Chapter 159: Convergence of the Constellations (Part VIII)

In Dongchang Prefecture, after Lu Junyi visited and offered a few words of comfort to the several chieftain-commanders who were being treated by the physician, he left. Returning to his command tent, he asked Yan Qing, "How is Gongming doing over there? Can he dispatch some manpower to assist us?"

Yan Qing replied, "The messenger we sent has not yet returned. During our previous reconnaissance, I heard that Dongping Prefecture also boasts a great general named Dong Ping. This man is on good terms with Zhang Qing, and presumably, his martial arts are by no means ordinary either. Perhaps..." Before he could finish his sentence, a figure strode into the tent.

"Military Advisor Zhu," Yan Qing greeted, cupping his fists as he looked at the newcomer.

Zhu Wu nodded in acknowledgment to Yan Qing, then turned his gaze to Lu Junyi, "Brother Gongming and the others have arrived, and they come in glorious victory!"

Lu Junyi looked up at Zhu Wu in surprise, "Is that true?!" Zhu Wu, renowned as the God-Machine Military Advisor, excelled at tactical deployment in frontal military engagements. How could someone so skilled in reading the nuances of situations fail to perceive the current state of affairs? Since he said this, it meant that Song Jiang had indeed already broken through Dongping Prefecture.

Although he knew the outcome would likely be this, now that the moment had truly arrived, he still felt a trace of lingering reluctance. Previously, he might have been indifferent to the position of the stronghold's chieftain, but having fought so many battles together and spent so much time in each other's company, deep bonds had formed. Moreover, as a naturally proud man, there had been a period when he genuinely desired to become the chieftain of Liangshan, just as he had once become the wealthiest private merchant in Daming Prefecture.

Yet now, things had reached this juncture, and he had no choice but to accept reality. "Let's go! Let us welcome the chieftain!"

As the words left his mouth, Lu Junyi suddenly felt a heavy stone lift from his heart, leaving him feeling much more at ease.

Leading his subordinate generals, Lu Junyi went to meet Song Jiang. "Lu Junyi pays his respects to the chieftain!" Lu Junyi bowed deeply to Song Jiang.

Song Jiang hurriedly stepped forward to support Lu Junyi by the arm. "Why is Brother Junyi doing this? We came here this time to assist our brothers, not to flaunt our might!" With a gentle exertion of strength from his hands, he raised Lu Junyi to his feet.

A flicker of astonishment flashed through Lu Junyi's eyes. Just then, he had tested reinforcing his strength with internal Qi, yet he had felt no use of internal Qi from Song Jiang, who had nevertheless lifted him up effortlessly. This proved that the other man's strength surpassed his own!

Song Jiang said, "We can discuss the matter of the stronghold's leadership after we have broken Dongchang Prefecture!" With that, he led the company into the main tent.

Lu Junyi reported, "Everything else in Dongchang Prefecture is manageable, save for Zhang Qing and his secret art of flying stones, which strikes its targets with unfailing accuracy. Several of our brothers went into battle only to be wounded by him one after another. Furthermore, this man is extremely cautious; the moment he gains an advantage, he withdraws his troops without pursuing us deep into our territory, making it difficult to implement various tactical stratagems."

"Does this mean we have no choice but to engage in single combat to capture Zhang Qing?" Song Jiang asked with a furrowed brow.

"Brother need not worry!" exclaimed a man as he stood up. It was none other than Dong Ping, who had just recently pledged his loyalty to Liangshan.

"I am well acquainted with Zhang Qing, and I am fully aware of his flying stone technique. I have my own methods to counter it. However, much like myself, he is a man whose talents have been unappreciated by his superiors, one who desperately yearns to achieve merit and establish a career. If I can defeat and capture him, I hope my brother will show leniency and permit him to surrender!"

Dong Ping spoke, yet his gaze was fixed squarely on Song Jiang. Naturally, he knew of Lu Junyi's formidable reputation, but the man had been here for quite some time and had still failed to take Dongchang Prefecture! In his view, this showed that Lu Junyi's methods were somewhat inferior to Song Jiang's. As for whether it could be that he himself was inferior to Zhang Qing, there was no way he would ever admit to such a thing!

Song Jiang nodded. "Very well. Tomorrow, when Zhang Qing comes out to issue a challenge, we shall look to Brother Dong Ping to achieve this feat!"

On the following day, Zhang Qing came out to issue a challenge as per his usual routine. Despite his successive victories over Liangshan's generals, this was still not enough to satisfy the Prefect of Dongchang. Failing to capture the Liangshan outlaws and failing to smash the Liangshan encampment—in the eyes of those civil officials, these were signs of holding back one's full effort and displaying arrogant conceit.

Wielding his long spear, Zhang Qing glared at the Liangshan encampment. "Which of you will come out today to give this grandfather a proper fight?!"

The camp gates swung open, and a general spurred his steed outward. "Do not be so arrogant, Zhang Qing! See how I defeat you!" With a cry, he urged his horse forward, charging straight at Zhang Qing.

"Double spears... you are Dong Ping!" When Zhang Qing saw his opponent, he was initially somewhat puzzled, but as the man charged swiftly forward and his twin spears moved, he immediately recognized his identity.

