Chapter 8: Lu San Ye

  "There was a time when this Taoist priest was pretending to be possessed, I had scared him. Lu Bing confessed without hesitation, to tell the truth, now Lu Bing is somewhat moved, Xia Dade and himself have only known each other for a short time, but he helped himself investigate the news, running back and forth, seeing that Xia Dade even helped himself kill someone, how could it not move Lu Bing's heart."

  Xia Dade nodded and praised: "It seems that Brother Lu is a multi-talented person, who can even scare people, haha. I continue to say, after the evil dao was spoken out by you, the Jiang family was shocked, after all, it involved the vassal king and couldn't just take the word of a daoist as evidence. So the Jiang family made trouble in the city, forcing others to testify against you, and got a stack of confessions, some true and some false. Only then did they dare to go to the Xingwang Fu to demand your capture. As a result, it was discovered that you were not there, so they arrested your father, saying 'the son's debt is paid by the father'. They didn't dare say that it was the Xingwang who had picked someone, so they pushed all the blame onto your shoulders. Although the Xingwang is young, his temperament is really not to be trifled with. He immediately wanted to file a complaint, and only then did the Jiang family release Lu Bo. Lu Bo came and went in a hurry, and didn't suffer much, but he was closely monitored by the Xingwang Fu's every move. The whole area around the Xingwang Fu was filled with open and secret sentries. It's really lawless and unbridled, I'm so angry!"

  As he spoke, Xia Dade was about to go off topic again, but this time it wasn't bad. He quickly realized and lightly coughed, saying: "I thought this wouldn't work, so I decided to kill the entire Jiang family. But then I reconsidered, thinking that would only make things worse and not solve the problem at all. So I killed that foul-mouthed evil Daoist instead, dipped my finger in his blood, and wrote on the wall: 'The King of Jiuzhuan Village has struck!' You won't believe it, brother - when I saw Jiang Dashi that day, not only was he lame, but his face was also twisted. He must have been scared out of his wits! It was a pitiful sight, and my heart felt relieved to death!"

  "Who is this Wang Lao Da?" Lu Bing asked, and Xia Dade explained nonchalantly: "On the west side of Anluo, tens of miles away, there's a group of people who have occupied a mountain, specializing in robbery. The government hasn't eliminated them yet, and it's said they even collude with the officials. This gang is not very good, they don't know how to rob from the rich and give to the poor, all they know is to bully ordinary people. A few days ago, they had a conflict with the Jiang family over dividing spoils unevenly. It just so happens that I've shifted the blame onto them for your sake. You can't escape anyway, might as well create a false impression to make others think Wang Lao Da has taken you in. There's an idiom that says... uh, how does it go again?"

  "Flower grafting." Lu Bing added, Xia Dade patted his forehead and said, "It's flower grafting."

  Lu Bing stood up, bowed deeply and said: "Thank you, Big Brother Xia, for your trouble in my case. I didn't expect that not only are you exceptionally brave and martially skilled, but also clever and resourceful, knowing how to shift the blame, ah, no, it's called 'transferring flowers to a different tree'."

  Xia Dade smiled foolishly and said: "You really can't thank me for this, it was Mr. Meng who taught me, please come in, Mr. Meng."

  A man dressed as a scholar walked in from outside, wearing a square scarf and a green robe. On a cold winter's day, he was holding a folding fan in his hand. Outsiders would surely think he was just a scholar, but Lu Bing had sharp eyes and saw that the so-called Mr. Meng's folding fan was not ordinary, it was made of iron bones, clearly a weapon. Looking again at Mr. Meng's light footsteps, he must be a martial artist.

  "Mr. Meng bowed and said: 'I am Meng Lin, also known as Yuting, nice to meet you, Brother Lu.'"

  Lu Bing hastily returned the courtesy: "I've met Mr. Meng, thank you, Yu Ting, for lending a helping hand."

  Meng Lin didn't stand on ceremony, sat down and said: "I heard Xia brother say that Lu Xian is a hero, so I wanted to make friends with him. But I'm just a poor scholar, I don't have any gift for meeting, so I had to tell Xia brother about this plan, as a meeting gift for Lu Xian. I hope Lu brother won't despise it."

  Lu Biao repeatedly thanked and bowed, Xia Dade hurriedly said: "You two bookworms can't you say something that I can understand?" The three of them burst out laughing, after they stopped laughing Meng Lin said: "Look at Lu Xian's desk, the ink on his letter is still wet, the package is all packed up, are you leaving?"

  Lu Bing nodded and said: "I originally wanted to say hello to Big Brother Xia before leaving, but Big Brother Xia didn't return for a long time. I was afraid of staying here for too long and getting into trouble, so I had to leave a letter. I didn't expect us to meet today. I bid farewell to the two of you now. The great kindness of the two of you is etched in my heart."

  "Not at all, not at all. Lu Xian didn't need to make a move." Meng Lin closed his iron fan and said: "Whether it's called 'transferring flowers to a different tree' or 'framing someone', in any case, my plan was a two-for-one deal."

  "What's going on?" Lu Bing was perplexed and couldn't understand.

  "One is to divert the disaster westward, let the Jiang family and Wang Lao Da become sworn enemies, and make them fight each other to mutual exhaustion. No matter who loses, it's all good for the people."

  "Will Wang Lao Da not make excuses?" Lu Bing asked.

  Meng Lin shook his head: "Wang Lao Da is rough and reckless, when the news of the arrival of the government troops comes, he will definitely go to surround the mountain and eliminate the bandits. Wang Lao Da has had a grudge against the Jiang family because of uneven distribution of spoils, and now he's on fire, thinking that it's the Jiang family who informed the authorities to come and destroy him. As for harboring a fugitive, it's just you, but it's just an excuse. He will definitely think so."

