The 37th time the chicken crows and the dog steals

  Wu Song hastily looked over and saw that Lin Chong was not much taller or larger than himself, with a well-proportioned build, a wispy beard on his chin, and not the so-called leopard-headed and ring-eyed type like Zhang Fei, but rather very refined and elegant, making people feel good at first sight.

  Compared to the three, Lu Da was born with a majestic appearance, showing the style of a great Han from Guanxi, but he was too wild and gave people a lot of pressure. Wu Song was born strong and sturdy, with a fierce tiger-like gaze that made people feel his masculine energy.

  Lin Chong, on the one hand, did not lose his masculine vigor, but on the other hand, he had a few more feminine touches, like a long spear hidden in its scabbard, straight and slender, but with no sharp edges. When Lin Chong saw Wu Song looking at him, he hastily cupped his hands and bowed, saying: "I have seen General Military Commander."

  Wu Song hastily raised his hand and smiled: "Don't be like this, after all you are my junior fellow-disciple. Can't use these official titles. Is Master Zhou doing well at the mansion?"

  Lin Chong suddenly realized and smiled, "Teacher Zhou once mentioned to me that there were two senior brothers, one was the Jade Unicorn of Hebei, and the other was the Timely Rain of Qinghe County. I didn't dare to acknowledge them earlier, but now that you mention it, brother, I remember."

  Others introduced by Lu Da were also good men from the grasslands, who upon hearing this, moved and said: "We've only heard of the military exploits of the Commander-in-Chief, never thinking that he was also a timely rain for Hebei. We were remiss!" They knocked their heads to the ground and bowed, saying: "We've long heard of your great name, brother!"

  Wu Song hastily helped him up, feeling quite pleased with himself: "This publicity stunt is really effective. The seeds I sowed in Qinghe County have sprouted now, and even the common people know my name. Song Certain Certain has no chance."

  Lin Chong was cautious by nature, and although Wu Song was his senior fellow disciple, he still referred to himself as a junior officer. He said: "Prefect Zhou is not at home, he's gone to the mountains of Shandong to look for a good man named Song Jiang, because he had offended a Taoist priest from Mount Dragon Tiger, ruining his Taoist skills."

  Wu Song's heart stirred, recalling the scene of one knife breaking through the Five Thunderbolt Seal that night. He thought to himself: "It really was him." His heart was filled with boundless admiration, and he couldn't help but think that if he could obtain a hundred and eight volumes of the Precious Scripture of the Heavenly Treasure, perhaps he would also possess such abilities.

  At this time, Zhang's brothers and Tan Biao were led in by the steward, along with three or four other men and women. The four people paid their respects to Wu Song and introduced themselves one by one. Among them was a gambler named Dong Cheng, a woman who sold children on the black market named Shi Xiniang, a grave robber named Zhao Liu'er, and a teacher from Kaifeng Prefecture named Tang Duan.

  Wu Song helped up the four men and grasped Lin Chong's hand, saying to the crowd: "This is my younger martial brother Lin Chong, our teacher is General Zhou Tong."

  Everyone hastily said: "Indeed, he is a good man of the military family!" They all paid their respects to Lin Chong. Lin Chong saw that they didn't look like kind people and thought that in society, they were all troublemakers. He couldn't help but feel suspicious, but considering Wu Song's brotherly loyalty, he responded perfunctorily. The person from the inner gate knew that his status was not as good as that of the outer gate disciples and didn't take it to heart.

  It was getting late at night, Wu Song ordered the kitchen to prepare wine and dishes, and everyone had a good time drinking and chatting. At the table, Li Erniang's charming eyes kept glancing at Wu Song, laughing and smiling non-stop. Everyone laughed and said, "Erniang is drunk!"

  Wu Song didn't take it to heart, and after the wine was finished, he opened the main hall again. He sat in the master's seat, with Yang Zong by his side. Gong Sunyan was invited to sit on the left side of the first seat, followed by Lu Da, then Li Erniang and Zhang brothers. On the right side, Lin Chong sat at the head, followed by Tang Tu, Tan Biao, Dong Cheng, Shi Xiniangzi and several good men from the Jianghu.

  Wu Song glanced around and saw the hall full of demons and evil spirits, with a thick eerie atmosphere. He was overjoyed in his heart, thinking that with these people, he might not necessarily lose to the Hu barbarian sorcerer in three days' time. So he took out Prince Tan's letter and seal, and showed them to everyone.

  Zhang family brothers and others looked at the imperial edict and seal, and all praised it.

  Wu Song withdrew the imperial edict and seal, cupped his hands and said: "I somewhat understand fate, I had already seen that Prince Duan was destined to be the Son of Heaven. Indeed, today news came from the palace that Prince Duan will soon ascend to the throne, sitting in the Dragon Court with a golden crown. At that time, this imperial edict will become a sacred decree, and all of you will be meritorious officials, with official ranks starting from the fourth grade! As for fame, wealth, and fortune, we cultivators don't care about them, what we seek is eternal life. We want to borrow the true dragon energy of the Zhao family to refine our cultivation. However, the people of the Imperial Court look down on us, only allowing themselves to ascend to the Dragon Court, without giving us hidden door and soldier households a chance. Now that we have the imperial edict in hand, we also have hope to ascend to the Dragon Court!"

  Lin Chong and those several outlaws heard this, their hearts filled with shock and uncertainty. They only saw those strangely dressed men and women nodding in unison, saying repeatedly: "The master's words are reasonable! That we lower-class people can meet the master means our good fortune has arrived!"

  Wu Song said, "Three days later, I will be competing with the masters of Western Xia, Liao and Tubo at Tianji Pavilion. The people from Ximen are only concerned about their own lives, but as a member of the Hidden Door Society, I still have to rely on your help to uphold the prestige of the Song Dynasty! If those barbarians lose, the envoys of the three countries will not dare to be arrogant in the imperial court. You will surely receive important tasks from the Emperor when you arrive!"

