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

Inside the Jiangshan Fengyu Tower, another grand drama has just ended.

The sounds of gongs and drums on the stage gradually subsided, but the countless onlookers inside and outside the building were still reluctant to leave.

As they dispersed, they continued their discussion with great interest, their words filled with curiosity about the great hero Baili Jing.

Zhou Erquan left the field looking somewhat tired.

With his face covered in graffiti, he returned backstage. Upon seeing this, the servant quickly brought him a bowl of cold tea. Zhou Erquan took the bowl, tilted his head back, and gulped it down, letting out a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, a disciple in white robes stepped forward and spoke in a low voice:

"Second Master, the wager between Third Master and Baili Jing in the warehouse... is over. Baili Jing won."

Zhou Erquan did not show much surprise on his face.

He handed the empty bowl back to the servant, slowly adjusted the collar of his theatrical robe, and said indifferently:

"If they won, they won. It was expected. Now, the third brother should calm down... Who did the third brother hire to hunt in the warehouse this time?"

The subordinate swallowed hard.

"Reporting to Second Master, the first two were Ning Ji and Old Wei, which was fine, but the third one... Third Master invited his own nephew."

"Oh?"

Zhou Erquan turned his head in surprise, his narrow eyes widening: "Ye Xunwei? A disciple of Xuandu Immortal Temple?"

"It is him, Second Master."

The subordinate replied softly, "Moreover... Baili Jing was on the defensive the whole time, and in the end, he even used Young Master Ye's own flying sword to stab him through, leaving him dead or alive."

This made Zhou Erquan lose his composure.

His pupils contracted slightly, and he remained stunned for a full four or five seconds before saying:

"Quickly, tell me in detail!"

His subordinates dared not hide anything and quickly recounted the whole story.

From how Baili Jing deliberately concealed his abilities and feigned weakness, to how he ultimately overcame all obstacles with sheer force, using his own flesh to weld iron and lock his flying sword to its death, and finally achieving the cruel unity of man and sword, the entire story was told without any embellishment.

Strangely, only a few Black-Clad Hall disciples were present at the time, but now this White Flower Hall disciple is speaking as if he was present the whole time and saw it from beginning to end.

While listening to the report, Zhou Erquan quietly sat back down in front of the mirror, picked up a cotton cloth, and began to wipe away the thick makeup on his face little by little.

As the theatrical makeup was slowly wiped away, a pale, beardless, somewhat effeminate and aged face gradually appeared in the mirror.

He looked like an ordinary old man you could see anywhere on the streets of Shanghai. The only difference was that there was a dark red mark standing in the center of his forehead. The mark was slightly raised, and at first glance, it really looked like a third eye that had never been opened.

After hearing the last sentence, Zhou Erquan picked up his herbal tea again and took a small sip.

He looked at himself in the mirror and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"A genius, truly a once-in-a-lifetime genius... What a pity, what a pity."

The subordinates standing to the side were somewhat puzzled:

"Second Master, Baili Jing survived, why do you still say it's a pity?"

Zhou Erquan looked in the mirror and gave a self-deprecating laugh:

"If it weren't for this bet, I would still have had the chance to take him in as an adopted son out of gratitude; but now, if my Baihuatang wants to use his help again, I'm afraid... we'll have to promote him to a higher generation."

……

Meanwhile, at the prefectural government office in Shanghai.

In the small study behind the main hall, Prefect Huang Qixiu left the final vermilion annotation on the official documents.

He rubbed his temples wearily, his face showing signs of exhaustion.

At this moment, a trusted constable strode into the room, clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, and said:

"My lord, the new advisor has arrived. Would you like to meet him now?"

Huang Qixiu leaned back in his chair, somewhat exhausted, his eyes slightly closed, and waved his hand:

"No rush, just a new clerk. I'll rest a bit... By the way, how's the commotion at the Grand Canal's treasury? Didn't I hear Ding Yan set up a one-hour hunt to gamble with Baili Jing?"

Upon hearing this, the yamen runner's expression instantly became incredibly interesting.

He leaned close to Huang Qixiu's ear and whispered a few words in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"What did you say?!"

Huang Qixiu opened his eyes in horror:

"An outsider... crippled a disciple of the Xuandu Immortal Temple?! How is that possible?!"

"Sir, it's absolutely true."

The bailiff whispered:

"Many members of the Canal Gang were there at the time. When the warehouse door opened, Young Master Ye was carried out with four large holes stabbed in his body. Even Ding Yan stopped laughing... Now many people know about this..."

