Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 171 Li Zhaoting is petty, but not that petty.

You know our story, right?

With the kingdom destroyed and the family ruined, four regents escorted the prince to the Central Plains, hoping that he would restore the Jinpeng Kingdom. However, they did not expect that the prince was a good-for-nothing playboy who was addicted to pleasure.

The restoration of the kingdom was fraught with hardship and the process was arduous. The prince was always at risk of being killed. Unable to bear this life, he betrayed the three regents and, together with the emperor's brother-in-law, took his share of the treasure and indulged in a life of debauchery in the Central Plains.

There are no limits to how much money you can spend!

There is no such thing as money that can't be spent!

They broke through the encirclement and fled to the Central Plains when their country was destroyed and their homes were destroyed. How much treasure could they have brought with them? If they divided this treasure among four people, how much would each person get?

My grandfather was the emperor's brother-in-law, not his uncle.

The emperor's brother-in-law had no right of inheritance.

The emperor's brother-in-law could only be subordinate to the king.

King Golden Roc spent money extravagantly and quickly squandered all his treasures. He then went to his former officials to ask for more, and Shangguan Mu gave him some several times, which he quickly squandered.

When I was born, Jinpeng Manor was already outwardly glamorous but inwardly rotten. In order to maintain the dignity of the royal family, the best food, toys, and beautiful clothes and jewelry had to be given to Shangguan Danfeng first!
I don't understand, why should she be given to her first?

What's so great about Shangguan Danfeng?
A bunch of down-and-outs, what's the point of all this pomp and circumstance?
What Golden Roc King, what Phoenix Princess, it's all bullshit, a complete joke!

I am not satisfied!
Why should I be grateful to Shangguan Danfeng just because I eat her leftovers, wear her leftovers, and receive a few pieces of old jewelry from her?
Without my grandfather's help in managing their finances, how could they have a decent life? All of this should belong to me!

You can hit me, curse me, kill me, you can look down on me, but I will never submit, even if it means my death!
My parents passed away ten years ago, and my grandfather died from overwork last year. I have no more worries now!

I will personally destroy the Golden Roc Royal Family!

I want to show my grandfather in the afterlife that the so-called Golden Roc Royal Family is nothing but a bunch of clowns!

They are nothing!

Lu Xiaofeng, I lied to you!

Hua Manlou, I deceived you too!
If you're angry, then take action!

Shangguan Feiyan overturned the table.

Managing a household is never easy, especially for families that are declining and struggling to make ends meet.

It is precisely because their ancestors were once glorious and they remember the honor of their ancestors that they have to maintain the dignity of the large family, even if they are struggling to make ends meet and even if the warehouse is empty.

In order to maintain his "first-class" reputation, Jin Jiuling became the Green Bamboo Bandit, but ultimately died in disgrace.

The most classic one is naturally "Dream of the Red Chamber".

The decline of the Jia family was comprehensive. No matter how well Wang Xifeng managed the household, in the end, the birds flew away after the food was gone, leaving behind a vast, desolate wasteland!

The Shangguan family is a miniature version of the Jia family.

The Jia family still has at least a few allies. The Shangguan family's wealth was taken with them when the country was destroyed and their family was ruined. They have no income. The little prince is unrestrained and only knows how to spend money but not how to make money. He spends money like water.

Shangguan Jin respected the Great Golden Roc King and the glory of the Golden Roc Kingdom. When Shangguan Feiyan was born, the Golden Roc Kingdom had been destroyed for thirty years, and the Shangguan family had completely fallen into ruin. Shangguan Feiyan did not care about the Golden Roc royal family. She only felt that it was very unfair. Her family worked hard, but the benefits were taken by others, and her family could only eat what others had left over.

Over time, I became increasingly resentful!
What kind of bullshit Golden Roc Royal Family is this?
The Golden Roc Kingdom has been destroyed for decades. What is the royal family compared to that? They're not even a martial arts family!

