Luo Ma was dead.
Without question.
In this world, Lu Xiaofeng's Telepathic Finger might not have been invincible, but anyone who wished to break it had to be at least a grandmaster.
At the Innate realm, unless one was like Li Xunhuan and could unleash an attack powerful enough to frighten even grandmasters—
Otherwise, it was virtually impossible to break the Telepathic Finger!
Unfortunately, Luo Ma's Breaking Horse Thorn could not do that!
Thus, he had lost to Lu Xiaofeng after just one move.
However, Lu Xiaofeng had not killed him. He had committed suicide.
The reason was likely much the same as Boss Qian's.
After all, he was the true master behind Jile Tower. In a place like that, who knew how many people with respectable public identities put on masks and indulged themselves without restraint?
And Luo Ma knew their true faces. He knew what they had all done!
Never mind that he had already committed grave crimes. Even if he had not, once he was sent into the Six Doors' Heavenly Prison, the final result would likely have been eight swords in his back, followed by a death ruled suicide.
The man had been decisive indeed. He had simply taken his own life.
After everything was over, Lu Xiaofeng learned from Jiang Long that Luo Ma had neither wife nor children, yet not much gold, silver, or jewelry had been found in his home.
Where had all that gold, silver, and jewelry gone?
Did he truly have no wife or children?
Naturally, these questions had sunk into the mist along with Luo Ma's suicide.
At that moment, Lu Xiaofeng merely shook his head as he looked at Luo Ma's corpse.
Unlike Boss Qian, whose desperate pleas during his final moments and voluntary revelation of Yue Qing and his daughter's circumstances had stirred a trace of pity in him—
Luo Ma's suicide caused no ripples in Lu Xiaofeng's heart, much less any thought of pity.
"Luo Ma is dead too?"
Jiang Long limped over. Looking at the corpse of his partner of many years on the ground, he could not help sighing. "Perhaps it's for the best..."
He then sent out a signal and summoned constables to carry away Luo Ma's corpse.
Yet when the constables arrived, they brought bad news.
"What? Boss Qian's corpse was stolen?!"
Jiang Long flew into a rage. "How were you guarding it? You couldn't even keep hold of a corpse?!"
Knowing he had failed in his duty, the constable said gravely, "That man was highly skilled. We were no match for him. Besides, none of us expected his target to be Boss Qian's corpse, so it was... taken from us..."
Jiang Long asked, "When did that man appear? Did you get a clear look at what he looked like?"
The constable replied, "He appeared immediately after Chief Constable Jiang and Hero Lu left. After driving us back, he seized Boss Qian's corpse and ran off.
He was powerfully built and had a fierce face. There was also a knife scar on his face!"
"Hm? Could it have been... Fourth Brother?" Lu Xiaofeng froze.
Jiang Long turned to look at him. "Hero Lu, you know him?"
"Yes. That man should be Boss Qian's trusted subordinate. I only know that Boss Qian called him Fourth Brother; I do not know his real name."
"Boss Qian's trusted subordinate?"
Jiang Long frowned. "It seems this man truly is loyal, to take his boss's corpse away at a time like this."
Although Boss Qian's corpse was gone, it would not affect the case.
For one thing, Boss Qian had only been one of the participants, not the true mastermind.
For another, his death had already been verified by many people. Since he was already dead, the theft of his corpse was naturally no great matter.
Nor would it affect the conclusion of this case.
The group returned to Yunjian Temple.
The moment Yue Qing saw Lu Xiaofeng return, he hurried forward and cupped his fists in salute. "Hero Lu, my daughter and I escaped those criminals only because of your tireless efforts in solving this case. I, Yue Qing... am overwhelmed with gratitude!"
Lu Xiaofeng hurriedly helped him up. "I merely did my small part while investigating the case. If you wish to thank someone, you should first thank Young Master Zhou and Young Master Hua, who discovered the counterfeit banknotes."
Yue Qing said, "Hero Lu, there is no need for modesty. Boss Qian and Luo Ma colluded, working hand in glove to lay down layers upon layers of riddles. If not for your extraordinary wisdom in seeing through the truth, my daughter and I have no idea how much longer we would have been held here at Yunjian Temple by Boss Qian's men!"
Hm?
Lu Xiaofeng's expression shifted, and he suddenly asked, "You and your daughter were controlled here by Boss Qian... How did he control you?"
Yue Qing replied, "This entire Yunjian Temple was completely under Boss Qian's control. Every monk in the temple, great or small, was one of Boss Qian's men. They watched my daughter and me day and night in shifts, never relaxing for even a moment over the past few years!"
A flash of insight shot through Lu Xiaofeng's mind!
He stumbled back two steps and murmured, "So that was it... So that was it!"
A conversation from several days ago suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Yunjian Temple may not be a famous great temple, but I have heard a little about it. Why are there so few monks in the temple?"
"Yesterday was the Lantern Festival. Too many people came to the temple to offer incense and pray, so the monks were exhausted. The abbot gave them a few days off?"
"Monks get days off?"
Yes, why would monks get days off?
Especially when all the monks at Yunjian Temple were fake monks, and were in fact Boss Qian's subordinates!
They had been tasked with guarding Yue Qing and his daughter!
How could they possibly take time off?
Even if they were given rest, they would surely rotate shifts as Yue Qing had said, ensuring that some of them remained to watch Yue Qing and his daughter closely!
Yet two days ago, most of these men had vanished, leaving behind only a scattered few.
Where had all those people gone?
Why had Boss Qian transferred them all away?
And at such a critical moment too...
And Fourth Brother!
This man was utterly loyal to Boss Qian, and his martial arts were formidable.
But apart from seeing him once the day before yesterday, Lu Xiaofeng had not seen him at Boss Qian's side again.
He had not been there when they stormed Jile Tower today.
He had not been there when everyone returned to Yunjian Temple either.
Yet after Luo Ma, Jiang Long, and Lu Xiaofeng had left one after another, he had suddenly appeared and taken Boss Qian's corpse!
How could that have been such a coincidence?
Because it had not been a coincidence at all. Fourth Brother had been waiting at Yunjian Temple from the very beginning, watching their movements, and had struck the instant he saw an opportunity!
Hahaha... Boss Qian, it turns out you were the cleverest one of all!
Two days ago, while Luo Ma had still been dreaming his sweet dream, Boss Qian had likely already realized that something was wrong.
But he had been involved too deeply in this matter. Simply fleeing would only have turned him into a wanted criminal.
So he had devised an exceedingly risky plan—yet also an exceedingly useful one...
The key to the entire plan lay with Fourth Brother!
At the right moment, he had to act and take away... Boss Qian's corpse!
Lu Xiaofeng immediately found the constable from earlier and asked, "After that man stole Boss Qian's corpse, which direction did he run?"
"That way!"
The constable pointed.
Lu Xiaofeng looked in that direction, and his heart jolted.
That was the direction of the capital!
Of course. The countryside outside the city was sparsely populated—how could it compare to the capital, with its countless people?
As long as they could enter the capital, they could hide however they wished!
Before you continue