Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Pang Qiutang always thought about her two older brothers, and Zhu Biao never forgot them either.

That's Pang Wanchun!

Judging from Pang Qiutang's amazing archery skills, it's not hard to deduce her brother's terrifying abilities; he's practically a human archery platform.

To put it another way, if he had been accompanied by Pang Wanchun when he fled Tokyo, he would have dared to charge straight at the Imperial City Guards led by Supervisor Meng.

There's absolutely no need to go through the arduous detour of the Taihang Mountains.

Yesterday, after arranging to meet with Instructor Zhang today, Zhu Biao did not return directly to his residence, but instead made a special trip to inquire about it.

Who in the city has the best access to information?

Of course, it's the tavern owner.

They could connect with high-ranking officials and nobles, and befriend all sorts of people from all walks of life. There was nothing in or outside the city that they didn't know.

When ordering food and drinks, Zhu Biao only spent two extra taels of silver to get the whole story out of him.

A month ago, a fire broke out at night in the patrol camp outside Xiangzhou City, killing more than 30 soldiers, including the patrol commander Huang Can.

Of course, this is the official version, and it's what you hear before you spend any money.

In reality, when the camp caught fire, more than twenty soldiers who rushed to put out the fire were killed by a barrage of arrows.

The camp erupted in chaos on the spot.

Inspector Huang Can was even attacked when someone stormed into the camp and shot him in the back of the head with an arrow in the chaos. A few days later, the bounty on the Pang siblings in the city was removed.

It is said that the next day, the military commander of Xiangzhou, who was on his way to support the suppression of bandits, was shot off by an arrow, which nearly made him wet his pants.

Without saying a word, he withdrew his troops on the spot.

After that, the powerful man surnamed Pang, who had been entrenched in the back mountain of Twenty-Two Mile Shop, also disappeared.

Upon learning this news, Zhu Biao valued Pang Wanchun's combat prowess even more.

Damn! One man with one bow, he directly blew up a camp of more than 600 people and even killed the commander-in-chief. What kind of god is this?

"Third Brother, what happened next? Where did my brother go?"

After hearing what Zhu Biao had to say, Pang Qiutang eagerly pressed for an answer.

"That's something I can't find out."

As soon as Zhu Biao finished speaking, Pang Qiutang's tears fell like broken pearls.

"Why are you crying?"

Zhu Biao quickly changed his words:

"I reckon your brother probably retrieved the Lingbi Stone and went to Daming Prefecture to sell it again."

"Really? Daming Prefecture? Then let's hurry on our way, we can arrive tonight!"

Upon hearing this, Pang Qiutang became excited and reached out to grab Zhu Biao's arm. She was so excited that she almost fell off her horse.

"Don't panic!"

Zhu Biao quickly caught her and gently comforted her.

"Qiutang, listen to what I have to say."

"Your brother raided the patrol camp at night and shot Huang Can more than twenty years ago. After so much time, he should have already left Daming Prefecture."

"Then, where did they go?"

Pang Qiutang was completely flustered at this point, her mind a complete mess, instinctively relying on Zhu Biao, and almost losing the ability to think.

Zhu Biao had already considered this question, and without hesitation replied:

"If they have already exchanged the money, they must have returned to their hometown in Shezhou. If they haven't exchanged the money, they have probably gone to Tokyo to find another way."

Pang Qiutang fell silent, lowered her head and thought for a long time before hesitantly asking a question.

"Third Brother, will I ever see my brother again in this lifetime?"

"Ha ha!"

Zhu Biao smiled.

"We will definitely meet again, and I guarantee that within six months, your brother will come to Zhu Family Village to find you."

"really?"

Pang Qiutang suddenly looked up, her voice cracking.

Zhu Biao nodded and said firmly:

"Well, if he doesn't come, I'll go back to Pangjiazhuang with you."

Three days later, in Yanggu County, which borders Hebei and Shandong, a place only about 400 li from Qingzhou and not far from Dulonggang.

At this time, Zhu Biao was eager to return home. He passed through Tangyin but did not visit Yue Fei, and he passed through Daming Prefecture but did not visit Lu Junyi.

There's plenty of time in the future; right now, all he wants is to go home.

Yanggu is a large county with a population of over 200,000, and the city has over 100,000 people.

After entering the city, Zhu Biao and his group scattered and inquired around the southern part of the city, but no one had ever heard of Wu Dalang, who sold pancakes.

"Young master, we've asked around. No one has seen the pancake vendor who's less than five feet tall, nor has anyone seen Brother Wu or Brother Zhu."

Zhu Wu was the last one to run back; despite the freezing weather, his forehead was covered in sweat.

Zhu Biao frowned and thought for a moment:

"Go and inquire about Ximen Sheng's Pharmacy. Find out how many branches there are in Yanggu City."

