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

The cramped interrogation room was filled with smoke. The four gray walls felt like a living coffin, making it hard to breathe.

Dust settled on the dim incandescent light bulb, making it difficult for Song Beiyou to open his eyes.

Detective Chen was a heavy smoker, puffing away one after another, his entire face shrouded in smoke. The young man in the trench coat standing to the side toyed with his sterling silver Dunhill lighter, slowly exhaling a smoke ring, a smile playing on his lips.

"You mean, the person who kidnapped Ms. Scarlett Evanson was that crazy old man named Liu Dazhu, and you almost died at his hands, only to be saved by a woman with a painted face?"

Song Beiyou nodded. "That's how it is. I've said it sixty-eight times already; I can recite every word of this statement by heart."

Shi Feng flicked his finger, "ding," and opened the lighter, casually asking, "Do you even believe this story yourself?"

Song Beiyou stretched his stiff shoulders slightly, frowned, and said, "It is a bit outrageous. I'm so hungry I'm dizzy, and my mind is a complete mess. Why don't you get me something to eat, and I'll think about it properly after I've eaten?"

Shi Feng's lips curled into a sneer. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed the boy's hair, pulling it up hard. He said in a gloomy voice, "Kid, trying to play mind games with me? If you don't confess, I'll drag you to the back room, brand your heart with a red-hot iron, burn a hole in it, and then shove raw garlic inside. I'll make you wish you were dead."

"Or we could nail your hands and feet to a wooden board, use a dull knife to slice off the flesh from your arms piece by piece until we get to the bone, and then fill it with honey. Those rats and cockroaches would love to crawl inside."

Song Beiyou frowned, his hair standing on end. His cuffed hands slowly dug at the chair, two splinters hidden between his fingers.

The Book of Impermanence, visible only to him, had turned to its second page. The water mirror image, obscured by blood mist, was now mostly blurred.

[The one who survived the calamity: Ding Qiang, successor of the White Ape Eight-Armed Fist, died for righteousness.]

"White Ape Eight Arms" should be an external skill. If one could obtain it and use an "Upgrade Talisman" to upgrade its grade again, its strength would definitely reach a new level.

This instance should open no later than tonight. It would be best if we could make it into the instance, but if the other side resorts to torture right away, then we'll have no choice but to take the risk.

Seeing that he was bowing his head and not speaking, Shi Feng punched him hard in the stomach. Bang! The man and the chair shook.

Song Beiyou felt his stomach churning and a sharp pain shooting through him. The veins in his hands bulged as he slowly twisted his wrists. It seemed this fellow was losing patience and was about to resort to torture.

A broad hand pressed down on Shi Feng. "Don't worry, what he just said might not all be false."

Detective Chen pulled a Daqianmen cigarette from his pack and gestured, "Want one?"

Song Beiyou shook his head, "Thank you, no thanks."

Detective Chen's lips twitched, then he put the cigarette back into the pack. "My name is Chen Zhengwei, I practice Hung Kuen, so I'm practically a江湖人 (jianghu person, a member of the underworld). I vaguely remember the moves that crazy old man you mentioned used. Tell me more about them."

Song Beiyou's heart stirred. He was willing to find out the old man's background. So he recounted the whole process in detail.

"It seems to be 'Nine Pounces of the Demonic Monkey.' According to you, Liu Dazhu's kung fu has at least reached the level of internal strength. Logically speaking, you shouldn't be able to escape his grasp, unless..."

Shi Feng interjected, "You're all in cahoots! With your abilities, how dare you kidnap a Western woman? There must be someone behind this. Tell me! What was your purpose in kidnapping her? Where is she now? Is she dead or alive?"

He lit a cigarette, put away his lighter, and said, "Let's get to the point. This guy won't learn his lesson until he's faced with a death sentence."

Chen Zhengwei waved his hand: "Isn't Young Master Shi afraid of getting his hands dirty with this kind of dirty work? Don't we have an old jailer from the previous dynasty in our room? Let him do it."

