Chapter 32: Dai Zong: I’m Not a Rebel!

"Bastard!"

The short, dark, and stout man walked away with a gloomy expression. He had only been passing by the lakeside pavilion at the Duckbill Shoal outpost when he unexpectedly overheard Duan Jingzhu and Zhou Tong gossiping about him behind his back.

After walking quite a distance along the shoal, the short, dark man suddenly asked the pale-faced scholar holding a goose-feather fan beside him, "Military Advisor, are many of our brothers back at the stronghold saying such things about me behind my back?"

"Brother, do not let your heart be troubled!" The pale-faced scholar covered the lower half of his face with his goose-feather fan. "Zhou Tong is a crude man; he speaks without thinking."

The short, dark man was none other than the "Brother Song Gongming" whom Zhou Tong had mentioned, and the pale-faced scholar was the Military Advisor, Wu Yong.

"I am not blaming him..." Song Jiang shook his head with a bitter smile. "It is true that the matter has dragged on for too long, but this is a forced measure. If we cannot secure Lu Junyi, there is no one who can rival Shi Wengong. The Liangshan Marsh cannot afford another defeat."

Wu Yong comforted him, "Brother, your painstaking efforts will be understood by the brothers in time."

*They won't understand a damn thing!* Song Jiang knew that simpletons like Zhou Tong were incapable of understanding; they only knew how to follow the victors. The "Gathering of the Three Mountains to Attack Qingzhou" had failed, and only after the Liangshan forces had succeeded would the likes of Zhou Tong join them. There were no shortage of people like Zhou Tong. If the first battle after he took charge of Liangshan Marsh were a defeat, the loyalty of men like him would surely scatter. Therefore, Song Jiang dared not go to war lightly. If he were to fight, he had to have absolute certainty of victory.

Furthermore, even having heard Zhou Tong’s gossip with his own ears, Song Jiang dared not do anything to him. Zhou Tong was nothing special, but he belonged to the "Three Mountains Faction." The big bosses of that faction included "Flower Monk" Lu Zhishen, "Wanderer" Wu Song, and "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi. Also drinking with them were Zou Yuan and Zou Run. While they were not major figures either, they belonged to the "Dengzhou Faction," whose leaders included "Sick Yuchi" Sun Li and "Mother Tiger" Gu Dasao. Whether it was the "Three Mountains" or the "Dengzhou" faction, they were the power brokers of Liangshan; they could not be touched.

*Then I can only deal with Duan Jingzhu!* Song Jiang had long found Duan Jingzhu an eyesore for needlessly provoking such a formidable enemy as the Zengtou Base. If Duan Jingzhu had truly wanted to gift the horse to him, that would have been fine, but it was clear that Duan Jingzhu was merely using him. If he had genuinely wanted to make an offering, he could have come straight to Liangshan Marsh; why go to the Zengtou Base first? Who didn't know that the Zengtou Base was the largest underground horse market in Hebei and Shandong?

*Hmph!* Song Jiang exhaled a cloud of stifled air. *Damn thief! Let the Golden-Haired Hound sit in the very last seat for the rest of his life!*

"I hope so!" Song Jiang looked at Wu Yong. "Military Advisor, the matter regarding Lu Junyi must be expedited!"

"Brother, rest assured!" Wu Yong smiled slightly, his feather fan swaying gently. "With Great Official Chai stationed in Daming Prefecture, supported by brothers Yang Xiong and Shixiu, and with Dean Dai shuttling back and forth with messages, everything is within my grasp!"

"If you are handling it, I am at ease!" Song Jiang stroked his thin mustache and smiled. "Once Lu Junyi arrives at the mountain, we shall mobilize the army to attack the Zengtou Base! Once the Zengtou Base is taken, the brothers will have no more complaints!"

Wu Yong held his feather fan in a salute. "Brother speaks the truth!"

...

Daming Prefecture.

