Chapter 3 On Shiziling

  On the night of October 27, Lin Dewen and his five men hid near Shizi Ridge as planned. Lin Dewen, Zhou Wang, and Chen Gouzzi were on the back mountain, while Lin Chunzhi, Lin Chunren, and Lin Chunhong, three brothers, were hiding by the side of the mountain road in front of the camp gate. The dark clouds obscured the sky, not a single star could be seen, and it was so dark around that one couldn't see their fingers when stretching out their hand. Looking towards the mountain stronghold, there was still a fire inside, and the watchtower near the gate could be clearly seen, with someone on duty. The stronghold was noisy until midnight before slowly quieting down.

  Xiao San's right hand tightly grasped the bow, with sweat all over his palm. His whole body was involuntarily trembling, and Xiao San really wanted to stop his body from shaking, but he couldn't do it no matter what. Big Brother Lin Chunzhi patted Xiao San's head and whispered, "Don't be nervous, just follow Father's orders later." After saying that, he grasped Xiao San's hand, and Second Brother also pressed down on Xiao San's shoulder. It was strange to say, but Xiao San calmed down a lot, his body no longer trembling, quietly staring in the direction of the village entrance.

  Behind the hill of Shi Zi Ling, there is a cliff about 15 or 16 meters high. When all the mountain bandits fell asleep, Lin Dewen first climbed up the cliff with his bare hands. Lin Dewen had been to this place before and had climbed this cliff twice. This time, he was naturally familiar with the route and reached the top of the cliff in a short while. He tied the rope he carried with him to a tree, looked around and then climbed up. Then the two of them worked together to pull up Chen Gouzzi, and the three of them hid behind a huge rock at the edge of the cliff, waiting quietly for the most difficult time at dawn to take action.

  Chen Bosha thought there was a cliff behind the mountain, so he didn't build a wall or arrange anyone to keep watch. He just threw thorns all over the place, but these thorns couldn't stop the three of them at all. The three of them quietly approached the camp. As they got closer and closer to the camp, the three were about to rush out when suddenly a mountain bandit pushed open the door and walked towards them, pulling that thing out as he walked. It turned out he was coming out to pee.

  Lin Dewen waved his hand, and the three of them jumped up. Lin Dewen led the way, holding an iron spear in his hand, stabbing at the mountain bandit, hitting him right in the heart. The bandit let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground dead.

  The mournful cry alarmed the sentry at the entrance of the village, and for a moment the sound of gongs was loud. The mountain bandits rushed out of their houses with weapons in hand, some still half-naked. Lin Dewen held his gun with both hands and charged forward on horseback, while Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzi each held a wooden knife to protect Lin Dewen's left and right sides. The three men formed a battle formation that was sharp and unstoppable, and immediately three bandits were knocked to the ground.

  Three men rushed forward, shouting: "The government soldiers are coming! The government soldiers are coming!" The bandits did not know how many people were coming and were frightened by the shouts, retreating in all directions.

  The bandits on the watchtower shot arrows at the three men with their hunting bows, but the force of the bows was too small and the arrow shafts were a bit loose, making it easy for Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzi to deflect them with their wooden swords. Lin Dewen didn't care about the arrow shafts either, focusing on using his spear to charge at the bandits in front of him.

  Suddenly, Sun Bodhisattva shouted in the crowd: "There are only three people, brothers, kill them for me." The mountain bandits plucked up a thread of courage and surrounded the three men. The three men fought more bravely, their weapons becoming more handy, and in the blink of an eye, two more bandits fell to the ground injured. Lin Dewen charged at Sun Bodhisattva with his spear, Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzishou tacitly followed closely behind, the three forming a triangle that never left each other's side. Sun Bodhisattva saw the three men charging over, was shocked, knew he was no match for them, turned around and ran away.

