Ambush

Someone else had begun reclaiming land in Qiu Luoye's territory, less than a li from Li Banfeng and Ma the Fifth's plot. Ma the Fifth wore a look of utter helplessness. Li Banfeng looked completely baffled. He couldn't fathom the attitudes of Qiu Luoye and Shui Yongquan. Earlier, over a land reclaimer, the two local spirits had gone straight to war, which had already perplexed Li Banfeng. Now Qiu Luoye was about to fly into a rage over another land reclaimer. Were land reclaimers really that important? "Old Fifth, why do local spirits care so much about land reclaimers?" Ma the Fifth stroked his chin. "I've seen this mentioned in books before. There really is a saying: 'Only when land has people does it have a spirit.' As for the reason behind it, the book offered no explanation." *Only when land has people does it have a spirit.* This was the first time Li Banfeng had ever heard of such an idea. Ma the Fifth couldn't come up with a countermeasure. "Now Lu Xiaolan is reclaiming land in Qiu Luoye's territory. If Qiu Luoye protects her, things will get tricky." Li Banfeng found the situation thorny as well. "For Lu Xiaolan to think of this angle, someone must be advising her from behind the scenes." Ma the Fifth stood up. "Regardless of who's backing her, we can't let her drive a spike right into our hearts. Starting today, I'm keeping watch. The moment Lu Xiaolan shows her face, I'll take her out." That very evening, Ma the Fifth took Chuanzi and Ah Qin with him, lying in wait near Lu Xiaolan's reclamation plot according to their predetermined ambush site. According to Ma the Fifth's plan, whether Lu Xiaolan participated in the reclamation herself or intended to become the landmaster, he would kill her before she ever set foot onto the plot. The first day passed, and not a trace of Lu Xiaolan was seen. Only a few land reclaimers entered the plot. Lu Xiaolan wasn't clearing the land herself; she had hired others to do it. Ma the Fifth sorely wanted to kill those reclaimers as well, but Ah Qin stopped him. "Fifth Master, if you kill every land reclaimer you see, won't that just be provoking Qiu Luoye all over again?" Ma the Fifth knew she was right. If they wanted to kill Lu Xiaolan on Qiu Luoye's turf, the strike had to be precise. Chuanzi suggested, "How about waiting until the reclamation finishes before making our move?" Ma the Fifth frowned. "Once the reclamation ends, she'll just retreat into the plot the moment she spots us, and it'll be even harder to get to her then. When people hire others to clear land, the patron usually drops by to check on the progress and sometimes tosses in water, food, or herbs. I reckon Lu Xiaolan will show her face within these couple of days." Reclamation lasted three days, and Ma the Fifth kept watch in the wilderness for three full days, yet Lu Xiaolan never appeared. Chuanzi kept watch alongside him. The watch itself wasn't terribly exhausting, but Ma the Fifth had to cultivate every day. Having to watch, listen, and keep lookout on top of that made the whole ordeal rather agonizing. Over the course of the three days, three roaming anomalies arrived to conduct trials. These three roaming anomalies possessed formidable strength, so it couldn't be said that Qiu Luoye was pulling punches. Yet all three anomalies suffered defeat. The first roaming anomaly was a scorpion, capable of snapping a bowl-thick tree with a single snap of its pincer. The scorpion went into the plot and never came out; it had likely perished inside, though Ma the Fifth had no way of knowing how the fight had unfolded. The second anomaly was a stalk of bamboo. This bamboo lasted the longest, enduring a full day before time ran out and it was ground down into defeat. The third to enter the plot was a deer. It also spent an entire day inside, but fared worse than the bamboo—with a broken antler, it stumbled groggily out of the plot. Ma the Fifth began to see through it. He had witnessed this reclamation method before. He knew who was inside clearing the land. "Private investigator Daboyins! This is his signature tactic: first lay spiderwebs across the plot, then conceal himself. Once the prey is ensnared, he launches a surprise attack with his venom to secure a single-strike victory." This was Daboyins's claim