During the Republic of China era, I achieved unparalleled success by returning to the past.

As the sun rose higher, the sunlight dispelled some of the chill.

Before Song Beiyou and his companions had even left Datong Street, shouts and curses suddenly came from a nearby alley: "You little punk, you dare steal our stuff? We'll beat you to death!"

"I didn't... I found these..."

Song Beiyou peeked out and saw three men in black surrounding a short man. A snakeskin bag lay on the ground, with some odds and ends scattered about.

The one who was cursing grabbed the short man by the collar and slammed him to the ground. The short man fell to the ground with a muffled groan of pain, his tattered hat falling off and revealing his yellowish, dull hair, which was coiled up on his head.

"Oh ho, it's a woman! You stole our stuff, so it's reasonable for me to sell you to a brothel to pay off our debts, isn't it?"

The girl was pale and thin, her face filthy. When she heard that she was to be sold, she shook her head repeatedly in fright and shrank back against the wall.

The bearded man named A Lei reminded him, "Brother Qiang, this girl seems to be from our stronghold, the daughter of the consumptive devil."

Song Beiyou raised an eyelid and strode into the alley. His pocket watch clicked open: 9:23. Five minutes was enough.

"Wait a minute."

The three men were visibly taken aback. The short, stocky one with a large black mole on his right cheek stepped forward and chuckled, "Isn't this Ah Qiang? Where did you get this good stuff?"

While speaking, his eyes were glued to the pocket watch, completely ignoring Song Beiyou. Ding Qiang was always clumsy with words, so a few words were enough to dismiss him.

Song Beiyou squinted at him, "Ah Dong, are you blind? This was just given to me by Second Master." He then pointed to the ground, "This little brat owes me several months' membership fees. If you take her away and sell her, who am I supposed to get her back?"

Ah Dong looked surprised and suspicious—after a careful examination, he realized it was indeed the simple-minded Ding Qiang! With a forced smile, he said, "So you're one of your men, Ah Qiang. Of the thirteen strongholds of the Yihe Society, Fan Gua Village is the poorest. Poor mountains and bad waters breed unruly people, you know. This girl stole my things, what do you say?"

Song Beiyou glanced at the empty cans and bottles scattered on the ground, clenched his fist, grinned, and said, "Let's talk with our fists."

Before he finished speaking, he moved like the wind, lunging forward, his shoulders lowered and his elbows dropped, delivering a simple "White Ape Single Slash" straight at Ah Dong's chest!

A-Dong hadn't expected this simpleton to attack so suddenly. In the blink of an eye, a gust of wind was already at his chest. He was trained too, so he quickly turned to the side and bent his elbow to block.

Bang! A penetrating force struck his right arm, causing him excruciating pain. He quickly stepped to the side to deflect the force, his mind reeling from the opponent's power. The wind howled, and the fists struck like steel whips, so fast that he couldn't keep up.

Bang bang bang bang! Ah Dong was beaten so badly that he was forced to retreat, only able to defend himself, and his arms were numb from the blows.

With a soft shout, Song Beiyou suddenly took half a step back, relaxed his shoulder and arm, and launched a long, powerful punch that struck the dazed A Dong's right armpit "Jiquan acupoint" with lightning speed.

This acupoint is connected to the heart meridian. Ah Dong felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood foam, crashing into the slippery wall.

Having succeeded in his move, Song Beiyou lunged forward like a giant ape, simultaneously reaching out with both hands, one on each side, grabbing the back of the necks of the two still-stunned men in black, and slamming them hard together!

Bang! Both of their faces were instantly stained red, and they collapsed to the ground, clutching their noses and groaning in pain.

Song Beiyou patted his sleeves and said indifferently, "A bunch of useless trash." This set of movements was just a small test of his skills, but it was as swift and fierce as a white ape fighting.

The three subordinates behind him, along with the blond-haired girl, were all dumbfounded.

