Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"It's Zhu Mian's family doing this again!"

After hearing Pang Xiarong's account, "miracle doctor" An Daoquan was so angry that he coughed incessantly. He never expected that his old friend's descendant would be bullied like this by the Zhu family. Is the Zhu family deliberately going against them, the medical community?

“Nephew, here’s what I’m going to do. Although it’s a lawless place, I can still find refuge there, which is much better than you wandering the martial world… If you’re willing to come with me, I’ll take you as my last disciple and pass on my medical skills to you. What do you say…”

The "miracle doctor" An Daoquan was only helping out because of his past friendship with Pang Anshi, who was his old friend's son.

Another reason was his interest in Pang Xiarong's medical skills. Among the younger generation, his medical skills were indeed excellent, deserving the title of "outstanding". An Daoquan had tested him before and found that he was indeed insightful and capable of inheriting his mantle.

When the "miracle doctor" An Daoquan opened his clinic in Jiankang Prefecture, he did have a few apprentices. However, these guys only came because of An Daoquan's reputation. An Daoquan didn't like them and didn't teach any of them his real skills.

It's not that An Daoquan was narrow-minded, but that's how the master-disciple relationship was in feudal society. Masters wouldn't pass on their true skills until they were seventy, and disciples had to always be filial to their masters. If a disciple did pass on their true skills, the disciple would have to take care of the master in his old age and see him off in death, and would have to take care of him for the rest of his life. The status of the disciples was not equal.

Moreover, none of his disciples tried to save An Daoquan after his accident; they all fled. In ancient times, people valued the relationship between Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher. It's better to have disciples like that!

"Thank you for your kindness, Uncle. It's a pity that Pang Xiarong is penniless. I can only kowtow to you for now and hold a grand banquet another day to formally formalize my apprenticeship!"

In ancient times, when a master accepted a disciple, the disciple had to hold a grand banquet and perform a formal apprenticeship ceremony. If the ceremony was not performed properly, the master might refuse to accept the disciple at any time.

However, An Daoquan no longer cared about such things. He waved his hand and said, "What's the use of formalities? Even if you put the grand ceremony of becoming a disciple in the imperial palace, if you don't respect me as your master, it's all for naught... Just brew me a bowl of tea, kowtow to me, and call me 'Master'..."

An Daoquan no longer cared about formalities; after experiencing this brush with death, his mindset had changed drastically.

"My esteemed teacher, please accept my bow!"

After Pang Xiarong performed the formal apprenticeship ceremony, she followed the instructions of the "miracle doctor" An Daoquan to treat him. She worked for more than an hour and managed to treat all the wounds on An Daoquan's body.

Seeing that An Daoquan was out of immediate danger, Li Hanxiao asked Pang Xiarong to buy the medicine An Daoquan needed, and then they prepared to continue their journey.

Although Pang Xiarong was young, he wasn't particularly resistant to joining Liangshan. On the contrary, he was very compliant. Li Hanxiao understood that he had been wandering the Jianghu for quite some time and had seen the coldness of human relationships, the difference between good and evil. He should understand that in this world, great falsehoods can appear true, great loyalty can appear treacherous, and great skill can turn out to be clumsy. The higher one's position, the less likely one is to be a good person.

On the contrary, people like Li Hanxiao and his so-called "lawless madmen" are the ones who are more likely to restore peace to the world and are the real "good people".

"Chief Li, um... I have a favor to ask, Chief Li..."

Pang Xiarong and Li Hanxiao weren't particularly close yet, so he was a little awkward asking Li Hanxiao for a favor... seemingly unsure how to begin...

"If you have anything to say, just tell me."

Li Han smiled as he looked at the young man who was a few years younger than himself, and felt that he seemed to be a promising talent.

"Well... I have an older brother and a younger sister. If Chief Li allows, I'd like to go up the mountain to look for them. If possible, I'd like to invite them to join us at Liangshan. What do you think, Chief Li..."

Having wandered the martial world for so long, Pang Xiarong knew all too well how difficult it was to find a good place to stay. Therefore, she hoped that her brother and sister, whose whereabouts were unknown, could one day come to Liangshan Marsh.

"Oh, is that what it is? Okay, I agree to your siblings coming up the mountain. By the way, you said your older brother practices martial arts, how good is his?"

Li Han asked with a smile.

Pang Xiarong said, “Chief, I don’t practice martial arts, so I don’t know the level of my brother’s martial arts skills… I only know that his archery skills are unparalleled; his arrows can fly through holes, and when he goes hunting in the mountains, he has killed tigers. Back in our hometown, everyone calls him ‘Little Yang Youji’…”

"Wait a minute, give me a moment..."

