Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 83 There is only one truth to this matter!
"Ah? You're Li Zhaoting?"

"Zhan Zhao, what are you yelling about? Is there something wrong with my master? He looks like a learned scholar!"

"Your master is a scholar? What a joke! Rumor has it that your master is the reincarnation of the Jiazi Tai Sui, a judge of the underworld reborn. Wherever he goes, a whole bunch of people will die!"

"Now, my master is in your house!"

Bai Yutang proudly raised his chin.

Zhan Zhao was not to be outdone. He looked around, grabbed Bao Zheng with his left hand, and pulled Gongsun Ce with his right.

“I have Brother Bao and Brother Gongsun. The two of them can take on you one by one. Even Yama, the King of Hell, will have to take a detour.”

"My master is amazing!"

"Brother Bao is even more amazing!"

"Hmm~~~~"

The two children were like kittens guarding their food, baring their teeth and butting heads, but they would never actually fight.

Li Zhaoting grabbed Bai Yutang by the collar and casually tossed him over the wall. Ling Chuchu picked up Zhan Zhao, but no matter how much Zhan Zhao gesticulated, his limbs were too short.

Li Zhaoting, Bao Zheng, and Gongsun Ce exchanged glances.

Everyone: ((-_-)-_-)-_-)
What's there to argue about?

Is this something to be proud of?

Fortunately, Bodhidharma visited the Great Xiangguo Temple as a martial arts practitioner; otherwise, it would have been reported...

Which department should we report it to?

Li Zhaoting gave Bao Zheng a wink.

Bao Zheng entered the house to examine the corpse.

Bao Zheng's mother, Bao Da Niang, was a coroner. Bao Zheng had studied autopsy techniques, so he certainly wouldn't be able to perform complex cases. He could quickly determine the authenticity of simple injuries.

“Buyi, you are a master swordsman. Do you know any martial arts technique that allows you to slash the neck of someone from behind and cut it off in one stroke?”

"Is it this way?"

Li Zhaoting grabbed Bao Zheng, moved behind him, restrained him with his left hand, and with his right hand forming a sword shape, gently slashed Bao Zheng's neck.

"No, no, it's 'cut,' not 'wipe.'"

"I'll change my position!"

The attack method remained the same, except that the final killing move was changed from a slash to an inward chop, which touched Bao Zheng's neck before he took two steps back.

Beheading is a very troublesome way to kill someone.

First of all, beheading is much more strenuous than piercing the throat, and it's easy to get stuck by bones.

Secondly, the moment the head is severed, blood spurts out of the cavity, easily staining the area with blood. A shower and change of clothes are necessary, which wastes a lot of time.

Finally, due to the high degree of uncertainty, martial arts masters will consciously protect their vital points, especially the neck, and will remain wary even when meeting acquaintances.

Bodhidharma had no friends in the Central Plains.

He is wary of any outsider.

Judging from the room's furnishings, Damo Zhi was not very wary and had almost no defenses until his head was chopped off, at which point he realized he had fallen into a trap.

Li Zhaoting could easily defeat Damozhi, but he couldn't catch Damozhi off guard.

Li Zhaoting and Bao Zheng gestured continuously.

The killing process can be inferred from the traces at the scene.

The general process is as follows:

The assassin entered the room openly. He and Damo Zhi were acquaintances, and Damo Zhi was not on guard against him. The two discussed something, and when they got excited, they started arguing. Damo Zhi subconsciously leaned forward.

Just then, the assassin launched a surprise attack. Damo Zhi only wanted to argue and didn't intend to fight. Caught off guard, the assassin grabbed his vital points and beheaded him with a single blow.

Damo Zhi never expected his opponent to make a move, let alone that the opponent's killing intent was so resolute. Even in death, he was still in disbelief, his eyes filled with terror.

Does Bodhidharma know anyone in the capital?

Why kill Bodhidharma?

Could it be related to the abbot election?

Li Zhaoting rubbed his fingers together.

