?

  The horseshoes sounded again at the bend of the mountain road, and Zhou Xuan said in a low voice, "Vice President Lin, it's probably San Chi coming again. You'd better not talk too much, I'll handle it."

  Lin Han had heard many rumors about the "Five Lunatics", all of which were eerie and bloody. The most recent one was two years ago, when a general surnamed Qian from Wu Yue State, for some unknown reason, had his head cut off by four of the "Five Lunatics" in his heavily guarded mansion, where he was sleeping with his concubine at the time. The concubine didn't even realize she had slept with a headless man until dawn.

  Lin Han thought to herself: "The fourth idiot is already so formidable, the top three idiots must be even more incredible. Zhou Xuan probably doesn't know martial arts, what if he gets killed? Old Dong is still slow to arrive, otherwise he should still be able to hold on for a while."

  These past few days, both inside and outside the manor have strengthened their vigilance, all for the sake of guarding against this Three Lunatics. Who would have thought that they would actually encounter them here? Although Lin Huanyu is willful, at this moment her heart cannot help but "thump thump" wildly jump.

  A big green horse came running, the man in hemp clothes on the horseback had already taken off his bamboo hat, revealing a proud face, and gave a stiff smile: "It's actually Young Master Zhou, almost missed each other."

  Zhou Xuan laughed and said: "So it's San Chi, brother. You're so mighty! It wasn't a near miss, your horse's hoof almost scraped off a piece of my scalp."

  Three foolish men stopped their horses three zhang away from Zhou Xuan's horse and said, "Zhou Gongzi, I have already figured out the correct solution to that precious puzzle, it is absolutely not wrong."

  Zhou Xuan shrugged and said, "If it's solved, then it's solved. Brother, after so many days, you shouldn't have found it too difficult to solve that clever puzzle, yet you still thought of coming here to retrieve your sword?"

  "How could I? I just wanted to ask if that sword is still with you?"

  Zhou Xuan glanced at San Chi's shoulder, a sword hilt slanting out: "Of course it is, I've been treasuring it. So, brother has found an even better sword, great, then that sword can be considered as your gift to me."

  San Chi said coldly: "The sword I sent out must win back, and I want to bet with you again."

  "Alright, if you want to gamble, you'd better put up a stake that'll get me excited."

  A sly smile spread across the corner of his mouth: "I hadn't thought of a good bet, but now I have. This time we'll make a big wager, I'm just afraid you won't dare to bet."

  "As long as I think it's worth it, there's nothing I'm afraid to gamble on."

  On one side, Lin Hanyun saw San Chi and Zhou Xuan asking and answering questions, seemingly not as ferocious as the legend had it, and chimed in: "What's the big bet?"

  San Ci ignored Lin Huanyu completely, slowly turned his horse's head and said to Zhou Xuan: "I suppose you also know what kind of person I am now. Within two hours, I will bring the goods to find you. Please don't return to the city yet. If it's past the appointed time and I haven't arrived, then please do as you wish." After speaking, he rode his horse away.

  Lin Han Yun snorted and said: "We're running all over the place, I don't believe he can find us! Hey, Zhou Xuan, what do you think he'll use to bet with you?"

  Zhou Xuan furrowed his brow and said, "To be honest, I don't want to gamble with this person. He's a fugitive and very dangerous! How about this: I'll send you back to the city first and inform the City Guard that San Chou has appeared again."

  Lin Han Yun said: "If you appear, just appear, it's not a big deal. Jiangzhou is so big, don't allow people to walk around everywhere! I won't go back, I want to see you and him gamble."

  Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Alright then, let's see the water army first. I bet he wants to play chess with me again. Last time he lost and didn't accept it, haha, this time I'll come up with a super difficult Go puzzle that will make his hair turn white before he can solve it, so he won't be able to scare people everywhere."

  Lin Han reminded: "What if he proposes a sword fight with you? He's not one of the three idiots of sword, insect, and chess, after all."

  "Impossible! There's no way to compare with Jian, one sword and I'd be dead. What kind of bet is this? San Chou wouldn't be so immoral, would he?"

  Lin Han Yun giggled and said: "It's hard to say, are you scared?"

  Zhou Xuan said: "What's the use of being afraid? Are you going to hide? As long as it's a fair bet, even if it's a bet with swords, I'm not afraid of him. What I fear is people like you who don't know reason."

  "Ah!" Lin Hanyin's eyes widened bigger than a cow's: "How am I not making sense? You tell me, how am I not making sense?" He raised the whip in his hand, as if to strike.

  Zhou Xuan squeezed his legs together on the horse's belly, and the sorrel horse galloped forward. Lin Hanyu shouted loudly as he urged his horse to chase after them.

  Beyond the five-mile mountain road, before one's eyes is the vast and majestic Yangtze River. The river flows gently, its surface expansive, from the southern bank to the northern bank, at least ten miles apart, almost meeting the sky.

  Zhou Xuan gazed out at the cool awning for a while, then asked, "Vice President Lin, what naval forces are you talking about? I haven't seen even one ship."

  Lin Han wrinkled her nose and said, "It seems not to be here, it should be upstream, there is a large water village there, occupying a large area of the river surface, visible at a glance."

  Zhou Xuan wiped his sweat and said: "How did you lead the way? You got me running around with you, I'm dying of heat."

