Chapter 143: Spouting Nonsense

Since Zhou Zhi had already made up his mind to use this story to bluff Zhao Sui, he had naturally prepared his answers in advance. Without a moment’s hesitation, he began.

“My acquaintance with Brother Liu Liu was purely accidental. It happened last year, when my younger brother came down with appendicitis. There was no one who could treat him, and he nearly died.

“Fortunately, just then a traveling woman physician happened to pass through White Peak Village. Her name was Tan Yunxian, and she was a rare and gifted doctor—a true master of her craft.

“Dr. Tan was looking for a remedy to treat horses, and since I happened to know how to cure a horse’s runs, she came to my home. She examined my younger brother, diagnosed his illness at once, and operated on him. She cured him with ease.”

Zhou Zhi had only just reached this point when Ma Qianli suddenly raised a hand to stop him. His face darkened as he asked in a low voice, “Did you just say you can cure a horse’s runs?”

Zhou Zhi paused, then felt a surge of delight. If Ma Qianli was asking, then the bandits’ horses must suffer from the ailment often enough. He nodded firmly. “Of course I can. My family raises government horses. The Chen family of White Peak Village gave them laxatives—though they did so at the urging of that demonic Taoist, Li Shun.

“Hmph! That Taoist Li Shun is a scourge. He swindles people and makes a nuisance of himself, and he’s forever tormenting the common folk. He’s hated by everyone in White Peak Village. He puts on a show of muttering and acting mysterious, as if he has some great powers, but in truth he’s a useless coward who never does a single good thing!”

Li Dayin had already told him that Li Shun was up on the mountain, and that Ma Qianli, the leader of the bandits, hung on his every word. So Zhou Zhi had to steer the conversation toward Li Shun and say a few choice things about him.

Sure enough, Ma Qianli’s expression grew even darker. He glared at Zhou Zhi with his big eyes, his resentment plain.

But Zhou Zhi also noticed that Zhao Sui, standing beside him, seemed to agree wholeheartedly. He gave an unconscious little nod, and a faint, smug smile touched his lips.

Their third brother, Wang Dage, seemed far more interested in Tan Yunxian. He urged Zhou Zhi, “Stop beating around the bush. Tell us about Dr. Tan.”

Zhou Zhi smiled calmly. “That’s all there is to say about Dr. Tan. There’s nothing more to it. Actually… I’m not only able to cure a horse’s runs. I can treat all sorts of ailments in horses.”

He was boasting to stir Ma Qianli’s interest. The bandits must have a good many horses, and horses were bound to fall ill from time to time. From what Ma Qianli had said, it sounded as though they were often troubled by sick horses.

“You’re a frustrating little fellow,” Zhao Sui snapped. “I hear you want to study and take the examination for the licentiate degree, yet you can’t speak without rambling. Get on with it—how did you meet Liu Liu? What good is all this nonsense?”

Zhou Zhi went on. “There’s a reason I mentioned Dr. Tan. If not for her, I might never have met a hero like Brother Liu Liu.

“After my younger brother’s operation, he had to be watched for seven days. During those seven days, Brother Liu Liu suddenly came riding to our home on a swift horse.

“His father had come down with a strange illness, and no one could cure him. Dr. Tan may have traveled through the Baizhou area before; her reputation there was widespread. Brother Liu Liu had come to ask her to treat his father.

“Since my younger brother was still under observation, Dr. Tan couldn’t leave at once. So Brother Liu Liu stayed at our home for five days. We treated him to the best food and drink we could manage.

“I may be no more than a poor farmer, but ever since I was a boy I’ve admired heroes and men of mettle. Brother Liu Liu and I spent those five days together, day and night. He was a generous, hearty man, and he took a great liking to me too.

“It was then that Brother Liu Liu told me about you, Zhao the Madman. He said that since I was his sworn brother, I was yours as well. He told me that if I ever met Zhao Sui, I need only mention Liu Liu, and you would naturally treat me with respect.”

Zhou Zhi’s tale was nothing but fabrication, yet he spun it with such convincing detail that it was all but impossible to find fault with. Even he was impressed by his own skill at spinning yarns. Zhao Sui could hardly help believing him.