  The sentry at the gate saw Sun Buzha escape, throw away his hunting bow, roll down from the watchtower, open the gate and run. Not far from running, an arrow came face to face, hitting the door frame, and fell to the ground. Sun Buzha was greatly shocked, had not decided where to run, two arrows whizzed again, Sun Buzha used a knife to block one, and the other hit his throat. Sun Buzha held the arrow shaft with his hand, made an "ah" sound, fell face up on the ground, ending his sinful life.

  The thieves also rushed out of the camp gate, and Lin Dewen and his two companions chased after them. The three Lin brothers shot arrows at the thieves near the camp gate, and soon all the thieves were killed except for five people who hid by the side of the mountain road. Lin Dewen and his two companions drove the six men into the camp. The three Lin brothers also entered the camp with their wooden swords in hand.

  Xiao San saw the corpses and blood all over the ground, couldn't help but feel like vomiting, so she shifted her gaze to the five living people, barely holding it in.

  "Big brother, how are we going to deal with these five men?" Chen Gouz asked.

  Lin De Wen's face was expressionless as he said, "Kill them all!"

  The mountain bandits were filled with despair. At this moment, one of the bandits suddenly rushed towards Xiaosan, Xiaosan was caught off guard and instinctively picked up his wooden knife to stab at the bandit. The bandit quickly dodged to the side, avoiding the stab, and punched at Xiaosan. Xiaosan, not using too much force, changed his stab to a slash, and with one knife cut down the bandit to the ground. Fresh blood gushed out, splashing all over Xiaosan's body. Xiaosan could no longer hold back, and began vomiting violently. Lin Dewen and the other four saw that Xiaosan was in no danger, and with swift and precise movements, killed off the remaining four bandits.

  Zhou Wang walked over, patted Xiao San's back and smiled: "You'll get used to it next time."

  Six people counted the corpses on the ground, exactly twenty-four bodies. Then, the six people started to count Sun Pu's property, and found more than 1,200 taels of silver, and many gold, silver and copper utensils. Just when everyone was in high spirits, Chen Gouzzi brought a woman over. The woman was still quite young, with good looks, her eyes were filled with tears, but she didn't dare to cry, and kept sobbing there.

  Chen Gouzzi smiled and said: "A woman was found in Sun Bodhisattva's house."

  Lin Dewen was about to order the execution of this woman, when Chen Gouzzi said: "I have already asked this woman, she is a native of Jingmen, her husband's family was killed by Sun Pu Sa, and she was captured and brought here half a year ago, and her natal family does not dare to return."

  Lin Dewen and others understood that the woman had been in the bandit's lair for half a year, and even if she returned home, it would be a dead end. Chen Gouzzi's face turned red, and he stammered for half a day before saying: "Big brother, you see, I'm still missing a foot warmer..."

  Lin Dewen stared at the woman and asked: "Are you willing to follow us Chen brothers?"

  The girl nodded hastily and said she was willing.

  Seven people lined up the corpses in the village, poured oil on them, lit a fire, and burned the Stone Village to ashes before rushing to the Zhou family.

  Jiangling County Magistrate Shi Diaoyuan never thought that the Shizi Ridge bandits, who had been a headache for him for over a year, would be completely destroyed in one night. Jiangling County had organized archers to attack these bandits before, but they couldn't even get past the gate of their stronghold and ended up losing several lives instead. After receiving the report from Dong San, the county's historian, Shi still didn't believe it and personally went to Shizi Ridge to investigate, only then did he secretly rejoice. After discussing with his staff for a long time, they guessed that Sun Pu had offended an even bigger bandit group and was killed by them in a case of "black eating black".

  A bigger bandit? Shi Diaoyuan couldn't help but break out in cold sweat, who exactly was this bandit? If they were stirring up trouble within Jiangling County, what would happen? Thus, Shi Diaoyuan immediately ordered Dong Sanyou to investigate the details of this bandit.

