Zhang Qing said, "If it doesn't work, how about we give you two more pills?"
Song Qing didn't say much, took the wine and drank it down in one gulp. It was clear that he didn't really believe what we were saying. The reason he was so eager to comply was partly to find out the situation, but more importantly, he wanted to use his own experience as an example to help his elder brother out of his predicament.
But the old charlatan's medicine was truly potent; Song Qing's eyes clearly changed after he finished his bowl of wine. Everyone's attention turned to him. Song Qing slowly put down his bowl, looked at me, and smiled slightly, saying, "Xiao Qiang."
Song Jiang asked anxiously, "Song Qing, how are you feeling?"
Song Qing said gently, "Brother, neither the strategist nor Xiao Qiang lied to you. My brothers and I really did stay with Xiao Qiang for a year. We left in 2008, when the Olympics were being held in Beijing—Brother, I never thought we'd meet again." Song Qing gently put his arm around Song Jiang's shoulder, their brotherly affection evident.
Song Jiang stared in disbelief and said, "So what the strategist and the others said was true?"
In no time, the remaining men rushed forward, each downing a bowl of wine. Their reactions after waking varied: some called out to their friends, some wept bitterly, and some laughed uncontrollably. Thus, all 54 heroes were gathered. Song Jiang and the others stared blankly as we celebrated our reunion. After another round of merriment, Wu Yong waved his hand and said, "There's plenty of time in the future, brothers. The most urgent matter is dealing with Fang La."
After a brief period of chaos, the heroes settled back into their seats. I pulled up a small stool and sat down next to Duan Jingzhu. Before, even though I sat in the front, I was still a guest; now, I was the legitimate 109th hero of Liangshan, "Indestructible Little Cockroach."
Song Jiang hadn't recovered since he sat down. Wu Yong had no choice but to continue presiding over the meeting. He stood up and said, "Now, all 109 generals of Liangshan are present. Let's discuss how to deal with Fang La. Before that, I must reiterate the details. Brothers, please point out any shortcomings." Then Wu Yong recounted their visit to him as clients, but he only briefly mentioned the collapse of Liangshan beforehand. Firstly, he didn't want to dredge up painful memories, and secondly, morale needed to be built up before the impending campaign. Later, he didn't hide anything about the Human Realm Axis and the Plan Table.
Some of the people below sighed in dismay, while others seemed to understand but not quite. Wu Yong said, "The situation is urgent. I suggest that the entire Liangshan Mountain be mobilized to attack Fang La. Of course, as Hu Sanniang said, this attack is only to quell the rebellion, not to annihilate it. Afterwards, we need to explain things clearly to Fang La, and in short, we must have a clear conscience. But this requires two prerequisites: First, to defeat Fang La with absolute strength, all of us brothers need to work together; second, before attacking Fang La, we must feign amnesty, otherwise, if our Liangshan forces are pursued by the imperial court as soon as they go out, we will be in a very passive position."
Song Jiang suddenly came to his senses and asked, "What do you mean by feigning amnesty?"
Wu Yong bowed slightly to him and said, "Brother, there are priorities. We should discuss this topic after we have quelled Fang La's rebellion. Right now, regardless of whether it's true or not, we must accept the imperial pardon."
Upon hearing about the offer of amnesty, Song Jiang said no more. Both he and Wu Yong were pondering their own thoughts. Wu Yong knew that after defeating Fang La, the 54 men he represented would certainly not serve the imperial court again; while Song Jiang, judging others by his own standards, probably thought everyone was thinking about bringing glory to their ancestors, and who would want to return to being bandits after defeating Fang La? Therefore, the two temporarily reached a certain tacit understanding based on their misunderstanding.
Wu Yong said, "The situation has been explained clearly. Now the issue to be resolved is the issue of amnesty. Does everyone have any objections?"
Client 54 knew this was a necessary step, and despite their frustration, no one spoke up. The remaining people, seeing that no one would step forward, also remained silent, even those who were unwilling.
At this moment, a burly man, as fierce as a tiger, stood up angrily and shouted, "It all comes down to surrendering to the emperor, how annoying! I'll say it again, Fang La hasn't provoked us, so why should we fight him?"
