Wang Lun held the black gourd and examined it for a long time, but could not figure anything out. He put it down in disappointment. By accident, a splinter on the bedside snagged his finger and cut it. The blood dripped onto the gourd. The gourd slowly melted into his right palm, transforming into a gourd-shaped mark. It bonded to him. Streams of information flowed into Wang Lun's mind. Through this information, Wang Lun learned that the gourd was an immortal treasure named the Heaven-Shaking, Earth-Quaking Legacy Gourd of Joyful Zen. The gourd had only one function—legacy. As long as Wang Lun, the gourd's master, made a promise to a deceased person before him, the gourd could absorb the deceased person's soul. Wang Lun could use a special method called Joyful Zen to transfer the deceased person's skills to another. If a master died and their soul was absorbed into the gourd, Wang Lun could find a suitable person and pass on all of that master's skills to that person after they both practiced Joyful Zen together. The person who received the legacy would inherit all the skills of this master. At the same time Wang Lun learned of the gourd's function, a method for Joyful Zen appeared in his mind. A mechanical female voice announced that the gourd had been successfully bound. As a reward, the host's past life memories were awakened, and all past life martial arts were restored. The host was rewarded with the divine weapon used in his past life, the Tiger-Head Black-Shaft Black-Tasseled Spear, and the precious horse ridden in his past life, the Thousand-Mile Black-and-White Leopard. All rewards were temporarily stored in the gourd's space. Wang Lun asked about his past life. The system explained that in his past life, Wang Lun was a fierce general under Emperor Guangwu of the Later Han, Liu Xiu. He was originally the leader of the Nine Strongholds of Yiqiu Mountain, with a fierce appearance, a kind heart, and highly skilled in martial arts. He could spear-kill great generals easily and kick fierce tigers, possessing immense strength capable of lifting a thousand-jin gate. Wang Lun realized that the things he often dreamed about were his past life. The next morning, as the leaders Du Qian and Song Wan arrived at the Hall of Gathering for Justice, they saw Wang Lun waiting there. He wore a three-pronged golden hairpin, a moon white headscarf, beast-face swallowing-head linked armor, a Sichuan brocade white robe, a moon white cloak, and an exquisite lion mane belt. He held upside down a tiger-head black-shaft black-tasseled spear and rode a thousand-mile black-and-white leopard. Du Qian and Song Wan stared with wide eyes. Du Qian exclaimed that he almost did not recognize him. Song Wan said he thought a seasoned great general had arrived at Liangshan. Wang Lun said he had to make a grand appearance when he went down the mountain. He told them the armor and weapons were passed down from his ancestors. Du Qian asked if it would be troublesome to encounter government officials. Wang Lun said he would say he was a general on official business from another prefecture. Du Qian instructed Song Wan to ensure Wang Lun's safety. At the foot of Liangshan, Song Wan asked which way to go. Wang Lun told him to find the road to Dongjing Bianliang City. Song Wan agreed and led the way. They traveled for many days and arrived at the foot of a mountain. The area was filled with continuous treacherous mountains and sheer cliffs. Wang Lun observed that the public security in this prefecture was good. Song Wan said this should be Chaotic Rock Mountain, under the jurisdiction of the Capital Region, no more than a hundred li from Dongjing Bianliang City. Wang Lun joked that if he had known it was so far, he would not have come. Song Wan said he thought Wang Lun already had candidates in mind to invite heroes to join the group. Wang Lun told him to hurry on the way. The two continued for another thirty to forty li and suddenly a large forest appeared on the road. Song Wan said he did not remember such a large forest on this road. Wang Lun asked if it was the Wild Boar Forest. Song Wan recalled that outside Bianliang City there was a fearsome forest perpetually shrouded in mist. It was a perilous place where many heroes had been killed. He said the forest was quite large and suggested resting there for the night and setting off again early tomorrow morning. Wang Lun agreed. Unexpectedly, the Black-Spotted Leopard suddenly shook its head and tail, broke free from its reins, and galloped into the Wild Boar Forest. Wang Lun shouted for it to come back, but the warhorse refused to listen and disappeared. Song Wan said he would find him a better one later. Wang Lun said the warhorse was a treasured exotic divine steed and something inside the forest must be attracting it. Song Wan led the way and ran in the direction the Black-Spotted Leopard had gone. Wang Lun followed with his spear. At that time, deep within the Wild Boar Forest, a Fat Monk was kneeling on the ground with a face filled with grief. He was eight chi and five fen tall and ten spans in girth. He wore a black robe with double sleeves, a blue round sash tied diagonally, and fastened his pants tightly with a spider-belly knot. His face was round and his ears large, his nose straight and mouth square. In front of the monk lay three corpses. The heads of two of the corpses were smashed to pieces. Looking at the robes they wore, they were in fact clothes of the Kaifeng Prefecture escort officers. The remaining corpse had a leopard head, round eyes, a swallow's jaw and tiger's whiskers, wore prisoner's clothes, and was shackled. It was clear this prisoner had been murdered. The Fat Monk's voice choked with sobs. He regretted