  Dong Sanyou was a meticulous person, and although he also judged that Sun Wukong had been blackmailed, it was absolutely not a larger gang of bandits, with no more than eight people coming. At this time, the servant reported that Lin Dewen from Xiaowan Village had come to visit. Dong Sanyou secretly felt pleased, thinking to himself: It's really him. Dong Sanyou was very familiar with Lin Dewen's background: born in 1576, fond of guns and sticks since childhood, got into a fight with someone in 1595 and thought he had killed the person, so he fled far away. Later, when he found out that the person hadn't died, he went to the Nine Borders to join the army. In 1600, he left the border army and returned home, and the next year, he assisted Zhou Wang in registering his household in Jiangling. In 1620, he assisted Chen Lei in registering his household in Jiangling. Several people who were good at fighting were about to emerge. Dong Sanyou also enjoyed guns and sticks in his free time, and some of his captors and prison guards shared the same interest, so they often invited Lin Dewen to instruct them, and the two men had a bit of a relationship.

  Dong Sanyou looked at the over a hundred taels of silver in front of him, but just smiled and didn't say anything.

  Lin Dewen didn't say much either, cupping his fists and saying: "It's just a small token of our appreciation, not enough to show our respect. I hope Lord Dianshi won't mind."

  "Lin, the instructor, just call me Brother Dong, no need to be so polite. As the saying goes, 'no pay without work', what's your intention, Instructor Lin?" The guards and jailers usually found it easy to address him as "Instructor Lin", and since Lin Chong was also a well-known figure, they started calling Lin De as "Instructor Lin".

  Lin Dewen said, "Sun Buzha brought disaster to our hometown, and the common people were furious. I gathered a few brothers and killed him. I hope you can help us cover it up."

  Dong Sanyou was shocked and asked, "Since the suppression of bandits has merit for the county, why is Lin Jiaotou being so evasive? It can't be that he's just after wealth, can it?"

  Lin Dewen's expression suddenly turned gloomy, and he said: "We are the only two brothers left alive. We didn't die on the battlefield, and we've already let down our deceased brothers. What's the point of caring about these empty titles?"

  Dong Sanyou was slightly moved in his heart. When he was young, he had passed the imperial examination and often fantasized about joining the army to fight on the battlefield, using his military strategy to defeat the enemy and serve his country. That's why he was good at martial arts. Unfortunately, as he grew older, he no longer thought about these ridiculous things. It wasn't until today, when he came into contact with these people who had narrowly escaped death on the battlefield, that he truly felt the cruelty and bloodiness of war.

  Dong Sanyou consoled them, saying: "Those who are alive are also heroes and men of merit. Why must you belittle yourselves? The imperial court remembers your merits."

  "Thank you, Lord Zhang, I won't disturb you any longer, I'll take my leave now."

  Dong Sanyou watched Lin Dewen's departing figure, thinking to himself: Concealing is a small matter, helping out is no big deal either. These three people, Lin Dewen, Zhou Wang and Chen Lei, are indeed skilled and daring, why not use these three elite soldiers to eliminate bandits and accumulate some merit, then climb the hundred-foot pole and advance further, get promoted?

  Under the care of Dong Sanyou, Shi Diaoyuan also did not intend to expand the matter and reported to Jingzhou Prefecture that "the bandits were killed in a fire, all burned to death".

  In the city of Jiangling, on top of Wangjiang Tower, Lin Dewen, Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzizi were drinking to get drunk. Since the annihilation of Sun Pu Sa, the three had money in their hands and often went to Wangjiang Tower to drink and vent their frustrations.

  "If there's a way to live, we won't do this bloody business again." Lin Dewen had too much wine, his tongue was rolling, "Now thinking of the brothers who died on the battlefield before, it hurts, it really hurts!" Lin Dewen couldn't help but choke back tears.

  "Big brother, I think this is pretty good too. Exterminating bandits not only accumulates virtue, but also earns silver coins. What's more enjoyable than that under the sky?" Chen Dogzi thought of an additional warm foot and laughed happily.

  "This won't last long either, even though we have a bit more silver now, we can't just sit back and enjoy it. Big brother, what do you think we should do in the future?" Zhou Wang asked, thinking further ahead.

  "If we're out of money, let's just find a few more bandits to rob and the money will come!" Chen Dogzi savored the taste of his previous spoils from eliminating bandits.

