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

Lin Ji walked close to the wall.

His black attire completely concealed him in the shadows.

Having identified the direction, they made their way towards the Sea Dragon Gang's stronghold.

Although Gu Yanqiu was dressed in a plain-colored outfit, he made no effort to conceal his whereabouts.

Her feet landed silently, and as she passed through the alleyways, her figure was barely visible, hanging precariously not far from Lin Ji.

Gu Yanqiu focused his mind and followed the shadowy figure into the city, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

Is it heading west of the city?

The western part of the city was not the core area occupied by foreigners. Did I make a mistake in my initial prediction?

This person's steps were light and steady, and his cultivation level was at least at the peak of Bone Refinement, with one foot even stepping into the Ming Jin realm. Such skill level did not seem like that of an ordinary thief.

Is there someone else in Jiangcheng who is eyeing the Martial Arts Hall now?

Whoever he is, just grab him and ask him.

After chasing for most of the hour, Gu Yanqiu's patience for investigation was almost worn out. He suppressed his curiosity, took a step forward, and prepared to capture the black-clad thief.

Suddenly.

We passed through a small alley.

The figure of the black-clad thief vanished into the darkness.

Gu Yanqiu raised an eyebrow and quickly stepped into the alley.

As soon as they entered the alley, Gu Yanqiu's eyes narrowed.

The alley was narrow and dark, so dark you could barely see your hand in front of your face.

The alleyways were crisscrossed and winding, and Gu Yanqiu quickened his pace even further.

"You little thief, where do you think you're going!"

Gu Yanqiu grabbed a dark figure not far in front of him.

"Sizzle!"

A sound of fabric tearing rang out.

Clothing torn.

Gu Yanqiu then realized that what was in front of him was not a black-clad thief, but a tattered garment hanging on a tree branch.

"We've been discovered?"

Gu Yanqiu's pupils contracted sharply. He casually tossed aside the tattered clothes, his heart filled with surprise and doubt:

"This person isn't an ordinary petty thief; he actually managed to find my trail. Could he also possess hidden strength?"

"What are those thieves with hidden strength doing at the martial arts hall?"

……

Not far from Gu Yanqiu, in a small alley, Lin Ji squatted on the ground, his chest heaving and making a "thump-thump" sound.

We almost got caught!

Could this feeling be some kind of hidden strength?

Lin Ji felt a sudden chill run down his spine. Just moments before, he had been startled to realize that someone was rapidly approaching from behind. His heart trembled and his hair stood on end.

Luckily, I hid in this deep alley in time, otherwise I would have been captured.

Lin Ji cautiously peeked out of the alley.

in the dark.

Under the tree branches, a dashing figure shook his head, turned around, and walked out of the alley.

"Instructor Gu?"

Lin Ji's pupils suddenly contracted.

"It was her?"

After a moment's thought, Lin Ji peered out again.

Gu Yanqiu happened to be standing in the only spot in the alley under the dappled moonlight when an object fluttered down beside her, but she was completely unaware.

Lin Ji withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing. To his astonishment, he could still clearly hear Gu Yanqiu's footsteps as he walked out.

"what?"

Lin Ji exclaimed in surprise.

The image of Shen Jinluan walking out of the alley automatically appeared in his mind.

When did I, an old man, develop such strong perception?

……

After a long while, Lin Ji could no longer hear Gu Yanqiu's "rustling" footsteps, and the imagery in his mind did not reappear. Lin Ji waited for a while longer before getting up and walking outside.

In the alley, under the dappled moonlight, a small yellow piece of paper folded into a triangle lay quietly on the ground.

Lin Ji stepped forward, reached out and picked it up, examining it closely.

It turned out to be a peace charm.

Lin Ji turned the talisman over; the creases on it were old, and the writing was slightly faded, indicating that it was quite old.

"This talisman looks like it's from several decades ago."

"A small piece of paper that has been kept for so long must be very valuable to Instructor Gu."

Lin Ji flipped the amulet over in his hand again, and just as he was about to put it away, his eyes fell on a protrusion on one corner of the amulet.

Ok?

Lin Ji's heart skipped a beat, and a sense of panic washed over him.

These folding marks look just like my own technique!

Lin Ji held the amulet up to his eyes in the moonlight, pondered for a moment, and carefully opened it through the seam of the paper.

