Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 145 Bloodbath Against Tian Hu's Army: Revenge and Sweeping Away Evil from Baodu Mountai

The setting sun was like blood, and it wasn't until dusk that Bian Xiang helped the villagers of Luoguo Village bury their deceased relatives.

Wang Yan, dressed in mourning clothes, knelt silently before the graves of his father and sister. Bian Xiang, holding a large axe, had spent the afternoon helping the villagers cut down trees to make coffins, while Wang Yan, this young man, knelt there motionless for the entire afternoon.

Meanwhile, Li Hanxiao led the rest of the group to attack Baodu Mountain.

Tian Hu was furious that his subordinates had committed such an outrageous massacre of the village, and he was determined to wipe out Baodu Mountain!

He left Bian Xiang and "White Flower Snake" Yang Chun here. He left Bian Xiang behind because he was afraid that someone else would come to harm the villagers, and he wanted to leave a high-level fighter to protect the villagers.

As for Yang Chun, nicknamed "White Flower Snake," he wasn't from Liangshan, so it wouldn't be good to let him fight alongside them. Therefore, we let him stay.

Amidst the sound of pine trees rustling on the northern slope of Baodu Mountain, Xu Guanzhong's sword sheath struck the mountain's bluestone with a crisp sound.

Eleven figures followed behind the Taoist priest who was well-versed in military strategy. The mountain wind lifted the coarse cloth collar of "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu, revealing two poisoned goose feather knives at his waist.

Li Hanxiao told them to go and investigate the strength and weakness of the Baodushan stronghold.

"Chief Li, please take a look."

In just a short while, Xu Guanzhong had gathered all the information from the crowd and made a temporary map by writing and drawing on a piece of old sheepskin.

Xu Guanzhong unfolded the sheepskin map, his fingertip tracing the winding mountain path of Baodu Mountain, and began to explain, "The leader in this mountain is called Niu Wenzhong. The two men from before were his subordinates. They set up three gates at Eagle's Beak Cliff, each with a horse trap pit more than ten feet wide in front of it."

Xu Guanzhong's painting skills are quite good. Although it is a map, Li Hanxiao sees it as if it were a real mountain and river, and it is clear at a glance.

"Thunderbolt!" Ling Zhen pinched a handful of scorched earth from his pocket, his nose twitching slightly as he said, "Chief, I poured tung oil on their village walls; it won't be difficult to blow open their wooden gate."

Li Hanxiao's three-pronged dagger suddenly pierced into the crevice of the rock, pulling out half of an oil-soaked hemp rope. Jie Zhen's steel fork followed closely behind, digging through the loose soil to reveal the bombs buried underground—more than thirty earthenware jars containing kerosene and sulfur they had collected from the village, connected by a fuse, the mouths of the jars emitting a pungent smell of saltpeter.

"What a brilliant fire attack!" Yang Zhi's precious sword gleamed bluish-green in the twilight. "If our army launches a full-scale assault, these fire bombs would be enough to flatten half a mountain ridge."

Xu Guanzhong's sword suddenly pointed southeast: "But their water source is here."

On the sheepskin map, the blue line representing the mountain spring runs through the three gates of the stronghold. "The Ling brothers' Tiger Crouching Cannons need some special water tonight. I can put poison in the shells; even if I can't take the stronghold in one fell swoop, I can at least cut off their water supply."

"No need. We will surely win this battle today!"

Li Hanxiao said with a gloomy face.

"The chieftain's ambition is commendable, but it's always wise to have a foolproof plan when doing things."

Xu Guanzhong knew that Li Hanxiao was angry, which was why he spoke like that, so he quickly tried to persuade him.

"Alright, it's your way. But everyone has to remember this: those on this mountain aren't human, they're beasts. If even one of them escapes, another innocent person in the world will die. Don't be lenient with them!"

As Li Hanxiao finished his lecture, everyone waited until midnight. Just as the clapper of Baodu Mountain struck the third watch, the figure of "Golden Retriever" Duan Jingzhu was already pressed against the shadow of the third gate.

