A Thorn in the Side

Li Banfeng set down his cup and coughed for a good while before finally catching his breath. "You know Lu Xiaolan?" "I do. You could say we're acquainted." Li Banfeng picked his cup back up. "How well do you know her?" Ma the Fifth didn't know quite how to put it. "If we're talking about our closest connection... she's supposed to be my fiancée." *Cough! Cough! Cough!* Li Banfeng choked again. Fiancée? How had he never heard Ma the Fifth mention this before? Truth be told, Ma the Fifth wasn't to blame; he hadn't intentionally kept it a secret. It was simply a matter of their temperaments: if one of them didn't care to speak of something, neither ever pried. Yet now, the logic completely fell apart. Li Banfeng asked, "Lu Xiaolan is your fiancée, so what does that make He Jiaqing? Please don't tell me he's your fiancé." Ma the Fifth choked as well. "What fiancé? As if I'd squeeze myself between them! There's... more to the story." Li Banfeng was deeply curious, but their tacit understanding held firm. "If you'd rather not say, then forget it." "I really didn't want to talk about it, but this matters too much—I have to tell you. Lu Xiaolan is two years younger than me. When she was thirteen, our marriage engagement was arranged." In Puluo Province, betrothals between prominent clans were a common sight. Even so, an engagement required matching status. Did Lu Xiaolan and Ma the Fifth match? Not in the least. She didn't match Ma the Fifth, nor did she match He Jiaqing. The reason she had later managed to latch onto He Jiaqing was that the Lu family's power had risen. Li Banfeng asked, "If I remember right, you're of legitimate birth, while Lu Xiaolan was born to a concubine, wasn't she?" How was Ma the Fifth supposed to answer that? "I was the least favored son in my family..." Ma the Fifth said awkwardly, then continued, "When she turned fifteen, it was about time to discuss marriage, so we spent some time together. Over that, the Lu and Ma families nearly turned against each other." "Why did you nearly fall out?" "Lu Xiaolan and I weren't cut from the same cloth. Every time we met, we couldn't get three sentences in without arguing. In the end, I couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to break off the engagement. She said I humiliated her and nearly killed me." Cracking melon seeds, Li Banfeng asked, "How did you humiliate her?" Ma the Fifth looked embarrassed again. "We were young, you know... under the covers..." Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly. "Couldn't get three sentences in without arguing, but that didn't stop you from climbing under the covers together." Ma the Fifth sighed. "That's why I said we were truly young back then. If it were now, I wouldn't touch Lu Xiaolan with a ten-foot pole. Back then, she was already a Tier 3 Scrying Cultivator, while I was still a white lamb. I came within an inch of dying by her hand. Later, things blew up and bad blood formed between the two families. It only settled down after Lu Xiaolan went off to study in the Outer States." Lu Xiaolan had already reached Tier 3 before going to Yuezhou? "How old was she before she went to Yuezhou?" "Sixteen." "How could a sixteen-year-old be at Tier 3?" Ma the Fifth took a sip of liquor and said, "Most people don't know this. Lu Xiaolan isn't like other children of prominent families. From the moment she was born, she was never raised to be a delicate lady. She was raised to be an assassin. Before she was ten, she stepped onto a pathway. As long as her body could take it, she shoveled medicinal pills down her throat and trained in martial arts without stopping. She suffered plenty for it. I'm not guessing here—Lu Xiaolan told me this herself. Back then, even though I wasn't a Joy Cultivator yet, I still had the talent. Under those circumstances, she definitely wasn't lying. I saw the scars on her body, the calluses on her hands, and the marks left on her backside from beatings." "You saw all that..." Li Banfeng felt a pang of regret! Back then, He Jiaqing had snatched those photos away so quickly that Li Banfeng hadn't noticed any of those details. "Old Fifth, why were you still a white lamb at that age?" How was he supposed to answer that either? For a scion of a prominent family, Ma the Fifth had indeed entered a pathway far too late. "Because I was the most useless slacker in the household..." Ma the Fifth flushed, then continued, "Lu Xiaolan is a ruthless piece of work groomed by her mother. You can never let your guard down around her. Now that she's come to reclaim land right next to our territory, I'd wager eighty percent it's aimed at you." Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not necessarily. You were the heartbreaker back then. She might just as easily be after you." Ma the Fifth took another drink. "No matter who she's after, how do you plan to deal with her?" "What do you think?" Ma the Fifth lowered his voice. "I'm thinking we find a chance to take her out." Li Banfeng smiled. "I want to take her out right now." No sooner said than done. Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his cap and was about to get up when Ma the Fifth stopped him. "Old Seventh, you can't be the one to act. Let me." "What's there to fear? My injuries are fully healed." Li Banfeng was eager to go. The grudge between him and Lu Xiaolan ran deep; the moment he had arrived in Yaowanggou, he had nearly died at her hands. "I know you're healed. But I've already shown my face to Lu Xiaolan. She knows I'm here, but she might not know you are. For that reason alone, you shouldn't make a move. Besides, even if she knows I'm here, she can't do anything to me. My identity is right out in the open—I'm an outcast of the Ma family. You're different. The Lu family cannot learn your identity, and Lu Xiaolan cannot be allowed to smoke you out. That's why you can't be the one to do this. It has to be me." No matter the circumstances, Ma the Fifth always considered things from Li Banfeng's perspective. He truly was a good brother. Yet could Ma the Fifth actually kill Lu Xiaolan? Before university, Lu Xiaolan was already Tier 3, and word had it she was Tier 4 by now. As a Tier 2, Ma the Fifth was definitely no match for her. Since he couldn't take Lu Xiaolan down alone, what was Ma the Fifth planning to do? "Please don't tell me you're bringing Madam Bagworm Moth to kill Lu Xiaolan." That would be quite a spectacle. Ma the Fifth shook his head. "Yanzi and the others stand out too much. I'm taking Ah Qin." "Who's Ah Qin?" Ma the Fifth led Li Banfeng to Ah Qin's room. Ah Qin was inside, playing the piano. Judging by her appearance, she looked to be a woman in her late twenties. She was supposed to be a woman, right? Large eyes, slender eyebrows, a high-bridged nose—she was quite pretty. An antenna sprouted from each side of her forehead, yet they didn't detract from her overall beauty. Her lower body was slightly sturdy, but she boasted a pair of long legs. The legs were remarkably well-formed, if perhaps a bit slender. Li Banfeng asked Ma the Fifth, "Is she a katydid?" Hearing the word "katydid," Ah Qin took offense. She glared at Li Banfeng and asked, "Fifth Brother, who is this?" Ma the Fifth signaled Li Banfeng to watch his tone. "Senior Ah Qin is an elder—a genuine Tier 6 body cultivator who cultivated at Santoucha." A body cultivator? Did a human turn into a katydid, or did a katydid turn into a human? Li Banfeng lowered his voice. "Was her original form a human?" Ma the Fifth said nothing. It was a difficult question to answer. Standing about 1.6 meters tall, Ah Qin looked very much like a human, but her original form was indeed a katydid. Ma the Fifth gave Li Banfeng another reminder: "Senior Ah Qin is someone extraordinary. She's Wen Hongyan's master." Wen Hongyan? Chu the Second's head guard? In Li Banfeng's recollection, Wen Hongyan was in her early forties—so just how old was this senior? He could bring himself to touch even her? What was Wen Hongyan supposed to call Ma the Fifth from now on? "Old Fifth, you're really courting sin." Ma the Fifth explained the situation to Ah Qin. Ah Qin twitched her antennae, her expression calm. "When do we strike?" "The sooner the better." Ah Qin stood up immediately, making no preparations whatsoever. "Fifth Brother, in a moment, just point out the woman to me. You won't need to lift a finger; leave the rest to me." Ma the Fifth felt a bit uneasy. "Maybe I should bring Old Zuo along." "Don't bring him. Zuo Wugang is always staring at me—he makes my skin crawl." Zuo Wugang had eyes for Ah Qin? He was one of Lüshui City's most famous head guards, and he had a thing for a katydid? Like master, like guard. If this got out, it would surely make front-page news. Ma the Fifth set out with Ah Qin. When they reached the reclamation boundary, Ma the Fifth didn't see Lu Xiaolan, nor did he see the other land reclaimer. However, he saw that the plot of land was lit up. Qiu Luoye had responded? To think he had responded so quickly! "No matter," Ma the Fifth said, gritting his teeth. "We'll strike tomorrow when they start reclaiming the land. We absolutely cannot let them finish reclaiming this plot." Ah Qin shook her head. "Fifth Brother, before reclamation begins, I can do whatever I want. After the reclamation succeeds, I can also look for a chance to strike. But during the reclamation, I can't act recklessly. I have a covenant deed with Qiu Luoye." "What kind of covenant deed?" "I'm considered Qiu Luoye's subordinate. If someone reclaims land on his territory, I can go test them, but only with his permission. Otherwise, I cannot enter the plot as I please." Ah Qin's situation was just like the wild boar and the House Centipede Woman: they could test Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth, but only under the condition that Shui Yongquan permitted it. Could Ah Qin go test Lu Xiaolan? In all