Chapter 28: Han Shui Rescues Zhi Ruo

  The Han River, also known as the Han Water or Han River, is the largest tributary of the Yangtze River. The modern hydrological view holds that it has three sources: the central source is the Zhan Water, the northern source is the Zhuo Water, and the southern source is the Yudai River, all located in the southern foothills of the Qinling Mountains in Ningqiang County, Shaanxi Province. It flows through Mianyang (now Mian County) and is called the Mian Water, then flows east to Hanzhong where it is first known as the Han Water; from Ankang to Danjiangkou it was anciently known as the Canglang Water, and below Xiangyang it is also known as the Xiang River or Xiang Water. The Han River is the longest tributary of the Yangtze River and has historically held an important position, often being listed alongside the Yangtze, Huai River, and Yellow River as the "Yangtze-Huai-Yellow-Han".

  The Han River, also known as the Mian River in ancient times, is 1,577 kilometers long and is the largest tributary of the Yangtze River. It belongs to the first-class tributaries of the Yangtze River, with more than three-quarters of its total length flowing through Hubei Province. The Han River originates from Hanzhong City in Shaanxi Province. The main stream above Danjiangkou in Hubei Province is the upper reaches, with a narrow river valley and a length of approximately 925 kilometers; from Danjiangkou to Zhongxiang is the middle reaches, with a relatively wide river valley and many sandy beaches, and a length of approximately 270 kilometers; from Zhongxiang to Hankou is the lower reaches, with a length of approximately 382 kilometers, flowing through the Jianghan Plain, with a winding and narrowing river course. It flows into the Yangtze River at Longwang Temple in Hankou, Wuhan City.

  On this day by the banks of the Han River, a small boat was ferrying people in the river. When the boat reached midstream, the waves of the Han River surged and the small ferry boat rocked back and forth incessantly.

  At this time, a loud voice suddenly came from afar on the river: "Stop the boat quickly, hand over the child obediently, and Buddha will spare your life. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless." The voice came from the waves, clear to the ear, obviously the person calling out had strong internal energy.

  Before long, two river boats came flying over, and as they looked intently, they saw that on the bow of a small boat in front, there was a burly man with a curly beard and a helmsman who was past fifty. The two men were rowing with all their might, their faces full of anxiety. In the cabin sat two children, a boy and a girl. The boy looked bewildered and helpless, but the girl, although frightened, was still softly comforting the boy.

  Behind was a larger boat, in which stood four foreign monks and seven or eight Mongolian officers. The officers took up the oars and helped to row, trying to catch up with the small boat ahead.

  That powerful man with a long beard had incredible strength, and with one pull of the oars, the small boat suddenly shot forward several yards. But there were more people on the other boat behind him, and the distance between the two boats was getting closer and closer. Before long, the officials and monks drew their bows and shot arrows at the man. The sound of the arrows piercing the air could be heard, whizzing loudly.

  The big man saw that although he was surprised, he didn't panic. With his left hand rowing the boat and his right hand holding up a wooden oar, he parried and knocked down each incoming arrow, his movements extremely swift.

  But as the saying goes, 'a good man can't stand against a multitude', and even with all precautions, there will always be a flaw. And now that burly fellow is about to fall under the rain of arrows.

  At this time, a voice came from a small boat in the river, shouting at the boatman who was rowing: "Boatman, come forward."

  That boatman saw the arrows flying wildly, had already been frightened to the point of having weak hands and feet, desperately rowing the boat open was still not enough, how dare he turn around and go forward instead? Trembling with fear, he said: "Elder... Elder Dao... you're joking."

  Just then, a loud shout came from afar downstream, "Tartars, stop your hands, don't commit murder!" Then a small boat shot towards them like an arrow off the string.

  Before the small boat could get close, a white figure flashed by in the boat, and then a vast expanse of green light flashed across the sky.

  The boat of the barbarian monk transmitted a miserable cry, and at the same time, that white figure lightly floated down onto the small boat of the curly-bearded big man.

