Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

After scattering the local soldiers of the patrol office and killing the two retainers sent by Gao Qiu, Zhu Biao did not leave.

After quickly cleaning up the battlefield, he found a relatively secluded ravine that had not been affected by the fire and hid there, keeping watch over the exit of the tunnel from a distance.

They finally met up with Liang Siqi and Zhu Wu.

The soldiers from the patrol station were truly terrified and never looked back, but later some people came to collect the corpses.

They called themselves corpse collectors, but they were actually just idlers from nearby villages.

These guys dared not fight, but they were incredibly bold. They were fearless of the dead and extremely ruthless, taking all the valuables, weapons, and armor.

They even stripped off his blood-stained clothes, shoes, socks, and loincloth.

Therefore, when Liang Siqi and the others arrived, what they saw was a ground covered with white, naked corpses.

"That birdbrain surnamed Qin isn't among them?"

Liang Siqi, that little vixen, was quite bold and didn't hold back at all. She casually looked around and asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, he didn't show up; he's hiding."

Zhu Biao nodded, then abruptly changed the subject.

"Miss Liang, what should we do next? Please tell me."

"Um?"

Liang Siqi was slightly taken aback, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Zhu Biao warily.

"What do you mean?"

"I have already found out that the Qin birdman is skilled in controlling insects. He has now gathered several thousand centipedes and scorpions and is hiding somewhere, laying a net to wait for them."

Zhu Biao shrugged, a half-smile on his face.

"Young Miss, this situation cannot be resolved by one person alone, but without eliminating this fellow, I will be unable to move forward."

He wasn't lying; he wouldn't take another step forward until he killed Master Qin.

This guy is a deadly cancer. If he can chase us all the way here, he can chase us all the way to Zhu Family Village, which would be a catastrophe.

In addition, when Zhu Biao was secretly reviewing the situation just now, he vaguely guessed Master Qin's sinister intentions.

The man wielding double maces, and the thief, were both cannon fodder he deliberately sent to their deaths.

Master Qin must have known the thief's cowardly nature and guessed that he would not be able to keep his mouth shut.

The purpose was to make the thief reveal that he had suffered a backlash and injuries, as well as his exact current location.

This guy's greatest threat is his ability to control insects. Thousands of poisonous insects will swarm in from all directions like a wave, and even a god would die on the spot.

However, even venomous insects have weaknesses.

This thing is afraid of the cold, moves slowly, and has a limited range of movement, making it impossible to pursue at long distances. Therefore, the only option is to ambush it in advance and wait for it to move.

This is an open conspiracy; even if Zhu Biao guessed it, he would still have to bite the bullet and run into it.

Otherwise, he wouldn't dare continue on his journey, much less return home.

Liang Siqi was indeed quick-witted; after only a moment's thought, she guessed Zhu Biao's intention.

"Do you mean you want me to step in and, in Liang Shicheng's name, mobilize the power of the government and military to wipe out this scoundrel?"

"Exactly!"

Zhu Biao readily admitted it.

"Young Miss, Cizhou is not far ahead. Since you're going to make a public appearance anyway, you might as well visit the county government and the prefectural government."

Seeing Liang Siqi's sullen face but no rebuttal, Zhu Biao pointed to the corpses scattered on the ground and the charred mountains in the distance.

"That sorcerer surnamed Qin set fire to the mountain, killed people without cause, and even plotted to harm Lady Liang, the adopted daughter of Prime Minister Liang."

He swung his arm forcefully and questioned me with a thunderous voice:

"Shouldn't the government send troops to wipe out such a heinous criminal?"

His utter nonsense, which turned black into white, sounded so righteous that Pang Qiutang, Zhu Wu, and the others were all dumbfounded, their mouths agape involuntarily.

"Uh~"

Liang Siqi was also stunned. Her eyes were wide open, her mind was blank, and she stammered for a long time but couldn't utter a single word.

It took her a long time to come to her senses.

"Even if I were willing to step forward and plead with the authorities, how could I face the thousands of poisonous insects?"

"ha!"

Zhu Biao smiled.

"Many hands make light work! As long as there are enough people and sufficient preparations, let alone a few thousand poisonous insects, even tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands are nothing to worry about."

Liang Siqi's eyes lit up.

"Stop beating around the bush, just tell me, what should we do?"

Seeing that she was interested, Zhu Biao's eyes lit up instantly, and he said, word by word:

"Poisonous insects may seem intimidating, but they actually have many natural enemies. They can be eliminated by water, fire, birds, chickens, ducks, and realgar."

This was Zhu Biao's wishful thinking.

He wasn't some kind of reckless hero, and he certainly didn't want to foolishly face Master Qin's poisonous insect array.

Now that he had Liang Siqi as his trump card, he certainly wouldn't waste it. He wanted to use the power of the government to crush Master Qin in a fair and square manner.

