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

"The fighting sounds ahead have stopped!"

"Hurry up! Everyone behind, catch up!"

The leather boots splashed into the muddy water with a "plop," creating puddles of dirty mud in the streets and alleys of the northern city.

The dim beam of the flashlight illuminated the rapidly moving figure.

They're police officers!

The lean police officer at the front of the group arrived at the warehouse door first, raising his old flashlight forward, the dim yellow light shining into the warehouse.

Upon seeing the scene inside the warehouse, the lean policeman swallowed hard, his voice trembling and breaking into a halting tone:

"Team... Captain!"

"What happened that scared you like that?"

The tall, burly policeman, who wasn't wearing a rain hat, stepped forward and pulled the lean policeman aside, peering into the warehouse through the brim of his hat, which was completely soaked with rainwater.

Boom!

Thunder roared!

The sky was bright and clear.

It illuminated the eyes of the police captain beneath his police hat.

The patrol captain's eyes were filled with terror, and he could not hide his panic.

Inside the warehouse.

The cold searchlight beams fell on the ground, illuminating the entire warehouse.

The scattered corpses blocked the warehouse entrance, making it difficult for the police to find a place to stand.

"Captain... there seem to be Westerners over there."

The skinny man next to him raised his flashlight, and the dim yellow light pierced into the cabin, landing on the two naked corpses.

"I'm not blind!"

The burly police captain shouted, startling the skinny man beside him who flinched back, only to be grabbed by the back of the neck by the captain:

"Go to the police station now and tell them that something terrible has happened!"

"Go quickly."

The patrol captain shoved the skinny man into the rain, then turned to look at the other patrolmen behind him:

"We split into two teams. One team was responsible for sealing off the scene! The other team and I searched for the murderer. The fighting inside the warehouse had just stopped, so they couldn't have gone far."

……

In the rain.

Lin Ji transformed into a streak of black light, weaving through the streets and alleyways.

In less than fifteen minutes, we had arrived at the northern edge of the city.

"Old sir, who are you? Why did you save me?"

The scholar, who was being carried under Lin Ji's arm, noticed that Lin Ji had slowed down and hurriedly asked a question.

"I know Zhao Qiaosheng. In fact, I saved Brother Zhao's life a few times."

Lin Ji slowed his pace and glanced behind him in the lightning flashes; the dark streets and alleys were completely deserted.

"You saved Brother Zhao?" The scholar, who had been placed on the ground by Lin Ji, clutched his stomach, hunched over, and squeezed into a relatively dry spot under the eaves, looking Lin Ji up and down.

"Don't tell me it's another case of double-crossing!" Having just been tricked, even though Lin Ji had killed two foreigners to save him, he still didn't dare to trust Lin Ji immediately.

The scholar thought to himself, "Who knows what kind of self-inflicted injury ruse this is?"

Seeing his suspicion, Lin Ji didn't beat around the bush and ripped off the black cloth that was soaked with rain from his face.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

By the light of the lightning, the scholar could see Lin Ji's appearance clearly.

Although the old man in front of him looked much younger, he recognized him at a glance:

"I remember now, you're the old gentleman who saved Brother Zhao a few days ago."

Upon recognizing Lin Ji, the scholar hurriedly straightened up, leaned against the wall to stand slightly, bowed slightly, and made a gesture of respect towards Lin Ji, his voice broken and hesitant:

"Sir...please forgive me, the situation was urgent and I didn't recognize you for a moment. I hope...sir, you will understand."

"It's alright."

Lin Ji casually waved his hand, placing it on the scholar's shoulder. His aura emanated from his body, probing the scholar's internal organs. In the darkness, Lin Ji's brow furrowed slightly.

"You have suffered severe internal injuries. Give me an address and I'll take you there."

The scholar pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly after a couple of seconds: "Thank you, sir. Yingbinlou in the west of the city."

"If you don't know the way, I, Wang, can give you directions, but I'm afraid I won't be able to do it myself..."

"I know him." Lin Ji pulled up his black mask, grabbed the scholar onto his back, and headed towards the western district of Jiangcheng.

Lin Ji walked very fast and arrived in the western part of the city in a quarter of an hour.

The reception building is not very big.

It doesn't even qualify as a building.

It is a stand-alone shop with its own entrance and courtyard.

The shop has been boarded up, leaving only a crack in the door through which the dim yellow light from inside shines through.

Lin Ji had been wandering around the city when he was bored, and he happened to remember the name of this restaurant called Yingbinlou.

"Sir, put me down. I need to speak with the shopkeeper."

