Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 524 The Mysterious Iron Egg, the Thing the "Demon God" Covets (Bonus Chapter 3)

Feng Shaoqing was neither an incorruptible official who was as clear as water and as bright as a mirror, nor was he a corrupt official.

The expected welcoming and farewell ceremonies were unavoidable, but as Li Zhaoting's reputation grew, Feng Shaoqing became increasingly reserved, worried that it would affect his son-in-law.

If Feng Shaoqing's influence were to damage Li Zhaoting's reputation and lead to marital discord, it would be a huge loss. Not attending the social event would also be inappropriate.

Li Nanxing tried to persuade him twice, but it was no use.

This is something that Li Zhaoting needs to personally persuade them about.

After Li Zhaoting's persuasion, Feng Shaoqing roughly understood where the "degree" of things lay, and then took out the invitation from the Little God of Wealth: "My dear son-in-law, would you like to go and take a look?"

Li Zhaoting asked in surprise, "Father-in-law, why did Deng Ren's invitation get sent to you? What's our relationship with the Deng family? This little money-grubber is quite bold!"

Feng Shaoqing's face darkened: "My dear son-in-law, I am the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The Deng family are imperial merchants from the north. They have made great contributions in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun and have been granted special permission to settle in the capital."

You may not need to worship the God of Wealth, but you absolutely must come here, for fear that I'll make things difficult for him.

There are so many imperial merchants in the world, and even more wealthy families waiting to become imperial merchants. Even powerful families like the Hua and Wan families dare not be careless, let alone a mere Deng Ren.

Son-in-law, have you misunderstood something?
Whether the Deng family is rich or poor, and whether they can do business in Beijing with peace of mind, is entirely up to me.

Deng Ren's patron is Weng Taibei.

That old fox is a master of changing his tune depending on the wind; he would never let a son-in-law cause a rift between us.

If it weren't for the approaching winter and the need to prepare winter supplies for the north, requiring the Deng family to transport cotton cloth and leather goods, I would at most send a calligraphy scroll, without even showing my face!
I attended the banquet to give Deng Ren face.

He wouldn't even dare to start the banquet if I didn't arrive!

Feng Shaoqing was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue was essentially the emperor's purse, the most lucrative government office, and the most feared government office by imperial merchants and wealthy people from all over the country.

For example, during the early stages of Heshen's rise to power, his main positions were Deputy Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard, Vice Minister of Revenue, Grand Councilor, and Minister of the Imperial Household Department. At the height of his power, Heshen held multiple positions, one of which was Minister of Revenue.

Feng Shaoqing was certainly not as good as Heshen, but with the backing of a powerful figure like Li Zhaoting, he could act as a bully and gain influence in the court, making him a force to be reckoned with, even surpassing Yuan Lianqin by a few notches.

Li Zhaoting smiled and said, "Father-in-law, I have no grudges against the Deng family. They have made great contributions to Yanyun and brought peace to the people of Yanyun. They should be rewarded."

I don't doubt your rank; I'm just curious why you gave me this invitation. Are you worried about assassination? What enemies have you offended?
Surely no one would dare to assassinate their father-in-law!
Is someone trying to become the next Encountering Immortals Gang?

Feng Shaoqing wiped away his cold sweat: "My dear son-in-law, Deng Ren wants to auction off some jade doll. It is said that it is engraved with unparalleled martial arts skills. There will definitely be many masters attending the banquet."

People in the martial world have never been disciplined. When drunk, they start fighting, and swords have no eyes. No matter how important my official position is, I am still just a mortal.

I'm still waiting to hold my grandson!

Son-in-law, why don't you go and talk to Deng Ren and ask him to take the jade doll away? With your reputation, Deng Ren will definitely give you face. The little doll loves to play pranks.

For birthday celebrations, just relax and have a traditional banquet.

What kind of auction is this?!

Li Zhaoting understood the implied meaning in the song. With the relocation of Jinfeng Xiyu Tower and Liufenban Hall, various underworld figures vied for territory. Big shots feared Li Zhaoting and kept their distance from Feng Shaoqing. However, the underworld was never short of hot-blooded brutes, desperados, and alien spies who thrived on chaos. The danger level rose sharply.

