The floor trembled as the walls began to grind shut around Cao Wenyan. The group stared in disbelief—he was supposed to be safe in the left passage. Cao Yanmei screamed, scrambling to her brother's side, pressing her palms uselessly against the cold, moving stone.
Zhu Mingyang, Gu Yingjie, and Yan Zhanjin rushed forward, joining the frantic effort. Five people strained together, but their combined strength was nothing against the heavy mechanism of the cave; the trap wall continued to close.
"Mei'er, leave now!" Cao Wenyan gasped, his voice tight with effort.
"No, we leave together!" Cao Yanmei sobbed.
"The wall is too close. I'm almost out of strength," Cao Wenyan insisted, feeling the overwhelming weight begin to crush his body. He knew he had minutes left. A peaceful smile touched his lips. "It would be great if I could see Mu gongzi before I die." He lifted his gaze to the tunnel entrance, and there he saw him: Mu Dishi walking toward them. He breathed the name, "Mu gongzi…"
Mu Dishi walked past the struggling group. He didn't waste a glance or a word, instead moving directly to the wall and wrenching a stalactite aside. With a loud clunk, the trap wall instantly slid back, freeing Cao Wenyan.
Mu Dishi turned from the trap and fixed his gaze on the doctor. "Why are you here? This is not a place for you to be in," he demanded of Yan Zhanjin.
"I'm here to find Mingyang and Gu gongzi," Yan Zhanjin replied, standing his ground.
Mu Dishi's expression hardened. "You found them. Leave. This place has nothing awaits you but death."
Zhu Mingyang stepped forward. "I thought you already left," he stated, confused by Mu Dishi's sudden appearance and dire warning.
Mu Dishi turned away from the entire group. "Soon this door will be closed, and everyone in the cave will die," he announced coldly.
"How do we prevent the stone door from falling down?" Gu Yingjie pressed, urgency tightening his voice.
"I don't know," Mu Dishi said simply.
Cao Wenyan, his face pale, asked, "How long do we have before that happens?"
"I don't know," Mu Dishi repeated. "Two hours at most."
Cao Wenyan immediately looked at his sister, his command sharp. "Mei'er, you stay here. I'm going back to find father. If that stone door slides down and we are not here, then you will blast that wall apart." Without waiting for a response, Cao Wenyan flew into the left passageway, plunging desperately into the darkness.
Mu Dishi began to walk away, abandoning the group. Yan Zhanjin cried out, his voice raw with urgency: "Mu Dishi! You may not care about the life and death of the people here, but there is one person inside this passage." He pointed toward the middle passageway. "One person you should care about!"
Mu Dishi paused, leveling a cold, dismissive glance at Yan Zhanjin.
Yan Zhanjin pressed, his voice rising in outrage. "Ma-xiong, Wang Biming, and Miao Mingzhu are fighting somewhere in there. You know Wang Biming is more skilled than Ma-xiong. He's fighting both Wang Biming and Miao Mingzhu! Would you be so cruel to let the person who loves you the most die in there alone?"
Mu Dishi offered no answer. He only stared at Yan Zhanjin with utter stillness before turning away. He flew onto the first white marble in the left passageway and vanished into the darkness.
Yan Zhanjin was left trembling with fury and disbelief. He screamed after the vanished figure, "Mu Dishi! You are the most arrogant and ruthless person in this world! You are not worthy of being loved by Ma-xiong!"
"Zhanjin, let him go," Zhu Mingyang murmured, pulling the doctor back.
Yan Zhanjin looked from Zhu Mingyang to Gu Yingjie, letting out a heavy sigh. "Batu is going to be furious if something happens to Ma-xiong. I shouldn't have promised him I'd keep an eye on him."
Just then, the ground began to vibrate violently, and the stone platform they were standing on suddenly dropped away beneath their feet. Zhu Mingyang reacted instantly, grabbing Yan Zhanjin's belt and launching both of them out of the cave entrance.
As they flew clear, Zhu Mingyang saw the terrifying reason for the drop: Gu Yingjie had been caught on the remaining edge and was being pulled slowly downward into the opening abyss.
"Zhanjin, leave now!" Zhu Mingyang shouted, his eyes locked on his sinking lover.
Yan Zhanjin grabbed Zhu Mingyang's arm. "Mingyang, what are you doing?"
