Chapter 1: Master, Please Wait for Me!
If you could travel through time once, what attribute would you trade your height for?
This was a message that suddenly popped up on Ren Yuan’s phone while he was slacking off at work, a devoted fan of Water Margin.
At first, he didn’t want to waste his precious break time on such a trivial question.
But somehow, as he was eating breakfast that day, Ren Yuan was struck by a sudden impulse and seriously pondered the question before finally settling on his answer:
Comprehension.
What he didn’t expect was that, after making his choice and clicking confirm, a mysterious black hole suddenly appeared on his phone screen!
A tremendous suction force emanated from the black hole. Ren Yuan felt as if his brain had been struck by a heavy hammer. His vision blurred, and before he could even swallow the steamed bun in his mouth, he lost consciousness.
...
Song Dynasty, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province.
“Have you heard? The sumo wrestler from the back alley choked on a steamed bun the other day—he nearly died.”
“Indeed, he looked quite imposing, but that day his face turned purple.”
“Apparently, after he woke up, he seemed dazed and might never wrestle again.”
“What a shame. Even the great hero Zhou wanted to see him wrestle.”
...
In a modest courtyard, Ren Yuan stood shirtless, dazedly gazing at his muscular reflection in a water jar, listening silently to the gossip outside.
The year was 1108, the second year of the Daguan era, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song. Ren Yuan was now the sumo wrestler of Taiyuan, known as the Pillar of Heaven...
Putting all the information together, Ren Yuan realized exactly where he was.
He had traveled to the Song Dynasty—and not just any Song Dynasty, but the very one depicted in Water Margin!
He had transmigrated into the man sharing his name and surname, the very same Ren Yuan who, in the original story, met his end when Li Kui smashed his skull with a stone slab!
Ren Yuan, the Pillar of Heaven!
He was a typical minor character in Water Margin—a professional sumo wrestler, tall, strong, and with a dignified appearance. Others said he bore the visage of a diamond warrior, his features noble and commanding.
But beyond that, he had no money, no connections—a classic cannon fodder.
That simply wouldn’t do. Having come all this way into the world of Water Margin, he could not just become cannon fodder!
At this moment, Ren Yuan was twenty-two years old, standing about eight feet five or six inches tall. He silently calculated that it was three years until the original story’s Wang instructor was forced to flee to Shijiazhuang.
(For those who complain about no height change because they don’t read the original or the sequel: originally, Ren Yuan was one zhang tall; in this story, he ends up nine chi tall—about one tenth shorter in height, but with vastly improved comprehension. Now you understand.)
It was thirteen years until he was defeated by Yan Qing and killed by Li Kui in the original tale.
And eighteen years until the Jingkang Incident, when the Central Plains were ravaged.
So Ren Yuan still had ample time to carve out a place for himself in the coming chaotic era.
He was unwilling to live this life again and end up unknown and insignificant.
Moreover, he had traded one tenth of his height for extraordinary comprehension!
---
In recent days, using his training tools to test his physical prowess, Ren Yuan found that his comprehension had indeed improved greatly!
Originally, his sumo skills weren’t particularly strong; he mostly relied on his size and strength to overwhelm opponents.
As for technique, his master had long since given up teaching him further because Ren Yuan was too tall and slow, better to rely on brute force.
The unspoken message was: your comprehension is so poor, you’re hopeless; you’ll never learn technique in this lifetime.
But after transmigrating, when Ren Yuan recalled his master’s sumo teachings, he found he could clearly and repeatedly replay the techniques in his mind, analyzing them in slow motion.
Many previously incomprehensible points began to dawn upon him as he continuously worked through them!
Ren Yuan didn’t exaggerate when he thought that if he wrestled his former self now, he could beat him ten times over with technique alone!
This was the power of comprehension!
What delighted Ren Yuan even more was that his body’s strength seemed further unleashed by the transmigration.
