Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

"A tinderbox!"

There was practically no light source inside this water dungeon. It was pitch black, with visibility almost zero. Even the sunlight from the courtyard didn't increase visibility much; it was as if the sunlight was being absorbed. Seeing this, Qin Zhi asked "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu for a tinderbox, hoping to light something and create a light source.

"slow!"

Li Hanxiao suddenly stopped Qin Zhi's actions because he discovered that there was actually a light source inside the water prison!

It was a reflection, and Li Hanxiao very keenly caught that reflection.

That wasn't the reflection of water, but rather a very dim, eerie light, a cold gleam.

Li Hanxiao knew what it was; it was the eye of some kind of animal reflecting light in a dim environment!

Although it was fleeting, Li Hanxiao still managed to catch it.

"There's something in here, but we don't know what it is. Don't make any rash moves!"

Li Hanxiao knew very well that there were not many animals whose eyes could glow in the dark, and even fewer that could live in water!

The only one that fits the description is probably a snake, but the level of reflection just now suggests it's not an ordinary snake. Judging by its size, it should be a python...

On land, the three of them would have been more than capable of taking down three pythons, but in this water prison, visibility was almost zero, making it much more difficult to deal with the pythons...

"Hmm, this water dungeon reeks of a fishy stench; it seems there's some kind of ferocious beast inside!"

Shi Xiu, the "daredevil," sniffed the dampness emanating from the water prison and came to a conclusion.

"There's at least one python or something like that in this water. Brothers, let's think of a way to deal with it!"

Li Han smiled and asked, staring at the occasional ripples on the black water.

"We're afraid we wouldn't stand a chance against this thing in the water. Let's try to lure it out!"

Shi Xiu, known as "Desperate Saburo," probed the depth of the water in the water dungeon with his steel knife. It was indeed quite deep, probably reaching up to a person's chest. Fighting a giant python in water this deep—unless those freaks from the navy came, who would dare say they were confident?

"I wonder if this snake is hungry. Brother, how about we kill a few of those turtles in the pond, bleed them, and throw them one by one on the road to see if we can lure it out?"

"Living Flash Granny?" Wang Dingliu asked.

"Okay, give it a try, go and catch a few!"

Without further ado, Li Hanxiao instructed "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu to catch several large turtles from the Xuanwu Pool, cut their necks, and let their blood drip into the water prison. After dripping blood into several turtles, he threw the turtles on the road to lure the python out.

These reptiles are very sensitive to blood. Although Li Hanxiao and the others hid to the side, they could clearly see that the water in the water prison was constantly churning, gradually approaching from a distance.

Suddenly, a head as thick as a bucket emerged from the black water, startling everyone who saw it.

This snake was truly enormous, a behemoth among snakes. It raised its head and surged forward with a startling force, its eyes flashing with lightning. Its movements could break trees and rocks, and its breath could exhale mist and clouds. Its white scales were scattered like a thousand pieces of jade, and its shimmering tail was curled into a pile of silver.

"Brother, this... there's such a monster in the water dungeon, could it be that An Daoquan has already been eaten?"

Wang Dingliu, the "Living Flash Granny," swallowed hard and couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know either, but killing this beast is the priority right now. Once it reaches the Xuanwu Pool, we'll attack immediately and aim for its head!"

Li Hanxiao thought to himself, regardless of whether the python had eaten An Daoquan or not, it had already come out. If it found Li Hanxiao and the others, it would probably eat them first. He had to strike first!

The giant snake seemed to be very hungry, swallowing a turtle whole in one gulp, like it was a snack. Moreover, it seemed to have a huge appetite, swallowing three turtles in one go. Not satisfied, it saw that there were still turtles in the Xuanwu Pond, so it crawled towards the Xuanwu Pond.

"Do it!"

At this moment, the giant snake had its back to Li Hanxiao and the other three, which was the perfect opportunity to strike. Li Hanxiao shouted, and "Golden-Faced Buddha" Qin Zhi leaped out and charged forward, his two bronze maces slashing towards the giant snake's head!

Logically speaking, with Qin Zhi's strength, the two bronze maces should have been enough to kill even a rhinoceros if they were smashed down on its head. But who could have imagined that the two maces would slide right off the python's head!

Qin Zhi, the "Golden-Faced Buddha," sensed that the snake's scales felt strange to the touch. When he slammed something hard, it felt like he had smashed into something soft, and the force vanished as if it had disappeared into thin air.

