Chapter 56: Brother, do you still remember the last words of Heavenly King Chao?

Good grief!

Every single hero of Liangshan, including Wu Yong, simultaneously drew in a sharp breath of quicklime dust:

What the hell, you actually wiped out Zengtou Prefecture?

Formidable!

Truly formidable!

There was only one flaw: the few of you wiped out Zengtou Prefecture all by yourselves, making the rest of us look utterly useless...

However, the Liangshan heroes split into two mindsets. The brainless muscle-heads looked at Lu Junyi with lingering dread:

No wonder Song Jiang praised Lu Junyi to the heavens; it turns out Lu Junyi truly possesses the might of ten thousand men!

The other faction, the ones with brains, darted their eyes back and forth between Cai Fu and Wu Yong:

Wait a minute, Military Advisor, you're pretty useless too!

Even if Cai Fu's side included both Yang Xiong and Shi Xiu, that was a mere seven people in total!

Seven people were able to wipe out Zengtou Prefecture and bring the heads of Chief Zeng and the Five Tigers of the Zeng family all the way to Liangshan Marsh...

Clearly, those people relied on their brains!

The likes of Lin Chong, Hua Rong, Qin Ming, Huyan Zhuo, Xu Ning, and Yang Zhi did not consider themselves any weaker than Lu Junyi.

Since they were not weaker than Lu Junyi, the blame could only fall on Wu Yong.

At that moment, Wu Yong broke out in a cold sweat.

What others could figure out, he naturally had deduced much earlier.

Therefore, the most humiliating person present was not Song Jiang, but rather him, the "Blessed Star" and "Matchless Zhuge"!

Impossible!

Wu Yong gripped his goose-feather fan so tightly he nearly squeezed water out of it:

When it came to using one's brain, Wu Yong yielded to no one!

The reason Zengtou Prefecture hadn't been wiped out wasn't because Wu Yong lacked intelligence, but because he and Song Jiang were plotting something else entirely...

It was a pity that words like these could never be spoken aloud. Wu Yong could only swallow his tears and silently accept the stigma of being mentally deficient...

Although Wu Yong suffered the greatest humiliation, the greatest loss still fell upon Song Jiang.

Song Jiang was utterly dumbfounded:

With Zengtou Prefecture destroyed, how was he, the acting chieftain of the stronghold, supposed to continue acting as such?

He couldn't keep acting anymore!

After two seconds of sluggish blankness, Song Jiang once again unsheathed his ultimate "trump card."

With a resounding thud, Song Jiang skillfully dropped to his knees before Cai Fu, speaking with tears and sobs:

"Ever since Heavenly King Chao was murdered in Zengtou Prefecture, Song Jiang has thought of him day and night, unable to sleep or eat in peace, loathing only his own mediocre martial arts which prevented him from personally avenging Heavenly King Chao!

"Many thanks to the Warden for avenging Song Jiang with your own hands. Please accept Song Jiang's bow!"

"Swish, swash..."

Every single Liangshan hero present dropped to their knees before Cai Fu.

Li Ke, though not kneeling, remained flat on his back, sleeping quite serenely.

Chao Gai was the former master of Liangshan Marsh; regardless of whether their grief was genuine or feigned, propriety and reason dictated that they had to bow and thank Cai Fu.

Cai Fu’s lips curved slightly upward as he raised Song Jiang to his feet with both hands:

"Chieftains, please rise. I, the 'Matchless Xuande,' place righteousness above all else, and whenever I encounter injustice on the road, I am bound to draw my sword to help!

"Heavenly King Chao was generous with his wealth and enjoyed widespread renown. Cai Fu has held him in spiritual fellowship for a long time, regretting only that we never had the chance to meet!

"Heavenly King Chao met his tragic end at the hands of villains in Zengtou Prefecture. If Cai Fu did not avenge him, how could I ever have the face to ascend Liangshan Marsh and join the gathering?"

The Liangshan heroes nodded one after another.

Having roamed the jianghu for many years, they had seen plenty of braggarts.

For instance, "Tiger-Killer" Li Zhong had never actually killed a tiger, and "Suppressor of Three Mountains" Huang Xin had never suppressed three mountains...

Yet this exploit of Cai Fu's was impossible to smear; this was genuine greatness!

Now came the crucial question. All the Liangshan heroes turned their gaze toward Song Jiang:

Does Elder Brother still remember the last words of Heavenly King Chao?

Song Jiang felt a heavy thud in his chest. Knowing this matter could no longer be evaded, he immediately bared his heart like an honorable gentleman:

"The Warden acted with righteousness to destroy Zengtou Prefecture, and has brought the heads of Chief Zeng and the Zeng family's Five Tigers to Liangshan Marsh to pay homage to Heavenly King Chao!

"Song Jiang is entirely willing to cede the seat of the master of Liangshan Marsh. The Warden must on no account decline!"

The main act had arrived!

Cai Fu had long anticipated this development, but to be honest, he really didn't want to be the master of Liangshan Marsh.

