The Second Volume of Water Margin

  "Big Brother!" Zeng Mi hadn't expected that just a moment ago, it seemed like Zeng Tu was about to win, but in an instant he had lost. The bamboo whip in Sun Li's hand came and went without a trace, and Zeng Mi only heard his big brother Zeng Tu let out a painful grunt, clearly having suffered a serious injury.

  "How dare you hurt my brother!" Zeng Mi's face was like a mad tiger, and he urged his war horse to charge out, the huge ring-headed knife in his hand pointing directly at Sun Li's back.

  Sun Li heard the movement behind him and knew that Zeng had rushed over again, but his steel spear was only a foot away from Zeng's back. Sun Li was skilled and fearless, and without looking back, he chased after Zeng with all his might.

  Zeng Tu was in so much pain on the horse that he almost fainted, and couldn't even care about the steel spear stabbing from behind. At the critical moment, it was still that Night Jade Lion Horse that didn't disappoint, being a fine steed, instinctively sensing the danger, and with a loud neigh, suddenly darting forward, getting farther and farther away from Sun Li's spearhead.

  Bu Yanshou Sun Li did not feel anxious, on the contrary, he secretly praised him and pulled back his horse. He glanced at Zeng Mi who was rushing over, and with a spin of the steel spear in his hand, he counterattacked from under his arm!

  "Can't you two leave one behind?"

  As General Yang's loud shout, the steel spear was like a divine brushstroke, unstoppable. Zeng Xi saw Sun Li rein in his horse and raise his sword to strike, but just as he did, a cold star burst out from under Sun Li's ribs, and suddenly his chest felt a sharp pain!

  Sun Li's this stroke has no formal name, it is Sun Li who referred to the military spread of Dragging Knife and Returning Horse Gun, from which he gained insight, can be said to be a lifelong unique move.

  As long as you've got the enemy's position locked down and don't look back, counter-attacking with a reverse thrust can be effective. Although this move may not be as powerful as a direct thrust with a raised gun, it often catches the enemy off guard and can yield surprising results.

  Sun Li had already used all his strength, and with Zeng Mi's horse rushing over, there was a burst of momentum. This stab went through the chest, and Zeng Mi didn't even make a sound before falling off his horse. The oversized ring-handled knife also fell to the ground.

  That war horse lost its master, let out a sorrowful whinny and automatically ran back. Diwu Qiuniu picked up the steel spear, turned the horse's head around and shouted loudly: "Who else is there?"

  In just a few breaths, Zeng Mi had already lost his life and fallen to the ground, while Zeng Tie was seriously injured. The Night Jade Lion Horse seemed to recognize Zeng Tou Shi's horse and circled around before carrying the unconscious Zeng Tie away.

  The soldiers of Zengtou City were stunned one by one, looking at the gun-wielding and loudly shouting Bian Yiliu Sun Li, who was almost a god descending from heaven. Who dared to go up?

  Sun Li sneered, "The five tigers of the Zeng family are nothing but this! You will bring back the corpse and give a message to Shi Wenguang. Tell him that Sun Li is eager to meet his Fang Tianhua halberd!"

  The soldiers of Zengtou City did not dare to speak much, and two men were sent to collect the bodies. Sun Li shouted: "Take away the body, but leave the head! Look, there are already two dog heads behind, and tonight another one will be added!"

  Looking at Sun Li standing with his spear, and the dozens of archers behind him staring fiercely, the two men did not dare to disobey, so they beheaded Zeng Mi and carried his body back.

  "Come on! Hang up this dog's head!"

  As Zeng Tou's men carried away the bodies of Zeng Tu and Zeng Mi, they retreated in disarray, and the Liangshan stronghold was once again quiet.

  The night-guarding soldiers obeyed Sun Li's orders, and found a stake to stand Zeng Yi's head on in front of the gate of the stockade, alongside two other human heads.

  "Ah...hmm, hmm, hmm, Xue Er when did you learn this move...so sharp!" Xi Menqing, completely unaware, rolled over in his sleep and continued to snore heavily.

  Of course, there are also those who can't sleep at night and have seen this scene clearly, such as Shangguan Zou.

  "What? The enemy raided the camp last night?" Totahwang was so surprised that he couldn't speak for a moment, and then shouted somewhat angrily: "Why didn't anyone report to me?"

  "General Sun had specifically ordered not to disturb." The soldier, who was kowtowing on the ground, repeated in a low voice: "Two enemy generals came one after another and fought with General Sun. As a result, one was killed and the other was injured. The head of the dead one is hung at the front of the camp."

  "Sun Li has a big nerve, if he wins it's fine, but if he loses, I don't know how many men will be lost!" Wu Yong, the clever and resourceful one, had a face full of accusations: "Brother Tianwang, this matter should summon Sun Li to confront him! If true, Sun Li has committed a crime against military orders!"

  "Huh?" Chong Gai hadn't spoken yet, but Ximen Qing coldly laughed and said: "My third brother Shi Yan has seen the whole process clearly, why bother to investigate? Sun Li's achievement is a great merit, where does the fault come from? Wu Junshi's words are very improper!"

  "Wu Yong angrily said: 'You're just an outsider, how dare you point fingers and criticize our Liangshan?'"

  "General, Ximen is not an outsider." Chao Gai spoke up: "Considering Sun Li killed one and injured another, and drove off the troops of Zeng's army who came to raid our camp, we'll let this matter slide for now!"

  Wu Yong said sternly: "Since we're not discussing it for the time being, then when the time comes, send Sun Li to guard the camp and don't let him go into battle!"

