Universe Infinite Canteen.

Chapter 398 Bold Assumption
The person who spoke was a man in his fifties with a square face that looked intimidating even without anger. Next to him stood an old man with white hair and beard.

The old man was wearing a brocade robe with two puddings on the hem, and he was carrying seven cloth bags of different sizes on his back.

He also saw the fight between Ma Lu and Qin Ruhai just now, and praised, "What a good set of Songxi fast swordsmanship. It seems that Master Chongyun has accepted another good disciple."

"Well, I'm not from Songxi Sword School." Malu said.

"Huh?" The old man seemed a little surprised, but didn't say much. He bowed to the square-faced man.

"Sir, I'll leave it to you then."

"Okay, Captain Hong, take care." Shi Wenjiao accompanied Captain Hong to the door, then turned around and said to Malu and Gu Qingyi.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. I wonder what brought you here this time?"

"Oh, we are here to claim the reward." Malu said as he handed over the package in his hand.

The disciple who had received them before stepped forward to take the package and said at the same time.

"You two don't need to worry. The eldest brother has taken people to investigate the small temple you mentioned. Once it is confirmed that Yan Wuji is dead, we will pay you the reward. We at Zhengqi Academy always keep our promises...ah!"

The disciple's voice stopped abruptly, because he had just unpacked the package, and saw a hideous human head inside!
The disciple was so frightened that he lost his grip on the head, causing it to fall to the ground, roll around, and then roll back in front of the millipede.

The millipede stepped on the head with its foot, then bent down and picked it up again.

But when he raised his head, the disciples of Zhengqi Academy had already picked up their top scholar pens and surrounded him and Gu Qingyi, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

"Don't get me wrong, I just want to get the reward as soon as possible." Malu said as he raised the head again, this time deliberately facing Shi Wenjiao.

Shi Wenjiao's mind moved, and he called a disciple over, "You have fought with that devil, go and take a look."

The disciple took the order and stepped forward, examining it carefully.

After being buried underground for seven days, the head has expanded a lot and has exuded corpse fluid, which shows that it has changed a lot compared to when the head was alive.

But the disciple still recognized him and reported back to Shi Wenjiao, "Dean Shi, it is indeed the devil."

Shi Wenjiao had already heard Gu Qingyi talk about what happened in the temple that night, and he also interrogated Yan Wuji's wife and compared her story with what the former had said.

In fact, he was already 70% convinced in his heart, and he sent people to investigate again just for the sake of being cautious. But now that he saw Yan Wuji's head, he no longer had any doubts.

He ordered someone to bring six silver notes, all of which were denominations of one thousand taels, and handed them to Ma Lu. "This is the six thousand taels of reward that my Zhengqi Academy offered before. Thank you two for eliminating this evil from the martial arts world."

When Malu took the banknote, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes. Yan Wuji's head was more valuable than he thought.

Six thousand taels of silver, after splitting it equally with Gu Qingyi, there will be three thousand taels left, which can be used to buy more than two hundred kilograms of secret medicine in Baicaotang.

However, there is still a long way to go before filling the collection bag, and the millipede is now worried.

He brought other people's cultivation resources back to cook and eat, so the speed at which he spent money was naturally terrifying, and he didn't know where he could get more money next.

After leaving the courtyard, Malu thought about it while giving three of the silver bills he had just received to Gu Qingyi, but Gu Qingyi did not take them.

"If you hadn't intervened that night, I would have died at the hands of Yan Wuji. This bounty should all belong to you."

Upon hearing this, Malu directly stuffed the three thousand taels of silver into Gu Qingyi's hand.

"Take it. Don't be polite to me. You killed the man, so you must have a share of the money. Besides, since you are away from home, you will have many more places to spend money in the future."

Gu Qingyi no longer refused after hearing this, and happily accepted the banknote, then asked Ma Lu, "Brother Ma, are you short of money recently?"

"Yes." Malu blinked.

"There's an opportunity to make a lot of money right now."

"what chance?"

"I told you before that the Beggars' Sect has announced the recent major case in the city. If anyone can find the lotus bowl, they will receive a generous reward from the Beggars' Sect."

Gu Qingyi was very excited, but after she finished speaking, she saw that Ma Lu was not interested at all. "Why, you are not interested in this case?"

"How much money can a bunch of beggars have?"

“Brother Ma, don’t underestimate the Beggars’ Sect. They are the largest gang in the world, with branches in every state. There are hundreds of thousands of members all over the country, and they are not limited to beggars.

"Many local wealthy businessmen and gentry have also joined the Beggars' Sect. With their money and influence, the Beggars' Sect has been able to develop rapidly in recent years. In fact, the Beggars' Sect can even be said to be the richest gang in the world.

"If someone can find the lotus bowl back, they won't even blink an eye even if they are asked for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver."

"Ah?" Malu finally showed interest this time, "Is the Beggars' Sect so rich?"

"Well, I have been recuperating in Yuchang County these days, and I also went out to inquire about some information. I found that at least half of the industries in the county are related to the Beggars' Sect."

"The other half belongs to the Tianlong Sect. Oh, by the way, do you know the Tianlong Sect? They are the archenemy of the Beggars' Sect. Many people suspect that the theft of the Beggars' Sect's Lotus Bowl was done by the Tianlong Sect."

"The atmosphere between Tianlongmen and Beggars' Sect has been very tense these past two days. The Beggars' Sect wanted to find Li Tianlong for evidence, but Li Tianlong refused to show up. Well, if we want to find the whereabouts of the Lotus Bowl, we can start with Tianlongmen."

"No, I think we should start with the deceased leader of the Beggars' Sect." Malu said shockingly.

"Huh? Why?" Gu Qingyi was stunned.

Malu certainly couldn't say that after the battle he just fought, he felt that his strength still needed to be strengthened. In addition, he had long admired Deng Youtai's martial arts and planned to open a new card pack.

So he made an excuse and said, "Now that Yuchang County is full of martial artists, there must be a lot of eyes staring at the Tianlong Sect. If we also investigate the Tianlong Sect now, even if we really find out something, we will definitely be one step behind. It is better to find another way."

"Well, what you said makes sense," Gu Qingyi pondered for a moment, "but what does this have to do with Gang Leader Deng? He died half a month ago."

"It's hard to say." Ma Lu continued to make up a story, "I heard that Deng Youtai died of illness, but Gang Leader Deng was a martial arts master. Although he was over 70 years old, he was always in good health. How could he suddenly get sick and lose his life? There may be some hidden story behind this.

"Yes, that lotus bowl is a keepsake of the Beggars' Sect leaders. Leader Deng always carried it with him during his lifetime. It is very likely that he left a clue on the bowl when he was murdered. This is why the lotus bowl was stolen."

"Your explanation is quite novel..." Gu Qingyi stroked his fake beard, "The person who stole the Lotus Bowl didn't want anyone to find out the real cause of Boss Deng's death, but isn't this a bit far-fetched? Do you know who wants to harm Boss Deng?"

"No, but when we investigate a case, we should make bold assumptions and verify them carefully."

Malu looked up at the sky and saw that the sun had already set, so he said, "I plan to go to Boss Deng's tomb after dark. You..."

"I'll go with you too."

"Uh," Malu wanted to refuse, but then he changed his mind and realized that he really needed someone to keep watch, so he said.

"Okay, let's check it out first. If this road doesn't work, we can look for other clues later."

(End of this chapter)