Magical Water Margin: They all call me brother

Page 61

Yang Zhi suddenly burst into laughter, the sound shaking off the congealed blood scabs on his forehead. It turned out that the Yang family's military spirit was worth nothing more than a single blow on the gilded floor tiles of the Grand Commandant's mansion!

The world only knows that my father surrendered to the Liao Dynasty and married a Liao princess, but they have no idea that even on the day he died in battle, my father was still loyal to the Song Dynasty! However, the world's perception prevented Yang Zhi from even revealing who his father was! He only dared to say that he was the grandson of Yang Linggong, the Five Marquises!

She wiped the blood from her forehead, dragged her battered body, and hugged her grandfather's golden dragon-inlaid knife even tighter in her arms. She forced down her grievances and tears, and with her body hunched over, she gradually disappeared into the crowd.

A draft of wind blowing through the Bianhe Bridge lifted the tattered robe, revealing the embroidered qilin pattern on the inner lining. This outfit, which had been made by a Youzhou embroiderer over three months for the trip to the capital, still contained a peace charm sewn by her father before his death on the right lapel.

The aroma of mutton soup wafted from the wine flags fluttering by the bridge, and Yang Zhi's stomach clenched violently. She recalled how, three days ago in the elegant room of Fanlou, she had slammed her last bit of money on the table, just to bribe the gatekeeper of the Imperial Guard's mansion to pass on a message.

As the drumbeats sounded, Yang Zhi didn't even go back to the inn. He slept on the streets all night without a wink, and finally made up his mind.

If I were to join Liu Hong now, I would be tarnishing the reputation of my ancestors! No! I am a descendant of the Yang family generals! How could I possibly become an outlaw on Liangshan Mountain?!

If I do nothing and starve to death while holding this knife, then my father's lineage will be completely extinguished.

Now, I must destroy the old to build the new. I must sell my last remaining possession, this golden dragon-inlaid sword, and get some money to go to the Western Xia border. Only then can I possibly make a name for myself through hard work and skill! At worst, I can return to Tokyo in glory and buy the sword back!

Yang Zhi hardened his heart, neither returning to the inn nor seeing Liu Hong. He dragged his weary body, took the precious sword, and went to the market to sell it, arriving at Wang Cai's market.

After offending Liu Hong and Lin Chong, resulting in the loss of his loyal servant Wang Er, Wang Cai hired a powerful rogue named Niu Er as his henchman and upgraded his business structure.

Wang Cai realized that his previous business model was flawed. He couldn't let his confidants collect protection money. If he encountered a big shot like Lin Chong again, and Lin Chong dragged him down with him, Wang Cai would be in serious trouble, if not dead. Lin Chong's incident was truly terrifying; a group of Shandong merchants were actually siblings with the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards.

Now, Wang Cai hired Niu Er to deliberately cause trouble on his street so that he could collect protection money from the merchants. Of the money earned, Wang Cai would take seven and Niu Er would take three.

On the surface, Wang Cai is a legitimate businessman; it's Niu Er who's robbing and causing trouble! If he encounters someone like Lin Chong, he can shift all the blame and risks onto Niu Er, leaving Wang Cai completely unscathed. He only loses 30% of the protection money and doesn't have to bear any risks at all.

At this moment, he cautiously assessed whether Yang Zhi was someone to be trifled with, just as he had assessed whether the Liangshan forces were someone to be trifled with a few months ago.

Well, he was a down-on-his-luck soldier. Although he was dressed in decent clothes, he had been standing for several hours, and his stomach was growling with hunger. His mouth was so dry that it was cracked. He couldn't even afford the cheapest steamed bun. He seemed to be really desperate for money.

And the knife in her hand was quite nice. What would someone with no status or background need such a good knife for? I'll find a way to just snatch it from her.

Wang Cai waved his hand and immediately dispatched Niu Er: "This time he's an easy target. Go, find a way to get that precious sword from him. We'll split it 30/70 as usual." These days, let alone a down-on-his-luck soldier, even an active-duty soldier is at the bottom of the professional hierarchy!

