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

Gu Yanqiu suddenly looked up at Lin Ji, wanting to ask him why he had removed the amulet.

As soon as he looked up, Lin Ji reached into his robes again.

An identical amulet appeared in his hand.

However, this amulet is as new as ever.

Lin Ji didn't speak, but skillfully unfolded the amulet along the creases with both hands.

On yellow paper.

It bears two powerful and vigorous characters.

"Safety!"

Gu Yanqiu's brows furrowed suddenly.

Beside him, Liu Qingzhu raised her cold eyes slightly and uttered a soft question.

"what?"

Liu Qingzhu had seen Gu Yanqiu's amulet.

The handwriting on this amulet is exactly the same as the one on Gu Yanqiu's amulet.

"How...how could you...?"

Gu Yanqiu's tone was full of surprise. This old man was too outrageous. Not only did he know martial arts, but he also helped her retrieve her amulet and even produced a brand new one.

"I have a story to tell, would you like to hear it?" Lin Ji folded the amulet back up and recalled that distant memory.

Although both of them looked puzzled, and Gu Yanqiu was slightly displeased that the amulet had been opened, they still nodded.

"Uncle Lin, please speak."

"That was in the first year of the Tongzhi reign. In modern terms, that's 1862."

"That year, the Taiping Army entered Jiangcheng, and I fled north with my family. The road was chaotic and people were suffering. There were just too many people fleeing. I had a little granddaughter who got lost at that time."

Lin Ji looked up into the distance, seemingly reminiscing about the sunlight of yesteryear.

"Uncle Lin, your grandson isn't Bai Xiaonian..."

Gu Yanqiu swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Lin Ji's surname is Lin, and Bai Xiaonian's surname is Bai.

How could they be grandfather and grandson?

"The year my granddaughter went missing, the only keepsake she had was a peace charm that I folded myself."

"Later, my son was killed by the Taiping Army, my grandson fell ill and died, and my daughter-in-law lost her daughter and son and did not survive that winter. Just like that, fifty years have passed in the blink of an eye."

Lin Ji spoke in a calm tone, as if he were telling someone else's story.

Fifty years have passed in the blink of an eye.

There are some things he has forgotten as well.

A ripple appeared in Liu Qingzhu's cold eyes as she realized that the old man in front of her was already a hundred years old.

A century of history—how many years of trials and tribulations it must have taken!

Gu Yanqiu couldn't help but take a deep look at Lin Ji; this old man was also a man with a tragic fate.

"I named my granddaughter Lin Yueru."

As Lin Ji finished speaking, a hint of expectation appeared in his cloudy eyes as he looked at Gu Yanqiu beside him.

Gu Yanqiu looked at Lin Ji, clearly seeing the probing look in Lin Ji's eyes:

"Uncle Lin, I'm sorry to disappoint you, my mother's surname is not Lin. I have heard my mother talk about it, she experienced the chaos of war in Jiangcheng, and she is indeed not my grandfather's daughter."

Gu Yanqiu paused, trying her best to recall what her mother had told her.

"My mother was too young at that time and couldn't remember anything. She said she had an older brother."

Lin Ji's heart skipped a beat. His granddaughter was only four or five years old at the time, so it was normal for her not to remember anything. But these experiences really matched his own memories.

"Oh, right," Gu Yanqiu said, as if remembering something, "My mother once said that she still remembers her childhood nickname..."

"Call her Yingying!" Lin Ji became more and more certain and said his granddaughter's nickname first.

Gu Yanqiu's pupils dilated sharply, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Her Adam's apple bobbed slightly as she swallowed, her voice a little softer: "How...how did you know?"

"Could it be that you really...?"

Gu Yanqiu dared not think any further.

She couldn't believe that the old man in front of her had become her great-grandfather overnight.

Lin Ji looked at Gu Yanqiu with eager eyes.

Fifty years have passed.

It's been fifty years.

He never imagined that one day he would be able to find his long-lost granddaughter.

