Walking up the mountain trail, as the mountain breeze caressed their clothes and the morning sun shifted toward noon, Mu Dishi was reminded of the first time Mu Jia Long brought him up this very path.
Though the road was wide, the large group of martial artists chose to walk in three single-file lines. Ahead of Mu Dishi was Cao Fengge leading a group, with a horse-drawn wagon carrying Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie, their hands still bound. Cao Wenyan had strategically chosen to walk alongside Mu Dishi.
Mu Dishi walked beside Cao Wenyan, his gaze occasionally drifting to the wagon. "Do you still need to keep those two?" he asked, his tone laced with disapproval at the sight of the bound prisoners.
Cao Wenyan shrugged slightly. "I don't make the call. It's my father who wants to keep them until you open the treasure cave."
Mu Dishi responded with quiet conviction. "I promised to take you there, and I plan to keep my promise."
Cao Wenyan smiled kindly. "Mu gongzi, don't be mad. If it were me, I believe you."
On the wagon, Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie were sitting on a carriage filled with rice sacks, their bound hands resting together. Zhu Mingyang squeezed Gu Yingjie's hand and asked with deep concern, "Yingjie, how is your back?"
Gu Yingjie leaned gently on Zhu Mingyang's shoulder. "My injury isn't as serious as yours, so don't worry about me." He chuckled softly. "Mingyang, I'm really happy it turned out like this. I'd rather wander the world with you for a lifetime than be the Chief of the Gu Household with regrets."
Zhu Mingyang immediately affirmed his devotion. "What you want to do, I will always support you and stand by your side."
Gu Yingjie looked at him earnestly. "Mingyang, you've done a lot for me. From now on, I want you to do things for yourself. Do what you want to do. You are not my guard anymore. I hope you stand by my side as an equal. As my partner, not my guard."
Zhu Mingyang's eyes softened. "Yingjie, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to hold you to sleep and wake up to see your beautiful face every morning."
Gu Yingjie paused, then brought up a sensitive topic. "Mingyang, Wang gongzi told me that Zhanjin confessed his love to you."
Zhu Mingyang calmly replied, "He did."
Gu Yingjie considered the situation. "Mingyang, if you like him and feel for him, he can be with us. As long as your love for me remains the same, I don't mind. After all, he has saved us many times."
Zhu Mingyang shook his head firmly. "Yingjie, repaying his kindness this way is an insult to him and me. When he knows the truth, he will be very hurt. I will never love him like I love you. Do you believe me?"
Gu Yingjie smiled, leaning his head against his partner's. "I entrust my life to you. There is no sorry or thank you between us, because between us we are beyond that."
Zhu Mingyang squeezed his hand again. "I know what you're thinking, don't think too much. I won't like him, and I won't try to like him intimately."
Gu Yingjie mused, "After this, we will hold a big banquet and thank him instead."
"I like that better," Zhu Mingyang agreed.
Walking behind the wagon, on the opposite side from Mu Dishi and Cao Wenyan, Wang Biming walked beside the carriage, catching snippets of the lovers' conversation. Looking at Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie, he was struck by a powerful, aching memory of himself and Mu Dishi. They, too, had once been as close as the couple on the wagon, yet now they stood on opposite sides, aiming for each other's lives. Was it all his fault? He instinctively rejected the thought.
As he watched Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie intimately wrapped up in their own world, the memories of his youth slowly resurfaced. There was a time when he and Mu Dishi had sat side by side, just like that. When a sudden gust of mountain breeze rushed past him, he closed his eyes, and for a moment, he was transported back to those days—the happiest of his life.
The young, nineteen-year-old Wang Biming and the fifteen-year-old Mu Dishi walked alongside the rice fields. It was mid-September, and the villagers were busy harvesting rice. Mu Jia Long had always instructed his students to help nearby villagers, saying it was a way to cultivate personal temperament.
The young village ladies always treated Wang Biming exceptionally well; among Mu Jia Long's nineteen students, Wang Biming was the most handsome. For Wang Biming, however, Mu Dishi was a contradiction, equally both handsome and beautiful. Mu Dishi's exquisite cheekbones, perfect chin, and high nose made him strikingly handsome. Yet, his eyes, long eyelashes, smooth light skin, and long black silky hair made him breathtakingly beautiful.
When the sun began to climb the horizon, the five students set to work helping the villagers. After noon, the field owner's wife stood at the side of the rice paddy and called them all in for lunch.
The five classmates and the villagers lined up with their bowls and walked toward the young ladies who were preparing the meals. Mu Dishi stood in front of Wang Biming, receiving the standard share like everyone else. When it was Wang Biming's turn, the ladies instantly pushed the vegetables aside and stuffed more meat into his bowl. Then, she added a second, generous spoonful of vegetables to his already overflowing bowl.
When the five young classmates sat under the tree and set their bowls of vegetables on the ground, they all immediately noticed Wang Biming's bowl had significantly more food than theirs.
Mu Fai, his mouth full of rice, pointed his chopsticks toward Wang Biming's bowl. He sputtered, "Ah... Unfair... you got so much!"
