The next day, I went directly to Yucai to find Hua Rong and get information. We wouldn't have discussed the past when we lacked the resources, but now that we have insiders with inside knowledge, we naturally need to be well-prepared.
Fang Zhenjiang was also listening in; he was eager to learn more about Liangshan. I held up a blue pill in my hand and waved it at him, saying, "Want some? If you eat it, you'll remember that you were Wu Song in your past life."
Fang Zhenjiang shook his head repeatedly: "I think things are fine as they are now. Let's not eat and then argue with Lao Wang (Fang La) and the others."
Actually, I didn't really intend to let him eat it, and I didn't tell them my real purpose for going to the Song Dynasty. I just said I was going back to see Li Shishi and visit the brothers of Liangshan.
They already knew that history couldn't be changed. Fortunately, Wu Yong had already left; otherwise, the strategist would probably have realized that my return was more complicated than it seemed. Hua Rong preferred to handle things simply, and Fang Zhenjiang was even more of a rough and straightforward person, so neither of them gave it much thought.
Hua Rong said, “If I want to go to Liangshan, I can go anywhere, from the east, west, south, or north. There are two leaders at the foot of each of these four mountains, who are actually the gateways for heroes to join Liangshan. I won’t say much about others, but if you want to go, it’s best to go through the North Mountain Inn, which is run by Zhu Gui and Du Xing. I think even if those two aren’t on drugs, they’ll get along with you. Just tell them you’re going to the mountain, and they’ll just ask a few simple questions and then send someone to pick you up.”
I said, "Aren't you afraid that spies might infiltrate the mountain?"
Hua Rong chuckled: "What good would it do to go up there? Liangshan is surrounded by water on all sides, providing a natural barrier. To break through Liangshan, we'd have to get past the Zhang brothers and the Ruan brothers first. We can't afford to do anything underhanded."
I nodded and said, "That puts my mind at ease." I was worried about being treated as a spy. Zhu Gui's temper wasn't very good when he was the manager of his Nanshan Hotel.
Hua Rong suddenly said, "Hey, Brother Qiang, if what you said about certain historical figures having to do certain things is true, then do my brothers still have to be recruited to fight Fang La?"
My expression changed slightly, and I forced a smile, saying, "No, history has nothing to do with them. I'm just going to take a look."
"Oh, then... Brother Qiang, could you at least prevent them from surrendering? At least don't let the brothers fall apart?"
Fang Zhenjiang also said, "Yes, yes, and let's stop fighting Fang La. Didn't Old Wang himself say that we're all poor people? What's the point of fighting each other?"
I smiled wryly and said, "That depends on what your brother Song Jiang's attitude is."
Fang Zhenjiang glanced at Hua Rong, then hesitated before saying, "Brother Hua, I have something to say from an outsider's perspective, please don't take offense—Song Jiang is a fucking scoundrel!"
Hua Rong smiled helplessly, wanting to say something but hesitating to speak.
I said, "Alright, I'll see how things go later. Actually, Hua Rong, you don't need to worry so much. Let's just have a good, exciting time together, and that'll be enough..."
Fang Zhenjiang slammed his fist on the table and said, "Well said—but I still have to say, it would be even better without Song Jiang."
Hua Rong sighed, "Xiuxiu has already analyzed it for me using later perspectives. She said that later generations generally don't have a high opinion of Brother Song Jiang, but to be fair, his thinking was still mature. He just didn't expect the side effects of treacherous officials to be so great." Hua Rong looked up at me pitifully and said, "Really, can't you take me with you?"
I said with a smile, "Oh, it's like this. You are Hua Rong, and there is also a Hua Rong on Liangshan. If you go back, that Hua Rong's wife will be your wife. Of course, this won't affect you now, but your past self will be in a more embarrassing situation. And your past self is destined to be reincarnated as you now and marry Xiu Xiu. In other words... I mean, what exactly is the relationship between the four of you?"
Hua Rong and Fang Zhenjiang were already dumbfounded. Fang Zhenjiang said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Luckily, I didn't get married in my past life."
I made a sweeping gesture in the air and said decisively to Hua Rong, "Let's not go into the complicated stuff. To put it simply, there are women from your past on Liangshan, and if Xiu Xiu finds out you're going back to Liangshan..."
Hua Ronghan paused for a moment: "Fine, I won't go then."
Chapter 108 Brother 109
Because of preparations for going to Liangshan, I even went to see Guan Yu to give him some of the mother-and-child biscuits. Since using up Zhao Bailian's biscuits at Ying Pangzi's place, I only have five empty ones left. Of all my wages, I prefer biscuits the most. The biggest difference between them and mind-reading phones and face-changing chewing gum is that they are the most solid foundation for survival. Especially in a place like Liangshan, before the heroes remembered me, they were just a bunch of bandits. Compared to the previous two times, Xiang Yu was a separatist force, and Qin Shi Huang was a feudal lord; they had to consider the people's hearts and the law. But bandits have no such concerns; neither law nor morality can restrain them. Therefore, I think it's best to ensure my safety. Even if nothing happens, in that place that reveres martial prowess, having the Martial Saint Guan Yu possessing me will at least earn me some respect.
My second brother seemed preoccupied. As he ate his biscuits, he said to me, "Xiaoqiang, can't you really take me to meet my eldest brother and the others?"