Lin Ji placed the scholar at the doorway. The scholar stepped into the shop, whispered a few words to the shopkeeper, then turned back and called out to Lin Ji through the crack in the door:

"Please come in, sir."

Lin Ji also squeezed into the store.

The shopkeeper looked up from behind the counter and saw that the person who came in was an old man with white hair. He couldn't help but look him up and down with curiosity.

"Please take me to the secret room, shopkeeper." The scholar's voice was weak, his hands supporting his abdomen trembled, and his face was deathly pale, as if he was about to collapse.

"well."

The shopkeeper withdrew his gaze, not daring to be negligent, and stepped out from behind the counter: "This way, gentlemen."

Lin Ji nodded in acknowledgment and followed the two through the back door of the restaurant into a large courtyard.

The courtyard was overgrown with weeds and only contained some rarely used items. Behind the courtyard were one or two small, dilapidated houses that looked like they hadn't been used for a long time.

"These two small rooms haven't been used for a long time and are a bit dilapidated. Please make do with them for now." The innkeeper looked slightly embarrassed, and his tone became a little more hurried as he explained:

"I have already laid out the bedding and set out the oil lamp. Please feel free to ask me anything."

"It's alright, shopkeeper, you can go ahead and get busy. Please don't reveal our whereabouts."

The scholar walked ahead, his steps faltering, seemingly on the verge of collapse. After settling the shopkeeper in, he turned to look at Lin Ji.

"The western part of the city is close to the waterway, so if we are exposed, we can leave by boat. In addition, the Yingbin Building happens to have a back door, so we chose this place as our base."

"Mm," Lin Ji replied softly.

The shopkeeper couldn't help but look up at Lin Ji again, then bowed and turned to leave.

Lin Ji stepped into the house.

"Brother Zhao and the others will be here soon."

The scholar could no longer hold on. He left a few words and then leaned against the bed, fainting.

Seeing this, Lin Ji slightly raised his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them.

Seeing the faint but slow breaths coming out of the scholar's chest, Lin Ji felt relieved that he was not in immediate danger.

Lin Ji reached into his pocket and pulled out an account book with a few water stains on the edge.

By the dim light of the yellow oil lamp in the room, Lin Ji opened the account book.

As soon as the account book was opened...

Lin Ji's eyelids jerked open, his brows furrowing involuntarily. The ledger read:

"The Si family in the south of the city possesses 2000 catties of top-grade opium."

"2000 catties of opium!" Lin Ji's eyes narrowed, his voice suddenly sharp: "The Si family? Your family is truly courting death!"

Lin Ji put down the account book and sat cross-legged.

Under Lin Ji's control, the blood and qi in his body circulated faster, gradually washing away the feeling of exhaustion he had experienced after using the Hidden Dragon Abyss.

Half an hour later.

Lin Ji's meridians suddenly became unblocked.

The negative effects of Hidden Dragon Abyss have been completely removed.

At that moment, Lin Ji's ears twitched slightly.

Footsteps could be heard coming from outside.

"Squeak."

The door was pushed open, and a familiar figure with clothes slightly damp from the rain appeared inside.

"Old Mr. Lin? What are you doing here?"

Zhao Qiaosheng's eyebrows shot up suddenly, and he spoke in shock.

"I just found out Gao San's address from the Haijiao Gang and discovered he'd been scammed. Knowing he was your friend, Brother Zhao, I followed him..."

Lin Ji smiled and nodded, briefly recounting his recent experience, at which point Zhao Qiaosheng suddenly understood.

"Old man, it's truly fate that we meet." Zhao Qiaosheng felt a slight joy upon hearing Lin Ji's explanation.

"You not only saved my life, but also Wang Siwei's. Our Tongmenghui owes you a debt of gratitude that we can never repay in this lifetime."

"You guys treat Siwei's injuries first," Zhao Qiaosheng said, glancing at the others in the room before quickly adding.

He turned back to his original voice, his tone slightly somber.

"The intelligence lead we finally found has been cut off. It's so difficult to save the country and its people."

Lin Ji's gaze shifted slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

This……

A bluish light condensed above the heads of the people in front of them, gathering in the center of the roof, several times larger than the light above Bai Xiaonian's head.

Is this the power of gang forces?

Lin Ji thought about it for a moment and then understood why the crowd's power was not above his own.

Gazing at the azure light, Lin Ji's mind stirred, and he asked in a deep voice:

"Young Brother Zhao, this old man does have something to do for the country and its people."

"What?" Zhao Qiaosheng adjusted his glasses and narrowed his eyes.

"opium!"