Water Margin: Did we kill Zheng Tu today?

Chapter 23 One Punch

The flirtatious woman carried a jar of wine from the kitchen and poured a large bowl of it onto Zheng Tu's table. The wine was slightly cloudy, but its aroma was very strong.

Set out a pair of bamboo chopsticks and a few side dishes: a dish of pickled radish, a dish of salted beans, and a dish of thinly sliced ​​braised meat.

Since the last time Zheng Tu lost his life after eating that medicated sesame seed cake in Yanmen County, he has been extremely careful about what he puts in his mouth.

Although the merchants and shopkeepers seemed to know each other well, and it didn't seem fake, Zheng Tu remained cautious.

He didn't rush to pick up his chopsticks, nor did he touch the bowl of wine, but secretly observed the movements at the next table.

Among the men, a dark-skinned one leered at the flirtatious woman, "Madam, your wine is rather weak, like it's been diluted with water. Do you have anything better? Would you like to treat us to a few bowls?"

The woman covered her mouth and laughed, "Sir, you jest. We do have some fine, aged wine that we brewed ourselves, but the lees haven't been completely filtered out, so it's quite cloudy."

"The cloudier the better!" the man exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "The cloudier the wine, the better it tastes! Quick, strain it and drink!"

The woman responded and turned to go to the back kitchen. After a short while, she brought out a small jar, which looked exactly like the urn that Sift had given to Butcher Zheng.

The five men didn't stand on ceremony and drank from their bowls.

Zheng Tu observed them closely and saw them drinking wine and eating meat in large gulps, chatting and laughing, all with composure. After a while, nothing seemed amiss.

"It seems I was just being paranoid."

Zheng Tu's last remaining doubts vanished, and he shook his head, secretly laughing at his own overthinking: "I was just being paranoid, making myself a laughingstock."

He had been traveling for half a day, and his water bag was already empty. At this moment, his mouth was dry and his throat felt like it was on fire.

Knowing that the wine and food were not poisonous, he no longer hesitated, picked up the bowl of murky wine, tilted his head back, and gulped down a large mouthful.

This wine is smooth on the palate, not spicy at all, but rather has a sweet aroma.

Zheng Tu smacked his lips, thinking to himself, "This is indeed good wine!" Overwhelmed by the fatigue of traveling for days, he simply let loose, refusing to eat any other dishes, and drank bowl after bowl of the few sips of wine that had been poured for him.

But as I was drinking, I suddenly felt dizzy. The scenery in front of me began to sway, and my ears were ringing.

"How strange..."

Zheng Tu gripped the edge of the table, puzzled. "This wine isn't strong, so why is it so potent?" As he tried to get up, his legs felt like they were walking on cotton.

Just as they were wondering what was going on, they suddenly heard a sweet laugh:

"Fallen! Fallen!"

Zheng Tu barely managed to lift his eyes, only to see the flirtatious woman standing at the kitchen door, clapping her hands and laughing.

"You've got it! No matter how cunning you are, you've still drunk my foot-washing water!" the woman said, then called inside, "Waiter, Third Brother, come out quickly!"

The kitchen curtain was lifted, and two shirtless men jumped out.

They were both eight feet tall, with waists ten spans wide, covered in fat, and with fierce faces. One had a blue mark on his face, and the other was missing an ear.

The fat, blue-faced man strode forward and punched Zheng Tu in the neck!

At this moment, the drug had fully taken effect on Zheng Tu, leaving his limbs limp and unable to move. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, and then everything went black before his eyes, and he knew nothing more.

In my hazy state, I vaguely heard a few words:

"Getting this genuine goods today is quite an unexpected surprise. Judging from his lukewarm attitude before, I thought he was a seasoned veteran, but it turns out he's just a greenhorn!"

"This burly fellow is all lean meat, hardly any fat. He'll only be good for selling as water buffalo meat. Carry him inside, let's skin him first!"

