Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 225 Yan Shuangying's Tactics: Kill Until You Shine with Fear
"Brother Li, what suggestions do you have?"

"Quickly resolve this, cut the Gordian knot!"

Who else are you going to kill?

"Of course, it's those mountain strongholds outside the city, especially that Master Ni. I was too lazy to deal with him before, but now that I have some free time, I'll definitely ask him a few questions."

"what's up?"

"It was a charade between the bandits and the escort agency. Ni Ba's robbery of the goods was planned in advance. Yang Zheng was the scapegoat. The silver being transported by the escort agency originally belonged to these mountain strongholds."

Could you explain it more clearly?

Chu Liuxiang awkwardly rubbed his nose.

Li Zhaoting sneered: "You, a dignified bandit leader, don't you know how to dispose of stolen goods and launder money? Sending money and food directly to bandit strongholds will be noticed, but if bandits rob caravans of escort agencies, who can find fault with that?"

Chu Liuxiang's expression grew increasingly awkward.

With three close female friends at home and the thrifty and hardworking Li Hongxiu, he didn't need to take matters into his own hands.

Li Hongxiu handled everything from selling stolen goods and laundering money to managing Chu Liuxiang's farm.

Here we need to explain a little about Chu Liuxiang. Chu Liuxiang's food, clothing, shelter and transportation do not rely on theft. Chu Liuxiang comes from a wealthy landlord family. His annual income from land alone is more than 40,000 taels. With other miscellaneous income, Chu Liuxiang's wealth is no less than that of Ximen Chuixue.

Chu Liuxiang's slang skills might not be as good as Bai Zhantang's. Li Zhaoting only needed to ask a couple of questions to know that Chu Liuxiang didn't know where to "melt the frost".

Chu Liuxiang: o((⊙﹏⊙))o
—Wait for me to come home, then I'll study by lamplight!

—We must not be underestimated in this regard!

“I asked the Beggars’ Gang to keep an eye on the rice shops in the city. There’s a grain shop that goes out to deliver goods every now and then. When it passes by Ni Ba’s stronghold, all the rice and grain is stolen. But when the caravan returns, it always brings back silver. If someone checks the accounts, they will find that there are no problems with the accounts.”

"They're supplying food to bandits?"

"If they do this for two or three years, they might really be a bandit stronghold. If they've been doing this for so many years, would anyone believe me if I said these people are bandits?"

"Brother Li, I'll go keep an eye on Wuhua."

Chu Liuxiang awkwardly changed the subject.

After several days of contact, Chu Liuxiang realized that Wuhua, despite his seemingly carefree demeanor, was actually treacherous. He suspected that Wuhua had stolen most of the Heavenly Divine Water and that he was also the thief who poisoned the Shaolin monks to silence them.

All of this points to one force.

—The Azure Dragon Society!

Di Qinglin, Ling Yufeng, Wuhua, and Ni Ba—each of them has intricate connections with the Azure Dragon Society, and several of its leaders are quietly observing these cases.

Chu Liuxiang let out a long sigh.

Chu Liuxiang detested conspiracies, killings, and especially the conspiracies that brought chaos to the people and the bloodshed that flowed like rivers of blood. No matter how benevolent Emperor Zhao Zhen was, if any rebels wanted to riot, he would surely be annihilated by a large army.

It's best to take control of the situation in advance.

Just like Li Zhaoting's plan.

Cut the Gordian knot!
Cut down everyone who dares to show their faces.

The rest either remain dormant, terrified, or, as the trees are felled one by one, the grass hiding in the shade will eventually reveal itself.

Li Zhaoting is not good at mowing lawns.

Li Zhaoting's best skill is plowing.

Some places should be plowed over and over again.

……

“Master Ni, I heard that you made a big deal worth 1.8 million taels of silver. My poor brothers and I are starving and hungry. Please give us some money.”

Li Sheng led over a hundred beggars and roared at the mountain gate.

The beggars' vulgarities and their infuriatingly scathing recitations would infuriate even a Buddha descending to earth.