When thinking, Li Zhaoting likes to play with a beautiful woman's feet in his palms. This is a Buddhist temple, so it's inappropriate to do that. He can only rub his fingers together out of boredom.

The case at Daxiangguo Temple in the original storyline was caused by Bai Yutang, the "White-haired Rat," whose true identity was the grandson of Master Yanhui. They had the same tattoos on their bodies.

Yes, it's that same old trick of judging people by their tattoos.

The specific process is as follows: More than 30 years ago, Master Yanhui was escorting a relic of Xuanzang to Shaolin Temple when he was intercepted by bandits halfway there. After a fierce battle, he was seriously injured.

Master Yanhui fell off a cliff and was found by a kind tea-picking girl. During his recovery, the two fell in love. Yanhui originally planned to return to secular life, but after seeing Xuanzang's relics, he remembered his master's instructions.

The tea-picking girl couldn't bear to see him struggling, so she left a letter and took the initiative to leave. Yan Hui completed his sect's mission with remorse and then returned to the mountain to reflect on his mistakes.

The tea-picking girl was pregnant when she left, and gave birth to a son for Yan Hui. The son married and had children normally. Later, his hometown suffered a disaster, and only Bai Yutang survived.

Bai Yutang eventually arrived in the capital and formed the Five Rats with four friends. Yan Hui accidentally discovered that the Buddhist beads Bai Yutang was wearing were left behind by him. After guessing Bai Yutang's identity, Yan Hui took good care of Bai Yutang.

Originally, no one knew about this, but one time when the Five Rats were stealing vegetables, Jie Kong threw them into the pool and discovered Bai Yutang's tattoo, thus guessing his identity.

The same applies to the series of events that followed.

Yan Hui originally intended to end this complicated and unspeakable relationship by committing suicide, but Jie Xian, in order to protect Yan Hui's reputation, became a demon and went on a killing spree, leaving no one alive.

Because the killings were so brutal, the Great Xiangguo Temple sincerely invited Bao Zheng to become its abbot. In order to escape, Bao Zheng disguised himself as a woman and ran faster than a rabbit.

How to describe it?
It is logically reasonable for Yan Hui to discover Bai Yutang's identity, since Bai Yutang possessed Buddhist prayer beads as a keepsake.

The fact that Jie Kong and the others guessed Bai Yutang's identity solely because of the tattoo seems rather illogical.

Of course, some martial arts families may indeed have a rule of tattooing to identify individuals, and if Yan Hui comes from such a family, then it would be reasonable.

However, due to Li Zhaoting's interference, Jiekong was unaware that Bai Yutang was Yanhui's grandson, and Damozhi had no contact with Bai Yutang. So who killed him?

There's another problem with this story.

Who was it that injured Master Yan Hui back then?
The answer is very simple.

That gang of bandits was known as the "Seven Eagles of Chongqing." To be precise, they were the seven eagles before they were granted amnesty, or even not seven at all, but only four or five.

"Bao Zheng, what do you think?"

"I feel there must be something fishy about this."

"Gongsun Ce, what do you think?"

"I think the murderer is a martial arts master."

"You two are talking nonsense."

"Li Zhaoting, what do you think?"

"I don't think the killing will stop."

"why?"

"Because I am a commoner who is also a divine physician."

Li Zhaoting turned and went back to his room.

Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce exchanged a glance. Although they had no evidence, they felt that Li Zhaoting was right. They had been handling too many cases recently, and the two of them were becoming somewhat suspicious.

The death of Bodhidharma had little impact.

The Unhindered Assembly proceeded as scheduled.

Monks at Daxiangguo Temple debated Buddhist teachings.

The disciples of each branch temple elected their abbot.

Yan Hui created a test paper for the candidates of the Jie generation to answer, testing their understanding of Buddhism. The votes and scores were weighted separately, and the one with the highest score won.

This is a relatively fair way of conducting the evaluation.

The disciples had no objection to this.

Zhan Zhao voluntarily withdrew.