Swords and blades have no eyes.

There is only one life.

Even if Li Zhaoting later annihilated the other party's ancestors for eighteen generations, Feng Shaoqing would never see it.

"Father-in-law, rest assured, I have many reliable friends in the martial arts world. I will ask them to help me find some experts to be your personal bodyguards and protect your safety."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, my dear son-in-law."

"No trouble at all, it's just a meal."

Li Zhaoting rubbed his chin, thinking to himself that he had indeed overlooked some things and needed to hire a few bodyguards.

Ideally, the killer should be someone who is tired of the bloodshed in the martial world.

Such people are not only exceptionally sensitive to murderous intent, but also lack ambition. They often possess qualities such as keeping their word and having a clear sense of right and wrong, and are commonly found in Gu Long's martial arts world...

Which assassin organization should we rob?

Let's go check out the Green Dragon Society!
The Green Dragon Society is a large and powerful organization. Although Li Zhaoting killed seven or eight of its leaders and Lu Xiaofeng swindled it out of more than a hundred branch offices, it still has some talented people left.

Li Zhaoting held considerable influence within the Green Dragon Society.

After all, theoretically speaking, Jiang Yuyan is the financial backer of both the Beijing and Nanjing branches of the Qinglong Society, and both branches rely on her to achieve their performance targets.

We chatted for a while, and then it was noon.

The mother-in-law had a banquet prepared.

Li Zhaoting reached into his sleeve and pulled out two gifts. One was a white jade paperweight he had taken from the Imperial Study when he went to the palace to meet the Emperor yesterday. The other was a round fan he had taken from the Empress Dowager before leaving the capital after he had gone to inquire about the Primordial Demon. He was annoyed that the Empress Dowager was stingy and wouldn't feed him.

Madam Feng: My dear son-in-law, everyone says there are legendary thieves and saints in the martial arts world. I think you must be a thief bodhisattva.

Feng Shaoqing: I'm all set. In the future, when Li Nanxing goes to Lingnan to eat lychees, I'll go to Hainan to grill oysters, or go to Yanyun to perform crosstalk. It's all thanks to my wonderful son-in-law!

Li Zhaoting: Father-in-law and mother-in-law, rest assured, your son-in-law has made preparations and has prepared private rooms in Lingnan and Hainan.

……

The chaos caused by the Yuxian Gang did not cause any major upheaval.

The gang leader was killed by Li Zhaoting, and the gang's headquarters was blasted into ruins by Li Zhaoting. The Sun and Moon Envoys were captured alive, and the Imperial City Guard and the Six Doors interrogated them one by one overnight. After they confessed, they were thrown into the death row along with those Manchu spies. Traitors and rebels, they will be executed in the autumn.

It happened to be autumn at that time.

When all things wither and the world is desolate, it's the perfect time for beheading; one stroke and it hurts nothing.

There are techniques to punishing someone to the death penalty.

To live a few more months, one should commit the crime in winter or spring, delaying the execution until autumn. The time from being caught to being beheaded can be several months. Committing the crime in autumn makes it easier to handle the case in a more complicated way, perhaps delaying it until next autumn.

Crimes such as colluding with foreign tribes and rebelling require special handling. The interrogation experts from the Imperial City Guard and the Six Doors worked overtime to quickly compile the case files.

The Beijing underworld remained unfazed by this.

Having witnessed Li Zhaoting's swordsmanship, even those with the most audacity wouldn't dare to act recklessly at this moment. They all restrained their subordinates and waited for Li Zhaoting to leave the capital.

Extremely bored, Li Zhaoting took Jiang Yuyan to stroll through the night market. They ate their way through the market, and Jiang Yuyan familiarly introduced the various forces lurking in this food street.

The silk shop belongs to the Green Dragon Society.

The grocery store is a 6.5-square-meter shop.

The grain and oil shop belongs to the Golden Wind and Drizzle Building.

