Chapter 332: The Lifeline

Lu Chunying walked out of the room, descended the stairs step by step, and calmly arrived before Duan Shaoxia.

She did not look into Duan Shaoxia's eyes, bowed her head, and said, "Thank you, Lady, for saving me."

The room was filled with members of the Hundred Flowers Sect; Lu Chunying stood alone in the hall, like a single leaf in the wind, Suishikenengsongming.

Zuo Wugang, standing on Lu Dongtang, clenched his fists tightly in secret.

Lu Yuanxin remained expressionless, quietly scattering insect bait.

Xiao Yeci gritted her silver teeth, preparing for a desperate fight.

Zhang Xiuling glanced at Duan Shaoxia.

Duan Shaoxia looked at the exploded corpse beside her.

After a long silence, Duan Shaoxia spoke: "Chunying, you've done well—you have the spirit of Dongliang in his prime."

"You're not safe here. Listen to me, come back to the main estate with me—we're family."

Lu Chunying said nothing.

Duan Shaoxia lifted her head and looked toward the second floor: "Yeci, come back with me. We'll live together, sister to sister, from now on."

Her voice carried sorrow and sincerity; Xiao Yeci was almost moved.

Before Xiao Yeci could speak, Lu Chunying said: "Lady, I'll stay here."

Duan Shaoxia, tears in her eyes, said: "Chunying, don't you trust me?"

Lu Chunying shook her head: "Lady, I trust you—you've been like a mother to me."

"But I can't go to the main estate. You've seen it yourself—Uncle Gong won't tolerate me. I don't want to drag you down."

Duan Shaoxia's voice trembled: "I'm not afraid of being dragged down. I only want our family to live together."

Lu Chunying's tears fell too: "Lady, I want that too—but not now. I'm not yet worthy to step through the main estate's gate."

Lady Duan wept: "Chunying, you are worthy—I say you are!"

Lu Chunying shook her head: "I can't go, and I shouldn't go. You have Huaiyi looking after you. If I came, the whole household would gossip."

This remark carried depth.

Zhang Huaiyi and Lu Chunying were peers.

But nominally, they had no blood relation.

Was it problematic for them to live in the same estate?

It depended on how you looked at it.

To ordinary people, it might be fine—after all, the Lu family estate was vast.

But to the elite, it was problematic. Zhang Huaiyi already coveted the Lu family's inheritance; if he took Lu Chunying too, the problem would be grave.

After these words, Lady Duan's tears vanished. A rare darkness settled on her face.

What to do?

Could she expel Zhang Huaiyi?

He was her own son!

After a moment of gloom, Duan Shaoxia shed genuine tears: "Chunying, I truly want you to come home."

Lu Chunying's tears were no fewer than Duan Shaoxia's: "Lady, I want to go home too—but not now, not yet."

Li Banfeng brewed a cup of green tea in his bedroom, listening intently to their sincere weeping.

Persuasion was useless. Zhang Xiuling kept watching Duan Shaoxia, waiting to see if she would resort to force.

Duan Shaoxia glanced at the upstairs bedroom—saw Zuo Wugang ready for battle, Lu Yuanxin lying in wait, and the unseen Li Qi.

While hesitating, someone whispered to Zhang Xiuling: "Madam, Ma Wu has arrived."

Ma Wu arrived at the estate with Huo Ling and a group of loyalists.

The matter was about to escalate.

Duan Shaoxia looked at Ma Wu: "Junyang, you've come too."

Li Banfeng, at the White Poplar Tea House, had gathered Lu Maoxian's subordinates. Learning Lu Chunying was in danger, he immediately sent Ma Wu to reinforce her—only because Ma Wu moved slowly, he arrived now.

Seeing the scene inside, Ma Wu instantly understood the situation. He bowed calmly: "Lady, I'm late."

Ma Wu's words declared his stance at once.

He was here to save lives, not to cause trouble.

He not only declared his own position—he declared Duan Shaoxia's too.

Lady, aren't you here to save her too?

Zhang Xiuling frowned slightly, comparing the numbers on both sides.

Cultivation levels were hidden, but if judged by sheer numbers alone, a clash now would be uncertain in outcome.

Duan Shaoxia nodded slightly to Ma Wu: "Junyang, Chunying is a good child of our Lu family. You must protect her."

Ma Wu nodded slightly; the two inadvertently met eyes.

In that instant, a single bloodshot vein appeared in Duan Shaoxia's eye.

A single bloodshot vein appeared in Ma Wu's eye too.

Duan Shaoxia turned back to Lu Chunying: "Yingying, visit home often—even just to sit and talk with me, it would ease my heart."

