Do you have the strength to force me to join the Liangshan bandits?

Chapter 303 Yang Zaixing: Sai Xuande is also unfair! [1st update]

Niu Gao, He Yuanqing, Yang Zaixing, Luo Yanqing, and the other younger generation rode side by side, chatting animatedly.

As they chatted, Yang Zaixing began to recount his stories of wandering the martial arts world and righting wrongs before he went to Tokyo to take the imperial examination.

"Once, when I was in Runan, I passed through a small mountain village and happened to witness several bandits abducting a local woman!"

Yang Zaixing spoke of this with great pride:
"So many men in the village didn't dare to resist, it made me furious!"

"I went up and stabbed several bandits to death!"

"Then I left without leaving my name or saying anything unnecessary to them, and just left!"
"Having accomplished their task, they left without a trace, concealing their merits and fame!"

"Brother, wait a minute!"

He Yuanqing suddenly called out to him: "What mountains do you think surround this small village?"

"forget."

Yang Zaixing said casually:
"I traveled around Tokyo and passed through many places."

"I was just helping the weak and oppressed on a whim. I never intended to take advantage of their kindness. How could I possibly remember any mountains?"

"Think about it carefully!"

He Yuanqing emphasized, "This matter is very important to me!"

"what?"

Yang Zaixing was a little confused and made a casual joke:
"Brother, could it be that you're from that small mountain village?"

"No!"

He Yuanqing's voice was somewhat low: "Those bandits might be my men..."

"Uu——"

Niu Gao and Luo Yanqing immediately got excited, wishing they could grab a handful of sunflower seeds and listen while munching on them.

At this moment, Cai Fu heard their commotion, came over to listen, and then pressed Yang Zaixing for answers:

"You really can't remember?"

He Yuanqing was young, so Yang Zaixing could choose not to answer, but since Cai Fu had asked Yang Zaixing, he had to take it seriously:

"Uncle, I really can't remember."

"I was just passing through; I didn't even stop after killing a few bandits..."

"Alright, it's not far from here to Runan."

Cai Fu changed the itinerary with just one sentence:
“We’ll split into three groups, and you’ll come with me to Runan.”

The first group consisted of Fang Jie and Shi Qian leading Han Shizhong and Wen Huanzhang back to Liangshan Marsh to ask An Daoquan to treat Han Shizhong's injuries.

The second route involved Yue Fei and Luo Yanqing escorting Tang Niu'er to Erlong Mountain, after which Yue Fei and Luo Yanqing returned directly to Longtou City.

The third route was led by Cai Fu, Wu Song, Niu Gao, He Yuanqing, and Yang Zaixing to Runan.

Yang Zaixing had absolutely no idea why he was going to Runan.

It was obvious that Cai Fu was not trying to praise him, but he had done a good deed of helping the weak and oppressed. Was he wrong?

So Yang Zaixing was sullen the whole way, and he wasn't very enthusiastic about talking to Niu Gao and He Yuanqing.

As luck would have it, when Cai Fu and his group arrived at Dafeng Village, it was a cloudy day, and the sky was dark and gloomy.

"Xiao Yang, do you know this place?"

Cai Fu suddenly asked Yang Zaixing a question.

Yang Zaixing was preoccupied and was completely taken aback when Cai Fu asked him:

"Ah...I don't know him!"

Yang Zaixing looked up and saw only a small hill in front of him, with a small shack next to it.

He was absolutely certain he had never been here, but Cai Fu also said:
"Look around more carefully!"

I don't recognize any of this place!

Yang Zaixing was a little sullen.

He felt that ever since He Yuanqing became Cai Fu's godfather, Cai Fu had become biased.

He Yuanqing targeted him for no reason that day, and then Cai Fu also targeted him!
It seems that "Sai Xuande" isn't so fair after all!

Yang Zaixing pouted and glanced around hastily:
"I've looked closely, Uncle, I don't recognize it..."

Halfway through his sentence, Yang Zaixing suddenly realized something was wrong. He turned back and looked towards a large mountain in a certain direction:
"It just looks a little familiar..."

"Does it look familiar?"

Cai Fu raised his lips in a playful smile:
"Xiao Yang, look, there's an old man sitting in that shack."

"Go ask him for directions."

Although he didn't know what Cai Fu was up to, Yang Zaixing still dismounted as instructed and went to ask the old man in the shack:

"Excuse me, sir, where is this place?"

The old man was sitting in his shack folding paper ingots, and without looking up, he said:
"This place used to be called Shili Pu, now it's called Da Fen Village."

Yang Zaixing, like He Yuanqing, was taken aback for a moment: "Why change your name?"

"Do you see this large tomb?"

The old man pointed to a small hill, about three zhang high, shrouded in dark clouds.

"what?"

Yang Zaixing looked up in disbelief: "This, this is actually a grave?"

Old man: "What do you think?"

Yang Zaixing had a strange, ominous premonition:

"Old man, could such a large grave be the result of a natural disaster?"

"It's not a natural disaster, it's a man-made one!"

The old man wiped away his tears:
"The second king of Wutong Mountain has taken a fancy to Little Cuihua from our village and sent a few henchmen to kidnap her."

"A passing hero killed those few henchmen and left."

"The second-in-command of Wutong Mountain couldn't find him to take revenge, so in a fit of rage, he slaughtered our entire village..."

"What--"

Yang Zaixing felt as if he had been struck hard in the chest by He Yuanqing's iron hammer, and he staggered back several steps.

He stared blankly at the three-zhang-high tomb, which contained the wronged souls of the entire village... Although he didn't remember the name of the place, he remembered this incident and felt very proud of it, often showing it off to others.