The man selling candied hawthorns was a secret agent of the Imperial City Guard.

The vendor selling braised noodles and braised flatbread is Liu Shanmen.

The vendors selling sesame cakes, fried dough sticks, sesame balls, stuffed pancakes, and spicy soup are the Money Gang. Relying on their wealth and power, they have acquired all the breakfast shops on this street.

Pawnshops and gold and silver jewelry businesses are common in many households.

Rouge and face powder, exquisite embroidery, and secondhand clothing shops were mostly owned by the Hua family, and were relatively refined.

Originally, there were spies planted by the Liao, Manchu, Western Xia, and Mongol Yuan dynasties, but due to the hindrance of their incompetent allies, Li Zhaoting managed to eliminate them all while taking advantage of the situation.

With her mouth full of sesame balls, Jiang Yuyan mumbled, "Master, of all the shops on this street, only two are not affiliated with any particular power. One is the pastry shop in the middle, called Hefangzhai, and the other is the noodle stall at the end of the street, which makes very good vegetarian noodles."

"Is it as good as Lei Bin's cooking?"

"Sir, you flatter me. When it comes to making noodles, even the head chef of Shishenju Restaurant cannot compare to Chef Lei."

Who owns that knife-cut noodle shop?

"The Shanxi noodle shop is clearly owned by the Yan family. Shanxi people have reached the pinnacle of noodle-making skills. Their knife-cut noodles and belt noodles are both very good. The pastry shop next to the noodle shop is run by the Deng family. They sell pastries that are common in the Yan-Yun region. I have eaten there twice. The two best ones are Aiwowo and pea flour cake."

"Aiwowo, pea flour cake... Do they sell donkey rolls? How are their donkey rolls?"

"It tastes good, but it's a bit heavy."

"What a little glutton."

"Master, regarding clothing, food, housing, and transportation, this servant's lodging and travel are all at your discretion. Only clothing and food can be decided by you. Making too many clothes is wasteful. After all the calculations, only food is the most economical. We can eat half a street's worth of food in a day."

What's the best thing to eat at this time of year?

"Of course, it has to be piping hot beef noodles."

"Where did the beef come from?"

"The Yan family's ox broke its leg." "Yan Tieshan is really capable. Their ox ran all the way from Shanxi to the capital, and when it got there, it broke its leg and was made into beef noodles."

"That means the chef is very skilled!"

"Then I'll definitely have to try it!"

The autumn night was chilly, and a bowl of steaming hot beef noodles was better than any delicacy. The noodle shop was not exactly bustling with people, but it was at least 90% full. There was only one empty table in the corner, where Jiang Yuyan skillfully ordered.

She has tried all the delicious food on this street.

He knew exactly which restaurants were good and which weren't, and which dishes suited his taste perfectly; he had already planned everything out in his mind.

Jiang Yuyan originally wanted to eat chili oil, but it was evening, and eating chili oil was not suitable for serving the emperor.

A bowl of beef noodles, a bowl of beef offal noodles, and side dishes that are common in Beijing, plus a plate of fried stinky tofu. This stinky tofu is extraordinary; it was made by a disciple of the imperial chef Yang Yi, who has been living in seclusion in Hangzhou for many years and is not something ordinary people can afford to hire.

"Master, please try it, it's delicious!"

Jiang Yuyan handed Li Zhaoting a string of stinky tofu.

There is no false person under the great reputation.

No wonder it's a noodle shop run by people from Shanxi.

His knife-cut noodles were only slightly inferior to Lei Bin's.

A bite of noodles, a bite of beef, and then a sip of rich noodle soup—it warms you from the inside out.

Li Zhaoting and Jiang Yuyan were enjoying their meal when an old Taoist priest walked in. The priest had a refined and dignified air and a rather good appearance. He looked around and spotted Li Zhaoting and Jiang Yuyan at a glance, then walked over to them.

“Amitabha, my two young friends, the noodle shop is full. I would like to share a table with you. I have no ill intentions. I will leave as soon as I finish eating and will not delay.”