"It is I! Back when we used to spar, we never got to fight to our heart's content or decide a clear victor. Today fulfills my long-held wish!" Dong Ping declared, thrusting out both spears simultaneously. He had a fair understanding of Zhang Qing; the man's spearplay could only be described as proficient. Lacking any distinct style of his own, he relied solely on his inner Qi and the flying stone secret art to defeat martial artists of upper-middle caliber. Yet, if he were truly to encounter a top-tier martial artist, his spear techniques would either be directly shattered, or his secret arts would fail to take effect.

Having previously suffered losses from those flying stones himself, Dong Ping had intentionally cultivated a specific skill to counter them!

Seeing that Dong Ping completely disregarded their past friendship, Zhang Qing felt a surge of anger. He brandished his spear to parry, secretly plotting to teach Dong Ping a lesson—for instance, striking him right between the eyebrows to make him smart in pain for a good while!

In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged dozens of blows. Gradually finding it difficult to parry, Zhang Qing seized the opportunity of their horses crossing paths to fling a stone at Dong Ping.

"I've been waiting for you!" Dong Ping laughed heartily, flicking his long spear to deflect the stone harmlessly to the side. This stone was no ordinary missile; it required a full month of refinement using Zhang Qing's own inner Qi before it could be used. According to Zhang Qing's past claims, if one could acquire supreme-quality jade to refine the stones for three years, one could achieve true one-hundred-percent accuracy.

However, Dong Ping flatly refused to believe it. If one could genuinely achieve absolute accuracy, why would anyone bother practicing spear techniques? One could simply stay tucked away at home for three years, and upon stepping out, be the greatest warrior under heaven!

Zhang Qing felt a slight pang of surprise, but since he had previously used his flying stone technique right in front of Dong Ping, seeing the latter dodge his first missile only startled him momentarily. After all, his flying stones were not limited to just one!

Two more stones whistled through the air, launched respectively as he wheeled his horse around and thrust his spear.

"Hmph!" Dong Ping crossed his twin spears, knocking all flying stones out of the air. Simultaneously, his crossed spears locked against Zhang Qing's shaft, and with a clever twist of leverage, he instantly wrenched the long spear right out of Zhang Qing's grasp.

"Oh no, save the General!" Seeing this predicament, Zhang Qing's deputy commander immediately ordered a charge.

Seeing the situation unfold, the Liangshan side broke into enthusiastic cheers and applause. At Song Jiang's command, a host of generals led their fully prepared troops rushing out of the camp, surging forward to meet the government forces. Qin Ming and the others took the lead, charging directly toward Zhang Qing. They had suffered quite enough humiliation from Zhang Qing earlier; even though Song Jiang had agreed to capture Zhang Qing alive, that didn't prevent them from teaching this fellow a sound thrashing first!

Watching the surging Liangshan forces approach, Dong Ping held one spear leveled at Zhang Qing's throat while pointing the other toward the advancing Liangshan troops. "Elder brothers, breaking the city takes precedence!"

Prompted by Dong Ping's words, Qin Ming and the others had no choice but to redirect their charge toward the city gates. Unable to withstand the onslaught, the imperial garrison was swept aside, allowing Liangshan to capture the gates in the ensuing momentum. Dongchang Prefecture had fallen.

Escorting the captive Zhang Qing, Dong Ping entered the main Liangshan camp and brought him before Song Jiang and Lu Junyi.

"My two brothers, I have successfully fulfilled my mission without disgrace!" Dong Ping stood to one side, signaling for Zhang Qing to kneel.

Zhang Qing cast a cold glare at Dong Ping before turning his eyes to Song Jiang and Lu Junyi. "I have heard that the heroes of Liangshan are largely men of supreme martial prowess. Today, though I am defeated, I was defeated at the hands of an old friend. If you wish for me to surrender, a Liangshan commander must defeat me in fair, open combat!"

Dong Ping desperately wished to slap some sense into him. Just what time was it, and the man still dared to be this arrogant? Did he truly believe Song Jiang and his companions wouldn't shed blood?

Ignoring Dong Ping's murderous glare entirely, Zhang Qing glanced briefly at Song Jiang before turning his attention back to Lu Junyi. "I have long since heard of the fame of Hebei's Jade Qilin. Since Your Excellency has shaken Hebei with your mastery of spear and staff, if you can defeat me and convince me of your superiority, I will gladly submit!"

Song Jiang looked at Lu Junyi and suggested, "Why doesn't Brother Junyi personally give Brother Zhang Qing some guidance?" He was well aware of Lu Junyi's extraordinary skills; after Lu Junyi joined the mountain, he had sparred with Lin Chong, and strictly in terms of spearplay, the two were evenly matched, though Lin Chong possessed slightly more profound inner Qi. At present, Lu Junyi's strength was continuously growing; while he might not necessarily surpass Lin Chong, dealing with Zhang Qing would be more than enough!

After having his bonds untied, Zhang Qing stepped forward, and the two began their duel amidst a ring of watching Liangshan chieftains.

Knowing of Lu Junyi's brilliant mastery of the spear, Zhang Qing naturally did not intend to rely solely on spearplay to win. His trump card, as always, was his elusive and unpredictable flying stone secret art!

Yet, within the span of a single crossing of horses, his hair-tie was flicked away by the tip of Lu Junyi's spear. At that very instant, the hand he had thrust into his tunic had not even had time to withdraw.

"Splendid—!" A roar of cheers erupted from the onlookers. As to whom this applause was meant for, it went without saying.

A flush of crimson spread across Zhang Qing's face. He vaulted down from his horse and dropped to his knees before Lu Junyi. "Zhang Qing admits defeat and is willing to surrender to Liangshan!"