After lunch, the massive group of martial artists began their slow trek up the mountain. They soon arrived at the first campsite; a temporary base left behind by the Beixing Sector from the initial expedition.
Cao Wenyan, the leader of the Beixing contingent, made an immediate declaration: the Beixing Sect would only lead the way up the mountain but would not explore the treasure cave itself. The other martial artists, eager to find the rumored treasure and verify the rumors of Mu Dishi, happily continued to follow Cao Wenyan and his disciples.
As the group moved, Rao Zhengsheng found himself dangerously close to Cao Wenyan. The sight of the man who had tormented his family, caused Rao Zhengsheng to nearly pull out his sword and launch an attack.
Yuan Xiurong instantly grabbed Rao Zhengsheng's hand, holding him back with urgent seriousness. "Rao gege, father wants you to come and help these martial artists to build your reputation to reestablish the Rao Manor. Please don't act recklessly and ruin your chance of getting support from the other leaders."
Dong Lanying quickly added her support, her voice low. "Da shixiong, Xiurong is right. Moreover, if you want to fight them, Yongzheng is not fully healed, and he won't be able to help us. Let's just bear it temporarily for now."
Xue Horan stepped closer, his gaze steady and his promise clear. "There will be a chance when you can avenge your parents and my parents' death."
Yuan Xiurong gave Rao Zhengsheng a stern, final look. "Don't let one bad fruit ruin the whole basket of fruits. Your time will come, but not now."
Rao Zhengsheng slowly lowered his hand, his body rigid with suppressed fury. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths, reminding himself of his true purpose: to rebuild the Rao Manor and ensure the Rao Household was heard again in the martial world. He released the hilt of his sword, and together with Yuan Xiurong, Dong Lanying, Yongzheng, and Xue Horan, he slowly walked behind the main procession of martial artists.
As they walked, Yongzheng spoke quietly to Xue Horan, observing his tension. "Don't look at him if you don't want to see him."
"I'm fine," Xue Horan replied, though his voice was soft.
Yongzheng reassured him. "I'm by your side. You don't have to be afraid of him."
Xue Horan turned and smiled at Yongzheng, the warmth of his trust erasing his fear. "With you with me, I am not afraid of anyone."
Rao Zhengsheng looked back and saw Xue Horan clutching Yongzheng's left sleeve tightly. He noted they were walking farther away from himself and Yuan Xiurong. The sight ignited a familiar, sharp jealousy, and he abruptly stopped walking.
Yuan Xiurong asked, concerned, "What's wrong?"
"Waiting for Horan," Rao Zhengsheng stated, his voice tight.
Yuan Xiurong looked back and saw Yongzheng and Xue Horan walking side by side. She instantly recognized the storm brewing in Rao Zhengsheng's expression—he was consumed by anger. Knowing better than to provoke him, she remained silent and stood patiently beside Rao Zhengsheng, waiting for Xue Horan and Yongzheng to catch up.
Because the road was already marked by the Cao Wenyan, the group didn't have to wait until late at night to ascend the mountain. So, they continued and shortly after, they approached the area overlooking where the five gentlemen were last seen, they noticed that the cave had been partially breached.
One of the martial artists stepped forward to examine the opening. He returned quickly, a worried look on his face. "These wild wolfberries here are poisonous. I believe when the four gentlemen broke this open, the remaining wolfberry poisonous gas rushed out, and perhaps they inhaled the poisonous air."
Li Kong Bai nodded, the pieces fitting together. "This explains why Guotin said Ru'er's demeanor suddenly changed, thinking that Li Jie was Suo Baojing."
The martial artist confirmed the theory. "These wolfberries cause hallucination."
Yong Taihua asked the crucial question, "Is it safe to enter?"
"It should be safe now. The gas poison was long gone," the martial artist replied. He then issued a warning to the crowd. "Don't touch or eat these wolfberries."
