Lu Xiaofeng nodded, instantly understanding much more.
Boss Qian claimed that his wife had leprosy, but in truth, he simply did not want anyone else to see him.
As for Xia'er... under surveillance, she had no way to leave Yunjian Temple. And with girls changing greatly as they grew up, she had undergone enormous changes in just a few years.
Even if Luo Ma saw Xia'er now, he would not recognize her.
Thinking about it this way, it was no wonder that shortly after Hua Manlou came looking for Xia'er, Boss Qian had appeared as well.
On the surface, it had seemed to be out of respect for the young master.
In reality, he had probably feared that Xia'er might reveal the secret while spending time with Hua Manlou, so he had rushed over to take control of the situation.
"So they were not truly my wife and child. But outside, I still have two concubines and several children... The Hua family knows about this, and so does the court!"
Boss Qian took a dagger from his robes and said, "With these two as witnesses, Luo Ma's guilt can be conclusively proven. Hero Lu, I beg you, for the sake of the evidence I have provided, protect my family after I die..."
When a man was about to die, his words were often kind.
Moreover, Boss Qian had voluntarily provided evidence.
A trace of compassion rose in Lu Xiaofeng's heart, and he hurriedly pressed down Boss Qian's hand. "What are you doing?"
"Committing suicide!"
Boss Qian said, "Before they catch up... Otherwise, I am afraid I will not even be able to do this much."
"You... Hua Manlou will not implicate your family. The Hua family..."
Lu Xiaofeng could not continue.
He trusted Hua Manlou's character and knew he would not make a decision that brought disaster upon a man's family. But he could not be certain about the rest of the Hua family.
Even if the entire Hua family could be trusted, what about the court?
Punishing three generations of a family, implicating nine clans—those were exactly the sorts of things the court could do!
And in truth, Boss Qian's crimes were already serious enough to warrant such punishment.
After all, the Counterfeit Banknote Case concerned the very economic foundation of the state. One wrong move could even shake the nation itself!
"Hero Lu, let go."
Boss Qian said, "I, Boss Qian, have been around for many years. The secrets I know are far more than just one or two. If I am taken into the Heavenly Prison of Six Doors, who knows how many people will be unable to sit still... Dying cleanly like this may instead be the best ending for me!"
Lu Xiaofeng's expression was grave.
It was not that he did not understand such realities. He simply could not stand by and watch a victim of those realities appear before his very eyes.
Boss Qian pushed away his hand. Then, without further hesitation, he drove the dagger into his chest and fell dead!
"Over here!"
With a shout, Wuyan led the others out of the secret passage and saw Lu Xiaofeng and Boss Qian—one standing, the other lying down.
Luo Ma hurried forward and asked in surprise, "What happened? Boss Qian is dead?"
He crouched down to examine him. Although the man had died only moments ago, he was indeed dead.
To prevent any accident, he even felt around the man's face for a moment, making sure he was not wearing any sort of mask before finally relaxing completely.
At this point, the others also hurried over.
"Dead?"
Jiang Long crouched down to inspect the body as well, then said helplessly, "He really is dead..."
The corpse could naturally still be brought back to settle the case, but a living man would have been better.
Who in officialdom did not want to rise through the ranks?
Zhou Ming also crouched down and touched the body. When he stood up, his expression was somewhat unpleasant, and he turned aside so as not to look at the corpse.
"Young Master..."
Chun Hua spoke softly and gently patted Zhou Ming's back.
"It is nothing. I am merely not used to it..."
Seeing this, Jiang Long thought to himself, He truly is a young master! Though his martial arts are formidable, he has probably never seen blood before. He cannot even bear the sight of a corpse.
He waved his hand. "Take the body away!"
The others could naturally tell that he was trying to spare Zhou Ming's feelings, and no one paid the matter any mind.
Luo Ma said, "Boss Qian was truly cunning. Who could have imagined that he was behind the Counterfeit Banknote Case?! He had even nearly escaped! Fortunately, Hero Lu's lightness skill was exceptional. He managed to block Boss Qian's path and deal with him."
Lu Xiaofeng had watched Boss Qian take his own life. Although the man deserved his fate, the true reason behind his suicide still weighed somewhat heavily on him.
However, he possessed excellent composure and had already recovered by now. Hearing this, he said, "Constable Luo, you misunderstand. I did catch up with Boss Qian, but I did not kill him. He committed suicide!"
Luo Ma's heart jolted.
Suicide?
He had thought the two had fought, and that Lu Xiaofeng had subdued Boss Qian. He had never expected Boss Qian to have killed himself!
Judging from the corpse, Boss Qian had only just died. Before his death, had he not had time to speak with Lu Xiaofeng...
No, stay calm!
Perhaps after fighting for a while, Boss Qian had realized he was outmatched and had no hope of escape, so he killed himself...
Or perhaps Lu Xiaofeng had only just caught up to Boss Qian...
Luo Ma comforted himself and said, "So that is how it was. Still, it depended on Hero Lu being able to catch him. Now that Boss Qian is dead, this case can finally be closed!"
"You are wrong again. Though Boss Qian is dead, this case will not be over. Because... the true mastermind has yet to be captured!"
Lu Xiaofeng said, "Who would have thought that behind the Counterfeit Banknote Case stood a Gold-Clad Constable of the court's Six Doors—Luo Ma!"
What?
Everyone was shocked!
They could not help but retreat two steps, distancing themselves from Luo Ma.
Even Jiang Long, who had been standing beside him, widened his eyes and stared at his companion in shock.
Luo Ma said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? The man behind Jile Tower was clearly Boss Qian! And Miss Wuyan can testify to that!
"Lu Xiaofeng, even if you are a famous hero of the realm, you cannot falsely accuse a court constable."
Wuyan said, "That is right, Hero Lu. Boss Qian was the one who seized my father and forced him to make counterfeit banknotes. I cannot be mistaken!"
"Heh heh..."
Lu Xiaofeng said, "Miss Wuyan, thank you for helping us destroy Jile Tower. May I ask, what is your identity?"
"Me? I am Yue Qing's daughter!"
Wuyan looked at Zhu Ting. "Martial Uncle, you can recognize me, can you not?"
"Th-this... It has been many years. I cannot recognize you," Zhu Ting hurriedly said, shaking his head.
Lu Xiaofeng said, "In that case, Miss Wuyan, do you have anything that can prove your identity?"
"This... How can I prove that I am myself? I had a string of prayer beads on my hand before, but I gave them to you. Other than that..."
Wuyan's cheeks reddened. "There is the Divine Axe Sect Tattoo on my body. You saw it before, did you not?"
Lu Xiaofeng smiled but did not respond. Instead, he looked at Zhu Ting and said, "Zhu Ting, you understand now, do you not?"
A look of realization appeared on Zhu Ting's face. "So that is how it is... Miss Wuyan, perhaps you truly do have that tattoo on your body, but there is something I must tell you. Yue Qing's daughter was not a member of our Divine Axe Sect!"
"What?!" Wuyan was startled.
Luo Ma's expression also changed dramatically. "How could Yue Qing's daughter not be a member of the Divine Axe Sect?"
Zhu Ting said, "There has never been any rule that when a father joins a sect, his children must join as well. Yue Qing was indeed a member of the Luban Divine Axe Sect, and his daughter did indeed learn many techniques of the Luban Divine Axe Sect, but she never joined the Luban Divine Axe Sect. Naturally, she had no need to leave any tattoo mark on her body!"
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