Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 129 In Qilin Village, the old and young pass on their skills to each other; at Bijia Mountai

However, this second path is much more difficult; failure there would be utter ruin...

Moreover, it is extremely easy to lose oneself on this path. Many people initially act for the country and its people, but later they become selfish and disregard everything else. Aren't Cao Cao, the former General Who Conquered the West of the Han Dynasty, and Cao Cao, the King of Wei, good examples of this?

However, the Li Hanxiao before him didn't seem to have become like that yet...

Zhou Tong looked at Li Hanxiao with a complicated expression. Zhou Tong had dedicated his life to the country and its people, but in the end, he was harmed by treacherous officials and forced to leave the court and officialdom. To be honest, he was well aware of the darkness and treacherousness of this world of fame and fortune.

Now that someone as outstanding as Li Hanxiao is willing to take the second path and pave a way for all living beings, he is naturally delighted...

However, he planned to train this disciple of his for the first path, because Zhou Tong knew that this disciple was a dragon among men, destined for greatness, and would surely become a pillar of the court, a beam of gold supporting the sea. He did not want his disciple to take the extremely difficult second path...

However, it now seems that the path his closed-door disciple is about to take is probably the exact opposite of, or even in conflict with, the path Li Hanxiao is about to take...

Li Hanxiao is currently in his twenties, while his closed-door disciple is in his teens. Although there will be no conflict of interest for the time being, there will inevitably be a day when they clash. At that time, Li Hanxiao will still be in his prime!

Zhou Tong was a little worried. He admired the young man's achievements and magnanimity. Zhou Tong was also human and had selfish motives. This disciple was also his adopted son. After losing his own son, he treated this disciple as his own son. He was afraid that his adopted son would not be a match for Li Hanxiao in the future...

Even at this moment, Zhou Tong's hands inexplicably clenched tighter, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes for a fleeting instant...

He wanted to remove obstacles for his adopted son in advance...

However, Zhou Tong was, after all, a grandmaster. After a moment's thought, he realized the key point: eliminating Li Hanxiao might benefit his adopted son, but it might not be beneficial to the world...

Since there are two paths, neither is guaranteed to be viable. So what's wrong with having another path? It's another option, isn't it?

If his adopted son couldn't succeed on the first path, then the second path was also an option. Zhou Tong thought to himself that if he could be like the ancestor of the Yang family generals, "Volcano King" Yang Gun, and exchange a copper hammer for a jade belt with Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, laying a foundation would be beneficial to his adopted son's future...

To be honest, in the original history, if his adopted son had truly had the second option, he wouldn't have ended up like that...

Thinking of this, Zhou Tong's gaze softened considerably. To be honest, he had never thought about this kind of question before. Although he knew that talents would emerge in every generation and that there were always people more capable than him, he also had the pride of being a master.

At the very least, he believed that his last disciple would be unparalleled for at least a century.

However, seeing Li Hanxiao today made him think more deeply, because Li Hanxiao posed an extremely serious threat to the existence of his adopted son...

Of course, these were all Zhou Tong's thoughts, not just on the surface. Li Hanxiao couldn't guess them either. Zhou Tong was capable of keeping his emotions hidden.

"Furthermore, I have another treasure to present to Senior Zhou. One of the most cherished possessions of us martial artists is our weapon. This spear was obtained by chance in Jiangnan. It is called the Liquan Divine Spear. It is eighteen feet long and was transformed from a spirit snake. It is indestructible. I present it to my esteemed disciple!"

As Li Hanxiao spoke, he took the Liquan Divine Spear, which was wrapped in cloth on his back, and ripped off the cloth to reveal its sharp edge.

"What a great gun!"

Zhou Tong couldn't help but exclaim. He had seen countless people and weapons in his life, but he had never seen such a fine spear!

"You mean to give this gun to my apprentice?"

Zhou Tong wondered what Li Hanxiao meant by this move. Could it be that he was going to take action against his disciples in advance?

Li Hanxiao said calmly, "When I inquired about the old master in Daming Prefecture, I also heard that when the old master came here, it happened to be the year when the rice in the fields grew double ears of grain. Double ears of grain means a noble person has descended from heaven. I heard that after that, the old master met a child here who was very intelligent. The old master took him in as his last disciple, the adopted son, and taught him all his skills. I think that noble person must be him, so I will give this spear to him!"