Mu Fai's choked voice made Mu Chen and Mu Chung look at Wang Biming's food. The two of them simultaneously stretched their chopsticks toward Wang Biming's bowls. Wang Biming quickly pulled both of his bowls out of their reach.
Wang Biming smiled teasingly. "Who told you to be less handsome than me?"
Mu Chen pleaded, "Give me some of your food. You can't finish it anyway. When we pass by my Yun Da Ye's farm, I will pick some pears for you."
Wang Biming agreed with a grin. "Deal, after I give some to Dishi."
Mu Chung immediately countered, "Dishi is too little, I think he doesn't eat much. Give it to us."
Wang Biming stood his ground. "It doesn't matter; he picks first."
Mu Fai sighed dramatically. "Da Shixiong, you are a little biased when it comes to Dishi and us."
Wang Biming feigned innocence. "How is it? I treat all juniors equally."
Mu Chung stated flatly, "Nope. Everyone can see that you are better to Dishi than to us."
Mu Chen started a playful chant, listing everyday chores and items. "Apple?"
Mu Chung finished the line with emphasis: "Let Dishi pick first."
Mu Chen, "Bun?"
Mu Chung, "Let Dishi pick first."
Mu Chen, "Tea?"
Mu Chung, "Let Dishi pick first."
Wang Biming and Mu Fai both burst into laughter, while Mu Dishi instantly blushed deeply.
Mu Chen continued the teasing. "Wash clothes."
Mu Chung delivered the punchline: "Dishi, you can sit and watch us."
Mu Chen, "Chopping firewood."
Mu Chung, "Dishi, you can sit and watch us."
Wang Biming, seeing Mu Dishi's embarrassment, pushed a bowl of stir-fried cabbage and pork to Mu Chen and Mu Chung, taking back their empty bowls. He smiled and said, "Alright... Alright... enough teasing Dishi. His face is already very red."
Mu Chen pointed an accusing finger at Wang Biming. "Look... Look... You are defending him!"
Wang Biming simply put more vegetables into Mu Dishi's bowl. "He is very thin, and I'm worried that he won't have enough to eat," he rationalized.
Mu Dishi, slightly flustered, said, "I don't eat much, all four of you can eat." He put down his bowl of rice, and Mu Chen quickly snatched it up.
Mu Chen, already eating, mumbled, "Then I'm going to eat."
Mu Dishi replied with a quiet "Mmm." He stood up and walked toward the old lady who was distributing tea.
Wang Biming watched Mu Dishi carefully, noting that he drank two full bowls of tea. He looked at Mu Dishi's abandoned bowl of rice and saw that he had only eaten a small amount. Mu Dishi came back with two bowls of tea and set them down. He hurried back and returned with two more bowls, giving one to Mu Fai and the other to Wang Biming.
At the end of the day, the paddy field owner offered to send them to the main road before he took twenty rice sacks back to Sword Village. The five classmates happily jumped onto the ox carriage. Mu Fai sat in the front with the owner while Mu Chen and Mu Chung lay on the rice bags to rest. Wang Biming and Mu Dishi sat together on the edge.
Wang Biming looked at Mu Dishi's face and chuckled lightly.
Mu Dishi looked up at him. "Is there something on my face?" he asked.
"Yes," Wang Biming replied tenderly. He took out his handkerchief and gently wiped the dirt off Mu Dishi's smooth face. He tucked the handkerchief away, then took out two pears and held them out to Mu Dishi.
Mu Dishi shook his head. "I don't want it."
Wang Biming's smile was persuasive. "You didn't eat much at noon. I know you're hungry, so just eat this."
Mu Dishi relented slightly. "Just give me one. You can eat the other one."
Wang Biming handed Mu Dishi a pear. The two young teens enjoyed their fruit, riding on the back of the ox carriage as it traveled the dirt road, cutting through the vast golden rice paddies.
When Wang Biming opened his eyes again, he sighed deeply as he glanced at Mu Dishi standing opposite him, his heart squeezing with pain. He sighed again, recalling the good old days of his youth. Those were the days when he forgot who he was and what role he should play. He could simply enjoy a meal with his classmates under the trees, looking at the golden rice paddies, savoring the simple villager's meals with his three best friends and the love of his life. They laughed, enjoyed their youth with smiles, and lived carefree. There was no dividing line between orthodox and unorthodox, no heartache, no goodbye, and no hatred—just pure, innocent happiness. By the time he realized it, tears had wet his eyes.
Today, his three best friends have long since passed away, and his beloved hates him. They cannot understand him. He just wanted to be a good son in front of his father, but to be a good son meant he had to betray his friends. If he chose his friends, he was an unfilial son who humiliated the Wang ancestors. If he chose his family, he was a bad friend. This internal conflict was why he decided to pour only half of the poison inside the wine. He had genuinely hoped Mu Jia Long would survive.
That night, he was already prepared to die and follow his friends to the netherworld, but those who deserved to survive didn't. He, who felt he didn't deserve to survive, did, and now he was hated by the person he loved most.
Wang Biming looked at Mu Dishi, who was walking side by side with Cao Wenyan, and he silently sighed, "What happened between us, can you ever find yourself to forgive me?"