"Brother Wu Song, you shouldn't have killed Gao Qiu! He was a first-rank court official, one of the Three Excellencies. Killing him meant breaking with the imperial court for good," Song Jiang said when he found Wu Song.
"Brother Gongming, are you planning to accept an imperial amnesty someday?" Wu Song asked.
"That's right," Song Jiang said. "Which of our brothers was born wanting to be an outlaw, with two lines of branded characters on his face, a lifetime of infamy on his back, and people condemning him behind his back? Accepting an imperial amnesty is our only way out."
"Oh, is that so? Then tell me, Brother Gongming, how did our brothers end up on Liangshan in the first place?" Wu Song asked.
"Well... naturally, the officials drove the people to rebel. Corrupt officials forced them onto Liangshan," Song Jiang said.
"If that's the case, why should our brothers accept an imperial amnesty and submit to those corrupt officials' oppression again? Wouldn't that put us right back where we started?" Wu Song asked.
"But once our brothers become officials, later generations won't condemn them as bandits," Song Jiang said.
"Oh, becoming officials will change the fact that they were once bandits? Brother Gongming, prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain. It isn't easily moved," Wu Song said.
"How can we know it won't change if we don't try?" Song Jiang asked.
"Brother Gongming, I understand what you mean. Those who follow different paths cannot make plans together. Our brotherhood ends here. You take your broad highway, and I'll cross my narrow bridge," Wu Song said.
"Brother Wu Song, why take it this far? Even if we disagree, surely we don't have to sever our brotherhood!" Song Jiang said hastily.
"That's because I have something momentous to do, and