Chapter 60: Senior Brother, Please Accompany Me Up the Mountain

Zheng Taicheng was dead.

This also meant that the forces dispatched this time by Gao Qiu had been completely wiped out.

"Senior Brother, you are safe now."

Ren Yuan turned his head and said to Wang Jin.

"May I ask the name of my junior brother?"

Wang Jin struggled to his feet and asked.

"It is easily spoken. I am the third disciple under Master Zhou, Ren Yuan of Taiyuan. Out of courtesy, my friends in the Jianghu have given me the nickname 'Heaven-Supporting Pillar'."

"So, Junior Brother is none other than the master of Liangshan, whose reputation has soared over the past few months."

Over the past half year, although Wang Jin had been hiding in the Shi Family Village to avoid disaster, he had still heard news concerning the Jianghu.

Naturally, he had also heard that Liangshan Marsh had a new master.

Never had he expected that the new master of Liangshan Marsh would actually have a connection to him.

"Senior Brother, you and Gao Qiu must now be in a state of complete enmity. Since so many of his subordinates have died here this time, I am afraid he will not let the matter rest."

Internally, Ren Yuan's vigilance toward Gao Qiu was raised by another level. Good grief, Gao Qiu had barely been appointed as Grand Marshal for long, yet he already had his own secret squad of subordinates. Truly, Gao Qiu, your crimes are thoroughly established.

"Alas, who could have foreseen this? I am afraid this matter cannot end peacefully."

Wang Jin sighed helplessly as well. He could never have imagined that a dignified Grand Marshal would be so petty and obsessed with saving face, remembering something from so long ago with such crystal clarity.

"Yet it is also to be expected. Senior Brother, just think about it: this wretch Gao Qiu was originally a down-and-out vagrant, born a local rascal and scoundrel. By sheer luck, he received a recommendation from Young Scholar Su and managed to find a petty job at the manor of the Young Prince and Commander, where he was looked down upon day after day. Later on, by a stroke of fortune, he encountered the reigning Emperor and was promoted to Grand Marshal. This is what you call a petty person tasting success—how could he not show off his might in front of people from his past?"

Although Ren Yuan held Gao Qiu in utter contempt, he was still quite capable of analyzing his psychological state a thing or two.

"And Senior Brother, you are precisely Gao Qiu's greatest source of humiliation. If you do not die—or rather, if you do not receive a severe punishment—where is Gao Qiu supposed to put his face?"

"I have already abandoned my official post! I fled with my old mother! What more does he want? Does he truly intend to drive people to a dead end before he is satisfied? I am an Imperial Guard Chief Instructor of Spear and Staff, yet my life is somehow worth less than a shred of his pride!"

As Wang Jin became agitated, the wounds on his body showed signs of tearing open once more.

"Senior Brother, this is simply how the world is. The Great Song has historically favored civil officials and suppressed military ones. Let alone Senior Brother, a mere Chief Instructor of Spear and Staff, even Lord Di Wuxiang, Lord Di Qing, back in the day—wasn't he considered a nobody in the eyes of those people?"

Hearing Ren Yuan's words, Wang Jin gradually grew calmer. Indeed, even Di Qing was looked down upon by those people, let alone himself.

This was the Great Song! This damned world!

"Senior Brother, what are your plans for the next step?"

"My original intention was to go to Commissioner Zhong, to carve out a future with blade and spear on the battlefield, and to redeem myself through meritorious service."

After a moment of silence, Wang Jin spoke slowly.

"But now it seems that path is impassable. Among the group sent by Gao Qiu, there is a man whose build and facial features bear a strong resemblance to mine. Before you arrived earlier, that Zheng Taicheng even mentioned that once they captured me, they would have that man wear a human-skin mask, impersonate me before Commissioner Zhong, and then desert the battlefield, utterly ruining my reputation."

As he spoke, tears welled up in the fierce eyes of this formidable martial artist.

"Junior Brother, tell me, it was merely a matter of a single blow from back then—why must he push things to such extremes? He leaves me with no path to the heavens and no door into the earth! Where is the justice in this world?!"

"This old thief Gao Qiu goes too far! Elder Brother, let us charge into Tokyo, cut off this old thief's head, and give it to Instructor Wang to kick around as a ball!"

The more Mo Sheng listened, the angrier he grew, itching to charge straight into Tokyo right this instant!

"Gao Qiu's head must certainly be severed, but not right now. Our Liangshan is still too weak, and the timing is not yet ripe. To act rashly at present is by no means a good thing."

"Let us simply leave his head attached to his neck for now; in three to five years, we will return to take it!"

"Very well! Elder Brother, you must remember that I shall be the vanguard when the time comes!"