Lu Chunying nodded vigorously, but kept her head lowered.

Duan Shaoxia looked at Lu Dongtang: "You led men to murder the Zong family. What do you have to say?"

Lu Dongtang shouted: "My father ordered me! Ask him!"

Duan Shaoxia said to Zhang Xiuling: "Sister, you heard that?"

Zhang Xiuling nodded: "The Hundred Flowers Sect bears witness: Lu Maoxian plotted against the Zong family. I heard it."

When Zhang Xiuling became Sect Master of the Hundred Flowers Sect, she endured endless harassment from the Qingshou Society.

She remembered that grudge. Today, she would serve as witness.

Duan Shaoxia turned again to Lu Dongtang: "Your entire family conspired to murder the Zong family. What more is there to say?"

Lu Dongtang shouted: "It was my father's order! Only he knows the reasons! What are you planning? You dare not touch me!"

Duan Shaoxia said: "Chunying, the family law cannot tolerate this beast."

Duan Shaoxia was ordering Lu Chunying to execute Lu Dongtang.

Lu Chunying glanced at Lu Dongtang.

He came to kill her. Personally, she owed him a debt of vengeance.

Most of the Lu family recognized her as the true Zong lineage. The family law demanded action.

But in terms of seniority, Lu Dongtang was her cousin-uncle. Killing him now—would it leave her open to criticism? After all, she was not yet head of the family.

But if she did nothing, in this setting, she would lose face, lose authority, and leave a poison root behind.

In this dilemma, Lu Yuanxin suddenly said to Lu Chunying: "Miss Chunying, I have private business to discuss with Cousin Dongtang."

Lu Yuanxin approached Lu Dongtang. Lu Dongtang cried out: "Yuanxin, I used to dote on you most—I held you when you were a child…"

The insults Lu Dongtang had hurled at Lu Yuanxin at Lu Maoxian's estate still rang in his ears.

Lu Yuanxin said nothing. He crouched beside Lu Dongtang and placed a pair of spotted earwig beetles into his ear.

The earwig beetle, also called ear-clamp insect, is named for its pincer-like tail. Folklore claims it can crawl into a person's ear, pierce the eardrum, enter the brain, and devour the marrow.

In truth, most earwigs eat only dead leaves and branches; some eat insects. They rarely harm humans.

Only this red-and-white spotted variety was specially bred by insect cultivators. Under insect cultivation techniques, it becomes ferocious—capable of burrowing into the skull and destroying the brain.

At first, Lu Dongtang felt only an unbearable itch. After the itch came searing pain. Then one ear lost hearing. Within a minute, the beetles had burrowed into his skull. Lu Dongtang screamed, writhing violently.

Minutes later, he went still. Lu Yuanxin drew a short knife and severed Lu Dongtang's head. He stood before Lu Chunying: "Lu Dongtang, plotted against the Zong family. Executed under family law!"

Witnessing this, Duan Shaoxia vaguely saw the young Lu Dongliang and Lu Dongjun.

But it wasn't quite the same.

In Lu Yuanxin, Duan Shaoxia saw the rare loyalty Lu Dongjun had never shown.

Lu Yuanxin had only just met Lu Chunying. Why did he do this?

After a moment's thought, Duan Shaoxia understood.

In the Lu family, only Lu Chunying had ever respected Lu Yuanxin. This was his only chance to rise.

Realizing this, Duan Shaoxia nodded: "Chunying, I think we should confront your Uncle Gong about this."

Lu Chunying nodded: "I thought the same."

The group escorted the captured assassins toward Lu Maoxian's estate. As they left, Ma Wu went upstairs and asked Li Banfeng: "Old Seven, are you coming?"

"Of course," Li Banfeng said. "I want to see what Lu Maoxian has to say."

There would be no explanation. Li Banfeng knew that well.

But today's matter must have an outcome.

Lu Maoxian was gone. Who would now rule the Lu family?

The group marched in force to the estate gate. This was no secret—today, they were purging the household.

On this point, Lu Chunying and Duan Shaoxia agreed: they would use this moment to strip Lu Maoxian of all influence in the family.

Only when they saw the estate in chaos did they realize: Lu Maoxian had no influence left—he could never speak again.

Lu Maoxian was dead. No one knew who had killed him.

Before Lu Chunying could recover, she heard Duan Shaoxia weeping.

She didn't know who Duan Shaoxia wept for, or why—but the grief was heart-rending, making others want to cry too.

Was this performance?

Lu Yuanxin had no intention of playing the good man. He shouted to the crowd: "No matter what condition Uncle Gong is in, the crime of plotting against the Zong family must be answered!"