drinking too much wine last night and arriving a step too late today, allowing the two escorts to kill his brother. The monk gently untied the hemp rope around the prisoner's neck, slowly pulled out the backsword from his chest, and sighed, telling the deceased to rest in peace. This monk was the Flower Monk Lu Zhishen. The prisoner was the Instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards of Dongjing, Leopard Head Lin Chong. Just as Lu Zhishen was about to take an oath, he heard a startled cry from the side asking if it was Instructor Lin Chong and what happened to him. Lu Zhishen turned his head and saw two people standing by an ancient tree. One man was burly and strong, holding a Heavenly King Staff. The other man had a handsome face, wore a three-pronged golden hairpin, a moon-white headscarf, beast face chain armor, a Sichuan brocade white robe, a moon-white cloak, and an exquisite lion belt. He held a Tiger-Head Black-Shaft Black-Tasseled Spear. It was the Chief of the Mountain Stronghold Wang Lun and Cloud-Piercing Diamond Song Wan, who had chased the Black-Spotted Leopard into the forest. Lu Zhishen grabbed his Water-Ground Zen Staff and roared, asking where these dirty birds came from, daring to hide in the shadows and peep at him. Song Wan retorted that they were just walking in the forest and it was not peeping. Lu Zhishen was filled with frustration and anger due to Lin Chong's death. He shouted that he lost his good brother today and was holding back anger. He told them to come over and let him smash them with his Zen staff to vent his anger. Lu Zhishen brandished his Zen Staff and charged towards them. Wang Lun was about to flourish his spear when Song Wan whispered to be careful, saying the monk looked fierce and would not be easy to deal with. Song Wan tried his best to hold him off and told Wang Lun to leave if things went wrong. Song Wan shouted at Lu Zhishen and swung his staff. The Heavenly King Staff and the Water-Ground Zen Staff clashed with a deafening sound and sparks flew. Lu Zhishen's body swayed slightly. Song Wan's staff was knocked flying and he stumbled back five or six paces, sitting down on the ground. His tiger mouth was cracked and bleeding. He shouted that the monk was too powerful and told Wang Lun to hurry and leave. Lu Zhishen sneered and said all accomplices of the government deserved to die. He said his brother Lin Chong had died and they should be buried with him. Wang Lun put his hand on Song Wan's shoulder and said that Flower Monk Lu Zhishen was a renowned hero who could kill Town Guardian of the West with three punches and uproot a weeping willow. He said he was not necessarily afraid of him. Wang Lun told Song Wan to rest and watch how he defeated the Great Monk. Wang Lun stepped forward and stood in front of Lu Zhishen. Lu Zhishen asked why he did not flee. Wang Lun said his brother disregarded his own safety to give him a chance to escape, and he would not abandon him. He said Lu Zhishen was not his match. Lu Zhishen was amused and said Wang Lun looked like he was not a good person with his fair complexion but was quite interesting. He said they might not be the kind of birds who abet the wicked. He told them to report their names and origins. If they were uninvolved, he would let them leave. If they were sent by Gao Qiu, he would send them on their way. Wang Lun said he was Wang Lun, known as Scholar in White, the Chief of the Mountain Stronghold at Shandong Water Marsh Liangshan. The brother was Song Wan, known as Cloud-Piercing Vajra, the third leader. They came to Dongjing Bianliang City to seek heroes to join Liangshan Marsh. They happened to pass by Wild Boar Forest because their warhorse was startled. Wang Lun said Lu Zhishen started shouting and fighting without distinguishing right from wrong and attacked them. Lu Zhishen hesitated and asked if they truly were not assassins sent by Gao Qiu. Song Wan exclaimed who this old thief Gao Qiu was. Lu Zhishen realized he had misunderstood them. He quickly cupped his hands and smiled, saying it seemed he had misunderstood them. He only thought they were sent by Grand Commandant Gao Qiu to slaughter Instructor Lin. He said it was a misunderstanding. Speaking of which, the Great Monk became polite because he realized he was in the wrong and sensed that Wang Lun was an expert. Wang Lun said he was not willing to accept the apology easily. He said Lu Zhishen cursed them for no reason and attacked without distinction. The matter could not be easily resolved. Lu Zhishen asked what his intention was. Wang Lun said the Great Monk must have a battle with him. If Wang Lun lost, they would accept the apology. If Lu Zhishen lost, he must come back with them to Liangshan to join their gathering for justice. Lu Zhishen laughed and said he thought Wang Lun had some grand plan. He said it was easy to arrange. Wang Lun provoked him again, saying if the Great Monk admitted he was scared, he would take back the entire betting battle and they would go their separate ways. Lu Zhishen became angry and said who said he was scared. He said swords and spears were blind and it was best to stop at a mere touch. Since Wang Lun was unwilling to listen, he said let them fight to the death. He swung his Water-Ground Zen Staff to strike. Song Wan shouted for his brother to be careful. He knew that Wang Lun was once just a scholar who failed his exams and lacked the strength to lift a chicken. After awakening his past life memories, Wang Lun now possessed the skills of the fierce general Wang Lun from the Later Han period. He planned to use this opportunity to recruit Lu Zhishen to strengthen Liangshan. The duel was set to determine the outcome between the two heroes.
