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

"No, I'm a withered flower, my body is dirty, please stop talking." Ruan Yucui gently shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks, each drop landing on the man's chest.

"You're not allowed to say that!" Shen Daguan hugged her tightly, his eyes red and his voice hoarse. "In my heart, no one can compare to you."

Ruan Yucui smiled through her tears and gently pushed him away: "You can go now."

Shen Daguan hugged her even tighter, his chest heaving violently: "I won't leave! Sister Cui, believe me, I'll definitely redeem you! Ayou is powerful now, I'll definitely make something of myself if I follow him!"

"Silly boy, it's your business that Ayou is capable, but in the end, you have to rely on yourself," Ruan Yucui said softly. "I've saved up some money myself, and in another two years, I'll be able to redeem my indenture from Second Master, and then I'll be free."

Shen Daguan's thick eyebrows furrowed, his expression grave: "You wait for me, I will definitely marry you with a grand wedding procession."

"Fool."

Shen Daguan went out through the side door, got on his bicycle, took a big detour, and rode towards the small Western-style building behind the sewing shop.

"Coal—balls—oh! Such burning coal balls—"

The old man, wearing a straw hat, was tall and thin, carrying two baskets of black coal on his shoulders. His face and neck were covered in coal dust. He wiped his sweat with a black towel as he called out his wares along the street. He was clearly an old coal miner making a living in the Lower Nine Gates.

Shen Daguan pedaled past the old man and quickly arrived outside the Western-style building. He got off the bike and opened the iron gate, only to see Song Beiyou standing under the banyan tree in the courtyard, his feet slightly apart, his palms wielding yin and yang, each move flowing like water and as heavy as a mountain.

"Where did Master Guan go, acting so suspiciously?" Song Beiyou lowered his waist and shook his hips, gathering his energy in his dantian, transitioning from movement to stillness, and slowly opened his eyes.

"Just browsing around, hehe..." Shen Daguan felt uneasy. He hadn't figured out how to tell Song Beiyou about his affair with Sister Cui.

"Coal briquettes—boss, do you want to buy coal?" Shen Daguan was startled. He turned around and thought to himself: This old man is really fast!

Song Beiyou's eyes lit up slightly, and he said, "Uncle, I'll take all your coal."

"Alright! Thank you, boss!" The old man beamed and walked in carrying his load.

Song Beiyou looked at Shen Daguan: "Master Guan, please go to Zhengxing Restaurant and buy some top-quality wine and dishes, enough for six people."

Shen Daguan felt as if he had been granted a pardon, quickly agreed, and hurriedly pushed his cart out the door.

Song Beiyou lowered his voice and asked the old man, "Is everything arranged?"

Xie Sanhe nodded with a smile: "Everything is arranged, Master You, don't worry. I've spent a lot of time in the Lower Nine Gates, I won't leave any trace, and I certainly won't cause you any trouble."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. I have something to do tonight, and your arrival greatly increases our chances of success."

"Please give me your orders, my benefactor." Xie Sanhe clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Song Beiyou patted his shoulder, which was covered in coal dust: "Don't call me benefactor, just call me Ayou if you don't mind."

Xie Sanhe shook his head: "My benefactor, I dare not break the rules. I will still call you Master You."

"Song Beiyou! Is Song Beiyou here?" A loud shout suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

Song Beiyou's expression shifted; the voice sounded somewhat familiar. He immediately gave Xie Sanhe a wink and headed towards the courtyard gate.

"Detective Chen, what brings you here?" Song Beiyou's heart tightened slightly, but he smiled and opened the iron gate.

Chen Zhengwei looked up and glanced at the mansion, raising an eyebrow as he said, "It hasn't been that long, and you're already living in a luxury house?"

Song Beiyou noticed that Chen Zhengwei's gaze was sharp and he was being observed, so he immediately smiled faintly and said, "You're lucky, you've made a small fortune."

Chen Zhengwei chuckled: "We've become acquainted through a misunderstanding, so why don't you invite your old friend over for a chat and a cup of tea?"

Song Beiyou stepped aside and gestured, "Detective Chen, please."

Chen Zhengwei swept his long robe aside and stepped into the courtyard. His gaze, sharp as a hawk's, lingered for half a second on Xie Sanhe, who was unloading coal in the corner of the yard, before turning back to look at Song Beiyou, his smile as shrewd as an old hunter's.

"Buying this mansion isn't something a small fortune can afford. Could it be... money earned from underground boxing matches, perhaps, by boxing champion A-Yu?"

Song Beiyou slightly raised his eyelids, looking completely bewildered and innocent: "Detective Chen is joking. What underground boxing? I don't know anything about it."

Chen Zhengwei chuckled, then his tone suddenly turned serious: "Chang Huaizhen, Young Master Chang, do you know him? On the night of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, after you finished your boxing match and went home, did you encounter anything strange?"

The air suddenly tightened.

Song Beiyou narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at him quietly, and slowly shook his head: "No."

Chen Zhengwei's expression suddenly softened, and he smiled, "The Chang family has offered a large reward to find the murderer. If you have any clues, you might be able to make another fortune."

Song Beiyou's mind raced. "My attack was flawless. Based on the scene, Chang Shao clearly died from the prison guards' gunfire. It was Xie Sanhe's subsequent murders that complicated the situation." Having grasped the key point, he smiled faintly:

"So Detective Chen also wants the bounty, huh? Where's Detective Shi in the trench coat?"

