Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Zhu Biao's prediction was correct.

They set the fire at the foot of the mountain with the wind at their backs, so the fire only burned until dawn before it had nothing left to burn and eventually went out.

Not long after the wildfire was extinguished, heavy snow fell, covering everything in ash, a leaden-colored, goose-feather snow.

"Young master, I just checked, the fire is completely out. Let's get going quickly."

Zhu Wu ran over excitedly.

They've been in this mountain for far too long; there's been constant turmoil, with battles, wolf attacks, and wildfires almost every night.

He'd had enough of it all, like a revolving lantern.

"What the hell are you talking about!"

Zhu Biao was leaning against a crooked tree, resting with his eyes closed and chewing on dried meat. Upon hearing this, he cursed in annoyance.

"The fire is out, but the charcoal underneath is still hot. Let's wait and see; it should be ready by noon."

"what?"

Zhu Wu, looking deflated, plopped down on the ground.

"Huh? You idiot."

Zhu Biao swallowed the dried meat, clapped his hands, and sat up.

"Even if it's noon, Huang Ji and I will go first, and you will have to wait another hour before you set off."

"what?"

Zhu Wu's eyes widened, wanting to ask but not daring to, his face turning red with embarrassment.

"What's wrong? Can't you figure it out?"

"Uh-huh."

Zhu Wu nodded honestly.

Damn it, forcing this idiot to use his brain is really asking the impossible, Zhu Biao shook his head helplessly.

Immediately, he glanced at Liang Siqi, who seemed to be deep in thought, and called her by name.

"Hey you, tell me, why did we split up?"

"I'm not called that person! You can call me Fourth Sister, Li Fourth Sister."

Liang Siqi rolled her eyes at him, while Zhu Biao returned the glare with a sharp look.

"Hey you, you didn't expect this either, did you?"

"What's so unexpected?"

Knowing it was a crude and manipulative tactic, Liang Siqi couldn't resist and snorted:

"That dog must have followed your scent all the way from the Grand Commandant's mansion. It'll be safer for us to go our separate ways."

She paused, gave Pang Qiutang a furtive glance, and then reluctantly continued.

"You two are the best fighters. That tomboy is good at archery, and your marksmanship is also quite good. With two horses on each of you, you can fight or flee, which is enough to handle any situation."

"Ha! At least you said something sensible."

Pang Qiutang puffed out her chest and glanced at her.

"What good is having a castrated father? What good is having a belly full of evil schemes? In the end, you still have to rely on me to pave a way out for you."

"you!"

The saying goes, "To kill someone is to destroy their spirit." Liang Siqi's sore spot was exposed, and she was so angry that the veins on her forehead bulged.

"Alright, with a formidable enemy at hand, this is not the time for idle chatter!"

Just as Liang Siqi was about to explode, Zhu Biao spoke up.

"Huang Ji, stop arguing."

"Go and gather up the arrows and horses, and re-bandage your fingers. There's probably going to be another fierce battle soon."

This isn't him trying to smooth things over; it's blatantly taking sides.

Pang Qiutang immediately gave Liang Siqi a smug look, but she knew her limits and didn't say anything too provocative.

Liang Siqi was so angry that she trembled all over, but Zhu Biao silenced her with his words, leaving her speechless and only able to glare at him with eyes blazing with fury.

"Alright, you're a smart person who uses your brain, why bother arguing with us brutes who only know how to fight?"

Zhu Biao remained silent for a moment, then uttered a rare soft remark.

Liang Siqi was stunned for a few moments, then a smile suddenly appeared on her lips.

"A brute? Ha, if you, a cunning fox, are a brute, then where are the wise men in this world?"

blah blah blah!

Around noon, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from the west side of the Shahu Pass passage, and two riders on four horses came galloping like the wind.

Zhu Biao took the lead, gun in hand, and said coldly:

"Wait! Anyone who blocks our way will be killed without mercy!"

Pang Qiutang held a bow in one hand and followed closely behind.

"Third Brother, what should we do if the people blocking our way are military patrolmen or constables?"

"Kill them all!"

Zhu Biao answered without hesitation.

Given the Song Dynasty's military administration's sluggishness and inefficiency, there is only one possibility that they could send people to block the passage so quickly.

These people must be accomplices recruited by Master Qin.

Now that Zhu Biao has already slaughtered a large number of Imperial Guards and Secret Service agents, he doesn't care about killing a few more local militiamen and yamen runners.

"Okay!"

Upon hearing this, Pang Qiutang's eyes curved into crescent shapes.

This little vixen had already joined her brother in killing officials and rebelling a month ago. She harbors immense hatred for the patrol and inspection department, and she is also very bloodthirsty.

As they spoke, they rushed into the passageway.

