187 Cuck-Ka-Doodle-Doo
Beep
While Cao Mao was waiting for a customer behind a stall, his phone rang. He picked it up to see who the caller was.
It was Ju Chen.
Cao Mao answered the phone, "What up?"
[We need your help. Can you come to the Ma Clan's inn real quick?]
"Huh? What's wrong? Something happened?"
[Yeah. Ma Xingjuan and Pang Lingming have been injured. We need a hand.]
Cao Mao had a deep frown on his face. He packed his items into his spatial rings and closed the shop. Then, he leaped over the top of buildings, rushing toward the inn.
10 minutes later, Cao Mao reached the battle site, where the white-masked old man and Pang Lingming had fought.
The inn was already shabby when Cao Mao first visited. Now, its condition was worse than several buildings in the slum district.
On the ground floor, no one was there.
Cao Mao expanded his senses. Then, he located six people on the third floor. He rushed there, hoping that Ju Chen would be unharmed.
When Cao Mao reached the third floor, he followed his sense toward his room.
In the lounge area of the suite, which Cao Mao had rented the Ma Clan, he found Pang Lingming, Ma Shoucheng, Ma Moxi, and Ju Shoufen. But he sensed the presence of Ju Chen and another person in the master bedroom.
Cao Mao was surprised when he saw Ju Shoufen here.
"Senior Ju?"
Ju Shoufen snorted when she saw Cao Mao, "Brat, you've come at the right time. Go see the girls in the bedroom. They need your help."
Ma Moxi stood up and yelled, "I don't approve of this method! There must be another way to heal her!"
Ma Shoucheng rolled his eyes, "Are you going to do your cousin instead?"
"I didn't mean that I will DO THAT to her. Isn't there a pill that can cure the poison?"
Ju Shoufen shook her head, "I used to work as a garden master for the myriad cauldron sect for decades. I can guarantee you. That poison is special. It can't be cured with common antidotes or medicines. Unless a man satisfies her sexual need, she won't recover."
"So you're giving your daughter to THIS GUY!?" Ma Moxi pointed his finger at Cao Mao's face while he turned to Ma Shoucheng.
Cao Mao raised his eyebrows as he was confused about what they were talking about. Still, he was annoyed when someone pointed a finger at his face and spoke in a loud voice. He entered the lounge and stood behind Ju Shoufen. Then, he leaned closer to the elder and asked her.
"What's going on here?"
Ju Shoufen didn't answer. She gave Ma Shoucheng a meaningful look, so the latter could do it in her stead.
Ma Shoucheng had a bitter smile on his face. He explained, "An asshole from the imperial army fed Xingjuan a deadly aphrodisiac pill. We tried to drive the poison out, but it was useless..."
"Huh?"
"Just get in the bedroom, and you'll know the rest! Don't make me change my mind!"
Getting yelled at by Ma Shoucheng without knowing the reason was vexing. Cao Mao clicked his tongue and walked to the bedroom.
But Ma Moxi jumped out of his seat and stood before the door, "You can't enter."
"MOXI!!" Ma Shoucheng was furious, "SHE IS MY DAUGHTER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO INTERVENE WITH MY DECISION!!"
Ma Moxi yelled back, "YOU CAN'T GIVE YOUR DAUGHTER TO A STRANGER! THIS IS XINGJUAN'S FUTURE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!!"
Ma Shoucheng and Ma Moxi continued yelling at each other for a whole minute. Their exchange got on Cao Mao's nerve as he was left out of the loop.
Fortunately, Ju Shoufen stopped being lazy and explained the situation through a telepathic voice transmission. Only Cao Mao could hear her voice.
'Ma Shoucheng's daughter has eaten your aphrodisiac pill, you little shit!'
Ju Shoufen bought several orc strength pills from Cao Mao when they were still at Yeet City. Thus, she was aware of the characteristic of this aphrodisiac poison.
In fact, the elder had eaten one to test its effect. She ended up having to stay in-door for a day to concoct a special antidote. Even after taking the cure, she had a hard time controlling her sexual urge for a week afterward. Ju Shoufen was always pissed whenever she saw Cao Mao's face, which reminded her of the dark past.
