Water Margin: From a White-Robed Scholar to Donning the Yellow Robe

Chapter 124 Returning to the Brothel Only Brings More Sorrow

Wang Lun visited a brothel for the second time, and he was no longer as restrained as he had been the first time.

Of course, he didn't stay overnight at the brothel last time either. After eating and drinking to their hearts' content and hearing about Pang Wanchun's affairs, they left Cuiyue Tower and set off for Qixia Mountain.

An Daoquan's lover, Qiaonu, did not come out to meet An Daoquan last time because she had other guests.

While the group was drinking and chatting, Wang Lun learned about Pang Wanchun's experiences.

He was originally from the north. When the Liao Dynasty invaded the south, they captured him. He worked odd jobs in the Liao army camp and was forced to serve as a human wall by the Liao army during the war.

However, he was physically strong and survived several battles. He even made an unexpected contribution and was promoted to a Liao soldier by the Liao general. Because of his strong arms, he became an archer.

He displayed exceptional talent from the very beginning of his archery training, and within just a few years became a master archer in the Liao army.

However, during the Liao army's battle against the Song Dynasty, Pang Wanchun knew he could not point his arrows at his own compatriots, so he deserted and fled to the far north.

After years on the run, he infiltrated the Jurchen people and learned their archery techniques. He combined the archery techniques of the Liao Dynasty and the Jurchen people with his own strengths to create the longbow archery method. Due to his special physical condition, no one could learn this longbow archery method.

After living among the Jurchens for several years, he discovered that they were gradually forming an alliance, which would become another Liao dynasty. So he secretly went south and returned to the Song dynasty.

Having lived in the north all his life, he decided to head south, eventually reaching Jiangnan, where he became a wandering knight-errant, and many years passed in the blink of an eye.

When asked about his age, Pang Wanchun was 32 years old, the same age as Wang Lun, though Pang Wanchun was a few months older.

Wang Lun then raised his wine cup and called out "Brother." Pang Wanchun dared not accept being the elder brother of the leader of Liangshan, and quickly replied politely, "There is no distinction between young and old. Chief Wang is the same age as me, yet he is a powerful figure with tens of thousands of soldiers, while I am all alone. Naturally, I should regard Chief Wang as my elder brother."

Wang Lun didn't really refuse, and after exchanging a few more polite words, he naturally became Pang Wanchun's "elder brother".

Pang Wanchun and Hua Rong were equally skilled in archery and got along very well. They talked about everything from anecdotes of the martial arts world to archery skills, and then to drinking contests.

When he was seven-tenths drunk, Hua Rong stammered, "Brother, if you don't want to say, I... I'll ask you for you: are you willing to come with me to Liangshan?"

Pang Wanchun was both surprised and delighted. Ever since he learned that Wang Lun was the leader of Liangshan, he had secretly told himself that this was an opportunity given by heaven and he must seize it.

Therefore, Wang Lun deliberately tried to get close to him, and he also wanted to curry favor with Wang Lun.

Wang Lun already admired him greatly, and after hearing his story, especially his refusal to use his bow and arrow to kill Song people despite being a Liao soldier, Wang Lun's values ​​aligned perfectly with his own.

Upon hearing Hua Rong ask first, he looked at Pang Wanchun and said with a smile, "Brother Pang, you've been wandering the world alone for a long time, it's time to find a place to go. Why don't you come with me to Liangshan, and we can eat meat and drink wine together, punish the powerful and wicked, and live a carefree life."

Pang Wanchun then stepped forward and knelt before Wang Lun, saying, "I am honored by your kindness, brother. I am willing to join Liangshan and will follow your lead from now on."

Hua Rong also stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "Now that you are here, please be my witness. Hua Rong and Brother Pang hit it off immediately, so why don't we become sworn brothers?"

Pang Wanchun was overjoyed and said, "I couldn't have asked for this more than I could have."

Wang Lun was overjoyed and said, "Good, today I will be your witness. You two are sworn brothers, inseparable in life and death, and never abandoning each other in wealth and honor."