Chapter 138: Yang Zhi Sells His Knife in Bianjing City

The withered grass wrapped around the hilt of the sword curled up in the heat. Yang Zhi was parched from the sun, and it felt as if a fire was burning in his throat. The ancestral sword in his arms reflected the scorching midday sun, and the cold light reflected from the blade stung his eyes.

This murderous blade, which once accompanied the Five Marquises and Commanders, drinking blood on the battlefields of Liao and Song, now has to learn from the wrist-splitting knife of a butcher in the marketplace, wrapping withered grass, a symbol of selling oneself, around its body, casting a shameful shadow on the bluestone slab.

"Bianliang's time-honored brand of steamed buns! Come and buy some, come and buy some!"

The voice of the pancake vendor next door was as bright as a gong, making Yang Zhi's left cheek tingle with heat. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and blood seeped from his cracked lips, mingling with the salty sweat dripping from his forehead, condensing into dark red salt grains on the fangs of the beast-like creature.

His stomach suddenly clenched and spasmed from hunger. Although he had already made the decision to sell his family heirloom sword, Yang Zhi realized how difficult it would be to actually do it.

The word "treasure..." had barely escaped the blood crust in Yang Zhi's throat when he tasted rust on his tongue. The sounds of the market seemed to come and go, and in a daze, it was as if the wind and sand of Youzhou swept past his ears.

The instinct for survival compelled her to sell the precious sword, but her pride wouldn't allow her to utter the word. "I come from a family of military merit!" she thought. "How could I, overnight, have fallen from the very top of society—the scholar-farmer-artisan-merchant class—to the very bottom? To be so lowly, hawking my wares here?!"

How could I have become the very thing I hate and despise the most?

"Get out of the way! A tiger is coming! A tiger is coming!!!"

Just as Yang Zhi was struggling with his inner turmoil, suddenly, a scream came from afar, and a large number of merchants hurriedly packed up their things and fled, leaving Yang Zhi completely baffled.

Where did this tiger come from in the perfectly good city of Kaifeng?!

Yang Zhi cast aside his inner troubles and stopped to look. In the distance, he saw a large, dark-skinned man, half-drunk, stumbling towards him. Yang Zhi observed that the man's appearance was coarse; his face vaguely resembled a ghost, while his physique was somewhat human.

Its entire body was covered in a seeping, scaly sharkskin; its head and scalp were covered in long, curly, frizzy hair. Its chest was covered in tight, unruly skin, and its forehead had three strong, furrowed wrinkles. It didn't look like a human, nor a tiger, but rather like an ape.

It turned out that this man was a notorious down-and-out rogue in the capital, known as "Hairless Tiger Niu Er," who specialized in causing trouble, violence, and disturbances in the streets. He had been involved in several lawsuits, but Wang Cai secretly bribed him with gold and silver, and even the Kaifeng Prefecture could not subdue him. As a result, everyone in the city avoided him whenever he came.

Niu Er looked around and found that everyone had run away except Yang Zhi. He rushed up to Yang Zhi, pulled out the precious knife from his hand, and before he could say anything, he spewed out a mouthful of rotten teeth, filling the air with the smell of alcohol, which made Yang Zhi frown.

"Hey...hey girl, how much do you want for this knife?"

"My ancestors left me a treasured sword, which I'm selling for three thousand strings of cash."

Yang Zhi really had no experience in dealing with the common people. If it were Lu Zhisheng or Liu Hong, they would have realized something was wrong by now, but she still foolishly started to insure the price.

"What kind of bird knife is this, costing three thousand strings of cash?! I could buy one for thirty coins and still cut meat and tofu perfectly well. What's so special about your bird knife that it's called a precious knife?!"

Niu Er's eyes widened; he was genuinely terrified by Yang Zhi's offer and immediately cursed out loud.

"My sword is not one of those white iron swords sold in shops; this is a treasured sword that accompanied Lord Yang, the Five Marquises, on his campaigns!"

