Won't Leave, Huh?

The appointed hour for the duel in the ruins had arrived, yet Song Jiasen was nowhere to be seen, and Song Zhiyi had vanished without a trace. Song Jiasen's eldest son, Song Zhigang, was sweating profusely from sheer panic. Sitting across from Ni Ruiliang, his face was full of desperate entreaty. "Uncle Ni, please lend a hand! It's already one in the afternoon. If our family doesn't send someone to the ruins soon, in another hour we'll have to forfeit!" Ni Ruiliang was a retainer under Song Jiasen. The two of them usually addressed each other as brothers. He was the sole fourth-rank practitioner the Song family could count on—a fourth-tier body cultivator. Yet being someone they could count on did not mean he took orders from them. Ni Ruiliang had grown up in poverty and received Song Jiasen's charity in his youth. After his cultivation reached the fourth tier, he took up residence in the Song household. Song Jiasen paid him a monthly allowance of two hundred silver dollars and presented handsome gifts on festivals and holidays. In plain terms, the Song family supported this fourth-tier cultivator simply to anchor their standing. Whenever trouble arose and Song Jiasen needed Ni Ruiliang to step in, Song Jiasen had to consult him with respect. Not even Song Jiasen could command Ni Ruiliang, let alone his son. Ni Ruiliang took a sip of tea and said, "Zhigang, where on earth did your father and brother go? With something this major happening in the family, how could they not take it to heart?" With an agonized expression, Song Zhigang said, "I truly don't know where they went! Uncle, today's duel determines whether the Song family can keep its footing in Lanyang Village. You can't just stand by and watch!" Ni Ruiliang set down his teacup. "Zhigang, it isn't that I don't want to get involved, but my getting involved would violate the rules. Yesterday your father agreed with Ma Junyang to let your brother fight the duel. If you have me step in now, where will the Song family's prestige be in the future?" "We can't worry about prestige right now, Uncle! I'm begging you, please fight this match on our family's behalf!" Ni Ruiliang sighed. "Wait a little longer. Let's just wait a bit." It wasn't that he didn't want to interfere; he didn't dare to. He had a faint premonition that Song Jiasen had already met with disaster. No one else was to blame for this except Song Jiasen himself, who failed to know when to advance and when to retreat. Of all the people he could have offended, he had to cross the fifth young master of the Ma family. Though Ma the Fifth had fallen on hard times, he was still a member of the Ma family. If the Ma family truly made a move to wipe out the Song family, it would be as effortless as crushing an ant. As for the families backing the Songs—the Liu family, the Si family, and even the Lu family—they never hesitated when collecting money, but whether they would lift a finger in a crisis was another story entirely. Moreover, Ni Ruiliang's reasoning held up. It was the Song family that wanted to duel Ma the Fifth. Even though substitutes were permitted in a daytime arena, Ma the Fifth had shown up in person. If the Song family brought in an outsider to fight in their stead, wouldn't Ma the Fifth be entitled to substitute someone as well? Did the Songs have any idea what caliber of fighter Ma the Fifth could bring in? Seeing that time was running out, Song Zhigang gritted his teeth. "Fine, Uncle. Remember this. I won't beg you anymore—I'll go in myself!" Song Zhigang strode out the door. Ni Ruiliang put on a token display of urging him to reconsider: "Zhigang, don't be rash! Think it through, think it through!" ... When Song Zhigang arrived at the open ground in the ruins, Ma the Fifth was still delivering a rousing speech to the crowd of onlookers. An enormous crowd had gathered today. The Song family fighting in person was a spectacle that hadn't been seen in years, drawing every busybody in Lanyang Village. "I, Ma, have waited here for two full hours! By the customs of our Lanyang Village, two o'clock is almost here. Once two hours are up, if the opposing party fails to show, the duel is mine by default! "Today, all of you elders and neighbors are my witnesses. I haven't played dirty, nor have I welshed. I won against the Song family fair and square—am I wrong? "Back then, right outside my front door, the head of the Song family pulled knives and brandished guns! He beat my brothers, threatened to gouge eyes, and vowed to lop off legs—those were his very words! "He even tried to lay a hand on me back then! But I, Ma, didn't fear him! I won't fear him no matter when it is! But since I came out today to duel, shouldn't there be an