The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 393: There is a Crouching Tiger in the Desert Inn

Ma Dayuan's attitude is non-violent non-cooperation, or limited cooperation.

The injuries on his body were not light, but he did not take it seriously. After all, as long as he died, he would be able to recover to his best condition after resurrection. What he needed most now was time. Being able to survive the six days of bad luck with one life was his biggest goal at the moment.

He basically ignored the four evil men. As long as they gave him water and food, Ma Dayuan would eat, and even actively cooperated with their treatment. However, when they were asked about the secrets of the Beggars' Sect, he looked at them coldly, and remained unshakable even when they threatened him repeatedly.

He vaguely understood the four evil men's intentions and knew he wouldn't be killed anytime soon. So why should he cooperate with them? It was just a life at stake, and he could continue to be the deputy leader of the Beggars' Sect afterwards. The more powerful and unyielding he was now, the greater his influence would be later.

He cooperated quite well along the way, just for the opportunity to locate a new resurrection point in broad daylight. The more resurrection points there were, the safer he would be. By the way, he could also leave clues behind to provide clues for possible reinforcements.

However, these clues are very hidden. Not to mention the four evil men, even the Beggar Gang’s own people may not be able to find them if they don’t look carefully.

But Ma Dayuan knew that there was a person, or a force that had the ability to find him, and that was the Murong family!

As the deputy leader of the Beggars' Sect, or the leader of internal affairs, Ma Dayuan controls the cooperation with Murong Trading Company and mobilizes at least 100,000 Beggars' Sect disciples. Otherwise, how could he get hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from the Murong family every year? This is a win-win deal.

In the entire Beggars' Sect, he was the only one who controlled this business, and besides himself, Qiao Feng was the only one who understood the situation. However, with Qiao Feng's personality, he would not waste too much energy on this aspect. He preferred to fight on the front line.

Because of their injuries, they needed to recuperate from time to time and could not use their lightness skills to move forward quickly as usual. Also, because of their injuries, it was not suitable for them to sleep in the wilderness, so they had to recuperate in the inn. The four evil men were dragged down by Ma Dayuan, and their speed of progress was greatly reduced, more than twice as slow as usual.

In addition to Ma Dayuan's bad luck, there are always some unexpected situations that force them to slow down. The four evil men even doubt whether Ma Dayuan has a destiny. Why did they and others do well before and then go against everything after they just caught this stinky beggar?

After a night of travel, the four villains, along with Ma Dayuan, finally reached Sichuan and found a discreet roadside inn to rest. However, they weren't in the best of shape. Not only were they exhausted, but Yue Lao San, the South China Sea Crocodile God, was also injured, with a thin scar on his forehead. Duan Yanqing was filthy, and Ye Erniang had stepped in some animal feces. And they weren't the worst off; Yun Zhonghe was the worst.

When Yun Zhonghe was on his way, he suddenly had an idea and wanted to show off his martial arts skills. He was jumping and tumbling on a tree and was bitten by a snake. The bite was in a very mysterious place, at the root of the thigh, and it almost took away his proud weapon.

As per usual practice, Ma Dayuan was sent to the guest room and the ruffian Yue Laosan was arranged to guard it. Duan Yanqing, Ye Erniang and Yun Zhonghe simply washed up and went about their business. Duan Yanqing's features were obviously not suitable for standing in the open, so he returned to his room early and sat down next to Ma Dayuan and Yue Laosan. Ye Erniang and Yun Zhonghe sat down in the corner of the inn's lobby and ordered some food to enjoy slowly.

Although the inn is located in a slightly remote area, it is on a major traffic route and has a lot of people coming and going. Business is not bad because land is cheap in remote areas. Therefore, the inn itself is not small and has enough guest rooms. It even has a separate courtyard, backyard guest rooms, and a large warehouse for merchants to store their things.

The inn is also known as the free intelligence center of the martial arts world. The martial artists who travel all over the country like to brag after drinking. Just like now, several men in strange clothes are talking about the recent big movements of the Beggar Gang in the Central Plains.

"Ma Dayuan's death was strange. It was said that he died from his own unique throat-locking technique. Tsk tsk, this was clearly aimed at the Gusu Murong clan. The signs of frame-up are too obvious."

"Without any evidence, how can you possibly shake the Gusu Murong clan? You have to know that Master Murong is a high-ranking official in the imperial court and a founding viscount. With just a casual word, he was able to mobilize the local authorities to investigate. Tsk tsk, that Beggar Gang member in charge of this matter is such a scoundrel. He calls himself the "Ten Perfect Scholar Quan Guanqing," but when he sees the Jinshi-educated county magistrate, he becomes the "Ten Missing Scholar." He's completely clueless about everything I ask. Hehe, how shameful!"

