The morning breeze rushing through the window sent a cold current across Zhu Mingyang's face, slowly rousing him from sleep. He gently opened his eyes and found Gu Yingjie still sleeping soundly in his arms.
He smiled warmly and softly kissed Gu Yingjie on the forehead. Listening to Gu Yingjie's rhythmic breathing warmed Zhu Mingyang's heart. He secretly hoped that every day for the rest of his life, when he woke up, he would be able to hold Gu Yingjie in his arms and feel his soft, warm breath brushing against his chest.
Gu Yingjie asked softly in a sleepy voice, "Mingyang, why do you keep staring at me?" He yawned and inched himself closer to Zhu Mingyang.
Zhu Mingyang chuckled. "I was thinking about what happened last night."
Gu Yingjie mumbled, "What about it?"
Zhu Mingyang hugged Gu Yingjie tightly and promised, "I really want to grow old with you. I want to see you when you're seventy years old with gray hair."
Gu Yingjie smiled and kissed Zhu Mingyang on the neck, yet the seed of doubt remained. "Mingyang, if you like Zhanjin, I'm okay with it."
Zhu Mingyang looked seriously at Gu Yingjie. "I can't love another person. I am sincere when I tell you that my body and soul are yours." His fingers tenderly brushed Gu Yingjie's face. "Don't try to separate us. You know very well that this won't work. Tell me honestly, how many lies did you tell me?"
Gu Yingjie sighed, the truth finally exposed. "Many," he admitted.
Zhu Mingyang asked, "Why?"
Gu Yingjie explained, "It was supposed to be just one, but you refused to leave me. As a result, I lied a lot later."
Zhu Mingyang clarified. "So, there is only one core lie?"
Gu Yingjie sighed and said, "You can say so."
Zhu Mingyang's voice lowered, revealing his deepest wound. "You know you have done a lot of things that hurt me before, but that's not as painful as when you walked into your bedroom on your wedding night."
Gu Yingjie asked softly, "Why?"
Zhu Mingyang looked at Gu Yingjie with fierce, possessive love. "Because you belong to me. This body belongs to me. No one can touch it except me. The scene of you making love with her is more painful than all the scars added together."
Gu Yingjie nodded. "I know that feeling, because when I saw you kiss Yan Zhanjin, I was very heartbroken and mad at you. If I hadn't met those young Taoists, I would have run away." He sighed. "After listening to the recitation of the Taoist teaching, I realized that the best gift to give you is forgiveness."
"That's why you left the jade at the gate?" Zhu Mingyang asked, finally understanding the gesture.
"It means I forgive you and wish you all the best in your new life," Gu Yingjie confirmed.
"Yingjie, you have to know that I can't love anyone except you," Zhu Mingyang insisted.
The knock on the door ended the intimate conversation between Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie. Zhu Mingyang quickly pulled his clothes back on, and Gu Yingjie went to open the door.
Yan Zhanjin walked in with two bowls of medicine. He placed the tray on the table and handed one bowl of medicine to Zhu Mingyang and the other to Gu Yingjie.
Yan Zhanjin explained, "This is for pain."
Gu Yingjie smiled warmly at Yan Zhanjin. "Thank you, Yan Yisheng." He took the steaming medicine and drank it down.
Then a servant walked into the room. The servant bowed. "Gu Gongzi, someone is here who wants to see you. She said she is your wife."
Gu Yingjie smiled at Zhu Mingyang, his expression unconcerned. "She's here. I'm going to meet her."
Zhu Mingyang smiled back at him, a soft acknowledgement. "Mm..."
Yan Zhanjin turned to Zhu Mingyang. "How are you?"
Zhu Mingyang replied simply, "Good."
Yan Zhanjin paused, then asked, "Do you know he has a wife?"
Zhu Mingyang answered calmly, "Between Yingjie and I, there is no secret."
Yan Zhanjin, still trying to process the level of intimacy between the two men, pressed him. "No secret?"
Zhu Mingyang looked at Yan Zhanjin, confirming with a nod. "Mmm..."
Yan Zhanjin's eyes widened. "So, he knows we slept in the same room?"
Zhu Mingyang nodded again. "Mmm."
Yan Zhanjin lowered his voice, blushing fiercely. "Does he know about our kiss...?"
Zhu Mingyang smiled slightly. "Mmm... he saw us kiss."
Yan Zhanjin turned scarlet. "I don't know how to face him."
Zhu Mingyang tried to ease his friend's worry. "Yingjie isn't the kind of person who has prejudice against anyone, so don't worry."
"It's still... I'm embarrassed when I look at him," Yan Zhanjin insisted.
Zhu Mingyang scoffed good-naturedly. "You're acting like we had an affair and were caught by him."
Yan Zhanjin looked serious. "I don't like being hated by others."
Zhu Mingyang reassured him one last time. "Yingjie isn't like that."
