Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Chapter 98 Might makes right

"Tell me in detail!"

Zhu Biao raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, young master."

The hunter's tone was somewhat indignant.

"This tigress came to the North Mountain three years ago and has lived peacefully with us hunters ever since. Even when we bumped into her, she never harmed us, let alone came down the mountain to cause trouble."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao tapped the table lightly and glanced coldly at Zhu Geda, whose face was ashen.

"In that case, the tiger is not a vicious beast, but rather quite intelligent and willing to be kind to humans."

The hunter clasped his hands in greeting.

"Your Excellency is wise; this is indeed the case."

Zhu Biao nodded noncommittally, then slammed his hand on the table and hissed, "Zhu Geda, even now, aren't you going to tell the truth?"

Pfft!

Zhu Geda was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, but he refused to open his mouth.

"I'm innocent! I truly don't know why that beast suddenly went mad."

"Ha~ They won't shed a tear until they see the coffin."

Zhu Biao sneered, his eyes filled with hatred. By this time, he had roughly deduced the outline of the matter.

There was no reason for the young hunter to lie to him, and the murdered hunter surnamed Tang must have directly angered the tiger by going up the mountain.

However, the reason he angered that tiger must be inextricably linked to the Zhu Geda family.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for the tiger to bypass most of the village and precisely attack his house.

"Hey, Zhu Geda, I'm asking you, with the year-end approaching, where's your son?"

Upon hearing this question, Zhu Geda instinctively shuddered.

"My son, Gensheng, is a peddler. Business was good before the New Year, so he went to Juye to buy New Year's goods."

"Oh? Your son only sells a few needles, thread, hair ties, and red paper, and he still needs to go to the prefectural city to buy them? It's nearly four hundred miles round trip. Is the profit enough to cover the travel expenses?"

Juye was the seat of Jizhou, about two hundred li away from Zhujiazhuang, separated by the counties of Yuncheng and Shouzhang. This old man is obviously lying.

Zhu Biao suddenly patted the scabbard and said mockingly, "Zhu Geda, trying to fool me with such absurd nonsense, do you think I'm stupid? Or are you taking advantage of my knife's poor quality?"

"No, no!"

Zhu Geda immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy, but still tried to argue.

"How could this old man dare to deceive the young master? It's just what my son said, I..."

Bang!

Seeing Zhu Biao's gesture of slapping the knife, Su Fang understood immediately. Without needing any instructions, he rushed forward and kicked Zhu Geda, sending him sprawling backward.

He then took advantage of the situation to step on his chest, pulled out a short knife, and stabbed it towards his face.

"You heartless wretch, you dare not tell the truth? I'll cut your tongue out!"

Zhu Geda was scratched by the tiger's claw, then tripped and fell, and Su Fang stepped on his chest, causing him to contort in pain.

However, when he saw the gleaming dagger rapidly approaching his cheek, his scream turned into a plea for mercy: "Spare me! I'll talk!"

Su Fang pressed the knife against his neck and cursed, "Hmph! You're such a scoundrel, hurry up and talk!"

With death looming, Zhu Geda dared not hide anything any longer and stammered, "Yes, yes, my son went to Juye to sell tiger cubs."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao's eyes sharpened, and he coldly demanded, "How many tiger cubs? Alive or dead? Did the Tang hunter's family in the north of the village help you catch them?"

Su Fang, quick-witted, sheathed his knife and pulled him up. At this moment, Zhu Geda was trembling like a leaf and didn't dare to look at him at all.

"Two, two of them, they're both dead. They were definitely stolen by Tang Dalang from the mountain the day before yesterday."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Tang's daughter-in-law shouted angrily and was about to rush over to fight, but was held back firmly by Pang Qiutang and could only scream desperately.

"My husband has always been honest and followed the rules when going into the mountains. How could he have gone to steal tiger cubs for no reason, causing the death of our entire family?"

"You're the one talking nonsense!"

Zhu Geda was afraid of Zhu Biao, but not of Tang's daughter-in-law. He got angry and shouted back in a rough voice.

"Your son has a headache, and you didn't have money for medicine. It was Tang Dalang who came to find my son. This whole mess was clearly caused by your family!"

Tang's daughter-in-law was suddenly stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Damn it! One family was driven to poverty, the other to greed. Poverty is pitiful, but greed deserves to die.

Zhu Biao made up his mind instantly.

"Zhu Geda, who did you sell that tiger cub to?"

"Master Sun of Juye".

Zhu Biao frowned and thought for a moment, but he didn't remember such a person.

Why would he buy tiger cubs?

