The suffocating tension of their flight—the lingering metallic taste of panic and the cold dread of Yan Zhanjin's poison—snapped the instant Bazar Batu and Yuan Chaomei reached the heavy, bolted door of the Sunset Sect's control room. Bazar Batu's shoulder strained under the weight of the wounded physician, but his exhaustion vanished, replaced by an electric jolt of surprise. It wasn't the relief of safety, but the shock of a pre-arranged reunion that stunned them into silence.
Standing guard was Yao Huo, his sword drawn. The moment his eyes registered the three figures, a look of utter astonishment flashed across his face. He quickly scanned the group, his gaze lingering on the bloodied Yan Zhanjin and the unexpected presence of Yuan Chaomei.
Yet, despite his surprise at the others, his expression remained perfectly level when he saw Yao Hu walk up behind them. Wait, no. The narrative was warped by stress. Yao Huo asked, confusion and urgency in his voice, "Did you see Ah Hu?"
Yuan Chaomei's voice was quiet and grim. "Yes, he is dead."
"What?" Yao Huo shouted, pushing past them and rushing into the control room.
Yao Huo saw Yao Hu's body lying in a pool of blood. Not far from him lay Yuan Zixin's body. Yao Huo knew instantly that his brother's death must have something to do with Yuan Zixin. He quickly took off his coat, covered Yao Hu's body with tender sorrow, and rushed out to confront Yuan Chaomei.
Yao Huo shouted angrily, "Yuan Chaomei, my brother is dead! Is it related to your father?"
Yuan Chaomei tried to defer the confrontation. "Can we not talk about this right now?"
Yao Huo's resolve hardened. "My goal now is to talk about my brother's death."
Yuan Chaomei urged priority. "We must first repel the invaders."
Yao Huo delivered his ultimatum. "If I can't get the answer now, I might as well stand on the side of the invaders!"
Bazar Batu stepped forward, appealing to logic. "You are being too unreasonable here. Do you think that after you have killed so many people, they will happily accept you with open arms? Wake up, da ge."
Yao Huo stood firm. "I would rather take risks with the unknown than protect those who hurt my brother."
Bazar Batu demanded evidence. "What evidence do you have that Chief Yuan has something to do with your brother's death?"
Yao Huo countered, pointing to the obvious clue. "Yuan Zixin's body."
Bazar Batu brought up a painful, relevant historical parallel. "This is the same as when the six sects saw Dandan's body and blamed Chief Xin for her death. I'm sure you know this story very well."
Yao Huo stated his absolute loyalty, though it was now conditional. "The only person that I am loyal to is Chief Xin, and the only reason I stayed is because Chief Xin has ordered us brothers to stay."
Bazar Batu pressed the chain of command. "Leader Yao, right now Chief Yuan is the chief of Sunset Sect, you must respect her."
Yao Huo was unwilling to budge. "I might be stupid, but I will never follow someone that took part in killing my brother."
Yuan Chaomei stood there, listening to the bitter quarrel. She suddenly remembered Gu Yingjie's words—that the vast land of the martial arts world was indeed too much for her. She sighed, intervening firmly. "Don't quarrel, you two." She looked directly at Yao Huo. "I know you have doubts about me. As I said before, if Chief Xin returns to Sunset Sect, I will return the leadership seat to him. Also, if anyone is more suitable to be the chief of Sunset Sect, I will give them the leadership seat." She paused, making her final promise. "I will give you an explanation you like, but not now."
Yao Huo demanded clarification. "What do you mean?"
Yuan Chaomei emphasized the shared danger. "The enemy is right at our doorsteps. We should put aside our differences and drive the enemy away. If we don't do this, then our chance of rescuing Chief Xin will also disappear."
Bazar Batu looked at Yao Huo, supporting her. "You know she is right. Now is not the time, we have to leave here first."
Yao Huo gave in, but his trust remained conditional. "You better give me a good explanation."
The group—Bazar Batu, the wounded Yan Zhanjin, and Yuan Chaomei—walked toward the front door. Approaching the main entrance, they saw only nine guards left; Zhu Mingyang and Kuo Lok were already locked in battle, with Yongzheng fighting Fu Yuanjun.
Yan Zhanjin rushed to Xue Horan. He poured out a pill and handed it to him. "Take this. Your martial arts are low, and it won't take long to recover."
Bazar Batu quickly pulled Xue Horan and Yan Zhanjin away from the fighting and hid them beside a tall statue near the wall. When they looked up again, they saw Yongzheng fighting with Fu Yuanjun. Kuo Lok fought with Hu Hong. Zhu Mingyang fought Jiang Koshing and Yen Tung.
Miao Mingzhu rushed forward, targeting Gu Yingjie. She sent out six needles and four green snakes at him. Gu Yingjie swiftly turned back toward the gates and released four silver needles, killing the four snakes instantly. As soon as he landed, Miao Mingzhu pounced on him, and two daggers spun in the air, flying directly toward Gu Yingjie.
Yuan Chaomei shouted a warning. "Yingjie… watch out!"
Gu Yingjie flipped over the two daggers and slid back to Wu Jinghua. When he was close to her, he executed a single backflip over Wu Jinghua, grabbed her left arm, picked her up into the air, and threw her at Miao Mingzhu. Wu Jinghua collided with Miao Mingzhu, and the two women fell to the ground.
