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

Night was falling.

Outside the window, only the occasional chirping of autumn insects could be heard.

Shen Jinluan nestled in Lin Ji's arms, breathing evenly. Her slightly curly white hair fell into Lin Ji's arms, carrying a faint scent of soap and tobacco.

Lin Ji had fought his way from the provincial capital to the sea, experiencing a thrilling battle. Now that he had finally returned to his warm harbor, even though his body was made of iron, he was indeed quite exhausted.

Sleepiness came over me.

Just as Lin Ji was about to fall asleep.

A sound like pages of a book unfolding echoed in his mind.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and most of his sleepiness vanished instantly.

He had carried it with him all the way, and he had almost forgotten the characteristics of the Book of Reversal of Fate.

A blueprint slowly appeared in Lin Ji's mind.

He focused his consciousness, and a yellowed blueprint slowly unfolded in his sea of ​​consciousness.

"River defense gunboats!"

The drawing is densely packed with lines, and a long, narrow boat with its size and dimensions marked everywhere is vividly depicted on the paper.

The small boat has a pointed bottom and wide sides, with an iron-clad ram at the bow. There are gun emplacements at the fore and aft of the deck, capable of mounting two light machine guns. The inside of the hull is covered with a thin iron armor half an inch thick.

At this point, it would be difficult for ordinary firearms to penetrate this layer of iron.

Lin Ji looked at the small boat on the blueprint and muttered to himself.

He then continued reading.

The small boat has a draft of just over three feet, allowing it to navigate even in shallow inland waterways, and it is very agile in turning the rudder.

A thought struck him: wouldn't this boat be perfect for use at the mouth of the sea in Jiangcheng?

Those massive warships, often dozens of meters long, are actually unsuitable for Jiangcheng's geographical environment.

With a thought, Lin Ji stored the blueprint deep within his mind.

He looked up at the roof, but his thoughts drifted back to the time he spent on the boat yesterday.

He and Li Shuwen stood side by side on the ship's railing, the sea breeze constantly tearing at their clothes, making a rustling sound.

Li Shuwen, holding his heavy iron spear, spoke quite a lot, which was unusual for him.

"The south is really going to be in complete chaos." Li Shuwen sighed as he looked at the black waves rising on the sea. "I wonder what the organization is going to do next."

Lin Ji, also gazing at the sea, said, "Perhaps chaos in the south is the organization's opportunity?"

"Oh?" Li Shuwen turned to look at Lin Ji. "What do you mean?"

Lin Ji pondered for a moment: "I remember the Xinghua Society was only established a few years ago, so its military strength must be limited. Neither the authorities nor the Salvation League can resist it head-on, right? Why not send some people from the north and take advantage of the chaos to gain momentum in the south?"

Li Shuwen's eyes lit up immediately, and he stared at Lin Ji for a long time: "What you said makes sense, Uncle Lin. The association is in need of someone like you. Once we get in touch, I will definitely recommend you to join."

Lin Ji smiled but didn't say anything.

Lin Ji gently tapped Shen Jinluan's back with his fingertips, his mind perfectly clear.

The blueprints came at just the right time.

It was as if she knew what he lacked and gave him that.

"Hmm... Old man, why aren't you sleeping? What are you thinking about?"

Shen Jinluan snuggled against him, hummed sleepily, and wrapped her arms around his waist again without opening her eyes.

"It's nothing." Lin Ji put his mind at ease, lowered his head and gently rubbed the top of her head: "Think about tomorrow."

"Where are we going to go again tomorrow?" Shen Jinluan muttered, her voice sticky and slurred. "Can't you rest for a couple of days after just getting back?"

Lin Ji chuckled softly, brushed Shen Jinluan's hair, and said nothing more.

Shen Jinluan's breathing gradually became even again, and she fell asleep again.

Lin Ji, however, could not fall asleep.

He opened his eyes and looked at the swaying shadows of trees on the window paper.

Jiangcheng appears to be stable now; the foreigners have withdrawn, and the Gelaohui (a secret society) is gone. But this stability is merely superficial.

The northern troops want to come down, and the southern people want to come up. The National Salvation Association is stirring things up in the middle. If a real war breaks out, Jiangcheng is located in the area where the troops are moving between the north and south. There is no way to avoid this war.

Chen Tianze's 10,000 city defense troops can hold out for a while, but not forever.

Lin Ji gently stroked the fabric on Shen Jinluan's shoulder with his fingertips, slowly calculating a line in his mind.

The moon outside the window slowly slanted westward, its silvery light filtering through the window screen and falling on Shen Jinluan's hair.

He was still thinking about what bargaining chips he could use to negotiate with Chen Tianze so that the Haijiao Gang could gain the upper hand over the Qingyi Gang.

Now, the blueprint sent by the Book of Rebellion is exactly what he wanted.

This blueprint could not only open the gates of the Governor's Mansion, but perhaps also change the entire situation in the south.

"Go to sleep, we'll be busy tomorrow," Lin Ji muttered softly, pulling the person in his arms even tighter.

A breeze from the river seeped in through the cracks in the window, carrying a hint of dampness from the river, and the breathing sounds inside the room gradually grew longer.

Lin Ji woke up just as dawn was breaking the next day.

Shen Jinluan was still curled up in his arms, sleeping soundly.

He carefully moved his arm away, put on a long robe, and prepared to get up.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he heard a rustling sound behind him.

"Why are you up so early?" Shen Jinluan rubbed her eyes and sat up, her long hair draped over her shoulders, looking a bit lazy from just waking up.

She glanced out the window: "It's not even dawn yet."

"I'm going out for a bit; I need to see Li Shuwen," Lin Ji said while fastening his buttons.

Shen Jinluan instantly became more awake, threw back the covers, and was about to get out of bed: "Should I go with you?"

"No need." Lin Ji waved his hand. "Just wait at home. We'll go to the governor's mansion when I get back."

Shen Jinluan nodded and curled back into the blankets: "Okay."

Lin Ji finished packing, grabbed a gray cloth robe, and went out.

The city was still shrouded in a thin mist in the early morning. There were few people on the streets, except for the steam rising from the breakfast stalls as the steamers were lifted.

Behind Chengnan Main Street, not far from the Gu family residence, there is another small three-courtyard house.

It was all arranged by Du Qingyi in advance: blue brick courtyard walls and black lacquered courtyard gate.

Du Qingyi was a very perceptive person. Since she wanted to curry favor, she did it thoroughly. The Gu family were the guests of honor, and she did not neglect these two distinguished guests who came with Lin Ji in the slightest.

As Lin Ji raised his hand to knock on the door, Jiang Yunhe's mournful voice came from inside the courtyard.

"Who is it?" Jiang Yunhe opened the door, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Seeing it was Lin Ji, he raised an eyebrow: "Old sir."

He stepped aside to let Lin Ji into the courtyard.

Li Shuwen was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, sipping his tea gently.

His signature spiky tail had been shaved off sometime during the day. Only a layer of short stubble had grown on the top of his head.

There were two plates of leftover braised dishes and an empty jar of liquor on the table, obviously sent by Du Qingyi last night and not yet cleaned up.

"Du Qingyi certainly knows how to handle things." Lin Ji glanced at the food and wine on the table, found a stone bench to sit down, and asked softly, "Have you made contact yet?"

"We made contact." Li Shuwen put his teacup aside and nodded. "We made contact in the first half of last night, and the higher-ups approved your method."

"As expected." Lin Ji's lips curled up slightly; everything was as he had anticipated.