Magical Water Margin: They all call me brother

Page 84

The golden-eyed catwoman approached Shi En, embraced Wu Song, and bowed, saying, "Sister, you are no ordinary person! You are truly a goddess!"

All the jailers and prisoners bowed and called him a god. Shi En then invited Wu Song to sit in the main hall of his private residence and told him his purpose.

"Since childhood, my sister has learned some martial arts from her master in the martial arts world. In Mengzhou, she has a nickname: Golden-Eyed Leopard. It means Golden-Eyed Big Cat. There is a market town outside the East Gate of this place called Happy Forest. Merchants from Shandong and Hebei come there to do business. There are about a hundred large inns and thirty or twenty gambling dens and money exchange shops."

Normally, I rely on my personal skills and the fact that I have eighty or ninety prisoners in the camp who have given up their lives. I run a tavern there, distributing the meat and wine to various shops, gambling dens, and money exchange houses. Whenever a passing prostitute comes to the tavern, she must first pay her respects to me before being allowed to dine and entertain herself. These places provide her with spare money every day, and at the end of the month, she can earn two or three hundred taels of silver. This is how I make money.

However, recently a militia leader surnamed Zhang has arrived in our camp, newly arrived from Dongluzhou, bringing a man with him. That fellow, named Jiang Zhong, is over two meters tall, hence his nickname in the martial arts world: Jiang the Door God. Though he's not exactly tall, he possesses exceptional skills, wielding a spear and staff with great skill, unleashing powerful punches and kicks, and is a master of sumo wrestling. He boasts, "For three years I've competed in wrestling on Mount Tai, and I've never met my match; under heaven, there's no one like me!"

Therefore, he came to seize my sister's hotel. My sister refused to let him, and he beat her so badly that she couldn't get out of bed for two months. Her wounds haven't healed yet. I wanted to get up and fight him, but he has Zhang Tuanlian's group of soldiers, who are numerous and powerful. If a fight breaks out, the camp will be the first to settle the score. I have endless hatred that I can't avenge.

I have long heard that you, elder sister, are a true hero, not like the one in Jiang's household. I wish you could avenge my endless grievances and die in peace. I only fear that you have traveled a long way and are still weak and exhausted. Therefore, I have instructed you to rest for three months, until your health and strength are restored, before we can discuss further matters.

Upon hearing this, Wu Song chuckled and asked, "Does Jiang the Gatekeeper have several heads and several arms?"

Shi En said, "His demon is very strange. When it activates its power, it has three heads and six arms."

Wu Song laughed and said, "Does he have three heads and six arms, so he has the abilities of Nezha? Even if Nezha himself came, I wouldn't be afraid of him!"

Shi En hesitated, "It's just that my sister is weak and inexperienced, so she can't defeat him and can't help her sister."

Wu Song didn't take Jiang Menshen seriously at all and immediately made a bold promise.

"I'm not just talking. With my skills, I've only ever fought tough guys and morally bankrupt people! Since you've said that, what are you doing here? If you have any wine, take it and eat it on the road. I'll go with you now. Watch me finish this bastard off like a tiger. If I kill him with a heavy punch, I'll take my own life!"

Chapter 213: The Pilgrim Drunkenly Beats Jiang the Gatekeeper

Seeing that he couldn't persuade her otherwise, Shi En had no choice but to leave the prison with Wu Song and go outside the east gate of Mengzhou. After walking three or five hundred paces, they saw a tavern with its signboard hanging from the eaves, extremely prosperous, right next to the official road.

The gate welcomes the post road, the door connects to the countryside. Hibiscus and golden chrysanthemums stand beside the pond, green willows and yellow locust trees shade the tavern.

On the wall is a depiction of Liu Ling indulging in drinking; in front of the window is a painting of Li Bai passing around a cup.

When Yuanming returned to his hometown, Wang Hong sent him wine at the eastern fence; when Foyin lived in the mountains, Su Shi escaped to the northern pavilion to practice Zen.

The aroma alone is enough to make three families stop their horses in a drunken stupor, and the fragrance alone is enough to make one halt their boat for miles.

I would gladly embrace my zither and drink to my heart's content, knowing I'll spend my days lying in the setting sun.

