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

As Chen Hongwen turned down the stairs, he bumped into someone, Chen Gongzhe.

He had arrived in a hurry; the hem of his long robe was half-covered in mud, sweat was still on his forehead, and his complexion looked rather unpleasant.

"Young Master Chen! Is Master Chen still at the inn?" Chen Gongzhe grabbed Chen Hongwen's arm, his voice trembling with urgency.

"Upstairs, my older brother is there..." Chen Hongwen didn't finish speaking before Chen Gongzhe pushed him aside and rushed upstairs. After taking two steps, he turned back, lowered his voice, and said, "Tell your older brother to leave immediately, don't stay a moment longer!"

Chen Hongwen was completely bewildered and quickly chased after him, stopping him at the corner of the stairs: "Chairman Chen, please don't rush. My elder brother has already made arrangements for the three of us to leave first. He and the Green Gang's score will be settled separately."

Chen Gongzhe's right foot had just stepped out when he abruptly stopped in mid-air, his eyes widening: "What did you say? You guys leave, and he's staying behind?"

Chen Hongwen nodded, his voice tinged with bitterness: "I tried to persuade him, but I couldn't."

Chen Gongzhe remained silent for a moment, then sighed deeply: "Those who practice martial arts have wills as strong as iron and are not easily swayed. Never mind, I'll go and say a few more words."

Having said that, he still insisted on going upstairs.

Chen Hongwen had no choice but to step aside to make way.

Upstairs, Chen Hongwu was sitting opposite Li Yi.

Li Yi, having just recovered from his injury, leaned lazily against the back of his chair, holding a small teacup in his hand, listening to Chen Hongwu instruct him on the passes to be careful of along the way.

Just as they were saying, "When you come down from Nanjing, don't take the waterway, take the official road. There are more people and it's safer that way," Chen Gongzhe pushed open the door and entered.

Chen Hongwu and Li Yi both looked up at the same time. Chen Gongzhe didn't sit down either, but cupped his hands and said first, "Master Chen, when I went upstairs just now, I heard Second Young Master Chen say that you were staying and that the three of them should leave first?"

"Yes." Chen Hongwu nodded, turned around and poured Chen Gongzhe a cup of tea, gesturing for him to enter.

Chen Gongzhe took the tea but didn't bother to drink it. He said in a deep voice, "Master Chen, I know your methods. But the Green Gang has been operating in Shanghai for many years. They have deep roots and extensive connections. If you push them too hard, it wouldn't be difficult for them to send a Grandmaster of Internal Energy to deal with you."

"A Grandmaster of Transformation Realm?" Chen Hongwu raised an eyebrow, put down the covered bowl in his hand, and smiled in a half-smile.

Chen Gongzhe nodded and said solemnly, "Others may not know how powerful it is, but I do. When my teacher Huo Yuanjia was alive, he said that the power of a master of internal energy is such that not even a feather can touch him, and a single movement can cause mountains to collapse."

"Once a grandmaster makes a move, let alone you, even if Lu Songgao and Tian Zhaolin combined, they might not be able to withstand a single blow."

Chen Hongwu did not answer, but simply extended his right hand, turning his palm upward.

He pointed his five fingers to the sky, his palms cupped, as if holding an unseen moon.

Chen Gongzhe was taken aback at first, then focused his attention on looking at it.

Chen Hongwu took out a grain of rice from his sleeve. It was a grain that had fallen out when he was drinking porridge that morning. It was white and smooth, and when he rubbed it between his fingers, it didn't crack at all.

He flicked his finger, and the white rice gently landed on his outstretched right palm.

The grain of rice lay quietly in his palm, motionless.

Suddenly, Chen Hongwu lowered his limbs slightly, his toes gripped the ground, and the muscles and fascia of his entire right arm rose and fell like a tide from the shoulder well all the way to the wrist bone. His shoulder and elbow moved in turn, and a very subtle and even force was generated from the palm of his right hand. He gently flicked his palm.

