Chapter 75

"Who is your man?" Lin Chong hurriedly stepped forward and said. He had never taken on any disciples, except for one nominal disciple whom he had not seen for many years. Seeing the woman call out in such an unusual manner, it immediately made him think of Cao Zheng.

"It's your disciple Cao Zheng. We originally ran a tavern in the Qingzhou area. We often heard passing guests mention the great name of Master, and learned that Master is now part of the Liangshan gang. We decided to come and join Master, but on the way, we encountered bandits from Er Long Mountain who captured us and took us up the mountain. My brother told the chief that he would go down to raise money to redeem him. The chief believed him and set the price at three hundred guan, with a deadline of three days. It's already been a day and a half, and I beg Master to save my brother!" The woman, being a tavern keeper, was not intimidated by the crowd and recounted the entire story in detail.

Upon hearing this, Lin Chong remained calm on the surface, but his hands had unconsciously clenched into fists. He said to Wang Lun, "Brother! I will lead a group down the mountain tonight to level Er Long Mountain!"

"Brother, hold on!" Wang Lun replied, then asked the woman, "Sister-in-law, can you tell us about the terrain of Er Long Mountain?"

Seeing Lin Chong call this person brother, the woman was very perceptive and bowed to Wang Lun, "Leader Wang, please save my husband! I've only been to the mountain once, but I know it's very dangerous. My husband often said that Er Long Mountain is very steep, with only one path leading up the mountain. There are three layers of gates at the bottom, and if they are closed, even ten thousand people couldn't attack it!"

Wang Lun quickly asked Lin's wife to help the woman up and thought for a moment, "I think we can only take the mountain by strategy, not by force!"

Lin Chong hurriedly asked, "Brother, how do we take it by strategy?"

"Two brothers with martial skills will accompany me. We will pretend to deliver the ransom. The three hundred guan, all in copper coins, will weigh about one to two thousand pounds. I'll have fifty of my personal soldiers carry them! I've heard that Deng Long is usually mean and ungrateful. If he dies, the others won't dare do anything. We'll also bring five hundred cavalry to ensure everything goes smoothly!" Wang Lun smiled, remembering how Lu Zhishen and Yang Zhi had captured the bandits by first capturing their leader, killing Deng Long and a few small bandits, after which the entire mountain surrendered without a fight.

"I'll go!" "I'll accompany Brother and Brother!" Xu Ning and Lu Zhishen both shouted. The woman, upon hearing this, was overjoyed and fainted.

Lin Chong quickly squatted down to check on her. After a while, he said, "She's just exhausted. She'll be fine after some rest! Lady, take her to our house to rest! I'll be back soon!"

Lin's wife nodded and said, "Brother, be careful and come back soon!"

At this moment, Wang Lun instructed, "Brother Du Qian, go to the treasury and get three hundred guan in copper coins, one thousand taels of gold, and fifty to sixty sets of imperial army armor!"

Du Qian was puzzled, "Brother, why do you need imperial army armor to attack Er Long Mountain?"

Wang Lun smiled, "Chai Dazhuan has done a lot for us. After we take Er Long Mountain, I will go to Hebei to thank him in person!" This trip was not just to thank Chai Jin; Wang Lun also planned to visit Wu Song and gather information about the birthday tribute in Daming Prefecture.

"Brother is going down the mountain again, this..." Everyone looked at each other in surprise.

"Chai Dazhuan has been very kind to me and recommended Lin Chong to join our gang. Otherwise, how could I have met you all? Such a great favor must be repaid in person!" Wang Lun bowed to the north.

All the people present were righteous, and hearing the leader speak like this, they all felt that they should thank Chai Jin. Seeing Wang Lun's determination, they all said, "Then we will accompany Brother to the north!"

Wang Lun smiled, "I will only take Jiao Ting and my personal soldiers. Brothers, please stay and guard the gang. If we can make it back in time, we can celebrate Xu Sheng's son's full moon!"

Everyone laughed, and Xu Ning stepped forward and bowed, "Brother, let me accompany you!"

Wang Lun stepped forward and held his hand, shaking his head, "Brother, you just became a father. How can I ask you to leave your wife and travel far? No, no!"

