Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 199 Old Wine: The True Protagonist Never Disguises His Identity
The Overlord Spear is suitable for battles between two armies.

Charging into battle, they routed thousands of troops and were invincible.

In martial arts combat, the Overlord Spear is not practical, not even a useless weapon. Ninety-nine percent of martial artists cannot even lift the Overlord Spear, let alone use it.

The Overlord Spear Technique passed down by Xiang Yu has eighteen moves, five of which are mounted combat routines. After they spread to the martial arts world, they were abandoned by martial artists, and only the first thirteen moves were retained.

This is what is known as the "Thirteen Styles of the Overlord".

Miss Wang possesses superhuman strength, her form is like a raging fire, and she can wield the Overlord Spear at will. As a woman, she has innate meticulousness, patience, and dexterity. When she strikes, she is not too forceful and easily broken; instead, she is more agile.

The spear tip, shaft, and body are all weapons for defeating the enemy. The air currents stirred up when the spear spun around covered an area of ​​three zhang (approximately 10 meters), making it impossible for Jin Qiang Xu to get close.

Jin Qiang Xu originally intended to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, but he did not know that although the Overlord Spear shaft was heavy, when the moves were executed, the Overlord Spear itself could generate power, allowing him to use the opponent's force against them.

Miss Wang's strength was not greatly depleted.

As Jin Qiang Xu repeatedly avoided his attacks and retreated, Miss Wang's momentum grew stronger, her marksmanship became more and more fierce, and her combat advantage grew greater and greater.

After fifty or sixty moves, Miss Wang had firmly secured eight or nine tenths of the offensive advantage. Xu, the Golden Spear, felt a tightness in his chest, his face turning blue and his breath becoming stagnant as he struggled to breathe.

Martial arts are all about "offense" and "defense".

Comparatively speaking, offense has a greater advantage, while defense is prone to failure after a long period of defense. Especially when facing a heavy weapon like the Overlord Spear, if you fail to defend even once, you will be severely injured and broken.

Waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out and striking later to catch up is ultimately a minority tactic in the martial arts world; offense is the only true winning strategy.

Xu with the Golden Spear lost.

He shouldn't be fantasizing about "waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out".

He shouldn't have allowed the Overlord Spear to gather its power so freely.

This is like Xiang Yu charging forward, and there's no need to use tripwires or long-range arrows to stop him. Just let Xiang Yu charge, and what's the point of fighting?
Li Zhaoting shot out a pebble.

The pebble struck the spear shaft precisely, disrupting Miss Wang's momentum. Li Zhaoting leaped forward, grabbing the Overlord Spear with his left hand and the Hooked Spear with his right.

Jinqiang Xu has never done anything wrong.

His fighting spirit was destroyed by Miss Wang.

There's no need to take lives.

"How about it, the battle is over?"

"Let me go! Let me go! You think I'm afraid of you? If you've got the guts, fight me!"

Miss Wang glared angrily at Li Zhaoting.

Li Zhaoting snatched the hook-and-sickle spear from Jin Qiang Xu, recalling Jin Qiang Xu's spear techniques in his mind. Suddenly, the spear thrust out, the hook-and-sickle spinning, silently stabbing towards Miss Wang. In the nick of time, it broke through the blockade, grazing the spear shaft as it slid upwards.

The spear flashed by.

Miss Wang had no choice but to put away her gun and retreat.

Li Zhaoting threw the hook-and-sickle spear back, grabbed the Overlord Spear with his other hand, and with a single move, he made a thousand troops retreat. Xu, the Golden Spear, felt as if the Overlord of Western Chu had been reincarnated and was launching the fiercest attack on him. He had no will to resist whatsoever.

The spearhead stopped at the chest of the golden-spear Xu.

Jin Qiang Xu dejectedly put down his weapon.

Li Zhaoting said, "Qixia Town is a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters, most suitable for seclusion. The world is like a tide, and people are like water. It's a pity that few people return from the martial world. It's not easy to live to this age. It's best not to get involved in the ups and downs of the martial world."

"Thank you for your guidance, young master!"