'I intentionally told them that I couldn't cure it, so we can have an excuse to make her your wife. Use this opportunity to form ties with the Ma Clan, so we can bring them to our side. We don't have many chances to get several war veterans to be our allies. Don't waste my effort, you dipshit!'
Cao Mao was enlightened. He grinned and nodded in admiration that Ju Shoufen was so thoughtful.
Now that Cao Mao understood a part of this little incident, he gazed at Ma Moxi, who was still blocking the door into the bedroom. He thought of common novel plots and questioned what would have happened had no one interfered with Ma Moxi's fate.
Since Ma Moxi was a harem protagonist, he might have been destined to be Ma Xingjuan's husband, even though it was deemed immoral in many modern cultures. Although the pill was made by Cao Mao, Ma Xingjuan might have suffered from a similar poison and ended up in the same situation. After all, there was no way that Ma Moxi and Ma Xingjuan would be together as a husband and wife without a forced development since they were technically relatives.
Realizing that he could cuckold the protagonist, Cao Mao's Godzilla twitched in excitement.
Without caring about Ma Moxi's opinion, Cao Mao waddled to the bedroom.
"BASTARD! STOP!"
Ma Moxi lost his reason and threw a hook punch at Cao Mao's face. His fist glowed in golden light as it was enhanced by gold element Qi.
Cao Mao's reaction speed got better after living in this world for over a year, including the time in the Isolation Training Space. He leaned backward in reflex even though he was caught off guard.
The punch missed the target.
Cao Mao's muscle memory kicked in. He grabbed the back of Ma Moxi's right shoulder and the latter's right wrist. Then, he twisted the wrist and threw the protagonist to the ground.
Once again, Cao Mao put Ma Moxi on a hammerlock.
But this time, Cao Mao had already brought out KQ when he was rushing to the inn. The katana was in a scabbard, hanging behind his back.
Since KQ was here, Cao Mao ordered her to use her new ability.
A strand of Xie Tian's dragon Qi entered Ma Moxi's right arm!
Ma Moxi could feel the heat. He gritted his teeth and activated his escape art.
Heaven and Earth Escape!
History repeated. Ma Moxi's body became smoke. Then, he reappeared behind Cao Mao.
This time, Ma Moxi summoned his golden sword. Without leaking a strand of killing intent, he hacked at Cao Mao's neck.
CLANK
Killer Queen unsheathed herself and blocked the attack. She screeched and pushed back the strike.
Ma Moxie staggered two steps backward. He circulated wood Qi and gold Qi into his sword, preparing for all-out combat.
Fortunately, Pang Lingming and Ju Shoufen were nearby.
Pang Lingming grabbed Ma Moxi's collar and pulled him away from Cao Mao. Ju Shoufen also stood in front of her hateful grandson-in-law, protecting him.
No one but Ma Moxi and Cao Mao noticed the strand of dragon Qi in the former's body. Ma Moxi tried to drive it out of his right arm, but it embedded into his right shoulder bone, refusing the move.
A transmuted bomb had been planted!
Cao Mao sneered. Although he had an urge to press the detonator, he chose not to destroy the protagonist's right arm at the moment since the seniors were here. He continued to pretend that he was a trustworthy and righteous young man, who deserved to be Ma Ping and Ma Shoucheng's in-law.
Also, if Cao Mao wanted to, he could detonate Ma Moxi's right arm at a critical moment. Then, he might be able to kill this potential threat before he could even kill Liu Bian.
The plan was good, but Ma Moxi was not a na?ve protagonist. He bellowed and told everyone about Cao Mao's action, "THAT BASTARD DID SOMETHING TO MY RIGHT ARM!! HE INJECTED FIRE ELEMENT QI INTO MY SHOULDER!! DON'T LET HIM BE XINGJUAN'S HUSBAND!"
Ma Shoucheng and Pang Lingming's face changed. The latter sent his Qi into Ma Moxi's right shoulder to inspect the son of his lord.
