Baitoushan

  "Xiao Wu, what are you staying behind for? Hurry up and go down the mountain, I have Wu Er to accompany me! " Monk Hua seemed to be unappreciative of Xiao Wu's decision to stay behind, but it was because Xiao Jiu was still in enemy hands.

  "My younger brother will never abandon his two elder brothers and become a cowardly survivor!" Xiao Hui responded resolutely, his character had always been one of unyielding determination, although he was determined to serve the country, if it meant surrendering, he would absolutely not do it.

  "Delightful, delightful! The three of us brothers can now be companions on the road to the Yellow Springs." Wu Xingzi's tone was mournful, and he already had a heroic spirit willing to die.

  Three people, six eyes locked in a gaze, each with emotions that only come from a bond of life and death. They weren't lacking confidence in their own martial arts; over the past two years, the Iron Triangle could be said to have been invincible, so why would they fear these country soldiers? But now, among their enemies were former brothers, thirty-six sworn siblings who had lived together day and night, familiar with each other's weaknesses. Song Jiang was always meticulous in his plans, ruthless and cunning; this plot to secretly surrender was just one example, and once the battle began, it would be a fight to the death.

  "Hua Zhi, Wu Er, Mu Zhong, you don't appreciate favors, so don't blame me for being ruthless and unrighteous." Song Jiang shouted out the nicknames of the three men on the mountain, with an unmistakable tone of sarcasm.

  "Short and dark boy, I've been waiting for you to come and die!" Monk Hua stood tall, one foot on the rocky outcropping, his staff held horizontally, looking down at him like an insect.

  "Men, just listen to Commander Song's orders!" Prefect Zhang Shunye personally awarded the reward and handed over the command of the battlefield to Song Jiang, but actually wanted him to risk his life to fight against the enemy with another enemy.

  "All you brothers, take up your arms and attack the mountain stronghold! Capture these three rebels and I, as a government official, will surely reward you heavily!" Song Jiang spoke with an air of authority, but his words were awkward and out of place.

  The drums sounded again, and the shouts of thousands of people rose up. The dozen or so good men who had first followed Song Jiang to accept amnesty were led by the Ruan brothers, each holding their weapons, fighting in the vanguard, with the Haizhou militia following closely behind. As for the second batch of good men who were forced to surrender, they stood by and watched with folded arms.

  "Second Brother, quickly gather all the quivers." Little Five held up his large bow and occupied a semi-mountainous terrain with an open view to exert the greatest power of a divine archer.

  "Good! First, let's tire out Xiao Wu. When the Dog Official Army approaches, we'll call out to them again!" Huahe Shang and Wu Xingzi immediately began searching around on the ground.

  Originally, according to the convention of each battle, all good men carried twice as many arrows to supply Xiaowu. Just now when they came down the mountain, they all threw them away, which was a bargain for this side.

  Xiao Wu looked around, taking in the entire situation at a glance. His shooting range normally exceeded 200 steps, and now with the help of the mountain terrain, it had been extended by another fold. It could be said that from the top to the bottom of the mountain was all within his bow's shooting range. As long as there were enough arrows, defending their position would not be a problem. He asked, "Two brothers, how many quivers of arrows have you searched for?"

  "Thirty-six sacks!" Wu Xingzi counted, coincidentally, exactly matching the thirty-six sworn brothers' number, yet they were about to slaughter each other. Was it heaven's will?

  Xiao Wu silently calculated, adding the three bags on his back to a total of thirty-nine bags, each containing twelve arrows, totaling four hundred and sixty-eight arrows. The enemy below the mountain had over a thousand people, even if he didn't waste a single shot, he could only kill or injure half of them, not a single arrow could be wasted.

  "Kill! Kill......" The mountains were filled with the sound of drums, and thousands of village soldiers surged forward like a tidal wave at the foot of the mountain. The enemy's forces were overwhelmingly superior, and each person had a misconception that victory was within their grasp.

  Only the Ruan brothers and their dozen or so good men, who knew the strength of the three, especially feared Xiao Wu's divine arrow. Every step forward was made with rock as cover, extremely cautious, and naturally not fast. Originally they were supposed to be the vanguard, but they had already been surpassed by the eager-to-achieve-merit militia.

