Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 1160 Murder?!
As dusk settled, dark clouds obscured the bright moon hanging in the sky, and the streets in the west of the city were lit up.

Over this period of time, with the government's deliberate indulgence, the nights in Hejian Prefecture have become more lively, with occasional pedestrians walking through the streets in the west of the city, bringing a touch of life to the area.

Tread-tap-

The patrolmen in the city had been replaced by government officials, who carried lanterns and disappeared around street corners.

A dark figure flashed out after he passed by, looked back at the receding lights, then at the restaurant ahead, and Mu Hong's voice came from the darkness: "Is that Yang's restaurant?"

"It's him," Liu Tong's voice rang out from behind. "I've been following him for several days, no doubt about it."

"And now? Are you still inside?"

“…The four of us have been together since this afternoon, how am I supposed to know if he’s inside drinking right now?” Liu Tong looked helplessly at the dark figure beside him: “It can’t be that the unlucky guy didn’t come today, can it?”

"Alright, don't go in and alert them." Mu Hong's shadowy figure pointed ahead: "It's dark over there, let's go keep watch there."

"Walk."

Sun Erniang went first, followed by Mu Hong, and Liu Tong took a few steps in the darkness.

Bang! Bang!

"Hey!"

The three who stopped first glanced at the street, saw someone look over after hearing the noise, then turn away and continue walking away without paying attention. Only then did they run over, look at the motionless wooden box, and then stare at Bai Sheng, who was huddled up in a ball.

"hiss--"

Taking a deep breath, Bai Sheng looked up at the group of people standing there. Fortunately, the lighting was dim, so his embarrassment wasn't visible. "I wasn't paying attention for a moment..."

Helpless, Liu Tong stepped forward and reached out to help him up: "Slow down, I don't know how you kicked such a big wooden box."

Mu Hong and Sun Erniang turned and walked into the darkness without saying a word, while the other two lagged behind.

"I accidentally stepped into a hole." Bai Sheng pulled Liu Tong closer and asked, "Are you alright? The city gates are locked at night. You'll be blocked by people after you've killed them."

"Don't worry," Liu Tong leaned closer and whispered, "We have a place to hide. Besides, there are only people walking around in the west of the city. We'll cover our faces, and when we kill someone and run away, who can predict that it was us?"

"...That's good, that's good."

Perhaps comforted by these words, Bai Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and stopped talking. He followed him to a dark corner under a shop to keep watch. It was too dark to see what kind of place it was, but he could smell the aroma of a rice or noodle shop from the outside.

……

In the distance, three figures from Yang Jizhong were eating and drinking. None of them were reincarnated drunkards, and they didn't seem to be drinking very quickly.

"It's been a long time since I've had this shrimp and fire spirit soup. The chefs in the north are much rougher when they cook river shrimp, they're not as particular about it."

"I do think the honey-roasted pheasant that Brother Li recommended is indeed quite delicious."

Most of the dishes had already been eaten. At the table, Li Zhu, Li Ying, and Fang Xuedu all had smiles on their faces and looked very satisfied. Li Ying laughed and said, "Eat more if you like. I've been spinning like a wheel for days. I feel like my head doesn't even belong to me anymore."

"Of course, of course!" Fang Xuedu clapped his hands and laughed, then waved to the waiter: "Do you have any more river clams?"

"Yes, the shop feeds them with rice wine, and they've already expelled all the sand."

Fang Xuedu stroked his beard and smiled: "Heh, you're in luck. Bring me a large portion."

Li Zhu and Li Ying's eyes lit up, and the waiter beamed, "Please wait a moment, sir, I'll be right there."

……

"Still not coming out... you bastard, where did these bugs come from?"

Sun Erniang fanned the area three inches in front of her with her hand, saying irritably, "It's only because the weather isn't hot that I'm here today, otherwise I would have been eaten alive by mosquitoes."

Mu Hong and Liu Tong opened their mouths but didn't say anything, only giving the woman an impatient look.

Bai Sheng was squatting in the house next door when Sun Erniang spat lightly and waved her hand in front of her eyes. Before she could complain, she heard a soft "squeak" and turned her head to scold him in a low voice: "Bai, don't talk nonsense if you have nothing to do."

"..."

Bai Sheng turned his head and looked at Sun Erniang in a daze. Then he saw that Mu Hong and Liu Tong had also turned their heads. He quickly pointed to the shop in front of him and whispered, "What does this have to do with me? There are rats running around in this shop. It's not me who's making noise, okay? My nickname is White Day Rat, not a real rat!"

"Shut up, don't shout like that!"

Sun Erniang scolded, then suddenly tilted her head back as if to avoid something, and finally said impatiently, "Damn it, I'm too lazy to wait here any longer. I'll go to that shop and have something to eat and drink."

"Second mother!"

Liu Tong called out, but Sun Erniang ignored him and walked away. Liu Tong looked at the departing woman, then at Mu Hong: "Brother Mu, what should we do?"

He touched his face vigorously without any attempt to hide it, saying, "Women are such a hassle. Let's go inside together."

He made a move to leave, but Liu Tong quickly grabbed him: "Wait, didn't Assistant Li see you before?"