to fame and the asset that made him an expert in land reclamation. Daboyins's venom was most effective against animal-like anomalies, especially insects; the scorpion had undoubtedly died in his webs. However, his tactics were mediocre against plants, which was why the bamboo had held out until the very end. Plant-based anomalies were precisely the type Daboyins was most reluctant to face. Yet even with that stalk of bamboo showing up, Daboyins had still succeeded in clearing the land. Such was his strength. Three days passed, and as the morning light broke, the reclamation was complete. If Lu Xiaolan was the master of the plot, she should appear now to inspect it. As the thought crossed his mind, a sudden chill washed over Ma the Fifth. He glanced at Ah Qin beside him. Ah Qin was the strongest fighter at Ma the Fifth's side, but her true form was a katydid. Though her cultivation was a tier higher than Daboyins's, she was likely countered by him. Chuanzi was merely a Tier 1 Craft Cultivator whose job was setting traps around the ambush site; in an actual battle, he wouldn't be of much help. The reclamation had ended, and Daboyins could emerge from the plot at any moment. If they ran into Lu Xiaolan right now, there was no telling who would kill whom. "Move, let's head back first." Quick to react, Ma the Fifth immediately left their hiding spot. The four of them had just stepped out of hiding when a strand of spider silk tripped Ma the Fifth, sending him stumbling. Daboyins had already laid an ambush? "Nobody move." Ah Qin steadied Ma the Fifth and crouched down, surveying their surroundings to determine Daboyins's location. Suddenly, a woman's voice drifted into their ears. "Fifth Brother, looking for me?" Lu Xiaolan! Ma the Fifth's hair nearly stood on end. He had never expected that after waiting three days for Lu Xiaolan, her actual arrival would terrify him to this extent. Beside him, Chuanzi produced five signal flares and snapped them one after another, only for the fourth one to finally go off. A plume of fire shot into the sky, but was it still in time? Ma the Fifth shouted, "Ah Qin, run!" "Fifth Master, don't rush!" Ah Qin grabbed Ma the Fifth and leaped to the side just as a mass of spider silk shot forward. Ma the Fifth dodged it, but Chuanzi wasn't so lucky, ending up bound tightly like a rice dumpling by Daboyins. "Chuanzi!" Ma the Fifth wanted to rush back to save him, but Ah Qin held him fast. "Don't move recklessly, the area is full of webs!" Hadn't the reclamation only just finished? Daboyins should have just stepped out. How had he gotten here so fast? Didn't he need time to track them down? Had he known about their hiding spot all along? Ah Qin crouched on the ground, the two antennae on her head swaying back and forth as though she hadn't yet spotted where the enemy was. In truth, Ah Qin had already seen Daboyins; she was merely pretending to search around. Daboyins was directly above their heads, slowly descending on a strand of silk. Ah Qin could leap into the tree right now to fight him, but since Daboyins had been up there for a while, the branches were bound to be covered in webs. To kill Daboyins, the best approach was to draw him away from his webs. Without betraying her intent, Ah Qin rested her two front hands on the ground while her middle pair quietly slipped to her waist to draw two javelins. Her hind legs coiled with power, ready to leap at any second. Her tactic was to ambush him with the javelins first, forcing Daboyins to dodge. Once he left the treetop, she would intercept and kill him midair. It was a finely crafted tactic, but the moment Ah Qin drew her javelins, a faint sound escaped. The friction of the javelins against their holster. The sound was exceedingly faint, yet it did not escape Lu Xiaolan's ears. "She sees you!" This was the most infuriating part of fighting a Scrying Cultivator—not a single movement could slip past their perception. Yet even now, Ma the Fifth had no idea where Lu Xiaolan was hiding. Daboyins made the first move, swinging away from the treetop suspended by his silk. Forced to change tactics, Ah Qin sprang directly into the air to intercept him mid-flight. Midair, Daboyins's speed was clearly inferior to Ah Qin's. As the distance closed, Ah Qin drew her short blades, preparing to cut him down, only to suffer a sudden strike from behind. Her entire body plummeted violently, crashing onto the ground. Who had ambushed Ah Qin? *Cluck-cluck-cluck!