Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Separated by a river, yet worlds apart.

Upon arriving in Henan, Zhu Biao's first impression was of its warmth, a stark contrast to Hebei, where it felt at least half a solar term later.

The biting north wind had subsided, and the snow on the road was only a thin layer, making it much easier to walk than the way we had come.

After crossing the river, it was less than twenty li south to Weicheng County, but Zhu Biao rode straight through without stopping.

"That mule cart didn't go into town either; it followed us after we got off the boat. Could the thief be hiding inside?"

Pang Qiutang kept looking back and nervously glancing around, one hand always gripping his riding bow.

Zhu Biao glanced back and gave a helpless shrug.

"According to your logic, if someone keeps turning around every three steps and shaking their head every five steps, even if the thief is really in the car, they would be scared away by now."

"what?"

Pang Qiutang was slightly taken aback, then her face turned completely red.

After a few breaths, she asked softly:

"You, you teach me, how exactly should I investigate?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao was stunned. This little vixen had finally come to her senses and stopped arguing, instead humbly asking for advice.

"Ahem~ Well then, let me tell you about it."

He cleared his throat, straightened his back, and adopted a serious demeanor befitting a teacher:

"Listen to the hoofbeats, cart tracks, and footsteps, noting the changes in speed, and observe whether the person behind you is deliberately keeping their distance."

He paused, glanced at Pang Qiutang out of the corner of his eye, and seeing that she was listening intently, nodded in satisfaction and continued:

"Look back."

"How to observe? Use bends in the road, tea stalls, and foot shops. When observing, try to be natural, use peripheral vision, glance to the side, and avoid eye contact."

At that moment, we happened to pass a bend in the road.

Zhu Biao stopped talking, gently spurred his horse, and slightly increased its speed. Pang Qiutang quickly urged his horse to keep up.

"Look in the direction my whip is pointing."

As they rounded the halfway point, Zhu Biao placed his whip on the saddle and pointed to the side and rear.

Pang Qiutang immediately turned her head to look over. As an archer, her eyesight was certainly not bad. A few breaths later, she suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"That old man riding a donkey!"

About three or four hundred paces away, an old man was riding a donkey, bouncing along at a leisurely pace.

The old man was wearing a tattered leather coat and an old felt hat. He was hunched over on the donkey's back with his head down, looking completely unremarkable.

However, upon closer inspection, his arms were unusually long, and he was the thief on the ship.

"Okay, that's enough, don't stare at it for too long."

Tsk, this little vixen has real talent. No wonder she's a potential archer. Zhu Biao appeared calm on the surface, but in his heart, he was already seething with anger.

Mixed feelings.

In his memory, Luan Tingyu taught him step by step for more than two years before he developed his current level of eyesight.

"How dare they! They're treating us like fish on a chopping block!"

Pang Qiutang felt uneasy, and a murderous aura slowly gathered in her eyes. She suddenly gripped her riding bow tightly, but Zhu Biao lashed her with his horsewhip, not too hard, not too soft.

"What are you doing! Shooting them in the middle of the road? Have you forgotten what I just said?"

"Hiss~"

She withdrew her hand and said resentfully:

"Are we just going to let him follow us like this?"

"Let's go together. It's still daylight; rats and owls are active at night."

Zhu Biao said quietly, and Pang Qiutang was slightly taken aback, then smiled.

"Ha! I see, you're really cunning."

As dusk fell, Zhu Biao finally arrived in Changyuan County before the city gates closed. This place was only separated from Bianliang City by Chenliu City, and was very close.

On the outskirts of the city, at the Lu family residence.

This inn is not the best in the city, but it is the largest, with more than a dozen independent courtyards in addition to the dormitory-style rooms and private guest rooms.

Zhu Biao generously booked out one of the venues.

There were two main rooms in the north wing, one room each in the east and west wings, two storehouses, and a stable, but there were only two of them.

Zhu Biao leaned back in his chair and gave instructions to the waiter.

"Prepare a feast of the finest food and wine in the city for me. The wine must be the best, and the food must be the best too."

"Okay!"

The young waiter responded and was about to turn and leave when he was called back.

"Wait!"

Zhu Biao straightened up, grinning slyly.

"Drinking alone is boring. Find me a few courtesans to keep me company while I drink, the most expensive and best ones."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and tossed a piece of silver, about an ounce, to the waiter.

"Thank you for your generosity, sir! I will certainly arrange everything properly for you."

The young waiter hurriedly took it, bowing and scraping with a smile, but his eyes were full of disdain.

Damn it! Where did this country bumpkin come from? If he has money, why doesn't he just go to a brothel and have some fun?

