The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1636 Heading West
As darkness fell, the drizzle that had been falling for a long time actually intensified.

The raindrops hit the ground with a splashing sound, drowning out other noises in the city.

Even in the rain, the city's wealthy residents' nightlife remained vibrant. Restaurants, guild halls, brothels, gambling dens, and even opium dens were always bustling with activity.

Around eight o'clock, a sedan chair emerged from the backyard of Yixiang Courtyard, with a sedan chair bearer in straw raincoats at the front and back. Beside them was a guard in a straw raincoat carrying a knife, and a steward in a raincoat.

To fully demonstrate respect and importance to customers, management must be there even in the pouring rain. Service is a time-honored tradition; those who cater to wealthy clients know how to provide a superior experience to maximize their profits…

The sedan chair bearers carried the sedan chair very steadily, as it was their profession. Lian Sheng, who was small and thin, sat in the cramped sedan chair and rose and fell slightly with the movement of the chair.

At this moment, she thought of Zhao Erhu, her childhood sweetheart who foolishly said he would come to rescue her. She had told him the day she was sent away, and she didn't know what her motivation was. After all these years of being raised and having seen so much of the world's splendor, Zhao Erhu, who was still covered in dirt, was not good enough for her.

But that sincere, somewhat naive country boy touched a soft spot in her heart. She wasn't necessarily in love with Zhao Erhu, she just liked his naiveté…

There is a narrow alleyway that is necessary to get from Yixiang Courtyard to Li Dahu’s house. The alleyway is about three zhang wide and can be considered a small path. Turning into it leads to Li Dahu’s courtyard.

When the sedan chair bearers arrived at this spot, a figure wearing a straw hat and a raincoat swiftly rushed out from around the corner.

The figure brought two fingers together and lightly tapped the sedan bearer's chest. Then, without stopping, it rushed straight at the guard with the knife and struck him in the chest with a palm.

With a soft thud, the guard staggered back several steps, his head hitting the wall, and he passed out the next instant.

Only then did the sedan bearer who had been attacked suddenly release his grip, clutching his chest with a ferocious expression, but he couldn't utter a sound no matter what.

Wang Yan walked easily to the sedan chair carrier behind him and gently tapped his chest with two fingers. The sedan chair carrier then clutched his chest and grimaced.

His finger strike affected the heart's circulation, causing a momentary cardiac arrest and engulfing the person in a profound sense of impending death. For someone with heart disease, this would likely be fatal. Even those with healthy hearts would need considerable time to recover, remaining weak for two or three days.

"you……"

The steward pointed at Wang Yan, then looked at the other two figures carrying machetes, opened his mouth to shout, but unsurprisingly, he was also struck by Wang Yan's acupoints.

"Take a deep breath. Dizziness is normal. It will subside after a while." Wang Yan chuckled, reassuring the panicked steward whose pupils were constricted. He then reached out and rummaged through the steward's clothes to retrieve his money pouch.

Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang stared blankly at Wang Yan until Lian Sheng, who had already cried out in pain, couldn't help but lift the curtain. Only then did Zhao Erhu come to his senses and quickly move closer.

"two……"

Lian Sheng had just opened her mouth to call out someone when Zhao Erhu covered her mouth, preventing her from saying the name.

After kicking the guard who had been knocked unconscious, making him truly dazed, Wang Yan glanced at Lian Sheng, who looked somewhat frightened, and threw the money bag he had taken from the steward to Zhao Erhu: "If you want to run, then hurry up and leave. If you don't want to run, then keep an eye on them. Don't let them run out and report to the authorities and ruin things. I'll make arrangements when I come out in a bit."

Having said that, Wang Yan didn't even look at Erhu and the others. He turned and went into the alley, heading towards the courtyard of the wealthy Li family. Under Erhu's watchful eye, he nimbly scaled the high wall, glanced back at Erhu, and then jumped over...

"Big brother, it seems he wasn't just joking with us..." Jiang Wuyang stared blankly at the empty wall and actually went inside.

"So what? He has more than ten guards, and he can handle it all by himself..."

Hearing the faint barking of dogs, Zhao Erhu gritted his teeth and said, "You're asking for it! Let's go!"

As he spoke, he took the raincoat off the steward and put it on Lian Sheng, then without saying a word, he grabbed Lian Sheng and ran away.