"Are you Daoist Yuanzhen of the Qingcheng Sect? You know about my relationship with the Qingcheng Sect. Just say what you want to say directly, there's no need to beat around the bush."

"Master Li speaks his mind frankly, this humble Taoist..."

"If you have something to say, say it; if not, have some noodles!"

"I have obtained a treasure by chance. This treasure is of great importance. If it falls into the hands of an ordinary person, it may bring about the destruction of their entire family. However, it is a treasure bestowed by heaven and cannot be abandoned. It needs to be handed over to a righteous and awe-inspiring hero of the martial world."

"What treasure? Let me see it!"

"There are too many people and too many eyes here..."

"We need a lot of people watching, so that those who are eyeing the treasure can see you hand it over to me. Only in this way can we avoid disaster. Yu Yan, tell the head manager to ask the Yan family to help spread the word that Daoist Yuanzhen has given me a rare treasure in exchange for a sword manual."

“Master Li, I have no such intention. I only wish to entrust the sword to someone. I would never dare to covet the sword manual.”

Yuan Zhenxin said that rare treasures are certainly good, but their specific value is unknown and there are not many people who would fight for them. Your sword manual is priceless. As soon as I step out the door, before I can even warm the manual, I will be ambushed.

Li Zhaoting laughed and said, "It was my oversight. Let me exchange it for a favor as a way of thanking you, Daoist. Treasures are tempting, but you, Daoist, not only were you not seduced by them, but you also calmly analyzed the gains and losses. With your mindset, you will surely become a Daoist master in the future."

"Thank you for your praise, hero. Please take a look. This is a treasure that I obtained by chance. It is neither gold nor jade, and it is as black as ink. I do not know what material it is made of, but I know that it contains a strange energy that can interfere with internal energy."

Master Yuanzhen took out a brocade box, inside which was a dark "iron egg," about the size of a goose egg, heavy in the hand, indestructible, and containing strange power.

Li Zhaoting's eyes flashed as he guessed that this was the last jade doll, and also the core of mastering the Jade Doll Divine Skill. In the entire "Changfeng Escort Agency" series, the Jade Doll Divine Skill was undoubtedly number one. The Demon God Leng Yifu practiced it diligently for twenty years and became the number one martial artist in the world.

In a one-on-one fight, the male protagonist Guo Xu was easily defeated by Leng Yifu. In the final battle, the protagonist group brought out their most luxurious lineup, and their true energy swept wildly, causing the earth to rumble, which was even more shocking than an oil drilling rig.

However, to master the Jade Doll Divine Skill, one needs the help of this "Iron Egg," otherwise the meridians and acupoints will be affected, and one will inevitably suffer the calamity of qi deviation and demonic possession.

The jade doll has always been in Leng Yifu's possession.

Leng Yifu is a legendary healer. He thought he could solve the problem of qi deviation with his profound martial arts foundation and superb medical skills, but the condition only got worse.

Left with no other choice, Leng Yifu could only scatter the jade doll throughout the martial arts world, letting people fight over it and cultivate their divine skills to unlock the jade doll's secrets.

The secret is in Yuanzhen's hands.

This "iron egg" is the core of the divine skill.

Li Zhaoting grasped the "iron egg," poured his longevity true energy into it, and felt the strange energy within. When the true energy returned, it had a few unusual fluctuations.

The frequency of true qi was adjusted by "Iron Egg".

According to the theory of the Dao Heart Demon Seed Great Method, all things in the world contain fluctuations, including the fluctuations of every blade of grass and tree, the fluctuations of internal true energy, and the fluctuations of the gate between heaven and earth.

The Dao Heart Demon Seed Great Technique shatters the void by adjusting the frequency of the demon seed, allowing its own frequency to resonate with the gate of heaven and earth, thereby opening the gate of heaven and earth.

