In folk tales derived from the novel, Wu Song is a martial arts student of Zhou Tong and specialises in Chuojiao.

[4] A native of Qinghe County (in present-day Xingtai, Hebei), Wu Song is tall and good-looking with shining eyes, thick eyebrows, a muscular build and an impressive bearing.

When taking shelter in the residence of the nobleman Chai Jin, he meets Song Jiang, who is also fleeing the law after killing his mistress Yan Poxi.

Exhausted and fearing that another tiger might appear, he then flees the spot after a short rest, and runs into some local hunters, who are amazed to learn of his incredible feat.

According to some narrations in Yangzhou storytelling, particularly the "Wang school", Wu Song's slaying of the tiger took place "in the middle of the tenth (lunar) month" of the "Xuanhe year [1119]".

Wu Dalang, who is a dwarf selling flatbread for a living, is widely taunted in Qinghe as "Three-Inch Nail Tree Bark" (三寸丁谷樹皮) for his short stature.

Meeting Wu Song, Pan is immediately attracted to her handsome and well-built brother-in-law, but he sternly spurns her attempt to seduce him.

He learns that Pan is having an affair with a local merchant Ximen Qing (西門慶), a well-off scoundrel who has seduced the woman with the help of the teahouse owner Granny Wang (王婆), who lives next door to the Wus.

At the wake, he forces Pan Jinlian at knifepoint to make a full confession on the murder, and then decapitates and disembowels her in vengeance in front of the guests.

On the way Wu and his two escorts pass by Cross Slope (十字坡; in present-day Fan County, Henan), where they take a rest in Sun Erniang's inn.

Shi En (施恩), the son of the superintendent of Mengzhou prison, has heard of Wu Song's exploits and hopes he could help him re-take control of Happy Forest (快活林), a bustling cross-roads.

Invited to Mengzhou by his relative militia instructor Zhang (張團練), Jiang beat up Shi En and seized control of Happy Forest.

Shi, needing Wu Song's help, tells his father to spare him mandatory beating which newly arrived exiles are subject to and ensures he leads a comfortable life in prison.

He provokes Jiang Zhong into a fight and soundly beats him with a set of martial arts moves known as "Jade Circle Steps and Mandarin Ducks Kicks" (玉環步，鴛鴦腳).

After fleeing Mengzhou, Wu Song runs into Sun Erniang and Zhang Qing again, who advise him to go to Mount Twin Dragons to join the outlaw band there.

On his way, Wu Song passes by a temple where a Taoist Wang (王道人), nicknamed "Flying Centipede" (飛天蜈蚣), keeps a kidnapped woman for sexual pleasure.

Nevertheless, he participates in the campaigns against the invading Liao army and rebel forces in Song territory following amnesty from Emperor Huizong for Liangshan.

Jin Ping Mei is famous for its sexually explicit content, but there is nothing similar in the story of Wu Song in Water Margin.

The following tale alternatively known as "Meeting Zhou Tong By Chance" and "Swordplay under the Moon" belongs to the "Wang School Shuihu" of Yangzhou storytelling.

The tale takes place after Wu Song kills the man-eating tiger, resists the charms of his sister-in-law and accepts a mission from the magistrate to transport money to Kaifeng, but before he becomes a bandit.

It explains how he came to learn swordplay from Zhou Tong: Wu Song was given orders to travel on assignment to Kaifeng after becoming a constable in Yanggu County.

When he stepped onto the bridge, Wu Song lifted up his clothing and looked down at his feet so he could avoid the huge puddles of water left from the freak rain shower.

When the two men brushed shoulders, despite being a master of Iron Shirt and Drunken Eight Immortals boxing, Wu Song was nearly knocked off the bridge and the pain caused saliva to pour from his mouth.

However, the stately-looking people attending this sumptuous feast were underneath the eaves of the hall watching a person practise his swordplay in the manor's courtyard.

Zhou wielded his swords to and fro and did it so fast that the flashes of light cast from the blades made it look like his entire body was wrapped in snow.

When he twirled around and ended up facing in his direction, Wu Song recognised Zhou Tong as the old man he had bumped into on the bridge earlier in the day.

Zhou Tong used his magical X-ray eyes to peer through the brick wall and into Wu Song's bone structure to see he was a special person indeed.

When Zhou Tong asked for his name, he was delighted to learn Wu Song was the same fellow who became famous for killing a man-eating tiger with his bare hands on Jingyang Ridge in Shandong in the previous year.

Wu Song was thrilled to meet this "master of the older generation", who was famous throughout the jianghu for his skills in military and civilian martial arts.

The Hong Kong comic Old Master Q also has a special edition animated cartoon with Water Margin characters, with the primary focus being on Wu Song.