Chapter Eleven: An Old Acquaintance

  Beishan, located thirty kilometers west of Zhenping County, is a subsidiary peak of the Qinling Mountains' main peak, Taibai Mountain. The mountain has a steep terrain and lush vegetation.

  Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu set out on horseback in the late afternoon, arriving at the foot of the mountain around 9 pm. The only things visible were rugged rocks and swaying tree shadows. They tied their horses to a tree at the foot of the mountain and searched for a small path to climb up. After walking five miles, they didn't see any lights or human figures, and except for the rustling sound of branches swaying in the wind, there was no other noise around them.

  The two men found a flat place to sit down and rest. Lian Zhuang said, "Damn it! We've been walking for half a day and haven't seen the bandit camp! Have they all hidden underground?! Not even a ghostly figure has appeared!"

  Meng Sheng said: "You can't talk about people during the day, and you can't talk about ghosts at night. Just wait for the wild ghosts on the mountain to come find you!"

  "This place is scary enough already, don't try to find fun with me." Lianzhu looked around and said timidly.

  "We're still over ten miles away from the mountain top, bandits won't set up their camp on the mountain top, that's too exposed. I reckon after walking a few more miles we should be able to see them," Meng Sheng said.

  "Big brother, now we are in the open, the bandits are in hiding, if we go further forward, I'm afraid we'll get shot from behind?" Lianzhu always showed unexpected cleverness at critical moments.

  Meng Sheng pondered for a moment, then said, "You're right, we need to change this situation." After speaking, he pulled out his pistol and fired several shots into the night sky. He then took out a hand grenade from his pocket, pulled the pin, and threw it far away. Then, pulling Lianzhu in the opposite direction, they ran until they hid behind a stone wall. Suddenly, there was a loud "boom" - the sound of the exploding grenade echoed loudly in the quiet night.

  Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu looked around, but they didn't see any movement for half a day. Lian Zhu whispered to Meng Sheng, "Are the bandits not on the mountain?" Meng Sheng waved his hand, signaling him not to speak.

  More than ten minutes passed, and still no one was seen. Meng Sheng was also secretly anxious, were these bandits really not on the mountain? Even if the bandits had gone out to rob houses, someone would have been left behind to guard the camp, so why hadn't anyone come over to check? Or did the bandit deeply understand military tactics and know what I was up to? If that was the case, then it was really frightening.

  Fortunately, the sky was pitch black and there were no stars or moonlight. The stone cave was also very secluded, so Meng Sheng decided to test their patience and shook his hand to signal to Lian Zhu that they should not make any more noise.

  After another half hour or so, Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu were about to lose hope when they suddenly heard faint footsteps coming from behind. Meng Sheng turned around to see several people with guns lined up in a search formation, spaced about 10 meters apart, crouching down and moving stealthily towards the location of the grenade explosion. The rock crevice where Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu were hiding was right between two of the searchers, so they wouldn't be discovered, but Meng Sheng felt a chill upon seeing this formation - these were bandits who knew tactics! At least their leader must have been an experienced military officer! The fact that they were searching in a circular motion rather than rushing straight to the target was also a real combat tactic. These bandits from a military background were many times more formidable than ordinary bandits! Fighting against this kind of bandit without being fully equipped and outnumbering them would be suicidal for regular troops.

  Meng Sheng quietly pressed down the head of the connected pillar, gently pressing down the thatched grass around the stone cave to cover his body, then slowly opened the gun's breech, ready to fire.

  The searching bandits passed by the two men without discovering them. The clothes on both of their bodies were already soaked with sweat, Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu both opened their mouths to take a light breath, and looked forward again.

  The two bandits on both sides had met, and without noticing the situation, they relaxed their vigilance. One of the bandits said: "Damn it! Why didn't we see anyone? Is it possible that a wild beast in the mountain stepped on a landmine?" The other bandit said: "Bullshit! The minefield is still over 50 meters away from here, and besides, those pressure-activated mines won't explode without a force of over 20 kilograms. What kind of wild beast in this mountain weighs over 20 kilograms?!"

  The clothes that were almost blown dry by the mountain wind were suddenly soaked with sweat again. Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu were extremely frightened, only to find out that walking fifty meters further would be entering a minefield! Luckily they didn't walk those fifty meters, otherwise, even if they weren't killed, they would have been severely injured. How did these bandits know how to lay mines? Even in the military, it requires a large army with various branches and an engineering corps to lay mines. Except for the battle between Tang Huanzi and his father several months ago, Meng Sheng had not heard of any other battles happening within hundreds of miles around here. He couldn't help but feel puzzled.

  At this time, several people walked down from the mountain road and came before the group of bandits. One of them asked: "What's going on?"