accounting for victory and defeat? "What did Song Jiasen say back then? Every neighbor here heard him! In a daytime arena, whoever loses packs up and gets the hell out of Lanyang Village! When words hit the ground, they've got to make a sound! A man's word has to count! Has anyone from the Song family shown up? Is there going to be a conclusion to this?" Originally, the onlookers had feared offending the Song family, so aside from Li Banfeng, Xiao Chuan, and a few road-repair workers, no one in the crowd had dared to make a sound. Yet Ma the Fifth continuously used his art of invigoration to stir the crowd. Paired with his earthy, rabble-rousing rhetoric, the spectators grew increasingly pumped up, their cheers rising in wave after wave. Just as two o'clock approached, the shouting came to an abrupt halt. "The Song family is here!" "Everyone hush, just watch!" Song Zhigang stepped into the clearing, followed by more than twenty attendants. "Ma Junyang, don't talk so big. Step into the arena with me before you boast!" Ma the Fifth started. "Song Zhigang? Your father said your younger brother would fight the duel. Why the sudden switch?" "Zhiyi has urgent business and couldn't get away. I'm of the Song bloodline, and I'm a first-tier Martial Cultivator. Tier one against tier one—I can hardly be accused of bullying you. Let's fight!" Song Zhigang was a resolute man. Even though he carried injuries, he still stepped into the arena. Did the Song family have no one else who could fight? They did. Song Jiasen had two second-tier cultivators under his command. Both of them had arrived long ago. Yesterday afternoon, they had received orders from Song Jiasen to come early in the morning and seal off the grounds. They could have represented the Song family in combat; substitutes were permitted in a daytime arena. Yet neither of those second-tier cultivators was a fool. The head housekeeper had gone looking for Ma the Fifth and never returned. The master had gone looking for Ma the Fifth, cornered him, yet never made a move. Now the master had vanished without a trace. This Ma the Fifth was clearly not someone easy to deal with. If even Ni Ruiliang, a fourth-tier cultivator, refused to step in, where would they find the nerve to stick their necks out? Sealing the arena was sealing the arena. Once the area was secured, nothing else was their concern. Besides, the master's explicit order had been for Song Zhiyi to duel Ma the Fifth. Stepping in would violate the master's arrangement. With that convenient excuse, neither of them obeyed Song Zhigang's directives. This battle could only be fought between Song Zhigang and Ma the Fifth. Glancing across the grounds, Song Zhigang spotted a distinctive roof tile and instantly grasped its purpose. Unlike Song Zhiyi, Song Zhigang had always been favored by Song Jiasen, who shared many private matters with him. Song Zhigang spent most of his time practicing martial arts at home. That tile was a mechanism his father had prepared; he had seen such setups before when accompanying his father to witness past duels. Knowing his father had made advance arrangements, Song Zhigang felt a surge of confidence. Pointing at Ma the Fifth, he said, "No need for wasted breath. Let's begin!" Ma the Fifth nodded. "You're something of a man after all. Let's see who comes out on top." The two stood on opposite sides, backs against the iron fence. The moment the drum sounded, both sprang into action. As a Martial Cultivator, Song Zhigang charged directly at Ma the Fifth to close the distance for hand-to-hand combat. Ma the Fifth's gaze swept across Song Zhigang's eyes. A sudden flutter seized Song Zhigang's chest, leaving him with the overwhelming impression that Ma the Fifth looked remarkably handsome today—a face far too fine to damage. He had fallen under a charm. The slight hesitation in his strike gave Ma the Fifth an opening to fling a dagger straight at his chest. Song Zhigang twisted frantically aside. The dagger grazed his shoulder, leaving a bloody gash. By the time he regained his footing to pursue, Ma the Fifth had retreated more than five meters away, kiting him from a distance. It was a somewhat underhanded fighting style, but that was precisely how low-tier Joy Cultivators fought. What came next was dirtier still. After maneuvering for a few minutes, Song Zhigang suddenly felt waves of numbness spreading through his body. The dagger had been poisoned. "Ma Junyang, you bastard!" Song Zhigang cursed. Yet cursing was all he could do; duels in the ruins had no rules, and any tactic was fair game. Song Zhigang glanced toward the tile and pretended his strength was failing, feigning a retreat. Ma the Fifth lunged in pursuit, stepping squarely onto the