Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

With a single stroke, he beheaded Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang.

Ren Yuan did not hesitate at all. This kind of beast who sells human flesh buns does not deserve to be called a human being.

"Brother, what should we do with these people?"

Shi Qian pointed to the men who were tied up.

“They’re all accomplices. Knock them unconscious, sever their Achilles tendons, and throw them out into the woods to fend for themselves.”

Ren Yuan ignored the men and turned to look at the curtain.

"Shi Qian, would you dare to come inside with me and take a look?"

Shi Qian knew, of course, that behind that door was where the two ruthless shop owners killed and butchered people, so he could naturally guess what was inside.

"What's there to be afraid of? Follow my brother, and Shi Qian will dare to brave even the eighteenth level of hell!"

"Brothers!"

Ren Yuan nodded, used his broadsword to lift the curtain, and stepped into the door first.

Shi Qian followed closely behind and found that behind the curtain was a very ordinary courtyard with firewood and water vats piled up, but nothing else.

"Brother, there's probably some secret passage. We should look for it."

Shi Qian was quite sensitive to this kind of setup, because as a master thief, he had encountered it more than once.

"try to find!"

Ren Yuan had just heard Zhang Qing and his wife say that two other people had also been arrested this morning, and if they weren't found soon, those two people might have met with terrible fate.

The two of them carefully observed the courtyard, and soon Shi Qian noticed something was wrong!

"Brother, over here!"

Shi Qian moved a wine jar aside and pointed to a large blue stone slab on the ground.

Ren Yuan used his strength to lift the stone slab, revealing a dark hole from which a foul stench emanated.

"There really was a secret passage!"

Ren Yuan didn't waste any words and prepared to go down, but Shi Qian was faster and got down before him.

"Brother, don't rush, let me go scout ahead first!"

Shi Qian dared not let Ren Yuan go down first, otherwise if something happened, it would be troublesome.

The two went down the passage and found a secret room with torches on both sides for lighting.

What does this secret room look like?

Ren Yuan and Shi Qian can both swear that they will never forget this in their lifetime.

The horrific scene was so appalling that it sent chills down one's spine and left one speechless; the shock and terror in one's heart were simply indescribable.

The first thing that caught their eye was the dozen or so human heads hanging from the ceiling beam, each with a different expression. From a distance, they appeared to be both men and women, a truly horrifying sight. Below the heads were five or seven human skins, casually spread out and pasted onto the earthen wall, much like wallpaper in later times.

Looking deeper inside, there were many bones, stripped of their muscle, piled up in the corner. Judging by their length, they were clearly bones from the human limbs.

The wooden basins next to the pile of bones were filled with blood, which looked reddish and greasy under the firelight, and were quite creepy.

There was a row of hooks on the wall with five or seven human legs hanging from them, dangling precariously in mid-air. In the far corner, there were forty or fifty large wooden barrels, filled to the brim with some unknown substance, emitting a pungent, fishy smell!

The entire sealed room was filled with murky air, and even Ren Yuan felt an overwhelming sense of nausea after a while.

"Brother! He's here!"

Shi Qian covered his mouth and nose with one hand and pointed to a direction in the secret room with the other.

Ren Yuan strode forward and discovered two skinning benches deep inside the secret room, with two people tightly bound to them by iron chains.

At this moment, the two seemed to have woken up. Seeing this scene, which resembled the eighteenth level of hell, they knew that they were doomed.

Therefore, upon hearing Ren Yuan and Shi Qian's voices, the two immediately began to curse:

"Kill me if you want! Eighteen years from now, I'll still be a hero!"

"Yes, you'd better give me a quick death, or if I'm lucky enough to survive, I'll haunt you to the ends of the earth!"

"You two! You've got the wrong people! My brother was almost harmed by this shady establishment. He killed some thieves upstairs and is here to rescue you!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Qian realized that although the two people's voices were a little weak, they were still in good spirits and should be fine, so he spoke with a bit of a joke.

