The Hardest Thing to Bear: A Beauty's Favor on the Way Back to Yuncheng and Encounte

Chapter 86 The Hardest Thing to Bear: A Beauty's Favor on the Way Back to Yuncheng and Encountering a Powerful Man

On a green space in Shizipo, a tombstone is inscribed with four large characters: "Tomb of Yunlong".

Seeing Liu Huiniang's grief-stricken face, Song Jiang was speechless for a moment. Sometimes, one can only say that it is fate. Who would have thought that Yunlong would die at Shizipo before his ambitions were fulfilled?

Song Jiang gestured to Wu Song, Zhu Jing, and Guang Hui to go to the inn first, as there were still matters to be dealt with afterward.

After careful consideration yesterday, Guanghui also decided to go to Liangshan with Song Jiang. Guanghui's idea was that since he owed Song Jiang a debt of karma, he had to repay it. Going to Liangshan might not be a bad idea, especially since Song Jiang's words made him feel like he had found a kindred spirit.

Song Jiang naturally wouldn't let go of the money Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang had stolen. These two scoundrels had robbed them of over three thousand taels of silver, several hundred taels of gold, and a considerable amount of jewelry. Song Jiang didn't stand on ceremony and packed it all up and took it with him. At the same time, there were several knives in the shop, which Song Jiang also didn't leave behind. He found a cart and put all the gold, silver, jewelry, and knives on it. Then Wu Song found some kerosene and poured it inside and outside the shop, while Zhu Jing picked up a torch and threw it on the ground.

A raging fire instantly erupted and soon engulfed the sinful hotel. However, no matter how big the fire was, it could not burn away the sins within the hotel.

Song Jiang picked up two jars of wine and walked to the big tree.

He poured a jar of wine directly onto the ground and said, "Although we have never met, you can only blame the injustice of heaven for your fate. Rest in peace, everyone, I have avenged you."

Guanghui also recited a mantra for rebirth, hoping that the wronged souls here could find peace.

Wu Song poured the wine onto the tree and then lit the tree with a torch.

This tree must have been there for at least a thousand years to grow this big. It was a real shame to burn it down, but Song Jiang did it anyway.

The fire grew larger and larger, and the crackling sound made Song Jiang feel as if the tree was crying out in pain. But the sound was more like a release, a repentance for the innocent, and a contempt for the devil.

A wind picked up, and the leaves on the trees, instead of falling to the ground, spun in the air. This was simply a physical phenomenon, but Song Jiang faintly heard a "thank you" in the wind. Somewhat surprised, Song Jiang looked at Wu Song and the others, who were staring at the burning tree, completely unaware. Song Jiang shook his head and closed his eyes.

There are gods watching over us. He was originally a staunch atheist, but now that he had transmigrated, he felt that nothing was impossible. No matter what, as long as we maintain a sense of awe, gratitude, and kindness, and stay true to ourselves, we will not be let down by the world.

When Liu Huiniang saw this scene in front of Yunlong's tomb, a glimmer of light appeared in her eyes, but it quickly dimmed again.

The five of them walked along the road, and Song Jiang didn't say anything.

When leaving Shizipo, Song Jiang asked Liu Hui if she wanted to go back to find Liu Guang, since he had promised Yunlong to take Liu Hui to where she wanted to go. However, Liu Hui shook her head and refused. Thinking that Liu Hui's cousin Chen Liqing had always had a good relationship with her, it would be good for her to keep her company. Song Jiang then asked Liu Hui if she wanted to go to Chen Xizhen's place, but Liu Hui ignored him.

Song Jiang said with a wry smile, "Miss Liu, it's not very convenient for a weak woman like you to accompany us, a group of grown men."

Liu Huiniang remained silent at first, then sneered, "You wanted to kill me before, and now you're saying such things. Isn't that ridiculous?"

Liu Huiniang remained silent at first, then sneered, "You wanted to kill me before, and now you're saying such things. Isn't that ridiculous?"

Song Jiang was somewhat surprised. Liu Huiniang's personality was very different from that in the novel "The Story of the Bandits." The original Liu Huiniang was gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, resourceful and shrewd. Although she was gentle and refined, she was very cunning. The Liu Huiniang in front of him was quite different from the original. However, Song Jiang still smiled and said, "Miss Liu, you can't say such things. I never kill innocent people indiscriminately."

Liu Huiniang still sneered: "I don't know what I did to offend you, but I'm quite sure that apart from that time in Yunmeng Village, I've never seen you before. But do you think I didn't know about your murderous intent towards me in Dongchang Prefecture? Now that I'm all alone, it's a good opportunity to kill me."

Song Jiang remained silent, but his mind was in turmoil. Although the person in front of him had a different personality, she might have been affected by Yunlong's death. The one who hadn't changed was clearly the extremely intelligent person he was, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to sense his slight murderous intent.

