On the yiwei day (or 32nd day) of the 8th lunar month of the sixth year of the Yongle reign of the Emperor Chengzu of the Great Ming Dynasty, the King of Brunei, Maharaja Karna, along with his queen, younger brother, sister, crown prince, and vassal, came to the royal court to offer tributes of various precious items such as fine camphor, crane heads, tortoise shells, rhinoceros horns, and golden and silver treasures. Emperor Chengzu was greatly pleased and honored them with a lavish feast at the Gate of Supreme Harmony. 

Brunei, also known as Poni, is located in the northern part of Borneo Island. Although it is separated from Central Plain by thousands miles of sea, it has always admired Central Plain. In the second year of the Taipingxingguo era of the Song Dynasty, its king, Xiangda (known as the Sultan in Chinese historical books), sent envoys to Central Plain to offer tributes of fine camphor, ivory, and sandalwood, among other things. Since then, they have been offering tributes to the Chinese court continuously.

 

King Maharaja Karna was delighted and impressed by the abundant wealth, cultural and educational achievements, and exquisite attire and accessories of the Celestial Empire. He was treated with great hospitality by Emperor Chengzu, causing reluctant to leave. However, in November of the same year, he fell ill and passed away due to his old age and inability to adapt to the climate. Emperor Chengzu was deeply grieved and suspended court sessions for three days. He ordered the burial of King Maharaja Karna outside the Ande Gate in Nanjing (now at the foot of Jubao Mountain, outside the Gate of China in Nanjing, where the royal shrine is located and is commonly known as the Mahuihui Shrine). He also granted the crown prince, Xia Wang, the title of King of Brunei and sent envoys to escort him back to his country, rewarding them with gold, silver, vessels, brocade, and silk. From then on, kings of Brunei offered tributes during the Hongxi, Zhengde, and Jiajing eras. Some Chinese people who went to Brunei even became high officials and were titled "Datuk".

During Wanli era of the Ming dynasty, internal strife broke out in the Brunei, as recorded in the "Ming History- Brunei". It was said that after the king passed away without an heir, his relatives fought for the throne and the country was nearly wiped out in the process. Eventually, they decided to appoint the late king's daughter as the new ruler. Zhang, a man from Zhangzhou who was originally appointed as a Datuk, a governor in Brunei, fled during the chaos and later returned to Brunei when the queen was crowned. However, the Datuk’s daughter suffered from a mental illness and falsely accused her father of plotting a rebellion. Fearing for her safety, the queen sent people to investigate her claims, and the Datuk ended up committing suicide. The people of Brunei sought justice for his wrongful death, the queen regretted her actions and had his daughter hanged for her mistake, appointing his son as governor.

The reason why the daughter of Datuk Zhang went insane and falsely accused her father of rebellion to the queen, leading to this tragedy, were not fully recorded in historical records and remain unknown to later generations. The Zhang family from Zhangzhou, Fujian, had been granted the Datuk title for generations and held considerable power, earning the 

respect of the people of the country.

Many Chinese people engaged in business and farming in the foreign country, and their number was not small. They overcame many difficulties and made great contributions, getting along harmoniously with the local people. In Fei Xin's book "Xingcha Shenglan" it is recorded, "Brunei... The people of the country revere Buddha and love to observe fasts. Whenever they see Tang people coming to their country, they show great respect. If someone is drunk, they will be assisted back to their home to rest and stay overnight, treated with the same courtesy as an old friend." As evidence, there is a poem that goes:

"Brunei stands beyond the blue sea, A country with an ancient history.

Summer's chill and winter's heat, the land is rugged and remote.

Their faith in Buddha is deep and sincere, their hospitality towards guests is clear.

They trade with merchants from afar, A legacy that has lasted long and far."

After several generations, the Zhang family in Brunei was succeeded by Zhang Xin, who had only one son. Zhang Xin did not forget his homeland and named his son Chaotang. When Chaotang was twelve years old, a scholar from Fujian repeatedly failed the imperial examinations and gave up on studying to become a merchant instead. He followed his fellow townspeople to Brunei, but he was not good at business and quickly lost all his capital. Ashamed to return home, someone recommended him to meet Zhang Xin to seek a living. After meeting with Zhang Xin, Zhang Xin was overjoyed and hired him as a teacher for his son's education

Although Zhang Chaotang started learning at a late age, he was intelligent and within ten years had already become proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics. His teacher urged Zhang Xin to send his son back to the Central Plain to take the imperial examinations. If he could become a scholar, he would have great honor from Central Plain and could return to Brunei with glory. Zhang Xin also hoped that his son could return home to admire the scenery and culture of the country. Therefore, he rewarded the teacher generously, prepared gold and silver, and sent his servant Zhang Kang to follow along. He instructed Zhang Chaotang to go with the teacher back to Zhangzhou to take the exams.

