Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"Brother Lei Heng, I'm here!"

Seeing that Lei Heng was locked in combat with Liu Tang, Zhu Tong spurred his horse forward to help.

Li Hanxiao knew very well that "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong was one of the Eight Vanguard Generals of Liangshan Marsh, and was highly skilled in martial arts. Liu Tang could defeat "Winged Tiger" Lei Heng, but with Zhu Tong added to the mix, he would definitely lose.

So, Li Hanxiao urged Beihai Sa Lu Zi to intercept the "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong halfway there.

"Who goes there, you powerful figure! Take this!"

Seeing Li Hanxiao suddenly appear out of nowhere, Zhu Tong brandished his broadsword and aimed straight for Li Hanxiao's neck. Li Hanxiao blocked the broadsword with a three-pointed double-edged sword, and in the blink of an eye, he and Zhu Tong were fighting.

As for why Zhu Tong came to find Lei Heng, it's because something had happened on his end as well.

Zhu Tong was originally leading twenty constables to search for thieves in the east, but instead encountered a Taoist priest carrying a pine-patterned ancient sword and holding a turtle-shell fan.

Normally, encountering a Taoist priest in the middle of the night wouldn't be unusual, but the Taoist priest saw Zhu Tong there and said that he was some kind of "Tianmanxing" (a star in Chinese mythology), and that he needed to wake up soon and rebel against the court in order to fulfill the "destiny of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends".

Zhu Tong initially didn't want to pay him any attention, but the Taoist priest kept saying things that persuaded him to rebel against the court, which made Zhu Tong suspect that the old Taoist was a sorcerer. So he ordered his officers to arrest him and question him.

As it turned out, the old Taoist priest did indeed possess some supernatural abilities. He waved his turtle-shell fan, which produced several gusts of wind that swept all twenty soldiers into the water.

The Taoist priest originally wanted to cast another spell, but he seemed to have discovered something, saying something like "There is a Jade Void Qi there," and then he abandoned Zhu Tong and left.

Zhu Tong knew he was no match for such a sorcerer. After rescuing the soldiers and telling them to go back and change their clothes, Zhu Tong wanted to consult with Lei Heng first, but he happened to arrive just as Liu Tang and Lei Heng were locked in a fierce battle.

"Clang!"

Zhu Tong and Li Hanxiao exchanged blows, and Zhu Tong secretly admired the skill of Li Hanxiao's Three-Pointed Knife. Li Hanxiao and Zhu Tong also exchanged blows, and Li Hanxiao thought to himself that Zhu Tong was indeed worthy of his reputation. The Three-Pointed Knife and the Plain Knife went back and forth, up and down. The back and forth was like two dragons playing with a pearl; the up and down was like two tigers fighting for food. The Three-Pointed Knife was aimed at the top of the head; the two hands were not able to hold their own. Neither of them was willing to admit defeat. It was just a battle of wits between two good people, and a fight for the heart of the heart.

Li Hanxiao and Zhu Tong fought for twenty rounds, while Liu Tang and Lei Heng fought for about thirty rounds. The two sides had reached a critical point. Liu Tang made an opening and retreated while dragging his sword. At this time, Lei Heng, the "Winged Tiger," was fighting recklessly. Seeing that Liu Tang's lower body had a weakness, he slashed wildly at Liu Tang's feet with his broadsword.

Little did they know, this was precisely Liu Tang's plan. Lei Heng swung his broadsword toward Liu Tang's feet, but Liu Tang jumped and landed his feet firmly on the blade, pinning Lei Heng's broadsword down.

Lei Heng was startled and tried to draw his broadsword, but he couldn't move it. After a moment's hesitation, Liu Tang had already kicked out, hitting Lei Heng squarely in the jaw, causing the "Winged Tiger" to spit blood from his mouth and nose and fall backward.

Not satisfied with that, Liu Tang launched a flurry of kicks at Lei Heng, delivering five or six blows until Lei Heng was knocked to the ground, unable to get up for a long time before he finally felt relieved.

