Not a Trace Left

The deacon held no low status locally.

Before it had been confirmed that he would not return, would these ordinary guards dare to steal from the very place they were guarding?

Stuff the valuables from the room into their own pockets?

Wu Heng felt that explanation did not hold up.

The other Association Members behind him were also staring fixedly at the man.

Waiting for a reasonable answer.

The guard captain's expression turned somewhat ugly. He had not expected that coming back to return the money would instead put him under suspicion.

After hesitating for a moment, he answered, "My lords, it's a misunderstanding. It truly is a misunderstanding."

"What kind of misunderstanding? Let's hear it." Wu Heng continued looking at him.

The captain immediately said, "We didn't take these things. During the chaos in the city, someone took advantage of the situation to enter and steal them. Since this involved the local deacon, we recovered some of the items. It's just that... the men below weren't honest and kept some for themselves."

He cautiously glanced up before continuing, "When we learned that the higher-ups from the Association Headquarters were coming to investigate, we were afraid of causing trouble. That was why we arranged for the valuables to be collected and sent to you, my lords."

Wu Heng and the others frowned.

They had not expected him to come up with such an explanation.

In other words, they had not taken the items themselves. They had recovered stolen goods, then withheld and divided a portion of them.

This time, with people from the Association Headquarters coming to investigate, they felt uncertain and took the initiative to send them back.

"You already took them. If you hadn't returned them, we wouldn't have known," Wu Heng said.

"My lord, the Lord's Mansion