  "When the two sides clash, they will fight, and once blood is shed, even if Wang Lao Da explains, it won't be useful. His personality and the grudges between the two families have led to this result. This move is called 'borrowing a knife to kill' after 'moving flowers and wood'. As for who was killed, I don't dare to guess. Moreover, when two tigers fight, one must be injured, which is good for us, since neither of them are good people."

  Meng Lin said: "Furthermore, the Ninth Turn Fort is in the west, while we are in the east. Under these circumstances, the government will pay even less attention to Dongqiao Town's movements. Although it's not too close or too far from Anluo, you can still send letters back and forth with your family conveniently. So, Lu Xian Di, why don't you stay in Dongqiao Town? Once the storm passes, who knows, maybe you'll even be able to sneak back home for a visit."

  Lu Bing hesitated, and Xia Dade patted his forehead and said: "Damn it, I almost forgot something." He took out a handwritten letter from his pocket, Lu Bing took a look and was surprised to see that it was his father Lu Song's handwriting. The letter told him to take good care of himself, not to neglect his martial arts or be lazy about reading books, and so on.

  Lu Bing's eyes welled up with hot tears, almost crying out loud. He held back his tears and said: "Since that's the case, I'll follow Xia Dage and Meng Xiansheng's arrangement and stay in Dongqiao Town. It's just that I'll have to trouble both of you brothers."

  "Alright, alright." Xia Dade said excitedly. In his life, Xia Dade had only been defeated by two people, one was Lu Bing and the other was Meng Lin. How could he not be excited? So he added: "From now on, we can often practice martial arts together."

  Lu Biao also smiled and nodded, asking: "How are my parents? How is my younger brother?"

  Meng Lin's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness as he said, "Calling the vassal king brother and younger brother, it's indeed quite bold. It seems that Xia brothers didn't misjudge the person."

  "That's right, my brother-in-law is not wrong. Lu brothers, don't worry, I'll go visit the old man when I have nothing to do, they're all good. Don't look at me, Mr. Meng, I'll be careful and wait for the wind to pass. When we met with Uncle Lu this time, he didn't quite believe me until I told him many details and mentioned the move you used that day, then he wrote a letter for us. The King of Xing is also good, let me tell you, everything at home is fine, let you be at ease." Xia Dade said.

  Lu Biao didn't say anything else, he just gave the two a hug and a fist bump to show his gratitude. Lu Biao felt relieved in his heart, thinking that there are still many good people out there. It's amazing how strangers can be so kind, truly the behavior of heroes and good men.

  "Ah!" Xia Dade exclaimed in surprise. "And there's one more thing I forgot to tell you, a girl named Xiao Rui asked me to tell you that she's waiting for you."

  Lu Bing's face suddenly turned red, causing Meng Lin and Xia Dade to burst out laughing. Meng Lin said: "It's just human nature, Lu Xian doesn't have to be shy."

  So Lu Bing settled down in Dongqiao Town, spending his days practicing martial arts with Xia Dade and writing poetry with Meng Lin. Life was quite enjoyable. Gradually, Lu Bing relaxed and accompanied Xia Dade on several trips through Jianghu. By nature kind-hearted, Lu Bing loved to take up the cause of the weak, and whenever he encountered a cunning thief, as soon as his "Thirteen Kills" first move, "Three Lives Ten Thousand Things", was unleashed, his opponent would immediately fall to the ground, and those who didn't fall were captured without daring to resist.

  Gradually, with Dongqiao Town as the center, people within a hundred miles knew that a great hero had arrived, seemingly named Lu Chong, also known as Lu Bing's alias. However, people loved to call him by his nickname, "Lu San Dao".

  Near the vermilion one is dyed red, near the ink one is dyed black. After being with Meng Lin, Xia Dade and others for a long time, Lu Bing also got some of the Jianghu aura, his kung fu didn't slack off, and his writing skills weren't bad either. Lu Bing was amazed that in the countryside there was actually such a great talent as Meng Lin, but Meng Lin just smiled mysteriously and said: "A small hidden one hides in the fields, a big hidden one hides in the city."

  Under the influence of his surroundings, Lu Bing began to feel a sense of disgust towards the imperial court he was in. The eight evil eunuchs were wreaking havoc, driving away important officials from the imperial court. Emperor Zhu Houzhao was indulging in debauchery and immorality, establishing the Leopard House to forcibly seize beautiful women from all over the country. Moreover, he was appointing treacherous officials like Jiang Bin and Qian Ning. Fortunately, many of them had already died in infighting, otherwise this world would have truly become a realm ruled by treacherous officials.

  Of course, there is another thing that cannot be said, Zhu Houzhao regarded the lives of the people as child's play, and did not care about his own safety and the honor or shame of the country. He escaped from the palace many times, and later disguised himself as General Zhu Shou, Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs, to fight against the enemy, creating a farce.

  Listening to them, Lu Bing thought of a TV series he had seen before, which was about Zhu Houzhao. Anyway, it's similar to what they said, so it seems that Zhu Houzhao should be an incompetent ruler. At least this is what Lu Bing thinks at the moment. However, when Mr. Meng mentioned that Zhu Houzhao has no children under his knees, who will inherit the throne in the future? Originally, Lu Bing wanted to make a prediction. But after thinking hard for half a day, he couldn't think of anything, so he had to give up since he couldn't remember.

  However, under the influence of the strong and corrupt court's rhetoric, Lu Bing despised and detested this imperial court. Originally, ancient times were even more filthy and chaotic than modern times. So Lu Bing stood up, waved his hand and said: "We must smash this evil old society!"

  Meng Lin and Xia Dade applauded at the same time, saying it was great. The elegant and vulgar shared a noble and majestic demeanor.