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

Staring at the corpse on the ground, Bai Xiaonian's face turned deathly pale, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he couldn't help but lower his voice.

"I recognize him."

"Zhao Gang is a notorious scoundrel in our area. He usually idles around, does nothing proper, and only knows how to eat, drink, gamble, and whore."

Lin Ji glanced at him and saw the resentment and anger surging in the boy's eyes. Without asking, he knew that Zhao Gang had definitely not done anything good to Bai Yatou.

"...The police are here!"

Someone on the periphery of the crowd whispered something, and the neighbors scattered to both sides, revealing a path.

Two police officers, one old and one young, strolled over.

The old police officer, carrying a gleaming baton, frowned and covered his nose with his sleeve before even getting close.

The young man followed behind, clutching a tattered notebook in his hand.

The veteran police officer walked to the body, used his baton to pull Zhao Gang's collar, and asked in a strained tone, "Who reported this?"

No one answered.

The veteran police officer didn't seem to care, and pulled back his baton, saying, "Alright, I got it. Gambling debt dispute, enemies coming to the door, the same old routine."

The young police officer scribbled a couple of lines in his notebook.

"Where is the neighborhood head of this street?"

The old police officer shouted to the crowd, but no one responded.

"Alright, whoever has time shouts out, tell him to find a straw mat, wrap the body up, and throw it in a mass grave."

The veteran police officer tucked his baton back into his waistband, got up, and walked out of the alley.

Lin Ji glanced at the alleyway where the police had disappeared, his eyes showing no emotion.

In this chaotic world, human lives are worth less than a pound of pork belly!

Lin Ji casually patted Bai Xiaonian on the shoulder: "It's all done, let's go, or we'll miss the Martial Arts Hall's meeting."

Bai Xiaonian pursed his lips, suppressing his surging emotions, nodded, hummed in agreement, and squeezed out of the crowd.

After squeezing out of the crowd, Bai Xiaonian led the way.

Lin Ji followed behind him, pondering to himself.

Shen Jinluan? This woman has a nice-sounding name, but she's ruthless enough to do something like that.

But who would you be showing off like this in broad daylight?

Are you trying to give this old man a hard time?

It's unlikely. Those two hooligans who were expelled from the gang were just thrown into a mass grave yesterday. There's absolutely no way they could have discovered it was their doing so quickly.

Unable to come up with a solution, Lin Ji gave up and stopped thinking. As people get older, they tend to become more lazy in whatever they do.

Oh well, at least there's someone taller watching over things, even if the sky falls.

Shaking his head and with his hands behind his back, Lin Ji continued to follow Bai Xiaonian toward the junior high school.

……

"Have you finished taking care of it?"

A rough voice, tinged with respect and anticipation, echoed from a room on the second floor of the casino, drowning out the noise downstairs.

In a private room of "Jufulou," one of the top casinos in Jiangcheng, Shen Jinluan comfortably crossed her legs and leaned back in a mink-covered armchair, casually exposing her two long, snow-white legs, which gleamed alluringly under the dim light. She didn't seem to find anything wrong with it at all.

Across from her sat a burly man with a buzz cut, about forty years old, his face showing worry as he anxiously looked at Shen Jinluan.

Shen Jinluan, with a cigarette dangling from her lips, slowly exhaled a smoke ring, her gaze fixed on the bustling casino downstairs in the distance, without even turning her head.

"Didn't see her?" Shen Jinluan remained silent, but the burly man's tone rose slightly, sounding more anxious. "That young lady is no ordinary person. If we offend her, our Sea Dragon Gang is finished! Maybe I should personally..."

He had only spoken halfway when Shen Jinluan slightly turned her head, glancing indifferently at Zhou Hu.

at once!

Zhou Hu's words caught in his throat, and he sat obediently in his chair, no longer daring to utter a sound.

"Thump thump thump!"

The sound of hurried footsteps came from downstairs.

A thug dressed in a black short jacket from the Sea Dragon Gang ran up.

The burly man kept his head down, not daring to glance at Shen Jinluan, much less at her long, white legs exposed outside her cheongsam. He quickly ran to the burly man's side, his voice low: "Chief! Something's happened!"

Zhou Hu's expression changed, and he waved his hand at his subordinate, "Alright, I understand! You can go now. No one is allowed to come up without my orders!"

"Yes!" The thug felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly bowed his head and retreated, making sure to close the door to the private room before leaving.

Zhou Hu looked at Shen Jinluan, his face full of shock and disbelief: "Something's happened! Just now, some brothers were dumping bodies in the mass grave and found the bodies of Liu San and the other man."

"Hmm." Shen Jinluan removed the jade pipe from her lips, tapped it in the ashtray on the table, and extinguished the pipe.

"They're the two guys who had the conflict with that guy in Dog Tail Alley the day before yesterday," Zhou Hu added.

"Both of them had their necks broken, and their bodies were already cold when they were found; it looks like they died last night!"

"Then... what do we do now?" Zhou Hu asked, somewhat unsure of what to do, seeing that Shen Jinluan didn't react much. "Should we send someone to investigate?"

Shen Jinluan remained silent for a moment, twirling the jade pipe between her fingers. Her fair fingers caressed the jade on the pipe, and a playful smile curved her red lips. "Interesting."

"No need!" Shen Jinluan waved her hand. "Pretend you don't know anything for now. I'll handle this personally."

"Give the order to tell the brothers to behave themselves and not cause any more trouble."

"Yes," Zhou Hu, the leader of the Haijiao Gang, quickly replied.

the other side.

Lin Ji and Bai Xiaonian had already left Dog Tail Alley and were continuing along the main street toward Wutang Junior High School.

People were coming and going on the street.

The sounds of hawking and shouting filled the air, creating a lively atmosphere.

The newsboy, holding a rolled-up newspaper, squeezed in and out of the crowd, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Extra! Extra!"

The rickshaw bells pushed through the crowd, causing a commotion in the street.

The two remained silent the entire way.

After about half an hour, Lin Ji finally saw the outline of Wutang Middle School in the distance.

The roof is covered with golden glazed tiles, which gleam in the sunlight.

The double doors, about two people high, were wide open, revealing tall buildings and lush greenery inside, standing out starkly against the backdrop of the surrounding low-rise buildings.

Faint shouts could be heard coming from inside.

Two lifelike and majestic stone lions, each taller than a person, sit at the entrance.

Bai Xiaonian's steps unconsciously slowed down, and a hint of unease appeared on his face.

He subconsciously straightened his navy blue school uniform and patted off any dust that hadn't yet settled on him, as if trying to make himself look neater.

Lin Ji followed behind him, taking in his subtle movements, and shook his head slightly without saying a word.

When they were still dozens of meters away from the martial arts hall, Bai Xiaonian suddenly stopped.

Hesitantly turning around, clutching the hem of her clothes, she pursed her lips repeatedly. After two or three seconds, she finally mustered the courage to speak: "Grandpa Lin, I...I want to ask you for a favor."

Lin Ji raised an eyebrow, looking at his suddenly pale face, and nodded: "Speak."

The boy's Adam's apple bobbed: "Grandpa Lin, whatever you saw or heard in the martial arts hall today, could you... please not tell my sister?"