Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The night became quiet, with only the cold wind still howling.

Shi Xiu and Yang Xiong were invited to a meal by the Taoist who called himself Qiao Lie, but the Taoist was not at the table. The old man who was guarding the door ate and drank with them for a long time, chatting about everything under the sun, and then they were sent back to the restaurant. The two brothers sat in the room thinking about what happened during the day, looking at each other, not knowing what to comment. Finally, they washed up and lay down on the bed.

After a while, listening to the sound of the wind outside, Shi Xiu opened his eyes: "Brother, are you asleep?"

"How can I sleep?" Yang Xiong was wrapped in a quilt, his eyes wide open. "Damn it, I didn't expect that Taoist priest was actually a doctor of the Ministry of Personnel of Qi. The highest official I've ever seen in my life was my relative in Jizhou Prefecture. This time I'm really enlightened."

"How did your brother Shi Qian get to know such a high-ranking official?" Shi Xiu really didn't want to sleep, so he sat up and wrapped himself in the quilt without turning on the light in the dark. "Didn't you say he was a rookie? How come he is a thief in those people's mouths?"

Yang Xiong did not lie down, but sat up and wrapped himself in the quilt. "I am confused by what you said. When I saw Brother Shi Qian, he was about to steal, but I caught him. There was no one around who had lost money. How could he be a thief?"

In the darkness, Bing Guansuo spread his hands, not caring whether the other party was watching or not, and curled his lips helplessly: "How can I believe you when you tell me that he is a thief at this time?"

"I don't have any prejudice against thieves, but..." Shi Xiu pursed his lips: "A man who makes a living by stealing money, I am really surprised that he can get in touch with Qi State. I think he has some unknown ability."

"...Is there...is there?" Yang Xiong tilted his head. He and Shi Qian just shared a common purpose, and he was not very familiar with the other party's abilities. He frowned and shook his head: "Forget it, don't think about it. It will only add to your troubles."

Shi Xiu nodded in agreement, and then, remembering that the other party might not be able to see, he said, "Brother is right. If you can't figure it out, then forget it."

Yang Xiong was silent for a while, and then he turned over and lay down again. He closed his eyes for a while but still couldn't fall asleep, so he opened them again: "Brother, I remember that this inn should be in collusion with the Qi government. Do you want to change it tomorrow?"

"Brother, you'd better not do that."

bang bang——

Outside, a few clapper sounds were heard amid the cold wind, and the night watchman shouted, "Be careful with the fire," and walked away.

Inside the house, Shi Xiu's voice rang softly, "Today, the guy led us there. It was clearly intentional. If it weren't for my brother mentioning Shi Qian's name, I'm afraid you and I would have died. Now that they want you and me to come back, it's also because this place is their spy. I think they are very relieved that you and I live here. If we move to another place, I'm afraid it will be a different story."

Yang Xiong blinked his eyes, and after a while he understood that the two of them had been looking for Yang Lin in Liaoyang Prefecture from beginning to end, and had never mentioned Shi Qian's name. So, mentioning Shi Qian in that courtyard actually made the other party relax and come back, which seemed to be just as Shi Xiu said.

"……fortunately."

After a while, Yang Xiong uttered two words.

Shi Xiu also breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes, fortunately..."

The two chatted for a few more words, and Yang Xiong threw back the quilt and stood up. Shi Xiu was a little surprised: "Where are you going, brother?"

"Urine!"

After leaving a single word, the sick Guan Suo put on his clothes and ran out. Shi Xiu chuckled, fell on his back on the bed, and soon fell asleep.

The two of them didn't see Shi Qian for more than ten days. Instead, the shop assistant greeted them and said, "Before Shi Jiahou comes back, all your expenses will be covered by the shop." Then he left. The two people in the room were a little surprised. They didn't expect Shi Qian to be a fake marquis in the army. They felt that he was unfathomable. However, they couldn't ask him since he was not in front of them. They could only suppress their curiosity and wander around Liaoyang Prefecture.

The landscape of the Northeast is somewhat different from that of Nanjing. Here, Jurchens, Xis, Bohais, and Han people live together, and occasionally Khitans can be seen walking here. Both sides of the streets are mostly lined with restaurants and hotels with ethnic characteristics.

The two of them had only stayed in Nanjing Road for a period of time. The majority of people there were still Han people, and it was not much different from the two routes of Hebei in the Song Dynasty. Now that they had arrived in this place with a different atmosphere, it was an eye-opener.

For a while, they either went to the river to learn how to break ice and fish, or went to the woods with bows and arrows to hunt. Naturally, the two of them found that there were always people following them, but they didn't care, so they just let it go. Sometimes they even invited the people from the Youshi Mansion who followed them to have fun together, which made many people like them.

In early spring, the chill in the air had subsided a little. The cavalry returning from afar quickly ran into Huanglong Mansion on the cold and hard ground, and came to the front of Cao's Restaurant.

The short knight dismounted neatly and handed the reins to the shop assistant who came over: "Take good care of it, this horse has lost some weight."

"Just wait and see, it can't be wrong." The shop assistant responded and pulled the horse to the back yard.

In the room, Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu were removing the bowstring from the bow for maintenance. They had been having fun going out hunting recently, but the weather was still too cold. It was a pity that they couldn't go out of the city to wander around every day.

Peng——

The door shook as someone slammed it, and there was a sound of backward footsteps outside.

Yang Xiong looked at Shi Xiu who picked up the whistle stick leaning against the wall, while the latter picked up a sharp knife from the table and followed him, moving forward lightly.

"Who!"

Yang Xiong shouted, picked the door bolt and opened it violently. Shi Xiu pointed a sharp knife at the chest of the ordinary man from behind, but he was startled when he saw what was outside, and then dropped his hand holding the knife.

There was nothing where the knife was pointed at. Only when I looked down three inches could I see a dwarf standing there.

Shi Qian first looked at Shi Xiu in surprise, then complained to Yang Xiong who opened the door: "Brother Yang, why did you lock the door in broad daylight?" Then he raised his eyebrows mischievously: "Is there a young lady hiding in there?"

Yang Xiong heaved a sigh of relief and threw the whistle stick to Shi Xiu behind him: "Isn't it you who we are trying to protect? We don't want a stupid thief to get in in broad daylight."

Shi Qian's face darkened: "I just accidentally missed it." Then he walked in and looked at Desperate Sanlang: "This is the brother Shi Xiu that Brother Yang mentioned before, right?" He bowed and said: "I am Shi Qian, currently serving as the temporary marquis of the Qi Army Scout Camp."

"Shi Xiu greets Brother Shi." The fair-skinned young man did not dare to neglect and quickly returned the greeting: "I always heard you talk about Brother Shi before, and I always regretted that I had never met him. Today, I finally got what I wanted. I am very fortunate."

"Okay, stop being sour." Yang Xiong closed the door and waved his hand: "We are all family, there is no need to be so polite."

Shi Qian and Shi Xiu both smiled, and then the three of them sat in the room. Yang Xiong looked at Shi Qian's tired face and his red cheeks from the cold, and said after a moment's consideration: "Brother, how did you get into the Qi army, and why did you leave the name of Yang Lin? We were almost caught as spies."

Shi Qian smiled bitterly and clasped his hands: "This is my fault. At that time, I did work with Yang Yezhe and Ma Yezhe, so I left his name. I never expected that I would have the opportunity to join the army later, so there was a misunderstanding." (End of this chapter)