Xie Wanqing was Lu Xiaolan.
Ma the Fifth looked at Yuan Youshang. If not for his reminder the previous night, Ma the Fifth truly never would have imagined that among the newcomers he was cultivating, one of them was actually Lu Xiaolan.
Xie Wanqing's voice was mediocre—a matter of natural talent—but she came from a prominent family, being the young mistress of the Lu family. Her education and personal background were entirely unlike those of ordinary people, so her bearing and stage presence were naturally a cut above the other singers.
When Ma the Fifth heard her sing, he felt a sense of familiarity—not because her singing skills were profound, but because Lu Xiaolan had once been his fiancée, and he had often listened to her sing back then.
Yuan Youshang had also given Ma the Fifth an important piece of advice: to present Xie Wanqing with a bouquet of orchids.
There were three pieces of information packed into that sentence: first, that this person could communicate using orchids; second, that this person could use orchids as weapons; and third, that this person had the character "Lan" in her name.
Ma the Fifth hadn't understood the first two pieces of information; after all, he had no idea such an enormous change had occurred in Lu Xiaolan.
The third piece of information, however, he had understood.
Yuan Youshang's ghost servants didn't dare approach the star singer's private room and could only seek out Ma the Fifth for help. Ma the Fifth immediately guessed that Lu Xiaolan had made her move.
Originally, Ma the Fifth had gathered plenty of men, preparing to corner and surround Lu Xiaolan. But Lu Xiaolan had struck first, disrupting his plans. Even disrupted, he was not afraid; Ma the Fifth ordered a group of guards to hold the exit of the private room, giving Lu Xiaolan no chance of escape.
Lu Xiaolan had no intention of running either. With a flick of her fingertip, the orchid petals on the floor soared into the air, fluttering all around the room like butterflies.
"Fifth Brother, after not seeing each other for so many years, have you missed me at all?" Lu Xiaolan smiled at Ma the Fifth.
"I have. I miss you every day," Ma the Fifth replied, spreading his arms toward her. "Come, let Fifth Brother give you a hug."
For a moment, Lu Xiaolan genuinely felt like walking over.
That was because Ma the Fifth had employed a Joy Cultivator technique—Dry Wood and Fierce Fire.
Lu Xiaolan desperately wanted Ma the Fifth to embrace her right now, but if she truly were held in his embrace, the next step would be Joy Fire Immolating the Body.
The Lu Xiaolan before him was not so easy to deal with. Manipulating the petals, she slashed a wound across her own face. As fresh blood slowly trickled down, Lu Xiaolan used the pain to break the technique of Dry Wood and Fierce Fire.
"Fifth Brother, even when you casually cast a technique, I can barely resist it. Has your cultivation reached above the clouds?" Lu Xiaolan controlled the orchids, having them swirl around her, using their fragrance to keep her mind clear.
Ma the Fifth said with an earnest expression, "Xiaolan, let's not speak of cultivation today. Let's only catch up on old times."
Lu Xiaolan looked at him with equal sincerity. "Fifth Brother, from the day we met until now, have you ever told me the truth?"
"Xiaolan, think back carefully. Which word of mine wasn't the truth?"
Lu Xiaolan's eyes reddened. "Back then you said you would marry me. That wasn't the truth."
Ma the Fifth wore a sorrowful expression. "Was that my fault alone?"
Lu Xiaolan thought it over carefully and felt that Ma the Fifth had a point. "I was at fault too. I can't blame Fifth Brother for all of it."
Seeing the aggrieved sorrow on Lu Xiaolan's face, Yuan Youshang prepared to unleash a Crying Cultivator technique: Tears That Break the Heart.
This technique was exceptionally effective against people gripped by sorrow, loss, fear, or remorse, because in such states people wept easily. Once tears fell, they would experience agonizing heartbreak.
