A Dark and Windy Night, A Lonely Boat on the Lake Amidst the Wind

Pang Wanchun pondered for a moment, then exclaimed with delight, "So you are the famous Song Jiang, the Timely Rain, brother!" He then knelt down on the ground!

Song Jiang quickly helped Pang Wanchun up, and Hua Rong also bowed to him!

If things had gone according to plan, Pang Wanchun would have gone to Jiangnan to find Fang La not long after arriving in Shandong, and become one of his generals. At that time, Fang La was developing his Manichaeism in Jiangnan and was short of men! But since Song Jiang appeared, he certainly wouldn't let that happen! Intercepting him was inevitable!

Although Pang Wanchun's close combat skills were average and he was no match for Ou Peng, his archery skills were superb, and Song Jiang felt that he was not much inferior to Hua Rong. In addition, he was quite cunning and arrogant, making him an extraordinary talent!

He killed as many as seven Liangshan heroes, making him the second most killed Liangshan general in Fang La's camp after Shi Bao. These included Shi Jin, Shi Xiu, Ou Peng, Chen Da, Yang Chun, Xue Yong, and Li Zhong!

It would have been fine if Song Jiang hadn't run into him, but if he had, letting him leave empty-handed would have been unwise!

In fact, Song Jiang's words were deliberately meant for the old man to hear, especially since the old man seemed to want him to act righteously and kill Lai Wu, which was a joke. Song Jiang didn't know him well, and whatever happened to him was none of his business!

It wasn't that Song Jiang was cold-hearted; he wouldn't mind eliminating Lai Wu to rid the people of a scourge. However, Song Jiang didn't want to be used as a pawn, especially since the old man's motives were impure and he harbored treacherous intentions. Besides, Song Jiang couldn't just tell everyone he met that he was going to get rid of Lai Wu. If it became public knowledge, the government's interference would only harm him. At least before his strength had developed, being too high-profile didn't fit Song Jiang's current development strategy. He needed to accumulate resources, delay declaring himself king, recruit talent first, then desperately amass wealth, bide his time, and once he emerged from seclusion, no one could stop him!

Song Jiang also had another guess: the old man might be one of Lai Wu's men. Either he was deliberately testing them to send all the visitors to their deaths, or he genuinely wanted to get rid of Lai Wu and take his place! Of course, this guess wasn't entirely valid at the moment, because Song Jiang didn't know him at all, and he hadn't thought about it too much!

Looking at Pang Wanchun, although he looked somewhat haggard and disheveled, the arrogance emanating from his bones was undeniable; he was indeed no ordinary person!

Song Jiang laughed and said, "I wonder if Brother Pang has ever heard of the title 'Nine Heavens Flying Dragon'?" Song Jiang didn't really understand why he asked this question; perhaps it was because Pang Wanchun was called "Nine Heavens Flying Dragon" in the TV series!

Pang Wanchun was somewhat bewildered. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Is it 'Dragon Soaring Through the Nine Heavens'? Forgive my ignorance, but I've never heard of it! Besides, dragons seem to be just legends; no one has ever actually seen one!"

Song Jiang nodded at Pang Wanchun's serious answer. The name "Nine Heavens Flying Dragon" was indeed too childish. It sounded powerful, but in reality, it was really unpleasant to hear.

Looking at Pang Wanchun, he smiled and said, "I only asked this on a whim, but Xiao Yang Youji's name is indeed very famous in the martial arts world!"

Pang Wanchun blushed and said, "Those were just friends joking around; they don't count!"

Song Jiang pointed at Hua Rong and said, "My brother Hua Rong's nickname is Little Li Guang!"

Pang Wanchun's expression tightened, and he stepped forward to bow to Hua Rong, saying, "I've heard of Little Li Guang, and I'm deeply impressed to meet Brother Hua today. My greatest hobby in life is archery!" Pang Wanchun wasn't lying. Upon seeing Hua Rong, he couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship, especially since Hua Rong was handsome and dashing, which naturally inspired a sense of closeness. In addition, skilled archers seem to have an innate special affection for each other, so when Song Jiang introduced Hua Rong, his joy was completely beyond words!

Hua Rong also laughed and said, "We can have a friendly spar sometime!"

As they walked and talked, they soon found a small grove of trees and began chatting under the open sky.

Although Pang Wanchun was anxious, none of the three knew how to row a boat, so he had no choice but to wait for the Ruan brothers to arrive before he could take action!

Fortunately, the old man had said that Pang Wanchun's sister was safe for the time being, and Song Jiang felt that there was about 70% truth in what he said. This brought some comfort to Pang Wanchun's troubled mind.

Without further ado, two hours later, Wu Yong led Liu Tang to the dense forest outside Shijie Village and found Song Jiang and the other two. The group immediately began to discuss matters!

"According to the clerk, Qilang will leave the Water God Temple soon to find us. Erlang and Wulang will row a boat near the Water God Temple to attract attention! Everything else depends on the clerk!" Wu Yong said truthfully.

Chao Gai didn't come, mainly because it was inconvenient for him to show his face. Too many people in the surrounding villages knew him, and everyone knew about the relationship between Chao Gai and Song Jiang. Therefore, he stayed in Dongxi Village. After all, this was a murder and arson case, and the more discreet the better. Song Jiang didn't want to expose his actions so early!

