Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 395 Lady of the South China Sea, how many undercover agents do you want to infiltrate?

Mr. Du lives at Yujian Villa.

Aunt Hua recently had a falling out with Mr. Du, but in order to pass on a message to Li Zhaoting, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and visit Yujian Manor, handing over an envelope.

Aunt Hua didn't want to say a single word.

All the words were inside the envelope.

Mr. Du raised his head slightly: "This matter involves many things, why hold a grudge? Even if Li Zhaoting were here, he might not be able to solve the problem."

Aunt Hua pointed to the envelope.

Mr. Du smiled slightly, opened the envelope, and inside were words from Li Zhaoting. Mr. Du exclaimed, "As expected of Li Nanxing's son, he is truly a smart man."

This sentence clearly has a second half.

The second half of the sentence is a commentary on this sentence.

Aunt Hua really wanted to hear the "commentary".

Mr. Du deliberately kept quiet, and with a smile, picked up a bouquet of flowers and quietly arranged them. Aunt Hua knew that Mr. Du loved flower arranging and could stare at the bouquet in the vase for six or seven hours straight from morning to night.

When someone desperately wants to know the answer to a question, but the other person deliberately keeps it a secret, intentionally piquing their curiosity and making them scratch their heads and feel incredibly frustrated, that feeling is truly indescribable, making them jump around in anger.

"I'm scared of you! I give up!"

Aunt Hua snatched the vase and bouquet away.

Mr. Du explained, “Li Zhaoting guessed my background and deliberately brought Lan Fenghuang here. He didn’t come to Jade Sword Manor to find me because I was going to find him. The things I did when I was young, I will have to pay back sooner or later.”

"I bet you're overthinking it. Li Zhaoting took Lan Fenghuang out because he wanted to flirt. Others would be jealous, but Lan Fenghuang wouldn't be."

Who told you Miao women don't get jealous?

"Jiang Yuyan told me."

"You actually believe Jiang Yuyan's words."

"Why don't you believe it? Li Zhaoting never minds people around him using his inside information to freeload. Jiang Yuyan comes from a poor background and is quite greedy for money, making her the easiest to bribe. Tianji Pavilion spent 30,000 taels!"

"The reason why Tianji Pavilion is willing to spend 30,000 taels to buy intelligence is because this intelligence can be sold for 300,000 taels. For someone like Li Zhaoting, even the smallest clue might be enough to analyze his fatal weakness."

“He likes beautiful women, delicious food, and snacks; that’s his weakness. I don’t mind if you scheme against him.”

"I mind."

"You would mind something like this?"

"I'm afraid of dying! I haven't lived enough yet!"

Mr. Du lazily stood up, stretched in the sun, and sighed, "I'm going to visit Li Zhaoting. Would you like to come with me?"

Aunt Hua complained, "If you asked me to worship Buddha, Bodhisattva, or the God of Wealth with you, I would definitely be willing. But you asked me to worship the God of Plague with you. What a great best friend you are!"

"Worshipping the God of Plague has its benefits."

"What's the benefit?"

"You can't fight a smiling face. I'll offer food, drink, and money to the plague god, and he'll be too embarrassed to bring me death!"

Mr. Du instructed his subordinates to prepare gifts.

Aunt Hua was idly fiddling with flower arrangements.

This "Mr. Du" has a very mysterious background. It is unknown where Liu E recruited such a master, who is skilled in both literature and martial arts, full of wisdom and decisive command.

Aunt Hua was very curious about Mr. Du's background.

However, working in the Imperial City Guard, knowing too much is not a good thing. If one day he is arrested and cannot withstand the severe torture, he might sell Mr. Du. Aunt Hua would never want that, so she could only decline with her head down.

……

Warm room.

Li Zhaoting and his two companions were listening to a traditional opera.

The servant knocked on the door: "Sir, there is a guest outside looking for you. Would you like to see him?"

"You've come so quickly! Please come in!"

Mr. Du gave the servant a silver ingot and told him to leave the warm pavilion and not let outsiders disturb him. The servant was quite familiar with this matter and left with profuse thanks.