Shangguan Feiyan stared at the crowd with a manic air, displaying an air of "Why should kings and nobles be born with special privileges?" For a moment, she actually overshadowed Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou.

Hua Manlou remained silent, lost in thought.

Lu Xiaofeng didn't know how to start the conversation.

Both of them looked at Li Zhaoting at the same time.

Li Zhaoting certainly wouldn't let them down.

"As the saying goes, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. The affairs of the Shangguan family are none of my business, nor is the restoration plan of the Golden Roc Kingdom. I just want to know, with such a grand scheme in place, you must have had some helpers, right?"

"Whatever you say."

"The helpers are from the Green Robe Pavilion, aren't they?"

"You want to know who the Master of the Green Robe Pavilion is?"

"Shangguan Mu, also known as Huo Xiu!"

Li Zhaoting gave a resolute answer.

"The four regents, the emperor's brother-in-law Shangguan Jin, followed the little prince with utmost loyalty, and the general Ping Duhe changed his name to Dugu Yihe and became the head of the Emei Taoist sect.

Dugu Yihe loved martial arts and devoted himself to practicing. If he had the ability to establish the Qingyi Tower, the incense and faith of Mount Emei would not have been completely crushed by Buddhism.

Yan Liben, the head of the Imperial Treasury, changed his name to Yan Tieshan. He ran a jewelry business and was the number one jewelry merchant in the world. He could not possibly be the owner of the Green Robe Pavilion; he was a eunuch.

The thing a eunuch in his seventies cares about most is certainly not making more wealth or building a super power, but rather adopting a few godsons.

Money meant nothing to Yan Tieshan; all he wanted was for someone to wear mourning clothes for him after his death and for someone to burn incense for him during the Qingming and Zhongyuan festivals. Nothing else mattered.

After removing the three answers, only Hoshu remains.

Huo Xiu's enormous wealth and style of doing things are quite similar to those of the head of the Green Robe Pavilion. For example, they are both mysterious people who like to send messages by carrier pigeon, use notes to order their subordinates, and maintain an air of mystery most of the time.

The Green Robe Pavilion has recently gotten itself into a lot of trouble.

Many powerful forces are eyeing the Green Robe Tower covetously.

Of course, I bear some responsibility.

Qingyi Tower urgently needs to establish its authority, make money, and settle its accounts!
You originally wanted to wait a while longer, but there wasn't enough time, so you had to hastily launch the plan.

Was my analysis correct?
Shangguan Feiyan, take me to the headquarters of Qingyi Tower!

I'll go test Boss Huo's virginity training!

Shangguan Feiyan's momentum vanished in an instant.

Hua Manlou gently offered a few words of comfort.

Lu Xiaofeng asked, "Li Zhaoting, I don't object to you dealing with Qingyi Tower, but it's too hasty."

Li Zhaoting said, "No haste! I've wanted to deal with the Green Robe Tower for a long time. Damn it, I personally escorted the goods, and the Green Robe Tower dared to rob me! If they succeed, I'll never be able to hold my head high in front of my wife again. This deep-seated hatred must be settled!" "Just for such a small matter?"

Lu Xiaofeng raised his eyebrows with ill intent.

He slept in the same bed with Hua Manlou last night. Hua Manlou sensed Li Shengnan's aura and told Lu Xiaofeng. Lu Xiaofeng guessed that Li Shengnan must have reached a cooperation with Li Zhaoting in some way, which was most likely related to Qingyi Tower.

Upon inspection today, it's exactly as I expected!
Li Zhaoting is petty, but he's not that petty!
……

The headquarters of Qingyi Tower is located in Shanxi.

Even if you smashed Yan Tieshan's head, he would never have imagined that his old buddy had set up the Green Robe 108 Tower right under his nose, preparing to take his life.

When Li Zhaoting and his entourage arrived in Shanxi, Huo Tianqing, Yan Tieshan's head steward, delivered an invitation. Li Zhaoting accepted the invitation and then went straight to the Qingyi First Restaurant.