The hero who once stole the Golden Prince's steed was now rubbing the copper nails on the wooden door with his deerskin gloves. He was a seasoned horse thief, so his movements were very light.

"Hmm, this door isn't that heavy."

He silently recited the marks he had observed during the day, then probed the groove under the nail head with his fingertip. He felt the thickness of the door; Ling Zhen's firearms could penetrate it.

Ling Zhen's Tiger Crouching Cannon, nicknamed "Thunderbolt," gleamed coldly in the moonlight, its muzzle slowly aimed at the gate ahead.

Suddenly, "Iron Whistle" Yue He blew on his reed pipe, and the mournful cry of a partridge startled the owls. From the watchtower came the mumbled curses of the guards, and the sentries' attention was drawn to the noise.

"Let go!"

Three thunderbolts traced crimson arcs as "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu, "Two-Headed Snake" Xie Zhen, and "Double-Tailed Scorpion" Xie Bao each threw one.

The first bomb shattered the watchtower's windows, the second exploded in flames on the granary's roof, but the third was a dud—it rolled right into the mountain stronghold, right at the feet of the night patrol team. They were startled, their bodies trembled, and sparks flew from their torches, igniting the fuses...

"boom!"

The shockwave knocked over five bandits wielding crossbows. Originally, there were two loud bangs, one like a thunderclap and the other like a tiger crouching cannon. Ling Zhen fired the "thunderclap" cannon at the same time, directly punching a large hole in the gate.

"kill!"

"The Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen was the first to rush forward, smashing open the broken gate with his staff, and the group rushed into the first gate.

"Go!"

Xu Guanzhong followed closely behind, holding a sword in his left hand and making a sword gesture with his right. He aimed at an enemy and immediately spat out a burst of fire from his fingertips, burning the man into a giant torch!

Lu Fang, nicknamed "Little Marquis Wen," wielded his halberd through the smoke, its crescent blade hooking the reins of a frightened horse. The warhorse neighed and crashed into the second gate. Almost simultaneously, Guo Sheng, nicknamed "Sai Rengui," threw out another halberd. The two halberds crossed and jammed the bolt, preventing the enemies who wanted to close the gate immediately from doing so.

"Break my sword!"

Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," brought down his water-milled staff with a thunderous crash. The oak door cracked under the immense force, the hinges broke, and half of the door collapsed.

Before the six spears thrusting from behind the door could reach Lu Zhishen, Yang Zhi's family heirloom sword, known as the "Blue-Faced Beast," had already unleashed a shower of blood—as the blade shattered the wooden spear shafts, he simultaneously unleashed a flying copper hammer, a move called "White Snake Spits Venom," smashing the head of one of the attackers in the shadows.

Twenty rattan shields suddenly appeared inside the first stockade wall, their cold light flashing through the gaps. These were the javelin and rattan shield warriors trained by Tian Hu himself, no less skilled than the shield warriors of Xiang Chong, the "Eight-Armed Nezha," and Li Gun, the "Flying Great Sage," in the original novel "Water Margin." As soon as people charged up, they would separate the rattan shields, and javelins would fly out and shoot wildly, capable of killing people in an instant.

"Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu, leading "Two-Headed Snake" Xie Zhen and "Double-Tailed Scorpion" Xie Bao, was about to charge upwards when Xu Guanzhong stopped him, saying, "Wait for that wisp of green smoke."

At this moment, Ling Zhen's second Tiger Crouching Cannon shot hit the well. The shell, made with a special poison given by Xu Guanzhong, exploded. The poison came into contact with the water and immediately turned into poisonous smoke, which overflowed along the mountain spring pipe.

As the smoke and dust billowed over, the Liangshan heroes, prepared for the worst, covered their mouths and noses with damp cloths. Soon, the defenders began to vomit en masse. The moment the rattan shield formation revealed a flaw, "Desperate Saburo" Shi Xiu's twin swords had already pierced the center of the formation.

"Open it for me!"

