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

Hearing Lao Qian's words, Song Beiyou nodded slightly: "Planning and preparation are certainly necessary, but the blood feud between our brothers must not be left unresolved. In the next two days, find out the hiding place of those ronin, the more detailed the better. Select a group of capable brothers and send them to Datong Street."

"Yes, I understand." Old Qian swallowed hard. He was a man who had risen through the ranks, and he had killed people himself, but the aura that Song Beiyou exuded truly terrified him. He had come to find Song Beiyou hoping that Song Beiyou, relying on his status as the old man's last disciple, would talk to the people in Hongkou and demand an explanation.

Song Beiyou looked back at the front yard and could still hear crying. "Although the carriage company and the drivers only have a rental relationship, someone has died, so there should still be some compensation."

"Death is a serious matter, and we also uphold the code of honor among men. Don't worry, Master You," Old Qian said, clasping his hands in a gesture of reassurance.

Once the matter was settled, Song Beiyou left with Ah Zhong and Ding Qiang.

"Zhang Dabao hasn't come back yet?"

Ding Qiang shook his head: "No, I didn't see him. I was quite surprised that he wasn't seriously injured that night."

"Have Situ Le and the others left?"

Ding Qiang lowered his voice: "Not only has Master Bao disappeared, but his wife and son have also vanished. Situ Le has searched everywhere but hasn't found them."

"Most likely, Zhang Dabao hid his wife and children before he made his move. They're not showing up now; they're probably lying in wait somewhere, recovering from their injuries. Isn't that old man afraid his men will scatter?"

"I heard from Bao Ye's confidant that he stopped his business before taking action."

As the group talked, they walked to the entrance of a nearby alley. The cold wind blew, whipping up the withered grass on the roof and silently seeping into their collars and sleeves.

On the gray wooden door of one house, a pale white lantern hung crookedly, and the black character "奠" (meaning "offering sacrifice") was shocking to behold.

"Brother You." Ding Qiang also saw it.

"Let's go pay our respects." Song Beiyou recalled the scene of fighting with He Zheng in the teahouse, and a warm feeling appeared in his eyes.

The group turned into the alley, walked along the narrow, frozen dirt road, and came to the pale lanterns, where there was a faint smell of burning paper ashes.

Thump! Dust fell into the dark green moss under the threshold.

Two children, one older and one younger, opened the door. Their eyes were timid, but upon seeing Song Beiyou and Ding Qiang, they exclaimed with delight, "Mommy, Grandma, Uncle Qiang and Uncle You are here!"

The two children moved aside to let the door open.

Song Beiyou was the first to step into the courtyard.

A middle-aged woman was hunched over, gripping the millstone tightly. The millstone creaked and turned slowly, her blue cloth jacket soaked through. Grandma stood beside the millstone, holding a wooden ladle in her hand, adding soybeans into the millstone.

Hearing the shouts, the woman slowly stopped, straightened up, and greeted them with gratitude, "Ayou, Aqiang, you've come!"

Song Beiyou glanced at the soy milk flowing from the millstone and asked, "Sister-in-law, hasn't the resettlement allowance arrived yet?"

He Zheng Sao shook her head: "No. However, Master Qian promised to give it to us before the New Year."

Song Beiyou turned to his group of underlings: "I came to the car dealership today on business, and stopped by to pay my respects to Brother He. Has Brother He been found?"

"Yes. You're back." He Zheng's wife's eyes reddened as she led the group into the main room. There, a thin-barked cedar coffin sat on a high stool, and a memorial tablet was enshrined in the center of the room.

Song Beiyou took the incense sticks, lit them, and respectfully bowed three times. Ding Qiang, A Zhong, and the others also silently offered incense and bowed.

"Brother, I will never forget my promise." Song Beiyou reached out and patted the coffin lid. "Rest in peace."

He turned to look at He Zheng Sao and said, "I'll send someone to deliver one hundred silver dollars tomorrow. If you encounter any other difficulties, be sure to come to us."

He Zheng's wife hurriedly waved her hand, her voice choked with emotion: "Brother You, you already gave us the money last time. What will you do if you give us all the money?"

"Don't worry about me, sister-in-law. These two children are growing and still have to go to school."

"Well... thank you." She turned around and called out, "Awen, Awu, come and kowtow to Uncle You."