If we let her go, Zhang Shuye and his group have their wisdom, and Liangshan's subsequent battles will indeed be much more difficult. But if we kill her directly, it's like a time traveler going back to Germany when Hitler was born and killing Hitler to stop World War II. But no matter how you look at it, the newborn Hitler was innocent. Should we pay the price for something that didn't happen?

Besides, I'm not necessarily worse than her, so what's there to be afraid of?

Thinking of this, Song Jiang felt a little self-deprecating. He might have been affected by something before, and felt a little panicked when he saw Liu Huiniang, but she was, after all, just a woman.

Song Jiang laughed and said, "I did have the intention of killing you at first, but we have no enmity between us, and you are not an irredeemable person, so why would I need to kill you?"

This time, it was Liu Huiniang who was surprised and asked, "But why did you kill me before? I saw that you were a chivalrous person, whether in Yunmeng Village or now after burning down this black shop."

Now that the matter was out in the open, Song Jiang stopped hiding his intentions and said, "Because you are too clever, so clever that you have become a threat to me."

Liu Huiniang frowned, her eyes shining, and said, "You actually harbor rebellious intentions."

19

As expected of a female strategist, she could see through Song Jiang's disloyal intentions so quickly. Ignoring Guang Hui's presence, she directly said, "Without your help, female strategist, Yun Tianbiao, Chen Xizhen, and Liu Guang are nothing but trash in my eyes. If it weren't for the difficulty of escaping after killing people in Dongchang Prefecture, you, your brother Liu Qi and Liu Lin, and your father Liu Guang would already be dead. I wouldn't have spared any of them."

Arrogant, extremely arrogant, but these words were indeed Song Jiang's true feelings. Without Liu Huiniang's ingenious plans and various advanced inventions, Yun Tianbiao and his men would really be nothing to fear.

While military generals are important for charging into battle, strategists are even more crucial. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun were formidable, but without Xu Shu, Liu Bei was constantly being sent on his way by Cao Cao. With Xu Shu, he was able to hold his own against Cao Cao. And with Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei laid the foundation for the Shu Han dynasty, standing shoulder to shoulder with Cao Cao and Sun Quan, thus dividing the world into three kingdoms!

There have been many wise men in history, but not as many as cabbages. If a military general can determine your lower limit, then a wise man can definitely raise your upper limit!

That's why Song Jiang always harbored the idea of ​​getting rid of Liu Huiniang!

Song Jiang's frank and straightforward words truly shocked Liu Huiniang. This man not only knew everything about the people around her, but he even knew her nickname, "Female Zhuge," which was only mentioned jokingly by family members and unknown to outsiders. Just what kind of person was he?

Song Jiang didn't know why he was being so high-profile today, completely different from his usual low-key approach. Before he transmigrated, he was a spirited and academically successful young man, but after transmigrating, he had to be careful in everything he did, for fear that one wrong move would lead to utter ruin.

However, this was not his true nature. Song Jiang was also a human being, with selfish desires and emotions. If he had a choice, he would rather abandon everything and return to his previous society, where he had friends and family. Unfortunately, he had no choice. It was better to let his emotions out today. Anyway, he had said it, so there was nothing to worry about.

Seeing that Liu Huiniang remained silent, Song Jiang smiled and said, "Miss Liu, I promised Yunlong I would never go back on my word. Wherever you want to go, I will still take you there."

Liu Huiniang paused for a moment, then asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone about what happened to you?"

Song Jiang laughed loudly: "A real man stands tall and upright, what is there to fear?"

Liu Huiniang didn't know what to say. Where did this man get the confidence to defy the imperial court? The Song Dynasty was currently powerful, and rebellion would mean certain death. But he was clearly not an impulsive person. What was he planning?

After thinking for a long time, Liu Huiniang smiled and asked, "Will you take me wherever I want to go?"

Song Jiang nodded and said, "But the next time we meet, we'll be enemies."

Liu Huiniang happily replied, "Take me to your place!"

"What?" This time it was Song Jiang's turn to be surprised, but he quickly suppressed his thoughts and secretly praised her, thinking that she was truly an extraordinary woman.

Liu Huiniang laughed and said, "What? You don't dare? Are you afraid I'll find out everything about your situation?"

Song Jiang said indifferently, "There's no need to use reverse psychology. I promised Yunlong that I would only be responsible for sending you off once. Once you leave my place, whether you live or die is none of my business. I will not be responsible for sending you to the place you want to go again. Whether you can leave or not is up to you."

Upon hearing Yunlong's name, Liu Huiniang's eyes dimmed for a moment, then she smiled and said, "Don't worry, you don't need to see me off."

After listening to the two men's conversation, Guanghui felt as if his heart was in turmoil. Song Jiang's words had a tremendous impact on him, and he really didn't know what to say.

Song Jiang glanced at Zhu Jing and smiled, "Master, Buddhism speaks of fate in everything. Our acquaintance is fate, so I will not hide anything from you. Everything I said before was true. Your coming and going is up to you. The road ahead is full of twists and turns. Even if you leave now, I will not blame you. If you think I am someone you can befriend, we can still be friends. If you think I am not someone you can befriend, then we can forget each other in the world and just pretend we never met."

