Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 224 Di Renjie's Tactics, Executive Deputy Constable

Di Qinglin died, and died swiftly and decisively. This was Li Zhaoting's first strike in dismantling the "Nine Linked Rings".

Ling Yufeng died four days after Di Qinglin, not because Li Zhaoting treated him differently, but because Ling Yufeng needed to finish writing the case file for Di Qinglin's case.

Li Zhaoting saw through Ling Yufeng's character and knew that he would write the case file in the fairest, most just, and most upright way, so that Bao Zheng would not be able to find any fault with it.

Di Qinglin's case is an ironclad one.

An impeccable and flawless case.

After accomplishing this, Ling Yufeng's only remaining, insignificant value would be being killed by the victims of the tragedy. A life for a life, a debt for a debt—it's only right and proper.

Of course, Ling Yufeng's case also needed to be handled as an ironclad case. During these four days, Li Zhaoting invited a renowned detective from the Six Doors.

Liu Dufeng.

He is one of the most senior, most prolific, most skilled, and most renowned constables in the Six Doors. He is the elder of the Four Great Constables and also the deputy leader of the Six Doors.

Liu Dufeng was skilled in swordsmanship and equipment. He possessed six precious swords, one each in blue, red, yellow, indigo, black, and violet. He also spent a fortune to forge six extraordinary weapons, which he then passed on to his six disciples.

These six "magic weapons" are: Autumn Fish Knife, Spring and Autumn Brush, Demon-Slaying Moon Crossbow, Hou Yi's Sun-Shooting Arrow, a Pill of Divine Mud, and Xuanyuan Haotian Mirror!

Its name is very domineering, and its power is extremely strong.

In the past seven or eight years, Liu Dufeng has only made three or four moves. In most cases, it was his disciples who took action. It took a lot of effort to get Liu Dufeng to do so.

The Six Doors are severely understaffed!
Guo Bujing handled the Sunflower Faction's arsenal case.

Iron Hand and Chasing Life deal with the Flying Knife Sect.

They dealt with Jiangling Water Village ruthlessly and coldly.

Zhu Yueming is an extremely slippery non-stick pan.

Li Xuanyi is handling a case in Hanzhong.

Liu Jiyan dealt with the ruins of the Blackwater Channel.

Zhu Xiawu has mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

After careful consideration, the only person with the ability, prestige, and qualifications to handle the Jinan case is Liu Dufeng.

Although Di Qinglin was a marquis, all his direct relatives had died, and his collateral relatives were not qualified to inherit the title. With the marquis's family line dying out, it was natural for him to be forgotten.

Comparatively speaking, Ling Yufeng is more troublesome.

Ling Yufeng's grandfather and father hold high positions and are highly respected in the court, so they need to be handled with care.

Li Zhaoting put on a disguise mask and hid in some random corner, so no one could find him.

Chu Liuxiang moved swiftly, sometimes to the east, sometimes to the west.

Li Nanhong, with her neck stiff, declared, "I killed Ling Yufeng in full view of everyone. If Detective Liu wants to arrest me, I am willing to accept the punishment."

How could Liu Dufeng possibly arrest Li Nanhong?
Liu Dufeng is a man who cares about his reputation!

If it weren't for the assassins in the martial arts world killing Ling Yufeng, given Liu Dufeng's personality, he would likely have sneaked in masked in the middle of the night and assassinated him with a sword.

Liu Dufeng briefly inquired about the case and instructed his disciple to arrange new identities for Li Nanhong and Yuanyuan so they could move to a different place and start a new life.

"That bastard Guo Bujing, he found an easy case to escape from and left me with this mess!"

Liu Dufeng slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

"Master, we did not come away empty-handed."

"What's the catch?"

“I just found out that the constable who stopped Ling Yufeng is named Yang Zheng. He is Yang Hen’s son and the current commander of the Li Bie Gou. He is a very brave and daring man who has made countless contributions. However, he is upright and strong-willed and not good at flattering his superiors, which is why he has not been promoted.”

"Parting Hook? You didn't hear me wrong, did you? How could Parting Hook, the current commander of the army, become a constable?"

