Single, riding alone, with a solitary spear, he descended the mountain slowly. The sun was strong, the temperature not low, but the feeling in his heart was like the wind and snow outside the mountain god's temple that year. Losing everything, with nowhere to return, the only change was perhaps that the pain in his heart was no longer as intense and sharp as it had been; it had, like the lingering effects of wine, seeped into every part of his body.

In life, there are always some things that do not fade or get forgotten with the passage of time. They simply settle down in the heart, transforming into something different yet heavier than before. Such pain would burrow like a maggot into every part of the body, tearing one apart from the outside in, then hollowing one out from the inside out. When people begin to get used to it, the whole person has already become empty, leaving only those pains and emptiness combined to fill everything they once possessed.

His wife's bones had long turned cold, and slowly, one day, he might not even remember her voice and smile. The injuries he had suffered would heal, the scars left behind would no longer hurt, and he had long grown accustomed to the marks tattooed on his face. Hatred remained, accompanied by the cowardice in his heart that had nowhere to go. Liangshan had suddenly collapsed, and the wind and snow had descended again, reminding him of the fact that he had nowhere to go. He smiled self-deprecatingly, took a sip of wine from his leather pouch, and led his horse forward in the blazing sun.

In short, he couldn't burden others any longer.

The road down the mountain was narrow and rugged, overgrown with shrubs. This area wasn't a trade route, and even if bandits occupied the mountain, they wouldn't dare rob people on these small paths, which would avoid a lot of trouble. After passing through the valley ahead, there would be a slightly flatter road, with traces of people walking it regularly. In the past few days, the scattered leaders and soldiers from Liangshan had been fleeing wildly in the countryside and mountains within a few hundred miles. He didn't know if the government had set up checkpoints ahead. Thinking of this, he walked more cautiously.

After walking forward for a few miles, he suddenly noticed someone coming from the fork in the road ahead. He stopped, but the people there spotted him first, laughing and waving vigorously.

"Brother!"

The figures on the opposite side were only a few people, but the leader was tall, wearing a gray-blue monk's robe and carrying a zen staff. It was none other than his sworn brother, Lu Zhishen. After the two went up Liangshan, because Lin Chong was an elder who had fought alongside Wang Lun, and Lu Zhishen was the leader of the Erlong Mountain heroes, they hadn't been too close in public, but their brotherly affection was understood by each other. Now, suddenly meeting him, he couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart, and immediately led his horse over. Lu Zhishen patted him on the shoulder.

"I knew that Brother Lin wasn't with Leader Song and them. I've been looking for you everywhere. What about the brothers you were protecting as they went down the mountain?"

"I've already separated from them," Lin Chong replied with a smile. Then he greeted the people next to Lu Zhishen one by one. They were "Golden-Eyed Tiger" Shi En, "Demon King of Chaos" Fan Rui, "Eight-Armed Nezha" Xiang Chong, and a few other familiar minor leaders. Previously, Lu Zhishen had been at Erlong Mountain with Yang Zhi, Wu Song, Cao Zheng, Zhang Qing, Sun Erniang, and other leaders. However, Yang Zhi and Cao Zheng had died in the Battle of Du Long Gang, and Wu Song and Zhang Qing were said to have followed Song Jiang this time. As for Fan Rui and Xiang Chong, they had quarreled with Li Kui a few times over Li Gun's death. It would be boring to go with them this time, so they met Lu Zhishen while fleeing and came together.

Lu Zhishen roughly understood Lin Chong's personality, patted him on the shoulder with a hearty laugh, and invited him to travel together, without saying much else. The group of nine walked for a while, and seeing a simple small eatery at the intersection ahead, and feeling hungry, they went over, tied up a few horses, and looked around the store first after entering.

Although this area was barren in the past, there were still people traveling and doing business. It was not easy to rest in the mountains and fields, so there were always many people gathered in such shops. However, this time the government was suppressing Liangshan, causing many people to hide in towns and cities to watch. When they entered, there were only three customers in the eatery, all of whom seemed to be jianghu (江湖, martial arts world) people. Two men with iron broadswords were eating with their goods. They had a strong bandit aura and fierce eyes, seeming to be experienced in the jianghu, and therefore dared to walk around at this time.

The other customer in the eatery was a woman. She sat at a table on the inside, wearing a red dress, but looking travel-worn, and the dress seemed old. The woman sat there eating coarse rice with a small dish of pickles. Judging from the baggage and sword on her back, she was also a woman who traveled in the jianghu, but she did not have the hedgehog-like hostility of the old-timers. When the group entered, she glanced over here, and then continued to eat with her head down.