At least, not yet.

If Cai Fu became the master of Liangshan Marsh right now, it would simply mean treading Chao Gai's old path, remaining hollowed out and sidelined by Song Jiang just the same.

One only had to look at Chao Gai to understand: nominally the supreme leader, he had practically been kept like a caged pet imprisoned within Liangshan Marsh.

Whenever Chao Gai wanted to descend the mountain, Song Jiang would say:

"Elder Brother is the master of the stronghold and must not move about lightly; this younger brother is willing to go!"

Had it not been for this, Chao Gai would never have insisted on personally attacking Zengtou Prefecture.

When Song Jiang tried to stop him, Chao Gai had protested with the utmost grievance:

"It is not that I wish to seize your credit.

"You have gone down the mountain too many times and suffered greatly from battle fatigue.

"Today I shall take your place on this journey. Next time there is business, it shall be your turn, Worthy Younger Brother."

Clearly he was the master of the stronghold, yet to go down the mountain he had to negotiate with Song Jiang and proactively offer trading conditions...

Cai Fu had seen through it all long ago. The empty title of stronghold master mattered little; what mattered was actual power.

Just like Emperor Xian of Han, who was ostensibly the Emperor of the Great Han, yet had to watch Cao Cao's expression before doing anything whatsoever.

Even when Emperor Xian's consort was pregnant with his own flesh and blood, Cao Cao ordered her strangled to death without a second thought.

Therefore, what use was an empty title?

Cai Fu intended to walk Song Jiang's path and leave Song Jiang with nowhere to walk!

Once Cai Fu joined the faction, Song Jiang would never again be allowed to step a single foot outside Liangshan Marsh!

"Does the chieftain wish to plunge Cai Fu into a state of injustice?"

Cai Fu widened his eyes:

"Cai Fu avenging Heavenly King Chao stems entirely from a sense of righteousness; how could it be for the sake of contending for the mastership of the stronghold?"

Song Jiang hurriedly explained:

"The Warden has misunderstood; those were precisely the last words of Heavenly King Chao!

"Furthermore, it is not that Song Jiang is being overly modest; there are three respects in which I fall short compared to the Warden!

"First, Song Jiang is dark-skinned and short of stature, clumsy in appearance and shallow in talent;

"Whereas the Warden possesses an imposing and dignified presence, bearing the aura of a nobleman.

"Second, Song Jiang originated as a petty clerk and a fugitive from the law, yet thanks to the brethren not casting me aside, I temporarily occupy this exalted position;

"While the Warden comes from a clean background and bears the renown of a 'Xuande.'

"Third, Song Jiang's literary skills cannot pacify the state, nor can my martial prowess win the submission of the crowd; I possess no strength to truss a chicken, nor any achievement of a single arrow shot;

"Yet the Warden righteously released the Jade Qilin, burned the prefecture of Daming to the ground, and furthermore wiped out Zengtou Prefecture to avenge Heavenly King Chao—who in all under heaven would not submit at the mere whisper of your name?

"With your exalted brother's exceptional talent and virtue, you are precisely the one who ought to be the master of the stronghold!

"When the time comes to surrender to the imperial court, establish merits, and achieve official promotions and rank, you will be able to bring glory to all the brethren!

"Song Jiang's mind is made up; the Warden must not decline!"

The timing was just about right!

Wu Yong prepared to wait for Cai Fu to offer one more round of polite refusals, after which he would step forward to speak a word of fair judgment...

To his utter astonishment, however, Cai Fu co-opted his entire routine, turning directly to ask Song Jiang:

"Chieftain, how did the last words of Heavenly King Chao go again?"

Song Jiang was momentarily stunned: "Heavenly King Chao enjoined upon his deathbed that whoever could capture Shi Wencong should be made the master of Liangshan Marsh..."

Cai Fu waved his hand: "Shi Wencong has escaped; I cannot be the master of Liangshan Marsh!

"The chieftain should remain the master of the stronghold!"

Well, well!

Song Jiang was overjoyed. He had expected to expend quite a bit of effort, yet Cai Fu had taken the initiative to provide him with an excuse!

...

Something about this is not right!

Wu Yong, on the contrary, furrowed his brows.

Cai Fu's declination was executed with such flawless precision that it filled Wu Yong's heart with profound unease...

Given how menacing and aggressive Cai Fu's arrival had been today, Wu Yong had all along assumed that Cai Fu had come to contest for the leadership of Liangshan Marsh.

Therefore, according to Wu Yong's assessment, even if Cai Fu were to decline at this juncture, it should have been a strategic retreat serving as an advance.

Much like Liu Xuande making three successive refusals to accept Xuzhou, Cai Xuande must surely be staging three successive refusals for Liangshan...

Yet that was not the case at all. The reasons Cai Fu gave for his refusal were utterly unassailable—did he truly harbor no desire to be the master of Liangshan Marsh?

Wu Yong could not figure it out, and because he could not figure it out, he dared not utter a single sound...