Chapter 41 Desperate Saburo: Willing to Risk Everything for His Brother
Tian Huixing, Shi Xiu, ranked 33rd among the Liangshan heroes and the eighth infantry leader.

Many of the Liangshan heroes have bad tempers and get angry easily. But when it comes to really fighting back, Shi Xiu is second to none.

Sister-in-law Pan Qiaoyun stole a monk, which angered Shi Xiu, so he forced his brother-in-law to use a knife; Shi Qian stole a chicken in Zhujiazhuang, and the waiter spoke harshly to him, which angered Shi Xiu, so he set fire to the shop.

As the saying goes, if I don't offend others, others won't offend me; if others offend me, I will definitely offend them.

How could Shi Xiu, a barefoot man, be afraid of those who wear shoes? They always fight with all their might.

Even though he was alone, he dared to pick up a knife and rob Lu Junyi's execution ground.

In Song and Yuan Dynasty, Gong Kai wrote in "Praise of Song Jiang's Thirty-Six Men": Shi Xiu fought desperately, aiming at gold and treasure, as big as a river fish, and his belly was full of fruit.

When you are extremely hungry, you can even eat something as poisonous as pufferfish to fill your stomach.

Such a person is indeed scary, but if they become brothers, they are very reliable.

For his brothers, he will really fight for his life.

More importantly, he is also a "meticulous person" and a "smart person". He is good at observing people's words and expressions, good at finding problems from the smallest details, and he is thoughtful and careful in his thinking.

Whether it was killing Pei Ruhai with intelligence, verifying Cuiping Mountain, or taking orders to go to Zhujiazhuang to scout the roads and terrain, he always thought carefully and looked three steps ahead.

Later, when he went south to fight Fang La, he, who was originally the leader of the infantry, took the opportunity to inquire about the news across the river. On the basis of finding out the actual situation, he asked Song Jiang for the leader of the navy and warships, and sent a surprise attack on the coast of Jiangyin and Taicang.

Shi Xiu's martial arts are not as good as those of leaders such as Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen and Wu Song, but he is more comprehensive. He can not only attack cities and fight in battles, but also conduct reconnaissance and spying behind enemy lines. He is also upright and has no obvious flaws in his character. He can be said to be a rare leader on Liangshan.

After preparing the banquet, Cao Jie invited Shi Xiu to be the guest.

The good men sitting beside him all looked at this unknown and down-and-out man.

Ruan Xiaoqi could see through the other party's strength at a glance. This was a hero who was at the great stage of refining essence and was on par with him, so naturally he would not underestimate him.

Although Cao Zheng's realm is not high, his loyalty to Cao Jie is beyond doubt. The fact that he was asked so seriously to find this person must mean that this person is extraordinary.

As for Meng Kang, his brother even looked down on Yang Xiong, but only invited this "workaholic" to come, which shows that he must be a hero hiding in the world.

"It is fate that we brothers meet here today. Let us drink from the same bowl together."

Cao Jie picked up the wine bowl and drank it.

People respect me one foot, and I respect others ten feet.

Shi Xiu could tell from the details that the heroes in front of him had nothing to do with the government, so he said with great pride:

"It is I, Shi Xiu, who should offer the toast to all the brothers. I will drink three bowls, and you brothers can drink as you please."

After saying that, he drank three bowls in a row without changing his expression.

Seeing him so generous, Ruan Xiaoqi laughed and said, "Brother Shi Xiu, your alcohol tolerance is really amazing. If you meet Wu Erlang someday, you can have a fight with him."

Shi Xiu grinned and said, "Brother, you are too kind. I may not be able to drink much, but I am very brave. I would drink eighteen bowls even at the cost of my life."

Among all the brothers, Wu Song is the one who can drink the most. The more he drinks, the stronger he becomes. He is also obsessed with exchanging martial arts after drinking, so much so that the three Ruan brothers had to join forces to compete with him in drinking, which was really embarrassing.

"Haha, workaholic, we brothers are drinking, no need to work hard. Wine is the essence of food, but drinking too much will also cause trouble, just enough is enough. Brother, eat some vegetables!"

At Cao Jie's invitation, Shi Xiu ate with relish. He had never eaten and drank so much since he fell into the underworld.

After chewing the elbow, Shi Xiu wiped his greasy hands on his clothes, breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Cao Jie and asked, "Brother, are you the hero of Yinmachuan?"

"How can you tell?"

"In the past month, there has been an endless stream of caravans from Song. They have made a great reputation in Liao. My brother speaks with a Shandong accent, so he must be related to the Song merchant caravan. I heard that Yinmachuan was a den of thieves. But the Yanzong merchant caravan of Song traveled between the north and the south very smoothly. There must be a reason for this."