"I'm going back for Yingjie," Zhu Mingyang declared. "You saved my life, and I saved yours. We're even now. We don't owe the other party anymore." He slammed Yan Zhanjin's hand away and threw himself headfirst into the deepening darkness after Gu Yingjie.
As he plunged deeper into the darkness, Zhu Mingyang's eyes were fixed only on Gu Yingjie's white robe. He was terrified that Gu Yingjie might believe he had abandoned him for Yan Zhanjin. To banish that fear, he shouted loudly into the void, "Yingjie, I'm coming for you!"
"Mingyang!" Gu Yingjie yelled back, immediately sending his belt sash spiraling toward his falling partner.
Zhu Mingyang grabbed the sash, arresting his fall and pulling himself onto the small, sinking platform where Gu Yingjie stood. He immediately swept Gu Yingjie into his arms. But their reunion was brief: the platform lowered them down into a small, enclosed stone room with no exit. Suddenly, water began to pour rapidly into the space.
Zhu Mingyang let go of Gu Yingjie. "Yingjie, there must be a trap switch in here. Find it quickly before we drown!"
With no time to lose, Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie desperately began searching the walls and floor for the hidden switch inside the small, rapidly filling room.
On the middle passageway, Wang Biming's palm slammed into Ma Jingguo's left chest, sending him crashing violently against the cave wall. A jagged stalactite sliced deep across Ma Jingguo's left arm. He slowly pushed himself up, his eyes burning, as Miao Mingzhu stood casually at Wang Biming's side.
"We are family," Wang Biming warned, his voice low and firm. "Don't cross the line, or I will not go easy on you."
Ignoring the threat and the pain, Ma Jingguo demanded, "Where is Mu Dishi?"
"I don't know," Wang Biming replied flatly.
Ma Jingguo's rage boiled over. "He came with you, how can you not know where he is? I don't believe it!" He leveled his knife at Wang Biming. "Wang Biming... why don't you stay dead?"
Wang Biming's face darkened with reciprocal fury. "Ma Jingguo, why are you even born?"
The air crackled between the two men. Before the fight could resume, a section of the wall slid open, and seven martial artists walked out of a hidden passage. They beamed with relief, ecstatic to see Ma Jingguo, Wang Biming, and Miao Mingzhu.
"Where did you guys come from?" Miao Mingzhu asked, surprised by the unexpected interruption.
One of the martial artists replied, "We don't know. Since we parted from you, we've been walking in circles. Our big group slowly disappeared one by one, and now there are only seven of us left."
"Hallucination," Wang Biming stated, looking toward the cave air. "The air inside is very dense, which can easily influence others."
Ma Jingguo stood up, pointing his knife directly at Wang Biming. He addressed the seven newcomers, his voice strained, "This has nothing to do with any of you, so stay out of it."
Just then, the cave wall next to Ma Jingguo slid open, and Mu Dishi walked out. Every head in the passage snapped toward him.
Ma Jingguo's eyes widened in fury. He spun toward Mu Dishi. "Mu Dishi, you finally appeared! You always show up on time, every time when he—" Ma Jingguo stabbed his knife toward Wang Biming—"...when he is in trouble!"
Mu Dishi spared only a brief, dismissive glance for Ma Jingguo before walking straight to Wang Biming. He grabbed Wang Biming's hand and stated coldly, "This way."
A martial artist hesitated. "Why should we go with you?"
Mu Dishi's voice sharpened with calculated scorn. "Don't you want to see the real treasure of the Mu Treasure Cave? You risked your own life and the lives of others just to glimpse the treasures inside. Why would you let this opportunity pass when the riches you seek are within reach?"
The lure was too great. The martial artists immediately rushed into the secret passageway behind the wall.
"Let's go now," Mu Dishi commanded, pulling Wang Biming by the hand into the darkness.
Ma Jingguo screamed wildly, "Mu Dishi, stop!" He charged after them, plunging into the secret passageway right behind the two men.
Ma Jingguo watched Mu Dishi drag Wang Biming away, their hands linked, disappearing down the tunnel. The rage in his heart boiled, a painful fire fed by the sight of their retreating backs. He shoved the martial artists who stood before him aside with brutal force, his hand tightening around the knife he gripped. He made a promise to himself, cold and absolute: Today was the day. Either he died, or Wang Biming died.