It was a small building built against the mountain.

There are 108 deadly traps inside.

The traps are intricately linked, with danger at every turn. Even if Zhu Ting enters this place, he will be trapped for three days.

No one would have guessed that this unremarkable bamboo building was actually the number one building in Qingyi. The word "push" was written on the door of the building, as if it were meant to be pushed open.

A normal person seeing this warning would certainly not want to open the door, fearing they might be ambushed.

Li Zhaoting is not a normal person.

Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou are not either.

Li Zhaoting stepped forward and pushed open the door.

Ahead was a wide passageway that led straight into the mountainside; it was dark, gloomy, and terrifying.

The three of them entered the passageway with their heads held high and walked forward for about half a mile before seeing the sign for "turn".

Ahead is a "卜" (bu) intersection.

Following the instructions, the three turned right.

This little building is very interesting; each mechanism has a hint to help you pass, giving outsiders two options.

1. Follow the prompts to proceed to the next level.

Second, disregard the instructions and find your own way.

Either choice is wrong.

The hint is not entirely accurate.

Completely following the prompts can lead to mental inertia, and if the prompts are wrong, one will fall into a fatal trap and be ambushed and killed.

Completely ignoring the prompts and attempting to solve all 108 puzzles will severely deplete your energy and spirit.

No matter what I do, I'll feel extremely tired.

A weary swordsman would find it difficult to defeat Huo Xiu.

Li Zhaoting easily deciphered the mechanism, using a method incomprehensible to ordinary people to distinguish the authenticity of the clues.

In less than half an hour, Li Zhaoting had deciphered more than fifty traps without encountering any danger.

Lu Xiaofeng asked in surprise, "Li Zhaoting, I know you are good at breaking formations, how did you do that?"

Li Zhaoting said, "Have you heard this joke? There was a man who was terrified of death and worried about being assassinated, so he built a safe house full of traps. He had to crack more than a dozen different traps to open the door. Later, a master surrounded him and tried his best to escape to the safe house, but he stepped off the rails and was shot dead by a crossbow!"

Hua Manlou said softly, "You mean that these mechanisms and clues follow a pattern, and Huo Xiu and his subordinates understand the pattern and can enter quickly?"

Lu Xiaofeng asked, "What pattern?"

Li Zhaoting said, "Plum blossom divination is easy!"

With a few words, he deciphered three mechanisms.

A brightly lit mountain road came into view.

Huo Xiu didn't want to see the mechanism he had spent a lot of money to build completely broken. Seeing that the mechanism could not stop Li Zhaoting, he had no choice but to open the passage with a heavy heart.

The mountain's interior was hollowed out by Huo Xiu.

Just like the former Paradise Tower, the First Tower of Green Robes is also hidden in the mountains, disguised as a bamboo building.

The white-haired Boss Huo wore a faded coarse linen outfit and tattered straw sandals. He warmed wine in a broken tin pot, and the cave was filled with the smell of alcohol.

Huo Xiu practiced martial arts from childhood.

People who practice virginity training often have psychological problems.

Hosh poured his emotions into two aspects.

First, money; an insatiable greed for money.

First, there's fine wine. Huo Xiu loves drinking, and fine wine is the only huge expense he's willing to spend. Huo Xiu's wine cellar contains thousands of jars of fine wine.

"You arrived very quickly!"

Huo Xiu didn't even glance at the three of them; his mind was entirely on the wine pot, as if it weren't a wine pot at all, but rather the Purple Gold Gourd of Laozi. Regardless of what Li Zhaoting and the others' purpose was, warming the wine up first was the right thing to do.

"This incident killed many people."

Hua Manlou's voice was colder and more solemn than ever before.

"It feels terrible to be fooled!"

Lu Xiaofeng looked coldly at Huo Xiu.

"I don't like being used as a tool by others."

Li Zhaoting drew his sword and pointed it at Huo Xiu.

(End of this chapter)