likelihood, Qiu Luoye wouldn't allow it. The reclamation trial was meant to test whether a person had the ability to shoulder the plot. A single-li plot was not large to begin with, so Qiu Luoye wouldn't permit a Tier 6 cultivator to test a reclaimer; that went against the rules of land reclamation. Ah Qin couldn't go, but Ma the Fifth had other means: "Tomorrow I'll have Yanzi come. She's a roaming anomaly, so she doesn't need to abide by the rules of land reclamation." Ah Qin was skeptical. "Yanzi is still young. That girl lacks tempering; I'm afraid she won't handle this reliably." Ma the Fifth blinked. "Young? Lacks tempering? Ah Qin, which Yanzi are you talking about?" "Wen Hongyan, of course. My disciple. Back when she studied under me, she took plenty of beatings. Her backside was covered in paddle welts. I'll have her show you some other day." Ma the Fifth chuckled. "I meant our family's Yanzi, not the Chu family's guard." Ah Qin's face darkened. "Why do you bring up that shameless hussy again!" Ma the Fifth quickly wrapped an arm around Ah Qin and coaxed her, "We're all one family. We ought to get along." Ah Qin shrugged off his arm. "I can't get along with her." "Good Ah Qin, don't let it bother you. When we go back, I'll listen to you play the piano." "Fifth Brother, I couldn't help you with this today. You're not allowed to be mad at me." "I'm not mad, but you'll have to make it up to me." "Then you must cherish me a little more." ... The next day, the reclamation began. Ma the Fifth took Yanzi and Ah Qin to the plot. Lu Xiaolan might not be present, since the owner of a plot could hire people to reclaim it. Ma the Fifth had prepared for this too. If Lu Xiaolan was reclaiming it in person, he would have Yanzi drive her out and let Ah Qin finish her off. If Lu Xiaolan wasn't there, he would have Yanzi disrupt the reclamation. All along the way, Ah Qin and Yanzi bickered incessantly. "Darling, why did you have to bring this katydid along? A trivial matter like this, I could easily handle it myself." Ah Qin sneered, "He brought me because you're clumsy and he feared you'd botch it." "Old hag, who are you calling clumsy? Believe me, I'll rip your legs off!" "Just try it. I'll snap your fangs first." Ma the Fifth laughed hollowly. "Business first, let's take care of business first." Near the plot, several land reclaimers were gathered around a campfire eating. Ma the Fifth did not see Lu Xiaolan among them. Ma the Fifth ordered, "Yanzi, drive them out!" This reclamation had to be ruined. If Lu Xiaolan were allowed to reclaim a plot right outside their front door, watching them whenever she had nothing better to do and ducking inside her territory whenever trouble arose, it would be like driving a thorn right into Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth's hearts. Yanzi rolled her eyes at Ah Qin. "Old hag, it's not your turn this time." Ah Qin twitched her antennae and said nothing. Yanzi wriggled her body into the plot, making the land reclaimers tremble with terror. With a smile on her face, Yanzi approached the men and knocked one reclaimer over with an antenna. "You young men are quite handsome. If this lady weren't already taken, I'd really love to play with you for a while. While I'm still in a good mood, get lost! Move too slow, and your lives are forfeit." The land reclaimers scattered and fled in all directions. Yanzi returned to Ma the Fifth's side, nuzzling affectionately against him with a coquettish expression. Ah Qin lowered her head without speaking. Ma the Fifth stared at the plot with a faint smile. *Lu Xiaolan, I don't believe you won't show yourself.* *The moment you show yourself, I'll have your life!* ... That evening, Shui Yongquan came knocking: "Brother Ma the Fifth, I hear you brought a bagworm moth and chased away the land reclaimers?" Ma the Fifth neither admitted nor denied it: "Shopkeeper Shui, a bagworm moth doesn't need to abide by the rules of land reclamation. Regardless of whether this has anything to do with me, a bagworm moth disrupting the reclamation doesn't break any rules, does it?" Shui Yongquan took a sip of tea. "In principle, that's true, but in practice, that's not how things work." From the side, Li Banfeng chimed in, "Then why don't you enlighten us—how do things work?" Shui Yongquan said, "I went through great trouble to reach an agreement with Qiu Luoye so we wouldn't fight anymore. No one has ever successfully reclaimed land on his territory. Now that someone has finally come to reclaim a plot, you go and cause trouble—isn't that forcing him to turn hostile? Let me make this clear to both of you: if Qiu Luoye truly turns hostile, he will definitely strike back across the border. And if he strikes, you two will be the first to suffer. Brothers, I've said my piece; weigh it for yourselves." Not long after Shui Yongquan left, Chuanzi ran over with news: "Someone else is reclaiming land, and it's still in Qiu Luoye's territory."