Water Margin: From a White-Robed Scholar to Donning the Yellow Robe

Chapter 11 The Chieftain is Thin-skinned

Jeju Island is not big.

According to Wang Lun, its scale is probably not even as large as that of Lijiang Ancient Town in the 21st century.

After all, Jeju had few counties and a small population, and was plagued by frequent bandits. All the previous governors of Jeju were only concerned with making enough to eat for themselves.

The Song Dynasty's prosperous economy naturally produced corrupt officials.

Wang Lun and his group wandered to a luxurious mansion. Just as they were marveling at its grandeur, someone nearby remarked, "This is Master Du's mansion; it's much bigger than the government office."

Is this the residence of Master Du?

Wang Lun was cautious.

The purpose of Liangshan was to rob the rich and help the poor, and to act on behalf of Heaven.

After wandering around Jeju for half a day, as it was getting dark, the group decided to find an inn.

As I was searching, I saw a group of people gathered in front of me, pointing and gesturing.

Wang Lun quickly went inside and saw a young girl kneeling on the ground, crying incessantly, with four or five burly men standing beside her, heads held high and chests puffed out, giving orders with an air of superiority.

Without even asking what happened, Wang Lun, who was well-versed in "Water Margin", could roughly guess what had happened.

This will inevitably be another heinous act of abducting a woman.

The girl was thin and bony, with a pale face, and looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old.

"Your dead father is dead. He owes debts, and only you can pay them back. But you have no money, so you have to pay them back with yourself. Even if you take it to the magistrate, it will still be the same." The burly man at the head of the group saw that more and more people were gathering around, and he seemed afraid of causing trouble. He pointed at the girl as he spoke, explaining to everyone at the same time.

Sure enough, someone nearby spoke up: "I see. In that case, there's nothing we can do about it."

The burly man glared at the girl and said, "What are you crying for? Come with me, and my master will certainly not mistreat you."

Wang Lun asked the person next to him, "Who is his wealthy husband?"

The man glanced at Wang Lun as if he were looking at an idiot, and said impatiently, "You don't even know this? There's another wealthy man in Jizhou Prefecture, it's naturally the Du family."

Wang Lun suddenly realized, it was Master Du again.

The girl cried, "Please have mercy, my father only owes you five strings of cash, I... I will definitely find a way to pay it back."

When Wang Lun heard that the debt was only five strings of cash, he thought it wasn't much. According to the prices in the Song Dynasty, a bowl of noodles cost about fifteen coins. Ordinary people who worked at the docks could earn at least a hundred coins a day, even if they were struggling.

It wouldn't be too difficult for the girl to find some work and earn five strings of cash.

"Five strings of cash?" the burly man sneered. "Who told you it was only five strings?"

He counted on his fingers: "At first I borrowed five strings of cash, and I agreed to pay it back in six months. I didn't pay it back in six months, so it doubled to ten strings of cash. I didn't pay it back in six months either, so it became twenty strings of cash. Now it's been another six months, so it's forty strings of cash."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Lun, already enraged, strode forward and shouted, "You bastard, did your math teacher teach you PE?"

The burly man was taken aback. What math teacher? What physical education teacher?

Before he could react, a slap landed on his face, making him dizzy. When he finally regained his balance and looked around, there was another person in front of him, dressed in fine clothes, a handsome young man.

It wasn't Wang Lun who hit him. He wanted to say a few more words, but then he saw Zhao Yupan walk out from the crowd and slap him without saying a word.

Wang Lun quickly pulled out a brand new silk handkerchief: "Hey, don't get your hands dirty when you're hitting this kind of filthy person."

Zhao Yupan chuckled, took the silk handkerchief, wiped his hands, and said, "Daoist Wuchenzi, we meet again."

Wang Lun also laughed and said, "Yes, yes, how have you been, Young Master Zhao?"

Zhao Yupan smiled again: "It's only been half a day, of course I'm fine."

