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

The eighth day of the lunar month, in the afternoon.

A fighting arena was erected in the square in front of the Hongkou Commercial Port. The arena was made of cedar wood, about two zhang square, and more than three chi above the ground. A thick layer of straw mat was laid on the surface of the arena, and red silk was tied to the four corners.

A temporary grandstand was set up to the north of the arena, with several armchairs placed on it, facing the center of the arena.

Several black cars were parked around the square, and a row of rickshaws were waiting to pick up passengers. The drivers squatted on the shafts of their rickshaws, smoking pipes, but their eyes kept glancing at the ring.

Just after 1 p.m., the square was already packed with people.

There were dockworkers in short jackets, businessmen in long gowns, foreign reporters with cameras, and several Japanese people in kimonos standing on the periphery of the crowd, arms crossed, whispering to each other.

The Green Gang members, all dressed in black silk short jackets and black cloth belts, maintained order around the arena. Every now and then, someone would reach out to stop idlers who wanted to squeeze onto the stands, shouting "Back off, back off!"

"Didn't you hear your mother tell you to back up? I'll punch you!"

The air was filled with the smells of sweat, the aroma of roasted nuts, and the smoke of cigarettes, creating a lively atmosphere, like a temple fair.

Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng had already taken their seats in the stands.

Huang Jinrong, dressed in a dark blue silk robe, rubbed two iron balls in his hands. His gaze swept over the surging crowd below the arena, his muscular face drooping loosely, revealing no expression.

Du Yuesheng sat next to him, his gray silk robe impeccably tailored, a folding fan in his hand, which he did not open, but instead gently tapped his knee.

A temporary shed was set up on the east side of the arena, and rows of martial arts masters invited from all over Shanghai sat inside.

Whenever a new martial arts master arrived, a member of the Green Gang would stand on the left side of the stands and shout out his name at the top of his lungs.

"Master Wang from Wangsidong has arrived!"

"Master Zhang Jintang has arrived!"

"Master Zhao Liancheng has arrived!"

These names were unfamiliar to most of the audience. A few scattered claps occasionally broke out from the crowd, but they were quickly swallowed up by the noisy crowd.

Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng merely nodded slightly upon hearing this, without even standing up.

"Master Lu Songgao has arrived!"

As soon as the name was called, Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng stood up from their chairs at the same time.

This one is different from the previous martial arts masters.

Lu Songgao stepped out from the crowd. He was in his early forties, of medium build, wearing a faded gray cloth long gown. He had a square face, a broad forehead, high brow bones, slightly sunken eye sockets, and a steady gaze.

He walks with small strides, but each step is extremely steady, with no unnecessary wobbling when his feet land. He exudes the sharp and powerful aura unique to short-range boxing masters.

Although the name of Lu Songgao's Ten Forms of Xinyi Liuhequan is not as well-known in the Southern martial arts world as Xingyi and Taiji, those who truly understand the art can tell at a glance that he is a truly formidable figure.

"Brother Songgao, you've worked hard!" Huang Jinrong smiled, clasped his hands in greeting, and exchanged a few polite words.

Du Yuesheng also bowed in greeting and led Lu Songgao to sit down in a front-row seat on the left side of the stands.

"Master Tian Zhaolin has arrived!"

Tian Zhaolin was wearing a dark blue bamboo cloth long gown. He was slender and had a smile on his face. But he walked the short distance from the shed to the stands as if wading through water, with even strides and a steady pace.

A martial arts master who had practiced for several years recognized the trick and whispered to the person next to him that it was the cat step of Yang-style Tai Chi, where the upper body does not move and the feet move like a cat treading on snow.

Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng stood up again to greet him, and the two exchanged pleasantries once more.

Tian Zhaolin sat down in the chair next to Lu Songgao, nodded slightly to Lu Songgao, and glanced thoughtfully at the empty arena.

"Boss Huang, I heard that this Chen Hongwu has fought several tough battles in Foshan. He is already a master of internal strength at a young age. May I ask who his master is?" Lu Songgao asked.

Huang Jinrong waved his hand: "I've checked. This person's martial arts background is very diverse. He has dabbled in Xingyi, Bagua, Bajiquan, and Taijiquan."