  At this time, the people on the boat before let out a light hum, apparently encountering something unexpected. Seeing that someone had come to rescue them, the old Taoist on the boat also stopped forcing the boatman to turn back.

  The boatman saw the old Taoist priest finally stop forcing himself, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. He immediately rowed the boat far away to avoid being affected by the misfortune.

  Bandits and warriors saw the approaching person very fierce, and hurriedly used strong crossbows to shoot. The white-clothed man on the ship with curly whiskers couldn't help but frown slightly.

  He turned to the burly man and said, "You protect the others, I'll go kill them." Then he spread his arms wide, like a giant eagle spreading its wings, and flew towards the barbarian monk's boat.

  Unfortunately, just at this moment, a loud cry of "ah" was heard, and the man in white quickly turned his head to look, seeing that the boy's back had been shot by an arrow. The burly bearded man was shocked, bent down to take a look, and immediately took arrows on his shoulder and back, his wooden oar slipping from his grasp, falling into the river, and the boat suddenly stopped moving. The large ship behind quickly caught up, and seven or eight Mongolian military officers and Tibetan monks jumped onto the small boat. The burly bearded man refused to yield, punching and kicking with all his might, desperately resisting.

  The man in white was furious, "Damn it!" The three Qingfeng swords in his hand moved non-stop, the sword light flowing like a continuous stream.

  At this time, two Mongolian officers shot two arrows at him. The man in white swung his sleeves and the two feathered arrows flew far away. With one foot on the deck, he drew his sword three times and instantly cut off the heads of the two fanatical monks. With a splash, they fell into the river. The officers saw that he was like a god descending to earth, and with one move, he sent two powerful fanatical monks flying, leaving everyone in shock and fear.

  The leading military officer shouted: "You little scoundrel, what are you doing? Blocking the imperial court's arrest of a criminal is a capital offense."

  "The man in white robes cursed: 'You dog slave! You're here again to commit evil and harm innocent people, today I will take justice into my own hands!'"

  The official said, "Do you know who this man is? He's a remnant of the Yuanzhou demonic cult rebels, a fugitive wanted by the whole country! Even if it were people from the Jianghu community who saw him, he would be killed on sight."

  Unfortunately, the man in white clothes showed no reaction after hearing it, and coldly looked at him with a glance, without saying much, but instead turned his hand over and killed him with one sword.

  At the same time, two boats had approached, and the burly man gently laid down the boy's body and pounced on the military officer. However, he was already injured, with two long arrows still stuck in his shoulder and back, and the arrowheads were poisonous. As soon as he sprang up, he let out a "hiss" sound and fell onto the deck of the boat cabin.

  Another little girl in the boat threw herself on a dead man's body in the cabin, crying out: "Daddy! Daddy!"

  That man in white turned around and saw the little girl, if he still didn't know what was going on after seeing this, he would probably have a negative opinion of the transmigrator's identity, and couldn't help but say in a low voice, "Zhou Ziruo!"

  Not bad, this person is indeed Song Qingchu returning to the Wudang Sect from Xiangyang. Since that day when he killed the barbarian monk in Xiangyang City, Song Qingchu didn't stay either. Thinking that it's been about two years since he left Mount Wudang and his martial arts wouldn't improve significantly for a while, he should go back now. So he left at night and traveled upstream along the Han River.

  Not wanting to drink sake on a Japanese ship today, but hearing the faint sound of killing from upstream. And so this happened.

  Song Qing had not reacted yet, thinking it was just an ordinary imperial pursuit, but unexpectedly encountered Zhou Zhiruo of Han Shui.

  It turns out that the people on the small boat earlier were actually Taishifu Zhang Sanfeng and Zhang Wuji. Originally, if I hadn't appeared, Zhang Sanfeng would have stepped in to save them, and later Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo would have fallen in love because of this. Who would have thought that I would intervene, truly the will of heaven is unpredictable!

  But for Song Qing, who is about to change history once again, he now has no psychological pressure. If he wants to change his fate, if he still calculates these small things, he will probably end up with nothing in the end.