Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

An entire profession has been wiped out of existence.

Tan Yan, a man with exceptional martial arts skills who lived by the rules his entire life, ended up as a living dead with nowhere to use his abilities.

In recent years, he has made a living by guarding homes and transporting odds and ends, taking on private jobs that no one else wanted.

Like this trip right now.

About two weeks ago, a man surnamed Zhao came to our door.

Mr. Zhao worked at a bank in the city and handled properties left behind by the Japanese.

He told Tan Yan that in recent years, the high-ranking officials who took over the government had become so greedy that they had looted everything. The gold left behind by the Japanese, which should have belonged to the country, had all ended up in the pockets of corrupt officials.

He betrayed his conscience and intercepted a batch of goods, hiding them away. Only he and the child knew the account books and the location.

Mr. Zhao said he was afraid he wouldn't live much longer.

He begged Tan Yan to send the child out of Beiping, southward, into the liberated area, and to hand over the whereabouts of the gold to the people there so that the money could be spent where it was needed.

Tan Yan asked, "Why is it the liberated area?"

Mr. Zhao said that people all over Beiping and North China want this gold, and the child will die no matter where he stays. Only in that one place can these people's hands not reach in.

Tan Yan accepted the shipment.

According to the rules of the escort agency, one must be loyal to the person entrusted with the task. Three days later, Mr. Zhao had someone silence him.

Tan Yan took the child and left the city overnight, heading south until they arrived at this inn.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) finally caught up with them.

Chen Zhan, inside the small house, watched all of this through the holes in the window paper.

An expert can tell from the old man's demeanor that he was a true bodyguard. The way he held the knife, with his shoulders relaxed and elbows dropped, and the knife close to his forearm, was the kind of style that involved wrapping the head and neck around the body.

The long, sweeping steps are the foundation of Tongbei martial arts. The internal strength is substantial, and the skill is honed through decades of rigorous training; it cannot be faked.

Chen Zhan's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't go out.

Li Qingsu was still on the kang (a heated brick bed).

His priority upon returning was to bring her back to the Soviet area intact. He would avoid getting involved in other matters as much as possible. The old bodyguard's life was his own business.

In the courtyard, Lei San waved his hand, and several people crowded around from both ends of the dormitory.

Tan Yan seized the initiative.

The old bodyguard's knife was fast and ruthless. He was the first to rush in, but before he could even raise his knife, Tan Yan's single-edged sword had already wrapped around his arm and slashed down. With one stroke, half of his arm, along with the sword, fell to the ground.

The second one came from the side. Tan Yan threw out a long, sweeping punch, striking the man's neck with a loud crack. The man fell onto the haystack and lay motionless.

The dormitory was cramped and crowded, making it difficult to use a gun properly, which was perfect for Tan Yan's close-quarters knife.

He's over sixty years old, and it's one against seven or eight.

The third and fourth attacked together, wielding both swords and spears.

Tan Yan was protecting the child behind him and couldn't move freely. He was stabbed in the left shoulder, and blood gushed out immediately.

He grunted, and without stopping, he slashed the man's throat with his other hand.

Lei San watched from outside, frowned, took out his Mauser pistol, retreated to the door of the dormitory, and fired a sniper shot into the dormitory from a few steps away.

boom.

A shot hit Tan Yan in the leg.

The old bodyguard swayed for a moment, then knelt down, using his knife as a support to keep from falling.

The child behind him trembled with fear and reached out to help him.

Tan Yan couldn't turn around. Gasping for breath, he squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Shuanzi, don't move, stay close to the wall."

Lei San raised his gun again, this time pointing it at the child.

Tan Yan risked his life to protect her, but the shot didn't fire. Before Lei San's gun could even fire, his wrist was grabbed by a hand.

He turned his head and saw an ordinary-looking middle-aged man standing beside him.

The next moment, a slap came from behind, and with a crack, Lei San's neck twisted to one side.

Before the remaining agents of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics could react, the middle-aged man had already entered the dormitory.

No knife, no gun, one palm strike each, so fast it was impossible to see.

Seven or eight people collapsed on the communal floor in the blink of an eye, piled up alongside the dead men that Tan Yan had knocked down.

The dormitory room fell silent.

Tan Yan knelt on the ground, supporting himself with his knife, and looked up at the middle-aged man who had appeared out of nowhere.

Having worked as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) his entire life, he had a keen eye. He could tell from the few casual moves this man made that every single one was deadly; his skill was beyond measure.

He couldn't think anymore; the blood was flowing too fast from his legs and shoulders, and he couldn't hold on any longer.

"Thank you, brother." Tan Yan said, panting, his voice hoarse.

Chen Zhan squatted down and examined his injuries.

The knife to the shoulder cut into the flesh but didn't touch the bone; the bullet to the leg went out through the outside of the thigh but didn't hit the bone or damage the tendons.

The bleeding was terrifying, and the person was in unbearable pain, but neither of the two injuries was fatal.

You won't die.

