Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the night was deep.

Due to the chaos during the spirit writing, the entire Liu family was in a state of panic. Except for Madam Liu, who was keeping vigil, everyone closed the doors and windows and spread out the "quilt barrier".

Suddenly, a roar echoed from within the Liu residence. It was clearly a human shout, but to the ears it sounded like the roar of a demon king, with the gleaming blade illuminating the night sky.

A strange man wearing the mask of the King of Xiling was hacking and slashing wildly inside the Liu mansion. The steward, Liu Liao, was chased by the masked man and ran out of the mansion in a flash.

Many experts had been sleeping, and even the deep-thinking Pang Tong had already gone to bed to rest.

By the time everyone had dressed and rushed out of the room, the masked man had already roared and run to the cliff behind the mountain, where he jumped off in front of everyone.

Under the watchful eyes of the public, there's no room for pretense.

Still shaken, Liu Liao ordered his servants to search for the body at the foot of the mountain. Li Zhaoting and Pang Tong exchanged a glance; Pang Tong frowned, while Li Zhaoting pretended not to know.

At daybreak, the servants found the body.

The deceased was a wealthy businessman named Qian Bing.

Military general Gao Jia, governor Liu Yi, wealthy merchant Qian Bing, and salt commissioner Ding Han were sworn brothers in their early years. They were local tyrants who colluded and acted with impunity.

The word "overlord" is insufficient to describe the status of the four men in Xianyang County. They controlled salt, iron, silk, and taxes; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them kings.

According to the standard of "vassal states":

Governor Liu Yi is the king who controls everything.

General Gao Jia is a Grand Marshal whose military strength is at its peak.

Ding Han, the Salt Commissioner, was a powerful prime minister.

The wealthy merchant Qian Bing was the purse strings for the three men. He was not the Minister of Revenue, but a "royal merchant." He controlled 80% of the local shops, and had a stake in the rest.

Compared to super-rich individuals like Huo Xiu, Wan Sanqian, Hua Ruling, and Yan Tieshan, Qian Bing's reputation is not as prominent, but his accumulated wealth is immeasurable.

He controlled the business of all daily necessities in a city, including salt, iron, wine, and silk; contracted the two largest mines in the area; and also operated three arsenals.

The weapons and armor of the local garrison were all supplied by Qian Bing's arsenal. Qian Bing colluded with Gao Jia, selling an ordinary spear for hundreds of times the price.

Compared to the other four, Murong Bo and Li Chenzhou were only good at martial arts; otherwise, they were useless.

However, the situation changed too drastically.

In just three days, first Liu Yi, the core figure of the four brothers, died by self-immolation, then Qian Bing, the money bag, went mad, fell off a cliff, and was smashed into a lump of flesh.

Qian was wearing a mask when he fell off the cliff; his body was mangled and bloody, but his face was preserved.

The body was indeed Qian Bing.

It's not a trick of "faking death to escape".

According to Madam Liu, the mask of the King of Xiling was always enshrined in the mourning hall. In the middle of the night, Madam Liu was hit on the head with a club and collapsed in a daze.

It was Qian Bing who attacked Madam Liu.

Qian then ambushed Madam Liu, stole her mask, and put it on his own face. He was then possessed by "Zhang Ben," turned into a madman, and went on a rampage, killing indiscriminately before jumping off a cliff to commit suicide.

The whole process was absolutely perfect.

This reasoning is meticulous and flawless.

Li Zhaoting completely agreed with this reasoning.

Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce exchanged bewildered glances, thinking to themselves, "Are you Li Zhaoting? Have you lost your mind? What kind of idiot would believe such nonsense?"
The two had just exchanged a message with their eyes when Tang Bohu laughed and said, "I agree with that! Everywhere I go with Lao Bao, there are murder cases!"

Upon arriving in Xianyang, we finally witnessed the case of the ghosts and gods!

Ghosts and spirits are good!

Please ask an old Taoist priest from the Quanzhen School to exorcise the ghost!
I will draw a picture of a real person in Changchun catching a ghost.

Li Tanhua, what do you think?

Li Xunhuan laughed and said, "Nine times out of ten, matters concerning ghosts and gods are just suspicions that breed ghosts, or people pretending to be gods and ghosts. On the surface, they are ghosts and demons, but in reality, they are people with unpredictable hearts."