  Zhou Wang shook his head and said, "This time we were lucky, there were only more than 20 bandits. If in the future they are a bit more ruthless, the three of us brothers will definitely end up dead!"

  "What else can we do besides wielding swords and guns, catching fish, and tilling the fields?" Lin De Wen sighed.

  All three of them were silent. Playing with knives and guns was a game of life on the edge, and it was questionable whether fishing, hunting, and farming could make a living.

  "After a long while, Chen Gouz said: 'Damn this world, it's hard to survive as a good person.' Chen Gouz clenched his fist around the wine cup, almost crushing it."

  At this moment, someone suddenly said: "Lin Jiaotou is so elegant and refined, drinking wine here doesn't even call for a toast!" It turned out to be Dong Sanyou, the county historian, who was passing by and saw the three men drinking silently, so he came forward to greet them.

  Lin Dewen hastily stood up and said, "We three brothers are drinking recklessly, making a joke of Magistrate Tian's hospitality. If Magistrate Tian doesn't mind, why don't we drink some watered-down wine together?"

  "Now that we've met, how can we not drink together?" Dong Sanyou said, plopping himself down in the empty seat and loudly calling out: "Waiter, bring another set of bowls and chopsticks!"

  Lin De Wen brothers secretly thought it was strange. In this era, who among the officials and scholars would look up to these martial artists? It is often said that when things are handled in a reverse manner, there must be a demon at work. Lin De Wen brothers were extremely cautious in dealing with Dong San You. Unexpectedly, Dong San You spoke very little, wolfing down his food like a stormy wind sweeping away the clouds, and only after finishing his meal did he pick up his wine cup and say: "I toast to the three brave warriors."

  "You're a scholar, and yet...and yet..." Chen Gouzzi held his wine cup, unable to continue speaking.

  Dong Sanyou smiled slightly and said: "Lunch hasn't been eaten yet, I'm starving, what's the point of caring about his table manners?"

  Zhou Wang said: "Governor Dianshi is a man of temperament, and I admire him!"

  "What truly made me admire was the three of them, with the strength of three people, they directly attacked the bandits' lair, which is something that only elite warriors can do."

  Three people suddenly changed color, holding their wine cups and didn't know what to say. Dong San You hastily said: "It's my fault, come on, let's drink."

  After the four of them had drunk, Dong San continued: "I know that the three of you were all famous heroes in Liaodong, and it's a pity to be buried in the countryside. Haven't you ever thought about doing something for the imperial court?"

  The three of them were shocked, never expecting that Dong Sanyou was actually planning to recruit the three of them. Zhou Wang and Chen Gouzizi involuntarily looked towards Lin Dewen. The three of them had always taken Lin Dewen as their leader.

  Lin Dewen asked: "We three brothers don't know what to do either, does Lord Dian Shi have any suggestions?"

  "Recently, Jiangling County has been in a state of unrest. In the northwest, there is Zhao Yide, a bandit who has occupied the mountains and is acting as king. When the bowmen come to quell him, he flees into Jingmen Prefecture's Dangyang County. When the bowmen leave, he returns to Jiangling, causing trouble for the local people. On the waterways, there is also Wu Cheng, a pirate who robs and kills merchants, doing all sorts of evil deeds. However, Wu Cheng's whereabouts are mysterious, and although the bowmen want to quell him, they can't find him. I think you three will not just sit back and watch these bandits cause trouble for the local people."

  "What can we three do when even the archers couldn't accomplish it?" Lin De Wen shook his head.

  "What if the archer lets three people through?"

  Three people looked at each other in dismay, over a hundred taels of silver was not enough to make Dong San You treat the three brothers with such courtesy.

  Dong Sanyou continued: "The deputy inspector of the Tiger Crossing Patrol is vacant, if Lin Jiaozu is interested, I can make some arrangements to help him get this position."

  "This... let's discuss it among us brothers." Lin De Wen said hesitantly.

  "No problem, I'll wait for Captain Lin then."