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

The child's cries were sharp and clear, drowning out the noise at the ferry crossing, each word carrying far and wide.

Chen Zhan, who was about to catch the train, paused.

The words "gold" and "liberated area" entered his ears.

Chen Zhan had initially thought this was just a common feud in the martial arts world, but now he finally understood the real story.
The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) is best at this kind of thing: internal strife and embezzlement.

The child's voice had a slight Beijing accent, suggesting he was someone of considerable importance and perhaps harboring a secret.

Inside the carriage, Li Qingsu also heard it. She propped herself up and looked at Chen Zhan.

"Brother-in-law..."

Chen Zhan didn't say anything, put the reins on the carriage shaft, and got off the carriage.

Hundreds of people at the ferry crossing all had their eyes fixed on the other side of the checkpoint.

With so many people around, he couldn't kill as openly and ruthlessly as he did in the secret service or at the inn, leaving a trail of corpses and letting the whole world know that a ruthless star had appeared at the ferry crossing. That would only bring him even more trouble.

Chen Zhan squeezed into the crowd; he looked ordinary, and no one gave him a second glance.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) leader who was pointing a gun at Tan Yan had just pulled the trigger halfway when his wrist suddenly went numb, his entire arm went out of control, the muzzle of the gun sank, and the bullet hit the muddy beach.

Before he could react, a middle-aged man who had been crowding around him had already brushed past him.

The leader collapsed limply into the chaotic crowd, and no one could tell how he died.

Chen Zhan walked through the crowd, brushing past the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) officers next to him.

One clutched his neck and fell down, while the other slid down silently.

Quick and light, taking advantage of the chaos of the crowd, bystanders only thought it was a squeezing or a tripping.

By the time the people on the card realized something was wrong, half of them had already fallen. The remaining few panicked, unable to tell what was happening, and frantically pulled out their guns.

As soon as the gun went off, the entire ferry crossing descended into chaos.

The hundreds of people waiting for the boat were already on tenterhooks, and when they heard the gunshot, they immediately descended into chaos.

Crying, shouting, crowding onto the boat, running ashore—the crowd surged up, scattering the checkpoint and the few Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) agents.

Chen Zhan wanted this chaos.

He made his way through the surging crowd to the riverbank.

Tan Yan was holding the knife to protect Shuanzi when he was knocked around by people running around. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm and held him steady. He looked up and saw an ordinary-looking face.

It was that middle-aged man from the roadside inn.

“Come with me,” Chen Zhan said.

With one hand supporting Tan Yan and the other lifting the rope, Chen Zhan went against the flow of people to his mule cart, stuffed the father and son into the canopy. Fortunately, the cart was not small and not too crowded. He jumped onto the shaft and shook off the reins.

The mule carts didn't squeeze onto the ferry.

By then, one of the ferries had already been overturned by the rioters. Chen Zhan drove the cart downstream along the riverbank, leaving the chaotic ferry crossing behind.

After walking seven or eight miles, we arrived at a calmer area, but only relatively speaking, the water was still very deep and more than twenty meters wide.

Looking at the river, Tan Yan looked puzzled.

"What are you doing, brother? Swimming across?"

Chen Zhan said, "Pretty much. There will be people at every ferry crossing. We definitely can't force our way in; this is the only way."

Tan Yan looked at Chen Zhan, then at the mule cart and Li Qingsu inside. He knew that Li Qingsu was seriously injured, as he could smell a strong stench of blood inside the cart.

"But I'm afraid, what do you intend to do?"

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Zhan had already stood up, picked up Li Qingsu, and walked step by step towards the other side of the river. He stepped into the river in a few steps, but miraculously, he did not sink as he walked into the deeper part of the river.

Tan Yan and Xiao Shuanzi watched as the middle-aged man walked across the river step by step, with only his calves submerged. The two rushed to the riverbank in disbelief, where they could see how deep the water was.

"Seventh Master...he seems...he seems..." Xiao Shuanzi didn't know how to describe it and stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Although Tan Yan was also surprised, he also thought of something. Legend has it that when boxing skills are practiced to the extreme, one can enter water without sinking and walk on flat ground, but that is already a legend, a terrestrial immortal.

But Chen Zhan was also carrying someone. That was even more unbelievable.

The two were surprised. Chen Zhan had already placed Li Qingsu on the other side and returned: "You two should be able to swim across without any problem, right?"

Chen Zhan couldn't possibly carry the two of them over as well, so Tan Yan clasped his hands in a fist and said, "No problem."

He pulled Xiao Shuanzi into the river to swim together. Xiao Shuanzi could swim, but he wasn't very skilled. However, Tan Yan was an experienced swimmer, and they could easily overcome the difficulty of the river.

Before the two had even swum across, Chen Zhan had already made his next move; he had no intention of abandoning the donkey cart.

After stroking the donkey's ears for a while, he lifted it up with one hand and tossed it accurately into the river. The donkey was terrified and swam frantically towards the nearest bank.

Chen Zhan pushed the car to the riverbank, kicked it, and a force attached to it, making the two wheels seem to have an engine installed. It sped across the river and landed right on the bank.