As Li Hanxiao spoke, he respectfully handed the Liquan Divine Spear to Zhou Tong. Although he did not know where Yue Fei was now, Li Hanxiao paid tribute to this national hero of the Chinese nation with the highest respect!

"Such a treasure, given to my adopted son, a mere child, what are you plotting?"

Zhou Tong looked at the Liquan Divine Spear in his hand and asked a question in confusion.

"I just thought that since he is a benefactor sent from heaven, he will surely achieve great things in the future. I gave him this treasure not for any other reason than that he can do something for the people in the future. If this spear can help him, that will be enough!"

"I have another piece of advice for him: The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every citizen, but loyalty and righteousness lie with the people, not the ruler. The greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people. Please pass this on!"

After Li Han finished speaking, he clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "That's all I have to say. Senior, it's an honor to have met you today. I'll take my leave now!"

"Wait a minute!"

Zhou Tong suddenly stopped Li Hanxiao. Others might not understand what Li Hanxiao had just said, but how could Zhou Tong not understand it?

"This one sentence alone has already seen through the past and present, and will benefit him immensely. What's more, you also have divine weapons as a gift. He can't accept such a gift without having done anything for him. May I ask if there is anything I can do for you? Just say the word."

Zhou Tong understood that Li Hanxiao had done him a tremendous favor, and he couldn't leave it unpaid.

Li Hanxiao pondered for a moment and then said, "Senior, although I have some martial arts skills, apart from swordsmanship, my other skills are rather mediocre. Senior is a teacher from the Celestial Empire, could you please give me some pointers? I would benefit immensely."

Although Li Hanxiao received the sword technique from Meng Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun, his mastery of other weapons and martial arts was not very high, which was a major weakness...

"Easy to handle!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong immediately returned to his room and took out a martial arts manual he had written himself.

"Although I no longer accept disciples, I can make an exception this time to repay your favor. All my martial arts skills are contained in this manual, which I wrote myself. It includes all eighteen kinds of weapons, such as fists, staffs, swords, and spears. Take it and learn it. We are not master and disciple, but remember, my skills, Zhou Tong's skills, must not be used for evil. You must use my skills for the country and the people, just as you said."

Zhou Tong solemnly handed the secret manual in his hand to Li Hanxiao.

"Alright, Li Hanxiao hereby swears that if he uses Senior Zhou's martial arts for evil, he will surely be struck by five thunderbolts and die without a complete corpse!"

Li Hanxiao also made a vow on the spot. He never expected that Zhou Tong would so readily hand over his life's work and secret manual to him!

Little did he know, Zhou Tong was actually preparing a "backup plan" for his adopted son...

"Oh, right, I also have a word to say to you, senior!"

Li Hanxiao suddenly had an idea.

Since Zhou Tong was the most outstanding grandmaster of this era, his comprehension ability must have been extraordinary as well!

What would happen if I told him some concepts that don't yet exist in this era?

Sometimes, the reason something doesn't appear isn't because the technology at the time couldn't do it, but because people genuinely lack the inspiration in that area...

Therefore, Li Hanxiao wanted to give it a try and see if he could enlighten Zhou Tong and make some breakthroughs.

"I have some thoughts on martial arts that I would like to share with you, senior."

Li Hanxiao stepped forward and whispered in Zhou Tong's ear, "The way of martial arts can combine strength and gentleness, use slowness to defeat speed, and strike after the opponent has moved. It can empty the mind, become formless and shapeless, like water. Water becomes a cup when it enters a cup, a bowl when it enters a bowl, and a plate when it enters a plate. Water can flow slowly or surge violently. In the way of martial arts, one can become like water..."

(This is a tribute to the great martial arts master—a student of Bruce Lee.)

Li Hanxiao stopped abruptly at this point, while Zhou Tong stood there stunned, his mind racing with intense thoughts...

Although these words are familiar to everyone in later generations, in that world at that time, they were completely unexplored or unthinkable areas.

As mentioned before, before the concepts of Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi came into being, there was absolutely no opportunity for martial arts directions that contained the profound principles of Taoism, such as using slowness to defeat speed, borrowing force to defeat force, and striking after the opponent but arriving first.

