After getting off the bus, Fang Zhenjiang did some chest-expanding exercises and exclaimed, "The air is fucking fresh!" Then he looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror and laughed, "Don't I look a year or two younger?"
I glanced at him and said, "Yeah, really." How refreshing! Having traveled back nearly a thousand years, how could he not look young?
Fang Zhenjiang said, "When Xiaoyuan and I get old, you can take us straight to Pangu. We'll probably be 18 again by then."
I glanced at him and said, "I'm afraid that if the two of you are 18 years old combined, then you'll have no hope left."
We were joking around when we noticed that Hua Rong hadn't said a word since getting off the bus. I said, "Hua Rong, what are you thinking about?"
Looking up at the vast expanse of water, Hua Rong said with deep emotion, "Liangshan, I'm back!"
I quickly said, "Put your poetic inspiration to rest. Don't turn into that literary youth once we get up the mountain."
Zhu Gui and Du Xing had already come out. They hadn't been apart for very long, so there was no grand formality. It was more like old friends visiting each other, and the atmosphere was very nice and friendly.
Zhu Gui took out his bow again and fired an arrow into the reeds. A moment later, a boatman, his straw hat tucked with an arrow and his face ashen, swung out of the reeds…
The boatman glanced at us and suddenly exclaimed, "Aren't these Master Hua and Master Wu? When did you come down the mountain?"
Hua Rong wiped his wet eyes and said, "Old Li, hello there."
The boatman nodded repeatedly, saying, "Good, good, thanks to Master Hua." He then looked at Fang Zhenjiang and asked, "Master Wu, why did you cut all your hair?" Hua Rong had been pretending to be a plant in bed for half a year, so his hair was very long. Out of habit, he hadn't cut it, and it looked handsome and elegant, not much different from the Hua Rong on the mountain. But Fang Zhenjiang preferred to have his hair neatly combed. He touched his head and laughed, "I'm not going to be a wandering ascetic anymore, I'm going to be a monk."
It was around 7 p.m., and the sky was already showing signs of sunset in July and August. Hua Rong sat on the boat, leaning on his bow, lost in thought. Occasionally, water birds would be startled and fly over our heads. The boatman said, "Master Hua, why aren't you shooting anymore? I remember you really like eating wild duck meat."
Hua Rong was startled and subconsciously nocked an arrow to the bowstring, but then slowly lowered it, saying, "Forget it. I killed countless wild ducks in my past life, so I'll spare them this time. If the same wild duck dies at my hands twice, do you think it would be unjust?"
The boatman chuckled, "Hehe, Master Hua's words are quite interesting. Do people really have past and future lives? I had a strange dream yesterday. I dreamt that in my next life I'd still be waiting to ferry people across the river, but I wouldn't have to row myself. There would be a box on the boat with a rope on top; just pull it and it'd go, very fast! It wouldn't even need oars to go diagonally. There'd be a disc at the bow; you twist it which way and it goes. Ah, if such a thing really existed, I'd be willing to ferry people across the river generation after generation!"
The captain of this boat, a man of great ambition, owns a yacht...
Once ashore, just like last time, we rode horses for a while before arriving at the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness. Hua Rong led the way, remarking on the journey and occasionally calling out the names of a few minor leaders from the mountain for a chat.
As soon as we landed, someone announced it to the entire mountain. At that moment, the bell rang again outside the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, summoning everyone to gather. Everyone was prepared, and once summoned, they all came out of their homes. When we arrived at the entrance of the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, we ran into the heroes who were also rushing into the hall.
Lu Zhishen happened to be walking next to us. He casually patted Hua Rong on the shoulder and said, "Brother Hua, you went to pick them up?"
Before Hua Rong could explain, Lu Zhishen spotted Fang Zhenjiang at a glance. This usually composed monk, who remained calm even when Mount Tai collapsed before him, exclaimed, "Good heavens! There really is someone in this world who is exactly like my brother Wu Song!"
Although Fang Zhenjiang did not know him, he knew what Lu Zhishen looked like through Bao Yin. When he saw the tall and mighty monk, he unconsciously felt close to him and punched him in the chest, saying, "Old Lu, let me see you pull up a tree later."
Unexpectedly, Lu Zhishen flew into a rage and shouted, "What are you? How dare you call me that! If it weren't for letting Brother Wu Song expose you to my face, I would have killed you with one palm right now!"
Fang Zhenjiang wasn't angry. He simply stood smiling in the middle of the hall, meeting the astonished gazes of the crowd. Many of the 54 heroes from the Yucai edition came forward to greet him, and Fang Zhenjiang returned their greetings with a clasped fist and a smile. At this moment, a man walked in through the door, and upon seeing Fang Zhenjiang, he froze on the spot. These two men, apart from their hairstyles and clothes, were practically twin brothers. The man who entered later was naturally Wu Song. He composed himself, snorted at Fang Zhenjiang, and returned to his seat. Wu Song was by no means a reckless person. Even if he wanted to expose our trickery, he would do it publicly, so he wasn't in a hurry.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Song Jiang gently tapped the table. When he saw Fang Zhenjiang, he couldn't help but glance at him a few more times. Strange things had happened one after another in a single day, and Song Jiang was starting to get a headache. He gestured for Wu Yong to chair the meeting; he and Wu Yong were now temporarily on the same side. Only if Wu Song admitted that Fang Zhenjiang was his reincarnation could the process of accepting amnesty proceed smoothly.
