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

What?

There are also birthday gifts?

Does this mean I've eaten everything in the pot and now I have to take a bowl with me?

Lin Ji, who had just stepped outside, paused upon hearing the words "birthday gift" and turned back.

Bai Yu'er hurriedly chased after him to the door, reaching out to grab Lin Ji's sleeve. Her eyes were full of earnestness and trepidation, as well as a trace of lingering springtime.

Bai Yu'er reached out her slender hand and tightly wrapped her arms around Lin Ji's chest.

"Old Lin, you must help me with the meeting at the Martial Arts Hall in three days."

Lin Ji turned his head and looked down at Bai Yu'er's face.

The pear blossoms, glistening with raindrops, are a beautiful sight.

The soft warmth on his arm stirred Lin Ji's heart once again. He quickly suppressed his feelings and said in a deep voice.

"Rest assured, a promise is a promise, and I will never go back on my word."

Bai Yu'er felt a huge weight lifted from her heart. She quickly took out a warm oil paper package and stuffed it into Lin Ji's arms without saying a word.

The edges of the oil paper wrapping were flattened from being stepped on.

A glint of oil peeked out from the damaged corner, and the glistening stewed pork emitted a rich, enticing aroma that wafted through the alley.

"Hehe, I stewed it for a long time, until it was very soft and mushy. This time, you'll definitely be able to chew it properly."

"I'll leave half a jin for Xiaonian, the rest is all yours!"

Bai Yu'er looked up at Lin Ji, her eyes revealing a youthful liveliness, and softly offered her blessing:

May you live to be a hundred!

Realizing it was a bit inappropriate, the girl's eyelashes flashed mischievously: "Hmm... how about I wish you immortality?"

Immortality?

Hehe, that sounds pretty good.

A simple blessing landed on Lin Ji's heart, turning into a rare warmth that melted away the chill of a century of wandering in his heart.

Lin Ji weighed the heavy oil paper package in his hand.

The rich aroma of meat lingered around his nose, making his stomach churn.

These days.

It was a time of war and chaos.

Pork is truly a good thing.

Sensing the sincerity in Bai Yu'er's eyes, Lin Ji stopped being polite:

"Alright! Then I'll accept your birthday gift. It's been so many years since anyone celebrated my birthday."

Lin Ji accepted it readily, then spoke seriously:

"The old man is a hundred years old this year. He is unwilling to sit and wait for death. He wants to live a few more years. If you have any connections, please help me find a martial arts manual, or a way to learn martial arts."

"It doesn't matter if it can't be done; just consider it something I, an old man, will mention later."

Lin Ji didn't have much hope.

In this world, martial artists are kings.

A skilled martial artist could become a warlord's personal guard, and even the foreigners in the concessions dared not easily provoke him.

A skilled meat refiner is a highly sought-after figure, earning at least ten silver dollars a month.

Not to mention the subsequent stages of bone refining, becoming a Ming Jin martial arts master, and an An Jin grandmaster...

In this world, the inheritance of martial arts techniques is more valuable than gold.

How could Bai Yu'er, a mere woman, possess such great abilities?

But what if it happens? It's just another way, a last resort.

Bai Yu'er was stunned upon hearing this, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Everyone knows that martial arts should be started at five or six years old, and the body should be fully developed by twenty. Forcing oneself to practice martial arts after thirty will harm one's health, and practicing martial arts at a hundred years old is simply a fantasy.

Seeing Lin Ji's confident and composed demeanor, she didn't ask any further questions and nodded emphatically: "I've got it all figured out. I'll do everything I can to find out for you."

She knew the weight of Old Lin's words. Martial arts techniques were something she couldn't afford even a single page of even after a lifetime of work.

But since Old Lin saved her life today, she agreed and tried her best to make it happen.

Lin Ji said no more, turned around, and slowly walked back to his dilapidated courtyard with the oil paper package in his arms.

The oil paper package in my hand was still warm, but the wind in the alley had turned cool.

He looked down at the fragrant meat in his arms, then looked up at his dilapidated courtyard gate, which was crooked and half-crooked.

I'm a hundred years old, I've lived enough.

But since God has given me the chance to defy fate, I have to give it a try.

Bai Yu'er's claim of immortality was obviously a joke.

But as he listened, his heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason...

No sooner had Lin Ji left than Bai Xiaonian approached him.

"Sis, what did you say to Grandpa Lin?"

Bai Yu'er was cleaning up the broken porcelain shards on the floor and the mess on the bed when she heard this, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Old Lin said he wants to practice martial arts."

What is that?

"Practicing martial arts?"

Bai Xiaonian was stunned. He turned his head away from the clothes thrown on the bed and subconsciously rubbed his still numb wrist, his face full of disbelief.

