Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 120 The Golden-haired Tiger's Cleverness Backfires, the Dwarf Tiger Throws Himself into

Who are these two? They are none other than the former mountain kings of Qingfeng Mountain, the "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun and the "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying who had previously escaped.

These two men fled when they attacked Qingfeng Mountain, while "Fair-faced Gentleman" Zheng Tianshou died in battle. These two guys escaped Qingfeng Mountain with a small number of its henchmen.

Although they survived by sheer luck, they had nowhere to stay in Qingzhou from then on, and were practically wandering around. Gradually, their henchmen deserted, and in the end, only a few dozen men remained.

"The Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun and "The Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying finally decided to leave Qingzhou, go to a distant place, start anew, and once again rule the mountains as kings.

However, not only were they short of money, but they also had no money left for their journey. After all, when they fled Qingfeng Mountain in a hurry, it happened so suddenly that they didn't bring anything with them and their money was all gone.

So, the two of them conspired to rob another large sum of money in Qingzhou, and then lead their brothers to the south to start anew.

After discussing it, the two decided to rob the military pay being sent to Qingfeng Village!

Firstly, the military pay had to pass through a forest to reach Qingfeng Village, making it easy to ambush the enemy. Secondly, the pay was delivered by horse-drawn carriage, which was convenient; otherwise, carrying thousands of taels of silver would have been too much to bear.

The third, of course, is that there is a lot of money.

It is said that Qingfeng Mountain is not far from Qingzhou, only about a hundred miles away. However, Qingfeng Village is located at the crossroads of Qingzhou, in a place called Qingfeng Town.

Because this three-way intersection leads to three dangerous mountains, Qingfeng Village was specially established in Qingfeng Town, where there are three to five thousand households, but it is only a little over one stop away from Qingfeng Mountain.

Therefore, they planned to quickly seize the military supplies when they passed through Qingfeng Mountain and run away. After all, the mountain stronghold on Qingfeng Mountain no longer existed and had been completely destroyed. The two of them were certain that the government troops escorting the military supplies would be unprepared when they arrived at this place, so they could catch them off guard.

They only wanted a quick victory. They knew that Hua Rong, the deputy magistrate of Qingfeng Village, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," was one of the best heroes in Qingzhou. Not only was he a skilled marksman, but he was also an expert archer, hitting the bullseye every time. They knew that even if the two of them were still alive, the three of them would be no match for him. Therefore, they had to seize the military pay before he arrived.

The two men acted accordingly. This day was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. As dusk began to fall, more than thirty Qingzhou soldiers were slowly pulling carts carrying military pay and grain along the pine forest road at the northern foot of Qingfeng Mountain.

However, what they didn't expect was that the person escorting the military pay...

On the lead horse, a white-robed general sat upright, holding a wrought-silver steel spear upside down, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground, gleaming with a cold, eerie light in the moonlight.

This man was none other than Hua Rong, the deputy magistrate of Qingfeng Village, also known as "Little Li Guang".

He frowned slightly, and suddenly heard the sound of the pine trees ahead mixed with the crisp sound of a dry branch breaking. He immediately pulled on the reins.

As soon as the horse's front hooves touched the ground, two or three crows were startled from the brambles by the roadside and fluttered over the heads of the group.

"Wait a moment!"

Hua Rong raised his hand to stop the procession, listened intently for a moment, then suddenly sneered: "Such a crude ambush, yet you dare to rob an official's residence? Show yourself!"

Before he finished speaking, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," thrust his silver spear like a white python emerging from its cave, suddenly parting a clump of withered grass by the roadside.

Three sharpened pieces of deer antler wood were clearly visible, their blades coated with dark sap, a deliberate preparation by the two mountain bandits to block their path later.

Why would Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," follow the grain and silver carts transporting goods from Qingzhou City back to Qingfeng Village?

It turned out that this "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong had gone to Qingzhou City to buy some cosmetics from Dongjing City as a birthday gift for his younger sister, Hua Baoyan. He happened to arrive just as the caravan of silver and grain carts was about to depart, so he followed them back.

