Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 392: Wordless Stele

Ma Lu initially felt a bit nervous when he saw there were about eight or nine of them.

But after a brief exchange of blows with the man in front of him, he had nothing more to worry about.

He had acquired the Subduing Demon Vajra Skill, a self-defense martial art from Yan Wuji after taking him down.

Before that, Ma Lu had seen Yan Wuji take on numerous enemies single-handedly, barely losing any blood with the help of this body-protecting skill.

Moreover, the opponents he faced at that time were much stronger than the bandits before him now.

So Ma Lu completely disregarded the threats from across and directly threw out another "Vigor Like the Wind," instantly taking out the bandit wielding the dao.

As one round of the card game ended, Ma Lu didn’t stop moving but rushed towards the other bandits.

He bent down to grab a handful of pebbles from the ground and casually tossed them out.

Because he hadn’t gained any hidden weapon martial arts, Ma Lu wasn’t very accurate, but luckily there were enough targets, and the stones still hit two bandits.

Perhaps terrified by witnessing Ma Lu’s strength, the remaining bandits were scared stiff, and no one stayed to rescue their companions; they all scattered in a panic.

The two unlucky souls hit by the pebbles were promptly absorbed into the card game.

However, their martial arts skills were not much better than the man Ma Lu had previously killed, and together they only lasted five rounds against him.

Just as they were about to follow in their comrade’s footsteps, one of them suddenly wailed,

"Wait, you can’t kill us, we were working for the Heavenly Dragon Sect!"

Unfortunately, he had obviously threatened the wrong person, as Ma Lu was completely ignorant about the martial arts sects of this plane.

He had only heard Gu Qingyi mention some names, all of which were powerful forces that shook the Jianghu, but the Heavenly Dragon Sect was not among them.

Even if it had been, Ma Lu wouldn’t have cared. He had finally seized the chance to play the hero, indulging in the thrill of being a chivalrous warrior. How could he give up so easily halfway?

Not to mention, he had already killed one of these bandits, so there was no point in stopping now.

The fight ended swiftly, and Ma Lu, as was his custom, went over to do a perfunctory search.

As expected, he found nothing valuable.

The three men who had died by his hand were mere underlings, with meager martial arts skills. They were only capable of bullying weaker farmers in this area.

The cards that exploded from their deaths were low-end items that Ma Lu disdained, and with their diverse martial arts, there was no possibility of merging duplicate cards for upgrades.

Additionally, all the silver coins they had together amounted to less than two ounces.

On the other hand, the villagers they saved had put together another five ounces of silver for Ma Lu, along with some roasted chicken, vegetables, and fruits as a token of thanks, all handed over by the village elder.

The elder called him "benefactor" and even wanted to host a feast to further express their gratitude, but Ma Lu politely declined.

Ma Lu was eager to get to Yuchang County to meet up with Gu Qingyi and retrieve the pack horse he had left at a farmer’s home, so he left the small village after that.

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He didn’t ride fast, mainly because the local infrastructure was in poor shape, consisting entirely of rugged mountain paths, and it took him over thirty miles to reach the main road.

And the main road was uneven as well, bouncing Ma Lu so much on horseback that his backside nearly bruised.

Luckily he came across a caravan later, and for one silver coin, he took a seat in the caravan’s horse-drawn carriage.

As for the pack horse, the caravan servants led it from behind.

Not only did the carriage have a padded seat to protect his backside, but it also had candied fruit and pastries.

Ma Lu idly munched on preserved fruit while peering out the window at the passing scenery, feeling that the one or two silvers spent were well worth it.

The official road was bustling with activity. In addition to the merchant caravans and travelers on their way, there were also quite a few martial artists from the martial arts circles, wielding weapons.

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Ma Lu recalled what Gu Qingyi had said, that the Beggars’ Sect was preparing to change its Gang Leader and had invited many friends from Jianghu to witness the ceremony, which was why there had been a sharp increase in the number of martial artists in Qingzhou lately.

However, a week had passed, and the Beggars’ Sect should have completed their leadership change. He guessed there probably wasn’t much excitement left to see.

Ma Lu had no interest in who the new Beggars’ Sect Gang Leader was; he was more curious about the old Gang Leader.

For martial arts sects like this, unless the leader made a fundamental mistake, they would generally not step down willingly.

In other words, the former Gang Leader of the Beggars’ Sect was likely dead.

And when it came to dead people, Ma Lu was no longer sleepy, especially since the Beggars’ Sect was the largest gang in the world; the former Gang Leader’s martial arts skills would naturally not be inferior.

Even if he wasn’t on Qiao Feng’s level, he had to be at least as skilled as Lu Youjiao, definitely more formidable than Yan Wuji in his prime. If Ma Lu could get his hands on anything he left behind, anything at all, it wouldn’t be a loss.

With good luck, he might even obtain the Beggars’ Sect’s secret techniques, and the more Ma Lu thought about it, the more tempted he became.

This time, he had even brought the Black Hole card with him; as long as he could find the graveyard, he could feel around without digging and no one would be any the wiser.

If the graves of the past Gang Leaders of the Beggars’ Sect were all together, it would be even better. Not only could he get his hands on their unique skills, but he might just level up in one go and become the top martial artist in the world!

Er, the only question was whether or not those skeletons would actually count.

Ma Lu slightly regretted not trying it out on a grave when he was back in his village.

But it wouldn’t be too late to try in Yuchang County, as long as he avoided Gu Qingyi.

Speaking of Gu Qingyi, Ma Lu wondered how her injuries were. They had agreed to meet at the south gate this time; she shouldn’t have forgotten, right?

Ma Lu was lost in thought when a voice reached his ear, "Young hero, are you also traveling to Yuchang County?"

Ma Lu looked up and saw that the speaker was a middle-aged literati sitting opposite him.

The carriage had four seats, thus there were four passengers.

Apart from Ma Lu, the other three were a monk, a Taoist priest, and the literati.

Ma Lu didn’t know how the merchant caravan’s leader had arranged the seating, but somehow he had managed to get a monk and a Taoist priest into the same carriage.

Perhaps it was because they disapproved of each other that one was reciting sutras with his head lowered, and the other was meditating with his eyes closed.

The literati was engrossed in a book, so much so that he hadn’t looked up when Ma Lu got on the carriage. It wasn’t until he finished reading and put away the book that he spoke up.

Ma Lu nodded, "That’s right."

"Once you’re in Yuchang County, you must visit the Wanshan Temple to see the maple leaves there. Many literati have left poems and verses there, among which are timeless masterpieces. And don’t forget to try the marinated cypress duck at Drunken Goose Tower.

"As for the Wordless Stele, it is actually somewhat dull—not worth seeing at all."

"The Wordless Stele? What’s that?" Ma Lu asked curiously.

"Eh? You don’t know?" The middle-aged literati seemed somewhat surprised, "Seeing the Longsword at your waist, I thought you were from the martial arts circles, yet you haven’t heard of the legend of the Wordless Stele?"

"I’m new to Jianghu, and I know very little of these martial arts mysteries. What’s so special about this Wordless Stele?"

The middle-aged literati gave Ma Lu another once over, then chuckled.

"Nothing special, really. It’s just a stele without any inscriptions. Yet, there are always those who fantasize about unravelling its secret and acquiring the former owner’s divine technique."