The two children were very obedient and without the slightest hesitation, they immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Ayou."

Song Beiyou helped the two children up, one in each arm, and patted their heads.

"Ayou, Aqiang, you are both outstanding heroes. It's Azheng's good fortune to have made your friends." The white-haired grandmother, her back hunched, wiped away tears with her goosebump-covered hands and gently stroked the coffin. "Azheng, my son, go in peace. I'm just afraid that without your head, you won't be able to find your way to the underworld to be reincarnated..."

"Ah Hong, I'm so old, I'm just a burden to you. Why don't I go down and find Ah Zheng and show him the way?"

"Grandma, please don't say that." The group burst into tears.

Song Beiyou's expression changed. He walked to the coffin, slowly pushed open the lid, and found a corpse lying inside. The head of the corpse was replaced by a rough piece of paper.

Ding Qiang's eyes widened, and he angrily demanded, "Sister-in-law, where's Brother He Zheng's head? Why aren't the people in the commune doing anything about it?"

He Zheng Sao sobbed, "He wasn't here when he came back. They said he was killed by the Japanese devils. They can't find him, and there's nothing they can do."

Song Beiyou lowered his head, recalling He Zheng's words. Although he and this taciturn man had only known each other for a day, they were sworn brothers.

"I'll stop them, you must kill Kato Yuichi!"

"Ah Qiang, I'll hold you off one last time, hurry!"

"Qiang, I can't hold them off anymore!"

"I risked my life to protect you this time, hoping that once you've achieved great success, you can take care of my family..."

He slowly closed the coffin lid, his voice soft but resolute, "Brother He was a real man, he shouldn't have died with his body incomplete. I'll find his head for him."

Upon hearing this, He Zheng's wife waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Ayou, forget it! Hongkou is Japanese territory. Going there would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den. Please don't go!"

The old woman panicked, crying and bowing, "Ayou, you can't go! Those Japanese devils kill without blinking an eye..."

"You don't need to worry about this. I know what I'm doing. I'll be leaving now."

Song Beiyou turned and walked out of the main room. He Zhengsao chased after him to the door, opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word. The two children stood by the threshold, watching his retreating figure.

The alley was long, and the wind was cold. He walked quickly without looking back.

……

One day later.

Taomi Street, Western-style buildings.

Song Beiyou loaded the bright yellow bullets into the magazine one by one.

Su Xiaowan stood aside, "Hongkou isn't some fancy restaurant. The Martial Arts Association, the Eastern Academy, the Zodiac Association, the Black Dragon Association—they're all full of experts. Are you really going?"

Song Beiyou said, "It's not like we're going to wipe out all the Japanese in Hongkou. They're not a monolithic group. We're just going to deal with Kato Yuichi's forces and find He Zheng's head."

Thud thud thud—boom boom boom—

The roar of the engine, like thunder, suddenly echoed on Taomi Street, shaking even the window frames.

Song Beiyou stopped in surprise and exchanged a glance with Su Xiaowan. A motorcycle? There are actually people in Taomi Street who can afford to drive one of these things?

The two walked to the window and saw a shiny black motorcycle, its streamlined body skimming along the ground like a lithe black panther, leaving a dark shadow in the sunlight.

Which rich kid is showing off here?

Just as I was guessing, squeak—! The flashy motorcycle stopped abruptly at the door, turned its head, and a shiny black leather shoe stomped on the ground.

The man in the car, dressed in a tight-fitting black leather jacket and a black leather helmet that only revealed his eyes, shouted, "Song Beiyou, get out!"

Su Xiaowan quickly slipped behind the window.

Song Beiyou raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice, "You recognized me at a glance."

Su Xiaowan glared at him, "Hurry up and get rid of him."

Song Beiyou opened the window and looked down at him, asking, "Isn't this Detective Shi? What do you want?"

"Stop talking nonsense and get down here."

Song Beiyou gave Su Xiaowan a wink, went downstairs to the door, and glanced at the motorcycle with some envy. Motorcycles in this era were equivalent to top-of-the-line sports cars in his later years.

"What exactly happened? Has Detective Shi's investigation led me to this case again?"

"Come up here, the actress asked me to take you to see her," Shi Feng said in a low voice.

Song Beiyou was taken aback.