Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.

Having entered Bianliang City three times, Zhu Biao was already quite adept at it, as if it were an empty place.

"Your driver, return to the yamen to report!"

He didn't even take out his travel permit; he just waved his Palace Guard badge, made up an excuse, and the guards immediately made way for him as if avoiding a snake.

The Palace Guards were the superiors of these gate guards. Gao Qiu wielded immense power, so they naturally dared not offend him.

Upon entering the city, Zhu Biao immediately hired a mule cart and went to Yang Bo's casino, but only circled the outside twice before leaving.

Both the front and back gates were still bolted. There were some messy footprints in front of the gates, but none near the wall, and there were no constables or military patrols around.

The incident has not yet occurred.

It's perfectly normal for these local scoundrels to suddenly disappear for a few days; nobody pays any attention, and even the regular gamblers won't care, as they have plenty of other places to go.

Besides, Zhu Biao doesn't need much time; he just needs to stall until tonight.

It was nearing noon in Ganjing Lane.

When Zhu Biao walked out of Hu's blacksmith shop, he had a black leather wristband on each of his wrists.

He spent three days rushing to make a hidden arrow, which cost him a full hundred taels of silver.

It hurt his wallet and his heart, but he was willing to be fleeced. What he bought was not the hidden blade, but the confidence to save his life.

value!

At this moment, the hooligans who were keeping watch at the restaurant had been replaced by the fat and thin duo he had beaten up before, but they had never seen Huo Congen's skin before.

Therefore, they only glanced at Zhu Biao before continuing to talk to themselves.

"I heard that Zhu Qi from the West City was kicked senseless by a dark-faced man named Wang Wu?"

The skinny man's eyes darted around rapidly.

"That night, the thug who attacked us, I remember that young woman also called him Wang Wu, could it be the same person?"

The fat man replied lazily:

"So what if he is? That guy ran away long ago."

"Foolish! You can run away from the monk, but you can't hide from the temple!"

The skinny guy patted him on the shoulder:

"He ran away, but his master, that Fifth Madam, might not have run away either. Even if she did, Madam Lin's family is still here."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao felt a chill run down his spine.

Nobody is a fool. He was already being careful enough, yet a rogue still saw through his mistake. If left unchecked, it would inevitably develop into a fatal flaw.

In fact, Master Hu had already noticed something amiss, since he had only changed his face but not his body.

They just don't concern themselves with other people's business; they only care about money and not people's faces.

Zhu Biao glanced at Instructor Zhang's house; wisps of smoke were rising from the chimney. He was relieved to see that Ruyi and the others were safe and sound.

Almost there, just hold on until nightfall~

Meanwhile, in the east of the city, not far from the East Market, there was an inconspicuous three-courtyard house, one of Liang Shicheng's outer courtyards.

In the study in the backyard, Liang Siqi was frowning as she flipped through a directory.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, Miss, these are the only travelers who have checked into the inn in recent days, traveling in pairs on two horses."

The man who answered was a capable-looking fellow dressed in plain clothes, but a badge of the Imperial City Magistrate was faintly visible at his waist.

Liang Siqi was even more shrewd than Zhu Biao had imagined.

She found no one at the city gate and couldn't find anything at the Privy Council, so she immediately sensed something was wrong and began to investigate the people who had stayed at the inn on two horses.

It wouldn't be accurate to say that she fell in love with Zhu Biao at first sight.

However, this young woman is competitive, obsessive, and almost pathological; she won't give up until she achieves her goal.

"What is the meaning behind the red lines drawn on Su Wuniang and Wang Wu?"

"Miss, these are the master and servant. The servant Wang Wu beat Zhu Qi the day before yesterday and is now being hunted down by the military patrol throughout the city."

Liang Siqi frowned slightly and began to recall every detail of her encounter with Zhu Biao, until she remembered his short, thin, wrapped-face servant.

"They were originally a man and a woman!"

She clenched the list in her hand tightly.

After a moment's thought, she said solemnly:

"Supervisor Meng, immediately deploy men to the four gates and the east and west water gates to thoroughly search all men and women leaving the city together. Detain any suspected individuals!"

"Here you go!"

Supervisor Meng bowed and accepted the order, but as soon as he turned around, Liang Siqi added a sentence.

"Single men should also be investigated, but if anyone is impersonating someone else, they should be apprehended!"

"You thieving bastard! Where are you going to spit?"

At the restaurant in Ganjing Lane, Zhu Biao suddenly slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily.

At this moment, a peanut shell covered in saliva was stuck to the top of his boot, which was the same one the skinny man had casually spat out earlier.

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably apologize and let it go, but these were scoundrels, the kind who begged for food from Gao Yanei, and were used to being arrogant.

Moreover, Zhu Biao spoke with a non-local accent.

"You son of a bitch! How dare you curse me!"

The skinny guy got up and started cursing, while the fat guy was even more direct, grabbing a bench and swinging it around.

