Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"hiss……"

Zhang Bofen slowly woke up, trying hard to open his heavy eyelids. He felt his mouth was dry and his back was burning.

Once, twice...

He tried twice but failed to open his eyes. It wasn't until the third time that he finally succeeded.

What came into view was a wooden cage, a clear blue sky, white clouds drifting slowly across the sky, and a strong smell of moisture in the air.

Water vapor?

Could it be me?

Zhang Bofeng struggled to grab onto the piece of wood beside him, trying his best to stand up.

Only when he raised his hand did he realize that his hands and feet were locked in chains!

what happened?

In his memory, he was still fighting that big black guy with an axe in the valley, and then he got shot in the back. How come...

"Oh? Young Master's awake? Young people can sleep quite a bit!"

Just as Zhang Bofen was trying to recall what had happened to him, a rather frivolous voice suddenly rang out. Zhang Bofen looked closely and saw a man with a pockmarked face, bright eyes, short light yellow beard on his cheeks, and dressed in a general's uniform, smiling at him.

"You, who are you!"

Zhang Bofen was startled; he hadn't seen this person before!

"Oh, young master, you've already brought men here to attack us, and now you're asking me who I am? Do you think that's appropriate?"

Ruan Xiaoqi looked at Zhang Bofen and shook her head slightly. If it weren't for her brother's military orders, this eldest son of the Zhang family would have been beheaded long ago. How could he possibly be on Ruan Xiaoqi's ship?

"You're a bandit from Liangshan too!"

"Wrong, I am a member of the Liangshan Army, not some Liangshan bandit."

"Hmph, utter nonsense! There is only the imperial army in the world! Where did this Liangshan army come from! Traitors are traitors!"

Zhang Bofen gripped the cage tightly with both hands and shouted at Ruan Xiaoqi.

"Oh dear, save your breath. What kind of person is your Emperor Zhao? Not only did he seize the throne illegitimately, but the country is in complete chaos under his rule. And he still has the nerve to lick his boots and call himself the legitimate ruler?"

Ruan Xiaoqi showed no respect whatsoever to the Zhao official.

"Traitor! Traitor! If you have the guts to let me out, I'll fight you to the death..."

Hearing Ruan Xiaoqi's disrespect for Zhao Ji, Zhang Bofen was very agitated. He immediately said, "If you have the guts, let him go out and fight me one-on-one!"

"Let you out?"

Ruan Xiaoqi looked at Zhang Bofen as if he were an idiot.

"Get your facts straight. You're nothing more than a prisoner of Liangshan. What are you yelling about?"

"Besides, since Brother Mi Sheng captured you, my only responsibility is to escort you back to the mountain. Who has time to release you?"

Ruan Xiaoqi said, "Can you please not be so outrageous?"

Do you still want to be released?

Who told you you could be released?

Zhang Bofen felt aggrieved after being rebuked by Ruan Xiaoqi, but he didn't know what to say.

"Second brother, yes, where's my second brother?!"

Zhang Bofen suddenly remembered that if he were arrested, what about his second brother? Where was his second brother?

"Your second brother? The one over there, right?"

Ruan Xiaoqi pointed to the opposite side, and Zhang Bofen looked up and saw that there was indeed another cage on the other side.

There was indeed someone lying inside that cage! But he wasn't moving at all!

"Second brother! Second brother! What have you done to my second brother?!"

Zhang Bofen was furious. Could it be that his second brother had died at the hands of Liangshan?

In his excitement, he pounded on the cage!

"Traitors! Traitors! If my second brother dies, I will fight you to the death!"

What are you yelling about?

Ruan Xiaoqi kicked the cage hard, trying to quiet Zhang Bofen down.

"Your second brother also fainted, but he's not dead! If you don't believe me, I'll wake him up for you!"

Ruan Xiaoqi rolled his eyes at Zhang Bofen. Although he found Zhang Bofen's loud and boisterous manner quite annoying, seeing how much he cared about his younger brother, Ruan Xiaoqi developed a slight liking for him.

After all, the three Nguyen brothers had a particularly good relationship.

Ruan Xiaoqi took a whistle stick, walked to another cage, and poked Zhang Zhongxiong through the gap with the stick.