Although Zhan Zhao has a Buddhist name, he is essentially a lay disciple. He will definitely return to secular life after reaching adulthood and will not be able to become the abbot. Otherwise, Zhan Zhao would have a three-tenths chance.

Lan Fenghuang asked softly, "Brother Li, what is the Uncovered Assembly? Does it mean not wearing clothes?"

Li Zhaoting explained, "The meaning of 'unobstructed' is that one's heart is open and honest, without any obstruction or hindrance, regardless of social status, whether one is a monk or a layman, wise or foolish, good or evil..."

"Why do I feel like someone's missing?"

Lan Fenghuang counted on her fingers.

Sure enough, one person is missing.

Second Brother, Abstain from Anger.

The "Jie" generation is the backbone of Daxiangguo Temple. The four eldest senior disciples each have different responsibilities.

The eldest brother is in charge of the fields and houses;
The second senior brother is in charge of finance and commerce;
The third senior brother is in charge of discipline, rewards, and punishments;
The fourth senior brother is in charge of the canteen and vegetable garden.

Jiechen was usually quiet and reserved, and had a very low profile at Daxiangguo Temple. His fellow disciples joked that he shouldn't be called Jiechen, but should be called Jieyu instead.

Because Jiechen's presence was so inconspicuous, no one noticed that someone was missing until the exam started.

Only Lan Fenghuang, an outsider with a quirky imagination and a penchant for counting bald heads, noticed that Jiechen was not there.

Is the precept against anger absent?

Li Zhaoting asked, "Zhan Zhao, where is Jiechen's meditation room? Take me there quickly! Hurry!"

Zhan Zhao was surprised to find his belt being lifted. He had no choice but to obediently give Li Zhaoting directions. He kicked open the door, and inside was Jie Chen's corpse.

Jiechen was killed by a grappling technique. His body had obvious marks of grappling, binding, and dislocating tendons and bones. Li Zhaoting compared the wounds and found that it was the Dragon Claw Hand technique.

Li Zhaoting gestured a few times on the corpse.

Analyze the process of the two fighting in your mind.

Early this morning, a mysterious person entered Jiechen's room through the window. The two were acquaintances, and Jiechen had no suspicion of this person, so he took the initiative to invite the other person to sit down.

The two sipped tea while discussing matters.

When the discussion reached a critical moment, the other party suddenly launched a sneak attack with the authentic Shaolin Dragon Claw Hand. He grabbed Jiechen's throat with the Wind Catching Style to prevent Jiechen from making a sound, and grabbed his pulse point with the Shadow Catching Style to prevent Jiechen from resisting. Then, he used both hands to crush Jiechen's bones at the same time. In order to confuse the situation, he used thirteen heavy moves in a row.

Jiechen's arms were broken, half of his ribs were twisted by the claws, and his waist and abdominal bones were worn down. The fatal wound was not to his throat, but the finger mark on his Tanzhong acupoint.

It has form but no appearance, and it has appearance but no form.

The Finger of No Form.

This finger technique is an internal pure yang finger technique. It is not the path of extreme yang and hardness, but rather as warm as the rising sun. When it is used, it is formless and invisible, leaving no trace.

In short, it's... the Silent Finger!

Best suited for nighttime battles and surprise attacks.

It is especially suitable for dealing with blind people.

Blind people are mostly good at locating objects by sound. The Wuxiang Jiezhi technique is silent and leaves no trace, so only experts like Hua Manlou and Yuan Suiyun can detect it.

Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce arrived at the scene quickly.

Upon seeing Jiechen's corpse, he was shocked.

Li Zhaoting was right.

This is a serial murder case.

Li Zhaoting searched the room and found that the furniture was in order, but one thing was missing.

Account book!

Jiechen's private business ledger.

As the chief financial officer of Daxiangguo Temple, Jiechen frequently withdrew money for lending, not normal lending, but an underground money exchange, and his business was very large.

How could such a large business not have accounting records?
Zhan Zhao asked, "Any clues?"

Li Zhaoting said, "Killing for money!"

(End of this chapter)