Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 245 Li Zhaoting: A Golden Brand, His Record is Verifiable!
Bounty Notice.

Name: Duan Yu;
Crime: Murder;
Reward: 5,000 taels;
Below is a portrait of Duan Yu.

This is not a bounty issued by the government, but a bounty issued by Tieshui. Tieshui has opened the door wide for him, and his disciples number over two thousand, amassing a huge fortune.

Many things don't require Tieshui to do personally; he can easily achieve his goal by simply posting bounty notices all over the streets and alleys. Tieshui enjoys this feeling.

Hua Huafeng looked at Duan Yu with schadenfreude.

"Young Master Duan, whose love is on the rise, you probably won't have a chance to marry the Zhu family's daughter. At this time, all the hooligans, idlers, beggars and thieves in Suzhou should have seen this bounty poster. Five thousand taels of silver is no small sum, and many people want to earn the reward."

"It seems I'm now completely stuck."

Duan Yu took a sip of soy milk, his face full of bitterness.

Li Zhaoting patted him on the shoulder: "You're thinking too optimistically about the situation. As the saying goes, 'When a thousand people point fingers, slander can destroy a person; three men can make a tiger; and many mouths can melt metal.'"

Even if thousands of people accuse you of murder, so what if you're innocent? How many people will believe you? Who will bother to verify your innocence?
Even if you manage to escape unscathed, as the rumors spread, you will go from being a suspect to a criminal, and at that point, no one can save you.

Think about it: if you are a murderer, it is perfectly reasonable for the victim's family to seek revenge on you. If you are killed on the street, it could be for revenge, to punish evildoers, or to earn a bounty.

No matter how you die, you will be the murderer. You will be definitively judged as the murderer of Lu Xiaoyun. Your reputation, your father's reputation, and your family's reputation will all be completely ruined by the rumors circulating in the underworld.

To live is to eke out a living.

Once you're dead, you can never clear your name again.

Living is not an option, nor is dying.

You can't live, you can't die.

This is the real strategy of winning hearts and minds.

Brother Duan, you're in for some trouble this time!

Li Zhaoting casually whistled and pointed at the people on the street through the inn window: "Do you know how many of these people are trying to earn the bounty?"

Duan Yu smiled wryly: "Brother Li, I remember you were known as a fortune teller in plain clothes, with an uncanny ability to predict the future. If I am tricked to death by the Azure Dragon Society, did you miscalculate the Red Phoenix Star?"

Li Zhaoting stretched and took out a signboard from his bag: "Look! Take a look at my signboard!"

Hua Huafeng was one step ahead of Duan Yu.

She was very curious about Li Zhaoting.

People in the martial arts world have a very mixed opinion of Li Zhaoting. Those who like him praise him to the skies, while those who dislike him curse him to the depths of hell, creating a great deal of controversy.

Some say Li Zhaoting is a great hero, whose Purple Soft Sword is used to slay treacherous villains. Demons, monsters, and evil spirits either run away or die when they see Li Zhaoting!

Some say that Li Zhaoting is the reincarnation of the Jiazi Tai Sui, exuding a menacing aura that brings death wherever he goes, leaving behind mountains of corpses and rivers of blood!
Some say Li Zhaoting is the head of the Green Dragon Society!
Some say Li Zhaoting is the supreme demon star of the demonic sect!
Some say that Li Zhaoting is a womanizer and can't sleep unless he has two women to serve him every night!

Some say that Li Zhaoting is from an ancient secret clan, proficient in the methods of cultivating qi and immortality. He came to the martial world to experience tribulations in the mortal world, and he will surely ascend to heaven in the future!

Good words and bad words have all been said by others.

Li Zhaoting couldn't silence everyone.

However, whether you love him or hate him, there are four things that cannot be denied: handsome appearance, superb swordsmanship, death wherever he goes, and becoming the center of attention wherever he goes!
Hua Huafeng was naturally interested in such a person whose evaluations differed so greatly. Currently, two things could be verified: he was indeed very handsome, and his aura of menace was indeed very strong.

What is Li Zhaoting's trademark?
Nine out of ten divinations are inaccurate!

Upon seeing the words on the signboard, Hua Huafeng was initially gloating, indicating that Duan Yu's lucky star had disappeared. However, she was immediately filled with worry. Li Zhaoting's divinations were inaccurate nine times out of ten, so did this mean that Duan Yu was really in a life-or-death crisis?
Duan Yu and Miss Zhu's love star is gone, which Hua Hua Feng is happy about. Duan Yu's life is gone, and Hua Hua Feng is extremely unwilling and anxious. On the contrary, Duan Yu is relatively calm and discusses probability issues with a smile.

