Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 447 Jiang Yuyan: In terms of being immoral, I'm not as good as you!

When it comes to grabbing benefits, no one complains about being tired.

A 40-pound bucket of water can exhaust a person, but a 40-pound stack of banknotes can be carried up 15 floors without feeling tired.

Because you can take the elevator on the fifteenth floor!

This is the difference between Su Mengzhen and Lei Sun.

Lei Sun had a bad reputation, so he could only take the stairs.

Su Mengzhen has two "elevator cards".

One of them is Wang Xiaoshi, a sworn brother.

One of them is Wenrou, my junior sister from the same sect.

Wang Xiaoshi is a disciple of the Zizai Sect and Zhuge Zhengwo's grand-nephew. His grand-uncle will definitely take care of his grand-nephew.

After her debut, Wenrou made many friends. She formed a sworn brotherhood with Shen Huchan, Tang Baoniu, Fang Henshao, Gougou, Xingbuhuiming, and Boss Chen, and they were known as the Seven Great Bandits.

The differences between the seven major bandits were enormous.

The most important quality is gentleness, which represents the protagonist's luck. Without the protagonist's gentle aura, apart from Shen Huzhan, others can only survive for two volumes at most.

Second on the list is Shen Huchan, a disciple of Ye Aichan, the senior disciple of the Zizai Sect. To be precise, Ye Aichan gave him some guidance, but their relationship was not explicitly master-disciple.

Tang Baoniu and Fang Henshao are a pair of lively characters who are good at showing off their knowledge, meddling in other people's business, bragging, and causing trouble.

The other three, judging from their names, were even more ordinary passersby than Master Damu. The reason they became the Seven Great Bandits was that without them, it would have become the Four Great Bandits, reminiscent of Song Jiang and Fang La.

Su Mengzhen could use her gentle relationship to ask Shen Huchan for help. Shen Huchan is a public-spirited person, and as long as he uses the greater good of the world as an excuse and shows the necessary sincerity, there is a 70% chance that he can persuade Shen Huchan to go to Yanyun.

Before persuading Shen Huchan, Su Mengzhen tried to persuade Linghu Chong. Linghu Chong didn't understand why Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou was doing so well in the capital, and Li Nanxing made them relocate with just one sentence. He thought Lord Li was too domineering!
If all else fails, I'll fight Li Zhaoting to the death!
Even if it means death, we must never back down!
After a moment's thought, Su Mengzhen came up with several arguments about national righteousness. In just a few words, Linghu Chong felt his blood boiling and regretted his shortsightedness.

—Brother, you are a hero, what a spirit you have! How could you be afraid of death? The relocation is for the sake of our country and the world, to prevent the people of Yan and Yun from being harmed by the Liao Kingdom.

With this thought in mind, Linghu Chong's gaze hardened.

No one could stop Linghu Chong from going to Yanyun.

Even the king of heaven and I can't do it!
Relying on Li Zhaoting's formidable reputation and the allure of the Yan-Yun region, Li Nanxing and Zhuge Zhengwo quickly devised a plan to have both the legitimate and illegitimate martial arts factions from the Central Plains enter Yan-Yun in batches to rebuild the martial arts order there.

With the martial arts world in order and bandits eliminated, there is a favorable business environment. How could wealthy merchants like the Wan, Hua, Jin, and Lu families miss the opportunity to make a fortune?
The strengths and weaknesses of the martial arts world in the Central Plains are very obvious.

Its advantages are its profound foundation and abundance of experts.

The downside is that there are too many skilled players and not enough space to go around.

In the past, you had to risk your life to fight, but now you can directly get territory. Only a fool would hesitate.

Of course, Su Mengzhen and Lei Sun leaving the capital does not mean that Li Yanbei and Du Tongxuan can dominate the capital. The power they left behind is enough to limit them.

The capital city will no longer be a place where two powerful forces coexist. It may become a place where four forces dominate, or even eight or sixteen forces, eventually dispersing into small factions each guarding a street.