At that time, it was the sixth year of Chongzhen era. Although Wei Zhongxian had been executed, during the seven years of the Tianqi era, he had brought disaster to the country and killed loyal officials. The Ming Dynasty was greatly weakened, and with successive years of drought and flood disasters, bandits were rampant. Zhang Chaotang and the other two traveled by boat from Xiamen to Zhangzhou. However, after traveling only a few dozen miles, they encountered a group of bandits who rushed onto their boat and killed the teacher without any explanation. Zhang Chaotang and his servant fortunately knew how to swim and jumped into the water to escape, avoiding disaster.

The two of them hid in the countryside for three days and heard that the hungry people in the surrounding areas were planning to attack Zhangzhou and Xiamen. This frightened Zhang Chaotang, who had ambitious goals but now saw that he couldn't stay in such a troubled place. Therefore, he decided to hurry home. However, Xiamen was no longer safe, so he and his servant decided to travel overland to Guangzhou and then take a ship overseas. They bought two horses and nervously traveled along the way, asking for directions as they headed towards Guangdong.

Fortunately, they encountered no problems along the way. They traveled through Nanjing, Pinghe, and arrived at Sanheba, already within Guangdong province. Then they continued on through Meixian and Shuikou, slowly heading west. Zhang Chaotang had heard that Guangdong was a rich and prosperous land, but along the way, all he saw were hungry people. He thought that Central Plain was vast and rich, but the lives of the people hung by a thread. In contrast, although Brunei was just a small overseas country, the people there were living in peace and prosperity without any worries. He couldn't help but sigh and think that Central Plain had beautiful mountains and rivers, but life was so precarious there. he thought it was much more comfortable to sing and sleep under the coconut trees in Brunei.

On this day, they passed through the Hongtu Mountain, the mountain road was rugged, and the sky was getting dark. Both of them became anxious and urged their horses to gallop. They ran more than ten miles in one breath and arrived at a small town. The master and servant were overjoyed and wanted to find an inn to stay, but to their surprise, there was nobody in the town. Zhang Kang got off his horse and walked to an inn with a sign saying "Yuedong Inn", shouting loudly, "Hey, innkeeper, innkeeper!" The sound echoed in the valley, but there was no response from inside the inn. At that moment, a gust of northern wind blew, making them both shiver.

Zhang Chaotang drew his sword and rushed into the inn. Inside the courtyard, there were two corpses lying on the ground, and a large pool of black blood had flowed out, with flies buzzing around them. The stench was overwhelming, indicating that the victims had been dead for many days. Zhang Kang screamed in horror and ran out of the inn. 

Zhang Chaotang looked around and saw that everything was in disarray, with boxes and cages scattered about, and doors and windows broken, as if they had been ransacked by bandits. When Zhang Kang saw that the master was not coming out, he hesitated and walked back into the inn. Zhang Chaotang said, "Let's go see elsewhere." They went to three other shops, and they were all the same. Some female corpses were naked, indicating that they had been raped before being killed. In the middle of the town, there was a cold wind blowing, and the stench of corpses was everywhere. They dared not stay any longer and quickly rode westward.

After traveling for more than ten miles, it was completely dark, and they were both hungry and afraid. Suddenly, Zhang Kang said, "Master, look over there!" Zhang Chaotang followed his finger and saw a flickering light in the distance. He said happily, "Let's go stay there." 

They left the main road and walked towards the light. The further they went, the narrower the road became. Zhang Chaotang suddenly said, "What if it's a bandit's lair? Won't we be walking into a trap?" Zhang Kang was frightened and said, "Then let's not go." Zhang Chaotang saw dark clouds gathering all around, suggesting that it might rain soon, and said, "Let's sneak over and take a look first." So, he got off his horse, tied it to a tree by the side of the road, and quietly walked towards the light.

As they approached, they saw two thatched huts. Zhang Chaotang wanted to peek inside through the window, but suddenly a dog barked loudly and rushed towards them. Zhang Chaotang swung his sword and the dog dared not come closer, only barking wildly.

