The shadows of the trees swallowed Wang Biming and Miao Mingzhu as they turned their backs on the raging figure of Ma Jingguo. They moved not with grace, but with frantic purpose, the dry leaves beneath their feet crackling a frantic rhythm of escape. Wang Biming, his breath ragged and chest aching from the raw power of the Devil Fists, leaned heavily on his shimei, yet a faint, chilling smirk played on his lips. They were fleeing vengeance, yes, but in Wang Biming's eyes, he'd just won the first, crucial move in a lethal game, leaving the heartbroken madman exactly where he wanted him: obsessed, wounded, and now convinced of Mu Dishi's location.
Holding onto Wang Biming's arm supporting him, Miao Mingzhu said, "Da shixiong, it seems like Mu Dishi will not forgive you."
Wang Biming said, "He won't forgive me. Dishi is the kind of person who really hates a person once he hates that person. It's not his fault. It's my fault. My decision is the reason he left me."
Miao Mingzhu, "Da shixiong, you also helped him. He should be considerate. Without you, he might have died long ago. Do you remember?"
Wang Biming stared up at the bright, full moon, its cold light triggering a powerful rush of memories: the moment he traded his internal strength for Mu Dishi's life and a fragile hope of repairing their fractured past.
After escaping the Mu Treasure Cave, Wang Biming watched the Gu guards drag Ma Jingguo away. Once they were out of sight, he rushed back to the river. There, he found Mu Dishi, his upper body lying on a rock, his legs submerged in the frigid water. Wang Biming quickly pulled him completely out.
Mu Dishi murmured a single, desperate word. "Jingguo…"
Wang Biming held him tightly, his lips trembling. "Dishi, I am here." His voice was laced with panic. "Dishi, how come there is so much blood?" He kissed Mu Dishi's forehead. "I won't let you die." He picked up the injured man and carried him toward Miao Mingzhu.
Miao Mingzhu looked grave. "He is dying…" She checked him quickly. "He is poisoned by the seven colors pill."
"Save him!" Wang Biming commanded.
Miao Mingzhu shook her head, refusing to help Mu Dishi. "Da Shixiong!" she shouted, her voice laced with incredulity. "Are you out of your mind? Mu Dishi vowed he will kill you for betraying your Shifu and the Mu Village. Saving him is like saving an enemy who is aiming at your life! I refuse to save him and then worry about when he will come for your life. I would be much happier knowing he is dead!"
Wang Biming's resolve was absolute. "Mingzhu, I have never asked anything of you. I have done a lot of things that hurt him, and it's not wrong for him to hate me. I accept the fact that he sees me as his enemy, but for me, he will always be my Dishi. Please save him."
Miao Mingzhu looked at Wang Biming pitifully, her anger draining away to weary resignation. She finally sighed, "I will try my best."
They found an abandoned little house. Wang Biming gently placed Mu Dishi on the dusty, dirty bed. After examining and treating the wounds, Miao Mingzhu walked back to Wang Biming.
"Da shixiong, Mu Dishi has alleviated the poison, but the poison is still flowing in his body."
"What should we do?" Wang Biming asked immediately.
"If someone can use their internal energy to stabilize the poison in his arm, someone can slowly detoxify it bit by bit—but only in the first fifteen days."
"Why?"
"He is seriously injured now. If he uses his own internal strength, he may die. Therefore, in the first fifteen days, someone must use their internal energy to help him."
"What are we waiting for," Wang Biming said, already moving.
Miao Mingzhu was stunned. "Da shixiong, you are not being serious?"
"I am really serious right now."
"Da shixiong, to use your inner strength to save him means that after fifteen days, your inner strength will be completely exhausted. It will take four months to recover all the lost internal strength. You have to think about it carefully."
"I already have," Wang Biming stated.
Miao Mingzhu frowned, her frustration clear. "Da shixiong, why would you do this for someone who sees you as an enemy?"
Wang Biming's gaze was tender but unwavering. "Meimei, even if Dishi says he hates me and wants to kill me, I know he can't let himself harm me. If we fight, he might hurt me to vent his anger, but he will never kill me."
"Why are you so sure?"
"When you love someone to the same degree as they love you, you can see what they are thinking."
Miao Mingzhu countered sharply. "Shixiong, that was the case back then. The person that Mu Dishi likes now is not you."