Jiang Wuyang looked around, then kicked the glaring steward in the stomach before quickly chasing after him.

They hadn't gone far, and were just about to turn onto the main road, when Zhao Erhu, who was pulling Liansheng along, suddenly stopped.

"Big brother?"

"Erhu?"

Jiang Wuyang and Liansheng raised questions.

Zhao Erhu stood there for a while, perhaps two or three minutes, before finally relaxing after being conflicted.

“Go back!” he said firmly. “Liansheng, you wait here. We’ll go back with Wuyang to take a look.”

Lian Sheng nodded gently, simply saying "okay," and watched Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang run back...

"Big brother, what happened to you..."

Zhao Erhu looked at the location of Li Dahu's house in the distance and said, "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have gotten this far. I think he was decisive and efficient, so he must have practiced boxing. Even if he couldn't beat so many people, his ruthlessness should have allowed him to escape and prevent them from chasing us."

Even if they're hunted down, he'll definitely scare them. When they see the two of us, if they can hold them off for even a moment, more of their men will die, so we should be fine. If he actually succeeds, we'll be rich. Even if he fails, judging from how he saw through our plans today and what he said, anyone with a modicum of sense can do something. Either way, we brothers won't lose out.”

Zhao Erhu wasn't brainless; his straightforwardness stemmed from his personality, but that didn't mean he lacked intelligence. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to build such a large bandit force, nor would he have been able to attract so many people willing to fight and risk their lives for him.

Jiang Wuyang suddenly realized: "Brother, you're amazing. You've never been to school, yet you speak so eloquently. If you had studied, you could definitely have become an official."

"The officials are all in their fifties or sixties, how old am I? Let's keep risking our lives and make money as much as we can."

The two men stared nervously at Li Dahu, feeling incredibly anxious and tormented with every second.

Finally, a creaking sound pierced through the rain.

Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang instinctively gripped their machetes, their hearts pounding with excitement, their blood rushing, and their adrenaline coursing through their veins, clearly ready for battle.

Just then, Wang Yan strolled out of the gate.

"Not bad." Under the bewildered gazes of the two, Wang Yan smiled. "Carry the sedan chair inside. We'll be staying at Master Li's house tonight and leaving first thing tomorrow morning. Let's get moving and make sure no one sees us."

So Erhu quickly went to call Liansheng back, and then watched as the guards and stewards helped the sedan chair bearers carry the sedan chair. These people hadn't recovered yet and couldn't exert any strength, so even with four people carrying the sedan chair, it was still very slow. It took them a while to carry the sedan chair into the Li family's courtyard.

The heavy door creaked shut and the bolt was pulled. Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang both breathed a sigh of relief, their tension outside finally dissipating. Although it was raining, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't pass by and see them; that could lead to trouble.

However, they had barely breathed a sigh of relief when they were immediately filled with anxiety again. This was the home of the wealthy Li family. Here lived more than a dozen of Li's brothers.

Selling salt and doing business both require competition. Clearly, Li the tycoon and his brothers were not to be trifled with; otherwise, they would not have been able to establish themselves in Yangzhou and gain a certain reputation.

Ah ~
A gasp interrupted the swirling thoughts in their minds. Zhao Erhu quickly went over and put his arm around Liansheng's shoulder: "What's wrong?"

“…Blood! The ground…is covered in blood!” Lian Sheng trembled.

Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang looked down and, sure enough, saw blood mixed with rainwater on the ground.

Before they could ask, Wang Yan said with a smile, "It's a dead dog. Didn't you hear it barking earlier?"

The three of them looked in the direction Wang Yan pointed and saw two large dogs lying motionless on the ground, with the blood around them particularly thick.

"Tie them all up. There are ropes in the house. Then take them to the main hall. They're all there."

Following Wang Yan's instructions, after tying everyone up, they were led to the main hall connected to the backyard. There, Zhao Erhu and his two companions saw several strong men groaning on the ground, as well as a large group of women and male servants huddled in a corner, totaling more than twenty people.

The women were alright, but the male servants were bruised and battered, hissing and screaming. The few strong men were in a terrible state, their limbs broken, lying on the ground like corpses.

At that moment, Wang Yan sat in a chair, smiling as he looked at a man lying on the ground with his limbs broken.

“Master Li, now we can talk. Tell me about all your money, gold, silver and valuables. Give yourself a chance.”

