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

"you……"

Shen Jinluan's heart jolted, and her previous belief that the other party was just an old man in his twilight years instantly collapsed.

In her haste, she reached out and grabbed Lin Ji's forearm. The moment her fingertips touched his firm and heavy arm, she immediately realized that the solid and powerful blood and energy in the old man's body was not something an old man of his age should have.

For a moment, she was in a state of confusion, feeling both ashamed and surprised. The coquettishness she had just displayed vanished, and she felt that the touch of her palm was completely at odds with the age of the person in front of her.

Lin Ji's eyelids jerked open, his gaze fixed on Shen Jinluan's cheeks, which were flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and rosy hue. He inwardly savored the warmth of Shen Jinluan's delicate hands, but his words betrayed a hint of helplessness:

"Miss Shen, don't worry about whether the old man is capable or not. Why don't you let go first?"

"You don't look like a girl at all, or... the medicine is taking effect and you urgently need me to detoxify you?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Jinluan's blush deepened, and she loosened her grip, about to pull away.

Before Shen Jinluan could raise her hand, her heart trembled violently, and a sharp pain swept through her entire body.

"Um--"

A muffled groan escaped from her tightly pursed lips, and as if all her strength had been drained, she staggered and fell completely into Lin Ji's arms.

Lin Jiming's vital energy was like a furnace, and the masculine energy emanating from his body entered Shen Jinluan's nasal cavity.

Shen Jinluan's nostrils flared as the desire she had just managed to suppress stirred up again.

Shen Jinluan tilted her head back and looked at Lin Ji's profile, her heart filled with mixed emotions:

"Am I going to die?"

"But... I don't want to die."

"If I die, the Sea Dragon Gang will completely disband..."

"There are so many things left undone, all those plans that have been meticulously laid out for so long are going to come to nothing. I'm not willing to accept this..."

Shen Jinluan bit her red lips, completely releasing the restlessness that had been suppressed in her heart for so long. Spring water flowed from her eyes into Lin Ji's eyes as if it were flowing out. She turned her wrist slightly and held Lin Ji's arm even tighter.

"Rip!"

Lin Ji's clothes were torn and tattered...

Golden light flowed again, and two lines of ancient seal script appeared. The strokes of the ancient seal script were as powerful as towering mountains, and the strokes were as graceful as surging rivers.

The Book of Reversal of Fate, Volume One, Chapter Three: The Warfare and the General Trends of the World! Read on!

"It records the course of war, the layout of martial arts, and the rise and fall of gangs in several provinces in the north and south, controls personal destiny, and spreads martial arts throughout the world."

"Observe the atmosphere to discern the situation."

"Lifespan of ten years."

The second floor of the warehouse.

Inside Shen Jinluan's boudoir.

A large European-style bed with carved scrollwork patterns, featuring a blend of Chinese and Western styles.

Lin Ji, covered with a jacquard brocade quilt, stared intently at the carved plaster ceiling.

"Tsk, after all these decades, this taste is still unforgettable."

Beside the bed, Shen Jinluan changed into a red satin cheongsam. The cheongsam was tailored to fit her body, outlining the curves of Shen Jinluan's mature figure.

Shen Jinluan was fastening the last button on the collar of her cheongsam when her delicate hand paused, unable to put it down for a long time.

The aches and tingles in her body made it hard for Shen Jinluan to forget the lovemaking of the previous night. A sense of annoyance welled up in her heart, but a hint of relief also lingered:

"Thankfully... he's not dead."

After fastening the last button, Shen Jinluan smoothed out the wrinkles on her cheongsam, lowered her eyes, and sighed softly.

As soon as I closed my eyes, the absurd scene of last night appeared vividly before my eyes:

"Sigh, I never thought I'd end up giving my body to an old man."

"Never mind, it's good that you're alive."

Standing up, Shen Jinluan regained her usual charming demeanor, only this charm seemed more genuine than before.

Looking at Lin Ji lying on the bed, a slight smile playing on his lips, Shen Jinluan lowered her brows and her eyes turned cold. But in the blink of an eye, that coldness was replaced by a gentle warmth, and after a long pause, she finally spoke:

"Old Lin... no... Lin, never mind."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ji turned his head to look at Shen Jinluan, who had a charming appearance and rosy complexion. Shen Jinluan then reorganized her words:

"Since you've taken my body, the debt of saving my life is now settled. Also, the old debts you incurred by using the Sea Dragon Gang are wiped clean. From now on, we'll go our separate ways and have nothing to do with each other."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ji pondered for a moment.

Now that he has reached the Ming Jin level and possesses the killing technique Qianlongyuan, his strength is no less than that of Shen Jinluan.

If Shen Jinluan tries to kill him to silence him on the grounds of last night's lovemaking, she'll have to think twice about whether she can actually take him down.

"Miss Shen, if we say we owe each other nothing, then we owe each other nothing."

Lin Ji's eyes shifted, his gaze falling on the long robe that had been casually draped over a chair the night before, which had a large tear in it.

The scene from last night involuntarily surfaced in Lin Ji's mind. In bed, Shen Jinluan showed no trace of coquettishness or affectation, displaying her charm to the fullest, and several times she tried to take the initiative.