  Lin Han Yun took off his hat and used it as a fan: "I'm not going to get rid of Old Dong, am I? Although Old Dong is very good to me, he's also very annoying following me around every day! We're walking along the riverbank upstream, and we'll be able to see Shuizhai soon."

  Two people rode horses upstream, walking for a while, and saw a person and a horse standing on the riverbank in the distance, like a sculpture. Zhou Xuan's eyes were slightly nearsighted, and he couldn't see very clearly, so he asked Lin Hanyun: "Is that San Chou?"

  Lin Han Yun sneered, "You're afraid that San Chou and you will have a sword fight and your courage will be broken, right? That's obviously Lao Dong, yet he dares to come forward and intercept us."

  Lao Dong saw Zhou Xuan and Lin Hanyun but didn't say a word, just following behind them.

  A dull "boom boom" drumbeat came from the river surface, which sounded to Zhou Xuan like the dragon boat racing on Dragon Boat Festival.

  "This is the drumbeat of the water army's training, let's go quickly, if we're late and they've already returned to their camp, it won't be fun anymore."

  After galloping for several miles, two large ships over 20 meters long appeared on the river surface, with many oars stretching from head to tail, like a centipede with hundreds of legs, rowing swiftly across the water.

  Under the scorching sun, the distant water village is clearly visible, with tall watchtowers standing upright on the river surface.

  Three people stood on the riverbank waiting to see the excitement, but the water fortress was cold and clear, except for those two centipede ships earlier, no other warships were seen.

  Lin Han said, "Father accompanied Mr. Li to who-knows-where, how boring! Zhou Xuan, I'm thirsty, let's go find some tea to drink. From here, if we take a detour of less than five miles, we'll reach Gan Tang Lake, where there are people selling tea."

  When it comes to Gantang Lake, Zhou Xuan has a deep impression. He met his current father-in-law, Dr. Qin, at a tea stall by the lake, and then step by step arrived at where he is today, which is almost unbelievable when thinking about it.

  Three people bypassed a low shrubbery by the river and came to the shore of Gantang Lake along a small path, where they found an old man selling tea. The old man did not recognize Zhou Xuan, but seeing him riding a tall horse, he obviously was a rich family's young master, so he hastily poured tea for him.

  Lin Han Yun quenched her thirst and looked around, saying: "It's already past noon now, why hasn't that San Chi come yet? I said that guy is a bit silly, we are big living people, walking everywhere, how can he find us?"

  "Zhou Gongzi, Lin Er Xiaojie, are you two here to enjoy the scenery of the lake and mountains?"

  Zhou Xuan heard a somewhat familiar voice behind him, turned around to see the slender scholar who had fought three rounds of crickets with him riding on a black mule with a white nose, nodding at him in greeting.

  Lin Han said bluntly: "So it's you, are you still thinking of competing with us in insect catching? This time I must win all your silver."

  The slender scholar said: "Let's postpone the fight for now, I'll find an even more formidable insect to battle later." He raised his hand in a salute and rode off on his horse.

  Lin Han Yun pointed at the long dam of Gan Tang Lake and said: "There is a Smoke Water Pavilion in the center of the lake, let's go sit there."

  Three men led their horses onto the dyke and had just started walking when someone called out from beside a tea stall, "Young Master Zhou, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

  Only Doumashan Maiyi's Youxia Sanchi was leading a horse, and he had just finished drinking a bowl of tea in his hand.

  Zhou Xuan turned back and smiled: "Old brother is really awesome, actually found us."

  The three fools nodded in agreement and followed him, saying: "This place is easy to find, you guys have no choice but to enter the city or come here - just follow me."

  "Where are you going?"

  "Nature is finding a quiet place for a big gamble."

  "I want to go too."

  Three fools set off in the direction of Lushan Mountain without saying whether they could or not, with Zhou Xuan riding a horse behind them. On the back of San Chai's big green horse was placed a large hemp sack, but it was unknown what was inside.

  After walking for about seven or eight miles, the road wound its way up, and the terrain became increasingly steep. It was no longer easy to ride a horse.

  Lin Han Yun impatiently asked: "Walking like this, we'll soon reach Mount Lu."

  "Right, we're going to Mount Lu," San Chai replied in unison. Suddenly, he flipped over from the horseback and pounced on Lao Dong. With a "slap", they exchanged blows, and Lao Dong's body leaned back and fell off the horse. Before Lao Dong could get up, San Chai kicked a stone on the ground, which hit Lao Dong in the waist, causing him to fall again.

  "What are you doing!" Zhou Xuan angrily said: "If you want to gamble, then gamble, why must you hurt people?"

  He slowly picked up the wide-brimmed bamboo hat that had fallen to the ground from his flip in mid-air, put it on his head and said: "This man has always wanted to take action against me, I just took the initiative."

  Lin Han Yun shouted: "You're talking nonsense!" Ran to Lao Dong's side, supporting him while asking: "Lao Dong, are you okay?"

  Three fools no longer looked at Lao Dong, turned to Zhou Xuan and asked: "Do you know what lucky thing I brought?"

  Zhou Xuan said: "No matter what tricks you've brought with you, first let Miss Lin and Old Dong go, then I'll gamble with you."

  Three fools smiled slightly, took down the hemp sack from the back saddle, untied the bundle, and rolled out a person from the sack. The limbs were curled up and tied tightly, should be an average-sized adult male but was tied into a ball like a rice dumpling.

  The three fools turned that person's face towards Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan took a look and was shocked, wasn't this the eunuch Li?