He looked over with a regretful expression: "That jailer and Old Zhao are on good terms. You beat Old Zhao so badly he suffered a severe concussion and is still unconscious. He'll definitely give you a good 'welcome.' So, are you going to tell me or not?"

Song Beiyou quickly considered the situation. Hoping these people would believe his innocence was probably impossible. The only option was to take a risky approach: first, appease them, and then proceed into the instance.

He slowly raised his head and stared at Chen Zhengwei: "Detective Chen is indeed astute, you guessed correctly. Liu Dazhu is my master, we are indeed in cahoots."

Chen Zhengwei's eyes lit up. "Go on."

"Dr. Scarlett Evanson is safe now. But if you lay a finger on me, the police station will be receiving a finger from that foreign woman tomorrow."

A cold glint flashed in Chen Zhengwei's eyes, and he sneered, "You're threatening me?"

Song Beiyou nodded: "That's right. She is the future consul general's fiancée. Even if she were missing a hair, you wouldn't be able to take the responsibility." He had already seen that Chen Zhengwei came from a humble background, had many concerns, and was hesitant in his actions.

"Hmph!" Chen Zhengwei snorted coldly and asked again, "Why did you arrest her? When will you release her?"

A mysterious smile appeared on Song Beiyou's face as he said, "When will they be released? How will they be released? Someone will naturally contact the foreigner. This is not something you, Detective Chen, can interfere with."

……

The detective's private office.

Upon seeing Chen Zhengwei enter, the two men in white helmets jumped up like springs and quickly saluted, "Detective!"

Chen Zhengwei nodded. "Tell me about the situation."

"We visited Yaoshui Village. That kid had a simple social life; his parents died when he was twelve or thirteen, making him an orphan. His only close friends were two childhood friends, one a rickshaw puller and the other a worker at the medicine factory."

"But I heard from the neighbors that he suddenly had a breakthrough a year ago."

"Has it dawned on you?"

The police officer nodded and said, "It's said that he suddenly became smarter, can do big calculations, and can even speak European, a common language in the West."

"Whose connections did he use to get into St. Mary's Hospital?"

"The Boxer Rebellion. Their advisor is waiting in the lounge."

"Call him over."

A moment later, a man in a suit and tie, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, walked in, bowing and scraping. As soon as he entered, he hurriedly protested his innocence: "Detective Chen, Detective Shi, this matter has nothing to do with our Yihe Society! Even if we Yihe Society had the greatest audacity, we wouldn't dare to touch a foreign wife!"

Chen Zhengwei tapped his fingers on the table and asked, "Did you help him get into St. Mary's Hospital?"

"When the hospital was hiring nursing assistants, that kid said he knew some European languages ​​and went to see our manager, Zhang Feilong, in person. Manager Zhang saw he had potential and lent him some money. Unexpectedly, this kid was greedy and lustful, and in a moment of impulse, he committed a terrible mistake. This really has nothing to do with us!"

After dismissing the Yiheshe clerk, only Chen Zhengwei and Shi Feng remained in the office.

"You actually believe that kid's nonsense?"

"You can't believe it completely, but you can't completely disbelieve it either. I've heard of 'Nine Pounces of the Demon Monkey,' it's a kind of evil martial art in the martial arts world. I suspect they're a secret society that specifically targets foreigners. The so-called enlightenment is probably just that kid being absorbed into a secret society."

Shi Feng gasped. "So, what are you planning to do?"

Chen Zhengwei grinned and said, "Then I'll trouble Detective Shi to personally report to the Chief Inspector and let the higher-ups make the decision."

Shi Feng retorted irritably, "And what about you?"

"It's my master's birthday tonight, so I need to leave work early," Chen Zhengwei chuckled. Whether he believed it or not was unimportant; what mattered was that this explanation was a million times more "reasonable" than the previous ghost story, and it was much better at explaining things to his superiors.

……