Chapter 39: Chapter Forty

Blood spurted from the necks of the two dead men; the two thieves armed with bows and firearms were already stunned, especially when Bai Lang flung a head still attached to its spine at them—the archer fumbled, pulling the bowstring several times, though his nocking motion should have been smooth and practiced, the long arrow simply would not seat on the string; the gunman's hands shook uncontrollably......

The archer shouted, dropped his bow and turned to run; the gunman also closed his eyes, fired a shot, then dropped his firearm and fled. This fierce man before them was terrifying beyond belief; in a daze they even thought they saw a tiger. But "Can you get away?" Bai Lang took a few steps over, kicked the gunman who had dropped his firearm breaking his leg, reached out and seized the head of the old thief who had dropped his bow, though he exerted no force, yet as his claws closed the man's scalp split and blood trickled down his cheeks.

Bai Lang dragged the man over to where the three had been sitting by the fire eating, casually kicking the corpse aside—one of them was still alive for the moment, though the Purple Gold Halberd had cleaved him in two, he would not die for a while yet. "Answer my questions—who are you?" Bai Lang kicked the old thief's both legs out from under him, letting him collapse on the ground, and asked in this manner.

At the same time Bai Lang poured water from a nearby jar to wash his hands, also rinsing off the brains and blood on the Purple Gold Halberd. The thief was cunning, merely begging for mercy and claiming he had been forced into banditry. Bai Lang smiled, said nothing more, lifted the Purple Gold Halberd and crushed one of the man's hands. Immediately the man shouted that he was a Copper Mountain Bandit, pleading for his life and offering to tell everything he knew.

Bai Lang couldn't be bothered to listen; after learning the man was a Copper Mountain Bandit he also asked where they were—"Shandong? Is this Dengzhou Laiyang in Shandong? It's September already…" Upon learning that, Bai Lang smashed the man's skull with a casual blow of the halberd, letting the corpse fall sideways to the ground. He then helped himself to the dry rations boiling in the jar over the fire—having reached the third stage of the Golden Bell Cover, ordinary boiling water would not scald him for a while.

Having finished eating, he searched the corpses—their clothing was already filthy, for bandits never bothered to wash and change clothes daily, and Bai Lang's brutal handling had soaked the garments in blood, making them likely unwearable. Bai Lang now faced a dilemma: "Surely I can't just go into the city like this? I have no identification—no waist tablet or anything—and no clothes; who would let me in?"

Then it occurred to him that these bandits had pack animals, so he checked the rear and indeed found seven mules with no horses. The bandits also carried silver and other valuables; Bai Lang felt them—he only recognized silver, gold, and copper coins, but quite a few were women's silver hairpins and the like, showing how multifariously wicked these people were; their deaths were really too lenient for them..

The mules bore pack saddles, with some scattered silver and dry rations inside, but there were no spare clothes; Bai Lang cursed, gathered up the dead men's weapons, loaded them onto the mules, and then rode off along the road—his destination was Yanzhou, which was closer than Dengzhou Laiyang. The few relatively intact heads were chopped off by Bai Lang, hung from the mules, and swayed as they went.

The next day, the walls of Yanzhou came into view; there were still a few people along the road, but these localities had stockaded themselves for self-defense and would not let Bai Lang approach—who would let a naked brute near? Moreover, he rode a mule leading six others bearing human heads; such a freak was best avoided.

At the Yanzhou gate, Bai Lang had already dismounted from his mule in the distance and led it over; under the wary eyes of the guards he shouted, "Join the army! I'm here to enlist!" He then led out a mule, declaring, "This is the skull of a Copper Mountain Bandit—my letter of recommendation!" The constables, the militia, even the city garrison were stunned. This man wore only a pair of underpants, utterly lacking decorum, yet he came shouting to enlist and even produced a letter of recommendation.

Immediately several people came over to look, but they saw a fine big man—who let Bai Lang's stature stand a head above others at this point, and his smooth, tender flesh made it clear he was no poor upbringing. On the road Bai Lang also pondered what false origin to invent: "Suppose I say I'm a scholar? I'm not well versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, and I have no scholar's waist tablet; a town pedant would see through that in two sentences. Or should I claim to be a southern merchant? That's hard too—if they asked what trade I conduct, this pair of Purple Gold Halberds couldn't fool anyone… maybe a penniless trade? Better to say I'm the young master of a wealthy southern rural family, fond of practicing spears and staves since childhood, came north to broaden my horizons, only to have my clothes stolen by bandits while bathing, whereupon I killed them in a rage… I don't know if I can pull that off.

When those few men pointed their spears at Bai Lang and invited him inside—after they had inspected the heads and confirmed they were genuine bandit trophies, the appropriate reception—once Bai Lang entered, a man in blue‑green clothing who looked like an official stood at a distance and asked about his identity; Bai Lang gave the excuse he had devised on the road........

Bai Lang only saw the other's face break into a half‑smile, then he coughed once, "Since you've volunteered for service, why not go to Jinan City to seek your future?" Bai Lang realized the other probably didn't believe a word he said, and having no choice he replied, "May I be allowed to buy a set of clothes and rest my feet? In that case…" really improper after all.

Hearing Bai Lang speak in a refined manner, the official also nodded, "That's fine; you few take this warrior to buy clothes."

Bai Lang, being sensible, said, "I'll donate these mules to the government, and these weapons…… let these brothers keep them in my care." The few constables laughed, leading the mules as they walked, but the instant they grabbed the Purple Gold Halberd it slipped from their hands—"Good heavens! What is this thing! So heavy!" They nearly dropped it on their feet; the halberd fell to the ground, kicking up dust.

"This water‑ground Purple Gold Halberd weighs eight hundred and sixty‑four catties; it is my weapon." Bai Lang said, looking at the halberd on the ground.

Not a sound was heard.

The storyteller often mentioned how Lord Guan's icy‑bright saw from the Three Kingdoms weighed eighty‑two catties, yet this man before us wields a single‑handed halberd of sixty‑four catties? Could he be a rare martial genius of the world? The constables lifted the halberd with both hands, "Sir, this halberd really does weigh sixty‑four catties!"

That official also stood there dazed for a moment, then his face showed a thoughtful expression, "You guys, first take this Bai Zhuangshi to buy clothes, no no, you go, buy it and bring it to Bai Zhuangshi, don't let Bai Zhuangshi go out and lose face. Bai Zhuangshi, please wait here a moment, I'll go and come back right away." Having said that, he hurried away quickly.