Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"Chief Li is willing to invite me to Liangshan, which means he thinks highly of Shi Xiu. Shi Xiu will naturally do his best to plan. I have also heard of An Daoquan. He has three things he likes most in his life. The first is medicine. After all, he is a doctor. He is so good at studying medicine that he is almost obsessed. It is said that he once knelt on a desolate mountain for three days to beg a hermit in order to find an ancient prescription. He almost froze to death."

As expected of a local from Jiankang Prefecture, Shi Xiu knew a little about An Daoquan's story, and An Daoquan was indeed as Li Hanxiao had thought, a man obsessed with medicine.

The more someone cares about or loves something, the more that thing becomes their weakness, and that's where you can start to exploit it.

"The second thing is that this person is extremely fond of food. It is said that An Daoquan is the first famous gourmet in Jiankang Prefecture. He loves things like Yangtze River knife fish and Taihu Lake whitefish. Relying on his status as a doctor, he often cooks pufferfish for himself, not afraid of being poisoned. In short, he loves all the delicacies in the world."

"Haha, thank goodness he's a miracle doctor, otherwise I would have died from pufferfish poisoning sooner or later!"

Li Hanxiao recalled an old saying, "Eat pufferfish at the risk of your life." An Daoquan was a practitioner of this. Ordinary people might not dare to eat pufferfish all the time, but he was not afraid because he could detoxify!

"The third is lust. It is said that An Daoquan knows some kind of yin-yang balance and longevity method from the medical school, so he also has a fondness for women. If the chieftain wants to get him to Liangshan, we should be able to succeed by targeting these three aspects."

"A workaholic," Shi Xiu said.

“The old man has a lot of weaknesses. I have an idea, but the three of us won’t be enough. We need to find two more people… Let’s go, let’s hit the road. By the way, Brother Shi Xiu, here’s a silver ingot. Go find your master and tell him you bought this horse. You can use it as a mount on the road!”

Li Hanxiao took out fifty taels of silver and threw it to Shi Xiu. Although Shi Xiu was the leader of the infantry in the original work, it was still a thousand or eight hundred li from Shandong to Jiankang. It was impossible for Li Hanxiao and Qin Zhi to ride horses while Shi Xiu walked.

"Thank you, Village Chief!"

Shi Xiu took the silver and knew that Li Hanxiao was worried about him. He thought to himself that he had chosen the right sect and met a good leader. He led his horse to find the owner to pay the money, while Li Hanxiao and the other waited by the roadside. After a short while, Shi Xiu returned, and the three of them set off together.

Li Hanxiao decided to lure the "miracle doctor" An Daoquan out of Jiankang City first, and then take him away to submit.

After all, Jiankang Prefecture was a major prefecture in the Song Dynasty, which later became Nanjing, the capital of the Jinling Kingdom. The risk of kidnapping someone directly within the city was simply too great.

First, Li Hanxiao needs to find a way to get close to this "miracle doctor" An Daoquan, cater to his preferences, and build a relationship with him.

Then, after the two became a little more familiar with each other, Li Hanxiao pretended to tell him that there was a tavern outside the city with unique and delicious food, enticing him to go out of the city to eat there, and then he held him down in the tavern.

After that, it becomes easier to lure and persuade them to surrender, but this requires a tavern and the cooperation of at least two people.

Li Hanxiao happened to know that there was someone he could win over on the banks of the Yangtze River, outside the city of Jiankang.

Who is it? This person is known as "Living Flashy Granny" Wang Dingliu!

Wang Dingliu was nicknamed "Living Flash Granny" because he could only use a stick in water and was fast in walking and jumping. He was from Jiankang Prefecture and made a living by running a hotel on the banks of the Yangtze River.

In the original novel, he greatly admired Liangshan. After meeting Zhang Shun, he and his father joined Liangshan. During the Liangshan Grand Assembly, he was one of the 108 heroes, ranked 104th, and corresponded to the Earthly Inferior Star. He served as the manager of the Beishan Inn.

This person yearns for the martial arts world, and in the original story, his father also wanted him to join Liangshan. It's likely that the old man wasn't a good person when he was young, and there's a high probability that he was involved in the underworld.

Therefore, if Li Hanxiao were to arrive there, it shouldn't be difficult to recruit the father and son. In addition, the Wang Dingliu father and son already run a small tavern in the village by the Yangtze River, so they have a place to go. Why not take advantage of it?

Moreover, Li Hanxiao thought that this "lively and quick-witted woman" Wang Dingliu also had some potential as a detective. If he brought her back to Liangshan Marsh and trained her properly, she would be a good scout.

This trip, with Shi Xiu, An Daoquan, and Wang Dingliu, can be considered quite fruitful.