"He recently had a pair of grandsons, but they are a little weak, so he wants to make two tiger-skin rugs and sew two tiger-head hats."

Zhu Biao pressed further, "What is the price?"

"One hundred, one hundred strings of cash."

"evil creature!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhu Laoshi, who had remained silent all along, rushed over and slapped him across the face.

"For just a hundred coins, you killed six people and disrupted the entire village's peace? You deserve to die!"

Zhu Geda clung to his leg, wailing, "Village Chief! I know I was wrong! I was blinded by greed! Please, please put in a good word for me!"

Zhu Laoshi slapped him again.

"What a load of rubbish! My grandson, who's not even a month old, is scared out of his wits too. You old bastard, I wish I could strangle you with my own hands!"

"alright!"

Zhu Biao felt the veins on his forehead throbbing, and he slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage.

"This matter will be handled according to clan rules!"

"It's getting dark. We don't want any more deaths tonight. Quickly gather all the members of these two families, whether they are dead or alive, young or old, to the ancestral hall."

Then he spoke to the two old hunters.

"I would appreciate it if you two could also search both houses and try to find the tiger cub's flesh and bones."

"Yes."

The older hunter bowed and accepted the order, while the younger hunter looked resentful and reluctant.

Once, he encountered a wild boar alone on the mountain, and it was the tigress who jumped out to help him out of the predicament, though it was unintentional.

However, he silently accepted this favor.

Just as the old hunter was about to drag him away, Zhu Biao stopped him.

"I know your feelings. This tiger is pitiful, but now that it has taken a life, its former spirit is gone."

He paused, then added, "Moreover, even if it takes its revenge and tastes human blood and flesh, it might still harm people in the future. For both moral and rational reasons, I must get rid of it."

"grown ups!"

The young hunter's eyes reddened, and Zhu Biao patted him on the shoulder.

"I promise you, the troublemaker will be punished, and I will never skin it alive or dismember it. I will leave it with a whole body so that it can be laid to rest in peace."

.

"You are a righteous and benevolent man!"

Tears streamed down the young hunter's face, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.

After arguing with him for a while and promising not to damage the tiger's carcass, it wasn't that Zhu Biao was soft-hearted; he was determined to kill the tiger.

However, mountain people are often superstitious and worship tigers, especially tigers that deliberately do not harm people. These tigers are revered as mountain kings and are almost considered incarnations of mountain gods.

Just now, although the old hunter readily agreed, a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes.

Furthermore, when he entered the village in the afternoon, almost no hunters came out to welcome him.

Clearly, the young hunter's idea was not an isolated case, and Xiaoxi Village was not the only place where hunters relied on the North Mountain for their livelihood.

Zhu Biao has only just begun to cultivate his reputation, and this matter concerns the hearts of the people, so it cannot be taken lightly!

Night falls on the roof of the ancestral hall.

Zhu Biao and Pang Qiutang lay side by side, covered with thick straw mats, so they weren't too cold.

"Third Brother, that tigress is actually quite pitiful. She was kind to people, but her cubs were killed, so she... she took revenge."

Pang Qiutang kept stroking the copper disc on her thumb and tentatively asked.

Zhu Biao slightly adjusted the hidden dart on his wrist and replied, "Hmm, it is indeed in the right in this matter, so you think it's justifiable for it to hurt people?"

Pang Qiutang shook her head.

"No, I just can't understand it. I feel like it died a very unjust death."

"Oh.

""

Zhu Biao chuckled.

"What's there to feel aggrieved about? Someone harmed its cubs, and it killed six people in succession, thus avenging itself."

As he spoke, he took out two pieces of dried mutton, gave one to Pang Qiutang, and put the other in his mouth.

"Now, I've come to seek justice for the six people it killed. It wasn't as powerful as me, so it could only die with regret."

Pang Qiutang frowned and thought for a moment, then hesitantly asked, "So, in the end, it all boils down to whoever has the bigger fist is right?"

Two streams of hot air shot out from Zhu Biao's nostrils.

"Yes and no. If there is reason to speak, then of course we should speak. But if there is no reason to speak, then we should see who has the stronger fist."

He paused, then said quietly, "But in this rotten world, in the end, it still comes down to fists."

Pang Qiutian seemed to be deep in thought, then smiled.

"Hey, Third Brother, don't worry. Whoever dares to raise a fist against you, I'll shoot a hole right through them!"

Zhu Biao laughed, but before he could speak, a sudden chill ran down his spine, and he seemed to smell a fishy odor.

Although he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he was absolutely certain in his heart.

The tiger is coming!

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