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

Chapter 355 Shi Wengong: What a shrewd Huyan Zhuo! [1st Update]

The man riding a red horse and wielding a large sword fought Huyan Zhuo for ten rounds without a clear victor.

Suddenly, a hero in a red robe and golden armor rushed out from the mountain road, carrying a steel spear, and joined the battle.

Shi Wengong wanted to help, but in his opinion, Huyan Zhuo couldn't even take down one of them, let alone two against one.

But seeing that everyone seemed unhurried, Shi Wengong decided to hold back...

Then Shi Wengong realized that he had been patient, and after ten rounds, the score was still tied.

Huyan Zhuo is quite something!

Just as Shi Wengong was thinking this, two people rushed out from the mountain road. Their faces were ashen, their bodies were covered in gold, they rode yellow horses, and they held three-pronged forks. They joined the battle to fight Huyan Zhuo!
It's three against one...

Shi Wengong's heart tightened, but remembering that he had just been right to hold back, he decided to hold back again.

Sure enough, he was right to be patient again. Ten rounds passed and the game was still even!
Tsk, I underestimated him...

Shi Wengong knew the value of a three-on-one situation.

As the ancients said, one mastiff can fight two wolves, and three mastiffs can subdue one tiger, let alone three people.

This made Shi Wengong a little suspicious. Could it be that Huyan Zhuo was really unfathomable?
Suddenly, another person rushed out from the mountain path. He had a blue face and fangs, no beard, rode a blue-maned horse, and brandished a wolf-tooth club.

With the addition of this blue-faced, fanged fellow, it became four against one, and Shi Wengong's heart skipped a beat:
It’s getting more difficult!

But Huyan Zhuo remained calm and fearless, handling four opponents with ease.

“Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!”

Huyan Zhuo fought four opponents alone for ten rounds in the blink of an eye, but the battle was still evenly matched!
What a shrewd man, Huyan Zhuo!

Shi Wengong was already 70-80% convinced; it seemed that Huyan Zhuo was truly a master!
Suddenly, the sound of bells rang out. Cai Fu and the others looked up and saw another figure rushing out from the mountain path. He wore a silver helmet and silver armor, rode a white horse, and held a tattered silver halberd with a painted handle. He shouted loudly:
"I'm coming too!"

They look cool, but when they joined the battle, it was a five-on-one fight that lasted ten rounds and still ended in a draw!

Hu Yanzhuo, wielding double whips, was indeed cunning and deceitful!

Shi Wengong finally looked at Huyan Zhuo with new respect; even he couldn't be as composed as Huyan Zhuo.

If it were him, he would definitely kill one person first to break the deadlock, otherwise being surrounded and attacked would be really difficult.

Huyan Zhuo's ability to calmly fight five opponents alone must mean he was confident and wanted to subdue these five powerful men.

Shi Wengong whispered to Lu Zhishen with heartfelt admiration:

"Third Brother, this Huyan Zhuo is indeed unfathomable!"

At the same time, Huyan Zhuo was almost vomiting blood:
Damn it, are you all just going to stand by and watch?

Please help, brothers!

Huyan Zhuo's double whips were indeed excellent for defense, and even five strongmen couldn't defeat him, but he also couldn't defeat five strongmen.

If this continues, he'll be worn down to death by these five strongmen sooner or later. He's not a perpetual motion machine!
In fact, Cai Fu deliberately gave him a chance to shine because he joined too late and was likely to be sidelined.

But in fact, Huyan Zhuo is very capable. Since Cai Fu took him in, he naturally hoped that he could also shine.

Feeling that Huyan Zhuo had performed sufficiently, Cai Fu then pointed his riding whip:
"These robbers ganged up on the few and outnumbered them; they're no heroes!"

"Who will lend a helping hand to the Huyan brothers?"

"I'm going!"

Lu Zhishen could no longer contain himself and immediately stepped forward!

He wasn't alone; Shi Wengong, Yang Zhi, and Yang Zaixing also charged out together, and they ended up fighting the bandits one-on-one!

"Pfft!"

Shi Wengong stabbed the man wielding a broadsword on a red horse off his horse with a single spear thrust!

