The torrent of his memories finally ceased. Ma Jingguo stood amidst the powerful organization he now commanded, holding the authority of the Sunset Sect and having filled the voids left by his beloved. Yet, the victory was hollow; he realized there was no more happiness left in his life. He had buried his joy with Mu Dishi, and here, completing the promise he made to his shifu, he was no more than a living dead man.
He sighed, noting that the sunset had ended, and dusk now dominated the sky. The carriage stopped in front of an old inn familiar from his past. Ma Jingguo stepped out and reached back, his hand naturally finding Li Howin, who was following closely.
Yuan Chaomei approached. "Chief, Wen qianbei sent a message saying that everything is ready."
Ma Jingguo's voice was resolute. "I don't want to wait any longer. I want to save shifu within three days."
Yuan Chaomei nodded firmly. "I will ask everyone to be prepared."
Ma Jingguo stepped into the inn but paused immediately. A soft, familiar guzheng melody resonated through the hall. His heart began to pound faster and faster; he knew that sound intimately. He approached the stage where the musician sat hidden behind a light green curtain. He stepped onto the stage and stood directly in front of the veiled figure.
"Open the curtains," he commanded, his voice tight with anticipation.
The two men flanking the stage parted the curtains. Sitting before Ma Jingguo was Mu Dishi, looking at him with a gentle smile while playing the guzheng.
Ma Jingguo's heart hammered against his ribs. Overwhelmed, he approached and instantly knelt on one knee before the vision. He smiled, a genuine, heartbreakingly tender expression. "Xiao shushu," he whispered, stretching out his hand to grab Mu Dishi's.
"Please let go of my hand," a woman's voice requested.
Ma Jingguo blinked, snapping out of the delusion. The hand he held was soft and small, definitely not Mu Dishi's, but a young woman. He quickly pulled his hand back, looking at the woman with cold anger. "Who taught you the Guzheng tune?"
The young woman, flustered, replied, "I taught myself."
Ma Jingguo pulled a gold ingot from his sleeve, presenting it as both bribe and threat. "Tell the truth, this gold ingot belongs to you. If you tell lies, everyone on stage, including you, will die." He stared at her, his white hair framing his intense gaze. "Who taught you the Guzheng tune?"
The woman's resolve broke. "Wen da ge, in Wu Village."
Ma Jingguo's heartbeat quickened with a new, frantic hope. "This Wen da ge, is he very handsome, with long silky black hair? Does he have a pair of phoenix eyes, and is his martial arts also very high, right?"
"No," she corrected, confused. "He is a handsome man, but Wen da ge is not good at martial arts."
"How come?" Ma Jingguo demanded.
The young woman explained plainly. "Wen da ge is a one-armed man."
Ma Jingguo's expression went rigid. "Can you take me to see him?" He pulled out his entire money bag and pressed it into the young woman's hands. "Take me to see him, this bag of money is yours."
The young lady agreed and led Ma Jingguo to Wu Village, not far from Li Village. Ma Jingguo felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with the environment. The layout of the small house they approached looked unsettlingly like his and Mu Dishi's home in Tianshan.
The young woman pointed. "Wen da ge lives here." She asked tentatively, "Can I leave now?"
Ma Jingguo smiled, a deep, genuine happiness dawning in his eyes for the first time in years. "Thank you, mienü."
He happily walked into the house, straight into the kitchen, and gently placed a basket of food he had brought by the stove. He immediately began to wash the vegetables, falling into a domestic routine he thought was lost forever.
Li Howin, utterly confused, whispered to the woman who had become his ally. "Yuan jiejie, what is the chief doing? This is the first time I saw the chief cook happily."
Yuan Chaomei shook her head, cautioning him. "Don't bother him."
It took Ma Jingguo nearly three hours of intensely focused labor to cook all of Mu Dishi's favorite dishes. He carefully placed the four exquisite dishes, along with two bowls of rice, on the table. He sat patiently, waiting, his heart filled with a fragile, desperate hope.
But the minutes dragged on, and there was no sign of the one-armed man. Ma Jingguo's anger began to simmer. He finally commanded his followers to search the entire area. As darkness fell, there was still no sign of the mysterious resident. Yuan Chaomei reported the frustrating findings.
"I'm sorry, we searched everywhere, and even the people in the village confirmed that Wen da ge comes and goes like a ghost. I don't think this person is Mu gongzi."
Ma Jingguo's voice was firm, bordering on desperate insistence. "Chaomei, I'm not crazy, I knew that the person living here is xiao shushu." He looked at her, searching for belief. "The guzheng tune played in the inn was the one xiao shushu taught me to play when he was practicing the Killer Strings. In this world, there are only two people who know this tune. One is me... the other is xiao shushu..."