Several servants carrying food baskets were already waiting there. As soon as Shi En invited Wu Song inside to sit down, the servants immediately brought out large amounts of fish, meat, and delicacies, serving the two of them food and drink. Seeing such delicious food but no wine, Wu Song immediately shouted loudly, ordering the waiter to bring out the finest wine for him to drink.

"Sister, this isn't a good idea. Although Jiang the Gatekeeper is definitely not as strong as you, he's still a troublemaker. What if you get drunk and lose your temper, and get hurt by him?"

Shi En was a little nervous and tried to dissuade Wu Song from drinking. He thought, "If Wu Song is defeated by Jiang Menshen, my mediocre skills won't be able to protect my sister and help her escape safely."

"Hey! Don't panic. As the saying goes, every bowl of wine you drink gives you a bit of strength. From here to your Happy Forest, how many taverns are there?"

Wu Song didn't care at all; I'll just use Drunken Fist.

"About twenty companies."

Shi En nervously answered truthfully.

"Watch closely, after we finish this meal, I'll drink three bowls of wine at every tavern we go to. When we get to Happy Forest, I'll have sixty percent of my divine strength, enough to beat that Jiang the Door God into a real door god, thin as paper and sticky on the door!!!"

Wu Song confidently stated that after a hearty meal at the hotel, they would set off.

It was the height of summer, and the two men traveled and drank as they went, covering three or four miles, passing twenty-one taverns and consuming sixty-three bowls of wine. It was now midday, the air still hot, but a slight breeze stirred. Wu Song, feeling the effects of the wine, spread out his shirt, pretending to be quite drunk despite being only five or seven parts intoxicated. He staggered and swayed until he reached the edge of the woods.

Shi En was afraid of Jiang Menshen and dared not approach. He had two servants take Wu Song there. After a few dozen steps, the servant pointed and said, "Just ahead at the T-junction, is the Happy Forest that Jiang Menshen forcibly seized."

"Now that you're here, go and hide far away. Wait until I defeat Jiang Menshen before you come back."

Wu Song rushed behind the trees and saw a burly man, dressed in a white cloth shirt, sitting under a green locust tree, enjoying the shade with a fly whisk in hand. His face was ugly and his features rough. His muscles were bulging, with several veins standing out. His yellow beard slanted upwards, and a cicada-like shape appeared at the corner of his mouth; his strange eyes were wide open, his brows like those of a star. Sitting there, he looked as ferocious as a tiger; walking, he resembled a door god. Wu Song guessed this man was Jiang the Door God.

After confirming Jiang Menshen's location, Wu Song continued to feign drunkenness and madness, surveying the battle environment. Jiang Menshen also glanced at Wu Song with apprehension. Good heavens, what the hell? I'm already two meters tall and stand out from the crowd, but this drunkard is actually two and a half meters tall. He's a tough nut to crack.

After walking less than thirty or fifty steps, a large hotel came into view at the T-junction. A watchtower stood in front of the eaves, with a wine sign hanging on it, bearing the four large characters: "Heyang Romance". Turning around, one could see a green balustrade in front of the door, with two gilded flags planted in the air. Each flag had five gold characters on it, which read: "In drunkenness, the universe is vast; in a wine pot, the days and months are long".

On one side was a butcher's block, with servants wielding knives; on the other side was a wood-fired stove for steaming buns. Inside, three large wine jars were lined up, half-buried in the ground, each more than half full of wine. In the very center stood a cabinet, inside which sat a young woman, Jiang Menshen's newly acquired concubine upon his arrival in Mengzhou.

Seeing this, Wu Song, his eyes still glazed with drunkenness, rushed into the tavern and sat down at a table opposite the counter. He placed his hands on the table and stared intently at the woman. The woman, seeing this from behind the counter, turned her head away and looked elsewhere.

When Wu Song looked into the shop, there were five or seven bartenders. His eyes darted around, and he immediately had a plan. He banged on the table and called out, "Where is the owner of this wine shop?"

A bartender came over and looked at Wu Song, asking, "How much wine would you like, sir?" Wu Song replied, "Two jiao of wine, just to have a taste."

