Chapter 194: Ambush

Someone else was clearing land in Autumn Leaves' territory, less than a li away from Li Banfeng and Ma Wu's plots.

Ma Wu looked helpless.

Li Banfeng looked puzzled.

He couldn't understand Autumn Leaves' and Spring Water's attitudes.

Previously, the two land gods had gone to war directly over land clearers, which Li Banfeng found perplexing.

Now, Autumn Leaves was about to erupt again over a land clearer.

Are land clearers that important?

“Old Wu, why are land gods so concerned about land clearers?”

Ma Wu rubbed his chin and said, “I've seen this mentioned in books before. There's indeed a saying: 'Gods exist only where people live.' The books didn't explain why, though.”

“Gods exist only where people live” – this was the first time Li Banfeng had heard such a saying.

Ma Wu couldn't come up with a solution: “Now Lu Xiaolan is clearing land in Autumn Leaves' territory. If Autumn Leaves protects her, it will be difficult.”

Li Banfeng also found it tricky: “Lu Xiaolan must have had guidance to think this far ahead.”

Ma Wu stood up and said, “No matter who is behind her, we can't let her stab us in the heart. I'll start watching today. The moment Lu Xiaolan shows up, we'll take her out immediately.”

That night, Ma Wu took Xiao Chuanzi and A-Qin, and hid near Lu Xiaolan's land plot, at the pre-arranged ambush spot.

According to Ma Wu's plan, whether Lu Xiaolan was participating in the land clearing or intended to become the landowner, they would kill her before she entered the plot.

The first day passed, but there was no sign of Lu Xiaolan. Only a few land clearers entered the plot.

Lu Xiaolan wasn't clearing the land herself; she had hired people.

Ma Wu really wanted to kill all the land clearers, but A-Qin stopped him.

“Fifth Brother, if you kill every land clearer you see, aren't you still provoking Autumn Leaves?”

Ma Wu knew he couldn't do that.

If they wanted to kill Lu Xiaolan in Autumn Leaves' territory, their strike had to be precise.

Xiao Chuanzi suggested, “How about we wait until the land clearing is finished before we act?”

Ma Wu frowned, “If we wait until the land clearing is over, she'll see us and hide back in her plot. It will be even harder to act then. When people hire others to clear land, the owner often comes to check on the situation. Sometimes they even have to toss some water, rice, or herbs onto the plot. I estimate Lu Xiaolan will show up in the next couple of days.”

For three days, Ma Wu guarded the wild land, but Lu Xiaolan did not show up.

Xiao Chuanzi also accompanied him, and while it wasn't particularly arduous, Ma Wu had to cultivate every day. Watching, listening, and keeping watch at the same time made the situation somewhat difficult.

During those three days, three roaming monsters came to test the plot.

These three monsters were quite powerful, so it couldn't be said that Autumn Leaves was going easy.

But all three roaming monsters were defeated.

The first roaming monster was a scorpion whose pincers could snap a tree trunk as thick as a bowl.

The scorpion entered the plot but didn't come out; it likely died inside. Ma Wu didn't know the specifics of the battle.

The second strange monster was a bamboo, which lasted the longest, enduring an entire day. When the time limit was up, it was defeated by attrition.

The third to enter the plot was a deer. This deer also stayed in the plot for a full day, but she was in worse condition than the bamboo, having lost a horn and stumbling out of the plot in a daze.

Ma Wu noticed a pattern.

He had seen this land-clearing method before.

Ma Wu knew who was clearing the land inside.

“Private Investigator Daboyins! This is his usual tactic: first, he lays spiderwebs on the plot, then he hides himself. Once the prey gets entangled in the webs, he immediately launches a venomous surprise attack, securing victory in one blow.”

This was Daboyins' signature move, and it was also what made him an expert in land clearing.

Daboyins' venom was most effective against animal-like creatures, especially insects. The scorpion must have died in the spiderwebs.

