Republic of China era: A hundred-year-old still practicing martial arts? Is that right?

We returned to Qingyuan County.

The county town was in complete uproar.

The streets were brightly lit, and the honking of cars echoed through the city's alleys, along with the clattering of foreign police officers' boots hitting the ground.

In the shadow of a courtyard wall not far from the city gate, Li Shuwen, carrying a large spear, seemed oblivious to the constant footsteps echoing outside the alley. However, his still imposing figure appeared to completely blend into the darkness as he spoke, as if he were using some kind of concealment technique.

"The reaction from foreigners was bigger than expected."

Lin Ji listened intently to the sounds outside the alley. Once the footsteps faded into the distance, he pulled a shrunken silver armor plate from his robes. Stroking the thin, yet remarkably resilient plate, he whispered:

"I'm afraid it's because of this."

Lin Ji held the shrunken, palm-sized armor plate in his hand; the plates were layered and stacked, like curled fish scales.

"This thing is probably the latest invention of the foreigners. Ordinary soldiers can catch up with the strength of the mid-stage of Dark Force by wearing it. If it is deployed in large numbers, it will be much more threatening than foreign guns and cannons."

Li Shuwen glanced down at the armor in Lin Ji's hand, his brows furrowing slightly.

"The strange and ingenious skills of Westerners are becoming increasingly bizarre."

The two were talking with their heads down.

Two more sounds of leather shoes hitting the ground came from the alley entrance.

Accompanied by the rustling sound of leather shoes hitting the ground, a burst of chattering in a foreign language followed.

Lin Ji listened intently, and the conversation between the two made his eyes darken slightly.

Seeing that he was listening attentively, Li Shuwen's eyes showed a hint of surprise:

"You understand foreign languages?"

"I know a little bit." Lin Ji nodded slightly and turned to say:

"They said they would search every house and every inn, hotel, and post station for any newcomers who had entered the city in the last three days. No place could be missed."

Lin Ji paused for a moment, then said, "We need to leave quickly. Wan Ning is still at the hotel, and if we stay any longer, something might happen."

Li Shuwen gave Lin Ji a deep look, but didn't ask any more questions.

This old man is becoming increasingly unfathomable.

Putting aside his ridiculously high level of understanding of martial arts, his transformation is even more astonishing. Now he can even understand foreign languages.

"Go." Li Shuwen only said one word before his figure darted out along the wall.

Using the cover of night and the shadows of the eaves, the two moved nimbly, avoiding the patrolling foreigners, and landed silently on the wall of the hotel.

The second floor of the hotel.

Su Wanning was peering through the crack in the window at the street below, her palms damp with sweat.

Just now.

The streets were in complete chaos.

Gunshots and fighting sounds were incessant.

Her heart was in her throat, her eyes fixed on the direction Lin Ji had left in.

Hearing a slight sound from the door, she turned around abruptly and her gaze met Lin Ji's figure as he entered the room.

Her beautiful eyes swept over Lin Ji from head to toe, and her voice, tinged with an urgency she herself didn't realize, blurted out:

"You're finally back!"

As soon as Su Wanning finished speaking, her cheeks suddenly flushed, and she hurriedly turned her face away.

She lowered her head, her delicate hands trembling slightly as she almost folded up the bundle on the table.

shameless.

Su Wanning, you're a perfectly healthy young woman, how can you talk to your elders like that?

After a long pause, Su Wanning, with her back to Lin Ji, spoke softly in a trembling voice:

"The streets are too chaotic... I... I'm worried you might run into trouble."

Lin Ji didn't point out her embarrassment, and with a hint of cluelessness in his tone, he said directly:

"Pack your things, we can't stay in the city any longer, we have to leave tonight."

"Yes, I've packed everything." Su Wan'er, still with her back to him, quickly gathered the bundle she had been twisting and turning for a while: "We can leave anytime."

"Bang! Bang!"

Doorway.

Li Shuwen's heavy iron spear slammed against the doorframe, and he peered through the crack in the door:

"Foreign soldiers are coming this way, we have to go."

The three of them didn't say anything more.

He climbed out of the back window and followed the shadows straight out of the city.

We had just turned the corner.

The three people hiding in the shadows around the corner stopped in their tracks and turned to look in the direction of the hotel.

There was a commotion coming from the direction of the hotel.

The roar of cars and motorcycles was mixed with bursts of foreign-language curses.

Three or four Buick cars were parked in front of the hotel, and a group of heavily armed foreign soldiers kicked the door over.

As soon as the gate collapsed, the foreign soldiers rushed in with a "whoosh".

A tall foreign military officer stood outside the hotel, leaning on a cane, but his tone was anything but civilized.

"Search them! Damn it, turn Qingyuan County upside down and find them for me."

however.

Less than a minute later.

A foreign soldier rushed down from upstairs and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Why?"

The foreign officer's gaze froze, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

"Chase after them!"

"They've come looking for us?" Su Wanning asked, staring at the foreign officer in front of the hotel in the distance.

"It seems so." Lin Ji withdrew his gaze, glanced at the two of them, and said, "Let's go."

The two didn't look any further and followed Lin Ji along the corner of the wall, continuing their search towards the outside of the city.

……

Inside the British Consulate.

The tall, thin foreign officer nervously dialed a number on a beautifully crafted, brass-inlaid ceramic dial telephone. The call was barely answered when a violent, impatient voice came from the other end: "How is it?!"

"Reporting to the commander, the target... has escaped. Two of our 'Iron Bodies' have not been recovered."

"You bastard!" The roar from the other end of the phone almost shattered the receiver, but the tall, thin foreigner didn't dare move. Heavy breathing came through the receiver a few times before the voice continued:

"Chase them! Find them no matter what! Those suits of armor must not fall into Chinese hands! Notify all checkpoints along the route to conduct a full-scale search!"

"Yes!" the tall, thin foreigner replied, puffing out his chest.

"Clatter!"

The phone was abruptly hung up.

Taking advantage of the gap in the city gate's defenses, Lin Ji and his two companions quietly slipped out and plunged into the night outside the city.

The three of them ran for twenty miles in one breath, and only stopped in a clearing in the woods after confirming that there were no pursuers behind them.

Moonlight filtered through the leaves. Su Wanning, leaning against the tree trunk, panted heavily. After a long while, she couldn't help but look at Lin Ji and ask:

"Grandpa Lin, what exactly happened in the city? Why are these foreigners acting like they've gone mad?"

Lin Ji reached into his robes and pulled out the two palm-sized metal balls. He placed them in the moonlight before slowly speaking:

"That's what they did."

When Su Wanning cast a curious glance at him, Lin Ji continued, giving a brief account of what had happened that night.

"Foreigners' new technology?" Su Wanning curiously reached out and touched the tough armor plates on the metal lump in Lin Ji's hand. "Is this thing very powerful?"

Li Shuwen, who was standing to the side holding a heavy iron spear, also cast an inquiring glance.

His gaze swept over the two metal lumps, and he couldn't help but let out a soft "Eh."