tile. Song Zhigang smirked, waiting for the mechanism to trigger. Once Ma the Fifth took a hit, the duel would be as good as over. If he refused to concede, Song Zhigang would simply beat him until he did. To hell with his fallen young master status, to hell with whatever backing he possessed—winning the duel and preserving the Song family's enterprise came first. First... Strange. Why hadn't the mechanism triggered? Ma the Fifth had already dashed well past the tile, yet there was no sign of anything springing into action. Did the trap fail? Did I see wrong? Nothing like this had ever happened before. Ma the Fifth was closing in fast. What was there to fear? Wasn't closing the distance a good thing? I'm a Martial Cultivator—why should I fear a Joy Cultivator? The two clashed in close quarters. Yet the longer they fought, the more panicked Song Zhigang became. Ma the Fifth was surprisingly agile; he had trained in martial arts too. Song Zhigang was wounded and poisoned. If the melee dragged on, he worried he wouldn't hold out. Yet if he didn't fight up close, wouldn't his chances be even worse? In truth, Song Zhigang was not at a disadvantage in close combat. The swirl of chaotic thoughts plaguing his mind was entirely due to Ma the Fifth's special ability. Under Ma the Fifth's piercing gaze, Song Zhigang's thoughts grew more and more muddled—he had fallen victim to Ma the Fifth's skill of bewilderment. He felt as though every move he made was a mistake. Pressed into steady retreat by Ma the Fifth, his foot suddenly landed on a stone. Crack! The stone gave an abnormal sound. Beneath it lay a pit—not deep, but deep enough to swallow half a leg. Song Zhigang's leg plunged into the hole, sending him crashing to the ground. Ma the Fifth stepped forward and kicked Song Zhigang squarely in the face. "Do you concede?" Before Song Zhigang could process what had happened, Ma the Fifth planted another kick on him. "Stone-boring silkworms—great little things for setting traps. You thought only your Song family had them, and I couldn't find any? "They're right there in the newland. They're just tricky to keep alive, so I usually never bother catching them." The previous night, Li Banfeng had lain in ambush in the ruins and overheard Song Jiasen and Song Zhiyi's conversation through the Thread-Hook Earring, naturally learning all about the trap. After killing the pair, Li Banfeng had intended to destroy the trap. But Ma the Fifth had said he knew how to use it, running off into the newland in the dead of night to catch two stone-boring silkworms and modify the mechanism. He had done so purely to keep a hidden card for the duel in the ruins. Song Zhigang knew nothing of what had transpired, but he knew the outcome. The outcome was that the Song family had lost—lost utterly and completely. The fact that even Song Jiasen's signature trap could be turned against them proved one thing above all else. The Song family had been wrong from the very beginning. They had chosen the wrong opponent. Facing someone like Ma the Fifth, they never should have crossed swords with him in the first place. If he wanted to hunt, they should have let him hunt. If he wanted to make money, they should have let him make money. The Song family was hardly short on a few copper coins—why did they have to push things to the bitter end with Ma the Fifth? What were they supposed to do now? Song Zhigang yielded. The spectating villagers of Lanyang were utterly dumbfounded. "The Song family's eldest son gave up?" "What does that mean? They lost the duel just like that?" "The head of the Song family said himself: if his family lost, they'd pack up and get the hell out!" "What's that supposed to mean? Does Lanyang Village no longer belong to the Songs?" "Don't tell me it belongs to the Mas now?" Standing over Song Zhigang, Ma the Fifth gave a fierce grin. "A man's word has to count. Go back and tell your father to pack his things and get the hell out—move out this very day!" Leading his men, Song Zhigang retreated to their manor in utter humiliation. Was he willing to move? Of course not. As long as his father didn't give the word, he adamantly refused to budge! He ordered the guards to barricade both the front and back gates and keep a strict watch over the entire household, prepared to hold out against Ma the Fifth to the bitter end. By seven in the evening, complete darkness had fallen, yet the Song family showed not the slightest sign of stirring. Li Banfeng turned to Xiao Chuan. "Brother, lend me that steamroller again. Brother Ma, bring along all those stone-eating bugs." Song Zhigang, you won't leave, huh? Then I'll just go tear your house down! P.S.: He wasn't just talking; he was truly going to tear it down.