  Ximen Qing heard this and secretly scolded in his heart: "Wu Yong can be said to have a narrow mind. It was obviously Sun Li who had great merit, but he also said that there were mistakes."

  Tota Tianwang Chao Ge thought for a moment and said: "Now that three of the Zeng family's Five Tigers have died, Eldest Brother Zeng Tu has been seriously injured, and in Zengtou City, apart from Shi Wenguang and Su Ding, there is only Third Brother Zeng Suo. When Dai Zong brothers return, we can discuss sending troops to attack Zengtou City tomorrow..."

  "Brother Tianwang, hold on." Ximen Qing interjected: "I've heard that Shi Wengong is skilled in the 'Heavenly Halberd' technique, with bravery that can withstand ten thousand men. He's not to be underestimated! We need a commander like Sun Li to counter him. If we just have Sun Li guard the camp, isn't that like destroying our own Great Wall?"

  Wu Yong, the clever and resourceful one, was the first to jump out in opposition, speaking eloquently: "Mysterious Hand Ximen, with your kind of talk, aren't you just boosting someone else's morale? Even if Shi Wengong's affair is a big deal, he's still just an ordinary person. In my Liangshan Mountain stronghold, there are many leaders, what difference does it make if we lose one Sun Li?"

  Tuotuo Tianwang Chuang Ge had another idea, Sun Li's martial arts were still quite acceptable to Chuang Ge. Since they were going to war with Zengtou City, although the five tigers of the Zeng family only had one left, Shi Wenguang and Su Dingyun were not to be underestimated.

  "When the time comes, Sun Li will lead the army to battle!" Chao Gai's eyes looked at Zhidao Xing Wu Yong, hinting that he should not continue speaking: "We must capture Shi Wengong!"

  When Wu Yong heard the two words "bring him", he felt another surge in his heart. The linked strategy he and Song Jiang had set, since Chai Ge was rescued by Ximen Qing, had been flawed everywhere. Fortunately, there was no direct human evidence. If Shi Wengong was really caught, it would be human evidence.

  The key is that the Night Jade Lion Horse was originally given to Shi Wengong by Zeng, and had nothing to do with Duan Jingzhu's golden hair. Duan Jingzhu was just a horse merchant who knew Song Jiang before, and now he is in the army.

  If it's true that Xun Guan wants Wen Rong and Duan Jingzhu to confront each other in person, then everything will be ruined!

  Wu Yong would never have thought that a horse trader could grit his teeth and keep his mouth shut, perhaps it's time for Duan Jingzhu to disappear?

  Wu Yong's mind flashed with many thoughts, but he didn't reveal them on the surface. He just bowed and said: "Elder brother Tianwang has considered this thoroughly, so let's do it that way."

  "Considerate?" Ximen Qing despised this so-called clever guy in his heart. Obviously, it was just a glance from the Emperor, and yet he still shouted to punish Bian Que's slow-witted Sun Li, but now he suddenly made a 180-degree turn, which was simply shameless and lacking in integrity.

  But anyway, Sun Li's performance and fighting spirit last night made him exclaim in admiration, and he knew he hadn't misjudged the person.

  At this time, the center of everyone's discussion was also the sickly and weak Sun Li, who was snoring loudly on his bed.

  Xue Qiang asked about the women rescued by Ximen Qing, and Ximen Qing replied: "This matter is easy to handle. For those who are willing to leave, depending on the distance of their journey, each will be given three to five taels as travel expenses. As for those who do not want to leave, they can be sent back to the mountain stronghold first, either as maidservants or married off to someone, and it's all up to fate."

  Xue'er and Pan Jinlian were immediately arranged to go out and talk to those women.

  Some of those women were humiliated, while others were just frightened. They thought they would all die in Fahua Temple, but unexpectedly, they were rescued by Ximen Qing and his party.

  They arrived at the Liangshan stockade and many of the women were frightened, thinking that they had escaped from the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's lair. Unexpectedly, after a nervous night, two women came to announce their release, and one by one, they left with joy and delight.

  Xue'er's maid brought the money, and when it was time to distribute the travel expenses, these women were even more grateful and took their leave. Those with fellow villagers traveled together; those without fellow villagers also acted together, and when they arrived at Lingzhou, they hired carriages or found people to escort them back to their hometowns.

  After these women left, Ximen Qing's great kindness and virtue were slowly spread, and he even gained the reputation of being a living Buddha in the vicinity of Lingzhou Prefecture. This was something that not even Ximen Qing himself had anticipated.

  Fortunately, after these women returned home, they only told the story of being rescued by Ximen Qing at Fahua Temple and never mentioned anything about Liangshan, so as not to inform the authorities and bring harm to Ximen's benefactor.

  There were also twenty or thirty young women who did not want to leave, mostly because their entire families had been killed and there was no point in going home, or they had been raped and did not want to go home, but instead wanted to stay on Mount Liang.

  For these young women, Tuo Tuo Tian Wang Zhuo Ge considered that the women on the mountain were rare animals and had Du Qian Song Wan send them to the mountain overnight to settle down.

  These women having been arranged, Ximen Qing finally let out a sigh of relief. Although it was only for one night, countless soldiers had already come to sneak a peek and try to take advantage, fortunately Ximen Qing had made prior arrangements, with Blowsnow's personal troops taking turns keeping watch at night, thus nothing major happened.

  By afternoon, Dai Zong, the Divine General, finally returned. He called everyone over to discuss attacking Zeng Tou City with Tianwang Chao Gai.