The Song Dynasty was indeed rotten to the core, but it had not yet collapsed. Once the government was fully operational, its power was still terrifying.

Evening, in Fuyang County, the seat of Cizhou.

As the city gates were about to close, a procession of carriages slowly made its way to the east gate.

A simple, unmarked sedan chair pulled by two horses, its curtains tightly drawn, was being protected by three elite knights.

"Stop! Dismount! Show your travel permit!"

Several listless city gate guards exchanged glances, their eyes filled with greed, and charged forward, brandishing their spears.

Their logic is very simple and crude.

If a carriage or horse has no markings, it is not belonging to an official or wealthy family; if it is not belonging to an official or wealthy family, then it is a lamb that can be slaughtered at will.

The gate guards, patrol inspectors, and grain transport officials of the Song Dynasty were all like this—bandits disguised as officials.

Snapped!

Zhu Biao suddenly raised his whip and lashed it hard at the leader.

"Ouch! You dare hit me, brothers!"

Just as the man was about to explode, he suddenly saw Zhu Biao pull out a copper tooth token and glare at him with eyes as sharp as knives.

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly!"

"I am the Imperial City Commander, here in Cizhou on official business. Quickly lead me to the county office. If you delay my business, I'll tear your dog's head off."

"Your Majesty, the Imperial City Guard?"

The leader was stunned and speechless. He trembled as he reached out his hand, still wanting to take the token and examine it.

Snapped!

Zhu Biao raised his hand and lashed out with the whip again, cursing:

"You son of a bitch! You dare to challenge me? Go and fetch your damn magistrate to greet me!"

Zhu Biao's ivory token belonged to that dead Meng Dujian. His rank was not high, only a seventh-rank official, but he was one of the few military officers in the Song Dynasty who dared to directly confront civil officials.

The Imperial City Guard was a servant of the emperor, not under the jurisdiction of the Censorate or the Three Military Offices. In theory, it was directly under the emperor's control, but in recent years, it has actually been managed by Liang Shicheng.

"Yes, yes."

The army leader, after being whipped twice, lost his momentum, clutched his wounds, bowed and scraped, and dared not even show a resentful look in his eyes.

A moment later, in the main hall of the county government office.

Upon meeting Liang Siqi, he was presented with the imperial seal of a fifth-rank official title and the seal of a divine official bestowed by Liang Shicheng.

Zhang Jingxing, the upright magistrate of Fuyang County who had passed the imperial examination, suddenly collapsed to his knees with a thud.

"I have met Lady Liang."

The so-called integrity and arrogance of Song Dynasty civil officials varied from person to person.

Let alone his seventh-rank county magistrate, even his superior, the fifth-rank prefect, wouldn't dare to act tough when he saw Liang Shicheng.

Liang Shicheng was a hidden prime minister who controlled imperial edicts and issued orders on behalf of the emperor. Even Cai Jing and his son had to curry favor with him.

With his power, he could easily crush a county magistrate with just a word.

"Stand up and answer."

Liang Siqi said coldly, her tone casual. She was very relaxed now and didn't need to act at all; she could just show her arrogant, spoiled nature.

"I wonder what instructions Lady Liang has for you upon your arrival in Fuyang? Should I inform Prefect Cui?"

Magistrate Zhang stood up and said tremblingly.

He just wanted to push this plague god to Shangguan as soon as possible, since they were in the same city and not far apart.

"snort!"

Liang Siqi plopped down and scoffed:

"To instruct? I dare not."

"Last night, I was almost burned to death by a wildfire at Fukou Pass, and this morning, I was robbed and killed by bandits at Shahu Pass."

She paused, then said jokingly:

"May I ask Magistrate Zhang, are these two places still under the jurisdiction of Fuyang, or under the jurisdiction of the Great Song Dynasty?"

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Zhang was stunned. After a few moments, he knelt down once again.

"This humble official deserves death!"

He knew that the wildfire was so big last night that half the sky was red.

However, since the incident occurred outside the city and fell under the jurisdiction of the state government's patrol camp, and no villagers had filed a complaint, he naturally didn't bother with it.

Unexpectedly, the wildfire nearly burned Liang Shicheng's fake daughter, and someone even tried to intercept and kill her.

This matter has caused a huge uproar; his small frame can't handle it.

"Lady Liang, this matter is utterly heinous. I am of low rank and cannot make a decision. Immediately report to Prefect Cui and request that he mobilize troops to apprehend the thieves!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao and Liang Siqi exchanged a subtle glance.

Their goal was to get Prefect Cui to send troops, but he took the initiative to take on the matter and went with them to the prefectural government office to file a complaint.

The results were completely different.

"Very well, let's go quickly."

Liang Siqi suppressed a smile and waved her hand impatiently.