An old woman walked out of the open door, holding an oil lamp in her hand and tremblingly inquired. Zhang Chaotang said, "We are travelers passing by and would like to stay overnight in your home." The old woman hesitated for a moment and then said, "Please come in." Inside the hut, Zhang Chaotang saw only a clay bed with no table or chairs. An old man lay on the bed, coughing incessantly. Zhang Chaotang ordered Zhang Kang to bring the horses. However, Zhang Kang was afraid to go outside after witnessing the gruesome scene of the dead. The old man got off the bed and accompanied him to tie the horses to a post outside. The old woman brought out a few corn cakes for the guests to eat and boiled a pot of hot water for them to drink.

After eating a corn cake, Zhang Chaotang asked, "Many people were killed in the town ahead. Which bandit gang is responsible?" The old man sighed and said, "What bandit gang? Are bandits so ruthless? It was the government troops who did it." Zhang Chaotang was shocked and asked, "Government troops? How can they be so lawless, raping and plundering? Doesn't their leader care?"

The old man sneered and said, "You, little sir, seem to be going out for the first time and don't understand anything about the world. Their leader? The leader is the one leading them to do these things. He takes the best things and the pretty girls for himself." Zhang Chaotang asked, "Why don't the common people report it to the officials?" The old man said, "What's the use of reporting? If you do, in all likelihood, you'll have to pay with your own life. Zhang Chaotang asked, "How come?" The old man said, "It's all just officials covering for each other. Don't expect the official to approve your complaint, they will most likely beat you and throw you in jail. If you don't have money to bribe them, don't even think about coming out."

Zhang Chaotang shook his head and asked, "What are the government troops doing in the mountains?" The old man replied, "they say they're here to eliminate bandits and thieves, but in reality, eight out of ten bandits were forced to turn to banditry because they had no other choice. When the government troops come to capture the bandits, they can't find them, so they end up looting and killing innocent people, claiming their heads as trophies and gaining wealth and promotions in the process." The old man spoke through gritted teeth and coughed incessantly. His wife gestured for him to stop, fearing that Zhang Chaotang might recognize him as an official and saying too much might bring trouble.

Zhang Chaotang felt depressed and disheartened by the state of affairs. He thought to himself, "My father always said that Central Plain is a country of culture, morality, and righteousness, where the rule of law prevails, and where people are honest, kind, and loving. But today, what I see is a far cry from that ideal. It's not even as good as the savage lands of foreign barbarians." After sighing for a while, he fell asleep on a bench.

Just as he dozed off, he heard the sound of barking dog and the angry shouts of men outside the door, followed by a series of loud thumps as they pounded on the door. The old woman got out of bed to open the door, but the old man stopped her with a wave of his hand and whispered to Zhang Chaotang, "Your Excellency, please hide in the back."

Zhang Chaotang and Zhang Kang walked to the back of the house and smelled a fresh scent of straw, thinking it was where the stacked firewood was located. The two of them hid themselves in the straw stack. Suddenly, they heard a crashing sound and the door of the house was pushed open. A man with a coarse voice shouted, "Why don't you open the door?" Without waiting for an answer, he slapped someone's ear. The old woman said, "Sir, we... we are an old couple who are getting senile, our ears are not good, we didn't hear you." Unexpectedly, another slap was given, and the man cursed, "If you didn't hear it, you should be beaten. Hurry up and kill a chicken to make food for four people." The old man said, "We're all starving, where can we get a chicken?" There was a loud bang, as if the old man had been pushed to the ground, and the old woman cried out.

Then another voice said, "Wang, let it go. We've been running around all day and only collected three taels and seven coins in taxes. Everyone is unhappy. There's no use taking it out on them." Wang said, "This kind of person, don't you have to be forceful with them? If I didn't break the leg of that peasant's follower, would these old folks have obediently handed over the money?" Another hoarse voice said, "These peasants are really poor. They can't even count a dozen grains of rice in their rice jars. Even if we force them, we won't get anything out of them. It's just that the boss will scold us for being useless again..." 

As they were talking, Zhang Chaotang's horse suddenly neighed. Several constables were startled and went out to check. They saw two horses and speculated that the rider must be staying in the house and there might be some money to be made. They then entered the house in high spirits to search.

Zhang Chaotang was greatly alarmed and pulled Zhang Kang's hand, gently slipping out of the back door. The two of them stumbled through the mountains, fearing pursuit. When they saw that no one was chasing them, they were relieved. Fortunately, Zhang Kang had carried their silver on their backs. 