Jin Qiang Xu did not recognize Li Zhaoting, only knowing that Li Zhaoting's martial arts were superb and far superior to his own. He mistakenly thought that Li Zhaoting was a direct disciple of a certain spear-fighting sect or the young master of a certain martial arts family, and was slightly unconvinced.

Ultimately, true masters are few and far between.

Jinqiang Xu felt he still had a chance.

Deng Dinghou whispered a warning: "Run! This guy is Li Zhaoting! You've heard of that name before, right?"

At this moment, Xu the Golden Spear finally understood that his greatest skill was not spearmanship, but running agility. He remembered his master's words: If there is a tiger chasing you, you can definitely run faster than a rabbit.

Miss Wang was forced back by Li Zhaoting's move, suffering some abrasions to her joints and wincing in pain: "I remember you are good at swordsmanship, when did you learn spearmanship?"

"I just learned it."

"How did you learn so quickly?"

"I'm smart!"

Li Zhaoting led Jiang Yuyan back to the inn.

Miss Wang looked at Deng Dinghou: "Did he say I'm brainless? Was he just insulting me?"

Deng Dinghou shrugged.

"I'll poke three hundred holes in him sooner or later!"

……

It's impossible to poke three hundred holes.

We need to wait until Li Zhaoting has investigated the case thoroughly.

Wang Wanwu was assassinated in his study, and the wound resembled the shape of a spearhead.

Wang Wanwu had a volatile temper and very few friends. Apart from his closest friends, no one was allowed to enter his study, let alone anyone carrying a spear or halberd.

Wang Wanwu's martial arts skills were not top-notch, but he had been wandering the martial arts world for decades, braving wind and rain, making a living by risking his life. His vigilance was unparalleled.

In Miss Wang's words, the only person who could enter the study and make Wang Wanwu completely lower his guard was Miss Wang herself. Miss Wang would not assassinate her own father for no reason. So who is the murderer?

Li Zhaoting had just arrived in Guanzhong and had no leads.

Deng Dinghou found some clues.

This matter is related to "Hungry Tiger Hill".

Hungry Tiger Hill was a den of bandits, a black market, a center for trading goods, and a branch of the Green Robe Pavilion.

After Huo Xiu's death, most of the Qingyi 108 Tower was divided up, with a small portion being taken back by the Qinglong Society.

Hungry Tiger Hill is one of them.

Is there any connection between the Green Dragon Society and the镖局 (escort agency)?

Have!
Closely related!

The Azure Dragon Society loves chaos!
If the escort agencies form an alliance, and some agencies in neighboring prefectures do business together, helping each other and sharing the same livelihood, bandits will have a hard time, and the martial arts world will become more and more stable. Merchants like stability, ordinary people like stability, but the Green Dragon Society does not like stability.

The镖局 (escort agency) alliance must be destroyed.

In particular, several key figures must be killed.

For example: Baili Changqing, Deng Dinghou.

Baili Changqing had too much prestige in the escort agency, and Deng Dinghou was too smart, too good at assessing the situation, too good at making trade-offs, and too fond of planning long-term strategies.

According to Deng Dinghou's plan, the Jianghu escort agencies were divided into four alliances based on the cardinal directions: east, west, south, and north.

Firstly, to prevent the imperial court from becoming suspicious and sending people to sow discord.

Secondly, it prevents any single entity from becoming too powerful and acting recklessly.

Thirdly, it prevents unfair competition and internal strife within the escort agency.

Deng Dinghou has even selected three escort agencies as leaders: Changqing Escort Agency in the north, Da Escort Agency in the west, and Fengyun Escort Agency in the south. He has already persuaded three experts, Baili Changqing, Sima Chaoqun, and Long Fangxiao, to form an alliance.

The Azure Dragon Society cannot tolerate this kind of thing.

The Escort Agency Alliance must be dissolved.

Each security escort agency must be a disorganized mess.

Wang Wanwu is the crowbar that pries open the crack.

The Azure Dragon Society devised seven or eight plans for this purpose. They could not allow Deng Dinghou to leave Guanzhong alive.

