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

The sound of footsteps grew louder as they approached.

Soon, a large number of black-clad members of the Canal Gang arrived at the Baili family's small wooden house, and Miao Han was leading the way.

However, Miao Han was in a rather disheveled state at this moment.

His body was covered in bruises and lacerations, and he was soaked in blood. Many of the mechanical components riveted and embedded in his body were twisted and deformed, and several bronze gears were even broken and stuck, making a clicking noise.

Clearly, the fierce battle with Hua Xiangrong earlier had left him with serious injuries.

Miao Han stood before the broken wooden hut, looking at the corpses of the Canal Gang experts scattered on the ground. His brows twitched a few times, and he said in a deep voice:

"Find him! Alive or dead!!"

"yes!"

The group of Cao Gang disciples rushed into the wooden house.

A short while later, several disciples came out carrying a blood-stained head and dragging a headless corpse.

"Miao...Master Miao, Master Yang...he's dead."

Seeing this, everyone present knew perfectly well that Baili Jing and his brother had definitely escaped.

Miao Han stared at the head, his teeth grinding together, veins bulging on his forehead.

"That damned old bastard! What a pointless fuss! They could have just surrounded the kid outside the prison and killed him, instead of going through this hostage situation!!"

As he spoke, he punched the broken half of the wall next to him.

Boom!!

The broken wall was smashed to pieces in an instant.

Seeing that Miao Han was truly enraged, all the Canal Gang disciples around him fell silent, pressing their heads to their chests, and for a moment no one dared to utter a sound.

After a long while, one of the black-clad underlings finally mustered the courage to cautiously ask:

"Miao Gongfeng, what's next...?"

Miao Han gasped for breath, wiped the blood from his face, and spat viciously:

"What else can we do?! Search!! Shanghai is only so big, with curfews at night and city gates closed, people can't possibly be flying into the sky! Search! Mobilize all available manpower, turn the entire city upside down!!"

"Master Miao, things have escalated to this point tonight. In my opinion... let's leave it at that?"

Just then, a leisurely male voice suddenly came from not far away.

Miao Han's pupils suddenly contracted, and he abruptly turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.

Not far away, a middle-aged man was walking slowly with his hands behind his back.

Behind him followed a large, dark mass of constables and yamen runners.

The newcomer had a long face with phoenix eyes, a refined appearance, and an air of scholarly elegance. Although dressed in casual clothes, he was clearly a person of extraordinary status.

Upon seeing this person, Miao Han narrowed his eyes and said coldly:

"Prefect Huang?"

The visitor was none other than Huang Qixiu, the prefect of Shanghai.

Huang Qixiu slowly stopped, his gaze sweeping over Master Yang's headless corpse, his expression remaining completely calm.

He spoke calmly:

"The canal gang has been causing trouble for too long tonight. If they continue like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to control them. In my opinion, you should all go home and rest as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Miao Han immediately let out a cold laugh.

He stepped forward, his massive frame exuding an overwhelming aura, and said in a deep voice:

"Your Excellency, this is an internal matter of our canal transport gang. You should focus on your official duties and mind your own business. I advise you to stay out of trouble! Otherwise, you'll only get yourself into trouble!"

Despite being bombarded with harsh words, Huang Qixiu remained completely unfazed.

His tone remained calm:

"Your Excellency Miao is mistaken. I am the magistrate of this city, and I am responsible for all matters, big and small, in this city."

The two stared at each other amidst the ruins, and a moment of silence fell over the scene.

A moment later, Miao Han suddenly grinned, revealing a ferocious, grotesque smile:

"Very well! According to Lord Huang, you shouldn't have caused trouble for our Canal Gang tonight."

"That Baili Jing escaped from your yamen's prison! Tonight, he not only killed dozens, even hundreds, of our gang members, but now he's killed your advisor! We, the Blackwater Gang, are the real victims! As the prefect, shouldn't you immediately arrest that brat and give our gang an explanation?!"

Huang Qixiu met his gaze and nodded slightly:

"Of course. Baili Jing is an escaped death row inmate who committed murder again tonight. I will do my best to apprehend him."

As he spoke, his eyes turned colder: "But the task of apprehending this criminal should be handled by the government, not by your gang setting up their own court. If the gang continues to harass the people in the city tonight, don't blame me for being impolite."

"you……"

Miao Han's expression hardened, and the mechanical spine roared and began to spew steam, as if it were about to lash out.

Just then, a member of the Canal Gang hurriedly came over and said in a low voice:

"Master Miao, this won't do! We'd better not completely fall out with the government... There are just too many variables tonight. Perhaps... we should go back and consult Master Ding?"

Miao Han's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath.

Although he was a bloodthirsty martial arts fanatic with a mad personality, he could still distinguish between basic advantages and disadvantages.

Although there were no stronger experts in the Shanghai government offices than him, once he clashed head-on with the prefect and injured an official appointed by the imperial court, the situation would completely change.

The consequences would be far beyond what he could bear.

With this thought in mind, Miao Han gritted his teeth, turned around and glared fiercely at Huang Qixiu, then suddenly waved his hand:

"Walk!"

After saying that, he turned around and led a large group of his gang members out of the slums like a tide.

Prefect Huang Qixiu stood quietly in place, expressionless, watching the group of canal gang thugs completely disappear.

After a long pause, he slowly turned around and gave the order:

"Go and collect Master Yang's body."

"Yes, sir."

Only then did the constables and yamen runners begin to move.