The moment I saw this person, my eyes lit up with admiration. He was my idol, the real Wu Song, the second Wu.
Wu Song was a generous and forthright man with an excellent reputation on the mountain. When he spoke up, some people who were already confused and unable to understand the situation started to echo him, including his close friends Monk Lu and Zhang Qing and his wife from the vegetable garden—this couple looked exactly like the pair of people who sold miracle pills at the martial arts gathering.
Wu Yong patiently said, "Haven't I already explained this? The offer of amnesty is a pretense."
Wu Song slapped his leg hard and snorted, "I don't care about the truth or falsehood. In short, accepting amnesty is surrendering to the dog court, and I understand that. As for the so-called pretense, I'm afraid it's just a clever idea devised by my brothers who are thinking about their own future and are afraid that we brothers will not want to leave the mountain. If they trick us into going out, it will be too late to say anything then."
Wu Yong knew that Wu Song was all talk and no action, and was by no means a dullard, so he wasn't angry. Instead, he chuckled and said, "Does Erlang mean he doesn't trust the 54 brothers on the mountain?"
Wu Song was startled. He looked up and saw Lin Chong, Zhang Shun, and the Ruan brothers. These were all his closest friends. They would never conspire to deceive him. He felt both frustrated and depressed, with nowhere to vent his anger. Suddenly, he turned around, pointed at me, and roared, "I don't trust him! This kid is sneaky and I don't know what tricks he used to deceive all of you brothers. He's probably used a curse."
Seeing my idol suddenly targeting me, I stood up dazedly and asked, "Second Brother, what happened to you? Did someone cook you?"
Wu Song gritted his teeth and said, "I don't believe in reincarnation or past and future lives! Don't try to play tricks on me!"
I said, feeling wronged, "Then what would it take for you to believe me?"
Wu Song gripped his dagger, veins bulging: "Didn't you say that the guy with you named Fang Zhenjiang is also Wu Song? Unless you bring him here!"
Chapter 115 "Our Own People"
I'm so sad, really.
Among the Liangshan heroes, my favorite is Wu Song. I always felt that he embodied the essence of brotherhood and masculine camaraderie. Especially in the Lion Tower scene, he fought with unbridled fervor, which, though somewhat barbaric and cruel, revealed a resolute and decisive heroic spirit. Furthermore, perfectly matching his martial prowess are his uncompromising nature, his clear judgment, and his sharp mind—it's truly infuriating that such an idol-like figure mistook me for a fraud.
I stammered, "I have many ways to prove it... If all else fails, take one of these pills and you'll immediately remember your past life, or I can tell you what you're thinking right now."
Wu Song, as if he hadn't seen me, turned to Wu Yong and said, "Strategist, I don't doubt any of you, it's just that this claim is too outlandish. I've heard that in the desolate lands there's a kind of witchcraft that can induce hallucinations..."
I cried out, "I'm innocent! I may be somewhat skilled in both magic and martial arts, but what you're describing is something only a necromancer can do."
Wu Song then turned to Song Jiang and said, “Brother, I’m afraid I’ll have to offend you today. I’ll be frank with you. We brothers can see through your repeated attempts to recruit me into the imperial court. We don’t know what others think, but I, Wu Song, only came to Liangshan to live a few days of carefree life. I’ve never even thought about any official titles or privileges. As for what happened today, I think either the strategist is possessed by a demon or you’ve conspired in secret, bringing this Xiao Qiang here to put on a show. Unless you do as I say and bring that other Wu Song named Fang Zhenjiang here, I’ll have no choice but to abandon the brothers of Liangshan. Wandering the Jianghu is tough, but it’s better than being driven around by this dog emperor without any explanation.”
With Wu Song taking the lead, Lu Zhishen and the vegetable garden couple also stood up. It seemed that as soon as Wu Song left, they would immediately follow him down the mountain, and it looked like Liangshan was about to collapse again.