Hmm... no response.

Ruan Xiaoqi continued to poke Zhang Zhongxiong with her whistle stick. Seeing that Zhang Zhongxiong still hadn't reacted, Ruan Xiaoqi couldn't help but increase the force in her hand!

"Wake up! Stop pretending to be dead!"

This poke landed right on Zhang Zhongxiong's buttocks, instantly waking him up!

"Who stabbed me! Who stabbed me!"

Zhang Zhongxiong struggled to get up while clutching his buttocks; similarly, his hands and feet were also bound by chains.

"Where...where am I?"

Zhang Zhongxiong was also bewildered. His memory was stuck on the moment when the tower's shadow, as large as a small mountain, enveloped him. He didn't quite remember what happened after that.

It seemed, as if, that the giant swung both hands at the same time, slapping his head from both sides simultaneously!

Yes! That's it! Two ghosts knocking on the door! And then he fainted!

"Then, what about that giant..."

Zhang Zhongxiong was still quite traumatized. He realized he had been arrested, but he still wanted to ask about the situation at the iron tower.

"A giant? You mean the one who captured you? He's not here. Oh, right, that looks like your brother. He's quite worried about you."

Of course, Ruan Xiaoqi wouldn't tell Zhang Zhongxiong and Tieta about their current situation, as that was Liangshan's next move.

But he wouldn't mind letting the Zhang brothers meet.

"Big brother! Big brother! I almost didn't get to see you again!"

Zhang Zhongxiong also saw his elder brother, who was also locked in a cage. He rushed to the edge of the cage, stuck his hand out through the gap, and shouted at his elder brother!

"Second brother! Be a man! Don't cry! We, the sons of the Zhang family, shed blood but not tears!"

Seeing that his second brother was alright, Zhang Bofen breathed a sigh of relief and then began to comfort Zhang Zhongxiong.

"Don't worry, Second Brother! Father and Privy Councilor Tong will definitely come to save us! We must live on!"

"Second brother! We absolutely cannot bow down to these traitors, understand?"

"Understood! Big Brother!"

Zhang Zhongxiong had actually considered surrendering, but now that his elder brother had said so, he could only bury the thought in his heart.

He was willing to surrender, but his older brother disagreed!

"You two are chatting? Men, move this Zhang Zhongxiong to the front!"

Ruan Xiaoqi was displeased. He thought to himself, "I did mean well by letting you two brothers meet in a sober state, but that's all. I didn't let you two chat in the cage, okay?"

And what are you talking about? If you look down on Liangshan, then don't chat on Liangshan's turf!

If you openly talk about not surrendering, what about my dignity, Ruan Xiaoqi?

The sailors on deck immediately came over and pushed the cage containing Zhang Zhongxiong away from Zhang Bofen.

"What are you doing! Where are you taking my second brother! Second brother! Second brother!"

When Zhang Bofen saw his younger brother being pushed away, he panicked and rushed to the edge of the cage, reaching out his hand to try and stop the Liangshan navy.

"Big brother! Big brother, save me! Big brother, save me!"

Zhang Zhongxiong didn't know where he would be pushed, so he was terrified and struggled to beg his older brother for help!

"Stop yelling! Your older brother is in prison himself, how can he save you?"

"And you, Zhang Bofen, I advise you to be sensible! Don't say anything inappropriate! Otherwise, I'll put your brother's cage in the water and drag it along. I don't know if he'll be alive when we get to Liangshan."

"you……"

"What?! If you say another word, I'll throw Zhang Zhongxiong down right now!"

Ruan Xiaoqi used Zhang Zhongxiong's safety to force Zhang Bofen to shut up. Zhang Bofen realized that Ruan Xiaoqi was not joking, so he stopped talking.

The two brothers were thus separated into two cages, one at the bow and the other at the stern, able to see each other but unable to communicate or touch.

They fell silent, and only then was Ruan Xiaoqi satisfied. He pulled up a chair, sat in the middle of the boat, and began to sing his favorite song loudly:

"Grandpa was born between heaven and earth! He fears neither the imperial court nor officials! He casts a net across the waters! Turtles and tortoises are trapped inside..."