Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

"...Ten taels for the two of them!" Li Yuhou said in a low voice.

"Fifty taels of gold, once it passed through your hands, eighty percent of it was gone. You're even more ruthless than plucking feathers from a passing goose!" Jiao Ting exclaimed in surprise.

Zhao Yuan, who was standing to the side, suddenly stood up a few steps.

"Oh no! Teacher Xu is in danger!"

Chapter 114 In this world, you have to keep your word. If I say I'll kill your whole family, I mean I'll kill your whole family.

"Brother, why do you say that?" Lin Chong asked, puzzled.

“Brother, have you forgotten? Teacher Xu once said that the two guards escorting him seemed very familiar with Cangzhou. When they arrived in Cangzhou, they immediately took Teacher Xu to visit Master Chai!”

"It's common knowledge that Master Chai likes to associate with heroes of the martial arts world. He'll even give silver to anyone who catches his eye, even if they're escorting prisoners!"

Zhao Yuan said coldly, "In my opinion, those two constables clearly felt that Li Yuhou had given them too little gold, so they specially brought Teacher Xu along, wanting to go to Master Chai's mansion to earn some silver!"

"Once they get the silver and set off again, it will be Teacher Xu's death day!"

"Then isn't my brother in imminent danger?"

Tang Long stood up in a panic and hurriedly bowed to Zhao Yuan, saying...

"Please, Chief Zhao, show your mercy and save my brother's life!"

"Brother, please get up!"

Zhao Yuan helped Tang Long up and said to everyone, "Let's return to Master Chai's residence now. If Teacher Xu hasn't left yet, then everything is fine. If he has left, we should hurry after him and perhaps we can still save him!"

“Brother, I want to go too!” Bianxiang volunteered.

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"Brother, they're just two constables. We can easily take care of them if we chase after them!"

Zhao Yuan reassured him, "You take your men and pack up. After I bid farewell to Master Chai, we'll return to Liangshan together!"

"Yes! I will obey your orders, brother!"

Bian Xiang agreed, then, holding Li Yuhou in his arms, asked, "Brother, what should we do with this man?"

"Please, heroes, spare my life! Spare my life..." Li Yuhou begged desperately.

Zhao Yuan recalled that this man seemed to have originally been Gao Qiu's confidant, and now he was following Gao Kan.

Having already caused the deaths of countless heroes, he said coldly, "Brother, didn't you say earlier that you wanted to kill them all without leaving a single one alive?"

"We outlaws keep our word. Since we've said we'd kill them all, we must do it!"

"Don't worry, brother, I understand!"

Bian Xiang chuckled and dragged the limp Li Yuhou out of the house.

Let Qiongying, Pan Jinlian, and that female soldier named Xiaohuan stay to keep Xu's wife company.

Zhao Yuan led the remaining men at breakneck speed back to Chai Jin's manor.

(bica) What would normally be a journey of two or three hours could be completed by fast horsemanship.

It took just over an hour to get there.

Chai Jin happened to be inside the manor and did not go out.

Upon seeing Zhao Yuan and the others return, he asked in surprise, "Why is Chief Zhao in such a hurry?"

Zhao Yuan briefly explained the situation, then hurriedly asked,

"My lord, where is Teacher Xu?"

"this......"

When Chai Jin heard that the two constables had brought Xu Ning to him,

He was furious that they were only trying to swindle money from him and then plot to harm Xu Ning. His face turned ashen with rage!

"Those two despicable scoundrels! If I catch them, I'll tear them to pieces!"

Chai Jin snorted angrily before replying, "This morning, Teacher Xu said that he had already missed the scheduled escort time, so he came to say goodbye to me early. I gave Teacher Xu one hundred taels of silver and the two constables twenty taels each, and then saw them off!"

"Brother, we still need you to lead the way! We must hurry and catch up, perhaps we can still make it in time!" Zhao Yuan hurriedly said to Lin Chong.

For Lin Chong, the journey from Tokyo to the prison camp in Cangzhou was a long one.

That was an unforgettable experience, one that I will not easily forget.

He took the lead and set off.

Zhao Yuan and the others followed behind, traveling for more than an hour.

However, Xu Ning and the others were still nowhere to be seen.

"No, Teacher Xu and the others were on foot, while we were on horseback. Shouldn't we have caught up by now?" Lin Chong asked in surprise.

"Brother, Coach!"

Shi Qian thought for a moment and suddenly said, "I remember that when we were traveling just now, we passed through a grove of trees. If those two constables wanted to kill Teacher Xu, they wouldn't dare to do it on the main road. Perhaps they were hiding in that grove!"

"Let's go, let's go check out that forest that Brother Shiqian mentioned!"

Zhao Yuan told everyone to retrace their steps, and they soon arrived at the place Shi Qian had mentioned.

The group dismounted and entered the forest to search. They hadn't gone far when they saw Xu Ning tied to a tree, his mouth gagged.

In front of him, the two constables held up their batons.

It was about to strike Xu Ning's skull!

"How dare you, thief!"

Lin Chong shouted and hurled the spear hanging from his horse.

The two constables were startled by the sudden shout.

Before they could react, one of them was pierced through the heart by a spear.

The other man hurriedly turned to run away, but Zhao Yuan caught up with him in a few steps and killed him with a single blow.

When Zhao Yuan returned with his broadsword,

The ropes binding Xu Ning have been untied.

Upon seeing Zhao Yuan and Lin Chong, Xu Ning said with a look of regret,

"Alas, I regret not heeding your advice; only now do I face this calamity!"