If he were a person from a later era, he would certainly know that this was like hitting a huge mass of non-Newtonian fluid.

"Go back!"

This attack not only failed to harm the giant snake, but the snake also turned around, opened its blood-red maw, and pounced on "Golden-Faced Buddha" Qin Zhi.

"Clang!"

Shi Xiu, known as "Desperate Saburo," swung his two steel knives at the snake's body in quick succession, but no matter how he tried, the knives just wouldn't penetrate the scales. They bounced off as soon as they hit the snake, and for some reason, they couldn't even leave a mark!

Meanwhile, "Living Flash Granny" Wang Dingliu was knocked to the ground by the giant snake's tail sweep.

"brush!"

Li Hanxiao spun around a few times, holding a three-pointed double-edged sword, accumulating momentum, and then fiercely slashed at the snake's vital spot with the sword.

Li Hanxiao really didn't expect this strange snake to be so powerful, seemingly beyond the realm of ordinary creatures.

This reminded Li Hanxiao of the grass god he had killed before, and he suspected that this snake might also be a demon!

If that's the case, then of everyone present, only he himself can deal with this thing! His three-pointed double-edged sword was bestowed upon him by Erlang Shen, and it has the ability to deal with these things!

As expected, Li Hanxiao guessed correctly. This thing was indeed no ordinary object, but the three-pointed double-edged sword was able to injure it. The three-pointed double-edged sword directly cut open the snake's vital spot, severing a third of its body.

However, instead of spurting foul-smelling snake blood from the snake's wound, a bunch of golden snake blood gushed out!

"This……"

Everyone present was stunned, because the scene was too bizarre. The giant snake collapsed to the ground, its body stiffening, and then it began to convulse.

As he continued to draw blood, the snake seemed to shrink inch by inch, eventually becoming smaller and transforming into something else.

Upon closer inspection, the giant snake had transformed into a ten-foot-long, gold-plated spear, with a silver snake flicking its tongue at its mouth.

"This...Chief, this..."

Qin Zhi, nicknamed "Golden-Faced Buddha," nearly popped his eyes out as he pointed at the long spear on the ground, rambling incoherently.

Li Hanxiao rushed forward, picked up the spear, and flipped it over. Sure enough, he saw the four characters "Liquan Divine Spear" on the shaft, confirming his guess.

"Wang Dingliu, is there a Liquan Mountain nearby?"

Li Han asked with a smile.

Wang Dingliu then got up with a grimace and said, "That's right, Liquan Mountain is only a few dozen miles away from here."

Li Hanxiao guessed correctly. This was Yue Fei's treasured spear, the Liquan Divine Spear. It was originally transformed from a giant snake that caused trouble on Liquan Mountain. It was a divine weapon that accompanied Yue Fei's ambition to eat the flesh of the barbarians when hungry and drink the blood of the Huns when thirsty!

Li Hanxiao had read "The Complete Biography of Yue Fei" and was familiar with the story of the strange snake transforming into a divine spear. So when he saw the snake turn into a spear, he thought of Yue Fei's story and guessed what had happened.

However, what he didn't know was how the giant snake, which should have been on Liquan Mountain, ended up in the water dungeon of Zhu Mian's manor.

What Li Hanxiao didn't know was that Zhu Mian was using the guise of organizing the Flower and Stone Tribute to profit himself by scavenging all sorts of ornamental plants, trees, rocks, and rare animals.

He heard that a strange snake was causing trouble on Liquan Mountain, so he sent men to Liquan Mountain. Countless men were killed or wounded, but they captured the giant snake and brought it back to his manor.

What did he want the giant snake for? It was because a Taoist priest told him that it was a magical snake that had achieved enlightenment, and if he could kill the snake and extract its gall bladder to make an elixir, it could become a divine medicine that could prolong life.

As is well known, Emperor Huizong of Song was extremely superstitious about Taoism, being a Taoist emperor. Therefore, he was also very obsessed with Taoist alchemy and often made elixirs for himself.

Zhu Mian thought that if he could obtain the gallbladder of this giant snake and present it to Emperor Huizong of Song, he could further gain the emperor's favor.

However, he was in no hurry to offer the snake gall, because he knew that the officialdom was a place where one had to walk on thin ice and be on tenterhooks, and that it was truly not easy to reach the other side.

Someone with such a bad record could face utter destruction at any time.