However, his lineage is unclear; he never studied under any renowned teacher, as if he sprang from a rock.

He paused, his tone revealing undisguised displeasure, "Leaving aside his martial arts skills for now, this man is young but highly capable, and he's sharp-tongued. When the Green Gang sent people to Foshan to offer gifts and apologize, he didn't even bother with pleasantries before grabbing Mr. Gong Zhe and demanding a boxing match."

Even when Yue Sheng personally visited, his attitude was lukewarm, perhaps because he was intolerant of others and lacked social skills.

Du Yuesheng, who was sitting next to him, did not say anything, but slowly opened the folding fan and then closed it again.

Tian Zhaolin nodded slightly and smiled, "No wonder you have achieved so much in boxing at such a young age. You are a true martial arts fanatic."

Lu Songgao glanced at Du Yuesheng but didn't respond to the question.

Huang Jinrong turned to Lu Songgao and asked, "By the way, where's Master Meng? Why hasn't he arrived yet? He can't be late."

Lu Songgao said, "Don't worry, Boss Huang. We saw him at the door when we left the inn. He'll be here soon and won't be late."

Huang Jinrong nodded in relief. Meng Guangyin was a boxer he had discovered by chance in the dilapidated courtyard of an old security escort agency in Nanshi.

That day, he passed by and saw this man practicing boxing alone. His boxing stance was soft and weak, as if he hadn't eaten. However, when he was young, he had seen several martial arts masters from the north and recognized that it was the Cangzhou Mianquan style, which is soft yet strong, and soft yet powerful.

After approaching and striking up a conversation, I learned that the man's surname was Meng and his given name was Guangyin. He was from Cangzhou and had worked as a bodyguard in his younger days. After the bodyguard agency disbanded, he came to Shanghai alone to make a living.

His skills were no less than those of famous martial arts masters, but he had no connections and no reputation, so he could only work as a guard at other people's homes.

Huang Jinrong immediately offered to fight a match for him, and the Green Gang would pay for him to open a martial arts school with a courtyard.

What does a boxer strive for in his lifetime? Nothing more than having his own place to teach boxing, without having to live under someone else's roof.

Meng Guangyin, a boxer with no fame but real skills, is exactly missing this opportunity.

However, to be fair, helping someone fight and actually fighting are two different things.

Assisting in a fight is just to bolster morale; just standing there is enough to make someone look like a human head. But if a real fight breaks out, it will only be a brief exchange, not a real fight.

But fighting in a ring is different; it's a head-on clash on the ring, where victory or defeat is a matter of reputation and even life.

Established boxers like Lu Songgao and Tian Zhaolin would not easily agree to fight for others.

Huang Jinrong only invited Lu Songgao and Tian Zhaolin to help him boost his morale, but Meng Guangyin was the only one who was really going to go on stage and fight.

Just then, a commotion arose on the outskirts of the crowd.

A thin, middle-aged man wearing a black short jacket walked through the crowd.

This man was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old. He was thin and wiry, with a long, thin face and slightly protruding cheekbones. His hands hung at his sides, and he walked with a steady gait, his shoulders and hips not swaying.

It was Meng Guangyin!

A wide smile spread across Huang Jinrong's fleshy face as he stood up to greet him: "Master Meng, we've been waiting for you!"

Meng Guangyin didn't say much, but simply clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Boss Huang!"

Huang Jinrong led him to the stands, where he greeted Lu Songgao, Tian Zhaolin, and others.

After Meng Guangyin took his seat, he glanced at the empty arena and asked, "Hasn't Master Chen arrived yet?"

Hearing this, one of the Green Gang members standing nearby sneered, "They probably heard we've hired so many experts, so they don't dare come, right?"

Another chimed in, "That's right, they were so scared they went back to take a boat back to Guangdong. I reckon they're already out of the Huangpu River by now."

Several disciples nearby also laughed, and their laughter spread across the noisy square.

Just then, the Green Gang member on the left side of the stands, who was in charge of calling out names, recognized the person's face and suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Master Chen Hongwu has arrived!"