However, his tactic was generally less effective against plants, which is why the bamboo lasted until the end. Plant-type strange monsters were also Daboyins' least preferred opponents.

Yet, even with the bamboo monster, Daboyins still successfully cleared the land. That was a testament to his strength.

Three days had passed, and at first light, the land clearing was complete.

If Lu Xiaolan was indeed the owner of the plot, she should appear now to inspect it.

As he thought, a sudden chill ran through Ma Wu. He looked at A-Qin beside him.

A-Qin was the strongest combatant by Ma Wu's side, but her original form was a katydid. Although her cultivation was a level higher than Daboyins, she was likely to be countered by him.

Xiao Chuanzi was a first-level artisan cultivator, responsible for setting traps around the ambush site. In a real fight, he couldn't contribute much.

The land clearing was over, and Daboyins could emerge from the plot at any moment.

If they truly encountered Lu Xiaolan now, it was uncertain who would kill whom.

“Let's go, back first.” Ma Wu reacted quickly enough, immediately leaving their hiding spot.

As soon as the four of them stepped out of their hiding place, a spider silk tripped Ma Wu, making him stumble.

Had Daboyins already set up an ambush?

“Don't move.” A-Qin steadied Ma Wu, crouched down, and looked around, trying to pinpoint Daboyins' hiding spot. Suddenly, a woman's voice reached her ears.

“Fifth Brother, you were looking for me.”

Lu Xiaolan!

Ma Wu's hair almost stood on end.

He truly hadn't expected that after waiting three days for Lu Xiaolan, her actual appearance would scare Ma Wu to this extent.

Beside them, Xiao Chuanzi pulled out five signal flares, breaking them one by one. It wasn't until the fourth one that it finally ignited.

A burst of flame shot into the sky, but was it still in time?

Ma Wu shouted, “A-Qin, hurry and go!”

“Fifth Brother, don't rush!” A-Qin pulled Ma Wu, leaping aside as a ball of spider silk shot towards them. Ma Wu dodged it, but Xiao Chuanzi didn't, and was tied up tightly like a zongzi by Daboyins.

“Chuanzi!”

Ma Wu wanted to go back and save him, but A-Qin pulled him back again: “Don't move recklessly; the area is full of spiderwebs!”

Hadn't the plot just been cleared?

Daboyins should have just emerged.

How did he get here so fast?

Did he not need time to find me?

Did he already know my hiding place?

A-Qin crouched on the ground, her two antennae swaying back and forth on her head, seemingly still unable to locate the enemy.

In fact, A-Qin had already seen Daboyins, but she was deliberately pretending to look around.

Daboyins was right above them, slowly descending on a strand of spider silk.

A-Qin could have directly ascended the tree to fight Daboyins, but since Daboyins had been on the tree for some time, it was surely covered in spiderwebs.

To kill Daboyins, the best way was to get him away from the spiderwebs.

A-Qin, without a change in expression, placed her two front hands on the ground. Her two middle hands quietly moved to her waist, drawing out two darts, while her two hind legs tensed, ready to spring at any moment.

Her tactic was to first use the darts for a sneak attack, forcing Daboyins to dodge. Once he left the treetop, she would intercept and kill him in mid-air.

The tactic was very clever, but the moment A-Qin drew her darts, a slight sound was made.

The sound of darts rubbing against their quiver.

The sound was tiny, but it didn't escape Lu Xiaolan's ears.

“She saw you!”

This was the most frustrating part about fighting a scryer cultivator: even the slightest movement couldn't escape their observation. Yet, even now, Ma Wu still didn't know Lu Xiaolan's location.

Daboyins, moving first, swung away from the treetop on a strand of spider silk.

A-Qin was forced to change her tactic, leaping directly into the air to intercept him.

In mid-air, Daboyins' speed was clearly inferior to A-Qin's. As they closed in, A-Qin drew her short blade, about to strike Daboyins, when she was suddenly hit from behind. A-Qin plummeted rapidly, landing on the ground.

