The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

The night was thick, and the torches blazed like dragons.

The mountain path to Black Wind Village was difficult to traverse, but this did not detract from Su Shi's travel experience.

Because he was carried up in a sedan chair by eight burly men.

The sedan chair was made by putting two armchairs together, with two thick pieces of nanmu wood tied underneath, and even a tiger skin was thoughtfully laid on it.

"Dr. Su, slow down, there's a bump ahead!"

"Mr. Su, these are freshly picked wild jujubes, would you like to try some?"

Su Shi sat in a simple sedan chair, holding a handful of red dates in his hand, his expression more unpleasant than crying.

He turned to look at Jiang Lin and the others walking behind him, who looked relaxed, and said with a look of despair, "Headmaster, how about I give you this 'throne'? I'm young and agile..."

"Don't be so polite." Jiang Lin said with a smile, his hands behind his back like a leader inspecting work. "This is the love your readers have for you, a heavy love, you must be able to accept it."

Zhao Lingjun held a folding fan in his hand, but his eyes were looking around.

Despite being a bandit stronghold, Black Wind Stronghold was surprisingly well-organized. The sentry posts and hidden checkpoints along the way were arranged in an orderly manner, and several ingenious rolling stone traps were even built using the mountain terrain.

"Interesting." Shen Kuo approached a rock, craning his neck to study the pulley system on it, his eyes gleaming with fervor.

"By utilizing the lever principle to reduce manpower, the polishing process of this pulley has actually reached military-grade standards... Brilliant! I'll have to ask them for the blueprints later."

They hadn't walked far when a magnificent village gate came into view. By the firelight, Su Shi could make out the crooked plaque above the gate, and he almost choked on his breath—

There were four large characters written on it: Peach Blossom Island.

"This..." Su Shi pointed to the barren mountains around him, where not even a blade of grass could be found, his lips twitching. "Where are the peach blossoms?"

The burly man with a thick beard, who had been called Zhang San, chuckled and scratched his head: "Didn't Su Da write in his book that Peach Blossom Island is a secluded place where hermits live?"

"Though we have no flowers here, we have a heart that yearns for the chivalry of heroes! The brothers have said that this place is now called a branch of Peach Blossom Island, and we've even changed our patrol slogans!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a patrol of henchmen marched past in orderly steps, shouting: "The greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people! Early to bed and early to rise! To stay healthy!"

Jiang Lin stumbled, nearly spitting out the tea he had just drunk. This wasn't a bandit's den; it was clearly the Great Song Dynasty's number one Guo Jing support group!

Passing through the village gate, you arrive at the Hall of Gathering Righteousness. However, the plaque here has been changed to "Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness," and instead of Guan Yu, the figure enshrined in the center of the hall is an extremely abstract painting of a bow shooting a large eagle.

"Big Brother! The man has arrived!" Zhang San shouted at the top of his lungs.

At the head of the hall, a burly man with a shiny bald head and wearing a tiger-skin coat was drinking from a large bowl. Hearing the sound, he suddenly stood up, the movement so forceful that it overturned the wine jar in front of him.

"Where is he? My living... living Guo Jing... no, where is Master Su?"

This giant was named Niu Er, and was known in the underworld as "The Hairless Tiger." He had a ferocious and menacing appearance.

Niu Er rushed towards Su Shi in three strides, his muscular physique exuding an imposing aura. Su Shi instinctively recoiled, covering his chest with his hands: "Hero, spare my life! I... I really have no money!"

"Talking about money is so vulgar!" Niu Er rubbed his large, fan-like hands together, his face, though full of fat, managed to form a flower shape as he said shyly.

"I just wanted... I wanted to ask Mr. Su for his autograph. Could you sign it on my arm? I'll find a tattoo artist to get it tattooed on me later, and keep it as a family heirloom!"

Su Shi: "..."

The next half hour was even more agonizing for Su Shi than when he was taking the imperial examinations.

Hundreds of bandits lined up, holding all sorts of things to draw lots. Some held clothes, some held broadswords, and one even ridiculously held a freshly cut piece of pig's rump.

"Sign this! Sign this!" "Dr. Su, I'm your die-hard fan! I just want to ask, did Ouyang Feng go mad in the end?"

