Chinese martial arts: From human punching bags to martial arts mastery

"Waaah—"

A deep, muffled whistle, seemingly capable of shattering the night, suddenly tore through the pitch-black night sky above the Waibaidu Wharf.

Followed by.

A small steamship slowly made its way towards the dock, its hull scraping against the thick, inky river water. The sound of its hull scraping against the water was so soft and unsettling that it sent chills down one's spine in the dead of night.

This ship is significantly smaller than the one that Tangtang borrowed before.

The blinding, high-powered searchlight on the ship's roof, like the eye of a ferocious beast lurking in the darkness, exuded an indescribable sense of oppression.

The next second, a snow-white beam of light shot out!

Like a cold, sharp iron sword drawn from its sheath, it fiercely cleaved through the thick night, striking straight across the river surface!

The beam of light was cold, sharp, and almost poisonous, like a fine knife used to scale fish, illuminating the river surface in a ghastly white light, leaving no place to hide.

"It's the section chief's personal patrol boat!"

The sixth senior brother narrowed his eyes, his pupils contracting slightly. His face instantly darkened to a point where it could drip water, and a hint of undisguised apprehension and disgust flashed in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, "I've dealt with them countless times on this route. These people are truly black-hearted, black to the bone!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark shadow on the ship suddenly moved.

He was a sailor dressed in a black cloth jacket. With a taut vein in his arm, the thick hemp rope instantly flew out of his hand, drawing a sharp and clean arc in the air.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp snap, the cable was precisely secured to the mooring post on the shore, the force steady, accurate, and ruthless, revealing a shrewdness honed through years of treachery.

Followed by.

A thick, blackened wooden plank was violently thrown from the side of the ship and crashed heavily onto the shore, becoming a gangplank for boarding the ship, coldly lying in front of everyone.

At the bow of the ship, a figure stood with his hands behind his back; it was the ship's helmsman.

His face was expressionless, his cheeks as hard as stone. He crossed his arms and looked down at Chen Feng and his group on the riverbank, his tone utterly cold: "Section Chief Chen, would you like to join us on the river patrol tonight?"

Two men stood to the left and right of the helmsman. The one on the left, his face covered in coal dust and his cuffs blackened, was the boiler operator who controlled the steam engine, his body reeking of engine oil and smoke. The one on the right was the ruthless rope thrower who had just made his move.

Both men's gazes fell on Chen Feng and his two companions, their expressions a mixture of scrutiny, provocation, and a subtle threat.

Chen Feng stood still, his fingertips slightly curled, but his mind was perfectly clear.

This is hardly an invitation; it's clearly a vulture's first attempt to pledge allegiance, a blatant test!

The other party was betting on whether he dared to board the boat, betting on whether he dared to face the filthy mud beneath the Suzhou River!

A faint, cold smile curved Chen Feng's lips, and a glint of cold light flashed in his eyes—he wanted to see for himself just how much filth this river harbored and just how deep it truly was!

"good!"

He uttered a single word, his voice calm and unwavering, revealing no trace of joy or anger.

The words fell.

Chen Feng took a step forward, leading his tense sixth senior brother and the fierce-looking Er Gou, and stepped onto the gangplank in three quick steps, steadily boarding the ship.

"Waaah—"

Another long whistle blew.

The small steamer slowly departed from the dock and began its nightly river patrol along its predetermined route.

This was a stark contrast to the lightning speed I displayed on my last trip to Songjiang.

This time, the small steamer moved eerily slowly, stopping and starting, like a ferocious beast surveying its territory, slowly nibbling at the river's surface, or perhaps giving itself enough time to prepare for an ambush from all sides ahead!

Chen Feng stood with his hands behind his back at the bow of the boat. The night wind lifted the corner of his clothes, making his expression cold and sharp.

He gazed at the waves crashing against the bow of the boat, his heart churning with emotion—beneath this seemingly calm surface lay a darkness that devoured people without spitting out their bones.