The intelligence work of "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun and "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying was not done well. They thought that "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong was in Qingfeng Village. Little did they know that he was in the transport team.

A thunderous shout suddenly erupted from the forest, and two riders emerged from the ravine.

On the left sat a burly man with a red face and yellow beard, his nine-ringed steel saber gleaming in the moonlight; this was none other than "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun. On the right was a short, stocky man holding a twelve-foot steel spear upside down, his face flushed red; this was "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying.

"Good eye!"

"The 'Golden-haired Tiger' Yan Shun feinted a slash with his steel blade, the hilt jingling. 'But today, the grandfathers are determined to have these things!'"

After saying that, he gave a wink, and "Short-legged Tiger" Wang Ying understood. He flicked his spear and thrust it toward "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong's face.

This shot was cunning; as the spearhead trembled, it split into three cold stars, a sight commonly seen in the martial arts world as "a venomous snake spitting its tongue."

It was a dark night, and neither of them knew that the person in front of them was "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong, which is why they dared to be so presumptuous.

Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," remained calm and composed. He flicked his silver spear diagonally upwards, striking Wang Ying, nicknamed "Short-Legged Tiger," seven inches from the shaft of his spear.

With a clang, "Short-legged Tiger" Wang Ying felt a numbness in his palm, and the spearhead was pulled to the side as if it were glued to the silver spear.

In the blink of an eye, "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong flicked his wrist, and the spearhead, like a nimble snake, struck "Short-legged Tiger" Wang Ying's right wrist at the Shenmen acupoint.

"Oh dear!"

"Short-legged Tiger" Wang Ying cried out in pain, nearly dropping his spear.

Upon seeing this, "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun shouted and swung his steel blade at the waist with a whoosh.

Yan Shunxin, nicknamed "Jinmaohu," thought to himself, "Something's not right. How could someone escorting a grain cart have such good skills? This doesn't make sense!"

Despite the strangeness, "Jinmaohu" Yan Shun's hands moved faster than his brain. He swung his knife first, but "Xiao Li Guang" Hua Rong squeezed his legs tightly around the horse's belly. The white steed seemed to be guided by a spirit and shifted half a step to the side. The silver spear spun back and its tip touched the steel blade guard.

Amidst the flying sparks, "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun felt a gentle, persistent force emanating from the blade, as if he were trapped in a spider web and unable to pull himself out.

While the three were locked in combat, more than fifty henchmen suddenly emerged from the woods and surrounded the government troops.

"Little Li Guang" Hua Rong, seeing his soldiers fighting fiercely in formation, suddenly let out a long roar: "Don't panic, soldiers! Retreat behind the rocks!"

Before the words were even finished, the silver spear transformed into a shower of pear blossoms, forcing the two bandits to retreat repeatedly.

Taking advantage of the moment, he took off the Flying Fish Bow with its iron core, and with his left hand, he took out three feathered arrows from the quiver of the Beast-shaped quiver. Without stringing them, he threw them with his backhand towards an old pine tree three zhang away.

"Grab it! Grab it!"

But then three muffled thuds were heard, and the arrow pierced through the half-foot-thick tree trunk, revealing a three-inch arrowhead.

The henchmen who were about to pounce stopped in shock, only to see that the white feathers at the end of the arrow were still trembling, arranged in a triangular shape, which was the cloud-piercing arrow pattern used by the army as a warning.

"Jinmaohu" Yan Shun's face was ashen. He feinted with his steel saber and jumped out of the battle, shouting sharply: "No, this is...it's someone surnamed Hua!"

Yan Shun, nicknamed "Golden-haired Tiger," recognized the person before him as none other than Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang."

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of silver light appeared beside Hua Rong's saddle—it was the silver spear that had somehow appeared in front of the horse, with drops of blood still dripping from its tip.

Wang Ying looked down and saw that her leather armor had been torn open with a three-inch gash, but her skin and flesh were not damaged at all.

"elder brother!"

"Short-legged Tiger" Wang Ying was filled with fear. He and "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun were no match for "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong. The two brothers had walked right into a trap!

