Water Margin: Gao Yanei is actually a Gal Genius

There was a pavilion by the water behind the hotel, and Lin Chong led Lu Qian there.

After Lin Chong and Lu Qian bowed to the man, they sat down according to their status as host and guest.

The man asked, "May I ask your names, gentlemen? And why have you come here?"

"I am Lin Chong, and this is my esteemed younger brother, Lu Qian. To be honest, the government and the Imperial City Guard are pursuing us relentlessly, and we have nowhere to go. We heard that Liangshan Marsh is a place where heroes reside, so we have come here to seek refuge."

The man hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Could it be Lin Chong, the famous 'Leopard Head' of Tokyo?"

"That's me!"

The man looked on with suspicion. "But wasn't Lin Chong executed by Grand Commandant Gao Qiu for the serious crime of treason?"

Lin Chong was momentarily speechless, and Lu Qian quickly helped him answer.

"My elder brother is imprisoned for assassinating Cai Xiu. I have known him since childhood and could not bear to see him lose his life, so I went to the Palace Guard to beg the Grand Commandant for mercy and knelt for three days and three nights. Grand Commandant Gao, seeing my deep sense of loyalty, secretly arranged for a death row inmate to take my brother's life."

The man didn't believe it. "Would an official be so kind? You two are probably spies for the imperial court!"

I've heard that heroes of the outlaw world value their reputation highly, so today I'll try to provoke him!

Having made up his mind, Lu Qian stood up angrily.

"You scoundrel, you're no hero. Have you ever seen a spy willing to take such a huge risk? You have seven or eight hundred men on Liangshan, and you think you're afraid of two brothers like us? It's truly laughable!"

After saying that, he reached out and took Lin Chong's hand.

"Brother, it's better not to go to Liangshan! People know their masters by their appearance, and Liangshan is probably not a place for heroes. You and I should find somewhere else to join, so we don't become a laughingstock later!"

Lin Chong was pulled up by Lu Qian. He didn't understand why, but he obediently followed Lu Qian to leave.

Seeing this, the man quickly stood up, went to Lu Qian and bowed deeply, pleading, "Hero, please wait! Hero, please wait..."

Lu Qian frowned and looked over. "Why are you standing there? You haven't even introduced yourself yet, you're clearly looking down on us..."

As he made to leave, the man stopped him again.

"Hold on, sir. I am Zhu Gui, a spy for Chief Wang, nicknamed 'Drought Crocodile.' I am originally from Yishui County, Yizhou. I taught my underlings to run an inn here under the guise of a mountain stronghold, but my sole purpose is to gather intelligence on passing merchants. If they have money, I report back to the stronghold. If a lone traveler arrives without money, I let them pass. If they do have money, I either drug them with sleeping pills or kill them instantly, slicing their lean meat into mincemeat and frying their fat for lamp oil. Just now, I saw you asking about the route to Liangshan Marsh, and I hesitated to act for fear of accidentally harming your friends and family. You two are both heroes; if you come with me to the stronghold, you will surely be highly valued by Chief Wang!"

Lin Chong had spent a long time in the capital, and all he ever did was scheme and plot, which was nothing more than life and death. He had never seen cannibalism before.

Displeased, he immediately asked, "Do you eat people?"

Zhu Gui chuckled awkwardly, "Occasionally, occasionally..."

Lu Qian laughed and said,

"Brother, you don't know this, but in this world, it's all about ruthlessness. If a hero eats people's hearts and livers, then if this hero doesn't, he's at a disadvantage. I observe that Liangshan's eight hundred li of marshland is rich in resources, and the stronghold only has seven or eight hundred people. They can eat fish every day and still not run out of food in this vast marshland, so why would they eat people?"

At this point, he leaned close to Lin Chong's ear and whispered something.

"This guy is bragging... I've served the Grand Commandant for many years and have actually seen several cannibalistic bandit leaders. Eating too much human flesh will cause conjunctivitis, which is easy to spot."

Lin Chong's expression softened slightly upon hearing this.

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Zhu Gui hurriedly ordered the waiter to bring out the best wine and food, but Lin Chong quickly declined, saying, "We have come here to bother you; how can we accept the chief's fine wine and food?"

Zhu Gui laughed and said, "Brother, you don't know this, but the stronghold has given instructions that whenever any heroes pass by, I must treat them well. Since you two have come here to join us, how could I dare to fail you?"