The cinnabar characters floated on the paper.

The edges of the writing have faded slightly.

Lin Ji's pupils suddenly widened.

"this……"

The vigorous and powerful cinnabar handwriting on the yellow paper was clearly written by himself.

Lin Ji felt a numbness in the back of his head.

My mind is in turmoil.

This is the only item I left for my granddaughter when I sold her.

Lin Ji felt a pang of heart palpitation and swallowed hard.

This is the one I gave to that girl... how did it end up in Instructor Gu's possession...?

Lin Ji quickly figured out the reason.

……

Inside the warehouse of the Haijiao Gang's stronghold.

The original banquet hall has been completely renovated.

The center of the hall was filled with members of the Sea Dragon Gang, all wearing the skins of evil dragons. At the head of the group were seven members with red flower sticks, who stood with their arms crossed, occasionally whispering among themselves.

"The gang leader was killed by the madam, so doesn't that mean the madam possessed internal strength?"

"That makes sense. With Madam in charge, what do we have to fear from the Fengxi Gang in the future?"

"You can't be so absolute. Have you forgotten about Li Jinsi, the coachman from a while ago? He was also a master of internal strength, but he was still beaten down by the foreigners. Now, nobody knows whether he's dead or alive."

"That's right, not to mention that foreigners have foreign guns. No matter how good your martial arts are, you're still afraid of foreign guns."

Someone in the crowd sighed, their eyes betraying their panic:

"At this rate, this place will probably become foreigners' domain in the future. We'll be out of a job sooner or later. Maybe... we should change our approach as soon as possible?"

No sooner had these words been spoken than someone scoffed and lowered their voice: "Change course? Change course in what direction? Zhou Hu only hooked up with foreigners, thinking that he could secure his position by relying on them, but in the end he couldn't even get past his wife."

"Tap! Tap! Tap!"

Just then.

At the entrance to the hall, high heels landed on the wooden floor, making a crisp sound.

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to drown out the noisy discussion among the thugs in the hall.

Inside the hall, the whispering thugs quieted down, and as before, they all lowered their heads.

However, some of them were so audacious that they looked up and stared intently at Shen Jinluan's beautiful legs beneath her red silk cheongsam.

Unaware of anything amiss, Shen Jinluan walked straight to the head of the hall, sat on the large, black and red lacquered armchair, leaned back, crossed her legs revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin, held a jade pipe to her lips, and exhaled a ring of smoke.

Shen Jinluan narrowed her eyes and looked towards the center of the hall.

"lady."

Many of the local thugs bowed respectfully in the hall.

"Um."

Shen Jinluan hesitated for a moment, then put away her usual charming voice and spoke seriously:

"You've all heard about it, haven't you?"

"Zhou Hu betrayed us, and his life and spirit vanished."

The thugs had only been spreading rumors among themselves, but now that Shen Jinluan had said it herself, they all looked at her in shock.

"Is it true, as everyone's saying, that Chief Zhou died at your hands, Madam?"

"Yes."

Shen Jinluan responded in a deep voice, and then casually recounted: "Zhou Hu colluded with foreigners, attempting to sell out the country for personal gain, and became a traitor and lackey of foreigners."

"I disagreed, so he conspired with the Fengxi Gang to betray me, so I killed him and put an end to it."

Shen Jinluan looked up into the hall. Her naturally alluring peach blossom eyes held no warmth at this moment, only coldness in them.

In just one day, the number of members in the entire Haijiao Gang shrank by a full 30%.

Shen Jinluan believed that the entire gang, from top to bottom, already knew about Zhou Hu's death.

Those who are still standing in this hall are either pragmatic or rely on the Haijiao Gang for their livelihood; without the Haijiao Gang, they would have no other way to make a living.

She made it public today to confirm the rumors about her "hidden strength cultivation".

This served both to suppress the restless thoughts of some members of the gang and to reassure the rest of them.

"Now that Zhou Hu is dead, the gang cannot be without a leader for even a day."

Shen Jinluan removed the pipe from her lips, straightened her back, and the hem of her red silk cheongsam swayed gently, revealing her stunningly white legs.

"From this day forward, I, Shen Jinluan, will be the new leader of the Sea Dragon Gang."