Yang Zhi snorted and proudly raised his chin, introducing his family heirloom as if a child were showing off his favorite toy.

"Hmm? Why is it called a treasured sword?"

Niu Er persisted, asking the question.

"The first requirement is that it can cut through copper and iron without dulling the blade; the second requirement is that it can cut through a hair; the third requirement is that it leaves no blood on the blade when killing someone; only then can it be considered a treasured sword."

Yang Zhi said proudly. Niu Er saw this expression and felt very disdainful. This person was really a down-on-her-luck young lady who didn't know the ways of the world. She actually threw her weakness into my hands?!

Fine, fine, if any one of these three conditions isn't met, I can torture you to death!

"Do you dare to chop up a copper coin?"

Niu Er casually snatched twenty copper coins from a nearby stall, piled them up, and came to make things difficult for Yang Zhi. Yang Zhi didn't even look at them. With a swift stroke of his knife, all twenty copper coins were chopped in half, scattering all over the ground. The onlookers cheered!

Yang Zhi was quite pleased with the cheers. "Hmm, so this is how you sell things. I've demonstrated the superior performance of this knife so well, he'll definitely buy it soon."

"What kind of nonsense is this! Come here! I want to see what it means to be able to pierce a hair with a sharp blade!"

Niu Er was publicly humiliated, but he didn't panic at all and changed his condition to a second one.

Yang Zhi confidently placed a few strands of hair on the blade, and with a single breath, the hair broke off and fell to the ground. The crowd continued to cheer, and more and more people gathered to watch, which made Yang Zhi even more confident and eager to demonstrate the superiority of his treasured sword.

Despite being slapped in the face twice, the rogue Niu Er remained shameless and arrogant, continuing to try to cause trouble and keep asking questions.

"I don't believe the third murder was bloodless! You bring your knife and chop someone up for me!"

Yang Zhi frowned, realizing that the other party didn't seem to be genuinely interested in buying a knife.

"How dare you kill someone in Kaifeng? If you don't believe me, I'll bring a dog and kill it for you to see."

Niu Er's eyes lit up. "Good, good, this woman is quite capable. But now, haven't I caught you red-handed? Watch me use this as an excuse to get my hands on your knife!"

"You said murder, but you never said killing a dog! I want to see murder, I want to see murder, I want to see murder!!!"

Yang Zhi was furious at this moment, her beautiful face showing displeasure.

"If you're not going to buy the knife, fine, but why keep bothering me?"

"Hey! You said you could kill without drawing blood, but now you're too scared to do it. Are you a cunning businessman? Feeling guilty?"

The scoundrel Niu Er was so arrogant that he completely overwhelmed the weakling Yang Zhi, which made her furious.

It's one thing for Grand Commandant Gao to suppress me, but you, a mere scoundrel, want to bully me too? Do you really think I'm a featherless phoenix, inferior to a chicken?!

"Buy it or don't, don't bother me while I'm doing business!"

Yang Zhi snorted coldly, snatched the knife and was about to leave, but was stopped by Niu Er.

"Hey! You tried to take my knife, do you think you can kill me?!"

"We have no past grievances or enmities. Even if a deal falls through, we can still maintain good relations. Why would I kill you for no reason?"

Niu Er grabbed Yang Zhi's sleeve tightly and roared, "I'm going to buy your knife!"

Yang Zhi was also annoyed at this point, and shouted back: "Three thousand strings of cash, no bargaining!"

Niu Er persisted relentlessly, clinging to him like a persistent plaster: "I have no money."

Yang Zhi felt utterly bewildered; he had never seen such an unreasonable person in his life: "You have no money, so why are you grabbing me?"

Niu Er, grinning and pestering, said, "I want your knife, but you won't sell it to me? Then cut me with it!"

Yang Zhi was furious. Although Niu Er was indeed large, he was only two meters tall. Yang Zhi, at two and a half meters, was far stronger and kicked him away with one foot. Niu Er got up and, with a tumble, crashed into Yang Zhi's arms, forcibly taking the knife!