That's what a team is like—it's not afraid of differing opinions. Everyone can debate, argue, even fight for their own beliefs, as long as the problem is resolved in the end. Everyone focuses on the issue, not the person. The 108 members of Liangshan came from all walks of life, and this antagonism always existed, yet it didn't prevent them from achieving victory after victory against the government army. That's the point. But the worst thing is when the leadership's wrong decisions lead to disillusionment and despair, causing people to leave. This kind of departure is the most painful choice. The first sign of Liangshan's decline from its peak was the departure of Lu Heshang, Gongsun Sheng, and others, and it was also because Song Jiang decided to launch a campaign against Fang La. Now that this proposal has been put forward, it's not surprising that Wu Song is among those who leave. Second Brother (Song Jiang) has always opposed accepting amnesty; now that he has a second chance, choosing to leave is perfectly logical.
Therefore, not a single one of the 108 Liangshan heroes can be missing, and we cannot let them leave because of me. Zhang Shun approached me with difficulty: "You've seen it yourself, Wu Song has that kind of temper. If you don't do what he says, no amount of pleading will work. In the end... Xiao Qiang, could you bring Zhenjiang to let him see him? We all miss him."
I sighed and walked to the middle of the hall, saying, "In that case, I'll go down the mountain now. It will take exactly eight hours to go and return. If all goes well, I'll be back this afternoon."
Wu Song stared at me and said, "What if you don't come back?" He probably suspected I was going to run away.
I waved my hand and said, "No, even if I can't bring Fang Zhenjiang back, I'll find a way to make you believe me—remember, I'm either in Liangshan or on my way back."
Without further ado, I clasped my hands in a fist salute to the crowd and prepared to pull Zhu Gui down the mountain. The group of heroes rushed out to see us off, shouting, "Bring us two packs of cigarettes when you come back—" Song Qing said, "Brother Qiang, my father has a bad neck, could you help him get a brace…" As he spoke, Song Qing glanced cautiously at Song Jiang before continuing, "Then you don't need to offer your pledge of loyalty!"
Dai Zong used a teleportation technique to dart in front of me, grabbed my hand and said, "I don't want anything else, just bring me a few pairs of Li-Ning shoes, or Adidas King shoes if you really can't!"
I said loudly, "This meeting has been very enjoyable. If we meet again in the future, we will surely drink and chat happily. Now, let's take our leave."
Having said that, Xiao Qiang flicked his sleeves and, taking Zhu Gui's hand, descended the mountain alongside Du Xing. At that moment, fallen leaves rustled, and crows cawed hoarsely from the treetops. It was a time of clear autumn winds and bright autumn moons, with fallen leaves gathering and scattering, and crows perching and then startled again. When will we meet again? At this moment, I am filled with unbearable sorrow. (The End)
—I was surprised to see a dividing line in the book—
Uh... that doesn't count, especially those three words in parentheses. In fact, before I could say anything, a bunch of bandits kicked me out, all yelling, "Remember to bring what we want."
...When I arrived at Zhu Gui's shop, the shop assistant rushed out to take his position as soon as he saw me return. Under his guidance, I smoothly drove the car onto the main road. Zhu Gui and Du Xing both waved to me, and I said to the shop assistant, "Thanks, brother. I'll bring you a bottle of Dabao when I come back." I noticed the guy's hands were chapped.
I drove into the timeline, starting to consider the feasibility of bringing Fang Zhenjiang back. Based on the actual situation, if his previous life was Wu Song, then weren't they using the same soul? Wouldn't two radio waves on the same frequency overlap? Like Jin Shaoyan, Jin 2 would automatically disappear upon encountering Jin 1, so even if I brought Fang Zhenjiang, Wu Song still wouldn't see him. The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became. Looking down, I saw the phone. Unfortunately, the phone had a signal once it entered the Southern Song Dynasty. On a whim, I dialed Liu Laoliu, and it actually connected…
Liu Laoliu eagerly answered, "You're back so soon?"
I said, "No, I'm on my way. It's almost the end of the Ming Dynasty. Let me ask you, what would happen if Fang Zhenjiang went back to Liangshan and ran into Wu Song?"
"ah?"