Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 132 Jiang Yuyan, Pure and Innocent; Murong Fu, Seeing the Sun After the Clouds Clear

The winch turned, revealing a magnificent golden scene.

What comes into view is a huge amount of gold and silver jewelry.

Having witnessed the treasures of the Southern Tang Dynasty and the riches of Liancheng, these treasures before them could not sway the two men at all.

Under Li Zhaoting's guidance, Li Shengnan continued to turn the winch, and the stone doors of the underground palace opened one after another, revealing weapons, elixirs, corpses, and secret manuals.

Li Shengnan turned the winch with a puzzled look until the final stone door opened, revealing a person sitting inside.

A burly man with a beaded crown and a full beard sat facing the door, his hands on the table as if he were about to pounce. His thick eyebrows were like halberds, his eyes were wide open, and black blood was flowing from all seven orifices. He had obviously been dead for some time.

Li Shengnan asked instinctively, "Li Zhaoting, do you know who he is? Why did he die here?"

"Ouyang Ting!"

"I've heard of this name before. He was a famous and wealthy man in the martial arts world more than ten years ago. His identity was very mysterious. I never expected that Ouyang Ting would die here."

Li Shengnan went inside and searched the place. She found the body of a stunningly beautiful woman, who was holding a wooden box containing silk scrolls that recorded the story of the underground palace.

Money doesn't fall from the sky.

To become a tycoon, you need special skills.

Some people are good at accounting, some are good at sailing, some are good at making friends, and some have a talent for languages. Ouyang Ting is not good at any of these. What he is good at is... robbery!
Ouyang Ting's capital was stolen.

If you lose money, just rob someone.

If you encounter a difficult enemy in business, kill their entire family and burn them to the ground.

To make looting easier, Ouyang Ting gathered more than a dozen skilled men and formed a bandit squad.

This is the origin of the "Twelve Constellations".

Ouyang Ting is one of the "dragons".

The woman in the stone chamber is named Fang Lingji. She is a victim of Ouyang Ting's tyrannical rule. Ouyang Ting killed Fang Lingji's entire family, and she was the only one who managed to escape.

In order to seek revenge on Ouyang Ting, Fang Lingji won Ouyang Ting's favor with her unparalleled beauty. She obediently followed Ouyang Ting and finally gained his trust.

As his wealth grew, Ouyang Ting became increasingly arrogant and tyrannical. He wanted to create an unparalleled martial art, build an underground palace, establish his power there, and secretly control the martial arts world.

To complete this grand plan, Ouyang Ting took advantage of the opportunity to build temples in Emei Mountain to infiltrate the craftsmen and excavate an underground palace in the back of Emei Mountain, where he hid all the divine weapons and treasures he had collected throughout his life.

Then, Ouyang Ting spent a lot of money to invite the leaders, elders, and grand elders of five sects to study the secret manual. Once the manual was completed, Ouyang Ting activated the mechanism to poison all of them.

Just when Ouyang Ting thought he had accomplished his mission, Fang Lingji brought him a cup of poisoned wine, sending him to hell at his most triumphant and successful moment.

After completing her revenge, Fang Lingji committed suicide by poison.

Over the years, Fang Lingji has done many bad things in order to gain trust. In addition, her family members have all died, and there is nowhere in the world for her to live. What is the point of living?
Before her death, Fang Lingji recorded her experiences with Ouyang Ting, hoping that the lucky person who obtained the treasure would remember the lesson and not become the next Ouyang Ting.

Upon seeing these records, the two sighed simultaneously.

Li Shengnan bowed three times to Fang Lingji.

As a fellow avenger whose entire family was killed, Li Shengnan deeply empathized with Fang Lingji and felt a strong connection to her.

Revenge is never easy.

Especially when facing enemies with superior martial arts skills.

Li Shengnan went to take stock of the harvest.

Li Zhaoting used his internal energy cultivation technique to heal his injuries.

……

Mount Emei is in complete chaos.

Throughout the entire Emei Mountain range, martial arts practitioners were searching for Gu Jianhun. They were originally worried that Gu Jianhun's martial arts were extraordinary, but after learning that Gu Jianhun and Li Zhaoting had fought to a draw, how many people could sit still?

Not only are the obstacles to seizing the treasure much smaller, but there is also one less major enemy. This is a godsend.

Mount Emei is not entirely the territory of the Emei Sect. These people acted with righteous indignation, declaring their intention to eliminate the great scourge of the Ancient Sword Soul and restore order to the martial world.

Going to the ancestral graves of Mount Emei is impossible, but who would dare to stop us from searching for evil spirits and heretics at the foot of the mountain?

Dugu Yihe announced his seclusion and summoned all the disciples of the Dao Sect back, forbidding them from leaving the sect.

Abbess Miejue did the same thing.

Apart from sending people to search for Li Zhaoting, Emei had no intention of sending any experts to pursue Gu Jianhun. Martial arts practitioners were happy to see this happen and praised Emei for its sense of justice.

They soon regretted it.

The ancient sword spirit's internal injuries had existed for over twenty years, not because they were incurable, but because his mind was in a daze and he hadn't actively sought healing, relying entirely on his body's self-healing.