Yang Zhi was truly enraged at this moment. She was quite different from Lin Chong. Although both of them abided by the law, Lin Chong had spent his entire life training the Imperial Guards in Kaifeng and had never seen bloodshed.

Yang Zhi, a junior officer who had actually fought bandits and killed people, couldn't bear Niu Er's actions on the spot. With a flash of cold light, Niu Er's head flew off his neck! It spun several times in the air before crashing to the ground!

The headless corpse and the head that fell to the ground didn't spit out a single drop of blood, leaving Niu Er dumbfounded. The head that fell to the ground murmured with its last bit of strength.

"It's really a fine knife..."

After killing the man, Yang Zhi finally came to his senses, but it was too late. He was penniless and had just killed someone... It was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly!

Meanwhile, Wang Cai, the head of the chamber of commerce who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, was also dumbfounded. He had misjudged the situation. This soldier really dared to kill someone in the street! The new thug I finally found is dead again!

Left with no other option, he hurriedly summoned his imperial guards, ordering them to arrest Yang Zhi!

Chapter 139: Killing Yang Zhi - Human Life Has a Price

Things were moving too fast for Yang Zhi. Liu Hong couldn't see the sunlight underground in Kaifeng and couldn't judge the time. After finding an old Tang Dynasty house to use as the base for the Ghost Fanlou restaurant, he had just climbed out when he found that Yang Zhi hadn't returned to the hotel.

Just as he was about to go look for him, he heard a few ruffians in charge of gathering information hurriedly bring him some bad news: After being driven out of the palace command post, Commander Yang went to the small commercial street to sell knives, and then was taken away by the officials for murder.

Liu Hong paused for a moment, then thought, "Well, things have come to this, let's figure out how to save them!" He immediately began to devise a rescue plan.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the timeline was also undergoing a drastic change due to Liu Hong's involvement. Niu Er had always been a notorious villain, terrorizing the countryside, but he had no one backing him. He relied solely on his toughness and thick skin, getting away with whatever punishment he received from the Kaifeng Prefecture. After Yang Zhi killed him, he was considered to have rid Kaifeng of a scourge.

Therefore, Yang Zhi was only convicted of manslaughter and exiled to Daming Prefecture, and nothing else happened after that.

Now, Niu Er is Wang Cai's second-in-command. Because Liu Hong killed his half-brother, Wang Cai was forced to change his business model and hired Niu Er to do evil. Now that Niu Er has been killed, he is furious. In just a few months, two of my important subordinates have died.

How could a lowly, down-on-his-luck soldier kill my second-in-command and be exiled to Daming Prefecture unscathed? If he serves a few years in prison and then comes back, what will become of my reputation? What will others think of me?

If this matter isn't handled properly, the other chamber of commerce leaders will think I'm easy to bully! They killed my second-in-command in public, and the murderer can only serve a few years in prison. Doesn't that mean I'm weak?

If I ignore this, my subordinates will think I'm weak and inactive, and no one will dare to do this kind of dirty work for me again. My competitors will also think I'm easy to bully and will keep causing me trouble!

Wang Cai was filled with rage and malice. After Yang Zhi's verdict was announced, he immediately used his connections in the Imperial Guard to contact the two guards who were escorting her to Daming Prefecture, Dong Chao and Xue Ba.

The two guards were completely bewildered as they were invited into the extremely high-class Fanlou restaurant in Kaifeng for a meal. The table was laden with delicacies from land and sea, and exquisite dishes. The newcomer, Dong Chao, was utterly confused, not knowing what was going on, while the seasoned Xue Ba had already guessed most of it.

“If someone brings us gold or silver or asks us for favors, even if it goes against the prefect’s orders, we two brothers will accept it. Our monthly salary is only a few hundred coins, but the rewards and rewards these people give us at once are enough for us to live on for several years. For this money, it’s worth breaking the rules.”

Xue Ba ate meat and drank wine with practiced ease, and poured a glass for his colleague Dong Chao as well. Looking at Dong Chao's naive and clueless appearance, he shook his head, remembering himself when he first started working.

