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

Lin Ji gripped his gun tighter and tighter, but ultimately stopped his pursuit.

In the distance, the sound of the black urn rolling grew fainter and fainter, soon disappearing into the depths of the dense forest, and even the sinister laughter was drowned out by the wind.

Lin Ji withdrew his gaze from the depths of the dense forest and landed on the bloodied head on the ground. He sighed softly, slung his spear over his back, took out a gray cloth from his pocket, and covered Zhou Bingkun's head with it.

Lin Ji wasn't unable to catch up with that evil cultivator in the black urn.

If he were to unleash the full power of Qianlongyuan to catch up, no matter how fast the black urn rolled, it wouldn't escape the tip of his spear.

But he actually went after him.

What should Su Wanning do behind him?

No one can say for sure whether this is a diversionary tactic by the enemy.

"Grandpa Lin..." Su Wanning's face was still pale, and she tugged at Lin Ji's sleeve in a trembling voice, "Do you recognize this person?"

Lin Ji nodded: "He is Zhou Bingkun, the military governor of Qingyuan County."

He was still talking eloquently last night, saying he wanted to live and do something for the country and the people, and now he's dead.

These foreigners are truly hateful.

Su Wanning glanced at the gray cloth, her gaze slightly stiff. She had only recently heard this person's name from Lin Ji.

How long has it been?

A hero lost his life just like that.

Lin Ji carefully wrapped the head in a gray cloth, found a sheltered earthen slope, dug a deep pit with the tip of his spear, buried Zhou Bingkun's head in it, and then moved a few slightly flat stones to weigh it down on the mound, thus erecting a wordless monument.

"Commander Zhou was a good official." Lin Ji patted the dirt off his hands and sat down beside the grave mound, saying softly.

"In this chaotic world, there are not many people left who can speak up for the common people."

Su Wanning stood to the side, her eyes a little red. As Lin Ji stood up, she silently bowed to the mound of earth.

After finishing all that, Lin Ji picked up his gun and walked towards the evil cultivators he had injured. Without asking any questions or hesitating, Lin Ji twisted the tip of his gun and cleanly ended their lives.

After impaling several corpses with a single spear thrust into a distant ditch of grass, Lin Ji glanced at the fading sunlight and called out to Su Wanning:

"Let's go take a look at that yard up ahead."

Lin Ji wrapped the Mountain and River Stabilizing Spear in cloth again, straightened his back, and walked towards the nearby solitary courtyard, leaning on his "wooden stick".

Seeing Lin Ji begin to walk with practiced ease, Su Wanning's pale face softened slightly, and she chuckled softly.

"You really look like an old man."

Lin Ji, hunched over, took small, hurried steps and said in a low voice:

"I'm really a hundred years old."

Su Wanning was clearly not convinced. She jogged a few steps to catch up with Lin Ji. Just as she was about to ask a few more questions, a rich aroma of meat wafted from the courtyard and into their nostrils.

The meat was fragrant, but mixed with an indescribable fishy smell that made one's head feel inexplicably stuffy.

"It smells so good... wait..." Su Wanning said subconsciously.

The pungent, fishy stench immediately reminded her of the human heads on the ground. Instantly, her stomach churned, and she turned her head, covered her mouth, and dry heaved.

Lin Ji frowned slightly, stepped aside to block Su Wanning, pushed open the courtyard gate, and took a closer look. His pupils suddenly contracted.

In the center of the overgrown yard, there was a large black pot, about half a person's height, with firewood burning brightly underneath. The pot was bubbling gently, and the aroma of meat was irresistible.

But the large piece of steamed meat, its skin and flesh curled up, was dangling from the edge of the pot with a bluish human foot attached to it, the toes on the sole of the foot swollen and deformed from the cooking.

"brute!"

Lin Ji squeezed out two words through gritted teeth.

This courtyard is not a place for mountain people to rest at all; it is clearly the place where that group of evil cultivators stayed.

"Let's go." Lin Ji turned around, grabbed Su Wanning's wrist, and walked out.

"What's wrong?"

Su Wanning looked bewildered, but being intelligent, she noticed Lin Ji's ashen face and her heart skipped a beat as she instantly understood what was happening.

She didn't dare ask any more questions, gritted her teeth, and quickly followed Lin Ji out.

The two walked quite a distance.

The pungent, meaty aroma still lingered around their noses.

Su Wanning leaned against a tree trunk by the roadside and began to dry heave repeatedly.

"These people... they're utterly despicable." Su Wanning barely suppressed the churning in her throat and cursed under her breath.

As darkness completely fell, Lin Ji, who was guarding her side, kept scanning their surroundings.

"Southeast Asian sorcery is all about evil. If we encounter it again, we'll make sure they never return. Today, they've clearly come prepared. Let's not get entangled with them for now and get on our way."

Su Wanning nodded and followed behind Lin Ji, figuring out the route and continuing along the path towards the provincial capital.

To avoid attracting attention, Lin Ji chose a narrow path, occasionally traversing overgrown wilderness.

He walked ahead, his pace not slow, but he always kept an eye on his surroundings.

Ever since leaving the orphanage, Lin Ji had always felt that something was wrong. He felt that there was a pair of eyes watching the two of them, at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

He tried to observe the situation and detect subtle signs, but he found no trace of the enemy.

Lin Ji swept away the vines on the ground with his "stick" and suddenly felt the direct gaze from behind him intensify.

As Hei Weng was leaving, his repeated phrase, "I've found you, you can't escape now," echoed in Lin Ji's ears, making Lin Ji more wary.

Looks like we're being watched!

Is it someone from the Black Jar? Or is it someone else entirely?

The moonlight was hazy, and the forest was pitch black. Su Wanning's physical strength was almost at its limit after the run. Her forehead was covered with sweat, and her breathing became heavy.

She gritted her teeth and followed Lin Ji's footsteps silently.

Finally, Lin Ji stopped in a secluded rocky hollow.

"Take a break."

He stopped in his tracks, narrowed his eyes, and the black and white jade pendant in his mind trembled slightly.

Lin Ji spread his senses, scanning the surrounding environment within a ten-mile radius. Finding nothing unusual, he withdrew his senses and opened his eyes.

"It's almost dawn. Let's rest for a while and continue our journey when it gets light."

Su Wanning finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her body went limp, and she sat down against the rock, not caring that her clothes would get dirty.

She raised her delicate fist and carefully massaged her numb legs.

Lin Ji looked at Su Wanning and silently nodded in his heart.

It's quite remarkable that a girl who hasn't practiced martial arts for more than a few days has managed to stick with me this long.

Lin Ji knelt down in front of Su Wanning, reached into his robes and pulled out a plain-looking armor, handing it to her.

"Put this on."

"Huh?" Su Wanning paused, her fist pounding her calf, and looked up at the armor in Lin Ji's hand:

"Isn't this something from foreigners?"

"There are people following us." Lin Ji didn't hide anything and directly stuffed the armor into her hand:

"We don't know how many people there are or what their methods are. This thing can increase your strength and also provides some protection. It's safer to wear it."

Su Wanning's heart tightened when she heard "there are people behind her," but she accepted the armor without refusing.