"brother!"

Seeing Lei Heng's defeat, Zhu Tong feared for Lei Heng's life and put extra force into his slashing knife, as if he were about to swing it out of his hand.

"Brother, once you've vented your anger, hurry up and leave! I can get away on my own! Let's split up and head back!"

Li Han laughed and called out. Liu Tang understood, jumped onto his horse, and rode away.

Li Hanxiao spun his three-pointed dagger, unleashing a move called "Poison Dragon Drills the Mountain" with a "whoosh." The three dagger tips spun like electric drills, "ding ding ding," knocking away the broadsword in Zhu Tong's hand and heading straight for Zhu Tong's chest and abdomen.

Zhu Tong was taken aback, never having seen such swordsmanship before. He raised his sword hilt to block, but with a clang, Li Hanxiao's three-pointed sword pierced the hilt. Li Hanxiao pushed hard, and the three blades, like steel forks and shovels, pressed against Zhu Tong's sword hilt, forcibly stabbing Zhu Tong off his horse.

"Go!"

Li Hanxiao's goal was to knock Zhu Tong off his horse, so he used this exquisite swordsmanship. He then raised his three-pointed sword and slashed Zhu Tong's warhorse's neck. Beihai Saluzi then took off running and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Li Hanxiao didn't forget to leave Lei Heng with a message: "As a person, uphold righteousness and integrity. If you dare to kill innocent people and claim credit for them again, even if Heaven doesn't punish you, I will!"

Although Zhu Tong was furious, his two legs couldn't catch up with four hooves. His horse had been killed by Li Hanxiao because he couldn't catch up with it!

Zhu Tong had no choice but to help Lei Heng up and escort him back to the county government office for treatment, but that's another story.

Meanwhile, Li Hanxiao and Liu Tang ran separately. Liu Tang returned to the mountain stronghold first, while Li Hanxiao followed behind. They did not encounter Liu Tang on the way.

As Li Hanxiao passed through a forest, he suddenly noticed a golden light shimmering within the misty woods, approaching him from afar.

Li Hanxiao instantly became alert. He still vividly remembered his experience of almost dying at the hands of Erlang Zhenjun, who had betrayed the Grass God. If this was really an evil creature, his life would be in danger again!

"I wondered where the Jade Void Qi could be found. It turns out it's right here. Fellow Daoist, we are both disciples of the Jade Void Palace. This humble Daoist, Gongsun Yiqing, greets you."

Li Hanxiao immediately thought, Gongsun Yiqing... isn't that "Dragon Entering the Clouds" Gongsun Sheng?

"So it's Master Gongsun! My apologies for not recognizing you!"

Li Hanxiao dismounted and bowed to Gongsun Sheng.

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to be so polite. My master, True Man Luo, is also a disciple of the Jade Void Sect of the Chan Sect. We share the same lineage."

Gongsun Sheng said.

"I am ashamed to say that I am not a proper cultivator. Rather, I was taught martial arts by the True Lord Erlang Xiansheng of Guanjiangkou, and can be considered a junior disciple of the True Lord."

Li Han smiled and introduced himself. Gongsun Sheng laughed and said, "Then there's no mistake. True Lord is a third-generation disciple of the Jade Void Sect. You are his disciple, so naturally you are family. No, if we're talking about seniority, even my master would have to call you senior!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hanxiao immediately waved his hand to stop him, "In ancient times, people made friends over poetry and wine, regardless of rank or seniority. We are the same. Let's not be so conventional. What brings Mr. Yiqing here? Are you here specifically to see me?"

"good."

Gongsun Sheng waved his turtle-shell fan, pointed at Li Han, and said with a smile, "You not only possess the Qi of Jade Void, but also the power to break the deadlock."

"what?"

Li Han was dumbfounded, unable to understand what Gongsun Sheng meant.

"Ordinary people have a predetermined fate, which is called destiny, but you don't, so you can break the current state of the world."

