Water Margin: From a White-Robed Scholar to Donning the Yellow Robe

In his previous life, Wang Lun's favorite hero when reading "Water Margin" was Wu Song.

Wang Lun loved all of Wu Song's stories, from fighting and killing Ximen Qing to the bloodshed at the Mandarin Duck Tower and drunkenly beating Jiang Menshen. He read the Wu Song episodes over and over again.

The first person he thought of after arriving in this world was Wu Song.

And now I have finally met Wu Song, it was all just a dream.

When Wu Song saw that Wang Lun had an extraordinary appearance, he was secretly surprised. It turned out that this was Wang Lun, the leader of Liangshan Marsh, known as the "White-Robed Scholar".

He appears refined and cultured, yet he is able to command an entire army at Liangshan Marsh.

He had also heard in Yanggu County that there was a band of bandits in Liangshan Marsh who had already taken over Erlong Mountain and were now extremely powerful.

I heard a while ago that Liangshan Marsh attacked Jizhou and even wiped out the Du Family Village in Jizhou Prefecture. Even the government couldn't do anything about it.

He quickly opened the cell door, stepped forward and knelt down: "Wu Song thanks Chief Wang for saving my brother."

Wang Lun quickly helped Wu Song up and said with a smile, "I have long heard of the great name of Wu Song, the tiger slayer, and wanted to come and make acquaintance, but I did not expect you to be in Yanggu. I happened to learn about Wu Dalang's matter, and I also have a great dislike for Ximen Qing. Helping Wu Dalang is a righteous act that I should do as a person of the Jianghu. You are too kind, Chief Wu."

Wu Song raised the wine in his hand and said, "Chief Wang has been kind to me, and I have nothing to repay him with. I bought two catties of wine on the way, so I'm offering it to you, Chief Wang."

Wang Lun didn't stand on ceremony. He opened the wine pot and took a big gulp, casually wiping the spilled wine from his mouth with his hand, and said with a smile, "Good wine."

He handed the wine to Yang Zhi and introduced him to Wu Song: "This is Yang Zhi, a descendant of the Yang family generals, who is currently also at Liangshan Marsh."

Wu Song was startled: "Could it be Yang Zhi, the Palace Attendant of the Imperial Guards in Tokyo?"

Yang Zhi's face was painted black. When he heard Wu Song speak, he clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "It is indeed I, Yang." Only his white teeth were visible when he spoke.

Wu Song praised, "I have long heard of Commander Yang's great name, but I never expected to meet him here."

Yang Zhi took a big gulp of wine, handed the wine pot to Wu Song, and said, "I have long heard the chieftain tell you about your deeds, and I also know that you were able to punch a tiger after drinking eighteen bowls of wine. You are truly a hero. I have long wanted to befriend you."

Wang Lun immediately said, "It's fate that we met in prison. Let's consider the three of us brothers, what do you say?"

Yang Zhi was taken aback, and thought to himself: Here you go again? You first became sworn brothers with Lin Chong, then with Lu Da, and now you're trying to become sworn brothers with Wu Song. You've already done that, but you have to drag me into it too.

Wu Song was overjoyed and said, "I dare not presume to presume."

Wang Lun grabbed Wu Song with his left hand and Yang Zhi with his right, saying, "We are all江湖客 (jianghu ke, a term referring to people from all walks of life), so what's the big deal about climbing the social ladder? If we're talking about climbing the social ladder, Yang Zhi comes from a military family, and his status is far superior to ours. It's us two who are climbing the social ladder by climbing the social ladder."

After silently cursing, Yang Zhi smiled and said, "Now that I'm fallen into the world of martial arts, what kind of military family am I to speak of?"

The three then swore an oath by drinking wine and became sworn brothers.

Wang Lun was overjoyed. It seemed that reading martial arts novels had been useful in the past. People from the martial arts world liked to form sworn brotherhoods with others at the drop of a hat.

Once you become sworn brothers, you'll be even closer than ordinary brothers.

Wu Song led Wang Lun and Yang Zhi away from the prison. At this time, Gongsun Sheng, Zhao Si and others had also arrived. In addition to the two of them, they also brought Ximen Qing and Wang Po, escorted Pan Jinlian, and invited Wu Dalang's neighbor and Yun Ge, who sold pears.