Chen Zhan then crossed the river himself, caught up with the maddened donkey, brought it back, tied it up, and let Li Qingsu get on the cart.

Li Qingsu didn't get wet at all, and the carriage didn't get wet either.

The other side was a completely different world; the traps, the pursuers, and the shadowy figures were all left behind on the other side of the river.

The mule cart stopped on the dirt road on the opposite bank.

Tan Yan looked back at the still-lingering chaos on the opposite bank of the river, then turned to look at Chen Zhan, who was driving the carriage, and remained silent for a long time.

“Brother…” Tan Yan’s voice was hoarse, “you…”

“I’m also heading south, to the other side of the liberated area,” Chen Zhan interrupted him, his tone flat. “It’s on my way.”

On the way.

Tan Yan stared at him for a while, and suddenly realized that the place this person was going to was the same place he was going to deliver the package to.

Despite his injuries, the old bodyguard solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Chen Zhan.

"This old man's life was given to him by you, brother. From now on, I will obey your orders."

Chen Zhan did not accept his gift.

"The convoy is yours. Do as you please. Once we reach the liberated area, we'll part ways."

Shuanzi huddled in the carriage canopy, glancing at Tan Yan, then at Chen Zhan, and finally at Li Qingsu, who was leaning weakly against the hay, smiling gently at him. He remained timid and silent.

The mule carts resumed their journey and headed south.

The mule cart traveled south for several days.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) personnel, security teams, and local militias were all Kuomintang (KMT) claws on the ground. The closer they got to the liberated areas, the less these claws could reach.

Later, the roadblocks changed. Instead of the returning militia with white cloth strips wrapped around their necks, they were now guarded by militiamen carrying homemade guns and wearing straw hats.

The final hurdle is the blockade line at the border between the two sides.

The Kuomintang dug trenches, erected barbed wire, and built bunkers at the border. Patrol teams would sweep back and forth every few days, making it as difficult as climbing to heaven for ordinary people to cross this line.

Chen Zhan didn't have to do much.

Before dawn, a few people emerged from the tall sorghum stalks on this side of the blockade line; they were members of the armed work team from the liberated area.

Li Qingsu was, after all, a member of the Soviet faction. He traveled in secrecy, but the commotion he caused in Beijing could not be kept quiet. The information in the liberated areas got the news early on and sent people to meet him at the blockade line.

The guerrilla team knew the way well, and they deliberately chose blind spots that the bunkers couldn't see and gaps in the patrols' lines, leading Chen Zhan and his group across the line by crouching down in a dry ditch.

Not a single shot was fired.

Once you cross the line, you'll be in the liberated area.

At daybreak, the mule cart entered a village. Red and green slogans were pasted on the old locust tree at the village entrance, reading "Rent and interest reduction", "Joining the army is an honor", and "Defend the fruits of victory".

A group of women sat around on the threshing floor, busy making shoes for the front lines, the sound of needles and thread cutting through the soles rising and falling.

Several children's corps carrying red-tasseled spears stood guard at the village entrance, shouting passwords and checking passes when they saw strangers.

It's a completely different world from the other side of the blockade line.

On one side are checkpoints, painted portraits, and returning militias; on the other side are corpses piled up at the crossroads for public display. On the other side are slogans, military shoes, and the spirit of unity and mutual assistance.

Li Qingsu lifted the curtain of the car awning, looked at the village scene, and her eyes reddened.

She endured more than half a month underground in Beiping, risking her life for so many years. What she fought for and longed for was just a place where she could live with her head held high.

People from the district were already waiting in the village.

Those in the liberated areas knew who Chen Zhan and Li Qingsu were.

The person they were receiving was an important figure, so the district dared not neglect him and invited someone from higher up.

At noon, the person arrived.

He was a middle-aged man around fifty years old, wearing a faded gray military uniform. He was thin, slightly hunched, and had large knuckles, the kind of hands that had held pens and guns for many years.

His surname was Liu, and his given name was Liu Zhiming. He was in charge of the work behind enemy lines in this area, managing several underground networks that extended into the Kuomintang-controlled areas. His duties included delivering intelligence, transferring people, and transporting goods—all of which involved risking his life.

Liu Zhiming spent his entire life working in the shadows, having witnessed countless deaths and injuries, and his expression was always indifferent.

He first grasped Li Qingsu's hand.

“Comrade Li Qingsu,” Liu Zhiming’s voice was a little hoarse, “we’ve been looking forward to your return. With the supply line to Beiping cut off, the higher-ups had made the worst-case scenario plan… It’s good that you’re back safe and sound.”

Li Qingsu couldn't hold back her tears.

She and Liu Zhiming were on the same side; the Beiping line was originally under Liu Zhiming's control.

Liu Zhiming then turned to Chen Zhan, his expression becoming much more serious.

Chen Zhan had changed his appearance and looked ordinary, but Liu Zhiming knew the weight of the man in front of him. It was the leader of the alliance, "Mr. Chen," who had rescued Li Qingsu from the Beiping Security Bureau and escorted him all the way back to the liberated area.

