Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

The black horse that Zhu Biao rode was exceptionally handsome.

It was a genuine Khitan warhorse that his father, Zhu Chaofeng, spent a lot of money to buy from Mizhou when he turned sixteen.

Because of its completely black body, it was named Charcoal Head. Now five years old, it is just entering the peak of its life.

Da Da Da~

In just a few breaths, Tan Tou had already galloped a hundred paces, leaving Pang Qiutang more than a dozen horse bodies in his wake.

At this moment, the "ghost fires" revealed their true forms, clearly several birds wearing stilts.

They were all disheveled, their faces painted with white powder, their lips red, and they held long poles with tattered cloth wrapped around the ends, from which a ghostly blue flame still burned.

So-called will-o'-the-wisps are nothing more than fire dipped in sulfur.

Seeing Zhu Biao galloping towards them with murderous intent, these guys panicked immediately.

Some people turned and ran, while others sat on the ground to untie their stilts. Two others, not quite right in the head, even raised their fire sticks and swung them at him, trying to knock him off his horse.

"court death!"

Zhu Biao used the momentum of the horse to raise his spear, and with the power of his waist and back, he gently deflected it.

Snapped!

The first person instantly flew several meters away like a kite.

Just as Zhu Biao was about to turn his gun around and kill another "ghost" who dared to resist, he heard a whoosh of an arrow beside him.

Looking at the man again, he had already been shot in the forehead with an arrow, and without uttering a sound, he fell straight backward.

"Good shot!"

Despite losing a kill, Zhu Biao praised Pang Qiutang and looked at her with new respect.

This arrow was swift and accurate, and most importantly, she dared to kill. It was unexpected that this little vixen, who had just been terrified by the "ghost fire," would be so decisive.

call out!

Before the thought could even settle, the whistling of arrows exploded once more.

One of the men who turned to flee was shot in the back and stumbled to the ground. At this point, only two "ghosts" remained alive.

"Keep alive!"

Zhu Biao quickly spoke up to stop him.

This little vixen has quite the bloodthirstiness, but thinking about it, it makes sense. She and her brother killed officials and rebelled, so they must not be merciful or soft-hearted.

"Purr~"

The warhorse snorted as it came to Zhu Biao's side. Pang Qiutang had already pulled down her veil, revealing a pretty face full of murderous intent.

She held the bow in one hand and pointed at the two men who were kneeling on the ground in fear, unable to beg for mercy.

"These scoundrels pretend to be ghosts; they've harmed countless people before. What's the point of keeping them around?"

"Too talkative!"

Zhu Biao didn't explain at all, he just gave a light scolding.

"You keep an eye on them, I'll be right back!"

"Where are you going?"

Upon hearing this, Pang Qiutang's fierce expression instantly cracked, but by then Zhu Biao had already turned his horse around and galloped more than ten steps back the way he came.

He has now figured out the tactics of these "ghost fire" creatures.

Simple and crude, yet effective and insidious.

These "ghost fires" come out to scare people, driving travelers to turn back and run for their lives. Traps, such as tripwires, are set up along the way.

Why not just use a tripwire?

When moving slowly, neither people nor horses are likely to trip or fall, and they are less likely to be spotted. In addition, they do not create a pincer attack.

Highway robbery is also a skill, and it involves some military strategy.

Just now, when Zhu Biao turned around, he vaguely caught a glimpse of a sneaky figure by the roadside, who quickly hid, which is how he discovered the situation.

Zhu Biao slowed his horse down and carefully observed the road. Sure enough, after traveling more than three hundred paces, two taut, straight tripwires appeared in the middle of the road.

If you had been intimidated and turned back to run away, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"He deserves to die!"

He felt a wave of fear wash over him, then a surge of anger rose within him, and he swung his spear downwards, severing the rope.

"Charcoal Head, wait for me here."

Zhu Biao jumped off his horse, removed a section of the gun barrel, patted the horse's neck, and the black horse nodded intelligently and even snorted in response.

With his spear slung behind him, Zhu Biao strode forward, chasing straight in the direction where the figure had just appeared.

In the dead of winter, the wilderness is covered in white, making it impossible to hide footprints.

In just a few dozen breaths, Zhu Biao caught up with them by the tail, and after another half an incense stick's time, he had caught up with them all the way behind.

Seven men, I'm going to go on a killing spree tonight!

After counting the number of people, a fierce glint appeared in Zhu Biao's eyes. These guys were too insidious; they were only after money and money, and they deserved to die.

"Mo, Mo's mother ran away! He's all alone, let's turn around and kill him!"

When they were about ten steps apart, someone heard footsteps, turned around and glanced back, panting heavily.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, a soft whistle suddenly sounded behind his head, and then he felt a numbness in his back and fell to the ground without a sound.