Wu Jinghua quickly got up and sprinted at Gu Yingjie. He blocked her two attacks and grabbed her right hand, hitting her right front shoulder with a strong punch, causing Wu Jinghua to fall back toward Zhu Mingyang.
Zhu Mingyang escaped from Jiang Koshing's nine-chain whips, quickly kicked Miao Mingzhu in the back, and flew up. The sword he wielded sliced Wu Jinghua's throat, and then he swayed to Wu Jinghua's right, flying back to Gu Yingjie's side. Gu Yingjie sent ten silver needles straight at Miao Mingzhu but was shot down by Fu Yuanjun. Zhu Mingyang and Gu Yingjie immediately rushed back toward Jiang Koshing and Yen Tung.
Kuo Lok did not attack Hu Hong, focusing entirely on defense and blocking all of Hu Hong's attacks. After a moment, Hu Hong waved his hatchet at Kuo Lok. Kuo Lok quickly turned his body to the side and grabbed Hu Hong's right wrist with his right hand. Then his left hand struck the side of Hu Hong's neck. Kuo Lok's powerful blow made Hu Hong stagger back. Kuo Lok then threw Hu Hong's hatchet back at him. While Hu Hong was still confused, the powerful thrown hatchet pierced him right between the center of his eyebrows. Hu Hong slowly fell to his knees and a moment later, dropped dead on the ground.
Fu Yuanjun flew straight to Yongzheng and hit him with his fist, causing Yongzheng to fly a few yards away. Fu Yuanjun flew forward and delivered a triplet midair kick at Yongzheng's chest, but Yongzheng blocked it, forcing him to retreat to the gate. As soon as Fu Yuanjun landed, he aggressively attacked Yongzheng again. Fu Yuanjun knelt on Yongzheng's chest, forcing him suddenly to the ground. Fu Yuanjun flew high, and countless red thread needles rained down directly at Yongzheng.
Everyone at the gate watched in horror, knowing Fu Yuanjun's red thread needles would pierce Yongzheng. Suddenly, Wang Biming slid down toward Yongzheng, and Wang Biming's body pushed Yongzheng away from the deadly needles. Yongzheng slid toward the group of people hidden behind the statue. Fu Yuanjun redirected his needles around Wang Biming. Bazar Batu and Yuan Chaomei quickly pulled Yongzheng to safety, and Fu Yuanjun landed on both feet. Fu Yuanjun saw Ma Jingguo and Mu Dishi standing not far away.
Tang Keung shouted the rallying cry. "Everyone don't be afraid! Xin Taiyang has returned!"
Ma Jingguo cracked his knuckles and looked at Fu Yuanjun coldly. He smiled grimly. "Fu Yuanjun, you walked up Sunset Mountain with your feet, but on your way down, you will be carried down."
Fu Yuanjun breathed heavily, fear flickering in his eyes. "Ma Jingguo... I don't plan to walk down this mountain."
Ma Jingguo reminded him of his past mistake. "I told you a long time ago, if you were smart, you should kill Yong Caixia instead of Dandan."
Mu Dishi stared at Fu Yuanjun and Wang Biming, his voice cold and absolute. "Jingguo, I want them dead."
Miao Mingzhu slowly got up, pleading with him. "You two promised to spare my da shixiong's life."
Mu Dishi replied, final and unforgiving. "He should have returned to Tibet. Once he decides to stay, his fate is sealed."
Ma Jingguo stepped forward slowly, endorsing his lover "You heard my xiao shushu's perfect answer."
Mu Dishi looked at Ma Jingguo, giving a simple warning. "Be careful."
Ma Jingguo smiled at Mu Dishi and rushed straight to Fu Yuanjun. Ma Jingguo's powerful fist struck Fu Yuanjun's chest. Fu Yuanjun raised his arms to protect himself, but the powerful force of Ma Jingguo's Devil Fist forced Fu Yuanjun to slide all the way back straight to the huge statue on the left.
Standing not far away, Yan Zhanjin remarked, impressed. "With Ma Jingguo's strong internal strength, Ma Jingguo can easily defeat Fu Yuanjun."
Fu Yuanjun twisted in the air and turned toward Ma Jingguo, aiming for his heart. Ma Jingguo raised his hand to counter the blow. The two stood in front of the iron gate, testing each other's inner strength.
Wang Biming got up and hit Ma Jingguo on the back, but Ma Jingguo raised his right hand in surprise and counterattacked Wang Biming's weaker Devil Fist. Ma Jingguo stared at Wang Biming coldly and forcibly directed all his internal strength at him. Wang Biming was thrown back by the powerful internal strength and landed not far from Mu Dishi.
Immediately, Ma Jingguo and Fu Yuanjun swung around, and Ma Jingguo struck Fu Yuanjun's chest with his right hand. Ma Jingguo's blow caused Fu Yuanjun to fly toward Mu Dishi, several feet away from Wang Biming. Fu Yuanjun fell to the ground and vomited blood.
Knowing he could not beat Ma Jingguo, Fu Yuanjun drew the knife hidden in his boot and rushed toward Mu Dishi, aiming straight for his heart. Everyone knew they were too far away from Mu Dishi to save him. Ma Jingguo quickly rushed forward.
Mu Dishi did not look away from Fu Yuanjun, and a golden needle appeared between his fingers. He planned to let Fu Yuanjun stab him, and he would stab Fu Yuanjun with his poison needle in return. As long as the needle pierced Fu Yuanjun's skin, Fu Yuanjun would die.