Listening to His Livestream

Ma the Fifth sat in the wooden cabin, still badly shaken. Together with Li Banfeng, he tried to figure out where they had gone wrong today. He had been lucky this time and walked away with his life, but if they didn't get to the bottom of this, he might not be so fortunate next time. Li Banfeng felt Ma the Fifth had brought too few hands. "Only three of you went, and the only real fighter was Ah Qin." Ma the Fifth didn't think manpower was the problem. "The Ma family has carried out plenty of assassinations. Bringing more people only turns them into a liability. Ah Qin attacked while Xiao Chuanzi defended, and I could recognize Lu Xiaolan and provide backup at the crucial moment. With the three of us, that was more than enough for the job. The reason we failed today was, first, Daboyins being there unexpectedly, and second, we have a mole." "What makes you so sure there's a mole?" "Old Seven, think about it carefully. Lu Xiaolan didn't know I was going after her, right?" Li Banfeng nodded. "She shouldn't have known." "Then why was Daboyins able to locate me the second he stepped out of the plot, and even seize the upper hand? That proves he knew where I was hiding." Li Banfeng agreed with that; Daboyins indeed knew Ma the Fifth's hiding spot in advance. Yet that wasn't hard to explain. "Lu Xiaolan is a Scrying Cultivator. You stayed beside the plot for three days; she must have heard you." "Heard how? Just listening around aimlessly? In your Outer States, you have something called radar—did Lu Xiaolan grow a radar on her body? Without someone tipping her off beforehand, searching aimlessly like that, there was no way she could have found me. Ah Qin is no amateur either. Staking out and killing targets is her bread and butter, and she picked the spot. How could we get exposed so easily?" Ma the Fifth made sense. Li Banfeng asked, "Who could the mole be?" Ma the Fifth fell silent for a moment before saying, "Old Seven, do you know why I took Ah Qin and no one else this time? We've got another capable hand on our territory." Li Banfeng started. "You mean Zuo Wugang? You suspect he's the mole?" Ma the Fifth nodded. "He used to belong to the Lu family." Li Banfeng shook his head. "We can't just make wild guesses. Wild guesses only sow distrust." With a grave expression, Ma the Fifth said, "With Lu Xiaolan lurking outside and a mole watching from within, we're bound to suffer badly. Lu Xiaolan has to be eliminated, and the mole must be ferreted out. I think it's Zuo Wugang. He has feelings for Ah Qin. If Ah Qin were interested in him, I'd gladly give them my blessing—it's not like I'm lacking women. But Ah Qin doesn't care for him, and he blamed me for it. He wants to team up with Lu Xiaolan to get rid of me." Li Banfeng was genuinely speechless. Two grown men bickering over a bug. Fine young men choosing to fall for a bug of all things—Li Banfeng truly looked down on them! Still, Li Banfeng was certain the mole wasn't Zuo Wugang. Zuo Wugang had signed a covenant deed written on covenant paper. Unless he had a way to dissolve the deed, he would have turned into a pile of rust flakes long ago. Yet if not him, who else could it be? Ma the Fifth said, "Old Seven, leave Lu Xiaolan to me, but I'll leave the mole to you. Something big is going down this time. It's a matter of life and death, so we can't afford to be soft-hearted!" Soft-hearted they wouldn't be, but they couldn't act rashly either. Li Banfeng said to Ma the Fifth, "I'll go have a proper talk with someone. Once things are clear, we'll make our move." *** Late at night, Li Banfeng returned to his own plot. There was a mole on the ten-li territory, meaning anything could be leaked. His one-li plot was far safer. Li Banfeng set up the offering table and waited quietly. Soon, a cluster of ghostly fire materialized above the table. "Brother Li Seven, there's something you might not realize: the master of the territory needs to sleep too." "So that's how it is!" Li Banfeng said in sudden realization. "Then when do you sleep?" "I just... What do you want?" Li Banfeng wanted to confirm something. "That bunch has already reclaimed a newland on Qiu Luoye's territory. If we kill them in the future, Qiu Luoye won't cause trouble for us, will he?" "The newland is already established. As long as it isn't within the plot, the local spirit won't intervene in the plot owner's life or death. That's how the principle goes, but in this case..." "Let's not talk about principles today. You're a reasonable person, but Qiu Luoye doesn't seem quite so reasonable." Shui Yongquan sighed. "I'm worried about that too. Qiu Luoye wants some human presence. His head doesn't work so well, so whenever he sees land reclaimers, he cherishes them like treasure. But this group of reclaimers arrived under suspicious circumstances." Li Banfeng asked, "Do you think they have any connection to the people who reclaimed land on the border earlier?" The ghostly fire swirled above the offering table as Shui Yongquan pondered. "I think there is a connection, but what exactly it is, I can't say. I'll go talk to Elephant Qiu, and then speak to a few other local spirits. What comes of it, I don't know. Brother Li Seven, I have a persistent feeling that something catastrophic is brewing—not just in my hundred-li territory, but in all of Puluo Province. I can't govern the affairs of Puluo Province; I only hope trouble doesn't strike my doorstep. I don't fight with others. I fled to such a remote place just for peace and quiet. Brother, I just want us both to live in peace for a while." *** Peace was not to be had. In the council hall, Xiao Genzi was battered and bruised, repeatedly apologizing to Ma the Fifth. "Fifth Master, I let you down! I fought with everything I had, but they were too strong. I couldn't beat them." Xiao Genzi had led men escorting a shipment of goods to Lanyang Village, but the cargo was hijacked halfway. Risking his life, Xiao Genzi had managed to flee back with the escorting brothers. This wasn't the first shipment to be hijacked. Another had been taken yesterday, leaving