Instructor Hong is still getting beaten; Little Whirlwind bids farewell to Gongming.

Instructor Hong didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down in Song Jiang's seat, ordering a companion next to him to set up the new bowl and chopsticks!

Song Jiang smiled and sat down at the head of the Hong Sect!

Chai Jin was losing face. Instructor Hong had repeatedly disrespected him, truly showing no appreciation for his kindness!

Chai Jin said in an unfriendly tone, "Instructor Hong, this is none other than the famous Song Jiang, the Timely Rain. I have long admired him. It is a rare privilege for him to come to my place today, so please be courteous to him!"

Instructor Hong glanced at Song Jiang, then at Wu Song and the others, and said disdainfully, "He's just a minor official, why be so polite? His reputation is naturally exaggerated by those who flatter him, why should you take it seriously, sir!"

This instructor Hong repeatedly belittled him, and even with Song Jiang's broad-mindedness, he was somewhat displeased at this moment!

Their smiling faces darkened, and Bian Xiang and the others glared at Instructor Hong with hostility, ready to burst into a fight and teach him a lesson at the slightest word from Song Jiang!

Chai Jin was furious. It was one thing for Instructor Hong to be arrogant and disrespectful, but today Song Jiang had not come to join him, but to discuss future cooperation. Instead, Instructor Hong kept provoking him. Did he really think he wouldn't dare to kick him out?

Song Jiang said calmly, "I've heard that Instructor Hong is skilled with spear and staff, and his martial arts are extraordinary. No one in Chai Manor can match him. I wonder if he dares to exchange blows with my brother today?"

Instructor Hong laughed loudly, "What skills do you mountain folk have? You're extremely arrogant, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Mi Sheng immediately stood up and said, "I'll have a go at you!"

Instructor Hong snorted, "Come on, come on, do you think I'm afraid of you!"

Song Jiang patted Mi Sheng to calm him down, then turned to Li Huai and said, "Brother Li Huai, why don't you spar with Instructor Hong? Let him know your skills!"

Li Huai felt a sense of gratitude, knowing full well that Song Jiang had helped him vent his anger at being looked down upon at Chai Village!

He immediately replied, "Don't worry, brother, I won't let you down!"

With Chai Jin present, Song Jiang couldn't say anything inappropriate, so he smiled and said, "Just do your best!"

Upon hearing about the competition, Chai Jin exclaimed happily, "Excellent, excellent! Since you two are going to have a competition, there must be a prize!" He then said to his attendant, "Bring me fifty taels of silver."

Seeing Chai Jin's keen interest, Song Jiang sighed inwardly. He wondered why Chai Jin was so enthusiastic about gambling and martial arts competitions. He knew that most people were unwilling to compete with others for no reason. Firstly, it would damage harmony, and secondly, he was not a street performer. It would be uncomfortable to compete with others for their amusement.

Given Chai Jin's character, it's difficult for him to remain rational when faced with major events. One can only hope that he will be more vigilant in the future, so that he might be able to escape the fate of being schemed against!

Song Jiang instructed, "Sticks have no eyes; you must stop when you've made a move, and don't hurt Instructor Hong!" These words seemed insignificant, but Instructor Hong was furious. Song Jiang's words meant that he was doomed to lose! He secretly vowed that he would not hold back in the end!

To show his importance, Chai Jin specially led his entourage to a specially built martial arts hall, which was not an ordinary open space for competition. In order to make it lively, he also required all those who had come to join him to watch the battle. You should know that Instructor Hong was the number one expert in Chai Village, and many people were also interested when they heard that he was going to have a competition!

Firstly, I can learn from and observe the competition among masters. Secondly, I've heard that the martial arts hall has many good weapons. Even if I can't use them, it's still nice to see them and enjoy them!

It is true that martial artists love weapons. Chai Jin built this martial arts hall to recruit real masters to his side. Chai Jin was well aware of Hong Jiao Tou's martial arts skills. They were neither high nor low, and there was a big gap between them and the masters in his mind. Naturally, they could not enter this martial arts hall. Today, he only brought up this martial arts hall to show his respect for Song Jiang.

The training hall's indoor space is extremely spacious and equipped with numerous training tools. Of course, its most important feature is its collection of top-quality weapons. While they may not be considered divine weapons, each one has a remarkable provenance and is of considerable value.

Of course, only Chai Jin dared to do this. If it were anyone else, they would have been accused of treason in no time, and their property would have been confiscated and they would have been punished!

Unfortunately, Chai Jin failed to recruit a single true master who would stay at Chai Manor long-term. A few masters did stay briefly, but they left after a short time; those people couldn't be kept by generous treatment or a martial arts training hall.

Of course, some masters were willing to stay at Chai Village, such as Wu Song in the original story. However, he was not valued and was always treated coldly. In the end, he was taken in by Song Jiang. There were a few such masters who left feeling disheartened.