"He's never practiced martial arts? The way he grabbed me just now was more accurate than many of our senior brothers in the martial arts hall."

"He doesn't know any martial arts." Bai Yu'er poured the broken porcelain shards into the winnowing basket.

"He's just an old man who pulls a shadow puppet show, and he usually walks unsteadily. I don't know what evil spirit he encountered today, but the strength he used to stop Wang Erniang was outrageous, and his whole demeanor was different, as if he had been given a new body."

After saying that, Bai Yu'er turned and went into the kitchen.

Bai Xiaonian frowned.

He believed his sister wouldn't lie to him, but what happened just now was definitely not a coincidence.

"Sis, I just heard you say he's a hundred years old? He's practically an old fox, why would he still practice martial arts? Martial arts isn't something you can just casually get involved in."

Bai Yu'er wiped the table: "I don't know either, but since he mentioned it, I'll keep an eye out. Do you think age really matters when it comes to martial arts training?"

"Is that even a question?" Bai Xiaonian picked up a piece of meat: "You have to toughen up your bones and muscles when you're five or six years old. After you're twenty, your bones will die back, and it'll be useless to train anymore. After you're thirty, forcing yourself to train will only ruin you."

"Is that so..." Bai Yu'er said, "Old Lin is very shrewd and experienced. He's a hundred years old today, so he definitely can't practice it anymore, right?"

Bai Xiaonian paused, his chopsticks agape in shock. "Huh? Does that mean I'm almost in the grave? Practicing martial arts now? Isn't that suicide? Even a simple horse stance would fall apart!"

"Who knows?" Bai Yu'er chuckled. "By the way, take off your dirty clothes, and I'll wash them for you tonight."

Bai Xiaonian paused for a moment, then quickly shook his head: "No, no need, I can wash it myself."

Seeing her younger brother's somewhat embarrassed look, Bai Yu'er blinked, thinking he was just shy, but she didn't force him and gave him a teasing smile.

"Good, good, Xiao Nian has grown up... If he meets a girl he likes in junior high school, he can arrange a marriage sooner rather than later."

"Sis, no, no, what did you say?" Bai Xiaonian blushed deeply. "Sis, go to sleep now."

"Okay, then I'll go." Bai Yu'er smiled brightly and turned to leave.

Night fell, and the small room became quiet.

Bai Xiaonian stopped and listened to Bai Yu'er's soft snoring. Only then did the expression on his face relax.

He carefully pulled down his sleeve, revealing his entire arm.

He couldn't help but hiss as his clothes rubbed against his arm.

When the sleeve was pulled open, the wounds covering the arm were revealed.

Blue, purple, scabbed, and freshly broken skin were piled up together, indistinguishable from new, as if they had been used as sandbags for half a year.

Once you've refined your skin, you're a martial artist.

Without leatherworking skills, you're only fit to be a punching bag.

Bai Xiaonian pulled down his sleeves sharply, his nails digging into his palms.

"Before the big exam, I will definitely train my skin! I will become a martial artist that no one will dare to underestimate!"

……

the other side.

Lin Ji returned to his hut and placed the oil paper package on the only remaining broken table.

Lin Ji sniffed the aroma of meat emanating from the oil paper package, smacked his lips, and grinned.

"This young lady's cooking skills are really good. This old man's birthday was well spent, I'm so lucky to have such a delicious meal."

However, he was not in a hurry to eat the meat.

Instead, he slowly sat down in the old wooden chair that was almost as old as him, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, pondering the path to martial arts that he hadn't yet figured out in his haste to leave earlier.

"Or, should I swallow my pride and go to a martial arts academy that specializes in teaching basic martial arts?"

After saying that, Lin Ji couldn't help but laugh at himself.

"Those martial arts schools in the city that claim to 'educate all without discrimination' probably don't even have a combined history of more than this old man's age."

Lin Ji was just imagining things.

He also knew the rules for these martial arts schools in accepting disciples.

The strictest rule is age; they only accept teenagers under the age of eighteen, and don't accept anyone over one year old.

If this centenarian were to sign up...

There's absolutely no way we'd take him in!

The thought of him practicing martial arts with a group of teenagers is rather strange.

"Why don't you practice on your own?"

Lin Ji recalled the few fancy moves he had learned from street performers when he was young.

What's the use of practicing rudimentary skills?

He shook his head again.

Sudden.

Lin Ji slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

Raising my hands to relax my limbs, my muscles and bones made a series of soft cracking sounds.

At this moment, Lin Ji finally understood that his effortless and easy deflection of Bai Xiaonian's punch was not a coincidence, but the true application of the Martial Arts True Understanding.

He slapped the stool and stood up excitedly.

"Got it!"