However, last night, Madam Cheng retrieved historical materials from Cihang Jingzhai, proving that during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there was indeed an ancient tribe deep in the Zhongnan Mountains.

This tribe called itself 'Xiling'. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, its chieftain was named Zhang Ben, who mainly dealt in medicinal herbs. Cheng Zhijie once led 5,000 elite soldiers to conquer the Xiling tribe.

After half a month of fighting, the Xiling tribe was defeated, and the tribe's elders, fearing for their lives, surrendered to the Tang army.

Zhang Ben went from being the chieftain who protected his tribe to becoming a pledge of allegiance to the Xiling tribe's elders. Zhang Ben refused to surrender and fought the Tang army to the death, ultimately dying a gruesome death.

Cihang Jingzhai's records of the Xiling tribe are completely different from the legends. Zhang Ben's death was not due to his cruel character, but because the elders betrayed him shamelessly.

Before his death, Zhang Ben must have been shrouded in immense resentment. It's not impossible that this resentment seeped into his mask, transforming him into a vengeful ghost seeking to claim lives.

Zhan Zhao added, "That's easy! My master taught me the Rebirth Sutra, I'll recite the sutra to help Zhang Ben's soul find peace!"

Gongsun Ce's sword-like eyebrows shot up in anger.

Bao Zheng was so angry his face turned black!

Are you even speaking human language?

Tang Yin was somewhat eccentric, possessing the demeanor of a recluse from the Wei and Jin dynasties, so it was understandable that he spoke abnormally.

Li Xunhuan comes from a scholarly family, was a top scholar in the imperial examination, and was well-versed in Confucianism and Mencius from a young age. Doesn't this sound like a lie?

Zhan Zhao... was just stirring things up...

Zhan Zhao certainly didn't believe in ghosts and gods, but he found Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce's angry expressions more amusing than he had imagined, so he added insult to injury.

Li Zhaoting said, "The vote was four to two. This is a case of ghosts and gods killing people. Let's find an old Taoist priest to exorcise the ghost!"

Bao Zheng angrily said, "Impossible! What kind of wronged souls or vengeful ghosts are there in this world? Even if there were, they would have been entrenched since the early Tang Dynasty and would have long since vanished!"
Even if we take a step back and say that the wronged spirit has survived until now thanks to the mask of the King of Xiling, if it doesn't seek revenge sooner or later, the moment I arrive in Xianyang, the wronged spirit will immediately begin its revenge!

What's the point?
Am I the King of Hell?
Even if I were the King of Hell, wronged souls and vengeful ghosts would either hide or come to me to complain. Who would dare to commit a crime in front of the King of Hell?

Have you ever seen a ghost that dares to jump around and kill indiscriminately in front of the King of Hell? Isn't it afraid of mountains of knives and boiling oil?
This case makes no sense from the perspective of human reasoning, and it makes absolutely no sense from the perspective of the underworld. I will investigate it thoroughly.

We'll see if the murderer is a human or a ghost!

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Pang Tong clapped vigorously for Bao Zheng, praising him sincerely, "Good! Good! Good! What an incorruptible Bao Zheng! He is truly worthy of respect!"

Although Li Zhaoting is not thinking clearly, Tang Bohu is still asleep, Li Xunhuan is talking nonsense, and Zhan Zhao is a naughty child spouting nonsense, leaving you isolated and helpless.

However, I definitely support you.

I wholeheartedly support your investigation!

Zhan Zhao shouted, "Brother Bao! Don't fall for Pang Tong's trick! This guy has no good intentions. If you agree, he'll definitely say something..."

"...They said the 'juvenile detention' is for three days, meaning you have three days to solve this case, or you'll be severely punished."

Pang Tong chuckled: "Little Zhan Zhao! You think too highly of me! I'm not that kind-hearted. Three days is too much! I'll only give Bao Zheng two days!"

Zhan Zhao glared at Pang Tong: "You bastard, what are you acting like, acting like a senior? Just call me by my name, why do you have to add 'junior'? Am I younger than you?"

Zhan Zhao may be young, but he is actually quite senior in terms of family background.

Disciples of the "Jie" generation at Daxiangguo Temple are of the same generation as the abbots of Daxiangguo Temple and Shaolin Temple.

