Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 419 The leader of the Demonic Cult was assassinated?
"When you get to Kanto, you can skip everything else, but you absolutely must come to the morning market, otherwise it's like you've wasted your trip!"

In the frigid Northeast, every morning is a fierce battle to get out of the warm bed; it's a battle of will and spirit, requiring some kind of "sustenance."

What got Li Zhaoting out of bed, besides his early-to-bed, early-to-rise biological clock, was the morning market.

The smell of the hot, warm, and fragrant aroma completely dispelled any resentment I felt when I got out of bed. After eating a bowl of mutton soup, two blood sausages, and three vegetable buns, I rubbed my stomach comfortably.

In terms of taste, these street stalls certainly can't compare to luxury restaurants, but what you get at the morning market is the atmosphere, the lively atmosphere, and the bustling feeling of life.

Gongsun Lan looked at Li Zhaoting with envy.

As a "dancer," Gongsun Lan is basically cut off from gourmet food, and dares not eat high-oil and high-salt foods. Every time she indulges in a big meal, she needs to do high-intensity exercise.

Even for a powerful princess of a demonic sect, maintaining the perfect figure of a dancer is not easy.

Martial arts is not a panacea.

Losing weight has always been painful.

Fortunately, at the Guandong morning market, there was one food that could satisfy Gongsun Lan's needs: vegetable buns. The skin was made of cornmeal, and the filling was dried cabbage, soybeans, or sometimes wild vegetables. Occasionally, dried shrimp would be added to enhance the flavor.

Li Zhaoting picked up a slice of blood sausage and said with a smile, "My favorite dishes in the Northeast China cuisine, besides sauerkraut with pork belly and braised goose in an iron pot, are this pan-fried blood sausage."

Blood sausage is a byproduct of slaughtering livestock!
When slaughtering a pig, the pig's blood is placed in a basin and stirred to prevent it from coagulating. Then, it is mixed with minced pork, chopped onions, salt, minced garlic, pepper, and other seasonings before being stuffed into sausages. Finally, the sausages are boiled or steamed.

Generally speaking, when making dishes like "pig stew" or "pigs with sauerkraut and pork belly," you can add blood sausage for seasoning. Li Zhaoting likes to cut the blood sausage into five-millimeter-thick slices and fry them.

Gongsun Lan retorted, "Tianji Pavilion is right. If we want to deal with you, we need to start with small things."

Li Zhaoting waved his hand: "No, no! Wasting food is a shameful act, and poisoning food is the lowest of methods. A master would not do such a thing."

"Poisoning is one of the standard techniques for sneak attacks, assassinations, and stabbings. Assassinations are all about surprise. You might think that an assassin wouldn't do it, but they will."

"Which assassin dares to come and kill me?"

"Of course it's me!"

“You have a weapon stronger than poison. To die under the peony is to die a romantic death. To be able to appreciate the legendary Rainbow Feather Robe and Gongsun Sword Dance, even if I were to become a god or a ghost, I would have no regrets.”

"Master's words are more powerful than his swordsmanship!"

"If you're not good at it, how can you fool a girl?"

"Does the master admit it was 'deception'?"

"If it's not deception, is it coercion?"

"If it's not coercion, is it true love? The master has locked me up by his side and is threatening me with a sword. If I don't obey the master, the saintess will sell me out!"

"Selling out Lingnan is like going home!"

Lingnan: Are you kidding me?! Do you think I'm a recycling center?! Don't send just anyone to Lingnan!

"Why is the master staying at home with his beautiful wives and concubines instead of going home to be with his sisters? Is he going to stay in the Northeast to freeze? The weather in the Northeast is too cold. At this time of year, the South is full of flowers and birds flying around, but the Northeast is still covered in ice and snow."

"That's why it became a place of exile!"

From a later perspective, being exiled to Ningguta and Lingnan was like a free trip, a chance to win at least a first prize in a shopping mall lottery, and every place was a must-see attraction.

In this era, one is freezing cold and the other is plagued by miasma; less than 20% survived.