The three traveled all day and stayed overnight at an inn at the foot of a mountain. While they were sleeping, Li Hanxiao suddenly heard a horse neigh, followed by a scream that echoed through the night.

Li Hanxiao was instantly awakened, jumped out of bed, and rushed to the stable to check. He had heard it clearly; the horse that had just called was his Beihai Saluzi.

"Get up! Someone's stolen a horse!"

Li Hanxiao didn't even need to think about it; someone must have seen how nice his and Qin Zhi's horses were and came to steal them!

"Ok?"

However, Qin Zhi, the "Golden-Faced Buddha," was clearly not very alert. He was already half asleep, so when he heard Li Hanxiao call him, he just sat up in a daze.

In contrast, Shi Xiu, the "daredevil," was more alert. He quickly got up and rushed out after Li Hanxiao.

"who?"

When they arrived at the stable, they saw three or four masked men in black pulling on the reins of Beihai Saluzi, but the yellow horse had already been ridden away by someone.

One of them was lying on the ground with two white marks on his chest, clearly from being kicked by a horse's hoof.

When the three or four masked men in black saw Li Hanxiao and Shi Xiu approaching, one would expect a horse thief to run away upon seeing his master. However, instead of running away, these men pulled out short knives from their waists and attacked Li Hanxiao and Shi Xiu.

"robber!"

Li Hanxiao immediately understood that this was not a simple horse thief, but most likely a robber who murdered and robbed. The main job of a "thief" is to steal things, which is a skilled job and would not be so violent. People like them who openly dare to use knives to kill should belong to the category of "thieves"!

"Hey!"

Although Li Hanxiao and Shi Xiu didn't go out with any weapons, they were skilled and daring, and weren't afraid of them even when they were unarmed.

Li Hanxiao used the "Black Dragon Eighteen Hands" technique he had learned in his previous life. With a move called "Azure Dragon Probing Claw," he directly dislodged the knife from the man's hand and dislocated his wrist in the process.

The legendary "Black Dragon Eighteen Hands" is a set of boxing techniques for defeating enemies, summarized by the Heilongjiang Armed Police Corps through years of experience and actual combat. Later, it was banned from being learned by the troops because its moves were too insidious. It is a truly ingenious method of grappling in actual combat.

"Gela!"

"what!"

Li Hanxiao exerted his strength again and dislocated the man's arm.

"Oh!"

Meanwhile, Shi Xiu, the "daredevil" on the other side, was also quite skilled in martial arts. With a swing of his fists and a kick, he rose up and sent the two men flying, knocking away their sharp blades. Then, with the force of his fall, Shi Xiu delivered two heavy elbow strikes to the heads of the two men in black, instantly knocking them unconscious and causing them to roll their eyes back.

"Speak! Where are you thieves from, daring to steal a horse! Where did that horse go?"

These guys were too weak in combat. Even with weapons, they were taken down by Li Hanxiao and Shi Xiuquan in no time. By the time "Golden-Faced Buddha" Qin Zhi reacted and rushed out of the house, the battle was already over.

Li Hanxiao gripped a man's throat tightly with one hand and began to interrogate him. If the boy didn't behave, Li Hanxiao could kill him instantly with a single squeeze.

In this situation, with this man's life in Li Hanxiao's hands, he should at least beg for mercy, right? Unexpectedly, this kid was incredibly tough, arrogantly saying, "You dare! We're from the Canal Gang! Taking your horses, or even your heads, is a piece of cake..."

"What's wrong with the Grand Canal Gang!"

Seeing his behavior, Li Hanxiao was furious and slapped him across the face.

"The shipping guild?"

When Shi Xiu, known as "Desperate Saburo," heard the name of the canal gang, his expression changed.

"Gela!"

Li Hanxiao didn't want to kill him, but this man was too arrogant and wouldn't listen to reason. In order to get the remaining few to tell the truth, Li Hanxiao decided to make an example of him and twisted his neck.

The remaining men were terrified when they saw this. They kowtowed and apologized, explaining that their accomplices had probably ridden the yellow horse back to the Yeyun Ferry not far ahead. They were members of the Canal Gang and operated in the area. They had seen the two fine horses during the day, and since their leader loved horses, they had come to steal them to present to him.

"You bastard! Give me back my BMW!"

Qin Zhi, nicknamed "Golden-Faced Buddha," was so angry he was practically spitting fire. He grabbed his double maces, ready to smash these bastards to pieces.

"Brothers, they told the truth, so we won't kill them. You bastards, get out of here! If I see you committing any more crimes, I'll twist your necks one by one!"

Li Hanxiao gave a sharp shout, and the gangsters, as if granted a pardon, immediately took off running.