Mo Sheng was delighted. Being able to fight into Tokyo was the ultimate ideal of every hero in the rivers and lakes of the Great Song!

Who said that bandits had no goals or ideals? Without goals and ideals, how could one grow large and powerful?

"Elder Brother, why don't we invite Instructor Wang to come to Liangshan first?"

Sun An perceived that Ren Yuan had the intention of bringing Instructor Wang up the mountain, but perhaps due to certain reasons, he had not voiced it himself. Therefore, Sun An stepped forward to speak on Ren Yuan's behalf.

"Indeed, Instructor Wang! Come up to Liangshan with us first! When we attack Tokyo later on, I, Mo Sheng, will accompany you to Gao Qiu's mansion and hack him to pieces!"

Mo Sheng snapped back to reality at this point; today's purpose was to rescue Instructor Wang after all.

And what was Instructor Wang supposed to do next? Come to Liangshan, of course!

At this moment, Ren Yuan also spoke up:

"Senior Brother, given your current situation, you can no longer stay anywhere else in the Great Song. If Senior Brother does not disdain us, you may first return to our stronghold with younger brother to rest temporarily."

"As for Gao Qiu's side, since there is a corpse here that closely resembles Senior Brother's, we can exchange its clothes for yours, dress it in your accessories, and disfigure the face a bit. This is a desolate mountain wilderness frequented by wild beasts; I reckon that once we leave, beasts will come up the mountain to tear at the corpse. When Gao Qiu sends people back to investigate, I am afraid they will only find mutilated remains. That should be enough to convince him that you are already dead."

"Senior Brother can simply rest at my stronghold. Whenever you go down the mountain on ordinary days, you can wear a mask, and no one will recognize you. We shall quietly bide our time for revenge. What does Senior Brother think?"

Ren Yuan's words were logical and well-founded, and Wang Jin had been deeply wounded by Gao Qiu—his hatred for Gao Qiu was now fierce enough to pierce the heavens. The path Ren Yuan offered him at this moment seemed to be the absolute best choice.

"Junior Brother, I have heard that your Liangshan stronghold upholds justice on behalf of Heaven and does not harm innocent commoners. Is that true or not?"

"Naturally. The foundation of Liangshan is the common people; those we strike down are the local bullies and tyrannical gentry who oppress the populace."

"Very well! Then I can go up the mountain, but Junior Brother must also promise me one condition!"

Wang Jin seemed to have made an important decision, yet he still wanted Ren Yuan to grant him a request.

"Senior Brother, you may not know this, but those who come up our mountain at Liangshan do so entirely of their own accord, united by shared spirit and mutual affinity. There is no coercion or forcing anyone to join based on conditions. If Senior Brother has matters that require younger brother's assistance, just give the word; there is no need for this. Senior Brother need not participate in the stronghold's affairs and may live in peace with your mother without any problem."

Somewhat to Wang Jin's surprise, Ren Yuan had no intention of leveraging a favor or forcing him to become a chieftain.

"You... truly do not intend to press me into joining the mountain?"

"Hahaha, a true man's word is as good as a team of four horses. Why doesn't Senior Brother first tell me what this favor is that you wish me to promise?"

Ren Yuan did not offer elaborate explanations; actions spoke louder than words. Whether Wang Jin would become a chieftain of the stronghold after ascending the mountain would depend entirely on his own volition.

"There is a saying in the officialdom of the Great Song: if you want to become an official, commit murder and arson, then accept the imperial amnesty. Junior Brother, tell me—in the future, do you intend to accept an amnesty?"

"Instructor Wang, what amnesty..."

Before Ren Yuan could finish speaking, Mo Sheng heard the word "amnesty" and immediately flared up, but he was instantly intercepted and stopped by Sun An.

"There is absolutely no possibility of that!"

Ren Yuan waved his hand and declared with absolute decisiveness:

"I went up Liangshan hoping to rely on the efforts of myself and my brothers to preserve a pure land in this turbid and chaotic world. The path of accepting amnesty is one I will resolutely never walk! I will never treat my brothers of Liangshan as mere meat on a chopping block to be sacrificed for these scoundrels to ravage!"

"Besides, Zhao Ji is hardly worthy of offering me an amnesty!"

"Well spoken, Elder Brother!"

Hearing Ren Yuan say this, Mo Sheng was overjoyed!

A smile also appeared on Sun An's face!

After listening to Ren Yuan's words, Wang Jin said nothing more. Instead, he took half a step back and bowed deeply to Ren Yuan:

"That being the case, Wang Jin will henceforth impose greatly upon Junior Brother... No, I shall impose greatly upon the Master of the Stronghold."