In another part of the abandoned temple complex, away from the tension of the main group, volunteers and clan leaders sat around a small bonfire, discussing the ongoing, and now grim, search for the lost Three Gentlemen of Huangshan.
Li Kong Bai, the master of the Huangshan sect, looked at his seriously injured disciple, Zhou Guotin, his face etched with worry. "Guotin, where is Ru'er?" he asked, referring to the still-missing disciple, Yang Ru.
Zhou Guotin, despite his broken bones, recounted the last events before the attack. "Shifu, I don't know. According to Shifu's instructions, we went to the treasure cave, but once we broke through the first layer of the collapsed cave, we couldn't go any further." He paused, recalling the decision. "At that time, da shixiong suggested we try to go around to see if there was any opening anywhere."
He faced the group seated before him and started to recount the events of a few days ago
Su Lie Jie's voice chimed in from the past, though his body now lay dead elsewhere. "The rocks here are too thick. Maybe we can take other juniors and look around to see if there is any place that we could blast the cave wall open."
"I don't understand why Shifu wants us to come to dig the cave just to identify some rumor of a dead person," Yen Shoi Ming said, frowning.
Yang Ru offered a patient perspective. "I believe Shifu did this to beg the Mu for forgiveness."
Zhou Guotin nodded in agreement. "I agree with Er shixiong. We only heard that Mu Dishi is still alive, why dig a whole mountain to prove this?"
Su Lie Jie looked at his juniors with seriousness. "That's why we need to get to the bottom of it." He was determined to settle the matter. "In order to avoid other rumors. If we see Mu Dishi inside the cave or we heard him playing his guzheng or flute, it may be because he is still there."
Yang Ru expressed his concern, his voice laced with worry, as he asked, "Da shixiong, is it possible that the music is played by someone else to lure other martial artists into a trap?"
Su Lie Jie admitted, "We don't know that either." He looked at his four Shidi and sighed. "Let's find a way in first. I heard that Wang gongzi dug a tunnel somewhere. If we can find that tunnel, we can continue digging from there. Maybe we can get inside the cave that way."
Just after dawn, a disciple ran up to the four brothers and told them that they had found the tunnel that Cao Wenyan had previously dug. The four brothers and thirty disciples immediately set up camp at the location where Cao Wenyan had stopped his excavation.
It started to rain heavily the next day, forcing them to halt the work. On the fourth day after the tunnel was discovered, the group of disciples began digging again, continuing along the path Cao Wenyan had started.
At dawn, before the setting sun went down, the members of Huangshan were still digging diligently. Yang Ru suddenly ordered everyone to stop digging and make no noise.
Yang Ru put his ear to the side of the soil, closed his eyes, and listened intently. After a few tense minutes, he heard a faint, sweet flute melody. He listened for more than ten minutes before raising his head and looking at his three brothers.
Yang Ru whispered, his face alight with astonishment, "I heard a faint flute sound coming from the cave."
Yen Shoi Ming muttered, connecting the sound to the legend. "I heard that Mu Dishi is skillful in music."
Zhou Guotin breathed, voicing the possibility they had dismissed as mere gossip. "Could it be that the rumors are true? Mu Dishi is still alive and buried inside the Mu Cave?"
Su Lie Jie's face was stern with caution. "Don't spread the word. First, confirm, and then send a message to Shifu." He looked at the exhausted juniors. "Everyone takes a day off. We will continue to dig tomorrow."
The revelation that the flute music had been heard coming from the collapsed cave sparked immediate, fervent hope. Cao Wenyan's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement, as this was the first legitimate news suggesting the possibility that Mu Dishi was still alive. He stood up and walked to Zhou Guotin, kneeling before the injured man. He looked at Zhou Guotin with mournful, desperate eyes, and pleaded, "Zhou qianbei, are you sure you heard the flute sound in the cave?"
Zhou Guotin coughed, his breathing shallow. "I didn't hear it, but San Shixiong heard it."
Fu Yuanjun voiced the general skepticism. "It's been almost a year. How could Mu ge still be alive?"
Yong Taihua, however, clung to a shred of hope based on his master's nature. "Maybe there are some foods in the cave that Shizun did not tell anyone about. Shizun has always been a survivor."
Zhou Guotin delivered the final, crushing blow. "Yong gongzi and Cao gongzi, I think Mu Dishi had met his end."
Cao Wenyan became impatient and tense. "What do you mean, Zhou qianbei?"
Zhou Guotin explained the ominous sign. "That's because on the tenth day, while we were still digging, the melody of the flute suddenly stopped." He emphasized the change in pattern. "Generally, at dawn every day, the melody of the flute will continue to be played until the sun set."