Gently pushing open the door to the warm pavilion, a woman in a floor-length dress walked in with an elegant and composed demeanor. Although her youth had passed, she refused to use makeup to cover the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. Her beauty and elegance were like a leisurely white cloud beyond the mountains, and her eyes shone with a bright and confident sunshine.

No one would have imagined that Mr. Du, who had fought against Japanese pirates and other pirates along the coast for so many years, causing rivers of blood to flow, and who commanded hundreds of secret agents of the Imperial City Guard, was actually a noblewoman who knelt down as soon as they met.

"Greetings, Saintess."

Mr. Du bowed respectfully to Lan Fenghuang, tilting his head slightly to the left to reveal the tattoo on the back of his neck.

Moon tattoo.

The symbol of the "divine guards" in the Miao village of Moon Mountain.

After leaving the Miao village of Moon Mountain, Mr. Du disguised the sign by filling it in with a black lotus, so that no one except the people of Moon Mountain Miao Village could recognize it.

Blue Phoenix asked in surprise, "Are you a divine guard?"

Mr. Du smiled and said, "The previous leader."

Why did you leave Moon Mountain?

"For ambition!"

"Isn't it for love?"

"First I tasted love, then ambition arose, and finally I was won over. The Empress Dowager gave me a platform to fully display my talents, but I can never go back!"

"Can't go back? Then don't go back!"

Lan Fenghuang waved her hand magnanimously and tossed over a bottle of potion: "You can remove the mark. From this moment on, you have no further connection with Miao territory."

Mr. Du smiled calmly: "Holy Maiden, even if I have no further connection with Moon Mountain, I still have some connection with Master Li. I hope you will rescind your order."

"Are you his aunt? Stepmother?"

Lan Fenghuang glanced at the wrinkles around Mr. Du's eyes and secretly calculated his age. He was about the same age as Li Nanxing. Li Nanxing had traveled all over the world when he was young and was very familiar with Miao territory. In addition, he was skilled in both literature and martial arts and had extensive knowledge. Mr. Du's ability to command thousands of troops was very likely taught by Li Nanxing!

Lan Fenghuang imagined a scene where "a Miao girl, full of affection, meets a scholar from the Central Plains. They become lovers, their love story ends in discord and they are separated." Li Nanxing was exiled to Lingnan, but he escaped to Dali halfway through his journey. Perhaps it was not to avoid disaster, but to find his old lover.

Mr. Du shook his head: "I am Gongsun Lan, one of the four princesses of the previous generation of the Demonic Sect, known as the 'Lady of the South Sea.' Gongsun Lan, one of the four princesses of the present generation, is my personal disciple. Li Shengnan, the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect, is qualified to order me to do things."

Lan Fenghuang gasped: "You're the commander of the divine guards of the Miao village on Moon Mountain, the princess of the Demonic Sect, and a secret agent of the Imperial City Guard. How many jobs do you hold all by yourself?"

Mr. Du smiled wryly: "My subordinates studied swordsmanship and disguise at the Demon School, and also learned dance and musical instruments. In order to practice disguise, I often changed identities and traveled around the martial arts world, inevitably leaving some traces."

Lan Fenghuang patted her chest and said, "What's said is said, and even if Li Lang asks me to take it back, I can't go back on my word!"

The South China Sea Lady's disguise skills were unparalleled, and she was in no way inferior to Sikong Zhaixing.

When she was seventeen or eighteen, some people thought she was an old woman; twenty or thirty years later, some people said she was just a young girl. She really is very versatile.

Once, Master Pufa was giving a sermon at Mount Tai. Some of the listeners were his old friends. After listening for two days and two nights, Master Pufa suddenly appeared again. Only then did some people realize that the Master Pufa who had given the sermon before was actually Lady Nanhai, which shows how superb her skills were.

The message Li Zhaoting asked Aunt Hua to convey was that when the Lady of the South Sea wanted to leave the Demonic Sect and focus on becoming Mr. Du, the Demonic Sect sent people to hunt her down, not to ambush or assassinate her, but to send someone to become her apprentice.

Learn the martial arts and knowledge of the Lady of the South China Sea, and use the martial arts she taught you to ruthlessly betray her in her most proficient area and at her most triumphant moment, retaliating in kind.