The crab-faced attendant walked into the inn where Chai Jin was staying and entered his room, only to find it empty. *Where has the Great Official gone?* As the attendant was wondering, he suddenly heard the chaotic sound of footsteps outside. *Has something happened to the Great Official?*

The attendant's face changed drastically as the door was kicked open, and a swarm of government soldiers flooded in like a tide.

"I knew there would be accomplices!" Zhou Jin, who had been promoted to a regular officer, burst in, pointing triumphantly at the attendant. "Seize him!"

The crab-faced attendant was none other than the "Magic Traveler" Dai Zong. He hurriedly reached for the paper charms to attach to his legs, but it was too late. The soldiers swarmed him, pinning him down and binding him securely. Everything on him, including the charms, was confiscated as evidence.

"I am not a rebel! I am a law-abiding citizen!" Dai Zong was on the verge of tears. Though he was a practitioner of the Dao, he only possessed this one skill of "Supernatural Speed." Bound tightly, there was nothing he could do but shout his grievances.

Zhou Jin laughed heartily. "Fine, go tell the magistrate that, and see if he lets you be a law-abiding citizen!"

Dai Zong: "..."

...

Daming Prefecture, Liquan Mountain.

"Master..." Upon seeing Zhou Tong, Shi Wengong collapsed to his knees, his tears gushing forth.

"Do not call me Master!" Zhou Tong’s hair stood on end with rage. "You are no disciple of mine!"

Seeing the old man was so angry he could barely speak, Cai Fu hurriedly waved for the irrelevant bystanders to leave. Soon, only Zhou Tong, Lu Junyi, Shi Wengong, Yue Fei, and Cai Fu remained in the thatched hut. Strictly speaking, Cai Fu only had the reality of a student-master relationship with Zhou Tong, not the name, so he should have left as well. But he was a lover of gossip and stayed, thick-skinned. Zhou Tong didn't bother to exclude him; after all, without Cai Fu, Lu Junyi would never have been able to bring back Shi Wengong.

"Master, this disciple has long known his error!" To Cai Fu’s surprise, Shi Wengong did not defend himself, but instead, with tears streaming down his face, began to kowtow heavily. "This disciple was wrong, so wrong..."

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

Shi Wengong kowtowed with such force that he created a pit in the earthen floor. There happened to be a sharp rock embedded in the pit, but Shi Wengong ignored it, continuing to slam his head down. After just one strike, blood flowed freely, yet he seemed not to feel the pain, continuing a second and third time. On the fourth strike, his forehead hit the top of Zhou Tong’s foot, causing the old man’s mouth to twitch.

"Master?" Shi Wengong looked up, his face covered in blood, asking with a mix of shock and joy, "Master, have you forgiven me?"

Zhou Tong’s gaze remained icy. "Why did you steal the secret manual?"

Shi Wengong then explained through his tears, "At the time, Master only passed the manual to the senior apprentice brother and not to me..."

"I have already told you!" Zhou Tong snorted coldly. "Your heart is too chaotic; that supreme technique of mine is not suited for you!"

Shi Wengong sniffled. "At the time, this disciple was unconvinced and wanted to sneak a look to see why it wasn't suited for me... Who would have thought I would be caught by Master? Master struck at me, and I originally only intended to parry... I did not realize that Master had already grown old..."

*Grown old?* Zhou Tong let out a heavy huff, but he had to admit that at sixty-five, he was indeed old. Shi Wengong, then twenty, still regarded him as the invincible master of the world, so he had not held back his strength. The result was that Zhou Tong was injured, and when Shi Wengong saw him spitting blood, he was terrified and fled.

"This disciple ran for a dozen miles in one breath before I realized the manual was still in my hand..." Shi Wengong sobbed as he retrieved the manual from his robes. "I simply did not have the courage to return and face Master..."

He returned the manual with both hands and kowtowed once more. "Master, this disciple was wrong! I beg you to punish me!"