Upon hearing this, Li Hanxiao stopped Pang Xiarong from continuing to speak.

"This...is your brother...named Pang Wanchun...?"

Upon hearing the name "Little Yang Youji," Li Hanxiao understood everything.

Pang Wanchun, also known as "Little Yang Youji," shares the same surname as Pang, as does Pang Xiarong. They are brothers!

"Huh? The chieftain has also heard of my brother's name?"

Pang Xiarong was quite surprised, her mouth agape.

"Yes, I've heard of it, I've heard of it..."

Li Hanxiao was overjoyed at this moment, because he originally thought he had picked up a doctor with great potential, but he didn't expect that he would also be given a divine archer as a bonus - "Little Yang Youji" Pang Wanchun.

Pang Wanchun, nicknamed "Little Yang Youji," was one of only two archers alongside "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong in the original novel of Water Margin. The book describes him as "the first person in Fang La's country in Jiangnan who could shoot arrows," and he was nicknamed "Little Yang Youji."

Yang Youji was a master archer from the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period, capable of shooting a willow leaf from a hundred paces away with perfect accuracy.

Everyone knows the story of Li Guang shooting a tiger and the arrow penetrating the stone, but few know that Yang Youji also had a similar story. Once, Yang Youji saw a stone that looked like a rhinoceros, so he shot an arrow into the stone. The arrow was incredibly powerful, and the shaft penetrated the stone, with only the fletching sticking out.

The fact that Pang Wanchun was called "Little Yang Youji" actually proves that his archery skills were on par with Hua Rong's "Little Li Guang".

Moreover, this man was skilled in archery and also quite intelligent. In the original novel, Pang Wanchun led troops to guard Yuling Pass and personally or through his subordinates shot and killed seven of the 108 heroes of Liangshan: Shi Jin, Shi Xiu, Chen Da, Yang Chun, Li Zhong, Xue Yong, and Ou Peng. He was arguably the person Liangshan wanted to kill most on Fang La's side.

Moreover, Pang Wanchun, nicknamed "Little Yang Youji," possessed the unique skill of "Rapid Arrow Strike." During his battle with Ou Peng, nicknamed "Golden Wings of the Clouds," Pang Wanchun was defeated after only five rounds. Ou Peng chased after him on horseback, but Pang Wanchun shot an arrow at him from behind. Ou Peng grabbed the arrow and continued the pursuit, but Pang Wanchun shot a second arrow, knocking Ou Peng off his horse.

On the contrary, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," was only good at archery and didn't have any special skills, so Pang Wanchun was considered the counterpart to Hua Rong.

Pang Wanchun possessed superb archery skills and held most of the Liangshan heroes in contempt, calling them "bandits." However, he only treated Hua Rong differently and hoped to compete with him in archery.

Although it was not ultimately realized in the novel, it reflects Pang Wanchun's loneliness as a master, his mutual respect for heroes, and his somewhat arrogant mentality.

However, his only commendable martial skill is probably archery. His physical strength is probably not good enough. Under normal circumstances, it is generally believed that his martial arts other than archery are weak, because he was defeated in a maximum of five rounds when he fought Ou Peng, who was not very strong. Although there was an element of luring the enemy in, five rounds is too short!

According to Li Hanxiao, such a talent should not be sent to fight desperately. Instead, he should be trained in the use of firearms and recruited as a sniper.

"There are three siblings in my family: my eldest brother Pang Wanchun, myself, and my youngest sister Pang Qiuxia. I haven't seen my eldest brother and youngest sister for many years. When our family was destroyed, my youngest sister was only thirteen years old. I don't know what happened to her now..."

Pang Xiarong missed her family and couldn't help but burst into tears.

"If your brother has good martial arts skills, he should be able to protect your sister. There will surely be a day when we meet again, so don't worry!"

While Li Hanxiao was trying to persuade Pang Xiarong, he was thinking that now that Pang Xiarong was a member of the Pang family, whenever they encountered "Little Yang Youji" Pang Wanchun and Pang Qiuxia, they would be able to effectively persuade them to surrender, which was a sure-fire way to make money.

"By the way, you study medicine, and your older brother practices martial arts, so what skills does your younger sister, Pang Qiuxia, have?"

Li Hanxiao asked Pang Xiarong.

“My sister is younger, and I originally planned to have her study medicine. After all, it's not proper for a woman to be wielding swords and spears, and even if she could read and write, she wouldn't be able to take the imperial examinations and become an official. So I taught her some medical skills, but now that she's with my older brother, I'm afraid she won't learn medicine…”

Pang Xiarong said.

Li Hanxiao was thinking that if Pang Xiarong's sister, Pang Qiuxia, had the opportunity to come to Liangshan, he could try to act as a matchmaker and see if he could get one of the brothers on the mountain to marry her.