Despite not being fully recovered from the injury inflicted by Bian Xiang, this "daredevil" was still able to fight without any problems. He took a javelin blow with his left shoulder and stabbed the bandit under the armpit with his right hand through the gap in the rattan shield.

As hot blood splattered, his blade slashed upwards, severing the entire arm at the root.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Xie brothers rushed in. "Two-headed snake" Xie Zhen used his steel fork to target the ankles, since the shield couldn't stop the feet below. The fallen bandits were immediately pinned to the ground by "double-tailed scorpion" Xie Bao with his fork.

Suddenly, Yang Zhi's "Blue-Faced Beast" sword let out a dragon's roar, and as the sword flashed, the weapons of the last seven swordsmen and shieldmen in front of the three gates were broken off at the hilt.

The blue-faced man charged forward, stepping over the shattered blades scattered on the ground, smashing a bandit's kneecap with the back of his knife: "Speak! Where is Niu Wenzhong?"

"In...in the Hall of Righteousness..."

The blade flashed again, and the bandit who was questioning the man had his hair disheveled, but he was unharmed.

"Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi had already charged towards the mountaintop: "The Yang family's treasured sword will not even slay ants!"

The bronze cauldron in front of the Hall of Righteousness was ablaze with flames, and Niu Wenzhong's three-pointed dagger, known as "Iron Dragonfly," was stuck in the cauldron, its blade reflecting the steel swords of his two hundred personal guards.

Li Hanxiao, the leader of Liangshan Marsh, came stepping on the oil-splattered ground, with thirteen figures elongating in the firelight behind him.

"Tian Hu, you beast, has wreaked havoc in Shanxi."

Li Hanxiao's knife tip lifted the burning banner on the ground. "Today, Baodu Mountain deserves a new sky."

Niu Wenzhong grinned maliciously as he drew his weapon: "Oh? You also use a three-pointed sword as a weapon? We're from the same school now!"

"Shut up! You dare to be my fellow disciple!"

As soon as Li Hanxiao shouted, Niu Wenzhong flew into a rage and suddenly slashed at the bronze cauldron with the blade in his hand. Amidst the flying sparks, Li Hanxiao saw twenty crossbow bolts shoot out from the beams of the Hall of Righteousness.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

Xu Guanzhong's sword light wove a silver net, his precious sword protecting him, impenetrable to needles and water. "Iron Whistle" Le He's reed pipe gave the signal, and "Thunderbolt" Ling Zhen threw out a bomb, which directly ignited the curtain where the crossbowmen were hiding. The beams where they were hiding were also blown off, and they fell to the ground like kites with broken strings, dying instantly.

In the chaos, the two three-pointed knives finally clashed.

"Qiang!"

The clanging of metal against metal caused the surrounding torches to flicker. Li Hanxiao spun around to avoid the sweeping blade, the iron chain at the end of the hilt wrapping around a beam, and his figure suddenly rose higher.

As Niu Wenzhong's pursuit shattered the blue brick ground, Li Hanxiao's three-pointed dagger slashed down from above.

With just this one move, Li Hanxiao could have killed "Iron Dragonfly" Niu Wenzhong, but Li Hanxiao didn't. Instead, he deflected the blade, which grazed Niu's scalp.

"A test!" Xu Guanzhong, having just engaged two attackers with his sword, understood Li Hanxiao's intention: "Chief Li is observing my swordsmanship, searching for weaknesses in my moves."

For Li Hanxiao now, he wanted to study how big the gap was between Niu Wenzhong's swordsmanship and his own, otherwise Niu Wenzhong would have been dead after a dozen rounds!

The two fought for the twentieth round. Li Hanxiao was no longer holding back; he was going all out. Even so, Niu Wenzhong's swordsmanship began to become chaotic.

His personal guard captain, Yang Duanting, launched a sneak attack with his spear, but was stopped by "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen, who smashed him and his spear into the wall with a blow from his staff.

As brain matter seeped from the cracks in the blue bricks, Lu Zhishen clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha, this is the seventh I've killed today."