  "There isn't," replied the bandit chief.

  "That man said, 'No illness can kill a person! These gunshots and explosions must be someone intentionally trying to test the situation! Zheng Nan Cheng is greedy for wealth and has many tricks up his sleeve, we need to guard against him making the first move.'"

  Meng Sheng suddenly felt that the voice was so familiar, closed his eyes and searched in his mind, Lian Zhu also felt that the voice was familiar, thinking hard. Meng Sheng suddenly raised his head and looked at Lian Zhu, saying softly: "Feng Manlin! Commander Feng!"

  Lian Zhu exclaimed in a low voice, "Right! It's him!" Just as he was about to stand up and greet them, Meng Sheng grabbed him and said, "Are you looking for death? In this dark and chaotic place, how can they recognize you? If you reveal yourself, won't you be beaten into a sieve?"

  After saying that, Lianzhu pressed the stone slot, poked his head out and coughed softly, then quickly retracted his head into the stone slot. This cough alerted the bandits in the distance, and a sound of guns being cocked echoed. Feng Manlin waved his hand, and the bandits quietly dispersed, lying on the ground with their guns aimed at Mengsheng's hiding place.

  "Feng Manlin said loudly: 'With such patience waiting for us to appear, friends are not ordinary people! Are you willing to come out and meet Feng Mou?'"

  Meng Sheng was afraid that if he hesitated for a moment, the grenade would be thrown in. He quickly shouted: "Bao Gong is visiting the brothel and not giving money!"

  After a brief moment of silence, "Qīng tiān bái rì!" Feng Manlin excitedly replied "Shì shǎo yé!"

  That was when Meng Sheng was studying in Tianjin, and once during a holiday, he returned home just as Li Dujun had returned from visiting Sun Yat-sen in the south, bringing back a flag of the Southern Army with a blue sky and white sun. He asked Feng Manlin to keep it well, ready to be hung when needed. When Meng Sheng saw Feng Manlin unfolding the flag, he asked what flag it was, and Feng Manlin replied that it was the "Blue Sky White Sun" flag. Meng Sheng burst out laughing and gave Feng Manlin a riddle, with the answer being the "Blue Sky White Sun". Later, Feng Manlin went around giving people this riddle, but no one could solve it, and he took pride in it. When Li Dujun heard about it, he punished Feng Manlin by making him clean the military latrines for three days, so that Feng Manlin would remember this confusing riddle deeply.

  Meng Sheng saw that Feng Manlin had already recognized him, and he hastily jumped out of the stone cave with Lian Zhu. Feng Manlin was overjoyed, holding Meng Sheng's and Lian Zhu's hands and repeatedly asking about their well-being. The bandits who were originally soldiers in Li's army also got up and repeatedly asked about their well-being when they saw that it was their own young master.

  Feng Manlin led Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu into the mountain camp, setting up a table of wine and dishes to welcome Meng Sheng and Lian Zhu. During the meal, he asked Meng Sheng about his experiences over the past few days and why he had arrived at North Mountain in the dead of night. Meng Sheng told him the truth, and Feng Manlin cursed Han Dashi for being ungrateful and disloyal, while praising Ya Jun for being wise and just. When they spoke of Zheng Nan Cheng, Meng Sheng and Feng Manlin burst out laughing, both saying that Old Master Zheng had made a wrong move in chess, never expecting that the North Mountain bandits would have such a deep connection with Meng Sheng.

  Meng Sheng asked about Feng Manlin's experience, and Feng Manlin also told Meng Sheng in detail.

  That day, Meng Sheng left, and Feng Manlin followed his orders to borrow a horse-drawn carriage at the foot of the mountain to transport the grain and ammunition stored in the cave. Just as the grain was transported out, but before the ammunition was moved, Tang Hu's army arrived, killing their way there. Feng Manlin hastily buried the entrance to the cave where the ammunition was hidden, taking only the grain with him and fleeing northward with his brothers, in the same direction as Meng Sheng had gone, but they took a mountain path and did not encounter Meng Sheng. Along the way, they sold the grain, dividing the money among the brothers, and most of the soldiers returned home, leaving only a few dozen men without a place to go. Feng Manlin was originally a beggar boy taken in by General Li, and he didn't know where to go either, so he and his remaining brothers used their rich combat experience and exquisite tactics to kill their way up North Mountain, driving out the original bandits of North Mountain and establishing themselves as kings.

  Feng Manlin finished telling his story, and with a serious expression, he said to Meng Sheng: "We were originally people of General Li. After the general's death in battle, we became your men! Please lead us brothers to avenge General Li and restore the prestige of the Li family!"