After all, the number of women on Liangshan Marsh can be counted on two hands; there is a surplus of men and a shortage of women.

"Hmm, I think your younger sister could be a doctor someday..."

After Li Hanxiao finished speaking with Pang Xiarong, he ordered his men to lift the "miracle doctor" An Daoquan from the inn and transport him to a carriage.

Li Hanxiao went ahead of everyone else to the stables in the backyard of the inn. It was an unintentional move of his, but he happened to stumble upon something.

As soon as Li Hanxiao turned to the back, he saw a guy with a black mask trying to untie the saddle on "One Zhang Black". However, because "One Zhang Black" was so big, he tried for a long time but still couldn't remove it!

"I'm so angry! Of the three precious horses, you're the hardest to deal with!"

After saying that, the man took out a dagger and tried to remove the saddle from the "One-Zhang-Black" body.

Li Hanxiao observed carefully and discovered that although the horse thief was masked in black and gold, making it difficult to see his face, he had a head of yellow hair, a golden yellow, and it was curly.

There were no hair dyeing techniques in ancient times, so it was probably natural. Ordinary Han Chinese from the Central Plains generally wouldn't have hair like that. This horse thief in front of us is most likely either from the Western Regions or a Semu person.

"Bah!"

Li Hanxiao took the initiative and no longer concealed his intentions. He let out a sharp shout, which startled the man so much that he couldn't move. Then, he delivered a "Leo Flying Kick" and kicked the man to the ground.

The man was kicked so hard by Li Hanxiao that he was dizzy, bruised and swollen, and his vision started to blur. He was subdued in one move.

Li Hanxiao grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up, sneering, "You little scoundrel, daring to steal our horses! We've encountered so many horse thieves along the way!"

"Hero, spare my life... I beg you, spare my life, Duan Jingzhu!"

The man couldn't even withstand one of Li Hanxiao's moves; he was kicked so hard that he lost all fighting ability and could only beg for mercy.

"Duan Jingzhu?"

Li Hanxiao was stunned when she heard the name.

Duan Jingzhu? Could he be the last of the 108 heroes, the "Golden Retriever" Duan Jingzhu?

Li Hanxiao remembered that in the original novel, Duan Jingzhu was from Zhuozhou. He had red hair and a yellow beard, was thin and stout, and was known as the Golden-haired Dog. He made a living by stealing horses in the north.

The young man had a head of curly blond hair and looked quite similar to Duan Jingzhu. So, Li Hanxiao questioned him, "Are you the 'Golden Retriever' Duan Jingzhu of the martial arts world?"

"Hero, you know my name? Then we're kindred spirits! Hero, I had no choice but to steal your horse, please spare me!"

"Humph!"

Li Hanxiao shoved Duan Jingzhu to the ground. If he wasn't still somewhat useful, Li Hanxiao would have given him a good beating.

Duan Jingzhu, nicknamed "Golden Retriever," may not have any great abilities, but he excels at recognizing and judging horses, and he can even steal them.

Yun's assistant, Duan Jingzhu, had long admired Song Jiang's reputation and intended to join the Liangshan bandits. So he sneaked into Qianggan Ridge and stole the Jade Lion Horse, which was ridden by the Jin prince, intending to present it to Song Jiang as a gift for advancement.

You might call this guy a novice, but he managed to steal the Jin prince's prized horse from those monsters of the early Jin Dynasty all by himself. Keep in mind, the early Jin people were practically human Gundams, making this a level of danger comparable to Meng Liang stealing a horse in the Liao Dynasty. This proves that he was extremely capable of carrying out missions alone. Therefore, when the Liangshan heroes were ranked, he was appointed as a leader of the infantry responsible for intelligence gathering, along with "Iron Whistle" Yue He, "White Day Rat" Bai Sheng, and "Drum Flea" Shi Qian. He was certainly qualified to be a scout.

Furthermore, this person is from the north, and Zhuozhou is one of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. Duan Jingzhu grew up in the Liao Kingdom and is familiar with the geography and situation there. If Li Hanxiao wants to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in the future, this person will be of great use.

In the original story, when Song Jiang was conquering the Liao Kingdom, Duan Jingzhu was familiar with the northern route, so Song Jiang asked him to lead the army forward and inquire about the situation in the nearby prefectures and counties. Duan Jingzhu knew that the Liao Kingdom's strategic pass, Tanzhou, was ahead and that it was surrounded by the Lu River. He suggested to Song Jiang that they should wait for the navy to arrive and then advance by land and water. Song Jiang adopted his suggestion and eventually captured Tanzhou.