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

Chapter 47 Yang Zhi Takes on Disciples

Hu Taigong was over sixty years old and was mature and prudent. However, when he saw Wang Lun dismount from his horse from afar and not only rush towards him but also bow to him as a junior, he was immediately shocked. He quickly returned the greeting to Wang Lun with the courtesy due to an equal, saying, "I did not know that Chief Wang was coming. Please forgive me for not welcoming you properly."

Wang Lun stood before Hu Taigong and said politely, "Oh dear, what are you saying? If I had known I had mistakenly entered Hu Family Village's territory, I should have come to visit sooner."

He looked at Hu Sanniang and said, "Old Master Hu has raised a fine pair of children. Just now, my subordinate Wu Song sparred with Hu Sanniang in fist and sword techniques, and he only narrowly won."

When Hu Taigong heard the name "Wu Song", he was surprised. He looked at the people behind Wang Lun and saw that they were all extraordinary. He guessed that they must be leaders of Liangshan. So he bowed to them one by one.

Hu Sanniang stepped forward and said, "Wu Song is indeed highly skilled in martial arts. He did not win by a narrow margin just now. Chief Wang is too kind to me. If Wu Song had not intentionally let me win, I would have lost long ago."

Wu Song stepped forward at the opportune moment and said with a smile, "Oh, you jest, heroine. Wu Song only narrowly won."

Hu Taigong looked at Wu Song, who had the bearing of a tiger and the demeanor of a dragon, and thought he was a fine hero. Hearing Wu Song speak so politely, Hu Taigong felt a surge of goodwill towards him and said with a smile, "My children are fond of swords and spears. Although they have some basic knowledge of martial arts, they are really quite ordinary. How can they compare to Chief Wang, the leader of Liangshan Marsh?"

Wang Lun didn't stand on ceremony. He was still thinking of conquering the Hu Family Village through martial arts. He pointed to Yang Zhi and said, "This is Yang Zhi, the Imperial Guard Commander of Tokyo. He is a descendant of the Yang family generals of this dynasty and comes from a distinguished family."

Yang Zhi still had his face painted, his entire face was black, but his posture was upright, especially with a long spear in his hand, he had a natural air about him.

Hearing this, Hu Cheng immediately felt competitive and couldn't help but look Yang Zhi up and down, only to see that Yang Zhi's eyes were cold and he stood on the ground like a javelin.

He then said, "So you are a descendant of the Yang family generals, then you must know how to use the Yang family spear."

Before Yang Zhi could speak, Wang Lun interjected, "Yang Zhi is a descendant of the Yang family generals, so he naturally knows the authentic Yang family spear technique. Since Brother Hu is skilled in spear and staff techniques, why don't you spar with Yang Zhi and broaden our horizons?"

Yang Zhi gave Wang Lun a deep look, already understanding Wang Lun's thoughts, and nodded.

Hu Cheng was overjoyed and quickly said, "Then please go to the training ground."

The group entered the house, passed through the long corridor, and arrived at an open space surrounded by weapon racks—this was the martial arts training ground of the Hu family manor.

Yang Zhi didn't stand on ceremony and stepped into the arena with his spear.

Hu Cheng also roused himself and strode forward.

Old Master Hu was quite uneasy. The Liangshan people had arrived suddenly, and it was unclear whether they were friend or foe. If something went wrong during the competition, it would be extremely bad. Just as he was about to speak, Wang Lun stepped forward and said with a smile, "Since we're going to have a competition, how about we have a wager, just like before?"

Hu Sanniang laughed loudly, "Do you want to bet ten taels of silver too?"

Wang Lun shook his head and said, "How about this: if Yang Zhi can defeat Brother Hu Cheng within ten moves, Hu Cheng will become Yang Zhi's disciple. If Yang Zhi takes more than ten moves to defeat Hu Cheng, the two of you will become sworn brothers. What do you say?"

Everyone was taken aback.

But a moment later, the people of Hujiazhuang became angry. According to them, Hu Cheng was doomed to lose.

Their young master, Hu Cheng, was highly skilled in martial arts, yet the opponent insisted on a ten-move agreement, which was truly outrageous.

Hu Taigong frowned slightly, thinking that his son had loved martial arts since childhood and had been taught by a famous master when he grew up. His swordsmanship was not bad. Wang Lun had underestimated his opponent.

