The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

"Uh, is it impossible to recognize him?" Lu Jing, who was beside him, also asked with concern.

"It's not that bad. Even if his head is gone, there are other forensic methods." Yan Guangbo quickly recovered from his initial shock and said calmly.

Then, he waved to signal his two subordinates to start working.

The two men walked to He Qing's corpse, took out six silver needles, and inserted them into He Qing's hands, feet, chest, and abdomen respectively. After a moment, they pulled out the blood-stained silver needles and inserted them into a small mechanical box.

The whole process was somewhat similar to the blood identification in Lu Jing's previous life, but he didn't know how it was done in this dynasty.

While waiting, Lu Jing didn't waste any time. He played the role of a helpful citizen and actively provided clues to Yan Guangbo, "That Yama's Flute told me before he attacked that he was hired by the Song brothers…"

"I already knew that Song Ze, as the Registrar, colluded with and shielded members of the demonic path, and I have reported this to the Supervising Censor. However, we need him to lead us to He Qing, who is hiding in Wujiang City, so we have not taken action against him."

"Until tonight, we noticed Song Ze's nephew, Song Zhongwen, visiting him late at night. Soon after, Song Ze went to a private house and knocked on the door in a hurry. Then, the scout told us that Yama's Flute had been discovered."

"Senior is too modest. This junior's victory was just a fluke," Lu Jing said quickly.

"You still say I'm being modest? Yama's Flute's head was blown up by your staff. How could that be a fluke?" Zhao Banshan ignored Lu Jing's explanation and then said something that surprised everyone.

"The power of your staff alone is probably greater than when I was at my peak."

A gleam of light flashed in Yan Guangbo's eyes, but before he could speak, he saw his two subordinates presenting the small mechanical box in their hands.

Yan Guangbo glanced at the box and finally breathed a sigh of relief, "That's right, this is indeed He Qing's corpse."

"Congratulations, Officer Yan. I'm getting old and can't stand this tragic sight. Now that tonight's matter is over, I'll go home and catch up on my sleep." Zhao Banshan stopped lingering and walked towards the outside of the Song residence.

Yan Guangbo caught up and saw him off for a short distance, then returned and called out to Lu Jing, who was also preparing to leave, "Young Hero Lu."

"Hmm?" Lu Jing stopped and asked doubtfully, "Is there anything else? The other corpses have nothing to do with me. They were killed by Song Zhongwen's rebellious subordinates."

"I can see that, and the murders in this house have nothing to do with my Imperial City Division. That's something for the local constables to worry about," Yan Guangbo nodded.

"Then you…"

"Young Hero Lu, have you forgotten something?" Yan Guangbo had to remind him.

"What thing?" Lu Jing was at a loss.

"The wanted criminals on the Imperial City Division's Jianghu Wanted List… each one has a reward," Yan Guangbo said with a smile.

"However, I've heard that Young Master Lu and his master are both reclusive experts, so it's normal that you haven't heard of this. Speaking of which… Old Man Zhao has already retired, and we really didn't dare to trouble him unless absolutely necessary. So in the future, the Imperial City Division in Wujiang City will probably have to rely on the two of you."

There's money to be made?

Lu Jing immediately perked up when he heard this. The resentment of not getting a single copper coin just now immediately vanished.

Who said they don't drop silver? They themselves are a walking silver note!

"How much?" Lu Jing asked quickly.

This time, it was Yan Guangbo's turn to be stunned. The information he had received earlier said that Lu Jing and his master were reclusive experts who regarded money as dirt. Otherwise, there was no reason for two such powerful experts to be a worshiper for a third-rate gang and a dockworker who chops wood.

He didn't know that it wasn't that Lu Jing didn't want to make money, but that he knew his own situation. Under certain limited conditions, he could withstand a blow from a first-rate expert, but in a real fight, he might not even be a match for a third-rate expert.

And Lu Jing couldn't choose his opponents. For the sake of his life, he could only lie low until he truly developed.

Moreover, all his energy was focused on how to solve the problem of excess internal energy in his dantian, so he couldn't spend time making money like ordinary Jianghu people.

Although Yan Guangbo was a little surprised, he was secretly delighted to see that Lu Jing was interested in the bounty. The Imperial City Division itself had limited manpower, especially a shortage of experts, which could be said to be a major problem. After all, experts had many choices, and selling their lives to the royal family was usually a lower priority.

Even if the imperial family offered high positions and generous salaries, most people didn't like being constrained. So the Imperial City Division changed its approach. Since they didn't have enough experts, they would widely befriend martial arts experts so that they could exchange for their assistance when necessary.

This was why Yan Guangbo's eyes lit up when he looked at Lu Jing. He patiently explained after hearing Lu Jing's question.

"Yama's Flute was placed on the Imperial City Division's wanted list sixteen years ago. When he first made the list, it was because he destroyed a small sect, killed Guan Yufei, a Golden Saber Hero with a good reputation in the Jianghu, and massacred a small village on the southwestern border."

"At that time, the Imperial City Division offered a reward of three thousand taels of silver for him, but since then, not only has no one been able to catch him, but he has also committed several major crimes. Even two officers of the Imperial City Division and the two teams they led were killed by that demon."

"So the Imperial City Division raised the reward for him to seven thousand taels of silver. Unfortunately, no one has been able to kill this scoundrel. On the contrary, a female hero from the Yunshui Jingci Pavilion who was invited to help was defeated in her battle with him and lost all her cultivation."

"Therefore, after discussion, the Division has once again increased the reward for him, to twelve thousand taels… I know that this amount of money is still too little compared to the danger of killing him, but there's no way around it. The Division has limited funds, and he's not the only demon we need to capture, so I hope Young Hero Lu won't mind."

"How much did you say?"

Lu Jing tried his best to appear worldly, but he couldn't help it. He had been working himself to death at the docks for nine months, and in the end, he had only saved three strings of cash after paying tuition.

And the reward for this one head was actually over twelve thousand taels of silver!

What Lu Jing didn't expect was that this wasn't the end of it. After he asked that question, he heard Yan Guangbo continue, "A total of sixteen thousand two hundred taels of silver. Because the reward of twelve thousand taels has been issued for fourteen years, and no one has been able to complete it, according to the Division's rules, it must be increased by three hundred taels each year."

Lu Jing couldn't help but lean against the wall when he heard the final number.