Chapter 777: Living Punishment

The young Marquis Wen Lu Fang wielded a Fangtian Paint Halberd— the orthodox double‑pronged Fangtian Paint Halberd, and Bai Lang clearly remembered that the true Marquis Wen of old, Lu Bu (Lu Fengxian), had carried a weapon that falsely claimed to be a Fangtian Paint Halberd, which today would be called the Azure Dragon Halberd. Lu Fang's halberd was only half a shaft taller than others, counting the head, whereas the old Marquis Wen's halberd was a cavalry weapon over three and a half meters, nearly four meters, in length.

"Shrinking Marquis Wen?" Bai Lang thought, "Anyone who doubts can come and try." He said, "We can all charge together, no problem." Chao Gai and Song Jiang laughed and tried to smooth things over; although there were dissenters, no one ended up fighting here. Even the young Marquis Wen Lu Fang lowered his banner. Still, Bai Lang was quite curious—how could such a flamboyant weapon move so freely? Has the Great Song really progressed its pills to this level?

The Eight‑Colored Blade recorded in the Complete Essentials of Martial Classics is expressly forbidden by the Great Song authorities for civilians to possess, yet this person flaunted it in the market. By this time in the Northern Song, civilian regulation had almost collapsed. Not only the blades of the Eight‑Colored Blade, but even armor is sold openly in the markets; only the Divine Arm Bow remains unavailable, while everything else can be obtained if one wishes. The Great Song officials truly cannot control it.

As long as Bianliang remains peaceful, the magistrates and the officials will deem the whole world safe.

There were twenty‑seven heroes present; before Bai Lang and Shi Yi arrived they had already discussed gathering and breaking the Wu‑wei Army to capture the man surnamed Huang. Shortly after the two arrived, several soldiers outside shouted, "The Jiangzhou Prefecture Army is here!" The front was filled with armored cavalry, and behind them were spear‑wielding infantry, brandishing great swords, charging toward the White Dragon Temple road. At that moment Shi Yi and Bai Lang each drew their weapons, vaulted onto their horses, and shouted, "We'll charge first; you settle matters and then return."

Li Kui simply shouted "Kill the generals!" igniting a blaze of fury in everyone, and over a hundred men brandished knives and spears, charging straight at the generals. At this point Shi Yi and Bai Lang had already begun colliding with the enemy; Shi Yi's long spear flew like a hundred birds in unison and like a thousand flakes of auspicious snow, first breaking the armored cavalry, while Bai Lang swung his long sword so casually that he cleaved the cavalry from their horses one by one. In an instant he had cut through the front line of cavalry and faced the infantry behind.

The opponents wielded long swords, great axes, and even hooked flying ropes, yet Shi Yi's skill was astonishing; his spear tip struck the hooked ropes, sending them flailing back and trampling the infantry. Moreover, the long swords and great axes were countered by the Fierce Dragon Gall, with the spear first overturning men. Bai Lang protected Shi Yi's flank from behind, cutting down foes one by one with a single stroke. By the time Chao Tianwang's forces arrived, the entire Jiangzhou Prefecture Army was in chaos.

"Truly unstoppable bravery! As expected, the number one hero of Shandong!" The onlookers praised Shi Yi, the Little Bright King, for his unrivaled charge, and Bai Lang smiled quietly to himself. "That Shi Dalang is a troublemaker, insisting I'm called the 'Martial Saint'—that fits, for I could just as well claim the title of Saint. The later‑known Martial Saint GuanYu could barely land a few moves before being stopped," he thought. In any case, the crowd's admiration boosted morale, and they shouted and surged forward.

Then the Jiangzhou Prefecture troops scattered like that... The inland forces of the Great Song dynasty are mostly old and weak; many soldiers, but useless.

After the Jiangzhou troops were dispersed, the group finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the White Dragon Temple. At that moment Li Jun and others brought a large boat; Bai Lang and Shi Yi also drove their horses onto the vessel, and everyone headed straight to Mu Family Village. There they held a feast, slaughtering cattle and sheep, pouring wine, and the crowd ate, drank, and chatted. Chao Tianwang remarked that without the boat, they would likely have been captured. "No way, with me and Shi Dalang here, the petty Jiangzhou Prefecture Army is nothing but a pair of sparrows," Bai Lang gulped down the wine in his bowl while chewing beef.

Shi Yi agreed, saying that the Jiangzhou Prefecture Army is nothing more than a single kill away. Bai Lang also set his expression stern, and his tiger‑like aura filled the hall, "Li Kui loves killing, indiscriminately. If you, Song Gongming, wish to be kind to him, just give him money to sustain him; never let him act on his own. My suggestion is to cripple both his arms, leaving him about a hundred jin of strength to survive," Bai Lang said, looking at Hei Tan Tou Li Kui.

"The Jiangzhou Prefecture's execution ground is just like this; Song Gongming, don't take the blame. You are you, he is he; Li Kui's killing is his fault," Bai Lang said, glancing at Song Jiang; the white‑tiger glare in his eyes immobilized Song Jiang on his seat. "During the execution ground it's not proper to behead you outright; now the death sentence has been evaded but the living penalty is inevitable—come forward." As soon as he finished, Li Kui kicked the table over, snapped a leg, and charged—no one's weapons were present.

Song Jiang recovered enough to demand Bai Lang, and others also moved to help; Chao Gai (Chao Tianwang) raised a hand as if to greet—yet Bai Lang struck, his palm emitting a dragon‑roar, tiger‑howl, and an old dragon head materialized out of thin air, colliding with and tearing Li Kui. Such a void‑splitting palm technique had never been seen by these jianghu folk; perhaps only a Celestial Master's method could produce such a spectacle.

"It pains me to death!" Li Kui shrieked as he fell to the ground, "I have already stripped you of all your ribs and muscles, leaving each arm with only fifty jin of strength, and a vile rebellious qi remains in your body. If you again commit indiscriminate slaughter, I will act at once and you will die! Consider that done!" Bai Lang said, while Song Gongming merely held Li Kui; none of the others, except Shi Yi, dared to speak further. Bai Lang scanned the hall, especially at Li Jun and the others, "You as well—do not slaughter the innocent."

Chao Gai nodded, "Well said." This Heavenly King is actually a decent person. Since Li Kui was not killed but merely stripped of his killing ability, it mattered little to him—after all, Li Kui's murderous acts were witnessed firsthand. Apart from Song Jiang and the Jiangzhou folk, the others held no particular feeling for Li Kui, and indeed he was neither dead nor crippled. This fellow dubbed the Martial Saint truly has skill; for a moment it dampened any thoughts of contending with him.

Song Jiang let out a few sighs and placed Li Kui beside him, never mentioning what lay ahead—this fellow is shrewd; if he brought it up, Li Kui would likely kill himself, and then he wouldn't be the timely rain. In any case, Song Jiang does have genuine feeling; otherwise how could he earn the moniker Timely Rain, Protector of Righteousness? Does he truly think that feigned benevolence and pretended righteousness, dispensing wealth, is enough? Heroes of the jianghu can read hearts; true feeling and false intent can be discerned.