The two of them hid in the bushes for a night, and as soon as it was daylight, they slowly made their way to the main road. After walked more than ten miles, they decided to buy some transportation in the next town. Zhang Kang kept cursing the constables for causing trouble. As he was cursing, four constables came walking down a small road with chains and iron rulers in their hands, and leading their horses behind them. It was their mounts.

Zhang Chaotang and Zhang Kang looked at each other, realizing it was too late to avoid the four constables, so they pretended nothing was wrong and continued walking. 

The four constables stared at them and one with a beefy face asked, "Hey, friends, what do you do?"

Zhang Chaotang recognized the accent as the one from Wang, whom they had fought with the night before. Zhang Kang took a step forward and said, "He is our young master, going to Guangzhou to study."

Wang grabbed Zhang Kang and snatched the package on his back. When he opened it, he saw it was filled with gold and silver, which surprised and pleased him. He shouted, "What young master? Look at you two, you are not good people! Where did you get this gold and silver? You must have stolen it. Now, I have caught the thieves with the stolen goods. Let's go to see the boss." Wang thought he could scare the young men away since they were easy to bully. However, Zhang Kang said, "Our young master is a high-ranking foreign official. The prefect will treat him with respect. Going to see your boss is nothing compared to that!"

One of the middle-aged constables frowned upon hearing this and thought that this could lead to more trouble. He decided to take matters into his own hands and kill the young men to make a fortune. He drew his single-edged sword and swung it at Zhang Kang. Zhang Kang was terrified and quickly ducked. The sword passed over his head. He stood up and blocked the constable, shouting, "Young master, run!" Zhang Chaotang turned around and fled.

With a backhanded stroke, the constable missed again as Zhang Kang dodged to the side. The two men ran for their lives with the four constables chasing after them, brandishing their weapons and shouting.

Zhang Chaotang usually lived a life of luxury and comfort, combined with the shock he had just experienced, he was not running fast at all. He could see the constables catching up to him, when suddenly a rider came galloping towards him. One of the middle-aged constables shouted loudly, "Rebels! Rebels! How dare you resist arrest?" The other constables also shouted, "Catch the bandits! Catch the bandits!" They falsely accused Zhang Chaotang and his servant of being bandits, thinking that if they killed them, no one would dare to come forward and inquire about it. 

The rider rode closer and closer, seeing the two men running and the four constables chasing them. The rider thought they were trying to catch a dangerous criminal, so he urged his horse to gallop even faster. He caught up with Zhang Chaotang and his servant, leaned forward, and stretched out his arms, grabbing them by the back of their necks and lifting them up. The four constables also arrived and panting heavily.

The rider, a burly man with a loud voice and a thick beard, around forty years old, threw Zhang Chaotang and his servant to the ground, declared with a smile, "We've caught the bandits!" 

The constables, impressed by his strength and agility, thanked him and pulled Zhang Chaotang and his servant up.

The rider looked at Zhang Chaotang's scholar's robe and Zhang Kang's green clothes and small hat, realizing that they were not bandits. He was stunned. Zhang Kang cried out, "Help! They're after us to rob and kill us!" The ride asked, "What are you doing here?" Zhang Kang replied, "This is my young master. We're on our way to Guangzhou for the exams..." Before he could finish his sentence, one of the constables covered his mouth with his hand.

The middle-aged constable said to the rider, "Just mind your own business and go on your way." The rider retorted, "Let him speak." Zhang Chaotang said, "I'm just a scholar with no strength. How could I be a bandit?" One of the constables shouted, "Shut up!" and slapped him in the face.

The rider lashed out with his whip, the leather cord wrapping around one of the constable's wrists, preventing the blow from landing. "What's going on?" he demanded. "My young master is on his way to Guangzhou to take the Imperial Examinations, and these four fellows accosted us. They saw our silver and wanted to kill us," explained Zhang Kang, dropping to his knees and begging for mercy. 

The rider turned to the constables and asked, "Is this true?" They sneered but didn't answer. Meanwhile, Wang stood behind him, and he raised his blade without the rider noticing, intending to strike. 

The rider heard the wind behind his head but did not look back. He tilted his body to the left and swept his right foot out, performing a "Black Dragon Sweeps the Floor" move, hitting Wang's leg and sending him stumbling back several steps. The remaining three constables shouted, "A real bandit is here!" Two of them raised iron rulers while the other swung an iron chain, attacking the rider.

