Chapter 6: Yan Qing Uncovers the Fake Secret Letter, The Gentleman Captures the Drunken Lin Chong

Under Song Jiang and Wu Yong’s careful planning, Lu Junyi could only believe that Lin Chong had colluded with Fang La’s generals to kill Gao Qiu and sabotage Liangshan’s plan for imperial pardon.

Lu Junyi immediately ordered five hundred of his troops, along with his loyal servant Yan Qing, to charge towards the South Mountain Inn.

Yan Qing knew that Song Jiang’s intentions were not good, and he had been advising Lu Junyi to make plans early. In this situation, he naturally had to ask carefully.

Lu Junyi roughly explained what had happened. Yan Qing leaned over to Lu Junyi’s horse and whispered, “Master, do you have the secret letter?”

“Brother Gongming didn’t give me the letter!” Lu Junyi swayed with the movement of the horse.

“As far as I know, there are still Wu Song, Zhu Gui, Song Wan, Du Qian, and other brothers who are close to Instructor Lin at the South Mountain Inn. If you go there like this, without any evidence, it will be difficult to convince everyone!” Yan Qing was worried.

“What you said is true!” Lu Junyi suddenly realized.

He pulled on the reins of his steed, the Jade Lion, raised his arm, and the five hundred troops stopped in unison. Lu Junyi ordered them to rest in place. Then he said loudly, “Xiao Yi, accompany me to investigate.”

The master and servant left the main force. Yan Qing whispered, “Master, could it be that Brother Gongming was in a hurry and forgot to give you the secret letter?”

Lu Junyi stood still, looking into the distance, without answering Yan Qing.

Yan Qing answered himself, “No matter what, please wait here, Master. I will go back to the mountain, go to Brother Gongming, and get the secret letter!”

Lu Junyi thought for a moment, nodded slightly, and praised, “This is my fault for being too eager and not thinking things through. Fortunately, Xiao Yi reminded me in time. You go quickly and come back quickly. I will lead the troops to wait for you!”

Yan Qing got on his horse and rode away. He then turned back and specifically instructed, “Master, this matter is of great importance. Before I bring back the secret letter, please don’t act rashly and alert the enemy!”

Seeing Lu Junyi nod slightly, Yan Qing turned his horse’s head and galloped away.

Since he had figured out the ins and outs of the matter, Yan Qing felt that something was fishy. This matter was not a public deployment, only Song Jiang knew about it. The secret letter, as evidence, was a powerful weapon, but Song Jiang did not hand it over, which was very suspicious.

Yan Qing immediately concluded that this must be a trick played by Wu Yong. The secret letter must have been forged by the talented scholar Xiao Rang. Lu Junyi went to capture Zhang Yue, who killed Gao Qiu. If only Instructor Lin was there, nothing would happen.

But Wu Song was also at the South Mountain Inn. With his personality, he wouldn’t stand by and watch. He would definitely intervene. Then, Instructor Lin would be forced to take action, which would be extremely unfavorable to Lu Junyi.

Therefore, he stabilized Lu Junyi and quickly returned to Liangshan alone to find a solution.

Yan Qing was one of the few people on Liangshan who was clear-headed. He was one of the first Liangshan heroes to see through Song Jiang’s true nature. He had repeatedly advised Lu Junyi to make plans early, but the Gentleman just wouldn’t listen. It was rare that he actually took Yan Qing’s advice this time.

Yan Qing returned to Liangshan and did not go to Song Jiang to ask for the secret letter. Instead, he went straight to the residence of the Great Saber, Guan Sheng.

Yan Qing knew in his heart that if Lu Junyi clashed with Lin Chong, Wu Song, and others at the South Mountain Inn because of the capture of Zhang Yue, the only one on Liangshan who could help Lu Junyi would be the Great Saber, Guan Sheng, the leader of the faction that supported the imperial pardon.

Yan Qing entered Guan Sheng’s residence and directly concealed the matter of the secret letter. He only said that the spies at the South Mountain Inn had reported that Zhang Yue, who killed Gao Qiu, was currently at the South Mountain Inn.