He planned to raise the giant snake, and when his status plummeted and he was on the verge of a comeback, he would present the snake's gall to Emperor Huizong of Song in an attempt to avert disaster and make a comeback.

His idea was very cunning, but the giant snake couldn't just be locked up casually; it had to be properly imprisoned. So he built a water dungeon and locked the giant snake inside. Then, he would throw anyone who offended him into the water dungeon as food for the snake.

However, after Zhu Ruxian threw the "miracle doctor" An Daoquan into the water dungeon, the giant snake did not eat him, which was very strange.

This giant snake is also a spiritual creature of heaven and earth. Although An Daoquan is now in human form, he is actually a descendant of the "Earth Spirit Star". The giant snake can sense this, which is why it does not eat An Daoquan.

As a result, before Yue Fei could kill the giant snake and obtain the Liquan Divine Spear, Li Hanxiao got his hands on it first.

"It's alright, it must be a spirit creature transformed into a weapon. This has been the case since ancient times. Legend has it that the double whips of Grand Tutor Wen Zhong of the Yin Shang Dynasty were transformed from two dragons. Brothers, don't delay any longer, hurry up and go save Doctor An!"

Li Hanxiao slung the Liquan Divine Spear on his back, picked up the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Sword, and prepared to go into the water dungeon with the others.

This has caused quite a commotion, especially the moment the snake was killed, which emitted a burst of intense golden light that could probably be seen from outside. It's possible that someone will come over soon!

Li Hanxiao led the way into the water prison. Shi Xiu lit a torch, illuminating the inside of the water prison. There were no cages inside, but in the very center there was a high platform above the water, on which a person was chained and lay dying.

Under normal circumstances, this high platform could be considered the "dining table" of that giant snake.

Li Hanxiao rushed up the platform and turned the man over. He saw that the man was a middle-aged scholar, completely naked, with delicate skin and flesh. He had been beaten and was covered in wounds, and some of his wounds seemed to be infected.

"Is it An Daoquan?"

Li Hanxiao asked Wang Dingliu, who had seen An Daoquan twice before when they entered the city from afar and could recognize him.

"Exactly, they've been beaten up like this!"

Li Hanxiao slashed the iron shackles off An Daoquan's hands with two strokes, and Wang Dingliu immediately carried An Daoquan on his back. The four of them quickly left the water prison and prepared to leave.

"Quickly! The Xuanwu Pool is flashing with golden light! Go and see what's going on!"

The four had just left Xuanwu Pool and hadn't gone far when they ran into a group of people.

"who?"

When the two groups clashed, both sides were stunned. Li Han smiled and looked at the leader of the group opposite him. He was a man who was not very tall, with a bronze complexion, wearing a short, tight-fitting outfit made of batik, holding an iron mace, and followed by seven or eight guards.

Li Hanxiao looked at his ethnic minority attire and guessed that this person was probably He Conglong. So before they could react, he stabbed He Conglong with a knife.

"Shi Sanlang will protect Huo Shanpo, while Brother Qin and I will clear the way!"

While Li Hanxiao was working, he was also assigning tasks to everyone. When He Conglong saw the three-pointed knife aimed straight at his face, he reacted quickly. He used his iron mace to deflect the three-pointed knife, and then kicked out with his foot to hook Li Hanxiao's leg.

Li Hanxiao wasn't about to give him that chance. He also kicked out, and they went leg to leg. Upon contact, he sensed that He Conglong's leg technique was quite powerful, and he seemed to be a guy who was good at close-quarters combat!

As expected, He Conglong used his iron mace for protection, intending to get close to Li Hanxiao. He used his weapon to deflect the three-pointed double-edged sword, and with a push off the ground, he leaped up and delivered a powerful "skyward knee" to Li Hanxiao.

Li Hanxiao could tell that this guy was probably not using the "Ancient Zhuang Fist" style of boxing. It was extremely fierce and good at fighting, and it had similarities with the later Angkor and Muay Thai styles.

Li Hanxiao knew that to deal with this guy, he needed to either keep his distance to make it difficult for him to use his close-combat techniques, or shift the focus of the fight to his weapons rather than his fists and feet.

Li Hanxiao neither dodged nor evaded, but instead raised the hilt of his three-pointed double-edged sword and thrust the end towards He Conglong's knee.

You want to crash into me? Go ahead and crash into me. Although this knife handle doesn't have a sharp edge, it's still quite sharp. Go ahead and crash into me and see how hard your knees are. Are they made of titanium alloy or something?