"I have had fifteen people confirm that Yang Zheng is an upright, benevolent, chivalrous, resolute, and persevering man. Apart from being slightly less experienced, he has no flaws whatsoever."

"Aren't you jealous, kid?"

“Master, what are you saying? We are just average and have limited skills. We are not up to the dignity of our sect. We have been hoping that you would take on a disciple to be your last disciple. When you retire, our junior brother can inherit your mantle and we can enjoy a more comfortable retirement.”

"Who taught you this?"

"Master Zhuge has four famous constables under his command, Hero Guo has nine disciples, and you have six disciples. Other constables either don't take disciples or they take in all sorts of people. When the older generation retires, who will be able to support the Six Doors?"

Who do you think has the best chance?

"I believe that new talents emerge in every generation, and there are countless masters in the martial arts world. If Li Zhaoting ever decides to become a constable, he will surely become a constable god!"

"Li Zhaoting? What kind of God of Arrest is he! With this jinx around, the Six Doors headquarters will be torn down in two months at most. Where will you all retire then?"

"Probably...no!"

"Is your neck harder than Di Qinglin's?"

"Your disciple is upright and justified, and has nothing to be ashamed of."

“Well said. Now, please invite your beloved junior brother, Yang Zheng, to the government office. I will personally test him.”

"Master, you certainly won't be disappointed."

Let's talk about it when we meet!

Liu Dufeng gestured to his eldest disciple to go and fetch someone.

Knowing Liu Dufeng's quirks, Yun Da first had Yang Zheng bathe and change into a clean set of clothes.

When Liu Dufeng was young, he was framed and had to hide in a pigsty to avoid trouble. Later, he was framed again and imprisoned in a dirty, smelly and filthy cell. This left him with severe psychological trauma and he has a severe case of mysophobia.

Yang Zheng needs to be tested.

Liu Dufeng's concerns are not unfounded.

The Parting Hook is an extremely malevolent weapon. Its creation was an accident. The swordsmith originally intended to forge an unparalleled divine sword, but unfortunately, he suffered from severe epilepsy.

The more serious, tense, anxious, and focused a person is, the more likely they are to fall ill. At the moment when the perfect sword blank was being formed, the extremely tense swordsmith suffered an epileptic seizure and forged the sword into a hook.

To atone for his sins, the swordsmith used this to commit suicide.

A weapon born by accident, stained with the blood of the swordsmith, has since become a fierce, ruthless, and merciless demonic weapon, with the hook representing parting.

If it hooks your hand, your hand will be separated from your wrist; if it hooks your foot, your foot will be separated from your calf; if the separation hook catches your throat, you will have to say goodbye to the world.

The leader of the farewell hook was named Yang Hen. He accidentally obtained a sword manual that had been half burned vertically.

Because the sword manual was burned vertically, only half of each sword technique remained, making it impossible to master the sword skills. However, it was able to use this to learn the unorthodox and unparalleled hook technique.

After mastering martial arts, Yang Hen recklessly challenged martial arts masters, causing bloodshed and leaving no room for mercy when using the Parting Hook, thus making countless enemies.

More than ten years ago, Yang Hen was besieged by his enemies and seriously wounded. He broke through the encirclement and went into seclusion in the countryside.

The parting hook disappeared without a trace.

Until now, the parting hook has reappeared in the world.

From its birth to its tempering, from its first battle in the martial world to its fame spreading throughout the land, every step is filled with a chilling atmosphere. The Parting Hook, stained with blood, is the most ferocious demonic weapon.

Whether a weapon is divine or demonic depends on who wields it.

There are many examples in the martial arts world of turning divine swords into demonic swords and demonic weapons into divine weapons. The Ziwei Soft Sword is the most famous example. In Li Zhaoting's hands, this precious sword that accidentally injured a righteous man was reborn and its sword heart was reforged.

If you treat the Ziwei Soft Sword as a soft sword or whip, thinking that its moves should be unpredictable and come and go in an instant, you will definitely die a terrible death.

...Daming Lake.