This is a unique secret of the Demonic Sect; it's less a martial arts manual and more a style of doing things.

—An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—The Divine Dragon Formless Great Technique!
The disciple who carried out the mission was Gongsun Lan.

Gongsun Lan, using the alias "Tie Gu," infiltrated the side of the Lady of the South Sea to learn her skills. Once she had mastered them, she was recommended to the Imperial City Guard.

Throwing a meat bun at a dog is like throwing it away—it's gone forever!

Yu Luosha and Liu E reached an agreement: Nanhai Niangzi could become Mr. Du, and Gongsun Lan could become a secret agent of the Imperial City Bureau, but neither of them could leave the Demonic Sect.

Mr. Du did indeed know Li Nanxing. Back then, she disguised herself as a traveling scholar and discussed poetry, literature, rites, and military strategy with Li Nanxing. She learned a lot from Li Nanxing, especially about leading troops.

Mr. Du had three masters in his life.

The foundational leader of the Miao Divine Guards.

The leader of a demonic sect who teaches internal martial arts techniques.

Li Nanxing, who imparted military strategies and tactics.

Li Zhaoting asked, "Mr. Du, are you trying to arrange a marriage with Shi Tianwang? Is it to keep Shi Tianwang in check?"

Mr. Du sighed: "Among the pirates entrenched in the coastal areas, Jia Leshan, Shi Tianwang, and Japanese pirates are the most rampant. Shi Tianwang is the strongest. After the pirates and bandits become stronger, they want to whitewash their reputation. Some want to become officials and be granted titles, while others want to establish their own sects."

That's true!

The Japanese pirates were originally from prominent families in Japan.

Shi Tianwang wanted to use marriage to clear his name.

Jia Leshan was both a pirate king and a philanthropist from Jiangnan, who loved to seek fame and reputation.

Mr. Du continued, "King Shi hopes to obtain the title of Marquis of Zhenhai, first gain the court's recognition, expand his power overseas, and eventually establish a country and become emperor."

Lan Fenghuang said, "It is better to raise an enemy than to keep them in check."

Jiang Yuyan frowned: "With such great ambitions, King Shi wouldn't marry a daughter from an ordinary family. If not a princess or a noblewoman, she would at least be a lady from a respectable family."

Mr. Du said, "The Taiping King, who guards the southeast, recently adopted a daughter. The Taiping King holds a high position and great power, and his adopted daughter is enough to satisfy King Shi."

Lan Fenghuang sneered: "What a clever plan! I'm afraid that the first thing King Shi will do to achieve his ambitions is to get rid of the fake princess and marry a real one."

Mr. Du said, "Therefore, this adopted daughter cannot be an ordinary family's daughter. I cannot harm people. She is my own daughter, and I have no choice."

"Are you going to betray your own daughter?"

Lan Fenghuang desperately wanted to retrieve the potion and then, as the Holy Maiden of Miao territory, severely punish Mr. Du.

Mr. Du's expression suddenly turned cold: "King Shi's identity is quite special. He has six doubles, each one exactly the same. Even if you send out a hundred assassins, they will all be killed by him. The best opportunity to assassinate King Shi is on his wedding night!"

Jiang Yuyan said, "A substitute is still a substitute, not the real King Shi. The one who enters the bridal chamber must be the real person. Mr. Du, have you thought about the consequences of failure?" Mr. Du nodded firmly.

Lan Fenghuang comforted him, "Now, you don't need to give your daughter to the pirate leader. Li Lang will eliminate Shi Tianwang, Jia Leshan, and the Japanese pirate leader. What you need to do is gather troops and warships, and once Shi Tianwang and the others are killed by Li Lang, immediately attack their lair."

Li Zhaoting said, "I am about to set sail. Before I leave, I will try my best to eliminate the pirates."

Mr. Du handed over several files: "These are the files on King Shi. Master Li's martial arts are superb, but naval battles are not like land battles. The sea is fraught with danger."

Li Zhaoting asked, "Are there enough warships?"

Mr. Du said, "That's enough! King Taiping is ready for battle. As soon as King Shi dies, we will immediately attack the pirates' lair and wipe them out completely."

