Li Banfeng set down his wine cup and coughed for a while before he regained his composure.
"You know Lu Xiaolan?"
"I know her; we’re acquainted."
Li Banfeng picked up his wine cup and said, "How well do you know each other?"
Ma Wu didn’t know how to describe it. "If we’re talking about our closest connection, she would be my fiancée."
COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!
Li Banfeng choked on another sip.
Actually, Ma Wu wasn’t to blame for not disclosing it. This was due to both of their personalities; they never questioned the other’s unwillingness to discuss matters.
But that logic completely fell apart.
Li Banfeng asked, "If Lu Xiaolan is your fiancée, then what’s He Jiaqing’s role? Just don’t tell me he’s *your* fiancé."
Ma Wu also choked. "What fiancé? How could I be caught between them? There are... other matters involved."
Li Banfeng was curious, but his understanding with Ma Wu wouldn’t change. "If you don’t want to talk about it, forget it."
"I really don’t want to talk about it much, but this matter is significant, and I must tell you. Lu Xiaolan is two years younger than me. At the age of thirteen, we got engaged."
In Puluo State, marriage arrangements between influential families were quite common. However, there needed to be a suitable match in these arrangements. Was Lu Xiaolan a suitable match for Ma Wu? Definitely not.
She wasn’t a suitable match for Ma Wu or He Jiaqing. The reason she later managed to secure a connection with He Jiaqing was due to the rise of the Lu Family’s power.
Li Banfeng inquired, "If I remember correctly, you’re legitimate, and Lu Xiaolan is illegitimate, right?"
How could Ma Wu respond to this question?
"I’m the least favored one in my family..." Ma Wu said, embarrassed. He continued, "By the time she turned fifteen and we were almost of age to discuss marriage, I spent some time with her. Because of this, the Lu Family and Ma Family almost became enemies."
"Why did they almost become enemies?"
"Lu Xiaolan and I are not the same kind of people. We could barely exchange three sentences without arguing. I absolutely couldn’t stand it and wanted to break off the engagement. She claimed I’d humiliated her and almost killed me."
Li Banfeng, while cracking melon seeds, asked, "How did you humiliate her?"
Ma Wu looked embarrassed again. "Well, we were young... it involved things that happened in bed..."
Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly. "So, you could barely exchange three sentences without fighting, but that didn’t stop you from sharing a bed."
Ma Wu sighed. "That’s why I say it was just youthful folly. If it were now, I definitely wouldn’t touch Lu Xiaolan. Back then, she was already a Third Layer Peeping Cultivator, while I was just a White Lamb. I nearly died at her hands. Later, the matter escalated, and the two families became estranged. It wasn’t until Lu Xiaolan went to study in the Outside Provinces that the issue gradually settled down."
"How old was she when she went to Yuezhou?"
"Sixteen."
"How could she have reached the Third Layer by sixteen?"
Ma Wu took a sip of wine and said, "Very few people know this, but Lu Xiaolan was different from other children of prestigious families. She wasn’t born to be a lady of leisure; she was meant to become an assassin.
"Before she was even ten, she had joined the Taoist Sect. As long as her body could endure it, she continually consumed Elixirs and practiced Martial Arts, enduring a lot of hardship for it.
"And I’m not making this up; Lu Xiaolan told me herself. At that time, although I wasn’t yet a Lust Cultivator, I still had talent. In that situation, she definitely wouldn’t have lied. I’ve seen the scars on her body, the calluses on her hands, and even the bruises on her backside from being beaten."
"You’ve seen that much..."
He Jiaqing had snatched away the photo immediately, and Li Banfeng hadn’t noticed so many details.
"Old Five, why were you still a White Lamb at that age?"
As a scion of a prominent family, Ma Wu had indeed started his cultivation too late.
"Because I’m the most unreliable one in my family..." Ma Wu said, his face blushing, and continued, "Lu Xiaolan was a ruthless person groomed by her mother. You must never take her lightly, ever.
"She’s now come to the Wilderness near our territory to develop land; I reckon she’s mostly here for you."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not necessarily. You were the one who was unfaithful to her in the past. She might also be here for you."
Ma Wu took another swig of his drink. "Regardless of whom she’s here for, what do you plan to do about her?"
"What do you suggest?"
Ma Wu lowered his voice. "I plan to find an opportunity to eliminate her."
Li Banfeng smiled. "I want to eliminate her right now."
Just as he said that, Li Banfeng lowered the brim of his hat and was about to get up when Ma Wu stopped him. "Old Qi, you can’t get involved. Let me do it."
"Afraid of what? My injuries are healed." Li Banfeng was eager to go. His grudge against Lu Xiaolan ran deep; he had nearly died at her hands soon after arriving at Medicine King Valley.
"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’re here. For that reason alone, you shouldn’t act.
"Besides, even if she knows I’m here, she can’t do anything to me. My identity is out in the open: a discarded pawn of the Ma Family.
"You’re different. Your identity mustn’t be known to the Lu Family. Lu Xiaolan mustn’t be allowed to trick you into revealing yourself. So, you can’t be the one to do this. It has to be me."
No matter the circumstances, Ma Wu always considered problems from Li Banfeng’s perspective. He truly was a good Brother.
Before college, Lu Xiaolan had been at the Third Layer, and now it was said she had reached the Fourth Layer. With Ma Wu only at the Second Layer, he certainly wouldn’t be her match.
"Don’t tell me you’re planning to eliminate Lu Xiaolan with the Straw Moth Lady."
That scenario would be quite a spectacle.
Ma Wu shook his head. "Yanzi and the others are too conspicuous. I plan to take Ah Qin with me."