Chen Zhan tore a few relatively clean strips of cloth from the dead man on the ground and had him tie up the bullet hole in his leg to stop the bleeding. He then pressed and wrapped up the knife wound on his shoulder.

Tan Yan was a seasoned veteran with accurate aim, so this was nothing to him. He grimaced in pain, but once the bleeding stopped, he felt a bit better.

"With this injury, you'll be able to walk around in a month or two," Chen Zhan said. "You won't die."

Shuanzi was still clinging to Tan Yan, crying and hiccuping. Tan Yan freed one of her hands and patted the child's back.

"Don't cry," the old bodyguard said in a hoarse voice. "Seventh Master isn't dead yet."

Chen Zhan stood up and listened outside the courtyard.

It's almost dawn.

This incident caused quite a stir. The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) personnel did not return to report. That guy surnamed Feng will find out sooner or later that something went wrong here.

I can't stay here any longer.

Chen Zhan turned to leave, but Tan Yan behind him said, "Brother, please wait. I am Tan Yan, and I have a favor to ask."

Chen Zhan shook his head: "I can't help you much, I'm too busy taking care of myself."

Tan Yan behind him didn't say anything more.

The ordinary-looking middle-aged man said, "I'm too busy to take care of myself," and turned and left without looking back.

Tan Yan leaned against the wall of the dormitory, watching his back disappear into the darkness outside the door, and didn't say anything more.

You can't force it.

The fact that they were willing to lend a helping hand this time is already an immense favor. After a lifetime of wandering the world, we met by chance, and it's already a kindness that they were willing to help you.

He took a breath, braced himself against the single-edged sword, and slowly stood up.

The wounds on his legs and shoulders were tightly bandaged, the bleeding had stopped, and he could still move.

This injury wouldn't have been a big deal when he was younger, but he's over sixty and can't withstand this kind of damage.

He doesn't have time to recover. The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) personnel died here, and that receiving committee member surnamed Feng will find out as soon as it's dawn.

We can't stay in this place for even a moment longer.

"Shuanzi, let's go."

The child was still staring blankly at the pile of dead bodies on the ground when he heard the shout. He quickly got up and grabbed Tan Yan's clothes.

Tan Yan wrapped the single-edged sword back into the blue cloth bundle, carried it on his back, and, holding the child's hand, left the inn through the back door before dawn and disappeared into the fields.

Heading south. The courier Mr. Zhao entrusted was to deliver Shuanzi into the liberated area.

From Beiping to the liberated areas, there was a large part of North China, and the whole way was under the control of the Kuomintang, with checkpoints, security teams, and local militias one after another.

Tan Yan dared not walk on the main road, but instead chose to walk on small paths, field ridges, and riverbanks.

During the day, they would find a graveyard or a dilapidated temple to hide in, and then continue their journey after dark. Shuanzi was small and had short legs, so he couldn't walk fast. When he was hungry, he would eat some dry food, and Tan Yan would share his share with him.

For the first two days, Shuanzi dreamed of his father every time he closed his eyes, and woke up crying in the middle of the night.

Tan Yan didn't know how to comfort a child, so he could only hold him in his arms and say in a rough voice, "Seventh Master is here. Seventh Master will take you to your destination, and then you'll have a home."

Shuanzi asked, "Seventh Master, when we get to that place, will my father be able to come back to life?"

He had nothing to say.

He had killed people and carried goods in his life, spending decades licking blood off the blade, never afraid of anything. But now, holding a child who had no parents, he felt empty inside, a strange feeling in his heart.

He walked carefully, but the net tightened day by day.

Starting from the third day, there were noticeably more checkpoints along the way, and the checks became more thorough.

At the town entrance, bridgehead, ferry crossing, and all other key points of the road, people were added. On the walls and trees, there were pictures of an old man and a child, with the amount of reward money written below, enough to feed a family for several years.

Tan Yan understood.

Mr. Zhao confided to him on his deathbed that the person most closely watching this gold was a receiving committee member surnamed Feng from the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

Lei San's team of martial arts experts was sent by Committee Member Feng. Now that the team has disappeared overnight, Committee Member Feng knows what's going on and knows that a remarkable person has suddenly appeared.

He didn't know who the person was, nor did he know that the person had long since left; he simply assumed that the person was still protecting the old man and the child.

The more this happened, the more he wanted to seize it. He was determined to get his hands on the child, who was the source of the gold.

If they can't catch the obvious, they'll resort to the covert.

Committee Member Feng scattered the reward money along the road, and the security team, the returning villagers, the local thugs, and the informants all became his eyes and hands.

On the fourth day, Tan Yan and his father almost got into trouble on the outskirts of a town.

That day, when they ran out of rations, Shuanzi was so hungry he couldn't straighten his back.

Having no other choice, Tan Yan took the child and went to a small restaurant outside the town, hoping to buy two steamed buns. The restaurant owner's eyes darted over him and Shuanzi twice, and the smile on his face froze.

There were pictures pasted on the wall.