The bartender went to the counter and asked the woman to scoop down two jiao (a unit of dry measure) of wine, pour it into a bucket, and heat a bowl of it. Wu Song picked it up, smelled it, and shook his head, saying, "No good, no good! What kind of horse piss is this?! Give me the best wine!!!"

Seeing that she reeked of alcohol and was swaying unsteadily, the bartender assumed she was drunk and went to the counter, saying, "Madam, sir, you would like to change to some better wine."

The woman, unfazed by Wu Song's drunken state, changed the wine barrel, emptied the wine, and ladled out some better quality wine. The waiter brought over a bowl of the good wine, warmed to a crisp. Wu Song picked it up, took a sip, and still complained, "This wine is no good either! Quickly bring me better wine! I'll forgive you, but if you dare bring me this filthy water again, I'll smash your shop!"

Seeing Wu Song's tall and imposing physique, the bartender chose to swallow his anger and took some wine to the counter, saying, "Madam, just give him some better wine. Don't take it personally. This customer is already drunk and is most likely to cause trouble. Just give him some better wine."

The woman gave Wu Song a disapproving look. Even Jiang Menshen, who had seen countless demons and monsters, and the bartender were wary of Wu Song.

However, she herself lacked discernment. As Jiang Menshen's concubine, she had the advantage of having powerful backers and was not afraid of Wu Song. Wu Song took in all the changes in the expressions of the three of them.

After a while, the bartender ladled out the best wine, heated it up, and handed it to Wu Song. Wu Song tasted it and was somewhat satisfied. Since the bartender and Jiang Menshen were both discerning and unwilling to provoke him easily, Wu Song decided to target the most arrogant and domineering concubine among them, directly offending her with his first words.

"Hmm, the wine in your shop is quite interesting, but I have no one to keep me company. How about this, ask that woman behind the counter to come down and keep me company while I drink! She's quite pretty, she'll be perfect to have a drink with me."

Wu Song deliberately provoked the woman. This woman was quite arrogant, probably because she had Jiang Menshen backing her up. She was used to being arrogant. As long as he provoked her, he didn't believe that Jiang Menshen wouldn't dare to do anything if his own woman was being harassed.

The bartender was shocked: "You drunkard, don't talk nonsense! This is my master's wife."

Wu Song didn't take Jiang Menshen seriously at all: "So what if she's the mistress of the house? She's just drinking with me, right? I'm a woman, and she's a woman too. Wouldn't it be fun to have a drink with me?! Come, come, I'll let you experience the kind of pleasure your husband can't give you."

Before the bartender could react, the woman behind the counter was already furious. She pushed open the counter and was about to rush out to argue with Wu Song.

At this moment, Wu Song was not drunk at all. Seeing that he had successfully provoked her, he suddenly poured the good wine in the bowl onto the woman. Instantly, her upper body was completely soaked, and her wet silk clothes clung to her fair and tender flesh, revealing an alluring glimpse of her body.

Wu Song snorted coldly, then suddenly threw the wine bowl, hitting the bartender on the forehead and forcing him back. He then grabbed the woman's soft waist and, with brute force, hoisted her onto his shoulder. The strong shoulder muscles made her waist ache unbearably, and she struggled frantically, but Wu Song's hands were strong, and she couldn't struggle at all.

"I asked you to drink with me, but you wouldn't let me. You're really refusing to listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!"

Wu Song deliberately threw the woman into the wine vat. With a loud splash, the poor woman landed headfirst in the vat, her silk robes soaked through. She choked on several mouthfuls of wine and nearly fainted.

Seeing that someone was coming to cause trouble, the other bartenders all rushed towards Wu Song. Wu Song coldly snorted and easily knocked them all to the ground with a few punches and kicks, causing a cacophony of screams and howls.

Seeing the hotel in such a mess, Jiang Menshen, though wary of Wu Song's tall stature, was forced to take action and revealed his three-headed, six-armed fighting form! Three ferocious heads roared to the sky, and six muscular arms resembled tigers and elephants.

Unfortunately, his fighting ability wasn't top-tier to begin with, and Wu Song was determined to outmaneuver him. He was even feigning drunkenness at this moment, and Jiang Menshen, seeing Wu Song, presumably took advantage of his intoxication and charged forward without thinking!

