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

"This is no small matter." Li Shuwen's expression was grave. "We must report this to the organization immediately."

"Whatever." Jiang Yunhe shrugged. "Anyway, I've already delivered the message. Whether you cooperate or not is up to you to think about. But I advise you to hurry up. Three divisions of vanguard will be in Guanghua in three days. Once the fighting starts, you won't be able to leave even if you want to."

After saying that, he walked quickly ahead with a cigarette in his mouth.

Lin Ji and Li Shuwen stood there, their faces grim.

The wind blew in dust, making people's eyes sting.

The roadside was lined with refugees, young and old, weeping and wailing, all surging southwards.

"It seems the situation is worse than we thought," Li Shuwen said in a hoarse voice. "We must get the message back as soon as possible. Once we arrive in Jiangcheng, I will immediately send a coded telegram to the Northern Headquarters."

Lin Ji nodded, his gaze fixed on the distant river.

The silhouettes of ships were already visible, their white sails dotting the gray sky.

But who knows what storms await them on this journey?

"Let's go," Lin Ji said.

The two quickened their pace and caught up with the group ahead.

The group quickly blended into the flow of people on their way, heading towards the river mouth.

Behind them lay the provincial capital of Guanghua, like a lurking beast, concealing endless conspiracies and deadly intent.

An even bigger storm is slowly brewing between the north and the south.

By the time everyone arrived at the river mouth dock, the sun was already setting.

The dock was packed with refugees, carrying loads and bundles, and their families, all crammed onto the ships.

The cries, shouts, and boatmen's chants were all mixed together in a chaotic mess.

A row of heavily armed soldiers stood at the dock entrance, searching each person one by one. Those who seemed suspicious were pinned to the ground and whipped.

"The checks are stricter than expected," Li Shuwen said in a low voice, pulling his hat brim down further.

Lin Ji glanced around and whispered, "Split up and don't crowd together. Brother Gu, take your family and go in the middle. Brother Li and I will go on the sides, and Brother Jiang will bring up the rear. Just say you're a merchant on a side trip, going to Jiangcheng to buy goods."

The crowd nodded and dispersed, blending into the flow of people.

Lin Ji changed into short clothes and disguised his face, adding more wrinkles to make him look like an old boatman who had been working at the docks for many years.

He carried a cloth bag on his back, which contained the Mountain and River Stabilizing Spear, wrapped tightly in cloth. He also carried two bags of dried goods in his hands, and slowly moved forward with the flow of people.

The city guard squeezed his cloth bag, then rummaged through his dry goods package, finding nothing. He looked at his weathered face, not resembling a rebel, and impatiently waved him away: "Go away, go away!"

Lin Ji nodded, bent over, and walked quickly over.

After passing the checkpoint, he walked west along the dock, his eyes scanning the boats on the river.

After searching around, I finally spotted a cargo ship docked at the farthest berth, with a British flag and a red lantern hanging from its bow, swaying gently in the wind.

This is the ship.

He stood on the shore and reached out to touch the brim of his hat.

This is a code.

Soon, a head popped down from the ship's side. It was a Chinese comprador in his thirties, wearing a mandarin jacket, with a smile on his face. He waved to him and said, "Old Chen? Come on up. Boss Wang told me to wait for you here."

Lin Ji nodded and walked up the plank.

The comprador led him toward the cargo hold, smiling obsequiously as they walked.

"Boss Wang has given the instructions. You'll all be seated in the lower deck. It'll be alright once we get out of the river. The checks are being strict lately, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Thank you for your trouble," Lin Ji said.

As soon as he entered the hold, he saw Gu Hu already there, sitting against the pile of cargo. He nodded when he saw him come in.

A short while later, Gu Feng helped Madam Gu in, followed by the butler carrying a small box, and Su Wanning also came in, clutching a medicine packet in her hand.

The last two to enter were Li Shuwen and Jiang Yunhe. Jiang Yunhe had half a cigarette in his mouth, which he stubbed out after entering the cabin and then crushed it at his feet.

"Is everything here?" Gu Feng asked in a low voice.

"Everything's ready." Lin Ji nodded. "We're just waiting for the ship to set sail."

Madam Gu sat on the spread-out bundle, rubbing her ankle, her face pale, muttering to herself:

"What kind of nonsense is this? They can't stay at home and have to take a boat to escape."

Gu Feng frowned, but didn't scold her. He simply said:

"Say less, things will be peaceful once we get to Jiangcheng."

Su Wanning sat down next to Madam Gu, took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, and remained quiet.

After waiting for another half hour, the boat suddenly rocked and slowly moved away from the shore.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Yunhe walked to the hatch, lifted the curtain and looked out. The dock was getting smaller and smaller, gradually shrinking into a dark shadow.

He turned around, leaned against the doorframe, and chuckled.

"He Ze is probably still searching the city right now. He never dreamed that we would just leave on a foreigner's ship."

"Don't be careless." Li Shuwen shook his head: "Once you leave Guanghua, there are still waterway checkpoints. If you really want to be strict, even the foreign flags might not be effective."

"Don't worry, this ship belongs to Jardine Matheson, and the captain is British."

Jiang Yunhe said, "No matter how arrogant He Ze is, he wouldn't dare to provoke foreigners. If he really angers them, he can forget about being the military governor."

Lin Ji didn't say anything, walked to the hatch, and stood facing the river wind.

The wind was strong on the river, making people's clothes flutter loudly.

The riverbank in the distance was dark, with only a few scattered lights, like stars scattered on a black cloth.

The direction of Guanghua, the provincial capital, was no longer visible; only a faint red light illuminated the clouds on the horizon, casting a dark red glow—it was unclear whether it was firelight or the glow of the sunset.

"Look over there." Li Shuwen walked over and pointed upstream: "Look at those lights, in strings, like a fleet of ships."

Lin Ji squinted to look.

Sure enough, upstream on the river, there was a string of lights, a long line, drifting downstream at a slow but impressive speed.

"They are troop transport ships." Lin Ji's voice deepened. "The vanguard of three divisions arrived even faster than expected."

Jiang Yunhe glanced at it and whistled, "Alright, we're here. In three more days, Guanghua will be bustling with activity."

Li Shuwen's expression was grave:

"He Ze really let them in? Isn't he afraid of letting wolves into the house?"

"What does he have to be afraid of?" Jiang Yunhe shrugged. "He's just passing through to the south, attacking the territory of the National Salvation Association, not Guanghua. He can reap the benefits and even get the position of military governor of five provinces. It's a sure-fire deal."

"If a war breaks out, it will be the ordinary people who suffer." Li Shuwen sighed: "The counties south of Guanghua have already suffered from disasters. If a war breaks out, who knows how many more people will die."

Jiang Yunhe didn't say anything, but just took out another cigarette, put it in his mouth, and didn't light it.

The cabin quieted down, with only the splashing of the boat's hull and the faint sound of a ship's horn in the distance.

After a while, Lin Ji slowly spoke:

"What exactly are you planning? Do you really intend to divide the country along the river?"

Jiang Yunhe glanced at him and smiled:

"Otherwise what? Really attack Beiping? That's unrealistic. These military governors in the south each have their own agendas. It would be good enough if they could unite and hold the south. If they really attack north, they'll fall into chaos before they even reach the Yangtze River."