Chapter 213

So young!

Chao Gai's first thought was the same.

But having served as village head, he knew that for Zhang Zhang Jie to command and build a major stronghold like Liang Shan at this age,

meant something far beyond mere youth—and he felt not the slightest hint of disdain.

"I feel like I've seen this Liang Shan boss somewhere before?!"

Wu Yong froze in place the moment he saw Zhang Zhang Jie.

He felt he had seen Zhang Zhang Jie before, yet when he tried to recall, he could not remember at all.

With no clear lead, he could only suppress the thought for now.

Gong Sun Sheng's reaction was even more extreme after one glance at Zhang Zhang Jie,

he clapped both hands over his eyes and cried out in agony:

"Ah, my eyes!"

Tears streamed from between his fingers as he covered his eyes.

"What's wrong with Master Gong Sun?"

Liu Tang and the others were utterly baffled.

Though they too were awed by the Liang Shan boss's bearing, surely not this dramatically?

The way Gong Sun Sheng wept, one might think he'd seen his ancestral master from Zi Xu Temple!

"What is this?"

Even Zhang Zhang Jie was puzzled.

He had just entered the scene—how had someone already started crying?

He wasn't a gacha character; he couldn't make every person from the Eastern great power adore him!

Oh, right—this was the Great Song; he should say he wasn't copper coins or silver ingots, unable to make everyone love him.

"Master Gong Sun, what did you see?"

Wu Yong first steadied the trembling Gong Sun Sheng, then asked.

"Qi shaped as dragon and tiger—this is the aura of the Son of Heaven!"

Gong Sun Sheng spoke with profound shock.

"This damn Daoist is better at flattery than I am!"

Wang Lun's heart lurched—he feared his position as Zhang Zhang Jie's top lackey might be in jeopardy.

What was that damn Daoist even saying?

"Qi shaped as dragon and tiger"? "This is the aura of the Son of Heaven"?

Did this damn Daoist think Wang Lun was some uneducated fool like Du Qian

or Song Wan, men who only knew how to fight and kill?

Though Wang Lun hadn't studied much and failed every provincial exam,

he had still read Sima Qian's monumental Records of the Grand Historian.

This damn Daoist's words came straight from the Records:

In the "Biography of Xiang Yu," it records that Xiang Yu's chief strategist, 【36】 the revered Fan Zeng, once sent men to observe the aura of Emperor Han Gaozu Liu Bang,

Father Fan Zeng once sent someone to observe the aura of Han Han Gaozu Liu Bang.

and they saw: "All formed as dragons and tigers, shimmering in five colors,"

and declared: "This is the aura of the Son of Heaven," urging Xiang Yu: "Strike swiftly, do not miss!"

This damn Daoist was comparing Zhang Zhang Jie to Emperor Han Gaozu!

His flattery was far superior to Wang Lun's!

Moreover, Gong Sun Sheng's eyes were bloodshot—as if truly struck by the sun's radiance—

his acting was vastly superior to Wang Lun's!

Wang Lun's heart grew frantic.

He had assumed his greatest rival would be

some scholar like himself, waving a feather fan,

but now he faced a Daoist who wielded flattery without even speaking.

Only because Gong Sun Sheng was an ancient Song Dynasty man,

if he were a modern man from the 21st century, he'd surely sigh:

"The one who defeats you isn't always a colleague—it might be someone from another field…"

"The aura of the Son of Heaven?"

Wu Yong also grew excited.

He too was a scholar, though like Wang Lun, he had never passed any exams,

yet he knew these allusions well.

Liu Tang and Bai Sheng, who had barely read a book, stared blankly, utterly confused.

But given Gong Sun Sheng and Wu Yong's intense reactions, what the Daoist had seen must be extraordinary.

They thought again: wasn't the Emperor in Bianliang's palace himself called the Son of Heaven, the child of Heaven?

"Master Gong Sun, did you truly see something?"

Even Zhang Zhang Jie grew curious. After his own investigations,

he knew the Water Margin world had no widespread supernatural forces like inner energy.

Heroes like Wu Song who could kill tigers, or Lu Lu Zhishen who could uproot willows, were simply born with extraordinary talent,

like Xiang Yu, the red steed Chi Tu, or the peerless Lü Bu—men who had won the genetic lottery.