At this moment, a west wind suddenly rose, making the pine trees rustle like fury. "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong, his white robe fluttering, suddenly saw a henchman's steel knife slashing at a fallen old soldier. He immediately drew his bow like a full moon.

The bowstring twanged, and a wolf-tooth arrow pierced the air, striking the henchman's right arm at the Quchi acupoint. The steel knife clattered to the ground. Before the henchman could even cry out in pain, a second arrow arrived, shattering one of his eyeballs and piercing his skull.

Seeing that things were not going well, Yan Shun, nicknamed "Golden-haired Tiger," and Wang Ying, nicknamed "Dwarf Tiger," spurred their horses to flee.

Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," sneered and released two arrows simultaneously with three fingers.

Two arrows were seen, one in front of the other. The latter arrow caught up with the tail of the former arrow. After the two arrows collided, they suddenly shot to the left and right, landing three feet to the sides of the head of "Short-legged Tiger" Wang Ying's horse.

The horse was so startled that it reared up, throwing "Dwarf Tiger" Wang Ying off the ground.

Meanwhile, Yan Shun, nicknamed "Golden-haired Tiger," was also shot off his horse and fell to the ground.

"Fight him!"

At this moment, both men's eyes turned red. They knew that "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong was an unparalleled archer. If he ran too far away, he would die from one arrow. It would be better to rush up and fight him in close combat.

Seeing the two men approaching menacingly, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," remained calm and composed. He flicked his silver spear and charged forward to meet them.

His marksmanship was like a dragon, each move sharp and fierce. Although "Golden-haired Tiger" Yan Shun's steel knife was fierce and he used all his skills, he could not get close to him.

Seeing this, "Short-legged Tiger" Wang Ying stepped forward with his spear to help, and the two attacked Hua Rong from the left and right.

Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," fought two opponents single-handedly, holding his own against them. His silver spear moved with impenetrable speed, and he managed to neutralize the attacks of Yan Shun and Wang Ying one by one.

After more than thirty rounds, Hua Rong, nicknamed "Little Li Guang," was playing like a cat chasing a mouse, wanting to have his fill of fun first, so he didn't use his full strength. Meanwhile, Yan Shun and Wang Ying gradually ran out of energy and were secretly amazed: "This Hua Rong is indeed worthy of his reputation; his spear skills are so superb!"

Seeing that the two men's attacks were slowing down, Hua Rong was secretly pleased. He suddenly flicked his silver spear, knocking Wang Ying's spear away, and then thrust his spear at Yan Shun.

Yan Shun was shocked and hurriedly swung his sword to block, but Hua Rong's spear made his hand go numb and the steel sword almost slip from his grasp.

Seeing that the time was right, Hua Rong suddenly withdrew his spear, grabbed a bow and arrow, nocked an arrow, aimed at Yan Shun, and shouted, "Yan Shun, take this!"

Hearing the arrow whistling through the air, Yan Shun hurriedly dodged, but it was too late. With a "whoosh," the arrow struck Yan Shun squarely in the left shoulder, and blood gushed out immediately.

Yan Shun cried out in pain, his steel knife fell to the ground, and he swayed, almost falling over.

When Wang Ying saw that Yan Shun had been shot with an arrow, he was terrified and hurriedly raised his spear to save him.

Hua Rong sneered, nocked another arrow, aimed at Wang Ying, and shouted, "Wang Ying, take this arrow too!"

Upon hearing the sound of the arrow, Wang Ying hurriedly dodged, only to see Hua Rong's arrow following him like a shadow, heading straight for his chest.

Wang Ying was shocked and hurriedly picked up his gun to parry, but with a clang, the arrow struck the shaft of the gun, making his arm go numb and nearly causing him to drop the gun.

Seeing Hua Rong's spear thrust was unstoppable, Yan Shun shouted, "Men, surround this bastard!" Instantly, dozens of henchmen brandished their swords and spears and rushed towards Hua Rong from all directions.

Hua Rong sneered, his silver spear sweeping across like a white python churning a river, and the broadswords in the hands of the two henchmen in front flew away in response.

