The Second Volume of Water Margin

  "What about the red powder skull?" Madam Ji's eyes became somewhat dazed: "It was this very body that infatuated Master back then."

  "At that time, the old master was very good to me." Mrs. Jia continued, "But unexpectedly, only a month later, the old master became cold and distant towards me."

  "You shameless woman, how dare you say such things!" Yan Qing stepped forward with large strides, the blood-stained dagger in his hand pressed against Jia's delicate powdered forehead at a spot where the heart would be: "Have you been loyal to your master?"

  "Is it worth it?" Mrs. Jia ignored the dagger and continued to scold: "In this world, what is worth it or not, Little Brother Yi, do you still remember why Master was cold to me back then?"

  Yan Qing had a strange feeling about Jia's question, but didn't relax his grip on the dagger: "Go on, Master has never done anything wrong to you!"

  "At that time, Master Jia spent a lot of money to hire someone from Tokyo to embroider flowers for you...". Madam Ji stared straight at Yan Qing's eyes, with a dazed look in her own: "After the embroidery was finished, Master Jia never looked at me again, do you know that, Xiao Yige?"

  "Actually, men can also have feelings for each other."

  Yan Qing heard this and suddenly recalled the words Lu Junyi had said to him before his death.

  "She has her own difficulties."

  Even in Yan Qing's eyes, a hint of uncertainty and hesitation appeared.

  Jia's sensitive nature caught the subtle change, and she smiled wryly: "Xiao Yige, you also find it unbelievable, don't you? We've all heard stories about Long Yang and Fenxiu, but who would have thought such a thing could happen right next to us?"

  Now that Langzi Yanqing thinks about it, after the embroidery was finished, Lu Junyi looked at his own eyes and indeed felt a bit different from before. He often took off his clothes, drank wine while admiring himself...

  "Xiao Yige, be kind and kill me with one knife." Jia said with a sigh: "Take my head to worship the old master."

  "I have only one request, don't put my head and Li Guang's together, otherwise I will not rest in peace even after death."

  Yan Qing's hand trembled slightly, and the truth of the matter was unexpectedly so complicated.

  Women can be really scary sometimes.

  Yan Qing never intended to kill Jia, using the dagger to press against Jia was just to get Jia to say "sorry" so that his own heart could be at peace. Because Lu Junyi did not agree to kill Jia before he died.

  It turned out that Jia's few words revealed a fact that even Yan Qing had not thought of.

  "Leave now." Yan Qing put away his dagger, though he pretended to be calm, Jia Shi could still hear a hint of trembling in Yan Qing's voice: "From now on, we'll each take a different path, if I see you again... I won't show mercy next time."

  A moment later, Yan Qing held a cloth bag containing Li Guiren's head in his left hand and some gold, silver, and silk he had found in the house in his right hand. He opened the door: "Brother Ximen, let's go."

  "Is everything all set?" Ximen Qing asked.

  "The person is here." Yan Qing raised his hand and gestured: "As previously agreed, go to the bottom of the city wall and wait for them."

  "Good!" Ximen Qing clearly saw that there was only one person inside, although he was somewhat puzzled. He didn't think it was an appropriate time to ask questions, so he left with Yanqing, one in front of the other.

  Behind the door was Jia's wife, still sitting naked on the ground.

  After a long time, Jia shook and got up, picked up the sharp knife that Yan Qing had thrown away, walked to Li Gu's headless corpse, and stabbed it fiercely without saying a word!

  Until Li Gu's lower body was stabbed into a beehive, Jia Shi finally dropped the dagger and burst out crying...

  "All the men in the world are unreliable!" This sentence echoed in Jia's mind, she gritted her teeth, put on her clothes, hastily packed a bundle, and rushed out of the door, disappearing into the endless darkness.

  "It's still early, and you're leaving already?" Old Sun muttered as he opened the large gate of the relay station: "The Imperial City Guard is indeed mysterious in their doings."

  Lu Junyi's corpse had been properly handled by An Daoquan, wrapped in white cloth, with the three heads of Cai Fu, Cai Qing and Li Guo placed beside it.

  "Little Brother Yi, Lu Fengxian must have already left safely since we avenged him." Ximen Qing consoled: "After using the three men's heads to offer sacrifices to Lu Fengxian, it would be better to cremate their bodies and take the ashes with us, which is more convenient."

  "Xiao Yi is completely relying on his brother to take charge." Langzi Yanqing was now dressed as a young servant, with his hat pulled low, blending in with the crowd: "If it weren't for the three brothers, avenging the master's death would be up to Xiao Yi alone, that would be extremely difficult."

  "From now on, Brother will be Xiao Yi's master." Yan Qing recalled Lu Junyi's last words: "This life, and the next, I'll be a cow or a horse, at your beck and call, Brother."

  "You and I can just call each other brothers, why bother with the formalities of master and servant? It's as if there's a barrier between us." Ximen Qing suppressed the wild joy in his heart. Yan Qing, you key figure, have finally fallen into my hands.

  Thinking of going to Tokyo Castle, Yan Qing can be said to be a trump card in Xi Menqing's hand.

  Ximen Qing rewarded Old Sun with a string of copper coins and left with his troops.

  Still far from Tokyo, what heroes and good men will be encountered on this road, and how many people can be received? Ximen Qing is very much looking forward to the next journey.