  Zhang brothers laughed and said: "Don't say there's no heavy responsibility, we've done this kind of thing before. As the great Song Dynasty, how can we let the barbarians do as they please?"

  Lu Da laughed and said: "Three days later, I will cut off his head and hang it on the city gate!"

  After a long discussion, Lin Chong saw that the sky was already late and stood up to bid farewell. Wu Song sent him to the front door and looked around at the four sides without anyone, saying in a low voice: "Master brother, did Zhou Shi ever pass on to you a volume of 'Dou Tian Bao Zhao Jing'?"

  Lin Chong hesitated for a moment, and Wu Song said again: "I also have one in my hand." He took out the Precious Scripture of Universal Salvation from his sleeve and handed it to Lin Chong, saying: "This Precious Scripture of Universal Salvation has a total of 108 volumes, each with different contents. This volume you're holding is about the power of the Heavenly Star of Injury, take a look at it, brother, and you'll definitely gain something."

  Lin Chong said with shame: "Brother, you are so righteous, it makes me look petty. Zhou Shi indeed passed on to me a copy of the Tianbao Mirror Classic, but it's for summoning the power of the Heavenly Hero Star, and he ordered me not to show it to anyone. But since we're brothers in martial arts, looking at it won't hurt; I'll personally bring it over tonight or early tomorrow morning."

  "Don't worry, don't worry. Younger brother, you get up a bit earlier tomorrow..."

  Lin Chong left with a smile, and the remaining few good men also bid farewell and left, saying: "Brother Wu, if it's an ordinary fight with weapons, fighting with knives, my brothers and I wouldn't be afraid. But when it comes to fighting with magic, we can't keep up, ashamed, ashamed!"

  Wu Song laughed and said, "This matter you really can't intervene in, it's just Lu Da being reckless." He ordered the steward to bring over several taels of silver and handed them over to the good men. The few men were extremely grateful, saying, "You truly live up to your name as a timely rain, from now on if there's anything we need, brother you can just give us orders, this life is bought for brother!"

  These people left the Tianji Pavilion and spread Wu Song's name as a timely rain everywhere, making Wu Song's reputation great in the countryside, all thanks to the credit of these few packages of silver.

  Wu Song saw that the sky was already late, and let the housekeeper tidy up a few side rooms to let Zhang's brothers rest. They still had to ask them to do something big the next day. After arranging everything, he also went back to his room to rest. Just as he was sleeping soundly, a pink mist suddenly appeared in the room, slowly spreading out, and a sweet fragrance made Wu Song sleep even more soundly, mumbling: "So hot..."

  A slender figure suddenly appeared in the room, Li Erniang was drunk, put away the embroidered handkerchief, her charming eyes fluttered, and she whispered with a low chuckle: "You this charming person, on the wine table, enticed slave's heart to itch, after finishing dinner, but threw away slave, let slave guard the empty room alone, always thinking of your goods..."

  Li Erniang quickly untied her sash and slipped into the bed, her body wriggling like a snake, stirring up the man's desire in his dreams. She giggled and said: "Now that the moon is just right, let's consummate this beautiful affair!"

  In the bridal chamber, the fragrant quilt is spread out, two naked bodies rolling around, waves of sound rising unceasingly.

  "You rascal, be more gentle, you've bumped into me so hard that I'm all sore and numb...my heart is racing..."

  "Pangzi, I'd rather die than give it away, even if it's to the Emperor..."

  "Dada, I'm done, can't take it anymore..."

  This night is calm and peaceful, with a clear sky and no disturbances. The stars are shining brightly in the southeast, indicating the arrival of an important person, which is extremely auspicious.

  The next day, early in the morning, when the sky was just brightening, Li Erniang stealthily poked her head out of Wu Song's room, her face flushed red. Seeing no one around, she hastily ran out with her clothes disheveled. The prostitute returned with flowers, entered the room, and sang a little ditty with great satisfaction. Unbeknownst to her, Gong Sun's daughter had gotten up early, intending to find Wu Song to talk to. She saw everything, stood there stunned for a while, her face red and heart racing, spat in disgust, and turned back.

  When Wu Song woke up, he stared at the messy bed for half a day, recalling the scene from his dream last night. He gave himself a slap on the mouth: "I was clearly thinking of Li Shishi, so why did Li Erniang appear in my dream? But speaking of which, Li Erniang is indeed the leader of the brothel, her maintenance is comparable to that of a 28-year-old beauty, and she's even more fierce and skilled in bed. Bah! If I were to get along with Li Shishi, she would be my mother-in-law... Fortunately, it was just a dream."

  Wu Song unknowingly had his internal energy stolen by the old woman, and got out of bed to wash his face and rinse his mouth. He walked around the courtyard a few times, exercising his fists and feet, with all his strength bursting forth. His muscles rippled under his skin like a python coiling, or an ancient tree taking root. As he struck out with his fists and feet, the air seemed to vibrate with a dull thunder-like sound, far more powerful than usual. Wu Song exclaimed in delight: "This dream was wonderful! It's better than ten years of practice! From now on, I'll have to do it several times!"

  Han, the housekeeper, came running in a flurry and said: "Master, early this morning before dawn, the Kind family secretly sent over fifty barrels of gunpowder, which I have hidden in the backyard. What should we do with it?"

  Wu Song waved his hand for him to withdraw and summoned the fierce and sinister men under his command, saying: "Whether today's great undertaking can succeed or not depends on your abilities!"

  ————

  Why is this chapter called "Chicken Crowing and Dog Stealing"? Some pig has also forgotten...