"Don't panic, you two. My name is Ren Yuan. My friends in the martial arts world have given me the nickname 'Optimus Prime.' The two thieves in this shop, Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang, have already been executed on the spot. Before they died, they heard that you two had been attacked. Fortunately, you are out of danger. I will rescue you right away!"

Ren Yuan stopped Shi Qian from playing around, and then together they searched for the key, unlocked the chains, and released the two men.

The two men were somewhat stunned. They had thought they were surely going to die, which was why they were so determined to perish and cursing the thieves. Unexpectedly, things took a dramatic turn for the better; they had narrowly escaped death and miraculously returned to life!

Moreover, they had heard of Ren Yuan's name in the martial arts world, so they figured they were safe.

"Gentlemen, are you still able to walk?"

Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang were particularly cautious, binding the man tightly with iron chains. After untying the chains, they kept rubbing their hands and feet together.

"It's nothing, it's just that we don't know where our weapons and luggage are. We hope you can help us find them."

Both men were tall. Ren Yuan glanced at them; although the lighting was poor and their hair was disheveled, making it difficult to discern their features, one of them was about his height, and the other was over eight feet tall.

No wonder Sun Erniang said before that with these two people and herself, the three of them could sell for more than half a month!

"Of course, Shi Qian, take these two heroes up first."

"Alright, please follow me."

Shi Qian led the two men to the secret room, while Ren Yuan carefully examined the entire room again to confirm that there were no other survivors or accomplices inside.

In a corner, he discovered the weapons of two men.

There were two snowflake-shaped ring knives and two wrought iron greatswords.

"Those two people, could they be..."

These two weapons are extremely rare in the entire Water Margin, and Ren Yuan immediately thought of two people.

If it really is these two people, then this rescue mission has been incredibly fruitful.

However, he didn't think too much about it and quickly prepared to go up, after all, this place was just too disgusting to stay in.

After Ren Yuan came out, Shi Qian and the two men were sitting on the ground.

Shi Qian probably brought some clean water, so the two of them could wash their faces and straighten their clothes.

Upon seeing Ren Yuan emerge carrying weapons, the two immediately stood up and kowtowed repeatedly to him.

"Sun An thanks you for saving my life!" (Sorry, Sun An never came here in the original story. It's a purely fictional plot I added to the book. So, for those who want to argue, your claims that Guang Hui died and Sun An ran away in the original story are illogical and don't hold true, because the original characters never came. This is just a plot I added. It's illogical to compare a purely fictional, fan-made plot with the actual plot of the original story.)

"Guanghui is deeply grateful to our benefactor for saving his life!"

"What are you two doing? Please rise!"

Ren Yuan quickly put down his weapon and prepared to reach out to help, but the two men were very fast and kowtowed nine times in one go.

"We're all men of the martial world, and the most important thing is loyalty. This shady inn is robbing us of our money and taking lives, how can I stand by and do nothing? You two, please get up quickly. Don't call me 'benefactor,' it sounds too formal. We're all heroes of the martial world, just call me 'brother.'"

Ren Yuan gestured for the two to get up quickly, as he disliked this kneeling.

"I've long heard that Optimus Prime Ren Yuan is unparalleled in loyalty and righteousness, and his fame is known throughout the world. Seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved. I, Sun An, only regret that I didn't get to know you sooner, brother."

The man speaking was nine feet tall, with a waist eight spans wide, quite shrewd in strategy, and possessed extraordinary strength. Now that his hair was tied up, he looked quite distinguished!

"Could it be Sun An, the Dragon Slayer of Jingyuan? I've long heard of his name, but alas, I've never had the chance to meet him!"

Ren Yuan was overjoyed. It was indeed Sun An, who was capable of fighting on par with his second senior brother Lu Junyi. He was definitely the pinnacle of martial arts.

Although his martial arts skills are not bad now, among the people he has fought so far, only Yuan Lang is a general-level fighter, so Ren Yuan is not quite sure what level his martial arts strength should be.

Although the battle with Yuan Lang can provide a general reference.

