Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 136 The Bamboo Thief: I Suspect Li Zhaoting is the Murderer

Ke Baisui took out a bundle.

This is the advance payment given to Jiang Yuyan.

The best approach is to combine kindness and severity. Although Li Zhaoting was Jiang Yuyan's "father's killer," Li Zhaoting was too handsome, and Jiang Yuyan was just beginning to fall in love.

What if Jiang Yuyan falls in love with Li Zhaoting, forgets about Jiang Biehe, and then sells Ke Baisui? Asking someone for a favor should come with some benefits.

Ke Baisui was well prepared, but he didn't know what Jiang Yuyan was thinking, so he tested her a little.

There are five items in the bundle.

First is the memorial tablet for Jiang Yuyan's mother.

One of the items was Jiang Yuyan's mother's keepsake: a steel die with strangely patterned designs, divided into many small squares that could be rotated up, down, left, and right.

First, there were silver notes, totaling 50,000 taels. These were silver notes from Datong Money Shop, and could be redeemed anywhere.

First, a dagger that can cut through iron like mud.

Finally, there was an exquisite purse.

There were three life-saving pills in the purse.

The first two items originally belonged to Jiang Yuyan, while the latter three were essential for undercover agents. Undercover agents need funds, weapons, and means of survival, so they cannot be considered favors. Trying to win people's hearts with these items is really stingy.

What do undercover agents care about most?
My life and my fortune!

If I were captured, would you be willing to spend a large sum of money to save me? If there is really no way to save me, could you build me a tomb and take care of my family?
Everything else is illusory.

Making empty promises is meaningless.

Is a 50,000 tael silver note meaningful?
Not only does it offer no benefit, it also harbors hidden traps.

How could a poor woman running a tea stall possibly have 50,000 taels of silver? Would Jiang Yuyan dare to go to the money exchange to withdraw the money? Would she dare to spend even a single tael of silver? Since she wouldn't dare to withdraw it, this 50,000 tael silver note would be too much trouble to even wipe her bottom with.

Even so, Jiang Yuyan, who had been poor since childhood, was overjoyed when she saw this huge sum of money.

"Master, please assign me a task."

"Your task is to gain trust. Don't steal martial arts manuals, don't think about the power struggles within the wealthy family, just do your job as a maid and earn Li Zhaoting's trust."

"You don't need servants to deliver information?"

"I will not issue you any orders to gather intelligence for the next six months. No matter what signals you see, or even if you see me in person, pretend you didn't see them."

"The slaves obey."

"Do a good job! I'll clear out Jiang Biehe's estate for you. Once you complete the task, this house will be yours, and you'll be the head of the Jiang family."

"Thank you for the gift, Master."

"Remember, be careful! Be extremely careful!"

Ke Baisui turned over and left through the window.

Jiang Yuyan packed her belongings and went back to sleep.

In the next room, Li Zhaoting slightly raised his head, listening intently until Ke Baisui left.

Li Zhaoting did not cause any further trouble.

Ke Baisui is right. Rushing into an investigation will only alert the enemy. Playing the long game is the best approach.

Sooner or later, the enemy will reveal a weakness.

Not everyone can sit still.

Especially those who are full of schemes and tricks.

They most want to see the trick "executed".

The ability to "sit still" is a very rare skill.

Li Zhaoting's trip to Sichuan has made many people restless. Yu Canghai couldn't sit still, Murong Bo and Murong Fu couldn't sit still, and Jin Jiuling couldn't sit still either.

Li Zhaoting's reputation is growing, and he is solving more and more cases. In just over half a year since his debut, he has already become one of the top detectives in the martial arts world, alongside Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang.

Not only that, he also made many friends and was surrounded by beautiful women. He could meet beauties wherever he went. The more Jin Jiuling thought about it, the more jealous he became. Li Zhaoting's most glorious moments in public were twice when he stepped on Jin Jiuling.

One instance was the Luzhou case, where he got up late and arrived late.

One time it was for the Hua family's birthday banquet, so we got up very early and arrived late.

Whether he gets up early or late, as long as he appears in the same place as Li Zhaoting, Jin Jiuling will be overshadowed and his share of the profits will be taken away.

"Reputation" is not an illusion of praise.

Especially in the world of martial arts where masters gather.

Especially the magnificent scene of the martial arts world where geniuses gather.

