Chapter 773: Chapter Twelve: Jiangnan

These river‑road robbers wore no clothes, but their faces were smeared with oil paste mixed with pot‑bottom ash—both to intimidate and to conceal their features. After Bai Lang uttered the previous line, he did not rise; he simply swung his knife, easily cutting off the two legs of the man before him, and with a reverse slash split another man's hips, gut and belly open. Then Bai Lang stood, strode along the deck with a four‑direction step, killing one with each step; he slew six or seven men, and the remaining water ghosts whistled and leapt into the water to flee.

Such people cannot succeed when they run into a hard obstacle; seeing that most of the incoming brothers were dead, their courage shattered, they naturally jumped into the water to escape. As for setting the ship on fire? They had no fire source at the moment. Most of the men who came in the night were like that. Bai Lang cut down a dozen or so along the way, habitually kicking the corpses into the water, ordering the idle men to splash the deck clean. The only thing was that the more water bandits he killed, the more respectful the idle men became, even speaking less gossip behind his back.

Bai Lang's tiger‑like aura grew unintentionally as his killings increased; after all, he had once been a great general of the Han, with slaughter numbering in the tens of thousands…

Under the bright day, a man who robs a ship can truly be called a "hero"; such reckless brutes even make Niu Er willingly step back. These brash heroes usually travel on a single sampan carrying three to five men; their skills are decent, especially their water prowess, and when they approach they first shout loudly, then scramble. Leaping from the sampan, they can grab and climb onto the deck.

It was three burly men: one was rather handsome, the other two were earth ghosts. "You two, could you be the spirit‑possessed black fish?" Bai Lang sneered when he saw them. "Came aboard this ship? For what purpose?" he asked. "Sir, I can smell wealth; the moment I sense it I know you scoundrel has hidden gold and silver on the boat! Hand them over for me to enjoy!" one of the ghosts said. Bai Lang laughed, "If you have the skill, go fetch them!"

Without drawing his knife, he lunged forward, grabbed the ghost's face, and with a squeeze heard a bone‑cracking sound, then a yank; Bai Lang tore the face off, leaving a huge blood‑filled hole in the skull. The other two were instantly terrified, their muscles slackening as if a Buddha were being born and another Buddha ascending; the second ghost received a slap, its skull rotating on the neck seventeen or eighteen times, stretching the neck to the thickness of an egg.

The last one knelt, shouting for mercy, and Bai Lang snorted, "What are you afraid of, daring to do such a deed, how can you still fear death?" He then smashed the man's skull, and all three corpses were thrown into the water. Continuing his march, he said, "The Great Song's canals are filled with official ships sailing day and night; yet there are still so many water bandits? The Great Song truly is a pill." Since Emperor Renzong, the Great Song has never ceased the countless mountain bandits and water bandits, even though it has raised many regional commander armies, all the same.

At least it's far better than the ruined Tang and Five Dynasties, when the regional commander armies were extremely ferocious, and the name of the Cai Prefecture bandits still echoes today. Since the Five Dynasties, the status of soldiers has further declined, and now they have become a red‑clad thief army… Bai Lang also sighs at the rise and fall. Along this road, whether the river‑robbing water bandits include any riverbank militia is truly hard to say. The Great Song's usual practice is to recruit during famine years, enlisting young men prone to rebellion, so the inland official troops can hardly fight, and the brash ones are many.

That day the boat reached Hangzhou Prefecture; from then on security finally improved, and the countless water bandits vanished. As for the official checkpoints? Bai Lang could pass by paying a toll, and the few black‑hearted, ruthless ones were turned into headless cases by him. The gold and silver were taken off the ship and exchanged for a small boat; Bai Lang ordered the idle men to enjoy themselves within Hangzhou Prefecture, while he himself steered a small boat along the river to seek Shi Xiao's small manor.

"I have no idea how Shi Xiao is doing; I think even if he fails the exams, becoming a wealthy man shouldn't be a problem." Whether this man can preserve his fortune? Bai Lang thought that would test him himself. Shi Dalang doesn't boast of great martial skill; merely being generous while indulging in food, drink, and leisure is enough to survive in this jianghu, even as a drinking‑buddy. In fact, Shi Dalang bears the demeanor that Bai Lang later described as the black‑ghost star that raises timber.

For a master like Bai Lang, although he never learned to sail, after pulling the big oars a few times he naturally mastered the water's ways, and thereafter he handled the boat as easily as moving his fingers.

Shi Dalang held his usual feast, spending the day sparring with a group of idle men. That day, someone came to see him; it turned out to be Wu Yong, the scoundrel, accompanied by a red‑haired man. "You want me to go to Liang Shan to rally the righteous? Hahaha, I'm quite happy here; what's the point of going to Liang Shan? Wu the scholar, take this pot of gold and silver back, and tell Chao Gai, King Chao, that if anything happens at Liang Shan, I will certainly lend assistance." Shi Dalang waved his hand, setting the tone.

Bai Lang also found the small manor that Shi Xiao and his family had built, meeting Shi Dalang. Since establishing his own household, Dalang had made some progress; he no longer reads books, instead roams the Hangzhou market, and has managed to make a few profitable deals. As for Shi Xiaomei, the girl, though not yet betrothed, is still well‑educated and sensible, and the child, upon arriving in Hangzhou, even learned a bout of martial practice from Dalang; Dalang can't control that.

"Sword technique?" Bai Lang, being a teacher, naturally had to instruct Shi Xiaomei a bit. Shi Dalang taught him a Sleeve Arrow Secret Technique, which suited Dalang well. Shi Xiaomei was learning a sword technique; the sword could not be a war sword, so Bai Lang told her not to use a regular scholar's sword, but to switch to a slender thrusting sword, needle‑shaped, the front half double‑edged. "Little sister lacks great strength; this sword method relies entirely on agile footwork and swift strikes—one thrust makes a blood‑filled hole; the opponent is either gravely wounded or dead."

Bai Lang taught the Skin‑Pulling Technique; although he had never studied it, he could casually devise dozens of such skills, and at that moment he created an eighteen‑step light and agile thrusting sword method for Shi Xiaomei. "Don't talk about a clear sword heart; master these eighteen steps, and there are few in the world who can, in a one‑on‑one armor‑piercing duel, defeat Shi Xiaomei." The Skin‑Pulling Technique is the swiftest and most poisonous—one thrust takes a life; it is truly the strongest street‑fighting sword art.

Bai Lang left the gold and silver, urging them to be extra careful—preferably hide inside Hangzhou Prefecture. After that, he truly did not eliminate those idle men; now it seems this group only has some influence in Shandong, but in the Jiangnan region they are completely useless. Bai Lang's plan is to go to Jiangnan to see the so‑called Ming Cult; Fang La, the sect leader, is indeed worth meeting.