Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Chapter 75 Jinlian, Dalang, Wu Er

This woman is beautiful, but her beauty is utterly heartbreaking.

With willow-leaf eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, a delicate nose, and a face like a peach blossom, she appears pure and refined at first glance, but upon closer inspection, she exudes a captivating charm that evokes pity and sorrow.

If I had to find a word to describe her, it would be very much like Pan Jinlian.

Wang Po, with her sharp eyes, noticed Zhu Biao's glazed gaze and assumed he, like other men, was also bewitched by this young woman.

A plan immediately came to her mind, and she turned to Pan Jinlian, bowing and begging for mercy.

"Young lady, quickly plead with this official for me, otherwise, I fear my life will be in danger tonight."

"what?"

Pan Jinlian was taken aback when she saw Wang Po, whose fat face was red and swollen and who was crying with tears streaming down her face.

In her memory, this Mrs. Wang was not someone to be trifled with; she was shrewd, had a wide circle of friends, and was also quite feisty.

He was considered a prominent figure on this Purple Stone Street.

As her thoughts raced, Pan Jinlian raised her eyelids slightly and glanced curiously at Zhu Biao, only to meet his burning gaze.

A tremor ran through me.

Unlike the amazement, greed, and burning desire that men had shown her in the past, as if they wanted to devour her whole.

The man's eyes were cold, indifferent, sharp, and possessed a penetrating, soul-searching quality.

"This humble woman greets Your Excellency."

She felt a chill run down her spine, quickly lowered her head, and called out softly.

"Fatty, did I tell you to stop?"

Zhu Biao ignored her, turned his gaze to Wang Po, and coldly rebuked her.

"what?"

Wang Po's fat body trembled in shock, but then she heard Zhu Biao shout again.

"Su Fang!"

"Here you are."

Su Fang cupped his hands in response, then swiftly sheathed his dagger, leaped forward to Wang Po, grabbed her hair bun, and lashed out.

Snap snap snap~

Su Fang had practiced martial arts since childhood. Although he was small and weak, he knew how to exert force and was accurate in his strikes, especially targeting areas with little bone and lots of flesh to beat hard.

"Ouch, ouch, have mercy! You're killing me!"

In just a few moments, Wang Po's face swelled up several times over, turning red and purple, and blood spilled from the corner of her mouth as she howled like a pig being slaughtered.

"What's going on? Who is this person, and why are they here, sir?"

The neighbors heard the commotion and came out to see what was happening.

chap!

Zhu Biao drew his sword, planted it in the ground with a clang, and shouted sharply.

"The Imperial City Guard is ordered to search for Liao spies. Those who don't want to die, get the hell out of my sight!"

The neighbors were immediately horrified, their spines tingling with fear. They hurriedly retreated into their homes and quickly bolted their doors shut.

They may have heard of the Imperial City Guard, but they knew that being a spy was a crime punishable by death!

Ignoring Zhu Biao's instructions, Su Fang did not stop. At this moment, Wang Po, who had been slapped, was bleeding from her mouth and nose, and had lost several teeth.

Pan Jinlian was also terrified. Just as she was about to turn around and close the door, she heard Zhu Biao shout at her, "Stop!"

"S-lord."

Pan Jinlian's pretty face was now as pale as paper, and her eyes were slightly moist, which added to her alluring charm.

Zhu Biao drew his long sword and gave it a slight shake.

"Woman, may I ask you, are you acquainted with this fat woman?"

"Ah? I, I am a woman~"

The gleaming blade of the curved sword made Pan Jinlian tremble, unable to utter a coherent sentence.

Zhu Biao now holds dozens of lives in his hands, and his murderous aura has become formidable. She is a sheltered woman who rarely leaves her home; how could she have ever seen such a person?

She thought to herself:

Even his own second uncle, though might be more imposing and powerful than this young man, did not possess such a chilling and awe-inspiring presence.

Find a pretext to beat up Wang Po – this was the idea that came to Zhu Biao's mind in a flash.

He wanted to deliberately put Pan Jinlian in a bad light, to plant a seed of fear and respect deep in her heart.

Soon after, she and Wu Da were to go to Zhu Family Village with Wu Song.

Just by looking at this woman, I can tell she's no pushover. And there are many men in Zhu Family Village. If we don't take this opportunity to subdue her today...

In the future, they may stir up trouble.

"Please forgive me, sir!"

Just then, a short figure suddenly appeared behind Pan Jinlian.

He was no more than five feet tall, with a simple, honest face, a flat nose, thick lips, and a short mustache. He was truly an eyesore and looked nothing like Wu Song.

With flour still on his hands, he bowed deeply to Zhu Biao, his tone humble: "I am Wu Da, and I make a living selling steamed buns. My wife and I are not from Yanggu; we only moved here from Qinghe a few days ago."

He may not be good-looking, but he speaks clearly.

Zhu Biao raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance, and asked, "Oh? Wu Da from Qinghe? Do you know Wu Song, the Second Brother Wu?"

"what?"

Wu Da was both surprised and delighted: "Sir, you actually know my brother?"

"Stand up and speak. Is Wu Song your brother?"

"Exactly."

Wu Da bowed slightly, a sheepish smile on his face.