Then, Pang Lingming found the mysterious strand of dragon Qi. It latched onto Ma Moxi's bone as if it wanted to consume everything. He didn't know what this Qi strand could do to his young lord, but he couldn't blame Cao Mao for what he had done. After all, Ma Moxi struck first.
Pang Lingming stood in front of Ma Moxi. Then, he cupped his fist and bowed to Cao Mao and Ju Shoufen.
"I'm terribly sorry for my young lord's action. Even though you've come here to help us, our Moxi still offends you. I know that he attacked first, but could you give us some face and dispel the curse for the sake of our long-lasting friendship?"
Pang Lingming mistook the strand of Qi as a curse type of skill or spell. He was afraid that the curse would destroy Ma Moxi's future cultivation life.
Ju Shoufen also glanced back at Cao Mao, who tried his best to maintain his poker face.
"Brat, what did you do?"
Cao Mao shrugged, "Self-defense."
"I know that it was self-defense, but using a curse against your future in-law is excessive. Dispel it."
A bitter smile appeared on Cao Mao's face. It seemed that Ma Moxi's plot armor strength was active again.
Still, Cao Mao's right hand was holding the trigger. As long as he pressed his thumb down, the transmuted bomb would detonate and severely injure Ma Moxi. The villain contemplated if crippling this protagonist right now was worth ruining the relationship with the Ma Clan.
Thinking of the upcoming auction event and the plot development so far, Cao Mao got cold feet. Sooner or later, Ma Ping would recover, and they would become a force to reckon with. Cao Mao couldn't afford to offend Ma Ping, Ma Shoucheng, and Pang Lingming right now.
If he wanted to kill the protagonist, it had to be done in secret, just like how he killed Xie Tian!
"Alright. I'll cancel it, but I need to touch his shoulder again."
Cao Mao sheathed KQ. He walked toward Ma Moxi while all elders were watching him, getting ready to move if either of the two youths got into a fight again.
Ma Moxi cooperated. He allowed Cao Mao to touch him.
Cao Mao grudgingly withdrew back the dragon Qi. Then, he returned it to KQ.
But before he let go of his hand, he whispered to Ma Moxi's ear in a loud voice so that all elders could hear it.
"Don't randomly attack other people again. Don't you have enough of being called good-for-nothing trash? Do you want to be called a thug instead? Do your grandfather a favor. Stop causing trouble for others!"
"…"
Ma Moxi stared into Cao Mao's eyes. He gritted his teeth in anger, but he was unable to refute.
Cao Mao snorted and walked away. He entered the bedroom, where Ma Xingjuan and Ju Chen were.
Pang Lingming patted Ma Moxi's back. Then, he guided everyone downstairs, so Cao Mao and Ma Xingjuan could have their private time.
Ma Moxi looked back and glared at the bedroom. He turned around, planning to interfere with Cao Mao.
But Ma Shoucheng rolled his wheelchair and blocked the protagonist's path.
"Uncle. Please make way."
Ma Shoucheng sneered, "So, you're not satisfied being my nephew, but you want to be my son-in-law as well? Our family will be humiliated for decades if you become Xingjuan's husband."
"That's not what I intend! I just can't stand that cat meow-meow bastard! He doesn't deserve Xingjuan."
"Then, who deserves her?"
"That's…"
"You?"
"…"
Ma Moxi couldn't answer. He lowered his head and avoided eye-contact.
"Tell you what, Moxi. Even if you can heal me and my father, not in a million years will I entrust my daughter to you! I know that you're trying to change, but there is always something that you can never obtain no matter what in your life with your meager abilities. Xingjuan is one of them," Ma Shoucheng snorted in disgust as he rolled his wheelchair away from the door.
"…"
Ma Moxi bit his lower lips. He clenched his fist so hard that his fingernails dug into his hands.
In the end, Ma Moxi gave up and followed everyone back to the Ma residence. He also had something to report to his family regarding his developed pills.
'Fine. It's not like she's my girlfriend or anything. That original body owner is the one fantasizing about her, not me! I'm a fucking hitman, dammit! I don't need a woman in my life!'
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