Chapter 331: Lifeline
Lu Chunying came out of the room. She descended the stairs one step at a time and walked calmly over to Duan Shaoxia.
She did not look Duan Shaoxia in the eye. Instead, she lowered her head and bowed. "Madam, thank you for saving me."
The living room was full of people from the Hundred Flowers Sect, and Lu Chunying stood there alone among them, as fragile as a leaf in the wind. One wrong gust, and she might be dead.
Zuo Wugang kept one foot planted on Lu Dongtang and quietly clenched his fist. Lu Yuanxin remained perfectly still, but his hand moved in secret as he scattered insect bait. Xiao Yeci gritted her teeth and was ready to risk her life.
Zhang Xiuling glanced at Duan Shaoxia while Duan Shaoxia glanced at the corpses that had exploded beside her.
After a long silence, Duan Shaoxia finally spoke. "Chunying, well done. You have Dongliang's spirit from back then. It is not safe for you here. Be good and come back to the main residence with me. We are family."
Lu Chunying said nothing.
Duan Shaoxia raised her head and looked toward the second floor. "Yeci, come back with me too. From now on, we sisters can live properly together."
Her voice was so sorrowful and so sincere that Xiao Yeci actually felt tempted to say yes. Before Xiao Yeci could say anything, Lu Chunying said, "Madam, I think I should stay here."
Duan Shaoxia's eyes filled with tears. "Chunying, do you still not trust me?"
Lu Chunying shook her head. "Madam, I trust you. You have treated me like my own mother. But I cannot move to the main residence . You saw it yourself. Granduncle cannot stand me, and I do not want to drag you into this."
Duan Shaoxia's voice trembled. "I am not afraid of being dragged into anything. I only want our family to live together."
Tears slipped down Lu Chunying's cheeks as well. "Madam, I want that too. But not now. I don't have the right to step into the main residence yet."
Duan Shaoxia began to cry. "Chunying, you do. If I say you do, then you do!"
Lu Chunying shook her head again. "I can't go, and I shouldn't go. Brother Huaiyi is already by your side taking care of you. If I move in as well, the whole household will start gossiping again."
That was deep.
In terms of seniority, Zhang Huaiyi and Lu Chunying were of the same generation. Formally, however, Zhang Huaiyi was still an outsider to the Lu family.
Was there anything wrong with the two of them living under the same roof? Well, that depended very much on who was looking.
To ordinary people, there might not have been a problem at all. The Lu family's main estate was enormous, after all. It was the sort of place where two people could live under the same roof and still be separated by enough halls, courtyards, and nosy servants to fill a small village.
But to a prestigious and wealthy family, it would be an issue. Zhang Huaiyi already had his eyes on the Lu Family's property. If he got his hands on Lu Chunying as well, then it would be a huge problem!
After Lu Chunying said this, the tears disappeared from Madam Duan's eyes, and her expression turned unusually grim and sinister.
What was she supposed to do? Kick Zhang Huaiyi out? That was her own son!
After a brief moment of gloom, Duan Shaoxia's sincere tears returned. "Chunying, I really want you to come home."
Lu Chunying's tears were no fewer than hers. "Madam, I want to come home too, but I really cannot go back now."
Inside the bedroom, Li Banfeng brewed himself a cup of green tea and listened carefully to the two women weeping at each other with perfect sincerity.
Persuasion was obviously not going to work. Zhang Xiuling kept her eyes on Duan Shaoxia, waiting to see whether Madam Duan would start forcing.
Duan Shaoxia looked toward the bedroom upstairs. There was Zuo Wugang, ready to fight at any moment. There was Lu Yuanxin, quietly prepared to strike from the shadows. And there was Li Qi, who could not be seen for now.
While Duan Shaoxia was still hesitating, someone leaned close to Zhang Xiuling and whispered, "Sect Master, Ma Wu is here."
Ma Wu had arrived at the house with Huo Ling and a group of support hooks.
Now the matter was going to get very big indeed.
Duan Shaoxia looked at Ma Wu. "Junyang, you came too."
