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

Before Su Wanning could react, Lin Ji had already grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

His cloudy eyes instantly sharpened like knives as he stared intently at the woods to his left, his aura becoming heavy.

The woods rustled, and several dark figures slowly emerged.

The leader was a tall, thin man who held a long rope with a hook in his hand. His face was covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of sinister eyes.

He was followed by four or five people, each carrying a hook and an iron chain, with black round balls attached to their waists, looking like the legendary fog bombs.

The group remained silent, staring intently at Lin Ji and Su Wanning with eyes as cold and menacing as wolves eyeing their prey.

Su Wanning hid behind Lin Ji, her palms instantly sweating.

Looking at the newcomer, Lin Ji suddenly remembered what Zhou Bingkun had said about a group of people from Southeast Asia around the provincial capital who specialized in capturing martial artists, using hooks and iron chains, and were ruthless in their attacks.

Could it be this group of people?

Lin Ji, leaning on a wooden cane, still looked very old, his back slightly hunched, his voice hoarse:

"Friends, we are just ordinary people passing by, with no past grievances or present enemies. What do you mean by this?"

The tall, thin man grinned, his voice hoarse and unpleasant:

"An ordinary citizen? Old man, stop pretending. You're the one we're looking for!"

Before he finished speaking, he swung the long rope in his hand again, this time aiming straight for Lin Ji's face!

The hook traced an arc in the air, carrying a foul stench, fast and cunning.

Su Wan's heart was in her throat. Just as she was about to cry out, she saw the old man in front of her suddenly move.

Instead of retreating, Lin Ji advanced, and suddenly shook the "wooden stick" in his hand.

With a soft "click," the originally gray staff suddenly stretched out, and the landscape patterns on the gun gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

What was that wooden stick? It was clearly the Mountain and River Stabilizing Spear that he had been hiding all along!

Lin Ji flicked the tip of his spear, striking the hook lock precisely.

"clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere, and the tall, thin man felt a tingling sensation in his hand; the long rope almost slipped from his grasp. He was shocked; this old man, despite his frail appearance, possessed an absurdly strong strength!

"This is a tricky idea! Let's all work together!"

The tall, thin man roared, and four men behind him pounced on him at the same time.

Four hooks came flying from different angles, some wrapping around the ankles, some hooking the wrists, and others aiming straight for vital organs such as the throat and knees. Every move was vicious and cruel, all aimed at crippling the person.

These people were clearly repeat offenders, working together seamlessly and targeting blind spots that martial artists couldn't defend against.

But they encountered Lin Ji.

The Mountain and River Stabilizing Spear danced in his hands, creating a harmonious spear curtain, with the Six Harmonies Spear Intent spreading along the shaft.

The moment the grappling hooks touched the gun, they seemed to sink into quagmire, their force instantly diminished by more than half. With a series of crisp clanging sounds, all four grappling hooks were pried open by the gun tip, without even touching the hem of Lin Ji's clothes.

"Is that all you've got?"

Lin Ji's voice turned cold. He took a step forward and flicked the tip of his spear, creating three spear flowers.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Three muffled thuds sounded almost simultaneously.

The three men at the front were shot in the wrists at the same time, blood splattered, and the grappling hooks in their hands clattered to the ground.

These three were only at the early stage of internal energy cultivation. In Lin Ji's eyes, they were no different from paper, and couldn't even withstand three moves.

The remaining two were terrified and turned to run away.

Lin Ji's eyes turned cold, and he twisted the tip of his spear, ready to chase after them and kill them.

These evil cultivators who prey on martial artists will only bring harm to more people if they are left alive.

But just then...

"Gurgle...gurgle..."

A strange rolling sound came from the woods to the side.

A large black pottery urn, about half the height of a person, slowly rolled down the hillside, stopping only when it was less than three zhang away from Lin Ji.

The jar was sealed with yellow mud, and its body was engraved with crooked, dark red patterns, giving it an indescribably eerie appearance.

Lin Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he stopped in his tracks instantly.

An old man carrying a jar!

The heretical cultist from Southeast Asia that Zhou Bingkun mentioned!

"Be careful!"

Lin Ji sternly stopped Su Wanning, who was about to step forward for a closer look. Without thinking, he pounced on Su Wanning, took out the ordinary exoskeleton armor from his pocket, unfolded it, and held it in front of him.

Almost at the same instant the armored shield held steady.

"Splash!"

The yellow clay at the mouth of the jar suddenly burst open, and a stream of dark yellow turbid water gushed out, shooting straight towards Lin Ji's face like a water arrow!

Wherever the yellow water passed, a pungent, fishy stench filled the air. When it landed on the nearby grass, the blades instantly turned black and withered, hissing and emitting white smoke.

"Sizzle—"

Yellow liquid splashed onto the armor plates, producing a harsh corrosive sound. The dark silver plates visibly developed black spots and small pits.

Lin Ji blocked it in time, and most of the yellow water was caught by his armor, but a few drops still splashed onto his left arm.

The blue cloth robe was instantly burned through, and a needle-like burning pain shot through the skin as wisps of white smoke rose.

"Grandpa Lin!" Su Wanning exclaimed in surprise, her face turning pale instantly.

"Hehehehe..."

A sharp, piercing laugh came from the earthenware jar, its voice muffled and guttural.

"Old man, you've got some skills..."

Before he finished speaking, the earthenware jar suddenly trembled, and an arm suddenly stretched out from the mouth of the jar.

The arm was ridiculously long, a full three meters long, with bluish-gray skin and long, sharp nails like five daggers. It bypassed Lin Ji and went straight for Su Wanning behind him!

It was so fast that it was just a blur!

Su Wanning was so frightened that her whole body stiffened, and she even forgot to dodge.

"court death!"

A cold glint flashed in Lin Ji's eyes, and he no longer concealed his true intentions.

The Yin and Yang energies around his body suddenly erupted, the tip of the Mountain and River Stabilizing Spear sank, and the Hidden Dragon Abyss was activated in the process.

The spear flashed like a dragon, carrying the somber power of mountains and rivers, and slashed fiercely at that long arm.

"puff!"

The spear tip pierced directly into the flesh, and foul-smelling black blood spurted out.

"Aww!"

A piercing scream came from inside the jar, and the long arm suddenly retracted, the flesh and blood at the wound rolled up, and the white bone was exposed.

"I'm not fighting anymore! We can't win!"

The sound from the jar was sharp and urgent, tinged with a hint of panic.

The earthenware jar suddenly spun around on its own, rolling into the woods at an astonishing speed, as if trying to escape.

He hadn't gone far when a sinister voice, laced with venomous laughter, drifted from the jar again:

"Found you...found you...you can't escape...hehehe..."

Lin Ji frowned and drew his gun, ready to give chase.

Such heretical practitioners will surely become a great threat if left unchecked, especially since they have their eyes on me.

But as soon as he took two steps, he saw the earthenware jar lurch and a round thing roll out of the mouth of the jar.

It landed on the ground with a thud and rolled all the way to Lin Ji's feet before stopping.

It was a bloody human head.

His hair was still covered in mud and blood, his eyes were wide open, and his face was full of resentment and astonishment.

Su Wanning only glanced at it before she was so frightened that she covered her mouth, her face turned ashen, and her stomach churned, almost causing her to vomit.

Lin Ji looked down and his pupils suddenly contracted, his hand gripping the gun barrel tightening abruptly.

He recognized that face.

Last night, I was thanking him outside the city, saying I was going to a neighboring county to avoid trouble... Zhou Bingkun.