Guan Sheng, upon hearing this, immediately put on his armor, grabbed his Qinglong Yanyue Saber, and called for a servant to bring his steed. He headed straight for the South Mountain Inn.

At the same time, Lu Junyi had already arrived at the South Mountain Inn. He ordered his five hundred troops to form a battle formation outside, and he entered the inn alone, armed and armored.

Zhang Yue, Lin Chong, Wu Song, Song Wan, Du Qian, and others were already drunk. Seeing Lu Junyi enter, Lin Chong, holding a wine jar, staggered over and wanted to drink with him.

But Lu Junyi grabbed his wrist with one hand, threw him over his shoulder, and threw him out the door. Before Lin Chong could react, he was pinned down by the soldiers who rushed in and tied up tightly in no time.

Wu Song immediately drew his two sabers, took a step forward, stood in front of Zhang Yue, and protected him, roaring, “Whoever dares to touch my brother Zhang Yue, first get past me, Wu Song!”

Song Wan, Du Qian, and the others did not jump out but silently retreated to the side. Zhu Gui, as if nothing had happened, enthusiastically greeted him, bowing politely, “Gentleman Lu, you have honored our humble establishment. Why didn’t you give us a heads-up? I should have been waiting for you!”

Lu Junyi, with his spear in hand, raised his hand slightly, returning Zhu Gui’s greeting. Then he scanned the room and said in a loud voice, “Lin Chong, for his own personal revenge, colluded with Fang La’s general, Zhang Yue, to kill Grand Marshal Gao and sabotage our Liangshan’s plan for imperial pardon. Fortunately, Brother Gongming saw through his scheme and sent me to capture Zhang Yue. Any brothers who don’t want to get involved, step aside!”

After Lu Junyi finished speaking, Wu Song brandished his two sabers, vowing to fight to the death. Song Wan and the others remained motionless, not revealing their stance.

Zhang Yue picked up the wine jar and finished it off, roaring, “Excellent!” With a clang, he smashed the wine jar to pieces.

He stood up, instantly attracting everyone’s attention. Guo Tong nervously grabbed Zhang Yue’s sleeve. Zhang Yue patted her hand, comforting her, then smiled and bowed to Lu Junyi, “You have an extraordinary bearing. You must be the famous Jade Unicorn of Hebei, Lu Junyi. I am Zhang Yue. I have long heard of your great name. It is truly an honor to meet you today!”

Zhang Yue finished speaking, unable to contain his excitement. He grabbed a wine jar beside him, took a few large gulps, and laughed wildly.

Lu Junyi was shocked, “Zhang Yue! You are the god-sent savior Zhang Yue, known throughout the martial arts world? You killed a high-ranking official of the court. You’re about to die. Why are you laughing?”

“High-ranking official?” Zhang Yue’s voice was tinged with anger.

“Do you know how he persecuted loyal officials? Do you know how he slaughtered the people?”

Zhang Yue remembered Gao Qiu’s evil deeds and was furious. He listed Gao Qiu’s crimes one by one and asked fiercely, “Gentleman Lu, is this the high-ranking official you’re talking about? In my opinion, such a high-ranking official is no different from a pig or a dog. He is more hateful than a bandit. Everyone should kill him!”

Lu Junyi lowered his head in shame. Zhang Yue’s words also awakened the hatred for the court in the hearts of the other Liangshan heroes present. They changed their neutral attitude and began to support Zhang Yue.

They said that they would go to Brother Song Jiang and plead for Zhang Yue to join Liangshan and be given the title of Heavenly Gang General. They would all eat meat, drink wine, and share gold and silver in the Water Margin.

Even more, the Knife Ghost, Cao Zheng, fueled by alcohol, said indignantly, “Which one of us brothers from Erlong Mountain isn’t stronger than others? But our rankings are all behind others. This is too much! Let’s take Brother Zhang back to Erlong Mountain. We’ll make him our leader!”

“You stinking bird, you’re drunk and talking nonsense!” Wu Song scolded Cao Zheng, but his knife did not loosen its grip.

The atmosphere in the inn suddenly became tense. Suddenly, the front door of the inn was smashed open, and more than ten of Lu Junyi’s subordinate leaders rushed in, holding knives.