Guanghui hesitated, "I, I..." and ultimately fell silent, unsure of what to say.

Song Jiang stepped forward, performed a Buddhist salute, and said, "Master, you may leave as you see fit; Song Jiang will not force you!"

Guanghui put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, this humble monk has long since transcended the Three Realms and is no longer bound by the Five Elements. However, I owe Benefactor Song a debt of gratitude for saving my life, which I must repay." At first, Song Jiang did not tell Guanghui anything else, but after listening to the conversation between Liu Huiniang and Song Jiang, Guanghui did not change his mind. This statement was enough to show Guanghui's stance!

Song Jiang clasped his hands together and said, "Don't mention saving my life again. Anyone else would have done the same!"

Guanghui thought for a moment and said, "These villains from Shizipo have been entrenched here for a long time, and I imagine they have more than one black shop. I plan to stay here for the time being and wipe out all these villains. Once this is over, I will definitely go to Yuncheng to find the clerk!"

Monks don't speak in riddles, and Song Jiang trusted Guanghui's chivalrous heart, so he didn't ask any more questions and put one hundred taels of silver in Guanghui's hand!

Guanghui wanted to refuse, but he couldn't go against Song Jiang's wishes, so he had to take it and was deeply moved!

Remembering that Zhang Qing and his wife did indeed run more than one shady inn in the original story—after Wu Song's bloody encounter at the Mandarin Duck Tower, he encountered another shady inn run by Zhang Qing and his wife, and nearly became mincemeat—Song Jiang said, "Master, please be careful on your journey!"

Guanghui smiled and said, "Please rest assured, benefactor. I was careless before and almost capsized in a ditch. This time I will be extremely careful!"

Song Jiang had previously asked Wu Song in secret who was better between him and Guang Hui. Wu Song did not hide anything and bluntly said, "If we were unarmed, I would definitely be better. But when it comes to weapons, I am still a bit inferior."

Having made up his mind, he knew that Guanghui's martial arts skills were definitely extraordinary, at least first-rate. He would definitely want to take such a master back to the mountain. Moreover, this monk had a heart for helping the world and took killing evil people and saving the innocent as his life's creed. Such a person was compassionate and righteous, but also too stubborn. Once he made up his mind, he would not easily change it.

The two bid farewell, and Guanghui, carrying his double-edged sword, continued northwest, while Song Jiang and the others pushed the cart toward Shandong!

After traveling for several hours, they arrived at a dense forest.

Song Jiang shook his head. Every time he walked into the dense forest before, something would be triggered. He wondered if anything would happen this time.

After walking a while longer, they heard sounds of fighting ahead. Song Jiang sighed, and sure enough...

Following the sounds of fighting, they found a woman and an old man lying on the ground, looking quite disheveled. A burly man was protecting them with a single-edged sword. He was fairly skilled, but because he had to focus on protecting the woman and the old man, he couldn't fully unleash his abilities. Another burly man was fighting fiercely in the crowd with an iron rod. Their opponents numbered more than twenty, including a leader who was also quite skilled in martial arts.

Judging from the situation, the two burly men, the old man, and the woman are a group. The old man and the woman are ordinary people with no fighting skills.

Judging from their clothes, the other side seemed to be bandits, and I don't know how they started fighting.

Before Song Jiang could speak, Liu Huiniang spoke first: "Mr. Song has always prioritized chivalry; surely you wouldn't refuse to help!"

Song Jiang glared at Liu Huiniang and said, "There's no need to provoke me."

After saying that, he turned to Wu Song and the other man and said, "Be careful."

Wu Song and Zhu Jing had long wanted to step forward, and as soon as Song Jiang finished speaking, they pounced on the crowd like cheetahs.

Liu Huiniang looked at Song Jiang and said, "Aren't you going to make a move?"

Song Jiang really wanted to say that he was, after all, the leader, and there was no reason for him to do everything personally. However, he still had to save face, especially in front of a beautiful woman. So he smiled and said, "You are a weak woman, powerless to even kill a chicken. You always need someone to protect you."

Liu Huiniang nodded with a half-smile, feigning sudden realization, and said, "Oh, I see..."

Seeing Liu Huiniang's expression, Song Jiang knew she didn't believe him, so he didn't say anything more and focused intently on watching Wu Song and the others fight.

Liu Huiniang smiled and focused intently on the battle.

The arrival of Wu Song and his companion instantly changed the course of the battle, which was already tilting to one side. The two of them were like tigers among sheep, and the twenty or thirty people were scattered in an instant.

The leader, who thought victory was within reach, was surprised to see two people causing trouble. Moreover, these two were far more formidable than the previous two. He shouted, "Stop! Who are you three? How dare you interfere in the affairs of Qingyun Mountain?"

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