Liver in Water Margin, outlaw madman

Deng Fei and Meng Kang never expected Zhang Shan to be so bold.

These mere dozen or so people, seven or eight horses, and a few trucks dared to follow them up the mountain without even blinking an eye.

Meng Kang slung his broadsword over his shoulder, looked Zhang Shan up and down, and couldn't help but shout, "If Chief Zhang isn't afraid, then naturally we aren't afraid either."

"please!"

With a wave of his hand, the group of over two hundred people behind him immediately parted to the sides, revealing a narrow mountain path.

Two rows of henchmen stood with knives in hand, their eyes fixed on Zhang Shan.

Zhang Shan smiled, and without any hesitation, he walked away.

Jiao Ting followed closely beside him.

Seeing this, Wu Song hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed and walked on the other side of Zhang Shan.

His eyes seemed to be casually looking around.

Although Zhang Shan did not take special care of him along the way, Wu Song could sense that Zhang Shan looked at him differently than he looked at others.

There was curiosity, equality, respect, and a hint of...sympathy in his eyes.

Wu Song was completely baffled.

He had no relation to Zhang Shan, they had only shared a drink at Chai Jin's manor, so why was this man treating him differently?

If you can’t figure it out, just stop thinking about it.

Wu Song swallowed his doubts and simply followed along.

As Zhang Shan walked, he looked around.

Yinmachuan is truly a wonderful place.

The mountain is not steep, but it is dangerous enough.

On both sides are bluish-gray stone walls, covered with old vines, their leaves hanging down densely like green curtains.

The mountain path was so narrow that only two people could walk side by side, and even in the wider sections, only three or five horses could travel together. One man could hold the pass against ten thousand.

After crossing the ridge, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a valley with rivers, flat land, and forests, with wisps of smoke rising from the treetops in the distance.

This place is located between Daming Prefecture and Jizhou, on the border between the Song and Liao dynasties, and is situated at a major transportation hub.

There are mountains, water, and forests.

The neighbors and villagers live in harmony, and the young and old men are very sociable.

Cough

Zhang Shan started to have some wild thoughts.

The Northeast is wonderful, with beautiful mountains and rivers and abundant resources.

Unfortunately, the Song Dynasty was incompetent, unable to defeat the Liao or the Jin, and despite guarding such a large and fertile territory, it was still allowed to be thoroughly humiliated by them.

From top to bottom, from the emperor to the officials, there were hardly any capable people; they were all useless idiots.

He snapped out of his thoughts, turned to look at Meng Kang, and smiled, "Brother Meng Kang, did you kill the corrupt official in charge of overseeing the construction of the birthday tribute?"

He asked the question casually, as if he were asking what he had eaten that day.

Upon hearing this, Meng Kang spat on the ground and gritted his teeth, saying, "All corrupt officials deserve to die! It's a pity we weren't prepared enough; we only managed to kill one."

"Yes," Zhang Shan nodded, his tone indifferent, as if he were talking about something trivial. "Killing just one wasn't enough. After we killed Gao Qiu, we also had some regrets. We hadn't killed Gao Yanei yet, and we were always unhappy about it."

The mountain path fell silent for a moment after he said that.

Deng Fei and Meng Kang stopped at the same time, looked at each other, and their eyes lit up.

"Chieftain," Meng Kang's voice was strained, "could you perhaps tell me... how you killed that scoundrel Gao Qiu?"

For people in the martial arts world, daring to kill someone already makes them a ruthless character.

Those who can kill officials are the most ruthless of the ruthless.

But someone like Lin Chong, who dared to kill Gao Qiu, was a high-ranking official, holding the titles of Grand Commandant, Commander of the Palace Guards, and Grand Master of the Three Excellencies.

That would be enough to command the utmost respect from the entire martial arts world.

Zhang Shan smiled and continued walking uphill, briefly explaining the whole story as he went.

It wasn't that Zhang Shan wanted to show off, but if he didn't explain things clearly, and if he didn't make someone like Meng Kang truly believe him, why would he follow him?

By this time, everyone had reached the top of the mountain.

The village wasn't large, but it was well-organized.

Several rows of wooden houses were built against the mountain, with a small training ground in the middle. Several flags were planted on the side of the ground, fluttering in the mountain wind.

Deng Fei and Meng Kang exchanged another glance, then simultaneously prostrated themselves on the ground, clasped their hands in a fist salute, and said loudly, "We underestimated you earlier, brother. Please forgive us!"