This is a matter for the Six Doors (a government agency).

Li Nanxing was merely offering a suggestion.

It requires Guo Bujing and Zhu Yueming to carry out this task.

Guo Bujing is nearing retirement and clocks in daily. Tasks are piled on Zhu Yueming. Xing Zong, who always has a smiling face, is exhausted from working overtime and has lost a full 30 pounds. He looks at everyone as if they are his enemies.

Especially when he looked at Li Nanxing.

—If your son weren't so good at fighting, I would have chopped you up and made you into a cold dish!
The father was doing good deeds for the country and the people under his son's name. As the son, Li Zhaoting could do nothing but complain to his grandfather.

It's very difficult for a father to control his son.

Jade Rakshasa has no control over Li Nanxing.

Li Nanxing couldn't control Li Zhaoting.

Li Zhaoting worked hard at home. As his martial arts broke through the limits of heaven and man, he could control the transformation of essence into qi at will. Feng Suzhen became pregnant first, followed by Lan Fenghuang. It was not poverty that was a problem, but inequality. Li Zhaoting was exploited and felt a sense of transcendence from the mortal world.

A beautiful wife and concubine cannot be pregnant at the same time.

We must do it in batches, lest Li Zhaoting become restless and start flirting with other women, and we run out of rooms.

Feng Suzhen, Lan Fenghuang, Gongsun Lan, and Wang Yuyan became pregnant and stayed at their ancestral home in Jinling to prepare for childbirth.

Li Shengnan has a strong interest in martial arts, and Wang Shenglan is waiting for the next batch, so she temporarily spared Li Zhaoting.

Li Zhaoting fled his home as if his life depended on it.

The reason is to find the Five Nobles of the Heavenly Sword.

Treasure hunting missions don't require too many people.

Li Zhaoting only brought Wang Shenglan and Jiang Yuyan with him.

Li Shengnan's martial arts skills rank third in the Li family. She stays at home to protect the pregnant woman's safety. Bai Yunfei and Lan Xiaodie provide a second layer of protection and can escape on a crane.

Wang Shenglan has exceptional luck and is skilled at treasure hunting.

Jiang Yuyan was responsible for taking care of their daily needs.

This was originally Mei Zhu's task, but unfortunately, Mei Zhu had to take care of the pregnant woman, which was a very important matter.

Everything must give way to this.

……

All the descendants of the Five Nobles of the Heavenly Sword are still alive.

The surnames are: Xiao, Wu, Huang, Tang, and Zhang!

The easiest to find are the descendants of the Wu family.

Wu Du, a descendant of the Wu family and a disciple of the Beggars' Sect, was easily found by Li Zhaoting. After a brief conversation and instruction in a few palm techniques, Wu Du immediately presented him with the Heavenly Sword Five-Spear.

Despite its thousand-year history, Wu Du didn't care much about the legend of the Heavenly Sword, regarding it merely as a family heirloom.

The purpose of a family heirloom is to protect oneself, bring good fortune, turn misfortune into good luck, and achieve great success.

Trading a useless bronze fragment for a set of exquisite palm techniques is a huge win.

Wu Du couldn't think of a reason to refuse.

Seeing these objects evokes memories of people; who the hell looks at bronze artifacts anymore?
It's an incomplete bronze artifact, so even if you send it to a pawnshop, no pawnshop will be willing to take it.

The descendant of the Xiao family is not Xiao Shiyilang, but the scholar Xiao Ting, who is skilled in both literature and martial arts. The descendants of the Zhang family are in the brewing business. The whereabouts of the descendants of the Huang family are unknown. The descendants of the Tang family run the Tang Family Escort Agency in Tongguan. The family has only one daughter.

This woman's name is Tang Ruoxuan. She loves martial arts and has become a disciple of Abbess Pingjing of the Jueqing Sect. She is skilled in swordsmanship.

Today is Tang Ruoxuan's 20th birthday.

