Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

When Gao Lian saw the Liangshan men rushing in, he showed no panic whatsoever. Instead, he sneered and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

"Hmph, these bandits dare to attack my Gaotang Prefecture!" Gao Lian shouted, then gave the signal, "Close the city gates! I'll make sure they never return!"

He quickly turned and went back into the mansion. A short while later, he emerged, dressed in a Taoist robe and with disheveled hair. In his hand, he gripped a gleaming sword, its blade flashing with an eerie light.

Gao Lian stood atop the city wall, muttering incantations, and the surrounding air seemed to grow heavy. Suddenly, a fierce wind arose, sand and stones flew, and darkness descended upon the land. The Liangshan soldiers were caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events.

Gao Lian began to wield his sword, its movements sharp and fierce, as if communicating with an unseen force. He uttered strange syllables, his voice growing louder and more urgent.

As he cast his spell, large patches of dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky, pressing down so heavily that it was hard to breathe. Then, streaks of lightning flashed through the clouds, accompanied by deafening thunder.

Some of the horses in the Liangshan army were frightened and began to run wildly. The soldiers' formation also became chaotic.

Upon seeing this, Gao Lian revealed a ferocious smile. He increased the output of his magic power, spewing out a cloud of black smoke. This smoke quickly spread, and any Liangshan soldiers who came into contact with it immediately felt dizzy and weak in their limbs.

"Hahahaha, today is your death day!" Gao Lian laughed wildly, pointing his sword at the Liangshan army, as if he held the power of life and death in his hands.

At this critical moment, Wu Yong stepped forward and shouted, "Brothers, don't panic! This demon must have a weakness!"

Encouraged by Wu Yong, the Liangshan army gradually stabilized their position and prepared to deal with Gao Lian's magical attacks.

Seeing that the Liangshan army had regained their footing, Gao Lian's face darkened and he roared, "Child's play? Hmph, today I'll show you what's really what!"

He gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands, his chanting increasing speed and his voice growing sharper and more piercing. As he cast his spell, the power of the Netherworld Soul Devouring Array was fully unleashed.

In an instant, the entire city of Gaotang seemed to be shrouded in a dark mist, and a sinister and terrifying atmosphere permeated the air. Gusts of cold wind howled past, carrying with them the cries of countless wronged souls, sending chills down one's spine.

Suddenly, in the previously gloomy sky, grotesque ghost faces appeared, their claws outstretched, as they lunged at the Liangshan army. A chill ran through the Liangshan soldiers, and fear began to spread through the ranks.

The sword in Gao Lian's hand emitted a faint blue light, and wherever the light touched, the earth began to crack, billowing black smoke. This black smoke quickly condensed into black chains, which coiled around the Liangshan soldiers like serpents. Once entangled by the chains, the soldiers fell to the ground in agony, writhing as if their souls were being ripped away.

Many eerie phantoms appeared on the battlefield, some were gigantic demons, others were terrifying monsters, emitting chilling roars that assaulted the Liangshan army's morale. Many soldiers were so frightened that they stood frozen in place, losing their will to fight.

Even more terrifying, the ground began to tremble violently, and muffled roars came from the depths of the earth. Then, countless sharp bone spikes pierced through the ground, and many Liangshan soldiers were unable to dodge in time, their bodies pierced and blood splattering everywhere.

At this moment, the Liangshan army was in extreme danger, with casualties constantly increasing. But in this life-or-death situation, Song Jiang, Wu Yong, and others remained calm and tried their best to direct the soldiers to resist this vicious magic.

"Brothers, don't be afraid! Maintain formation and support each other!" Song Jiang shouted loudly, boosting morale.

However, the power of the Netherworld Soul Devouring Formation was simply too great, making the Liangshan army's resistance increasingly difficult and the situation increasingly critical.

Under the onslaught of Gao Lian's vicious magic, the Liangshan army was in dire straits. Wu Yong frowned, racking his brains for a solution. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him; he remembered hearing that black dog blood and virgin boy urine could break evil spells.

Wu Yong acted decisively and shouted, "Brothers, quickly go into the city and search for black dog blood and boy's urine!"

Upon receiving the order, the Liangshan heroes immediately dispersed and searched the chaotic city.

Lu Zhishen led a group of men into a farmer's house and shouted, "Fellow villager, do you have a black dog?" The farmer trembled with fear and stammered, "Hero, there is one in the backyard." Without saying a word, Lu Zhishen led his men straight to the backyard, caught the black dog, and bled it into a container.

Wu Song led another group of people, running through the streets and alleys shouting, "Does anyone have a child? Come out quickly!" When some people heard that it was to fight against Gao Lian's magic, they took the initiative to bring their children.

Shi Qian moved nimbly between the houses, rummaging through boxes and cabinets to find places where black dog blood and children's urine might be stored.

Li Kui had a fiery temper. Seeing a wealthy family with their doors tightly shut and unwilling to cooperate, he kicked the door open, rushed in, and shouted, "Hand over the black dog's blood and the boy's urine right now, or my axe won't discriminate!" The wealthy family was so frightened that they quickly had someone bring out their stock.

The search was fraught with hardship and setbacks. Some locals were afraid and unwilling to help; some places were occupied by enemy forces and required a battle to capture. But the Liangshan heroes did not back down and tried every means to complete their mission.

Finally, after a difficult search, everyone had made some progress and returned to the meeting point.

Wu Yong looked at the collected black dog blood and boy's urine, a determined light flashing in his eyes.

He shouted, "Brothers, our fate rests on this!"