"My lord, Wu Song is my own brother, born of the same mother. He was born into a better family and is tall and imposing, while I am in this wretched state."

Then, he mustered his courage and asked, "May I ask, sir, where do you know my brother?"

"I see."

Zhu Biao nodded: "I met him before at the Chai family in Cangzhou. We even shared a few bowls of wine and sparred in martial arts. We hit it off immediately."

Then, he raised his hand towards Su Fang and said, "Alright, I want to catch up with an old friend. Let's throw this eyesore aside."

"yes!"

Su Fang was an excellent worker, and upon hearing this, he immediately grabbed the nearly unconscious Wang Po and half-dragged, half-thrown her into a ditch not far away.

After working for a while, his forehead was covered in sweat and his hands were trembling slightly, but his eyes were bright and alert.

Ever since he joined Zhu Biao's group, he has been working hard to prove that he is useful and that he is not just a freeloader.

He was a beggar who had escaped death. He was not afraid of hardship or fatigue, but he was afraid that Zhu Biao would not assign him any work.

"Young master! Since you wish to catch up with old friends, why not sit here in this teahouse? I can make tea myself."

This little guy is really clever. He could tell that Zhu Biao didn't like Pan Jinlian and didn't want to join the Wu family, so he made the suggestion.

"Very good."

Zhu Biao smiled and gave him a gratified look.

Damn it! Besides Zhu Jiu, he finally has another trustworthy subordinate.

The key is that Su Fang also has a talent for martial arts. If Lin Chong and Luan Tingyu carefully train him for a few years, he will surely become his right-hand man.

"What? You're saying Wu Song returned to Qinghe with a friend from the martial arts world?"

A moment later, in the teahouse, Zhu Biao suddenly slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

The wealthy Prince of Qinghe first married Pan Jinlian, a maid who was not a virgin, to Wu Da, then seized the Wu family's ancestral home and forced him to leave his hometown to avoid disaster.

These things were a great humiliation for Wu Song, whose passion was as fiery as fire.

Back then, Zhu Biao stayed by his side and managed to calm him down, even promising to avenge him when he returned.

Clearly, Wu Song couldn't wait any longer, and Zhu San couldn't persuade him either, so the two of them went back to Qinghe to take revenge.

Zhu Biao didn't even dare to imagine the trouble these two reckless men could cause if they acted rashly.

When did they leave?

Wu Da was startled and stammered.

"Please calm down, my brother has been gone for five days."

"Incompetent at accomplishing anything!"

Zhu Biao kicked the stool away, cursed angrily, and got up to leave. The city gate was not yet closed, and he needed to leave immediately.

Hopefully, we can still make it.

Da Da Da~

The sky was completely dark, and the surrounding area was silent. However, on the official road leading from Yanggu to Qinghe, a series of muffled thunderous hoofbeats could be heard.

Zhu Biao, Pang Qiutang, and Zhu Wu, each on two horses and carrying torches, raced through the night.

At this moment, Zhu Biao was very anxious, panicked, and afraid.

Wu Song is bloodthirsty by nature; once he unleashes his fury, the consequences are unpredictable. What if he gets carried away and slaughters the entire Wang family?

The key point is that he also had Zhu San by his side. This simpleton was Zhu Biao's trusted follower and a servant of the Zhu family.

As the saying goes, "Pulling one hair can affect the whole body."

If the incident comes to light and they are captured, it could not only implicate the Zhu Family Village, but also expose Zhu Biao's plans to rescue Lin Chong and his wife and assassinate Gao Yanei.

That would be a catastrophic disaster!

He had no choice but to immediately join the Liangshan bandits; all his previous plans, schemes, and efforts would have come to naught.

Meanwhile, in the back alley of the Wu family's old residence in Qinghe County.

puff!

The tinder that Wu Song had just been waving was blown out by Zhu San.

"Third brother, what do you mean?"

Wu Song lowered his voice and questioned.

"Second brother, I'd like to ask you the same thing. What were you thinking? Burning down your own house, what kind of revenge is that?"

Zhu San countered with a question.

"Even if my house burns down, I won't let it benefit someone else for nothing!"

Wu Song's eyes flashed with a sinister light, and he said in a muffled voice, "Tomorrow, we'll go outside the city and burn the Wang family's house to the ground. That will be our revenge."

"7

Zhu San clicked his tongue, his face contorted in a grimace, and said, "Second Brother, are you dreaming? That Wang family mansion is a brick and tile house. How could they set it on fire?"

"Besides, his household has dozens of guards, servants, and maids, and there are several wells in the house. How could the fire have been allowed to spread?"

Wu Song's tiger-like eyes flashed fiercely, and he clenched his teeth tightly.

"Then I'll kill them all!"

"Second Brother!"

Zhu San interrupted, raising his voice.

"We made a promise that we would never kill anyone, no matter what."

"My young master repeatedly warned me before he left: you've finally escaped punishment and your brothers are reunited; don't ruin your own life!"

Wu Song got angry and snapped the tinder in his hand.

"This won't work? That won't work? Then tell me, what should we do?"

Zhu San retorted without backing down, "In my opinion, we should wait for my young master to return; he'll surely come up with a perfect plan!"