Since they were colleagues in the same security escort agency, it was perfectly reasonable for Wang Shenglan to bring gifts to offer his congratulations.

Li Zhaoting did not go.

Tang Family Escort Agency is a legitimate business, not some evil sect. They were celebrating a birthday in good spirits when Li Zhaoting went to freeload, and the situation instantly turned into a life-or-death struggle.

Even if nothing happened, how many people would dare to dine at the same table as the Jiazi Tai Sui? Li Zhaoting was helpless. I'm so handsome, so chivalrous, and have such a good temper, yet I've been portrayed as a fierce Tai Sui by a bunch of bastards.

That's fucking unfair!
Li Zhaoting pets a dog at the inn.

Jiang Yuyan went to buy Tongguan Roujiamo (a type of Chinese sandwich).

I also made contact with Ke Baisui.

When they were eliminating Zuo Wu Wang, Li Zhaoting deliberately let Ke Baisui go in order to accurately identify the target. This guy was too interesting. As long as he saw Ke Baisui, he could tell whether he was friend or foe. He was a true beacon of intelligence for undercover agents.

Such a useful wayfinding tool, it would be a waste not to fully exploit its value!

Jiang Yuyan wholeheartedly supported this decision.

Spurred on by Lei Sun and Di Feijing, Ke Baisui became much more extravagant and enjoyed throwing money around.

Li Zhaoting's strangest hobby is that he never minds others using his secrets to make money. Lu Xiaofeng can use Li Zhaoting's secrets to swindle and cheat, Tang Zhuquan can use Li Zhaoting's secrets to exchange for wine money, and Jiang Yuyan sold Li Zhaoting's private hobby for tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Unbeknownst to them, Jiang Yuyan became Li Zhaoting's underworld agent. Anyone who wanted to establish a private relationship with him would first bribe Jiang Yuyan, who would then relay their messages.

That's exactly what Di Feijing did.

This guy truly lived up to his reputation as a "bow-headed dragon." Upon first meeting Jiang Yuyan, he knew she was no ordinary maidservant willing to submit to others. He guessed that Li Zhaoting intended to use Jiang Yuyan as a window into something, and immediately presented her with a gold bracelet.

From then on, he would prepare gifts for Jiang Yuyan during festivals, mostly gold and silver jewelry.

Over time, they became completely connected.

Lei Sun hesitated and missed the opportunity to relocate Yanyun. It was only through Jiang Yuyan, who bribed Li Zhaoting's beautiful wife and concubines, that he was able to get things done.

Lei deserved to suffer the loss.

He could have gotten more benefits without spending this money, but unfortunately, people are just like that!

Giving away free benefits makes you feel like others want to harm you.

They must resort to some underhanded tactics, wasting tens of thousands of taels of silver in costs, before they can accept it with a clear conscience.

Jiang Yuyan stroked the gold bracelet and strode into a silk shop, where Ke Baisui had been waiting for a long time.

Jiang Yuyan didn't particularly like bracelets; she didn't have any favorite jewelry, but she did like gold.

The defeat of Zuo Wuwang dealt a severe blow to Ke Baisui, who showed obvious signs of decline. In order to extract more money, Jiang Yuyan decided to offer a discount.

"Mr. Ke, let's get straight to the point! One gold piece of jewelry is one question. I don't have much time, you have about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. My husband is getting impatient!"

"What's the rush?" "Eating roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)! He loves local snacks! It's a well-known hobby, and it's free!"

Upon hearing this, Ke Baisui felt a sense of emotion. It was as if someone beat you up every day, but today they only slapped you twice. You felt that they were a kind person and that they weren't so bad.

Ke Baisui made a hand gesture.

An assistant brought over a tray of gold jewelry.

"Is Li Zhaoting injured?"

"The injuries have already healed!"

"How skilled is Li Zhaoting in martial arts?"

"Breaking through the limits of the Heavenly Gang Ranking, if the Sword Master wasn't Lang Fanyun, he would have already become the Sword Master of this era."