  As the sound of killing drew closer and closer, Xiao Wu narrowed his eyes, avoiding the direct sunlight, and casually glanced around, as if he were planting rice seedlings in a field. He didn't even take aim, but simply drew his bow and shot, releasing twelve arrows in rapid succession.

  That flower and monk cover the weak side, while the martial artist takes on the task of loading arrows, thus shooting five empty quivers in one breath.

  The mountainside was suddenly quiet, the village soldiers saw their companions around them falling one after another like cut scallions, as if the enemy had ambushed countless archers, each and every one of them scared out of their wits, rolling on the ground, seeking cover, leaving only a few dozen fallen village soldiers groaning at the foot of the mountain, it was Xiao Wu's mercy that they were only injured but not killed! As for the archers among the village soldiers, they lost their effect due to the distance being too far.

  There were brave militiamen peeking out from behind the rocks, and all they saw was a bearded man holding his bow high, with a majestic physique, standing tall on the precipice of the mountain. Was this archer the only one? They were all tongue-tied, truly a heavenly god!

  Zhang Shun, the vanguard, was also a skilled archer. He thought to himself that he didn't have the ability to achieve this feat, but couldn't help feeling admiration for Song Jiang's talent. He called out to Song Jiang and asked him a few questions in a low voice, then loudly advised him to surrender: "Are you not Wu Yong, Lu Zhishen, and Wu Song on the mountain? You three are brave and righteous, and now that the country is in a time of great turmoil, it needs heroes like you. If you come down from the mountain, the imperial court will surely make good use of you!"

  "Zhang Zhizhou, I've heard you're a good official, so why use sinister plots and tricks against us brothers? If you can defeat me fairly and squarely, I'll admit defeat and surrender. But if you have the guts, come and attack Mount Song!" Xiao Wu had already steeled himself to live or die with the two monks.

  "Little Fifth, look at whose hand that is! If you dare to shoot another arrow, I'll take your sister's life!" Song Jiang revealed his true heroic nature, pulling Little Ninth out from the crowd and holding a knife to her throat.

  "Xiao Jiu..." Xiao Wu's voice was a little hoarse, and it turned out that he had wrongly accused Han Jiu'er. She hadn't actually gone with Song Jiang after all. But how detestable that short and dark fellow was to use the same trick again and threaten him with her! What should be done about this?

  "Brother Song, little sister knows you care about me and can't bear to kill me, right?" Han Ninth Sister dressed as a man, smiled slyly, and didn't take the sharp blade on her neck seriously. Song Jiang was stunned, feeling like he had been seen through, but then she looked up and shouted clearly, "Brother, since ancient times, heroes have often sung sad songs, with loyalty and righteousness not being whole! Don't worry about little sister, just focus on being a good man who stands tall and upright, don't let future generations laugh at you!"

  "Since ancient times, heroes have often had tragic endings, and those who are completely loyal and righteous rarely die with their bodies intact!" Xiaowu's chest felt like it was struck by thunder as he recalled his carefree days with Xiaonizi, but he never thought that today he would have to make a choice between loyalty to the country and brotherly righteousness.

  "Little Ninth Sister, I couldn't bear to kill you, and if I did, later generations would laugh at me. What then?" Song Jiang's expression changed several times as he spoke, his face twisted with cruelty as he turned towards the mountain and growled, "Little Fifth, even if I couldn't bring myself to harm Little Ninth, if you shoot just one arrow, I'll strip her of a piece of clothing. See how you like that?"

  "Song Jiang, you..." Han Jiu'er's face lost its color. She was a pure and innocent young woman who wasn't afraid of death, but how could she endure such humiliation?

  Zhang Uncle didn't expect Song Jiang to come up with such a plan, furrowed his brow, and ultimately didn't speak out. Use people without suspicion; since Song Jiang did it this way, he must have had his reasons.

  The remaining thirty-six heroes all raised their eyebrows, for they all regarded Xiaojiu as a younger sister. If Song Jiang really humiliated her, it would be like humiliating his own brothers.

