Early the next morning, the damp, cold air of dawn settled over the abandoned temple. The morning light, weak and grey, filtered through the broken roof and grimy windows, illuminating a scene of utter defeat and misery.
The cracked stone courtyard was silent save for the ragged breathing of the survivors. Most of the poisoned martial artists were still frozen in the strained postures they had adopted during the night's chaos, their faces pale and their clothing stained with vomit and blood. Many of the weaker martial artists had finally succumbed, lying motionless on the cold ground. They were physically drained, their energy sapped by the fast-acting venom.
A cruel measure had been taken to ensure no retaliation. Yongzheng, Cao Wenyan, and Yong Taihua—the three strongest remaining men—were chained together where they stood, bound with heavy irons to a few of the weaker, collapsing martial artists. This deliberate pairing meant any attempt to escape would require dragging the dying with them, making a move impossible.
A small group was kept deliberately segregated from the poisoned masses. Xue Horan, Yong Caixia, and Cao Yanmei were penned together in a corner, separated from the rest of the martial artists. They were held as vulnerable hostages. Their safety was the silent, brutal guarantee that Yongzheng, Cao Wenyan, and Yong Taihua would remain chained and compliant.
Sitting in the small room opposite Fu Yuanjun, Wang Biming voiced his hesitation. "Yuanjun, do you want to think about it again?"
Fu Yuanjun smiled, utterly committed. "I have come too far to turn back." He looked at Wang Biming, offering him an out. "You should take Mu Dishi and return to Tibet. There are hundreds of empty caves in Tibet. Even if Ma Jingguo looks for Mu Dishi all his life, he will not find Mu Dishi."
Wang Biming stood firm in his commitment. "I said before, I won't leave you behind, and when you need me most, I won't leave you."
Fu Yuanjun accepted his loyalty and gave his final instructions. "Alright, after I take over Sunset Sect, I will send a signal. You kill everyone here and take Mu Dishi to Sunset Sect." He stood up and walked to the door.
Wang Biming hurried to his side, concern overriding his composure. "Be careful. If you can't win, there is no shame to retreat."
Fu Yuanjun smiled. "I know." He walked out of the door and headed toward another room where Xue Horan, Cao Yanmei, and Yong Caixia were detained away from the others.
The door opened, and Fu Yuanjun walked into the heavily guarded room. He walked to Xue Horan's side and dragged him out to meet with Yongzheng. Two men handcuffed Yongzheng's hands and feet with iron chains, and the group—Fu Yuanjun, the guards, Yongzheng, and Xue Horan—left the old temple and headed toward Sunset Mountain.
Inside the small, confined room, a palpable tension hung heavy in the air. This space, separated by a thin brick wall from the area holding Yong Caixia and Cao Yanmei, was a bare cell. Mu Dishi sat imprisoned, his eyes fixed with cold intensity on the two figures standing before him: Wang Biming and Miao Mingzhu.
Miao Mingzhu, turning and catching the full force of Mu Dishi's unwavering, intense gaze, stopped abruptly. She stepped forward, her features contorted by clear hostility, and looked down at the captive with a sneer.
"Mu Dishi, what are you looking at?" she spat out, her voice dangerously low. "I know someone who wants your eyes."
Wang Biming walked to Mu Dishi, carrying a roasted chicken. He smiled gently. "Mingzhu, don't say that to him." He looked at Mu Dishi. "Dishi, eat something. You haven't eaten anything since last night."
Miao Mingzhu frowned, her voice laced with jealousy. "Da shixiong, why are you so good to him? He stares at you as if he is about to take your heart out of your chest!" She bit her lower lip, leaning into her cruelty. "Da shixiong, let me turn him into a puppet like Yang Ru. He will obey your orders." She laughed. "Look at Yang Ru, if chief Fu wants him to die, he will willingly die."
Wang Biming's tone was firm. "Mingzhu, you can turn anyone, but not Dishi."
Miao Mingzhu challenged him, visibly angry. "My drug has never failed. Are you afraid of him?"
Wang Biming shook his head. "No, it's just mutual respect between two old friends."
Mu Dishi looked at Wang Biming and spoke, his voice ice-cold. "How did you meet him?"
Wang Biming smiled, using the answer as leverage. "If you want to know, you finish eating this." He handed the roasted chicken to Mu Dishi. "I will tell you later."
After Mu Dishi silently finished eating, he looked at Wang Biming. "Tell me."
Wang Biming smiled, finally ready to reveal the secret past. "Yuanjun and I have known each other since we were young." He looked at Mu Dishi, bringing up a shared memory. "Do you remember the time I ran home in the rain?"
Mu Dishi did not answer, his expression unreadable.
