The Second Volume of Water Margin

  "Is it finally done?" Jin Tong, who was almost dried up by the fire, used a pair of tongs to carefully pick up something from the water and walked outside into the sunlight to examine it closely.

  As expected, this time it finally met the requirements on the drawing.

  Tang Long looked at the drawings on the table with a complicated mood, and he had been thinking about it all this time. The drawings had been flipped through so many times that they were worn out, but fortunately, Tang Long had already memorized everything in his mind.

  It is said that Ximen Qing got this drawing from who-knows-where, but judging by the shameless words on it, Tang Long believed that Ximen Qing had concocted it himself. Especially one time when he caught a little maid named Tianqing sneaking around and asked her about it, she confirmed that it was indeed Ximen Qing's handwriting.

  Until now, Tang Long still can't figure out what this strange thing is used for. From its shape, it's completely unrecognizable. However, Ximen Qing has high expectations for it and specifically instructed that it be made of refined iron.

  You say it's a iron chopstick, but it's too short, and there's only one of them. What can you use this for?

  You say it's a dart, but this shape is completely wrong and it's also single-edged.

  You say it's a self-defense knife, but the handle is too long and the blade is super thin and short.

  The words used to stab people, the thicker ones can't penetrate, and this thin blade still needs to be opened. If you use a bit more force or knock it with other hard objects, it will roll over or even break off.

  Tang Long muttered to himself and found a whetstone to slowly sharpen it...

  Ximen Qing's requirements were very strict, and he had to be able to cut through five layers of paper, which means that if a stack of xuan paper was placed on the table, this small knife could cut through five layers of xuan paper with just one light stroke.

  Does it make sense?

  If it weren't for Ximen Qing's prior agreement, he wouldn't have gone to Tokyo Castle until this thing was done. Tang Long actually just wanted to casually deal with it and be done with it.

  Ximen Qing said this, and Tang Long's heart had already flown to the capital city, where he still had a cousin who was the instructor of the 800,000-strong Golden Gun Battalion.

  Tang Long reluctantly sharpened his small knife, how could he know that this thing was actually Ximen Qing's surgical knife from the era before he crossed over.

  As a medical student, Ximen Qing felt that it would be better to carry a scalpel with him at all times, even though he couldn't say when it might come in handy. It's always good to be prepared and have something on hand just in case.

  In case one day a cross-era minor surgery is really needed, without a scalpel, it would be a clever woman can't cook without rice. As for the medical alcohol used for disinfection, Ximen Qing has already asked Xiao Liu to prepare some and fill several glass bottles for Xue'er to keep.

  Three days later, Ximen Qing and Wu Song rode horses, with a horse-drawn carriage behind them where Snowy and Pan Jinlian sat, another one was An Daoquan and Chrysanthemum, plus two large carts, Shu Tong'er, Hua Tong'er and more than ten young servants, Drumming on the roof were Shi Mo and Jin Qianbao, Tang Long brought up the rear. The group of people left Qinghe County in a grand manner, heading towards Daming Prefecture.

  That evening, Ximen Qing and Wu Song accompanied Zhu Zhiyuan to drink the last pot of wine. The old fox-like Zhu Zhiyuan also shed a few tears with some melancholy, but thinking that Ximen Qing's winery had not moved away, it meant that Jingyang Spring would continue to supply, this old fox was slightly relieved.

  Only when Zhu Zhi Xian got used to drinking free wine did he become too lazy to spend money buying it.

  Ximen Qing also instructed Fu Zhanggui to continue supplying the medicine to Zhu Zhiyuan as scheduled, without any interruption. This made Zhu Zhiyuan extremely happy and he repeatedly praised his good brother Ximen.

  What actually delighted Zhu Qian was that Ximen Qing and Wu Song had gone to the capital, so they could try to help him with his connections with Zhu Taigong, after all, becoming an official in the eastern capital was Zhu Qian's life goal.

  Ximen Qing had the idea of opening the first wine shop in Northern Song Dynasty, with this connection, he could get close to Zhu Bao, also known as Zhu Taiwei, and make him his backstage supporter. By holding onto someone powerful, he could avoid a lot of trouble. Although Ximen Qing was recruited by the Imperial City Guard, what kind of work he would be doing was still unclear.

  So Ximen Qing plans to take it one step at a time, with one hand in officialdom and the other in commerce, both of which must be strong. In addition to the wine shop, Ximen Qing also has some other business ventures that he is preparing to test the waters.

  Xiao Tianqing has been persisting in doing 10 sets of 20 reps every day, holding a 36-jin iron shield. Now she has made some progress and can slowly put the iron shield on her arm and barely move it a few times.

  After doing these exercises, Xiaotianqing was surprised to find that the whole world had become lighter. Picking up chopsticks to eat was like picking up two toothpicks. This morning, when helping to load the car, she effortlessly moved large boxes back and forth.

  At this moment, Little Tianqing only faintly felt the feeling of Wu Song's lightness, holding the whip in his hand for half a day without any soreness, and the driving action should be easy and natural.

  That iron shield, Xiaotianqing always carried with her, was now placed under her feet, and the feeling of stepping on something hard and solid made her feel very at ease.

  These changes, Wu Song saw with his own eyes and was also relieved that he had found a good apprentice. The most important thing in practicing martial arts is to persevere, and although Little Tian Qing's foundation was slightly weaker, she performed exceptionally well in this aspect.