Gu Yingjie walked into the room but did not see Yuan Chaomei. Instead, he found Cao Fengge and Cao Wenyan waiting for him.
Cao Fengge offered a polite greeting. "Gu Gongzi, how is your stay?"
Gu Yingjie returned the courtesy. "It's fine. Thank you, Leader Cao. Why did you call me here today?"
Cao Fengge got straight to the point. "I called you today to let you know that we are about to enter the Mu treasure cave. You and your guards must go with us to make sure Ma Jingguo keeps his promise."
Gu Yingjie responded, stating the decision he and Zhu Mingyang had made. "Mingyang and I have decided to leave the martial arts world and live in seclusion."
Cao Fengge replied firmly, "After I entered the Mu treasure cave, your life has nothing to do with me." He was only honoring the terms of the temporary bargain.
Cao Wenyan stepped in, offering a warning based on his knowledge of the powerful families. "I know that the Gu House is very strict. It is easy to enter Gu's house, but difficult to get out. The consequences are more serious than death."
"I know," Gu Yingjie admitted quietly.
Cao Wenyan then offered a genuine word of praise. "But you... have the most royalist guard. If I were you, I would keep someone like Zhu Mingyang with me for the rest of my life, too."
Gu Yingjie smiled faintly, deflecting the compliment. "I'm sure you have many."
In the outskirt of a village, resting inside the room they booked, Ma Jingguo sat opposite Mu Dishi. Ma Jingguo smiled warmly at Mu Dishi. "Xiao Shushu, tomorrow we'll reach Mu Village. We could stay there until the fifteenth of the month, which isn't far away. After you open the Mu Treasure Cave for Chief Cao and Chief Wang, we'll head back home." He looked at Mu Dishi with a bright smile. "Xiao Shushu, do you want to take a bath after eating?"
Mu Dishi remained silent, offering no response.
Ma Jingguo got up and walked to sit down beside Mu Dishi. He picked up the rice bowl and started to feed Mu Dishi, but Mu Dishi refused to open his mouth. Ma Jingguo sighed softly. "Xiao Shushu, I know you're angry with me, but part of this is your fault. If you hadn't run away from me, I wouldn't have picked this option. I know you're more angry about the way I carried you out of that celebration yard. I promise that when we reach Mu Village, I'll unblock your accupoints."
Mu Dishi said coldly, "You shouldn't be carrying me like that. Do you know how many people stared at us?"
Ma Jingguo smiled. "I know you're worried about your face, but I'm afraid you'll leave with Wang Biming again. I had to act quickly." He put the bowl of rice back on the table, leaned forward, and hugged Mu Dishi's narrow waist. He kissed Mu Dishi's right cheek. "Xiao Shushu, I really miss you. Please tell me, is my love suffocating you, so you decided to leave me, or do I love you too little, not enough to make you stay with me?"
Mu Dishi did not answer.
Ma Jingguo continued, his voice softer. "I'm sorry... just because I love you so much, I don't know if I can see you again in my next life, so I will do my best to give you everything that I can give you in this life." He pulled the jade hairpin from Mu Dishi's hair and tucked it inside his robe. "I'll keep this for now... just for assurance." He quickly tapped Mu Dishi's front chest. Then he went to sit down across from Mu Dishi and smiled. "Let's eat."
Ma Jingguo stared at the rice in his bowl for a while. He suddenly couldn't remember which hand he was supposed to hold the chopsticks with. He hesitated between his right and left hands, struggling with which hand held which item—the rice bowl or the chopsticks. He shook his head and finally picked up the chopsticks in his right hand.
Mu Dishi noticed that Ma Jingguo's temperament had become distinctly weird since their last meeting. Mu Dishi did not pick up the bowls and chopsticks, but looked at Ma Jingguo and asked, "Why do you want to practice the Devil Fist Muanal?"
Ma Jingguo smiled with his big, affectionate "puppy eyes." He said, "Since you left me, I finally understand that my abilities aren't good enough. In order for you to be by my side, I must be better than you."
Mu Dishi pressed him, his tone serious. "How far have you practiced?"
Ma Jingguo replied, "Level seven."
Mu Dishi looked at Ma Jingguo coldly and ordered, "Stop practicing it."
"Why?" Ma Jingguo countered.
Mu Dishi explained the horrifying truth. "People who practice Devil Fist will eventually lose their sense of thinking. Zhu Mingyang and Wang Biming know that, so they have never practiced farther than level five. Once you reach level eight, you will begin to lose your ability to think. Your memory will slowly disappear until your mind remains the mind of a one-year-old. That's why Long Da Ye and many martial artists never sought the Devil Fist manual."
Ma Jingguo sneered at Mu Dishi, his expression filled with desperate defiance. "If I can't have you by my side, I would rather lose my mind and forget you completely." He picked up a piece of vegetable and placed it on Mu Dishi's bowl of rice. He smiled, utterly unconcerned with the tragedy he described. "Xiao Shushu, what are you staring at? Is there something on my face?"