Pang Wanchun and Hua Rong then drank wine and swore an oath, and together bowed to Wang Lun, thus completing the sworn brotherhood ceremony.

Just as the group was enjoying themselves, a voice outside said with a laugh, "You guys are having a great time!"

An Daoquan strode in, bowed to Wang Lun and the others, glanced around, noticed Wang Lun's injuries, and stamped his foot, saying, "Oh dear, how can you drink when you're injured?"

He quickly stepped forward to examine Wang Lun's injuries and exclaimed in surprise, "This seems to be a wound from a tiger's claws! I heard that several heroes went to Qixia Mountain to rid Qixia Mountain of the tiger's threat. Could it be you?"

Wang Lun laughed and said, "That's right, it's us. The rest of them are all unharmed, but I'm not good at martial arts and ended up getting injured."

An Daoquan carried medicine with him, reapplied the medicine to Wang Lun and bandaged him up, advising, "Since you have suffered an external injury, you cannot drink alcohol and should rest."

Wang Lun nodded: "I only took a small sip just now, I didn't drink too much. Come, Doctor An, let me introduce you. This man is called Pang Wanchun. He is the one who made the greatest contribution in slaying the tiger, and his martial arts are extraordinary."

Last night, An Daoquan, along with Wang Lun and others, overheard the girls in the building talking about Pang Wanchun, and greeted Pang Wanchun.

After chatting for a while, An Daoquan called over a waiter: "Is Qiaonu free today? Please ask her to come and meet me."

The waiter frowned and said, "Unfortunately, Qiaonu has other guests today, so she probably can't come."

They all knew about An Daoquan and Qiaonu's affair, and they felt sorry for An Daoquan, who was unable to redeem the girl he loved and had to endure the hardship of competing with customers for Qiaonu.

An Dao's expression changed completely, and he couldn't help but ask, "It happened yesterday, and it happened today too. Who exactly is it?"

The waiter replied, "I don't know. I've only heard that the other party is someone important, so how dare we waiters ask too many questions?"

Wang Lun wanted to stand up for An Daoquan, so he waved to his waiter to call the madam.

The madam originally didn't want to deal with An Daoquan, but since Wang Lun and his group were rich, she didn't dare to neglect them. As soon as she heard Wang Lun and his group calling her, she immediately came over, swaying her hips.

Wang Lun asked, "I don't know who the guest in Qiao Nu's room is. You can ask my brother here for whatever it costs to get rid of him."

He pointed at Li Jun.

Li Jun gritted his teeth inwardly, but still nodded. Although he was rich and willing to spend money on Wang Lun and others, he was somewhat unwilling to pay for An Daoquan.

The madam, with a bitter face, said, "To be honest, Qiaonu's guests yesterday and today are the same person. This person has a powerful background, and even if you give me more money, I... can't afford to offend him."

Wang Lun became interested. He had unexpectedly encountered someone remarkable. Who in Jiankang Prefecture was someone he couldn't afford to offend?

He asked, "Is it the local prefect?"

The madam shook her head and said, "How could that be? The prefect is so distinguished, why would he come to my Cuiyue Pavilion?"

Wang Lun thought about it and realized it made sense. Cuiyue Tower wasn't the best in Jiankang Prefecture, so why would the prefect come here? He must not be an official; he must be a local tyrant in Jiankang Prefecture, just like Li Jun back in Luzhou.

Li Jun, being quite clever, immediately thought of the same thing as Wang Lun and asked, "The Salt Gang?"

Salt gangs existed in the Huaihe River region, and their influence was considerable in each area.

An Daoquan's heart skipped a beat. If it was the Salt Gang, he really couldn't afford to offend them.

The madam shook her head and said, "This gentleman is formidable; even the Salt Gang wouldn't dare to offend him."

Wang Lun became even more interested in who this person was, someone even the Salt Gang couldn't afford to offend.

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, the madam dared not hide anything, sighed, and said, "This man's surname is Li, and he is the Dharma King of the Manichaeism in Jiankang Prefecture."

Manichaeism?

Wang Lun was immediately startled: "Li Tianrun?"