  Ximen Qing didn't care, with Wu Song by his side, what use was a little Tianqing who hadn't even grown out of childhood yet? He chatted idly with Wu Song as they rode their horses, but in his heart he was thinking more about his business plans.

  From Qinghe County to Tokyo Castle, it would take at least a month on foot. Although Ximen Qing and Wu Song rode horses, the whole team still had to march slowly.

  All the way along the road, on both sides were just small woods. Ximen Qing started to feel fresh and had a spring outing idea, but later it became boring. Riding a horse for a long time was also very uncomfortable. Ximen Qing greatly missed the era with airplanes and trains, or at least long-distance buses would be fine.

  Jiang Jing, the old river and lake, is not here. Wu Song has completely taken on the role of leader, identifying roads, arranging accommodations, all by Wu Song's arrangement. This road Wu Song just walked through, so it's also relatively familiar.

  They had been traveling in this miserable way for seven or eight days, when Wu Song said, "We are almost at the capital of Henan," which suddenly revitalized Ximen Qing, who was dozing off on horseback.

  Ximen Qing's understanding of the Grand Mansion is limited to what he has seen in Water Margin, namely Jade Unicorn Lu Junyi and Rascal Yanqing, leaving only the fragrance oil of the Grand Mansion.

  "Does Second Brother know how much further we have to go?" Ximen Qing looked at the sun which was already in the west: "Will we be able to make it into the city?"

  "It's about 14 or 15 miles away." Wu Song estimated and shook his head, saying: "If it were just my brother riding a horse, we might be able to make it, but with this large group of carriages... Tonight, we'll have to find an inn outside the city to stay in. If we rush and miss the inn, when we arrive at the prefecture, the gate will already be closed and locked, which would not be good."

  "My second brother is right," Ximen Qing nodded: "In that case, let's just take our time and get past this."

  After walking about two or three more miles, there was a fairly large forest beside him, dark and dense, making people feel uneasy at the sight. Ximen Qing was just about to urge his horse to continue on the road when, unexpectedly, two cries for help came from within the forest, causing Ximen Qing to turn his head and listen carefully.

  "The forest is big and the wind has passed, making a few strange noises." Wu Song also heard it and didn't think much of it: "Besides, there are some strong men who deliberately hide inside, seeing merchants passing by, imitating women's cries for help, deceiving them into going to watch, and then taking advantage of the opportunity to rob and murder."

  "There are too many such things in the world, brother. There's no need to worry about it. Is there anyone who just happens to be passing by and waiting to rescue us?"

  Wu Song didn't believe it, but Ximen Qing had some ideas. Didn't Lin Chong almost get killed by the government officials in the Wild Boar Forest? And what about Xue Zheng and Dong Chao, weren't they already professional extras?

  "Second brother, even if there are three to five bandits, aren't you afraid?" Ximen Qing thought to himself and still wanted to go take a look, so he used his words to provoke Wu Song.

  Take Ge's pig foot halo for example, if you happen to meet a distressed Jianghu good man, if you save him, he will have to bow his head and worship! It doesn't hurt to recruit a few more younger brothers!

  Wu Song glanced at Ximen Qing, thinking he was just curious and insisted on going to take a look. He reluctantly said: "Don't mention three or five thieves, even if thirty or fifty came, they wouldn't be enough for my three punches and two kicks. Since brother has the heart, let's go take a look."

  Wu Song agreed, and Ximen Qing signaled for the troops to stop. Wu Song took a whistle stick in his hand, jumped off his horse, and exchanged greetings with Shi Xiu and Tang Long at the back of the troops. The two then slipped into the forest.

  Inside the forest, the light was much darker than outside. The crying sounds still came from time to time, and it seemed like there were two people talking. Wu Song listened carefully and located the source of the sound, leading Ximen Qing around several large trees. After turning a few corners, they saw two people hugging each other and crying under a big tree in front of them. Next to them were two corpses, each with a small arrow shaft on their bodies. Ximen Qing had sharp eyes and noticed this, but didn't know which one of the two people was responsible for it.

  Wu Song frowned, and the cat pointed to the two discarded short clubs with a black and red color on the ground, saying in a low voice: "Brother, look at this club, half black and half red, it's the water and fire club from the government office. This matter is a bit problematic... Two of them died, both were doing their duty, look at the clothes on their body..."

  Ximen Qing looked down and saw that it was indeed so. Looking at the two people, one of them was about 30 or 40 years old, with some bloodstains on his body, and a cut rope next to him. The other person was only around 20 years old, carrying a small bow and arrow, and was hugging the middle-aged man and crying bitterly.

  This scene looks very familiar, these two guys lying on the ground, aren't they professional extras Xue Ba and Dong Chao? These two goods were killed under Yan Qing's arrow.

  So that's it, the young man carrying a bow and arrow is Yan Qing, and the middle-aged man is Lu Yun Wai, the famous Lu Jun Yi of the Daming Mansion!

  Ximen Qing thought to himself about how to get the master and servant under his control, but accidentally stepped on a dry branch with force, breaking it and making a slight "crack" sound.

  "Who dares to peep!" Yan Qing, who was still crying just now, suddenly turned her whole body around with a movement of her ear, shielding Lu Junyi behind her. The bow and arrow on her back were already held in her hand, with the string tightened, pointing at the direction of Ximen Qing and Wu Song: "Friends over there, please come out to meet!"