Where are the Japanese pirates?

"This group of Japanese pirates are very superstitious. They call their lair 'Island of the Gods.' Their leader is Fujita Tsuyoshi of the Fujita family, who is skilled in external martial arts. There is also Yagyu Yujuro of the Yagyu family, a disciple of Miyamoto Musashi. And there is a hidden master, the head of the Wada family, named Wada Takeo. The three of them also have a divine weapon!"

"Artifact?"

"It is said that during the Qin Dynasty, Xu Fu sailed out to sea in search of the elixir of immortality. He arrived in Japan and left behind three divine artifacts: the Yata no Kagami, the Yasakani no Magatama, and the Kusanagi sword. Their divine artifact was the Kusanagi sword."

Jade calms the mind, mirror reflects demons, sword vanquishes evil.

I've also heard a rumor that the three great artifacts contain clues to the Qin Dynasty's treasure. Unraveling these clues will grant access to a great treasure, which will allow one to unify the world.

No other clues have been found yet.

"Do the pirates have allies on land?"

"We found some."

"Send the clues to Lu Xiaofeng."

"Lu Xiaofeng?"

"Lu Xiaofeng can't swim and can't go into the water. He'll get soaked. As for things on land, let Lu Xiaofeng investigate. He might not find out the truth, but he'll definitely mess up the other side's plans."

"This is indeed Lu Xiaofeng's hobby."

"One last thing."

"Please give me your orders."

"Find me a boat-driving assistant, preferably someone who knows how to cook. If you have enough manpower, provide me with a set of equipment for going out to sea, as well as a bow, arrows, and javelins."

"We'll have the staff ready for you tomorrow morning."

Mr. Du left the warm pavilion quietly.

Li Zhaoting hugged Lan Fenghuang in his arms: "Fenghuang is so majestic! What she said... what was it again? My memory isn't very good!"

Lan Fenghuang said sweetly, "Li Lang, no matter what, I am the second wife. I can't lose to that little vixen Li Shengnan who hasn't even married into the family yet. I can help Mr. Du regain his freedom. Can Li Shengnan do that?"

Jiang Yuyan said, "Madam has such a magnanimous spirit!"

Lan Fenghuang puffed out her chest: "I have a broad mind. Those ordinary, unremarkable girls, today in the east and tomorrow in the west, exposed to wind, sun and rain, are often so angry that they beat their chests and stomp their feet, until their chests are flattened!"

Li Zhaoting reached out his groping hand, wanting to gauge Lan Fenghuang's magnanimity, and Jiang Yuyan's eyes lit up.

It's still most comfortable following the Second Madam!
Following the First Madam out the door, I dared not even breathe loudly.

When going out with the Third Madam, he would at most have a sip of soup.

He went out with the second wife, ate meat and drank soup, and could drink it every day, never having a moment to rest.

Blue Phoenix: Likes to initiate team fights, but has weak combat power!

Jiang Yuyan: The mantis initiates the attack, unaware of the oriole's prey!

Li Zhaoting: Come on, let's go! What do I have to fear!

……

Lu Xiaofeng indulged in a life of pleasure and debauchery in the martial arts world.

He gambled for three hours, visiting every gambling table in the Wulin Dream casino, winning five thousand taels of silver at each table. He then spent all his winnings, drank two jars of aged wine, and was constantly served tea and water by eight courtesans, until he went to the largest gambling table.

This is the super VVVVVVIP box.

Outsiders are not allowed to enter.

Of all the courtesans, only the top courtesan, Chuchu, is qualified to enter. Those who participate in the gambling are either rich or noble, with a bet of 10,000 taels and a cap of 1 million taels.

Perhaps it's the unique style of a martial arts master.

Or perhaps it was a case of trying too hard to impress someone.

The private room was small and rustic, resembling a dilapidated temple. The gambling table was a broken lotus platform, and in the corner was a half-collapsed Buddha statue lying on the ground.

Lu Xiaofeng waited quietly for the gambling game to begin.

"Cough cough~"
The road to the land of intoxication is smooth and easy to travel, but other places are unbearable to traverse.

If you travel the world too much, you're bound to encounter some trouble sooner or later.