The white rice seemed to come alive, suddenly bouncing three inches up, flipping in the air, and then gently falling back into the palm of the hand.

Chen Hongwu flicked the rice in his palm again, and the rice rose and fell repeatedly, repeating this more than ten times, always staying within that small area of ​​his palm, never leaving his hand even a fraction of an inch.

Chen Gongzhe was dumbfounded.

This is the superior skill of "Plum Blossom Pole Jumping". Martial arts practitioners often use this to train their whole body to listen to the force. With each jump and follow-up, the force should not be too great, otherwise the rice will crack; the force should not be too slow, otherwise the rice will fall.

To be able to toss a grain of rice so steadily in one's palm requires an incredible level of coordination and listening skill.

"Master Chen, you... you've already...?" Chen Gongzhe looked up in shock.

Chen Hongwu withdrew his palm, gently placed the rice back on the table, and said in an extremely calm voice, "At the initial stage of mastery, not even a feather can be added, not even a fly can land!"

Chen Gongzhe finally sat down, but he didn't drink that half-sip of tea.

Chen Hongwu remained silent, only adding, "On my way back last night, I killed a Japanese man. He gave his name as Takano Sasaburo."

Chen Gongzhe's teacup trembled slightly, and tea spilled over the rim and onto the table. He exclaimed, "That Takano Sasaburo of the Hokushin Itto-ryu, the sword master sent by the Black Dragon Society."

Rumor has it he was a "sword master" in the Japanese kendo world, an instructor before Emperor Meiji. You...you killed him?

"Yes." Chen Hongwu nodded. "Thanks to him, I was able to unleash my inner strength on the brink of life and death."

Chen Gongzhe was stunned for a long time before putting down his teacup, rubbing his forehead, and sighing, "Then we can't let the three of them run south on their own. The Japanese are known for holding grudges and their revenge comes very quickly."

Going to the dock to take a boat now would only play into their hands. If Master Chen trusts me, it would be better to have them come with me to the Jingwu Association for temporary refuge.”

Chen Hongwu glanced at him, paused for a moment, and nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble Chairman Chen."

He then turned to Chen Hongwen and Li Yi and said, "You two, call Chen Shi along too. Don't bring too much stuff. Just follow Chairman Chen."

Chen Hongwen responded emphatically and turned to leave.

Before long, Chen Shi followed, carrying a small bundle on his back. He looked tense but didn't say a word.

Li Yi stood up, dusted off his clothes, and bowed to Chen Gongzhe, saying, "I'll trouble you on the journey, Chairman."

Chen Gongzhe returned the greeting and then said to Chen Hongwen and the other two, "After leaving the inn, follow my carriage. When you arrive at the Jingwu Association, someone will naturally arrange for you to stay."

Although the Japanese were ruthless, they wouldn't go so far as to openly search the Jingwu Association's headquarters within the International Settlement.

The group hurriedly went downstairs, exited through the back door, and got into Chen Gongzhe's carriage.

The light clatter of hooves carried the carriage through the alley and disappeared at the entrance.

Chen Hongwu sat back down by the window, the tea in the pot had warmed, and he sipped it slowly.

---

Hongkou, Black Dragon Society branch.

Kinoshita Shigeo paced back and forth in the courtyard like a trapped beast.

Kenichi Sato stood under the eaves, a cigarette dangling from his hand, his gaze fixed on the courtyard gate like two cold beams of light.

The door was flung open, and Yoshio Tanaka stumbled in, his face pale and bluish: "Branch Chief! Found it...found it!"

Kenichi Satoh snapped his cigarette in two: "Explain yourself!"

"We didn't find the person, but we found this." Tanaka took something out of his pocket and presented it with both hands.

It was a pair of black lacquered wooden clogs, the straps were broken, and the surface of the shoe was stained red with mud, as if it had been soaked in blood overnight.

Kenichi Sato took the wooden clogs, his fingers slowly closing around them, and looked up, asking, "Where did you find them?"

"It was brought by a stray dog."

"..."