In the east wing of the Mangsha Sect, Yong Caixia kicked the door open with a resounding crash and found Yan Zhanjin inside, visibly shaken but otherwise unharmed. She quickly seized his hand and dragged him out the door. She swiftly dispatched two surprised Sunset Sect disciples and continued to drag Yan Zhanjin toward the exit, followed by ten loyal Sword Village disciples.
Yan Zhanjin panted heavily, struggling to keep up. "Caixia, stop," he gasped, taking a deep breath. "I need to catch my breath."
Yong Caixia stopped and released his hand. "You need to practice more," she said pointedly.
One of the disciples ran over, still panting heavily. "Shimei, what about Da Shixiong?"
"He's not with you?" Yong Caixia asked, her voice instantly sharp with alarm.
"No..." the disciple replied.
Another disciple stumbled into the group, almost completely out of breath. He said worriedly, "Not good..."
"What's wrong?" Yong Caixia demanded.
"Da Shixiong was taken away by Demon Xin!" the disciple revealed.
"What? How did that happen?" Yong Caixia asked, stunned.
The disciple explained quickly, "We were trying to save Mu shizun. When we got there, two people were already fighting with Demon Xin. One of them saved Mu shizun and disappeared over the wall. Da Shixiong was injured and captured by Demon Xin."
Yan Zhanjin immediately looked frantic. "We have to go back and save da ge. At this rate, Demon Xin's rage must have been overboard. Since someone successfully rescued shizun, Demon Xin will definitely kill da ge." He turned and looked at Caixia. "Who are the other two members who showed up?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Yong Caixia replied dismissively.
"Weren't you working together on this rescue mission?" Yan Zhanjin pressed.
"No. Apart from Sword Village, we didn't know who else would come to save shizun and you," she clarified. "I was here only to save you. Da ge went to save shizun."
"Who were the other two?" Yan Zhanjin repeated, frustrated by her avoidance.
Yong Caixia shook her head. "Let's go back and regroup. If da ge is captured, there is not much we can do for him right now. We need to find shizun. He is our only hope to save da ge"
The late-night wind whipped across their faces as Cao Wenyan carried the immobilized Mu Dishi down the winding mountain path. Following close behind them were the Yao brothers and ten members of the Sunset Sect. The Yao brothers rushed forward, successfully blocking Cao Wenyan's path.
"Cao gongzi, let me down," Mu Dishi requested.
Cao Wenyan ignored him, focusing on blocking the Yao brothers' initial attacks with quick, deft kicks. He immediately escaped to the left, breaking free of their encirclement. When the Yao brothers pounced at Cao Wenyan again, three figures—Red Mice, Green Mice, and Black Mice—suddenly materialized to intercept the two brothers' attacks.
"Gongzi, you go," Red Mice instructed. "We will deal with these two rats."
Black Mice sprinted forward, attacking Yao Huo with his metal claw, while Green Mice engaged Yao Hu with his double-edged dagger. Red Mice rushed directly toward the ten Sunset Sect members to keep them pinned down.
When Cao Wenyan finally reached the foot of the mountain, he saw a carriage waiting, attended by three servants. Only then did Cao Wenyan carefully put down Mu Dishi and unlock his acupuncture points.
"Mu Gongzi, your old clothes are in the carriage. Go and change," Cao Wenyan said, offering a faint smile.
Mu Dishi walked into the carriage, and after a short while, he emerged neatly dressed in the familiar clothes he had left with Cao Wenyan years earlier.
Mu Dishi looked at Cao Wenyan and stated simply, "I'm going back."
Cao Wenyan was stunned. "Mu Gongzi, I saved you; you've already escaped. Why would you go back?"
"Cao gongzi, thank you for saving me," Mu Dishi said. "I'm going back."
"Returning to that Demon Xin is like walking directly into the fire," Cao Wenyan argued, desperate.
Mu Dishi shook his head. "I don't care what people call him, but to me, he is still the Jingguo I have always known."
Cao Wenyan urgently took Mu Dishi's hands in his own. "Mu gongzi, go with me. Follow me to Beixing Sect. I can assure you that I will love and cherish you just as much as Ma Jingguo."
Mu Dishi gently pulled his hands away. "Thank you for everything but taking me to Beixing Sect gives Jingguo a reason to burn your sect to the ground. I don't want that to happen to you." He smiled warmly at Cao Wenyan. "Cao gongzi, over the years, I have cherished your friendship very much. Since the death of my parents, besides Jingguo, you are another person who is very important to me. I hope our friendship will always remain like this."
Hearing Mu Dishi's reason for rejecting his love, Cao Wenyan was instantly heartbroken, yet he willingly understood and accepted the finality of the decision. Cao Wenyan watched silently as Mu Dishi slowly walked back up the mountain path toward the Mangsha Sect.
Inside the Mangsha Sect prison, Yong Taihua was slammed hard onto the concrete floor, the impact making him cough up blood. Ma Jingguo strode in, his eyes blazing with fury, and pinched Yong Taihua violently by the throat.
"Where did Wang Biming take my xiao shushu?" Ma Jingguo demanded, his voice a low, dangerous growl.
Yong Taihua glared back, refusing to be intimidated. "Even if you kill me, I won't tell you." He smiled grimly. "You dare to kill me? After I die, shizun will certainly come to avenge me."
