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

"Knock knock knock!"

Lin Ji reached out and gently knocked on the door of the side room.

After a moment, the door creaked open.

With red and swollen eyes and pale lips, Bai Yu'er stood in front of the door, her gaze somewhat forlorn, staring blankly at Lin Ji.

Lin Ji was holding a rough porcelain bowl with two coarse grain buns inside and a layer of stir-fried vegetables mixed with a few slices of pork belly at the bottom.

"woke up?"

Bai Yu'er nodded, her lips parted slightly, she opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn't say a word.

"Eat something when you're awake." Lin Ji handed the rough porcelain bowl to Bai Yu'er.

Bai Yu'er was stunned for a moment, then absentmindedly took the bowl and chopsticks.

"I have to go to the martial arts hall to work as a doorman. Don't wander off. If you don't mind, you can stay here for now. Anyway, it's been so many years since there's been a woman in my old man's house."

Bai Yu'er's face flushed slightly, a rare occurrence. Lin Ji smiled but didn't speak. He picked up his packed bag, got up, and walked to the courtyard gate. Just before leaving, he glanced at Bai Yu'er at the side door and said, "Let's go!" Bai Yu'er belatedly responded, "Okay, sure! Take care!"

Push open the courtyard gate.

Lin Ji entered Dog Tail Alley and headed towards Wutang Junior High School.

As you leave Gouwei Alley, the street gradually becomes more lively, with many stalls already set up along the street.

"Hot soup dumplings! Freshly steamed!"

"Soy milk and fried dough sticks!" "Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale!"

"A stack of tobacco and two copper coins...!"

Lin Ji carried a cloth bag and hunched his back, blending into the crowd like an ordinary old man from the countryside.

Half an hour later, the vermilion gate of Wutang Middle School reappeared before Lin Ji's eyes.

The two white jade lions still stand majestically.

The gate was wide open.

A unified shout came from inside.

"Drink! Ha!"

Lin Ji stepped inside and saw figures in black training uniforms sweating profusely under the head instructor's gaze in the martial arts hall.

Lin Ji paused for a moment, then turned and walked toward the office, following his memory.

"Knock knock knock!"

Knock on the door of the steward's office.

A deliberately drawn-out tone came from inside the room:

"Enter--"

Lin Ji pushed his way inside.

The steward with the goatee was flipping through the account book again. He glanced at the newcomer, then looked away again: "You've arrived!"

"Coming," Lin Ji replied.

"It's good that you're here. Let me tell you about the rules."

"The job of a gatekeeper is very simple. Open the gate at Chenshi (7-9 AM) and close it at Xushi (7-9 PM). During the day, take some time to sweep the gate and the front yard clean. If you have time, tidy up the area around the training ground as well."

The goatee closed the ledger, got up and walked to the door: "Come on, let's go see your place. If you have any complaints, let me know in advance."

With that, the goatee walked out of the steward's office and led Lin Ji toward a detached cottage by the gate.

Pushing open the door to the small house, the interior was fairly tidy, though a bit simple, but not too cramped.

"This is your place. It's a bit small, but it's a private residence and quite quiet. If someone knocks on the door in the middle of the night, no matter who it is, you must first verify their identity and write it down in the register. Understand?"

"Understood." Lin Ji glanced around the room. There was only a wooden bed, a table, and a chair in the room. There was a booklet on the table. Although it was simple, it was clean.

"Alright! Let's go and familiarize ourselves with the way to the cafeteria." The goatee waved his hand and led Lin Ji toward the backyard.

As I passed through the training ground, I heard a voice filled with indignation in the distance.

"Bullshit arms ban! Foreigners can just ban it whenever they want? Bullshit!"

"A bunch of robbers! I just don't understand what the government is doing!"

"What's the point of saying this! Do you even know who's going to participate in that preliminary battle advocated by foreigners in a couple of days?"

"Not quite sure? I heard he's the best in Jiangcheng, but there are conflicting opinions about who it is, so I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, he's a master of internal energy."