  Originally, with Song Jiang's intelligence, he should have thought of this, but on the one hand, he had just defected to the imperial court and was eager to show off. If he couldn't even subdue his former subordinates, wouldn't that make people look down on him? On the other hand, he had always had a hidden agenda towards Xiao Jiu, which only she knew about, but her disdain for him made him feel desperate and humiliated.

  "Hey, little black boy, hello...hello..." Xiao Wu's eyes widened in shock. He didn't suspect that Song Jiang would do such a thing, he just didn't expect him to be so despicable. Maybe this was his true face after all.

  "You dare to be rude to my little sister? I'll cut you into a thousand pieces, grind your bones into powder and scatter them in the wind! You shameless scoundrel!" Monk Hua joined in, cursing loudly.

  "Flower idiot, someone is waiting for you! All the brothers of the family, help me attack the mountain!" Song Jiang didn't hesitate, throwing his knife to the ground, grabbing Xiaojiao's arm with one hand and her collar with the other, giving a loud "zip" sound. The skin on the little girl's neck was exposed, and the red bellyband inside could be vaguely seen.

  "Ah......" Han Jiuer's voice trembled with shame, tears welling up in her eyes. Surrounded by thousands of men, all staring at her, this was even more unbearable than being killed by a knife.

  "Xiao Jiu..." Xiao Wu let out a loud roar, throwing down his large bow. It wasn't until this moment that he realized his true feelings for Han Jiu'er were strong enough to make him give up everything!

  "Alright, alright! Magistrate Zhang, I surrender!" Wu Xingzhi also threw down his short staff and walked straight down the mountain, shouting in Haizhou dialect as he went, "Fellow villagers, don't give me the cold shoulder, I'm one of you too... from now on we'll eat out of the same pot and sleep on the same kang..."

  "Wu Er, you're also a scoundrel..." Huahe Shang's eyes saw his closest brother leave, and he jumped up and cursed. Xiao Wu's eyes were dazed, watching the back of Wu Xing as he went down the mountain, and then he sat down on the ground dejectedly.

  In this way, under the watchful eyes of the village soldiers, Wu Song walked unarmed to Zhang Wen's horse and bowed his head. Song Jiang laughed loudly: "Wu Xian Di, this is what it means to be a hero who knows when to yield!"

  "Know! Know you bird!" Wu Xingzi suddenly attacked, rushing towards Song Jiang who was holding the little nine, that short and dark fellow was caught off guard, being knocked flying out. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wu Xingzi picked up the little nine, turned around and ran away.

  Suddenly changing direction, everyone on the mountain was caught off guard, except for Song Jiang. He snatched a long spear from a local soldier and chased after him first, extremely angry: "Wu Er doesn't dare to run!"

  "How dare you deceive the official!" Zhang Shu Ye was also furious, he drew his bow and aimed at Wu Hang's back, with one hand, a hundred steps through the willow arrow technique, if an arrow were to shoot out, would Wu Hang still have his life?

  Just then, a "whooshing" sound pierced the air, and an arrow arrived first. Zhang Shuye cried out in surprise, fell off his horse, and was hit by an arrow on the shoulder. Luckily, Xiao Wu shot back just in time to save him.

  "Wu Er, I've got you!" Monk Hua exclaimed in surprise and delight, grabbing his staff and rushing down.

  At this time, the attacking mountain villagers all came to their senses and jumped out from their hiding places to intercept. The archers at the foot of the mountain also shot arrows to block under the command of the leader.

  How did Xiao Wu delay? Those arrows swooped down incessantly, suppressing the intercepting village soldiers and archers. Only with his own bow skills and arrow techniques being equally extraordinary could he cover Wuxia and Xiao Jiu as they climbed up the mountain in such a perilous place.

  The Wu Xing warrior had been roaming the White Tiger Mountain since childhood, and was very familiar with the terrain. He jumped up and down, his footsteps as swift as flying, getting closer and closer to Huahe Shang who was approaching him. Once the two monks merged, Xiao Wujin would cover them from mid-air again, and no one could stop them.