……

[Zheng Tu, died. 】

[Survival days: 10 days.]

[Available Points: 10]

Zheng Tu suddenly opened his eyes and gasped for breath.

The scene of being dragged into the kitchen by those two men, stripped of my clothes, and pinned to the chopping board is still vivid in my mind.

The excruciating pain of the sharp knife cutting into my flesh still seemed to linger in my body.

"The feeling of being chopped up is truly..."

He looked around and realized that they were still on the slope behind the hotel, only a hundred steps away from the tavern.

Zheng Tu took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and looked at the fluttering banners, his eyes darkening.

However, the most important thing right now is to add some points.

He had already tasted the benefits of the extra points he had earned in Yanmen County. Now, he was determined to make good use of these ten points.

Zheng Tu silently recited in his mind: "Panel."

A plain white interface immediately appeared:

[Martial Arts: Proficient in Fist and Foot Techniques (1/6)]

Zheng Tu concentrated his mind and, without hesitation, poured all ten of his available points into the "Martial Arts" field!

The four characters "familiar with martial arts" blurred violently, then solidified again, revealing a completely different scene:

Martial Arts: Proficient in hand-to-hand combat (5/36)

Almost simultaneously, a surge of heat burst forth from his dantian, rushing into his limbs and bones like a flood breaking through a dam.

His muscles were bulging, and it looked as if countless tiny snakes were wriggling beneath his skin.

A tingling, itchy pain emanated from the joints of my fists, feet, elbows, and knees, as if countless tiny needles were pricking me. Looking down, I could see that these areas were developing thick calluses at a visible speed.

Zheng Tu clenched his fists, and a surge of power naturally rose up without any obstruction, increasing by more than 30% compared to before.

Even more remarkably, the martial arts moves in my mind, which I had only been familiar with before, suddenly became integrated and generated countless variations. The flaws and delays in my previous moves were now clear to me, and I could easily make up for them.

Zheng Tu sensed the changes and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

But the joy didn't last long before that familiar feeling of emptiness returned.

My vision blurred, my limbs felt weak, and I felt as if I hadn't eaten for three days.

He forced himself to stand firm and pulled out the last piece of dry food from his pocket—half a steamed bun left over from the day before, as hard as earth and stone.

At that moment, he didn't care about anything else and stuffed the biscuit crumbs into his mouth, chewing them forcefully. The crumbs choked him, causing him to cough repeatedly.

Fortunately, this feeling of low blood sugar was much milder than before. Zheng Tu leaned against the tree trunk and caught his breath for a moment, and the emptiness gradually subsided.

He straightened up and looked at the tavern a hundred paces away. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, revealing his murderous intent.

"What a shady business."

Zheng Tu narrowed his eyes: "This time, they've got a premeditated attack on an unsuspecting opponent. I'd like to see who's outmaneuvering whom!"

Zheng Tu spurred his horse and soon arrived at the entrance of the tavern.

He reined in his hands, looked closely, and a strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart.

Having returned from this rebirth, my state of mind is different, and so is what I see. When I came and went in a hurry just now, I thought it was just an ordinary roadside inn, but now, upon closer inspection, everything about it seems eerie.

But on this earthen slope, for half a mile around, there wasn't a single blade of grass; it was a barren, yellow wasteland. Yet, in front of the door stood an old locust tree, its branches and leaves so lush and eerie that they blocked out the sky.

Looking further into the distance, all around are vast, rolling mountains and forests, with no sign of human habitation.

It was noon, a time when birds should be chirping and insects should be rustling, but the place was deathly silent. Even the sound of the wind seemed to be sucked away by the big tree, leaving only a deathly stillness.

Zheng Tu's heart skipped a beat; he had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

But how can one not avenge a life lost?!

Moreover, after the recent improvement, his martial arts skills are now such that even three or five men working together would not be able to get close to him easily.

Thinking of this, his hesitation vanished, and he stepped forward.