His heart sank. He put down the money, grabbed the sash, and left. He hadn't gone more than a few steps out of the restaurant when three or four men with white cloth strips wrapped around their necks chased after him. They were members of the returning militia.

"Stop! Where did you come from!"

Without looking back, he quickened his pace and headed towards the chaotic graveyard outside the town, until he was finally caught up by someone.

The local militia had guns, so he didn't dare let Shuanzi get shot. He pushed the child behind a collapsed grave and turned around to face them.

His injured body was still not very agile.

The first one who lunged at him was chopped down with a single blow.

The second man raised his gun, and Tan Yan lunged forward, slicing his sword along the barrel, slicing the hand, gun, and fingers away. With a backhand slash, he cut the man's throat.

Seeing that things were not going well, the remaining two turned around and ran to call for help.

You can't run away.

As soon as he ran, the whole town came to chase and intercept him, and he couldn't escape with a child in his arms.

Despite his injured leg, he rushed forward, and with a flash of the blade, the two men fell beside the grave.

All four of them have left.

The knife wound on his shoulder also burst open, and blood seeped out, staining half of his jacket red.

He was panting heavily, and leaned against the grave for a while to catch his breath before going back to pull the terrified Shuanzi up.

"It's alright. Let's go."

This match nearly exhausted his last bit of strength, compounding his injuries. He knew his body couldn't handle many more rounds.

But the shipment failed to arrive, and they barely managed to keep going.

If you continue south, the terrain changes, and a river lies across the road ahead.

The river is wide and the current is rapid. There is no bridge, and people can only cross the river by a few ferries at the ferry crossing. This river is an insurmountable obstacle for those heading south.

When Tan Yan saw the ferry crossing in the distance, his heart sank.

The ferry crossing was packed with people, a dark mass of people. A checkpoint was set up on the bank, with a team of people holding the line, checking and letting people cross the river one by one.

On the wooden stake next to the checkpoint, the portrait of the old man and the child is still nailed.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) had already calculated this.

People heading south all had to cross the river here. Guarding a ferry crossing was much easier than casting nets along the way.

With no way to retreat, Tan Yan looked back and saw dust rising from the road they had come from. It was the people chasing them who had caught up with them.

With a trap in front and pursuers behind, he gripped Shuanzi's hand tightly.

Having come this far, this shipment is likely doomed.

In the crowd at the ferry crossing, there was a covered mule cart parked in the line of people waiting for the boat. It had been waiting for most of the day. The driver was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.

Chen Zhan has also been stuck at the ferry crossing for a day.

There's only one ferry crossing on the river, and only a few ferries. But there are so many people crossing that long queues form, and the checkpoints are very thorough, so only a few can be let through each day.

He was with Li Qingsu, but the injuries he had sustained in the carriage couldn't withstand any further strain, and he dared not force his way through the checkpoints. Li Qingsu was covered in wounds, including gunshot wounds and torture marks. No matter how well he covered them, they would be exposed if someone lifted the carriage awning to examine him closely.

He could only wait in line, hoping to slip through when there were fewer people and the checks were less strict.

Li Qingsu was awake inside the carriage.

After taking two Lesser Rejuvenation Pills these past few days, and with Chen Zhan taking care of her along the way, she has recovered quite a bit and is able to sit up and say a few words.

She lifted a corner of the carriage awning, glanced at the throng of people, then at Chen Zhan driving the carriage, and said nothing.

Chen Zhan didn't look at her; his eyes casually swept over the other side of the clip.

There was some commotion at the front of the line, near the checkpoint.

Chen Zhan's gaze swept over and saw that the people on the card were surrounding an old man and a child. The old man was carrying a blue cloth bundle on his back and was protecting the child tightly behind him.

Several people who had secured the area, along with those who caught up from behind, formed a tight perimeter. The portrait nailed to the wall depicted the old man and the child.

Chen Zhan recognized the old man; he was the bodyguard from the inn.

He didn't even flinch.

He intervened and saved them that night; whether the old man and the child live or die is their own fate.

He looked away, pondering how to take advantage of the chaos to get the car onto the ferry.

On the other side of the car, Tan Yan drew his knife. The old镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was covered in wounds and was only holding on by his last breath. He protected Shuanzi, with his back against the river, and wielded the single knife so skillfully that the water could not penetrate it, forcing the people who surrounded him not to get close.

He won't last much longer.

The first man stepped back two steps, pulled out his Mauser pistol, and pointed it at Tan Yan, but didn't fire. He had received a death order: the boy had to be captured alive.

"Old man, put down the knife! Hand over the child, and I'll leave you a whole corpse!"

"The rules of the escort agency are that the escort will not let go of the goods until they reach their destination."

He shielded the child and retreated until they reached the riverbank, where there was nowhere left to go.

The man pointed his gun at the child, trying to avoid shooting him.

Just then, Shuanzi poked his head out from behind Tan Yan and cried out at the top of his lungs to the people at the ferry crossing.

"Whoever saves me and Seventh Master, and gets us back to square one, I'll give them the gold my father left me!" (End of Chapter)