Chapter 1

"Chieftain… Chieftain…"

"The chieftain has woken up!! Look, his hand is moving!"

"Why are you all crowding around? You’re just causing trouble! Hurry up and fetch a bowl of hot soup to moisten the chieftain’s throat! Don’t you know he hasn’t had any water or food for three days? You have no sense at all! You dare to boast around that you are close to the chieftain, but I could find two old men outside who would be more meticulous than you! You’re all just a bunch of clumsy and stupid ruffians, who can’t be scolded into sense, causing me to be angry here!"

"Yes, yes, yes, Lord Seven, calm down, we will go, we will go…"

"Everyone, don’t be in a mess! Quickly send someone to inform Head Leader Du and Head Leader Song. They came to visit early this morning before dawn. Go and report the good news, don’t let the two leaders worry!"

Amidst the noisy commotion, the chieftain, whom everyone was talking about, lay on the bed with his eyes tightly closed, looking sickly. His arm, exposed outside the thick quilt, moved slightly from time to time. Although he was still unconscious, it was enough to ignite a glimmer of hope in the hearts of those who had been watching over him for several days.

Looking closely at the patient, one could see that his tightly closed eyelids were struggling to move, as if trying to break free from the heavy burden. Sweat beads the size of soybeans appeared on his forehead, flowing down his young and handsome face.

In the midst of the chaos, the person who had gone to fetch hot water hurried back. This time, everyone had learned their lesson and did not wait for Lord Seven to scold them again. They quickly took the water. Someone filled a bowl with hot soup from the basin and used a small spoon to feed it to the patient’s dry, cracked lips. However, most of the soup trickled down his neck, and only a little entered his mouth. Another person dipped a towel in the basin and wiped the patient’s face. The rough hands pressed the towel over his eyebrows, beard, and behind his ears, rubbing back and forth as if a craftsman was meticulously finishing the final sanding.

Just as everyone was busily working, the tightly closed door was pushed open from the outside, and a gust of cold wind rushed in. It was late winter, and the cold air, mixed with snowflakes, made the candles in the room flicker and almost go out.

Everyone, startled by the cold, turned to look. Two tall and sturdy men quickly walked in, ignoring the snow on their bodies, and shouted, "Brother! Is Brother awake?"

The people by the bed stopped what they were doing and bowed in unison, "Greetings, Head Leader Du! Head Leader Song!"

The two men waved their hands casually and walked straight to the bed. Seeing that the patient was no longer unconscious but still not fully awake, they exchanged worried glances. One of the men, with a sallow complexion, said to his companion, "It’s been three days, and Brother still hasn’t woken up. What are we to do?"

"Zhu Gui went to Shouzhang County to invite a doctor the day before yesterday, but that quack couldn’t give a clear reason, only saying it depends on the patient’s fate. I say, Brother is a lucky man! When he was struck by lightning, he didn’t even have a pulse, but he still recovered. Brother Du, don’t worry. Tomorrow, I will go down the mountain myself and bring a more skilled doctor from Jizhou City to see what can be done!" the other man replied.

"In that case, I’ll leave it to you, Brother Song Wan!" The sallow-faced man seemed to have no better ideas. The two men looked at the patient again, then turned to the crowd and said, "Everyone, you can disperse. Yan Seven, you and Jia San stay to watch over Brother. We will come back to visit after we bring the doctor from Jizhou City tomorrow."

Hearing this, Lord Seven, who had been scolding everyone earlier, quickly put on a smile and hurriedly agreed. The sallow-faced man nodded, glanced back at the bed, sighed deeply, and then left with Song Wan, taking the bandits in the room with them. Yan Seven and Jia San stayed to watch over the patient.

...

The patient on the bed was actually already awake.

Earlier, he didn’t know who had used a dirty rag to wipe his face so roughly, as if trying to scrape off a layer of skin. It made him feel that even a dead person could be brought back to life with such treatment! However, it was from this moment that he began to regain his senses. At the time, his head was pounding, his eyes wouldn’t open, and when he opened his mouth, he found his throat dry and his tongue numb, making it impossible to speak.

It wasn’t until later, when someone poured hot water into his mouth, that he felt a bit better. Just as he was about to ask what was happening, two people entered the room. He heard them talking about "Brother Du," "Brother Song Wan," "Zhu Gui," "Shouzhang County," and "Jizhou City," which shocked him, a patient who had just woken up from a nightmare, to the point of being speechless.