Seeing Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen, and others entering, the two men who seemed to be old hands in the jianghu were originally looking at the woman, whispering and commenting, but at this time they showed vigilance and low-key expressions. Lu Zhishen and others naturally did not take them seriously, but the woman's clothes and temperament were a bit peculiar, causing them to take a few more glances.

A woman who travels in the jianghu should not wear such an eye-catching red dress, and although she looked travel-worn, the woman's figure and appearance were still good. A woman like this mixing in the jianghu would probably be ravaged by someone sooner or later. It seemed that the woman was either not deeply involved in the jianghu, and there was some hardship that made her appear in Shandong at this time, or she was visiting relatives and friends, and had no choice but to carry a sword for self-defense. Of course, she wouldn't be a daughter of a wealthy family.

After some consideration, the nine people sat down at two wooden tables and called the waiter over to bring wine and meat.

Lu Zhishen asked about Lin Chong's plans for the future, and Lin Chong shook his head with a wry smile.

"...For now...actually, I don't have any plans. Regarding the Su family of Jiangning, I personally went to his house. In this kind of matter, that person has come to kill me, and I have nothing to say at this point. He probably won't let me go, but these past two days, I've been thinking about the situation on the mountain in the last few days..."

Speaking of the turmoil on Liangshan in the last few days, the scene where 60,000 soldiers collapsed and everyone was powerless, even Lu Zhishen could only drink a bowl of wine and say nothing. Shi En, the "Golden-Eyed Tiger," raised his wine bowl and said, "He won't let us go, are we going to let him go? Brother Lin can go far away from now on, can he really chase after each one of us?"

Lin Chong shook his head with a wry smile, clinked bowls with him, and drank it all in one gulp: "I...I don't want to leave. We are all jianghu people, duels and battles, revenge and seeking vendettas, are mostly open and aboveboard. But this person plots and schemes, and doesn't take people seriously. Look at the final situation on the mountain, people in his eyes are probably like pigs and dogs. He manipulates people's hearts, but doesn't show any humanity, making brothers kill each other and relatives turn against each other. Even if he uses tricks to seek revenge, why go to such lengths..."

Lin Chong paused: "This time, I knew about Brother Song and their affairs, although they didn't call me, and even if they did, I might not have gone. But there is always a reason...Since I went up the mountain, the brothers have treated me well. Lin is virtuous and incompetent, but I don't want to let down the brotherhood. This time...I want to go kill that person. If I succeed, I'll go back to the capital to seek revenge."

As he said this, he smiled. Shi En and others were stunned, but Lu Zhishen understood him and drank a bowl of wine: "This monk will accompany you." Many people on Liangshan knew about Lin Chong's blood feud. The reason why he gathered on Liangshan was that he hoped to one day be able to fight into the capital. But Liangshan had collapsed, and he could only choose to seek revenge himself. But in fact, single-handedly, let alone assassinating Gao Qiu, even trying to assassinate that Ning Liheng here would probably be difficult.

However, speaking of this, Lu Zhishen also laughed and lowered his voice: "Actually, that person's troubles aren't over. Leader Song and them are also doing these things."

"Hmm?"

"Brother Lin doesn't know? A few days ago, Leader Song had people spread the word everywhere, spreading the news of the Liangshan affair...This person is vicious in his schemes, and harms the harmony of nature. He comes to seek revenge, originally killing people would have been fine, but he uses people's hearts as a guide, causing tens of thousands of people to kill each other and turn against each other. Naturally, some people can't stand this kind of thing. Before, when we gathered on Liangshan, some Green Forest heroes might not have wanted to come, but after this incident, they might take action to kill people and eliminate this harm. No matter how this battle goes, that person's troubles will be in the future."

The group ate and drank quickly, talked for a while, and then asked the waiter to pack some wine, meat, and dry food. During this time, the red-skirted woman on the inside ate several bowls of coarse rice and finished the dish of pickles. The two jianghu men outside didn't rush to pay the bill, probably because they were a little afraid of the nine from Liangshan. If they left first, it would be troublesome if the other party followed them from behind. The Liangshan people didn't have such concerns, paid the bill, and left, giving the two men a cold look, meaning "We'll remember you."

Leaving the eatery, they continued to walk along the riverbed of a small river ahead. Shi En expressed his willingness to go with Lu and Lin to assassinate that Ning Liheng. Fan Rui and Xiang Chong hesitated a bit. As they were talking, a figure came chasing after them from the river on a bamboo raft. Looking back, it was the red-skirted woman. She had finished her meal and seemed to be setting off as well.

Lu Zhishen and others were not walking fast, and they didn't pay much attention to the woman, thinking that she would soon go to the front. However, after walking for a while, the raft gradually slowed down, always following behind the group. Everyone was an old hand in the jianghu and knew that something was wrong. After exchanging glances with each other, they went to the grass beach by the river and waited there.