Pang Tong had a good impression of Zhan Zhao, and seeing Zhan Zhao's angry appearance, he wanted to tease him.

"Little Zhan Zhao, your elder brother Zhan Jun once studied at Tianhong Academy. Many of the teachers at Tianhong Academy were students of students of my father's students."

From Zhan Jun's perspective, I'm many generations older than you! Calling you 'Little Zhan Zhao' doesn't seem like a problem at all; just ask Bao Zheng if you don't believe me!
Although I don't particularly like my old man, he served as the chief examiner for many years, and almost all the officials who entered officialdom through the imperial examinations were related to him.

Your class is an exception.

what a pity!

Bao Zheng, do you feel it's a pity?

Bao Zheng smiled calmly: "It's no pity!"

Tang Yin said with a worried look, "Actually, I think it's a bit of a pity. If only the Grand Tutor Hua were the chief examiner this year. Poor me, Tang Yin..."

Li Zhaoting complained, "Stop it! You have eight beautiful cousins ​​at home, and you're still eyeing other people's girls. You're a lecherous man, not a pervert."

Pang Tong interrupted their conversation: "Don't try to change the subject, Bao Zheng. I'll give you two days to investigate this case. Do you dare to accept the bet?"

Bao Zheng sternly refused: "Human life is of paramount importance. I will not use a murder case as a wager. Governor Liu is not a good official. He is rich but heartless, but their lives are also lives."

I will investigate this case thoroughly.

It wasn't because of a pointless bet.

It's not because of your coercion.

I want to give the dead justice.

What I want is—innocence and the truth!

Gongsun Ce said, "Me too!"

Pang Tong chuckled: "Well said! I like you two! With good officials like you, no one can hide this matter in Xianyang County!"

After saying this, Pang Tong got up and left.

Bao Zheng asked, "Commoner! Where is the site of the Xiling tribe's ruins? I want to investigate the Xiling tribe! What happened in Xianyang County must be related to the Xiling tribe!"

Li Zhaoting took out a stack of documents, which were records of major events during the Sui and Tang Dynasties by Shi Feixuan and Duanmu Ling. Compared with historical records, they were closer to the encyclopedia of martial arts world.

"The Xiling tribe was not wiped out; some branches survived and live deep in the Zhongnan Mountains."

Zhang Ben was betrayed and killed by the elders. His descendants took this as a warning and despised deceit and treachery. The clansmen had to paint their emotions on their faces with oil paint.

Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness should all be expressed directly.

One of the tribesmen couldn't stand this kind of life and chose to leave the Xiling tribe. He traveled all the way to the capital of the Song Dynasty, where he befriended a high-ranking official and then disappeared without a trace.

The Xiling tribe abhorred interaction with the outside world, resulting in an extreme scarcity of living resources. In autumn and winter, tribesmen often froze and starved to death, and the population became increasingly sparse.

Five years ago, when Yan Zhaizhu went to the Xiling tribe to seek medicinal herbs, he counted the population of the Xiling tribe. The total number of people in the Xiling tribe was about five hundred.

The fewer people there are, the harder it is to resist natural disasters. By now, there are probably only two or three hundred left.

It will naturally disappear in five or six years at most.

There was not a trace of regret in Li Zhaoting's words.

The Xiling tribe's inheritance model is destined to lead to the extinction of the tribe. They do not communicate with the outside world and live deep in the jungle for generations, suffering from a severe lack of living resources.

Most importantly, they have a very low resistance to natural disasters. A snowstorm, with its freezing temperatures, could cause half of the Xiling people to die.

It is difficult for outsiders to provide assistance to the Xiling tribe.

Because the Xiling tribe does not accept any help.

The Xiling tribe abhorred any interaction with the outside world.

Even with Yan Jing'an's unparalleled charm, the only way to send them supplies was by buying medicine.

The investigators split into several groups.

Bao Zheng and Tang Yin went to investigate the Xiling tribe.

Gongsun Ce and Li Xunhuan went to investigate Gao Jia.

Gao Jia was a local garrison commander. Most of his soldiers were stationed on a mountain peak in the Zhongnan Mountains. This mountain was a mineral mountain, and there was a magnetite vein at the foot of the mountain.

After reviewing the accounts, Gongsun Ce learned that Gao Jia had been colluding with Qian Bing for years, amassing wealth, illegally mining iron ore, and secretly forging weapons and armor.