"How many men did Li Zhaoting pierce through armor with a single sword strike?"

"Eight hundred and eighty-two people!"

What is Li Zhaoting doing in Tongguan?

"Treasure hunt".

"What treasures could possibly warrant Li Zhaoting's attention?"

"This is his father's order."

What is Li Nanxing's plan?

"do not know!"

"Are Li Zhaoting's wives and concubines pregnant?"

"That's right!"

How many masters does the Li family have hidden away?

"do not know!"

Who is the strongest expert in the Li family?

"do not know!"

"One last question: how much commission would I need to pay you if I hired you to backstab Li Zhaoting?"

"There is no answer to this question. I can't figure out what I want because the price is my life, and I don't even know how much my life is worth."

"Li Zhaoting is really amazing. He can actually make you willingly risk your life. What has he given you?"

"dignity!"

Jiang Yuyan said, "I didn't want to take your money for this question, but you just said that the last question was about the fee. You asked an extra question. From now on, it will be two pieces of jewelry for each question."

"What dignity did Li Zhaoting give you? You were Li Zhaoting's maid, or to put it nicely, a concubine; to put it bluntly, a plaything. Is that any kind of dignity?"

"If I told you that the internal energy cultivation method I practice is the top Buddhist mental cultivation method, the 'Divine Foot Sutra,' and that my weapon is the Japanese demon sword, Onikiri, even if the head of the Six and a Half Hall wanted to get in through the master's connections, he would have to bribe me!"
Ke Baisui, you should forget the past.

I am not a little maid who can be bullied by everyone.

You may not know this, but in the Beijing underworld, in the Nanjing gangs, if someone wants to ask the master for help, I am the only messenger. You should understand the power involved better than I do. If this isn't dignity, what is? A vase on a counter?

Don't spout nonsense like "the rabbit is killed after the hunt"!

Before I become a dish, at least let me taste the power, instead of being bullied by others.

Ke Baisui!
Don't judge me by past standards!

I have far more resources than you!
If it weren't for the fact that we've had such a pleasant working relationship, I could have taken your life with just one sentence.

We're partners, but you're the one asking me to cooperate!

do you understand? "

A chilling glint flashed in Jiang Yuyan's eyes. Her eyes were still watery, and her makeup was pure and innocent, like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any artifice. Every frown and smile made her look like a frightened little rabbit, but the fierceness in her tone and the coldness in her eyes made Ke Baisui tremble involuntarily.

At this moment, Jiang Yuyan is neither a fox borrowing the tiger's power nor a vicious dog bullying others, but a wolf, a white wolf king who chooses to devour people!

Ke Baisui had no doubt that if his next words did not satisfy Jiang Yuyan, he would surely die.

"I'd like to ask another question."

Ke Baisui shrank back, looking pitiful. He didn't look like a high and mighty lord, but more like an old beggar whose family business had fallen on hard times and who was begging on the street.

Jiang Yuyan nodded and took all the jewelry from the plate: "You can ask now!"

"If I tell Li Zhaoting all the information I know about the Green Dragon Society, can I exchange it for a chance to live and become a schoolteacher in the countryside?"

"I thought you wanted to be a rich man."

"Being alive is already a stroke of luck; to be able to go to the countryside to be a schoolteacher requires the girl to have great compassion."

"I am not qualified to make decisions about the master's affairs. I only know that he is very wary of the leader of the Green Dragon Society. Whoever can provide information about the leader can gain favor."

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome. Bye!"

Jiang Yuyan turned and left the silk shop.

Spare your life?

What sweet dreams you're having!
The Great Boss has shown you immense kindness, making you, a useless old man, the head steward of the Azure Dragon Society. Yet you betrayed the Great Boss to save your own life. You are an ungrateful wretch; a straw mat is considered merciful.

Jiang Yuyan was somewhat surprised when she thought of this.

Jiang Yuyan was by no means a kind person, and she didn't care much about gratitude or loyalty. As long as she could climb the social ladder, she would betray anything. She never thought about these things.
Now, just hearing that Ke Baisui wanted to sell out the big boss in exchange for his life, I felt disgusted.