Chen Zhengwei smirked: "It's not convenient for him."

Song Beiyou also wanted to know if he had managed to trick Shi Feng using Su Xiaowan's identity, so he tentatively asked, "Did he get into trouble? Or was he beaten up?"

Seeing the smile on his lips, Song Beiyou smiled too: "Detective Chen, tell me about it, let me be happy too."

Chen Zhengwei grinned, then changed the subject, saying, "Alright, I have to go visit the next one. Goodbye."

……

After dinner, it gradually got completely dark. Shen Daguan wondered why the old man who sold coal briquettes stayed for dinner and then followed him upstairs. A little while later, there was another knock on the iron gate.

Shen Daguan opened the door and saw Ding Qiang, followed by two henchmen. The three hurried upstairs. His brows furrowed slowly—Master You was going to do something important, and this time he hadn't brought him along.

Second-floor study.

Song Beiyou asked Ding Qiang and the others to sit down. Following them were A Lei, who had a full beard, and A Liang, who was as thin as a bamboo pole.

Ding Qiang explained, "Don't worry, Brother You, they are both my cousins, you can trust them completely."

Song Beiyou nodded slightly and said, "Everyone is here. The people in the room are all brothers who have entrusted their lives to each other. What we need to do tonight is very important."

Ding Qiang immediately stood up: "Brother You, you said, even if it meant going through fire and water, I, Ding Qiang, wouldn't even bat an eye."

"Me too." Lei and Liang stood up as well.

Song Beiyou nodded slightly: "Good brother. Tonight, we'll pretend to be Zhang Feilong's men, sabotage Master Bao's business, and make some money off the side."

Ding Qiang's eyes widened suddenly, his face full of surprise. Behind him, A Lei and A Liang instinctively shrank their shoulders, realizing that this was indeed a big deal.

"Is there a problem?" Song Beiyou's gaze was sharp as a knife.

Ding Qiang and the other two felt a chill run down their spines, their breath caught in their throats, and they all shook their heads in unison, "No!"

"Okay—" Song Beiyou paused abruptly, looking abruptly at the door, "It's Daguan, let him in."

Xie Sanhe had already quietly reached the door, about to make his move, when he heard this and opened the door. Shen Daguan stood in the doorway, looking somewhat embarrassed: "You guys are talking about business... Can I come along too?"

"Come in first." After he entered the house and closed the door, Song Beiyou looked at him and said, "It's not that I didn't want to take you, but this is quite risky."

Shen Daguan retorted, "What's a real man afraid of! I'm going to follow you, learn skills, and broaden my horizons!"

Song Beiyou smiled enigmatically: "Daguan, you seem like a different person."

Su Xiaowan chimed in from the side, grinning, "He smells of rouge; he's probably been awakened by a woman."

Song Beiyou said calmly, "I was wondering why you've been acting so mysteriously these past two days."

Shen Daguan's face flushed red, and he lowered his head awkwardly, his fingers nervously twisting together: "It...it was me..."

Song Beiyou looked at him and said, "Think carefully. If you really get involved, things won't be peaceful from now on."

"I've thought it through!" Shen Daguan said firmly.

"Okay, brother, I support you. Sit down."

Once everyone was seated, Song Beiyou began assigning tasks: "A-Lei and A-Liang are responsible for keeping watch on the east side. A-Qiang will team up with Sanhe. A-Chun and I will team up. The enemy has more people, so we must be ruthless."

His gaze swept over the group, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "Leave no one alive, not even the members of the Boxer Rebellion or the foreigners. Except for Smith, whom I want to detain for questioning."

Xie Sanhe raised his hand and asked, "Brother You, how should we arrange the identities of the people who are going to impersonate Zhang Feilong?"

Song Beiyou nodded: "Don't worry, Zhang Dabao's close henchman Situ Le will be the inside man."

Xie Sanhe was relieved: "Master You has thought this through thoroughly, I have no problem with it."

Shen Daguan, listening from the side, broke out in a sweat, constantly licking his lips. He had never seen Song Beiyou so decisive and ruthless; he was completely different from the gentle Ah You he remembered. "Then... what about me?"

Su Xiaowan's eyes darted around, and she said with a grin, "Since we're going to dress up, why don't we let him dress up as Zhang Feilong?"

"Can it work?" Song Beiyou was somewhat surprised.

"Don't worry, just show your back, and draw a blue dragon on the back of your neck. It'll look just like Zhang Feilong." Su Xiaowan looked at Shen Daguan. "You can learn how to draw Zhang Feilong, right?"

Shen Daguan's palms were sweaty, and he wiped them on his head repeatedly, both nervous and excited: "No problem, I can learn!"

Song Beiyou then pointed to the items on the table: "Time is tight, so I've prepared these for everyone—three layers of cowhide armor, with breastplates, cowhide wrist guards, leg guards, and a watch for each person."

Apart from Su Xiaowan, everyone else was stunned and secretly amazed. Master You was too professional! Ordinary bosses wouldn't care about these things; they would just give an order and their underlings would charge. Who would have such complete equipment and protection?

Even Xie Sanhe's eyes gleamed with admiration, and his respect for his benefactor grew even stronger: his benefactor not only handled things meticulously, but also cared deeply about the lives of his brothers. It would be difficult for such a leader not to achieve great things.

……