But you know what, that water really did have medicinal properties. That night I had a lot of hazy dreams, but in every single one of them I was looking for a toilet—I had gotten a stomachache from drinking it.
Chapter Seventy-Two: Binding Wetness into a Stick
The weather was great the next day. Thanks to the ample water from yesterday's rain, all the plants were thriving, and every leaf was trembling with vitality.
But I can't be happy at all. I went to the toilet eight times last night. Most importantly, I don't know how to explain this to the heroes.
When I arrived at the school, Fang Zhenjiang had already been dragged into a classroom by the group of heroes. They were sitting in the bright sunshine, chatting like old friends. When Fang Zhenjiang saw me come in, he laughed and said, "These guys have told me everything, they're just waiting for you to turn me into Wu Song." Judging from his expression, he was completely taking it as a joke.
But the heroes were different. When they saw me, they all stood up and excitedly shouted, "Xiao Qiang, where's the medicine?"
I spread my hands with a bitter face: "It's lost."
I recounted what had happened, and as soon as I finished speaking, Fang Zhenjiang's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly and said, "Brothers, don't you think it's a bit much to tease people like this?" With that, he walked towards the door.
None of the heroes stopped him. Now things are too complicated to explain, and if we keep arguing, Fang Zhenjiang will definitely turn against us.
Duan Jingzhu sighed, "Can we not fight this time? Let's just give him 1 million."
Although Lin Chong was well-mannered, he was still so angry that he slammed his fist on the table. However, remembering that Duan Jingzhu was also concerned for his safety, he had no choice but to sit back down.
I smiled wryly and said, "The other party isn't after money."
Fang Zhenjiang, who had already reached the door, suddenly stopped and asked, "What did you say? There's more money to be made?"
I said, "One million per game."
Fang Zhenjiang turned around, frowned, and thought for a moment before saying, "If I can help you win this fight, can you give me half?"
The heroes looked at each other, their faces grim. Regardless of whether Fang Zhenjiang acknowledged them or not, they had always considered him a brother, and they were unwilling to see their once iron-willed man betray them for money.
Fang Zhenjiang looked at us and laughed, "I can tell you're a bunch of rich idlers. I bet you're playing some kind of game. Now I want to join in."
Zhang Qing waved his hand and said, "This is none of your business. You can go now."
Lin Chong, unable to let go of old feelings, said gently, "Brother Fang, although you may not believe what we say, it is all true. If you were our Brother Wu Song, you could fight this battle; but if you are Fang Zhenjiang, I'm sorry, we cannot let you participate."
Fang Zhenjiang said, "Give me 500,000, and I'll do anything, even if you call me a grasshopper, let alone Wu Song."
Zhang Qing finally lost his temper. He slammed his fist on the table and said, "Go away, we don't have a brother like you anymore."
Fang Zhenjiang sighed and walked out the door.
Wu Yong called out, "Wait a minute." He glanced at everyone and said in a low voice, "Let him win this round first, after all, he is one of our Liangshan people."
Zhang Qing and Dong Ping initially wanted to say something, but seeing Lin Chong about to go into battle, they all sighed and sat back down.
Wu Yong smiled slightly at Fang Zhenjiang and said, "Then you are now our brother Wu Song."
Fang Zhenjiang said, "Yes, I am Wu Song."
Hu Sanniang suddenly asked, "Brother, where are you from?"
Fang Zhenjiang clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I am from Yanggu County. My name is Wu Song and my nickname is Pilgrim." He then said with some pride, "No need to take the test. My brother and I have read Water Margin and have admired Wu Erlang since we were young."
The heroes looked at each other, then walked past Fang Zhenjiang indifferently, each going about their own business.
Wu Yong said to Fang Zhenjiang, "Brother Fang, you must go all out in tonight's fight. The enemy won't hold back, and one wrong move could very well..."
Fang Zhenjiang chimed in, "I understand. It's just underground boxing, right? Some people even risk their lives. I'm prepared."
Wu Yong patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, go and rest. We'll set off in a bit."
Fang Zhenjiang chuckled and said, "What's the point of resting? I'd rather use this time to move a few more bags of cement."
Wu Yong shook his head as he watched Fang Zhenjiang's retreating figure and said, "How could he have become like this?"
I said, "After all, it's like being reincarnated twice..."
Zhang Shun said sternly, "A wolf will always be a wolf, it will never turn into a dog."
...
The other party set the time for evening, at an abandoned construction site. Before we arrived, we only had Shi Qian conduct a simple reconnaissance, and everyone now senses that the other party seems to disdain scheming and trickery. Originally, it would have been easy for him to play dirty tricks from the shadows, but the fact that he dared to give that memory-restoring drug to Wu Song shows that he is definitely fearless.
Besides Fang Zhenjiang and the heroes, Bao Jin also came along. The heroes and Bao Jin chatted and laughed all the way, but they didn't really pay attention to Fang Zhenjiang. I just don't understand, is liking money such a big sin?
The other party arrived shortly after. Wang Yin was a burly man with a fierce appearance. He wore a double-strapped vest, with his cigarette pack tucked into the straps. If it weren't for his piercing eyes, he would have looked no different from an ordinary, rough-and-tumble truck driver. Li Tianrun accompanied him. The mysterious night traveler did not show himself, but was accompanied by a refined-looking man carrying a digital video camera.
I shouted at Li Tianrun, "Where's your boss?"
Li Tianrun said, "They didn't come—" As he spoke, he pointed to the camera, "He can see you through this."
I was stunned for a moment before I realized, "Holy crap! He even rented a satellite just to watch the live stream?"
I have to say, they're really good at this. I think his absence might be to maintain an air of mystery, or perhaps he's still worried about us. After all, we outnumber them, so capturing him isn't impossible. It seems his current strength isn't enough to confront us head-on.
Wang Yin had been watching us coldly, his eyes flashing with hatred. He barely acknowledged Li Tianrun beside him, and as for our Bao Jin—Deng Yuanjue—he didn't even glance at him. Then he took a large step forward and shouted, "Where is Wu Song?"
Fang Zhenjiang also took a step forward and shouted, "What are you yelling for?" Although he hadn't awakened into Wu Song, he wasn't exactly good-tempered either, and he considered himself to be there to fight in the underground boxing ring, so he wasn't willing to lose in terms of momentum to his opponent.
Wang Yin looked Fang Zhenjiang up and down, his eyes gleaming, and asked, "Wu Song, I heard you captured my lord Fang La with one arm. I don't believe it. Tell me what happened!"
Fang Zhenjiang said, "Haha, impressive, right? I'm even fiercer than Yang Guo." As he spoke, he turned around and glanced at us, looking a little confused. He probably didn't expect that he would have to memorize lines to fight in the underground boxing match.
After saying this, Wang Yin, Li Tianrun, and even Bao Jin—who was unaware of the inside story—all looked at Fang Zhenjiang with resentment. I also noticed that although these people were at odds with each other, they were all completely loyal to Fang La. Only that refined-looking man was quietly filming with a camera; I couldn't guess who he was. But anyone who could work here was definitely not an ordinary person.