Chapter 118: Three bowls of rice, the tiger is panicking

Jingdongxi Road, Dongping Prefecture, governed Xucheng, Yanggu, Zhongdu, Shouzhang, Dong'e, Pingyin, and Qinghe counties.

In fact, Liangshan belongs to Shouzhang County.

The former Yunzhou, now Dongping Prefecture, and the neighboring Jeju divide the 800-li Liangshan Lake into two.

After receiving the letter urgently delivered by Wu Song, Cao Jie ordered his men to rush to Dongping Prefecture.

The small military commander of Qingzhou is gone, that's it.

Qingzhou has already been taken away. If Wu Song is not here to gain military merits, then Hua Rong will do it!
This general of Dongping Prefecture is truly a pie in the sky!

Cao Jie and his party rushed to Yanggu County, the base of the Xuanyi Army's Dongping Prefecture Heavy Infantry Battalion. The barracks was located on the main road leading to the Yellow River ferry leading to Liaocheng.

Wu Song submitted his identity information to his superior as soon as he took office. After being given three days' leave, he rushed to Yanggu County to meet his superior as agreed in the letter.

He was dissatisfied with the slow pace of his confidants, so he set out alone, taking a shortcut across the mountains.

At noon that day, he was hungry and thirsty. He saw a hotel in front of him with a flag in front of the door with five words written on it: "Three bowls and you're not over the hill."

Wu Song, wearing two swords on his waist and a Fanyang hat, went in and sat down, calling out, "Master, please bring us some wine."

The owner of the restaurant put three bowls, a pair of chopsticks, and a plate of hot food in front of Wu Song, and poured him a full bowl of wine.

Wu Song took up the bowl, drank it all, and shouted, "This wine is really strong! Master, please bring us some food to fill our stomachs."

The innkeeper smiled and said, "It just so happens that we have cooked beef today. Would you like some, sir?"

Wu Song drank the good wine, and when he heard there was beef, he nodded immediately and said, "Cut two or three pounds of good beef to go with the wine."

He thought to himself: My brother will arrive tomorrow, so it’s okay for me to have a drink today.

The shopkeeper went in and cut out two pounds of cooked beef, put it on a large plate, brought it over, and placed it in front of Wu Song, and then poured him a bowl of wine.

Wu Song drank it all in one gulp and praised, "Good wine!"

He sifted out another bowl, and drank exactly three bowls of wine, and never sifted again.

Wu Song licked his lips, knocked on the table and shouted, "Master, why don't you come and filter the wine?"

The innkeeper still smiled and said, "If you want more meat, please add more."

"I want some wine, too, and some more meat."

"Meat can be added, but wine cannot be added."

"Why? Why don't you want to sell me wine? Do you think I don't have money to give?"

Wu Song placed a silver ingot on the table.

The innkeeper pointed at the wine flag and said, "Sir, you see the flag in front of my door, it clearly says 'Three bowls and you can't get over the hill'. Although the wine in my house is village wine, it is stronger than old wine. If a guest comes to my restaurant and drinks three bowls, he will get drunk and can't get over the hill in front of him. That's why it is called 'Three bowls and you can't get over the hill'."

Wu Song burst into laughter and said, "Look, I ate three bowls, how come I'm not drunk?"

The innkeeper explained: "This wine is called 'Fragrant through the Bottle', or 'Pouring Out When You Go Out'. It tastes rich and delicious when you first drink it, but it will pour out when the wind blows."

Wu Song slammed the table and said, "Don't talk nonsense. I didn't owe you any money. Bring me three more bowls."

Seeing that Wu Song stood still and was in deep thought, the innkeeper could only filter three more bowls.

As I ate, I finished eighteen bowls without realizing it!

Finally, he remembered that he still had to see his brother, so he didn't ask for more. He stood up and smiled at the innkeeper, "Do you think I'm drunk?"

After saying this, he walked up the hill. The innkeeper was horrified and rushed out, shouting, "Where are you, hero?"