Oh well, he'll get used to it after doing it a few times.

After a while, Wang Cai, dressed in full regalia and accompanied by a captain of the Imperial Guard, came to see Dong Chao and Xue Ba to discuss the entire matter of killing Yang Zhi on the road and to offer them a reward.

One of Grand Tutor Cai's birthday gifts was worth a full 100,000 strings of cash.

Even a simple table in Grand Commandant Gao's house was worth over 120,000 strings of cash.

A family's monthly expenses would be at most three or four strings of cash.

Now, Wang Cai only spent ten taels of gold to buy Yang Zhi's life, which is equivalent to one hundred taels of silver or one hundred strings of cash, just one percent of the birthday tribute.

Sometimes, a human life is just that cheap.

Dong Chao stared at the gold in front of him and listened to the words in his ear. His pupils dilated in shock. He thought the visitors were Yang Zhi's relatives and hoped that the two of them would take care of Yang Zhi along the way, even remove his shackles and chains, and take good care of him. That's why he slipped them some bribes.

I never expected you to want me to kill Yang Zhi!

"No, no! The official document from Kaifeng Prefecture only ordered us to escort Yang Zhi alive to Daming Prefecture, it didn't order us to kill him!!!"

Dong Chao hurriedly declined, but was stopped impatiently by Xue Ba halfway through his sentence.

"Old Dong, listen to me. We're just low-ranking officials. Even if the Imperial Guard captain wants us dead, we have to comply. Besides, this official is giving us gold! How many years of hard work could you possibly save up ten taels of gold?"

Don't say any more! We have certain quotas every year. There are so many impoverished and dangerous places along the route from Tokyo to Beijing. What can we do to evade responsibility? Even if we kill them, what difference will it make?

While scolding his companions, Xue Ba hurriedly collected the gold, threw five taels into the hands of the bewildered Dong Chao, and then spoke to Wang Cai and the imperial guard with a grin.

"Rest assured, sir, it's mostly five stops away, maybe three or four more. You'll see!"

"Good! Xue Duangong is truly decisive! When we arrive here tomorrow, we will definitely tear off the golden seal on Yang Zhi's face, cut off her dragon horns, and bring them back as evidence to tell everyone in Kaifeng that no one can offend me, Wang Cai!"

At that time, Wang will then give the two of them ten taels of gold as a token of his gratitude! We await good news; do not delay!

Wang Cai laughed heartily. Dong Chao wanted to say something, but at this moment, the five taels of gold in his palms felt as heavy as Mount Tai, making it hard for him to breathe. His hands and feet were stiff and he couldn't move, his lips and teeth were numb and he couldn't speak. He was completely stunned, and all he could see in his pupils was the beautiful color of the gold.

Upon hearing that there would be an additional five taels after the deed was done, his eyes widened in disbelief. He was so bewitched that he lost all conscience and could not utter a single word.

The three men drank for a while longer, then settled the bill. They left the tavern and parted ways.

It is said that Dong Chao and Xue Ba divided the gold among themselves, sent it home, retrieved their luggage and bundles, took their fire and water sticks, and then went to the envoy's room to take Yang Zhi away and put him on the road under guard.

At this moment, Yang Zhi was indeed at his lowest point. The rusty shackles on his wrists jingled, and his delicate arms, which should have been draped in snow-white silk, were now bound by cast iron chains as thick as three fingers, leaving red marks on his fair skin. The collar of his prison uniform was askew, revealing half of his swan-like neck. Sweat-dampened stray hairs clung to his chiseled collarbone, rising and falling with his breath like dark vines entwining a white jade railing.

The terrifying eighty-pound wooden shackles forced her to lean forward slightly, a posture that made her already graceful and alluring figure appear even more breathtaking, with her breasts drooping and her buttocks protruding. Her coarse linen clothes were soaked with sweat and clung tightly to her undulating and beautiful curves.

As the coarse cloth trousers were rolled up, a clear, silvery sound rang out from her snow-white ankles; it was the clanging of the iron rings on her anklets.