Who had launched a sneak attack on A-Qin?

Gugululu!

The assailant hadn't used a hand, but a tongue.

Zhuo Yuling was beneath the tree!

She extended her tongue, striking A-Qin's back and sticking her from mid-air to the ground.

The moment A-Qin landed, Zhuo Yuling twisted her body and directly thrust her long tail at A-Qin.

This was Zhuo Yuling's killing move, capable of easily piercing A-Qin's body.

A-Qin stepped on Zhuo Yuling's tongue and leaped again, narrowly dodging the attack.

Zhuo Yuling swung her long tail, continuing the pursuit.

A-Qin moved first, a dart pinning Zhuo Yuling's hip.

It was a precise hit, right in the center of her hip, which was conveniently exposed.

Zhuo Yuling cried out in pain, her tail veered off course, and A-Qin narrowly escaped, only to be bitten by Daboyins from behind.

With that bite, A-Qin's entire body went limp. She fell to the ground and shouted to Ma Wu, “Fifth Brother, run!”

Could they escape?

With A-Qin protecting him, Ma Wu still had a hope of escaping. Now, all he could do was try to buy time, waiting for someone to see the signal flare and come for support.

Zhuo Yuling pulled the dart from her hip. The dart had barbs, tearing out a large chunk of flesh and blood.

This minor injury was nothing to her. Ma Wu's gaze swept over Zhuo Yuling's eyes, using charm magic to force her blood to surge downwards.

Her hip spurted blood.

Zhuo Yuling covered her wound and exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't expected Ma Wu to have such a vicious tactic. The more agitated she became, the more violently the blood gushed, making her body temporarily unsteady.

Daboyins spun spider silk, first wrapping Ma Wu.

Ma Wu couldn't dodge and was also tied up tightly like a zongzi.

Daboyins approached A-Qin, preparing to take his time with her.

A-Qin was poisoned, like an insect caught in a spiderweb, with almost no chance of escape.

Moreover, her every move was under Lu Xiaolan's observation.

Don't think for a moment that Lu Xiaolan couldn't attack; she was skilled in martial arts and possessed spiritual artifacts and magical treasures.

In this situation, the battle was already over.

Daboyins only needed to wait a little longer. Once the poison took hold another ten percent, he could kill A-Qin without fail.

Even amidst her dizziness, A-Qin still wanted to save Ma Wu, but she couldn't think of a way.

In her despair, she suddenly heard Lu Xiaolan shout, “Hurry up and act, someone's coming!”

Daboyins was about to step forward to finish A-Qin off when he suddenly felt a slight tremor in the ground.

“Who's coming?” Daboyins was very sensitive to vibrations.

Lu Xiaolan observed for a moment and said, “It's a bagworm moth. Hurry and act.”

A bagworm moth...

Daboyins' eight eyes all flickered, and his eight legs trembled together.

His body began to twitch uncontrollably.

Zhuo Yuling, covering her hip, said, “Dabinzi, what are you waiting for? Hurry up…”

Ma Wu stared at Zhuo Yuling for a moment, and Zhuo Yuling's hip again spurted blood.

At the same time, Daboyins leaped up, ignoring everyone, and quickly disappeared into the night mist.

“Dabinzi! Spider Bin!” Zhuo Yuling called out several times, but received no response.

The bagworm moth was getting closer.

And another person, running even faster than the bagworm moth, was about to arrive.

“Mother, what do we do?!”

“Go!” Zhuo Yuling pulled Lu Xiaolan and vanished into the night.

Li Banfeng arrived quickly and tore off the spider silk from Ma Wu and Chuanzi.

Yanzi also arrived, looked at A-Qin, and sneered, “Useless woman, what good are you when Young Master brought you along?”

A-Qin had no strength to argue, lying on the ground unable to get up.

Ma Wu looked at Li Banfeng and whispered, “Someone sold me out. There's an insider on our territory!”