Zhang Chaotang worried as he saw that the rider was unarmed, but the rider remained fearless, dodging and weaving to avoid the constables' blades. He couldn't be touched. Wang got back up and rushed forward to attack. But the rider shouted, making Wang hesitate and miss his strike. The rider threw a punch at Wang's face, knocking him back and causing his nose to bleed. Wang shielded himself in pain, dropping his sword as he covered his face with both hands. The rider grabbed the sword and swung it around, slicing one of the constable's right shoulder who had been wielding an iron ruler.

With the weapon in hand, the rider became more powerful, and with a flash of the blade, he struck the left leg of the constable who had been holding the iron chain, causing him to fall to the ground. The remaining constable didn't dare fight anymore, abandoning his companions to flee with Wang. The rider laughed and threw the sword aside before jumping onto his horse.

Zhang Chaotang thanked him and asked for his name. The rider glared at him, seeing the two constables writhing on the ground in pain, and replied, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's ride and discuss." Zhang Kang brought over his horse, and the three of them rode together.

Zhang Chaotang introduced himself and his family background. The rider said, "So you're young master Zhang. My name is Yang Pengju. In the martial world, they call me 'Golden Wing of Cloud' and I'm the head of the Wu Hui Escort Agency." Zhang Chaotang said, "If it weren't for your help today, my servant and I would surely have been killed."

Yang Pengju said, "This area is really chaotic, it's hard to distinguish between soldiers and bandits. It's best for the young master to return to his foreign country as soon as possible. I also happen to be going to Guangzhou. If the young master doesn't mind, we can travel together."

Zhang Chaotang was overjoyed and repeatedly thanked him. These past few days, he had been frightened and unsettled, but now he was traveling with a skilled escort and felt much more at ease.

After walking for more than 20 miles, they couldn't find a place to rest. Yang Pengju had brought some dry rations with him and shared them with the other two. Zhang Kang found a broken earthenware pot and collected some dry branches to try to make a fire and boil some water. Suddenly, he heard someone shouting from behind, "There are bandits here!" Startled, Zhang Kang trembled and accidentally spilled all the water in the pot onto the firewood.

Yang Pengju turned around and saw that the escaped constables were leading over ten soldiers and riding horses to chase after them. He shouted, "Quick, mount your horses!" The three of them quickly mounted their horses. Yang Pengju let the other two go first and drew his single-edged sword from his saddle to defend from behind. The soldiers shouted, "Catch the bandits!" and chased after them on horseback.

Yang Pengju and others escaped for a while, but the pursuing soldiers were getting closer and closer, and the soldiers were shooting arrows one after another. Yang Pengju swung his sword to fend off the arrows and suddenly saw a fork in the road ahead, shouting, "Take the small road!" Zhang Chaotang urged his horse towards the small road, Zhang Kang and Yang Pengju followed closely behind. The pursuers did not let up at all. The constable shouted, "Chase them, catch the bandits, and we'll split the gold and silver among us all."

Yang Pengju decided to turn his horse around and shouted as he swung his sword. The constable was frightened and retreated, while the other soldiers pointed their spears at him. Yang Pengju was outnumbered and in the midst of the chaos, he was hit by a spear on his leg. Although it was only a minor flesh wound, he dared not linger in the fight any longer. He urged his horse forward and hacked off the left arm of a soldier with his sword, scaring the rest of the soldiers into retreating. He turned his horse around and rushed forward along the small road. Seeing him escaping, the soldiers became bolder and shouted and chased after him.

Within a moment, Yang Pengju had caught up with Zhang Chaotang and his servant as the road narrowed. The soldiers were afraid of Yang Pengju's bravery and did not dare to approach too closely. 

The three of them rode their horses for a while, and although the shouts of the pursuers were clearly audible, their figures had disappeared. While rushing, they suddenly came across three small paths ahead. Yang Pengju shouted, "Dismount!" They led their horses into the bushes and hid. In a moment, the pursuers had arrived. The constable hesitated for a moment, and led his soldiers down one of the paths.

Yang Pengju said, "They chased us for a while but couldn't find us, so they must have turned back. Let's hurry and leave." He tore off a piece of his shirt and wrapped his injured leg before they rushed down another path.

Before long, the sound of the pursuers became faintly audible again. Yang Pengju was anxious and saw three tiled houses up ahead, with a farmer working in front. He got off his horse and walked up to the farmer, saying, "Brother, there are soldiers behind us who want to harm us. Can you help us find a place to hide?" The farmer kept working and seemed to ignore him. Zhang Chaotang also got off his horse and begged.