Back at White Poplar Teahouse, Li Banfeng had dealt with Lu Maoxian's men and found out through them that Lu Chunying was in danger.
He had told Ma Wu to bring people over at once, Unfortunately, Ma Wu could not move quickly, which was why he had only arrived now.
Ma Wu took one look at the scene inside the room and understood the situation at once. He bowed calmly. "Madam, I came late."
With that one sentence, Ma Wu made his position clear. He was here to save people and not here to start trouble.
With that one sentence, Ma Wu did a very clever thing. He did not merely tell everyone why he had come. He also placed Duan Shaoxia neatly on the same side.
He was basically saying: Madam, you must be here to save people too?
Zhang Xiuling frowned slightly and counted the people on both sides.
It was hard to judge everyone's cultivation level at a glance, but in terms of numbers alone, it was no longer clear who would win if a fight broke out.
Duan Shaoxia gave Ma Wu a faint nod. "Junyang, Chunying is a good child of our Lu family. You must take good care of her."
Ma Wu nodded slightly. Without either of them quite realizing it, their eyes met for the briefest instant.
In that instant, a red vein appeared in Duan Shaoxia's eye. A red vein appeared in Ma Wu's eye as well.
Duan Shaoxia turned back to Lu Chunying. "Yingying, come home and visit when you have time. Even if you only sit with me and talk for a while, it would make me feel much better."
Lu Chunying nodded again and again, but she still would not lift her head.
Duan Shaoxia looked at Lu Dongtang. "You brought men here to murder a member of the main family. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Lu Dongtang shouted, "My father sent me! If you want answers, go ask him!"
Duan Shaoxia turned to Zhang Xiuling. "Sister, you heard that, did you not?"
Zhang Xiuling nodded. "Hundred Flowers Sect will bear witness. Lu Maoxian plotted to murder the member of the main branch. I heard it clearly."
Back when Zhang Xiuling became the sect master of Hundred Flowers Sect, the Pure Conduct Society had done many things that made her life hard.
She had remembered that grudge well, and today, she was more than happy to stand as witness.
Duan Shaoxia turned back to Lu Dongtang. "Your whole family plotted to murder a member of the main branch. What else do you have to say?"
Lu Dongtang shouted, "It was my father's order! If you want to know the reason, you will have to wait for my father to explain it himself. What do you think you are doing? You dare touch me?"
Duan Shaoxia said, "Chunying, according to the family rules, this scoundrel should not be allowed to live."
With that, Duan Shaoxia was telling Lu Chunying to kill Lu Dongtang herself.
Lu Chunying glanced at Lu Dongtang. Lu Dongtang had come here to kill her. As far as she was concerned, this was a grudge she had every right to settle.
Besides, more than half of the Lu Family already recognized her as the rightful heir of the main branch. Since this was a matter of family rules, she did have to act.
However, in terms of seniority, Lu Dongtang was Lu Chunying's uncle. If she killed him now, would people use it against her later? After all, she was not the family head yet. If she did not act now, she would lose face, lose authority, and leave this future threat alive in front of everyone.
Just as Lu Chunying was trapped between those two unpleasant choices, Lu Yuanxin suddenly spoke. "Miss Chunying, I have a private matter to discuss with Uncle Dongtang."
He walked over to Lu Dongtang.
Lu Dongtang panicked at once. "Yuanxin, back then, Uncle doted on you the most. When you were little, I even carried you in my arms..."
The words Lu Dongtang had used to humiliate Lu Yuanxin back at Lu Maoxian's house still rang in Lu Yuanxin's ears.
Lu Yuanxin said nothing. He crouched beside Lu Dongtang and placed a pair of spotted earwigs by his ears.
Earwigs were also known as earclamp bug, named after the little pincers on their tails. There was an old folk saying about them, a wonderfully horrible one. People said earwigs could crawl into a person's ear, bite through the eardrum, burrow into the brain, and feast on the marrow inside.
Actually, earwigs mostly ate rotten leaves and dead branches, and some ate other insects. They generally had no interest in harming people.