Zhao Sui had been on Black Mountain for three years. He knew nothing of what had happened in Willowtree Village, Wen’an County, during that time. But his brotherly bond with Liu Liu had only grown more powerful in his memory, and he could not forget it.

His eyes unfocused, Zhao Sui murmured, “Did Brother Liu Liu really say that? He was right. You’re Brother Liu Liu’s sworn brother, so naturally you’re my sworn brother too. I should treat you with respect.”

“Ha! Is this how Zhao the Madman treats me with respect?” Zhou Zhi said, shifting his body.

He was still bound hand and foot, and his whole body had gone almost numb.

“Quickly, untie my brother Zhou Zhi!” Zhao Sui ordered.

Though he was a licentiate and full of cunning, he was also generous and magnanimous, with the easy, bold manner of a man of the martial world.

Only after giving the order did Zhao Sui realize he might have overstepped. He hurriedly turned to Ma Qianli and said softly, “Brother, for my sake, let him go. We can’t simply believe everything that Taoist says and take an innocent man’s life.”

Ma Qianli was clearly displeased, but he had no choice but to nod. He was a rough man, uneducated, who had seized Black Mountain and become its leader by virtue of his formidable fighting skills. In many matters, he still had to heed the advice of his strategist, Zhao Sui.

With Ma Qianli’s consent, Zhao Sui rose and stepped forward to untie Zhou Zhi himself.

Just then, someone emerged from the inner room. He wore a black Taoist cap and a blue robe, and he gently swayed a horsetail whisk in his hand, affecting an air of ethereal dignity. It was Li Shun.

Li Shun flicked his whisk. “Wait!”

At the sight of him, Zhou Zhi’s bright eyes seemed ready to shoot flames. He glared at him with murderous fury.

Zhao Sui was startled to see him. His face darkened at once; clearly, he had no fondness for Li Shun. It was hardly surprising. Though Li Shun was only a guest on the mountain, his pretentious manner was bound to rub a scholar like Zhao Sui the wrong way.

What was more, Li Shun prided himself on his clever schemes, and Ma Qianli trusted him deeply. He seemed poised to take Zhao Sui’s place, making the strategist resent him all the more. Whenever Zhao Sui saw him, he felt as though he’d swallowed a fly.

Ma Qianli, however, broke into a smile. “Second brother, wait a moment. Let’s hear what the Immortal Master has to say.”

He called Li Shun an Immortal Master too, and Zhou Zhi couldn’t help frowning. Immortal Master? What a joke! He was nothing but a swindler and a villain who would stop at nothing.

Zhao Sui had no choice but to pause. Fixing his eyes on Li Shun, he asked, “What do you have to say?”

Li Shun spoke unhurriedly. “Brothers, I heard every word from the inner room. This boy is talking nonsense, treating the three of you as fools. He claims he knows Liu Liu—but who is Liu Liu? He’s a hero of Baizhou.

“You three may not know this, but the brat is a shameless liar who can make a straight face while telling a barefaced falsehood. He’s saying all this for no other reason than to get you to spare his life.

“Heh! Think about it, brothers. What sort of person is Dr. Tan? Why would she go to his house? Brother Wang Dage knows Dr. Tan. Tell me—would she have anything to do with the likes of him?”

Li Shun knew the three bandit leaders of Black Mountain well. Two years earlier, their third brother, Wang Dage, had been saved by Tan Yunxian, and he had always held her in the highest esteem, never knowing how he might repay her.

It wasn’t enough for Zhou Zhi to claim he knew Liu Liu in order to persuade Zhao Sui to let him go. If he said he had a close connection to Tan Yunxian, Wang Dage would release him on the spot out of regard for her.

So although Li Shun knew perfectly well that Tan Yunxian had gone to White Peak Village and had treated Zhou Shaocheng at Zhou Zhi’s home, he absolutely could not admit it now. The village was seventy or eighty li from here. The bandits had no way of knowing whether Tan Yunxian had ever been there.