Chinese martial arts: From being shot and killed by the armed police during a mountain search to bec

When Zhao Jinshan came out of Yuebin Inn, it was already getting dark.

He changed into a gray cloth short jacket, put on a tattered felt hat, and tucked a pistol into his waistband.

Behind him were six Green Gang disciples, each walking hurriedly and looking nervous. They carried bundles of various sizes, and some of them were carrying a heavy tin box containing the account books and valuables of the Foshan branch over the years.

The group walked across the stone-paved road in the west of the city and turned into a narrow alley leading to the dock.

"Master, why don't we take the train?" A pockmarked disciple behind us hurried forward, lowering his voice. "The train is fast. It only takes a little over an hour to get to Guangzhou. As long as we blend into the crowd, with so many people and eyes on us, Chen Hongwu won't have a chance to make a move even if he wants to."

"Idiot." Zhao Jinshan didn't turn around, continuing his steps. "If you can think of that, why couldn't he?"

The pockmarked disciple shrank back as he was scolded.

"If we were traveling by train, with his skills, he could catch up with us halfway anytime," Zhao Jinshan said as he walked, a hint of pride in his voice. "Trains are stuffy containers; there's nowhere to run. But traveling by water is different. Although it's slower, he can't exactly walk across the water, can he?"

The pockmarked disciple paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, and quickly offered a flattering remark: "Master, your insight is brilliant! How could I not have thought of that! If we take them by surprise and travel by water, no matter how capable Chen Hongwu is, he can only watch helplessly from the shore!"

A smile appeared on Zhao Jinshan's lips, and he quickened his pace.

The disciples behind him also breathed a sigh of relief, their tense shoulders relaxing slightly.

The alley is a dead end; if you walk out of the alley, you will reach the Foshan Wharf.

Zhao Jinshan had even planned out his route back to Shanghai in his mind.

First, take a small steamer along the Pearl River to Guangzhou. You'll arrive at Dashatou Wharf before dawn, where you can transfer to a sea liner and sail to Shanghai in five or six days.

Once on the boat, he'd be completely safe. No, once ashore and on the dock, where could Chen Hongwu possibly chase him? The Pearl River has dozens of branches; could he possibly block every single one?

Just as he was feeling quite pleased with himself, someone suddenly called out from behind, "Master! Up ahead!"

Zhao Jinshan looked up abruptly; a person was standing at the alley entrance.

The man was wearing a gray cloth short jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his two thin forearms.

He wore a pair of black cloth shoes, which remained motionless on the bluestone slabs.

Chen Hongwu.

Zhao Jinshan stood rooted to the spot, and the six disciples behind him froze at the same moment. Some of them subconsciously reached for their waists, only to find nothing.

The guns were hidden in the suitcases for easy customs inspection. No one expected Chen Hongwu to block the alley entrance at this time.

The alley was quiet for a couple of breaths.

Zhao Jinshan was the first to recover. After all, he was a seasoned veteran, having worked his way up from the Shanghai docks; he had seen it all.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the panic on his face, then took half a step forward, clasped his hands together, and lowered his posture considerably.

"Master Chen," Zhao Jinshan said with a smile, "I've long admired your name. It's quite a coincidence to meet you here today."

Chen Hongwu did not speak. He stood there with his feet shoulder-width apart, his breathing long and steady, neither hurried nor slow.

Zhao Jinshan lowered his hand, forced a bitter smile, and softened his tone: "Master Chen, let's not beat around the bush. Yes, I, Zhao Jinshan, blocked the Chen family's door before. I admit that I did something dishonest."

But Mr. Chen, think about it: we blocked the door and made statements, but did we take any action? Did we hurt anyone in the Chen family?

On the contrary, it was Wang Hu from our Green Gang who was killed by you, Master Chen. We lost someone, while you were unscathed. In the end, we're the ones who suffered the loss, not the Chen family.

He paused, looked up at Chen Hongwu, and saw that he remained unmoved.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Master Chen, the Green Gang isn't made of clay. Above the Tong generation are the Wu generation, and there are even higher-ranking elders, including Grandmasters of Transformation Force. You also practice martial arts, so you should know the power of Transformation Force. If we really alarm them, not only Foshan, but the entire Guangdong and Guangxi provinces will be in turmoil."