I waved my hand and said, "Second Brother, you're making things difficult for me. You're not the same as Hua Rong and the others. They were reincarnated into this world, while you came directly from the other side. When they go back, they'll just be seeing their twin brothers, but when you go back, you'll be a completely different person. What do you mean by that…?"
This is a dilemma for me too. I forgot to ask Liu Laoliu and the others yesterday what the consequences would be if we really brought Second Brother back. If Second Brother is to return, of course he'd have to return to the time before he died, but wasn't there another Second Brother back then? What would happen if these "two" met?
The second brother said sadly, "Then could you come to see me after I leave?"
In fact, after I returned to Yucai School, everyone I talked to was talking about this. My clients kept pestering me, and almost all of them made similar requests. This really made me feel like a school principal, which is probably why leaders turn away visitors when it comes to evaluating professional titles.
Of course, some people misunderstood me, thinking I was waiting for their response. Zhu Yuanzhang pulled me aside and gave me a furtive, furtive look for a long time. The bribes an emperor offered… tsk tsk! He promised me hundreds of beautiful women; if I changed one every day, I could stay with him for two years…
I said seriously, "Second Brother, I could have just brushed it off with anyone else, but I have to be honest with you: it depends on the situation. What if I come to you and you're in an even more difficult position? Wouldn't you hate me then?"
Guan Yu sighed and said, "I understand. Isn't everything about gains and losses?"
What if you suffer another defeat?
Guan Yu's expression changed, and I squeezed his hand and said, "Don't worry, Second Brother, if I think it's appropriate, I'll definitely come to you, like asking you to kill Hua Xiong or something."
Zhou Cang asked cautiously, "What about me?"
I laughed and said, "You're different from them. You can never have too many loyal friends. I'll definitely take you with me when I go to see Second Brother." Anyway, it's just leading the horse and putting a stirrup in it. At worst, one of the two Zhou Cangs can lie down and the other can squat down, so Second Master can get on the horse and walk up the steps.
After settling everything down, I found a quiet spot and drove to Liangshan. Having already gone on two long trips, I'm kind of used to it. Apart from the inconvenience of communication, it's really not much different from traveling. This time, I'll just treat it as a business trip to Shandong.
This time, however, I was more cautious, constantly checking my phone after the car entered the timeline. To my surprise, I discovered: it still had signal after 2008! Even during the early and mid-Qing Dynasty, the signal was still full. I called home, and Wu Sangui answered, "Hello?"
It works!
This really surprised me. When I was looking for Xiang Yu and Qin Shi Huang, I was biased and didn't think about this issue at all. However, I can be fairly certain that there was no signal on those two occasions because I checked the time at Ying Pangzi's place. But as for where the signal was lost along the way, I honestly didn't pay attention.
By the Ming Dynasty, the signal began to fluctuate, hovering between four and three bars, but it was still relatively stable. As a result, while phone calls could still be made in the Yuan Dynasty, text messages were extremely difficult to send. This discovery already surprised me greatly; if this continued, wouldn't it mean we could still contact Hua Rong and the others by the Song Dynasty?
When the pointer reached its destination, I panicked: the last bar of the signal had also slipped away. I almost jumped up and cursed—back in the Southern Song Dynasty, there were still two bars!
I checked the time; it only took me a little over four hours to get from Yucai to Beisong, which was faster than actually going to Shandong.
Outside the window, on one side, there was a quiet grove of trees, and on the other side, a path stretched out. Beside the path, a shop with a rustic wooden decor had three large characters written on it: "Guixing Wine"—the character for "shop" was likely missing. However, since it wasn't in the way, no one bothered to fix it, unlike the Jiangyin Wool Textile Factory where the character "Jiang" was missing.
It was the height of summer, and a plump, amiable-looking middle-aged man was sitting in the hotel fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. He looked like an honest and well-off manager, but his hairy thigh straddling the stool betrayed him—any discerning person could tell at a glance that this was no good person; he was none other than Zhu Gui, the "Dry Land Crocodile"!
I was pleasantly surprised, but also a little taken aback. It was always such a coincidence! I could go wherever I wanted and find whomever I wanted. But it made sense, too. Wherever my car stopped, it meant there were definitely clients. In the Northern Song Dynasty, my clients were nothing more than Li Shishi and the heroes; most of Yue Fei's army hadn't even been born yet. As for why my car didn't stop in front of a brothel, was it because the heroes were more numerous and popular?
This feeling is really strange. Think about it, just four hours ago I was at Yucai High School, and after driving for a while I was transported to another world. It all feels so real, like a dream. Look at other people who time-travel; they either get struck by lightning or hit by a car, or at least they just fall asleep and never wake up again—it's so decisive and clean. They always have to die somewhere, so they don't have to worry about their parents, their wives, and their children, and can focus on building their own empire and harem. There are others like me who time-travel with their families, but for them, it's usually a side job—traveling around doing business, farming, and making money. I've never seen a time-traveler like me, just like a blind donkey pulling weeds.
Four hours is probably not even enough time to get to two slightly larger prefecture-level cities, so I kept having the illusion that I hadn't lost control of my time travel or had actually driven into a tourist development zone. Especially Zhu Gui's urine, it looked so familiar, as if he were the manager who had reversed time.