No sooner said than done. Wu Song suddenly transformed into an indestructible body. Jiang Menshen's two fists, each the size of a sand pot, slammed into Wu Song's back, but instead of causing injury, they made Jiang Menshen's arms numb and unbearable. His knuckles struck Wu Song's bronze head and iron bones, leaving Jiang Menshen with bloody and mangled wounds!

Take action now!

Relying on the fact that his invulnerability hadn't lasted for a second, Wu Song suddenly twisted his waist, did a cat-like turn, and then unleashed a powerful uppercut kick, his right foot slamming into Jiang Menshen's jaw, sending him flying high into the air! His massive head smashed through the second-floor floor, and half of his body was sent flying from the first floor to the second floor by Wu Song's kick. His jaw, with several teeth knocked out, hung crookedly on his head, clearly dislocated by the kick—it was the Jade Ring Kick from the Tiger Claw style of martial arts.

Wu Song took a step forward, then suddenly jumped up, grabbed Jiang Menshen's ankle, and pulled the burly man who had been kicked to the second floor and was stuck in the ceiling down. He threw him to the ground, stepped on his chest, and raised his fists, which were the size of casserole dishes, to punch Jiang Menshen in the face!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!!"

Jiang Menshen was completely dumbfounded. He thought he was beating a drunkard. How come he was already down at the very beginning?! At first, he could use his arms to protect his face, throat, chest and other vital areas, and use his forearm muscles to withstand Wu Song's attacks. But Wu Song didn't let him get away with it. He turned his fists into brass and smashed them several times, breaking Jiang Menshen's flesh and bones. He could only cry for mercy in the pool of blood!

Seeing that Jiang Menshen had submitted, Wu Song stopped: "You are a bully who preys on men and women, and you do all sorts of evil deeds with your skills. I should have killed you today, but if you want me to spare your life, that's not impossible, but you have to do three things for me."

Jiang Menshen writhed in the shadows on the ground, screaming, "Hero, spare me! Don't mention three things, even three hundred, I'll do it!"

Wu Song roared, "First, you must leave Happy Forest and return to your hometown, immediately returning all your household belongings to their rightful owner, Golden-Eyed Leopard Shi En. Who gave you permission to forcibly take them from him?"

Jiang the doorkeeper hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes!"

Wu Song said, "Secondly, I want you to hold a banquet and invite all the wealthy and powerful people of Happy Forest to come. In their presence, I want you to apologize to Shi En."

Jiang Menshen said, "I will comply."

Wu Song said, "The third thing is that after you hand over the goods today, you must leave this Happy Forest and return to your hometown tonight. You are not allowed to stay in Mengzhou. If you stay here and don't go back, I will beat you every time I see you, and I will beat you ten times if I see you ten times. At best, I will beat you half to death, and at worst, I will kill you! Do you agree?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Menshen struggled to save his life and repeatedly replied, "Yes, yes! Jiang Zhong will do it!"

Wu Song nodded in satisfaction.

"If you dare to disobey, I'll kill even the Tiger Demon in Mengzhou. Are you more powerful than that beast?"

Jiang Menshen was shocked and realized that the one who had defeated him was Wu Song, the tiger-slaying hero. He was even more terrified and kept begging for mercy. He agreed with everything Wu Song said.

Chapter 214: The Supervisor Secretly Sends Zhang Yulan

After defeating Jiang Menshen and reclaiming Happy Forest, Shi En treated Wu Song with utmost respect. His golden cat eyes were filled with admiration and respect. He even used his father's position as the prison warden to bring Wu Song to live in his home—no need to go to prison anymore, Master, please teach me martial arts at Shi's house!

At this moment, Wu Song's mind was filled with thoughts of how to return to Liangshan Marsh. Not having to spend time in prison would naturally be advantageous for his escape. Furthermore, Shi En had spared him the beating and even provided him with lavish meals and various medicinal herbs to help him recover from his injuries. Wu Song readily agreed.

For several dozen days, Wu Song taught Shi En martial arts while gathering intelligence on Mengzhou, falsely claiming to be from Jizhou and asking how to get back to Jizhou. Once they reached Jizhou, it would be much easier to leave Liangshan Marsh.