After his battle with Li Zhaoting, Gu Jianhun used his fighting spirit to expel the blood stasis, regained consciousness, and actively guided his true energy to heal his injuries, resulting in a very fast recovery speed.

Most martial arts practitioners who want to capture the Ancient Sword Soul carry healing pills with them. The Ancient Sword Soul can ambush a few of them from the shadows and obtain several bottles of healing medicine.

As the saying goes, a snake can't function without a head.

The lone soldiers and rogues have no chance of capturing the Ancient Sword Soul.

These people have really found a pillar of support.

This pillar of support is... Murong Fu!

Murong Fu didn't understand military training or business, but he understood one thing: rebellion requires money.

Upon hearing the news of the Evil God's Treasure, Murong Fu brought his four retainers to join the excitement. Just as they arrived at Emei, they heard even more explosive news. Murong Fu thought to himself, "If I can capture the Ancient Sword Soul alive, my reputation will surely soar, and I can overshadow Li Zhaoting in one fell swoop. At that time, I might not be able to command a hundred followers in the martial arts world, but I can at least recruit a few talents."

While the four retainers were indeed loyal, they were only loyal to the Murong family; their abilities were far too lacking.

Murong Fu was almost completely ignorant of the methods needed to start a rebellion, as were his four chief retainers. Asking them to train soldiers was utter nonsense.

Gongye Qian was somewhat intelligent, so he wrote to Wang Yuyan asking what to do, but Wang Yuyan didn't know either!
Before Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong were even born, it was impossible for them to find any reference material for reading vernacular novels.

Wang Yuyan spent the night reading through several history books, expressing her determination to accumulate fame, wealth, talent, and provisions.

Gongye Qian informed Murong Fu exactly as stated.

Murong Fu felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun had risen, and suddenly everything became clear.

To build up reputation, right?

Recruiting talent, is that it?

simple!
Once I capture the Ancient Sword Soul, all the heroes of the martial arts world around Emei will surely submit to me. Just watch me!

Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e were moved to tears, thinking to themselves that their young master had finally acquired the "temperament of a wise ruler of the Great Yan".

……

In a dark room, an old man wearing a mask slammed a teacup on the ground: "Jiang Biehe is a good-for-nothing; he can't even do this simple thing right!"

The maidservant standing nearby knelt down to pick up the broken pieces.

The old man roared, "Your father is a good-for-nothing, and you're a good-for-nothing too! Back then, your father entrusted you to me, and I thought you had some special talent. Bah! Besides serving tea and water, washing clothes and making beds, what else can you do!"

The maidservant nodded and dared not speak.

The old man grew increasingly furious: "Yu Yan! Only the imperial concubines are Yu Yan, who are you? Jiang Yu Yan, do you want to collect your father's corpse? I'll give you a chance."

Jiang Yuyan raised her head, revealing her large, watery, and pitiful eyes. Seeing Jiang Yuyan's pure and innocent gaze, the old man's anger lessened considerably.

The old man wasn't one to lose his temper easily, but recently, Jiang Biehe had messed up two tasks he'd been given. Jiang Biehe's identity was exposed by Li Zhaoting, resulting in his disgrace and eventual death. The plan was to go from the front gate tower to the hip bone axis when Gu Jianhun inexplicably appeared, completely disrupting the situation.

Out of hatred for the house, I couldn't help but curse a few times.

In fact, most of the time, the elderly are gentle elders, or at least they will try their best to appear gentle.

"I will arrange for you to go to Emei to become an apprentice. In the process, I will provide you with resources so that you can become a direct disciple of Abbess Miejue and inherit the position of sect leader in the future." The old man made irresponsible promises.

Jiang Yuyan knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

The old man stroked his beard with satisfaction.

Jiang Biehe's daughter still has value.

Not a good-for-nothing who just loafs around and waits to die.

The old man was so pleased with himself that he didn't see the docile little lamb kneeling on the ground, but instead revealed the wolfish eyes within him.

"Yu Yan, what are your requirements?"

"Reporting to Master, this servant has no other request, only wishing to take away my mother's memorial tablet and her belongings."

“I will recreate your identity. You are a commoner woman who has lived at the foot of Mount Emei since childhood. Your parents sold herbal tea and were killed by the Ancient Sword Soul.”

The old man pondered for a moment and then fabricated a new identity for Jiang Yuyan, making it easier to gain people's trust.

Jiang Yuyan obediently knelt on the ground, like a harmless little white rabbit, letting the old man do as he pleased.

The old man had someone arrange an identity for Jiang Yuyan, then went to his study, removed his mask, and revealed a face that left people speechless. Under the mask was neither an arrogant and domineering martial artist, nor a cunning and scheming wolf, nor a Jianghu hero, nor a rebellious traitor, but a very wealthy man, Ke Baisui, the head of the Funiu Sect.

The Funiu Sect is a second-rate sect in the martial arts world.

Ke Baisui had no reputation in the martial arts world; his only reputation was for being rich. The Funiu Sect was able to go from a third-rate sect to a second-rate one by using his money.

