Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"A true man never changes his name or surname. I am Li Hanxiao from Guankou, Xichuan, the leader of Liangshan Marsh!"

Li Hanxiao introduced himself, and the burly man was taken aback. "You're Li Hanxiao from Liangshan Marsh? I've heard so much about you!"

"That's right, it's the real deal. If your gang wants to be enemies with Liangshan, we Liangshan won't be afraid of you! If you know what's good for you, give me back my horse!"

Li Han smiled and said.

"The Canal Gang and Liangshan Marsh have no past grudges, so I naturally won't make things difficult for you. However, your reputation in the martial arts world has been growing stronger lately, and I'm tired of hearing about it. Recently, you wiped out the three villages on Dulonggang in Yunzhou. You've certainly got some impressive skills!"

The burly man looked at Li Hanxiao with the same excited, intense gaze one might expect from a apex predator encountering a worthy opponent.

"I haven't yet asked this helmsman's esteemed name!"

Li Hanxiao's intuition told him that this guy was no ordinary person, so he felt it was best to find out his identity as soon as possible.

The burly man cupped his hands and said, "I am the leader of a branch of the Canal Gang, known in the martial arts world as 'Nine-Headed Lion' Du Xue."

When Li Hanxiao heard the man finish announcing his name and number, his heart sank.

We've really run into a tough opponent today!

Unexpectedly, he actually ran into Du Xue, the number one general under Wang Qing in the original novel, here today!

In the original novel, he was the commander-in-chief of Wang Qing's western army and the most powerful general under King Wang Qing of Chu.

If a fight broke out, Li Hanxiao wasn't entirely confident he could defeat this person...

Because this guy's strength is among the best in the entire Water Margin, at least in the top five!

This guy's most impressive fighting skill is his ability to fight the world's number one "Jade Kirin" Lu Junyi for fifty rounds without a clear winner.

Although Lu Junyi was "the best in the army, both on horseback and infantry, and invincible with his twelve-foot steel spear," Du Xue was not to be outdone. They fought for more than fifty rounds without a clear winner. The fact that Du Xue could fight Lu Junyi for more than fifty rounds without a clear winner already shows that Du Xue's martial arts skills were no less than those of the Five Tigers of Liangshan, and might even be higher.

At this time, Sun An, a member of the Song army, saw that Lu Junyi "could not win," so he stepped forward to help him fight. In the end, Du Xue could not resist and was killed by Sun An, who cut off one of his arms.

Although Du Xue ultimately lost, his fighting skills were so impressive that it's fair to say he was "honorable in defeat." Lu Junyi was a formidable fighter who could fight four opponents and kill one of them, and even take on a thousand men single-handedly. Apart from Du Xue, no one else in the entire Water Margin could fight him for such a long time, making him a truly unique example of such a battle.

Although if Sun An hadn't come to help, Du Xue would still have had a high chance of losing to "Jade Kirin" Lu Junyi if the fight had continued, this also demonstrated his true strength.

It's estimated that apart from "Jade Kirin" Lu Junyi and Shi Wengong, no one can reliably beat him.

"So it's Chief Du Xue. Since neither of our families wants to be enemies, why not do us a favor and return the horses to my brother!"

Although Li Hanxiao was experiencing turmoil inside, he did not show it on the surface and remained very calm.

"Logically speaking, our two families have no enmity, but my men were beaten up by you, Chief Li, and one of them even died. I haven't gotten my revenge yet. I've long admired your name, Chief Li. I've always loved sparring with masters from all walks of life. Now that I've met you, Chief Li, how can I not ask you for a few moves? If you defeat me, I'll escort you across the river. Otherwise, leave your two prized horses behind before you go!"

Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Du Xue is trying to forcibly seize two precious horses because he's on his turf!

As Du Xue spoke, two members of the canal gang next to him carried over a ten-foot-long spear and handed it to him.

Li Hanxiao was surprised to find that the spear was made of pure metal, and it was 10.8 feet long and weighed at least 50 pounds!

"As expected of the Protector General of the Western Army!"

Li Han smiled inwardly, thinking that even an ordinary person would have difficulty handling this spear, and Du Xue's strength was truly unfathomable.

"If it comes to deciding the victor with weapons, I, Li, am not afraid of you. But think carefully: once you make a move, Liangshan and your Canal Gang will be mortal enemies from now on!"

Li Hanxiao wanted to discuss it further with Du Xue, but Du Xue clearly had no intention of talking anymore. Instead, he grabbed his spear and shouted, "Chief Li, you have no choice! Take this!"