  "Old Sun, has everyone left?" Out of the relay station came Liu Er, wrapped in a bandage and with his arm in a sling, nicknamed "Snake in the Grass".

  "You guys are too arrogant! Old Sun took the copper coins and scolded Liu Er: "This time you've kicked an iron plate, haven't you? You can't judge a person by appearance! You even dare to provoke the people from the Imperial City Guard?"

  "You old fool!" Liu Er said viciously: "They must pass by the mansion of the Grand Master, I'll follow them and inform the two Cai Jie levels, can't let them off easily!"

  "Huang Cheng Si, humph, at this age who knows who is who, just do it and talk later!"

  Lao Sun-tou watched as Liu Er followed the snake into the grass, then pinched the copper coins in his pocket and shook his head as he entered the post station.

  "One by one, they're not doing things properly, but when it comes to harming others, they're full of enthusiasm!"

  Liáng Zhōngshū was woken up from his bed by someone, and he was extremely unhappy. Moreover, his beloved concubine was still in the bed, and they had not held back at all last night. It wasn't easy to finally fall asleep again this morning, wrapped in each other's arms!

  But the news he heard still shocked him, and he quickly put on his clothes.

  "Big change in prison! More than a dozen prisoners died!"

  "Two Chai Jie-level figures have been beheaded, their heads taken away!"

  Liáng Zhōngshū covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, accompanied by his subordinates to the prison for inspection. The corpses had already been carried out and laid out in the courtyard, making Liáng Zhōngshū's scalp feel numb.

  "What...what is going on here!" Liang Zhongshu burst into a rage: "Where are the servants?"

  After a short while, the servant was summoned to take a look. As soon as Liang Zhongshu entered the small hut, he suddenly raised his head and saw a line of blood-stained large characters on the wall. He cursed loudly: "You are all useless! Didn't you see that there were words here? Lu Junyi... isn't Lu Junyi an official outside the Grand Mansion? Why haven't you gone to catch him?"

  "Has the adult forgotten?" An elderly official reminded him, "A few days ago, Li Gu, the steward of Lu's mansion, surrendered and accused Lu Junyi of colluding with the bandits of Liangshanbo to become the third leader. He was sentenced to 40 strokes of flogging and exiled to Shamen Island."

  "Oh?" Liang Zhongshu suddenly remembered that there was such a thing: "That has already been sent away, how can it still come back and kill people? Could it be that the guy has escaped?"

  "The adults need not worry, the little people here have sent out two batches of people. One batch went to Lu's house to check, and one batch of fast horses chased up the official road, and the officials who were in charge of the case." The officer replied.

  "Send someone to report to me at once!" Liang Zhongshu cursed angrily, lost his appetite, and came to the public hall to sit idle.

  Unexpectedly, Liang Zhongshu's butt had just warmed up, and someone from the Lu Mansion below had already sent a message over.

  "Master! A headless corpse was found in the Lu mansion, it seems to be Li Gu. The lower body has been pierced and is badly mangled! Madam Jia is nowhere to be seen, and the servants are looting and fighting over valuables, the whole place is in chaos."

  "Hurry up and send people to arrest all the troublemakers!" Liang Zhongshu shouted: "All property will be confiscated, the Lu Mansion will be sealed off, and guards will be posted day and night to keep watch!"

  "Yes, sir! Alright, sir!"

  Liang Zhongshu sat in a chair with a belly full of anger, what's wrong with this world? So many things happened in just one night!

  "Lu Junyi! And the bandits of Liangshan Marsh! It must be their doing!"

  Li Zhongshu gritted his teeth and found someone to replace the two supervisors under him. One was Li Tianwang Li Cheng, and the other was Da Dao Wenda. In a moment, they came to the public hall to pay their respects to Li Zhongshu.

  "The Liangshan bandits have caused chaos, and last night they secretly entered the city to collude with Lu Junyi! Even the two officials Cai Fu and Cai Qing were brutally murdered! You two must practice day and night to prevent the bandits from bringing their troops to plunder our granary in the great name of our prefecture!"

  Li Cheng and Wen Da burst out laughing after hearing Liang Zhongshu's words. Li Cheng said, "Sir, why are you so alarmed? The bandits at Liangshan Marsh are far away in Jizhou, how can they come to our great prefecture to plunder grain?"

  Wen Da also said: "Even if they come, Li and I will lead the troops under our command, which is enough to deal with them easily. This time it's just a small group of bandits entering the city at night, we only need to add some night patrol teams and repair the city walls, there's no need to worry!"

  Liang Zhongshu felt relieved after hearing the words of both supervisors.

  "Reporting to Your Excellency! Just now, a soldier came from the city gate and reported that someone had dropped a bundle of cloth with three human heads inside. They wanted to chase after him, but he rode around the city!"

  "What!" Liang Zhongshu was so angry that he smashed the tea cups on the table and shouted at Li Cheng and Wen Da: "Look, it's gotten to this point, don't you send someone to chase after them?"

  Li Cheng and Wen Da exchanged a glance, then retreated with a murmur of assent.

  At noon, the bodies of Xue Bao and Dong Chao were also found, reported, and Liang Zhongshu finally woke up like a dream. He hastily ordered someone to issue a warrant for the arrest of Lu Junyi, the Jade Unicorn.