From a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and江湖义气, a code of honor) perspective, Jiang Biehe's reputation far surpasses Ke Baisui's; they are not even in the same league.

What gives Ke Baisui the right to order Jiang Biehe around?

Could it be that Ke Baisui is a fake?

Most importantly, rumors circulate that Ke Baisui was murdered three months ago, and the killer is Murong from Gusu.

The Funiu School specializes in whip techniques, and Ke Baisui is skilled in using a ten-foot-long soft whip, but he follows a fierce and powerful style, capable of shattering an enemy's skull with a single blow.

Coincidentally, Ke Baisui also died in the same way.

With his way, he also gave his body.

This is Murong of Gusu's tactic.

Murong Fu was once again framed.

That's the problem.

Why is Ke Baisui still alive?

What secret is this guy hiding?
……

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Zhaoting and Li Shengnan left the underground palace.

The two tacitly agreed not to discuss how the underground palace treasure should be divided, but implicitly agreed to share it as common capital, which could be used to recruit others in the future.

Such a hidden underground palace would be a waste to use it only as a warehouse for storing treasures.

To ensure the underground palace remained undetected, Li Zhaoting, despite his illness, modified the mechanisms and added many hidden devices on the outside. Unless an exceptionally lucky person stumbled upon it by accident, it would remain unnoticed.

It is impolite to receive without giving back.

Li Zhaoting agreed to help her take revenge. Li Shengnan was not a petty person and decided to help Li Zhaoting complete the mission. Even if she had to leave, she would at least capture Gu Jianhun first.

As soon as I left the back mountain, I immediately smelled the stench of blood.

Following the scent of blood, Li Zhaoting found seventeen or eighteen corpses, all killed by the ancient sword spirit.

After walking a short distance, they suddenly discovered a tea stall ahead. The owner and his wife had both been killed, leaving only a little girl who was sobbing.

The little girl had delicate and pretty features, especially her eyes, which were big and watery, like those of a frightened rabbit, making people feel sorry for her.

Li Zhaoting couldn't help but frown.

"Little girl, where did the murderer who killed your parents go? Was he a big bearded man?"

"I couldn't see clearly, I don't know, that person was really vicious, he killed my father and mother..."

The little girl burst into tears upon hearing this.

Another family annihilation tragedy.

Li Shengnan empathized with the girl and took out a bag of silver from her bosom, handing it to her: "Go bury your parents. I will help you avenge them. Do you have any other relatives?"

The little girl cried out, "It's all gone! It's all gone! Fairy sister, are you a disciple of Emei? Can you take me as your apprentice? I can do anything, chop wood, carry water, wash clothes, cook, I can do any dirty or hard work!"

Li Shengnan couldn't possibly carry a burden with her, nor did she want to take on any apprentices, so she had no choice but to ask Li Zhaoting for help.

Li Zhaoting smiled warmly and gently rubbed the little girl's forehead. The little girl's clothes, behavior, and even the calluses on her fingertips clearly indicated that she often did rough work. Li Zhaoting did not doubt her identity, but when comforting her, he subconsciously felt her bones and found that she had wide innate meridians and excellent aptitude for martial arts.

Because her meridians are too wide, ordinary cultivation methods cannot accumulate true qi. The most suitable cultivation methods for her should be the Absorption Technique, the Northern Darkness Divine Art, and the Bright Jade Divine Art.

The entire family was wiped out!

Exceptional innate talent!

Encountering a master at the most dangerous moment!
Is this the "protagonist's halo"?

Is this little girl one of the main characters?
"Little girl, what's your name?"

"My name is... my name is Jiang Yuyan!"

Li Zhaoting's smile froze instantly.

Her entire family was indeed wiped out.

The murderer is Li Zhaoting.

The little girl is not the main character.

She wiped out the plot, leaving only the main character.

Why would Jiang Yuyan be selling tea at the foot of the mountain?
Her father is Jiang Biehe!

Who was the "father" who died?
Li Zhaoting's expression remained gentle: "Yu Yan, if you really have nowhere to go, you can come with me. I come from an official family and have some reputation in the martial arts world."

Jiang Yuyan: The script is wrong! Shouldn't I be joining the Emei Sect? Where did this guy come from? Speaking of which, he's really handsome, more handsome than a god!
"May I...may I ask your name, young master?"

"Are you worried I'm a womanizer? Or are you worried I'll sell you? My name is Li Zhaoting. Your family's tea stall has been open for so many years, you should have heard of this name, right?"

"Jiazi... a commoner fortune teller?"

Jiang Yuyan had certainly heard of Li Zhaoting, and subconsciously took two or three steps back before quickly changing her tune.

Li Zhaoting looked up at the sky speechlessly.

Li Shengnan watched with glee.

"Yu Yan, would you like to come with me?"

"I...I do!"

Jiang Yuyan vigorously rubbed the corner of her clothes, thinking to herself that Li Zhaoting's reputation in the underworld was enough to protect her.

This doesn't count as a mission failure, right?
It would be more valuable for an undercover agent to be by Li Zhaoting's side!
Perhaps we can find an opportunity to use someone else to do the dirty work.

You old geezer, I will definitely kill you!

(End of this chapter)