  Song Jiang, with a belly full of fire, chased after him while using his spear to deflect Xiao Wu's cold arrows. The more he delayed, the further behind he fell, and seeing that it was hopeless to catch up, he finally made a ruthless decision. With one swift step forward, he raised his arm and threw his long spear like a javelin, putting all his strength into it. The spear flew swiftly and directly towards Wu Song's back, as if it would nail him in place, which would inevitably pierce Xiao Jiu as well, making it a single spear that would claim two lives.

  "Wu Gege......" Little Jiu, who was hiding on Wu Xing's shoulder, saw it clearly and shouted to remind him.

  "Be careful, Wu Er!" "Brother Wu, be cautious!" Monk Hua and Xiao Wu also saw it, but were unable to reach in time.

  A good martial artist, listening to the sound and direction, in an almost impossible situation, pulled out a dry land onion, suddenly jumped up, but unfortunately forgot that there was one more person's weight on his body, only jumping to half of his usual height. The long spear arrived instantly and inserted into his thigh, he let out a muffled hum, fell over, and because both hands were holding Little Jiu, he landed with only his knees on the ground, below which was all hard rock. All that could be heard was a "crack" sound, his kneecap had already been shattered. He groaned again in pain.

  "All brothers, quickly capture the rebel thief!" Song Jiang had already rolled to the back of a boulder to avoid Xiao Wu's arrow, seeing an opportunity, he was overjoyed and gave orders to those below.

  The sons of the sea islands have always been brave and righteous. Seeing the strong bandits being injured and falling to the ground, if they can't catch them again, it would be shameful to return home and face their elders. One by one, they fled and killed in desperation, but also learned from experience, using rocks along the way to avoid that divine shooter.

  "Wu Gege..." Han Jiu'er watched the most clearly, Wu Xingzhe's thigh was bleeding profusely, and his knees were also dyed red with blood, tears streaming down her face.

  Xiao Wu only saw that the martial artist had been shot in the leg, but sat down on the ground. Han Jiu'er was crying and didn't know how badly he was injured. If they didn't show mercy, every arrow would kill one person, and a web of death was set up around the two of them.

  The warrior endured the intense pain, pulling out the long spear from his leg, taking advantage of the precious interval Xiao Wu had bought for him. He tore off a piece of cloth from his robe and hastily bandaged himself before gripping the long spear tightly, preparing for close combat.

  At this time, the two sides had not yet truly clashed, but they were already furious. The militia saw that their companions were heavily killed and wounded, and they also lost their hearts to fight. They shouted in unison and swarmed up like ants biting flesh.

  "Wu Er, Xiao Jiu, I'm here!" Just as Hua He Shang rushed forward, he was surrounded by over a dozen village soldiers. He looked like a mad demon, and every strike of his Zen staff would crack open the chest of a soldier.

  "Hua chi, little brother can't hold on, take Xiao Jiu and leave!" The martial artist who was sitting on the ground unable to get up swung his sword wildly, driving back the village soldiers who had broken through the small five-arrow formation.

  "Wu Gege has been hurt so badly for me, how can Little Sister abandon you?" Xia Jiu's tears flowed, regretting that she had no power to bind a chicken, unable to kill the enemy and share her worries.

  "Brother, hold on!" Huahe Shang approached Wuxia with a difficult pace of one step at a time, getting closer to within a few steps, as the surrounding militia gathered more and more, making it hard to move an inch.

  "Ruan Xia'er, what are you dawdling about?" Song Jiang asked loudly as he saw his own men falling behind the local soldiers.

  The brothers looked at each other, hesitated and were indecisive. Although they had surrendered to the imperial court, it was really hard for them to capture their own brothers with whom they had been together day and night.

  "Whoever disobeys military orders shall be killed without pardon!" Song Jiang felt greatly humiliated and threw out these heavy words.

  These dozen good men, upon hearing this, did not dare to hesitate. They divided into two teams, one team attacking Hua He Shang and the other surrounding Wu Xing Zhe. With these battle-hardened veterans joining the fray, Hua He Shang and Wu Xing Zhe suddenly felt immense pressure. Even Xiao Wuhui's hundred arrows, each hitting its mark, were blocked by the good men skilled in parrying, greatly reducing their power.

