Yong Taihua hadn't slept. The shocking truth about Chen Dandan's real killer—a truth that twisted the knife in his gut—had kept him rigidly awake through the long, cold night. He paced the confines of his rough, wooden prison cell, his mind replaying every word of Yuan Chaomei's confession. The unbearable knowledge that his decade of hatred had been completely misdirected at Ma Jingguo was his greatest torment. He desperately needed answers, and above all, he needed his Shizun, Mu Dishi.
The sun was barely up when the lock on his cell door rattled loudly. Yuan Chaomei walked in, her face carefully expressionless, flanked by two members of the Sunset Sect. The men moved quickly to unlock the heavy iron chains binding Yong Taihua's raw, chafed wrists.
The moment he was free, Yong Taihua ignored his aching limbs. He straightened to his full, imposing height and strode directly to Yuan Chaomei, fixing her with a hard, unwavering stare, his silent, desperate demand for the rest of the truth hanging heavy in the cold air.
Yuan Chaomei spoke first. "Mu gongzi came back last night, so there is no reason to keep you here. The Chief said this is the last time he will let you go, and if you keep causing him trouble, he will cut off your legs."
Yong Taihua ignored the threat, cutting straight to the heart of his torment. "Tell me, are Fu Yuanjun and Gu Jingjing the killers of Dandan?"
"I can't answer you that question," Yuan Chaomei replied, refusing to confirm the names.
Yong Taihua frowned, his frustration boiling over. "If you won't tell me, I will find out by myself." He frantically stormed out of the cell.
Yuan Chaomei watched him disappear around the corner, calling out one last warning. "Yong gongzi, please listen to my advice. Not everyone will treat you like our Chief."
After securing Yong Taihua's release, Yuan Chaomei walked directly to Li Howin's room. She found that Li Howin had already packed his few belongings and was quietly waiting for her, clearly anticipating his next instruction or his freedom.
"Li Didi, are you ready?" Yuan Chaomei asked with a gentle smile.
Li Howin stood up and slowly turned to take one last look at his small bedroom. He then dropped to his knees. "Yuan Jiejie, thank you," he said earnestly.
Yuan Chaomei quickly helped him back to his feet. "Li Didi, the Chief is giving you the mansion in Li Village. From now on, you don't have to worry about anyone treating you badly."
Li Howin smiled, relief and gratitude flooding his face. "Please thank the Chief for me," he said. "Please tell him that I will never forget him, as he will always be my master. And if in the future he has nowhere to go, the mansion in Li Village will always welcome him."
Yuan Chaomei smiled genuinely. "I will."
Standing at the top of a stairwell nearby, Ma Jingguo watched Yuan Chaomei bid farewell to Li Howin.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to him in person?" Mu Dishi asked coldly, standing beside him.
"No need," Ma Jingguo said simply.
"Why?" Mu Dishi pressed, his voice sharp. "After all, he was your lover for a while."
Ma Jingguo chuckled, amused by the obvious pique. "Xiao shushu's jealousy is very funny." He held Mu Dishi's right hand with his left. "I brought him here because he looks like you. At that time, if I didn't bring him back, his brother would have sold him to his creditors. How could I let someone who has similar eyes and lips as xiao shushu be cruelly treated?" He looked into Mu Dishi's eyes, earnest and sincere. "He is not my lover; he has never been."
Four days after his release from prison, Yong Taihua walked into the main hall of Sword Village. A tense hero conference was underway, focused on discussing strategies to defeat Ma Jingguo and take down the Sunset Sect. Yong Taihua ignored the heated debate raging in the hall and walked straight to Yong Gui, who was as surprised as everyone else to see him.
"Taihua, how did you get out?" Yong Gui asked, astonished.
"Shizun saved me," Yong Taihua replied.
"Mu Dishi saved you?" Li Kong Bai exclaimed.
"Yes." Yong Taihua then looked at Bazar Batu. "Excuse me, Bazar gongzi, would you mind if you came with me?"
Kuo Lok asked, "What do you need him for?"
"You can come too. We are young, and we are not needed here," Yong Taihua stated. He glanced at Yan Zhanjin. "The same for you."
The four young people left the meeting hall, with Yong Caixia quickly following.
Inside Yong Taihua's room, the five sat around a table. Bazar Batu looked at Yong Taihua and asked, "Yong-xiong, Ma ge hasn't treated you badly, right?"
Yan Zhanjin snapped, "Batu, why are you so blind?"
Bazar Batu held his ground. "I don't believe that someone like Ma ge is capable of killing Dandan."
A fierce argument erupted between Bazar Batu and Yan Zhanjin, filled with accusations of cowardice and relying on others, until Yong Taihua slammed his hand on the table. "Enough!"
Yong Caixia attempted to mediate. "You two calm down, we are on the same side. We have no reason to be at each other's throats like this."
Both Bazar Batu and Yan Zhanjin retorted in unison, "Who is on the same side with him?"
Yong Taihua then dropped the bombshell. "When I was locked up in Mangsha, Yuan Chaomei told me that she was the last person to see Lui jiefu alive. She was also the person who found Dandan while Ma Jingguo was fighting with her killer."