If it weren't for the bloodstains on the bed, which almost led Lin Ji to misunderstand, it took him several breaths to come to his senses. He pointed to the tattered clothes:

"Miss Shen, it's just that this old man's clothes are tattered, so I can't leave even if I wanted to."

Shen Jinluan blushed and pretended to speak in a deep voice:

"Okay, I'll go find you one."

He got up and went outside, returning shortly with a brand-new dark blue long gown, which he tossed onto the bed.

"Get dressed and let's go."

"Thank you, Ms. Shen."

Lin Ji accepted the long robe and thanked him, but his other hand was restless. He lifted the brocade quilt covering his body, revealing his strong muscles.

"you!"

Shen Jinluan's beautiful eyes widened, and she could no longer maintain her charming demeanor, turning her head away.

"Splash!"

With a rustling sound, Lin Ji put on his long robe, got out of bed, and glanced at Shen Jinluan, who still had her back turned.

"Alright, Miss Shen, farewell."

Shen Jinluan then turned around, her gaze falling on Lin Ji, and she slightly raised her eyes to look him up and down.

Indeed, clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse.

Farewell.

Lin Ji nodded, pulled the doorknob, and left the Haijiao Gang's stronghold.

Shen Jinluan stared blankly at the doorway for a while before she came to her senses. She turned around, walked to the bedside, pulled back the brocade quilt, and carefully put away the bed sheet stained with blood.

……

Inside the Sea Dragon Gang's stronghold.

Shen Jinluan regained her former charm, crossed her legs high, revealing her long, snow-white legs.

She would occasionally place the jade pipe in her hand between her red lips, take a small sip, and exhale a thin stream of smoke.

Inside the banquet hall.

A small number of Sea Dragon Gang members were cleaning up the bloodstains on the ground.

When he passed by Shen Jinluan, his face showed undisguised fear.

They knew all too well how terrifying the former gang leader was, yet they still lost their lives at the hands of this former gang leader's wife.

Having just disposed of the former gang leader's body, how could they not be alarmed by this woman's formidable strength?

Shen Jinluan stood in the banquet hall, but her thoughts drifted to the distance.

"Zhou Hu had been deeply entrenched in the gang for decades, cultivating a considerable number of trusted confidants. Now that Zhou Hu is dead, it's inevitable that some people will seek revenge."

"Furthermore, with the rise of foreigners, they intend to suppress the original inhabitants of Jiangcheng. I vow to resist to the death, and some members of the gang will surely have second thoughts."

"It seems that purging the gang of scoundrels is now an urgent matter."

Shen Jinluan withdrew her gaze and looked at the members of the Sea Dragon Gang in the hall.

"I can't stay behind the scenes anymore."

Jiangcheng at the end of June.

Even after a while, the sun was still scorching hot.

The dampness, mixed with the heat, was falling on everyone.

Lin Ji, however, was completely unaware.

Walking on the streets of Jiangcheng, Lin Ji was immersed in his own thoughts.

Golden light emerged from the fourth page of his consciousness, powerful and majestic.

This time, the reward for flipping through the book wasn't to relive one's youth, but to add ten years to one's lifespan.

Increasing lifespan is an ethereal concept, invisible and intangible, and cannot bring about any substantial improvement.

Lin Ji, however, was not disappointed; in fact, he felt a little gratified.

If you were to actually go back to the age of sixty, no matter how much ash you smeared on your face or how much you hunched over to pretend to be old, you would eventually be exposed.

Blindness only adds to one's lifespan, without altering one's appearance, thus saving one a lot of trouble.

Lin Ji focused his attention on new skills.

"Observe the atmosphere to discern the situation."

It has two abilities.

Firstly, it can reveal the rise and fall of martial arts fortunes in a region, the ebb and flow of a force's fortunes, and the strength or weakness of a person's martial arts potential and destiny.

Secondly, when following the general trend and protecting the people, it can slightly offset the effects of plots and disasters and weaken the impact of conspiracies.

Lin Ji snapped out of his reverie, gazing at the pedestrians on the street and the silhouettes of the Western-style buildings in the distance, and chuckled inwardly.

This book of defying fate has been flipped through countless times, from nourishing the body to teaching killing techniques, and now, it has directly granted the ability to observe the trends of the world.

So, they think I'm too idle and only care about my own well-being? They're trying to push me down the path of serving the country and its people, and stopping war with force.

This book defies fate? It doesn't just defy my fate, but the fate of the world, the fate of all the people of the nation?

Stepping through the vermilion gates of the martial arts hall, rubbing his aching back, Lin Ji recalled the enchanting moments of the previous night:

"This girl didn't even try to be quieter or hold back her half-step internal force. Her legs almost broke my waist."

Lin Ji rubbed his back and glanced at the gatehouse: "This old man needs to rest for a good morning."

Supporting his back, Lin Ji walked to the door of the small house, raised his hand to pull the doorknob, but before the door opened, he heard a hurried footstep.

A student rushed up to Lin Ji and stopped, panting heavily.

"Grandpa Lin."

Lin Ji turned to look at the student, reached out and patted the student's shoulder, and said kindly:

"No rush, speak slowly."

It took the student a while to catch his breath before he could speak haltingly:

"Grandpa Lin... Xiao Nian, Xiao Nian... something happened to him!"