Chapter 331: The Battle of the Robe

Lu Mao didn't know who had ambushed him; he was about to call for backup when Tang Dao swung the blade and struck again.

Since the Suishenju changed its nature, Li Banfeng could go anywhere just by thinking of it.

This matter had caused Li Banfeng considerable trouble, but this time, he truly took advantage of the Suishenju.

Before stepping out, he carefully observed Lu Mao's bedroom, memorizing every detail; the moment he stepped out, he appeared directly in Lu Mao's bedroom.

Yu Zhaixiu, just stepping out, was easily overlooked, and since Lu Mao was weak from injury, Tang Dao struck him down in one blow.

Lu Mao cried out: "To attack without warning is unrighteous—"

Li Banfeng suddenly appeared and slit Lu Mao's throat.

He wanted to drag Lu Mao back into the Suishenju for slow interrogation, but he couldn't return—the key was still in Heishi City.

Lu Mao, the patriarch of the Lu family and a once-formidable warlord, clutched his neck, struggled for a moment, and died.

What a pity.

What a pity for the meal his wife prepared.

Li Banfeng didn't linger; this was Lu Mao's estate, and he had to leave quickly.

He carried a wealth of magic treasures, expecting a fierce battle, yet never imagined Lu Mao was already gravely wounded and nearly defenseless.

Everyone in the household had been sent away, so Li Banfeng slipped out without trouble.

But one thing still puzzled Li Banfeng.

Why did he detain me?

After leaving the estate, Li Banfeng returned to Xiaoyao Wu; according to his deduction, Lu Mao had detained him to eliminate Ma Wu.

As he neared Xiaoyao Wu, Li Banfeng stopped.

It was just past eight at night.

The gas lantern signs outside Xiaoyao Wu glowed brightly, with people coming and going—business was thriving.

East of Xiaoyao Wu stood the Baiyang Tea House, also normally open at this hour.

But the tea house was closed.

Xiaoyao Wu operating normally proved Ma Wu was unharmed.

The tea house closing wasn't unusual—it might have been for cleaning or renovation.

But given all that had happened today, Li Banfeng suspected another possibility.

Someone had rented out the tea house and was surveilling Xiaoyao Wu.

I was detained at Heishi Slope, Ma Wu is being watched—then who is the target?

Li Banfeng asked his glove: "Who do you think it could be?"

The glove gasped: "Who? Not me! Catch the thief with the stolen goods!"

"Why are you breathing so hard?"

"Breathing hard? Maybe I ran too hard just now!"

"Asking you is pointless—I'll ask them instead."

Li Banfeng slipped silently to the tea house, pulled out the music box, and wound it fully.

……

Inside Lu Chunying's residence, Lu Mao's daughter Lu Dongchun and son Lu Dongtang had stormed into the parlor with assassins.

Lu Chunying wasn't in the parlor; only one person sat on the sofa.

Duan Shaoxia, Lu Dongliang's principal wife.

What was she doing here?

This was meant to be pinned on her—how could she be here?

Lu Dongtang froze for a moment.

Lu Dongchun didn't waste the opening; she ordered immediate action.

Kill her!

Say the two families clashed—Duan Shaoxia and Lu Chunying both died. It would make sense!

In Lu Dongtang's mind, Duan Shaoxia was a helpless lamb—killing her wouldn't be hard.

Duan Shaoxia lifted her head, scanning each person, tears glistening in her eyes.

Everyone hesitated instantly—they felt they couldn't harm this pitiful woman.

Only Lu Dongchun didn't hesitate; she flung a dozen sewing needles toward Duan Shaoxia.

Duan Shaoxia didn't dodge—she sat still, face filled with fear, grievance, and forced resolve.

The needles missed Duan Shaoxia; two vases fell from the second-floor staircase, like guards blocking every needle.

The vases shattered, shards flying—several front-line subordinates were wounded by the fragments.

It was Zuo Wugang!

He stood behind the second-floor railing.

The wife acts as bait downstairs, while Zuo Wugang holds the upper floor?

This situation baffled Lu Dongtang.

More vases fell; subordinates retreated.

Lu Dongchun didn't retreat.

A shard struck Lu Dongchun's face, seemingly embedded in her flesh.

Lu Dongchun plucked the shard from her cheek—a wound hung on her jaw, yet not a drop of blood flowed, and her exquisite face showed no pain.