Yuan Chaomei gently reminded him of the painful detail. "Chief, but everyone said that the person living in this house is a one-armed person. If it is a one-armed person, that person is definitely not Mu gongzi."
The logic was undeniable. Ma Jingguo knew the high possibility that this was not Mu Dishi; he had, after all, buried his beloved's bones himself. He stood up, forcing himself to let go of the phantom hope. His duty called: he had to save his shifu. "I will save shifu first," he muttered, and began leading his followers away.
A moment after Ma Jingguo and his men vanished, a weak and pale sick man walked to the small house. He gently set his bamboo basket down and stared at the four different dishes on the table. He walked to the table and slowly removed the plate covering the food with his right hand. The dishes were garlic tofu, mustard green with pork belly, and vegetable stir-fry. The weak and pale man stared at the food, then slowly walked away, his heart full of complex emotions.
Not too long after he left, another man casually walked in and sat down at the table. He picked up the bowl of rice and chopsticks and began to ravenously eat the leftover, untouched food. This man was Wang Biming.
An old woman rushed in, calling out. "Ah Wan... Ah Wan…"
Wang Biming looked up, a familiar smile on his face. "Wu ayi, what's wrong?"
"Someone was here looking for Wen da ge," the old woman panted.
Wang Biming continued eating. "Wen da ge should be here."
"I haven't seen him."
Wang Biming gestured to the food. "He should be home soon. You see, he has already cooked for me."
The old woman worriedly reminded him. "Ah Wan, Wen da ge only has one arm, don't treat him badly."
Wang Biming smiled coldly. "I have never treated him badly; he has always been bad to me."
The old woman, satisfied by his smile, eased her concern. "It's true what you said. It's late, I'm going to bed now."
The young woman burst back into the inn, panting heavily. She was betting on a big payday. "Chief Xin, chief Xin, Wen da ge is home! Wen da ge is home!"
Ma Jingguo, however, ignored her, pulling Li Howin into his arms for a long, possessive kiss. After they parted, he finally looked at the young woman.
She repeated, breathless with urgency, "Wen da ge is home!"
Ma Jingguo's voice was cold and dismissive. "Look, lady, I have better things to do. You leave before my men kill you." He leaned in to kiss Li Howin again.
One of Ma Jingguo's guards grabbed the woman's arm and began dragging her to the door. "Get out," the guard sternly ordered.
Desperate, the young woman craned her neck and shouted at a figure she saw briefly at the entrance. "Wen da ge!"
Ma Jingguo's head snapped toward the door, and in that instant, he saw them: those icy phoenix eyes flashing past him. The stare sent a sudden, profound chill down his spine. He violently shoved Li Howin to the ground and rushed toward the door. Wen da ge's agility was blinding—perhaps faster than Ma Jingguo himself. Ma Jingguo's fingertips only managed to brush the fleeing man's smooth, silky hair.
Ma Jingguo ran out into the dark streets; his eyes fixed on the figure running and hopping across the rooftops. He quickly flew up to the rooftop and began his frantic chase. They flew from roof to roof, a desperate dance of shadows. At the edge of the last house, Wen da ge leaped up, threw three golden needles at Ma Jingguo, and vanished off the roof. Ma Jingguo snatched the needles from the air and flew down, but the rooftop was empty. Wen da ge was gone.
Ma Jingguo searched the area frantically. He dropped to his knees in the street, his voice raw with despair. "Xiao shushu… Please come out… Xiao shushu… I really miss you… please come out!" He wept. "Xiao shushu, please come out. I just want to see you."
Wen da ge walked slowly toward the small house, spitting up blood. Just as he was about to fall, Wang Biming appeared, catching him and steadying him.
Wang Biming said softly, his voice laced with concern, "Dishi…" He wiped the blood from Mu Dishi's lips with his handkerchief. "You know very well that you shouldn't use your inner energy. Are you injured elsewhere?"
Mu Dishi didn't answer, his face drawn.
Wang Biming pressed him with a cruel sincerity. "Seeing with your own eyes, are you willing to accept it now?" He looked at Mu Dishi's pale, handsome face. "Dishi, no one in this world loves you more than I love you. He said he will love you a hundred times more than I love you, but within a year, he has forgotten you."
Mu Dishi pulled away from Wang Biming's hand with cold detachment.
Wang Biming pleaded softly. "Follow me back to Tibet. We can live peacefully, raising cattle and sheep."
Mu Dishi's reply was glacial. "Wang Biming, you are still alive because you saved me. You only have ten years left to live. You should spend it wisely instead of trying to convince me to go back with you."
Wang Biming's sacrifice was absolute. "I would rather stay by your side for ten years and let you kill me at that time. At least it's worth it."
Mu Dishi looked at him with indifference. "Whatever." He pushed Wang Biming's hand away and disappeared into the back forest.
Wang Biming watched him leave, a deep sigh escaping his lips. "You can come out now."