Water Margin: Outlaws of the Marsh (Tuttle Classics) by Shi Naian

Author:Shi Naian [Naian, Shi]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Published: 2011-12-10T00:00:00+00:00

One of these will lose his head,

Red blood spattered on the ground.

CHAPTER 31

While Drunk Wu Song Beats Kong Liang; the Elegant Tiger Releases Song Jiang

WHILE the two men were fighting Wu Song suddenly made a feint, and his opponent lunged forward. Wu Song stepped to one side avoiding the blow, and at the same moment brought down his sword, and cut off his opponent’s head. He shouted, “You, woman, inside there come here! I will not kill you. I only want to ask you a few questions.”

The woman came forward and kneeling down saluted Wu Song.

“You need not salute me,” said Wu Song. “What is this place called? Who is this man?”

The woman cried, “I am the daughter of Old Zhang who lives at the foot of the hill. This temple is in our ancestral graveyard. I do not know where this man came from, but he came to our house and asked us to let him stay there for the night. He said that he was skilled in the arts of feng shui, and had good knowledge of telling fortunes. My father and mother did not want him to stay with us, so they asked him to come to this temple and examine the spiritual nature of the surroundings. One day he saw me, and so was unwilling to depart. He stayed here for three months, and killed my parents, my brother, and my sister-in-law. He then coerced me to stay here with him. The boy here was kidnapped by him from some other place. These hills are the Wugong Ridge. This man thought that the land situation here was auspicious. He said his name was Wang, a Taoist priest, and gave himself the nickname, ‘The Flying Centipede.’”

“Have you any relatives about here?”

“I have several relatives, but none of them dared say anything to this man.”

“Had he any money?” asked Wu Song.

“Yes, he had accumulated about two hundred taels of silver.”

“You go and pack it up. I am going to burn this temple down.”

The girl asked Wu Song whether he wanted to eat or drink.

“You can bring the food here,” replied Wu Song.

“Please come inside and dine there.”

“I am afraid there may be other men who might plot to kill me.”

The girl said, “I have only one head, so how dare I attempt to cheat you?”

Wu Song followed the girl inside, and saw near the window a table loaded with food and wine. While he had drunk for a time, the girl brought in the silver and offered it to Wu Song. He would not accept it, and told the girl to take it for herself. The girl knelt, saluted, and taking the silver departed down the mountain.

Wu Song set the place on fire, and threw the two corpses in the flames. He then sheathed his swords, and followed the road across the mountain towards Qingzhou prefecture.

During the next ten days he passed through many villages, hamlets, and towns, and noticed that the proclamation about himself was posted upon the walls.

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