Even someone as powerful as Dugu Yihe, upon seeing Li Zhaoting and Li Shengnan combine their swords, would lament his own aging, noting that the martial world was becoming increasingly prosperous, and only the most outstanding talents were qualified to enter.

Innate talent, wisdom, understanding, and good fortune.

There must be at least two outstanding peaks.

Geniuses like Li Zhaoting and Li Shengnan have all four attributes maxed out, making them truly exceptional individuals.

Jin Jiuling was not very old.

Although he has thirty years of experience in public service and thousands of disciples and followers, he is only in his forties this year and looks like he is thirty years old because he is well-maintained.

His eyes were still bright and sharp, and his body was still full of vitality. Every courtesan who spent the night with him said that Jin Jiuling brought joy. He lived a carefree life, more like a young master who frequented brothels and spent money like water than a constable. He was even more carefree and happy than a rich young master.

A constable's salary could not possibly support such a lavish lifestyle, especially when it came to women.

Living in the capital is not easy.

The most beautiful courtesans in the capital are far more expensive than those in other places.

Jin Jiuling looked down on all the courtesans except for the most beautiful one.

Where did his money come from?
Jin Jiuling explained that he was skilled at appraising antiques and judging horses, which could earn him a large sum of money, and that he was handsome, so he could often do so for free.

That last excuse was terrible.

How could a brothel offer free admission just because someone is handsome?
The purpose of opening a business is to make money; if you want the other party to give it away for free, you must offer ten times the profit.

The most famous of them all is Liu Yong.

Liu Yong didn't have to spend money, because one of his poems could increase the value of a courtesan tenfold. In his later years, Liu Yong was impoverished and destitute, and after his death, it was a prostitute who buried him.

Another one who can get it for free is... Li Zhaoting!

Ever since Li Zhaoting demonstrated his Photoshop skills at Fanlou, creating eight meticulously retouched artistic photos of a dancer and seven courtesans, he has become the most popular customer in all the brothels in the capital, with all services offered free of charge.

Jin Jiuling did not receive this treatment.

Jin Jiuling's thirty years of experience in the public service are meaningless in a brothel; on the contrary, they have a negative effect. He's just a lowly patrolman; how could accompanying him increase one's status?
Obviously impossible!
Why should Jin Jiuling get it for free?
Many people can understand this principle, including Jin Jiuling himself, but he was unwilling to admit it.

Jin Jiuling wanted to maintain his self-esteem in this way.

Maintaining a fragile, empty sense of self-esteem.

A first-class carriage, first-class clothes, a first-class courtesan, a first-class folding fan, and first-class wine—these were Jin Jiuling's pride, the last vestiges of dignity he had gained after thirty years of struggling in the public service. To strip away that dignity was to strip away his face.

Maintaining a respectable appearance requires money.

It requires a lot, a lot, a lot of money.

Especially in recent years, many merchants have realized that Jin Jiuling is unlikely to be promoted, and the original discounts have disappeared without them noticing, leaving them to pay the original price.

With such high spending, private side jobs alone are far from enough, and the money earned by relying on marrying rich women is also far from sufficient.

Fortunately, Jin Jiuling possessed superb martial arts skills.

Jin Jiuling decides... to rob!
Robbery is one of the oldest businesses.

Jin Jiuling had handled hundreds of robbery cases and had the most detailed understanding of all aspects of robbery.

Scouting, taking action, escaping, money laundering.

Each part was meticulously planned dozens of times.

Jin Jiuling even found a "scapegoat".

He intended to use this robbery as a pretext to trap Li Zhaoting, ensuring he could never recover, while he himself could retire gracefully with his money and women.

Thinking of this, Jin Jiuling smiled smugly.

Li Zhaoting, you just wait!

Jin Jiuling changed into a red cotton-padded jacket, pasted a big beard on his face, and casually picked up a green bamboo.

……

"Yu Yan, what is this?"

"These are my mother's belongings."

"This is... a die?"

"My mother didn't say that, so I don't know."

"Let me take a look."

Li Zhaoting held the Six Ren Divine Dice in his hand, intending to forcibly dismantle it with his true energy. He discovered that the internal mechanisms were interconnected, effectively dissipating the force, and could not be destroyed from the outside. He could only find the correct position by twisting a Rubik's Cube.

"Yu Yan, this is the Mo family's mechanical art."

