It was nearly midnight when Mu Dishi slowly opened his eyes. He looked to the right and saw Ma Jingguo sitting on the floor, his head resting heavily on the edge of the bed, his hand tightly clutching Mu Dishi's right hand. Mu Dishi stared at Ma Jingguo's sleeping face for a long time before he slowly tried to pull his hand away, but Ma Jingguo's grip instantly tightened.
"Xiao shushu, let me hold your hand for a little while longer," Ma Jingguo murmured softly.
Mu Dishi realized Ma Jingguo hadn't been asleep. He angrily yanked his hand away, turned slowly to the left, and faced the stone wall.
Ma Jingguo quietly rose and lay down on the bed behind him. He stretched out his arms and wrapped Mu Dishi tightly in a deep embrace, then gently kissed the back of Mu Dishi's head. "Xiao shushu, I have missed you so intensely," he confessed. "I missed you to the point that sometimes, I felt completely suffocated."
"Remove your arms from me," Mu Dishi demanded.
"No," Ma Jingguo insisted, his arms tightening further. "I will hold you until I am satisfied. This will make up for the many days I spent holding the unknown skeleton I tragically believed was you in that tunnel."
Mu Dishi let out a light, humorless chuckle.
Ma Jingguo gently turned Mu Dishi's body back around. "Xiao shushu, don't lie on your left side," he instructed, his tone suddenly serious. "I know that the rotten flesh hurts." He propped himself up and stared down at Mu Dishi. Even though Mu Dishi's face was pale from pain, he was still undeniably handsome in Ma Jingguo's adoring eyes. Ma Jingguo slowly stroked Mu Dishi's left cheek with his right hand, then lowered his head and kissed Mu Dishi's lips.
A sudden, sharp pain shot through his lip. "Xiao shushu, it hurts... please let go..."
Mu Dishi bit down harder, tasting the blood in his mouth. Even so, he refused to release his bite.
Ma Jingguo grunted loudly in pain. "You are angry that I kissed Howin, and I can understand that," he said through the pain. "But after you bite off my lower lip, how will I ever be able to kiss you again?"
Hearing that, Mu Dishi bit down even harder. Ma Jingguo responded by licking Mu Dishi's lips, simultaneously slipping his right-hand down Mu Dishi's pants toward his member. Mu Dishi immediately let go of Ma Jingguo's lips and grabbed his intrusive hand.
"What are you doing?" Mu Dishi asked coldly.
Ma Jingguo let out a painful snort, and a trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his lips onto Mu Dishi's face. "Are you really going to bite off my lips?" he asked, his voice shaking.
Ma Jingguo then lowered his head and licked the blood from Mu Dishi's cheek. He slowly guided his tongue to Mu Dishi's lips and began kissing him again, deeper this time.
After a tense moment, Mu Dishi finally pulled away. "Clean up the wound," he ordered. "Stay away from me." He turned back to face the wall.
Ma Jingguo immediately turned to the left and wrapped Mu Dishi tightly in his arms again. "Xiao shushu, I want to stay away from you, but I simply cannot do it," he confessed. "Every day without you was painful and full of loneliness. I'm sorry... I kissed another person, but if I recall correctly, you once told me that if you died, you wanted me to live happily because there were many people willing to lie beside me?"
"You said that even if many people were willing to lie next to you, you were not willing!" Mu Dishi retorted angrily, pulling his body closer to the wall.
Ma Jingguo chuckled, a sound of pure delight. "Xiao shushu, I never thought there would be a day when I would see you get jealous of me." He hugged Mu Dishi tighter. "I am very happy."
"Let me go," Mu Dishi insisted. "I want to sleep in a different room. I do not want to sleep on the same bed that you held your other person."
"I never let anyone into this room," Ma Jingguo countered. "You are the first person I have hugged on this bed."
"Then you get out," Mu Dishi shot back, "and go hold your other person in his bed."
Ma Jingguo chuckled again, deciding to push his luck. "Xiao shushu, in this case, I was not wrong. I genuinely thought you were dead. If one of us must apologize, it should be you." He continued, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper. "Also, I never slept with anyone. The last time I had sex was back in Mu Village with xiao shushu. My body is as pure as it was when we separated on that bamboo bed. Thinking of this, Xiao shushu, let us have sex."
Mu Dishi tried to break free, but he was powerless. He felt as though his internal strength was completely drained from his body.
Ma Jingguo held him fast. "Don't even try," he warned. "The name Lighter Than a Feather is not a joke."
"You used Lighter Than a Feather on me for revenge, didn't you?" Mu Dishi demanded, mad with frustration.
"I didn't know that Xiao Shushu had used 'Lighter Than a Feather' on me before," Ma Jingguo replied, mocking Mu Dishi for he once had drudged him back in Sword Village before his Mu Treasure Cave expedition.
