Ning Liheng. Zhu Wu sat on the steps in front of the altar, watching the afternoon sunlight slant in, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air, as he scraped those three words into the dirt with a twig.

"Ning Liheng... Ning Liheng... Has anyone heard this name before..."

It wasn't exactly a question, but after a moment, someone answered anyway: "Never heard of him, but what's important is what we do now."

It was Zhang Shun, who had just come in from outside. Besides Zhu Wu, Zhang Shun, Yan Qing, Lü Fang, Sun Xin, and a few other leaders, there were also dozens of Liangshan bandits, some with minor injuries, some more seriously wounded, in and around the broken temple in these hills.

For Ning Yi, these "nameless" people might not have received much in the way of human rights, but as the most elite part of the Liangshan bandits, they had played a huge role in the fighting and escape. These men were chosen by Liangshan for their experience in the jianghu. They laid false trails to cover their tracks along the way, and only now, after tending to their wounds, could they finally catch their breath. But after this blow, a sense of despondency hung over the entire ruined temple and the surrounding woods.

While Zhu Wu and Zhang Shun spoke, Yan Qing, his body wrapped in bandages and his eyes bloodshot, also entered from outside. Zhu Wu said, "Let's rest for a while, then we'll leave. What else can we do?"

"Leave? After things went so wrong, how can we leave! We don't even know how many of our brothers were captured. Where can we go now!"

The speaker was "Little Wen Hou" Lü Fang, who had suffered minor injuries. He leaned on his halberd to stand up. Zhu Wu glanced at him: "If we don't leave, what else can we do?"

"We can't just ignore the brothers who fell into that villain's hands!"

"But we can't all stay here..."

"I saw Brother Shi Yong surrounded by more than ten men in the chaos. I'm afraid he's gone..." Sun Xin interjected, sounding dejected.

"The Master is just captured. I'm not leaving, I have to go back," Yan Qing said, standing by the door. He was well-liked in Liangshan, and besides, even though Liangshan hadn't formally established its hierarchy, Lu Junyi's second-in-command position was set in stone. Zhang Shun looked at him: "Go? How? We gathered more than two hundred men this time, and now are you saying only forty or so will return? And let Lu the Second get captured? What will people say when we get back to the mountain... We have to rescue him..."

"This isn't Daming Prefecture. We're too far from Liangshan. Everything we do is being predicted by that guy..."

"The Ruan brothers are nearby, right? How far?"

"No, are we calling them over to walk into a trap? They're arriving at Kaifeng in three to five days..."

"Then what can we do, Brother Zhu?"

"...I can't leave. I can only stay here and wait for a chance to save people... But the injured brothers have to go back first, no matter what the mountain decides..." Zhu Wu struggled for a long time before finally stating his position. "If there are fewer of us, it will be easier to move together. But that Ning Liheng... Brother Yan, you were on the ship for a few days. Did you learn anything about him?"

"The foremost talent in Jiangning. You saw him, in his twenties. I only had one encounter with him. I don't know anything. If you hadn't mentioned it later, I wouldn't have known about his feud with Brother Xi..." Yan Qing said in a somber tone. He took a breath and added, "But Brother Zhu is right. Their morale is high right now. If we all stay here, we'll all be caught. I'm not leaving, but I think... everyone should leave first. That Ning Liheng is no simple man. We shouldn't let him wipe us all out."

After he finished speaking, he turned to leave. Lü Fang said, "What are you talking about? What's so complicated about him? We were just outsmarted once. Victory and defeat are common in war. That guy is only in his early twenties. Are we really afraid of him? I, Lü Fang, am not leaving. I'll find a chance to chop him up."

Zhang Shun said, "They're going up the waterway. If we want to delay them, I'll find a way to scuttle their ships."

"Think carefully. Going now would be falling into an ambush," Zhu Wu frowned, thinking.

Zhang Shun looked at him and said, "Brother Zhu, among us, you're the best at strategizing. I'm not good at it. I only know how to do things brute force. We just suffered a setback this time. If you have any ideas, we brothers will always trust you the most."

As he said this, the others nodded. The setback seemed to stem from a single issue. If they were to plan again, they would trust Zhu Wu in the end. Zhu Wu thought for a moment and finally nodded:

"I understand. I thought about it later. That Ning Liheng seems capable, but in reality, he just does a lot of planning ahead. After Brother Yan got on the ship, Ning Liheng only made a sudden attack after his name was mentioned, which means he only suspected Brother Yan before. It's not like he’s all-knowing. Otherwise, if he attacked without saying anything, Brother Yan wouldn't have been able to dodge... Perhaps I'm overthinking it. Very well, we will first determine how the brothers can return to Liangshan, and then... we'll go back and see if we can find a chance to save people."