At this moment, Lin Chong spoke, "Since everyone is not arguing, if it weren't for Chai Dazhuan's recommendation, I wouldn't know where I'd be. Now, let me accompany Brother!"

Everyone, hearing that Lin Chong would accompany him, thought that Brother's journey would be safe and stopped arguing. Xu Ning wanted to step forward and request to go to Er Long Mountain, but Wang Lun smiled, "I can't make my virtuous sister-in-law scold me! Let Master Lu accompany us! Brothers, please stay and guard the gang!" Du Qian wanted to say something more but was persuaded by Wang Lun. At this moment, Lin's wife, being meticulous, took out a plaster and carefully applied it to her husband's head, covering the row of gold imprints. Everyone saw this and was envious.

Finally, it was decided that Wang Lun, Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen, and Jiao Ting, along with five hundred cavalry, would go down to the naval camp. The three Ruan brothers met them, and upon seeing Wang Lun going down the mountain again, they tried to persuade him to stay. Wang Lun talked them into it, and the three Ruan brothers had no choice but to personally row the boat, taking Wang Lun to the North Qing River, which flows directly into the sea from the north of Liangshan.

Seeing that they had reached the Qingzhou area, Wang Lun and the three Ruan brothers held hands and parted. Only Xiao Qi said, "Brother Lin Chong, please ensure Brother's safety on the journey!"

Lin Chong replied, "With me, Brother will be safe!"

"Brother Xiao Qi, you are in the naval camp and don't know that for the past two months, Brother has practiced swordsmanship every night until midnight. Now, he can handle three to five people easily!" Jiao Ting said, having been with Wang Lun every day and knowing the situation best.

"Brother, if he can handle three to five people, I can rest easy!" Xiao Qi said.

Everyone laughed, and the two groups parted. The three Ruan brothers waited by the river for the cavalry to return.

The group of several hundred people, holding torches, galloped northward. By the light of the fire, Wang Lun saw that Lin Chong's face was even more worried. He didn't know how to comfort him. In Xu Ning's house earlier, Wang Lun had seen Lin Chong looking at the child, a look he couldn't miss. Lin Chong and his wife had been married for many years without a child, which was the last heavy burden on his heart.

Wang Lun silently decided to bring An Daoquan to the mountain to give the couple a thorough examination. A hero must not be childless!

As the group of several hundred people, led by a cavalryman who knew the way, galloped forward, they stopped after less than two hours. The leader of the group turned back and said, "Brother, it's less than a mile to Er Long Mountain's Baozhu Temple. If the main force goes any further, the bandits will notice!"

Wang Lun nodded and gestured to Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen. He then instructed everyone to come to their aid in half an hour. Everyone dismounted and walked. On the way, Lin Chong asked, "Brother, are your legs uncomfortable?"

"Still okay, I've been riding all afternoon, so I'm used to it!" Wang Lun smiled. In the past two months, he had been very busy, handling gang affairs in the morning, riding in the afternoon, and practicing swordsmanship at night.

After a while, a grand gate appeared in everyone's line of sight. By the moonlight, Wang Lun saw Er Long Mountain. The gate was very dangerous, with mountains on both sides surrounding the temple. The mountain peaks were majestic, and there was only one path in the middle. The three layers of gates were lined with logs, stones, strong bows, and dense bamboo spears.

Wang Lun walked to the gate and shouted, "Chief! We, the common people, have come to redeem someone. Please be kind and let us in!"

After shouting for a long time, a small leader appeared on the gate and shouted, "Where are you from? What are you doing here?"

Wang Lun replied, "We are common people from Jizhou. Recently, a relative of ours accidentally offended the chief's group and was captured. We have gathered the money and come to pay the ransom!"

The leader looked down at the crowd and shouted, "Why are there so many of you? Are you up to no good?"

Wang Lun smiled bitterly, "Chief, the three hundred guan in copper coins weigh about one to two thousand pounds. It takes thirty to fifty people to carry them!"

The small leader laughed and scolded, "You fool, why didn't you bring silver?"

"These are the contributions from the nearby villages. Who has silver? We had no choice but to do this. Please be kind, Chief!"

