Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108.

AN: Forgot to mention, I own none of the characters in the chapters, such as Hu Sanniang or Lin Chong. They belong to Water Margin/Outlaws of the Marsh 《水浒传》, to the author, Shi Nai'an.

Chapter 6:

At night, Lin Chung and Lady Green walked out into the open air and took the opportunity to discuss what they had seen. "What do you think it means?"

Lin Chung shook his head. "I'm as confused as you are. The only thing they showed us was what Meiren had told us herself."

"I know, but I get the feeling that something bigger that we don't understand. Remember what Mystique Sonia told us about the history of Liangshan from the Exiles' descendants?"

Lin Chung nodded slowly. "Wang Ying and Hu Sanniang were married. Lin Chong was exiled by the Emperor's advisor, whose nephew wanted Lin Chong's wife. After Lin Chong left, his wife committed suicide to remain loyal."

"Not only that." Lady Green frowned. "Remember? She mentioned that only after Hu Sanniang returned from Huangchun did she finally have a child. Wang Ying was thought to be barren, which was why many didn't want to be his wife, as they wanted a child."

Lin Chung finished her thoughts. "But if Wang Ying was barren, then he couldn't have produced the child with Hu Sanniang."

"So who else would be able to?" Lady Green asked, frowning.

Lin Chung's eyes widened. "You don't think that…"

Lady Green froze. "Would they? They wouldn't."

"She had one child. One child only, and that was after the trip to Huangchun. None of the villagers here had had enough contact with her. None of them would dare to try and sleep with her - she was more than capable of protecting herself."

"But…you think he forced himself on her?"

Lin Chung shook his head distractedly. "Meiren mentioned that Hu Sanniang was really bothered by Lin Chong's disappearance. If he had forced himself on her, she would've been elated. And she celebrated the birth of the child."

Lady Green's eyes widened even more. "You think they had an affair?"

Lin Chung growled, raking a hand through his hair. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would Hu Sanniang, who was happily married to Wang Ying, have an affair with Lin Chong, who had sworn to be loyal to his wife until his own death?"

Lady Green then frowned, trying to look at it from a different perspective. "What if she hadn't been as happy as she seemed?"

Lin Chung eyed her curiously.

She continued. "What if she hadn't been happy, and Lin Chong had been around?"

Lin Chung shook his head. "No, she wouldn't take advantage of that. From Meiren's stories, she didn't seem like the type."

"Then what about Lin Chong?" Lady Green asked. "None of the villagers except for the elder at that time had much contact with Lin Chong. The old man might've, but he would've viewed him in a heroic light due to Lin Chong rescuing him when he was young."

"This is confusing." Lin Chung sighed. "Until we have all the facts at our disposal, we can only guess and make assumptions."

"So," Lady Green said, "from what we have, Lin Chong and Hu Sanniang headed off to Huangchun together to take care of some rogues. Hu Sanniang could've not been as happy as she had seemed. Wang Ying was barren, so they never had any children. When they are at Huangchun, Lin Chong supposedly dies, his body never found.

"Hu Sanniang is devastated. She returns to Liangshan, and has a child, who she happily celebrates with the other Exiles as a miracle. After that, she dies, leaving everything to the child. The child has great-grandchildren, before the line supposedly dies out."

Lin Chung sighed. "We'll find out in the morning."

Hu Sanniang placed a hand on her swollen stomach. She sighed happily, feeling the baby kick. Wang Ying smiled at her as she turned to speak to Gu Dasao.

He had been more gentle ever since she had gotten pregnant.

"You have a miracle growing inside of you." He would say.

And she would smile and nod whole-heartedly.

Because the child was a miracle.

Not because it was Wang Ying's and he was barren, but because of something else.

Everytime she felt her stomach, she would think about his eyes, his features, his smile.

Would the child inherit his eyes? His ridiculously tall height? Even better, maybe his smile.

She would constantly find herself daydreaming, since Song Jiang prevented her from attending any sort of missions.

All the Exiles now had something to look forward to.

A child from amongst their ranks. The females wouldn't stop gossiping with her, and it got tiresome after a few days. Even the male Exiles constantly talked to her.

She was, to be honest, touched by their concern. She had yet to inform her brother, though.

And…she wasn't sure whether to tell her brother the truth. He would find out eventually, though - after all, she had inherited her sharp wits from someone, and with her sort of unluckiness, he would've inherited it as well.

But…?

She looked down at her stomach, and placed a gently hand on it, a faint smile on her face.

She hoped he would be proud.