Winning against Yuan Lang is not a problem for me, but if I face my second senior brother Lu Junyi, whom I have not yet met, can we achieve a draw if he does not hold back?

That's hard to say.

"Brother, have you heard of me?"

Sun An was somewhat surprised, as he wasn't actually that famous in his hometown. That's why he went out with his friend this time, hoping to make a name for himself.

“Brother Sun An, you don’t understand. Although my brother looks like a fierce general, he is actually skilled in both literature and martial arts. Moreover, he is eager to find talented people. Ever since we established the Liangshan base, he has kept all the famous figures in the world in his heart!”

Shi Qian had just noticed the extraordinary nature of these two people and also saw the joy and recruitment intent in Ren Yuan's eyes, so he naturally wanted to come and add fuel to the fire.

"The grace of saving my life is like giving me a second life. If you don't mind, brother, my life is yours from now on! I will do whatever you want with me without hesitation!"

Sun An was a very loyal man, and upon hearing this, he immediately pledged his allegiance to them.

Originally, he planned to try his luck at Tian Hu's place in Hedong, but he almost died. Now that Ren Yuan has saved him, it is only natural for him to seek refuge with him.

Although he hadn't heard much about Liangshan, the name of Ren Yuan, the pillar of heaven, was far superior to that of Tian Hu!

Sun An came from a wealthy family and had received an education, so he naturally understood the principle that a good bird chooses a good tree to perch on.

"Alright, alright, good brother! You come with me to take care of some things first, and then we'll go back to the mountain!"

Ren Yuan handed the two iron swords to Sun An, his face beaming with excitement.

"Brother, I had planned to go to Hebei with you this time, but now..."

After receiving the iron sword, Sun An first clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ren Yuan, and then spoke apologetically to the other man beside him.

"It's alright, it's nothing serious."

This man was dressed as a Buddhist monk, about eight feet tall, with an iron ruler on his face and a string of 108 human skull beads on his chest.

After he was rescued, for some reason, he didn't say much except to thank Ren Yuan.

"Is this master the Double-Sword Monk Guanghui from the Shaolin Pingfengling Branch?"

Ren Yuan thought for a moment and broke the deadlock.

"My benefactor also knows me?"

Guanghui looked up in surprise; his reputation in the martial arts world wasn't exactly stellar.

Ever since he learned the Double Precept Sword Technique from the main branch of Shaolin Temple, Guanghui has always had a competitive and ruthless mindset. Moreover, he is strict by nature and practices the path of killing, so he does not strictly follow the Buddhist precepts. He has been wandering in the martial arts world for many years, and his reputation is mixed.

He wore a rosary made of 108 human bones, but these rosaries, like his monk's knife, were treasures of Shaolin Temple. They were made by Shaolin elders using the skulls of 108 heinous criminals and were kept in the Shaolin Temple to deter criminals from committing crimes. It's not that he, Guanghui, killed 108 people and made the rosary, although many evil people did die under his pair of monk's knives.

He killed people, drank alcohol, and ate meat, and did not abide by Buddhist precepts. However, when he became a disciple, he learned the way of killing, which was not a legitimate Buddhist practice. Naturally, he was regarded as a monk who did not abide by the rules and precepts.

That's why he's dressed like a monk now, with his hair still on, because he feels he's not even worthy of wearing a robe.

As for traveling with his friend Sun An this time, it was because he felt that his reputation was bad, and if he stayed in the temple, he would only tarnish the temple's reputation, so he decided to go to Tian Hu's place to try his luck.

At this moment, after being rescued, Guanghui was actually thinking about many, many things.

He even wondered if it would have been better if he had just died.

“Master, killing is for the purpose of protecting life, and cutting off karma is not the same as killing people. After this ordeal, you should have a clearer understanding of your own path.”

Looking at Guanghui's expression, Ren Yuan roughly guessed what was going on. He returned the ring knife to Guanghui first, and then slowly spoke.

After all, based on some historical records, Guanghui was indeed somewhat unstable in temperament, and his reputation was both good and bad.

