Moma Liangshan

Chapter 45 Murder and Arson, Planning an Escape Route

Wang Xiu was dead, and Sun Mo was seriously wounded, but Lin Chong fought with increasing ferocity. Standing on the rooftop, he shouted, "Lu Qian, you despicable man! I treated you like a brother, yet you have repeatedly framed me. Today, I will take your head!" Lu Qian, wielding his precious sword, stood shoulder to shoulder with Liu Hui, Xie Sheng, and Tian Heng, shouting, "Life and death are preordained, wealth and honor are determined by fate. It's either you or me!" Lin Chong, his eyes blazing with fury, let out a loud shout and leaped down. The four men exchanged glances and surrounded Lin Chong. A brief standoff ensued. Tian Heng attacked Lin Chong's lower body with his hook-and-sickle spear, Xie Sheng thrust his Hundred Flowers Spear straight at Lin Chong's lower back, Lu Qian wielded his "Half-Foot Pine" sword, aiming for Lin Chong's heart, and Liu Hui swung his meteor hammer, smashing it towards Lin Chong's head. Attacks came from all sides; there was no way out. In the nick of time, Lin Chong gripped the carrying pole with both hands, like a boatman punting, and suddenly thrust one end forward, the pole striking Liu Hui squarely in the abdomen. At the same time, Lin Chong raised his left foot, stepping onto the crescent-shaped handle of the hook-and-sickle spear, and using the rebound force of the pole, leaped into the air. The immense force transmitted from the spear caused Tian Heng to lose his grip on the handle, instantly dropping it. Lin Chong, still in mid-air, didn't stop; using the momentum of his descent, he swung the carrying pole in a full circle, slamming it down on Tian Heng's head. The sound of skull shattering was heard, and the sight of brains splattering was visible. Tian Heng was dead!

Tian Heng's tragic death left Lin Chong momentarily stunned. In that brief moment, Lu Qian swung his blade again, aiming for Lin Chong's back. Sensing danger, Lin Chong raised his staff to parry, the carrying pole stopping the blade at the last moment. However, the "half-foot pine" blade was too sharp, easily cutting through hair; the wrist-thick carrying pole was no match for its edge. The blade's speed slowed slightly before continuing its descent. Lin Chong hastily lunged forward, but still couldn't completely evade the blade, leaving a half-foot-long wound. Before his body even hit the ground, his back was already soaked in blood. Gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, Lin Chong immediately took off his robe, wrapped it around the wound, and tied it around his chest. With Lin Chong wounded, Xie Sheng immediately attacked with his spear, aiming straight for his vitals. As the weapons clashed, Lin Chong suddenly dropped his carrying pole, allowing Xie Sheng to attack. Xie Sheng, puzzled by Lin Chong's intentions, panicked, but the attack had already begun and couldn't be reversed instantly. Just as the Hundred Flowers Spear was half a foot away from Lin Chong, Lin Chong calmly reached out and lightly stroked the spear, simultaneously shifting five inches to avoid a vital spot in Xie Sheng's abdomen, the spearhead passing through the air. In the blink of an eye, the Hundred Flowers Spear was already firmly grasped by Lin Chong's left hand and tucked under his arm. At the same time, Lin Chong clenched his right fist and struck Xie Sheng between the eyebrows, instantly shattering his nose and causing blood to flow freely. Xie Sheng staggered back several steps, clutching his head and curling up on the ground. Lin Chong ignored Xie Sheng, slowly turned around, and said, "Lu Qian, did you know this day would come?"