Li Zhaoting and Chu Liuxiang were boating on the lake.

The two were discussing the case.

The two came to Jinan because of the corpses they saw on the sea, not because of Di Qinglin and Ling Yufeng.

No one expected that the case in Jinan Prefecture would go mad, full of suspicious points. If Li Zhaoting hadn't acted swiftly and decisively, eliminating the two obvious accomplices, Di Qinglin and Ling Yufeng, no one would have been able to find the hidden accomplices.

Speaking of Daming Lake, besides Xia Yuhe by the lake, there is also a strange tale in the martial arts world: the One-Finger Divine Skill counters the Toad Skill. How did this counter-relationship come about?

A poem praising Daming Lake offers clues that reveal the secret of restraint.

Daming Lake, Daming Lake is big.

There are lotus flowers in Daming Lake.

There are toads on the lotus flowers.

One poke and it jumps!

The last two lines of the poem are irrefutable proof.

Why is Toad Style afraid of One-Finger Divine Skill? Because if you poke it with a finger, the toad will hop.

Of course this is nonsense.

The real reason is that Toad Kung Fu emphasizes accumulating internal strength and releasing it gradually. Before making a move, one must accumulate power, with the whole body filled with internal strength, like an inflated balloon. When the One-Finger Divine Skill is used, it's like pricking a needle into the balloon!

Isn't that exactly "one poke and it bounces"?
In a head-on confrontation, even with Hong Qigong's abilities and the power of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, Ouyang Feng was not afraid at all. On the contrary, Hong Qigong was wary of the Toad Stance, but the One-Finger Divine Skill, which could penetrate the surface with a single point, was truly cheating.

Having just killed two treacherous villains, Li Zhaoting felt broad-minded and couldn't help but let his mind wander.

If Chu Liuxiang knew that Li Zhaoting was pondering the question of the toad and the finger, he would not hesitate to drill a big hole in the boat and turn Li Zhaoting into a toad.

“Brother Li, I’ve been investigating for a few days. The conflict between the Vermilion Gang and the Heavenly Star Gang has been resolved. Most of the assassination attempts that occurred during that time were deceptive, including those involving Di Qinglin and Ling Yufeng. The more I investigate, the more confused I become.”

"Because you're looking in the wrong direction."

"Wrong direction?"

"Do you think that the other party went through all the trouble of stealing the Heavenly One Divine Water and poisoning the Shaolin monks in order to stir up trouble in the martial arts world and make it unsettled?"

"Isn't this line of thinking wrong?"

"Yes and no! The mastermind behind this does want to disrupt the martial arts world, but to be honest, it's not that I don't respect the dead, but with the weight of these people, isn't it a bit too little for them to disrupt the martial arts world?"

"It's unpleasant to say, but there's some truth to it."

“Ignoring the ‘disruption of the martial arts world,’ judging from the original identities of these victims, including the Ziyan murder case, the victims had one thing in common: they were very wealthy.”

"Is the mastermind behind this motivated by money?"

"That's right!"

"It's that simple?"

"The simpler it is, the harder it is to be noticed. We've come into contact with too many martial arts masters. When we think about problems, we always think about those lofty things, but we forget that the essence of being in the martial arts world is to compete for fame and fortune."

Li Zhaoting breathed a sigh of relief.

This was inspired by the 1.8 million taels of silver in the Marquis's mansion after killing Di Qinglin.

The mastermind behind all this has created a chaotic mess, but it's all a facade.

His real goal is... money!

Money can make anything possible!

Money is the most useful weapon in the world.

Money can bribe high-ranking officials, hire experts, buy secret manuals, acquire rare and precious materials, and forge divine weapons. No one in the world can live without money.

Why is the gang that Shangguan Jin Hong painstakingly created named the Money Gang? It's not because Shangguan Jin Hong wants to get rich, but because the Money Gang's most powerful weapon is money.

Shangguan Jin Hong was not a reckless man; he had the most basic values. His motto in life was not a magnificent, grand, or romantic slogan, but two common sayings.

no pain no gain!
Preparation is key to success; lack of preparation leads to failure!