If it's just about using various pretexts to embezzle money, the matter is serious, but not that serious.

However, according to Gongsun Ce's investigation, the number of weapons forged by Qian Bing's arsenal did not match the number of weapons that the imperial court had purchased from the arsenal over the years.

Ten thousand spears, eight hundred sets of armor, three thousand sets of leather armor, two thousand strong bows, hundreds of thousands of arrows, and a huge amount of food and medicine were not recorded.

Where are these weapons and provisions?
If it were sold secretly, to the Azure Dragon Society, to Murong Bo, or even to a foreign tribe on the border, Bao Zheng could control the situation based on how things developed.

If Gao Jia kept these weapons without permission, what was he planning to do? Did he intend to rebel?

Such a major event occurred, yet no one in nearby Chang'an knew about it. To be precise, Xianyang County was under the jurisdiction of Chang'an, and the prefect of Chang'an was completely unaware of it.

As for Ding Han, the Salt Commissioner, it was naturally the Salt Gang leader, who was most familiar with the salt business, who was tasked with the investigation.

Ding Han's jurisdiction mainly covered Guanzhong. He not only did not cooperate with the salt gangs in Sichuan, but also had many conflicts over the salt transportation routes, resulting in more than a dozen battles.

Ding Han was once an official, while Cheng Huaixiu was a commoner. Cheng Huaixiu couldn't afford to offend Ding Han. Times have changed, and Cheng Huaixiu has become the Duchess of the State, backed by the current Duke of Zhenguo.

Even if Ding Han had the guts of a bear and the courage of a leopard, he wouldn't dare offend Cheng Huaixiu. Cheng Huaixiu didn't make things difficult for him, but simply said that he wanted to check the accounts and asked him to bring out the account books.

Does Cheng Huaixiu have the right to inspect the accounts?

Of course!
This is the token of the Eighth Prince!

This is a gold medal bestowed by the emperor!
This is a jade plaque bestowed by the Empress Dowager!
This is the seal of the current Duke of Zhenguo!

This is the imperial envoy's sword of authority!
Look over there, there are the three guillotines that the emperor bestowed upon Imperial Commissioner Bao Zheng. If you dare to delay any longer, he will wrap you in a straw mat and chop you in two with the dog-head guillotine.

What could Ding Han say?
We can only ask that you, my dear aunt, show some mercy.

Which salt merchant's ledgers can withstand scrutiny?

The deficit recorded in the books is astronomical!

Li Zhaoting and Li Shengnan had another mission. The two of them, along with the imperial guards, surrounded Qian Bing's mansion, blocking both the front and back doors, not allowing even a bird to fly away.

Li Zhaoting was in charge of the main hall.

Li Shengnan led her soldiers to ransack the house.

Liu Yi is the core of the case, and we cannot act rashly.

We must deal with this lackey, Qian, quickly.

Raiding homes is a specialty of the evil cult.

Where gold and silver are hidden, where secret compartments are concealed, and where the treasure vault is located can be found with a single glance. In less than half an hour, dozens of boxes of treasures were unearthed.

Silver ingots were piled haphazardly in the yard;
The copper coins were piled up into a small mountain;
Antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jewelry, jade, silk and porcelain filled dozens of boxes, the finest Suzhou embroidery filled fifteen boxes, and there were also three or four boxes of imperial tribute porcelain.

Qian Bing had a rather pretentious hobby, spending a lot of money to collect rare books, filling three bookshelves;

The land deeds and banknotes filled two small wooden boxes;

The correspondence and private accounts were packed in three large boxes, weighing several hundred pounds in total.

There's no need to record the scattered gold and silver leaves; these things are for money and amusement.

Once upon a time, an imperial envoy came to inspect the administration. Qian invited him to the riverbank, took out a box of gold pieces, and asked him to skip them on the water. Then, when the river was swollen, he scattered gold and silver leaves from the upstream wind. The gold and silver flew around, blending with the water. The imperial envoy was so excited that his whole body turned red.

For those who like money, give them gold and silver jewelry.

Those who appreciate beauty will gift it to an exceptionally beautiful woman.

If you appreciate elegance, give me antiques or calligraphy/paintings.

No matter what you like, as long as you have desires, and as long as you're not a stubborn person like Bao Zheng who is incorruptible, you can find a way to corrupt the other party with money.