Mu Hong hesitated for a moment, then tossed his head: "It's been so many years, and I've only met them a few times, so I probably wouldn't remember. Even if I did remember..." He clenched his fist: "I'll just settle things with them at that shop. I'm too lazy to wait any longer." He broke free from Liu Tong and left.

Grasshopper shrugged indifferently, while Bai Sheng sighed helplessly and followed the three of them. Before long, the four of them arrived at the entrance of the restaurant.

wow——

The door of Yang's restaurant was pushed open, and the waiter hurriedly went to greet him with a smile, asking, "How many guests are there?"

Sun Erniang and Mu Hong glanced around the shop. There were seven or eight tables of customers, and three to five empty tables: "Four."

"Alright, esteemed guests, this way please—"

With a drawn-out voice, the waiter led the four people into the shop: "You've come at the right time. We happen to have some seats available today, and the fresh river seafood from the kitchen will arrive today as well..."

Mu Hong didn't listen to what he said, but exchanged a glance with Liu Tong. The latter pointed to a table by the window and then looked over. He saw three figures sitting opposite each other. There was a sheathed longsword at the far end of the table, while the other two seemed to be unarmed.

The people sitting at the table glanced over for a moment, then turned back to drinking and eating clams. The four of them didn't pay any attention. When they came in, people from each table looked over, so they just assumed they were curious. They followed the waiter to the empty table and sat down.

……

“The people over there look familiar, like Mu Hong whom I’ve seen before in Jiangning.”

Li Zhu squinted and picked up the wine glass, taking a small sip.

Upon hearing this, neither Li Ying nor Fang Xuedu looked over again. They simply frowned and asked softly, "Is there a problem?" "You still remember after all this time?"

“When I was traveling the world, I was good at remembering people. This fellow was not disfigured, so I naturally remembered him. He should be one of the men under Song Jiang, the military commander of Hejian Prefecture.”

Li Zhu placed the wine glass on the table, picked up a clam with one hand to cover his mouth: "He disappeared after the war. I thought he died in some remote corner. I never thought he was still alive."

Fang Xuedu swallowed the river fish in his mouth, raised his cup to his lips, and said, "So... they came for us?"

“We’ve been holding onto Hejian for a long time now. Those who were going to surrender would have come long ago.” Li Ying, with his back to them, squinted. “Besides, it’s not like we can’t leave through the city gates. If they wanted to run, they would have run away long ago.”

Both Li Zhu and Fang Xuedu looked at each other with approval. Fang Xuedu put down his wine glass and wiped his mouth: "Shall we get started?"

Li Zhu glanced at the smiling waiter and said, "Alright, this shop has just started to get some business. We can't keep it open if someone dies. Let's talk about it when we go out later."

Li Ying nodded repeatedly: "That's right, it's not easy to restore people's livelihoods, and you, a junior official from the Ministry of War, are disrupting tax revenue stability."

"Hey..." Fang Xuedu rolled his eyes, picked up the wine jug and poured him a glass: "Drink up!"

Li Ying raised his glass triumphantly and drank it down.

The three of them chatted and laughed, while the others glanced at the four people on the other side but had no intention of joking. When the food and wine were served, Sun Erniang drank a bowl in one gulp and put it down: "Damn it, these three corrupt officials are eating and drinking well in there, while they're stuck in jail, completely disregarding the hardships of others."

Not sitting...

Are you coming out here to die so we can kill you?

Bai Sheng's lips moved, but he still didn't dare to say what he was thinking.

Sun Erniang's chest heaved a few times as she reached into her clothes and wiped away the short blade: "Should we kill them now?!"

Mu Hong quickly shook his head to reassure her: "Don't rush. It would be bad if we killed someone and got stuck in this house. Let's wait a bit."

Liu Tong nodded: "I see they've eaten most of what they've eaten. They're all officials, so they probably won't stay out drinking until late. They'll probably be leaving soon. Why don't we eat and wait?"

Bai Sheng was too lazy to pay attention to the three of them at this point. He kept eating his snacks and downed another bowl of wine, determined to get away from them after he was done.

Before long, the four of them had only eaten a small portion of the food and drinks on their table when two other tables came to pay their bills. Liu Tong, who had been watching the three men, suddenly brightened up: "Three seedlings, cash in the bag, let's get the job done."

Mu Hong and Sun Erniang exchanged a glance, then turned to look and saw Li Zhu with his long sword hanging at his waist, walking out with Li Ying and Fang Xuedu, who were empty-handed.

"go!"

Mu Hong stood up and left first, followed closely by Sun Erniang and Liu Tong. Bai Sheng got up a step too late. Seeing the look in the waiter's eyes, he cursed under his breath, "Three stingy bastards!"

He took out a handful of copper coins, placed them on the table, and hurriedly followed.

The night grew even deeper, and the few remaining lanterns hanging on the flagpole swayed back and forth in the night wind, while in the distance came the "bang bang" of the night watchman striking the gong.

The four people followed Fang Xuedu, Li Zhu, and Li Ying at a leisurely pace. Among the three in front, Fang Xuedu carried a lantern to illuminate the small area.

