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

Zhang Jichuan slung himself back into his armchair.

Whoosh!

He slammed the expensive teacup on the table to the ground, his eyes filled with anger.

Zhang Shijie hurriedly stepped forward, placed his hand on Zhang Jichuan's shoulder, and, with a slight impulse, began to imitate the shoulder-massaging technique that Si Tianhu had used on him:

"Father, please don't be too angry with my elder brother. He has been misled by those patriots and has lost his mind. Once the foreigners set up a concession in Jiangcheng and our Zhang family becomes the only dominant family in Jiangcheng, he will naturally see the situation clearly."

The anger on Zhang Jichuan's face subsided somewhat. Although his youngest son's grasping technique was a bit clumsy, his filial piety brought him considerable comfort. After a long pause, he slowly opened his eyes:

"I hope so."

"Jie'er, you can go now. It's fine if you don't go to the martial arts hall. Tomorrow I'll take you to see Major Zack and find you a job with the foreigners. The foreigners have already marked out the concessions in Jiangcheng, and construction will begin soon. I'm looking forward to taking this opportunity to get close to Major Zack. Your future looks bright."

Zhang Shijie's eyes lit up with joy, and he quickly lowered his head:

"Yes, Father."

Britain was the best place for him; he had been clamoring to study abroad for the past two years, and now he finally had a way in.

As long as I get close to Zack, it won't be difficult to cross the ocean to the British Empire in the future.

Zhang Shijie left the study, feeling a surge of joy.

Zhang Jichuan sat in the armchair in his study.

He pulled two oily walnuts from his pocket, casually fiddling with them, his gaze drifting through the window to two chirping birds on a distant rooftop:

"We need to go to the foreigners' place."

"Xiao Jinglan, I'd like to see if you can protect this person."

……

The next day.

After yesterday's turmoil, the Martial Arts Hall has finally returned to its usual tranquility.

On the training ground, the young men swung their fists like the wind, their shouts echoing far and wide.

Lin Ji found a large tree, covered his face with a palm-leaf fan, and mentally reviewed the contents of the Book of Reversal of Fate.

Suddenly, Lin Ji was taken aback.

Ever since I turned the page of the Book of Reversal of Fate and obtained the Martial Bone, it seems like I've been constantly in trouble.

From a distance, out of Lin Ji's sight.

Gu Yanqiu stood absentmindedly outside the training ground, her training shoes groping on the ground, leaving several white marks on them. You could vaguely make out two characters on them.

"Safety!"

She had searched her residence and training ground for two days after losing the amulet, but found no trace of it.

That was a keepsake given to me by my mother to help me find my family. If I really lost it, I would definitely be nagged about it when I got back.

"Hi! Hello, Mr. Gu."

A clear, crisp sound suddenly rang out from behind, and a delicate hand rested on Gu Yanqiu's shoulder.

Gu Yanqiu, who was deep in thought, was suddenly startled, and a hidden aura emanated from his body.

Immediately afterwards, she gently pressed down on Gu Yanqiu's shoulder with her jade-like hand, instantly suppressing his imposing aura.

"Yanqiu, it's me."

The crisp sound rang out again.

Gu Yanqiu then slowly turned her head, a smile immediately spreading across her face:

"Qingzhu, what brings you here?"

It had been half a month since they last met.

Liu Qingzhu was dressed in a moon-white fitted dress, holding the hand of a chubby boy in a brocade robe.

"Yuanbao, call her Sister Gu."

"Hello, Sister Gu." Liu Yuanbao smiled sweetly across her chubby little face, then asked mischievously, "Where's Grandpa Lin?"

Gu Yanqiu glanced around the martial arts hall courtyard, not seeing Lin Ji, raised an eyebrow, and joked:

"What, can't you play with Sister Gu?"

"No." A hint of unease appeared on Liu Yuanbao's face.

Seeing that her younger brother couldn't answer Gu Yanqiu's question, Liu Qingzhu spoke up at the opportune moment:

"Yuanbao, go find Grandpa Lin. When you find him, come and call us. Your sister Gu and I have some important business to discuss."

"it is good."

Liu Yuanbao answered crisply and ran off.

"You look so worried, what happened?"

Liu Qingzhu got straight to the point. She had known Gu Yanqiu for many years and had rarely seen her so distracted.

"call……"

Gu Yanqiu took another deep breath and made no attempt to hide anything:

"I lost my lucky charm."

"The amulet is lost?" Liu Qingchu asked hurriedly. She knew that the amulet was Gu Yanqiu's mother's only keepsake.

Gu Yanqiu nodded silently.

"No trace was found?" Liu Qingzhu continued to ask.

"have."

Gu Yanqiu uttered only one word, paused for a long time, and then recounted the events of that night.

"I've investigated these past two days. Uncle Lin wasn't at the gatehouse that night, and I have no way of knowing whether any suspicious people broke into the martial arts hall that night."

"Uncle Lin isn't here?"

Liu Qingzhu's eyelids twitched suddenly, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes.

"Yes, Manager Wang said he took leave."

Gu Yanqiu turned to look at Liu Qingzhu, puzzled by her question.

"I should know who that person was that night." Liu Qingzhu smiled mysteriously, already having a guess in her mind.

"You've been in the martial arts hall for so long, haven't you noticed anything suspicious?"

As Liu Qingzhu finished speaking, images flashed through Gu Yanqiu's mind.

Bai Xiaonian failed to advance to the next rank for three years, but now he has broken through two ranks in less than a month.

There's also the record that suddenly appeared in Bai Xiaonian's hands yesterday.

And Lin Ji's face, which looked more than ten years younger than when he first arrived.

……

Images flashed through Gu Yanqiu's mind, and all the fragmented doubts came together, making the answer almost obvious.

"It's him?"

Liu Qingzhu nodded slightly. Back in Dog Tail Alley, she had already sensed that Lin Ji was hiding a secret. Yesterday, Liu Yuanbao insisted on hearing a story, so she had no choice but to visit him. The woman who opened the door was Bai Yu'er, the one from the end of the alley.

She told me that Lin Ji hadn't returned for half a month, so how could the person from the previous night have been him?

Liu Qingzhu nodded and replied, "Very likely."

"Then... I'll go ask him." Gu Yanqiu regained his usual composure and strode out as he spoke.

Liu Qingzhu stopped her abruptly and asked, "What are you going to ask? Are you going to ask him if he climbed over the wall the day before yesterday?"

Gu Yanqiu was stunned for a moment; she really hadn't figured out how to ask.

"No rush, I'll tell you how to resolve this in a bit." Lin Qingqiu chuckled softly, then lowered her voice: "I have something else to tell you."

Seeing that no one was around, Liu Qingzhu continued:

"Three days from now, the Jiangcheng Civil Affairs Bureau will announce the boundaries of the concession."

"What?"

Gu Yanqiu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"After the Zhang family's warehouse was robbed, the Queen of England personally called the authorities to inquire about the progress of the case. Under pressure, the authorities promised that if the culprit could not be caught within three days, they would agree to the division of the concession."

Lin Qingzhu succinctly and concisely recounted the events in the concession.

"No wonder it caused such a stir in the city yesterday." Gu Yanqiu recalled the events of yesterday.

"There's one more thing!"

Lin Qingzhu then changed the subject and brought up the second matter:

"Recently, hundreds of homeless people and beggars have gone missing in the west and north of the city. They are almost all marginalized people who have no one to take care of them. There are many students in the martial arts school, so we must pay attention to restraining their behavior."

"Sister...I found Grandpa Lin!"

As the two were talking, they heard Liu Yuanbao's voice.