Not only that, Wu Song also became acquainted with a group of hotel owners in Happy Forest through Shi En's connections. Through these people, he gradually gained a deeper understanding of the underworld forces in Mengzhou, and thus became acquainted with two local gang leaders, Zhang Qing of the Vegetable Garden and Sun Erniang, the Female Demon. Due to the compatibility of the stars in the upper realm, the three hit it off immediately and became old friends and confidants. They chatted and became very familiar with each other.

Meanwhile, Wu Song was slowly making all the preparations for his escape and was ready to leave at any time. The only problem was that he had promised Shi En to be his master and teach her the Tiger Claw Style techniques, but he hadn't taught her all of them yet. She was also reluctant to leave her Happy Forest and didn't want to go. Therefore, Wu Song planned to teach her a few Tiger Claw Style techniques before leaving.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Zhang Dujian, the militia commander of Mengzhou, arrived at the Shi family with a gloomy face. He immediately said, "There's a prisoner missing from the jail. Everyone says it was you, Shi En, who took him away! You released a prisoner without permission, what the hell are you trying to do?"

Seeing that the military supervisor was coming in a menacing manner, Wu Song immediately sensed something was wrong and stepped forward to admit everything, disclaiming all responsibility for Shi En, not wanting to make things difficult for his apprentice.

When the supervisor saw Wu Song, his eyes lit up. Wu Song was imposing, handsome, with striking features, sharp eyebrows, and bright eyes, exuding a heroic spirit. His 2.4-meter-tall frame stood like a pine tree standing alone in the frost and snow, or a solitary peak proudly facing the clouds.

Countless magnificent muscles, like small mountains, were stacked to form sexy and beautiful body curves. Even though her nine-foot-tall body was wrapped in thick clothes, it still undulated with a perfect waist and hip curve like a cheetah. Combined with her experience of fighting tigers and eliminating harm for the people of Mengzhou, she was truly a heroic figure!

Zhang Dujian was originally in cahoots with Jiang Menshen. He came here to avenge Jiang Menshen. In his eyes, Shi En was just the daughter of a jailer. She could act arrogantly in front of other commoners and prisoners, but she was nothing in front of him.

And Wu Song is even more ridiculous. I don't even want the jailer's daughter, so what are you, a prisoner? Can you fight? In this world, it's all about connections, backing, and allies. Can you fight? What good is being able to fight?

However, after seeing how outstanding Wu Song was, Zhang Dujian's plan changed completely. If he could use a talent like Wu Song, wouldn't he be a hundred times more powerful than Jiang Menshen?

For a moment, Wu Song became much more polite to Shi En, and immediately offered to invite Wu Song to his residence to be a martial arts instructor.

Wu Song had no choice but to agree in order to protect his disciple Shi En. He would see what tricks Zhang Dujian was up to. If necessary, he would just kill Zhang's whole family and run away. He had already planned his escape route.

But she didn't expect that as soon as she arrived at Zhang's residence, Supervisor Zhang would treat her with the utmost hospitality, giving her houses, maids, gold, silver, and clothes. Supervisor Zhang would treat Wu Song with double or even triple the kindness he had shown her, leaving Wu Song somewhat bewildered.

Even more outrageous, Zhang Dujian even called out his illegitimate daughter, Yulan, and offered her to Wu Song as his wife.

This is quite exaggerated. Although women can become pregnant with each other in this world, Confucian ethics have bowed to magical reality, allowing women with extraordinary powers or identities to become members of the ruling class, or even take the imperial examinations to become officials. For example, Liang Zhongshu of Daming Prefecture was due to his outstanding power, Qin Ming of Qingzhou was due to his outstanding combat power, and Lin Chong, the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards, was due to his outstanding power and strength.

In short, we don't consider gender, we only consider ability.

But that's precisely why. For a woman, marrying a wife symbolizes immense honor, representing that Zhang Dujian treats Wu Song as one of his own! He's even marrying his own daughter! Only, she's the daughter of a concubine, not his wife.

Wu Song was momentarily dazed. He had never really thought about settling down, getting married, or having a family. After hesitating for a long time, he finally didn't agree, but promised to treat Yulan as his younger sister. Looking at the gentle and considerate girl, Wu Song found a sense of home again. After a few days of getting to know her, he really did treat Yulan like his own sister, just like when his older brother took care of him when he was little.