"it is good."

Zhu nodded, but just as she was about to turn around, he grabbed her arm.

"Alright, you just stay put. Su Fang, go ask."

Zhu Wu is a simpleton. He looks fierce, but he's slow-witted and clumsy with words. He probably won't understand if you ask him. Su Fang is much smarter than him.

Su Fang responded and ran off in a flash, returning shortly afterward.

"Young master, we've found out that the Ximen family owns four properties in Guyang County: three herbal medicine shops and one clinic."

He paused, then continued:

"There are three herbal medicine shops, two in the east of the city and one in the north. The clinic is also in the north, next to the herbal medicine shops."

Finally, he added one more sentence.

"By the way, the Ximen family's mansion is also in the north of the city."

"Su Fang, you did a terrible job!"

Zhu Biao gave a satisfied compliment, turned around, waved his hand, and said to the crowd:

"Let's go, to the North City!"

Sure enough, when the group arrived in the north of the city, they asked a few people and found out about Wu Da. He also had a nickname, but it wasn't very nice.

Three-inch dicey, bark of a millet tree.

I also found out about the rental place for Wuhan University students. It's located on Zishi Street, a two-story wooden building facing the street.

As darkness fell and everyone had been traveling for days, they were all exhausted.

Zhu Biao simply arranged for everyone to find a relatively clean inn nearby to stay in first.

He then took Su Fang and walked quietly to Zishi Street. With Instructor Zhang in charge of the inn, he felt quite at ease.

"Young master, the Wu family is right across from that teahouse!"

Su Fang, being young, possessed amazing stamina. Even after a day's journey, he could still run around with incredible speed.

Zhu Biao looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a teahouse by the roadside with a half-new, half-old cloth banner hanging at the entrance that read "Wang Po Teahouse".

At this time, the shop was deserted, with not a single customer.

A short, plump woman with bright red flowers tucked into her temples squatted by the stove, warming herself by the fire while cracking sunflower seeds.

Those cunning and shrewd triangular eyes were darting around, scanning the surroundings.

Tsk! Just like a busybody.

Zhu Biao shifted his gaze to the opposite side of the street, to an old, faded two-story wooden building, where a faint light shone through the closed doors.

Some people say that they are about to see the legendary Golden Lotus, and they are somewhat looking forward to it.

Just as Zhu Biao instructed Su Fang to knock on the door, Wang Po, with her sharp eyes, spotted him and hurriedly stood up, swaying her plump waist as she quickly came out of the shop to greet him.

"Yo hoo!"

She let out an exaggerated shout.

"When did Yanggu County acquire such a handsome and dashing young man? It's cold and windy outside, young man, would you like to come in and have a cup of hot tea?"

Su Fang was about to reprimand him, but Zhu Biao stopped him.

He took two steps forward, closing in on Wang Po, and pulled out the pure copper waist token of the Imperial City Guard belonging to Supervisor Meng. He held it up in front of her eyes and said mockingly.

"Fat woman, can you read?"

Upon seeing the waist tag, Granny Wang's eyes narrowed instantly, and she took a step back.

"My lord, please forgive me. I was very offensive just now."

Clearly, she was not only literate but also quite knowledgeable, knowing what kind of government office the Imperial City Guard was.

At present, most of the Imperial Guards are holed up in Tokyo, and those sent out are mostly secret agents who rarely appear in public, so the general public knows very little about them.

"Oh."

Zhu Biao sneered.

"You think you can just let offending the Imperial City Guard get away with it so easily?"

"You audacious shrew, kneel down now!"

Su Fang was very clever. Upon hearing this, he immediately shouted and drew a short knife from his waist, gesturing in front of Wang Po.

"Oh my god!"

Wang Po was so frightened that her legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground with a thud, bowing and begging for mercy.

"Sir, have mercy!"

Zhu Biao arrogantly put his hands behind his back, not even bothering to look at her directly, and simply said:

"If you want to live, slap yourself."

"Yes, yes."

Granny Wang gritted her teeth, raised her arm with trembling hands, and slapped herself twice, neither too hard nor too softly.

"What's wrong? Haven't you eaten? Do you want me to help you?"

Zhu Biao coldly rebuked, and Su Fang's eyes narrowed instantly. He raised his leg and kicked her in the armpit.

"Damn it! You old hag, slap me to death! Otherwise, I'll skin you alive!"

"No, no, I, I'll fan myself."

Granny Wang winced in pain, her forehead instantly covered in cold sweat.

Snapped!Snapped!

This time, she really went all out, slapping her own fat face until it trembled and turned visibly red.

Crunch!

Suddenly, the door of the wooden building across the street was pushed open, and a beautiful face peeked out, her voice as melodious as a nightingale's song.

"Aunt Wang, what's wrong?"