Entering the martial arts hall, the roof beams are over four zhang high, and the area is very spacious. Standing inside, one feels relaxed and comfortable. Even those with outstanding lightness skills, such as Shi Qian and Jiu Wan, can leap freely inside. The blue bricks on the ground are neatly laid, with no gaps between them. They are soaked in tung oil and grouted with glutinous rice, so there is not a single looseness. They are spotless.

Even more astonishing is the martial arts arena in the center, which is paved with fine two-foot square bluestone. The platform base is half a foot above the ground, and it is a square platform with a width of 55 feet, without a single pillar in the middle.

The training ground was quite impressive, but these roughnecks knew nothing about it. They were simply shocked by the magnificent sight before them, but couldn't explain why!

Song Jiang exclaimed in amazement, "As far as I know, even the Great Celebration Hall of the Imperial Court required thirty-six pillars to support it, with only two zhang and four chi (approximately 6.6 meters) between them. I never imagined that this martial arts training ground would require no pillars at all! It is truly a masterpiece of craftsmanship!"

Chai Jin smiled without saying a word, watching the group of farmhands with longing expressions as they gazed at the training ground, foolishly touching the cool, smooth stones with their hands, praising them endlessly.

Others were gathered around the weapon racks on both sides of the martial arts hall. All kinds of weapons were on display. In addition to common weapons such as knives, spears, clubs, swords, halberds, axes, and hooks, there were also weapons used by various ethnic groups. These people had been in Chai Village for a long time and had only heard of this place. Today, they were amazed to see it!

A servant brought over fifty taels of silver, and Chai Jin smiled and said, "Let's use this silver as a prize; the winner will receive it, how about it?"

Li Huai and Instructor Hong had no objections, and two servants took two sticks and walked beside them!

Instructor Hong took the stick, took off his clothes, pulled up his skirt, grabbed the stick, and shouted, "Come on, come on, come on!"

Li Huai picked up a stick and casually said to Instructor Hong, "Please!"

Enraged, Instructor Hong raised his staff and unleashed a fiery attack!

Li Huai twirled his staff, then with a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a "Dragon Entering the Sea" stance!

Fearing that he would lose face and his morale would be completely shattered, Instructor Hong used his staff with all his might to strike Li Huai with no mercy!

Li Huai took a step back, but Instructor Hong took another step forward!

The two exchanged blows for seven or eight rounds. Li Huai figured out Hong Jiao Tou's strengths and weaknesses, so he jumped up with his staff from the ground. Hong Jiao Tou was caught off guard and had to retreat!

Little did he know that Li Huai was just feinting, and then unleashed a sweeping attack that caught Hong Jiaotou off guard, knocking him to the ground!

Li Huai threw the stick on the ground, bowed and said, "Thank you for your courtesy, Instructor Hong!" After saying that, he ignored Instructor Hong lying on the ground and turned to walk towards Song Jiang!

Chai Jin was overjoyed and ordered his attendants to bring up the wine, and also put fifty taels of silver into Li Huai's hand!

Song Jiang stepped forward, patted Li Huai's arm, and straightened his clothes.

As for Instructor Hong lying on the ground, no one paid him any attention!

Hong Jiao Tou was filled with shame. He had no face to stay at Chai Manor, especially since Chai Jin ignored him completely and was focused on Li Huai, who had defeated him. He felt bitter and struggled to his feet. Ignoring the help of the servants around him, he staggered away from Chai Manor!

Song Jiang watched Chai Jin chatting with Li Huai, and then watched Hong Jiaotou's departing figure. For a moment, he didn't know what to say!

Actually, Instructor Hong's martial arts skills are not bad either. Judging from his skills, he should also be from a military family!

However, Chai Jin truly lacked human touch. In fact, keeping Instructor Hong at Chai Manor wouldn't have been a bad idea, but after the competition, Chai Jin didn't say a word to Instructor Hong. It's hard to judge whether this was right or wrong, but it ultimately chilled the man's heart. This is why no true hero was willing to serve Chai Jin. In the details, Chai Jin was indeed a bit careless. Not everything can be solved with money!

Unfortunately, Song Jiang really looked down on Instructor Hong's martial arts skills. Watching Instructor Hong leave, Song Jiang didn't say a word. If his martial arts skills were better, Song Jiang might have tried to persuade him to stay and even tried to steal him away! But he wasn't Chai Jin, and he couldn't make decisions for Chai Jin!

Chai Jin didn't seem to care about Instructor Hong's departure. Instead, he said to Song Jiang, "Brother, you have some truly good men around you! Let's go have some more drinks!"

The crowd dispersed quickly, laughing and joking. It would be a lie to say that Chai Jin had no regrets. Originally, Li Huai had come to join him, but thanks to these servants, he had become Song Jiang's man. He couldn't say he was jealous, but he was genuinely envious, especially of the group of skilled men around Song Jiang, whose men from Chai Village were probably no match for him!