Seeing the situation was dire, Lu Qian immediately dropped his precious sword, knelt down, and cried out, "Instructor Lin, I was forced by Grand Commandant Gao! I had no choice!" Lin Chong, filled with resentment, said, "You fawn over Gao Qiu, what forced you to do?" Lu Qian replied, "You know Grand Commandant Gao's methods. The young master has his eye on your wife; how can he give up until he gets her?" Liu Hui, disgusted by Lu Qian's cowardice, said, "I've long heard of Lin Chong, the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards, for his unparalleled spear skills. Today, I'll have the chance to experience it for myself!" With that, he gathered all his strength and unleashed a final strike. This strike was a complete suicidal attack; Liu Hui abandoned all defense. He leaped forward with one foot, wielding his hammer in one hand as he swung it down. At that moment, Liu Hui's body resembled a giant log, crashing down on Lin Chong, the meteor hammer like an iron lock embedded in the log, adding to its earth-shattering power. Lin Chong shook his head slightly, calmly thrusting his spear into Xie Sheng's chest. Xie Sheng is dead!

While Lin Chong and Xie Sheng were fighting, Lu Qian quietly changed positions and moved to the fireside, laughing wildly and shouting, "Lin Chong, you want my life? Not so easy!" With that, he threw a lit fire grenade. The fuse was extremely short, and Lin Chong dared not catch it head-on, quickly dodging to the side. Seeing Lin Chong's disheveled state, Lu Qian laughed again, saying, "Even if I die today, you will be buried with me!" Before he finished speaking, he threw another fire grenade. As Lin Chong dodged, he saw a wooden box behind Lu Qian, filled with identical fire grenades. Lin Chong looked around, and taking advantage of the gaps in the explosions, grabbed a meteor hammer from the ground and hurled it forcefully, smashing it onto the wooden box containing the fire grenades. The fire grenades fell into the fire, and a series of explosions rang out, the surrounding courtyard walls being torn down by the huge blast waves. Lin Chong hid behind the millstone, waiting for the explosion to subside before emerging. Reaching the fire, he found Lu Qian gone. Looking around, he saw Sun Mo buried alive by the collapsed mud bricks, only one leg visible, already dead. Lin Chong frowned, then heard Lu Qian's voice: "Lin Chong, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!" Following the direction of the voice, Lin Chong saw a charred figure. It turned out that Lu Qian was closest to the explosion, directly thrown ten paces away by the massive blast wave. Lin Chong approached Lu Qian and said, "You reap what you sow!" Lu Qian trembled and said, "If you have the guts, give me a quick death!" Lin Chong sneered, "Don't provoke me. Considering our past service in the same court, I'll let you six rest in peace!" With that, he placed a hand on Lu Qian's throat, gently tightening it. A soft sound followed, and Lu Qian died!

With Lu Qian and his six companions dead, Lin Chong, utterly exhausted, collapsed to the ground, gazing at the dim starry sky. Half an hour later, Lin Chong rose, found tools in the courtyard, dug a large pit at the foot of a nearby mountain, and buried the six men. Lin Chong thought to himself, "This place is remote; the people of Cangzhou should not know of Lu Qian and the others' deaths. But Lu Qian and his men came on Gao Qiu's orders. Even if I can escape for now, I will surely suffer another fate later. Is it truly that no matter how vast the world is, there is no place for me, Lin Chong?" Lin Chong took Lu Qian's precious sword and, swaying unsteadily, arrived at the gate of a manor. With his last ounce of strength, Lin Chong knocked on the door. A moment later, a servant opened the door and found a heavily wounded man lying on the ground. This was none other than Chai Jin's manor. The servants, knowing their master's fondness for heroes, quickly informed the steward. Lin Chong had stayed at Chai Jin's manor for some time. The steward, observing him closely, recognized Lin Chong's identity. He immediately instructed the servants, "This man looks familiar; he's probably been harmed by villains and ended up at our manor. Quickly move him inside and fetch a doctor to treat his wounds." The servants agreed and together carried Lin Chong into a side room. The steward, knowing Lin Chong's friendship with Chai Jin, informed Chai Jin that very night. When Chai Jin arrived, Lin Chong was already unconscious, and a doctor was bandaging his wounds. After a long while, the doctor came outside, and Chai Jin hurriedly asked, "How are his injuries?" The doctor replied, "This man has lost a lot of blood and is extremely weak. Fortunately, although the wound is deep, it hasn't damaged any internal organs. With two to three months of recuperation, he should be fine."