Sixth Senior Brother and Second Dog stood guard on either side of him, their faces extremely solemn. Their eyes followed the pale beam of the searchlight, scanning inch by inch across the bottomless, thick black river beneath their feet. They even lowered their breathing.

The searchlight swept across the first stop – Waibaidu Bridge!

The all-steel frame bridge reveals its cold, hard outline under the lights. Wherever the lights reach, the garbage, debris, and filth floating on the river are clearly visible, densely packed, making one's stomach churn.

Chen Feng's gaze turned slightly cold as he lightly tapped the ship's railing with his fingertips, each tap feeling like a blow to the heart.

The sixth senior brother's Adam's apple bobbed as he lowered his voice, his tone heavy: "Section Chief Chen, this Waibaidu Bridge is the throat where the Suzhou Creek flows into the Huangpu River, and it's also the busiest place on the entire waterway!"

"Although the bridge deck and docks are not under the jurisdiction of the river, the river sustains the bridges, and the bridges consume the river. The intricacies involved are so profound they could swallow a person whole!"

Er Gou, being a former sailor, clenched his teeth and his eyes blazed with suppressed anger as he added through gritted teeth.

"Brother Feng!"

"Don't be fooled by the bustling appearance of the docks; every piece of cargo has to be taxed layer by layer before it even lands!"

"The Municipal Council used the guise of 'waterway maintenance' to collect taxes, but the gangsters were even more ruthless. Du Yuesheng's water safety tax, river god tribute, and disaster-avoidance talismans were all far more vicious than official taxes!"

"Whether it's a ferry or a cargo ship, they draw blood every time they go on a waterway! Even we boatmen have to pay a monthly quarantine and disinfection fee per person, leaving no way for us to make a living!"

Er Gou grew increasingly resentful as he spoke, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, his heart filled with the humiliation and resentment of being exploited for so many years.

Upon hearing this, Chen Feng's eyes grew even colder. His gaze swept over the faintly visible neon lights on the riverbank. The more prosperous the area, the dirtier the riverbed became.

As the two were talking, the small steamer slowly arrived at the second stop—Zhapu Road Bridge!

The searchlight swept across the reinforced concrete archway. In the instant the light flashed, several small boats, like rabbits whose tails had been stepped on, fled frantically toward the shadows on both banks. The sound of oars slapping the water was hurried and chaotic; they didn't even dare to look back.

"See that?"

The sixth senior brother pointed at the small boats fleeing in panic, a helpless smile playing on his lips, his eyes chillingly cold: "These boat captains treat our patrol boat like they've seen the Grim Reaper!"

Er Gou gave a bitter laugh, his face full of bitterness and helplessness, his heart ice-cold: "They're not afraid of the boat, they're afraid of the endless exploitation under this lamp!"

"The vultures have a strict rule—when the lights come on, it's time to collect rent!"

"Whoever is slow enough will have their ship, cargo, and people—they'll all lose their lives!"

The sixth senior brother nodded emphatically, a pang of sorrow rising in his heart as he recalled the hardships of those who worked on the ships: "Especially the cargo ships, they all sleep on the upper reaches of the Wusong River during the day, only daring to sail at night!"

Er Gou quickly echoed, his voice filled with despair.

"It's all because the tonnage tax is too heavy; the more you haul, the more you pay, so you can only evade taxes at night!"

"Many boats capsized in the river because they were overloaded and hauled too much!"

"But if we don't haul more, after taxes and fuel costs, we not only work for nothing, we even lose money! Aren't we all risking our lives to make a living?"

Chen Feng remained silent, only staring at the fleeing awning boats, his brows furrowed into a deep "川" character, his heart churning with turmoil!

He knew very well that this wasn't a ship escaping; it was living people fleeing for their lives!

"Waaah—"

The small steamer traveled all the way to Sichuan Road Bridge.

A not-so-wide underground canal extends northward along Sichuan Road, and upstream of its tributary lies—the Japanese Hongkou Dojo!

