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

Chapter 88 The Madman Lin Chong

After hearing Lin Chong's words, Zhu's family members each had their own thoughts.

After a long pause, Zhu Long said, "Shi Qian stole a crowing rooster; it can't be settled simply by paying some money."

Lin Chong smiled and said, "That's right, the chieftain thinks so too, so the chieftain has another explanation."

Everyone then looked at Lin Chong.

Lin Chong remained calm and slowly said, "The chieftain once instructed me that if Master Zhu is unwilling to release Shi Qian, it means that Shi Qian is truly guilty of heinous crimes. Please, Master Zhu, kill this man, and I will take his head with me."

Everyone was stunned. What did he mean by that?

Zhu Chaofeng shook his head and said, "Instructor Lin, you're exaggerating. Stealing a chicken isn't a capital offense."

"The chieftain is a powerful figure in this region. What's wrong with killing a petty thief? The chieftain has more to say."

Lin Chong smiled at Zhu Chaofeng, "Since Shi Qian has lost his life, the Zhu Family Manor should compensate Liangshan for the cost of his life. It's not much, just five thousand shi of grain, ten thousand guan of cash, plus your manor's restaurants and gambling dens in Yuncheng. How about that? A mere amount of money and grain can buy Shi Qian's life. Your manor has made a huge profit."

"presumptuous!"

Zhu Hu jumped up and shouted, "Lin Chong, do you think there's no one in Zhu Family Village? How dare you run wild here!"

Lin Chong ignored him, took a sip of tea, and exclaimed, "Good tea! The Zhu Family Manor is indeed wealthy and powerful, able to afford good tea. Unlike us in Liangshan, where all our money is spent on making armor and buying grain, we can't even afford tea."

Zhu Chaofeng said in a deep voice, "Second Brother, why don't you sit back down?"

Zhu Hu snorted angrily and sat back down in a huff.

Zhu Chaofeng laughed and said, "Liangshan has indeed grown rapidly recently. I wonder how many soldiers Liangshan has now?"

Lin Chong said, "We have a few dozen fierce generals and twenty thousand soldiers, but we can hardly be called elite troops. Compared with the guards of your manor, we are far inferior."

The Zhu family members' pupils shrank. The Zhu family's village guards and militia numbered only four or five thousand, and most of them were unarmored. Compared to Liangshan, their strength was clearly inferior.

However, even with the advantageous location of Zhu Family Village, Liangshan might not necessarily gain the upper hand.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Chaofeng said, "Instructor Lin is joking. Five thousand shi of grain, ten thousand guan of money, plus the restaurants and gambling dens in Yuncheng, all of these add up to a considerable sum. How could a mere petty thief be worth that much?"

Lin Chong smiled faintly: "Then, according to Master Zhu's suggestion, what should we do?"

Zhu Chaofeng said, "If things change, then please have Instructor Lin take you down the mountain. That will settle the matter, and we'll leave each other alone from now on, how about that?"

Lin Chong exclaimed, "Oh dear!" and said, "Master Zhu is truly an outstanding person. He is so pragmatic and understands the big picture. No wonder Zhu Family Manor can dominate the area."

Zhu Jiazhuang's compromise was described as being pragmatic, which infuriated the three sons of the Zhu family, but they couldn't retaliate because their father hadn't spoken yet.

Zhu Chaofeng waved his hand, and someone went to bring Shi Qian over. Lin Chong went to see him and found that Shi Qian had not suffered any superficial injuries. The Zhu Family Village had not made things difficult for him. However, Shi Qian was very thin and small, with very shrewd eyes. He walked with light steps, so he must be quite skilled in martial arts.

Shi Xiu quickly asked, "Brother Shi Qian, are you alright?"

Shi Qian laughed and said, "I'm eating and drinking well at the Zhu Family Manor, what trouble could possibly come of it?"

Shi Xiu quickly introduced Lin Chong, and Shi Qian, knowing that he was the second-in-command of Liangshan, immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you for saving me, Leader Lin."

Although Lin Chong valued talent, he didn't particularly like this petty thief. He nodded and said, "If you want to thank someone, thank the chieftain. I was just following orders."