The only exception would be the red-and-white spotted earwigs. They were nasty little creatures bred specially by Entomic Cultivators. Once urged by an Entomic Cultivator's ability, they would become vicious enough to crawl into the skull and wreck the brain for real.
At first, Lu Dongtang only felt an unbearable itch in his ears. Once the itch passed, pain came rushing in behind it. Then one ear went deaf. In less than a minute, the earwigs had already burrowed into his skull.
Lu Dongtang screamed again and again. Then, his whole body jerked violently.
A few minutes later, he stopped moving.
Lu Yuanxin took out a short blade, cut off Lu Dongtang's head, and stood before Lu Chunying. "Lu Dongtang plotted to murder a member of the main branch. He has now been executed according to family rules!"
When Duan Shaoxia saw this, she felt like she was seeing Lu Dongliang and Lu Dongjun from years ago. It seemed to be a little different. In Lu Yuanxin, Duan Shaoxia saw a rare sort of loyalty, the kind Lu Dongjun had almost never possessed.
However, Lu Yuanxin had only known Lu Chunying for a short while. Why would he go this far for her?
Duan Shaoxia thought about it for a moment, then understood. In the Lu family, Lu Chunying was the only person who had ever looked at Lu Yuanxin as if he was worth something. She was also his one and only chance to climb out of the mud.
With that thought, Duan Shaoxia nodded. "Chunying, I think we should ask your granduncle for an explanation."
Lu Chunying nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."
Everyone set off for Lu Maoxian's estate, escorting the captured assassins with them.
Before they left, Ma Wu made a special trip upstairs to ask Li Banfeng, "Old Qi, are you coming?"
"Of course," Li Banfeng said. "I want to see what sort of explanation Lu Maoxian can give."
Of course, Li Banfeng knew perfectly well that Lu Maoxian would not be able to give any explanation. However, an ending was needed for the matter today.
Lu Maoxian was dead. And now, one very important question had to be settled. From this day onward, who would be the one calling the shots in the Lu Family?
The group arrived at Lu Maoxian's estate in a grand, noisy procession. They were not the least bit worried about people finding out. Today, they had come to purge the family of its rot.
On this point, Lu Chunying and Duan Shaoxia were of one mind. They both intended to use this chance to strip Lu Maoxian of every last bit of say he had in the family. But when everyone saw the estate thrown into complete chaos, they realized Lu Maoxian truly had no say anymore. In fact, he would never say another word again.
Lu Maoxian had died and no one knew who killed him.
Before Lu Chunying could even gather her thoughts, Duan Shaoxia suddenly burst into tears.
No one knew who she was crying for, or what exactly she was crying about. All they knew was that she cried with such heart-splitting grief that anyone listening almost wanted to cry along with her.
Was she trying to play the good person now?
"Lu Yuanxin had no interest in being a good person. He shouted to the crowd, "No matter what state Granduncle is in today, there must still be an explanation for the plot against the main branch!"
Lu Maoxian's other children did not dare make a sound. His dozen or so concubines were so frightened that they could only weep.
Lu Yuanxin gave Lu Chunying his suggestion. "Wipe out Lu Maoxian's entire branch and prevent any future trouble for good."
Duan Shaoxia kept crying, but while she cried, she quietly studied Lu Yuanxin. There was a viciousness in him, a hard little streak of cruelty that was no less frightening than Lu Dongjun's back in the day.
Ma Wu stood at the back of the crowd and lowered his voice. "Old Qi, what do you think?"
"Don't ask me," Li Banfeng said. "You are the young master of a great family. You must have seen more of this sort of family mess than I have."
Ma Wu thought for a moment. "Lu Yuanxin may be ruthless, but he is not wrong about this."
Lu Chunying was still thinking about what to do when a rumble came from the distance.
Huff, huff!
A steam-powered car came chugging toward them.
Such a thing was rarely seen in Greenwater City, and even across all of Puluo Province, it was not exactly common.