Controlling with Crying Cultivation and slaughtering with Demon Cultivation was Yuan Youshang's customary tactic, which had even allowed him to escape from under He Jiaqing's grasp. Now he could no longer use Demon Cultivation, but Ma the Fifth was still here; as long as the two shared sufficient tacit understanding, they were confident they could achieve victory in a single strike.
Yuan Youshang reviewed the entire tactic in his mind and quietly initiated the technique, first amplifying Lu Xiaolan's emotions.
He had assumed Lu Xiaolan would weep until her heart broke, but to his surprise, not a single tear fell. Instead, a surge of burning fury erupted from her, and the petals in the room multiplied several fold, swirling on a wild gust like a blizzard.
This was a miscalculation on Yuan Youshang's part. Lu Xiaolan's aggrieved expression had been feigned; toward Ma the Fifth, she harbored only hatred. The unshed tears brimming in her eyes hadn't fooled Ma the Fifth, but they had fooled Yuan Youshang.
The situation inside the private room turned perilous. Yuan Youshang tucked his head into his collar and tried to flee outside. Just as he reached the doorway, hundreds upon thousands of orchid petals struck him like sharp blades.
Fortunately, his woolen overcoat was tough, saving him from fatal wounds. But wherever the coat failed to protect—his hands, feet, and scalp—was covered in a gory mess of blood.
These orchid petals were not only sharp, but also virulently poisonous. Yuan Youshang's entire body grew numb, his vision blurred, and every breath took immense effort.
The room's door was sealed tight by the petals, preventing Yuan Youshang from breaking out. Manager Zhang stepped forward with the guards, intending to pull Yuan Youshang to safety, but Ma the Fifth shouted, "Back off! Don't go throwing your lives away!"
Manager Zhang possessed cultivation at the third layer of ground level, which made him an expert in ordinary circumstances.
Yet the present situation was far from ordinary. If he charged forward, he and the guards he had brought would all be finished the moment they came face-to-face with Lu Xiaolan.
In Ma the Fifth's recollection, the last time he saw Lu Xiaolan, she had only been a peering cultivator below the fifth layer. After not seeing her for a while, how could she have changed so drastically?
Yuan Youshang couldn't break out, and the ghost servants were useless inside the private room.
Several ghost servants hovered outside the room, terrified to come any closer.
Before Ma the Fifth arrived, he had heard from the ghost servants that something they feared was hidden inside the room. Where exactly was it hidden?
Lu Xiaolan saw through Ma the Fifth's thoughts and laughed. "Fifth Brother, are you looking for the magic treasure so Yuan Youshang can help you? Don't bother searching. You are the renowned Fifth Master of Puluo Province. When dealing with a weak woman like me, do you really need Yuan Youshang's help? Let's fight fair and square."
Petals swirled like snowflakes, instantly surrounding Ma the Fifth. He had no way of predicting when or from what direction they would strike.
Yet combat for a Joy Cultivator did not require that much calculation. The corners of Ma the Fifth's eyes curved upward as his gaze swept across the petals.
The orchid petals, which had previously moved in orderly formation, suddenly fell into disarray. They collided in pairs, entangling with one another.
This was the Joy Cultivator technique: Lone Seeker of a Mate.
Under the impetus of this technique, none of the orchid petals were willing to remain alone. Scrambling to escape solitude, they stuck to neighboring petals in pairs, clinging tightly together, leaving only a single petal unable to find a partner, which threw itself desperately onto an artificial flower on the table.
The sudden countermeasure caught Lu Xiaolan off guard. These orchid petals were vital to her; she focused her willpower, attempting to tear them free from the technique. But Ma the Fifth exerted his power abruptly, and the collisions and friction between the petals intensified at once.
This was the Joy Cultivator technique: Unable to Stop. Hundreds upon thousands of petals tore and sliced into one another, shattering into fragments all over the floor.
Lu Xiaolan quickly retracted the orchid petals. If she allowed Ma the Fifth to continue exerting his techniques, she would suffer grave injuries herself.
