Walking side by side on the long, monotonous dirt road, a fine layer of dust was occasionally whipped up and swept across Ma Jingguo and Mu Dishi by the evening breeze. The air, though cooling, was still dry from the relentless summer heat, making the fine particulate dust inescapable.
To their right, the landscape rose steeply, covered by a dense, sprawling bamboo forest. When the wind rushed through the towering, hollow stalks, it produced a rhythmic, haunting whistling sound that contrasted sharply with the arid silence of the road.
Ma Jingguo held a large, white oil-paper umbrella high, positioning it not just to block the fading glow of the evening sun—which still beat down strongly—but also to cast a private, moving circle of shade over both of them as they walked. The surrounding mountains, shadowed and immense, lent a feeling of deep isolation to their journey.
The grass beside the dirt road had turned brown and yellow. The color of the trees on the mountain also began to change, signaling the end of summer.
"Xiao shushu, shall we go home after this?" Ma Jingguo asked.
"Aren't you going to return to your sect?" Mu Dishi countered.
Ma Jingguo smiled. "It's been a long time since I went home. I want to go home. As long as the six sect don't bother me, I won't bother them."
Mu Dishi stopped and looked at Ma Jingguo, his expression serious. "The martial arts circle is a strict community. Throughout history, they have never easily accepted any clan or sect. Nowadays, even if they are slightly better at accepting new groups, in their opinion, the Sunset Sect is still an unorthodox sect. If your sect is labeled unorthodox, they will find the smallest problem to get rid of your sect."
"Xiao shushu, I already know this," Ma Jingguo replied calmly.
"Playing with the martial artists in Central Plains is not like playing cat and mouse with—" Mu Dishi began.
"With... whom...?" Ma Jingguo prompted, noticing Mu Dishi's pale cheeks flush slightly.
Mu Dishi lowered his head. "You already know who."
Ma Jingguo jokingly persisted, "Xiao shushu, I don't know who you are referring to if you don't finish your sentence."
Mu Dishi knew Ma Jingguo was teasing him and turned to walk away, but Ma Jingguo's left hand quickly pulled his face back. Ma Jingguo lowered his head and kissed Mu Dishi's lips.
Mu Dishi hurriedly pushed himself away. He said coldly, "We are not behind closed doors."
"I know," Ma Jingguo said, his eyes twinkling. "But xiao shushu, do you know that you are irresistible right now?" He sobered slightly. "I know that the martial arts world is a dangerous place, but I promised shifu that I would bring the Sunset Sect back to the martial arts world, and I have completed half of it. I need to clear my name and reach an agreement with the main six sects. After that is done, I want to return home." He looked into Mu Dishi's eyes, a sincere plea in his gaze. "Xiao shushu, would you let me accompany you home?"
"Alright," Mu Dishi agreed softly. He reached out and touched Ma Jingguo's right face, then traced his finger along Ma Jingguo's chin. "Jingguo, your chin feels rough. When we get to the shed, I will shave it for you."
Ma Jingguo nodded, then asked playfully, "Xiao shushu, you are much older than me. Why is your face so smooth and there is no sign of growing a beard? Why is that?"
"I don't know," Mu Dishi replied flatly.
Ma Jingguo continued to tease. "Even your body hair is so smooth and soft."
"You shut your mouth," Mu Dishi said, sounding utterly exasperated, and he strode ahead of Ma Jingguo.
Ma Jingguo quickly chased after him, laughing softly.
After Mu Dishi and Ma Jingguo walked an hour, they finally stopped in front of the Mu board stone overlooking the Mu grave.
Mu Dishi stood before the graves, staring at the slightly dirty tombstone. He recalled that every time he visited in the past, Yong Hao would wipe the stone with his one arm and greet him with a warm smile. Since Yong Hao's death, the Mu cemetery had been unattended. A once bright tombstone had now turned slightly gray, and some were covered with moss.
After paying respect to his family, Ma Jingguo looked at Mu Dishi without a word. He understood that even if Mu Dishi claimed to hate Yong Hao, deep down, he had already forgiven him. He sighed. "Every time I come here... I always miss Ho qianbei's greetings and warm smiles." Ma Jingguo handed Mu Dishi the umbrella. "I will carry you on my back."
"To save trouble, just give me the antidote," Mu Dishi suggested.
Ma Jingguo smiled. "I will consider it, but not today."
Mu Dishi took the umbrella, climbed onto Ma Jingguo's back, and they started walking toward Mu Village. "Jingguo, you don't trust me, right?" Mu Dishi asked.
Ma Jingguo chuckled. "I trust you. I just..." He sighed again. "I just don't trust myself."