Wu Yong pointed at Fang Zhenjiang and said to Wu Song, "Second Brother, do you have something to say?"
Wu Song smiled coldly, stood up, and said to Fang Zhenjiang, "Brother, if it were any other time, I would at least consider you a friend based on your appearance alone. This would be a rare connection. It's a pity you've gone astray and been used by villains. Now I'm giving you a chance. Tell me honestly, who are you?"
Zhang Shun and Dong Ping exclaimed anxiously, "That's you!"
Wu Song said, "There are many people in this world who look alike. To say that he is my reincarnation based on this alone is hard to believe—I have a black mole on my left arm, do you?"
Fang Zhenjiang raised his left arm without saying a word, and someone immediately shouted, "It really is!"
Wu Song laughed heartily, looking up at the sky, "You've gone to great lengths for me!"
I whispered, "Zhenjiang, based on what he said, we'll definitely sell the stretcher to him today!"
Seeing that Hua Rong had been standing beside me, Song Jiang said, "Brother Hua Rong, please take a seat."
At this moment, a person stood up from the crowd in a daze and muttered, "I...I'm already seated."
Chapter 117 Tai Chi Fang Zhenjiang
The man who stood up was handsome with long, flowing hair; it was none other than Hua Rong!
Everyone's attention was initially focused on Wu Song and Fang Zhenjiang, but when two more Hua Rongs appeared, one inside and one outside, a commotion erupted. The reason no one noticed for so long was that half the people present understood what was happening, a few were still confused and hadn't had time to say anything, and the Hua Rong from Liangshan, seeing another version of himself, was already completely stunned. Facing this literary-minded version of Hua Rong, he couldn't utter a single word. The Hua Rong beside me smiled slightly at the other Hua Rong, offering no explanation.
After a moment of stunned silence, Wu Song laughed angrily, "Haha, you actually brought two of them at once—I'll leave everything else aside for now, but let's get this brother who looks like me straight first, who exactly are you?"
Fang Zhenjiang smiled and said, "To be honest, all I know is that my name is Fang Zhenjiang. My brothers say that I am the same person as you, but I don't know if that's true or not. I can't remember anything about my past life."
Wu Song immediately shouted, "See? They're already looking for an excuse to escape!"
Fang Zhenjiang didn't argue, but said to Wu Song, "I heard you bullied my brother Xiao Qiang?"
Wu Song snapped, "So what?" Ever since meeting Fang Zhenjiang, Wu Song had been in a frenzy, unable to articulate his thoughts clearly. Now, he finally exploded, pointing at Fang Zhenjiang's nose and saying, "You say you can't remember anything from your past life? Fine, but you still have your kung fu, right? If you can beat me in a fight, I'll acknowledge you as my... my brother. Do you dare?"
Fang Zhenjiang said calmly, "That's exactly what I was thinking too. These kinds of things are usually hard to explain!"
Upon hearing this, I quickly pulled Fang Zhenjiang aside and said, "Didn't we agree not to fight?"
Fang Zhenjiang said in a low voice, "You've seen it all, can't you just stand by and do nothing?"
It turns out he had already made up his mind.
Upon seeing Fang Zhenjiang's challenge, Wu Song flew into a rage, leaping from his seat to deliver a punch to Fang Zhenjiang's chest. Fang Zhenjiang deflected the attack with a deft movement, taking a step back and saying, "We can't fight here, let's go outside!"
Wu Song exclaimed, "Good!"
Some people tried to mediate, but everyone knew that if Wu Song didn't get his way, things would inevitably end badly. They silently followed the two to the area outside the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness. Hua Rong deliberately stood still, quietly waiting for Hua Rong. Hua Rong glanced at Hua Rong, hesitated for a moment, then walked to Hua Rong's side. They silently walked out of the hall side-by-side, and then the two Hua Rongs seemed to be saying something… Is things getting chaotic?
Wu Song and Fang Zhenjiang went outside.
With a whoosh, Wu Song tossed his outer garment to Lu Zhishen, revealing his bronze skin and muscular arms. The garment itself, too, possessed a fierce and imposing air, like a young girl about to commit suicide for love, as she forcefully threw herself into Lu Zhishen's arms. In contrast, Fang Zhenjiang was much more monotonous, simply watching Wu Song's performance with his arms crossed—he had nothing to take off, just a plaid shirt, and even if he did, he couldn't look as good as Wu Song.