Then, they saw Li Zhaoting.

Li Zhaoting never hides his identity when he goes out.

Even if Li Zhaoting wanted to hide his identity and change his appearance using disguise techniques, how could Lao Jiu disguise himself?

A yellowish-brown, mottled, ugly horse that eats a shi (a unit of dry measure) of fine feed and drinks twenty jin (a unit of weight) of strong liquor every day—such a distinctive mount is unique in the world.

As long as the spies of the Azure Dragon Society aren't fools, they'll recognize this as old wine. And the only ones who would ride around on old wine are Li Zhaoting and Feng Suzhen.

Without Li Zhaoting leading the horse, even Lan Fenghuang couldn't ride Lao Jiu at will. Lao Jiu was a spirited steed, the most spirited young horse, and Lao Jiu had a temper.

When Lao Jiu is around, if Li Zhaoting rides a different mount, Lao Jiu will consider it a provocation and will fight that horse to regain his dignity.

Li Zhaoting could neither change horses nor disguise himself.

Since that's the case, let's just stop pretending.

An open and aboveboard investigation of Hungry Tiger Hill.

……

The joint escort agency consists of four escort agencies, with four chief escorts and one general manager. These five people are the leaders of the joint escort agency and have equal decision-making power.

Escort agencies are martial arts businesses. Generally speaking, there are two management models for the owners of an escort agency. One is that the owner personally escorts the goods. This type of owner is respectfully called the chief escort.

Another type does not participate in escorting goods but controls the finances; they are known as the "Big Boss" and are mostly from wealthy families.

Taking Longmen Escort Agency as an example, when Tong Boda managed the agency, the head of the agency was the chief escort. When Lu Sanjin became the boss, the boss was the "head of the household".

Both management models have their advantages and disadvantages.

The chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) is highly skilled in martial arts and enjoys a high reputation in the martial arts world.

The leader is shrewd and capable, with extensive connections in the underworld.

The manager of the joint escort agency is:

Baili Changqing, the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of Changqing镖局 (escort agency).

Deng Dinghou, the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of Zhenyuan镖局 (escort agency).

Gui Dongjing, the head of Zhenwei Escort Agency.

Ximen Sheng, the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of Zhenwei镖局 (Zhenwei Escort Agency).

Jiang Xin, chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of Weiqun镖局 (escort agency).

Zhenwei Escort Agency had two slots, firstly because Ximen Sheng was highly skilled in martial arts and was recognized as the top expert among the joint escort agencies, and secondly because Gui Dongjing had extensive connections.

Gui Dongjing is a charming and shrewd person who is good at socializing and has friends everywhere. He can help people wherever they go and occasionally makes jokes that can make people laugh or cry.

The one who suffered the most was Deng Dinghou.

In his youth, Deng Dinghou was a libertine with a number of lovers comparable to Wen Liangong. Gui Dongjing impersonated Deng Dinghou's handwriting to send a message, inviting Deng Dinghou's lovers over.

When Deng Dinghou returned home after escorting his goods, he was greeted by dozens of beautiful women vying for his attention. Deng Dinghou was nearly torn to shreds and never dared to be promiscuous again.

Despite suffering such a great loss, Deng Dinghou dared not turn against Gui Dongjing, because Lady Deng was very satisfied with Gui Dongjing's prank and expressed her gratitude on many occasions.

This kind of person is obviously not easy to deal with.

Now, at this very moment, Gui Dongjing arrives at the inn in a luxurious carriage to welcome Li Zhaoting.

There were two copper pots in the carriage.

The charcoal fire glowed red, the broth bubbled and steamed, a copper pot was filled with spicy and fragrant red chilies, and slices of mutton were placed next to it, while another copper pot was simmering dog meat over a high flame.

It was already the fifth month of the lunar calendar, and the climate was gradually changing from spring to summer, with the weather getting hotter and hotter.

Both mutton and dog meat are nourishing foods.

Eating hot pot lamb or stewed dog meat on a hot day, with so much chili, is very likely to cause internal heat.

Gui Dongjing greeted Li Zhaoting with a smile.

