Lifeline

Lu Chunying came out of the house, walked down the stairs step by step, and calmly came to Duan Shaoxia.

She avoided looking Duan Shaoxia in the eye, bowed her head, and said, "Thank you for saving me, Madam."

The room was filled with people from the Hundred Flowers Gate. Lu Chunying stood alone in the hall, like a leaf in the wind, her life hanging by a thread.

Zuo Wugang stepped on Lu Dongtang, secretly clenching his fist.

Lu Yuanxin remained calm and quietly scattered the insect bait.

Xiao Yeci gritted her teeth, prepared to fight to the death.

Zhang Xiuling glanced at Duan Shaoxia.

Duan Shaoxia glanced at the shattered corpse beside her.

After a long silence, Duan Shaoxia spoke up, "Chunying, well done! You've got the same spirit as Dongliang back then."

It's not safe for you here. Listen to me, come back to the mansion with me. We're family.

Lu Chunying remained silent.

Duan Shaoxia looked up at the second floor and said, "Ye Ci, come back with me. Let's live a good life together from now on."

The voice was filled with sorrow and sincerity, and Xiao Yeci was indeed somewhat moved.

Before Xiao Yeci could speak, Lu Chunying said, "Madam, I think I should stay here."

With tears in her eyes, Duan Shaoxia said, "Chunying, don't you still trust me?"

Lu Chunying shook her head and said, "Madam, I trust you. You treat me like your own mother."

But I cannot go to the main house. As you can see, my uncle will not tolerate me, and I do not want to implicate you.

Duan Shaoxia said in a trembling voice, "I'm not afraid of being implicated. I just want my family to live together."

Tears welled up in Lu Chunying's eyes. "Madam, I want to too, but not now. I'm not qualified to enter the mansion."

Madam Duan cried out, "Chunying, you do! I said you do!"

Lu Chunying shook her head and said, "I can't go, and I shouldn't go. You have Brother Huaiyi to take care of you. If I go, the whole family will gossip."

That's a profound statement.

Zhang Huaiyi and Lu Chunying are of the same generation.

However, nominally speaking, the two are not related by blood.

Is there a problem with living in the same house?

How to interpret the score?

To an ordinary person, this would be no problem, after all, the Lu Family is so big.

In the eyes of wealthy families, this is somewhat problematic. Zhang Huaiyi already coveted the Lu Family's business, and if he were to take Lu Chunying down with him, the problem would be much bigger!

After saying this, Madam Duan's tears disappeared, and an unusual gloom appeared on her face.

What to do?

Can they still kick Zhang Huaiyi out?

That's her own son!

After a moment of gloom, Duan Shaoxia shed sincere tears again. "Chunying, I really want you to come home."

Lu Chunying's tears were no Duan Shaoxia than Duan Shaoxia's. "Madam, I also want to go home, but I really can't go back now."

Li Banfeng brewed a cup of green tea in the bedroom and listened attentively to the two people's sincere lamentations.

Unable to persuade her, Zhang Xiuling continued to watch Duan Shaoxia, wondering if she would resort to force.

Duan Shaoxia glanced at the bedroom upstairs and saw Zuo Wugang, who was ready to fight at any moment, Lu Yuanxin, who was secretly waiting for battle, and Li Qi, who was temporarily out of sight.

While Zhang Xiuling hesitated, someone whispered in her ear, "Master, Ma Wu is here."

Ma Wu led Huo Ling and a group of branch members to the mansion.

This is going to escalate.

Duan Shaoxia looked at Ma Wu: "Jun Yang, you're here too."

At White Poplar Teahouse, Li Banfeng had gathered Lu Maoxian's men. Upon learning that Lu Chunying was in danger, he immediately ordered Ma Wu to bring reinforcements. However, because Ma Wu was a little slow, they had to wait until now.

Seeing the situation inside the room, Ma Wu immediately understood the predicament and calmly bowed, saying, "Madam, I am late."

Ma Wu made his position clear in one sentence.

He came to save people, not to cause trouble.

He not only stated his own position, but also expressed his position on behalf of Duan Shaoxia.

Madam, are you here to rescue people too?

Zhang Xiuling frowned slightly as she compared the number of people on both sides.

Cultivation levels are invisible, but if we only look at the number of people, it's hard to say who would win or lose if they were to fight each other right now.

Duan Shaoxia nodded slightly to Ma Wu: "Jun Yang, Chunying is a good child of our Lu Family, you must take good care of her."

Ma Wu nodded slightly, and the two of them exchanged a glance without realizing it.

In that instant, a bloodshot appeared in Duan Shaoxia's eye.

There was also a bloodshot in Ma Wu's eyes.

Duan Shaoxia turned to Lu Chunying and said, "Yingying, come home more often, even just to talk to me. It makes me feel good."

Lu Chunying nodded repeatedly, but didn't look up.

Duan Shaoxia looked at Lu Dongtang: "You led people to plot against the Zong family, what do you have to say now?"