But that makes sense. Anyone who spends every day with the human bone rosary and the snowflake ring knife, two treasures full of killing intent, would have an unstable mind.

Most people would probably have gone mad under the influence of these two treasures associated with killing. Guanghui's ability to remain clear-headed also demonstrates his profound understanding of Buddhist teachings.

Therefore, Ren Yuan used later generations' evaluations of the path of killing to enlighten him.

"Killing is for the sake of protecting life; cutting off karma is not the same as killing a person..."

Upon hearing this, Guanghui was struck dumb, completely stunned, and kept repeating the same thing to herself.

“Yes, Master, look, Zhang Qing and Sun Erniang have committed countless evil deeds and killed many people. If we kill them, won’t we stop their evil deeds? In this way, other good people will receive blessings. Isn’t this an act of protecting all living beings?”

Ren Yuan didn't care whether what he said was right or wrong. Anyway, Guanghui the Monk was probably having an internal struggle right now, so he might as well say it.

"That's it! That's it!"

After hearing Ren Yuan's words, Guang Hui's eyes suddenly lit up. He seemed to have realized something, and his entire demeanor underwent a mysterious change!

The snowflake-patterned iron ring knife in his hand couldn't help but emit a joyful clang at this moment, and the human bone rosary around his neck seemed to tremble incessantly!

Sun An and Shi Qian were both somewhat surprised by this supernatural phenomenon, while only Ren Yuan remained calm.

After all, he himself is a time traveler, so this can be considered a supernatural event!

Of course, having lived in this world for so long, Ren Yuan was certain that this was a normal parallel universe of the Northern Song Dynasty, and there would be no fantasy or martial arts elements.

Such phenomena that science cannot explain can simply be called theology.

"Congratulations on your enlightenment, Master! You have made another step forward."

After a while, the miraculous phenomenon on Guanghui's body ended, and his entire demeanor suddenly underwent a dramatic change.

If Ren Yuan and the others hadn't been watching him closely, they might have thought it wasn't the same person.

Therefore, Ren Yuan congratulated him first.

This is the only explanation now, isn't it?

"Brother, what's wrong...?"

Sun An was a little puzzled. Had his elder brother really... achieved enlightenment? Was Buddhism really that miraculous?

"Yes, thank you for your guidance, my benefactor. I have understood."

After his enlightenment, Guanghui not only lost his previous murderous aura, but also became somewhat kind and benevolent.

"From now on, there will be no more Double-Knife Ascetic in the world, only one ascetic who protects all beings. The world is dark, and all beings have suffered for too long. From this day forward, my Buddhist edict will be free of bloodstains and murderous thoughts. If asked about my crimes, I will not defend myself. If asked about my whereabouts, I will not seek refuge. May all Buddhas be above, and may this disciple, Guanghui, use this extremely evil form of an Asura to reveal the pure value of all good."

After Guanghui finished speaking, everyone felt a gust of wind blow past them, and they seemed to faintly hear a sound in the wind:

"good."

"My God... Is there really a Buddha in this world?"

Shi Qian was dumbfounded. Was this for real? He had never seen anything like it in all his years of life.

"Hahaha. Brother Shiqian, if you have Buddha in your heart, you will find Buddha everywhere."

When Guanghui opened his eyes again, he was in a very friendly state. He smiled and joked with Shi Qian, then said to Ren Yuan:

"My benefactor, I wonder if Liangshan Mountain can accommodate a humble ascetic like myself?"

Ren Yuan listened and nodded with a smile:

"Master, you have attained the Arhatship of killing today. If you are willing to come to my Liangshan, Liangshan will be honored."

"Hahaha, my benefactor is too attached to appearances. Guanghui is still the same Guanghui. As for his spiritual attainment, I will know when I see the Buddha."

Guanghui also burst into laughter. At this moment in Shizipo, this controversial double-knife monk was reborn!

After that, there was no more Double-Sword Monk! Only one Liangshan ascetic!