With the early morning birdsong, Ma Jingguo slowly opened his eyes. He was still holding Mu Dishi in his arms. Ma Jingguo smiled and decided not to wake Mu Dishi. He stared at him, observing that Mu Dishi didn't look old at all; his face still looked the same as when Ma Jingguo first saw him. Ma Jingguo felt that Mu Dishi was the kind of person who became more handsome the older he got. His fingers stroked through Mu Dishi's hair.
"Why do you always like to stare at me in the morning?" Mu Dishi asked, his voice still thick with sleep.
Ma Jingguo kissed Mu Dishi's forehead and said, "Because xiao shushu is so handsome, and many men have fantasized about xiao shushu in their arms."
Mu Dishi was annoyed and turned to the left. Halfway through, a throbbing pain in his back made him let out a slight groan.
Ma Jingguo chuckled and moved closer to Mu Dishi. He pulled Mu Dishi into his arms and kissed him on the neck. "When I was in Li Village a few months ago, I met someone who said he had slept with you. Not only that, but he also said that xiao shushu also slept with other martial artists to help you kill those who entered the Mu Treasure Cave."
Mu Dishi didn't say a word, but took a heavy breath, indicating his extreme annoyance at the accusation.
Ma Jingguo said, "I think this is a ridiculous false accusation, so I stabbed his hand and asked him to tell me about the other fifty martial artists who claimed to have slept with you. So, I killed the chickens to warn the monkeys."
"What exactly did you do?" Mu Dishi asked, his voice low.
Ma Jingguo smiled. "I asked Chaomei to cut off their penis as a warning to other people who have similar thoughts."
"Why don't you just kill them?" Mu Dishi questioned.
"I just want them to remember why their penis was cut in the first place," he replied, kissing the back of Mu Dishi's head. "I don't mind if they say bad things about me. They can talk until their mouths are split and it won't bother me, but when someone talks about you, I can't let it slide."
"It's empty talk, why bother?" Mu Dishi asked.
Ma Jingguo smiled. "Maybe it's because I'm a jealous lover." The word "lover" seemed to strike him. He held Mu Dishi tightly. "Xiao shushu, to you, am I your lover?"
Mu Dishi sighed and attempted to deflect. "I'll shave your chin." He tried to get up, but Ma Jingguo grabbed him and pressed him back down onto the bed. "Jingguo, what are you doing?"
Ma Jingguo asked again, his eyes seeking a definite answer. "Am I your lover?"
Mu Dishi did not answer.
Ma Jingguo insisted, "Xiao shushu, please answer me."
Mu Dishi finally gave a cold, blunt answer. "No, we are not lovers." He pulled himself away from Ma Jingguo, stood up, and began to dress. He looked back at Ma Jingguo. "Are you going to get up and get dressed?"
"If we are not lovers, what are we?" Ma Jingguo asked, sitting up.
Mu Dishi didn't answer.
Ma Jingguo knew that with Mu Dishi's attitude, if he didn't want to answer, no one could force him. He also knew that if he kept pressing the issue, Mu Dishi would say something that would anger him. He changed tack. "Xiao shushu, can you make breakfast?"
Mu Dishi did not answer but walked out of the room.
Ma Jingguo stared at Mu Dishi's retreating back. He had always known that in Mu Dishi's heart, he wasn't the priority. He had accepted it a long time ago, but it still made him very heartbroken to hear Mu Dishi say that they were not lovers. He put his hands behind his head and stared at the straw roof. He sighed. "I also doubted myself, why I chose to fall in love with you. Even if I know I will never know what you are thinking, why do I still love you so much? Am I crazy?"
When Ma Jingguo finally decided to get up and sit on the edge of the bed, Yuan Chaomei walked in.
"Chief, we are ready," Yuan Chaomei said.
"You take the rest of you and go first, I'll wait for xiao shushu," Ma Jingguo instructed.
Ma Jingguo walked out with Yuan Chaomei and met Yong Taihua and two disciples. The two disciples put two baskets down on the table.
Yong Taihua said, "This is for shizun only, so..." He looked coldly at Ma Jingguo. "You don't touch any of this food."
Ma Jingguo shook his head, smiling mockingly. "I won't touch it, but if xiao shushu feeds me, I won't refuse to chew it."