Fu Yuanjun addressed the gathered crowd. "Everyone heard this qianbei. Please help clean up these stones and soil."
The martial artists began to work together to clear the passageway into the Mu Cave. It took them all day to clear a path wide enough to enter. Just before sunset, the weary martial artists sat down to rest and regain their strength before the final push into the cave.
Suddenly, a soft and sweet flute melody began to reverberate across the mountain.
Li Kong Bai instantly stood up, recognizing the tune. "This is the melody Guotin mentioned!"
The martial artists sprang to their feet; their eyes fixed on the dark tunnel of the cave opening. They were filled with dread and hesitation. They were terrified of the traps that might be waiting inside, and they were especially afraid that if Mu Dishi was still alive, he would charge at them with his infamous, deadly killer strings.
Cao Wenyan, fueled by desperation and madness, shoved past the hesitant martial artists and rushed into the dark cave, blindly taking the path on the left.
Seeing their leader charge forward, the other martial artists hurriedly followed. However, they were unprepared for the dangers within. As soon as they stepped onto the path, those who weren't standing directly on the white marble pebbles were impaled by spikes protruding from the ground. The mixtures of painful cries and the sweet, mocking flute sounds echoed inside the dark tunnel, instantly terrifying many of the remaining martial artists into refusing to follow.
Outside, Cao Yanmei screamed, "Ge!"
Li Kong Bai pulled Cao Yanmei aside urgently. "How do we find Cao gongzi?"
Cao Yanmei, trying to suppress her panic, pointed around the entrance. "I don't know. I waited here last time." She pointed to a solid stone wall on the left. "Don't go that way. That way is a trap." She then pointed to the tunnel in the middle. "Last time, Ma Jingguo and Wang Biming disappeared from this tunnel." Finally, pointing toward the left path, she offered the crucial piece of knowledge her brother had shared. "My ge said only step on the white marble pebbles."
Taking the risk, the braver martial artists began to abandon their injured comrades behind and followed the lead of Fu Yuanjun and Li Kong Bai into the left tunnel. Once they disappeared, Rao Zhengsheng and Yongzheng immediately began tending to the severely injured martial artists who had been impaled by the spikes.
The other half of the martial artists, overwhelmed by fear, refused to enter the cave. They stood guard outside the front entrance to help the wounded, creating a field hospital rather than joining the treacherous search within the Mu Cave.
After all the injured martial artists were rescued and tended to, Cao Yanmei approached Yongzheng, grabbing his hand urgently. "Yongzheng, come with me to help my da ge!" She tugged him toward the dangerous left tunnel.
Yongzheng resisted the pull, speaking with calm resolve. "Cao guniang, I'm not here to hunt for treasures. I'm simply here to help."
"Helping my da ge means doing good deeds!" Cao Yanmei insisted. She looked at Yongzheng and her eyes welled up, finally dissolving into tears. "Yongzheng, everyone thinks my da ge is mean and heartless, but to me—" she choked back a sob. "He loves me very much. He has never done anything wrong to me. Please help him! I have only one da ge!"
Yongzheng felt a surge of sympathy. After all, Cao Yanmei had helped them immensely; without her, he would never have saved Xue Horan or Rao Zhengsheng. He relented but set a firm condition. "I will help him under one condition."
"What?" she asked, quickly wiping her tears.
Yongzheng stated, "You stay here and wait for us."
Cao Yanmei nodded immediately, relief washing over her. She handed her lit torch to Yongzheng.
Yongzheng took the torch and slowly walked away from the front entrance, stepping carefully onto the white marble pebbles of the left path. When he reached the fifth pebble, he turned his head and saw Xue Horan, who had silently stepped onto the white marble right behind him.
"What are you doing?" Yongzheng asked, surprised and worried.
Xue Horan's expression was a mix of curiosity and determination. "I want to see this Mu Dishi, because everyone said that I look like him, but that man who somewhat helped me and harmed you said I look nothing like Mu Dishi. I want to see Mu Dishi with my own eyes."