Once the petals converged, Yuan Youshang found an opportunity to slip away, swiftly fleeing the room. But the situation Ma the Fifth faced grew exceptionally grim.
Lu Xiaolan's methods in battle did not rely entirely on petals. Lunging into close quarters, she transformed both arms into flower leaves, tightly coiling them around Ma the Fifth in her embrace.
Ma the Fifth used the Joy Cultivator technique Soul-Enthralling Bone-Erosion, hoping to make Lu Xiaolan's body go limp.
The leaves softened for only a moment before coiling even tighter than before, making Ma the Fifth feel as if his bones were about to snap.
He tried to use the Flirting and Scolding technique to weaken her grip, but Lu Xiaolan tightened the flower leaves once more, preventing his technique from taking effect.
What other techniques could he use?
Joy Fire Immolating the Body was the most effective, but that technique required considerable preparation. Choked by the leaves to the point of suffocating, Ma the Fifth had no capacity to build up the Joy Fire.
Complex techniques like that were out of the question, and even simple, fundamental techniques were difficult to execute. Ma the Fifth attempted to burst her blood vessels, but the veins on Lu Xiaolan bulged as she exerted force in response, snapping several of his ribs and causing his Blood Surge technique to fail as well.
As Ma the Fifth's consciousness faded and he was on the verge of collapsing, Yuan Youshang dashed back into the room.
He believed that this time, he and Ma the Fifth would surely share a tacit understanding.
Yuan Youshang let out a wail toward Lu Xiaolan. Her concentration wavered slightly, granting Ma the Fifth a breath of relief. Seizing this opportunity, Ma the Fifth immediately began building up the Joy Fire.
Ma the Fifth managed to catch his breath, but Yuan Youshang's predicament took a turn for the worse.
A root tendril sprouted from beneath Lu Xiaolan's feet, instantly wrapping around Yuan Youshang's leg.
Yuan Youshang gritted his teeth and sobbed a few times—the Crying Cultivator technique Swallowing Tears in Silence.
Seeing Yuan Youshang's pitiful state, Lu Xiaolan's heart softened. Just as she was about to spare him, her gaze suddenly turned blank, the expression vanished from her face, and she stood frozen stiff where she was.
Since she had come to kill Yuan Youshang, Lu Xiaolan naturally possessed methods to counter Crying Cultivator techniques.
Yuan Youshang shouted, "Not good! The Spring Orchid blooms!"
What bloomed?
How could it bloom?
Ma the Fifth's eyes widened. The so-called blooming was meant quite literally.
A vibrant spring orchid bloomed atop Lu Xiaolan's head, its yellow pistil standing erect at her crown while its white petals draped down over her cheeks.
She neither wept nor smiled; stripped of all emotion, only a single thought remained. Constantly tightening the flower leaves and root tendrils, she intended to strangle both Ma the Fifth and Yuan Youshang to death.
Yuan Youshang's face contorted in agony as the tendrils coiled around him loop after loop, nearly reaching his neck.
Ma the Fifth's expression was even more ferocious as he strained against the flower leaves, his bloodshot eyeballs bulging as if ready to burst from their sockets.
Whoosh—
The stamens suddenly caught fire.
Taking advantage of the brief window when Lu Xiaolan had wavered and bloomed, Ma the Fifth had finally unleashed the technique of Joy Fire Immolating the Body.
As the plant's reproductive organ, the stamens and pistil were the first to succumb to the technique. Joy Fire was exceedingly difficult to extinguish. The flames crept along the stamens to the petals, and then spread onto Lu Xiaolan's head.
Jolted back to her senses by the excruciating pain, Lu Xiaolan hurriedly tried to douse the fire, and Ma the Fifth and Yuan Youshang seized the moment to flee the star singer's private room.
Once outside, beyond the reach of the magic treasure's influence, Yuan Youshang released the ghost servants covering his body and instantly regained his confidence.
He first summoned two healer cultivator ghost servants—one to neutralize his poison and the other to treat Ma the Fifth's injuries.