Mu Dishi ground his teeth. "Liar."
Ma Jingguo's tone became intensely emotional. "Xiao shushu, if there was one liar on that day, that person was you, not me. At the time, I knew you put something in the burnt congee, but I was still willing to gamble that you loved me enough to stop me from drinking it." His voice dropped, raw with remembered pain. "Then I realized you had no intention of stopping me, and I was deeply hurt. I somehow hoped the congee was poisonous because I didn't want to live anymore. When I saw Wang Biming walk by the door, I was so angry. I thought: why would you choose him instead of me?" Mu Dishi felt the trembling anger in Ma Jingguo's breath. "Xiao shushu, do you remember what I told you that day? If you walk out that door with Wang Biming... I will make you two suffer a hundred times more than what you did to me."
"Jingguo," Mu Dishi asked, trying to change the tone. "Are you still practicing the Devil Fists Manual?"
"Yes," Ma Jingguo confirmed.
"You know the effects of that manual, don't you?"
"I do," Ma Jingguo said.
"Then why do you still practice it?" Mu Dishi pressed.
"Shifu said that I need someone to use their internal force to release the Eight Extraordinary Meridians inside my body," Ma Jingguo explained.
"Give me the antidote and I will do that for you," Mu Dishi offered.
Ma Jingguo smiled, then suddenly changed the subject entirely. "Xiao shushu, Howin is a little like you, so that's why I kept him by my side, but since you are back, he has no reason to stay with me. Just let me hold you like this for tonight because I really, really miss you."
"Don't change the subject," Mu Dishi insisted.
Ma Jingguo simply kissed the back of Mu Dishi's head. "Good night, xiao shushu."
When Mu Dishi woke up, it was still early morning; the rooster hadn't crowed yet.
He found himself nestled tightly inside Ma Jingguo's arms. It had been years since Ma Jingguo had hugged him, yet he felt profoundly comfortable and had slept soundly throughout the night. He felt Ma Jingguo slowly kiss the back of his head.
"Xiao shushu, it's morning," Ma Jingguo murmured.
"Then get up," Mu Dishi said.
"I don't want to open my eyes," Ma Jingguo replied, his voice sleepy and genuine. "There were too many times I dreamed of holding xiao shushu, but when I opened my eyes, I was only holding the pillow."
"Does your lower lip still hurt?" Mu Dishi asked.
"Yes," Ma Jingguo confirmed.
"Then it's not a dream."
Ma Jingguo kissed the side of Mu Dishi's temple. He felt the soreness on his lip, but his heart was full of happiness. He teased, "Xiao shushu, do you want to take a bath together?" He chuckled lightly, then quickly tapped Mu Dishi's back twice.
Mu Dishi gritted his teeth. "Ma Jingguo!"
Ma Jingguo smiled and kissed Mu Dishi on his forehead. "Xiao shushu, go to sleep and wait for me. I have a meeting to attend."
Ma Jingguo walked into the large conference hall of the Mangsha Sector, and every single person present stared at him. He knew that countless questions were racing through their minds, but no one dared to speak.
Ma Jingguo sat down and surveyed his subordinates. "You may be wondering why I released all the captured martial artists," he began. He paused for dramatic effect. "The reason is simple. The person currently sleeping in my courtyard is indeed the fearsome Mu Dishi. He is worth more than all those useless martial artists combined."
Yuan Zixin quickly challenged him. "Chief, even if it is him, that does not mean he will fight for us. Many years ago, I tried to persuade him, but he refused to help us."
"He doesn't need to fight for us," Ma Jingguo stated, dismissing the concern. "We keep him for peace of mind. As long as he remains within the Sunset Sector, no martial artist will dare to attack us." He then stood up. "This is one of the announcements. Another announcement is that I will appoint my successor. After many days of careful thought and analysis, I have chosen who will lead this sect."
A wave of low muttering swept through the meeting hall. "The only person likely to become the successor is Leader Yuan," many whispered, referring to Yuan Zixin.
Ma Jingguo continued, smiling faintly. "Thinking about it carefully, the founder of the Sunset Sect was a Yuan, and the leadership seat should be returned to the Yuan clan."
Everyone in the meeting hall seemed to agree with this historical sentiment. Since there were not many people surnamed Yuan in the Sunset Sect, everyone knew that Yuan Zixin would most likely be the next successor.
Ma Jingguo smiled broadly. "My successor will be Yuan Chaomei. My right-hand guard will be Tong Keung, and my left-hand guard will be Si Meifeng." He took obvious satisfaction in seeing Yuan Zixin's disappointed look. "Does anyone object? Speak now."
Everyone remained silent. Yuan Zixin simply stared at Ma Jingguo with bitter fury.
"If there is no objection," Ma Jingguo concluded, his smirk widening as he looked at Yuan Zixin, "then everyone kneels down and congratulates your new successors."