When Wang Lun saw that Ximen Qing's hand, leg, and nose were broken, and he looked quite pitiful, he stepped forward and asked with a grin, "Master Ximen, do you still remember me?"

Ximen Qing was in so much pain that he was delirious. When he heard the sound, he opened his eyes and saw that it was another person who had hit him. He was even more excited and wanted to get up and fight Wang Lun again, but he was too weak to move and was in pain all over.

The magistrate had already received the news that Wu Song had returned to Yanggu and gone straight back to beat Ximen Qing. He was already very surprised, as Ximen Qing had powerful backers and was extremely wealthy. He, a mere magistrate, could not afford to offend him.

As soon as the court session began, Wu Song stormed into the hall with a group of men and knelt before the magistrate, saying, "Wu Song has returned to report."

The magistrate saw the group of people behind him, and then he saw Ximen Qing lying there. He was shocked and furious.

He pointed behind Wu Song and asked, "What's going on here?"

Wu Song then knelt on the ground and said, "Wu Song is suing Ximen Qing, and I beg the magistrate to uphold justice for Wu Song."

The magistrate hesitated for a moment, now in a difficult position, and could only listen to what Wu Song had to say, asking, "What is the matter you are accusing?"

Wu Song said, "Ximen Qing seduced my sister-in-law Pan Jinlian, and the two had affairs many times. This is the first crime. After the affair was exposed, Ximen Qing beat my brother Wu Dalang so badly that he was seriously injured. He then took advantage of Wu Dalang's serious injury and attempted to poison him to kill him. This is the second crime."

The magistrate frowned and said, "You say Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian are having an affair. Wu Song, you are the head constable of this county. How could you not know the laws of the Song Dynasty? The law is to catch a thief red-handed and to catch an adulterer in the act. Have you seen it with your own eyes?"

Wu Song shook his head and said, "I was on official business and naturally didn't see it. But my friends saw it with their own eyes."

Wang Lun, Yang Zhi, Gongsun Sheng, and Zhao Si stepped forward and bowed slightly. As leaders of Liangshan, they would never kneel before a mere county magistrate.

The magistrate didn't care; he was only thinking about how to protect Ximen Qing. He said, "These men arrived the day before yesterday. They had a quarrel with Ximen Qing and even fought. Wu Song, they already had a grudge against Ximen Qing, so their testimonies are unreliable."

Wang Lun was speechless. He rolled his eyes at the county magistrate and stood aside without saying a word.

Wu Song then said, "This is Yun Ge. He personally witnessed Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian's affair. Since the testimonies of my friends are not valid, his testimony should be accepted."

Yun Ge then stepped forward and knelt down.

Upon seeing the child, the magistrate shook his head and said, "Brother Yun, let me ask you, how old are you this year?"

Yun Ge was taken aback. What was this question?

But he honestly answered, "Twelve."

The magistrate laughed and said, "Wu Song is only twelve years old, not yet an adult. How can his testimony be trusted?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Song was furious. The magistrate was using this as a pretext to protect Ximen Qing.

He turned around and saw that Wu Dalang's neighbors had all lowered their heads and dared not speak.

Everyone understood the magistrate's unspoken meaning: even with witnesses and evidence, Wu Song couldn't defeat Ximen Qing.

The word "official" has two mouths; the county magistrate can say whatever he wants.

Wu Song looked at Wang Lun and saw him secretly waving his hand at him, so he suppressed his anger and continued, "Then let's talk about the second crime. Ximen Qing, Pan Jinlian, and Wang Po conspired to poison my brother. This is the physical evidence."

Zhao Si placed the bowl of medicine in the courtroom.

Wu Song then pointed at Zhao Si and said, "These are witnesses, and I am a witness too. It was because I personally saw that poisonous woman Pan Jinlian trying to make my brother Wu Da drink poison that I beat Ximen Qing."

The magistrate glanced at the bowl of medicine, then at Wu Song and Zhao Si, then at Ximen Qing lying down. His eyes darted around a few times before he smiled faintly and said, "Wu Song, this is not enough to convict Ximen."