After hearing what Gongsun Sheng said, Li Hanxiao understood a little. Perhaps because he had transmigrated here and was not originally from this world, his life trajectory was not set in advance and was full of variables. Just like before he left Guanjiangkou, Erlang Shen said that he had "mysterious power" on him. Could this be what he was talking about?

"This matter involves a great deal of issues, and I need to explain it slowly. Back in the reign of Emperor Renzong, a great plague swept the land. Emperor Renzong dispatched Grand Commandant Hong Zongshan to Longhu Mountain to meet with Zhang Tianshi to arrange for the performance of the 3,600-part Luotian Grand Ritual, to report to the Supreme Deity, so that the plague could be averted among the people..."

Before Gongsun Sheng could finish speaking, Li Hanxiao interrupted, "As a result, that person released the thirty-six Heavenly Stars and seventy-two Earthly Fiends who were imprisoned in the Demon Subduing Hall, totaling one hundred and eight Demon Lords?"

Gongsun Sheng was somewhat surprised and said, "The True Lord did teach you magic, so how do you know the past and future? Oh, the True Lord told you!"

"Yes Yes……"

Li Hanxiao could only say yes, after all, he couldn't exactly say he'd read "Water Margin"...

"These 108 demon stars were supposed to cause a great disturbance in the world, and finally achieve their goal and return to heaven. However, during this time, another major event that will affect the world is about to occur!"

According to Gongsun Sheng, when Emperor Huizong of Song, who was the reincarnation of the Long-Eyebrowed Immortal, presented tribute to the Jade Emperor, he wrote "Jade Emperor" in the slender gold script, but made a mistake in the character "大" (great), turning it into "犬" (dog).

As is well known, in "Journey to the West", the magistrate of Fengxian County overturned the offering table, and the offerings for the Jade Emperor were eaten by dogs. As a result, he ordered that there would be no rain in Fengxian County for three years.

The consequences of Emperor Huizong's carelessness were even more serious. The Jade Emperor arranged for the Red-Bearded Dragon to be reincarnated in the Jin Dynasty, intending to have the Jin Dynasty destroy the Song Dynasty to teach the Long-Eyebrowed Immortal Emperor Huizong a lesson and destroy the Song Dynasty's empire.

“My master, Master Luo, calculated the secrets of heaven and told me that the Red-Bearded Dragon of the North has descended to earth with extremely strong energy. Within ten years, it will be able to invade the south and become a force to be reckoned with. The Golden-Winged Roc that can resist it has only recently been reincarnated and has not yet grown up. It cannot resist it. If the North raises an army to invade, there will be no way to stop it.”

"The Golden-Winged Roc, could it be..."

Li Han smiled, recalling the novel "The Complete Biography of Yue Fei" he had read, and seemed to guess who that person was...

"That's how the Heavenly Way works. Yin and Yang are in balance. There must be an opponent. Back then, there was Pang Juan and Sun Bin, there was King Han and Chu Ba, there was An Lushan and Guo Ziyi. They were mutually restraining. But this time, the Red-Bearded Dragon's adversary is not yet able to defeat him. If he takes the opportunity to invade the south and destroy the Song Dynasty in one fell swoop, the consequences will be unpredictable. Even the Golden-Winged Roc cannot stop him. The calamity will last for more than a hundred years..."

Gongsun Sheng said.

Li Hanxiao knew what Gongsun Sheng meant, because the consequences of the Jingkang Incident in history were no less than those of the Five Barbarian Invasions. From then on, the Central Plains dynasties were confined to a corner of the south and had no ability to recover their homeland. Until the Mongols destroyed the Song Dynasty, the Han people's country changed hands and fell into an extremely dark era.

Although this was merely a change caused by the dissatisfaction of a deity, the outcome was one of immense suffering and devastation for countless people throughout the land.

During this period, the Golden-Winged Roc was too young. By the time he was able to stand on his own, the situation was almost irreversible, and he was facing a very bad situation.