His face was almost square, the most standard square face, with obvious dark stubble on his chin. His beard was very clean, revealing his mouth.

Just like Lu Xiaofeng's four eyebrows and Chu Liuxiang's peach blossom nose, the first thing anyone notices when they see Gui Dongjing is his mouth. His mouth is neither beautiful nor ugly, but it can make a lot of expressions.

Tilt to one side, pout, purse, curl up...

A normal man's mouth would never have so many expressions; it's even more lively than Qu Feiyan's.

If a person has a special mouth, they are either eloquent, have a fondness for food, or have both. Gui Dongjing belongs to the latter two categories.

Eating is Gui Dongjing's greatest hobby.

At least that's how it appears to outsiders.

No one knows what hobbies he has in private.

Gui Dongjing warmly invited Li Zhaoting to get into the car.

The carriage was very large, and even with Deng Dinghou and Miss Wang inside, plus Li Zhaoting and Jiang Yuyan, it was still very spacious, allowing them to enjoy hot pot with mutton to their heart's content.

The hot pot has a fixing device underneath, so no matter how bumpy the carriage is, the soup will not spill.

Nested gyroscope.

It perfectly meets scientific standards.

The wisdom of our ancestors is boundless.

As early as the Tang Dynasty, there were bedroom decorations made using the fixed axis and stability of tops.

A silver sachet with grape and bird design!

Hollowed-out metal spheres filled with spices, hung at the four corners of the bed, not only repel mosquitoes but also provide aromatherapy, filling the bedroom with a pleasant fragrance.

Deng Dinghou angrily said, "There is a master in Guanzhong called Dog King. His martial arts skills are mediocre, but he is good at training hunting dogs. He has raised hundreds of dogs and uses them to intimidate the people. He has successfully become a mountain king. Caravans that pass by Dog King's gate have to pay him a toll."

Gui Dongjing laughed loudly upon hearing this: "I had someone capture his dog general. It's a black dog with three yellow spots and three white spots. It's a black and strong dog general, the best of the best when it comes to dog meat."

Miss Wang scolded, "You two old geezers are so boring! Just eat meat, why all the nonsense? Do you think I'm afraid to eat it?"

Miss Wang picked up a piece of stewed meat, dipped it a few times in the condiment bowl, covered it with red chili powder, pursed her cherry-like lips and blew on it, enjoying the delicious taste in small sips.

Gui Dongjing laughed and said, "Dog meat is not served at the table. We don't observe the rules of not speaking while eating or sleeping, nor do we follow etiquette. If you eat meat like this, it would be a waste."

As he spoke, Gui Dongjing demonstrated the authentic way to eat it.

First, scoop up a piece of dog meat, coat it with chili powder, then quickly stuff it into your mouth. Finally, pour in a bowl of Shaoxing wine and close your mouth tightly.

Dog meat, chili peppers, and rice wine.

The three flavors interacted and blended in his mouth, making Gui Dongjing sweat profusely and his face turn red. He held his breath to the limit before opening his mouth, exhaling a hot breath, and breathing heavily with relief.

Li Zhaoting came to Miss Wang's rescue: "Since dog meat is not served at the banquet, there are no need for so many formalities. Just eat it however you like. What does it matter if it's authentic or not? You like to eat it in big bites, while Miss Wang likes to eat it in small bites. As long as you get the meat into your stomach, that's the right way to eat it."

Jiang Yuyan chimed in, "Young Master is right! You two-faced bastard, saying there aren't many rules about eating meat, but in reality you have more rules than anyone else!"

Gui Dongjing was stunned by the rebuttal.

Deng Dinghou gloated: "Old Gui! It's rare to see you speechless after being rebuked. I think Young Master Li is right, you're two-faced."

Miss Wang was initially a little shy, but mistakenly thought she had shown weakness. Upon hearing this, she looked at Gui Dongjing provocatively, picked up another piece of meat, and continued to eat it in small bites.

Li Zhaoting placed a piece on Jiang Yuyan's plate.

"Yu Yan, eat more! You're too thin!"

(End of this chapter)