Lu Dongtang shouted, "My father sent me. You'll have to ask him about this!"

Duan Shaoxia said to Zhang Xiuling, "Little sister, did you hear everything?"

Zhang Xiuling nodded. "The Hundred Flowers Gate can testify that I heard Lu Maoxian to harm the Zong family."

When Zhang Xiuling became the Hundred Flowers Gate Master, she suffered a lot of trouble from the Qingshou Association.

She remembered this grudge, and she wanted to be a witness to what was happening today.

Duan Shaoxia then said to Lu Dongtang, "Your entire family conspired to harm the main family. What else do you have to say?"

Lu Dongtang shouted, "This is my father's order! As for the reason, we'll have to wait for my father's instructions. What do you want to do? You dare touch me!"

Duan Shaoxia said, "Yingying, the family rules cannot tolerate this beast."

Duan Shaoxia essentially made Lu Chunying become Lu Dongtang.

Lu Chunying glanced at Lu Dongtang.

Lu Dongtang came to kill her, and from her personal perspective, she had to avenge this.

Most of the Lu Family acknowledge her as the Direct Lineage of the main branch, so it's true that they have to enforce family discipline.

However, in terms of seniority, Lu Dongtang is Lu Chunying's cousin. If she kills him now, won't that leave room for gossip? After all, she is not yet the head of the family.

But if we don't take action, we'll lose face and prestige in this situation, and we'll also sow the seeds of future trouble.

In this dilemma, Lu Yuanxin suddenly said to Lu Chunying, "Miss Chunying, I have some private matters to discuss with my uncle."

Lu Yuanxin approached Lu Dongtang quickly called out, "Yuanxin, your uncle used to love you the most. When you were little, your uncle even held you in his arms..."

The words Lu Dongtang had used to humiliate Lu Yuanxin at Lu Maoxian's residence still echoed in his ears.

Lu Yuanxin remained silent, squatted down next to Lu Dongtang, and placed a pair of Spotted Earwig near Lu Dongtang's ears.

Earwigs, also known as ear-claw insects, are named for the pair of shovels on their tails. There is a popular folk belief that earwigs can crawl into people's ears, bite through the eardrum, enter the brain, and devour the brain marrow.

In fact, most earwigs only eat dry branches and rotten leaves, and some also eat insects. They generally do not harm people.

Only this red and white Spotted Earwig is a vicious species specially bred by Insect Cultivator. Under the stimulation of Insect Cultivator techniques, this insect becomes extremely ferocious and can actually burrow into the skull and damage the brain.

At first, Lu Dongtang only felt an intense itch in his ear. After the itch subsided, he felt a sharp pain. Soon after, he lost hearing in one ear. In less than a minute, the earwig had burrowed into his skull. Lu Dongtang screamed in agony and his whole body convulsed.

A few minutes later, Lu Dongtang stopped moving. Lu Yuanxin took a short knife, chopped off Lu Dongtang's head, and stood in front of Lu Chunying: "Lu Dongtang, for plotting against the clan, has now been executed according to family law!"

Seeing this scene, Duan Shaoxia vaguely saw Lu Dongliang and Lu Dongjun from back then.

It seems a little different.

In Lu Yuanxin, Duan Shaoxia saw a rare loyalty in Lu Dongjun.

Lu Yuanxin had only known Lu Chunying for a short time, so why did he do this?

After thinking for a moment, Duan Shaoxia understood.

In the Lu Family, the only person who respects Lu Yuanxin is Lu Chunying, and this is Lu Yuanxin's only chance to turn his life around.

Thinking of this, Duan Shaoxia nodded and said, "Chunying, I think we should ask your uncle for an explanation."

Lu Chunying nodded and said, "That's what I think too."

As the group escorted the assassins to Lu Maoxian's residence, Ma Wu went upstairs to ask Li Banfeng before leaving, "Seventh Brother, are you going?"

"Go ahead," Li Banfeng said. "I want to see what explanation Lu Maoxian to offer."

The explanation was that they couldn't provide it, and Li Banfeng was well aware of this.

But today's matter must have a result.

With Lu Maoxian gone, who will be in charge of the Lu Family from now on?

A large group of people arrived at the mansion's gate. They weren't afraid of others knowing; today they were going to clean house.

On this point, Lu Chunying and Duan Shaoxia were basically of the same mind: to take this opportunity to completely strip Lu Maoxian of his voice in the Lineage.

When everyone saw that the mansion was in complete chaos, they realized that Lu Maoxian had indeed lost his voice and could no longer speak.

Lu Maoxian dead; it is unknown who killed him.

Before Lu Chunying could react, she suddenly heard Duan Shaoxia start crying.

No one knows for whom she cried or what she was crying for, but her tears were so heart-wrenching that they made one want to cry too.

Is this an attempt to play the good guy?