That night, Song Jiang and his men rested at Chai Manor. The next morning, after breakfast, a servant told Song Jiang, "Sir Song, the lord went to the Cangzhou camp before dawn and should be back tonight. You may make yourself at home today!"

Song Jiang knew that Chai Jin had gone to find the warden of Cangzhou to retrieve the roses. Since Chai Jin was not here today, he decided to give Chai Jin a proper tour of Chai Manor!

Chai Manor was indeed large, but Chai Jin owned more than just one manor. He also had two other manors in the east and west of the city, as well as dozens of shops in Cangzhou City, including restaurants, cloth shops, porcelain shops, jewelry shops, inns, freight companies, and so on. In addition, he also owned many mountains and forests and tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. It can be said that Chai Jin's assets accounted for a full half of Cangzhou!

As evening fell, Chai Jin returned to Chai Manor, accompanied by a woman.

Chai Jin smiled and said, "Brother, this is Wang Lun's cousin, Qiangwei!"

The rose lowered its head, not daring to look at Song Jiang!

Song Jiang laughed and said, "Your cousin Wang Lun is having a great time with me right now, but sometimes he looks down and grieves under the bright moon!"

Rose raised her head, her eyes filled with sorrow and tears!

Song Jiang glanced at Qiangwei. While not exactly a beauty, she was still a girl from a modest family. Although there were tattoos on her face, they couldn't completely obscure her beauty. Her complexion wasn't great, but she hadn't suffered any inhuman abuse. Presumably, Chai Jin had given instructions, so naturally no one in the prison would make things difficult for her!

The tattoo wasn't a problem, since he himself had a tattoo on his face in the original story, but with An Daoquan around, he could completely resolve it!

Thinking of An Daoquan, Song Jiang also felt that he should hurry up and send him up the mountain, otherwise it would be too unreasonable for such a large Liangshan to not have a single divine doctor!

Of course, An Daoquan was not the only famous doctor of our time. Kong Hou from Shandong was a direct descendant of Confucius and was also a medical master. Naturally, we had to send people to find him!

The woman before him was also a strong and unyielding person, which Song Jiang appreciated.

Seeing that tears were about to fall from her eyes, it was clear that she had suffered far too many injustices and that fate had repeatedly played tricks on her. She had endured far too much at her age that she should not have had to bear!

Song Jiang said amiably, "Save your tears for when you're crying tears of joy!"

Rose fought back her tears and whispered, "Is he alright?"

Song Jiang laughed and said, "He can eat and sleep well, except for missing you. You'll see for yourself when you see him, and you'll know I'm not exaggerating!"

Rose relaxed, and a look of surprise appeared on her face!

Chai Jin instructed, "Take Miss Qiangwei to a superior room to wash up, then arrange for her to have a meal delivered to her room. She must not be disturbed tonight!"

Song Jiang bowed and said, "Thank you for your help, sir!"

Chai Jin returned the greeting, saying, "Your brother's affairs are my affairs; there's no need for such formalities!"

That night, Chai Jin arranged for his servants to prepare a banquet to entertain Song Jiang. The group drank all night and did not rest until dawn!

The next day, Song Jiang and his men came to say goodbye, and Chai Jin was reluctant to part with them!

Song Jiang, holding Chai Jin's arm, said, "My lord, please hear me out. I have to keep my promise to Master Luo. Once I return from Erxian Mountain, I will certainly come to bother you!"

Chai Jin laughed and said, "I'm waiting for you, brother!"

Song Jiang nodded and said, "There's something I'd like to ask for your help, Master Chai!"

Chai Jin said directly, "Brother, you're being too polite again!"

Song Jiang laughed and said, "I'd like to buy a large ship from you, sir, so that we can sail straight down the Yellow River to Shandong on our way back!"

Chai Jin laughed and said, "What's so difficult about that? Brother, you're saying something disloyal. What do you need me to buy?"

Song Jiang hesitated for a moment before saying, "I hope you will take good care of Miss Qiangwei. I will take her to Shandong when I return!"

Chai Jin said, "Brother, don't worry, she's with me, no one will dare to ask her anything!" Then he said to the person beside him, "Bring her up!"

Then a servant came up carrying a plate of garlic strips!

Chai Jin smiled and said, "One hundred taels of gold, brother, just in case!"

Just as Song Jiang was about to decline, Chai Jin said seriously, "Brother, do you not acknowledge Chai Jin as your brother?"

When Song Jiang heard Chai Jin speak in such a tone, as if he had given gold and silver to others before, he could only smile wryly and accept it!

It was getting late, so after bidding farewell to Chai Jin, Song Jiang and his group continued northward, while Chai Jin returned to Chai Manor to await Song Jiang's return!