Not to mention a ruthless bandit like Ni Ba.

I can't afford to offend Li Zhaoting, but do you think I can't afford to offend you, you filthy beggar? Leave your lives behind!

Ni raised three hundred henchmen at eight o'clock and left the mountain gate.

"Li Sheng, you bastard! I have no past grudges or recent feuds with the Beggars' Sect. You lead a bunch of beggars to roar at our gate? Do you think I'm made of clay?!"

“Master Ni, I am so poor that I have to beg on the street. How could I dare to offend you? However, my mother is getting married and needs a red veil. I have long heard of your generosity and kindness. I humbly request that you bestow 30,000 taels of gold so that my mother can have a dignified wedding.”

Li Sheng skillfully initiated the provocation skill.

There are two common tricks used by beggars to get food.

First, we should ask virtuous people to show compassion.

Secondly, if someone gets angry and resorts to physical violence, resulting in broken bones and tendons, they might demand money from the other party for medicine.

Many "Shulaibao" performances follow this formula.

For example, when a new store opens, these beggars initially sing "The God of Wealth has arrived, the boss will give you a bowl of hot porridge and two steamed buns." Most of the beggars know when to leave. If the boss doesn't give them money, they'll immediately change their lyrics.

The moment you walk in, you feel a sense of dejection.

The mourning gate and the hanging guest are placed on both sides;
The head manager will soon fall ill with the plague;
The shopkeeper kept hiccuping;
View it from a positive perspective and understand it clearly;
The Five Kings of Hell descended from the sky;

Ox-Head and Horse-Face stood on either side;
The God of Death is moving behind;
They won't let Li San buy flour on credit;

Your house will catch fire in a moment;
This is clearly a provocation, a provocation, and a provocation to be beaten!
This kind of thing involves the lifestyle of street urchins and hooligans in teahouses. No one can verify the history; all that is known is that these lyrics were adapted into crosstalk routines.

Li Sheng is an expert in this field.

He was reciting lyrics in a continuous stream.

Master Ni was furious and shouted, "I don't want to have a conflict with the Beggars' Sect, but you forced me to this! You all forced me to this! Die, you bastards!"

"Sorry, they won't die!"

"If they don't die, am I the one who has to die?!"

"Congratulations, you got it!"

Before the words were even finished, a golden sword beam roared in. Tathagata's Divine Light - Buddha Shakes Mountains and Rivers!

Ni Ba stared at Li Zhaoting in terror. He was locked in by the aura and intimidated by the imposing presence. Both reason and emotion told him to run, but he couldn't move his legs.

The sword light flashed past, piercing through Ni Ba's head and into his body, then exploded with a bang. Ni Ba, who had been a bandit for decades, was blasted into dust by the sword light.

Li Zhaoting flicked his finger and unleashed a burst of sword energy, causing all of Ni Ba's carefully cultivated adopted sons to fall. In a short while, the entire army was wiped out. Li Zhaoting waved his hand, and Li Sheng whistled, leading his men into the mountain stronghold.

Li Sheng was very good at knowing when to advance and when to retreat.

These mountain strongholds involve many secrets, which Li Sheng, being small and frail, cannot handle. He cannot touch the warehouses or anything with writing on it, so he can only search for scattered silver coins.

Li Sheng strictly disciplined the Beggars' Sect disciples, personally overseeing their search, and using the prestige of Li Zhaoting's sword killing Ni Ba to intimidate his disciples.

Li Zhaoting went straight to the warehouse.

The warehouse was piled high with grain and fodder.

It has more grain and fodder than the Jiangling Water Fortress.

There isn't much gold or silver jewelry.

Food supplies need to be purchased.

The counterfeit inventory is almost gone.

The 1.8 million taels of silver looted from the Green Robe Tower was partly the operating funds of Ni Ba's mountain stronghold. To be precise, it was the funds of several Green Dragon branches, which should have been divided equally among them. However, the members of the Green Dragon Society were fighting amongst themselves, each wanting to get a larger share, which led to a series of incidents.