In the twenty-fifth round, Li Hanxiao's blade sliced ​​off half of Niu Wenzhong's cloak. This was only because he had shown mercy; otherwise, half of Niu's body would have been gone.

Zhang Xiang, one of Niu Wenzhong's subordinates, slashed at Niu Wenzhong from the side with his ghost-head saber, intending to help him. However, Yang Zhi, nicknamed "Blue-Faced Beast," blocked the attack with his precious saber, which struck first. As the two sabers clashed, the steel saber in Zhang Xiang's hand broke like rotten wood the instant the blades collided.

Do you recognize Yang Zhi's treasured sword?

Yang Zhi shouted in a low voice!

"So it was the Yang family's knife..."

Zhang Xiang looked at the bloodline on his chest, his voice growing weaker, "Just as I thought, it didn't hurt at all..."

Before he could finish speaking, his body had already been severed in two...

In the thirtieth move, Li Hanxiao's sword technique suddenly changed. His three-pointed sword slid down along the edge of the opponent's blade, and amidst the flying sparks, it suddenly changed from a thrust to a parry.

Niu Wenzhong's right arm flew up, spraying blood, and the three-pointed knife he was holding in his right arm also slipped out of his hand, embedding itself in the beam and pillar with a trembling sound.

"Tie him up!"

Li Hanxiao stepped on the struggling defeated opponent, "Sparing your life is to seek justice for those wronged souls!"

Niu Wenzhong lost too much blood and fainted. Li Hanxiao kept him to find out the truth about Tian Hu before handing him over to the villagers so they could take revenge themselves!

The melee on the mountaintop continued until dawn. Just as Si Xingfang's broadsword shattered the skull of the last enemy, "Little Marquis Wen" Lü Fang and "Sai Rengui" Guo Sheng's double halberds were holding off the dying counterattack of Yang Duan's remaining troops.

"Double-Tailed Scorpion" Jie Bao used his steel fork to lift a thunderbolt and roll it into the cellar. The violent explosion sent the enemies hiding below, hoping to escape, flying straight to the clouds.

When Shi Xiu, known as "Desperate Saburo," and Yue He, known as "Iron Whistle," were finishing off the enemies one by one, they discovered several enemies pretending to be dead hiding in the pile of corpses. After being discovered, they tried to resist, but Shi Xiu slashed them into human stumps with his twin swords.

The final roar of Ling Zhen's Tiger Crouching Cannon, known as "Thunderclap," blew up the Hall of Righteousness of Baodushan Stronghold, causing it to collapse. How dare they call themselves a "Hall of Righteousness" when they have committed such unjust acts?

When the smoke cleared, the battle truly came to an end. Since Li Hanxiao joined Liangshan, he rarely fought annihilation battles. But this time, apart from "Iron Dragonfly" Niu Wenzhong, none of the remaining three hundred-plus bandits survived. They were all killed by Li Hanxiao and his men!

"Take all the property they looted and bring it down the mountain. Consider it compensation for the villagers!"

Li Han smiled as he looked at the chaotic battlefield, ordering everyone to clean up the mess while simultaneously telling them to search for valuables.

As dawn broke the next day, they finally returned to Luoguo Village. "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen personally tied Niu Wenzhong to the rack. They had already interrogated him on the way.

Led by Wang Yan, the villagers unanimously pleaded with Li Hanxiao to make sure that this villain died a horrible death!

So Li Hanxiao decided to blow him up. When three bushels of gunpowder were filled into a huge bomb and ignited, and placed at Niu Wenzhong's feet, the remaining dozen or so villagers who had lost their loved ones cheered at the same time.

"boom!"

Blood rained down on the nearby fields. Xu Guanzhong chanted incantations, praying for the remaining people here. The mountain wind swept across the blood-stained blades, emitting a long, persistent hum, as if the sigh of thousands of wronged souls finally finding peace.

"May I ask your name, my benefactor? I am deeply grateful and wish to build a shrine in your honor!"