He gestured for Shi Qian to stand behind him and said, "Master Zhu, since you have released Shi Qian, I will not say anything more. However, my Liangshan army is currently at the foot of Dulonggang. We have been traveling a long way, and the five thousand shi of grain and ten thousand guan of money are indispensable."

Upon hearing this, the three Zhu sons could no longer contain themselves. They shouted and jumped up, drawing their swords and slashing at Lin Chong.

With a clanging sound, three men drew their swords and blocked the three sons of the Zhu family, while Lin Chong remained seated, unmoved.

However, Shi Xiu held off Zhu Long, Hu Cheng held off Zhu Hu, and Hu Sanniang held off Zhu Biao.

The Zhu family members were all taken aback when they saw that the Hu siblings had actually helped Lin Chong.

Zhu Biao, in particular, raised an eyebrow and shouted at Hu Sanniang, "What are you doing? Get out of the way!"

Hu Sanniang gritted her teeth and said, "Why are you being so fierce?"

Zhu Biao's face darkened, and he said, "I'm going to chop this bastard up. Get out of my way."

Hu Sanniang pushed aside Zhu Biao's knife and stood in front of Lin Chong, saying, "The Liangshan chieftain and my Hu family village have long been allied. My father sent my brother and me to discuss this with you, hoping to avoid damaging our harmony."

Zhu Biao angrily retorted, "Didn't you hear what Lin Chong just said? Is this supposed to be harmless?"

Hu Sanniang couldn't say anything about this, but simply said, "Before we went up the mountain, Chief Wang also instructed us to protect Instructor Lin. How could we let you lay a hand on him?"

Lin Chong smiled faintly, stood up from his chair, patted Hu Cheng lightly on the shoulder, and said, "Since the Zhu Family Village has already released Shi Qian, that can be considered a concession. Fine, Liangshan will also make a concession."

Everyone was overjoyed upon hearing this, and Hu Cheng quickly said, "That's exactly right. If both sides take a step back, we can avoid a bloody battle."

Lin Chong pointed at Luan Tingyu and said, "I've heard that Instructor Luan is unparalleled in spear and staff techniques, and also skilled in using the flying hammer. I, Lin, though unworthy, would like to spar with Instructor Luan. If I win, you must deliver five thousand shi of grain and ten thousand guan of money, not a penny less, to the foot of the mountain within three days, and Liangshan will withdraw its troops. If I lose, I will take Shi Qian down the mountain, and this matter will be considered settled. What do you say?"

Even though Zhu Chaofeng was highly skilled in self-control and had great composure, he could no longer hold back and angrily said, "Lin Chong, do you really think that my Zhu Family Village is afraid of your Liangshan? Why do you have to bully us like this?"

Luan Tingyu also stood up and said, "Instructor Lin is the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards, so naturally his martial arts skills are superb. But are you so confident that you can defeat me?"

Lin Chong smiled faintly: "You must have heard that our Liangshan leader, the White-Robed Scholar Wang Lun, is a man of great poetic talent. He once wrote two lines of poetry for me."

Everyone looked at Lin Chong, unsure of what he was trying to say.

"With his eighteen-foot spear, he terrifies his enemies; who in the world can rival him in heroism?"

The room suddenly fell silent, and Lin Chong felt a little embarrassed. Wang Lun's poem was really too exaggerated.

He was always calm and low-key, but when he was about to come to Zhujiazhuang, Wang Lun specifically told him to be arrogant and to provoke the anger of the people of Zhujiazhuang.

Lin Chong didn't know what constituted arrogance.

But what he just said, and what he said next about defeating Luan Tingyu with martial arts skills, shouldn't be considered arrogant?

Zhu Jialong, Hu Biao, and the other two were even more enraged, shouting, "Why do we need our master to take action? We will fight you ourselves!"

Zhu Chaofeng glanced at Luan Tingyu, knowing that although Luan Tingyu was highly skilled in martial arts and ranked first in Zhu Family Village, he might not be able to defeat Lin Chong. If they accepted the bet and lost, they would lose 5,000 shi of grain and 10,000 guan of cash.

While he was still hesitating, Luan Tingyu said, "Since Instructor Lin is interested, I will spar with you a few times."

Lin Chong clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Master Zhu, please send someone to prepare money and provisions."

Upon hearing this, everyone's anger flared even more. Before the fight even started, Lin Chong already believed he had a sure win.