What do you think, Master Lu?

A man dressed in black, his face covered with a black cloth, as thin as a vulture and as upright as a javelin, pushed open the door and entered the private room, exuding an imposing and extremely sharp aura.

He was an attendant, a guard, and a bodyguard.

The person in question is Jia Leshan.

The speaker was also Jia Leshan.

Jia Leshan looks to be in his forties, a fair-skinned, gentle, and handsome middle-aged man. If he were to dress up as a woman, he would be just as good as Mr. Du.

Such a prestigious VIP box is off-limits to entourages; this is a rule of Wulin Dream.

Anyone who enters the Martial Arts Dream must abide by the rules of the Martial Arts Dream, unless they are the rules themselves.

Jia Leshan did not come alone.

Behind him were two skilled bodyguards, two beautiful women on each side, and at the very back were eight burly men carrying four large boxes.

The box was opened, and it was full of gold and silver jewelry.

Lu Xiaofeng pretended not to see anything.

Jia Leshan laughed and said, "Silver notes are the most convenient to carry, but I have always felt that cash is more tempting. If you have shiny gold in front of you, even the most ruthless pirate leader will obediently lower his head."

After a pause, Jia Leshan said, "Master Lu, this is called bribery, and I'm sure you've seen it many times."

Lu Xiaofeng sarcastically remarked, "What makes pirates lower their heads is not gold, but the steel knife at their necks; what makes enticement effective is often coercion."

Jia Leshan clapped his hands and laughed: "That's right! We've finished showing the lure, now it's time to show the coercion."

Jia Leshan's bodyguard stepped forward.

"laugh!"

The sword was drawn and swept across the ground.

The sword's edge precisely severed the fly's wing.

Lu Xiaofeng said, "This kind of third-rate swordsmanship is worth at most three coins for performing. What kind of coercion is this?"

Jia Leshan said, "Master Lu has many friends, many of whom are skilled swordsmen. They have seen the swords of Ximen Chuixue and Li Zhaoting. I, this ignorant servant, am only fit to serve tea and water, make the bed, wipe the table and sweep the floor."

"So, where is your coercion?"

"The threat of not being able to kill is meaningless."

"You can try killing me."

"And then Li Zhaoting blasted him into dust?"

"You've tried neither bribery nor coercion, and now you want me to leave this place? Are you going to kneel down and beg me?"

"As the saying goes, even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman. Master Lu cherishes women and loves to have a beautiful woman by his side. I have a few disobedient young girls here who offended Master Lu a few days ago. I wonder if Master Lu would be willing to take them in?"

"What if I say no?"

"I've heard that Master Lu grew up in the streets. What would a brothel do to a disobedient courtesan? What would a leader do to a disobedient assassin?"

A ruthless glint appeared on Jia Leshan's lips.

A gentleman can be deceived.

Lu Xiaofeng sneered: "You said all this just to send me a few beauties? Are you worried that I'm poor and have no money to support my family, so you're sending me four boxes of dowry?"

"Exactly that."

"Mr. Jia is rather stingy."

How am I stingy?

"Eight beauties have offended me, and you've only sent four boxes of dowry. How are they supposed to divide it among them?"

"I'll add four more boxes."

"Good things come in pairs. Each of you will receive two boxes of dowry: one box of jewelry and one box of silk. You should understand that it's cheap for me to leave, but it's extremely expensive to persuade Li Zhaoting to do so!"

"Alright! Someone, prepare the dowry!"

Jia Leshan agreed without hesitation.

As a pirate leader who was famous throughout the southeast coast and one of the behind-the-scenes shareholders of Wulin Dream, Jia Leshan was not short of money. He had hundreds of thousands of taels of gold in his warehouse and could easily spend 250,000 taels of gold to buy the Rakshasa Token.

With just sixteen boxes of jewelry and silk, Lu Xiaofeng and Li Zhaoting could be forced to leave. This deal was too good to pass up. All shareholders would share the losses from this incident.

Jia Leshan only needs to contribute 20%.

Because he risked his life to see Lu Xiaofeng.

Fortune favors the bold, and Jia Leshan made a fortune!

He can live for several more days!
(End of this chapter)