“Mr. Chen,” Liu Zhiming was about to bow when Chen Zhan raised his hand to stop him.

"It's good that you've received the person," Chen Zhan said. "No need for any other formalities."

Just then, Shuanzi, who had been huddled in the carriage canopy, timidly daring not to make a sound, suddenly moved.

He stared at Liu Zhiming's face for a long time, his eyes widening. Suddenly, he climbed off the car, stumbled over, and grabbed Liu Zhiming's leg.

"Uncle! Uncle Liu!"

The child's cry suddenly broke into a shattered tone.

Liu Zhiming was stunned.

He looked down at the child clinging to his leg, at that dusty, dark, and thin little face, and it took him a long time to recognize him.

“You are…” Liu Zhiming’s voice trembled, “You are Zhao Mingyuan’s son? Zhao Shuanzi?”

Shuanzi nodded through his tears.

Liu Zhiming picked up the child in one swift motion. This middle-aged man, who had spent his entire life working in the shadows and whose expression was always indifferent, suddenly had tears welling up in his eyes.

Mr. Zhao's full name is Zhao Mingyuan. He was a contact of Liu Zhiming in Beiping who handled the enemy and puppet regime.

On the surface, he managed the accounts for the Japanese and the Kuomintang officials in charge of taking over the country. In secret, he squeezed out every penny of state property that should have been swallowed up by corrupt officials and sent it to the liberated areas.

Shuanzi had been to Liu Zhiming's house a few times. The child couldn't remember the adults' affairs, but he remembered that Liu was his father's good friend and a very kind uncle to him.

Tan Yan, supporting his injured leg, slowly came to his senses.

The courier that Mr. Zhao entrusted to him on his deathbed was to send the child into the liberated area and to hand over the whereabouts of the gold to "the right person." This "right person" turned out to be none other than Liu Zhiming, who was standing right in front of him.

The shipment he had risked his life to protect all the way was finally delivered.

Not only was it delivered, but it was also delivered to the rightful owner.

The weight that had been hanging over the old镖师's heart finally lifted.

Standing to the side, Chen Zhan roughly understood the current situation.

The district arranged for carriages to take Chen Zhan and his party inside.

Ye Ningzhen has been waiting for Chen Zhan for almost a month in a village in the Soviet area.

When Chen Zhan went north, he left a message saying he would be back soon. Ye Ningzhen didn't say anything, but she couldn't help but worry.

At noon that day, the dogs at the village entrance started barking, indicating that a carriage was entering the village.

Ye Ningzhen climbed down from the stake and walked towards the village entrance. In the distance, she saw the dusty mule cart and the ordinary-looking but unmistakably recognizable figure on the cart shaft.

She paused for a moment.

Then, she saw Chen Zhan help someone out of the car.

The man was so thin he was unrecognizable, his face was sallow, and he needed help to walk. His features were indeed those of Li Qingsu.

Ye Ningzhen stood still for a long time, and only when the two people got closer did she rush over and hug her second sister tightly.

The two sisters hugged each other, neither of them saying a word, tears streaming down their faces.

The worst-case scenario Ye Ningzhen had been making these past few days was that she would never see her second sister again.

The connection to Beiping has been severed, and there's been no news of the person; the chances of survival are slim.

She never dared to imagine that Chen Zhan could bring the person back alive.

Li Qingsu leaned on her eldest sister's shoulder, so thin she was almost painful to look at. All the beatings and suffering she had endured underground in Beiping came flooding back at that moment, and she cried so hard she couldn't speak.

"It's good that you're back." Ye Ningzhen hugged her and said it over and over again, "It's good that you're back."

Chen Zhan stood aside, not disturbing the two sisters.

Ye Ningzhen freed one hand, wiped away her tears, and looked at Chen Zhan.

A thousand words came to my lips, but they all boiled down to one sentence.

"You're back."

"Yes. I'm back."

Of the three sisters, two have now reunited. The youngest, Ruan Zhi, is still recovering from her injuries in Hong Kong, waiting for news. Once things are settled here, the whole family will be together again.

Shuanzi stayed with Liu Zhiming.

His father is gone, but his father's old friends are still around. The place his father desperately wanted him to go, Liu Zhiming treats him like his own child, providing him with food and lodging, and even sending him to school.

An orphan from Beiping finally found a place to settle down in this new world.

The old镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was supposed to deliver the goods to the destination and then leave. Once the delivery was complete and the mission was accomplished, the gatherings and partings of people in the martial arts world were left to fate.

However, he needed to recover from his injuries, and Shuanzi couldn't be without him, so the people in the district sincerely wanted him to stay.

More importantly, after living most of his life, for the first time he felt that his skills, which had been useless before, had finally found some use and hope in this place.

He thought about it and decided to stay.

Once he recovered from his injuries, the district asked him to teach the militia and children's corps some hand-to-hand combat and knife skills.

An old bodyguard who had lost his profession passed on his skills to these young men who carried guns to protect their homes, not wanting his kung fu to die with him.

Of course, that's a story for another time. (End of Chapter)