"Doggy, what's wrong?"

Some people, unaware of the situation, thought he had simply fallen.

"He's dead! It was a crossbow!"

"We can't run anymore! Everyone, shoulder to shoulder, let's fight him to the death, or we'll all die!"

Among these thieves were some knowledgeable individuals who vaguely recognized the hidden blade and even shouted as they drew their swords and turned around.

However, as soon as he turned around, a short arrow pierced his chest. He weakly raised his hand and fell backward like a wooden stake.

Of the seven thieves, two were killed in the blink of an eye, including the two most ferocious among them. The group of thugs immediately erupted into chaos.

"Oh my god!"

"I'll fight you to the death!"

"Spare me, sir!"

Some wanted to fight to the death, some knelt down and begged for mercy, and some ran away as fast as they could.

"Kneel down and you won't be killed!"

Zhu Biao roared and raised his wrist, firing the last hidden arrow. The man in the lead instantly rolled and fell to the ground.

Clang!

In the next instant, he took two steps forward, his spear suddenly slashing to the left, sweeping away the broadsword of the man who was turning back to fight desperately, and then the spear blade quickly swung back.

Swish!

The sharp blade of the gun instantly cleaved half of his neck, and blood gushed out several feet. He convulsed and fell to the ground.

"Spare me! Spare me, sir!"

At this moment, the remaining three were so terrified that they knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

puff!

Zhu Biao strode forward, his spear whirling in his hand before piercing the chest of the person closest to him like a venomous snake.

"Uh, uh~"

His eyes widened suddenly, he gripped the gun barrel, and made unconscious noises.

"Those who discard their weapons will not die!"

Zhu Biao swung the gun barrel at him, slamming him to the ground, and shouted.

The reason he stabbed the man to death without hesitation was that even though the man was kneeling and begging for mercy, he was still gripping the hilt of the knife.

Perhaps he didn't intend to launch a sneak attack; he was just terrified. But Zhu Biao wouldn't gamble.

"Clang~"

The remaining two were terrified. They immediately threw their weapons far away, trembling, and then lay on the ground like toads.

Call ~

Only then did Zhu Biao secretly breathe a sigh of relief, his body trembling slightly.

A moment later, in the grove where those "ghost fires" resided, several thieves knelt in a row, and Zhu Biao placed his bloodstained spear on the shoulder of one of them.

How many of you are there in total?

The man stammered in reply:

"Sir, there are twelve people here."

"Heh~" Zhu Biao scoffed coldly.

"There are no mountains or dense forests nearby, where would you hide in broad daylight?"

"Huh? We're not locals~"

Just as he was about to spout nonsense, Zhu Biao twisted his wrist slightly, and the gun blade had already slashed a bloody gash on his shoulder.

"Think it over before you speak."

The man was in so much pain that tears streamed down his face.

"Sir, sir, spare me! I... I'm from Wangjia Village in the east. I just couldn't survive, that's why..."

Snapped!

Zhu Biao impatiently raised the blade of his gun and slapped him hard across the face, interrupting his nonsense.

"Tell me everything! How long have you been robbing people? Was it a conspiracy involving the entire village?"

Zhu Biao's question was not unfounded.

Although these people's equipment was crude, it far surpassed that of ordinary farmers; stilts, sulfur, and tripwires were not common items.

The key is that if they manage to seize large items like carriages and horses, they will definitely need to return to the village to hide before making their move. They will need someone to help cover it up, or even the entire village to protect them.

In today's society, where rural clans govern themselves, such things are not uncommon.

"Hoo~".

The man spat out two bloody molars, his face ashen, and dared not harbor any more illusions or attempt to deceive the authorities.

"Yes, yes, the whole village knows about this, and it has been going on for more than two years."

Boom!

Behind Zhu Biao, Pang Qiutang's teeth-gritting voice rang out. She gripped her riding bow tightly, her knuckles already turning white.

How many people are in the village?

"Spare me, sir!"

At that moment, another person suddenly kowtowed repeatedly.

"We did all these evil deeds, sir, just slaughter us!"

call out!

Before he could finish speaking, he was struck in the throat by an arrow. Pang Qiutang said hatefully:

"You've been committing evil for over two years, how many lives have you taken? And now you still have the nerve to pretend to be heroes and feign righteousness?"

Still seemingly not satisfied, she drew another arrow and was about to nock it when Zhu Biao was about to stop her when someone suddenly knelt down and crawled forward two steps.

"Sir, spare me! I'm not from Wangjia Village, please, please don't kill me!"

"Um?"

By the moonlight, Zhu Biao could clearly see the upturned face of the man, and his eyes suddenly sharpened.