Wang Biming gently placed Mu Dishi in a lotus pose and sat behind him, preparing his stance. "Back then and now, there is no difference, because we used to love each other. I grew up with Dishi, and no one knows him better than me. I know that deep in his heart, there is always a special place for me." He placed his palms against Mu Dishi's back. "Meimei, let's start."
On the third day, Mu Dishi regained consciousness, the poison slowly being expelled thanks to Wang Biming's internal energy. He tried to leave immediately but was stopped by Miao Mingzhu.
Miao Mingzhu warned him plainly. "You can go, but if you go, you will die."
Mu Dishi's reply was icy. "I would rather die than owe you anything."
Wang Biming walked in with a bowl of brewed medicine. He looked at Miao Mingzhu. "Meimei, I want to talk to Dishi privately." Miao Mingzhu, frustrated, hurried out.
Wang Biming placed the medicine in front of Mu Dishi, sitting across from him with a smile. "Dishi, drink this medicine."
"I don't want to owe you anything," Mu Dishi repeated.
Wang Biming maintained his gentle smile. "I know you don't want to owe me anything. I just ask for another eleven days. After the eleventh day, I won't stop you from leaving."
Mu Dishi asked coldly, "Why?"
"Because of the Seven Color Poisons. I will help you stabilize the poison in your arms, and then you will have to slowly use your inner strength to force the poison out by yourself."
"Why should I accept your help?"
Wang Biming's smile turned regretful. "I don't want to owe you anything. Take this as an apology for pouring half of the poison into your food on your fifteenth birthday."
Mu Dishi looked at him, his conditions unforgiving. "If you help me now, it doesn't mean that I will forgive you completely. I will give you ten years and let you enjoy your life. Ten years from now, I will come for your life."
Wang Biming's face softened with acceptance. "Well, whatever you want."
On the eleventh day, Wang Biming was so weak he could barely keep his eyes open after the prolonged use of his internal energy. Early the next morning, the twelfth day, he dragged himself to see Mu Dishi, but the room was empty. Mu Dishi was already gone.
Wang Biming sat in the empty room. Deep down, he had still held onto a sliver of hope that his sacrifice would make Mu Dishi stay. Mu Dishi's actions, however, firmly drew a stark boundary between them.
As the moonlight continued beaming down, Wang Biming was lost in thought. The memories of the days he spent with Mu Dishi, though short, felt worth the cost. Although he was now forced to part from Mu Dishi, he felt a perverse satisfaction. He had successfully turned Ma Jingguo's cat-and-mouse game against him by luring Mu Dishi here, allowing him to witness Ma Jingguo's rage against his "collection."
Miao Mingzhu turned to look at Wang Biming when she heard him let out a soft chuckle. "Da Shixiong, should we go back to Tibet or Wang Manor?" she asked, awaiting his decision.
"Let's go back to Wang Manor," Wang Biming decided.
Miao Mingzhu frowned, her voice tinged with exasperation. "Da shixiong, are you sure? Last time we were going back to Wang Manor, but as soon as you knew Mu Dishi was in Wu Village, you came here to see him." She sighed. "What a pity?"
Wang Biming turned to face her, a sharp look in his eyes. "What a pity? I am not the pity one here."
Miao Mingzhu became excited. "Oh, who is the one?"
Wang Biming smiled, a malicious twist to his lips. "Of course, that person is Ma Jingguo... the new chief of Sunset Sect!"
Miao Mingzhu's eyes widened. "You have known for a long time that Ma Jingguo is the chief of Sunset Sect?"
"Yes."
"Did you deliberately bring Mu Dishi here on purpose to let him witness Ma Jingguo's actions?"
Wang Biming's smile was bitter and absolute. "Yes. What I can't own, others can't own."
Miao Mingzhu stared at him. "Da shixiong, how scary! You are a very scary person."
Wang Biming simply chuckled. "Meimei, there are people who are much scarier than me. I just want to take back what belongs to me. But this person takes what belongs to others."
"Who is this person?"
"You will know soon," Wang Biming promised, his eyes full of future vengeance.
They resumed walking, disappearing entirely into the black folds of the night. Behind them, the small, solitary house in the wilderness stood silent under the indifferent moon, now the center of a newly ignited, deadly triangle. Wang Biming had sacrificed his safety, but he had finally ensured that his rival, his enemy, and his beloved were all precisely where he needed them to be.