You promised steampunk martial arts, but you've got an internal combustion engine in your chest

In a low, small wooden hut in a slum.

Master Yang, with one hand holding Buddhist prayer beads and the other pressing on his pipe, paced slowly through the narrow room.

He would stop every now and then, use his pipe to pry open a few tattered pieces of clothing hanging on the line, and click his tongue in disgust.

"Why struggle when you're this poor? Son, listen to my advice and talk to your brother."

Master Yang exhaled a puff of smoke and glanced sideways at the young man in the room: "Those who do hard labor at the docks will die of exhaustion every year. The lives of people like you are worthless."

"Now that there's such a chance to risk your life and change your fate, how many people in the city would rather die than seize it? Once you take the money, pass the imperial examination, and become an official, your brother will be gratified if he knows this in the afterlife."

He kept rambling on and on, but the boy on the other side of the room completely ignored him.

He was a fourteen-year-old boy who looked six or seven parts like Baili Jing. His face still had a touch of childishness, but his eyes were as calm as a stagnant pool.

At this moment, the boy was hunched over a wooden table, holding a calligraphy brush in his hand, copying stroke by stroke from a tattered book.

When Master Yang saw that he didn't speak, he wasn't annoyed, but just smiled gently.

He strolled to the dining table and glanced at the two hardened, cold steamed buns and a small dish of thinly sliced ​​cured meat.

"Is this what you usually eat?"

Master Yang shook his head, stretched out his finger, and prepared to take the piece of dried-out cured meat.

Just then, Baili Jie, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

He didn't even turn his head, his pen never stopping, his voice indifferent:

"Don't touch my brother's midnight snack."

Master Yang was slightly taken aback, and his hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, stopped.

While continuing to copy the book, Baili Jie calmly said, "My brother is tired from work and needs to eat when he gets home. Your hands are dirty, so don't touch them."

Master Yang raised an eyebrow, but ultimately didn't touch the meager plate of food.

He took a puff of his pipe and chuckled:

"Child, you and your brother are both young, but you have good character, which I like. How about this: you don't need to take the imperial examinations anymore. If you can persuade your brother tonight, I will personally recommend you to the grain transport guild as an accountant. What do you say?"

He put away his pipe, his words full of allure: "Only one in ten thousand people can pass the imperial examinations. Even if you're lucky enough to pass, many will waste most of their lives in local areas... If you join the canal transport guild, you'll never have to worry about food and clothing again, living a carefree life. Isn't that more comfortable than being an official?"

Bai Lijie turned a page of the book, his tone remaining completely calm:

"Is this why you're a lackey of the Grand Canal Gang?"

Master Yang's smile froze for a moment, then widened, but a chilling glint appeared in his eyes: "So what if you're a dog? A pampered lion is better than a frozen corpse by the roadside. This is a simple truth, you..."

boom!!

Before he could finish speaking, a dull thud suddenly came from outside!

It sounded like something heavy had been violently smashed down, followed by a piercing scream.

Master Yang's expression changed drastically.

He knew very well that the person who let out that scream was one of the elite members of the Canal Gang who were guarding outside the house.

How is that possible? Could it be that Baili Jing has come here?

Even Miao Han, with his calm demeanor, couldn't stop him? That's impossible!

No matter how strange that kid is, he's still just a mortal. How could he possibly be a match for Master Miao?!

Before Master Yang could recover from his shock and doubt, screams outside the house exploded one after another like firecrackers!

Clang! Clang!

"ah!!"

The muffled thuds of blades slashing and flesh colliding echoed wildly through the fragile door panel.

Immediately afterwards, large patches of firelight outside the window flickered wildly, illuminating the room with alternating light and darkness.

Sizzle!

As the fierce fighting raged, plumes of scalding steam began to hiss and seep into the broken window cracks, instantly raising the temperature inside and making the air scorching.

The battle outside had clearly reached its most brutal point.

Under these circumstances, even Baili Jie, who had remained as steady as a mountain, finally couldn't help but raise his head.

He put down his pen, his dark eyes shining with an alarming light as he stared at the tightly closed wooden door.

However, the next second, a hand grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him up from the chair.

"What are you doing! Let go of me!!"

Baili Jie cursed and struggled desperately. He grabbed the inkstone and brush from the table and threw them at Master Yang.

The ink instantly splattered a large stain on Master Yang's clean long robe, but Master Yang didn't care at all. He gripped the boy's shoulders, a sinister sneer on his face:

"What for? Of course, I'm going to talk to your good older brother about some terms."

Without saying another word, Master Yang dragged Baili Jie along and strode open the wooden door.

The two of them were startled the moment the door opened.

The small courtyard outside the house had long since been reduced to a steaming, bloody ruin.

In the center of the thick white fog, Baili Jing, shirtless, was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently. His skin was as red as if it had been burned, and the sweat mixed with blood evaporated before it could drip from his pores.

However, the steam had already started to come out intermittently, and the flush on her skin was slowly fading.

Around him lay a dense, dark mass of people lying haphazardly.

Among them are ordinary thugs from the Grand Canal Gang, as well as steam cultivators at the second, third, and even fourth realms who have been equipped with bronze connecting rods and steam spines.

At this moment, all of these masters who usually acted arrogantly and domineeringly were lying on the ground without exception. Some were completely lifeless, while others were convulsing in pain in pools of blood, their bodies covered in blood.

Upon hearing the door open, Baili Jing abruptly turned his head to look at his own front door.

When he saw Master Yang and his younger brother Baili Jie, who was being held hostage, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

He swam all the way back to the slums from the sea, and then went through a fierce battle there. His body was exhausted to the extreme. Fortunately, only Master Yang was left.

Baili Jing instinctively reached for his waist, but found nothing; all the demon beast meat had been completely consumed in the previous battle.

However, his expression remained unchanged. He forcibly suppressed the weakness within him, stared at his younger brother, softened his tone, and asked in a deep voice:

"Xiao Jie, are you alright?"

Looking at his elder brother, who seemed to have descended from heaven like a god, Baili Jie nodded vigorously, his eyes slightly red: "Brother, I'm alright! You're amazing!"

Bai Lijing's face twisted into a sinister smile: "Don't be afraid, I'll save you right away."

Having said that, he slowly turned his head, stared intently at Master Yang, raised his chin slightly, and spoke with extreme arrogance:

"Old man, release my brother now, kneel down and kowtow three times, and I might leave you a whole corpse!"

Looking at the ruins and the corpses of the canal gang masters, Master Yang's eyes also flashed with uncontrollable shock and doubt.

He never dreamed that even Miao Han couldn't stop this kid, and even the elite guards stationed here were all wiped out.

However... the fear in Master Yang's eyes quickly subsided.

He's lived to such an old age, seen three prefects come and go, yet he's still the respected Master Yang in the yamen. And that's not all he's got – his brains.

"Hehe... Baili Jing, you're so immature. You've made such a simple thing complicated."

Master Yang gave a sinister laugh.

The next moment, he suddenly flipped his left hand, which was hidden in his wide sleeve, and pulled out a cold and exquisite object, which he aimed directly at Baili Jie's temple.

It was a miniature crossbow.

This crossbow is extremely finely crafted, with a dark silver body. Small steam pistons and valves are installed under the crossbow body, and golden runes are faintly flowing on the black arrowhead.

Master Yang's finger was tightly gripping the trigger, and he sneered:

"Even a master of the Qi Mind Realm would lose half their life if hit head-on by this crossbow. With just a flick of my finger, your brother's head will explode like a watermelon."

"Bai Li Jing, stop struggling... Just accept your fate."