Volume 1: White Body Cold Gate Chapter 4: Guan Yu's Brother?

  On the way back to the mansion, Lin told Wen Han and Zhou Xuan about the whole story.

  It turned out that half a month ago, a steward with some status in the Yang County Magistrate's residence had fallen in love with the horse hoof dice at Zhou Lian's gambling den and often played there. After returning to the Yang residence, he introduced this novelty to his younger sister, who happened to be Huang Shi, the newly appointed concubine of Yang Hong.

  Because the casino was a special place, Huang didn't want to go there in person. She really wanted to try out her brother's new toy, so she came up with an idea and asked her brother to find Lin and have him bring the horse whip to the mansion.

  Because of Huang's noble status, Lin did not dare to disobey and found a sister to bring the mahjong to Yang's house. Along with Huang and her four brothers, they started playing. This play was unstoppable, the charm of mahjong was really strong, once Huang started playing, she became more and more enthusiastic, later on almost every day she would find Lin and others to play together.

  Later, even Yang Hong was attracted and pushed Lin's sister away to join himself. This way, Lin became familiar with the entire Yang family.

  In a chance encounter, Lin saw her husband's arch-nemesis 'Ma Zong' frequently entering and exiting the Yang residence. Moreover, each time he came, he would bring a large sum of money. Lin secretly took note and gathered some intelligence from Huang, but it was incomplete. At least, Lin knew that Ma Zong was going to make a move on Zhou Long.

  Just in the past few days, Lin's eyelids had been jumping and his mind was not clear. It just so happened that today, he made up his mind to go to Yang Hong's house to ask clearly. Unexpectedly, on the way, he saw Ma Zong's people frequently entering and leaving Yang's mansion, Lin knew things were bad, and hurriedly took out all the savings from his family.

  Then, through Huang's arrangement, Lin met Yang Hong alone. At the beginning, Lin straightforwardly handed over 500 taels of silver to Yang with a suitable excuse, and after learning about Ma Zong's plan, Lin hurriedly asked Yang for help.

  However, Yang Hong refused Lin's request at that time on the grounds of cutting off his own wealth. Because Ma Zong had known Yang Hong for a long time, Ma Zong would sometimes ask Yang Hong, the county magistrate, to sell him some convenience, so Ma Zong would contribute a considerable amount of silver to Yang Hong every month.

  If Zhou Leng wants to be saved, unless Lin's family can provide him with another more tempting financial path.

  Yang Hong, without any disguise, showed his greedy nature in front of Lin's family. Because he was not afraid, the aristocratic family 'Yang' behind him was renowned throughout the entire Youzhou province. The most formidable one was the Grand Commandant "Guangxi Confucius" Yang Zhen, whose power was overwhelming. Ordinary civilians were just like ants in front of the Yang family.

  Including Yang Feng and Yang Xiu, who became more famous later, also came from this aristocratic family.

  Don't look at Lin's usual carefree appearance, her inner self is actually meticulous. One time, she overheard Wen Han and Zhou Rong's conversation. In it, Wen Han suggested that Zhou Rong find someone with great power and influence to invest in his gambling den, which had a new and unusual gambling device called "horse hanging". As long as they heavily promoted it, once it became popular, the income of the gambling den would definitely be frighteningly high.

  By then, there will be many greedy and powerful people eyeing this big piece of meat. So, Wen Han suggested that Zhou Leng find a powerful person to be his protector. That person can get 20% of the pure profit from the casino.

  Lin immediately brought up the idea that Wen Han had at the time, and Yang Hong thought for a while before revising the terms like a lion and tiger fighting over food - he wanted 50% of the shares in the gambling house!

  Life is at stake, let alone when it's a matter of life and death for one's own husband. Lin Shi didn't think twice about it and immediately agreed.

  Yang Hong is greedy for wealth, but still has some thought. He understands the impact that Ma Diao will bring, and Lin's woman did not see clearly, but Yang Hong is very clear.

  If Ma Da Pu succeeds later on, 50% of the casino's income will make his family wealth multiply several times.

  Having received such great benefits from others, Yang Hong also promised Lin Shi that in the future, Zhou Lun and Wen Han would be the people he protected. In Xie County, no one was allowed to touch a hair on their heads.

  This is to say that apart from Yang Hong himself, Zhou Lian and Wen Han can almost walk sideways.

  Yang Hong is a greedy person, but he also thinks that greed has its own way, so he won't do things to the extreme. Originally, in such a situation, he would ask for 80% or even all of the shares, and Lin would give them to him without hesitation.

  But then, who can guarantee that Zhou Leng's heart will be balanced in the future and he won't run away? Wouldn't that cut off his own wealth? Yang Hong also finds it inconvenient to open a gambling den, which is not something that can be done in polite society.

  After the two men agreed on the deal, Yang Hong immediately led his troops to rescue Wen Han and Zhou Yu. This resulted in the scene earlier, allowing Wen Han and Zhou Yu to escape from Ma Chong's jaws of death.

  "You woman, how can you be so unreasonable? The horse-drawn carriage was invented by my younger brother, how dare you take it upon yourself to make decisions about it!"

  Zhou Luan heard this and pointed at Lin's nose, scolding her.

  "Wen Han hastily advised: "Brother Zhou, this statement is wrong. No amount of money can buy back a life, and five percent shares are not many. Even if County Magistrate Yang wants it all, Sister should give it to him. Brother Zhou, don't blame Sister, or you'll appear to be unfair."

  "Good brother! You... Ah, never mind! Never mind! The casino shares, you take 30%."