Yan Zhanjin said indifferently, "Full of lies."
"I sort of believed her when she said that," Yong Taihua confessed.
Yong Caixia questioned, "She is on Ma Jingguo's side, how can you believe her?"
Yong Taihua explained, "When everyone thought Ma Jingguo had struck Dandan, he was actually passing his internal energy trying to save Dandan."
Bazar Batu seized on the implication. "That means Dandan knew her murderer and told them who the murderer is."
Yong Caixia asked, "Who is the murderer?"
"She wouldn't say directly," Yong Taihua admitted. "She only told me to recall, besides my wedding, which wedding Ma Jingguo still mingled with."
Everyone said in unison, "Fu Yuanjun's."
Yong Taihua continued, "The reason I sort of believe Yuan Chaomei is because Ma Jingguo hasn't attended other weddings except Fu Yuanjun's and mine. Then she continued to tell me that they didn't know about the two coffins. But when Wen Huifang was killed, someone sent a coffin to Sunset Sect in my name."
Bazar Batu's eyes widened with understanding. "If what you say is right, then Ma ge knew that Fu Yuanjun was the murderer, so he sent the coffin back to Fu Yuanjun, but this time, he put Gu Jingjing in it."
Yong Taihua concluded, "So, I'm questioning whether Dandan and Lu jiefu were killed by Fu Yuanjun and Gu Jingjing. Yuan Chaomei refused to confirm it."
Kuo Lok nodded. "After listening to you, I agree."
Bazar Batu added, "I don't see any reason for Chief Fu to frame Ma ge. Someone planned to kill Dandan and then frame Ma ge. If Ma ge wiped out the Six Sects, Sword Village, and Jingfeng Sect, who benefited the most out of the situation?"
Yong Caixia suddenly remembered. "Seventy-Two Islands."
Bazar Batu looked confused. "What? Who?"
Yong Caixia explained, "One of their leaders was killed not long ago. They said that we killed their second leader. They vowed to fight the martial artists of Central Plains."
Yong Taihua stood up, a new urgency taking hold. "I completely forgot. I think the meeting should end now. I'm going to discuss this further with father."
Kuo Lok volunteered, "I will go with you too. I want to share this information with jiejie."
Bazar Batu frowned. "I won't go with you. Wenqian jiejie doesn't like me very much. Moreover, she is still mourning, and I don't want to irritate her." Kuo Lok told him to wait in the room.
After everyone left, Bazar Batu walked out of Yong Taihua's room toward the room he shared with Kuo Lok, lost in thought. Suddenly, Fu Yuanjun's voice startled him.
"Chief Fu," Bazar Batu greeted him.
"Bazar gongzi, you are in deep thought, what are you thinking about?" Fu Yuanjun asked.
"I'm thinking about what food I want to eat with Lok gege," Bazar Batu lied easily. He sniffed twice. "Hey, Chief Fu, what perfume bag do you have? It smells very good."
Fu Yuanjun smiled. "It's just dried flowers soaked in honey water."
"Ah... it smells good," Bazar Batu remarked.
Fu Yuanjun offered, "If Bazar gongzi wants one... I can give it to you."
Bazar Batu's eyes widened, and he choked. "No need." His voice trembled. "Chief Fu, Lok gege is waiting for me... I'm leaving."
"Really?" Fu Yuanjun's smile became vicious. "How could he possibly be waiting for you when he is in the conference hall with Chief Yong and Lui furen?"
Bazar Batu slowly backed away. "I have something important I have to tell him..."
"What is it?" Fu Yuanjun pressed.
"I think I know how the murderer killed Dandan and Liu jiefu," Bazar Batu confessed, hoping to bluff his way out.
Fu Yuanjun smiled chillingly at Bazar Batu. "Bazar gongzi, it's not a good thing to be too smart."
Bazar Batu asked, trembling, "What do you mean?"
"Nothing. You have a good day," Fu Yuanjun said softly, turning his back to Bazar Batu and walking away.
Bazar Batu muttered to himself, "What does he mean? What's the matter with the smile on his face? It's creepy."
Suddenly, a person's hand covered Bazar Batu's mouth with a white cloth. Bazar Batu struggled desperately, but quickly fell to the ground, beginning to lose consciousness. The attacker reached for a dagger at his waist, but stopped when he heard the voices of Yan Zhanjin and Yong Caixia approaching in the distance. He quickly grabbed Bazar Batu's face, took a ceramic vial from his robe, and poured the liquid into Bazar Batu's mouth.
The unconscious Bazar Batu struggled weakly, refusing to swallow. The man hit Bazar Batu's abdomen with a heavy punch, forcing him to finally swallow the liquid. Bazar Batu became helpless, his whole body drained and his eyes growing heavy. He blinked a few times, seeing Fu Yuanjun's back gradually receding as he walked away.
Bazar Batu murmured, his last plea fading, "Chief Fu, help me." He stretched out his hand, but Fu Yuanjun did not look back. Then Bazar Batu's hand slowly fell limp on the ground beside him.