Chapter 775: Jiangzhou

The East Ping Prefecture cavalry arrived and first set up camp; Dong Ping, as always arrogant and fierce, still understood the basic principles of warfare. At this moment Shi Yi began to don armor, while Bai Lang wore no armor at all, gripping a long spear and mounting his horse. Behind Shi Yi were dozens of soldiers, all outlaws, regrettably only useful for waving flags and shouting. "These men have not a single piece of armor, and only a fragment of a Pu Dao in hand; once they enter battle they can only earn a head‑taking reward," Bai Lang sighed.

But even now, those who still dared to follow Shi Yi, even if only to wave flags and shout, already showed rare loyalty and brave blood; in the ruined Tang they would be considered tooth soldiers.

With a single cannon blast, the East Ping Prefecture troops spread out their formation left and right, and a fierce general rode out from the center. "He looks rather handsome, but holding a pair of spears makes one think he's a performer from a drama troupe," Bai Lang stood still, while Shi Yi spurred his horse and charged with his spear. Bai Lang wanted to see just how strong this Liangshan Tian Gang Star's top charging general was, thinking perhaps he could at least hold off Shi Yi.

As expected, when Shi Yi charged, Dong Ping also galloped in to strike, his twin spears whipping out like venomous snakes spitting fangs. "He does have some skill," Bai Lang commented, holding his long spear horizontally. Shi Yi twitched his spear, directly cutting off the path of those twin spears, like an eagle‑vulture in the sky clutching a snake's head on the ground. He then thrust a spear forward, striking Dong Ping's chest. Those twin spears had some merit, but seeing the danger, Dong Ping abruptly ducked into the stirrup, dropping a great distance from his horse.

In this way he managed to evade Shi Yi's lethal strike, but when Shi Yi followed up with a downward blow, Dong Ping could not dodge; his shoulder was smashed by Shi Yi's Hao Long Dan, and though no blood was seen, the force knocked Dong Ping off his horse. The twin spears fell with him, leaving only a single spear in his hand, making further combat impossible. Bai Lang had already spurred his warhorse; as his mounted spear swung, the army's formation and wooden barricade were shattered, and more than ten soldiers were cut down.

Bai Lang, as if entering an empty realm, cut down Dong Ping's command banner, and the East Ping Prefecture cavalry suffered a crushing defeat and fled. Neither Bai Lang nor Shi Yi pursued, and Dong Ping escaped with stolen horses. "That's almost at the level of the Jade Qilin; his cavalry skill might even surpass that of the future Liangshan Five Tiger Generals compared to Shi Dalang," Bai Lang remarked. After defeating the East Ping troops, Bai Lang and Shi Yi retreated to the mountain stronghold to live their days, though wandering heroes still passed along news.

So Bai Lang learned that Song Jiang had been captured again, this time sentenced to death in Jiangzhou, a situation he could not rescue. Shi Dalang's reputation grew even louder; by now he was probably above the Tower‑Holding Heavenly King Chao Gai by a wide margin—on the Shandong road, the top anti‑official hero was this Xiao Ming Wang Shi Yi. Yet the mountain stronghold's prestige still lagged behind that of the Eight Hundred Li Liangshan Marsh. After the defeat of the East Ping troops, the higher officials seemed to have instantly forgotten Shi Yi's existence.

Liangshan Marsh, however, never forgot Shi Yi; every few days someone would come to send greetings, conveying Chao Gai's admiration for Shi Yi. Though the officials seemed to have "forgotten" Shi Yi, their actions were actually quite tight—people constantly spied on the mountain stronghold's movements, and those who went out to purchase supplies occasionally vanished, with some batches of returned salt found to be poisoned. "There's no way out, let's join Liangshan," Shi Yi said, clutching his head, to Bai Lang.

He didn't rashly charge out in fury to slaughter anyone; Shi Dalang would not take out his anger on others—he knew he couldn't handle the situation, so he left. Bai Lang was indifferent; he also felt that now was indeed the time to go to Liangshan for a visit. In fact, the Eight Hundred Li Liangshan Marsh wasn't far, yet he had never been there. With dozens of soldiers, the two hurried along, and a leader from Liangshan Marsh came out to meet them.

In person, they were the Ironclad Ruan Clan Three Heroes—three fierce‑faced waterborne heroes. Bai Lang considered them straightforward, at least, and indeed they were notable figures—somewhat more comparable to Chao Gai's original group that joined Liangshan than to the later batch led by Song Jiang. When Shi Yi and Bai Lang joined, the Ruan Clan Three Heroes didn't need to receive them; as the boat entered the marsh, a larger vessel appeared, with Chao Gai himself stepping forward.

Xiao Ming Wang's reputation was also lofty; Chao Gai immediately offered him the chief seat, but Shi Yi chuckled and said he had no interest in such hierarchy, "Some folks can't enjoy life outside, so they come to the stronghold, seeking the joy of big bowls of wine and big pieces of meat. As for the stronghold's ranking…" Shi Yi waved his hand, indicating disinterest, while Bai Lang nodded—Bai Lang's whiskered eyebrows and hanging brows made his martial prowess even greater than Shi Yi's, so Chao Gai's group occasionally turned their attention to this instructor Shi Yi.

Seeing that they had noticed Bai Lang, Shi Yi smiled brightly and patted him, "When I was a youth, I taught martial arts to the village instructor; my skill surpasses yours a hundredfold."

In the end, Bai Lang and Shi Yi took the last two chief seats of the stronghold, spending their days idly eating, drinking, gambling, and practicing martial arts. After a few days, Chao Gai convened the leaders in the Gathering Hall, saying, "Brother Song Gongming has been sentenced to death in Jiangzhou for a rebellious poem; we must go rescue him." Shi Yi and Bai Lang exchanged glances, "Very well, let's make a trip to save Song Gongming."

Song Jiang's execution was to be carried out together with Dai Zong; given the timing, the Liangshan folk had to depart immediately. This raid on the execution ground required no soldiers, just the leaders making a quick trip. "In and out fast," they said. The fastest way was to move by both water and land. The leaders on the water took fast boats, while Bai Lang and Shi Yi rode horses, each with a pair of mounts, traveling day and night, reaching Jiangzhou in less than ten days.

Bai Lang and Shi Yi arrived in Jiangzhou first. "Whatever they're doing, we should first bathe well and eat something good; on the day of the beheading we'll just storm the execution ground," Bai Lang said. Shi Yi, as the instructor, agreed, saying it was exactly the right reasoning. So the two went straight to an inn, enjoying baths, food, and drink, waiting for Song Jiang's party to be dragged out for beheading. Raiding the execution ground was simple: storm in, take the person, and leave. Who in Jiangzhou could stand against Shi Yi?

Shi Yi wondered who could possibly stop Bai Lang, the white instructor? From storming out of Jiangzhou to returning to Liangshan, there was no problem. "Pushing forward across eight hundred with no opponent, Xuan Yuan returns as the Saint of War," Shi Yi muttered, while Bai Lang ignored him. The two didn't contact anyone else, but the Liangshan leaders and others rescuing Song Jiang were presumably already in touch. Bai Lang hadn't brought his long mounted spear, but Shi Yi had his weapon Hao Long Dan ready—its detachable.

The spear tip set aside, what's left is just a shaft, right? Bai Lang only carried a single long saber, now wrapped in cloth and set aside— they came to watch the beheading, to see Xiao Yi Hei Sanlang beheaded.