and realised it was poison but was too late. He struggled but was eventually smothered with a pillow by his wife. Then, Ximen Qing had Wu Dalang's body cremated, and he tried to bribe the neighbours and the coroner to keep the affair a secret. When Wu Song returned from his errand he was shocked to hear of his brother's death. He started an investigation, found out about the adulterous affair and reported it to the magistrate. However, the magistrate had been bribed and he dismissed the case citing lack of evidence. Eventually, Wu Song managed to force a confession from Pan Jinlian and he killed her to avenge his brother. He then went to find Ximen Qing and after a fierce fight, killed Ximen and cut off his head as a sacrifice to his brother's spirit. References Water Margin characters Fictional Chinese people in literature Fictional characters from Hebei Fictional characters with dwarfism