several escorting brothers severely wounded. Now Ma the Fifth didn't dare send out any goods. Whenever a shipment went out, Lu Xiaolan watched from her plot, and nothing could escape her eyes. Ma the Fifth didn't blame Xiao Genzi. "Bringing our people back makes you a credit to us." He had someone treat Xiao Genzi's injuries and gave him a reward. Standing nearby, Zuo Wugang said, "Fifth Master, let me escort the next shipment." "Sure, go if you want," Ma the Fifth said with a slight smile. "I'm going out for a walk to check on our neighbor." Zuo Wugang sensed something was off with Ma the Fifth's attitude. For the past two days, his attitude had felt wrong, but Zuo couldn't very well pry. Leaving the council hall, Ma the Fifth walked to the edge of the border. He gazed toward Lu Xiaolan's plot. An urge seized him: he wanted to charge into her plot, drag her out, and take her life. In the flash of a thought, Ma the Fifth let out a long breath. *Calm down. I must calm down.* Lu Xiaolan had Daboyins at her side, as well as her mother, Zhuo Yuling. She had reclaimed a newland and enjoyed the protection of the local spirit. Dealing with her wouldn't be easy; he couldn't act on impulse under any circumstances. Ma the Fifth took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and turned to leave when suddenly a voice spoke from behind him: "Fifth Brother, looking for me?" Startled, Ma the Fifth whipped around, only to discover Lu Xiaolan standing right behind him! *When did she get here?!* *How did she know I was here?* "Fifth Brother, did you miss me?" Lu Xiaolan looked at Ma the Fifth with a smile, not stepping across the boundary of the plot. Ma the Fifth smiled thinly. "How did you know I missed you?" "We have a mutual affinity, Fifth Brother. Whatever you're thinking, I know." Lu Xiaolan's tone was playful, just like when they first met. Ma the Fifth's gaze flicked over her eyes. "Guess what I'm thinking right now?" "I guess you hate me with a passion right now, just like I hated you back then, wishing you were dead." "You guessed pretty accurately." Ma the Fifth prepared to activate his technique. Lu Xiaolan shook her head. "Fifth Brother, you used to be so straightforward. Why have you become such a coward now? Whether you miss me or hate me, here I am—why don't you dare come over? Even if you want to kill me, you need to get closer!" Ma the Fifth drew a dagger. Lu Xiaolan feigned surprise. "Kill me with that? Fifth Brother, do you really think that thing can kill me?" Ma the Fifth knew the dagger couldn't kill her. He had drawn it to spill his own blood and invoke the local spirit's protection. Lu Xiaolan saw right through him and said with a beaming smile, "Fifth Brother, look at how pathetic you are. I don't feel like killing you today, so don't you worry. Though as for the future, who can say? If you're scared, hide here for the rest of your life. Don't take a single step outside ever again." Lu Xiaolan walked away. Ma the Fifth gripped the dagger tightly and lowered his head. He didn't have a single helper by his side. If he had taken one more step forward just now, he might already be dead. *** Back in the council hall, Ma the Fifth looked at Zuo Wugang. "Guess what just happened? I felt like checking on our neighbor, and she already knew I was coming. She even came right to our doorstep to find me. Don't you think that's quite a coincidence?" Zuo Wugang didn't know how to respond; he couldn't comprehend what Ma the Fifth meant. After a moment of silence, Ma the Fifth dismissed Zuo Wugang. Sitting alone in the council hall, Ma the Fifth repeatedly reminded himself to stay calm. Zuo Wugang might not be the mole, and finding the mole had to be left to Old Seven. Yet he couldn't calm down. "Fifth Master, the newspapers." Xiao Chuanzi brought two newspapers into the council hall, carried back by Ma the Fifth's men from Lüshui City. Because of the long journey, the papers were from three days ago. On the second page, Ma the Fifth saw his name: *The Fifth Young Master of the Ma Family Still Commands Formidable Might; Flexes His Muscles in the Lanyang Newland.* *Flex my muscles?* *I can't even fucking leave my front door.* Ma the Fifth let out a bitter laugh and tore the newspaper to shreds. The business he and Old Seven had worked so hard to build was about to be ruined by Lu Xiaolan. *** In Yuezhou Third Hospital, He Jiaqing lay alone in bed and chuckled. "Ma the Fifth's been rather irritable lately." A voice answered in his ear, "After enduring so much hardship, he finally got a taste of good fortune, and now that little blessing is about to be cut off. He's bound to feel awful." He Jiaqing sighed. "I rather pity him too. Have you probed Xiaolan's cultivation level?" "It's possible she's hiding it well, but I've tested her several times. She should still be at Tier 4." "Still Tier 4 proves the item isn't in her hands; it's in my friend's hands." "That fellow named Li Seven is your friend?" "I heard his voice. There's no mistake—he was my best friend through all four years of university." "Who should we send to get it back?" "We can't send our own people. Find a way to get Lu Xiaolan to go. Our people can't reveal their identities." "Can Lu Xiaolan get it back?" "She can. My friend is a reasonable man, and Xiaolan wants that item very badly too. Feed her a few lines, and she'll definitely go. Let the two of them reason it out properly. Things borrowed must eventually be returned. If he refuses, he'll have to suffer for it. And if he still won't return it after suffering, people will start dying. He's on good terms with Ma the Fifth. If Ma the Fifth dies over this, he'll feel the sting." "As long as he returns the item, you'll spare his life?" "We'll see. Some things even I can't say for sure. From now on, if you hear his voice again, patch it straight through to me. In the Outer States, they call this a livestream. You understand?" "I understand." "I want to hear him talk. The way he talks is quite entertaining, and having not seen him for so long, I miss him a little." He Jiaqing smiled, terminating the connection.