But he still had to leave. Seeing that he couldn't get away from Zhang's mansion, Wu Song wrote down the Tiger Claw Style secret he hadn't given to Shi En on a piece of paper, intending to send it to her. At the same time, he contacted Zhang Qing from the vegetable garden and Sun Erniang, the "Mother Night Demon," preparing to flee to Liangshan. Meanwhile, he secretly tested Yulan's reaction to see if his adopted sister was willing to go with him. If she was willing, they would go to Liangshan together; if not, so be it.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Dujian was also secretly observing Wu Song. He originally wanted to marry one of his daughters to her, using marriage and blood ties to bind this extraordinary person to his side. Unfortunately, he failed, and Wu Song and Yulan only recognized each other as sisters.

During this time, the reports from Zhang Dujian's spies, his manpower, and most importantly, his own daughter Yulan, all pointed to one thing—Wu Song had no intention of staying here for long. Let alone serving her full sentence, she might even run away within a month!

For a moment, Zhang Dujian's face was so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip from it.

So be it, it seems Wu Song and I are destined to be apart. I am not destined to have such a hero—but if I cannot have him, no one else can either!

Meanwhile, Liu Hong arrived in Mengzhou, travel-worn. He randomly found a restaurant to eat, drink, and replenish his supplies. Before he could even sit down, two women rushed up to him with shining eyes and anxious expressions, leaving Liu Hong completely bewildered.

"You must be Liu Hong, the Great Sage Who Conquers Heaven! We've heard our sister talk about you! Those gilded wings are indeed eye-catching; we can recognize you at a glance!"

Zhang Qing from the vegetable garden said anxiously to Sun Erniang, the "female demon."

"My sister kept saying you'd come sooner or later, and now it seems she really will! Something terrible has happened to Sister Wu Song!!!"

Chapter 215: Desire Unfulfilled, Zhang Family's Murder

Liu Hong was completely bewildered. He immediately questioned the two men and discovered that Wu Song was in the most dangerous situation. Seeing that he could not subdue Wu Song and recruit him, Zhang Dujian had decided to kill him!

Fine. If I take Wu Song in, I'll have to apologize to Jiang Menshen later, since he's my brother-in-law and I can't afford to offend him too much. Killing Wu Song will solve everything. Since I can't have Wu Song, then nobody else can.

During this time, Wu Song truly regarded Yulan as family. Faced with Zhang Dujian's kindness, his vigilance gradually diminished, allowing Zhang Dujian to secretly plot his schemes.

Zhang Yulan was also confused at this moment. She was born out of wedlock; her mother was, to put it nicely, her father's concubine, but to put it bluntly, her father's plaything. As an illegitimate daughter not born to the legal wife, she was no different from a servant in the Zhang household. This was also recorded in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," where the legitimate son Yuan Shu treated the illegitimate son Yuan Shao as a servant. This was the case in the Han Dynasty, and it was also the case in the Song Dynasty.

She served as a high-ranking servant in the Zhang household for sixteen years, never receiving any fatherly love. Her father never treated her as a daughter, at most as a useful tool.

Her mother disliked her and resented her for not being a son, even a son born out of wedlock. At that time, she would have had a chance to fight her way up, even if it was just to become a low-ranking officer by her father's side. She could have improved her own status by marrying her son.

But a maid... unless she encounters some extraordinary adventure, she will either be given by Supervisor Zhang to a high-ranking official as a concubine and live a miserable life like herself, or she will marry a capable servant in the Zhang family and eventually have to live a life of subservience and dependence on others. This time, Supervisor Zhang is trying to give her to Wu Song, a servant, as his wife.

Having never received parental love since childhood, Yulan was indeed wavering at this moment. In just ten days of spending time with Wu Song, she actually found a sense of home and experienced the warmth of home in front of this stranger.

Wu Song was completely different from his parents. He never measured her by self-interest or calculated what she could bring him. Instead, he genuinely treated her like his younger sister, showering her with unconditional and meticulous care and love. Just as Wu Dalang cared for Wu Song, and just as Wu Song later cared for Liu Hong.