The air was heavy and chill as Mu Dishi burst through the thick woods, the snapping of twigs underfoot muffled only by the low, constant roar of the flowing river. He quickly stripped his soiled clothes, the damp night air instantly chilling his skin, and stepped into the water. The river was a sheet of black silk reflecting the sparse, cold moonlight, the current moving fast against his body as he immersed himself.
His mind was a storm of unwanted words and bitter truths, his body burning with feverish pain, and his heart felt weighted down by an unbearable sadness. He hadn't cried since the death of his own family, yet he wept now, the sudden, hot tears stinging his eyes as they mingled with the icy river water, all of it for Ma Jingguo. Closing his eyes against the night, he slowly began to circulate his internal energy. With a quiet hiss, dark, poisoned blood began to drip sluggishly from the half-rotted wound on his upper left arm, dissolving instantly into the cold, dark flow of the river.
"Jingguo..." The name was a painful murmur on Mu Dishi's lips.
It was the fierce thought of refusing to leave Ma Jingguo that had genuinely pulled him back from the brink of death. Now, the memory was a source of anguish. Had he known Ma Jingguo would be happy without him, he would have gladly chosen eternal sleep, holding onto the sweet dream of his family. He should have left this cruel world long ago. Instead, he was stuck, still reliving the past.
He still remembered the day with agonizing clarity: Death had come to visit him. His body, finally giving in, was already following the silent footsteps of those who came to usher him across to the other side—a place where pain could no longer touch him.
Inside the dark, vast tunnel, with only the distant, hollow echo of a waterfall on his right, his mother's voice grew louder, clearer, as if she were speaking right next to his ear.
"Dishi..." Mu Ai whispered. She reached out her hand, and Mu Dishi, consumed by yearning, reached back and grasped it.
He suddenly found himself walking towards the Mu Village, radiant and full of life, when a familiar, desperate voice pierced the illusion, stopping him cold.
"Xiao Shushu, are you leaving me behind again?" Ma Jingguo shouted, his voice cracking.
"Jingguo, I am going home," Mu Dishi replied, his own voice heavy with grief.
Ma Jingguo's eyes were filled with desperate tears; he stood utterly alone. "Xiao Shushu, if you are going home with them, who am I going to go home with?"
Mu Dishi looked at his parents, his sister, and Mu Jiao Long. Then he looked at Ma Jingguo, isolated and streaming tears.
Ma Jingguo's plea was a knife edge of pain: "Xiao Shushu, can you please not hurt me before you will care for me?"
With a soft, wrenching gasp, Mu Dishi slowly pulled his hand away from his mother's. "Mother, I'm sorry. I can't leave Jingguo behind."
Mu Ai smiled, understanding yet sad. "We are leaving now."
He watched his family smile one last time, walking with the others toward the vibrant Mu Village. But the instant he turned back to look at Ma Jingguo, an excruciating pain slammed into his chest.
He gasped for air, forcing several shaky breaths before his eyelids fluttered open. The terrible reality rushed back: vital, dark blood dripped slowly onto his lap. He was alive, but the nightmare had just begun.
He knew in his heart that he had narrowly escaped death. He stripped off his outermost clothes and Honglei's sheathed blade, tossing them onto the ground before walking to the edge of the tunnel and jumping into the water.
From that moment on, his memory was blank until Miao Mingzhu came to wake him. It was then he learned that Wang Biming had rescued him from the water and used eighty percent of his own internal strength to stabilize the poison in Mu Dishi's left arm.
Miao Mingzhu explained the grim regimen: every seventh day, Mu Dishi would have to slowly use his inner strength to force the toxin out. However, the poison would continue to damage his flesh until he was completely detoxified.
When Mu Dishi realized he was strong enough to continue the healing process himself, he immediately left Wang Biming and Miao Mingzhu. Driven by a desperate need for confirmation, he returned to the river and searched for Ma Jingguo but found nothing. He stayed in the village at the foot of the mountain for four grueling months. Every time he heard that villagers had found a dead martial artist by the river, he would drag his sickly body out to look, fearing the worst, yet desperately hoping for a corpse.
Finally accepting the news that Ma Jingguo was dead, Mu Dishi decided to return to Wu Village to complete his recovery and begin planning his vengeance against Fu Yuanjun.
But little did he know, when he arrived home last night, his favorite dishes were sitting neatly on the table. Thinking it was a mistake, he rushed to the inn where they usually stayed when passing through Li Village. Instead of Ma Jingguo's lonely and sad face, he heard loud laughter and music. He did not see Ma Jingguo mourning him; instead, he saw him enjoying himself and kissing another man in his arms.
At that moment, Mu Dishi knew the crushing truth: a promise was nothing but a hollow breath between the lips. He wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth, rose, and finished dressing. Of all the people who had hurt him in the past, no one had inflicted more pain than Ma Jingguo. Ma Jingguo was the only person Mu Dishi had ever been willing to change for, the only one for whom he had toned down his coldness. Ma Jingguo had begged to be his equal, and Mu Dishi had willingly granted it. The depth of his love only made the deceit that much more painful.
Back in the cave, when he told Ma Jingguo in the tunnel that he wanted them to go home, he had been completely sincere. Upon leaving the cave, he would have happily let Ma Jingguo lead the way, following wherever he wanted to go. But seeing Ma Jingguo happily kissing another man tonight delivered the ultimate, crushing realization: people who were close to him always came with a dark purpose.
In his life, Mu Dishi felt the people around him had hurt him again and again, stripping away his trust bit by bit until he was left with nothing. Every painful revelation, every hollow promise, had slowly chipped away at the foundation of his faith, leaving him isolated and cold. The raw agony inflicted by Ma Jingguo's deceit was simply the final, definitive blow, severing any remaining tie to the Central Plains and the flawed people who inhabited it. He finally understood his destiny: to live out his days alone, a solitary existence free from the risk of betrayal. With this cold, final realization settled, he knew it was time to go home—to the safe, familiar solace of his remote, hidden mountain—and vowed he would never set foot in the Central Plains again.
Ma Jingguo stayed up all night, sitting rigid and facing the gate, patiently waiting for Mu Dishi. When the birds began their morning chorus and the sun's warm rays started to thaw his cold skin, he finally accepted the truth about Mu Dishi: a person waiting for an explanation would be waiting forever if Mu Dishi believed he had been wronged. His total absence since last night was a definitive rejection of any apology.
Sinking into a deep despair, he took the untouched dishes from the table and washed them. He then made a solitary breakfast and continued his desperate vigil. It was almost noon when Yuan Chaomei finally walked through the door.
"Chief, everyone is ready and waiting for you," Yuan Chaomei said, her voice urgent but gentle.
Ma Jingguo kept his gaze fixed on the doorway, shaking his head. "Chaomei, I won't leave until I see Xiao Shushu."
Yuan Chaomei sat down across from him. "Chief, you know Mu Gongzi. If he doesn't want to see you, he won't let you see him." She immediately offered a solution. "I'll post a guard here. If Mu Gongzi returns, you'll know instantly."
Ma Jingguo finally gave in. He went to the kitchen, grabbed a piece of coal, and returned to the table. His hand trembled slightly as he wrote on the wooden surface: 'Xiao Shushu, please wait for me when you come home. After I save Shifu, I will come to see you.'"
His duty overriding his despair, he looked up at Yuan Chaomei. "Let's go save Shifu."
He sighed, stood up, and walked out of the gate. He paused, turning back to look at the house one last time before walking away.