Ma Jingguo squeezed harder. "Do you dare to provoke me by mentioning my xiao shushu?" His hands tightened brutally on Yong Taihua's throat, and the prisoner began to choke. Suddenly, the image of Chen Dandan dying in his arms flashed before him. Ma Jingguo abruptly threw Yong Taihua to the ground, breathing heavily. "Lock him up!" Ma Jingguo barked as he stalked out, consumed by rage. "No food! No water! Not until he tells me where xiao shushu is!"
"Demon Ma, I am not afraid of you!" Yong Taihua shouted, defiant even as he gasped for air.
"You should be afraid," Yuan Chaomei said calmly as she entered the prison room. She waved away the two disciples who had just chained Yong Taihua's hands.
"Yong gongzi, let's be honest. You are still alive only because the Chief promised Chen guniang he would not hurt you or Yan gongzi. You, of all people, should know that the Chief has a singular, strong affection for Mu gongzi. Anyone who tries to take Mu gongzi away from the Chief is his enemy." She sighed. "Yong gongzi, do you really want to watch Sword Village be burned to ashes because of your stubbornness?"
Yong Taihua stared at her with contempt. "I don't understand you. How could a person like you end up with that demon?"
Yuan Chaomei frowned. "And I don't understand people like you either. You make judgments based only on what you see in front of you, but you fail to use your brain to sort through the whole situation." She sat down in front of Yong Taihua. "Have any of you ever asked the Chief for his explanation?"
Yong Taihua gnashed his teeth. "There is no reason to ask! I saw him strike Dandan with my own eyes!"
"It doesn't matter if you believe it or not," Yuan Chaomei said, her voice dropping. "But honestly, it was I who found Chen guniang's body."
"What do you mean?" Yong Taihua demanded.
Yuan Chaomei recalled her memories with precision. "That day, the Chief and I were going to bring a wedding gift to Chen guniang. Instead, we found Lui gongzi, badly injured, in front of the Mu Village stone border on the roadside. We checked on him; apart from a broken collarbone, he had no other severe injuries. He was frantic. He told the Chief that a masked man had carried Chen guniang up to Mu Village. The Chief rushed up, and I followed immediately."
"When I arrived in Mu Village, I saw the Chief and a man in black already fighting fiercely in the distance. I went to find Chen guniang. I searched all over the place, and I found her dying on the ground inside one of the houses. I screamed." She paused, the memory still painful. "My scream startled the murderer, and the murderer ran away. The Chief first intended to hunt down the murderer, but he decided to come back. When I checked Chen guniang... all of her meridians were completely destroyed."
"The scream came from you?" Yong Taihua asked, his anger tempered by doubt.
"Yes. But everyone thought it was Chen guniang who screamed," Yuan Chaomei confirmed. "If you don't believe me, seek medical advice from Yan gongzi. Can a person whose meridians are completely destroyed and is already dying make such a loud scream?"
Yong Taihua's conviction wavered. "But I saw Ma Jingguo strike her."
"The Chief was passing his internal energy, desperately trying to keep Chen guniang alive," Yuan Chaomei corrected gently. "It was thanks to his efforts that Chen guniang was able to use her last breath to ask the Chief to spare you and Yan gongzi." She looked directly at Yong Taihua. "When you collected her body, you must have seen the matching jade pendants." She stood up. "That was a wedding gift from the Chief to you and Chen guniang."
"What about the two coffins?" Yong Taihua challenged, grasping for another inconsistency.
"Two coffins? We don't know anything about two coffins," Yuan Chaomei said.
"On the day Dandan and Lui gongzi were killed, two coffins were sent to Sword Village in Ma Jingguo's name," Yong Taihua insisted.
Yuan Chaomei raised an eyebrow. "Yong gongzi, if I tell you that we also received a coffin on the day that Wen qianbei was killed, would you believe it?"
"Who sent it?"
"It was sent by you, Yong Taihua of Sword Village."
Yong Taihua stood up, rage returning. "Impossible! I'm not so sick as to make that kind of joke!"
"The Chief knew," Yuan Chaomei said simply. "That is why the Sword Village was left untouched, and the Chief took over Mangsha Sect instead." She looked at Yong Taihua and sighed. "Perhaps staying here might clear your mind, or answer some of the questions you still have." She began to walk toward the door.
"Wait!" Yong Taihua cried. Yuan Chaomei turned around. "If I believe what you said, Dandan must have told you who her murderer was." Yong Taihua looked directly at Yuan Chaomei, his face desperate. "So, who is Dandan's murderer?"
Yuan Chaomei looked down at the ground for a while, visibly grappling with the decision of whether or not to tell him.
Yong Taihua's lips trembled as he pleaded. "Yuan guniang, tell me... please tell me... Dandan was an innocent and lively woman with the most beautiful smile on her face. She deserves justice."
Yuan Chaomei sighed. "Yong gongzi, besides your wedding, what other major wedding involved our Chief?" She walked out of the room, leaving the question hanging in the air.
Yong Taihua's heart sank as the realization hit him. He murmured the names to himself: "Fu Yuanjun… Gu Jingjing..." He raised his head and shouted after Yuan Chaomei. "The murderers are Fu Yuanjun and Gu Jingjing, aren't they? Tell me... are the murderers Fu Yuanjun and Gu Jingjing?"