At this point, Song Jiang hugged Chai Jin's leg and burst into tears.
During this time, Song Jiang had endured hardship and humiliation, suffering many beatings at Wang Xuan's hands. Now that he had seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it was time for him to reveal his true colors.
While Wang Xuan was alone on the mountain, if he could persuade Chai Jin to lead his men to surround and kill him here, Song Jiang would not only regain his freedom, but could even return to Liangshan and take over the Liangshan legacy!
"How could this happen?!" Chai Jin was shocked, angry, and somewhat incredulous as he listened to Song Jiang's tearful account.
Song Jiang was a powerful outlaw in Shandong, yet he was forced to such a state. This is truly outrageous.
"As far as I know, wasn't Liangshan Marsh in Shandong occupied by the White-Robed Scholar Wang Lun? And Wang Lun even established his stronghold with my financial support." Chai Jin suddenly remembered something and asked, "How is Wang Lun now?"
Since Song Jiang had already turned against him, he naturally went on to badmouth Wang Xuan: "The white-robed scholar Wang Lun had his Liangshan base taken away by this man and was imprisoned. He spends his days in tears, feeling like he is living a life worse than death."
"What?! Even the men I, Chai Jin, sent have met such an end?!"
"Friends, an unpleasant guest has arrived at my manor today. I hope you will all lend me a hand and deal with this man!" Although Chai Jin was very unsettled, he still made a decision in an instant and ordered his more than one hundred Jianghu heroes to surround and attack Wang Xuan.
Having received Chai Jin's order, the farmhands dared not disobey and all took out their weapons, vying to fight Wang Xuan one-on-one.
These people are being well taken care of at Chai Jin's residence, but if they can't demonstrate their abilities at crucial moments, their future treatment will inevitably be downgraded.
If he were to display his skills at this moment and get rid of this bandit leader, he would surely gain the favor of Master Chai and rise to prominence from then on.
Knowing Wang Xuan's formidable abilities, Song Jiang quickly warned, "Heroes, this bandit leader possesses the strength to withstand ten thousand men. Even if Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, were to be resurrected, he would be no match for him. You must not fight him one-on-one!"
"When dealing with such a heinous person, there's no need to follow any rules of the underworld; let's all team up and beat him up!"
Wang Xuan had been quietly watching Song Jiang's performance, and was already furious. At this moment, he finally couldn't hold back anymore.
He stared coldly at Song Jiang and laughed loudly, "Good! You truly are worthy of being my good disciple! I was right about you. You really are a traitor, shameless enough, and you have some of my true teachings!"
"But no matter how much you planned, you still overlooked some things."
"You underestimated my abilities and overestimated the strength of these so-called heroes of the martial world!"
At this point, Wang Xuan suddenly drew his sword and charged into the group of villagers with incredible speed. A flash of silver light appeared, and five or six "heroes of the martial world" were cut in two.
Wang Xuan's cultivation has now reached the eleventh level of the Acquired Realm. With his physical body alone, he has the strength of several thousand jin. If he circulates his internal energy, his strength and speed will increase even more. How could these ordinary martial arts men possibly withstand him?
Anyone who attempted to attack him was beheaded with a single stroke, cleaving them in two along with their weapon!
"Hiss, I never expected this man to be so brave. Even if Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu, were to be reborn, he would be no match for him!" Seeing Wang Xuan display his divine power and slaughter a large number of the heroes he had recruited, Chai Jin was so frightened that he gasped and could no longer sit still.
Chapter Thirty-Two: Kneel down and call me Daddy!
Although the hundred or so servants in Chai Jin's household were only second- or third-rate in the martial arts world, and none of them were first-rate heroes, their advantage lay in their sheer number.
If seven or eight people attack at the same time, even if they encounter a master like Lin Chong, they can fight to a standstill!
Knowing this, Chai Jin did not hesitate to order the operation.
But at this moment, when Chai Jin saw Wang Xuan slaughtering these farmhands as easily as cutting melons and vegetables, he finally understood what "the bravery of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu" meant.
Even with over a hundred highly skilled martial arts heroes attacking simultaneously, they were still routed by the opponent. How could Chai Jin, with his small frame, withstand a single blow from the opponent?
"Song Gongming, I treated you like a good brother, yet you betrayed me like this!" Chai Jin looked at Song Jiang with a gloomy face. How could he not see that Song Jiang intended to use him as a tool to kill someone?
He had only willingly become the "knife" to curry favor with Song Jiang.
But then he realized that the "knife" he was about to use wasn't to chop meat on a cutting board, but to cut a ferocious beast from the primordial era, so he couldn't help but turn on it.
