The Golden Retriever's Clever Thief Steals the Horse at the Liangshan Marsh Martial

Chapter 154 The Golden Retriever's Clever Thief Steals the Horse at the Liangshan Marsh Martial Arts Tournament

Duan Jingzhu had been traveling between the Khitan and Jurchen borders for many years and knew the nature of these people well: greedy, cunning, and rude!

But when it comes to doing business, even ten Jurchens or Khitans tied together wouldn't be a match for him!

Duan Jingzhu slowly turned his head and said, "Forty taels of gold!"

Upon hearing Duan Jingzhu's aggressive bargaining, the Jurchen woman hurriedly exclaimed, "Sixty taels of gold!"

Duan Jingzhu sneered, "Forty taels of gold, not a single coin more. Will you sell it or not? If not, I'm leaving!" After saying that, he didn't look at the little horse again and left without looking back!

The Jurchen woman hurriedly said, "Hey, hey, hey, take the forty taels of gold, don't shortchange me a single coin!" Anyway, this horse was just a found item, compared to gold, it was nothing!

Duan Jingzhu smiled, then turned around and adopted a serious expression, saying, "That's excellent!"

He gave forty taels of gold to the Jurchen woman, who then unloaded the goods from the horse and handed them over to Duan Jingzhu.

Huangfu Duan remained silent from beginning to end, as if the matter had nothing to do with him, but in his heart he was already overjoyed!

This little horse is very intelligent. When it saw Huangfu Duan, its eyes were filled with tears, but it did not go forward, as if it was afraid of causing trouble for its master!

It wasn't until Duan Jingzhu led the little horse back to the inn that Huangfu Duan could no longer hold back his tears and hugged the little horse.

Xiao Ma kept rubbing against Huangfu Duan's arm, tears welling up in his eyes!

Duan Jingzhu did not disturb the gathering of the man and the horse, and quietly left the inn. Shan Shiqi and Ma Ling also appeared beside him!

Seeing the relaxed expression on Duan Jingzhu's face, Shan Shiqi laughed and said, "Now that we've found the horse, let's hurry back to Liangshan!"

Duan Jingzhu frowned and said, "I want to buy some horses to take back to Liangshan, but I don't know how to transport them back!"

Ma Ling said, "This isn't difficult. My brother sent Brother Zhang Shun to come and fetch us by sea. I'm sure the ship can bring these horses back!"

Duan Jingzhu felt much more at ease. Now, he could finally unleash his full potential!

Just then, a group of people surrounded a man riding a tall horse, who was walking arrogantly down the street!

Duan Jingzhu's expression changed drastically. He would never forget the horse that man was riding. It was the Jade Lion Shining at Night. The man riding it was very imposing. He must have quite a big name!

Duan Jingzhu quickly grabbed a passerby and asked, "May I ask who this person is?"

The passerby sneered, "You don't even know him? And you dare to hang around in my Jurchen territory?"

Duan Jingzhu said with a forced smile, "I was blind to your greatness. May I ask if you could tell me?"

Seeing that Duan Jingzhu truly didn't know, the passerby spoke up, "He is the famous Wanyan Zonghan, our lady..."

"The eldest son of Wanyan Sagai, the Prime Minister of Zhenguo, has returned today to receive his reward for his meritorious service in the campaign against Liao!"

Duan Jingzhu felt a surge of hatred. It turned out that it was Wanyan Zonghan who had stolen his Jade Lion. He couldn't let them be so comfortable no matter what!

Thinking of this, he whispered to Shan Shiqi, "I wonder how long it will take Brother Zhang Shun to reach Liaodong!"

After a moment's thought, Ma Ling said, "It will probably take about half a month!"

Duan Jingzhu then said, "I do have some things to discuss with my two elder brothers!"

Upon entering the room, Duan Jingzhu bluntly stated, "I want to steal the Jade Lion Horse that Shines at Night!"

Shan Shiqi frowned and said, "This matter is quite risky. I've heard of Wanyan Zonghan; he's no pushover, and he has guards with him. How can we possibly get close to him?"

Duan Jingzhu laughed, "Back in the day, I was even able to steal the precious horse of the Crown Prince of Liao. Today, stealing Wanyan Zonghan's horse shouldn't be too difficult!"

Ma Ling thought for a moment and then said, "What my brother means is that we must protect you all. As for how to act, you are free to do as you please, but your own safety is the most important thing!"

Duan Jingzhu sighed and said, "I have my own plan!"

For the next two weeks, Duan Jingzhu went out early and returned late every day, and apart from contacting those horse dealers, he didn't know what else he did!

The half-month period passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Zhang Shun's shipyard, which was being used as a merchant ship, arrived at the dock. Soon after, Huangfu Duan led a small horse and all sorts of horses he had bought onto the ship!

This time, Duan Jingzhu bought two hundred horses. As evening approached and they were about to return, Duan Jingzhu still hadn't arrived. Zhang Shun asked, "Brother Duan Jingzhu, why haven't you come yet? My brother often says the Jurchens are tigers and wolves; it's really not advisable to stay here any longer!"

