heartless."
Zhu Mingyang, fighting through the agonizing pain of the hooks, cried out weakly, "Zhanjin... Zhanjin..."
Yan Zhanjin struggled toward the stage, but the guards quickly blocked him.
Gu Tingfang, wary of offending the powerful Kuo Jing Song, waved at the guards to make way for Yan Zhanjin. Yan Zhanjin immediately ran up onto the stage.
Yan Zhanjin stood directly in front of the suspended Zhu Mingyang. He watched in horror as Zhu Mingyang's blood flowed down like a spring river after a rainstorm. He reached up and touched Zhu Mingyang's feet. "Mingyang, I am here now. I will help you get out of here," he vowed.
Zhu Mingyang, in agonizing pain, was realistic. "You can't. You don't have the skill to take me out of here."
"I can't, but my Shifu can," Yan Zhanjin insisted.
Zhu Mingyang scoffed, resigned to his fate. "Do you think your shifu will go against Chief Gu for a bastard son like us?" He chuckled bitterly. "It's a waste of breath, Zhanjin."
Yan Zhanjin frantically searched his mind for another solution. "I can't, but someone can. A more powerful person. Mu Dishi... Yes, Mu Dishi... Mu Dishi can!"
Zhu Mingyang, focused only on his lover, murmured softly, "Zhanjin, please rescue Yingjie..."
"How about you?" Yan Zhanjin demanded, refusing to leave him.
"Zhanjin, please do that," Zhu Mingyang pleaded, making it his dying wish.
Yan Zhanjin's face hardened with resolve. "Mingyang, I will do it for you. You must wait for me. Promise me that you will wait for me."
Yan Zhanjin rushed out from the training ground and ran down the stairs. He met Yuan Chaomei standing at the gate, holding a small white horse.
Yan Zhanjin, confused by her timing, asked, "What are you doing here?"
Yuan Chaomei simply replied, "His name is Xiao Bai, and he can run a hundred miles a day."
Yan Zhanjin immediately jumped onto Xiao Bai's back and took off, the horse vanishing like a white blur. He rode on the swift horse for a day and finally reached the gates of the Beixing Sect. He jumped off Xiao Bai's back and walked to the entrance.
"I'm an old friend of Childe Cao, is he home?" Yan Zhanjin asked the guard.
The guard replied coldly, "Young Master is not home."
"What about Mu Dishi?" Yan Zhanjin pressed, feeling the frantic urgency.
"Childe Mu is not here," the guard stated.
"Where is he?" Yan Zhanjin demanded.
The guard's patience snapped. "Young Master forbids any of us to reveal where he lives. Hurry up and leave here, or we will kill you where you are standing." The guard pointed a sharp sword directly at Yan Zhanjin.
Yan Zhanjin remembered when Cao Wenyan first brought him here. He could hear the soothing sound of rustling bamboo leaves and running water. He immediately jumped onto Xiao Bai's back and rode along the riverbank. He shouted loudly, "Mu Dishi, Ma Jingguo is dying! He needs your help! Mu Dishi..." He yelled repeatedly, letting the echo carry his desperate plea down the river.
As Xiao Bai swept past a turn, Yan Zhanjin spotted a shadow standing on the road. He circled Xiao Bai back and slowed the horse. Taking a closer look, he confirmed it was indeed Mu Dishi.
Yan Zhanjin quickly jumped off Xiao Bai and grabbed Mu Dishi's hand. "Mu Dishi, you must help Mingyang. If you don't help him, he will die!"
Mu Dishi looked at him, his face cold and indifferent. "You said Jingguo is dying..."
Yan Zhanjin snapped back, "If I didn't say that, would you have come out to meet me?"
Mu Dishi looked at Yan Zhanjin coldly and said, "I have nothing to do with him, you go away."
Yan Zhanjin refused to yield. "I know, you aren't so cruel. Do you remember that Mingyang carried you up Jinfeng Sect and begged Kuo Shifu to help you? Without him, you would have died a long time ago."
Mu Dishi replied, his voice still hard, "I am a dead man in the martial arts world. If I help him, I will only expose myself." He turned to walk away from Yan Zhanjin. "You can't leave."
Yan Zhanjin knew this was his final chance; if he failed, Zhu Mingyang would die. He shouted angrily, his voice carrying desperate conviction, "Mu Dishi! As far as I know, according to your house rules, you must pay off the debt you owe." Mu Dishi stopped walking. "Without Zhu Mingyang, do you think you could live to this day? What you owe him, you must pay him back, and you still owe me a debt too. I'm here to collect the debts you owe us."
Mu Dishi slowly turned back around, his face etched with reluctant obligation. He asked coldly, "What do you want me to do?"
Yan Zhanjin delivered the terms of payment. "Mingyang wants you to repay him by helping Gu Yingjie out of prison. I want you to save Zhu Mingyang. They are both inside the Gu Household."
Mu Dishi looked at Yan Zhanjin, his gaze cold. "Alright, after I save them, you just leave me alone."
"If you finish paying for your debts, there's no reason for me to look for you," Yan Zhanjin assured him, a sense of relief washing over him.
Yan Zhanjin and Mu Dishi both jumped onto Xiao Bai's back. Yan Zhanjin patted the swift horse lightly and said, "Xiao Bai, take us home."
Xiao Bai charged into the night, heading back to the Gu Household with the one person who could alter the destiny of Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie.