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

"Old Lin, don't panic. With the principal protecting you, even if you really are a member of the Tongmenghui, not only can the military governor's office not do anything to you, but even foreigners can't do anything to you."

As the crowd dispersed from the training ground, Manager Wang patted Lin Ji on the shoulder and reassured him.

"But on the other hand, the Tongmenghui did a really good job yesterday. Those big families have relied on their abilities to do a lot of things to harm the people. This has really dampened their spirits."

Lin Ji gave an awkward smile, a nervous look on his face:

"This old man has never seen such a scene in his entire life. More than twenty foreign guns are pointing directly at him. This martial arts hall is in turmoil."

"No way, old Lin, Principal Xiao is back this time. Even if the Heavenly King himself came, he couldn't do anything to the Martial Arts Hall."

Manager Wang lowered his voice and looked around, afraid that others would hear what he was saying.

"What do you mean? Principal Xiao is the principal of Qu Wutang Junior High School, and she's a woman. How can she really control the Governor's Mansion?"

Lin Ji was well aware that Xiao Jinglan's identity was not simple, but he deliberately asked in a questioning tone.

Manager Wang pulled Lin Ji aside, and the two stood in a corner of the martial arts hall:

"Old Lin, I'm only telling you this because you seem honest. I only heard about it secondhand. Now that I'm telling you, don't tell anyone else."

Seeing that Lin Ji remained silent, Steward Wang lowered his voice even further:

"Guess why this martial arts school is called 'Junior High'?"

"The National Middle School of the Republic of China?" Lin Ji asked, slightly puzzled.

"Principal Xiao was sent directly from above."

Manager Wang continued to explain.

"Manager Wang, don't try to fool me. I remember this martial arts hall has indeed been open for thirty-two years."

The Republic of China had been established for more than four years, but this martial arts school had been open for thirty-two years, which didn't make sense in terms of time. Lin Ji continued to press for answers.

"For the first twenty-eight years, the martial arts school was also called the martial arts school. The name 'National Middle School' was written by that gentleman in the early years of the Republic of China, and that's when the name was changed."

"Over the past twenty-eight years, the Martial Arts Academy has supplied the current government with countless talented individuals. Our Principal Xiao was one of the best from the academy back then!"

After Manager Wang's explanation, Lin Ji felt enlightened and thought to himself:

"I see."

"So...the students recruited by the Martial Arts Academy include many from wealthy families and even more from elite clans? This gives underprivileged youths a chance to turn their lives around, and also provides the government with a continuous supply of people with clean backgrounds."

"By the way, even that officer Li Kun from earlier was a student of the Martial Arts Academy."

Manager Wang spilled all the information he knew to Lin Ji, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

The two were deep in conversation.

Not far away, a young man holding a folding fan strode towards the entrance of the martial arts hall.

A figure was chasing after the boy at a fast pace.

"Zhang Shijie, Si Tianhu?"

Lin Ji took a closer look and immediately recognized the two people.

"What a waste of this kid's talent in martial arts."

Manager Wang stepped out from the corner of the wall, looked up at the two people in the distance, clicked his tongue, and made a soft comment.

……

"Tianhu".

Zhang Shijie, who was expelled from school, was not angry. He was just a little regretful that he had not completed the task his father had assigned him. As he approached the gate of the martial arts hall, Zhang Shijie suddenly stopped.

"Young Master Zhang."

Si Tianhu, still with a fawning expression, hurriedly ran to Zhang Shijie and responded respectfully.

"I told you to find someone to teach this old man a lesson, but why haven't you done anything about it yet?"

Zhang Shijie opened the folding fan, his tone not blaming, but merely asking a casual question.

Si Tianhu suddenly froze, only then realizing that not only was Bai Xiaonian full of energy, but even the old man was as usual:

"I found a master of bone refining, which cost me a full twenty silver dollars. They should have started last night, shouldn't they?"

Zhang Shijie casually stepped over the threshold of the martial arts hall, walking towards the depths of Jiangcheng without the slightest hesitation. After taking two steps, he suddenly took a deep breath:

"It's so liberating outside, it's always been nice."

He then turned to look at Si Tianhu, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"I bet your twenty dollars are a complete waste!"

"What do you mean, Young Master Zhang?" Si Tianhu was slightly taken aback, clearly not understanding what Zhang Shijie was saying. After pondering for a moment without guessing the answer, he hurriedly continued to ask:

"You mean, the middleman pocketed my twenty silver dollars?"

"No, no!"

Zhang Shijie shook his head, strode forward, and his expression gradually turned cold.

Si Tianhu chased after him:

"Young Master Zhang, what exactly do you mean?"

……

Jiangcheng, Zhangjia.

In the spacious study, only Zhang Shijie was sitting, along with a middle-aged man who bore a resemblance to him.

Zhang Shijie told his father about Bai Xiaonian's rapid progress in martial arts, Si Tianhu's assassination attempt, Xiao Jinglan's strong protection of Lin Ji, and a series of other events that happened in the martial arts hall.

"Based on your guess, this old man was one of the men who raided the warehouse last night?"

"Yes! I saw the portrait of the warlord, and that portrait is exactly the same as him. Also, I noticed something was off about the laborer's reaction."

The middle-aged man gently tapped the teacup in his hand, skimmed off a little of the foam, and took a small sip.

"If what you guessed is true, we can use the foreigners' help to follow the clues and take down those damned Tongmenghui in one fell swoop."

"Even if I guessed wrong, given the foreigners' tendency to rather kill a thousand innocent people than let eight hundred guilty people go free, I've solved a small problem for you."

"However, it's highly unlikely that Xiao Jinglan knew he was a member of the Tongmenghui and still tried to protect him from the Governor's Mansion." The middle-aged man put down his teacup, his expression slightly grave.

"What's wrong, Father? Isn't she just a martial arts school principal? It's not impossible that she was turned by the Tongmenghui and is now protecting Tongmenghui members." Seeing that his father didn't believe his exaggerated words, Zhang Shijie couldn't help but ask again.

After a long pause, the man finally spoke again: "Unless, she has the intention..."

"Bang!"

The wooden door to the study was suddenly pushed open.

A young man who looked remarkably like Zhang Shijie strode in wearing a Zhongshan suit.

His collar was buttoned up tightly, his sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, revealing half of his taut wrists, and his face was full of barely suppressed anger.

"Father!"

Mr. Zhang's brows furrowed suddenly, and Zhang Shijie also stood up abruptly, a hint of panic flashing across his face, before he forced himself to speak:

"Brother, what brings you in here? Father is discussing important matters."

"Is it serious business?"

Zhang Shih-hao sneered, his gaze sweeping over the teacups on the table before settling on Zhang Shih-jie's face, his words ringing with conviction:

"Discussing collusion with foreigners behind closed doors? Is that what you call serious business? I stood in the corridor for half an hour and heard everything clearly!"

He turned to the middle-aged man, suppressing his anger, but his voice remained unchanged: "Father, you just guessed that Xiao Jinglan intended to join the Tongmenghui? You've seen countless people in your life, how could you be so confused about this matter!"