The "Iron Egg" can also adjust the frequency, but the difference is that the Demon Seed can regulate its own fluctuations, while the "Iron Egg" can only change the fluctuations of true qi, making the internal true qi vibrate at a certain fixed frequency, thereby reshaping the meridians and acupoints.

hiss~~
interesting!
Li Zhaoting didn't probe too much. He put the iron egg back into the brocade box, closed the lid, and said with a smile, "I'll accept this iron egg. If you encounter any trouble in the future, you can come to me for help. I wish you a speedy attainment of enlightenment!"

"Thank you very much, Master Li!"

Yuanzhen was relieved.

Ever since he obtained the iron egg, he has been watched every moment. Yuan Zhen keenly sensed that someone was secretly watching him and guessed the source of the danger.

As a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect, Yuan Zhen understood better than anyone the consequences of coveting treasures. Without hesitation, he shifted the blame and gave the treasures to Li Zhaoting in exchange for a favor.

After delivering the treasure, Yuan Zhen immediately ran away.

I don't want to stay a moment longer.

I went straight to Mount Qingcheng and never came down the mountain in my life.

Centuries later, some legends about immortals began to circulate.

Jiang Yuyan joked, "Master, you used to be the one to snatch treasures, but now the situation has changed, and someone is actually giving them away for free. Our family is truly blessed!"

Li Zhaoting feigned anger: "Little girl! Eating noodles won't shut you up. If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll banish you to Hainan and make you carry buckets to the beach."

"Is the master willing to part with it?"

"Hiss~~ I'm actually a little reluctant! But if I don't teach this little maid a lesson, she'll probably rebel!"

"How does Master intend to punish me?"

"I'll give you a good beating! I'll beat you unconscious with sticks!"

"This servant awaits the master's punishment!"

Jiang Yuyan took out her purse and paid for the meal.

Not paying is not an option.

Li Zhaoting's annihilation of the Yuxian Gang will undoubtedly spark countless conspiracy theories. Now, if he continues to eat without paying, he'll forever be branded as a bully.

After leaving the noodle shop, they went to the nearby pastry shop to pack some snacks. The two walked home slowly, and the spies watching them quickly spread the news, including that Li Zhaoting had eaten a few bites of noodles and bought a few pieces of pea flour cake!
These intelligence reports are of little value.

Its only purpose is to scam funding!

The danger of tailing Li Zhaoting is too high; even if it's just keeping a record of events, at least someone would dare to do it.

In this regard, the Green Dragon Society is the most reliable.

Buy it directly from Jiang Yuyan.

All the information is first-hand.

He lay around playing day and night, and was the top salesperson every year.

Jiang Yuyan: I'm not just a top salesperson, I can mass-produce top salespersons, I'm a mover of top salespersons!
Li Zhaoting: What a top-notch deliveryman! This little maid dares to betray her master! I'll give you three hundred lashes!

Bai Yunfei: I'll keep count!

Lan Xiaodie: I'll help you choose background music!

...Disciplining the maid...

The next morning.

Bai Yunfei and Lan Xiaodie, as usual, slept in late. Li Zhaoting took the radiant Jiang Yuyan to the Feng residence to have tea and play chess with his father-in-law. As lunchtime approached, they headed to the Deng residence for a banquet. He glanced up and saw Tianxiang.

Tianxiang glared angrily at Li Zhaoting, "I asked you to accompany me to the banquet, why are you so late?"
Li Zhaoting: I want to protect my father-in-law.

Although Tianxiang was disguised as someone who smelled bad, there were too many people coming to offer birthday wishes. With so many people and so much gossip, the two exchanged a knowing glance. Feng Shaoqing shuddered in fright. If the princess were to marry into the Li family, would she be the head or the concubine? The princess would be below my daughter? Could I bear that?
—Exile to Hainan might not be enough, right?
—If they were exiled again, they'd be sent to Australia!
Feng Shaoqing really wanted to take a bottle of quick-acting heart medicine.

Li Zhaoting gently reassured him, "Don't be nervous, there are no assassins here, not a trace of murderous intent!"

Feng Shaoqing: Actually, I still have murderous intent! I really want to devour you alive, bite by bite!
Li Zhaoting: ┓(`)┏

(End of this chapter)