Approaching the bamboo shed, Ma Jingguo spoke. "Xiao shushu, I'm thinking, can the footprints we walked through today erase the old footprints of yesterday?"
Mu Dishi replied, "The new footprints will only deepen the old footprints underground, and the old footprints will never be erased."
Looking closer, Yong Taihua was sitting at the stone table outside the small bamboo shed, waiting for them. Ma Jingguo walked over and put Mu Dishi down. Mu Dishi sat on the stone bench, and Yong Taihua immediately poured him a cup of tea.
"Shizun, how have you been? Is Demon Ma treating you badly?" Yong Taihua asked.
Ma Jingguo sneered. "Yong Taihua, didn't you see how I carried xiao shushu here on my back? I love xiao shushu very much, and I will never treat him badly. If your eyes can't see, then maybe you should stop seeing altogether."
Yong Taihua shouted in anger, "Demon Ma, why did you suddenly leave Mangsha Sect and take your men to Sword Village?"
Ma Jingguo maintained his calm facade. "Mangsha Sect was built on the top of the mountain. Winter is coming. I don't want xiao shushu to catch a cold, so I decided to move my men nearby."
After drinking the tea, Mu Dishi put down the cup. "What are you doing here, Taihua?"
Yong Taihua replied, "Shizun, there is a hero meeting to discuss how to get rid of Demon Ma."
"What does everyone think?" Mu Dishi asked.
"They agreed to join forces to defeat you," Yong Taihua said, giving Ma Jingguo a sneer.
Mu Dishi looked at Ma Jingguo. "Jingguo, tell him why we are here. I don't want to stay here any longer, if we don't have to."
Ma Jingguo turned his attention to Yong Taihua, his voice turning cold and serious. "Enough children's talk. Gather the six sects chief here. Tell them that seeing me here is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If they don't come, after tomorrow morning, everything they have will be burned to ashes. The once mighty six sects and Four Households of Central Plains will be nothing more than a name in the history of Wulin."
"Do you think we will agree?" Yong Taihua challenged.
Ma Jingguo raised the stakes. "Your time is running out. I told my subordinates that if xiao shushu and I do not reach the inner-city tomorrow morning, my subordinates can start attacking."
Yong Taihua quickly ran away to relay the message. Ma Jingguo picked Mu Dishi up and carried him into the bamboo shed. He noted that Yong Taihua had already dusted everything clean inside.
Ma Jingguo smiled. "Xiao shushu, your disciple is a very grateful disciple." He put Mu Dishi on the bed. "Xiao shushu rests here and waits for me. After I have talked with the old foxes, we can leave."
Ma Jingguo poured out a small pill and put it into Mu Dishi's mouth. He smiled at Mu Dishi. Mu Dishi then closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. Ma Jingguo picked up Mu Dishi's right hand and kissed it. He murmured, "Xiao shushu, I'm sorry. I have been deceived many times. I don't trust you enough that you won't leave me the moment my eyes wander away from you." He bowed his head and kissed Mu Dishi's cheek. He walked out of the bamboo shed and sat on the table, waiting for the leaders of the six sects and the Four Households.
The atmosphere in the Sword Village conference hall turned from cautious planning to outright panic as Yong Taihua delivered Ma Jingguo's ultimatum.
"What?" Wei Shuai stood up, furious. "Demon Xin has the nerve to demand to meet us! He must be afraid to know that we are here to kill him."
"He said we are running out of time," Yong Taihua reported.
A Tianshan disciple rushed in, shouting, "Chief Fu... Chief Fu..."
Fu Yuanjun stood up, asking, "What's the matter?"
The Tianshan disciple gasped, "Chief Fu, we just got the news that there are about four hundred members of Sunset Sect encircling Tianshan Mountain." Fu Yuanjun's face immediately darkened.
Seconds later, a Huangshan disciple burst in. "Chief Li, Huangshan has urgent news. You must go back now. Sunset Sect has surrounded Huangshan."
"So, this is what he meant by saying our time is running out," Yong Taihua muttered, finally grasping the true scope of Ma Jingguo's preparation.
When Wei Shuai saw one of his own disciples rushing in, he already knew the news. He looked at the terrified disciple and said simply, "I already know."
Wu Jiangping realized the maneuver. "So, he came with Mu Dishi alone because he has already sent everyone to surround our sect."
"This is more like a show of force, rather than wanting to negotiate with us!" Num Chingmei frantically exclaimed.
Yong Gui took a steadying breath. "Let's go and meet him. I am also very interested in what he has to say."
Monk Ling stated the harsh truth. "He has surrounded all the main sects, so we have no choice but to see Xin Taiyang."