The bamboo raft gradually came over and slowly stopped in front of everyone. The woman on the raft was now wearing a bamboo hat and looking at the group. Shi En said, "This lady, may I ask why you are following us?"

The woman tilted her head, without hesitation, and cupped her fists: "I have some questions I would like to ask you."

"Oh?" The woman was calm and unrestrained, and didn't seem to have much hostility, so everyone had a good impression of her. Shi En said, "What questions do you have, lady, please ask."

"Are you heroes from Liangshan?"

"We are people from Liangshan, but given the current situation, are you here to recognize relatives, or to seek revenge?"

"I'll have to ask to know."

She had spoken frankly before, and everyone had a good impression of her, but as soon as she said this, everyone frowned. Fan Rui said in a deep voice: "Oh, what else do you want to ask?"

"I want to ask, are you really going to seek revenge on that Blood Hand Butcher?" The woman looked at them seriously, "I heard that you Liangshan people went to the Su family and killed hundreds of people in his family, so he came to kill you. You were in the wrong first, but now you want to seek revenge on him. Why is that?"

"...Are you acquainted with that Blood Hand Butcher?"

"It doesn't matter whether I know him or not. I just heard this Brother Lin saying 'Regarding the Su family of Jiangning, I personally went to his house. In this kind of matter, that person has come to kill me, and I have nothing to say at this point,' and thought you might be reasonable people. But later he said that jianghu people are open and aboveboard. Why is it that you killing an entire family is open and aboveboard, but when people come to kill you, it's a vicious method? I don't quite understand, so I wanted to ask a bit clearer."

The woman's words were stern and serious. Everyone looked at each other, and someone sneered: "I thought some important person had come, but it turns out it's just a crazy woman."

"We don't kill women. If you really know that Ning Liheng, get lost sooner."

Shi En cupped his fists and smiled: "Lady, what you're saying is clearly just trying to pick a fight. What if we explain this clearly? What if we don't? We're all in the jianghu, what stupid things are you asking!?"

"I also know it's a stupid thing, and I shouldn't have said it. It would be better to just kill you. But I heard you say that sentence, so I thought, maybe I could ask. If you are truly reasonable people, turn around and leave today, and no longer hold a grudge, I'll let you go. If you're unwilling to say, or can't explain it clearly, of course I will kill you..."

"We've met a crazy woman today!" Everyone was famous in the Green Forest of the North, especially top experts like Lu Zhishen and Lin Chong, who were highly regarded wherever they went. Seeing this woman seriously saying some crazy things, Lu Zhishen glanced at her, turned around, and left. Lin Chong cupped his fists, and the group of nine went towards the road. Shi En and others, who might have been a little moved by this woman, smiled and said: "Lady, don't say such jokes anymore. Come back to mix in the Green Forest after you've seen corpses. We're in a good mood today, but if you had met someone else, you wouldn't have gotten away with it!"

The group turned to leave, and the woman shook her head and got off the raft. After walking a few steps, the two minor leaders at the back stopped. One of them drew his sword and frowned: "You woman really don't know what's good for you, leave quickly, otherwise..." After all, this woman was still decent-looking. Perhaps he had turned back to reason with her with this in mind. However, as the sword pointed at the woman's chest, she still took that step without stopping.

Suddenly, a coldness surged, and a fierce killing aura swept in from behind. The hairs on the back of Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen, and others' necks stood on end in an instant. They turned their heads sharply. In the afternoon sun, the dragonflies on the grass and the fish in the water scattered in fright! On the bank, the woman took a step into the range of the sword's edge. As she took this step, her palms became knives, and she slashed down from top to bottom.

Bang—

It was like the sound of fists smashing a large cowhide drum. The minor leader only stretched out his sword, without any reaction at all. But in the eyes of Lu Zhishen and others, this person's body seemed to float in the air for a moment, and his whole body swelled up. Although they had gone down the mountain, they were still wearing armor. This minor leader was wearing a leather armor inside his outer coat. Under the pair of palm-knives, the countless crisp sounds that suddenly rose were the sound of the ropes on the armor snapping and the wooden pieces turning to powder.

The minor leader's body flew eight or nine meters away on the river beach, fell to the ground, and rolled away. Blood gushed out from his mouth and clothes. His entire chest cavity had probably been shattered.

"The number of people I've killed is probably more than all of you combined." The woman in the red dress paused for a moment, then took another step forward. "So now that I'm killing you, don't be careless anymore."

Her tone was calm, just a simple statement. Lin Chong drew his spear and prepared to rush forward, while the leader closest to the woman wanted to retreat. However, even if it was only a few meters away, it was probably too far at this moment.

"Who are you!?"

At this point, everyone finally asked this question formally. However, what followed was only the suddenly blossoming of blood and a sigh.

"...It's not important anymore."

**************

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