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

Lin Ji took the armor.

My palms trembled slightly.

"Snap!"

The previously open plates suddenly twisted and closed on their own, returning to their original spherical shape.

Everyone's eyelids snapped open at the same time.

Even the well-informed Li Shuwen was no exception.

Lin Ji spoke softly, "I didn't quite understand the mystery either. Just now, the steel wires under two scales got tangled together."

Lin Ji was telling the truth.

However, all the members of the Gu family heard was the word "too," which Lin Ji had deliberately emphasized.

……

As dawn broke, Lin Ji changed into a gray cloth outfit, disguised himself as an ordinary middle-aged peddler, said goodbye to everyone, and headed towards the provincial capital in the direction shown on Gu Yanzhao's map.

The soldiers checking people at the city gates of the provincial capital have been replaced.

Everyone was armed to the teeth, and heavy machine guns were even set up on the city walls.

At the city gate, two rows of soldiers searched through the luggage of the people entering and leaving, shouting and cursing.

Lin Ji mingled in the crowd, his head covered by a tattered straw hat he'd somehow found.

He carried a wooden box on his back, which he had bought for a large sum of money before entering the city. It was filled with ordinary peddler's items.

The city guard squeezed the shrunken cloth bag hanging on his face, then roughly turned over the wooden box. Finding nothing amiss, he waved his hand impatiently and said:

"Remember to leave the city before dark. If you don't find a place to stay after the city gates close at night, you'll be in big trouble."

"Yes, yes, thank you, sir."

Lin Ji tiptoed into the city, his face showing the humility of a street vendor.

……

Lin Ji entered the city.

Looking around, the streets were much quieter than they had been a few days ago.

Many shops along the street had boarded up their windows and closed their doors, and pedestrians were walking very quietly, quickly hugging the walls.

"Is there going to be a good show in town today? Who would have thought that the three major families of the provincial government would one day turn against each other?"

"Yes, yes, I also heard that this matter is related to the Governor's Mansion?"

"Shh... You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. This is clearly a feud between merchants, why are you bringing up the governor's mansion?"

"Oh dear, look at my memory! You're right, I'll slap myself."

Lin Ji flapped his ears, catching the casual conversations of passersby.

They also gained a clear understanding of the current situation in the prefectural city.

really.

The Gu family is being targeted by He Ze.

They even used the high-sounding excuse of a dispute between merchants.

This made it impossible for the Gu family to cause him any trouble.

I need to go check it out!

Lin Ji had already inquired about the location of the Gu residence with Gu Yanzhao upon entering the city.

He followed the route on Gu Yanzhao's map all the way to the Gu residence.

As Lin Ji approached the Gu family residence, he saw the city's residents blocking the way.

No wonder there are so few people on the street.

I thought the atmosphere in the city was tense, and the people were afraid of getting into trouble, so they stayed at home and dared not go out.

In front of the Gu family's gate were servants from the Jiang and Yan private equity firms.

From a distance, one could see circles of people surrounding the main gate of the Gu residence.

Jiang Baichuan and Yan Songshan, along with their respective guards, directed a dozen or so servants to carry thick wooden stakes and ram them against the vermilion gate of the Gu residence.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

One muffled thud after another, and paint and dust kept falling from the gate tower.

"Gu Feng! Is it fun hiding in your house like a coward?" Yan Songshan stood at the foot of the steps in front of the Gu residence, his large belly protruding as he shouted incessantly into the house.

"You command a large army and privately manufacture weapons. Commander He is a man of old friendship and doesn't want to do anything to you. But what about you? You've actually colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, harboring rebels. Today, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of the authorities!"

"Hmph! Such high-sounding words! You two think you can barge into my Gu family's residence? Do you want to test my Gu family's newest firearms? Or perhaps a sharp blade?"

Inside the Gu residence, Gu Feng spoke in a deep, cold voice, his words carrying over the high courtyard walls to Jiang and Yan outside the gate.

Jiang Baichuan turned pale with fright at Gu Feng's shout, and his legs began to tremble.

"What are you afraid of! The Japanese have given you ten mortars; a single salvo could raze the Gu family to the ground. What's there to be afraid of?" Yan Songshan yanked him away and continued shouting inside.

"Bluster! I'd like to see if your mouth will still be so stubborn after you break down the door!"

He turned and shouted at the Yan family's servants:

Give me a boost!

"Boom!"

A loud bang.

The Gu family's gate was violently shaken by the impact, and the hinges creaked under the strain.

The threshold at the bottom of the gate was smashed open, creating a crack, and wood chips flew everywhere.

"Push harder, break through!" Yan Songshan roared fiercely, his eyes blazing.

"Whoever breaks into the Gu family residence and finds evidence of treason will be richly rewarded by me!"

Hearing this, the servants carrying the wooden stakes mustered even more strength and rammed them against the gate with all their might.

Inside the gate of the Gu residence.

Gu Feng stood under the moon gate, his face ashen, clutching a brand-new, large-caliber revolver, the muzzle pointed directly at the gate.

"Master, shall we retreat through the secret passage? Gu Xuan isn't here, and we're afraid our forces aren't enough to deal with both families." The steward was sweating profusely with anxiety.

"We can't retreat! If we do, the Gu family's generations-old legacy in the provincial government will be gone." Gu Feng's voice was as cold as iron.

"Isn't He Ze just trying to force me out so he can rightfully take over our ironworks and mines?"

"Snap!"

"Boom!"

Another loud bang.

The tall, vermilion gate of the Gu family was dented inwards by the impact, and the view outside could be vaguely seen.

The gate of the Gu residence was almost smashed open.

Just as the servants were about to charge again...

"call out!"

A pebble suddenly flew over everyone's heads.

He crawled straight into the knees of the old head servant who was carrying the wooden stake.

"thump!"

The servant, still clutching the wooden stake, staggered and fell to his knees.

A large patch of fabric was worn away from his knees, and blood seeped down his trousers, staining the ground red.

"Clang!"

The wooden stake lay askew on the ground and rolled down the stone steps.

moment.

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

However, the area in front of the Gu residence was packed with people.

No one noticed Lin Ji, the peddler carrying a box.

"What are you, daring to interfere in your business, Master Yan?" Yan Songshan, his belly protruding, walked to the top of the steps and pointed at the crowd below:

"If you have the guts, step forward, sir. Let's see who's got a death wish!"

Lin Ji raised his hand and pressed down the brim of his torn straw hat, completely hiding himself under it.

"Hmph! Don't let me catch you." Yan Songshan looked at the more than a thousand people in the Gu family and knew that his shouts were ineffective. He turned to the servants and yelled:

"Keep ramming him!"

The remaining servants picked up the wooden stakes again and charged at them with full force.

"Snap!"

Finally, the gate of the Gu residence was smashed into two pieces.

The servants who had been waiting behind Yan Songshan and Jiang Baichuan, armed with weapons, stormed into the Gu family home.

"Kill them all! You'll all get a share of the gold, silver, valuables, and silks inside!"

Upon hearing this, the servants charged forward with even greater effort.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out.

It exploded crisply inside the Gu family mansion gate.

A red-hot copper bullet emerged from the doorway and headed straight for Yan Songshan standing in front of the door.

"Be careful!"