"Hurry up! The Governor's Mansion is in deep trouble now. The Japanese have only been in Jiangcheng for a few days and the Commander died in a Western restaurant! Don't you know the Japanese temperament? They can seize a piece of your land with any excuse. Now that the Commander is dead, it's not impossible that they could accuse the Governor's Mansion of damaging international relations and force the Governor's Mansion to divide up the concession."

"Things aren't going well for the Westerners either. Look at the state of the restaurant. Zack is probably in a real bind right now. He spent two months planning and finally managed to secure the best locations in the British Concession. Now look what's happened, the Japanese have to take a huge slice."

Outside the wall.

Two hurried footsteps sounded.

It was accompanied by the sound of someone putting on clothes.

Judging from the tone of his words, the news about the Western restaurant had spread throughout the city, and at least the upper echelons of Jiangcheng knew about it.

"This courtyard is in a good location, surrounded by high-ranking officials from the Civil Affairs Bureau and the Military Governor's Office," Liu Qingzhu explained softly.

"Was Takeda Yuki a commander of the Japanese?"

Liu Qingzhu's brows furrowed, and her eyes turned cold again.

She looked up at Lin Ji. Lin Ji's hair was white, stained with specks of blood. He still stood there like a god of death, leaving a deep impression on people.

"If that's the case, it'll be a huge problem."

"What's wrong?"

Gu Yanqiu glanced at Lin Ji curiously, then turned to look at Liu Qingzhu.

"Uncle Lin admitted that he was the one who climbed over the wall the night before. The theft of opium from the Zhang family warehouse should also have been done by Uncle Lin and his group."

"The newspaper has already published Lin Bo's portrait. Now that Lin Bo has killed a Japanese samurai, according to your description, the restaurant diners should all have a deep memory of Lin Bo's face."

"Once it's published in tomorrow's newspaper, it will confirm Lin Bo's identity as a member of the Tongmenghui. This time, it's probably not as simple as Xiao Jinglan being able to protect him."

Liu Qingzhu paused, her gaze falling on Gu Yanqiu:

"Yanqiu, do me a favor. Can you take Yuanbao home for me? I'll stay with Uncle Lin for now and see how things develop before we decide what to do next."

"Okay." Gu Yanqiu glanced at Lin Ji again before going inside to greet Liu Yuanbao.

Gu Yanqiu had only walked a few steps away.

Liu Qingzhu's face suddenly turned pale, but then she returned to normal.

Lin Ji turned his head slightly and noticed Liu Qingzhu's unusual behavior. His eyes flashed as he saw the energy cluster inside Liu Qingzhu's body.

A blue aura surrounding Liu Qingzhu was shrouded in a layer of gray mist. Lin Ji quickly searched her meridians and discovered a long, narrow knife wound on her lower back. He withdrew his gaze and spoke softly:

Are you injured?

Liu Qingzhu's pupils trembled slightly:

How did you know?

"You don't look too good," Lin Ji replied.

Gu Yanqiu led Liu Yuanbao out of the main house, his gaze falling on Liu Qingzhu's face, a hint of worry in his eyes that was hard for others to detect.

Liu Qingzhu, strong and composed, said a few words of comfort, and Liu Yuanbao reluctantly followed Gu Yanqiu out of the courtyard.

The two figures disappeared at the alley entrance.

Liu Qingzhu's body went limp, and she leaned forward.

Lin Ji quickly stepped forward and pulled Liu Qingzhu into his arms.

Liu Qingzhu, nestled in his arms, had a dazed look in her eyes; the coldness in them was long gone. She spoke weakly:

"Takeda Yuuki's sword is poisoned, but I have the antidote. It's inside. Help me..."

Immediately afterwards, Liu Qingzhu closed her eyes and collapsed completely into Lin Ji's arms.

Lin Ji's eyelids suddenly twitched.

Liu Qingzhu's injury is on her back, how can we help her?

Did she take it off?

Did she take it off?