  Younger brother, don't delay. This time we were able to escape disaster entirely because of your horse lanterns. Originally, my gambling den wouldn't have been able to hold on for much longer either. If you hadn't come up with the new and unusual gambling tool of horse lanterns, my gambling den would have closed down long ago.

  So, brother, if you delay, I'll close down the gambling den and let Yang Hong deal with it!

  Zhou Luan said in a tone that brooked no argument, and just as Lin Shi was about to speak up beside him, Zhou Luan shot her a severe glance that shut her down.

  "Alright! I'll follow big brother's words. However, you and I won't split the household, let sister-in-law take my share of the income, is that okay? Usually when I'm at big brother's house eating and drinking, it always involves money. Big brother, don't delay either, otherwise I'll immediately pack up and leave Lian County."

  Wen Han didn't give Zhou Lian a chance to respond, and burst out laughing, patting Zhou Lian's shoulder. The two men exchanged glances, their friendship needing no further explanation. Li Qiang, who was following behind Wen Han, gazed at the backs of the two men with envy.

  This sincere affection is moving beyond words. The two people don't share the same bloodline, yet they are closer than flesh and blood relatives.

  After returning to the Zhou Mansion, Zhou Lin had Mrs. Lin arrange Li Qiang's accommodation. Zhou Lin knew that Wen Han valued Li Qiang and didn't care about his former identity, treating him extremely well.

  After settling Li Qiang, the two returned to their rooms, did some simple washing and changed into clean clothes. Since it was still a while before lunch, they sat down and chatted for a bit.

  "Big Brother Zhou, just now on the way back you were deep in thought, could it be that you're worried about your sworn brother?"

  Wen Han changed into a white robe with a slanted collar and looked at Zhou Yong, who was out of sorts, and couldn't help but ask.

  "Yes, I've heard that the great master of Heifeng Mountain, Pei Yuanshao, is quite skilled in martial arts and has the support of the eight hundred bandits on the mountain. I'm worried that my brother might be in danger." Zhou Lian said with a worried expression.

  "Now that County Magistrate Yang is on good terms with us, why not wait until the wine has gone around three times at the banquet, then have Big Brother Zhou bring up the matter of borrowing troops to him? We'll take our troops and attack. What's there to fear from those insignificant mountain bandits?"

  "Brother, you are truly a wake-up call for those who slumber! Then let us hurry to the Yang Mansion and ask the county magistrate about borrowing troops!"

  Zhou Luan was overjoyed and stood up, pulling Wen Han's hand as they were about to head out.

  "Big Brother Zhou, don't be impatient. Wait and see my signal before acting, don't make any rash moves, or you'll ruin everything."

  "Alright, alright. I'll listen to you." Zhou Lin nodded repeatedly, and without realizing it, he found himself becoming more and more dependent on the young man in front of him, almost blindly following his words.

  "Alright, let's set off."

  Wen Han smiled contentedly and was about to walk out the door when he subconsciously asked Zhou Lian.

  "Always heard Big Brother Zhou mention this sworn brother, but never heard his name. Is the name of this person, whom Big Brother Zhou praised as a true hero rarely seen in the world, not to be revealed?"

  Zhou Leng suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Look at me, I'm so muddled. Originally, as your elder brother, I wanted to wait until you two met before formally introducing myself. But now, it doesn't matter if I say it."

  "My sworn brother, surname Guan, name Yu, courtesy name Changsheng."

  Bang!

  Wen Han was just walking to the door when he heard that name and suddenly fell to the ground.

  Guan Yu, isn't that the one known as 'Military Saint', Guan Erge! I didn't expect it to be Zhou Long, that sworn brother, who was actually the super general Guan Yu, who went through five passes and beheaded six generals, rode alone for a thousand miles, deeply favored by Emperor Cao of Wei, but couldn't be obtained!

  No wonder Ma Zong and Cheng Dong were so afraid of Zhou Lian's brother. They weren't even worthy opponents for this super genius.

  In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", it is recorded that Guan Yu was because his friend was murdered by a powerful and wealthy man, so he killed in anger, got into trouble with the authorities, and fled to the rivers and lakes.

  In that case, wouldn't Zhou Lian be Guan Yu's friend who was killed in anger? And as for Ma Zong, he must have been the powerful and wealthy man.

  What a coincidence, it's really too coincidental.

  "Good brother, what's wrong with you? Could it be that you have a grudge against that brother, how could you have such a big reaction? Your face has even changed."

  Wen Han felt a wave of dizziness in his head and stared blankly at Zhou Long, who was looking anxious, with his mouth opening and closing but unable to say anything.

  Wait, Wen Han's mind flashed and he vaguely remembered that during Guan Yu's escape from the Jianghu, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out. At that time, he was just about to join the army but happened to meet Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, which led to the Oath of the Peach Garden.

  Judging from the current situation, Zhou Lian did not die because of his own arrival, so Guan Yu would not kill Ma Zong, and he would not escape to Jianghu during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and become sworn brothers with Liu Bei and Zhang Fei.

  In that case, I would have a chance then.

  Wen Han's thoughts had just arisen, and he immediately suppressed them. From his earlier exchange with Li Qiang, he knew that in this era of heroes, his martial arts skills were only third-rate.

  But if one were to use the above method, and combine it with their own expertise in flying knife techniques, they might be able to take advantage of an opening to kill some second-rate generals. Furthermore, without any wealth or power, what makes them think they can get Guan Yu to join their side?

  "Ah, still need to accumulate strength."

  Wen Han muttered to himself, then broke off his train of thought and stood up, saying to Zhou Long: "I don't know Brother Guan, I was just distracted earlier. Big Brother Zhou, saving people is urgent. Let's hurry to the Yang Manor banquet and discuss borrowing troops with County Magistrate Yang."