Not only did he not die, but he also became a gourmet, writing poetry for his own amusement every day. Perhaps only a certain great writer would ask a friend to go out for a stroll in the middle of the night while waiting for his younger brother to bail him out.

Since we're already here, we should definitely take a few strolls around.

Gongsun Lan would naturally not refuse, and only hoped to win over Li Zhaoting as soon as possible, become the number one among the four princesses, and then stage a grand drama in the family when the Holy Maiden enters the house.

After strolling around the morning market a few times, Li Zhaoting only regretted not having Tang Zhuquan's big belly. With so many delicious foods, it would take at least four or five days to try them all.

"Huh? This shop is..."

Li Zhaoting looked at the silk shop next to the street.

Xu's Silk Shop.

The shopkeeper's appearance was somewhat similar to Bai Zhantang's. He was always smiling and had the demeanor of a waiter. He seemed very amiable, but upon closer observation, one could see that he was always glancing around out of the corner of his eye, occasionally revealing a sharp edge.

Li Zhaoting led Gongsun Lan into the silk shop.

The gentle and refined proprietress greeted them warmly: "Please come in, both of you. This lady is so beautiful! We have a new batch of fabric that will make very nice clothes. Let me show you inside."

Li Zhaoting slightly cupped his hands, raised his left hand, and used his right hand as a shield to make a gesture.

The shop owner's pupils contracted slightly, but his face remained smiling: "This gentleman is truly generous. Let's go inside and discuss business. Waiter, prepare a private room!"

The proprietress and Gongsun Lan were selecting silk fabrics.

Li Zhaoting and the shop owner went to a private room to discuss business.

Even if both the Imperial Guard and the Imperial City Guard were keeping watch, they wouldn't be able to tell that there was anything wrong with this silk shop, because the shop was owned by the Imperial City Guard, and the sign recording the daily arrivals of new goods had a poem by Li Nanxing written on it.

—Staggering, I tread the heavy heavens, my drunken eyes gazing at the thick moonlight!

What appears to be a business recruiting martial arts heroes is actually a plea for help, requesting Li Zhaoting to come and assist him as soon as possible.

Only Li Zhaoting knew the last two lines of the poem.

The secret code can be found by reciting the poem.

"Where the long howl echoes from the misty rain-shrouded tower!"

"A lone wild goose disappears into the clouds!"

"A sword draws across the Yellow River, amidst a thousand layers of snow!"

"Sleeves billow, a ten-thousand-mile wind sweeps across Kunlun!"

"With eyes that survey the mountains and rivers for 30,000 miles!"

"Where in the martial world can one not leave a trace?"

"This subordinate greets the young commander!"

"You're one of my father's old subordinates?"

"Twenty years ago, on the Song-Liao battlefield, I served as a clerk under the military advisor. After the defeat, I was lucky enough to survive and later joined the Imperial City Guard, where I was sent to Guandong as a secret agent."

My surname is Xu, and my code name is Waiter!

"Waiter? What do you need me for?"

"There are two things I need to contact the young marshal about. First, the Manchu Qing Dynasty is about to hold the Guandong Martial Arts Conference to compete for a Guandong Martial Arts Alliance Leader certified by the imperial court. Second, news has come from the Western Regions that Yu Luosha has encountered some accidents."

"Tell me more about it."

"Let's start with the Guandong Martial Arts Tournament!"
Ever since the Aisin Gioro clan replaced the Jin dynasty with the Qing, the Wanyan clan has always harbored the desire to restore the country. However, the people's hearts were not united, those with brains were poor in martial arts, and those with high martial arts skills were fools.

After years of struggle, not only did they achieve nothing, but the Manchus used this as bait to lure them into a trap.

In recent years, the Wanyan clan has experienced a resurgence, producing talents such as Wanyan Honglie, Wanyan Changzhi, Jin Chenying, and Jin Muxia. The young marshal killed Wanyan Jue, and Wanyan Honglie was no longer hindered, achieving considerable success in the Qing Dynasty.

Emperor Qianlong decided to lure the snakes out of their hole and capture them all in one fell swoop.