This bow was sincere.

They had previously thought Zhang Shan was just a smooth talker, but after hearing the details of how he killed Gao Qiu, their contempt vanished.

This man looks young, but he's incredibly bold. He even dared to kill the Grand Commandant of the current dynasty and still managed to walk out alive. With such a person as the leader of the stronghold, there are few in the martial arts world who would dare to object.

Wu Song, who was standing nearby, heard everything clearly, and his heart was filled with turbulent emotions.

He had always thought Zhang Shan was a kind and polite person, whose martial arts skills seemed average, having only learned wrestling from Jiao Ting for a few days.

Unexpectedly, this polite and courteous Chief Zhang turned out to be such a ruthless character.

The Grand Commandant of the court killed him without hesitation, and it was he who orchestrated the execution.

Wu Song took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and remained silent.

"Please rise, both of you." Zhang Shan bent down to help the two up, patted the dirt off their shoulders, and said solemnly, "I'm not saying this for any particular reason, but to tell you that in this world, the emperor is incompetent, treacherous officials are in power, and the people are suffering."

"If we don't unite, we won't even have a place to stand."

These words struck a chord with Meng Kang.

He stood up from the ground, his eyes red, and it took him several breaths to suppress his anger.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Heaven is right! I'm not good with words and can't say anything fancy. I only know how to build ships. I might not be the best in the world, but I'm definitely one of the better ones."

He paused, then his voice suddenly rose several decibels, filled with the resentment and grievances that had accumulated over the years:

"But so what? Those corrupt officials don't treat us like human beings! They make ten, then they want me to make a hundred; once the hundred are done, they want a thousand."

"If we don't finish, we'll beat you, punish you, and push you to your death! I couldn't stand it anymore, so I led a dozen brothers and killed the supervisor in the middle of the night, and then we became outlaws here."

Meng Kang finished speaking in one breath, then let out a long sigh, as if he had released all the pent-up frustration of the past few years.

But then he sighed again, his voice lowering: "It's a pity we couldn't kill Cai Jing. That corrupt official was the worst. All the bad things in the world are related to him."

"Haha," Zhang Shan laughed, his laughter echoing through the mountains, "Brother is right, Cai Jing is indeed wicked."

There was one more thing he didn't say: Cai Jing was bad, but Zhao Ji was even worse.

The world belongs to the Zhao family, and the officials belong to the Zhao family. If the emperor wants to control things, who can escape his grasp?

Ultimately, the root of the problem lies with those at the top.

However, I can't say that now; it wouldn't make a difference anyway.

"When the opportunity arises," Zhang Shan said, looking into Meng Kang's eyes and emphasizing each word, "we brothers will storm into Tokyo together and behead Cai Jing. I wonder if Brother Meng Kang dares to do that?"

Meng Kang's eyes lit up instantly. He straightened his back and said in a firm voice, "How could I not dare! Killing one is the same as killing two! As long as you're willing to take me with you, my life is yours!"

"By the way," Deng Fei interjected, as if suddenly remembering something, "there is still a hero on the mountain named Pei Xuan. He used to be a clerk in the Jingzhao Prefecture. He was very honest and refused to collude with his superiors. He was given a pretext to be exiled to Shamen Island."

Zhang Shan nodded slightly and sighed, "That's why this world is so corrupt. If you don't cooperate, they'll just give you a different position and send you away, but they insist on torturing you to death."

"Yes," Meng Kang echoed in a low voice, his tone tinged with coldness. "What kind of place is Shamen Island? If you go there, no more than three out of ten people will survive. It's no different from a death sentence."

As the group was talking, a person emerged from behind the corner of the room.

The man was of medium height, wearing a slightly worn blue cloth shirt, with a thin face, slightly high cheekbones, and exceptionally bright eyes.

He had been standing inside for a while, and he had heard every word Zhang Shan had said.

Pei Xuan stood at the door, looking at Zhang Shan, his lips trembling slightly.

What Zhang Shan said was also what he truly felt.

During his years as a clerk in the Jingzhao Prefecture, he handled countless cases, witnessed many good people being wronged and framed, and saw many corrupt officials escaping justice.

He upheld justice throughout his life, refusing to show favoritism or bend the law, yet in the end he was framed by his own colleagues and exiled to the desolate Shamen Island, a place where no one could help him.

Thinking of this, Pei Xuan felt a surge of anger rising in his chest, which he couldn't suppress.