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

"Waaah—"

A long, drawn-out whistle pierced the damp, cold mist along the Suzhou Creek, and the creaking, trembling old steamboat slowly rolled across the water, passing under the reinforced concrete Henan Road Bridge.

The heavy bridge slowly rolled over the top of the boat, casting a large, dark shadow over the swaying river surface.

The sixth senior brother, gripping the icy, bone-chilling gunwale, looked solemnly behind him and said in a deep voice, "Junior brother, after crossing this Henan Road Bridge, the only remaining river boundaries under your jurisdiction will be the Shanxi Road Bridge and the Fujian Road Bridge!"

Chen Feng gently stroked the cloth belt around his waist with his fingertips, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Trying to provoke me again, huh!"

He remembered it clearly; the official appointment document stated in black and white that the lower section chief was in charge of eight bridges and controlled the mail ferry crossing and cargo hub of the entire river, making him far more valuable than the middle and upper sections combined.

At this thought, the words that Sixth Senior Brother had mentioned earlier about Smiling Tiger and Vulture secretly colluding and illegally altering the river boundary suddenly came to mind.

A faint yet chilling glint flashed in Chen Feng's eyes.

Er Gou, who was standing beside me, was straightforward and couldn't hide his emotions. He immediately blurted out, "The lower section used to be completely different! From Waibaidu Bridge to Xizang Road Bridge, a total of eight bridges were under the jurisdiction of this area. It was the most valuable section of the entire Suzhou Creek!"

The sixth senior brother nodded slowly, his gaze fixed intently on the riverbed gradually being swallowed by the twilight. His voice was even lower: "The Zhejiang Road Bridge that was forcibly occupied is the old garbage bridge where you punched the leader of the Bone Rice barge. Further down is the Xizang Road Bridge, also known as the new garbage bridge!"

He paused, his tone growing increasingly heavy.

"These two bridges, ostensibly for cleaning up river debris for foreigners, secretly harbor countless shady dealings and shady dealings. The 'smiling tiger' (Du Yuesheng's nickname) has forcibly seized this key river area precisely because of Du Yuesheng's influence!"

"The old Garbage Bridge is Smiling Tiger's lair, while the new Garbage Bridge is controlled by Qian Hu. The two of them, one on each side of the river, rely on each other, and their henchmen are everywhere along the waterway. Taking back territory from them is as difficult as climbing to heaven!"

Chen Feng remained unmoved upon hearing this.

He slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the receding Henan Road Bridge behind him, before calmly sweeping it towards the cockpit—inside, the helmsman and sailors were whispering amongst themselves, their eyes darting around, their brows revealing an undisguised panic.

Chen Feng withdrew his gaze and looked at his sixth senior brother beside him. Even though the cockpit and boiler room were roaring so loudly that no outside sounds could penetrate, he still lowered his voice, his tone steady and serious.

"Sixth Brother, both Smiling Tiger and Vulture are ruthless and vicious, and they have foreigners backing them up. Fists and feet alone are far from enough. If we want to take back our territory by force, I need guns."

Upon hearing this,

The sixth senior brother's face suddenly darkened, and he shook his head.

"Guns aren't easy to get!"

"The police in Shanghai nowadays enforce strict controls, with both the International Settlement and the French Concession maintaining tight borders. Anyone caught smuggling or concealing goods is immediately executed and thrown into the river. Even if you have connections, you need to bribe someone and wait for the right opportunity; it's not something you can just do on a whim!"

He paused.

After a moment's careful consideration, he solemnly promised, "Junior brother! I'll get one for you as soon as possible, but it will take at least a week to hear back!"

"A gun! I want one too!"

Er Gou's eyes lit up, and he immediately stepped forward, his face full of urgency: "Practicing boxing is too arduous and slow. It might take ten or eight years to even reach the level of Ming Jin! If you encounter someone with a gun, no matter how good you are at fighting, you're doomed! Having a gun on you at least guarantees your survival!"

