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

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Then it became noisy.

Several gang leaders whom Zhou Hu had personally promoted immediately changed their expressions, exchanged glances, and a bald man with a full beard stepped forward:

"Shen Jinluan! I'm a brother who started out with Chief Zhou, and I want to say something fair."

"You committed insubordination and killed the gang leader, and should have been punished according to gang rules! Now you have the audacity to ask to sit in the gang leader's position?"

"Besides, our Haijiao Gang has been around for so many years, and we've never heard of a woman being in charge."

"Now, if you can sit where you want, then I'll say I can sit too!"

As soon as he shouted, three or four leaders immediately echoed him; they were all Zhou Hu's trusted former subordinates.

"That's right! The position of gang leader should be elected by each branch, not just taken by your whim."

The sounds of discussion and commotion blended together, and the thugs below also became agitated.

The seven red-flower sticks also had different expressions, clearly indicating that they were far from being completely convinced of Shen Jinluan's worth.

"I can take the position of gang leader if I say so."

Shen Jinluan's eyes suddenly sharpened, and she flicked her pipe as a short, poisoned arrow shot out with a cold glint.

"call out--"

The sound of something cutting through the air was short and sharp, leaving only a fleeting afterimage across the hall.

"Pfft!"

The pipe plunged straight into the bald leader's chest with such force that it dragged him backward half a step.

The bald man's eyes widened as he looked down at the pipe. His shouts caught in his throat, his face filled with astonishment. He trembled as he raised his hand to point at Shen Jinluan, but couldn't open his mouth. His body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The once noisy hall fell silent instantly.

"Is there anyone else who is unwilling?"

Shen Jinluan's voice was cold and devoid of any emotion, piercing the eardrums of all the thugs present.

After a long while, no one in the hall spoke.

Everyone present had only one thought in their minds:

The power of hidden strength is terrifying.

"Now that we've laid this out, I'll explain the rules for you."

Shen Jinluan's gaze swept over the tense faces, and she leaned back in her armchair. Her brocade cheongsam cascaded down her crossed legs, creating a smooth and bright arc.

Shen Jinluan appeared relaxed, as if she were merely having casual conversation, but the fierce glint in her eyes remained undiminished.

"I, Shen Jinluan, am not a bloodthirsty person. When you go back today, tell your men that if they do not obey my discipline, they are free to leave. I, Shen Jinluan, will not pursue the matter further."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the few of Zhou Hu's former subordinates, her tone hardening:

"But if I find out in the future that you have sided with the foreigners and become a traitor who sells out your country for personal gain, don't blame me, Shen Jinluan, for being ruthless."

"Remember, from now on, the Sea Dragon Gang will only have one voice.

Shen Jinluan extended her delicate hand and tapped it lightly twice on the armrest of the grand chair. A servant with a red floral cane stepped forward and handed her a booklet. Shen Jinluan held up the booklet and changed the subject:

"Wei Kun, the leader of the Fengxi Gang, also died at my hands the day before yesterday."

As soon as he finished speaking, a suppressed gasp arose from below.

No one expected that the leader of the Fengxi Gang, who had been running rampant in Jiangcheng for more than half a month with the backing of foreigners, would also die at the hands of this woman.

"You all know how much territory the Fengxi Gang has seized from us in the past two weeks. Now that they are leaderless, it's time for us to take it all back with interest."

Shen Jinluan's gaze swept over everyone in the hall, and she raised the booklet in her hand and waved it:

"This is a map showing the distribution of the Fengxi Gang's territory. I will have someone distribute it to you. Whether you can take back the territory, and how much you can take back, depends entirely on your own abilities."

"Remember what I said today, everyone disperse!"

After saying this, Shen Jinluan picked up the booklet, got up, and left.

Once the sound of Shen Jinluan's high heels hitting the ground had completely faded away, hushed conversations gradually began to fill the hall.

Shen Jinluan took the booklet, turned around, and went upstairs to the second floor.

After all, the Fengxi Gang had the backing of foreigners, and it was not as simple as just talking about taking back their territory from them.

A battle plan had to be devised, which couldn't be left to those thugs who only knew how to fight and kill; she, as the leader of the gang, had to do it herself.