Song Beiyou stared at A Dong, who was struggling to stand up while leaning against the wall, his eyes flashing with a fierce light: "Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. If you dare to touch my people, I'll break your legs next time."

Ah Dong's large black mole was flushed red. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, gritted his teeth, and gave a thumbs-up: "Remember this. Ah Qiang, you've got guts." He couldn't even lift his right hand at this moment, so how could he dare to utter any threats? He turned his head and growled, "Aren't you leaving!"

The two men in black covered their noses, scrambled to their feet, and the three of them fled in a panic.

The blond-haired girl clutched the opening of the snakeskin bag tightly with both hands, trembling. "Brother Qiang... I have no money... Can you give me a few more days?"

One of the three henchmen, nicknamed "Erect Bamboo Pole" Ah Liang, immediately shouted, "You brat! You owe Brother Qiang several months' worth of money! If it weren't for Brother Qiang protecting you just now, you would have been sold into a brothel long ago!"

Song Beiyou smacked A Liang on the back of the head, making him cower and cover his head. He scolded, "Who gave you the right to interrupt?" He then turned to the blond girl and softened his tone, "From now on, if anyone bullies you, just say my name."

The blond-haired girl was stunned. She looked up, momentarily speechless, her pale lips trembling as she murmured, "Th...thank you..."

Song Beiyou grinned: "No need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Ayou. He's the one who told me to do it."

The blond-haired girl blinked, then asked blankly, "Who is Ayou...?"

Song Beiyou's lips curled up: "You'll see her when you have the chance." Although the girl in front of him was skin and bones and her face was dirty, he could tell at a glance that she looked eight or nine parts similar to Li Xiuzhi, the female lead in "The Herdsman," and he had already felt pity for her.

The henchmen were completely baffled. What was their boss up to? Had he taken a fancy to her? That couldn't be right; she was as thin as a stick, practically skin and bones, not at all their type.

Song Beiyou snapped open his pocket watch with a "ding": 9:35.

"Remember this, I'll protect you from now on. If anyone bullies you, come find me." He waved his hand, "Let's go."

The three henchmen scratched the back of their heads, clutched the axe handles at their lower backs, and quickly followed.

The blond-haired girl stood there stunned for a while, then wiped her eyes, picked up the empty cans and several bottles from the ground, stuffed them back into the snakeskin bag, and hurriedly left.

"Big brother, didn't you like the kind that's big in the front and big in the back? Have you changed your taste?" Bearded Lei asked hesitantly.

Song Beiyou turned and glanced at him: "What? You feel sorry for her, so you're protecting her?"

"Yes, yes, of course," A-Lei said cautiously. "But... even if they're unrelated people, we still have to collect membership fees, otherwise the brothers won't be able to make ends meet."

"That's right, boss," another henchman chimed in. "If you don't allow opium dens to open on our turf, the brothers will be struggling to make ends meet with just those membership fees. All those opium addicts go to other villages to smoke, giving away freebies to others..."

A quick search of his mind revealed the clue—Ding Qiang's father had died from opium addiction, which was why Ding Qiang so deeply resented it. When he became a minor leader and was assigned a territory, he immediately banned opium. His men, seeing other opium dens raking in profits, naturally became envious and eager to get involved.

The warm red sun had risen directly overhead.

Two stone lions stand proudly at the entrance, their powerful physiques awe-inspiring. The three gilded characters "Yiheshe" on the plaque above the gate gleam in the sunlight.

Song Beiyou looked up, went inside, and gave his name to the gatekeeper.

The guards, clearly having received instructions, immediately led him through the courtyard and toward the west wing.

Song Beiyou didn't ask any more questions and silently followed. When they reached the entrance of a large hall, the henchman in blue turned around and said, "Wait here, I'll go and inform them."

Song Beiyou nodded slightly. From the open door, he smelled a faint fishy, ​​muttony odor. He took out his pocket watch, flicked open the cover, and glanced at it: 10:44.