These two maxims were the starting point of the Money Gang. Shangguan Jin Hong adhered to these two principles of conduct and gradually became a gangster tycoon and a supreme hero in the underworld.

Let alone a peerless hero like Shangguan Jin Hong, even Huo Xiu, the reincarnation of a Pixiu who loves money more than life itself, knows how to use money to bribe experts. For those who want to rebel and achieve great things, money is even more important.

All the conspiracies and schemes are for the purpose of making money.

Stripping away the lofty slogans and the intricate conspiracies, and analyzing from the most fundamental and authentic perspective, the enemy is indeed after money.

Chu Liuxiang was fooled because he overthought things.

Li Zhaoting was able to figure it out because he had been bombarded by the information explosion era and had read countless detective novels, comics, and TV dramas. No matter what case he encountered or how troublesome it was, he could always find some references.

Li Zhaoting's reference was... Di Renjie!

Di Renjie solved countless cases throughout his life and encountered countless formidable enemies, including Jin Mulan, the Headless General, the Snake Spirit, Yuan Tiangang, the Iron Hand Gang, and the Black-Clad Society...

Few cases could confuse Di Renjie, except for the "Blue Robe Case" in Huzhou, where Di Renjie faced a life-or-death crisis and could be said to be hanging by a thread.

The mastermind behind the scenes orchestrated countless conspiracies, manipulating the most powerful figures, even making Wu Zetian and Di Renjie his pawns. The purpose of this grand scheme was not to overthrow the court or to deal with the Li Tang dynasty, but to make a fortune.

He was neither loyal to Wu Zetian nor did he ever think of restoring the Tang dynasty's imperial power; he cared nothing for right or wrong.

I just want to get rich!
Wu Zetian's salary was too low. I was so poor I couldn't even afford to eat. I didn't care about the Wu Zhou or the Li Tang dynasties. All I wanted was a great treasure!
Di Renjie was completely dumbfounded.

Who would have thought that a person who used the emperor, the crown prince, and the prime minister as pawns, and who manipulated Wu Zetian and Di Renjie, was actually after money?

Having experienced the "Blue Shirt Incident," and later encountering the "Canal Phantom" case orchestrated by the Iron Hand Gang, Di Renjie immediately realized that the Iron Hand Gang's robbing of salt transport ships and the creation of so many incidents were all aimed at making money by selling salt.

Prince Ying Yuanqi and the governor of Yangzhou were both prisoners of money, and they were all willing to risk their lives for money.

When Li Zhaoting's thinking got stuck in a dead end and he couldn't figure it out no matter what he thought about, he remembered the ways Di Renjie and Yan Shuangying solved cases. Di Renjie was good at starting everything over and reasoning again, while Yan Shuangying was good at drawing his sword and killing people, making the enemy utterly terrified.

Combining the two, everything became clear.

The case in Jinan Prefecture involved many things, but it wasn't actually that complicated; it was simply about accumulating wealth.

Di Qinglin was the pawn in the open, responsible for attracting Li Zhaoting's attention and diverting Chu Liuxiang's attention.

Ling Yufeng was both an open and covert pawn. If Li Zhaoting hadn't found him, Ling Yufeng could have embezzled 1.8 million taels of silver under the guise of investigating a case.

If Li Zhaoting had found out about Ling Yufeng, given Ling Yufeng's background, there would have been at least five or six days to prepare. However, the other party did not expect that Li Zhaoting would act so quickly, using a feint to secretly bring Liu Dufeng over!

Liu Dufeng was in charge of all the cases.

No one can bribe Liu Dufeng.

Liu Dufeng has a deep-seated obsession with cleanliness.

It is both a physical and psychological obsession with cleanliness.

It's not just clothes that are clean, but also people's hearts.

With Liu Dufeng's arrival in Jinan, other matters can be set aside for the time being. At the very least, no one can take away the 1.8 million taels of silver that Master Ni robbed.

Including security escort agencies!

The security escort agency and the bandits are putting on a show together!

How could such a thing be kept from Liu Dufeng?
(End of this chapter)