Just then, Duan Jingzhu rode up on horseback and rushed onto the boat, shouting to start the boat!

Zhang Shun hurriedly ordered the boat to set sail. Not long after the boat set sail, a large group of men rushed out from behind. There were at least several hundred of them, and their menacing aura was chilling!

Hundreds of blazing torches illuminated the dark dock as if it were a night of white. The leader was none other than Wanyan Zonghan. He stared coldly at the ships that were getting further and further away, without saying a word!

The Jurchens did not have large ships and were not good at naval warfare. At this moment, even though they had endless hatred, they could only grit their teeth and watch helplessly.

Duan Jingzhu's actions have undoubtedly stirred up a hornet's nest. If he comes to Liaodong again, he will likely be torn to pieces by Wanyan Zonghan's wrath. This is a dangerous place, and Duan Jingzhu can no longer come here!

Wanyan Zonghan shouted in Chinese, "Duan Jingzhu, you dog thief, you truly deserve to die! I trusted you so much, yet you dared to steal my precious horse! I, Nianhan, swear here and now that if I don't cut off your dog's head, I, Nianhan, will die without a burial place!" Still not satisfied with his words, he picked up his bow and arrow and shot!

But the ship had already sailed far away, and even though Wanyan Zonghan was skilled in archery, he was ultimately powerless to do so!

As the ship sailed further and further away, Wanyan Zongwang finally let out a sigh!

Hearing about the legendary experiences of these people, and how the Jade Lion that originally belonged to them in the original story had come back to them after going through many twists and turns, it was truly a case of life being just like a play!

In the original story, it was because of this horse that Chao Gai lost his life, Shi Wengong also lost his life, Zengtou City was captured, and Lu Junyi was forced to join Liangshan. The whole series of chain reactions were caused by a horse. It is really intriguing!

The group chatted for a while that night, and then went back to their rooms to rest.

The next morning, Song Jiang followed the others to the stable!

The once deserted stables have recently been filled with many fine horses, and are no longer as shabby as before!

The leading horse was none other than the Jade Lion Shining at Night. It was as white as snow, without a single stray hair on its body. From head to tail, it was ten feet long, and from hoof to spine, it was eight feet tall.

The second horse was Zi Sa, a magnificent and agile steed, with the spirit to shake the three rivers and the might to dominate the eight formations.

What man doesn't love a fine horse? Song Jiang genuinely liked these two horses, but he also knew that a fine horse is a gift for a good general. If his brothers had fine horses, they would be more likely to achieve great things on the battlefield. Therefore, Song Jiang did not intend to take these two fine horses!

As for who to give it to? Song Jiang was a little troubled, after all, he couldn't show favoritism!

Huangfu Duan noticed Song Jiang's troubles and laughed, "Brother, if you're willing, you can give me the Jade Lion and the Purple Horse. I'll definitely provide everyone with a fine steed!"

Song Jiang was overjoyed and said, "In that case, these two horses are yours, brother!"

Bian Xiang felt a pang of regret and sighed, "Such a fine horse, unable to fight on the battlefield!"

Shi Bao's reaction was exactly the same as Bian Xiang's. He looked at the two fine horses and thought to himself, "These are extremely rare and excellent horses!"

He was a connoisseur of horses, but having lived in the south all his life, he rarely saw good horses. When it comes to horses, the south is ultimately inferior to the north, which is an indisputable fact!

Shi Bao had seen fine horses before, but these two precious horses he saw today were worlds apart from the fine horses he had seen before!

Huangfu Duan patted the Night Jade Lion and then the Purple Sa, and said with a smile to everyone, "Generals, please rest assured, although these two horses are excellent, they are still in short supply. Give me a few years, and I will definitely be able to provide you all with such good horses. However, before that, we may need to select some inferior but excellent horses!"

Huangfu Duan's frankness did not displease Bian Xiang and the others; on the contrary, they greatly appreciated it, nodding and smiling, "In that case, we await Doctor Huangfu's good news!"

With the matter settled and nothing else to do, the craftsmen of Liangshan had all stopped working and were preparing for a prosperous New Year. Bian Xiang, however, was still thinking about...

Shi Bao, however, hesitated to speak too bluntly with Song Jiang present, so he said, "Brother, since it's almost the New Year and we brothers haven't been training, we're getting quite bored every day!"

Song Jiang sensed the hidden meaning in Bian Xiang's words, so he spoke directly: "Brother, what do you have to say? Speak frankly, don't beat around the bush!"

Bian Xiang smiled and said, "Recently, many new brothers have joined Liangshan. I would like to propose a sparring match. This way, we can get closer to each other, and we can also improve our martial arts skills. What do you think, brother?"

Upon hearing this, Song Jiang thought it was a really good idea. Since there was nothing to do every day, why not have a fight to see who had the better martial arts skills!

So Song Jiang spoke up, saying, "A contest isn't out of the question, but first and foremost, harmony must be paramount, and secondly, it must be stopped when the point is reached, so as not to harm the peace or endanger lives. Is that possible?"