Two days later, Lin Chong awoke and looked around, asking, "Where am I?" The servant who had been tending to him was overjoyed to see him awake and quickly replied, "At Master Chai's manor." Lin Chong asked, "Is Master Chai at the manor?" The servant answered, "Yes!" Lin Chong struggled to his feet and said, "Please, sir, take me to see Master Chai!" The servant helped Lin Chong sit down and said, "Please drink your medicine first, sir. Master Chai instructed that if you wake up, report immediately. He should be on his way by now!" Sure enough, before Lin Chong had even finished half a bowl of medicine, Chai Jin arrived. Lin Chong tried to rise to pay his respects, but Chai Jin stopped him, saying, "We are brothers, no need for such formalities. But, who injured you so badly?" Lin Chong looked to his left and right, then to Chai Jin. Chai Jin understood and said, "Wait outside!" The servant obeyed and went outside. Lin Chong said, "Gao Qiu sent men to kill me. I fought fiercely all night before finally killing the enemy." Chai Jin asked, "Did any escape alive?" Lin Chong replied, "Six in total, none escaped." Chai Jin said, "Where are the bodies? I'll send men to bury them, which will buy some time!" Lin Chong said, "I've already buried the bodies. No one should notice for several days." Chai Jin said, "Gao Qiu sent men to kill you; he must have done it on his own. None of his men survived. It will probably be difficult to detect for at least a month. However, if you don't check on me at the Cangzhou camp for many days, I fear you might attract attention." "I'm suspicious." Lin Chong pondered for a moment, then said, "I'll write a letter to the camp commander of Cangzhou, saying that I have to leave for half a month due to personal matters, but considering it's against the rules, I'm afraid the commander won't allow it, so I've resorted to this tactic—acting first and reporting later, plus twenty taels of silver." Chai Jin pondered for a moment, then said, "Instructor Lin, you've thought this through thoroughly. After half a month, your injuries will be half healed, and we can find another secluded place to recuperate. But isn't twenty taels of silver a bit too little?" Lin Chong said, "Too much silver will only arouse the camp commander's suspicion!" Chai Jin said, "Instructor Lin is right!"

Lin Chong was quite bewildered and asked, "In your opinion, sir, what should I do in the future?" Chai Jin asked, "I wonder what the identity of the men Gao Qiu sent is?" Lin Chong said, "They should be soldiers. Judging from their skills, they are not ordinary soldiers. They are most likely mid- to low-ranking officers. One of them is familiar to me; his rank is Yuhou." Chai Jin said, "An officer has been killed. Regardless of the reason, Gao Qiu can use this as an excuse to sentence you to death. There is probably no hope of exoneration. In that case, you can only find a mountain stronghold as a place to hide." Lin Chong said, "Where do you think would be best, sir?" Chai Jin thought for a long time and said, "Instructor Lin..." "You can go to Liangshan Marsh and seek refuge with the White-Robed Scholar Wang Lun," Lin Chong said. "I have several lives on my hands; will Wang Lun accept me?" Chai Jin replied, "Instructor Lin, you may not know this, but this White-Robed Scholar Wang Lun is Wang Hao's biological father. Seeking refuge with Wang Lun is also seeking refuge with Wang Hao!" Lin Chong said, "When I was exiled to Cangzhou, Young Master Wang already helped me wholeheartedly, protecting my wife and my family. Now that I have lives on my hands, seeking refuge with Liangshan might implicate Young Master Wang." Chai Jin said, "Liangshan is surrounded by eight hundred li of marshland; the government has no power to intervene. Instructor Lin, you can lie low here for a year or two, and wait for things to calm down before making further plans."