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

"Grandpa Lin."

Su Wanning rushed out of the dense forest and went straight to Lin Ji's side.

Looking at Lin Ji's resolute profile illuminated by the firelight, the girl's heart stirred for some reason.

However, she seemed to have learned to hide her feelings. She lowered her head slightly, and when she raised it again, only worry and anxiety remained on her face.

"Are you alright? We heard an explosion over here, and everyone was very worried about your safety. Senior Li told us to come back and check on you."

Lin Ji glanced at the girl. Her eyes looked cunning in the firelight, and her slightly curved eyelashes made them appear even brighter.

He felt a slight warmth in his heart.

It's so nice to have someone who cares about you.

He said in a deep voice, "I'm fine, I wasn't injured this time."

"It's good that you're alright." Su Wanning finally breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her head to look at the fire. The Mountain and River Stabilizing Spear was stuck in the ground in the fire, and the surrounding mountains and rivers suddenly swirled around the spear, hindering the flames from engulfing it.

"Grandpa Lin, your gun," Su Wanning said, pointing at the Mountain and River Stabilizing Gun.

"It's alright, I'll get it." Gu Xuan was patting the iron gate when the hook flew out and wrapped around the Mountain and River Stabilizing Spear.

The gun was pulled back in the next instant.

Lin Ji lightly touched the ground with his feet, leaped slightly, and gripped the gun in his hand.

Once the gun was in hand, the misty landscape pattern slowly faded away.

"Uncle Gu Xuan, what was that dragon's roar just now...?" Gu Yanzhao asked in a low voice, standing next to Gu Xuan.

Gu Xuan turned his head to look at Lin Ji, a hint of respect he had never shown before flashing in his eyes. He said softly:

"It's coming from the old man..."

"With my strength at the early stage of the Transcendent Realm, and with the help of my family's ingenious techniques, I'm afraid I'm no match for the old man."

"During the fight just now, I only provided a little help from the sidelines. The old gentleman almost single-handedly defeated that freak."

Gu Xuan withdrew his gaze, staring at the distant bonfire, a slight twitch between his brows.

"He's only at the peak of Dark Force..." Gu Yanzhao's gaze fell on the large spear in Lin Ji's hand.

He hesitated for a moment, just as he was about to ask a question, when a voice suddenly came from behind him:

"There are always mountains beyond mountains, and people beyond people. Martial arts realm is merely a change in the body, not the complete manifestation of combat power."

It's Li Shuwen.

Gu Yanzhao's heart skipped a beat.

Is this why "Iron Spear" insisted on taking him north?

Gu Yanzhao glanced at Lin Ji again.

Seeing Lin Ji turn his head towards her, she nodded slightly to him, and then Lin Ji looked at Gu Xuan.

"You noticed it too?"

Gu Xuan frowned slightly.

Lin Ji nodded and said:

"I would appreciate it if Brother Gu could lend a hand again."

Gu Xuan nodded, and the iron gate behind him opened again, the hook reaching into the fire to pull out an item.

"What is this?"

Gu Yanzhao came closer.

Front end of hook lock.

A ring-shaped object was scorched red by the flames.

Yet you can still see the intricate patterns on it.

Li Shuwen propped himself up and examined the area carefully, his brows furrowing slightly.

"It seems to have a Japanese imperial style, but it's not quite. This thing doesn't look like something a person would wear; rather, it looks like a ritual object used in sacrifices or other ceremonies."

"The Japanese Imperial Family?" Gu Hu also came closer, noticing the ornate patterns on the ring, and muttered a curse under his breath:

"This evil entity is actually connected to the Japanese Imperial Family? The Japanese Imperial Family is so unethical! How dare they use their things, even if they are evil entities?"

"Precisely because they are royalty, they are more likely to associate with crooked and unethical practices." Li Shuwen coughed twice.

"The previous legends about the emperor may not all be false."

Lin Ji took the ring, ran his fingertips along the patterns on it, examined it carefully, and then handed the ring to Li Shuwen:

"Keep it; you might need it later."

Li Shuwen shook his head and gave a wry smile: "You keep pretending. You have a better chance than me to smuggle this thing out."

He glanced at the raging fire, then changed the subject: "The fire's getting bigger and bigger. The city will soon be aware of what's happening here. We have to go..."

"Okay!" Everyone nodded and retreated south overnight along the path they had crossed before.

As dawn broke, the team finally stopped to rest in a secluded mountain hollow.

Not long after they rested, Li Shuwen called Lin Ji aside and handed him a package tightly wrapped in oilcloth.

"This is the exoskeleton armor. Didn't you say yesterday that you were going into the city to deliver it to the organization's informant?"

"Should I go by myself?" Lin Ji asked back.

"Hmm." Li Shuwen nodded: "Gu Xuande should stay to protect the team. Yan Zhao leading the Gu family members would be too conspicuous and easy to expose. You have disguise skills and you know foreign languages ​​and Japanese, so you are the most suitable."

Gu Yanzhao, standing nearby, was taken aback: "Senior Li, didn't the organization withdraw completely? Where are there still spies in the city?"

"There's one more deadline, which can only be used once by one party. Don't use it unless absolutely necessary." Li Shuwen handed over a folded square piece of paper: "The address and code are on this. Come back as soon as you deliver the goods, don't linger."

Lin Ji took the note and the oilcloth package, weighed them in his hand, and nodded slightly.

He changed into a gray cloth outfit, disguised himself as an ordinary middle-aged peddler, and went alone along the mountain road to the provincial capital.

The checks at the city gates of the provincial capital are twice as strict as they were a few days ago.

The soldiers guarding the city stood in two rows with their rifles at the ready, and they searched the bags of every civilian who came in and out. If they didn't know the people, they pressed them against the wall and searched them. The shouts and cries were mixed together, making people feel suffocated.

Lin Ji mingled among the peddlers carrying loads, his straw hat brim pulled low.

The wooden box contained several packets of common herbs, typical of a peddler's livelihood.

The city guard squeezed his cloth bag, rummaged through the wooden box, found nothing amiss, and impatiently waved him through.

Once inside the city, the main street was mostly deserted.

Half of the shops along the street were closed, their doors covered in a thin layer of dust.

Passersby walked close to the wall, taking quick steps.

"Have you heard? Commander He personally gave the order that the Gu family is colluding with foreign powers."

"A perfectly respectable arms manufacturing family is doomed now that they've been accused of this crime."

"It's not over yet, Old Master Gu is still here."

The whispers from the roadside tea stalls drifted over, but Lin Ji didn't stop walking, heading towards the Gu family's old house along the streets and alleys.

The number of sentries along the way was twice as high as before leaving the city, and the bayonets gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

The closer you get to the Gu residence, the more soldiers there are.

Upon arriving at Gu Mansion Front Street, one could see a large crowd gathered outside the gate from afar.

Jiang Baichuan and Yan Songshan, along with their two families' guards, mingled with the city's garrison, directing a dozen soldiers to carry thick wooden stakes and ram the gate.

A series of muffled thuds echoed as dust fell from the gate tower.

Inside the gate, the Gu family guards confronted each other, their blades gleaming, and bricks were thrown out from the wall every now and then.

"Gu Feng! What kind of skill is it to hide like this!" Yan Songshan shouted from the bottom of the steps, his belly protruding. "Commander He has already given his permission. If you don't hand over the person, we'll storm in! When we find evidence, don't blame us for not showing any mercy!"

"Bullshit!" came the butler's curses from inside the courtyard wall. "My Gu family has run Guanghua for generations. When have we ever colluded with the enemy? You just want to swallow up the Gu family's assets!"