"Go back!" Yongzheng commanded, knowing the peril of the path.
Xue Horan ignored the order; his eyes fixed on the path ahead. "Yongzheng, you better hurry up, unless your torch burns out."
Knowing Xue Horan was committed and seeing the torch's limited light, Yongzheng had no choice but to turn and continue into the dark, spiked tunnel with Xue Horan at his back.
Deep at the end of the left tunnel, Fu Yuanjun, with a few determined martial artists behind him, rushed straight toward the section that led to a waterfall. Driven by the need for confirmation, he wanted to know if Mu Dishi was truly dead—a skeleton, a sword, anything that would confirm his identity. The rest of the martial artists followed close behind. When they reached the end of the tunnel, they stopped, confronted by a horrifying sight: bone fragments were scattered everywhere.
Li Kong Bai looked at Fu Yuanjun with suspicion. "Chief Fu, have you been here before?"
"No, I just follow the old footsteps," Fu Yuanjun replied, studying the ground.
"Whose bones are these?" Li Kong Bai asked, sickened.
"I believe these are the bones of the martial artists who died here," Fu Yuanjun said grimly. He picked up a clavicle bone. "Look at this bone, the center is cut very cleanly. Only guzheng string can do this."
Li Kong Bai concluded, his voice heavy with the reality of the last fight. "Could it be that Mu Dishi was here, fighting these martial artists until his last breath?"
Yong Taihua looked around at the gruesome spectacle. His heart ached, knowing his master had likely perished here, his body reduced to these unidentified remains. "So, which bones belong to whom? How do we know which of these bones belong to my shizun?" He walked back immediately, signaling his plan. "Let's get something big enough to collect all these bones." His two Sword Village disciples followed him out.
The remaining martial artists continued to examine the bone fragments on the floor, momentarily distracted by the grim discovery. Suddenly, a deadly wave of arrows shot straight at them. Those who had pressed deepest into the inner reaches of the cave were killed immediately, proving the Mu Cave was still very much a living, breathing trap.
Fu Yuanjun, Li Kong Bai, and the other martial artists who were standing near the edge of the cliff managed to narrowly escape the first deadly wave of arrows. However, before they could recover, another wave of arrows came straight toward them. Several martial artists were struck and injured, including Li Kong Bai.
Then, the terrifying sound of the ground rumbling grew louder and louder. They watched in horror as a gigantic boulder rolled in, sealing the tunnel and completely blocking their way back to the entrance. Before the shock could register, yet another wave of arrows flew at them from the darkness.
The trapped martial artists then heard a loud, contented laughter echo from behind the massive boulder.
Fu Yuanjun, recognizing the ruthless tactics from the previous Mu Cave incident, immediately recalled how Ma Jingguo had survived being pushed off the cliff. He knew the alternative was certain death by arrow or starvation.
"Jump off the cliff!" Fu Yuanjun roared, abandoning all hope for the tunnel path. He immediately took a running leap into the abyss.
One by one, the other desperate martial artists followed his example, hurling themselves off the edge of the cliff.
As they took turns jumping to escape the death trap, the loud, satisfied laughter from behind the huge boulder continued, celebrating the terror and the desperate final act of the martial artists.
Not all of the martial artists were as lucky in their desperate leap. Some tragically hit the sharp, unforgiving rock walls, resulting in severe wounds or instant death. Others fell too far from the depth of the water, hitting the shallow bottom below and dying on impact. Fu Yuanjun, Li Kong Bai, and the few survivors who successfully hit the river were immediately caught in the swift current, tossed and smashed into rocks as they were dragged downstream.
The dark figure responsible for the ambush stood at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the carnage below. He sneered at the sight of the struggling, desperate survivors. "A whole bunch of wet dogs," he mocked, before his loud, cold laughter echoed again throughout the cavern, celebrating his victory and the total rout of the martial arts alliance.