As expected, he was worthy of being a reconnaissance officer behind enemy lines. Even while collecting and selling firewood in Jizhou City, he could still know what was going on in the Liao Kingdom.

Cao Jie nodded and said, "That's right, this is Meng Kang, the second leader of Yinmachuan."

Meng Kang was good at building large ships, and it would be a waste of talent to leave him in Yinmachuan. The 800-li Liangshan Lake was the right place for him to display his talent, so he followed him south.

Meng Kang bowed and said, "Brother, you just came to Jizhou City this afternoon and asked me if there are any heroes in this city. I said that the sick Guan Suo Yang Xiong is a hero, but brother didn't care too much.

He only said that Ruyunlong Gongsun Sheng was a hero, and asked Brother Cao Zheng to find Brother Shi Xiu. It can be seen that Brother Shi Xiu is also a hero in Brother Cao's heart. "

Shi Xiu was praised so highly that he felt extremely comfortable. He quickly returned the greeting and said, "I have also heard of Ruyunlong Gongsun Sheng. He is a master who has achieved the Tao through the power of the spirit. How can I, Shi Xiu, compare with such a person? Brother Cao thinks too highly of me."

"Everyone in the world says that being an immortal is great, but how many people can achieve the state of being an infant? In the end, they are nothing more than a pile of grass on a desolate grave! We can cultivate our essence and nourish our qi, and live a carefree and happy life. Isn't it better to spend our whole lives meditating and enlightening ourselves in the mountains?"

Cao Jie poured the wine himself and handed a lamb bone to Shi Xiu.

Cao Zheng, who was sitting next to him, cut the meat with a knife and placed the neat and evenly thick pieces on the plate. He interrupted and said:

"Brother, what you said makes sense. Even the Heavenly Masters on Mount Longhu and Mount Wudang have practiced Taoism for a lifetime and have great magical powers. But they still have to obey the orders of the court. They have to do whatever the emperor tells them to do. They are not as free as us brothers!"

Ruan Xiaoqi nodded in agreement: "I have been following Erlang for the past year or so, traveling all over the world. This is the happiest time of my life."

"Seventh Brother, in the future you will travel the world, enforce justice on behalf of heaven, and live a carefree and happy life!"

After saying this, Cao Jie looked at Shi Xiu with a burning gaze and said with a smile, "Mencius said that wealth and honor cannot corrupt, poverty and humbleness cannot move, and power and force cannot bend. This is what a real man is. I see that brother Shi Xiu has a lot of great skills, but he is willing to sell firewood for a living and does not steal. He can be called a real man."

Shi Xiu is a man who has a bottom line in his life and work. He loves to stand up for the weak, hates evil and will never let go of any grievance.

Even if Pan Qiaoyun is killed, she must die clearly.

I would rather starve to death than do petty theft.

Cao Jie's words really touched his heart.

What is Bole?

This is called Bole.

Shi Xiuzhi felt that Brother Cao was his life confidant. He immediately threw away the sheep bones in his hand and bowed down:
"Brother, I, Shi Xiu, don't have any great abilities, but I have a lot of passion and righteousness, and I am willing to risk my life for anything. I am willing to serve you, even if it means anything."

Cao Jie took a few quick steps and helped Shi Xiu up: "We brothers gathered together, firstly to help each other and not be bullied by outsiders; secondly, there is a saying among scholars that goes, if you are poor, you should take care of yourself, and if you are rich, you should help the world.

If we brothers are living well, we should help more brothers to escape from suffering.

I, Cao Jie, will never forget this ambition..."

Shi Xiu's eyes flickered, and he nodded repeatedly, saying, "Brother has lofty ambitions. I, Shi Xiu, was trapped in a sea of ​​suffering. Today, I met you and was able to escape. You are my second parent!"

"Brother, you are too kind. Today I help you out of trouble, and tomorrow you will go help other heroes. If one helps another, sooner or later our brothers will be all over the world, and no one will dare to bully us anymore."

Cao Jie's words sounded like thunder in everyone's ears.

These three sentences moved the hero to tears!
"elder brother!"

Shi Xiu's eyes filled with tears. He picked up the wine jar and said with a choked voice: "Everything is in the wine."

At this moment, Ruan Xiaoqi suddenly frowned and shouted towards the beam: "Where did you come from, you thief, to eavesdrop on our conversation?"

In an instant, a thick black gas gushed out from Ruan Xiaoqi's dantian and covered the beams of the house like an arrow.

The thief was so moved by Cao Jie's words that he leaked his breath and was discovered by Ruan Xiaoqi.

Before he could react, the surging black energy submerged him in an instant.

His eyes suddenly went dark.

Everything around him disappeared in an instant. All he could see was endless darkness. There was no sound at all. It was so dead silent that it made him despair. It was as if he was in the netherworld...

(End of this chapter)