Li Zhaoting waved his hand, and the imperial guards sealed all the items and imprisoned Qian Bing's family in the west wing of the Qian residence, allowing everyone to enter but not leave.

Three meals a day were delivered by the imperial envoy's guards.

All external communication is prohibited.

If he's not convinced, let him come find Li Zhaoting.

The accurate statement is:

—Come find "Duke Zhenguo" Li Zhaoting!

Liu Yi died, and Lady Liu handed over everything.

Qian Bing died, and his mansion was raided and confiscated by Li Zhaoting.

Cheng Huaixiu investigated the account books of the Salt Commissioner's Office.

Gongsun Ce personally investigated Gao Jia's military camp.

The iron barrel formed by Gao Jia, Liu Yi, Qian Bing, and Ding Han silently shattered.

That same evening, another murder occurred.

A tall, burly man in armor, wielding a sword and wearing a mask of the King of Xiling, roared and shouted outside the Liu residence, running all the way to the edge of a cliff.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, the man brandished his sword and chopped off his own head. Judging from his physique and attire, this man was none other than Gao Jia, the garrison commander.

The following morning, Liu Liao, the "corpse retriever," found Gao Jia's head and cavity, proving that the deceased was Gao Jia. Judging from the manner of death, it was definitely not a case of feigned death.

With their heads chopped off, aside from bizarre and monstrous creatures like the "Flying Head Barbarian," even mountain spirits and wild monsters would likely meet their end. Gongsun Ce felt a pang of regret.

Yesterday during the day, Gongsun Ce found some clues in the military camp. Gao Jia wanted to use force, but was forced back by Li Xunhuan with a wooden throwing knife and had no choice but to give up.

Now it seems...it seems...

Gongsun Ce rushed toward Gao Jia's corpse.

Yesterday at the military camp, Gao Jia proposed to spar with Li Xunhuan. Li Xunhuan noticed that Gao Jia's weapons and armor contained magnets, so he casually broke off a tree branch, twisted it into a wooden throwing knife, and pierced through Gao Jia's armor with a single strike.

On Gao Jia's corpse were bluish-purple marks from being struck by a throwing knife, and on Gao Jia's armor were minor damage from being hit by Xiao Li's throwing knife.

The corpse was indeed Gao Jia.

All forms are exactly the same.

How is this going?

Gongsun Ce stared in astonishment at the broken wood chips on the armor. This shouldn't be! How could this be?

Liu Yi, Qian Bing, and Gao Jia are all dead.

Who will be next to die?

Is it Ding Han?

If the one who survived was the mastermind, does this mean that Ding Han was the mastermind behind this case?

wrong!

Ignore the details of the case.

First, investigate Gao Jia and Qian Bing's account books.

Liu Yi and his three associates had been forming a clique for many years, and their account books had piled up into a small mountain. Bao Zheng, Gongsun Ce, Tang Yin, and Li Xunhuan worked together to calculate the accounts, but even after working until late at night, they had only managed to read a small part of them, and there were still dozens of kilograms of account books left to read.

Not to mention the letters and bribery records that Li Zhaoting collected from the Qian family. Even with Tang Yin's reading speed of reading ten lines at a glance, his eyes were blurry and his mind was dizzy. He could only read a small part of them.

……

The Liu residence, the mourning hall.

Liu Yi's body lay in the coffin.

The mask of the King of Xiling is placed on the offering table.

As the candlelight flickered, a black cat leaped into the mourning hall.

According to folklore, black cats should not enter the mourning hall, as this will cause the corpse to rise from the dead. Strangely enough, the black cat circled in front of Liu Yi's corpse, and Liu Yi, who had been burned to a crisp, slowly stood up and reached for the mask of the King of Xiling.

"Please go back into the coffin."

Li Zhaoting jumped down from the roof beam.

"Liu Yi, you've done everything you needed to do. I'll take care of the rest of the work. You don't need to keep pushing yourself."

"You...how do you know..."

"How could you possibly escape my notice by faking your death? I've seen that cliff. There's a small platform at the bottom called 'Cliff Jump,' but it's actually just jumping onto a small set of steps. Behind those steps is a secret passage that leads directly to the Liu residence. That's your escape route."

Li Zhaoting gave a simple demonstration. (End of Chapter)