"You can't do it!"

The sixth senior brother immediately interrupted, his tone stern and leaving no room for negotiation: "You have no official position, you're just an ordinary citizen, you have no right to carry a gun. If the police find a gun in your possession, they won't even need to interrogate you, they can just execute you on the spot, and there won't even be anyone to collect your body!"

The light on Er Gou's face instantly dimmed, and he hung his head, falling silent.

Seeing this, Chen Feng chuckled and patted him on the shoulder: "You can drive this little steamship?"

Er Gou suddenly looked up, startled at first, then nodded vigorously: "I know! I studied hard on Tangtang's little steamer before, and I've memorized the operation of the steering wheel and steam valves! It's just that I can't operate it by myself, I need a boiler operator to help!"

"That's good!"

Chen Feng's eyes narrowed, and his tone was resolute: "From this moment on, you are the helmsman of this official ship!"

"What?"

Er Gou's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Chen Feng, stammering, "Brother Feng! Ninth Senior Brother! You...you're not kidding? You want me to be the helmsman? What about the people in the cockpit?"

The sixth senior brother immediately leaned closer, gesturing to the people inside the cabin, and lowered his voice: "Based on my years of experience in the martial world, these people have strange expressions; they've probably planned this all along. Isn't it too risky for you to let Er Gou take over so rashly?"

Chen Feng glanced indifferently at the cockpit, a cold smile curving his lips: "Those three bastards are leading us into an ambush, and this is where they'll meet their end?"

He lowered his voice and slowly began, "From the moment we boarded, the helmsman kept glancing at us, the boiler engineer looked visibly flustered, and the sailors deliberately cleared the deck to make room for maneuver. I saw all of this!"

Speaking of it.

Chen Feng's gaze darkened slightly, but his tone remained firm: "But there's no need to worry, Qian Hu will definitely not be among the ambushes ahead!"

The sixth senior brother was slightly taken aback: "Junior brother, why are you so sure?"

"The Wu Song brothers have eyes and ears all over the river. They've already sent word that Qian Hu is in seclusion, deeply immersed in cultivation. At such a critical moment, he will definitely not show himself easily!" Chen Feng's voice was calm yet sharp. "This ambush only involves Smiling Tiger, Vulture, and their henchmen. Without guns, I'll have to fight with my bare hands!"

"Sixth Senior Brother!"

Chen Feng turned to look at him, his gaze firm, and earnestly instructed him, word by word:

"I'll deal with the people on board first!"

"Later, you and Er Gou don't need to do anything. Just keep the cockpit steady and don't let the people inside notice anything amiss!"

"I'll handle the rest!"

Sixth Senior Brother and Second Dog looked solemn and nodded heavily.

Suddenly, as if remembering official regulations, the sixth senior brother's throat tightened slightly, and he quickly added, "Once Er Gou becomes the helmsman of the official ship, he will have the legal right to carry guns on board. However, the guns must remain on the ship and cannot be taken ashore, lest they give others grounds for criticism!"

Er Gou was overjoyed upon hearing this and suddenly hugged the other person tightly, thanking him repeatedly.

The sixth senior brother, both amused and exasperated, gently pushed aside the agitated Er Gou, then turned to Chen Feng, his tone becoming increasingly serious:

"Junior brother, as the section chief of the river, you are entitled to be issued an official firearm!"

Upon hearing this...

Chen Feng nodded slowly, his gaze sharp as a knife, and glanced silently at the closed cabin behind him.

He was now certain that vultures must have been hiding guns on this ship.

"Waaah—"

The steam whistle sounded softly.

The small steamer moved slowly forward in the deep night.

The fog on the river ahead was thickening, and the cold undercurrents surged silently underwater, with danger lurking all around, ready to erupt at any moment.

"You two guard the deck."

Chen Feng slowly clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking slightly, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

next second.

His aura suddenly froze!

Its body had already moved...