Lu Mao's other children dared not speak; his dozen concubines wept in terror.

Lu Yuanxin advised Lu Chunying: "Eliminate Lu Mao's entire branch—permanently remove the threat."

Duan Shaoxia wept as she secretly observed Lu Yuanxin.

This ruthlessness rivals that of Lu Dongjun in his prime.

Ma Wu stood at the back of the crowd and whispered to Li Qi: "Old Seven, what do you think?"

Li Banfeng said: "Don't ask me—you're a nobleman's son; you've seen far more of this than I have."

Ma Wu thought for a moment and said: "Lu Yuanxin may be cruel, but he didn't do wrong here."

Lu Chunying was pondering her next move when a distant rumble suddenly echoed.

Huff! Huff!

A steam-powered automobile rolled up.

Such machines were rare in Lüshui City and uncommon across Pulu Province; Ma Wu recognized the passenger from afar: "Old Seven, that's Liao Zihui, the Frontier Inspector."

The Frontier Inspector has arrived.

Li Banfeng glanced at the vehicle; six people sat inside. Ma Wu lowered his voice: "The one wearing the hat is Liao Zihui; the rest are his bodyguards."

Liao Zihui wore a long robe and a hat, with round-framed sunglasses covering his face. He stood about 1. meters tall, and his waist appeared as thick as his height.

He stepped out, briefly inquired about the situation, and addressed the crowd: "Today's matter ends here."

Could such a simple sentence really end it?

Lu Yuanxin was Bufuqi, but said nothing.

Liao Zihui approached Lu Chunying, expressionless: "Tomorrow, the Frontier Office hosts a banquet. An invitation will follow—please grace us with your presence, Miss Chunying."

Lu Chunying remained silent.

Xiao Yeci beside her said: "Nannan, quickly accept."

Lu Chunying gave a slight nod.

Liao Zihui returned to the vehicle and departed immediately; he had stayed less than half an hour.

In that mere half-hour, the bloodshed ended.

Zhang Xiuling escorted Duan Shaoxia back to the Lu family estate; Ma Wu led men to escort Lu Chunying to her residence.

Along the way, Zuo Wugang's face was grim. He told Ma Wu: "Five Master, I didn't see Lu Dongchun."

Lu Yuanxin's expression was equally grim: "Others aside, this menace must not be allowed to live."

Lu Chunying asked: "What sect is Lu Dongchun from? Her fighting style seemed strange."

Lu Yuanxin replied: "She's a Clothing Cultivator—a sect of extreme perversion. In early cultivation, she hardens her garments to incredible strength."

"In later stages, she'll likely have nothing left but her clothes."

Lu Chunying frowned: "What do you mean, 'nothing but clothes'?"

Lu Yuanxin said: "No flesh, no blood—her entire body is cloth."

…

Lu Dongchun was inside Lu Mao's estate, having prepared for a final, desperate fight.

Learning that Lu Chunying and her group had left, Lu Dongchun took a steam iron and pressed it repeatedly against her own body.

Layer upon layer of holes in her garments began to smoke; the cloth-moths were scalded to death.

Lu Dongchun pulled out a sewing needle, carefully plucked out the insect corpses, threaded the needle, and slowly stitched her wounds shut.

She began with her face.

…

In Xiaoyao Wu, Li Banfeng asked Ma Wu: "Internal affairs follow banners; external affairs depend on the Frontier Inspector. Why did the Frontier Inspector interfere in the Lu family's internal matters?"

Ma Wu rubbed his eyes and said: "The Frontier Inspector never lightly interferes in the internal affairs of great families—but once he does, no family dares to defy his authority."

"So the powerful families of Pulu Province are under the Frontier Inspector's control?"

"It's unavoidable. The Frontier Inspector controls all transportation routes. If you oppose him, your business cannot survive.

Actually, today's outcome is favorable—he's inviting Lu Chunying to a banquet, which amounts to recognizing her as head of the family.

But I didn't expect Duan Shaoxia to still have ties with the Hundred Flowers Sect. Whether Lu Chunying can truly hold onto her position remains uncertain."

As he spoke, Ma Wu kept rubbing his eyes until blood seeped from his left eye.

Li Banfeng exclaimed: "What got in your eye? Why are you rubbing so hard?"

Ma Wu laughed: "A strand of emotional attachment slipped in—I just plucked it out.

Old Seven, Duan Shaoxia is a Emotion Cultivator—and she's no beginner."

PS: Ma Wu has studied Emotion Cultivators in depth.

(End of Chapter)