Next, he arranged the ghost servants into two rows, waiting for Lu Xiaolan to come out and fight.
Ten ghost servants stood in the front row, all martial cultivators and physical cultivators prepared for close combat.
Six ghost servants stood in the second row—two Scholar Cultivators, one mind cultivator, two Virtue Cultivators, and one Cold Cultivator—prepared for ranged combat.
There was also a Travel Cultivator and a Virtue Cultivator standing by to provide support.
Yuan Youshang even specially called over a contrarian cultivator ghost servant, ready to step forward and taunt the enemy.
Lu Xiaolan was still burning inside. With a vicious glare at Yuan Youshang and Ma the Fifth, she gritted her teeth and said, "Are you afraid? Come in and keep fighting!"
Yuan Youshang shook his head. "I object. I'm not going in. If you have the guts, burn down Xiaoyaowu!"
Beside him, Ma the Fifth snapped angrily, "Why the hell would she burn down Xiaoyaowu?!"
Beads of dew welled up on Lu Xiaolan's body, gradually extinguishing the Joy Fire.
Ma the Fifth was astonished; he had not expected Lu Xiaolan to actually suppress the Joy Fire.
The two sides reached an impasse. Until Lu Xiaolan's magic treasure was located, Yuan Youshang couldn't charge in.
Lu Xiaolan didn't dare step outside either; once she left the room, she would definitely be no match for Yuan Youshang and Ma the Fifth.
Looking through the doorway, Ma the Fifth scanned the furnishings inside the private room. He had been too occupied with fighting earlier to look closely, but this time he scrutinized everything, and a vase caught his attention.
Xiaoyaowu had a total of twelve private rooms for its star singers, each decorated differently, but this vase did not belong in the room.
Ma the Fifth had dealt in all sorts of businesses, porcelain included.
The style of this vase was identical to the other vases in the room; an ordinary person would see no difference from the outside, but Ma the Fifth could tell.
The body and glaze of this vase were exceedingly rare. Porcelain of such quality had no place in a star singer's dressing room.
This item had to be the magic treasure suppressing the ghost servants!
Ma the Fifth intended to rush into the room and seize the vase.
Before he could take a step, however, Lu Xiaolan suddenly rushed out clutching the vase in her arms.
In an instant, the ghost servants beside Yuan Youshang scattered in panic, abandoning him where he stood.
Lu Xiaolan did not linger to fight. The area outside the room was too open, and the vase's range of effect was quite limited; Yuan Youshang had plenty of ways to pin her down.
She darted down the corridor, crossed the grand dance floor, and reached Xiaoyaowu's back door. Just as she was about to escape, she strained with all her might, yet her legs would not move.
Her legs were bound. Nearly transparent threads bound her legs together from the knees down.
Yuan Youshang had sent an artisan cultivator ghost servant ahead to the back door to set a trap.
Because it had been set in haste, the trap was rather crude, and with a little force, Lu Xiaolan snapped the threads.
Yet that fleeting delay was enough for Ma the Fifth to catch up from behind, grabbing Lu Xiaolan by the wrist.
Lu Xiaolan felt a searing pain in her wrist, as though her flesh were peeling away from the bone.
The Joy Cultivator technique: Rubbing Powder and Turning Vermilion.
Under the agonizing pain, the vase slipped from Lu Xiaolan's hands, only to be caught securely by Ma the Fifth.
Lu Xiaolan tried to snatch the vase back, but saw that Yuan Youshang had already reached Ma the Fifth's side.
In the blink of an eye, six ghost servants surrounded Lu Xiaolan. Yuan Youshang bared his teeth and burst into weeping; instantly, the ghost servants grew beside themselves with rage, their combat prowess surging violently.
The Crying Cultivator technique: Grief and Fury Combined.
Lu Xiaolan realized she could not escape.
She looked at Ma the Fifth. "Ma Junyang, even if I leave my life here today, I'm taking you with me!"
