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

afternoon.

The sun was dim and couldn't reach the dirtiest corners of Shanghai.

Chen Feng leaned against the doorway, speaking softly to Xiao Aqiao.

His tone was calm, yet every word was firm: "Tonight, I'm going to the Black Swan Ballroom!"

These words were spoken.

Xiao A's eyes reddened, and she gripped his sleeve tightly, her voice trembling, "Brother Feng, thanks to Sister Hong and the other sisters, I escaped that hellhole! They...they're still suffering inside, you must save them!"

Chen Feng raised his hand and gently stroked her burning forehead, his gesture gentle yet carrying an undeniable strength.

He didn't say a word, but with just a look and a gentle gesture, he completely put Xiao Aqiao's anxious heart at ease!

After telling Xiao Aqiao to take a nap and get some rest,

Chen Feng, dressed in a blue robe that accentuated his tall and straight figure, grabbed a striking Republic-era top hat and pressed down the brim to cover most of his face, revealing only his hard-lined jawline.

With steady steps, he took a shortcut through Tanziwan and headed towards the boxing gym.

Not long after we walked, Tanziwan came into view—a place that even Fan Gua Lane considered dirty and chaotic, the real hell of Shanghai's underclass!

Tanziwan is right next to Fangualong, and its terrain is even lower than other places.

When it rains, the area becomes flooded and the mud can reach up to your ankles.

Fortunately, the weather was kind to us today, and the dirt road was barely passable, but it was still uneven and soft to the touch, like stepping on the flesh of a dead person.

Everywhere you look, there are low and crowded shacks—shacks haphazardly made of reeds, broken planks, and tattered tarpaulins, crooked and crammed together, airtight, dark and damp.

This is life for the people of Tanziwan: they can't get a full meal, they can't wear a proper piece of clothing, they can't sleep on a dry ground, and living is harder than dying!

Chen Feng walked on the muddy road, each step feeling heavy!

The smells of mold, earth, stale food, and sweat mingled together, making one's chest feel tight.

A faint light shone through the cracks in the shack—pairs of dim, murky, numb eyes, devoid of light, quietly lit up like will-o'-the-wisps, scrutinizing him, the "glamorous man" who had suddenly barged in.

They dared not utter a sound, only their minds churning wildly.

"This young man is dressed neatly, and the clothes he's wearing look expensive. What's he doing here among a pile of dead bodies?"

"Could it be government officials searching for people? Or a new gang leader?"

"Even dogs don't want to stay in this lousy place, what is he trying to do...?"

"Please don't come here to cause trouble. We've already suffered enough. If this continues, we really won't be able to survive..."

The whispers buzzed like mosquitoes, but Chen Feng's senses were far superior to those of ordinary people, and he could hear every single sound clearly.

Just then.

"Gurgle—"

Suddenly, my stomach churned!

The intense heat assaulted my stomach and intestines, and an overwhelming sense of urgency welled up inside me.

Chen Feng understood—the medicine Hu Sanzhen prepared cleansed impurities from the inside out!

"Um!"

He frowned slightly, glanced around at the densely packed shacks, and asked casually, "Excuse me, could anyone temporarily borrow a toilet?"

This statement was like a stone thrown into a stagnant pool.

next second.

"Rustle, rustle—!"

People frantically poured out of every single shack!

The elderly, women, teenagers, and hunched old men, all with sallow complexions and tattered clothes, rushed to Chen Feng, their eyes showing a rare glimmer of flattery, humility, and eagerness.

In this desperate place.

The toilet is the most important possession for the poor.

Excrement is not filth, but a means of survival—the only "property" the poor can offer, yet they are exploited every so often. If they cannot pay, they are beaten, tortured, or even sold into hard labor!

Allowing outsiders to use it means accumulating more of the quota to hand over and avoiding a beating or scolding.

A skinny, stick-like boy shouted at the top of his lungs, afraid someone would beat him to it: "Grandpa! My toilet is big! It's sparkling clean! It will never leak!"

An elderly woman with a tattered headscarf squeezed to the front, her hands, as withered as tree bark, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly. Her voice trembled as she said, "Grandpa! My toilet was just cleaned! It's not dirty at all! Please use mine!"

The hunched old man was so anxious he could barely speak: "Use mine...use mine, please. My child hasn't eaten for three days, please..."

The crowd was making a racket, all for a chance to give alms.