Looking at the river that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

"???"

Chen Feng's pupils suddenly contracted, and a storm raged in his heart!

Memories of his past life flooded back, and he couldn't help but murmur softly, his voice so low that only he could hear it: "So it turns out that in 1930, Hongkou Port had an underground channel that flowed directly into the Suzhou River before joining the Huangpu River..."

In the time before his rebirth, Hongkou Port flowed directly into the Huangpu River from next to the Bund's Bai Nao Hui shopping mall; there was no such thing as a culvert!

But the scene before him made him realize instantly that the undercurrents in this Shanghai were more dangerous than he had imagined!

"Brother Feng?"

"Junior brother?"

Sixth Senior Brother and Second Dog couldn't understand Chen Feng's words, thinking he was just remarking on the layout of the river.

Just then.

Suddenly, a strange vortex appeared on the water's surface, and a strand of long, black hair drifted slowly along the current.

Followed by.

A pale, bloodless girl's arm flashed by in the white light of the searchlight.

"It's a floating corpse!"

The two men's expressions changed drastically, becoming extremely grave. They said in unison, "This underground channel in Hongkou Port has the most floating corpses in the entire Suzhou River, and most of them are women!"

Just then.

The sailor on the ship happened to walk past Chen Feng, giving him a cold, dismissive smirk.

"Section Chief, you'll get used to it after patrolling the river a few more times! This spot washes up about thirty female corpses a day!"

"It runs upstream through Yokohama Wharf, Hongkou Dojo, and the Beijing-Shanghai Railway!"

Before the words had even finished,

The sailor picked up a few valuable items from the deck and headed straight for the stern, inwardly grumbling: "A few more patrols? I doubt you'll even have the life to do that!"

Watching the sailor's figure disappear.

The sixth senior brother paused, his face showing hesitation, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes.

But I hesitated again and again!

In the end, he still didn't want this blood and tears to be forgotten!

The sixth senior brother gritted his teeth and whispered a shocking secret: "The Baoshan Amusement Park that this river flows through is the largest casino and brothel in this area, and also the lair of the Axe Gang!"

He took a deep breath, his voice so low it was almost inaudible, yet each word struck Chen Feng's heart like a hammer blow: "What's even more deadly is—not far from Baoshan Amusement Park is the headquarters of the Japanese Marine Corps and the Hongkou Dojo!"

"boom--!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Feng instantly realized everything... Gangster hideouts, casinos, brothels, Japanese, Marines, the Black Dragon Society, the Hongkou Dojo... all entangled on one river!

This tributary of the Suzhou Creek is no longer just an ordinary river of blood, but a deadly rope.

Thinking of this.

The air pressure around Chen Feng suddenly dropped, and even his sixth senior brother and Er Gou beside him felt a bone-chilling cold.

Just then.

The deck beneath my feet suddenly lurched!

The black waves churned violently, and a stench assaulted our senses.

Where the searchlight swept across, a layer of eerie white foam floated on the water's surface, along with patches of unidentified, oily stains, which appeared particularly sinister and terrifying under the stark white light.

The sixth senior brother's face changed drastically, his hair stood on end, and his voice was extremely low, carrying a chilling aura that shattered even the last shred of hope in his heart.

"Junior brother, the vultures of the past knew better than anyone the filth in this river!"

"Someone reported earlier that someone was illegally retrieving a floating corpse from the river to destroy evidence, but... the very next day, the person who reported it completely disappeared, neither alive nor dead!"

Er Gou gazed at the churning black water, sighed heavily, his eyes filled with sorrow and despair, his heart heavy with grief.

"This searchlight is for the living, for collecting rent, exploiting, and driving people to their deaths... but they never care about those who died unjustly at the bottom of the river, and they don't even want to care!"

The river surface was pitch black, the lights were a stark white, and the darkness hidden underwater was only just beginning to reveal its fangs!