"I had no idea this person was so powerful!" Song Jiang stared in disbelief at the one-sided massacre before him, his heart filled with shock and fear.
Although he knew that Wang Xuan was highly skilled in martial arts, he had joined Liangshan relatively late and had never seen Wang Xuan fight.
In the past, when Wang Xuan disciplined his disciples, he naturally wouldn't use any harsh methods, which gave Song Jiang the illusion that his master was nothing special!
When he used someone else to do his dirty work and instigated Chai Jin to send men to besiege Wang Xuan, he finally realized how powerful his master was.
In that short time, of the hundred or so heroes that Chai Jin had gathered, thirty or forty had already died.
Where would the others have the will to fight to the death? Most of them came to Chai Jin just to make a living, so why would they risk their lives for him?
Besides, this bandit leader is too ruthless. Even if they were willing to fight to the death, they would definitely not be able to defeat him and would just be wasting their lives.
"Master Chai, it's not that we're unethical, it's just that the enemy is too powerful and we can't fight them head-on." Someone shouted, "I have an elderly mother to support and a wife and children to raise, so I can't keep up!"
With that, the man threw down his weapon and fled.
With one person taking the lead, the other "heroes of the Jianghu" followed suit and scattered in an instant, leaving only Song Jiang and Chai Jin, the two good buddies, standing there in a daze.
Actually, these two best buddies also wanted to escape, but Wang Xuan's eyes were always fixed on them, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and the meaning behind it was easy to understand.
Everyone else can leave, but those two can't!
Wang Xuan didn't want to commit further bloodshed, so he didn't pursue the farmhands. He turned to Song Jiang with a smile and said, "Song Jiang, my good disciple, today you've witnessed your master's methods. Have you thought about how you want to die?"
"Do you want to die horizontally or vertically?"
If Wang Xuan is willing, even if Song Jiang is the destined protagonist of the Water Margin world, he will still face death today no matter what.
Song Jiang then seemed to wake from a dream, and his already dark face turned unusually pale—he was so frightened that his face turned deathly pale.
He was trembling, and at this point he didn't care about saving face; preserving his life was the most important thing.
Song Jiang knelt on the ground and pleaded, "Master, I have also gone astray. Can you spare my life? Can you give me a chance to repent and start anew?"
Wang Xuan was speechless upon seeing this. Was this some kind of alternate-world version of "kneeling on the ground and calling someone 'daddy'"?
It must be said that Song Jiang was a thick-skinned and ruthless man. He could swallow his pride at crucial moments, just like Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty. He had the potential to become a powerful and ruthless leader.
After some deliberation, Wang Xuan ultimately decided to spare Song Jiang this time. After all, the other party's luck was too powerful. If Wang Xuan were to kill him now, he would not only lose a golden goose, but might also suffer a backlash from the other party's luck.
Let's wait a while longer, until Wang Xuan's own luck is strong enough, and Song Jiang's luck has been almost completely harvested. Then we can mold him into whatever shape we want, right?
"Alas, I was too kind. After all, you are my disciple, and I couldn't bear to kill you." Wang Xuan sighed with feigned compassion, which made Song Jiang secretly grumble while also breathing a sigh of relief, as it seemed his life was spared.
To everyone's surprise, Wang Xuan sneered again: "But you just committed the crime of betraying your master and ancestors. You may be spared the death penalty, but you will not escape punishment!"
Without further ado, he rushed over and gave Song Jiang a sound beating.
After dealing with his unfilial disciple Song Jiang, Wang Xuan finally saw Chai Jin, the esteemed official.
"So you're Chai Jin? I've long heard you're one of the top outlaws in the north, but seeing you today, you're nothing special." Wang Xuan looked at Chai Jin with a smile that wasn't genuine, making the other man sweat profusely.
Chai Jin said dryly, "My lord, I was misled by that villain Song Jiang's instigation, which is why I ordered my men to attack you. I have offended you greatly, and I hope you can forgive me this time!"
But Wang Xuan was not about to do that. He was planning to take this opportunity to recruit Chai Jin into his own household, so he decided to scare him first.
Chai Jin was so frightened he was almost crying when he inadvertently caught sight of Song Jiang lying on the ground screaming in agony, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.
Ultimately, Song Jiang was the real culprit, while Chai Jin was merely an accomplice.
Moreover, Song Jiang's behavior of betraying his master and ancestors made him even more hated.
Why did Wang Xuan spare Song Jiang but not Chai Jin?
There's only one truth: he didn't kneel down and call me "Dad!"
