Finished Outlaws of the Marsh! The tail end was a slog, and the steady attrition of characters lacked the interest of their recruitment, without much in the way of theme or emotion to how their arcs concluded. That brings to mind how much better the start of the book was, hopping around different viewpoints, each very grounded in everyday life, each showing how someone could end up on the run from the law.
Of the characters, Song Jiang felt the most interesting and open to interpretation. It's not really clear why he's so beloved for his charity, and I favor the idea that he romanticized the jianghu for a long time and showed his admiration to those he encountered from it. When he does end up in the jianghu himself, it feels like the actual experience was disillusioning for him, and beyond humility I imagine his repeated refusals of the leadership of Liangshan as also being motivated by a longing to return to his normal life. It's hard not to read all his declarations of the patriotism and honor of the bandits despite all the times when they do harm the civilians as being attempts to appeal to their better natures and build towards the eventual amnesty that he is so desperate for. But over the many battles in the marsh, his romanticized idealization of the lifestyle and then disillusioned reluctant participation in it gives way to a genuine loyalty to the other bandits, leading him to stay as their leader through the military campaigns, only for the last to bring about their deaths. His valorization of honor also contrasts with some of his clearest crimes: Murdering his mistress, false-flag atrocities, and poisoning Li Kui. In those cases he seems to care more for his own reputation.
I also enjoyed both the depictions of mundane life and travel, with all the interesting details like the prevalence of bribes, and at the same time the supernatural elements of flying swords and magical illusions.