Bang!

Zhu Biao ducked like a cat to avoid the fall, and the bench crashed onto his table.

Boom!

In the next instant, Zhu Biao seized the opportunity and lunged forward, knocking the skinny man to the ground. The back of his head hit the ground hard with a dull thud.

His eyes rolled back and he immediately fainted.

"You bastard, you just wait!"

As he got up, Zhu Biao subtly nudged the skinny man's head with his knee, then muttered a fierce but weak curse before quickly running out of the restaurant.

"Hmph! You're lucky you ran fast, you thieving bird!"

The fat man smashed the bench out of the shop and sneered triumphantly.

"Mischievous monkey, mischievous monkey."

He turned to help the skinny man, but seeing that he was not moving, he tried to check his breathing, then muttered something under his breath.

"Damn it! It's useless, it's even fainted."

For these hooligans, fighting is a daily occurrence, and knocking someone unconscious is also commonplace. In their minds, as long as there is no blood and the person is still breathing, everything is fine.

"I think I used too much force. I wonder if that skinny guy will wake up?"

As he ran out of the alley, Zhu Biao turned his head to look at Instructor Zhang's house and muttered to himself.

The purpose of causing trouble and fighting was, of course, to temporarily cut off any openings, as nightfall was not far off.

In the afternoon, Zhu Biao went to the carriage and horse shop in the East Market, found a double-mud carriage with two sidecars, negotiated the price, specified the pick-up location, and paid a deposit.

It was already dark when I left the East Market.

They happened to run into the Liang family's guards, whose servants were being led away in groups by several men with sinister auras.

Zhu Biao's heart skipped a beat. He grabbed a middle-aged man who looked like a merchant by the roadside and asked:

"My lord, who are these people? They look like fierce demons!"

This address of "Sir" struck a chord with the merchant, who raised his chin, stroked his beard, and offered his advice:

"Don't talk nonsense, or you'll get into trouble!"

"These are members of the Liang family, and the ones leading them are all Imperial Guards. I heard they're going to the city gate to intercept some Liao spies."

Hiss~ Zhu Biao gasped.

The Liang family, that little wench Liang Siqi still hasn't given up, damn it, is she a clingy leech?

No! The plan had to be changed. He hurriedly thanked the merchant, turned around, and ran back to the East Market.

At dusk, as the evening drum sounded, the four city gates slowly closed, turning Bianliang into a giant cage.

Fanlou, south of the city.

Fanlou was not a brothel, but the largest official restaurant in Tokyo, covering an area of ​​nearly 20 acres.

The front building housed hotels and inns, the middle courtyard housed guesthouses, divided into more than a dozen separate rooms and courtyards, and the back building housed brothels, theaters, and entertainment venues.

There is also a backyard, which is specially for the VIPs of the brothel to stay overnight. It is said that there are seven or eight gates in the backyard alone.

On the second floor of the front building, in a guest room named Banzhu, Pang Qiutang, who had been waiting all day, couldn't wait to push open the door after hearing the coded knock.

"My husband, you're finally back!"

Sigh! This tone, this acting, is far inferior to Ruyi's.

Zhu Biao grunted in response and pushed her through the door. When he caught sight of the bow quiver, hulu, and hand daggers piled up by the door, his face darkened even more.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to fight someone? What will you say if the food delivery guy sees you like this?"

Fanlou was where Zhu Biao stayed for his last night in Bianliang. The guests here were all wealthy and powerful, and they were not easily questioned.

The room rates were also staggering; their ordinary room cost fifteen strings of cash a day, and you even had to bribe the waiter to get a room.

At this moment, Pang Qiutang offered a weak explanation.

"I... I have dry rations, so I don't need the shop to deliver food. I noticed it was already dark, so I... I..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but Zhu Biao understood that she was afraid. After all, this was Fanlou, a place where even the emperor was said to visit.

She, however, was a criminal who had killed an official and rebelled.

"Alright, hurry up and get ready, we should head out."

Pang Qiutang was slightly taken aback:

"Isn't it the third watch of the night?"

Call ~

Zhu Biao picked up the herbal tea on the table, took a few gulps, wiped his mouth hard, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"It's time to make our move at midnight."

"Our distinguished guest is going out? Not having dinner at the restaurant?"

As soon as I stepped out of the room, after only a few steps, the clever waiter in the corridor quickly came to greet me with a smile.

"Yes, I'm going out to visit a friend and will be back later."

Zhu Biao casually pulled out a piece of silver and tossed it to him. The shop assistant reached out to take it, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thank you for your hospitality. I've prepared hot water for you in advance."

At this moment, Pang Qiutang suddenly staggered.

To be the same height as Ruyi, she put cork in the soles of her shoes, making her more than an inch taller. After practicing for a day, she still wasn't used to it.

In that sway, the bow scabbard hidden behind the cloak almost fell off, but Zhu Biao managed to catch it in time.

"Be careful, my lady."