Having said that, the eighteen-foot spear, like a raging python, hurtled straight toward Li Hanxiao.

"open!"

Li Hanxiao was now forced to act even if he didn't want to. With a master like Du Xue taking the initiative, Li Hanxiao dared not be careless. He immediately used his three-pointed double-edged sword to block the attack, and the blade struck the forked point of the serpent spear, blocking the blow.

The most distinctive feature of the Zhangba Serpent Spear is that the metal part of its spearhead is shaped like a curved snake, with a wave-like curve. The spear tip is shaped like a snake's tongue, which enhances the power to pierce the target. However, this also results in its shape being like a snake's tongue, split into two forks.

Li Hanxiao realized this and began to parry.

"Little tricks!"

Although Li Hanxiao blocked Du Xue's spear, a master of Du Xue's level could see the problem almost instantly. With a twist of his spear, he broke free from Li Hanxiao's control. Then, with a flick of his spear, he used a "hanging hook" move to poke at the soft flesh of Li Hanxiao's jaw.

Because this spear has two tips, if Li Hanxiao were to deflect the upward thrust with his sword, blocking the path of the upward thrust, Du Xue could immediately change course and slash downwards. In this way, the other curved spear tip would act like an iron hook, directly attacking Li Hanxiao's vital area between his chest and abdomen. This could be considered a move with a hidden counter-attack.

Li Hanxiao ignored Du Xue's spear and jumped off the Beihai Saluzi.

Riding on horseback, dodging and maneuvering was extremely inconvenient, and Du Xue's spear was also very long, so he was at a real disadvantage.

Now, both sides are fighting on foot, which will improve Li Hanxiao's agility and allow him to try to get close to Du Xue.

Li Hanxiao knew very well that Du Xue's spear was simply too long. Once it got close to his body, his spear would be too big to lose, making it difficult to get back.

Only under those circumstances would Li Hanxiao have a chance of winning.

Li Hanxiao really wanted to win. Firstly, he genuinely wanted to know what level his current strength could reach, and he needed a sufficiently significant test.

And Du Xue, the "Nine-Headed Lion," is the perfect "whetstone."

If Li Hanxiao can defeat Du Xue, it proves that Li Hanxiao's skills are now among the best in the world, and his martial arts are probably only below "Jade Kirin" Lu Junyi and Shi Wengong.

Conversely, if Li Hanxiao cannot defeat "Nine-Headed Lion" Du Xue, it means that his skills are not up to par, at most at the level of the Five Tigers, and he still needs to practice.

Besides, if Li Hanxiao could actually defeat this "Nine-Headed Lion" Du Xue, it would likely be beneficial in recruiting him.

Li Hanxiao could tell that subduing this "nine-headed lion" would not be a simple matter. This person was quite arrogant and proud, and ordinary people probably wouldn't even catch his eye.

If Li Hanxiao cannot demonstrate even greater strength than him, it's unlikely that he will develop a favorable impression of Li Hanxiao.

"Be careful!"

After dismounting, Li Hanxiao immediately prepared for a swift attack, approaching Du Xue and breaking through his gun circle.

So, Li Hanxiao began to move in an "S" shaped, snake-like motion, gracefully approaching the "Nine-Headed Lion" Du Xue.

"What movement technique?"

The "Nine-Headed Lion" was somewhat bewildered, because Li Hanxiao's attack steps were really hard for him to see through. What kind of trajectory was this? He couldn't figure it out!

His most effective attack method with his eighteen-foot spear is thrusting, but this time he can only thrust in one place. With Li Hanxiao's "snake-like" movements, which are unpredictable and can create distance at any time, he really doesn't know where to thrust.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Hanxiao suddenly slid a few steps, approached Du Xue, and used the "Left and Right Dragon Turns" technique with his knife in both hands.

The "Dragon Turns Left and Right" move means to cross your opponent's weapon to slide it away or block it from the outside, and then advance to assassinate. It is a move that first defends and then attacks.

Seeing that Li Hanxiao was about to break through the circle, Du Xue immediately swung his spear down to Li Hanxiao's left and right sides. The spear, weighing more than fifty pounds, was no shorter than a knife in terms of the length of its spearhead alone. The force of its downward strike, combined with the wide blade of the spear, was no less than that of a broadsword.

However, Li Hanxiao's three-pointed double-edged sword, which was wielded with graceful movements, perfectly blocked Du Xue's two downward slashes. Li Hanxiao also took the opportunity to push Du Xue's spear shaft forward with the three-pointed double-edged sword.