"I already checked when I came here. There's a blacksmith shop and a grocery store on this street. Buy all these things as soon as possible and come back quickly."

After the waiter left, Zhu Biao's smile vanished, and he took out a silver ingot and a piece of paper, handing them to Pang Qiutang.

She glanced at the unfolding screen, completely bewildered:

Two hundred barbed wire spikes, four jars of vegetable oil, and two bolts of black cloth.

Just as she was about to leave, still confused, Zhu Biao added:

"If you can't buy barbed wire, buy iron nails, copper nails, coffin nails, as many as you can get."

The young shop assistant really thought Zhu Biao was a country bumpkin. Before long, he brought over a few middle-aged women to fool him.

These women reeked of cheap, pungent cosmetics, had lewd eyes, and the youngest was at least twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, which was definitely considered very old in the world of prostitutes.

No, they weren't courtesans or prostitutes at all; they were semi-closed-door prostitutes who specialized in the flesh trade.

Even more absurdly, these worthless women, who were considered slovenly, charged five strings of cash for a meal and ten strings for a night with someone, which was even higher than what was expected.

Snapped!

Zhu Biao suddenly jumped up and slapped the waiter across the face. The waiter flew a long way, half of his face swollen and red.

"Fuck you! I've been to brothels since I was twelve, how dare you bully me?"

"You, you dare hit me?"

The young man lay on the ground, covering his face, and still argued back.

"You shady shopkeeper, you unscrupulous merchant! In my house, I could kill you and it would be for nothing!"

Enraged, Zhu Biao rushed to him in a few steps and kicked him.

"Well done! You won't leave the Lu family mansion today! Ouch! Help! Murder! Spare me, sir!"

Within moments, after only a few kicks, the young man was bleeding from his nose and mouth. His cries changed repeatedly as he no longer dared to be defiant and began to howl and beg for mercy like a pig being slaughtered.

In the eyes of top masters like Wu Song, Lin Chong, and Lu Junyi, Zhu Biao's fatal flaw was that while his skills were decent, his strength was insufficient.

But to the young man who had never practiced martial arts, he was as strong as an ox!

In fact, Zhu Biao had already held back half of his strength and deliberately avoided vital points; otherwise, the young man would have been broken bones and tendons long ago, even if he was not dead.

Those prostitutes, who were originally staying in the room, were hoping to extort a few coins from the prostitutes.

But seeing the situation was about to escalate to the point of causing death, they immediately screamed and scattered like birds and beasts.

Such a commotion instantly overturned the entire residence, and countless people crowded at the gate to watch the spectacle, creating a great uproar.

During this time, some despicable person tore off a prostitute's skirt, revealing her white legs, and the scene immediately became even more out of control.

"Sir, please stop! Stop hitting him! You're killing him!"

At this moment, a middle-aged fat man struggled to squeeze into the field, took a few quick steps, and grabbed Zhu Biao's arm.

Zhu Biao, still furious, flung away his fat hand, his eyes red and panting, glancing at him sideways.

"And who the hell are you?"

The fat man quickly rubbed his hands together:

"My name is Lu Tongqing, and I am the manager of this residence."

"Hmm? You're the shopkeeper?"

Zhu Biao's eyes narrowed.

"You son of a bitch! You came up with the idea of ​​hiring a few old, ugly women to extort money from me?"

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding!"

Just then, the young waiter got up and was kicked down by Lu Tongqing, who rushed forward angrily.

"It's all because of this scoundrel who acted on his own initiative, looking down on people and thus neglecting our guest."

"real?"

Zhu Biao's expression softened slightly, as if his anger had subsided.

Lu Tongqing also breathed a sigh of relief, steadied his breathing, and raised his voice:

"Of course, this matter is due to Mr. Lu's lax discipline. As an apology, our shop will not charge you a penny for tonight's top-quality banquet!"

Upon hearing this, the merchants and travelers in the crowd immediately began to murmur among themselves.

"Manager Lu is truly righteous!"

"Yes, the Lu family mansion does have its rules."

"That's right, Manager Lu is efficient. Whenever I pass through Changyuan, I stay at his place. I don't care about anything else, I just want peace of mind."

These words reached Lu Tongqing's ears, and a smile appeared in his eyes.

Zhu Biao, however, curled his lip and said bluntly:

"Manager Lu, I'm not from around here. I've offended you and made you my enemy. You wouldn't be smiling to my face and then retaliating later, would you?"

The true intentions behind Zhu Biao's elaborate scheme have been revealed; this is the purpose behind his farce.

He's going to set a trap tonight, a trap to kill, but he needs a reason, a plausible reason.