Ciro Santilli @cirosantilli 34

2 Beating up the Lord of the West.

A Shi Jin comes to a new city, Weizhou (TODO modern location) looking for Wang Jin, and instead finds another officer called Lu Zhishen.

Lu was doing a feat of super Strength by saving some damsel in distress from a cart with out of control horses by simply holding the cart up, which impresses Shi Jin.

Shi Jin then tells Zhishen how he met Wang Jin by chance who coached him in the martial arts, and some more backstory that is impossible to follow. Shi Jin's story is told properly in chapter 2 and 3 of the novel according to Wikipedia, before Lu's own story is told on chapters 3-7, but this adaptation skips it.

While they are talking, there is some lady crying nearby, and Zhishen ends up helping her out. She had been deceived by the butcher Zheng, and now ows him money and cannot leave town.

Butcher Zheng is a ruthless fellow, one amazing scene shows him throwing a knife at a dog that was stealing some of his meat, and telling his men to skin the dog so they can eat it, saying:in Chinese:

Next morning, Shi Jin leaves whil Zhishen is sleeping his drunkenness off, and when Zhishen wakes up he goes to escort the damsel out of town. When he arrives, Lu's hotel keeper underling is causing trouble, and he slaps him hard and forces him to massage his legs while the lady can escape.

After that, he pays butcher Zheng a visit. First he pisses Zheng off by making an order of 5 kg of lean minced meat. Minced meat was produced by cutting it up with two meat cleavers, a rather tiring job Ciro's mother in law sometimes did that when there was no pork mince but there was a piece of pork laying around, can you believe it!

Lu then asks Zheng to produce 5 kg of minced fatty, a weird request, but to which Zheng complies, causing him much effort.

Lu then finally asks for 5 kg of minced bones! Zheng understands that Lu is not trying to buy from him, and a fight ensues, in which Lu soon kills Zheng with his bare fists, and then escapes to avoid justice.

Lu ends up finding the damsel he had helped earlier in another town, and she's doing fine as the concubine of a wealthy man, who then helps him become a monk to avoid justice, but entering a monastery to which the man had donated money.

9 The Blue faced demon returns to the capital. He tries to bribe bribe Gao Qiu for forgiveness for losing the stones, but it fails and he is thrown into jail. He is then forced to use all his money to bribe his way out of jail, and after leaving has to sell his precious family inherited sword to eat. A local bully who often eats merchants food without paying, because he has connection to corrupt officials, asks to see the sword. Although the does not appear serious about buying, the Blue faced demon displays it to him and the crowd. The incredible sword can:In order to demonstrate the cutting of a man, the demon asks for someone to bring a dog, but the bully keeps insisting that a man must be used. When he starts to get physical, the demon kills the bully by semi-accident with the sword. After being cut and just before dying, the bully recognizes that the sword is truly a magnificent weapon.

The demon turns himself in for the killing, but because it was a semi accident with many witnesses to support him, all of which hated the bully, he is exiled to another city rather than put to death. Upon arriving in the new city, the governor of the new city seems happy to have him as a great warrior and releases him and gives him a good reception, having him demonstrate his weapon skills to court.

10 The Blue faced demon is tasked by his new master with delivering some expensive birthday gifts from the new city to the capital, a dangerous task. He proposes transporting the gifts as ordinary goods in cheap looking packages to divert the attention of thieves.

The scene then cuts to the Red Haired Devil and other men plan to steal the gifts, which is morally justified because they are being sent from one corrupt official to another. The leader of the group of thieves dreams about the Big Dipper and the number of stars coincides with the number of accomplices that ends up forming somewhat by chance. The band makes a formal oath to their goal and intentions, in which they burning papers (presumably with written promises) and drink baijiu ritually. The seven are:

19 Wu Song returns home and finds his brother died. The big character on the grave is 祭 (dian4) from 祭奠 (make an offering to the dead). Everyone is avoiding him. The pear seller and his father moved away to another place. But he stumbles upon the boy who tells the truth. The coroner then confirms, and says he was forced to make a false statement, but already has a letter ready with the truth, including samples as proof. Wusong takes the proof and witnesses to the local magistrate, who basically dismisses the case. Guards are posted at Dalangs home to protect the wife from Wu Song, but also to prevent the wife from confessing.

Wu Song starts inviting the neighbours to come over to eat one day. They try to avoid him, but he insists. They come. He asks for them to say who the killer is. The old lady tries to deny it, but the wife is so guilty she cant even speak. Wu Song cuts her throat in front of the little offering place for his brother. Wu Song sends the head of the to the rich dude, and then proceeds to murder him. He does put up a fight though. everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting. Wu Song then burns his brothers belongings to return it to them, and places both heads, of the wife and rich dude, on the altar. He then hands himself in to the authorities, and is sentenced to a beating plus exile, the usual.