Now, this silver is lying in the treasury.

Liu Dufeng's six disciples were stationed outside to guard the area.

Without Liu Dufeng's token, anyone who approaches the treasury will be captured by the six men.

One of the Azure Dragon Helmsmen abruptly overturned the table.

The consequence of flipping the table is that no one gets to eat.

In the following days, Li Zhaoting visited martial arts families in Jinan one by one, asking them for help. He then led these martial arts masters to raze one mountain stronghold after another.

Whether he opened the mountain gate to meet the enemy or closed it to defend, Li Zhaoting charged forward alone with his sword. His divine light was invincible. When he saw the gate of the stronghold, he raised his hand and unleashed a move that shook mountains and rivers, followed by a move that showed the boundless power of Buddhism.

What is a Grandmaster of the Heavenly Gang?
This is a true grandmaster!
That's how martial arts masters are forged.

When the list of Heavenly Stars and Earthly Fiends first appeared, with the Four Absolutes and Eight Champions, some people may have cheated their way onto the list.

Every ten years, a new generation emerges in the martial arts world.

Since the founding of the Zhao Dynasty, nearly sixty years have passed, and the martial arts world has changed hands six times. All those who did not live up to their reputation have been removed from the list, a testament to the ruthlessness of the martial arts world.

Even powerful figures like Abbess Miejue and Abbess Kumei could only barely make it onto the Heavenly Gang Ranking by relying on the Heavenly Sword and the Thirteen Styles of Qingfeng, ranking at the very bottom of the Grandmasters.

Those ranked at the top, such as Tang Songting, single-handedly fought their way through dozens or even hundreds of heretical sects, wiping out all the evil and heretical sects in Liangzhe Road.

Some gangs were wiped out entirely, while others were exterminated. Even a powerful gang like the Chang Le Gang could only barely survive, gradually shifting their business from the underworld to the legitimate world, and eventually turning to the ham business.

Even someone as aloof and indifferent as Ximen Chuixue would go out four times a year to kill four ungrateful bastards.

Long Chengbi didn't deal with these mountain strongholds because the Long family's ancestral home was in Jinan, where their influence was deeply entrenched. Long Chengbi didn't care about them, but the Long family members did.

Of course, when Long Chengbi gets married and is qualified to establish his own household, he will definitely target these bandit strongholds and use notorious thieves to punish the bandits.

Li Zhaoting charged bravely ahead.

Liu Dufeng remained calm and collected in the rear.

After Li Zhaoting conquered a mountain stronghold, Liu Dufeng arranged for several martial arts families to occupy it. These families were vetted and could be trusted for the time being.

The bandits aren't fools.

They quickly gathered together.

All conflicts of interest are temporarily put on hold.

Let's defeat Li Zhaoting first, then we can talk about other things.

Given Li Zhaoting's bloodthirstiness, he would never stop until he had beheaded all the bandit leaders and burned down all the bandit strongholds. This was a zero-sum game.

Either kill Li Zhaoting.

Either he'll be killed by Li Zhaoting.

Or try bribing Li Shengnan; she's the only one who might be able to persuade Li Zhaoting.

No one else will do!
Even Chu Liuxiang wasn't qualified to speak.

……

Daming Lake.

Chu Liuxiang and Wuhua were boating on the lake.

Wu Hua stir-fried two plates of vegetarian dishes, and Chu Liuxiang brought a pot of vegetarian wine. They looked at each other quietly, speechless.

"Chu Liuxiang, let's play a game! We'll ask each other questions, exchange questions, and no one is allowed to lie, until all doubts are resolved."

"Great idea, I'll start."

"I think you should let me have my way this time."

"We can't let this happen."

"Humph!"

"I saved your life."

That's a bit too presumptuous.

"According to the original plan, Li Zhaoting should be boating on the lake today. If you are confident that you can escape from Li Zhaoting's sword, I can let you speak first."

"Li Zhaoting is nothing to be afraid of!"

"He's just invincible!"

(End of this chapter)