Heroes of Mount Liang ( Part. 4 )

Mu Linfeng and Zheng Xiyu walked towards Wu Xing's direction. Wu Xing nodded at Zheng Xiyu and they exchanged a smile, which in modern times was considered polite. Unfortunately, Zheng Xiyu seemed to think that Wu Xing was flirting with her and glared at him before standing behind Mu Linfeng to avoid his gaze. Wu Xing was puzzled and didn't understand what he had done to offend Zheng Xiyu. He thought it was because he had intended to rob the horse caravan earlier and had offended her. He was about to explain himself when he heard Mu Linfeng say, "If I feel something is wrong when we reach the mountain, we must immediately turn back."

Wu Xing quickly replied, "Of course, as long as Brother Feng wishes, we will turn back."

Mu Linfeng added, "I mean, we two brothers will turn back together." Wu Xing glanced at Mu Linfeng but didn't say anything, his face turning sour.

Mu Linfeng looked ahead and saw a pavilion not far away. Across the reed pond, a group of small bandits was rowing a fast boat and heading towards the pavilion, where they moored their boat.

Wu Xing had led Mu Linfeng to hand over the horses to someone else and had taken his weapons and luggage before boarding the boat. The small bandits rowed the boat and headed towards the pond.

When Mu Linfeng's boat passed the water's surface, more than ten small boats passed by from the opposite direction. Wu Xing explained that they were going to pick up the rest of their brothers.

After crossing the waterway and reaching the shore, Wu Xing said that they had arrived at Jinsha Beach. Although the Shuibo Liangshan Mountain was not particularly high, the mountain walls were steep, and coupled with the freezing winter weather, the water droplets on the ground had turned into ice, making the mountain road even more treacherous. The latter half of the journey was manageable, but the upper half of the mountain road was almost impossible to climb. If it weren't for those who had been walking here for a long time, it would be hard to tell where the road was.

Wu Xing and the others tied their horses to the trees at the mountain waist and continued on foot. Wu Xing said, "It would be much easier if we could come from the other side of the mountain. There is a direct path to the stronghold."

As they walked, Mu Linfeng was also worried about Zheng Xiyu's recent injuries and helped support her with one hand while using a dried branch as a cane in the other. Zheng Xiyu felt the warmth of Mu Linfeng's concern, but she did not show it on her face.

After about half an hour, they finally reached the mountaintop. Although Mu Linfeng was physically fit, he was also a little breathless after the climb. Zheng Xiyu was even more out of breath, and Mu Linfeng couldn't help but laugh. Zheng Xiyu glared at him and said, "If I hadn't been injured, I wouldn't be like this."

Mu Linfeng stopped laughing and asked Wu Xing, "Why is it that your subordinates can walk on this slippery mountain path as if it were level ground?"

Wu Xing smiled slightly and whispered in his ear. Mu Linfeng couldn't help but laugh and said, "It seems like my guess was correct. You even thought of the principle behind hiking shoes." However, he was a little confused and immediately asked Wu Xing, "Do we have rubber at this time?"

Wu Xing nodded with a smile, then shook his head. Mu Linfeng watched him act mysterious, but did not pursue the matter. If he wanted to share, he would naturally do so.

Wu Xing pointed ahead and said to Mu Linfeng, "The stronghold is just ahead."

Walking along the small path by the shore, a tall city wall soon came into view, with guards stationed every three steps and sentries every two, the defense was tight. In the center of the city wall, a copper gate, like a jewel, was embedded in the wall. Mu Linfeng imagined that the bandit stronghold must be inside the wall.

Wu Xing, with Mu Linfeng and Zheng Xiyu, walked up to the city gate and said to the people on the wall, "Open the gate."

Soon, a dull sound was heard, and the gate slowly opened. Mu Linfeng walked in and looked around curiously.

Inside was a completely different scene, with a hundred-meter-high flagpole standing in the center of a playground, with the righteous banner of "Heavenly Way" fluttering on it, just like the style in "Water Margin". Hundreds of people were gathered in the open space in the city, not practicing with swords and guns or shooting, but instead everyone had attached a bayonet to their guns and were stabbing at the grass rake in front of them, shouting constantly. This scene immediately reminded Mu Linfeng of Japanese soldiers in a World War II movie, and he gestured to Wu Xing with a thumbs-up.

Zheng Xiyu looked around curiously, but when she saw everyone looking at her like a thief, she couldn't help feeling disgusted and pulled Mu Linfeng's hand. However, Mu Linfeng seemed not to notice, and she couldn't help feeling resentful. Mu Linfeng took a look and saw that everyone was well-organized and patted Wu Xing's shoulder, saying, "You have great talent!"

Wu Xing accepted the compliment calmly and said with a smile, "If Brother Feng were to take charge, it would definitely be a different scene."

Mu Linfeng followed Wu Xing and continued forward. There were actually three hundred courtyards here, which was built for an unknown reason, but it had a certain history. When they entered inside, there was a large hall, and a plaque was hung above the hall door, with the words "Ju Yi Tang" written on it. It was then that Mu Linfeng noticed that there was a quite stylish carriage parked under the steps of the hall door. Several men were carrying boxes on it, and judging by their struggling appearance, the boxes seemed very heavy.

When those men saw Wu Xing, they immediately stopped their work. One of them stood at the door of the hall and shouted loudly, "Second-in-Command has returned to the stronghold."

Wu Xing nodded to the thugs and gestured for them to continue their work before leading Mu Linfeng and Zheng Xiyu into the hall. Mu Linfeng saw that the hall was quite simple, with dozens of chairs arranged on either side and a long bench in the middle. Behind the bench was a desk with several nameplates and an old, yellowed portrait of a powerful man, presumably the founder or ancestor of the gang.

After entering the hall, Wu Xing gestured for Mu Linfeng and Zheng Xiyu to sit in the chairs in front of the long bench, saying, "You two sit first, I'll go call our leader." He then walked towards a side door. As he reached the door, a hearty laughter could be heard.

Mu Linfeng immediately looked over and saw a burly man walking out of the door, towering over Wu Xing by at least a head. Wu Xing was around 1.8 meters tall, only half a head shorter than Mu Linfeng.

Upon closer inspection, Mu Linfeng saw that the man had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a wide mouth and thick ears, and a face that looked drunk and satisfied.

Wu Xing whispered to Mu Linfeng, "That's our leader, Xiao Yuanqiao." He then walked up to him and said, "These two are my friends."

Xiao Yuanqiao glanced at Mu Linfeng before his eyes settled on Zheng Xiyu. His eyes lit up, and he stared at her chest.

Disgusted, Zheng Xiyu turned her head and whispered to Mu Linfeng, "What kind of people are your friends?" She then pinched Mu Linfeng's arm hard, and he replied with a forced smile, "You know this is a gang, what kind of people could they be?"