Ah Chen, Kuo Changchang, and the two female juniors got to the tavern just before the sunset. They walked inside the tavern. The air inside was warm and thick with the smell of food and drink. The low hum of conversation, punctuated by occasional laughter and the clinking of cups, filled the space. Patrons sat at tables, some nursing cups of tea or wine, seemingly undisturbed. Then they noticed the waiter still cleaning the blood on the floor.
One of the other waiters led them to a different table. The waiter asked, his voice weary, "What would you like?"
Kuo Changchang asked, her voice sharp with concern, "Waiter, what happened here?"
The waiter replied, wringing out a bloody rag, "The blood belonged to a disciple of Tianshan Sect."
Kuo Changchang asked, her eyes widening slightly, "Are they dead?"
The waiter said, shaking his head, "One is dead and five are injured. At first, I thought for sure that the single man would lose, but it turned out that the single man defeated the five Tianshan disciples easily with only a few moves."
Ah Chen asked, his voice quiet, "What color clothes did the man wear?"
The waiter thought for a bit and then said, uncertainly, "Oh... I think it was light green and white. He called Leader Suo..." The waiter whispered, leaning closer, "He called Leader Suo a dog."
Ah Chen said softly, his voice barely audible, "He is already here." He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
Kuo Changchang asked, her brow furrowed with confusion, "Ah Chen, what is going on?"
Ah Chen said, opening his eyes and meeting her gaze, "Waiter, we would like four rooms."
The waiter replied, apologetically, "Sorry, there is only two rooms left."
Kuo Changchang said, decisively, "We will take the two rooms then."
Inside the dark bedroom, Ah Chen set a broken comb tied with a red string, a jade hairpin, and a jade flute on the table. When Ah Chen looked at the three items, he recalled his five years spent inside the cave: a small cave that was neatly built into an underground living space, he called home.
His first year inside the cave, he spent learning flute notes and at the same time training and building his inner energy. Every time his shushu practiced his string skills, Ah Chen would have to play the same flute melody. His shushu stated that listening to that particular sound kept his mind calm. He remembered the first year on his birthday, his shushu took him to a section of the cave. His shushu opened the door to a room. The entire room was a cave filled with gold, silver, pearls, and jade.
Standing before the entrance, Ah Chen was speechless. He had never seen so much gold, silver, pearls, and jade. He asked softly, his voice full of awe, "Xiao shushu, there is so much here. Where did all this come from?"
Mu Dishi asked, his tone flat, "Jingguo, do you want to be the owner of these treasures?"
Ma Jingguo picked up a golden wine cup, examined it, and then tossed the cup away towards a pile of gold coins. He shrugged both of his shoulders. He smiled playfully. "Nah... Everything here belonged to xiao shushu, and they didn't belong to me. I am already happy enough that xiao shushu still allowed me to pick an item from here." He walked and looked around. He spotted a white jade flute. He picked it up. His eyes sparkled. "Xiao shushu, I want this one. I am tired of using the bamboo flute."
Mu Dishi said, with a slight nod, "Good, you didn't want to be the owner of these treasures. If you did, your corpse would be added to the collection of corpses of the Mu treasure cave. Your parents were examples of that collection."
Ma Jingguo gave Mu Dishi a big smile. His voice was sincere. "Xiao shushu, I don't want any of these. What I wanted was to be beside you. I am most happy when I played my flute and looked at you while you practiced your Killer String."
Every year after that, Mu Dishi allowed Ma Jingguo to pick one item from the treasure cave.
On Ma Jingguo's fifteenth birthday, he picked a jade hairpin that was set by itself away from other treasures. When Mu Dishi woke up that morning, Ma Jingguo combed his hair using the jade comb he had picked years earlier. Mu Dishi noticed that Ma Jingguo's recent behavior was strange. Mu Dishi looked up at the reflection in the mirror and saw Ma Jingguo's gaze.
Ma Jingguo smiled. His voice was gentle. "Xiao shushu, do you know you have the most beautiful hair?" He smiled, looking at Mu Dishi's reflection in the mirror.
Mu Dishi said coldly, his voice flat, "Hair is all alike."
Ma Jingguo countered, shaking his head, "Not true. Xiao shushu's hair smelled and felt different."
Mu Dishi asked, his gaze still distant, "Did you pick your birthday gift?"
Ma Jingguo tied Mu Dishi's hair up using a greenish ribbon. He placed Mu Dishi's favorite hair ornament on his hair. He said, "I did." He took out the jade hairpin and pinned it on his tied hair. "There." He smiled. "Very beautiful."
Mu Dishi said, his voice softening slightly, "Jingguo, you always said you wanted to go to Jiangnan, right?"
Ma Jingguo quickly moved from behind Mu Dishi and knelt at his right side. He smiled and said, his voice filled with hopeful excitement, "Xiao shushu, can we really go?"
Mu Dishi said, "Go pack up your clothes. I'll wait for you at the front entrance."
Ma Jingguo grabbed Mu Dishi's right hand. His voice was overwhelmed with gratitude. "Xiao shushu, thank you so much. I know you're going to love Jiangnan."
Ma Jingguo was excited and happy at the same time. He thought of all the things he and Mu Dishi could do in Jiangnan. He always wanted to travel around the Yangtze River, but his parents were always on the run. He was packing his clothes, then suddenly he had an image of him and Mu Dishi sitting on a boat cruising down the Yangtze River. Mu Dishi and he sat at the table. Mu Dishi played his guzheng while he played his flute. The two of them enjoyed their sweet melodies of the two instruments cruising carefree down the Yangtze River.