"You, a rough fellow, know nothing. The Xinyang County Magistrate is a graduate of Gusu College, and he's surrounded by a few talented classmates. Some are experts in water conservancy and farming, some are well-versed in Song Dynasty law, and some are skilled in criminal investigation and case-solving. The Beggars' Gang came to report the death of their deputy leader, Ma Dayuan. Their story is plausible, yet riddled with loopholes, forcing one to question its authenticity. Even more outrageous, they actually discarded Deputy Leader Ma's body."

"Also, there's conflicting information within the Beggars' Sect. Some say they saw the masked murderer kill someone, only to be caught by Madam Ma, who hurriedly fled with the body. Others say Madam Ma, upon seeing her husband murdered, hurried off to look for him, and only saw someone stealing the body when she returned. This seems fishy to me."

"You don't have to think about it. Anyone with a brain would know that something is fishy. In my opinion, this is a mess caused by the internal power struggle within the Beggars' Sect. Although Deputy Leader Ma is called Deputy Leader, he is actually the internal leader. He holds great power and his reputation is no less than that of Leader Qiao. Leader Qiao's power comes from his martial arts and achievements. No one in the Beggars' Sect can take it away, nor do they have the ability to do so. But Deputy Leader Ma is different. His power comes more from his identity. If..."

"Shut up! Do you want to die? How dare you say such nonsense?" The people around him interrupted him hurriedly, but they exchanged glances and whispered to each other, wondering who was so crazy that he dared to ruin the current prosperity of the Beggar Gang.

Some people speculated that it was the elder, some speculated that it was the helmsman, among whom Quan Guanqing, the ten-perfect scholar, was the main suspect. After all, he was the one who stood out. Others inferred that the murderer might be a Western Xia master. The reason was very sufficient. Western Xia Yipintang was actively preparing to enter the Central Plains, and this news could not be concealed at all.

As they were talking, a slim and pretty woman in green walked into the inn, escorted by two young men in uniform. The three men could tell at a glance that she was quite powerful, as she landed silently and looked energetic. The waiter hurriedly came up to her and greeted her with a smile.

The woman in green casually threw out a token. The token passed over the waiter, drew an arc, and landed on the counter with a "pa" sound. However, it was as steady as a rock without any bounce or tumbling, showing her excellent skills in using hidden weapons. The few martial artists around her couldn't help but feel secretly shocked.

The old shopkeeper, dozing behind the counter, suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing the token, he jumped up as if his bottom was on fire. He held the token in both hands and presented it to the woman in green. The woman took the token and pulled a gold note from her sleeve. "My young master is meeting an important guest here. All outsiders should leave. Do you recognize this gold note from Murong Trading Company? Is it enough to book your inn for three days?"

The old shopkeeper, over fifty years old but with a ruddy complexion, nodded repeatedly as he held the gold notes in his hands. "Yes, yes, gold notes from the Murong Trading Company are freely circulated throughout the entire Song Dynasty, not to mention that they are even more popular in Sichuan and Shu. This money is more than enough to book my inn for not only three days, but even ten. However, young lady, please allow me to tell you that my inn is the only one within a twenty-mile radius. It's so far from any village or shop, and it would be a bit harsh to drive you away. Please forgive me, young lady."

"Although my inn is located in a remote area, it is of a decent size. There is a quiet courtyard and three small courtyards in the back. I can give them all to you, young lady. Please do me a favor." The old shopkeeper returned the gold note with both hands. The woman in green casually pointed at his wrist. Her movements were swift but full of elegance. The old shopkeeper also moved his hands slightly, and the movement was natural and smooth.

The two exchanged three moves silently, but there was no collision. They displayed their skills in a very small space, leaving the surrounding martial artists stunned.

The woman in green seemed polite, but she had a domineering personality. She asked all other guests to leave just because her young master was meeting here. The old shopkeeper seemed humble, but he was a principled person, which made everyone in the hall like him.

There was a loud bang, and the old shopkeeper's body swayed slightly. The woman in green took a half step back, obviously having lost the game. However, there was no anger on her face. Instead, she nodded in approval and said, "The shopkeeper is quite skilled. It would take thirty or forty years of practice to reach this level of skill. No wonder he can dominate the inn business within a radius of twenty or thirty miles."

"That's just the way it is, but it's not a reason for you to disobey my young master. I am the least capable of his four maids, and the two behind me are his bodyguards sent by him to protect me. Is this really the way to display the cabinet?" The woman in green stopped attacking and took the gold note casually, but did not take it back. Instead, she smiled at the old shopkeeper.

Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Before the old shopkeeper could reply, two more women came in. "Sister Chunhua, the young master's carriage is already outside the door. How come..."