The only difference was that such extraordinary men were more numerous here, many heroes indeed.

Zhang Zhang Jie had also searched hard for other supernatural forces,

but whether in grand temples like Daxiangguo Temple with thousands of monks,

or tiny ancestral temples with only one or two disciples struggling to pass on their lineage, he found nothing.

Yet this Cloud-Dragon Gong Sun Sheng was the officially sanctioned wielder of supernatural power in Water Margin,

in the original text, he mastered Daoist arts, could summon wind and rain, ride mist and clouds.

When imperial troops besieged Climb the Steps Village, Gong Sun Sheng summoned wind to fuel the fire,

burning the warships and crushing He Tao's forces.

When Liang Shan attacked Gaotang Prefecture and was blocked by Gao Jin Lian's sorcery, they could not break through,

until Gong Sun Sheng personally arrived, broke Gao Jin Lian's magic with his own arts,

knocked him from the clouds, and Lei Heng beheaded him—thus capturing the city.

Later, during the campaign against Mangdang Mountain, he arrayed the Eight Trigram Formation, captured Xiang Chong and Li Gun, subdued Fan Rui, and took him as a disciple.

During the second defeat of Gao Qiu, he summoned wind to aid Liu Tang in burning the imperial warships.

During the campaign against Liao, he shattered He Chongbao's sorcery at Qingshi Valley in Youzhou,

then used the Five Thunder Celestial Method to break the Great Yi Heavenly Array.

He had also led Song Jiang to Erxian Mountain in Jizhou to pay respects to his master, Luo Zhenren,

and Luo Zhenren had told Song Jiang to return him to the mountain after victory.

During the campaign against Tian Hu, he guarded Weizhou with Guan Sheng and Hu Yanzhuo.

At Wulong Mountain, he dueled Brother Qiao Brother Qiao Daoqing in sorcery, controlling weapons and divine beasts; Brother Qiao Brother Qiao Daoqing fled to Baigu Ridge;

he surrounded but did not attack, until Sun An persuaded Brother Qiao Brother Qiao Daoqing to surrender and become his disciple.

Later, he went to Fenyang to aid Lu Lu Junyi, shattered Ma Ling's Golden Brick Spell with divine fire, and subdued Ma Ling.

During the campaign against Wang Qing, Lu Lu Junyi was defeated by the Golden Sword Master Li Zhu, so Gong Sun Sheng led the central army,

used sorcery to make Li Zhu's sword fly from his hand, aiding Lu Lu Junyi in capturing him alive.

Gong Sun Sheng's supernatural powers had earned him undeniable battlefield glory,

he was an indispensable master of sorcery on Liang Shan.

If anyone in this world truly wielded supernatural power, it must be Gong Sun Sheng and his master, Luo Zhenren of Erxian Mountain.

Liu Tang and the others also turned curious eyes toward Gong Sun Sheng, wondering if he had truly seen anything.

This "aura of the Son of Heaven" business—just hearing it made them thrill!

At that moment, Gong Sun Sheng stopped crying,

straightened his wrinkled Daoist robe, and bowed solemnly to Zhang Zhang Jie with a Daoist salute:

"Wuliang Wuliang Tianzun. This humble Daoist is shallow and unlearned, and saw nothing special.

But I can swear: the boss's future shall be noble beyond measure!"

The sly-eyed Bai Sheng fidgeted anxiously, desperate to know what Gong Sun Sheng meant:

"Noble beyond measure" was relative.

To a beggar with no food or clothing,

a wealthy man who ate and drank without worry and was stout and healthy was noble beyond measure.

To a local landowner who could only mingle among merchants and held no real power,

A wealthy landowner who lacks nothing to eat or drink and is stout and well-fed is of noble worth.

For a local landowner who can only mingle among merchants and cannot wield power,

The county magistrate, who represents the court in governing the people and is called the "Hundred-Li Marquis," is also of incomparable nobility.

For the county magistrate, only true imperial blood is of incomparable nobility.

It could be said that Master Gong Sun Sheng offered nothing but a correct piece of nonsense.