"Teacher Xu, it's not too late for you to see the true face of the court now!" Zhao Yuan said with a light laugh.

Lin Chong chimed in, "My brother is right. Teacher Xu should return to Liangshan with us. It's much more comfortable there than in Tokyo!"

"Now I know that being able to join Liangshan is already a stroke of luck, but my family is still in Tokyo..."

Xu Ning had only spoken halfway when a familiar face emerged from behind the crowd and knelt directly before him.

"Tang Long! How dare you show your face before me!"

Xu Ning gritted her teeth in anger: "If you hadn't been so greedy for wealth, I wouldn't be in this state now!"

"Brother, it was all my fault for being blinded by greed that led to your downfall..."

Tang Long lay prone, then burst into loud sobs.

"If you can't stand it, then kill me!"

Although Xu Ning glared angrily at his brother, he never made a move.

Clearly, they still valued their sibling bond.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yuan recounted how Tang Long had risked his life to protect Xu Ning's wife.

He then led the others out of the woods, leaving only the two brothers behind.

A moment later, Xu Ning and Tang Long emerged from the woods one after the other.

Although the latter had a handprint on his face, he looked unusually relaxed, clearly indicating that Xu Ning had forgiven him.

"Chief Zhao, my brothers and I will be troubling you from now on!"

Xu Ning, accompanied by Tang Long, bowed to Zhao Yuan.

"Please rise, both of you!"

Zhao Yuan quickly helped them up: "With Instructor Xu helping to train the soldiers and Brother Tang Long helping to forge weapons and armor, this is a great fortune for Liangshan. How can it be considered a disturbance!"

Chapter 115 Taking a Detour to Yinma River

Zhao Yuan and his group stayed at Chai Jin's manor for three more days before setting off to leave.

The group first went to Bianxiang's mountain stronghold.

In the past three days, he had already had his henchmen pack up their belongings.

They changed into the armor and uniforms of the Xiang Army, and even their waist badges and documents were complete.

These items were all taken from the government troops who were chasing Tang Long and his men that day.

Those government troops were originally the imperial guards of Bianliang (Kaifeng), the capital of the Eastern Capital. Gao Kan made it easier for them to pursue and kill Tang Long and his group.

They were specially given new uniforms as soldiers of the local militia, and even all their identification badges and documents were provided.

Now, however, they all benefit Zhao Yuan.

Bian Xiang had his henchmen disguise themselves as soldiers, while he himself impersonated Li Yuhou and followed behind Zhao Yuan's group.

Zhao Yuan originally planned to head south directly to Daming Prefecture to meet the Jade Kirin, who was known as the best spearman in the world.

Yang Lin was surprised to see Bian Xiang's well-organized troops, but then he suddenly thought of one of his brothers.

“Brother, I have an old friend named Deng Fei, also known as the Fiery-Eyed Lion. He is originally from Xiangyang Prefecture and is skilled with an iron chain. Now he has gathered a group of men in Yinma River.”

“I passed by there before and drank with Brother Deng Fei. I know he also wants to join a large stronghold and make some achievements. I wonder if you would be willing to accept him?”

No sooner had Yang Lin finished speaking than Shi Qian, standing to the side, exclaimed in surprise,

"I've also heard of Deng Fei, the Fiery-Eyed Lion, whom Brother Yang Lin mentioned. It's said that he often ate human flesh, which caused his eyes to turn blood red, and he was also known as the Cannibalistic Demon Lord..."

Although the government was in chaos and corrupt, and the people were suffering, the country was not yet on the verge of complete collapse.

Therefore, let alone in ordinary people, even in bandits, cannibalism is an extremely unusual thing.

Only some vicious bandits, in order to show their cruelty, will choose to devour people.

Having followed Zhao Yuan for the past few days, Yang Lin knew that he was extremely disgusted by cannibalism.

They even burned down the black shop at Shizipo that sold human flesh buns.

Upon hearing Shi Qian's account of the rumors surrounding Deng Fei, Yang Lin, fearing Zhao Yuan might misunderstand, quickly explained...

“Brother, what Brother Shi Qian said is just a rumor. My brother Deng Fei did not commit the evil act of cannibalism. His red eyes have been like that since he was born. That is why he is mistaken by the world as a cannibalistic demon king!”

Zhao Yuan had read about Deng Fei, the Fiery-Eyed Lion, eating people in the Water Margin before he transmigrated.

However, he was only mentioned once in the entire book in a poem praising Deng Fei, and there were no further records of him after that.

For Zhao Yuan, red eyes were at most an eye ailment, but for people at that time, red eyes were often regarded as evil spirits and demons.

If you eat too much human flesh, your eyes will turn red.

Why didn't the evil couple at Shizipo change?

The number of merchants who died at the hands of these two men and became human flesh buns was at least three to five hundred, if not a thousand.

Furthermore, if Deng Fei truly ate human flesh, how could the upright and incorruptible Pei Xuan have been willing to live in the same village with him and call each other brothers?

"Red eyes are mostly caused by an eye disease; the idea that eating human flesh causes red eyes is just a rumor."

Zhao Yuan said with delight, "I have also heard of Brother Deng Fei's name. If he is also willing to join Liangshan, I would be more than happy to do so!"

......

Led by Yang Lin, the group headed towards Yinma River.

They traveled for three days in a row.

That day, the group arrived at a scenic spot.

All around were towering mountains, with waterways flowing through them.

However, in the middle, there is a narrow post road that can be passed by people and horses.