They took a step, but their movements seemed somewhat stiff, and many of them had cold sweat on their foreheads. Clearly, they had also endured tremendous psychological pressure when facing Miao Han.

At this moment, a constable walked up to Huang Qixiu and asked in a low voice:

"Sir, what's our next step? Should we send men to search for Baili Jingyao?"

Huang Qixiu slowly closed his eyes, shook his head, and spoke at a measured pace:

"No rush. The situation is so chaotic tonight. There is still no conclusion as to why Master Yang died and who killed him. We cannot just listen to the Canal Gang's side."

"Everything requires evidence. Investigate first, then question the relevant eyewitnesses... You should carefully organize the events of tonight and send them to me first thing tomorrow morning. If the clues are complete, I will issue a warrant for arrest."

Having said that, he straightened his sleeves and walked away through the mud, leaving a group of yamen runners busy in the ruins.

……

Meanwhile, a few dozen steps away, in another dimly lit cabin in the slums.

crunch...

Old Qian carefully closed the window and then drew a thick, tattered curtain over it.

He turned his head and asked in a worried low voice:

"Xiao Jie, is your brother still not awake?"

Under the dim light, Baili Jing was lying shirtless on a simple wooden bed.

Bailijie sat on the edge of the bed, wiping the congealed blood off his brother's body with a towel.

Hearing Lao Qian's question, Baili Jie turned his head and whispered:

"Grandpa Qian, my brother has lacerations all over his back and ribs from the explosion, and he's freezing cold... He's badly injured and needs to see a doctor as soon as possible."

Old Qian sighed:

"Child, look outside. The thugs from the Grand Canal Gang just left, and now the constables from the yamen have surrounded this place. Which doctor in any clinic would dare to take him in now? If they're discovered, not only will your brother be in danger, but even..."

Before he could finish speaking, a young man's shout suddenly came from the small inner room next door:

"Dad, it's time for Gou'er to take his medicine."

Old Qian quickly replied, "Coming, coming! What's the rush!"

He then turned around, patted Baili Jie's shoulder, and whispered, "Take good care of your brother here. Don't make any noise. I'll be there in a bit."

After saying that, Old Qian hurriedly lifted the curtain and ran to another room.

Bailijie turned around and continued to wipe the blood off his brother with a towel.

But after a short while, he keenly noticed that not long after Old Qian left, the next room became completely quiet, as if there were no sounds of medicine being brewed or fed to the child.

Baili Jie's eyes flickered. He quietly put down the towel, stood up, and moved slowly along the wall to the curtain separating the two rooms, holding his breath to eavesdrop.

From the next room, Old Qian's son's deliberately hushed voice soon came through:

"Father! We can't take this risk! That's Baili Jing! How many people did he kill at the docks tonight? He even beheaded Master Yang! If they find out he's hiding in our house, our whole family will die!"

Immediately afterwards, a young woman's voice came over; she was clearly Old Qian's daughter-in-law:

"Yes, Dad... I beg you, even if you don't think about us, you have to think about our Gou'er. Gou'er is only four years old."

Suppressing his anger, Old Qian rebuked in a deep voice:

"Shut up, you heartless bunch! If it weren't for Xiao Baili, would I have brought back so much premium rice and fresh meat today?! He's been framed, he's not a bad person! We should all have some conscience!"

The young man's voice grew more impatient:

"Father, we understand the道理 (principles/reasoning)! But we rescued him and hid him in the house; isn't that already repaying our debt? In the end, we're just ordinary people; there's nothing we can do. We can't risk our lives for him!"

"Is this how I teach you to be a person?! Is this what you call paying back a debt?!"

Old Qian was clearly very angry; his voice trembled slightly.

"We're useless, father and son. We toil away every day, and we can't even earn enough to buy medicine for Gou'er. If it weren't for Xiao Baili, Gou'er would run out of medicine tomorrow! Now that he's in trouble, you want to push him away? Have you no conscience?!"

The daughter-in-law muttered aggrievedly:

"Well...we can't keep hiding him like this forever. Tomorrow at daybreak, the constables will definitely be going door-to-door asking questions. How are we going to hide him then...?"

"Shanghai is so big, surely it can hide someone?! At worst, I'll use a handcart tomorrow..."

Old Qian hadn't finished speaking.

"Grandpa Qian".

A clear and calm boy's voice suddenly rang out from outside the curtain.

Old Qian, his son, and daughter-in-law all froze in the room, their faces tense as they looked in the direction of the sound.

Baili Jie had somehow lifted a corner of the curtain and was standing at the door.

Old Qian was momentarily flustered, unsure of what to do with his hands, and stammered:

"Xiao Jie... when did you get here? I... we were actually just now..."

Baili Jie didn't respond to him. Instead, he lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly and said in a very soft voice:

"Grandpa Qian, my brother has several wounds on his back that are bleeding profusely. The towel is soaked through. I'm not strong enough to turn him over and apply the medicine. Could you please come and help me?"

Old Qian nodded repeatedly, "Sure, sure! I'll do it, I'll help you!"

As he spoke, he hurriedly ran towards the main house.

Baili Jie didn't say anything, but as he turned around, he glanced at the bed in the inner room.

There weren't any medicine jars in the room. On the bed, the little boy named Gou'er had a few dried meat jerky pieces next to him and was sleeping soundly.

Old Qian's son and daughter-in-law had complicated expressions and their eyes were somewhat evasive.

Baili Jie smiled and nodded at them, then went to the main house with Lao Qian.