Ma Jingguo ran to the front entrance; he saw Mu Dishi standing handsomely, still waiting for him. Just by looking at Mu Dishi's back was enough to satisfy him. In his life, there were three people that were most important to him. They were his deceased parents and Mu Dishi. He slowly walked to Mu Dishi.
Mu Dishi opened the front entrance trap door, and the ten thousand-pound door slid up. Ma Jingguo felt the fresh air rushing inside the cave. In excitement, he rushed out of the cave, embracing the fresh air.
Ma Jingguo asked, his voice bright with anticipation, "Xiao shushu, what do you want to eat when we are in Tong Village?" He heard no answer, so he turned around. He saw Mu Dishi, who was still standing at the front entrance. His smile faltered. "Xiao shushu, did you forget something?" Then he realized that Mu Dishi did not carry his bag.
Mu Dishi threw a big white pouch toward Ma Jingguo's feet. He said coldly, his voice devoid of warmth, "That money is enough for you to travel for the rest of your life."
Ma Jingguo asked, his voice trembling, "Xiao shushu, are we going together?"
Mu Dishi said, his gaze like ice, "The only person leaving is you." He looked coldly at Ma Jingguo and said, "Never return here."
Ma Jingguo walked toward the front entrance, but Mu Dishi sent a single golden needle at him. Ma Jingguo said sadly, tears welling in his eyes, "Xiao shushu, then I don't want to go anymore. Let me stay with you... From now on, I will never mention leaving."
Mu Dishi said, his voice hard, "You go. I don't need you anymore."
Ma Jingguo asked, his voice broken, "What do you mean? I already promised my mother I would be beside you always."
Mu Dishi replied, his tone flat and final, "I've completed level ten of the Killer String Manual. I don't need your flute to calm my mind anymore. I took you in for this purpose only. Whatever you promised that dog is none of my concern."
Ma Jingguo felt both of his eyes were wet. He didn't believe that Mu Dishi would be so heartless. The past five years they spent together, he sensed that Mu Dishi did care a lot for him, but now he was told that Mu Dishi was only using him. Even so, he was not mad at Mu Dishi because he really wanted to be beside Mu Dishi. He took two steps forward; he saw that Mu Dishi held the jade hairpin in his right hand.
Mu Dishi said coldly, his voice a low threat, "If you take another step, this hairpin will be in your chest."
Ma Jingguo's tears fell down; he bit his lips. He said, his voice choked with emotion, "I don't believe xiao shushu would hurt me with the very present I had given to xiao shushu." He took one more step toward the front entrance, then he felt sharp pain on his right shoulder. He looked down; the jade hairpin pierced through his skin, with blood dripping down, smearing his robe. The pain on his shoulder was incomparable to the pain inside his heart. Then the ten thousand-pound stone door dropped down. He waited outside in the cold for three days and three nights, but that stone door never opened again. He finally gave up and walked to Jiangnan by himself.
As his most precious memories slowly faded away and the present reality cleared his vision, he found himself sitting inside the room he had booked, still staring at his most precious possessions. He felt deeply hurt every time he revisited his memory, and yet he often revisited it knowing that it would hurt him, but most importantly, he never wanted to forget Mu Dishi's face.
Therefore, it hurt him even more, five years later, when he saw Mu Dishi inside that temple, he was so shocked. Mu Dishi still looked as handsome as the last time he saw his face. His dark brows, his cold phoenix eyes, black, silky long hair with his favorite hair ornament. Everything about him was still exactly as the last time they parted at that front entrance. He knew that Mu Dishi was highly skilled, which was why he threw the army seal to Mu Dishi.
Ma Jingguo sighed deeply. He heard knocking on his door, so he stood up and opened the door. It was Kuo Changchang.
Kuo Changchang asked, her voice quiet, "Ah Chen, are you sleeping yet?"
Ma Jingguo replied, his voice soft, "Shijie, I have not slept yet."
Kuo Changchang said, stepping inside, "I can't sleep." She glanced at the table; she saw a hairpin, a flute, and a comb. She asked, her voice curious, "Do you know the man in green and white?"
Ma Jingguo asked, trying to sound innocent, "Why do Shijie think I know the person?"
Kuo Changchang said, "When we were in the dining room you said something like 'he is here,' so I thought you might know him."
Ma Jingguo said, his voice flat, "I don't know him. If we knew each other, he would recognize me."
Kuo Changchang said, "That is true. Do you think he is the same person who we met inside that temple?"
Ma Jingguo said, shrugging slightly, "I don't know."
That was a lie. Ma Jingguo knew that the injured and dead Tianshan disciples were done by Mu Dishi. The many years he spent with Mu Dishi, whoever he hated or had wronged, he called them dogs. Even his deceased parents Mu Dishi called them dogs. He never asked Mu Dishi what his parents had done wrong. He was afraid that if he brought that up, Mu Dishi would kick him out, but at the end, Mu Dishi kicked him out anyway with no apparent reason other than a simple phrase: 'I don't need you anymore'.
Kuo Changchang looked at the three items on the table. She gestured towards them. "These are?"
Ma Jingguo said, his voice soft with emotion, "They were given to me by a very special person."
Kuo Changchang smiled, understanding dawning, "I better not bother you anymore."
Ma Jingguo closed the door behind him; he sat back down on the table. He grabbed the jade comb and murmured softly, his voice filled with longing, "Xiao shushu, you are the wind that I can feel and touch, but no matter how hard I've tried, I can never capture you in my palms."