Suddenly, he spurred his horse around, used the tip of his spear to propel himself up, and leaped into the air, stepping on the shoulders of the henchmen to clear three zhang (approximately 10 meters) before landing steadily on a large blue stone.

Seeing this, Wang Ying thrust his spear straight at Hua Rong's lower body. Hua Rong reversed his silver spear and used the "Jade Belt Around the Waist" move. The spear shaft collided with Wang Ying's iron spear, sparks flying. Hua Rong then kicked off the stone wall with his right foot and used the momentum to flip himself and land behind Wang Ying.

Yan Shun's steel blade was already upon him, the sound of it cutting through the air sharp and piercing. Hua Rong, however, neither dodged nor yielded. He parried with his silver spear, the tassel of which suddenly flared out, blinding Yan Shun.

In the blink of an eye, Hua Rong had already pulled three feathered arrows from his quiver with his left hand.

"Hit!" With a sharp shout, three arrows were fired in quick succession.

The first arrow pierced Yan Shun's iron crown, scattering his hair; the second arrow grazed Wang Ying's ear and embedded itself three inches into the pine tree behind him; the last arrow pierced through the clothes of two henchmen, pinning them together.

Such archery skills terrified the bandits, causing their attack to stall.

If it weren't for the desire to capture the two of them alive, with "Little Li Guang" Hua Rong's abilities, there would have been no need to go to such great lengths!

Yan Shun, with disheveled hair and resembling a mad tiger, brandished his steel blade, creating a burst of silver light as he lunged forward.

Hua Rong feinted with his silver spear, suddenly creating an opening. Yan Shun was overjoyed and slashed down with all his might, but Hua Rong had already turned to the side and swept the back of his knee with the end of his spear.

As Yan Shun staggered, Hua Rong grabbed a bow with his other hand. With a twang of the bowstring, an arrow without an arrowhead struck Yan Shun's right wrist at the "Shenmen" acupoint, and the steel knife clattered to the ground.

Seeing the situation was turning against him, Wang Ying feigned an attack and tried to escape. Hua Rong burst into loud laughter: "Chief Wang, please wait!"

As he spoke, he fired five arrows in quick succession, each one landing three inches in front of Wang Ying's footing, forcing him to retreat step by step.

The final arrow severed the silk ribbons binding Wang Ying's armor, causing it to fall to the ground.

Hua Rong thrust his silver spear forward, the tip pressed against Wang Ying's throat, while his left hand swept across with his longbow, knocking down a group of henchmen who tried to rescue their master.

At this moment, Yan Shun was about to struggle to get up when he saw Hua Rong flick his toe, sending a steel knife flying from the ground. It landed squarely in the mud between his legs, no more than half an inch from his vitals.

Yan Shun broke out in a cold sweat and dared not move again. Hua Rong's voice boomed like a bell: "Listen up! If you take another half step forward, these two traitors will die instantly!"

The dozens of henchmen looked at each other, none of them daring to move. After a while, they scattered like birds and beasts, and Hua Rong ignored them and let them go.

Seeing that the two men were powerless to fight back, Hua Rong put away his bow and arrows, picked up his spear and stepped forward, shouting, "Yan Shun, Wang Ying, why don't you two surrender?"

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Yan Shun and Wang Ying had no choice but to drop their weapons, kneel down and beg for mercy. Hua Rong ordered his men to tie them up and take them back to Qingfeng Village.

Meanwhile, Hua Rong rode alone, escorting the two bandits back to the stronghold. As they passed through Qingfeng Town, the people along the way burned incense and offered prayers.

Upon reaching the gate of the village, they encountered Liu Gao, the village magistrate, who had rushed over upon hearing the news. Liu Gao originally intended to reprimand Hua Rong for his unauthorized use of force, but seeing the cheers of the people, he could only force a smile and say, "Village Magistrate Hua is truly a divine man!"

Hua Rong calmly dismounted, ordered someone to bring medicine to bandage the two bandits, and said loudly, "Prefect Liu, heroes cherish heroes. If these two are willing to turn over a new leaf, Qingfeng Village should treat them with courtesy. For now, do not mistreat them."

Liu Gao was taken aback for a moment, then said, "No problem."