Lu Zhishen swung his staff at the red-robed, golden-armored man with a steel spear. The man with the steel spear tried to block the spear, but he couldn't, and was knocked off his horse!

Two men fell from their horses at the first encounter. The last one to appear, riding a white horse and wielding a silver halberd, caught Yang Zaixing, but was then swiftly killed by Yang Zaixing's spear thrusts, breaking out in a cold sweat and shouting in panic:
"Hold on, sir! Let's talk this out!"

There were five strongmen in their group, and the other four also shouted:

"Hold on, sir! Let's talk this out!"

Cai Fu curled his lipstick into a smile: "Stop it, everyone. Let's hear what they have to say."

The brothers all reluctantly stopped, and the most frustrated one was Huyan Zhuo.

Huyan Zhuo fought for a long time but failed to take down a single enemy. His actions were as fierce as a tiger, but when he checked his stats, he was completely stuck...

The five strongmen dismounted and walked dejectedly to Cai Fu.

Cai Fu could tell they were all quite young, the youngest being fifteen or sixteen and the oldest seventeen or eighteen, their faces still bearing the naivety of newcomers.

The last one to appear, riding a white horse and wielding a silver halberd, cautiously asked Lu Zhishen:

"Master, is your surname Lu?"

It's so much better up north! Wherever I go, people recognize me!
Lu Zhishen proudly puffed out his pectoral muscles:

"That's right! I am none other than 'Flowery Monk' Lu Zhishen!"

"Disrespect! Disrespect!"

Having confirmed Lu Zhishen's identity, the man with the white horse and silver halberd cautiously asked Cai Fu:
"Could this hero be the 'King of the Northern Blades'?"

Cai Fu: "Indeed."

"Oh my goodness!"

The five strongmen hurriedly bowed and prostrated themselves in worship:

"We were blind and offended King Cai, please forgive us!"

It has to be Daddy!

Yang Zaixing stood by, full of admiration:

Although my third and fifth uncles are incredibly brave, they can't compare to my father's prestige. Just by announcing his name, he can make all the heroes in the world bow down in worship.

Princess Tianshou's heart fluttered at the sight.

This was the first time she had ever seen a chivalrous hero bow down in such a manner.

She had initially thought Cai Fu was just a local strongman, but now it seemed he was far more complex than she had imagined… Cai Fu dismounted and helped the five strongmen to their feet, asking, “How should I address you, my five heroes?”

The man with the white horse and silver halberd then gave Cai Fu a tour of the place.

It turns out his name was Shi Quan, the one riding a red horse and wielding a big sword was Zhao Yun, the one in red robes and golden armor with a steel spear was Zhou Qing, the one with a yellow face and a yellow horse with a three-pronged fork was Liang Xing, and the one with a blue face, fangs, and a wolf-tooth club was Ji Qing.

The five of them were sworn brothers.

It turns out that their robbing of people on the road here was all thanks to Cai Fu.

The five of them originally went to Tokyo to take the martial arts exam.

As a result of Cai Fu's disturbance in Tokyo, the military examination was cancelled, and they were arrested and severely investigated by the Kaifeng Prefecture.

After finally being released from the investigation, they wanted to return to their hometown, but they were short of money and had no family, so they had no choice but to stay temporarily in Hongluo Mountain.

They heard that Cai Fu was at Liangshan Marsh, and in order to seek refuge with him, they robbed him of gold and silver as a gift. Little did they expect that they would end up robbing Cai Fu instead...

Of course, how credible this last statement is depends on the intelligence of the listener.

However, their status as military examination graduates is real; in the original novel "The Story of Yue Fei," they were all generals in Yue Fei's army.

Of the five, Ji Qing, with his blue face and fangs, is the most outstanding. If trained properly, he could be just as good as Niu Gao.

Cai Fu accepted the five of them and sent Shi Quan, Liang Xing, and Ji Qing to escort the injured Zhao Yun and Zhou Qing to Liangshan Marsh to join the group, while he continued north.

Before long, they arrived at the border between Liao and Song.

Cai Fu asked Princess Tianshou, "From which point did you enter the pass?"

Princess Tianshou declared confidently, "Smuggling!"

6!

