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

"Let's stop for a moment."

As soon as they emerged from the mine, Gu Yanzhao waved to his men to steady the stretcher carrying Li Shuwen. He wiped the sweat from his face, which had been trapped in the pit, and turned to look at Lin Ji:

"Sir, we've caused quite a commotion. We can't stay here any longer. The city's defenses are lax at night, so we can head back to the city tonight."

He glanced at the barren ground covered with piles of black coal ash, and continued:

"After returning to the Gu family, with its high walls and deep courtyards, I asked my father to find a good doctor to treat the 'Iron Spear' senior."

"No way." Lin Ji shook his head directly, his tone very firm.

"The whole city is searching for 'Iron Spear' right now. He's covered in wounds. If word gets out, or if he runs into a patrol," Lin Ji said, weighing the Mountain and River Stabilizing Spear in his hand, his brows furrowing slightly.

"With this old man's gun, I might not be able to protect him, and it could also bring unnecessary trouble to your Gu family."

"What the old gentleman said makes sense. I was just being naive." Gu Yanzhao nodded slowly, his brows furrowed, and then he thought of another way.

Just as Gu Yanzhao was at his wit's end, Li Shuwen on the stretcher suddenly raised his head, his lips trembling as he uttered a weak sound:

"You can't go back to the city... Westerners have created cyborgs, and you're not strong enough... Going back would be like walking into a trap."

"Cyborgs?" Lin Ji's eyes darkened slightly as he recalled the battle that night in front of Su Mingyuan's courtyard.

The foreigner he stabbed to death had something indescribable circulating in his body.

Could this be the cyborg Li Shuwen was talking about?

"What are the characteristics of these cyborgs? Do they have something like qi in their bodies?" Lin Ji bent down and squatted in front of Li Shuwen, asking.

"I've only heard that... they created this thing using Chinese martial arts, but I don't know the specifics..." Li Shuwen explained to Lin Ji in a trembling voice.

"That must be it." Lin Ji's voice deepened slightly. "Then we absolutely cannot go back."

Gu Yanzhao, who was standing to the side, seemed to remember something and suddenly slapped his forehead, lowering his voice to say, "I've thought of a place."

He raised his hand and pointed behind the abandoned mine: "Go further west, over this mine, there is another abandoned mine, which is the property of the Gu family. I remember there are some shacks and courtyards left by the Gu family in their early years next to it."

"That place is very remote, and because of mining, there's almost nothing there. Even local hunters rarely go there. We should be able to hide there for ten days or half a month without any problem," Gu Yanzhao said, taking a few steps forward.

Lin Ji thought for a moment and nodded: "Within the provincial capital, Young Master Gu knows more than I, an outsider. Let's go there first, and after we stabilize Brother Li's injuries, we'll make further plans."

Without further delay, the group carried the stretcher and, under the moonlight, quietly ventured into the depths of the Western Hills.

……

Inside the Japanese Consulate in the provincial capital.

"Haven't you contacted Lady Chiyoko yet?" Yamamoto Taro paced back and forth in the ornately decorated, brightly lit consulate, his face full of gloom.

Yamamoto Taro turned his head and shouted at the ronin in front of him who was bowing at a ninety-degree angle: "What are you still standing there for? Go to the scene and see what's going on. If you delay the Empire's plans, we'll all have to commit seppuku."

"Yamamoto-kun, we have already sent people over," the bowing ronin explained in a low voice.

The voice just fell.

A hurried commotion was heard outside the hall.

"Report!"

A Japanese ronin with a sword at his side stumbled in: "Sir, I've found it!"

The ronin, panting heavily, explained, "The mine was broken into, and Li Shuwen was kidnapped."

"What?" Yamamoto's pupils contracted sharply. He took two or three steps to the ronin, grabbed him by the collar, and demanded, "Where's Chiyo? Where's Lady Chiyoko?"

"Dead...dead..." The ronin's legs went weak from the sheer power emanating from the mountain, and his voice trembled uncontrollably.

"There was a hole the size of a bowl on Lady Chiyoko's body, as if she had been... pierced by a spear."

He paused for a moment, then abruptly changed the subject: "By the way, sir, we pulled one of our brothers out of the pile of corpses, and he's still breathing."

"Where is he?" Yamamoto yanked the ronin aside and rushed out of the hall.

At the entrance of the consulate lobby.

A surviving ronin was almost entirely wrapped in bandages, his arm severed at the root, and he lay on a stretcher, groaning in pain, covered in blood.

He saw Yamamoto, his eyes, wrapped in bandages, widened slightly, and he spoke in a trembling voice:

"My lord... it's the Gu family... it's someone from the Gu family! And there was an old man with a gun... Lady Chiyoko died by his gun."

"Gu family!" Yamamoto narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he looked into the hazy night.

He completely ignored the nearly lifeless ronin beside him, turned around and pushed the hall door open again, heading straight for the dial telephone on the table.

"Crack!"

He dialed the phone number, and the phone rang.

"Cough cough... cough cough cough..."

The first sound on the other end of the phone was a heart-wrenching cough, which took a long time to subside.

"His Majesty."

Taro Yamamoto addressed the receiver respectfully.

"Speak."

A weak voice came from the other end of the phone, but even in that weakness, there was still the disdain of someone in a high position.

"Your Majesty, Lady Chiyoko... also... died for Your Majesty." Yamamoto Taro recounted Chiyoko's death and Li Shuwen's arrest.

"Mmm." The weak voice on the other end of the phone was completely flat. He paused for a few seconds before slowly speaking:

"Li Shuwen is a criminal wanted by the Chinese authorities... cough cough... If you tell He Ze that he was rescued by the Gu family, the Chinese authorities hate the rebels to the bone... He Ze is opportunistic and wants to get promoted... He will definitely take action... You can just sit back and reap the benefits... cough cough."

Yamamoto's eyes lit up, and he bowed deeply: "Your Majesty is wise, I will take care of it immediately."

"Hmm." The voice on the other end of the phone responded again, and the sound of the phone being handed over could be clearly heard.

A low voice came from the other end, asking quietly, "Approximately how much serum has been extracted from the high-ranking warriors of China? Especially Li Shuwen's, how long until it can be transported back to the country? His Majesty is waiting to use it."

"It's enough for His Majesty for two months. Li Shuwen's serum has been specially preserved and is undamaged. It will be transported back to the country by ship within seven days," Yamamoto Taro explained in a low voice, glancing at the few ronin in the distance who still had their heads down.

"Okay, as soon as possible!"

"Crack!"

The call was disconnected, and Taro Yamamoto heard a dial tone.

Yamamoto Taro put down the phone, turned to look at the group of ronin, a slight smile playing on his lips, and muttered to himself:

"He Ze, you can have this useless guy, 'Iron Spear'."