The bartender brought out platters of fish, meat, and wine, with Zhu Gui keeping him company.

The three ate in the pavilion until nightfall. Before leaving, Lu Qian asked, "When will the leader arrange a boat to ferry us?"

Zhu Gui said, "There are boats here, brother, don't worry. Let's stay the night, and then get up at dawn to go to the mountain stronghold together."

The three of them then went to rest. Around dawn, Zhu Gui came to wake Lin Chong and the other man.

After the two finished washing up, Zhu Gui served them some wine and food. Once they had finished eating, Zhu Gui opened the window of the water pavilion, took out a magpie-painted bow, nocked a whistling arrow, and shot it straight into the broken reeds and rushing water across the way.

It was still dark, and Lin Chong, having only heard the sound but not seen where the arrow had landed, hurriedly asked, "What does this mean?"

Zhu Gui smiled and replied, "Brother, don't worry. This is a signal arrow from the mountain stronghold. A boat will be here soon."

Before long, sure enough, a fast boat emerged from the reed marshes on the opposite side, with three or five henchmen rowing vigorously on board, and stopped directly at the water pavilion.

Seeing that the boat had arrived, Zhu Gui immediately led Lin Chong and Lu Qian to take their weapons and luggage and board the boat, leaving the horse at the inn, where a boat would be sent to retrieve it later.

With a shout from Zhu Gui, his henchmen rowed the boat and sped off into the harbor.

Lin Chong and Lu Qian looked out over the eight-hundred-mile stretch of water from the boat. It was indeed a dangerous place, with high mountains, treacherous waters, and fortified strongholds.

The henchmen rowed the boat to a shallow beach, where they saw a huge rock standing on the shore with the words "Golden Beach" carved on it.

The three men disembarked and went ashore. The henchmen carried their bundles, took their knives and staffs, and led the three heroes toward the mountain stronghold.

When Lin Chong looked up at the shore, he saw huge trees on both sides that could be embraced by a person. Halfway up the mountain, there was a pavilion called Duanjin Pavilion.

Turning and going uphill, you will see a great pass. In front of the pass are swords, spears, halberds, bows, crossbows, and daggers, and on all four sides are wooden blocks and stones.

The henchman went to inform them first, and the three entered the pass, where flags of the troops were displayed on both sides of the road.

After passing two more passes, we finally arrived at the entrance to the village.

Standing at the entrance, Lin Chong looked around and saw high mountains on all sides, three majestic passes surrounding the area. In the middle, there was a flat area that looked like a mirror, about three to five hundred feet in size. The main gate was near the mountain pass, with side rooms on both sides.

Zhu Gui led Lin Chong and Lu Qian to the Hall of Gathering Righteousness. There, they saw three people sitting. Zhu Gui quietly introduced them, and they learned that the person in the middle chair was Wang Lun, the person on the left was Du Qian, and the person on the right was Song Wan.

The three stepped forward to greet the three leaders, with Lin Chong and Lu Qian standing behind Zhu Gui.

Zhu Gui then introduced them: "This is Lin Chong, the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards in Tokyo, and this is his good brother Lu Qian. The two of them fled Tokyo and came to join us after killing the seven sons of the treacherous minister Cai Jing."

Wang Lun tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair for a long while before finally speaking to Zhu Gui: "Zhu Gui! Don't you know the rules of the mountain stronghold? How can you bring people up the mountain without an introduction?!"

Where did this country bumpkin come from, pretending to be a grandfather?

Lu Qian immediately snorted coldly, "When I was in Tokyo, no one dared to stop me from entering and leaving the General's Mansion. Why is it that the rules are so strict here?"

Wang Lun couldn't figure out Lu Qian's background, so he didn't dare to act recklessly. He just stared at Zhu Gui and pretended that Lu Qian hadn't said anything.

Zhu Gui clasped his hands and bowed, "I am willing to vouch for and introduce you two heroes. This Instructor Lin possesses the courage of ten thousand men, and this Brother Lu is an even more righteous and chivalrous figure!"

Wang Lun pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Since you are a hero, we should treat you to a proper feast."

He immediately arranged for his henchmen to prepare food and drink, and to arrange the banquet, inviting Lin Chong and his companion to the feast.