As soon as she pushed open the slightly ajar door, Shen Jinluan's body stiffened abruptly, and she assumed an attack stance. Upon seeing the figure inside, Shen Jinluan concealed her slight shock, her tone indifferent and cold:

"What are you doing here so late at night?"

"Didn't we already agree this morning that we owe each other nothing and are now strangers with no connection whatsoever?"

"Do you think that just because you took my virginity, I'll...?"

Lin Ji raised his hand to interrupt Shen Jinluan's rambling, his gaze sweeping over her figure in the cheongsam, a hint of lingering interest in his eyes. He then adopted a serious expression and got straight to the point:

"This afternoon I was ambushed at the martial arts hall, but I captured the attackers. I got their confessions from them, and they said the job was arranged by the Haijiao Gang. The middleman who connected us was called Gao San."

Shen Jinluan concealed the fierceness in her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she opened the booklet in her hand.

The booklet did indeed contain a well-organized map of the Fengxi Gang at the front, and a list of some members of the Haijiao Gang at the back.

Many people on the list were circled in red pen, with a word written next to them.

"kill!"

Shen Jinluan's jade-like fingers slid down, her fingertips stopping on the two characters "Senior Three" circled in red.

A line of smaller print is added after the words "Senior Three".

"On June 17, he went with Zhou Hu to Rongshengxuan to meet Wei Kun, the leader of the Fengxi Gang. On June 25, he left our gang and joined the Fengxi Gang."

Shen Jinluan withdrew her jade-like fingers from the book, turned her head to look at Lin Ji beside her. The masculine energy within Lin Ji surged through her again. Suppressing a slight ripple in her heart, she spoke in a deep voice:

"Today is the first day of the seventh month. This person has been away from the Sea Dragon Gang for six full days. According to the rules, he should have no further connection with the gang."

"What, you suspect I secretly sent someone to do this?" Shen Jinluan frowned. "That's ridiculous. You killed Zhou Hu with three punches right in front of me. If I really wanted to harm you, would I be stupid enough to send someone who refines bones?"

"I've just finished collecting information on the traitors and collaborators. It doesn't matter if you don't trust me. Here are the locations and the list; you can check them yourself."

Lin Ji glanced at the booklet that Shen Jinluan had pushed in front of him. It contained detailed records of the senior students' whereabouts. Lin Ji secretly memorized the contents and said, "Okay, I'll trust you for now. I'll come back if the information is false after I verify it."

Lin Ji rubbed the old amulet in his hand, his mind a jumble of thoughts. Too many troubles were coming one after another, and even he was a little overwhelmed.

Noticing the lingering worry on Lin Ji's face, Shen Jinluan's sharpness softened slightly, and her tone became more direct and frank:

"Old man, I really didn't mean to target you. Even if I have a woman's heart and want to hold a grudge and seek revenge after having my body taken, I still have to consider my own strength. I couldn't withstand the weight of those three punches you threw."

Lin Ji nodded slightly upon hearing this, his expression remaining calm: "Understood."

He didn't say another word, nor did he glance at Shen Jinluan's figure again. With a twist of his foot, he leaped out of the window and quietly disappeared into the night.

Shen Jinluan stared at Lin Ji's disappearing figure for a long time before slowly exhaling and coming back to her senses.

"I can suppress that rabble of Fengtian clique members on my own, but it really involves the foreign power behind them..."

Shen Jinluan muttered to herself, her brows furrowing unconsciously:

"I don't think I have that much ability. If I can get him on my side, it will save me a lot of trouble."

Shen Jinluan racked her brains over all the chips in her hand, but couldn't find a single thing that could sway Lin Ji.

Shen Jinluan lowered her gaze, which fell on her curvaceous figure outlined by the red satin cheongsam. The chaotic light and shadow of yesterday flashed quickly through her mind.

"snort!"

Shen Jinluan suddenly let out a cold snort, her eyebrows raised arrogantly, and uttered a sentence to the empty room, as if she were sulking with herself:

"What's so special about an old man who's practically half-buried that I, Shen Jinluan, would stoop so low as to try and win him over?"