"Li...Master Li..."

Hua Huafeng hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Speak directly if you have anything to say."

Do you believe Duan Yu?

"I believe!"

Why do you believe Duan Yu?

People always have a bit of a "cheapskate" streak.

You feel resentful when others don't trust you.

Even when others completely trust you, you harbor doubts.

However, on the other hand, Hua Huafeng's worries were not without reason. What kind of person was Li Zhaoting? He had slaughtered so many in the martial arts world that rivers of blood flowed, and even demons and monsters trembled at his name.

How could such a seasoned veteran trust a simple-minded, foolish young man so easily?
This is completely contrary to the logic of the martial arts world.

Duan Yu patted his chest and said, "If a person has never lied, his words can serve as evidence."

Hua Huafeng remained silent.

In this verbal sparring match, Duan Yu came out on top.

Li Zhaoting pursed his lips: "Don't misunderstand! I'm very willing to believe what Brother Duan said, but solving cases isn't about trust, it's about evidence. I believe you didn't kill that Lu Xiaoyun, because Lu Xiaoyun isn't dead!"

Duan Yu: (⊙﹏⊙)
Hua Hua Feng: (;Дi|!)
What about fooling fools?
Framing, plotting, expert pursuit, and a wanted poster—all attempts were made to label Duan Yu a murderer. But now, Li Zhaoting tells Duan Yu that Lu Xiaoyun is still alive!

How could Duan Yu accept this?

Is the Azure Dragon Society really this sloppy?

They framed him, yet they didn't even prepare a body?

Even a fool wouldn't be fooled like this!

Hua Huafeng said, "Where is Lu Xiaoyun? Is he a member of the Azure Dragon Society? Is he trying to use this opportunity to frame Duan Yu as a murderer and gain an advantage in the competition for Miss Zhu? What a cunning scheme!"

Li Zhaoting waved his hand: "Miss, you misunderstand. I believe Lu Xiaoyun has absolutely no such intention. He definitely does not want to frame Brother Duan. To put it bluntly, Lu Xiaoyun does not really want to marry Miss Zhu."

"Why? The Zhu family is incredibly wealthy, and Miss Zhu is stunningly beautiful, well-educated, and a first-rate martial artist. Isn't she a good match for Lu Xiaoyun?"

A flash of anger crossed Hua Hua's phoenix eyes. Li Zhaoting smiled and said, "Whether Miss Zhu is a good match or not has nothing to do with whether you like her or not."

If Lu Xiaoyun finds a woman he likes more during the marriage proposal process, but cannot refuse his family elders, Lu Xiaoyun will definitely hope that Duan Laodi will be the one to win.

Most importantly, when the incident occurred, Lu Xiaoyun was seriously injured and poisoned, and had no ability to move. She was stuffed into a box and sunk into the lake to wait for death. How could she have the energy to frame Brother Duan?

Brother Duan is very lucky.

The person inside the box is Lu Xiaoyun.

I know what you want to ask: If the Green Dragon Society wants to kill Lu Xiaoyun and frame Brother Duan, why not just kill Lu Xiaoyun directly instead of going through all this trouble?

Of course, it's because of... jealousy!
Drowning is a unique form of punishment.

Specifically targeted at a particular group of people.

You've probably heard of it, right?

Li Zhaoting turned and left the room.

Duan Yu and Hua Huafeng looked at each other in bewilderment.

Who will be drowned?

—Adulterous couple!
—That's not a box, it's a pig cage!

—The other party deeply hated Lu Xiaoyun and felt that killing her with one blow was not enough. He wanted to drown Lu Xiaoyun in a pig cage, and he deliberately left Lu Jiuye time to rescue her.

If, while on the pleasure boat, Master Lu Jiu sees the fake Lu Xiaoyun's corpse and becomes enraged, then he and Tieshui surround and kill Duan Yu. Duan Yu will have no chance to escape, nor will he be able to find the wooden box at the bottom of the lake. Once the air in the wooden box is completely exhausted, Lu Xiaoyun will suffocate and drown. Then, the other party will find an opportunity to tell Master Lu Jiu the truth.

Master Lu felt guilty for killing the wrong person, and then he thought about his own son drowning right under his nose. He couldn't catch his breath and thought he was probably going to report to the underworld.

The Lu and Duan families became sworn enemies from that point on.