Mu Hong slowly drew a short blade from his clothes, tied a black cloth around his neck, and said in a low voice, "Swish, shoulder to shoulder, Qingzi San, wash it."

The other three nodded slightly, tied on their black headscarves, and each drew a short knife and held it in their hands.

Bang Bang —

salsa——

In the darkness, only the sound of the night watchman's gong and footsteps could be heard. Three figures turned a corner in front, and the four people behind them quickened their pace, only to suddenly stop the moment they turned.

Opposite them, three figures stood facing them in the dim light of the lanterns. In the dim light, three faces, some refined and some wealthy, wore cold smiles.

The four men exchanged glances, and then Li Zhu, who was carrying a sword, stepped forward and said, "Four...heroes, I'm in a good mood today, so put down your weapons and come with us."

"Pooh--"

With a short knife in each hand, Sun Erniang stepped forward, puffed out her chest, and her two fat bears swayed: "What a grand official's arrogance! It's a pity we are not your subjects. We have come today to avenge the brothers who died under your swords not long ago!"

"So that's how it is..." Li Ying frowned: "On the battlefield, everyone survives by their own abilities. Isn't what you're doing a bit inappropriate?"

"spit--"

Mu Hong spat in front of the three men, stepped forward, and brandished his short knife, pointing it with a flourish: "You shouldn't have killed Brother Song Jiang! Today you are just the beginning. After I kill you, I'll kill even more people to entertain my brother!"

Fang Xuedu looked at the four people in front of him with a half-smile, while Li Zhu and Li Ying turned their gazes to the other two.

Liu Tong didn't speak, but took a step forward, raised his short blade and struck a pose. Bai Sheng hesitated for a moment before taking a step forward, his gaze subtly fixed on Li Ying, who hadn't taken anything.

"Stubborn."

Li Zhu shook his head slightly, and Li Ying and Fang Xuedu also sighed at the same time, their faces showing that the children were beyond redemption.

Mu Hong's face suddenly turned red: "Kill them!"

The four men strode forward.

In sight, Li Ying, who hadn't taken anything, suddenly reached into his robes with his right hand, threw it forward, took a step, turned his body, and waved his left hand.

In the darkness, a few gusts of wind whistled past, and Bai Sheng knelt down with a thud, making a "hoarse" sound in his throat.

The three running people stopped and turned their gaze to him. They saw that the White Rat had a throwing knife stuck between its eyebrows as it roared. In the dim firelight, blackish-red liquid dripped down the rat whiskers under White Rat's chin in a line.

Sun Erniang, Mu Hong, and Liu Tong's pupils contracted. Cao Shangfei turned around and tried to use his lightness skill to run away.

Clang——

The longsword hummed softly, and a flash of light swept past Mu Hong's eyes before he could react. In an instant, he seemed to see the cloud patterns engraved on the sword and the hand holding the hilt wrapped in gold thread. Li Zhu's face flashed quickly in his vision.

puff--

Metal penetrated the flesh.

"what--"

Liu Tong screamed and fell to the ground with a thud, sliding forward three feet. His right arm and ear traced an arc in the air before landing on the ground.

"Noisy."

Li Zhu narrowed his eyes, kicked Liu Tong, who was lying on the ground, and knocked him unconscious before turning around.

"Entering Mother's..."

Mu Hong and Sun Erniang broke out in a cold sweat. In one exchange, one of their side was killed and the other wounded. It seemed that if the other side hadn't been looking for a prisoner, Liu Tong would probably be dead too.

"Kill the lantern bearer."

Sun Erniang roared and turned to charge at Fang Xuedu. Mu Hong quickly followed, glancing at Li Ying, afraid he would come to stop them, but saw the man stroking his beard and looking at them with a cold smile.

Worse!

The thought had barely formed when the figure carrying the lantern suddenly moved, the short stick with the rope attached striking her chest before Sun Erniang's short blade could strike.

click -

As the sound of bones cracking rang out, Mu Hong quickly turned around to dodge the woman who was flying back, and slashed at her with his sword.

Chi-

The blade sliced ​​through the lampshade of the wind-extinguishing lamp, and the candle inside flew out, its light obstructing the view.

Before Mu Hong could change his position, Fang Xuedu, who had flashed to his right, swung his arm. The whistling sound of the short stick reached his ears, and he felt heavy blows hitting his chest, ribs, and head one after another.

Fang Xuedu jumped up, spun in the air, and the short stick fell from the sky.

bang——

The stick struck the man squarely on the top of his head, and Mu Hong knelt straight down on the ground, blood flowing from his seven orifices, before collapsing with a thud.

Swah——

Li Zhu pulled the longsword from Sun Erniang's back, flicked it, and then wiped the bloodstains clean with the clothes on the corpse before sheathing the sword.

"Let's go, take that one back alive for interrogation, and see if he has any accomplices."

Three pairs of eyes turned to the man on the ground, who had lost his right arm. They then walked over, picked him up, and their footsteps faded into the darkness.

Soon, an official carrying a lantern came running.

(End of this chapter)