As a literature and history enthusiast who graduated from university in the early 21st century, he couldn’t help but recognize the significance of the names "Brother Du," "Brother Song Wan," and "Zhu Gui" when mentioned together!

Could it be… he had encountered the legendary穿越 (穿越 means "time travel" or "穿越" in this context)?

He swallowed hard, trying to calm his thoughts. The scenes before he was struck by lightning gradually came back to his mind.

After graduating from university, he joined a state-owned enterprise and quickly gained the favor of his superiors due to his intelligence and diligence. Within a year, he became a department head. However, as a commoner with no connections, he found it difficult to advance in the complex web of relationships in the large enterprise. After struggling in his position for four to five years without any hope of promotion, he decided to pursue a master’s degree.

To prepare for the postgraduate entrance exam, he took a month off and came to a university in the Shandong Peninsula to review. The exam went smoothly, and after the test, he had a week of leave. Since he had come to the land of talented people in Shandong, he decided to travel around Liangshan, which would not be in vain, given his name, which always made people smile when he introduced himself.

However, just as he arrived in Jining, he encountered a group of teachers and students conducting soil research. In a moment of whimsy, he joined them and went down into a pit they had dug, about six to seven meters deep. He grabbed a handful of black soil that was clearly different from the surface soil. The professor leading the group said that the locals called it "Songjiang soil," and the lotus seeds scattered in it, the size of peanuts, were said to be from the Northern Song Dynasty…

Just as he was listening with great interest, a clear sky suddenly turned stormy, and a heavy rain began. As he searched for shelter, a lightning bolt struck him directly, and he lost consciousness without even a scream.

He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, but when he woke up, he found himself in this state, being called "chieftain" and "brother" by everyone.

The others called him affectionately, but he was filled with fear. Based on the information he had, he was undoubtedly in Liangshan during the late Northern Song Dynasty. The question was, which chieftain had he become?

Having read "Water Margin" since childhood, he knew that Liangshan had changed leaders three times in a short period. While leadership changes were common, the first two leaders of Liangshan had both met tragic ends, being forced to their deaths on the throne of power. This showed how brutal the succession of the chieftain’s position was!

Modern people often say, "The waves of the Yangtze River push the previous waves onto the shore, and the previous waves die on the shore." The tragic history of the first two leaders of Liangshan, written in blood and life, was a perfect illustration of this saying.

Thinking about this, he couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

It seemed that the best outcome for him would be to become Song Jiang, the "Timely Rain." If he became Song Jiang, he would temporarily avoid the cycle of being overthrown. Although he was short and dark, which was a disadvantage in appearance, the internal structure of Liangshan was already stable, and he wouldn’t have to worry about being outmaneuvered (not outmaneuvering others was a good thing). He would be a powerful figure in the stronghold. Yes, this role had potential and was the best choice.

If his luck was not so good and he became Chao Gai, it would still be acceptable. At least there was no immediate danger, and he wouldn’t have to worry about being openly challenged. With the strong support of Lin Chong and the seven heroes of the birthday tribute, if he had some time to consolidate his position, his experience in dealing with various people in a large state-owned enterprise, combined with his knowledge of "Water Margin," might allow him to outperform Song Jiang. He wouldn’t end up dying from a poisoned arrow in a hasty battle.

If he became Wang Lun…

Just thinking about it made him shudder!

He suddenly realized that this… this assumption was a false proposition!

Heaven help him, he was originally named Wang Lun! He had even been laughed at by a beautiful police officer when he got his ID card renewed! He remembered someone saying, "If things are going to go bad, they will go bad," and he felt his heart constrict! Heaven! Was this a joke?

He felt a "buzz" in his head, and his mind went blank. He didn’t know if anyone had calculated the probability of time travel, but it was surely lower than winning a billion-dollar lottery. But the probability of time traveling to someone with the same name was even lower, enough to make the bookies go bankrupt!

No, no, it couldn’t be that coincidental!

Wang Lun tried to reassure himself, but a detail flashed through his mind, shattering all his hopes.

He suddenly realized he had overlooked something. Even if the skilled doctor An Daoquan had not yet joined, if Chao Gai or Song Jiang had been struck by lightning, at least Lin Chong, Liu Tang, Hua Rong, or Dai Zong would have stepped forward. It wouldn’t have been the third-generation veteran, the famous minor character Song Wan, who would personally go to Jizhou City to invite a doctor!

At this moment, Wang Lun was devastated.

He finally understood that, in the face of powerful, irresistible forces like fate, humans had no choice!

Page AD starts

Page AD ends