Lu Yuanxin had no intention of playing the good guy. He shouted at the crowd, "No matter what's wrong with Uncle today, there must be an explanation for the plot to harm the main family!"

Lu Maoxian's other children dared not utter a sound, while his dozen or so concubines were so frightened that they cried.

Lu Yuanxin advised Lu Chunying: "Just wipe out Lu Maoxian's faction to eliminate future troubles."

While crying, Duan Shaoxia secretly sized up Lu Yuanxin.

This ruthlessness is no less than that of Lu Dongjun back in the day.

Ma Wu stood at the back of the crowd and whispered to Li Qi, "Seventh Brother, what do you think?"

Li Banfeng said, "Don't ask me. You're from a prestigious family; you've definitely seen more of this kind of thing than I have."

After a moment's thought, Ma Wu said, "Although Lu Yuanxin is ruthless, he did nothing wrong in this matter."

Lu Chunying was pondering a solution, she suddenly heard a loud rumble in the distance.

Huff! Huff!

A steam-powered car drove up.

This kind of thing is rare in Green Water City and not common in the entire Pro State. Ma Wu recognized the people in the car from afar. "Seventh Brother, this is Liao Zihui, the Guanfang Envoy."

The Guanfang Envoy arrived.

Li Banfeng glanced at the car. There were six people in the car. Ma Wu lowered his voice and said, "The one wearing the hat is Liao Zihui, and the rest are his bodyguards."

Liao Zihui was wearing a long gown, a hat, and round-framed sunglasses. He was about 1.7 meters tall, and his waist appeared to be about the same height as his body.

After getting out of the car, Liao Zihui asked about the situation briefly and then said to everyone, "That's enough for today."

Is it really that simple to end it with just one sentence?

Lu Yuanxin was not convinced, but he didn't say anything.

Liao Zihui approached Lu Chunying and said expressionlessly, "The Guanfang Hall is hosting a banquet tomorrow. Invitations will be sent later. We hope Miss Chunying will do us the honor of attending."

Lu Chunying remained silent.

Xiao Yeci said from the side, "My dear NanNan, hurry up and say yes."

Lu Chunying nodded slightly.

Liao Zihui got into the car and left immediately, staying for less than half an hour.

In just half an hour, the bloody battle came to an end.

Zhang Xiuling escorted Duan Shaoxia back to the Lu Family, Ma Wu led his men to escort Lu Chunying back to her residence.

On the way, Zuo Wugang looked serious and said to Ma Wu, "Fifth Master, I didn't see Lu Dongchun just now."

Lu Yuanxin's expression was also very solemn. "We can let others go, but this scourge must not be allowed to live."

Lu Chunying asked, "What sect does Lu Dongchun belong to? I find his fighting style very strange."

Lu Yuanxin said, "She is a clothing cultivator. This Daoist sect is extremely unorthodox. In the early stages of cultivation, she can make her clothing incredibly powerful."

In the later stages of cultivation, one will probably only have clothes left on their body.

Lu Chunying asked, puzzled, "What do you mean by 'only clothes left'?"

Lu Yuanxin said, "Without flesh and blood, my whole body is just clothes."

Lu Dongchun was in Lu Maoxian's mansion, where she had originally prepared for a desperate fight.

Upon learning that Lu Chunying had left with her people, Lu Dongchun picked up an iron and repeatedly ironed himself.

Smoke rose from the layers of holes in the clothes, killing the clothes moths.

Lu Dongchun took out a sewing needle, slowly picked out the insect's corpse, then threaded a needle and slowly stitched up the wounds on his body.

Start by sewing on the face.

In Carefree Dock, Li Banfeng asked Ma Wu, "Internal affairs are governed by banners, and external affairs by customs seals. Why is the Guanfang Envoy interfering in the Lu Family's internal affairs?"

Ma Wu rubbed his eyes and said, "The Guanfang Envoy will not easily interfere in the internal affairs of the major Lineage, but as long as they do interfere, the major Lineage will not refuse the Guanfang Envoy's request."

"So, the powerful families of Pro State are controlled by the Guanfang Envoy?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. The Guanfang Envoy control transportation throughout the region. If we go against Guanfang Envoy, business will cease to exist."

Actually, today's situation is a good thing. The Guanfang Envoy's banquet for Lu Chunying is tantamount to acknowledging her status as the head of the family.

I just didn't expect Duan Shaoxia to still have dealings with the Duan Shaoxia Hundred Flowers Gate. It's hard to say whether Lu Chunying, the head of the family, can sit still."

As he spoke, Ma Wu kept rubbing his eyes until blood seeped from his left eye.

Li Banfeng asked in surprise, "What got in your eye? Why are you rubbing it so hard?"

Ma Wu laughed and said, "A root of love entered, and I just squeezed it out."

Seventh Brother, Duan Shaoxia is Emotion Cultivator, and at a high level.

PS: Ma Wu has a deep understanding of Emotion Cultivator.