"Brother Shi Xiu, what's the deal with this Canal Gang?"

Li Hanxiao asked Shi Xiudao.

"Chief, the Canal Gang is the largest gang in the Huaihe and Wuyue regions, with nearly 100,000 members. If we offend them, we'll be unable to travel any waterways in these areas!"

Shi Xiu was from Jiankang Prefecture and knew the details of the canal gang. The canal gang originally consisted of various ports along the river that made a living by transporting grain. They were also known as the grain ship gang or grain gang. Over the years, they have grown and become a dominant force in the southern shipping industry.

The saying goes, "Those who live near mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near water live off the water." They make their living from water transport. In the Yangtze River basin, they control almost all shipping, and they also engage in private business activities, similar to legalized water thieves.

"Hmph, just a bunch of river pirates, how could Liangshan Marsh be afraid of them!"

Li Hanxiao scoffed, saying that these guys were just gangsters running water transport businesses, and in his eyes, they weren't even worth mentioning.

“Heroic chieftain, we still have a long way to go. If we offend them, even if they can't do anything to us, it will still put us in a difficult position. As the saying goes, it's not the thief you should fear, but the one who covets your horse. If we go to their door to ask for it back…”

Shi Xiu's words clarified the situation: the Grand Canal Gang was a formidable force in the area, and if they went to demand horses, they might not give them to them, inevitably leading to a fierce battle...

However, how could Li Hanxiao let it go so easily? He always adhered to the principle of "I will not offend others unless they offend me, and if they offend me, I will retaliate." They had even dared to steal horses from Li Hanxiao, so he couldn't tolerate it!

Since Li Hanxiao had already said so, Shi Xiu couldn't say anything. Qin Zhi, as the owner of the lost property, was even more furious. So, the three of them settled the bill and set off again that night towards Yeyun Ferry.

After traveling all night, they arrived at a place where there was a large river ahead. From afar, they could hear the rushing sound of the water. The "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu could see a group of people at the ferry crossing. They were all dressed in the same clothes and there were about seventy or eighty people. They seemed to be waiting for someone.

"Chief, something's not right. They might be waiting for us!"

Shi Xiu was very alert, as if he had already sensed something was amiss.

Those people are up to no good; they might be members of the Grand Canal Gang. It looks like another fierce battle is about to begin.

"I think the three of us and they have less than a hundred men. Even if we really fight, we won't lose to them!"

Li Han smiled and brandished his three-pointed double-edged sword. If they could reason with him and return the yellow horse, that would be best. Otherwise, hmph...

Meanwhile, at the ferry crossing, those people were waiting for Li Hanxiao and his group; they had already spotted the three of them.

On the other side of the canal gang, the burly man sitting in the armchair was clearly the leader, and very likely the "helmsman" they were talking about.

The burly man's eyes were now completely fixed on Beihai Saluzi, indicating that he was a horse lover.

"So you're from the Grand Canal Gang, give me back my horses!"

When Li Hanxiao and the other two arrived at the ferry, Li Hanxiao shouted out first.

"If you want the horse, you'll have to see if you have the ability! Surround it!"

The burly man stood up and roared, and then the seventy or eighty men surrounded Li Hanxiao and his two companions.

"How dare you steal Grandpa's BMW and now you want to fight? You're asking for it! Come on!"

Qin Zhi, the "Golden-Faced Buddha," drew two bronze maces. The two maces clashed together, producing a muffled "bang" sound. He was ready to fight at any moment, as he was holding back a lot of anger and was ready to unleash his full power.

Li Hanxiao, however, focused his gaze on the burly man. His intuition told him that this man must be a master!

This big man was incredibly tall, with long arms and legs, probably at least nine feet tall. He was also extremely robust, not fat but very strong. Most importantly, he had very broad shoulders and very well-developed back muscles. His forearms were also very thick.

This proves that his arm strength must be extraordinary. In addition, his eyesight is very sharp. Moreover, when he looks at something, his eyes follow the movement of the object he is looking at without moving his neck at all. His observation ability is absolutely keen, and he must have extreme confidence in his own strength.

"What? Stealing horses and then killing people to rob them, is this the kind of behavior you canal gangs have? You want to fight? Then we won't hold back!"

Li Hanxiao brandished his three-pointed double-edged sword, and the silver threads on the hilt immediately emitted a thousand auspicious rays, intimidating the people present.

"What a fine sword! And with this prized horse, you must be no ordinary person. State your name!"

The burly man was clearly a man with experience in the martial world. He knew that treasures like precious swords and fine horses were not things that just anyone could possess. Li Hanxiao was probably no ordinary person either, so it was best to find out more first.