What's wrong with me?
Does this count as turning over a new leaf?

Jiang Yuyan gave a self-deprecating laugh.

This feeling is fucking awesome!
As Jiang Yuyan's figure gradually disappeared, a cold glint flashed in Ke Baisui's eyes. He knew that what Jiang Yuyan said in the end was all true, a worthless truth.

Jiang Yuyan didn't say what was most valuable.

There's no need to say anything.

Ke Baisui guessed what Jiang Yuyan wanted to say.

This is what terrifies Ke Baisui the most.

Greed for money is no big deal.

Practicing martial arts is fine.

Climbing upwards is fine.

Ambitious, indifferent.

However, under Li Zhaoting's influence, Jiang Yuyan gradually emerged from the darkness and was no longer the ruthless Five-Step Snake, but gradually developed a bottom line in her actions.

Blackening is three times stronger, whitewashing is three times weaker.

This statement is not absolute.

It could even be said that it is completely wrong.

Having a bottom line is always better than having no bottom line.

When a person transforms from an unscrupulous villain into someone with principles, and those principles are gradually raised, they may appear to become weaker than before, but in reality, they have become countless times stronger.

Humans are social animals.

People without principles are lone wolves; they can never form effective cooperation. The more people there are, the lower their combat power becomes, because they all want to use others as cannon fodder so they can reap the benefits. They want to stab others in the back while worrying about being ambushed. How much combat power can they possibly have?
People with principles can entrust their backs to each other when they get together. The more people there are, the stronger they become. A hundred people without principles versus a hundred people with principles is not a hundred against a hundred, but a hundred against one against one against one against one against one against one. It will always be a hundred against one.

The Green Dragon Society is the most obvious example.

The 365 branch leaders are all masters of creating trouble, skilled at sowing discord and capable of driving people to their complete collapse with a few simple tricks. They are adept at playing the victim.

If multiple branch offices work together on a mission, or if the leaders join forces on a mission, and if one of the enemies is particularly difficult to deal with, they will most likely suffer an unexpected defeat.

The defeat was inexplicable. In retrospect, an analysis of the behavior patterns of these leaders revealed that everyone was correct and their choices were reasonable. However, when a group of correct and reasonable individuals came together, they created a fatal flaw.

Let alone top figures in the martial arts world like Li Zhaoting, Lu Xiaofeng, and Chu Liuxiang, even a newcomer like Duan Yu could defeat them.

Why does this happen?
Because these leaders make choices that are most advantageous to themselves, they are willing to betray others without hesitation as long as they can gain benefits. Many times, the leaders of the Azure Dragon Society do not die from the powerful moves of experts, but from the betrayal of their colleagues. The more they do, the bigger their flaws become.

Having served as the steward of the Azure Dragon Society for so many years, Ke Baisui understands the Azure Dragon Society's operating model better than the head of the society, and knows the Azure Dragon Society's most irreparable fatal flaw.

Thinking of this, Ke Baisui felt a splitting headache.

See Weizhi book.

The Azure Dragon Society is at odds with Li Zhaoting, and will ultimately be defeated by him. Li Zhaoting can find friends wherever he goes, while the Azure Dragon Society has enemies everywhere.

What should we do?

Big Boss, what are you thinking?
Ke Baisui's face turned bluish-purple, and his throat tasted metallic. Under the astonished gaze of his assistant, he spat out a mouthful of blood, then felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground.

The assistant hurriedly went to find a doctor and, while doing so, recorded in detail what Ke Baisui had just said. He then used the Azure Dragon Society's unique method of transmission to send the information via carrier pigeon to the head of the organization, asking for instructions.

Should we get rid of Ke Baisui?

If Ke Baisui is removed, who will be in charge of the local branch?
The assistant felt that his chance to rise to prominence had arrived!
Old man, it's time to make way!

(End of this chapter)