Yong Taihua took the two disciples and walked away angrily, heading back to Mu Village.
After Yuan Chaomei left, Ma Jingguo waited for a while, but Mu Dishi did not return from his morning bath. Ma Jingguo decided to walk to the stream and see what taken Mu Dishi so long to return.
As Ma Jingguo approached, the first thing he noticed was the deep, low murmur of Mu Dishi conversing intently with someone else. He was too far away to identify the person or catch the details of their talk. He rounded the corner and saw Mu Dishi standing face-to-face with a figure, but the distance remained too great to make out the identity of the stranger.
Instead of making himself known, Ma Jingguo quickly used his agility and flew toward the closest tree. However, his effort was in vain: the moment his feet landed on the branch, the conversation between Mu Dishi and the unknown man abruptly ceased.
The thought of not knowing what Mu Dishi and the stranger were discussing sent a furious shiver down his spine. His eyes glowed red with rage, his heart boiling with scenarios where Mu Dishi would abandon him yet again for the man he had just met.
He abruptly jumped down from the tree branch, glaring at Mu Dishi. He watched the stranger walk away slowly, then shouted, "Xiao shushu!" Ma Jingguo watched Mu Dishi hurriedly stuff the item the stranger had handed him into his right sleeve.
Hearing Ma Jingguo call him, Mu Dishi turned and walked over. "Jingguo..."
Ma Jingguo's gaze immediately fell to Mu Dishi's left sleeve. He gave a saccharine smile and asked, "Xiao shushu, I saw you put something inside your left sleeve?" He moved closer, crowding Mu Dishi. "What is it?"
Mu Dishi's expression remained dark and cold. "Just a handkerchief," he stated flatly. He raised his face, meeting Ma Jingguo's eyes without flinching. "If you want to check, go ahead."
Ma Jingguo felt a sharp, crushing pain in his heart. "Xiao shushu," he thought bitterly. "At this time, when I finally give you your second chance, and yet, you still look at me and lie through your teeth."
Ma Jingguo quickly adopted an innocent smile, widening his eyes like a pleading puppy. He deliberately asked, with a casual air, "Xiao shushu, I seemed to see someone with you just now."
Mu Dishi replied expressionlessly, "It's Yan Zhanjin."
Ma Jingguo smiled. "What does he want?"
"Nothing," Mu Dishi stated flatly. "He was just asking if I know who killed Chen Dandan."
Ma Jingguo's smile grew taut and sharp. "And what did xiao shushu say?"
"I told him it's not you," Mu Dishi replied. He then quickly changed the subject, turning to walk away. "I will go make breakfast."
Ma Jingguo took Mu Dishi's left hand. He smiled at Mu Dishi and teased, "Xiao shushu, you don't need to cook breakfast. Your disciple brought us breakfast, but he said it was not for me, so I guess xiao shushu will have to feed me." He added playfully, "I would prefer if xiao shushu fed me mouth-to-mouth."
Mu Dishi pulled his hand away from Ma Jingguo. He said angrily, "Whatever." He walked in front of Ma Jingguo.
Ma Jingguo stared at Mu Dishi's retreating back, his heart utterly torn. His eyes swam with a fierce mixture of anger and crushing sadness, the raw, unshed tears blurring his vision. For him, there was no pain more agonizing than the betrayal of a beloved person. He violently wiped the moisture from his eyes.
"Xiao shushu, you want to play... I will play with you!" he hissed in a low, furious whisper.
In his heart, Ma Jingguo knew the truth was devastatingly simple: finding Chen Dandan's killer within two years to clear his name no longer mattered. Nothing mattered if he couldn't find someone willing to release those final acupoints for him. Each sunset and each sunrise simply moved him closer to his death. Therefore, whether Mu Dishi truly loved him or not felt irrelevant now. He was living in a desperate fantasy, choosing to lie to himself that as long as Mu Dishi was by his side, Mu Dishi loved him, and he was Mu Dishi's cherished lover, despite all of Mu Dishi's denials. The cold truth was too painful; the warm deception was all he had left.
With a superhuman effort, he plastered an artificially cheerful mask onto his face and hurried to catch up. "Xiao shushu, wait for me! I was joking!" he shouted, injecting false lightness into his voice. "Wait for me! My poison has not been completely resolved!"