  They understood each other deeply, and the attack on the enemy was a must-win. Huahe Shang was still able to hold on, but the wounded Wu Xing was in constant danger. If it weren't for the opponent's concern about hurting Xiao Jiu, he would have collapsed long ago. Xiaowu, who was high up, was anxious and wanted to go down to respond, but didn't dare give up this vantage point, and was thus torn between two options.

  The martial artist had become a blood man, suddenly sweeping open an empty space, holding his gun and standing up, single-handedly grabbing Xiao Jiu, shouting: "Flower crazy, catch!"

  "Ah!" Before Han Jiu'er could react, he had already leapt into the air and flown towards Huahe Shang of another battle group.

  "Wu Er!" Hua He Shang roared, sweeping his arm across the thousand-strong army, catching the small nine thrown by Wu Xingzhe. He glared at the sworn brothers beside him, their blades pointed at each other, his eyes blazing red with fury. "Whoever blocks me will die!"

  The crowd of good men looked at each other in dismay, and without a word, they all took a step back, clearing a path up the mountain.

  "Give me the kill!" Song Jiang, who had been hiding behind and directing, saw that the fish in the net was about to escape, how could he bear it? He picked up a knife and rushed forward, setting an example by stabbing forward, just inserting into the back of Wu Xing.

  The martial artist turned around with difficulty and couldn't believe that the one who had defeated him was his former respected big brother: "Song big brother..."

  "Wu Gege......" Han Jiu'er burst into tears and fell onto Hua He Shang's shoulder.

  "Brother Wu!" Little Five's attention shifted with Han Jiu'er, and he didn't expect that in a moment of distraction, the martial artist had fallen to Song Jiang's poisonous hand, and he also cried out.

  "Good brothers, for a lifetime!" Huahe Shang saw that the martial artist was no longer alive, and like a child, he burst into loud wailing, looking up at the sky and shouting loudly, using the 36th oath of brotherhood that they often hung on their lips to bid farewell to his brothers.

  "Good brother, see you in the next life!" Wu Xingzi turned towards Huahe Shang and Xiao Wu's direction, with fresh blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, revealing a faint smile.

  "Someone will send you on your way as a good brother!" Song Jiang's eyes gleamed with malice, the knife hilt twisted and thrust forward, then pulled back.

  Fresh blood gushed out, and the corpse of the martial artist stood upright without falling. The people around Ruan Xiao'er all showed unbearable expressions on their faces and turned their heads away.

  "Good brothers, for a lifetime!" The second batch of good men who were forced to surrender saw Wu Xing's tragic death and could no longer bear it. Someone took the lead, shouting loudly, and they snatched the weapons from the nearby soldiers and rushed up the mountain.

  At that time, Zhang Shun had already returned to the city injured. Originally, Song Jiang was appointed as the commander, but this short and dark fellow first treated his sworn sister like that, and then treated his brothers in such a way, with shameless methods and ruthless actions, not considering their past relationships at all. Whether it was the local soldiers or the brothers who followed him, they all felt chilled to the heart.

  In comparison, Huahe Shang and Wu Xingzi's heroic deeds stood out, with Wu Xingzi risking his life to save Xiao Jiu, which made everyone surrender. Adding to this, the sudden betrayal of these good men caused the militia to become disheartened and chaotic.

  The anti-water heroes seemed to have regained the 36 righteous warriors' battle spirit, each one as if gone mad, truly encountering Buddha and killing Buddha, encountering demons and killing demons. The village soldiers had never seen such an array before, barely resisting for a while, then scattering like birds and beasts.

  In the end, the two groups of people facing each other on White Tiger Mountain were precisely the Thirty-six Pledgers of that day. After the chaotic battle just now, fewer than twenty people remained, all with blood-stained clothes and wounds.

  One group led by Song Jiang and Ruan brothers, another group surrounding Huahe Shang, Xiao Wu and Xiao Jiu, with roughly equal numbers on both sides, the only unequal thing is the momentum in their hearts!