* The opponent hadn't used a weapon; she had used a tongue. Zhuo Yuling was beneath the trees! She had extended her tongue, striking Ah Qin's back and sticking to her midair to drag her down. The moment Ah Qin hit the ground, Zhuo Yuling twisted her hips, swung her peach-round rear, and thrust her long tail straight at Ah Qin. This was Zhuo Yuling's lethal move, capable of easily piercing straight through Ah Qin's body. Ah Qin stomped down on Zhuo Yuling's tongue, vaulted into the air again, and narrowly evaded. Zhuo Yuling lashed her long tail in relentless pursuit. Moving faster, Ah Qin drove a javelin straight into Zhuo Yuling's rear. The strike was dead-on; catching the curve just as her backside was raised, the javelin hit dead center. Wracked with intense pain, Zhuo Yuling's tail veered off course. Ah Qin avoided a fatal strike, only to be bitten from behind by Daboyins. With that single bite, Ah Qin went limp and numb all over. Collapsing to the ground, she shouted to Ma the Fifth, "Fifth Master, run!" Could he run? With Ah Qin protecting him, Ma the Fifth had still held some hope of escape. Now, all he could do was stall for time, hoping someone had seen the signal flare and was coming to assist. Zhuo Yuling yanked the javelin from the center of the target. The javelin had barbs, tearing away a large chunk of flesh and blood. Such a minor wound was nothing to her, but Ma the Fifth's gaze snapped across Zhuo Yuling's eyes, using charm art to force her blood to surge downward. *Spurt!* Blood geysered from the bullseye. Zhuo Yuling gasped, clutching the wound. She hadn't expected Ma the Fifth to possess such a vicious tactic; the more agitated she grew, the more violently the blood sprayed, leaving her unsteady on her feet for a moment. Daboyins spat out spider silk, first enveloping Ma the Fifth. Unable to dodge, Ma the Fifth was also bound into a tight dumpling. Daboyins stepped before Ah Qin, intending to deal with her at his leisure. Ah Qin was poisoned, just like an insect trapped in a spiderweb, with virtually no chance of breaking free. Furthermore, every single move she made was under Lu Xiaolan's surveillance. One should never assume Lu Xiaolan couldn't attack; she possessed superb martial skills, as well as numinous items and dharma treasures. Under these circumstances, the battle was effectively over. Daboyins needed only to wait a little longer. Once the poison took deeper hold, he could finish Ah Qin off without the slightest risk. Through her dizziness, Ah Qin still wanted to rescue Ma the Fifth, but she could think of no way. Just as despair set in, Lu Xiaolan suddenly shouted, "Hurry up and finish it, someone's coming!" Just as Daboyins moved forward to dispatch Ah Qin, he felt the ground tremble faintly. "Who's coming?" Daboyins was exceptionally sensitive to vibrations. Lu Xiaolan observed for a moment and said, "It's a bagworm moth. Hurry up and strike." *A bagworm moth...* All eight of Daboyins's eyes flickered, and all eight of his legs trembled together. His body began convulsing uncontrollably. Clutching her rear, Zhuo Yuling cried out, "Dabinzi, what are you waiting for? Hurry..." Ma the Fifth glared at Zhuo Yuling, and blood sprayed from her target once again. At the same time, Daboyins leaped into the air, paying no further heed to anyone, and vanished swiftly into the night mist. "Dabinzi! Spider Bin!" Zhuo Yuling yelled several times, but received no response. The bagworm moth drew closer and closer. And there was someone else, running even faster than the bagworm moth, who would arrive at any second. "Mother, what do we do?!" "Go!" Zhuo Yuling grabbed Lu Xiaolan and vanished into the darkness of the night. Li Banfeng arrived shortly after, tearing the spider silk from Ma the Fifth and Chuanzi. Yanzi caught up as well. Glancing at Ah Qin, she sneered, "Useless wench. What good are you to Little Master?" Ah Qin lacked the strength to bicker, lying prone on the ground unable to get up. Ma the Fifth looked at Li Banfeng and lowered his voice. "Someone sold me out. There's a mole in our territory!"