Lu Dongtang leapt to the second floor to confront Zuo Wugang.

Lu Dongchun continued attacking Duan Shaoxia; Duan Shaoxia pulled out a pistol, gripping it with both trembling hands, aiming at Lu Dongchun—her expression showed she wanted to shoot, yet lacked the courage.

To others, this was a woman cornered, making her final desperate resistance.

All assassins hesitated—should they strike Duan Shaoxia?

Only Lu Dongchun didn't hesitate, and she wasn't afraid of bullets.

But after Duan Shaoxia fired, Lu Dongchun regretted it.

Duan Shaoxia's pistol didn't fire bullets—it sprayed oil.

A burst of oil shot from the pistol, resembling a water gun.

Oil was rare in Pulu Province, for it was hard to preserve.

But this terrified Lu Dongchun; she tried to strip off her clothes, and Duan Shaoxia, tears streaming, threw her a candlestick.

A helpless woman fought desperately, throwing whatever she could—this made sense.

Oil soaked Lu Dongchun's clothes; when it touched the candlestick, they caught fire.

Burning wasn't a problem—Lu Dongchun had a way to handle it.

She shed her outer robe, but oil seeped into her undershirt, still burning.

She shed the outermost undershirt; oil seeped into the second undershirt, still burning.

Lu Dongchun shed over a dozen undershirts—finally, the fire went out.

Oil couldn't seep this fast—even with special additives, it shouldn't penetrate her clothes this quickly.

Lu Dongchun stared at Duan Shaoxia, expressionless: "You have cultivation base—this is your technique."

Duan Shaoxia, tears still falling, shook her head frantically.

She was just a weak woman—how could she use a technique?

Hidden on the second floor, Lu Chunying watched Lu Dongchun and whispered: "Mother, what realm is she in?"

Xiao Ye Ci looked bewildered and shook her head.

Today's Lady Duan was incomprehensible to her.

On the second floor, fierce fighting raged—Lu Dongtang and his subordinates clashed with Zuo Wugang and his allies in a chaotic, bloody brawl.

On the first floor, the situation was simpler: Lu Dongchun and Duan Shaoxia fought one-on-one, yet none of the subordinates moved to help.

Even Lu Dongjun, when Duan Shaoxia used her technique, couldn't bring himself to strike.

But Lu Dongchun struck without mercy—her sleeves and hem lengthened and shortened, nearly strangling Duan Shaoxia several times.

Duan Shaoxia barely held on, wielding a pair of scissors, eyes shut, stabbing wildly—yet each thrust targeted vital points.

Lu Dongchun was covered in wounds, yet they didn't hinder her movement—blades and fists alike seemed unable to harm her.

She quickly cornered Duan Shaoxia.

The pistol held only a final drop of oil; Duan Shaoxia, weeping, fired—missed.

Having been ambushed once, Lu Dongchun wouldn't be fooled again.

Trembling, Duan Shaoxia had nowhere to flee; Lu Dongchun unfastened her clothing, which flew into the air like a living thing, wrapping over Duan Shaoxia's head.

"Ah~~" Duan Shaoxia screamed, flailing her arms as if in helpless struggle.

Two threads shot from the clothing, landing in Lu Dongchun's hands; she yanked sharply, tightening the fabric.

If she pulled tight, Duan Shaoxia's head would become pulp.

Riiip!

The clothing tore apart.

Duan Shaoxia broke free!

Lu Dongchun's face was blank, but her eyes widened.

She was stunned—her clothing shouldn't have torn so easily.

Looking at the fluttering rags, Lu Dongchun saw several small black holes.

Lu Dongchun's pupils shrank sharply as she quickly looked down at her clothes.

She retreated several steps in haste, her reaction as if she had caught fire.

For Lu Dongchun, the current situation was even more dangerous than being on fire.

Many small black holes had appeared on her body, and something wriggled inside them.

Bookworms!

Her clothes had torn apart because they had been eaten by bookworms.

Lu Dongchun frantically stripped off several layers of clothing, but it was useless—the worms had burrowed too deep.

Where did these bookworms come from?

Lu Yuanxin, a third-layer insect cultivator, was hiding on the second floor, controlling the insects.

Since seeing Lu Dongchun, he had been summoning the surrounding bookworms.