Everyone knows the internal and external troubles faced by the legendary Golden-Winged Roc in history; he had the ability to change things, but died tragically...

During this period, only the 108 Demon Stars could contend with the Crimson-Bearded Dragon, and even defeat him!

We also need someone to lead these demon stars!

“My master, Master Luo, enlightened me on these matters and told me that I was also one of the 108 Demon Stars. He told me to follow the will of Heaven and not to try to change it.”

Under normal circumstances, the 108 Demon Stars would first wreak havoc on the world, then support the Song family, and then return to the Heavenly Realm.

However, although they left, the world's calamities did not end. Rather than helping the tyrannical ruler, it would be better to help the common people and help the Golden-Winged Roc block the Red-Bearded Dragon. This was exactly Gongsun Sheng's idea.

Gongsun Sheng looked up at the stars and suddenly let out a long sigh, “But I, Gongsun Sheng, am no longer some Tianxian Star, but a real person. Although I am a cultivator, I always have the heart of a child. Seeing my fellow countrymen suffering, how can I not save them?”

"Unfortunately, I am also bound by fate and cannot break through this barrier. I only think, what if someone could stand up and resist the attack of this Crimson-Bearded Dragon, thus saving the people from disaster?"

"So I left the Second Immortal Mountain, bid farewell to my master, and secretly searched for the 108 Demon Stars, wanting to gather everyone's strength to first overthrow the Zhao family dynasty. In this way, the Zhao Song dynasty would be destroyed, the heavenly punishment would be eliminated, and the Heavenly Court would have no target to attack. As for the Red-Bearded Dragon going south, as long as we can stop him, the land of Yanhuang will still be the land of Yanhuang!"

"I have visited several demon stars along the way, but they are unaware of the predetermined fate. I cannot gather them all by myself. It makes sense, our fate is already set, and we cannot break it with our own strength. We can only find someone who is not within the predetermined fate of the Three Realms to lead us and accomplish this task."

After saying this, Gongsun Sheng stared intently at Li Hanxiao, and Li Hanxiao understood that he was the person Gongsun Sheng had mentioned who had the ability to break the deadlock with the 108 Demon Stars...

"Mr. Gongsun, on behalf of all the people of the world, I thank you!"

Li Hanxiao felt extremely respect for Gongsun Sheng at this moment, because as a person outside the secular world, he could have lived a carefree life and not have to care about these things.

But he still couldn't stand it and wanted to do something, to make changes.

"Therefore, I want to see if this person, who is not part of the predetermined fate, can shoulder this heavy responsibility!"

Gongsun Sheng cast an inquiring glance at Li Hanxiao.

"That's fine, but I'd like to ask, if we truly go against the will of Heaven, won't the gods in heaven continue to send others to cause chaos in the human world?"

Li Hanxiao was afraid that even if he managed to block this attack, how many years would he have left to live? What if a Black-Bearded Dragon or a Yellow-Bearded Dragon appeared tomorrow after he died?

"No, firstly, after the overthrow of the Song Dynasty, the Daoist Emperor died and returned to Heaven, thus completing his mission in the mortal world. Even if he offended the Jade Emperor in the mortal world, it would be considered over. The mission of the Crimson-Bearded Dragon in the mortal world was to stir up trouble in the Song Dynasty and invade the Central Plains. Although the Song Dynasty was destroyed, it would still invade the south. However, if we can defeat and kill it, it will also return to the Heavenly Court."

Gongsun Sheng made it very clear: if the instigator of this matter and the retaliators sent by the Heavenly Court can be eliminated, then the disaster will be averted.

"Since Emperor Zhuanxu severed the connection between heaven and earth, the human and divine realms have been separated. Now, no matter what happens, if human effort is insufficient, people will turn to gods and Buddhas for help, without thinking about how to turn the rotten into the miraculous. Mr. Yiqing's words have moved me deeply. If I can be a role model for the world in this life, it will not have been in vain!"

Li Hanxiao sighed.

"What role model? What's the point of all this?"

Gongsun Sheng had a question.