Holding the vase, Ma the Fifth beckoned to Lu Xiaolan. "Come on, let's see how you take me with you."
Yuan Youshang said, "I'll warn you once more: do not underestimate her."
Ma the Fifth had not underestimated Lu Xiaolan; the opportunity he was waiting for was almost here.
The technique was prepared, and the ghost servants were in position.
Lu Xiaolan peered into the movement patterns of all the ghost servants, repelling all six within a few clashes, then charged forward to fight Ma the Fifth to the death.
The moment she closed in, Lu Xiaolan smiled.
She had not lost her sanity.
Ma the Fifth held the vase in his hands; as long as Lu Xiaolan stayed close to him, the ghost servants wouldn't dare approach.
If she killed Ma the Fifth and reclaimed the vase, Yuan Youshang certainly wouldn't dare draw near.
Even if she couldn't eliminate Yuan Youshang, she could at least escape in one piece and avenge the old grudge—
Suddenly, a chill shot through her back, as though she had taken a blade.
Not just one blade.
Yuan Youshang had released a swarm of ghost servants, some wielding weapons and others using techniques, dealing vicious blows behind Lu Xiaolan.
Why could these ghost servants approach Ma the Fifth?
Weren't they afraid of the vase?
Wasn't Ma the Fifth holding the vase?
He was indeed holding a vase—one Manager Zhang had fetched from another room, nearly identical in appearance to Lu Xiaolan's magic treasure.
While Lu Xiaolan had been clashing with the ghost servants, Ma the Fifth had already handed the real vase over to Manager Zhang, who was currently sprinting toward the backstage of the grand dance floor.
Lu Xiaolan brandished the flower leaves and petals all over her body, fighting desperately against the ghost servants.
The more she fought, the more despair she felt. Her eyes gradually lost their luster, her movements grew sluggish, and her expression—just like Yuan Youshang's—became helpless and numb.
The Crying Cultivator technique: All Thoughts Reduced to Ashes.
Spurt!
Vast amounts of blood sprayed from the wounds across her body, the scent of orchids mingled within it.
With the Blood Surge technique, Ma the Fifth saw Lu Xiaolan off on her final journey.
Lu Xiaolan collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Ma the Fifth crouched down and checked several times; Lu Xiaolan was indeed dead.
Yuan Youshang sealed Lu Xiaolan's soul inside her corpse.
A burst of singing suddenly drifted over, making both men shudder with a start.
"Drifting clouds disperse, the bright moon shines upon us; gathered in blissful union, drunk in the present day..."
The singing came from Xiaoyaowu. Liao Manqing had taken the stage to sing the opening warmup song, and her singing was as suffocating as ever.
There weren't many audience members below the stage, and their hearts were uneasy.
They could tell something had happened at Xiaoyaowu; they could tell the atmosphere was off.
Even so, Liao Manqing still sang with immense effort.
When the song ended, the audience calmed down considerably; using the lethal power of her pitch and rhythm, Liao Manqing made people gradually forget the unease brought by fear.
The guards rushed over, and Ma the Fifth instructed, "Collect the corpse first. Business must go on."
Yuan Youshang dispatched ghost servants to scout around, worried Lu Xiaolan might have accomplices. "Assassinating me is an important mission. Reason dictates there should be someone nearby to support her."
Ma the Fifth said, "The person backing her probably doesn't dare show herself. Come nightfall, I'll go question her myself."
Yuan Youshang said, "You mean Song Cuiqing? The one sleeping under your quilt?"
Ma the Fifth started. "You even know about that?"
Yuan Youshang said, "She is indeed from the Inner States—pure-blooded, in fact. But it's impossible for her to work for Lu Xiaolan. Her status is far higher than Lu Xiaolan's. Coming to you was likely out of genuine affection."
As they spoke, Yuan Youshang looked back at Xiaoyaowu. "This truly is a fine place. Unfortunately, it's time for me to go."
Ma the Fifth said, "You've already fallen out with the Inner States. Where else can you go? Just stay at Xiaoyaowu for now."
