Pan Rui
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Pan Rui (樊瑞), or Fan Rui, is a character in the Water Margin.
Pan Rui was from Puzhou. He had untidy thin hair, and donned a silk robe covered by his armour. In his younger days, Pan learned martial arts and could use a chain-spiked mace in battle, with no other like him. He was fearsome in battle, and incurred fear in the hearts of his enemies. Besides excelling in martial arts, Pan was also a master of Taoist magic, and could control the weather and subdue all kinds of evil. Thus, he was nicknamed 'the demon king who rocks the world' (混世魔王).
Pan Rui and his friends Xiang Chong and Li Gun set up a stronghold on Mangdang Mountain near Peixian, Xuzhou, and had 3000 bandit troops under their command. They robbed the rich to help the poor and upheld justice. Once, they proclaimed that they would one day conquer Liangshan, which angered Song Jiang. Song Jiang immediately led the Liangshan heroes to attack Mangdang Mountain. Shi Jin volunteered to be the vanguard general, but he lost the first battle, and managed to escape when reinforcements came.
The next day, Gongsun Sheng ordered the Liangshan troops to be in the Eight Trigrams Formation to counter the enemy. Pan Rui used his magic powers to darken the sky, and conjure up a sandstorm to confuse the Liangshan troops. Pan Rui then ordered Xiang Chong and Li Gun to lead 500 crack troops to enter the formation and break it. At the same time, Gongsun Sheng, being more powerful than Pan Rui in Taoist magic, managed to defeat Pan Rui in magic combat. Xiang Chong and Li Gun were both captured by the Liangshan heroes and Pan Rui escaped in a frenzy.
Song Jiang released Xiang Chong and Li Gun. Both Xiang and Li were touched by Song Jiang's kindness and returned to Mangdang Mountain and managed to persuade Pan Rui to join the Liangshan band. Pan Rui became a student under Gongsun Sheng and learned Taoist magic from Gongsun.
Pan Rui became one of the leaders of the Liangshan infantry and 72 Earthly Fiends. After Song Jiang had obtained amnesty from the government, Pan Rui followed the heroes on their campaigns. During the Tian Hu campaign, Pan Rui challenged Tian's magician Qiao Daoqing, but was defeated by Qiao. In the end, Qiao was overcome by Gongsun Sheng. Pan Rui was one of the few lucky surviving heroes after the campaigns and he refused to take up any official post despite his contributions. Then, Pan Rui followed Gongsun Sheng and Zhu Wu to travel around the country and practise Taoism till the end of his days.