Suddenly, the farmer looked up and carefully examined them. Then, the sound of hooves trampling on the ground came from the bushes ahead, and a shepherd boy rode out on a cow. The shepherd boy was about ten years old, with a small braid tied with a red rope on his head, dark skin, and bright, shining eyes. The farmer said to the shepherd boy, "Take the horses up to the mountains and let them graze. Come back when it's dark." The shepherd boy looked at Zhang Chaotang and the others and said, "Okay!" He took the three horses and walked away.

Yang Pengju didn't know what the farmer meant, but there was an air of authority in his words and demeanor. He didn't dare to speak up to stop the shepherd boy from leading his horse. At that moment, the sound of the pursuers grew louder, and Zhang Chaotang became anxious, repeatedly asking, "What should we do?"

The farmer said, "Follow me." He led the Zhang Chaotang and others into his house. The main room had wooden tables and chairs, and there were raincoats and plows hanging on the walls. It was clean and tidy, not like an ordinary farmer's house. The farmer led them to the back, and they walked through a courtyard to a bedroom. The farmer lifted the curtain to reveal the wall, and with a push, a large stone moved aside, revealing a hole in the wall. The farmer said, "Go in."

The three men followed his instructions and entered the spacious cave. The house was built against the mountain, just in front of the cave. Unless the house was demolished, no one would have guessed that there was a hiding place there.

The three men hid inside, and the farmer closed the secret door and went out to work in the fields. In no time, Wang and his soldiers arrived. Wang shouted at the farmer, "Hey, did three men on horseback pass by here?" The farmer pointed to the side of the path and said, "They passed by a long time ago!"

The soldiers searched for Zhang Chaotang and the others for seven or eight miles but found no trace of them. They turned their horses around and came back to ask the farmer again. The farmer pretended not to hear them and spoke incoherently. One of the soldiers cursed, "What the hell is the use of asking this idiot so many questions? Let's go!" They rode off in the other direction.

Zhang Chaotang, Yang Pengju, and Zhang Kang were hiding in a cave, faintly hearing the sound of galloping horses. After a while, the sound disappeared, and the farmer who was supposed to open the door didn't show up. Yang Pengju became restless and tried to push the door, but it didn't budge. The three of them had to sit on the ground and take a nap. Yang Pengju's wound was hurting, and he kept cursing at the constables and soldiers.

After several hours, the stone door suddenly made a creaking sound and opened, and light came in. The farmer held a candlestick and said, "Come out and have some food." Yang Pengju jumped up first and walked out, followed by Zhang Chaotang and his servant. They saw a hot meal on the table, with a large bowl of vegetables and tofu and even two fat chickens. Yang Pengju and Zhang Kang were secretly delighted.

In addition to the farmer and the shepherd boy they saw during the day, there were three people in the main room, all dressed as farmers. Zhang Chaotang and Yang Pengju thanked them and introduced themselves, then asked for their names.

A thin, fifty-year-old farmer replied, "My surname is Ying," pointing to the person who guided them to hide during the day and said, "This one's surname is Zhu." A tall and skinny man claimed his surname was Ni, while a short and chubby one said his surname was Luo. Zhang Chaotang said, "I thought you were all family members, but it turns out that you have different surnames." Ying replied, "We are all good friends."

Zhang Chaotang noticed that they didn't talk much, had a dignified look, and behaved elegantly, unlike ordinary farmers. Zhu and Ni exuded a powerful aura, while Ying had a noble demeanor and seemed to be a scholar who had read a lot of books. They all spoke northern Mandarin. Zhang Chaotang tried to test them with a few words, but Ying only nodded and didn't say much.

After finishing their meal, Ying asked about the reason why the soldiers were chasing them. Zhang Chaotang explained everything in detail, vividly describing the atrocities committed by the constables, how they oppressed the people and falsely accused the innocent of being bandits. Ni was so angry that he slammed the table and was about to curse, but Ying signaled him to stop. 

Zhang Chaotang went on to talk about how Yang Pengju had come to their aid, praising him profusely. Yang Pengju was very pleased and said, "That's nothing. Back in Jiangxi, I single-handedly killed the three villains of Poyang Lake. That's what you call making a name for yourself." He went on to describe the dangerous situation at the time, his own bravery, and how he turned defeat into victory. He couldn't stop talking about his adventures in the Jianghu world, which Zhang Chaotang found very interesting. Zhang Kang, who was still a child, was amazed and asked many questions.