Li Hanxiao's push was too far back, which immediately applied a lever arm to the rear half of Du Xue's spear, causing the spear to become uneven in weight, top-heavy and bottom-light!

At this moment, Li Hanxiao unleashed his second move, the Three-Pointed Knife, and shifted his stance to thrust the knife, aiming straight for Du Xue's chest and abdomen.

Although Li Hanxiao's move was truly excellent, Du Xue, the "Nine-Headed Lion," was no ordinary person. Seeing that the tip of the three-pointed sword was about to strike, but unable to retract most of the spear in time to protect his body, he desperately kicked out and struck the hilt of the three-pointed double-edged sword.

This applied an upward force to the three-pointed double-edged sword. Du Xue's kick was very powerful, immediately sending the sword flying upwards, deviating from its original attack path and grazing past Du Xue's body.

At the same time, Du Xue grabbed the long handle of the eighteen-foot spear, his front hand like a tube and his back hand gripping it tightly, pulling the spear back a large section. He then gripped the front third of the spear handle with both hands.

This is a technique of holding a long spear with a short grip, which allows for faster and more convenient handling of long weapons at close range.

"Hi!"

After gripping the spear tightly, Du Xue immediately launched several thrusts, his eighteen-foot spear moving swiftly, accurately, and ruthlessly, striking Li Hanxiao three times in succession.

Li Hanxiao retreated repeatedly. Du Xue's combat experience was absolutely rich, and his ability to react to changing situations and his fighting skills were truly admirable to Li Hanxiao!

As he retreated, Li Hanxiao suddenly knelt down on one knee, lowering his body, and Du Xue's eighteen-foot spear grazed his scalp.

Du Xue's movements were so fast that Li Hanxiao was completely caught off guard. In Li Hanxiao's opinion, Du Xue's reaction speed had probably reached the limit of human reaction speed!

Moreover, this person clearly became more and more excited as the fight went on!

Well, the more intensely Li Hanxiao fought, the more excited he became. Physiologically speaking, in this state, the harder he fought, the more adrenaline his body secreted!

What is adrenaline? If you were given an injection, it would be like the King of Hell himself dragging you down to the eighteenth level of hell, and you'd still dawdle for a while.

In battle, adrenaline can create even more miracles!

Li Hanxiao immediately changed his strategy.

Faced with such a formidable opponent, he should not confront him head-on, but rather feign weakness and appear unassuming.

Du Xue's fighting power is terrifying. If Li Hanxiao keeps fighting him head-on and forces him to fight back at a high intensity, his fighting power is basically invincible!

Therefore, Li Hanxiao could only take the initiative to show weakness, making him think that he couldn't beat him and was no good. This way, he would relax appropriately, and Li Hanxiao would have a chance to turn the tide and win.

After all, if you were facing an enemy much weaker than yourself, you wouldn't go all out against him right away, because it would seem that 70% of your strength would be enough to kill him, so why go all out?

In reality, you used 70% of your strength, and your opponent also only used 70% of their strength. Just when you thought you could win with 70% of your strength, your opponent suddenly unleashed 100% of their strength to attack you.

At this point, the opponent has a very high chance of winning!

"Oh!"

Du Xueyi's spear missed its mark, but he remained calm, gripped the spear shaft tightly with both hands, and parried the spear to the left, swinging the shaft to sweep Li Hanxiao's neck.

Li Hanxiao could have dodged this attack, but in order to show weakness and suffer a small loss, he did not parry perfectly, but instead lightly touched the target with his three-pointed double-edged sword.

Such a gentle parry was naturally no match for this powerful and heavy blow, and Li Hanxiao was forced to take two steps back.

Seeing this, Du Xue assumed that Li Hanxiao's moves were outdated and he could no longer keep up with Du Xue's attack speed. So he thrust his spear straight into Li Hanxiao's chest and abdomen with a wide and sweeping attack.

There's a limit to showing weakness, otherwise, before he could turn the tide, Li Hanxiao would be killed by Du Xue. Faced with this move, Li Hanxiao leaped away, doing a somersault to dodge it, and flew over Du Xue's head.

Du Xue immediately thrust his spear upwards, attempting to attack Li Hanxiao's vulnerable spot. Li Hanxiao held firm, pressing down on the hilt of his three-pointed double-edged sword to deflect the spear.

But the moment Li Hanxiao landed, Du Xue's attack came one after another!