As Mr. Li watched Lian Sheng, dressed in fine clothes, walk in, and then looked at the two boys, he could only sigh and tell the evil spirit sitting there where the family's money was hidden.

Of course, it's impossible to confess everything truthfully; there are always some hidden banknotes. But that's clearly wrong and immature. With such a large business empire, how can they be so reluctant to part with these household assets?

So, under the fearful gazes of Zhao Erhu and the other two, Wang Yan spoke briefly with Li Dahu, which made him repent and reveal all the things he had hidden.

"See? I didn't lie to you. You can live well if you work hard." Wang Yan slapped a hundred-tael silver note on each person and said with a smile, "Actually, it's not as difficult as you think. You said that Master Li has more than ten guards, but there are only three good ones in this mansion. The reason why six are lying down is that the other three are servants who wanted to perform well for Master Li, but they are not very capable."

The three men looked at each other, holding light yet heavy silver notes in their hands. Lying on the ground was a once unapproachable figure, while in front of them stood a peer who was smiling and talking to them.

Erhu glanced at the silver note, then stuffed it into his clothes and asked, "Have you practiced boxing?"

"I've learned a couple of tricks."

"You're lying, how could your hands be that good?" Jiang Wuyang said wisely. "Brother Yan, can I learn?"

"Of course, otherwise how can you fight harder? How can you stand out and live a good life? Once we've settled down, I'll teach you two how to fight."

Social contradictions within the Qing Dynasty were ever-present, especially after the Opium War. Such an unstable environment meant danger, necessitating self-preservation, making the formation of martial arts societies inevitable. While not as widespread as the Boxer Rebellion, such organizations did exist.

Whether in a village, running a security escort agency, opening a martial arts school, or even becoming a criminal organization, that's how it was in those days. Some people smoked opium, some practiced martial arts, and some practiced while smoking...

Wang Yan waved his hand, interrupting Jiang Wuyang's excitement, "Search their house and see if there are any suitable clothes or anything, take a couple of sets as spares."

Everyone in the house was trembling with fear. The three of them nervously headed straight for the back courtyard...

Early in the morning, before dawn, the city gates were already bustling with activity. People inside the city waited to leave, while those outside waited to come in. Donkey carts and horse-drawn carriages loaded with goods lined up in long queues, and acquaintances chatted, all telling stories of their hardships and tears.

There's no safe place these days. Big fish eat little fish. Even seemingly lucrative businesses aren't having an easy time. At least, most of the people queuing up here so early in the morning are probably not having a comfortable time...

Finally, the city gates opened.

Among the crowd were four people, all quite young. A young man was pushing a wheelbarrow with a rather attractive young woman sitting on it. They followed the flow of people, slowly making their way out of the city.

Lian Sheng sat on the wheelbarrow, curiously looking at the desolate land outside. The lush green mountains and clear waters were the result of a century of struggle to reach the modern era, but not what they possessed now. The only greenery was grass. It was difficult to find even a single shrub as far as the eye could see.

But Lian Sheng watched with great interest. She had never left the city since she was sold there. She compared what she saw with what she remembered.

Perhaps it was because she had entered a wider world that her mood naturally lifted, and her tiny feet began to swing leisurely...

"Big brother, where are we going?"

Zhao Erhu pushed the wheelbarrow earnestly, turning his head to look at Wang Yan, who seemed quite relaxed beside him.

Where were you originally planning to go?

“Go home and take a look, then ask the villagers who are willing to follow me and take them out to become bandits.”

"where to?"

"In the mountains."

"Within a radius of three hundred li, where are there any mountains?"

Jiang Wuyang interjected, "Brother, we are from Luzhou Prefecture in Anhui. There are the Dabie Mountains there, which are very deep. If we hide in the mountains, the government can't do anything to us."

Wang Yan nodded: "Then let's go take a look first."

By this time, Hong Tianwang had already begun to stir up trouble, making a name for himself in the south, though the people here were unaware of it. They didn't even know where their daily meals would come from, so they couldn't concern themselves with such important matters. But they were oblivious to the fact that their lives depended on this very thing.

The Qing government killed people, the Taiping army killed people, and famine, plague, war and chaos, etc., all added up to tens of millions of deaths and hundreds of millions of people affected in more than ten years.

The mountains are indeed a wonderful place...

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