Just then, Yang Zhi said, "Three moves."

Suddenly, all around became quiet.

Hu Cheng, breathing heavily through his nostrils, said in a deep voice, "What did you say?"

Yang Zhi looked at him and said seriously, "According to what the chieftain just said, the ten moves will be reduced to three moves."

Wang Lun was delighted. He hadn't expected Yang Zhi to be even more arrogant than himself, but since Yang Zhi said that, he must be confident in his ability.

Although he was pleased, he remained outwardly calm and said, "Then it will be as you say, three moves to decide the winner. But let's make it clear beforehand: first, you must be willing to accept defeat and not act like children; second, please go easy on me and don't ruin our friendship."

Hu Cheng was furious. He raised his spear horizontally and shouted, "Take this!"

He thrust out his gun suddenly, fast and fierce, with an unusually great force.

Yang Zhi took two steps back, then stepped back again with his right leg into a bow stance. He flicked his spear, and the shaft suddenly spun around his waist before the spearhead thrust upwards toward Hu Cheng's chest.

This move was clean and efficient, and the technique was elegant and crisp; it truly lived up to its reputation as a master's spear technique.

"A counterattack!" Gongsun Sheng, more knowledgeable than the others, pointed out the move.

Everyone was shocked; it turned out this was a surprise attack.

Just now, when Yang Zhi retreated, Hu Chengrou stepped forward. Now, facing Yang Zhi's counterattack, he had no choice but to retreat, but he retreated several steps in a row, flustered and unable to meet the sharpness of the spear head-on.

Yang Zhi took the lead with one move, and immediately gripped the butt of the spear with his right hand. The spearhead then trembled and produced countless spear flowers, truly like a red flower blooming in the air.

Under his spear thrusts, Hu Cheng could only retreat again, his forehead already sweating with anxiety.

Everyone looked at Gongsun Sheng, who continued to explain, "This should be the point-and-shoot technique. I once traveled the martial world and met a successor of the Yang family's spear technique..."

Once everyone realized this was a "point-and-shoot" attack, they didn't want to listen to what Gongsun Sheng had to say next and turned to watch the battle.

Gongsun Sheng remained silent for a moment, and then stopped speaking.

At that moment, Hu Cheng launched a fierce attack with his gun, the gun trembling so violently it was dazzling, making him look very imposing.

Yang Zhi had already made two moves; he gripped the spearhead with his right hand and dragged the spear away.

Hu Cheng was in hot pursuit.

Yang Zhi took five steps, then suddenly twisted his waist, and the gun in his hand instantly transformed into a sharp blade, drawing a circle in his hand before smashing it down on Hu Cheng.

The attack came quickly and with even greater force. Hu Cheng had no time to dodge and, in the midst of the crisis, had no choice but to hold his gun with both hands and try to block it.

With a loud "crack," the gun in Hu Cheng's hand broke in two. Yang Zhi, however, quickly withdrew his strength, resting the gun firmly on Hu Cheng's shoulder, and stood there coldly, like a grandmaster.

After a moment of silence, cheers erupted, led by Wang Lun and Hu Taigong.

Yang Zhi indeed defeated Hu Cheng in just three moves, and so casually.

Wang Lun looked at Gongsun Sheng, but Gongsun Sheng pretended not to see him.

"Gongsun, what kind of move is this?" Wang Lun had no choice but to ask, "I am not ashamed to ask."

Gongsun Sheng then slowly said, "This should be the dragging spear style, which is similar to Guan Yu's dragging sword slash during the Three Kingdoms period."

The crowd cheered again.

Holding the two broken pieces of a gun, Hu Cheng's face was flushed red. Seeing Yang Zhi put away his gun and stand there coldly, he felt even more inferior and realized that he had been a frog in a well before.

Without further hesitation, he knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Hu Cheng greets Master."

Yang Zhi remained silent and turned to look at Wang Lun.

Hu Taigong was also shocked by Yang Zhi's spear skills. Although his son had lost, it would be a blessing for Hu Cheng if his son could become Yang Zhi's disciple and perhaps even receive the true teachings of the Yang family spear technique.

Wang Lun nodded gently.

Yang Zhi smiled and helped Hu Cheng up, saying, "Alright, from now on you are my disciple. I hope you will study martial arts diligently and practice your skills without neglecting them for even a day."