Ma Wu recognized the person inside from far away. "Old Qi, that is Liao Zihui, the Border Controller."
A Border Controller had arrived.
Li Banfeng swept a glance over the steam-powered car. There were six people inside.
Ma Wu lowered his voice. "The one wearing the hat is Liao Zihui. The rest are his bodyguards."
Liao Zihui wore a long gown and a hat, with a pair of round sunglasses on his face. He was about 1.7 meters tall, and from the look of it, his waist was almost the same measurement.
After getting out of the car, Liao Zihui asked a few simple questions about what had happened. Then he looked at everyone and said, "This matter ends here today."
Just one simple sentence, and that was supposed to be the end of it?
Lu Yuanxin was not quite willing to accept this, but he said nothing.
Liao Zihui came to Lu Chunying and said expressionlessly, "Tomorrow, the Border Control Office will host a banquet. The invitation will be delivered shortly. I hope Miss Chunying will do us the honor of attending."
Lu Chunying said nothing. Beside her, Xiao Yeci urged, "Nan'nan, hurry and agree."
Only then did Lu Chunying give a small nod.
Liao Zihui got back into the car and left at once. From the moment he arrived to the moment he departed, he had stayed for less than half an hour.
And in that short half hour, a bloody battle came to an end.
Zhang Xiuling escorted Duan Shaoxia back to the Lu family's main estate, while Ma Wu led his people in escorting Lu Chunying back to her own residence.
On the way, Zuo Wugang's expression turned grave. He said to Ma Wu, "Master Wu, I did not see Lu Dongchun just now."
Lu Yuanxin looked just as serious. "That menace is the only one who cannot be allowed to live."
Lu Chunying asked, "What is Lu Dongchun's cultivation path? Her fighting style looked very strange."
"She is a Threadbound Cultivator," Lu Yuanxin said. "This cultivation path is terribly wicked. In the early stages, they can train their clothes until the fabric becomes frighteningly tough. During the latest stages of their cultivation, they might have nothing but clothes left.
Lu Chunying did not understand. "What do you mean by nothing but clothes left?"
"No flesh. No blood. Just clothes from head to toe."
***
Lu Dongchun was still inside Lu Maoxian's estate. She had been ready to fight to the death.
However, once she learned that Lu Chunying had already left with her people, Lu Dongchun picked up an iron and began pressing it over herself again and again.
The holes layered across her clothes started giving off thin wisps of green smoke, one after another. The clothgnawers were being burned to death.
Lu Dongchun took out a sewing needle and slowly picked out the dead insects. Then she threaded the needle and began stitching up the wounds on her body.
She started with her face.
***
Back at Freewind Wharf, Li Banfeng asked Ma Wu, "Isn't there a saying? For internal matters, look to the banner. For external matters, ask the Border Control Office. So why would the Border Controller interfere in the Lu family's internal affairs?"
Ma Wu rubbed his eyes as he spoke, "The Border Controller does not easily interfere in the internal affairs of the great families. But once he does, none of the great families will refuse to give him face."
"So in other words, the great families of Puluo Province are still under the Border Control Office's control?"
"It can't be helped," Ma Wu said. "The Border Control Office controls the routes between places. If a family goes against them, their business will no longer be able to operate."
"Actually, what happened today might be a good thing. By inviting Lu Chunying to a banquet, the Border Control Office is more or less recognizing her as the head of the Lu Family.
"I just did not expect Duan Shaoxia to have dealings with Hundred Flowers Sect. Because of that, it is still very hard to say if Lu Chunying will be able to sit firmly in that family head's seat."
As they spoke, Ma Wu kept rubbing his eyes. He rubbed and rubbed until blood began to seep from his left eye.
Li Banfeng stared at him in shock. "What got into your eye? Why are you rubbing it so hard?"
Ma Wu smiled. "A root of love got into my eye, but I have just rubbed it out. Old Qi, Duan Shaoxia is a Love Cultivator, and a high level one."
Author's Note:
PS: Ma Wu has a deep understanding of Love Cultivators.
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