Yuan Youshang shook his head. "I object. I don't want to drag you down, and you cannot protect me. Parting ways here is the best choice."
Ma the Fifth didn't press the matter. "Before you go, can you do me a favor? Take Lu Xiaolan's soul with you and make her your ghost servant."
Yuan Youshang pondered. "I object. She is a monster created by the Great Totem, and very likely carries its mark. That would pose a tremendous threat to me."
"Leaving her here poses a tremendous threat to me as well. Since you don't want to keep her, scatter her soul into nothingness."
Yuan Youshang agreed. He followed Ma the Fifth to the storeroom, but when he examined Lu Xiaolan's corpse again, he sensed no soul.
Ma the Fifth frowned. "Her soul escaped?"
Yuan Youshang shook his head. "It shouldn't have escaped. As a deceased spirit, it would be very difficult for her to break through my arts. She may have already scattered into nothingness. Souls remade by the Great Totem are all very fragile."
Ma the Fifth was curious, having never had the chance to ask. "What exactly is the Great Totem?"
"A place where monsters are made. I don't know much either."
Ma the Fifth thought back to some things Luo Lijun had told him before. "When you say the Great Totem, do you mean Chaoge's Great Furnace?"
Yuan Youshang considered how to describe it. "I don't think they're the same. The Great Totem is older and more powerful, but incomplete. It's constantly being repaired. I don't know much about it; most people who knew about the Great Totem had their memories taken away. But I believe you've definitely seen it."
"I've seen it?" Ma the Fifth couldn't fathom what he meant. "I've never even been to the Inner States. How could I have seen the Great Totem?"
"You are a local spirit. You must have a local spirit seal."
"I do."
"There's a circular ring mark on the local spirit seal. That is the Great Totem." Yuan Youshang clapped his hands and stood up. "Farewell, my friend."
In Taiming Town, in the basement of a two-story Western-style house, a colossal spiderweb hung suspended.
At the center of the web rested a silk cocoon. Daboynes sliced open his palm with a knife, letting blood drip continuously into the cocoon.
The moment blood touched the silk cocoon, it vanished immediately, as if a creature exceptionally adept at drinking blood resided within. Several minutes later, the silk cocoon wriggled, and Lu Xiaolan's voice came from inside.
"I didn't need you to save me! I could have killed Ma Junyang, and I could have killed Yuan Youshang too!"
Daboynes bandaged his wound. "You can't kill either of them. Neither of those two is so easily killed."
"They just got lucky! If I had even one more helper, I could have taken their lives!"
"A helper wouldn't do you any good. Li Qi is about to arrive."
"It's about time he showed up!" Lu Xiaolan roared. "I'll kill him too!"
"Kill him?" Daboynes chuckled. "Far too many people want him dead. What makes you think you can pull it off?"
"He killed my mother!" Lu Xiaolan's voice trembled. "I'm going to avenge my mother!"
Daboynes sighed deeply. "Having dealt with Li Qi so many times, I've finally come to understand: from the day you mother and daughter decided to kill him, you should have prepared yourselves to die by his hand."
Lu Xiaolan yelled, "You're afraid of him, but I'm not! And you don't need to meddle in my business!"
"Rest assured, I won't meddle anymore. Even if certain rumors were true, whatever I owed you has now been repaid in full." Daboynes packed up his suitcase. "This is the last time I'll save you, Miss Lu. From now on, whether you live or die has nothing to do with me."
Daboynes was preparing to leave, and Lu Xiaolan panicked. "Don't go! Take me to the Inner States! I want to go to the Great Totem again—I can come back to life!"
"If you have the ability, go yourself. If you don't, then remain a wandering, lonely ghost in Puluo Province." Daboynes put on his coat and picked up his suitcase. "I warned you before: the Great Totem is incomplete. Escaping with your life once was a stroke of pure luck, and you should count your blessings. From now on, you're on your own."
Chapter 764