Having figured this out, Chai Jin disregarded his pride and immediately knelt down, pleading, "Hero, please spare me this time!"
Wang Xuan's face was blank. The Liangshan heroes were supposed to be men of unyielding integrity, incorruptible by wealth and power. But what was happening today? The Liangshan heroes he encountered were kneeling down and calling him "father" one after another!
"Could it be that I caused the butterfly effect?" Wang Xuan immediately dismissed the guess and pinned the blame on Song Jiang: "Chai Jin must have been corrupted by that traitor Song Jiang!"
"That's right, it's all Song Jiang's fault, that guy is rotten to the core!"
Poor Song Jiang was still wailing on the ground, completely unaware of how his master was making fun of him.
Wang Xuan turned his gaze to Chai Jin again and said kindly, "To know one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue. Since you have decided to abandon evil and start anew, you will be one of my disciples from now on."
Wang Xuan didn't give Chai Jin a chance to refute and forcibly took Chai Jin as his apprentice.
To save his life, Chai Jin dared not argue and obediently kowtowed nine times on the ground, becoming Wang Xuan's good apprentice.
Chapter Thirty-Three: Master Chai, I've come to avenge you!
Wang Xuan accepted Chai Jin as his disciple, casually activated the light screen of the Eternal Tower of Heaven and Earth, and his eyelids twitched involuntarily.
Compared to the last time he checked, his luck value had increased by two thousand points, reaching a total of over six thousand points!
"How is this possible?!" Wang Xuan was somewhat incredulous. When he took Wu Yong, the third-ranked Liangshan hero in the original story, as his disciple, he only gained 500 points of luck. Chai Jin ranked tenth among the Liangshan heroes, which was also quite high, but he should be far inferior to Wu Yong.
Wang Xuan turned his gaze to Song Jiang. There was only one person here who could contribute so much luck at once, and that was his beloved disciple, Song Jiang.
"Could it be that by thwarting Song Jiang's act of betraying his master and ancestors, I can also reap some good fortune?" Wang Xuan found it somewhat absurd.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Because of what happened today, Song Jiang has been branded as a traitor and has lost his connection with Chai Jin. His luck has definitely been damaged.
Where did all that lost fortune go? A small portion dissipated into the world, while the majority was harvested by Wang Xuan.
Regardless, this was a good thing. Wang Xuan stopped thinking about it and instead asked Chai Jin about Lin Chong's whereabouts.
Chai Jin was extremely obedient at this time, answering every question: "Instructor Lin Chong did come here. Someone burned down the hay storage yard he was in charge of guarding and framed him, so he became a fugitive. However, he was worried about implicating me and did not want to stay here for long, so I introduced him to your Liangshan."
"Has the story progressed this far?" Wang Xuan nodded. Since Lin Chong had already delivered himself to his doorstep, it saved him some trouble. He believed that when Wang Xuan returned to Liangshan, he would have gained another disciple.
"Lin Chong has already left, so when will Wu Song arrive?"
The thought had barely crossed Wang Xuan's mind when he heard a loud shout from outside the manor: "Where did these bandits and thugs come from, daring to act so insolently in Master Chai's manor!"
Chai Jin said dryly, "This has nothing to do with me!"
Wang Xuan knew that these weren't reinforcements summoned by Chai Jin. It was probably because the servants had left and spread the word about what had happened, which attracted the attention of some江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) men who came to Chai Jin's door to stand up for him.
About two or three breaths later, the door to Chai Jin's house was violently pushed open from the outside, and a tall, robust man carrying a long knife walked in.
The newcomer glanced at the group in the courtyard before finally fixing his gaze on Chai Jin. Of the three present, Wang Xuan was the youngest, yet he was dressed like a refined gentleman, lacking any air of banditry. Instead, he exuded an air of nobility. Could he be Chai Jin's son?
Song Jiang, on the other hand, was beaten black and blue and was still lying on the ground, unable to get up. He couldn't possibly be the bandit; he was a victim. Could this be Master Chai? Poor Master Chai, who has done so many good deeds, has been beaten like this by bandits. It's truly outrageous!
Thinking of this, the man who rushed in glared fiercely at Chai Jin and roared angrily, "Is it you who went on a killing spree in Master Chai's mansion? Today, with me, Wu Song, here, I will definitely get justice for you on behalf of Master Chai!"
Chai Jin: "..."
Wang Xuan: "..."
Song Jiang: "..."
Chai Jin was unable to describe his feelings at this moment. It was as if 100,000 adorable alpacas were roaring past him. It was truly bizarre!