Just then.

At the very edge of the crowd, a figure so thin it seemed about to be blown away by the wind slowly moved forward.

That was a woman!

She was carrying a nursing baby on her back. Her shoulder blades were so thin that they protruded high. Her face was ashen and her lips were dry and cracked. It was clear that she had been starving for a long time and was still forcing herself to breastfeed.

The woman could barely stand, but she gritted her teeth and humbly said, "Sir... if you don't mind, please... please use ours..."

Chen Feng looked in the direction of the sound and, through the faint light filtering in, saw a small, old toilet placed tightly next to the bed at the very back of the shack.

For an instant.

His heart suddenly ached – his mother, Aunt Lin, had done the same thing, fearing that the sewage would be stolen, so she hid the chamber pot at the very back, treasuring it more than her own life!

Seeing his silence, the woman assumed he was disgusted, and her eyes reddened with anxiety. She pleaded repeatedly, "Sir, please have pity on us, a widow and her orphan!"

"Ugh!"

Chen Feng sighed softly, interrupting her, "I'll have to trouble your family!"

Then he took a copper coin out of his pocket and placed it steadily in the woman's rough, chapped hands.

This scene caused the entire audience to fall into a deathly silence!

Everyone froze on the spot, their eyes wide open, their hearts churning with turbulent emotions!

"Borrowing a toilet... and you have to pay?!"

"Was this a kind person who fell from the sky?"

"This copper coin can buy half a steamed bun, and it could save a child's life... At least he won't be hungry when he sets off!"

The woman was terrified and at a loss for words, waving her hands frantically, almost dropping the coins: "No! Absolutely not, sir! We may be poor, but we can't accept your money!"

Chen Feng felt a heavy weight in his heart.

He knew better than anyone that the poorest people were, the tougher their bones and the kinder their hearts, the more they would be trampled into the mud by this cannibalistic world, never to rise again!

He didn't say anything more, bent down and crawled into the small, dark shack.

But only for a moment.

"Gurgle—"

Suddenly, the ear-piercing sound of a vehicle's wheels screeching over the muddy road came from outside the shed!

Followed by.

It was filled with harsh scolding, angry curses, and the sound of sewage being poured out.

"Damn it! A bunch of useless trash! This is all they have! Not even enough to feed a dog!"

His arrogant and domineering curses were a nightmare for everyone in Tanziwan—Ma Laosan, the thug who collected sewage!

This person makes money by scavenging the excrement of the poor, acts tyrannically, and smashing and insulting others are commonplace for him.

The poor people outside the shed were instantly terrified, their faces turning pale and their hearts turning cold.

"Oh no... Old Ma is here!"

"That kind old man is still inside; he's about to run into a gun..."

"Old Ma is ruthless and greedy; this old man is in for trouble..."

"We dared not stop them, dared not save them, we could only watch... we... there was nothing we could do..."

Outside the shed.

Ma Laosan's voice rang out menacingly: "Where's your manure? Hand it over!"

The woman's voice trembled like leaves in the autumn wind: "Uncle Ma... the toilet... the toilet is currently occupied... please wait a moment... no, no, please accept the other customers' orders first, I'll deliver it to you right away..."

"wait?"

A sinister laugh suddenly erupted!

“Pah!”

A crisp and vicious slap landed hard on the woman's face!

"Waaaaah—!"

The woman's frail body fell heavily onto the muddy ground like a fallen leaf, and the baby on her back burst into heart-wrenching cries!

The copper coin Chen Feng had just given her flew out of her hand and crashed onto the muddy ground with a "clatter".

next second.

One of Ma Laosan's men stepped over, bent down, grabbed the coins, glared fiercely at the woman, and spat, "You poor wretch! This is my money!"

The woman huddled on the ground, covering her face, afraid to cry or move, while only the baby cried desperately.

All the poor people around were terrified and shrank back into the rolling dragon, not daring to even breathe.

They felt fear, hatred, pain, and despair!

"Someone got hit... Old Ma is going to make an example of someone again..."

"That old man is being dragged out... We can't save him, we can't even protect ourselves..."

"God...when will this ever end...?"

Ma Laosan's sinister gaze swept around, and he let out a contemptuous snort.

He slowly walked to the front of the reed shed, paused, bent down slowly, tilted his face, and stared intently into the shed with a pair of sinister and vicious eyes.