Zhao Si, standing behind Gongsun Sheng, stuck out his tongue and whispered, "In my opinion, the chief has taken a fancy to this girl. We have some brothers in Jizhou, so why don't I go find her, tie her up, and bring her back to the stronghold? We're just in need of a wife."

Gongsun Sheng frowned and hesitated, "This... although this young lady's looks and figure are more than enough to match the chieftain, but... after all, the chieftain hasn't given the order."

Zhao Si shook his head and said, "Chief Gongsun, you don't understand. The chieftain is shy and embarrassed to say it. We, as his underlings, should know how to share his burdens."

Gongsun Sheng seemed to understand something: "That makes sense..."

He paused, then asked, "Chieftain, are you easily embarrassed?"

Zhao Si was taken aback, scratched his head, and saw Wang Lun and Zhao Yupan chatting and laughing. He said, "It's probably thin."

Wang Lun was in a good mood for no reason when he saw Zhao Yupan again. He didn't notice that Zhao Si and Zhao Yupan behind him were already worrying about his marriage. Just as he was about to have a good "reminiscing" with Zhao Yupan, he saw that the burly man had come to his senses. He pointed at Wang Lun and Zhao Yupan and shouted, "What are you standing there for? Beat him up!"

The burly men pounced on him, and Wang Lun quickly retreated. When he saw Zhao Yupan rushing forward instead, he took two steps back, stopped abruptly, steadied himself, and charged forward with a shout.

The original owner, Wang Lun, only knew rudimentary martial arts.

But after the transmigration, Wang Lun followed Lin Chong to practice martial arts, and insisted on running ten miles every morning and doing push-ups and other exercises without any hesitation.

In addition, with the moves Lin Chong taught him, although his martial arts skills were still mediocre in the martial arts world, they were by no means just empty showmanship.

Wang Lun fought off several men, but was then entangled by a few more. He saw Zhao Yupan being attacked by four men. Although she was not injured yet, she was already struggling to hold on, and her guards were nowhere to be seen.

In his panic, Wang Lun hurriedly called out, "Gongsun, oh dear, hurry up!"

Gongsun Sheng leaped forward and knocked back four or five people with a single palm strike. His martial arts were superb, while these people were just physically strong and relied on brute force. They were no match for him.

Zhao Yupan turned around and asked Wang Lun, "How are you?"

Seeing her anxious expression, Wang Lun felt a warmth in his heart: "It is my greatest honor to fight alongside Young Master Zhao."

Zhao Yupan's cheeks flushed slightly. Ignoring him, she lunged forward to strike, but her guards squeezed through the crowd to block her way, whispering, "Don't cause trouble."

She didn't even need to lift a finger; Gongsun Sheng acted swiftly, and the four men were already lying on the ground groaning in pain.

Just then, a man swaggered over and shouted, "What's going on up there? Get out of the way! What are you looking at?"

Upon hearing this sound, the people scattered like mice before a cat.

In an instant, only Wang Lun and the others remained.

The leader was a burly man who walked with a pigeon-toed gait, followed by a squad of archers; this must be the head constable of the area.

Upon seeing this man, the men lying on the ground crying out immediately shouted, "Chief Du, you've finally arrived! These people are bandits, quickly capture them!"

Du... the head constable?

Wang Lun gave a wry smile. He had stirred up a hornet's nest; no matter where he went, he kept encountering people with the surname Du.

The constable squinted, glancing at Wang Lun and the others, then at Zhao Yupan, scrutinizing her from head to toe. He let out a cold snort: "What are you doing?"

Zhao Yupan sneered, "I saw injustice on the road."

Du Dutou said, "What a joke! In broad daylight, under the clear sky, what's wrong with that?"

He glared at Wang Lun and the others: "And what are you doing here?"

Wang Lun was helped to his feet by Zhao Si. He pointed to the crying girl on the ground and said, "Beautiful."

He pointed at Zhao Yupan and himself: "Heroes."

He proclaimed loudly, "A hero saves a damsel in distress."