Song Jiang looked at the group and said, "There are so many of us, we should be able to rescue Qilang's mother and Pang's sister this time. If none of us knew how to row the boat and we didn't need Qilang's help, he wouldn't have needed to show himself. His appearance only increased the risk of being exposed!"

Before long, Ruan Xiaoqi came running over quickly!

As dusk fell, Ruan Xiaoqi remembered Song Jiang's words. Wearing a straw hat, he looked around and finally found Song Jiang when no one was paying attention. After sitting for a while, night slowly fell. Song Jiang told Wu Yong to return to Dongxi Village first, and then, along with Hua Rong, Liu Tang, Ruan Xiaoqi, and Pang Wanchun, sneaked back into a ferry crossing outside Shijie Village. A boat that Ruan Xiaoqi had temporarily arranged was moored there!

The small boat sped across the water like a sharp sword, while the darkness served as the perfect disguise, spreading out all around like an invisibility cloak, concealing the five people!

Soon, the outline of a small island came into view.

As they slowly approached, the four servants sat idly on the shore, completely unaware that they were about to face death! Although it was night, the torches they had lit illuminated the surroundings, bringing a small patch of light to their side. Little did they know that these torches were like guiding lights on the road to death, about to reap their lives!

Song Jiang glanced at Hua Rong, then at Pang Wanchun!

The two men tacitly took out their bows, nocked four arrows, and with the bows fully drawn, they heard two "whoosh" sounds as the arrows flew like shooting stars toward the four men!

Is it difficult for a skilled archer to shoot two arrows at once? Absolutely not!

"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!" Before the people on the shore could react, they were shot in the neck with arrows. After a moment of disbelief, they collapsed to the ground, lifeless!

In Song Jiang's original plan, Hua Rong was to deal with the guards on the shore by himself. Shooting four arrows at once would not be too difficult for Hua Rong. However, if one arrow missed or something unexpected happened, and the survivors ran to Lai Wu and made a fuss, it would bring risks to the rescue mission. At that time, Song Jiang would be hesitant to attack Lai Wu directly, so he would have to act according to the situation.

Who would have thought that he would unexpectedly run into Pang Wanchun? Suddenly, Hua Rong's task became much simpler: shoot two arrows at a time. If he missed the throat, Hua Rong could guarantee that he would never touch a bow and shoot arrows again!

Ruan Xiaoqi quickly rowed the boat to the shore! Four corpses lay on the ground, and four crossbows were placed at the waists of the group.

Song Jiang shook his head and said, "It's a pity. Each of you has taken at least one life. You died without cause. I hope you will be reborn into a better life and not become evil again!"

A large mansion appeared before them. The mansion was quite grand, but it looked rather eerie in the darkness.

"Brother Liu Tang, you go and guard the back gate. Don't let a single one escape. The rest of you, come with me through the front gate!"

The front door was locked from the inside. With a hostage inside, Song Jiang couldn't force the door open. Hua Rong quietly climbed the wall and opened the door from the inside!

"Seventh Brother, go find your mother and Sister Pang. The rest of you brothers, come in with me and catch them off guard!" Surprise attacks often yield amazing results, and Song Jiang wouldn't give the other side a chance to react!

Inside the hall, a group of people were drinking and making merry, while Song Jiang watched them coldly from outside!

A wicked servant shouted, "Fifth Master, the young lady we caught today is incredibly beautiful. Why don't we take her for ourselves tonight? The brothers have been itching to do it!"

Lai Wu laughed loudly, "That woman has some martial arts skills. Let's starve her for a few meals first, and once she's exhausted, she'll be at our mercy! Otherwise, if she starts acting up in bed, I, Fifth Master, won't be able to handle her!"

Another sycophantic servant chimed in, "When it comes to dealing with women, Fifth Master is the best!"

Lai Wu asked another man, "Old Wang, how's it going? Has anyone come looking for that young lady?"

"Hey! It's him!" Song Jiang realized that this old Wang was the same old man from Shijie Village who had been so helpful in telling Pang Wanchun things! The two were indeed in cahoots!

The old man said calmly, "There was indeed someone looking for his sister. I originally intended to send him to his death on the island, but who knew he would suddenly leave Shijie Village and then disappear without a trace! I sent people to search for him again, but they couldn't find him! Perhaps he was afraid of dying and ran away!"

Lai Wu then asked, "Has that short, dark-skinned man arrived?"

The old man nodded and said, "He came too, but when I asked him to rid the people of this scourge, he immediately mocked me and then left with a pretty boy who came with him!"

Lai Wu laughed loudly, "Coward! What a coward! I misjudged him and worried for so long, thinking he was a chivalrous man!"

Outside the window, Song Jiang waved his hand, and Hua Rong kicked open the door and rushed in. Pang Wanchun followed closely behind and rushed in as well!

Lai Wu was laughing loudly when the door was suddenly kicked open. Caught off guard, he was startled, then saw Song Jiang and gritted his teeth, saying, "It's you!"

Song Jiang joked, "It was me after all, Fifth Master misjudged me!" He had overheard everything they said from outside the window, so naturally he wanted to tease them a bit. After all, they were only here for tonight anyway!

Lai Wu roared, "Kill them!"