What a vicious scheme!

What a treacherous and vicious revenge!

Why does the other party hate Lu Xiaoyun so much?
Duan Yu and Hua Huafeng guessed it in a second.

Because the woman Lu Xiaoyun seduced was actually a married woman, and the man who made the move loved his wife deeply, he would not have targeted her; instead, he would have sought revenge on Lu Xiaoyun.

This is a very complete story chain.

Hua Huafeng quickly sorted out her thoughts.

Duan Yu asked curiously, "I don't understand, if you're choosing a scapegoat, why choose me?"

Hua Hua Feng playfully retorted, "You're handsome!"

Duan Yu shook his head firmly.

"That's absolutely not the reason."

"Because you're an idiot! A stupid, dumb, and blockheaded idiot! You really don't understand anything?"

"Miss Feng, what did you just say?"

"I called you an idiot, and you disagree? What are you if not an idiot? You're even dumber than an idiot!"

"I understand! I understand!"

Duan Yu connected all the clues, and his mind suddenly cleared: "They framed me, wanting me to take the blame for everything because I'm an idiot!"

Duan Yu danced with excitement.

Hua Huafeng: How did a perfectly healthy person go crazy?

……

Gu Daoren Restaurant.

Master Lu, Lu Xiaoyun, Duan Yu, Gu Daoren, Hua Huafeng, the proprietress, and Tieshui sat together, facing off and explaining what had happened in the past two days.

The story begins with the marriage proposal at Baozhu Manor!

Zhu Zhu, the eldest daughter of Baozhu Manor, has reached the age for marriage. Master Zhu the Second invites several young talents to Baozhu Manor for a martial arts contest to find a husband.

Duan Yu and Lu Xiaoyun were both invited.

On his way to Baozhu Manor, Lu Xiaoyun met the female thief Hua Yelai and fell in love at first sight. Their relationship blossomed into passionate love. Lu Xiaoyun was unaware that Hua Yelai was not a lone thief; she had a husband, and both she and her husband were leaders of the Azure Dragon Branch, responsible for intelligence gathering.

Hua Yelai and Lu Xiaoyun got together, which made Hua Yelai's husband jealous. He wanted to kill Lu Xiaoyun, but the Qinglong Society always used others' strength against them. No matter what they did, they liked to add fuel to the fire. They could have just killed her, but they chose to stir up trouble.

Hua Yelai's husband ambushed Lu Xiaoyun, hid him in a wooden box, and used the "pig cage" method to sink Lu Xiaoyun to the bottom of the lake, leaving him to die with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

At the same time, Hua Yelai set her sights on the naive and clueless Duan Yu, who came from a wealthy family and had the backing of a powerful clan. Duan Yu had no experience in the martial arts world, but was sincere and kind in his dealings with others, making him the perfect target for framing someone.

Young people just starting out in their careers are bound to dream of being heroes and rescuing damsels in distress. Hua Yelai deliberately creates opportunities for Duan Yu to play the hero and rescue the damsel in distress, but also deliberately reveals flaws to make Duan Yu mistakenly believe that Hua Yelai is trying to set him up. Duan Yu steals Hua Yelai's money bag, but Hua Yelai turns the tables on him.

By the time Duan Yu realized something was wrong, all of Lu Xiaoyun's belongings were in his hands. His jade knife was taken by Hua Yelai, who killed someone who looked similar to Lu Xiaoyun. Dead people often have grotesque faces, and it is difficult to verify their identity in such a sudden situation.

If the plan succeeds, Duan Yu will go from being a rich young master to a murderer, Lu Xiaoyun will drown, and the Duan and Lu families will become sworn enemies until one of them is completely wiped out.

Hua Yelai never expected that Duan Yu's sincerity would earn him Lu Jiuye's trust. Lu Jiuye believed that Duan Yu was not a murderer and did not harm him. Even more unexpectedly, Duan Yu found Lu Xiaoyun in a wooden box at the bottom of the lake and chose to treat and save her despite being wanted by Tieshui.

With Lu Xiaoyun's "resurrection," Hua Yelai's tricks were exposed, and Duan Yu successfully cleared his name.

"That's well said, but I'd like to know where Hua Yelai is? And who is the leader of the Azure Dragon Clan?"

Iron Water's face twitched slightly.

Master Lu coughed twice.

Duan Yu held up one finger: "There is only one woman with a husband here, and that is the boss's wife, Hua Yelai, who is also the leader of the Azure Dragon Sect!"

(End of this chapter)