Chapter 10: Three Arrows to Secure Liangshan (Part Two)
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Wang Lun would never dare stop. The moment he saw Ren Yuan ride out with a bow in hand, he ran even faster.
As he fled, he kept his body as low as possible.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that coming down so rashly to confront these men had been a mistake.
It was only a matter of handing over one mountain stronghold. They had already said they would pay for it, so why not simply give it to them?
The instant Wang Lun fled, the Liangshan formation fell into disorder. If the commander ran first, how could the soldiers below possibly remain steady?
The entire scene descended into even greater chaos.
“Brother, shall we pursue him?” Yuan Lang asked Ren Yuan.
“Pursue him? There’s no need.”
At that moment, Ren Yuan was utterly domineering. Holding the iron-staved bow in one hand, he reached into his quiver with the other and drew out a wolf-fang arrow.
“All men of Liangshan, stand where you are!”
Ren Yuan’s shout was like a thunderclap exploding across the open ground, leaving everyone’s eardrums aching.
“Go!”
At the same time, he loosed an arrow with tremendous force.
Whoosh!
The wolf-fang arrow tore through the air with a shrill whistle and slammed into the shaft of Liangshan’s great banner. Its enormous power nearly knocked the minor officer carrying the flag to the ground.
Crack!
But that was not the end of it. Under the terrified gaze of the flag bearer, the place where the arrow had struck suddenly split apart, and the upper half of the banner pole toppled to the ground.
The first arrow: one shot to sever the banner!
It was said that killing a general and seizing the enemy’s standard was the best way to shatter an army’s morale. Ren Yuan had barely begun to act, yet with a single arrow he had severed the banner, bringing the entire Liangshan force to a halt.
“Wang Lun, where do you think you’re going?”
The instant the formation stopped, Wang Lun’s figure became even more exposed. Without a word, Ren Yuan drew a second arrow to its full length and fired straight at him.
Thwack!
This time, the arrow struck the rump of the wretched horse beneath Wang Lun.
The immense impact and pain made the poor animal rear up in agony, flinging Wang Lun to the ground. After staggering forward only three or four steps, the horse collapsed with a heavy thud.
The second arrow: one shot to kill the horse!
“Don’t—don’t kill me! Ren Yuan! Ren Yuan! Liangshan is yours! It’s yours!”
Wang Lun had fallen from the horse with his clothes and hair in disarray, his face covered in mud and grass. Where was the slightest trace of his former arrogance now?
But when he saw that Ren Yuan had already drawn a third arrow, he could only drop to his knees and beg for mercy if he wanted to live.
“I gave you a chance, but you failed to cherish it. Don’t blame me.”
Ren Yuan’s hands did not pause. He had never held much regard for a narrow-minded man like Wang Lun. Better to finish him off.
Whoosh!
The third arrow shot through the air. Wang Lun had barely completed half a kowtow when he saw the wolf-fang arrow hurtling toward him. Its head spiraled through the air, growing larger and larger before his eyes.
“My life is over!”
The third arrow: one shot to claim a life!
Wang Lun was so terrified that he froze in place. In truth, he could not have dodged it anyway. Before taking to the outlaw life, he had been nothing more than a scholar.
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But in the very next instant, Wang Lun suddenly felt someone crash into him, knocking him aside.
Thwack!
“Ungh…”
The sound of a long arrow piercing flesh and a muffled groan rang out almost simultaneously.
“I—I’m not dead?”
Wang Lun opened his eyes and ran his hands over his body, discovering that he had not been injured.
He knew Ren Yuan had shown no mercy. That arrow had been more than enough to take his life. So why was he still alive?
When he looked up, a familiar figure stood before him.
Du Qian—the obscure, unremarkable man who had gone up the mountain alongside Wang Lun—was now kneeling where Wang Lun had stood moments before. One arm hung limply at his side, a long arrow embedded in it. The arrowhead had pierced straight through his flesh, and blood was pouring out without end.
Du Qian pressed hard against the wound with his remaining hand. He neither spoke nor pulled out the arrow. He merely looked at Ren Yuan.
“For him, was it worth it?”
Ren Yuan and the others advanced, while more than a hundred men behind them closed in and took control of the situation.
The other Liangshan bandits had mostly knelt and surrendered.
Yet faced with a man like Du Qian, who had risked his life to save another, none of them knew what to say.
“After all, we came up the mountain together and have been brothers for quite some time. I couldn’t just stand by and watch him die.”
Du Qian clamped down on his wound, enduring the pain as he looked at Ren Yuan and forced a grin.
“I’d long heard of the fame of the Sky-Pillar Fist. I never expected your archery to be just as formidable. Taking this arrow from you was worth it.”
“Bandage him.”
Ren Yuan glanced at Du Qian’s arm and motioned for several retainers to dress the wound and stop the bleeding.
His wolf-fang arrows possessed tremendous force. If the injury was not treated quickly, Du Qian would lose the use of that arm.
“I’d long heard that Liangshan had two leaders: the White-Robed Scholar, narrow-minded and jealous of the capable, and the other, Touches-the-Sky, who valued loyalty above all. Now that I’ve seen it for myself, the rumors are true.”