Yong Taihua frowned, the hope draining from his face. "You mean, my shizun is dead, so you guys can't hear the flute melody anymore?"
Zhou Guotin confirmed the grim suspicion. "We were going to confirm once we broke through the cave wall, but we encountered an accident." He continued his past events.
The members of Huangshan blasted the last solid rock wall to pieces. Immediately, a foul, rotten breath rushed out from the cave. This putrid air caused the members in front to cover their mouths quickly, and some even violently vomited.
The first ten members who inhaled the worst of the fumes began to act strangely, their eyes glazing over, and then suddenly turned to attack the other members of Huangshan.
Yang Ru, one of the core disciples, pointed a frantic finger at Su Lie Jie. "Suo Baojing! I want to kill you and avenge my San Shixiong!" He drew his sword and rushed toward Su Lie Jie.
Yen Shoi Ming leaped forward, holding his eldest brother back. "Si Di, are you crazy?"
Zhou Guotin watched the madness unfold, panicked. "Da Shixiong, what shall we do? They went crazy all of a sudden!"
Yen Shoi Ming shouted, trying to control the situation. "Don't kill them! Capture them and tie them up!"
The remaining thirty members of Huangshan finally managed to capture all those possessed and tied their hands and feet.
Yen Shoi Ming wiped his sweat, disturbed by the event. "It seems like they became out of control by something."
Su Lie Jie, grim-faced, looked into the dark opening. "The Mu family are masters of medical skills. Maybe they set a trap in the cave."
Zhou Guotin, recovering his wits, agreed. "If there is truly poison inside the cave, then it's not safe for us to enter."
Su Lie Jie made the practical decision. "You are right. Let's go back to the camp and send a message to Shifu, asking him what he wants us to do next, and then we will continue."
The group turned around, only to find a new, deadly threat. A group of men in black were aiming crossbows directly at them. The leader of the group of ten stood in the middle, his men flanked him on both sides.
Su Lie Jie, immediately alert to the ambush, demanded, "Who are you?"
The man in black leader countered with a question. "What exactly are you looking for?"
Zhou Guotin, already short on patience, snapped, "It's none of your business!"
The man in black sneered, his gaze chilling. "The things related to this treasure cave are all my business." He looked at the three brothers with contempt. "Why don't you let the dead stay dead? Disturbing the dead will bring you bad luck. You people and your greed really know how to strive trouble in other people's peace."
Yen Shoi Ming argued, "The reason why we are here is different from the other sects."
The man in black pressed them, tightening the circle. "Then what exactly does Huangshan Sect want from the Mu Treasure Cave?"
Su Lie Jie stared at the men who blocked their only way down the mountain and revealed the true, dangerous nature of their quest. "The death of Mu Dishi."
The Man in Black immediately corrected him with a deadly sneer. "I will send you to see Mu Dishi."
The man in black motioned to the crossbowmen with his right hand, and the ten crossbowmen instantly released a volley of arrows at the remaining thirty members of the Huangshan Sect The arrows shot killed and severely injured the disciples, turning the front entrance of the Mu Treasure Cave into a slaughter ground.
Su Lie Jie, Yen Shoi Ming, and Zhou Guotin managed to find cover behind two large dragon stones positioned in front of the cave entrance.
Yen Shoi Ming planned their escape. "When they put in new arrows, that's when we make our escape."
Zhou Guotin looked back at their captured, poisoned comrade. "What about San ge?"
Yen Shoi Ming looked to their leader. "Da ge, what do you think?"
Su Lie Jie glanced at Yang Ru, who was still tied up and raving, though reluctantly. "Right now, he is not in his right mind." He knew they couldn't leave their brother. "We're going to carry him out." He instructed Zhou Guotin. "Zhou di, you carry him, and we will make way for you."
While waiting for the crossbowmen to reload their weapons, Su Lie Jie and Zhou Guotin flew forward toward Yang Ru. Su Lie Jie swiftly blocked the pressure points on Yang Ru's chest to calm his raving and broke the rope that tied Yang Ru's hands to the stone. Zhou Guotin placed Yang Ru's bound hands over his own head and hoisted his unconscious brother onto his back.
When the ten men in black reloaded their crossbows again, the four brothers and the surviving wounded from the Huangshan Sector rushed forward towards the ambushers, led by Su Lie Jie and Yen Shoi Ming.
The Man in Black drew his sword, issuing a cold command. "Kill everyone and leave no survivor."
The ten men in black replied in unison, a chorus of death. "Yes, Chief." They drew their swords and prepared to attack, closing the circle around the retreating Huangshan disciples.