……

As the two walked away, the conversation between the instructors gradually faded from memory.

Lin Ji paused, then curiously asked the goatee-bearded steward walking ahead:

"A ban on martial arts? They're not letting kids go to martial arts school anymore?"

The goatee sighed and lowered his voice: "Well, it's a long story."

"Last month, foreigners united to put pressure on the government, saying that there were many martial artists in the civilian population, which could easily breed petty thieves. In order to eliminate local bandits and protect the 'security and order' of foreign nationals and trading ports, they forced the government to issue a ban on armed forces."

"The government was afraid of the foreigners' guns and iron ships and dared not offend them, so it signed a bet with the foreigners."

"In a few days, let our Jiangcheng's number one fighter have a match with the foreigners. If we win, the ban on weapons will be temporarily lifted; if we lose, then we'll be in trouble."

"A year from now, a grand competition will be held in Jiangcheng. Each side will send ten people. If we win this time, the ban on weapons will be completely abolished. Otherwise, the ban on weapons will be officially implemented nationwide."

Lin Ji's heart sank upon hearing this.

No wonder those rich ladies were talking about the martial arts ban at the entrance of the martial arts hall that day.

So there really is something big going on behind this.

This is no bet; it's clearly a foreigner trying to sever the roots of the Chinese people.

"Can we win?" Lin Ji asked tentatively.

"Can we win? Of course we can win! Rumor has it that the one participating this time is a Grandmaster of Dark Strength! How many Grandmasters of Dark Strength are there in the whole country?" The goatee waved his hand and stopped talking to Lin Ji.

The two went into the cafeteria and got their food.

Each person has a bowl of mixed grain rice with sorghum, a large spoonful of stewed cabbage, and a few pieces of fatty pork belly wrapped in the cabbage.

On my way back with the food, I passed the martial arts training ground again.

Lin Ji saw dozens of students practicing boxing under the guidance of their instructor.

"Drink! Ha!"

The students moved in perfect unison! Their punches flew with tremendous force!

The instructor demonstrated while shouting, "The Chuishan Fist emphasizes sinking the waist! Stance! Stable punches! Waist leading the elbow! As stable as Mount Tai! Power penetrating a thousand pounds!"

Lin Ji's martial bones trembled slightly!

On the training ground, blue energy rippled within the chests of the young men, and as they exerted force through their meridians into their fists, bursts of red light emanated from them.

He glanced at the training ground a few times.

He then imprinted the movements and techniques of the Chuishan Fist into Lin Ji's mind.

Lin Ji was slightly pleased.

From now on, I will be able to master all the martial arts techniques in this martial arts hall.

It seems we've found the right job as the gatekeeper of the martial arts hall!

I was just thinking about it.

A commotion arose from a corner of the training ground in front.

A group of students gathered together, making a lot of noise.

Occasionally, you can hear muffled thuds of fists hitting flesh.

The goatee walking ahead paused, frowned, and looked annoyed at his son's lack of ambition.

"Sigh, these students! They have such good resources in the martial arts academy, but instead of honing their skills, all they think about is fighting! If a martial arts ban is really implemented, it will be too late to regret it then!"

Seeing Lin Ji looking in that direction, the man with the goatee tugged at Lin Ji's arm:

"Alright, stop watching. This kind of thing happens all the time in the martial arts hall. Let's hurry up and leave. We shouldn't get involved. These students from aristocratic families are all rich and powerful. We can't afford to offend them."

Lin Ji had no intention of meddling in other people's business, so he nodded, picked up his bowl, and followed the goatee toward the gate.

However, at that moment...

A rude remark came from the crowd.

"Bai Xiaonian, your sister is so radiant!"

Immediately following was a young man's angry roar.

"Si Tianhu! How dare you! What have you done to my sister?"

Lin Ji suddenly stopped, his eyes turning icy cold.

It's really moist, no doubt about it, but... is this something a little brat like you can talk nonsense about?