Wang Biming continued the story, painting a scene of vulnerability. "I ran into him, and he was severely injured. I helped him enter Guan Yu Temple. He looked me in the eyes and told me that he didn't want to live anymore, because he has no one he could rely on." The memory of that day was still clear to Wang Biming as if it had just happened yesterday.
That day, through the rain, Wang Biming had left his juniors behind and rushed back to Mu Village to see Mu Dishi because he knew no matter the weather, Mu Dishi would be waiting for him as he said he would.
So, when he approached the Guan Yu Temple, he spotted someone lying in the middle of the road. With the rain in his eyes, he couldn't see the individual clearly, but once he approached, he was taken aback by the severe injuries the young Fu Yuanjun, around his own age, had suffered on his back.
With no other choice, Wang Biming helped Fu Yuanjun up, and they sheltered inside the old Guan Yu Temple.
He helped Fu Yuanjun sit down, but the youth pushed him away and immediately collapsed onto the floor. "Leave me be. I don't want to live any more. I'm tired of being someone else's pawn," the youth choked out. He turned onto his stomach, buried his face on his crossed arms, and softly sobbed his heart away.
The thunder resounded through the afternoon sky. The power of the thunder seemed to shake the very foundation of the temple. The young Wang Biming sat down beside the sobbing Fu Yuanjun and gently patted the youth on the back of the head. As Fu Yuanjun's back was filled with open wounds, he was afraid to touch it, fearing he might cause more pain. He said gently, "Xiongtai, why did you give up so easily?"
The young Fu Yuanjun looked up, his voice thick with misery. "I know I am walking in this world alone, why should I continue to live? I can't bear to be treated as a pawn on a chessboard by some bad guys anymore," he sobbed. "I am a person, I have a heart, I have feelings, and my feelings can be hurt. If I leave this world, no one will miss me."
The young Wang Biming, driven by a fierce, shared pain, pulled Fu Yuanjun into his arms. "I am the same as you, but I will not let destiny defeat me," he vowed. Fu Yuanjun sobbed against his chest. "I told myself, I am the creator of my destiny, and I will never let destiny be an excuse to hinder my success."
Young Fu Yuanjun cried, lost in his despair, "I'm so useless... I have nothing, no one..."
Young Wang Biming hugged the young Fu Yuanjun tightly, patting the back of his head gently. "Let's be sworn brothers. From now on, even if the world leaves you behind, I, Wang Biming, will never leave you behind. Through success or failure, I will stand beside you."
Wang Biming opened his eyes and sighed, returning from the past. He looked at Mu Dishi and said, "But when I went back to the temple the next day, he was gone." He sighed again. "Later, when I saw him again, he was already a Tianshan disciple."
Mu Dishi cut to the core issue, his voice dangerously low. "Is it you, or him, who sent the anonymous letter that Mu villagers are secret spies of the Mongol army?"
Wang Biming replied quietly, "It was my father."
Mu Dishi's lips trembled with contained fury. "Don't tell me it's Wang Zedong! I don't believe it!"
Wang Biming's head dropped in shame. "This is just an idea I discussed with Yuanjun. I didn't expect Yuanjun to write to my father."
Mu Dishi exploded, grabbing Wang Biming's front collar and letting out a scream. "WANG BIMING!"
Miao Mingzhu instantly pulled Mu Dishi's hands away and shoved him violently against the wall. Mu Dishi hit the brick with a loud thump.
Mu Dishi screamed hysterically, the sound mixed with a whimper of despair. "Take your hands away from me!"
Wang Biming ordered, his voice strained. "Mingzhu, stop, let him vent. You have more important things to do."
Miao Mingzhu reluctantly agreed, her anger still visible. "I understand."
Ma Jingguo and everyone in the yard looked in the direction where Wang Biming had taken Mu Dishi. The loud noise from the people in the room—Mu Dishi's scream and the heavy thump against the wall—made the hearts of everyone sitting outside speed up. They couldn't see what was happening in the small room not far from them, but no one's heartbeat as fast and violently as Ma Jingguo.
Yong Taihua shouted across the yard. "Wang Biming, you let go of my shizun!"
Ma Jingguo took a heavy, deliberate breath and concentrated fiercely on mobilizing his internal forces to flow freely up and down his body. Ma Jingguo knew that combining Mu Dishi's internal energy with Zan Huangming's internal energy at this stage was critically important. He was at his most vulnerable and most critical stage. If he lost concentration, his internal energy would backfire, and both Mu Dishi and his own fate would end here. He temporarily sealed off the two pressure points in his eardrums, sealing off all the surrounding noise so that the two powerful inner energies could circulate safely throughout his body.