"The Mo family?"

"One of the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Spring and Autumn Period, it comprised ten schools of thought, one of which was called 'Shang Tong' (the Way of Unity). To help his disciples better understand Shang Tong, Mozi created a small square called the 'Shang Tong Mo Fang' (Shang Tong Ink Square)..."

"Shangtong Mofang" is a 3x3 Rubik's Cube.

It was specifically designed to expand the wisdom of Mohist disciples and to assess disciples with "talent for mechanical devices".

Despite being on the same page for the first time, Jing Tianming solved the Shangtong Ink Formula in a very short time, gaining the approval of several Mo family craftsmen and securing his position as the leader.

The Six Ren Divine Dice goes a step further than the Shangtong Ink Cube. It looks square, but it is actually an irregular Rubik's Cube. Every time you turn the Six Ren Divine Dice, it affects the whole thing. The first thing to do is not to calculate mathematical formulas, but to draw the image, find the correct image to piece together, and then calculate the turning formula based on the image piece together.

Li Zhaoting bought a stack of Xuan paper and made rubbings of all the patterns on the Six Ren Divine Dice. He then cut the rubbings into small pieces and played a jigsaw puzzle with Jiang Yuyan.

Jiang Yuyan had done this kind of thing when she was a child; she knew the correct pattern, but she didn't know how to solve a Rubik's Cube.

The two quickly pieced together the pattern.

Li Zhaoting memorized the pattern, then analyzed the patterns on each small square of the Six Ren Divine Dice in his mind, quickly calculated the formula, and then spun it around rapidly.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Six Ren Divine Dice made a soft cracking sound, splitting in the middle like two slices of watermelon, revealing the scribbles.

Jiang Yuyan initially thought it was a martial arts manual, but it turned out to be just scribbles. She thought to herself, "Is this the secret my mother guarded her whole life? What kind of weird thing is this?"

"This is Persian."

"Does the young master understand Persian?"

"I don't understand, I need to find someone to translate."

"Will this lead to a leak of secrets?"

"will not."

"why?"

"Because it was my wife who translated the text."

Li Zhaoting made rubbings of the text, reassembled the Liuren Divine Dice, and restored the shape of the dice.

Jiang Yuyan was slightly disappointed.

Having experienced hardship since childhood, no one yearned for strength more than Jiang Yuyan. She thought that the relics left by her mother contained unparalleled martial arts skills, and that Li Zhaoting would teach her a move or two because they were her mother's relics.

oh~~
Jiang Yuyan couldn't help but sigh.

Li Zhaoting asked, "Are you disappointed?"

"This servant just feels..."

"You think this is a martial arts secret?"

"Slave...slave..."

"Are you literate?"

"I know some of them."

"Practicing martial arts requires reading and writing. Otherwise, even if I give you the martial arts manual, you won't understand it. Practicing it haphazardly will cause a backlash. When you get home, go to Meizhu and have her teach you to read and write, and also learn the basics of martial arts."

"Martial arts fundamentals?"

"Long Fist, Ten-Section Brocade, Bodhidharma Sword".

"How long have you been practicing, young master?"

"I've been training since I was a child."

Just as the two were chatting, a shout came from outside the inn: "Have you heard? The Zhenyuan Escort Agency's caravan has been robbed. More than thirty guards, porters, and even the deputy chief escort have all been blinded."

"Chang Mantian has been a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) for over thirty years and has never suffered such a great loss. It is said that the one who made the move was a bearded man wearing a bright red cotton-padded jacket. He stood in front of the镖车 (escort vehicle) with a black peony embroidered on it and suddenly attacked to rob the镖. A single green bamboo shard was scattered into hundreds of pieces, blinding thirty-six people."

"Using bamboo to rob a caravan? That's impressive martial arts."

"Whose disciples do you think these are?"

"Could it be the Returning Wind and Dancing Willow Sword Technique?"

"I think it's Li Zhaoting. I heard that Li Zhaoting likes to use bamboo, and he has never done any legitimate business, but he always spends money like gold."

"You dare to doubt the Grand Duke Jupiter? You're asking for it!"

"I was just saying it casually. Do you think Li Zhaoting could hear me? Does he have eyes that can see a thousand miles and ears that can hear the wind?"

The drinkers were excitedly bragging.

(End of this chapter)