We acknowledge your superb martial arts skills, but no matter how skilled you are, can you defeat the entire Green Gang? Can you stand against a Grandmaster of Internal Energy?

His tone softened further, becoming almost pleading: "Master Chen, I'm just following orders to earn a living."

You're so magnanimous, why bother arguing with someone as insignificant as me? I'm going back to Shanghai tonight and will never come to Foshan again in my life.

Let's call it even, shall we?

After saying this, his heart pounded in his chest, and he almost ground his back teeth to powder.

He cursed himself inwardly for being bewitched. He had heard that Chen Hongwu had gone to kill Mo Laohu and assumed that the boy would not return. That's why he thought of taking advantage of the situation to bite off the Chen family and make some money in Foshan.

Who would have thought that this person not only returned alive but also killed Mo Laohu? If he had known he was such a jinx, he would never have provoked the Chen family.

Chen Hongwu scoffed, "A clean break? Doesn't Hall Master Zhao find that ridiculous?"

Zhao Jinshan's heart sank.

He suddenly realized that in the world of martial arts, those who don't have big enough fists have no right to negotiate.

His fist was clearly not big enough.

A layer of cold sweat seeped out from Zhao Jinshan's back, and his fingers under his sleeves began to tremble uncontrollably.

He slowly reached his hand towards his waist, his movements so light that even the rustling of his sleeves was minimized.

The instant his fingers touched the gun handle, Chen Hongwu moved.

Chen Hongwu slammed his right toes into the ground and kicked off. The bluestone slab beneath his feet cracked open with a spiderweb-like pattern. Before the stone dust from his shoe even hit the ground, he had vanished from the spot.

Crouching like a tiger, it sweeps across the ground silently!

Tiger-like gait!

Chen Hongwu instantly crashed into Zhao Jinshan's vicinity, his toes gripping the ground and exerting force from the Yongquan point, his center of gravity sinking into his coccyx, and his entire spine rapidly exploding from the Mingmen point.

After the tiger landed, it transformed into a dragon.

The old saying in Xingyi Quan is "Tiger Tramples, Dragon Breaks". Tiger Tramples is about gaining distance, while Dragon Breaks is about delivering a killing move.

The dragon-shaped energy path follows a series of pushes and bursts: the Yongquan point (Kidney 1) propels the knee, the knee propels the hip, the hip propels the waist, the waist propels the spine, the spine propels the shoulder, the shoulder propels the elbow, and the elbow propels the hand. The whole body's energy flows through each joint, like a crossbow firing or a cannon firing.

Driven by the Dragon-Shaped Force, his right arm shot forward, the entire arm rotating inward, and the air was stirred up by his clenched fist, producing a muffled "whooshing" sound.

Xingyiquan - Horse Form Cannon!

Bengquan (崩拳) is like an arrow, and Maxing (马形) is like a chariot.

The Horse-Shaped Cannon is a powerful fist technique in Xingyi Quan that combines penetrating and impacting force; the wind of the fist arrives before the fist itself.

Just as Zhao Jinshan's fingers touched the gun handle, before his thumb could even flick the safety, the force of the punch had already extinguished the air in front of his chest.

"Bang!"

Chen Hongwu's fist landed squarely on Zhao Jinshan's chest, specifically the Tanzhong acupoint.

The Tanzhong acupoint is located in the center of the sternum, between the breasts, and is a major acupoint on the Ren meridian.

At the same instant the fist struck the center of the chest, the hidden force spiraled through the skin and into the bone.

"Snap!"

The sternum was pierced as if by an electric drill under the action of this spiral force, and the cracks spread outward from the Chengjiang acupoint as the center. All seven ribs broke in less than half a breath.

The bone fragments pierced into the lung lobe and penetrated the mediastinum, with the longest broken bone piercing directly into Zhao Jinshan's heart.

Zhao Jinshan was like a wooden stake nailed to the ground with a hammer, his feet half an inch off the ground, his body bounced up, and then he fell straight backward.

"Bang!"

As he fell to the ground, the other Green Gang members finally saw that Zhao Jinshan had a deep pit the size of a bowl on his chest, and blood was gushing out of his seven orifices at the same time.

Chen Hongwu withdrew his fist, a thin layer of blood mist clinging to its surface.