Only after this idea emerged did a revolutionary change occur in martial arts...

At this moment, Zhou Tong was repeatedly pondering Li Hanxiao's words, each time gaining new insights. He felt that although it was just this one sentence, it was like "containing Mount Sumeru in a mustard seed"—the energy contained within it was immense. It seemed that Zhou Tong could use this sentence to create many extraordinary martial arts techniques...

Zhou Tong had thought his martial arts journey was coming to an end, but Li Hanxiao's words, without his knowledge, created countless new possibilities for his path...

Seeing Zhou Tong standing there deep in thought, Li Hanxiao knew it was time for him to leave. He bowed to Zhou Tong and then left the courtyard.

As an aside, after Li Hanxiao left, Zhou Tong immediately went into seclusion for three months, and finally made great progress in his martial arts philosophy, resulting in a groundbreaking improvement in his martial arts skills. But that's another story...

Where is Yue Fei now, who has never appeared?

Unlike Wang Gui, Tang Huai, and Zhang Xian, who were all from wealthy families, Yue Fei's family was very poor. They lived in the Wang family's house and relied entirely on the mother and son to make a living by saving money and being self-reliant. Therefore, in addition to studying literature and martial arts, Yue Fei also had to find ways to take care of his family's livelihood.

Although Yue Fei, Wang Gui, Tang Huai, and Zhang Xian were already sworn brothers, Wang Ming, the wealthy man, saw that Yue Fei was destined for greatness and would eventually rise to prominence. Therefore, he intended to help Yue Fei, but Yue Fei's mother and son rejected the idea. They said that a real man should be self-reliant. Although he was willing to live a simple life, it would temper his will and prevent him from falling into the trap of wealth.

Yue Fei went to Bijia Mountain nearby to shoot wild geese, partly to practice his archery skills and partly to earn money to supplement his family's income.

Wild geese are meat, and how can a martial artist not eat meat? Therefore, Yue Fei's meat source was basically hunting or fishing, which was much harder than that of the three rich boys.

But it was precisely because of his constant practice that his archery skills improved by leaps and bounds, making him several times better than his brothers, not just a little bit better.

Yue Fei had a good haul, shooting down four wild geese in quick succession as he faced the wind and fired four arrows in a row.

Shooting geese can train shooting speed, accuracy, and eyesight. Yue Fei, whose eyesight was already quite good, was watching four geese fall to the ground with countless feathers when he suddenly noticed a golden eagle swooping down from a distance, directly scattering the geese's flight formation.

In the face of a golden eagle, a bird of prey that flies extremely fast and is extremely fierce, a goose is basically meat delivered to its mouth!

The golden eagle didn't waste much effort; it caught a goose with its talons in mid-air.

When Yue Fei on the ground looked closely, he didn't recognize it as a golden eagle; he only knew that it was a huge eagle!

Yue Fei thought to himself, “I often see Wang Gui, Tang Huai, Zhang Xian and others buying eagles to train and hone them. They say that an eagle is worth a lot of money!”

This eagle is so big right now. If we shoot it down and sell it to those eagle breeders, they won't have to worry about food for at least half a month!

The saying goes, "A half-grown boy can eat his father to death." Yue Fei was born with extraordinary appetites, far exceeding those of his peers. He was still growing and ate an enormous amount! His family often ran out of food, and his mother refused any financial assistance, so Yue Fei and his mother frequently worried about food.

In Yue Fei's eyes right now, this wasn't a golden eagle, it was a rice bin and flour bucket with wings!

Yue Fei, seeing the golden eagle clearly from mid-air, aimed at its wings and fired two arrows in quick succession. The arrows flew past without hitting the wings, but grazed them, preventing the eagle from flying and forcing it to land slowly. He couldn't break its wings, making it unsellable, nor could he make it lose its ability to fly instantly and fall to its death. Instead, he wanted it to be able to glide to the ground after only a few flights.

"Ow!"

The golden eagle, wounded by two arrows, immediately released the goose. The goose fell to the ground, its wings injured and unable to fly. It flapped its wings, using its last bit of strength to glide and fall to the ground!

"Ha ha!"

Young Yue Fei was overjoyed. Including the goose that was knocked to the ground by the golden eagle, he had gained a total of five geese and one golden eagle!