Immediately, Wu Yong instructed everyone to mix the black dog's blood and the boy's urine together to create "water to ward off evil."

Then, he personally led a group of men to rush towards where Gao Lian was.

Gao Lian was currently basking in the power of his magic, feeling quite pleased with himself.

After Wu Yong and the others approached, they vigorously splashed the "water to ward off evil" at Gao Lian.

The "water of exorcism" formed an arc in the air and accurately sprinkled onto Gao Lian and his magic array.

Instantly, the once dazzling light of the spell dimmed, the eerie aura began to dissipate, the ghostly faces and phantoms in the sky gradually disappeared, the bone spikes on the ground stopped growing, and the black chains turned into black smoke and dissipated.

Gao Lian was shocked. He hadn't expected his spell to be broken, and he muttered, "How is this possible..."

Seeing this, the Liangshan army's morale soared, and they charged towards the enemy with shouts of battle.

Wu Yong shouted loudly, "Brothers, let's take Gaotang Prefecture in one fell swoop!"

With everyone's valiant fighting, the situation gradually turned around, and the Liangshan army began to gain the upper hand.

Gao Lian was shocked. He hadn't expected his spell to be broken, and he muttered, "How is this possible..."

Seeing this, the Liangshan army's morale soared, and they charged towards the enemy with shouts of battle.

Seeing the situation was bad, Gao Lian rode away on his horse, while Gao Kehe pulled Gao Yanei along. Yin Tianxi was still standing there in a daze, asking, "What's going on?"

Gao Ke said urgently, "Young Master Yin, let's leave quickly! Wu Yong has broken the magic formation. If we don't leave now, we'll lose our heads!"

Yin Tianxi said, "Isn't Lord Gao's magic very powerful? How come it's not working now?"

Gao Ke said irritably, "What a load of rubbish! If you keep babbling, we're all going to die here!"

Yin Tianxi finally came to his senses and ran away with them in a panic.

After the Liangshan heroes successfully defeated Gao Lian, they opened the prison in Gaotang Prefecture. The moment the prison doors opened, a putrid stench wafted out, and the poor people inside were all emaciated and haggard.

"Fellow villagers, you are free!" the Liangshan heroes shouted.

The people were stunned at first, then their eyes lit up with joy, and they poured out of the prison, moved to tears by the gratitude of the Liangshan heroes.

At this moment, Wu Yong ordered, "Distribute the silver seized from Gao Lian’s residence to these suffering people as a form of comfort."

The Liangshan brothers acted swiftly, delivering packets of silver to the people.

"Thank you so much, heroes of Liangshan, for saving our lives!" The people's words of gratitude rose and fell.

After dealing with these matters, Wu Yong directed everyone to form a team and prepare to leave Gaotang Prefecture.

"Brothers, we will not commit any offenses and will withdraw from Gaotang Prefecture!" Wu Yong shouted.

The Liangshan army withdrew from Gaotang Prefecture in an orderly manner, and the people along the way lined the road to see them off.

On the city wall, Gao Lian watched the Liangshan army's departing figures with a burning hatred in his eyes.

"If I don't avenge this, I, Gao Lian, swear I'm not a man!" Gao Lian clenched his fists, his eyes filled with hatred.

He turned to Gao Ke and said, "You all go back to the capital first. I'm going to find my senior brother and ask him to come out of seclusion and help me."

Gao Ke said worriedly, "Uncle, the journey is long, and I don't know if your senior brother is willing to help."

Gao Lian snorted coldly: "My senior brother and I have a deep friendship, and he is highly skilled in magic. He will definitely not sit idly by. I will persuade him and make Song Jiang and the others pay!"

Having said that, Gao Lian disregarded Gao Ke's advice and resolutely embarked on the journey to find his brother.

After a long and arduous journey of several days, Gao Lian finally arrived at a place called Qingyun Mountain. The mountain soared into the clouds, shrouded in mist, exuding an air of mystery. On the mountain stood a Taoist temple called Qingfeng Temple.

Gao Lian climbed the rugged mountain path with difficulty and finally arrived at the gate of Qingfeng Temple. The gate was tightly closed, so he knocked on it anxiously.

A moment later, a young Taoist boy opened the door and looked him up and down: "Who goes there? How dare you disturb the peace of my Taoist temple?"

Gao Lian hurriedly said, "Young Taoist, I am Gao Lian, the junior brother of your abbot. I have urgent business to discuss with you."

After hearing this, the young Taoist told him to wait a moment and then went inside to report.

Before long, the young Taoist boy came out and led Gao Lian into the temple.

The temple was quiet and serene, with wisps of incense smoke rising from it. Gao Lian finally met his senior brother, Daoist Xuanfeng, who was meditating and cultivating.

Master Xuanfeng slowly opened his eyes, looked at the disheveled Gao Lian, and asked in surprise, "Junior brother, how did you end up like this?"

Gao Lian hurriedly stepped forward and told Master Xuanfeng about his experience in Gaotang Prefecture in detail, and even embellished the story of the Liangshan people's "evil deeds".

"Senior brother, you must come down from the mountain to help me. If I don't avenge this, I will have no face to return to Gaotang Prefecture." Gao Lian said, tears streaming down his face.

Master Xuanfeng frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "Junior brother, cultivators should not get involved in worldly disputes, but out of consideration for our friendship, I will go with you. However, if the Liangshan people are not as wicked as you say, this matter needs to be discussed more carefully."

Gao Lian nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, senior brother, they are definitely a group of lawless bandits."

So, Master Xuanfeng packed his bags and went down the mountain with Gao Lian, ready to settle accounts with the Liangshan bandits.