The Guandong Martial Arts Conference, ostensibly a contest to determine the leader of the martial arts world, was in reality a debate to officially recognize the "birthplace" of the Wanyan and Aisin Gioro clans as belonging to the Manchu Qing dynasty, thus eliminating the Wanyan clan from the competition.

As you know, the Wanyan clan's influence in the court has long been wiped out, leaving only some influence in the martial arts world.

If the Wanyan clan dares not come, their martial spirit will be completely severed, and they will be unable to stand up straight. Even if Wanyan Honglie has a thousand kinds of wisdom, he will be unable to cook without rice.

If the Wanyan clan comes to cause trouble, Fukang'an will lead the Eight Banners cavalry to surround and kill them, piercing them with countless arrows.

The strategist's idea was to have the young marshal participate in the martial arts tournament as a member of the Western Regions Demonic Sect, to kill and injure the Qing Dynasty's imperial guards, and thus balance the power between the two sides in the martial arts world.

"Young Marshal, would you like to participate?"

The waiter looked at Li Zhaoting cautiously.

He had long heard that his young commander possessed unparalleled martial arts skills, an aura that was both divine and demonic, and a ferocious presence like the Tai Sui of the Jiazi year, leaving rivers of blood wherever he went.

If it weren't for the fact that he was Li Nanxing's old subordinate as a shield, the waiter would have been so frightened that he would have pretended to be blind.

Imperial orders cannot be disobeyed.

But I can be blind and deaf!
Li Zhaoting said, "Prepare the files on the top experts of the Qing Dynasty's imperial guards. I'm going to take a look at this... Guandong Martial Arts Tournament and test the mettle of the Guandong martial artists!"

The waiter smiled and said, "Let me tell you something else."

Some time ago, Yu Luosha, the leader of the Western Regions Demonic Sect, suddenly announced that she would go into seclusion. There are three versions of the story.

First, Yu Luosha had a sudden enlightenment and grasped the true meaning of the Myriad Demons Without Limits. She wanted to take advantage of this martial arts enlightenment to break through her own limits in one fell swoop and find an opportunity to shatter the void. Once she completed her seclusion, she could open the gate to heaven and earth!

Secondly, Yu Luosha was ambushed. It is said that the Western Regions Demonic Sect has a kind of extremely powerful poison that can threaten even the most powerful Grandmasters in martial arts. Yu Luosha was poisoned and had to go into seclusion to recuperate in order to avoid being taken advantage of.

Thirdly, the two situations combined: during Yu Luosha's seclusion, her defenses against the outside world were reduced to the minimum, and the traitor took the opportunity to poison her, causing Yu Luosha to suffer a qi deviation, greatly diminishing her power and losing her world-destroying martial arts!
Before Yu Luosha went into seclusion, she declared that whoever obtained the ancestral Rakshasa Token would become the leader of the Demonic Sect. The Rakshasa Token is the Demonic Sect's most precious heirloom, with the seventy-two Heavenly Demons and thirty-six Earthly Fiends engraved on the front and a Sanskrit scripture with over three hundred characters on the back.

According to intelligence from the Western Regions branch, the Rakshasa Token is in the hands of Yu Tianbao, the son of Yu Rakshasa. Yu Tianbao is an idle and good-for-nothing playboy who spends his days indulging in pleasure, indulging in wine, women, wealth, and power—a complete good-for-nothing.

While Yu Luosha was in seclusion, Yu Tianbao took his guards out for a trip. He lost all his money at the Silver Hook Gambling House. His gambling addiction was so strong that he even pawned the Luosha token!
That would have been fine!

At worst, they could have the Western Regions Demonic Cult redeem the Rakshasa Token, or forcibly take it back. But unexpectedly, Yu Tianbao was assassinated, and Li Xia, the owner of the Silver Hook Gambling House, secretly stole the Rakshasa Token, driving all the demons of the Demonic Cult into madness.

These people searched for Li Xia like madmen.

Including... the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Cult!
My subordinates accidentally obtained some clues that Li Xia was originally from Guandong and had fled there with a Rakshasa talisman.