Yuan Lang cast Wang Lun a disdainful glance before cupping his hands toward Du Qian.
It was obvious that Du Qian’s martial skills were only ordinary, but an act of self-sacrifice like this placed him above the vast majority of men.
“You flatter me, brother. I merely followed my heart.”
Du Qian spoke through the pain as he accepted the bandaging.
“If Wang Lun were like you, today’s situation would never have come to this.”
Ren Yuan’s gaze passed over Du Qian and settled on Wang Lun, who had been reduced to a stunned wreck.
“Wang Lun, now—will you yield the stronghold or not?”
“I will, I will! From this day forward, Brother Ren Yuan is the great leader of Liangshan! I’m willing to serve as your vanguard!”
Wang Lun hurriedly kowtowed, terrified that Ren Yuan might shoot him again.
“Bah! A coward who abandoned the battlefield dares call himself one of us? Brother sparing your life is already more mercy than you deserve!”
Zhu Fu pointed at Wang Lun and cursed him loudly. Wang Lun had spent the entire battle hiding among the crowd, throwing everything into chaos. If their own brother had not possessed such powerful martial skill and taken control of the situation, there would surely have been bloodshed and death that day.
“Yes, yes, of course. I cannot compare with any of you heroes. Please treat me like a fart and let me go!”
Deep down, Wang Lun was still unwilling to submit, but outwardly he wore an obsequious expression and continued begging for mercy.
“Brother Du Qian, why did you save this coward? He’s nothing but a spineless wretch!”
Song Wan truly lived up to his role as Du Qian’s partner in the original tale. He was the one bandaging Du Qian now, and the two seemed to have taken to each other at once.
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“After all, he called me brother for so long. There’s some affection between us. I couldn’t stand by and watch him die.”
At that moment, Wang Lun once again slammed his head against the ground, begging repeatedly for his life.
“When we came here, Master Chai and I agreed that if you showed a proper attitude and willingly yielded the stronghold, I could still give you money, and Master Chai would provide you with further support.”
“But you not only refused to yield, you wanted to fight. Now that you’ve lost, you want to run? Do you think things can be that easy?”
Ren Yuan shook his head. No wonder Wang Lun had been killed by Lin Chong in the original story. The man truly was hopeless.
“But for the sake of Brother Du Qian, who risked his life to save you, you may leave.”
Even so, Ren Yuan gave Wang Lun a chance to live—not for any other reason than Du Qian’s selfless act.
“You—you’re not going to kill me?”
Wang Lun stopped kowtowing and stared at him in disbelief.
“My brother says you won’t be killed, so you won’t be killed. Now get lost!”
Zhu Gui and Song Wan helped Du Qian to his feet. His complexion was pale, and the injury was serious. Their brother’s arrow had struck with tremendous force, though fortunately it had not damaged the bone.
“Then may I take some men with me?”
Whenever Wang Lun saw an opportunity to gain an advantage, he would never let it pass.
“Are you pushing your luck?”
Yuan Lang’s face darkened. He stepped forward, ready to finish Wang Lun off, but Ren Yuan stopped him.
“Let him take them. Those who are not of one mind with us have no place at Liangshan.”
Ren Yuan’s reasoning was simple. Anyone willing to follow Wang Lun was probably useless deadweight. Once those men left, the atmosphere on Liangshan would only improve.
“Hmph. You have half an hour. Get out!”
At Yuan Lang’s words, he kicked Wang Lun to the ground.
“I’m leaving! I’m leaving right now!”
Wang Lun cried out in pain as he fell. He hurriedly struggled to his feet and departed. He had to gather his trusted followers and leave this place as quickly as possible.
As he turned away, a vicious glint flashed through his eyes. But because he kept his head lowered and his hair hung loose around his face, no one noticed.
Even if they had, no one would have cared. By the time Wang Lun possessed the strength to seek revenge, Liangshan would already have become a colossal power.
“Wang Lun is leaving. What about you? Will you stay?”
Ren Yuan looked at Du Qian, who was still receiving treatment, and extended an offer.
“Brother Ren Yuan is willing to take me in?”
“From this day forward, everyone who joins my Liangshan will be a brother united with us in loyalty. There will be no scum or villains among us. Brother Du Qian, your loyalty is beyond question, and I welcome you wholeheartedly.”
“Du Qian pays his respects to you, Brother! From this day onward, I am at your command and shall never harbor a second thought!”
Ignoring his injury, Du Qian immediately bowed before him. Ren Yuan raised him with one hand, then looked toward the Liangshan men still kneeling before him and shouted:
“Those willing to follow me, your past offenses are forgiven! Those unwilling to follow may leave now!”
“Every man who leaves will receive three strings of cash for travel expenses. From this day forward, you will have no further connection with Liangshan. If you ever use Liangshan’s name to commit some vile deed, I, Ren Yuan, will hunt you down and kill you no matter how far away you are!”
“Do you understand?”
The several hundred men present all nodded. None dared challenge Ren Yuan’s fearsome authority.
Three arrows to subdue Liangshan—Ren Yuan had done it!