Since that was the case, Cai Fu had no choice but to smuggle Princess Tianshou to the Liao Kingdom.

The group of eight bypassed the border and deliberately traveled through desolate, barren places, finally arriving in the territory of the Liao Kingdom.

Cai Fu asked Princess Tianshou, "Which prefecture is this?"

I will do this!

Princess Tianshou excitedly introduced it to Cai Fu: "This is Mozhou, garrisoned by my maternal uncle Kangli Ding'an!"

That's it!

Cai Fu thought it would be perfect to hand Princess Tianshou over to her uncle Kangli Ding'an so he could go home.

Princess Tianshou had no idea what Cai Fu was planning and thought he intended to escort her all the way to Yanjing.

Like a happy little colt, it ran around Cai Fu all the way.

Wu Yanshou was so jealous that Jill turned purple:

No, what exactly makes Cai better than me?
"Father, there's a roadside inn ahead."

Yang Zaixing returned from scouting ahead and reported to Cai Fu:
"There's only this one roadside inn within a ten-mile radius. Shall we stay here tonight?"

Cai Fu had no objection, after all, this was the only family within a ten-mile radius, so where else could he go if not this one?
When Cai Fu and his party arrived at the roadside inn, the sun was already setting. Lu Zhishen said with a smile:
"This roadside inn is conveniently located; it's just a day's walk from the border to get there!"

Cai Fu nodded, and at that moment, Wu Yanshou, who had been as timid as a chick the whole way, suddenly became lively.

"These kinds of shady shops specifically rip off foreigners, I'll go instead!"

Wu Yanshou snatched the task of ordering food: "Waiter, is there any 'Stand Out from the Crowd'?"

Waiter: "Yes! Our signature dish is 'Mending the Fence After the Sheep Are Lost,' would you like to try it, sir?"

"most!"

Wuyan Yanshou then asked, "Do you have 'catch them all in one net'? If so, one bowl will be enough to eat!"

Cai Fu and the others couldn't understand the Liao language, only Yang Zhi and Yang Zaixing could speak it because of their family tradition of learning.

As an aside, Lu Zhishen and Huyan Zhuo could speak the Western Xia language, while Shi Wengong could speak the Jin language.

Princess Tianshou and Wuyan Yanshou could both speak Song and Jin languages.

Of the entire team, only Cai Fu didn't understand foreign languages.

It's not that he doesn't understand at all; Cai Fu is fluent in English and can speak a few words of Japanese, but unfortunately, he can't use them now.

So Cai Fu could only ask Yang Zhi, "What were they saying?"

Even after Yang Zhi translated, Cai Fu still couldn't understand. Princess Tianshou glared fiercely at Wuyan Yanshou:
"speak English!"

Wuyan Yanshou quickly explained to them that "standing out from the crowd" meant mutton head meat, "buying the fold after the sheep are lost" meant roasted whole lamb, and "catching them all in one net" meant mixed fish soup.

Because they were located on the border between Liao and Song dynasties, they adopted these names to appear cultured.

The waiter said these were all main dishes, enough to eat.

Cai Fu told him to hurry up and serve the food, so the waiter went to the kitchen to prepare it, and soon the food and drinks were served.

Wuyan Yanshou hadn't eaten anything good lately, so as soon as the dishes were served, he started to eat heartily.

Cai Fu and his brothers exchanged glances and started eating, but they didn't touch a drop of alcohol.

Wuyan Yanshou, his mouth greasy from eating, raised a full bowl of wine to Cai Fu:
"Hero, I salute you!"

Cai Fu chuckled and said, "Get lost."

"okay!"

Wu Yanshou, looking disheveled, drank the wine, ate a couple of bites of food haphazardly, and then left early to return to his room.

No one cared about his feelings. If it weren't for Princess Tianshou's leniency, he wouldn't have been able to return to Liao.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Cai Fu and the others returned to their respective guest rooms.

Cai Fu slept side by side with Lu Zhishen and Shi Wengong tonight. Exhausted from their journey, the three brothers chatted until the second watch of the night before going to sleep.

Around midnight, Yang Zaixing, who was on night watch, suddenly burst in:

"Father, something terrible has happened! Get up quickly, there's a fire!"

(End of this chapter)