Knowing she was incapable of subduing the demons, Li Xia only wanted to make a fortune. She spread rumors on the black market that she wanted to auction off the Rakshasa talisman, seeking only wealth, not power.

Young Marshal, news has come from the Central Plains branch that the three great protectors of the Demonic Sect have asked Lu Xiaofeng to investigate this matter, and someone else has asked Chu Liuxiang to investigate the case. The Holy Maiden has already rushed to Guandong.

Do you want to go...?

The waiter's voice grew softer and softer.

Li Zhaoting said with a wry smile, "Waiter, would you believe me if I said I didn't want to go? I definitely have to go and see!"

Give me the case file, and I'll record your contribution.

Once this matter is settled, you can return to the capital if you wish, become a wealthy man if you wish, or be promoted if you wish.

I have some influence with the Empress Dowager, so you can make any requests you have now!
This is your reward!

Li Zhaoting took out Liu E's token, then took out the letter from the waiter and pressed it down hard.

This is an imperial edict bearing only the seal of the emperor.

Fill in whatever you want.

Just don't go too far.

The waiter accepted the gift with profuse thanks: "Your subordinate was already prepared. Young Marshal is the most loyal and righteous man. The matter of the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect is your own matter!"

"As expected of a waiter, with that mouth of yours, it's a waste that you're not a waiter! You shouldn't be selling silk, you should be running a restaurant, that mouth of yours is worth two names!"

Most restaurants in the Kanto region have signs hanging up.

One front was a meat shop or a hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

The two stalls each had two or three signature stir-fried dishes.

The three pretexts suggest that there is a head chef.

The four pretexts indicate that they can do it all over the country.

Because people from the Northeast often pronounce "three" as "three," "three signs" sounds like "lying" in the Northeast dialect. Lying is the most taboo thing in business, so people generally don't hang three signs.

This makes the signboard unclear.

It's equivalent to Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core. I thought the next stages would be Nascent Soul, Spirit Refining, Void Reversal, and Body Integration, but it turns out I'm going straight to Mahayana, Ascension, and Heavenly Tribulation!

……

"Master, why do you look so troubled?"

I'm worried about you.

"Could it be that my enemy has arrived? My lord, you won't just stand by and watch me be beaten to death by them, will you?"

"Shengnan is here."

"what?"

Gongsun Lan instinctively wanted to hide under the bed, but then she remembered her identity and said coquettishly, "When the Holy Maiden entered the family, I was part of the dowry. According to the rules, I should have served the master before the wedding."

Very good, Meizhu thinks so too.

Gongsun Lanqi said, "Master, the Holy Maiden is jealous of your wife, not me. She couldn't possibly be here to catch you in the act. Could it be that the sect leader has sent a mission?"

Li Zhaoting nodded: "He was assassinated!"

"Who...who was assassinated?"

"Your sect leader, Jade Rakshasa, was ambushed by a traitor while in seclusion. I remember that the Demonic Sect's warehouse contained a deadly poison that could harm even a Grandmaster. The traitor stole the poison and used it to severely injure Jade Rakshasa!"

"No...no...that can't be!"

Gongsun Lan stammered in shock!

The Demonic Cult does indeed possess a potent poison capable of affecting even the most powerful and unparalleled grandmasters in the martial arts world.

The reason he kept this deadly poison that could damage Jade Rakshasa was not because he was greedy for treasures, but as a deterrent. If someone wanted to destroy the Demonic Sect, and several experts of the same level rushed at him, Jade Rakshasa could use the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and this deadly poison to drag the enemy down to hell and perish together with the powerful foe.

In other words, to kill Yu Luosha, at least three masters of the same level would be needed. Two of them would perish together with Yu Luosha, and the remaining one would lose all his martial arts skills and have his lifespan severely reduced, at most living for two or three months.

This rumor has been circulating for decades.

Some say it was fabricated by Jade Rakshasa.

Some people believe that everything has a cause and a source.

Regardless of the truth, most people take rumors as fact, and Tianji Pavilion is no exception.

