Universe Infinite Canteen

Although the atmosphere was somewhat sad, adhering to the principle of not wasting, Ma Lu still waited for the character "Martial" to load completely before he touched it.

This time, what he touched was not a pack of cards but an extraordinary skill known as the Withered Zen Skill.

Ma Lu looked at the effects of the Withered Zen Skill.

It took effect before the game began and did not occupy a card slot. It could change the Qi-Blood and even the names of the moves.

Hmm? This thing was surprisingly well-suited for him.

Ma Lu had picked up quite a few martial arts by now, but during combat, he always felt restrained, mainly because many of the martial arts he possessed were too famous and easy to recognize.

Although he could still take on a master in critical moments, it wasn't good to do so all the time.

After all, what made an adventure extraordinary was its rarity.

Once or twice was fine, but if someone encountered adventures wherever they went, it would definitely arouse suspicion.

With this Withered Zen Skill, even just changing the names while keeping the effects the same could serve to deceive others.

It was quite normal for martial studies in Jianghu to borrow and imitate each other a bit; how could the affairs of the people of Jianghu be considered copying?

After obtaining the Bitter Zen Skill, Ma Lu tried editing the card name of the Innate Pure Yang Palm to Descending Dragon Three Palms.

He also changed Songxi Fast Sword to Ah Fei's Swift Sword but then felt that this name was not very auspicious, so he changed it again to Wind-Returning Wild Goose Sword, which was much more comfortable.

While Ma Lu was busy naming martial arts, on the other side, Gu Qingyi had already removed the veil from Cai Die's face.

Recognizing the maid from Xu Mansion whom she had seen before, she first gasped lightly, followed by a slap on her thigh.@@novelbin@@

"Ah, I should have thought of it earlier. She was helping in the kitchen, only less suspicious than Madame Xu."

"Your performance this time was not bad either," Ma Lu consoled, "Didn't you guess right away that Xu Deputy Gate Master had been poisoned, although it turned out that someone had tampered with his herbal medicine? But the general direction was not wrong."

Ma Lu now felt that Gu Qingyi's Inspired Investigation Method, although absurd on the surface, indeed had something to it.

Or perhaps Gu Qingyi herself was incredibly lucky, almost like she had a natural gift for solving cases.

Not only this time, but also the last time at the Ruined Temple, she immediately declared that He Qisheng had died from vengeance. Though the evidence provided at the time was inaccurate, the conclusion inadvertently hit the mark.

Ma Lu then told her the information he had learned from Cai Die.

"Regarding the mastermind, although Cai Die didn't reveal that person's name in the end, we can probably confirm two things. One is that the person must be very powerful, as only then could they arrange for Cai Die to enter the Xu Mansion.

"Moreover, Cai Die also said that the person, like her, is also a poor soul; there's a high likelihood that he also has enmities with one or some influential people of Beggars' Sect or Heavenly Dragon Sect. He is stirring up conflicts between Beggars' Sect and Heavenly Dragon Sect for vengeance."

"Oh, that means we have more clues to follow up on." Gu Qingyi's eyes lit up again.

"I can ask Manager Zhou on how Cai Die initially entered the mansion to see if we can find the person who brought her in and also find out if there are any formidable enemies among the elders and sect leaders of Beggars' Sect and Heavenly Dragon Sect.

"Hmm... but in Jianghu, having no enemies is actually rarer, and it's not necessarily the doing of a formidable enemy; maybe an ordinary enemy, whose offspring suddenly becomes very powerful, might also return for revenge."

Gu Qingyi kept talking and then remembered a very serious matter.

"Not good! The Beggars' Sect asked the Heavenly Dragon Sect to hand over the Lotus Bowl within three days, and as soon as tomorrow dawns, it will be the third day. I'm afraid we won't have enough time to uncover the mastermind behind this."

Ma Lu, although keen to see blood shed, which would make it easier for him to loot bodies and draw cards.

But when he thought about the Beggars' Sect clashing with the Heavenly Dragon Sect, possibly resulting in thousands of deaths, he felt it wasn't necessary after all.

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Especially ordinary people, looting them wouldn't be very useful.

Ma Lu had looted a lot by now, and his horizons had risen accordingly. Apart from someone like Cai Die, who possessed extraordinary skills, generally only masters of the Sect Helmsman level or higher were worth his effort.

Speaking of masters, there was one right now.

Ma Lu said, "We can go and see if Elder Brother Chu can think of something and also pay respects to the elder who just passed away recently."

Gu Qingyi, upon hearing this, did not respond immediately but asked cautiously.

"Which Elder Brother Chu are you talking about?"

"Chu Qianyuan, Elder Brother Chu," Ma Lu coughed lightly. His habit of recklessly acknowledging masters was now beginning to show its ill effects; even Gu Qingyi was getting confused by his relationships.

However, before going to see Chu Qianyuan, Ma Lu needed to make another trip to the Merry Woods.

The murderer who killed Xu Baichuan had been found, and both Ma Lu and Gu Qingyi had to explain this to the Heavenly Dragon Sect to prevent members with explosive temperaments like Tan Mazi from causing trouble with the Beggars' Sect while seeking revenge for Deputy Xu.

The current situation between the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Beggars' Sect was like two powder kegs that could no longer bear even the smallest spark.

And on the way to Merry Woods, Ma Lu further instructed Gu Qingyi, "When we meet Left Emissary Yi, tell him that you caught the person."

"Ah, why? Who do you think I am? Although I aspire to be a Divine Detective and become famous throughout Jianghu, I wouldn't indulge in claiming others' achievements as my own," argued Gu Qingyi righteously.

"No, I'm saying that the case was solved by you mainly to try to gain more benefits afterwards," Ma Lu explained.

"I am the disciple of Deputy Xu, and seeking revenge for my master is a righteous cause.

"So, I will tell Left Emissary Yi that I caught the murderer. He'll probably just give me a few words of encouragement, but it's different for you. Solving such a big case, the whole Heavenly Dragon Sect owes you a great favor, and he definitely has to show some gratitude, and he can't be too stingy either."

Gu Qingyi thought for a moment and then shook his head, "I haven't even spent much of the reward we got for killing Yan Wuji last time. I don't really need money."

"But I do," said Ma Lu. "Let's stick to our old rule this time, split the reward fifty-fifty, and if you can get some unique secret medicine from the Heavenly Dragon Sect, that would be even better."

"Oh, oh." Finally, Gu Qingyi nodded. "Then I can ask about that later, but I feel a bit uneasy constantly gaining both fame and profit."

"It's just an empty reputation; I don't mind it," Ma Lu shrugged.

Gu Qingyi insisted, "You're losing too much this way. For future rewards or anything, let's split seventy-thirty. I take thirty, you take seventy, or just give it all to you. I really don't need it that much."

"Then let's make it seventy-thirty. You should take something too. I get involved in a lot of things and have to leave the city every now and then. I still need you for routine investigations," Ma Lu remarked.

Ma Lu didn't give Gu Qingyi another chance to refuse and decisively concluded the matter.