These bookworms ate quickly but moved slowly; Duan Shaoxia had fought Lu Dongchun merely to lure her near the bookworms.

Empowered by the insect cultivator, the worms were frantically devouring Lu Dongchun's clothes.

Lu Dongchun held on for a moment, then jumped out the window and fled.

For her, the damage she had suffered was extremely lethal.

After Lu Dongchun left, Lu Dongtang grew panicked.

According to the previously planned tactic, all variables in battle were to be handled by Lu Dongchun.

Lu Dongchun was supposed to easily defeat Duan Shaoxia, but she failed.

Now that she had suddenly fled, Lu Dongtang and Zuo Wugang were forced into direct combat.

Direct combat was the best choice for Zuo Wugang, because it required no decisions.

Lu Dongtang and Zuo Wugang were evenly matched in cultivation base, but Zuo Wugang had spent his entire life fighting on the blade's edge; Zhen Jincheng and Cao Zhida had earned their reputations through slaughter—they held the advantage in experience.

The battle reached a stalemate, and Lu Dongtang grew more and more desperate.

On the first floor, Duan Shaoxia cried out to the assassins: "How could you? How dare you?"

The others were bewildered, when suddenly Duan Shaoxia's gaze grew cold and steady—as if a shadow had flashed past.

A shadow had indeed flashed past; Duan Shaoxia had seen it, but most of these assassins had not.

After the shadow vanished, loud bangs echoed through the hall, and several bodies exploded into bloody shreds.

The technique: Galloping Through Flowers.

Li Banfeng had arrived.

After clearing out the gang of thugs at Baiyang Tea House, Li Banfeng learned the truth, immediately notified Ma Wu to gather reinforcements, then rushed to Lu Chunying's residence.

He swiftly ascended the second floor, brought Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying mother and daughter to the bedroom, and reached the window.

Xiao Yeci exclaimed in relief: "My benefactor, you've come! We mother and daughter owe you far too much."

Li Banfeng signaled for them to stay silent.

He kept his eyes fixed on the window, readying the technique: Sever the Path and Clear the Way.

The situation still held uncertainties—and they were great.

Dealing with these assassins was not difficult, but some formidable opponents had already arrived outside the courtyard.

Where had these people come from?

…

The assassins on the first floor, seeing the exploded corpses on the ground, were terrified.

Some among them had seen the fifth-layer Traveler technique and recognized it as Galloping Through Flowers.

But fifth-layer Traveler techniques consumed immense energy; for the opponent to use it proved his cultivation base far surpassed theirs.

Faced with this, the assassins lost their will to fight and rushed out of the residence.

They escaped the house—but could not escape the courtyard.

Zhang Xiuling, the sect master of Baihua Gate, had surrounded the estate with her subordinates.

Zhang Xiuling ordered: anyone emerging from the residence was to be killed on sight.

None of the assassins who fled the house escaped; Zhang Xiuling wiped them all clean.

Zhang Xiuling called from the gate: "Sister, I've come! Should I go in? Tell me!"

Duan Shaoxia shouted: "Sister, come in quickly! These beasts are trying to kill me!"

Li Banfeng frowned.

Zhang Xiuling had come for Duan Shaoxia.

Watching Zhang Xiuling and her people enter the estate, Lu Dongtang was terrified—he no longer held tactical advantage, nor even numerical superiority.

Lu Dongtang wanted to flee, but escape was not easy.

Zuo Wugang seized the opportunity, kicked Lu Dongtang over, and pinned him beneath his foot.

The other assassins froze, none daring to move.

Duan Shaoxia called out: "Chunying, come out—I need to speak with you."

Zuo Wugang froze—the room was now filled with Baihua Gate members.

When had Lady Duan formed ties with Baihua Gate? Zuo Wugang had no idea.

Xiao Yeci hugged Lu Chunying: "Baby, don't go out."

Lu Chunying looked at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng asked: "Dare you go out?"

Lu Chunying fell silent for a long moment, then raised her head and said: "If we fight, we fight once; if we flee, we flee for life. With Seventh Brother here, I dare!"

Li Banfeng lowered his hat brim: "Go."

PS: At Lu Maoxian's residence, Lu Yuanxin had once been humiliated by Lu Dongtang.

(End of Chapter)