The small leader laughed and scolded, then ordered the gate to be opened. Wang Lun led thirty to fifty people up the mountain, passing through three layers of gates, and arrived at Baozhu Temple. There were three temple gates and a flat area like a mirror, surrounded by wooden fences. Deng Long had already been informed and was sitting in a chair, half-asleep, when Wang Lun and his group entered. He shouted, "Children, take the money!"

Wang Lun stepped forward and said, "Chief, where is my relative?"

Deng Long glared at Wang Lun, thinking this person was quite bold, as he didn't kneel upon seeing him. He said angrily, "You are quite bold, not even bowing to me. This money is for the ransom of the woman we released earlier. You need to gather another three hundred guan, and then I will release the man!"

Wang Lun, seeing that there were only thirty to fifty bandits, all looking sleepy, laughed, "If I bow to you, you might not be able to handle it!"

Deng Long, seeing this, became furious, "You... " Before he could finish, Lin Chong, following Wang Lun's signal, pulled out the iron rod used to carry the copper coins and threw it with all his might. The iron rod pierced through Deng Long's chest, through the chair, and into the wall, pinning the chief to the chair. Deng Long, with a look of terror, gasped, "You... you... where... did... you... come... from... bandits..."

Wang Lun shouted, "I am Wang Lun of Liangshan, along with Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen, and Jiao Ting. Who dares to defy us!"

Lu Zhishen had already taken out his iron rod and knocked down three to five bandits. The rest were terrified and, hearing Wang Lun's name, knelt down, "We didn't know you were from Liangshan, please forgive us! We all wish to surrender!"

Wang Lun, seeing that Deng Long was still not dead, watched as he spat out a mouthful of blood and died with his eyes open, unwilling to the end.

The bandits, seeing Deng Long dead, lost all their reservations and shouted that they wanted to join Liangshan. Wang Lun thought they were all without loyalty and would be a burden to the gang, but then had an idea. Seeing the mountain's strategic location and the usefulness of these people, he said, "Then all of you come with me to the mountain!" He then ordered, "Open the gates and let my troops in!"

The bandits, seeing that the Liangshan leader was willing to accept them, were overjoyed and rushed to open the gates. Some even offered, "Leader Wang, we have five to seven thousand guan in money, twenty to thirty good horses, and seven to eight hundred stones of grain. We will offer them all to you!"

Wang Lun nodded and ordered them to release Cao Zheng. The bandits, eager to please, did so quickly, and soon the temple was left with only Wang Lun and his Liangshan troops. Lu Zhishen said, "These people are so spineless, why are you accepting them? Our gang doesn't lack people!"

Wang Lun smiled, "I have my reasons, Master will know in time!"

Lu Zhishen, seeing this, didn't ask further, thinking that Brother always had unexpected ideas. Wang Lun then called Jiang Zhipeng and said, "All these people will be under your command. Don't disrupt their organization. I give you two months to get to know them all!"

Jiang Zhipeng stepped forward and accepted the order, "One month will be enough, Brother, you'll see!"

Wang Lun smiled and nodded, then encouraged him. At this moment, Cao Zheng, unharmed, was brought out. Seeing Lin Chong, he was overjoyed, "Master!"

Lin Chong quickly helped him up and introduced him, "This is our gang leader, Wang Lun. Come and meet him!"

Cao Zheng bowed, "I live in Qingzhou and have heard of Leader Wang's great name from passing travelers! I also heard that my Master is highly regarded on the mountain, which is why I wanted to join. But on the way, I was captured by these bandits!"

Wang Lun helped him up and said, "I have also heard of the 'Knife Handler'!"

Cao Zheng was delighted, "I didn't expect Brother to know my nickname!" This nickname was given to him after he left Tokyo, and even Lin Chong didn't know, so Wang Lun's words surprised and delighted him.

"Cao Zheng, let's not talk about that. Since you are determined to join the mountain, I have a very important task for you!"

"Brother, please speak! You and Master came to save me, my life is yours!" Cao Zheng said, feeling very honored that Wang Lun treated him as an insider and entrusted him with an important task.

"It's not that serious. You don't need to join the mountain yet. Listen to me, you need to go...