While mechanically wielding his brush and ink, Su Shi also had to work part-time as an "audiobook narrator."

"Ahem...Speaking of the summit of Mount Hua..." Su Shi stuffed a bite of roasted lamb leg into his mouth and mumbled, "Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar..."

"Bravo!!" A thunderous applause erupted from below, the crowd was incredibly excited.

In the corner, Jiang Lin and Zhao Lingjun's table was quite quiet. Zhang San specially had the best food and wine served to them; after all, they were their idol's "family members," so they received VIP treatment.

"Headmaster." Zhao Lingjun tore off a piece of lamb chop, his movements elegant yet bold. "This group of people is not simple."

"Hmm." Jiang Lin took a sip of the cloudy rice wine, his eyes flickering slightly. "Look at their tiger's mouths, they all have thick calluses, that's what you get from holding a long spear for years."

"And the way they walked during the patrol just now, that was the prototype of the standard 'Mandarin Duck Formation.' These people used to be on the government payroll."

"Could they be border troops?" Zhao Lingjun frowned slightly. "But how did they end up here?"

Just as Jiang Lin was about to speak, Niu Er, who had already put away his autograph with satisfaction, walked over with his wine bowl in hand.

"Since you are Mr. Su's friends, then you are my brothers, Niu Er!" Niu Er put one foot on a bench, exuding heroic spirit. "In this Wild Wolf Slope, as long as you don't provoke those corrupt officials from the imperial court investigating 'Black Water,' I guarantee you'll walk sideways!"

"Blackwater?" Jiang Lin keenly caught the key word.

"Ah, it's a kind of black oil that oozes from underground, sticky, smelly, and inedible."

Niu Er waved his hand dismissively, "Recently, the Zhen Ding Prefecture has been cracking down hard, saying that the imperial court strictly prohibits private mining. We're just unlucky; there's this stuff in that ditch behind the mountain, and it's making everyone very nervous lately."

Jiang Lin and Shen Kuo exchanged a glance, both seeing the ecstatic joy in each other's eyes. They had searched high and low without finding it, only to have it come to them effortlessly! This wasn't exile; it was practically being sent straight to the mine entrance!

"Chief Niu," Jiang Lin put down his wine bowl, his smile becoming meaningful, "If you don't mind, we can discuss a business deal. I want that 'Blackwater'."

Niu Er was taken aback: "What do you need that thing for? It's too smoky even for lighting lamps."

"Don't worry about that." Jiang Lin pulled out a coin from his pocket. "As long as your men help me guard the back mountain and provide some labor... this is just a deposit."

Looking at the silver note with a face value enough to buy half of the mountain stronghold, Niu Er's Adam's apple bobbed violently. But he quickly looked away, his expression suddenly becoming extremely solemn, even a little hesitant.

"Money or not... it's easy to talk about." Niu Er waved his hand to dismiss his henchmen, and the atmosphere in the hall instantly became somewhat strange.

Su Shi, who was gnawing on a leg of lamb, suddenly felt a chill down his back.

Niu Er walked up to Su Shi and knelt down on one knee with a "thump," kicking up dust.

"Mr. Su! I have a favor to ask!"

Su Shi was so frightened that he dropped his lamb leg and stammered, "Brave...brave warrior, please rise! As long as you don't kill me, I'll do anything, no matter how unreasonable!"

Niu Er raised his head, his eyes gleaming with an eager light befitting a "brother-in-law." That look sent chills down Su Shi's spine, and an ominous premonition instantly gripped his heart.

"To be honest, if Mr. Su doesn't agree to this, I'm afraid none of my hundreds of brothers will agree either."

Niu Er chuckled, revealing two rows of gleaming white teeth. "After all, this is also related to the important matter of whether our Peach Blossom Island branch can become even closer."

As Su Shi watched Niu Er's large face get closer and closer, the terrifying legend of the "bandit's wife" that he had heard in the past few days suddenly flashed through his mind.

He looked at Jiang Lin tremblingly, only to find his headmaster watching the show with a teacup in hand, showing no intention of rescuing him. "A...a double marriage?" Su Shi's voice trembled. "Brave Niu, you wouldn't happen to have taken a fancy to...me, would you?"