As he spoke, he stood up. At this moment, sunlight shone through the trees into the temple gate. Yan Qing walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "Thank you." He also nodded. The others began to prepare, wiping their weapons, tightening bandages, or closing their eyes to rest. For them, not sleeping for one night was not a big deal, but the continuous fighting and subsequent escape had exhausted everyone.

On the other hand, in addition to conceiving possibilities of saving people, Zhu Wu had also begun to write letters to be sent to Liangshan, or to some brothers along the way.

This incident might not be without a turning point, but it could not be easily settled. For him, it was a complete failure. Of course, if he could find a glimmer of hope in this desperate situation, he would still have a chance to turn the tide.

On Liangshan, he was not of the appeasement faction. Everything that had happened this time stemmed from this.

Since Chief Song took to the mountain, the trend that Liangshan had always shown was toward appeasement. This was Chief Song's wish, and most people knew that if they could be appeased, it would certainly be a good thing. After all, being a bandit for life did not have much of a future. For a long time, this seemed to be the only way out. The non-appeasement faction vaguely felt about the future, and there was no common ground between them. After Fang La captured Hangzhou, things changed.

For Zhu Wu and others who were used to the bandit life, surrendering to the imperial court was not a very exciting thing. It could only be said that it was the only choice when there were no other options. However, amidst the major changes in the situation in the north and south, everyone finally saw a glimmer of hope. Now, the Wu Dynasty had to suppress Fang La in the south and faced repeated failures in its campaigns against the Liao in the north. It simply could not care about a Liangshan. Even Tian Hu and Wang Qing benefited. In this situation, if they could really rise up and shout the slogan "Are kings and nobles born to rule?" there was hope.

Most of the more than 40,000 people on Liangshan were, after all, short-sighted lackeys. In their minds, since they became bandits, they first thought about the future of being bandits. Chief Song wanted to be appeased, and this idea could not be said openly. When the idea of rebelling became obvious, the entire Liangshan could not sit still. Sending everyone down the mountain this time was to truly establish Liangshan's reputation.

Everyone split into several groups, including breaking into prisons in Jiangning and other places, rescuing those captured under Fang La, and contacting the Fang La faction, which had become scattered again after the fall of Hangzhou. In the final analysis, the goal was to take in the defeated soldiers under his command after Fang La's defeat, and even tell other bandits that Liangshan had a better future, because they had failed, but we rescued their people. As for Zhu Wu's group, the matter of making a name for himself in the end was still to intercept the birthday tribute.

For a long time, Song Jiang, Wu Yong, and others were unwilling to break with the royal family. Even this time when everyone was sent out, they still had the idea of "increasing the bargaining chips for appeasement after Liangshan grows stronger" in their minds. Zhu Wu directly intercepted the birthday tribute. As long as he made a name for himself after succeeding, the appeasement faction would have to suffer in silence and accept this matter with a smile. It could be said to be a brilliant plan to cut off the water under the pot, but in the end, it fell short.

But in any case, although Zhu Wu had been saying that this was not Daming Prefecture, Lu Junyi's capture meant that Liangshan would probably have to mobilize troops. If he could find a way to settle the matter before the main force arrived, he would still be able to find a way out. After all, it was already very good to be able to fight his way out of thousands of people.

This matter would definitely be difficult, but now, he could only take things one step at a time.

As for that Ning Liheng, since there had only been this one encounter, he still had the confidence to turn the tide.

Having thought about the whole thing in his mind, after writing the letter, Yan Qing and others prepared to go back to the dock to investigate the situation. Zhu Wu arranged for everyone near the small temple to quickly evacuate to a new location, and then, along with Yan Qing and Zhang Shun, he returned. The three were all experts. They were only going to investigate the situation, and the possibility of being besieged was not very high.

At the same time, in the twilight of the approaching evening, Ning Yi and Wenren Bu'er were walking on the deck: "Has the news been released?"

Wenren Bu'er nodded, looking at the scenery on the pier: "It's all been released. Now, even the guy selling tea eggs around here knows about the capture of the Liangshan bandits, and that tomorrow they will have their legs broken and be hung on the mast to die in the sun."

Ning Yi looked into the distance at a tea egg stand: "So cruel, will it cause any resistance?"

Wenren Bu'er laughed: "How is that possible, everyone is very happy, and emotions are high. By tomorrow morning, there will probably be many people from the surrounding villages and towns coming to see the excitement... But, Liheng, are you sure this will work?"

"I don't know," Ning Yi was still looking at the scene outside the dock, his eyes reaching even further. "But theoretically, because their second-in-command was captured because of their mistakes, these people can't go back. They can only stay here and follow him until this second-in-command is rescued or confirmed dead, so..."

He paused slightly, then looked at Wenren Bu'er, and smiled as if he wasn't quite sure: "So, no matter which bandit's den... I think it should be like this, right?"