Bian Xiang's words had already excited everyone, and when they heard Song Jiang say this, they could no longer hold back and responded enthusiastically!

Seeing that Gongsun Sheng, Li Zhu, and Ma Ling seemed uninterested, Song Jiang asked, "Would the three Daoist masters like to take the exam together?"

Li Zhu smiled and shook his head, saying, "This old Taoist priest won't participate!"

Gongsun Sheng also shook his head, saying, "Victory or defeat is meaningless to me!"

Ma Ling also laughed and said, "Since neither of my two senior brothers are participating, I won't participate either!"

Although Ou Peng and the others wanted to participate, they were no match for Bian Xiang, Shi Bao, Mi Sheng, or Wang Yin.

Why not just watch the show as a spectator?

Ultimately, the twenty participants in the competition were Bian Xiang, Mi Sheng, Shan Shiqi, Zhu Jing, Guang Hui, Xu Ning, Liu Tang, Li Kui, Lü Shinang, Deng Yuanjue, Wang Yin, Shi Bao, Wei He, Feng Tai, Ma Jiu, Ma Jin, Yuan Lang, Teng Kui, Teng Kan, and Li Huai.

Song Jiang plans to use a one-on-one advancement method, where the winner advances and the loser is eliminated. Then, the winners of the next group will face off against each other, and the losers against each other. After another round of elimination, five people will remain from each group, and each person will then compete against each other once. The person with the highest probability of winning will be the first place winner. As for everyone who participates, there will be a reward, and the reward will be higher as the competition progresses!

To ensure fairness, the names of all twenty people were written on paper and placed in a box. Wu Yong then drew lots, Li Zhu read out the names, and Song Jiang personally wrote the names on the paper.

Soon after breakfast, everyone arrived at the training ground. The Liangshan soldiers were excited to hear there was a duel to watch and quickly gathered around. Song Jiang simply set up a betting pool, writing the names of twenty people on the pool, allowing soldiers, craftsmen, and everyone else to place bets. Normally, Song Jiang would definitely not allow it, but it was the New Year, so he decided to have some fun and give everyone a little benefit. Of course, if anyone lost, the money would go to Song Jiang!

Gambling is human nature. As soon as Song Jiang opened the betting pool, the three Ruan brothers, Ou Peng, Jiang Jing, Jiao Ting, Wang Dingliu and others cheered and took their silver to place bets!

Seeing that their leader had placed a bet, the soldiers followed suit and started placing theirs too!

Bian Xiang had been with Liangshan the longest, and his skills were well-known. Soon, Bian Xiang became the top favorite. Although many people also favored Shi Bao, no one saw him make a move. He was even more popular than Shan Shiqi!

Seeing that the atmosphere had been lively, Wu Yong picked up the wooden box in his hand, pulled out a slip of paper, and Li Zhu read it and shouted, "Li Kui!"

Li Kui was surprised to find himself in the first round, and he rubbed his hands together with a strange cry!

With a smile, Song Jiang wrote down the name of the first winner of the first round: Li Kui!

Wu Yong pulled out another slip of paper, and Li Zhu read it and exclaimed, "Mi Sheng!"

Li Kui was taken aback, but then his fighting spirit soared. Both of them were skilled with axes, but they had never fought before!

Song Jiang silently mourned for Li Kui in his heart, but still wrote down Li Kui's name with a calm expression!

Wu Yong pulled out the third slip of paper, and Li Zhu read it and shouted, "Xu Ning!"

Song Jiang smiled and wrote down Xu Ning's name.

Soon, the draw was completed, and the matchups were: Li Kui vs. Mi Sheng, Xu Ning vs. Feng Tai, Shan Shiqi vs. Ma Jin, Wang Yin vs. Zhu Jing, Bian Xiang vs. Yuan Lang, Deng Yuanjue vs. Wei He, Li Huai vs. Ma Pi, Shi Bao vs. Lü Shinang, Guang Hui vs. Teng Xi, and Liu Tang vs. Teng Kan!

After resting for a while, and with the training grounds cleaned up, Wu Yong walked to the center of the training grounds, looking at all the Liangshan soldiers sitting on the ground in several circles, and said with a smile, "Brothers, for the next few days, your leaders will be sparring with each other every day. You've all been on holiday and have nothing to do lately. If you want to stay here and watch the sparring, then stay. If you have something to do, you can go elsewhere. There's no need to force you. But while you're sparring, you mustn't make any noise that might disturb the other competitors. As for what happens after the sparring, you can do whatever you want!"

After Wu Yong finished speaking, the soldiers applauded. Soon, Li Kui appeared shirtless, revealing his dark flesh, and wielding two Ghost King Axes.

They then went to the training ground!

Mi Sheng was originally a cavalryman, but since Li Kui was fighting on foot, he abandoned his horse and went to the training ground to have a foot fight with Li Kui!

When Yang Zaixing and Luo Yanqing heard about the competition, they dragged the two old men, Luo Zhong and Yang Zhong, to the training ground. Wen Huanzhang, Liu Huiniang, and four other women also came along. This competition made the already lively atmosphere of Liangshan even more exciting!

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