Wu Song stopped and asked, "What do you want me to do? I won't owe you any money for the wine."

"My dear, I mean well. Please come back and read the lawsuit notice."

Wu Song's eyes were slightly tipsy: "What's the list?"

"There is a white-browed tiger on Jingyang Ridge ahead. It comes out to hurt people when it gets dark. It has killed more than 30 men. The officials are now banning hunters and trappers. Catch and punish them.

There were notices on both sides of the Gangzi intersection, instructing travelers to form groups and cross the Gangzi at the three hours of Si, Wu and Wei, and not to cross the Gangzi at the other six hours of Yin, Mao, Shen, You, Xu and Hai.

Moreover, single guests are not allowed to cross the hill in the daytime. They must wait for a group to cross. It is the late afternoon and early evening. I see you leave without asking anyone. You are throwing your life away in vain. Why don't you stay here with me and wait until tomorrow to slowly gather thirty or twenty people to cross the hill together."

Wu Song laughed and said, "I am from Qinghe County. I have walked along Jingyang Ridge at least 10 or 20 times. How could there be a big beast? Don't scare me with such nonsense! Even if there is a big beast, I am not afraid."

"I am saving you with good intentions. If you don't believe me, come in and read the lawsuit notice."

Wu Song turned and strode away, waving his hands and saying, "Even if there really is a tiger, I, Wu Song, am not afraid. You let me rest at home, are you trying to steal my wealth or kill me in the middle of the night, and you're using birds and insects to scare me?"

The innkeeper said helplessly, "Look at what you said. I was kind-hearted, but you said I wanted to harm you. Forget it, if you don't believe me, you will suffer when you encounter a big beast."

"Oh, I don't mean I'll see my brother tomorrow. Even if there really is a vicious tiger, how many punches can it take from me?"

Wu Song, with his sword slung over his waist, strode across Jingyang Ridge.

After walking about four or five miles, they came to the foot of a hill and saw a big tree. They had scraped off its bark, revealing a white patch with two lines of words written on it.

As expected, it was written on it: [Recently, a giant tiger has injured people on Jingyang Ridge. However, merchants passing by can form a group and cross the ridge at the three hours of Si, Wu, and Wei. Please do not make mistakes.]

Wu Song ignored it.

The red sun sets down the mountain side by side with dismay.

Wu Song, in high spirits, walked halfway and finally saw a dilapidated mountain temple.

When I walked to the front of the temple, I saw a seal and notice pasted on the temple door.

Wu Song stopped and read. It said: [Yanggu County Notice: There is a new big beast on Jingyang Hill. It has been killing people recently…]

After reading the seal, Wu Song laughed and said, "There really is a tiger. Why don't we kill it and use its skin to make a blanket for my brother? Winter is coming in two months!"

Before he knew it, he was drunk. Eighteen bowls of wine were still a bit too much, so he bared his chest and staggered straight into the woods.

Seeing a large, shiny bluestone, he put the two knives aside, turned over, and was about to fall asleep when a strong wind blew.

Look at the wind, and see:

It penetrates people's hearts invisible and intangible, and can blow all things into bloom in all four seasons.

Pick up the yellow leaves from the tree, and go into the mountain to push out the white clouds.

It turns out that all clouds in the world come from dragons, and all winds come from tigers.

When the wind blew by, there was a sound of fluttering behind the trees, and a huge white-browed tiger with hanging eyes jumped out.

When Wu Song saw this, he immediately climbed down from the bluestone and took the two knives. Suddenly, he thought that using the knives would hurt his skin and fur, which would not be good.

So he put down his sword, raised his fist, his tiger eyes were full of excitement and revealed a murderous intent.

The big tiger was hungry and thirsty. It pressed its two claws on the ground and was about to jump up, but its eyes met Wu Song's.

He couldn't help but shudder suddenly, his heart beating uncontrollably, he was extremely panicked!
(End of this chapter)