Unexpectedly, the Western Regions Demonic Sect's strongest trump card, a weapon meant to intimidate enemies and destroy everything in its path, was used on Jade Rakshasa, causing fatal damage to the Demonic Sect.

Gongsun Lan quickly realized: "If the leader was assassinated, given the Holy Maiden's personality, she would never willingly assist that good-for-nothing Yu Tianbao. She would definitely try every means to seize the leader's throne. Why did she come to Guandong?"

Li Zhaoting sighed, "Because Yu Tianbao lost all his money at the casino and pawned the Rakshasa Token, the casino owner took the opportunity to steal the Rakshasa Token and fled to Guandong. Whoever controls the Rakshasa Token can become the leader of the Demonic Sect!"

Gongsun Lan said resentfully, "What a nuisance!"

Let alone a mere plaque, even if you had the Imperial Seal of the State, without overwhelming power, others would only come to fight for it, not obediently kneel down and obey orders.

The situation of the Demonic Sect just happened to be bugged!

Jade Rakshasa is in seclusion, and all those who want to vie for the position of leader must follow her "last will".

Some people want to use the Rakshasa brand to become the orthodox one.

Someone wanted to win over the high-ranking officials in the Demonic Sect.

The best option would be to obtain the Rakshasa amulet while also gaining popular support, which is practically impossible.

Those capable of vying for the position of sect leader could only choose one of two options: some came to Guandong to seize the Rakshasa Token, while others stayed in the Demonic Sect. Li Shengnan chose to come to Guandong.

Because Li Zhaoting was in Guandong.

Li Shengnan has unparalleled advantages.

The Guandong Martial Arts Conference marks the change of leadership of the Demonic Cult.

In just a few days, turmoil has swept across the martial arts world.

Lu Xiaofeng, Chu Liuxiang, and other troublemakers, along with spies from various factions, all rushed to Guandong.

In the original history, the Guandong region was definitely a no-go zone for spies, requiring them to shave their heads in a shaved head style. However, in today's world of martial arts, in order to attract talents from all over the country, the Qing Dynasty did not forcefully require people to shave their heads and change their clothes. Instead, they used the shaved head style as a reward. Only those who made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty and had special talents could shave their heads!
In other words, normal people do not need to shave their heads.

Only the Manchu Eight Banners and bondservants would keep their shiny, money-rat tails, making it easy to tell who the enemy and who the ally were at a glance.

Of course, some of the more successful undercover agents gained the trust of the Qing Dynasty, and they were also corrupt officials.

There are also some rather unusual street thugs who braid their hair with wire, making the ends stick up, making them look like they're not to be messed with, just like Niu Er.

The Qing Dynasty was harsh and cold, but it also had some advantages.

On one hand, there were the secret techniques stolen from the Sticky Rod Office, and on the other hand, there were all kinds of rare and precious materials, such as ginseng, lingzhi and deer antlers, and hundreds of old ginsengs. With these, they could attract a huge number of martial arts practitioners. However, due to the influence of the Wanyan clan, the Qing Dynasty strictly controlled the martial arts world. There were more masters in the imperial palace, and the martial arts sects did not flourish.

Not to mention prestigious sects like Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, and Tangmen, there aren't many sects even at the level of Songshan, Hengshan, and Mangshan. Underworld gangs like the Money Gang and the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion are even less likely.

The most prominent martial arts factions during the Qing Dynasty were religious sects.

It mainly consists of Tantric Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and the Demonic School.

The Imperial City Guard established a power within the Qing Dynasty, modeled after the Heaven and Earth Society during the Kangxi era, and recruited a group of second- and third-rate martial arts practitioners to form the Red Flower Society.

The shop assistant had prepared quite a complete set of materials.

Li Zhaoting and Gongsun Lan flipped through the pages one by one.

Soon, Li Zhaoting saw the last page, which listed the host of this Guandong Martial Arts Conference. This person was a member of the Aisin Gioro royal family, a dissolute man, the chief of the imperial guards, and had given himself a Han name.

His Chinese name is Cao Xiong!
"Sigh~~"

Li Zhaoting gasped.

(End of this chapter)