The heaviest stone pillar he used for training at home weighed over five hundred jin (about 250 kilograms). His previous self could lift it with one arm but found it strenuous.
Now, he could casually lift the heaviest stone pillar with one hand, toss it up, catch it steadily, and wave it around with ease. After putting it down, his face was not flushed; he neither panted nor showed any sign of exertion.
Such tremendous strength was likely top-tier even in the Water Margin world!
Combined with his extraordinary comprehension, if he could find a capable teacher to guide his martial arts...
Ren Yuan believed it wouldn’t be difficult to become a top-tier fighter in Water Margin!
Moreover, with his familiarity with the original story and history, doing something great in this era was not impossible!
The thought stirred his heart, and with a strong grip, he twisted off a large chunk of the water jar’s edge!
Wait, don’t get ahead of yourself. What’s the next step? Where to go?
There weren’t many famous teachers in Water Margin. In Ren Yuan’s mind, Wang Jin, the general instructor of the eighty thousand imperial guards in the capital, was the first choice.
But the problem was, Wang Jin would only be framed by Gao Qiu and forced to flee to Shijiazhuang three years from now. Should he wait there?
Besides, Shijin was the only heir of Master Shi, and Wang Jin teaching Shijin in Shijiazhuang was natural. Even if Ren Yuan became a guest at Shijiazhuang, Wang Jin might not teach him.
Could he perhaps become an adopted son of Master Shi?
If not Wang Jin, then who could be his teacher?
Ren Yuan pondered deeply until suddenly he thought of someone!
Earlier, someone outside mentioned that Hero Zhou wanted to see his sumo wrestling.
Hero Zhou? Which Hero Zhou?
Ah! Of course! How could he forget!
Ren Yuan slapped his forehead as his mind cleared.
In later storytelling related to Water Margin, there was indeed a Hero Zhou.
---
It was said he had four disciples, all top-tier martial artists in Water Margin!
Iron Arm Zhou Tong! (The official history records him as Zhou Tong, but storytelling often calls him Zhou Tong, so the story uses that name.)
Whether Lu Junyi, Lin Chong, and Shi Wengong were truly his disciples was uncertain, but Yue Fei was definitely his student!
If he could become his disciple... with Ren Yuan’s comprehension, wouldn’t his martial arts soar!
Moreover, he might get to freeload off a famous junior brother! And perhaps a renowned senior brother too!
This deal was too good to pass up!
Without hesitation, Ren Yuan put on a jacket and flung open the gate of his courtyard. As his towering figure appeared, the group chatting outside immediately fell silent.
After all, Ren Yuan was truly imposing, and his stern, commanding appearance was quite intimidating.
“Who just mentioned Hero Zhou?” Ren Yuan asked, looking around.
“I—I did...” a servant boy replied hesitantly, not daring to raise his head, raising a hand slightly.
“Do you know where Hero Zhou is now?” Ren Yuan asked eagerly and rushed forward, gripping the servant’s shoulders like tiger claws.
“Ow, ow, ow...” the servant cried out in pain from Ren Yuan’s strength. Realizing his roughness, Ren Yuan quickly loosened his grip, patted the servant, then reached into his waist and handed him a small silver coin.
“Take this piece of silver, about half a guan. Just tell me where Hero Zhou is!”
Don’t underestimate this half guan—it was quite a sum. Even though Ren Yuan’s sumo skills were formidable, a single match would only earn him about five or six guan.
During Emperor Huizong’s reign, one guan could be exchanged for half a tael of silver, so half a guan was a quarter tael—a significant amount! (Earlier in the Song Dynasty, one guan could be exchanged for one tael of silver, but during Huizong’s time, inflation reduced it to half a tael.)
“If I’m not mistaken, I just heard he went toward the west gate. If you go now, you should catch up with him,” the servant said, now more eager after seeing the money.
“Thank you!” Ren Yuan hurriedly left the servant behind and ran toward the west gate, following the remembered route.
As he ran, he silently called out,
“Master! Please wait for me!”
...