When Yang Zaixing met Luo Yanqing in Tokyo, he played the tune for him.

Luo Yanqing even gave him a thumbs up and praised him for being "extravagant"!
However, Yang Zaixing never expected that what he thought was saving one person would actually harm an entire village...

"All dead..."

The old man, head drooping, folded paper ingots while muttering to himself:
"I'm the only one left in the whole village..."

“I originally thought I should just die. My wife, son, and grandson are all dead, so what’s the point of me living?”

"But someone has to stay with them, talk to them, and burn some paper money for them, right?"
"They didn't have a good life while they were alive, so I'm burning more paper money for them so they can have money to spend in the afterlife..."

As Yang Zaixing listened, his eyes were blurred with tears, and his legs went weak, causing him to kneel down in front of the large grave.

"Young master, what are you doing...?"

The old man was startled and quickly crawled out of the shack to help him.
“You’re dressed all in white, and the floor is dirty…”

"Old man, I am the hero who was passing by..."

Yang Zaixing felt deeply ashamed as he said this, feeling that he was not worthy of the title "hero".

The old man was stunned: "It's...you?"

"it's me!"

Yang Zaixing hung his little head and said dejectedly:
"Father-in-law, punish me!"

"Why would I punish you..."

The old man, tears streaming down his face, said, "You saved Xiao Cuihua, you are a good person!"

"It's all the fault of those powerful people. Hey, why did you kneel down too?"

He Yuanqing knelt beside Yang Zaixing without uttering a sound, silently expressing his remorse.

"Benefactor?"

Just as the old man was about to help He Yuanqing up, he suddenly saw Cai Fu walking towards him and immediately knelt down.
"Our benefactor has come to see us!"

"Many thanks to my benefactor for avenging our village. I have erected a longevity tablet in honor of my benefactor!"

"This old man prays for my benefactor day and night!"
"Our benefactor is a good person who does good deeds and accumulates virtue; may he live a long and healthy life!"

Yang Zaixing stared wide-eyed in disbelief, as if he were seeing Cai Fu all over again...

Cai Fu quickly helped the old man up, took him back to the shack, and talked to him.

Yang Zaixing stared blankly for a while, then turned to look at He Yuanqing:
Why did you kneel down too?

"That mountain is called Wutong Mountain."

With tears in his eyes, He Yuanqing said, "I am the Third King of Wutong Mountain."

"what?"

Yang Zaixing, both shocked and furious, grabbed He Yuanqing by the collar:

"Did you do it?"

"It wasn't me, but I..."

He Yuanqing's eyes dimmed: "I used to be with them. I helped them defeat the government troops..."

"Oh!"

Yang Zaixing had already punched He Yuanqing in the cheek:

"You're aiding and abetting evil!"

"I'm an accomplice to evil, so what are you?"

After being punched, He Yuanqing not only didn't regain his senses but his eyes turned red, and he punched Yang Zaixing in the face in return.
"Run away after causing trouble!"
You think you're saving people, but you're actually scamming them!

The punch swelled up Yang Zaixing's face, and he almost stumbled and fell!
Yang Zaixing seized the opportunity to hug He Yuanqing's calf, nudged He Yuanqing's stomach with his shoulder, and pulled the calf closer to his chest:
"Who ran away! I was just passing by!"

"boom!"

He Yuanqing was knocked to the ground by Yang Zaixing, then grabbed Yang Zaixing's head with both hands and fell down with him.

"Yes! I just happened to be passing by and ripped off a whole village!"

"fart!"

Yang Zaixing and He Yuanqing started fighting:
"If you hadn't aided and abetted the wicked, they would have been wiped out by the government troops long ago!"

He Yuanqing flipped over and pinned Yang Zaixing beneath him:

"I had no idea they had done so many bad things!"

The two men wrestled together; He Yuanqing was incredibly strong, and Yang Zaixing was no slouch either.

Niu Gao wanted to break up the fight, but Wu Song stopped him.

Niu Gao looked to Cai Fu for help, only to see Cai Fu sitting cross-legged in the shack as if he had come home, talking to the old man while folding paper ingots...

Cai Fu turned a blind eye to the fight between He Yuanqing and Yang Zaixing, and Niu Gao could only watch helplessly.

"Rumble..."

With thunder and lightning, the torrential rain that had been holding back for so long finally began to fall!

Wu Song and Niu Gao went to the shack and squeezed together with Cai Fu and the old man to avoid the rain.

Yang Zaixing and He Yuanqing continued to wrestle in the raging wind and rain, their roars drowned out by the sound of the rain, like a silent play.

Niu Gao asked worriedly, "Uncle, they won't get into trouble, will they...?"

As Cai Fu folded paper ingots, he said, "It's alright, let them fight!"
"Don't just stand by and watch! Come and help!"

Wu Song and Niu Gao also folded paper ingots, and watching the fight while folding paper ingots was quite an interesting experience.

Yang Zaixing and He Yuanqing finally got tired of fighting and stopped. The two of them collapsed in front of the grave like mud.

He Yuanqing was soaking wet, looking like a water ghost, while Yang Zaixing's snow-white clothes were even more unbearable to look at.

But Yang Zaixing, who usually loved beauty the most, didn't care at all. He lay in the water, covered in mud, staring at the big tomb.

He Yuanqing was the same, his messy hair hanging down like waterweeds, staring blankly at the large grave under the torrential rain.

The water streaming down their faces was either rain or tears, it was hard to tell.

This violent storm was like a baptism for the two children, allowing them to see the world clearly at an early age.

For some, the Song Dynasty was a prosperous and glorious era, but for others, it was colder than the end of the world...

(End of this chapter)