Kill Tiger Pass, as the name suggests, is a dangerous place with steep cliffs on both sides and a stomach-shaped passage inside, narrow at both ends and wide in the middle.

In the tiger's mouth, no one stopped him.

There was no ambush inside its belly.

"Third Brother! There are barricades ahead!"

When they were only two hundred steps away from the exit, Pang Qiutang suddenly let out a low roar.

Zhu Biao saw it too.

Ahead, at the exit that was seven or eight zhang wide, there were several crudely made wooden chevaux-de-frise, behind which stood more than thirty soldiers.

Judging from their clothing, they should be soldiers under the command of the patrol office, but they were all covered in dust and their armor was in disarray.

It's clear that the wildfires last night caused quite a bit of damage.

They were the rotating garrison at Shahu Pass. According to regulations, there should be two garrisons, but after counting those who were not paid and those who fled last night, there were only so many left.

Open the bow without turning back the arrow!

Zhu Biao's eyes suddenly sharpened. He was usually good at scheming, but when it came to a close encounter, he dared to be reckless.

He suddenly pulled on the reins and hissed:

"Slow down the horses! Fire a barrage of arrows, scatter them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow, which flew far away with a whoosh.

At 150 paces, he still launched the arrow. With his archery skills, he could only roughly control the accuracy. However, he was incredibly lucky today.

puff!

The arrow pierced a hapless man's chest, causing him to groan and collapse to his knees.

At this moment, they had closed to within eighty paces. Pang Qiutang straightened up, drew his bow fully, and fired an arrow, piercing the throat of one of the men with deadly accuracy.

Among the patrolling soldiers were archers, but one archer had just drawn his bowstring when Pang Qiutang's second arrow, swift as lightning, pierced his eye.

At the same time, Zhu Biao fired another arrow, hitting a man's arm. The immense kinetic energy instantly knocked him to the ground.

"The eagle shooters! They are the eagle shooters!"

The soldiers behind the barricades immediately erupted into chaos.

Some tried to turn and run away, some squatted on the ground, and others brandished guns and knives, attempting to rush forward and fight to the death.

"Don't panic! Crouch down and hide..."

A man who looked like a leader was shouting from behind a barricade, but before he could finish speaking, an arrow pierced his forehead.

Poof!

His eyes suddenly bulged out, filled with disbelief. He waved his hands unconsciously a few times before falling straight backward.

"Chen Tou is dead!"

In the crowd, someone shouted, dropped the spear, and turned to run.

With someone taking the lead, this motley crew could no longer hold back and scattered like birds and beasts almost instantly.

Whoosh~

However, the piercing whistling of arrows behind them never stopped, and people were constantly being shot in the back, falling to the ground like wheat being harvested.

After firing several arrows in quick succession, Zhu Biao's index and middle fingers were already red and burning from the bowstring, but he did not stop.

He was not a bloodthirsty person. Even though taking lives could make him stronger quickly, he never killed for the sake of killing.

However, he couldn't let these guys in front of him get away so easily.

If they are not completely wiped out, or thoroughly slaughtered to the point of being utterly destroyed, they are very likely to regroup.

He and Pang Qiutang could charge directly into the enemy lines, but Liang Siqi and Zhu Wu behind them didn't have that ability. Just ten or eight soldiers could hold them off.

In addition, Zhu Biao had another concern: he was afraid that Master Qin, or his men, might also be mixed in with these soldiers.

Therefore, he did not dare to approach rashly, and kept a distance of about fifty paces, using his bow and arrow to kill from afar.

Clang!

Just then, a tall, burly soldier suddenly turned around as if he had eyes in the back of his head, and a steel blade emerged from under his cloak, deflecting an arrow aimed at his back.

Master!

"Whoa~"

Zhu Biao and Pang Qiutang exchanged a glance, their hearts skipped a beat, and they stopped their horses in perfect unison.

At fifty paces, Zhu Zibiao was seventy percent certain he could draw an arrow from behind, but he absolutely did not want to try.

Judging from how easily this person handled the situation, his martial arts skills are probably no less than his own.

"Third Brother? This fellow is quite capable; he's probably a lackey sent by that old man Gao Qiu."

Pang Qiutang took a breath, hung the riding bow on the saddle, freed her hand, and tightened the bandage tightly, her face contorting in pain.

Her old wounds hadn't healed yet, and now new ones had appeared, leaving her bleeding profusely, soaking through several layers of bandages.

Zhu Biao stared intently at the man and asked in a deep voice:

"How many more arrows can you shoot?"

"Five swift arrows!"

"Okay, you stay put and keep shooting, I'll go for him!"

Zhu Biao pondered for a moment, then sheathed his bow, raised his spear, and suddenly spurred his horse.