Water Margin: Did we kill Zheng Tu today?

Chapter 40: Who are the heroes of this world?

At that moment, a sudden change occurred!

Zheng Tu was crouching low, almost touching the giant tiger.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind the tiger.

The crouching tiger with its glaring eyes and white forehead trembled slightly, and the tiger skin rippled more violently, showing signs of awakening!

Zheng Tu's heart tightened, and he thought to himself, "This is bad! If it opens its eyes, I'll have no chance left!"

Without hesitation, he exerted force with his feet and leaped up.

He leaped high into the air, gripping the iron-tipped knife tightly in both hands. Using the momentum of his descent, he thrust it straight at the tiger's neck, like an eagle pouncing on a rabbit!

The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning!

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a man eight feet tall suddenly sprang up from behind the corpse of the giant tiger!

The moonlight shone on the man's face, revealing his sword-like eyebrows and fierce eyes, a dignified appearance. Who else could it be but Wu Song?

This sudden turn of events left Zheng Tu momentarily stunned.

While the man was in mid-air, he had already exerted his strength and could not stop in time. The tip of the knife was about to pierce the man's chest!

In a moment of crisis, he twisted his wrist sharply, deflecting the blade three inches and plunging it into the mud beside the man.

He lost his balance due to excessive force, fell to the ground, rolled twice, and looked quite disheveled.

The two looked at each other, both utterly astonished.

"Brother Zheng?!"

"Takejiro?!"

Two exclamations rang out almost simultaneously.

Wu Song was utterly astonished, his tiger-like eyes wide open. He clearly hadn't expected Zheng Tu to appear here, much less that he would lunge at him with a knife.

He rushed forward, helped Zheng Tu up, and asked repeatedly, "Brother Zheng, what are you doing? Are you alright?"

Zheng Tu scrambled to his feet, not even bothering to brush the dust off himself, and looked Wu Song up and down. Seeing that he was completely unharmed, he was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Wu Erlang! You...you're alright?!"

Wu Song was even more puzzled: "What could possibly be wrong with me?"

At the same time, he looked Zheng Tu up and down, noticing that his clothes were disheveled, his outer robe was draped askew, he had shoes but no socks, and his hair was messy, looking like he had rushed about in a hurry. He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Brother Zheng, you...you weren't drunk in the inn? Before I left, I told the owner to take good care of you. Why did he let you out? Could it be that it's a dishonest inn?"

At this point, he couldn't help but frown.

Zheng Tu finally calmed down, let out a long breath, and laughed, "Second Brother, don't blame the innkeeper! I sobered up and heard the innkeeper say that there's a big tiger causing trouble on Jingyang Ridge, and it has already killed twenty or thirty people. He also said that you were very drunk and went up the ridge alone."

I was worried about you, afraid something might have happened to you, so I rushed over! I thought that even though my martial arts skills are lacking, having more people means more protection, and even if we encounter that beast, we can at least fight alongside you!

Although he had the thought of giving up halfway through, such a trivial matter was not worth mentioning to outsiders.

These words were sincere and earnest, and Zheng Tu's disheveled appearance and hurried manner further convinced Wu Song, who immediately felt more favorably toward this Brother Zheng.

He secretly praised, "This Brother Zheng is truly a man of integrity and loyalty! We met by chance, and our acquaintance was built over a single drink, yet he risked his life to find me. Such courage and loyalty are indeed worthy of our friendship!"

Thinking of this, a surge of warmth welled up in his chest, and he laughed heartily, "Brother Zheng is truly a man of character! It's Wu Er who's so impetuous, causing his elder brother to worry!"

Their conversation had become much closer, with a more genuine tone, unlike the polite formalities they had when drinking together earlier.

After a detailed conversation, Zheng Tu finally understood the truth:

It turns out that although Wu Song fell into a deep sleep on the big blue stone, the tiger always roared before it pounced on its prey, stirring up a foul stench.

The roar and the stench jolted Wu Song awake from his drunken dream. The tiger lunged at him, but Wu Song seized the opportunity to subdue it, and a fierce battle ensued, shaking the earth.

Wu Song laughed and said to Zheng Tu, "Brother Zheng, you don't know this, but Wu Er has a strange quirk: without wine, he's powerless; with a little wine, he's powerful; with five parts wine, he's powerful; and if I drink ten parts wine, I don't know where my strength comes from. Today, when fighting this tiger with its glaring eyes and white forehead, Wu Er happened to be completely drunk, so he was both strong and powerful! That tiger was killed in just a few punches and kicks!"

After saying that, he patted the tiger's corpse. "After the fight, the effects of the alcohol hit me again, and I was so tired that Wu Er simply leaned against the dead tiger and took another nap."

In reality, Wu Song had exhausted all his strength fighting the tiger, and his limbs were so weak that he couldn't move. He was just putting on a brave face in front of Zheng Tu.

Zheng Tu examined the large insect's corpse on the ground closely and found that it was indeed bleeding from all seven orifices—its eyes, mouth, nose, and ears were filled with blood.

The bloodstains all over the ground turned out to be from this beast's own house!

Zheng Tu was astonished: "So this tiger wasn't lying down after eating its fill, but was completely dead! Wu Song's martial prowess is truly beyond the reach of ordinary people! Even a god descended to earth couldn't match him..."

After chatting for a while, the two looked at the sky and decided to go down the mountain.

The tiger's carcass weighed over several hundred pounds, and the two men were too exhausted to drag it, so they decided to ask the villagers to carry it again the next day.

Wu Song retrieved his felt hat and put it on, then, together with Zheng Tu, they slowly made their way down the hill.

It was late at night, and everything around was shrouded in a hazy mist.

The two had walked less than half a mile when they suddenly saw shadowy figures in the withered grass ahead.

With a whoosh, two more large worms emerged!

These two large insects had mottled fur, just like the one from before, only smaller. They bared their teeth and claws, revealing their ferocious nature!

Wu Song's eyes narrowed, and he thought to himself, "This is bad! Could it be that beast's henchman coming for revenge?"

Although he had exhausted himself fighting the tiger, he mustered his strength and was about to go forward to fight.

Zheng Tu, however, remembered clearly that there was only one real tiger on Jingyang Ridge, and the two in front of him were most likely hunters from the nearby area in disguise, who came to scout for the tiger's whereabouts.

Although he knew this, Wu Song was unaware of the truth.

Seeing Wu Song's serious and prepared demeanor, Zheng Tu's mind raced: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; I must make a good acquaintance with this Wu Erlang!"

He darted forward, brandishing his weapon, and shielded Wu Song behind him, whispering:

"Erlang, be careful! Although you are brave, you are probably still recovering from fighting the tiger. Now there are two more. You can't fight them all with just your bare hands. Let me go forward first and deal with these two beasts to wear them down! Then we can make a plan!"

At this moment, Zheng Tu stood up straight, righteous and fearless, showing no fear of death whatsoever.

With the ferocious beast in front of him, he showed no intention of retreating. Instead, he took a step forward against the wind, his broad shoulders and back like a deep eave, heavily and steadily covering everything behind him in his shadow.

Even if he were the reincarnation of Liu Bei, the Emperor Zhaolie of Han, who lost his kingdom for his brothers and whose virtue was "illustrious and whose will was valiant," he would probably be no different now!

Who in this world is a hero?

Only Zheng Tu was the one who controlled Guanzhong!