Huang Qixiu gasped, muttering to himself:

"This is terrible...this is utterly terrible..."

Seeing this, the trusted constable found it strange and couldn't help but mutter under his breath:

"How could it be bad? Didn't we reach an agreement with Baihuatang yesterday to stop interfering in Baili Jing's affairs? Baihuatang wanted to protect him, and we also helped Baihuatang suppress Heishuitang. Logically speaking, this should be a good thing, right?"

"Foolish!"

Huang Qixiu glared at him:

"Don't forget, we were the ones who colluded with Ding Yan to set up this trap and imprison Baili Jing in this jail!"

The constable turned pale and said in a trembling voice:

"Sister, brother-in-law... then, then let's..."

"Using official titles in government offices!!" Huang Qixiu glared at him again.

The constable quickly changed his tune: "Then... sir, what should we do now?"

Huang Qixiu pondered for a moment, a shrewd glint in his eyes, and said in a deep voice:

"Don't panic, things haven't reached a dead end yet. Here's what I'll do: I'll go and meet that new clerk first. You go and prepare some good gifts right now."

"If I am not mistaken, Zhou Erquan will soon host a banquet for Baili Jing. We must not only attend this banquet, but also present the most lavish gifts possible!"

……

The northern part of Shanghai.

Far from the hustle and bustle of the docks and the smell of engine oil, this place is mostly comprised of secluded mansions with high walls and courtyards.

In an old courtyard, a female disciple of the Canal Gang, dressed in a blue robe, was hurrying along the long corridor.

She passed through several hanging flower gates and finally entered the innermost courtyard, arriving at a room.

The room was strangely decorated. It was a traditional bedroom with carved beams and painted rafters, but it was filled with countless steam-powered industrial products of various shapes and sizes.

The bronze incense burner in the corner of the room was empty of incense, but it was slowly emitting wisps of white smoke, and some muffled opera music was playing. It was actually a steam music box.

On the west wall hangs a sophisticated steam-powered clock, which is making a "click-clack" sound.

On a wooden table not far away, there was a steam-powered copper cat driven by a spring, mechanically grooming its long fur with a small ivory comb.

There are many more such items, all of which demonstrate the identity of the house's owner and his fondness for these novel industrial products.

As soon as the female disciple in green entered the room, she bowed her head respectfully, not daring to even breathe loudly. She slowly walked to the large bed at the far end of the room, bowed, and spoke softly:

"Boss... the life-or-death duel between Third Master and that laborer Baili Jing... has just ended."

The heavy curtains on the large bed hung low, and by the dim light of the gas lamp, only a somewhat thin figure could be vaguely seen lying inside, its features unclear.

After a long while, an old woman's voice slowly came from inside:

"Oh... is it over? Come up here and have a good talk with me."

The voice was extremely soft, and each word was accompanied by several painful, violent gasps. Clearly, the old woman was seriously ill. From the bed curtains, there were also faint, low hissing sounds, like some kind of miniature steam breathing valve used to maintain life.

The female disciple in green quickly stepped forward and began to speak through the veil.

Just like when the Baihuatang disciples reported to Zhou Erquan before, although she was not present, she seemed to have witnessed what happened in the warehouse firsthand, and recounted everything in detail from beginning to end.

After hearing this, the old woman inside the bed curtains fell into a long silence.

After an unknown amount of time, that dry, hoarse voice slowly drifted out again:

"...This little guy's got some nerve...The second brother wants to ride his coattails, the third brother wants to drink his blood...Heh..."

After a moment of silence, the old woman slowly said:

"Girl, go and fetch this young man for me right now. I want to see him in person."

A gentle breeze blew by, and the old woman's voice turned slightly colder:

"Today, whether it's the second son hosting a banquet for him, or the prefect wanting to see him... they all have to make way for this old woman. He must see me first, do you understand?"

The female disciple in green quickly bowed deeply: "Yes, Master, this disciple obeys."

Having said that, she didn't dare to delay for a moment and backed out of the eldest son's house.

About half an hour later, the female disciple in green returned.

As soon as she entered the house, she hurriedly reported:

"Boss... Baili Jing, he... he can't come now."

The old woman let out a soft "hmm":

"Can't come? Is it because he doesn't want to come, or is it because the second son is stopping you?"

The female disciple shook her head:

"No, Boss, it was Baili Jing who caused the problem."

"After he came out of the storeroom, he shouted that he wanted to eat meat. Hua Xiangrong got him some, and he started eating. As he was eating... he suddenly started spitting out blood mist from his whole body and fell ill on the spot."

"Now...now he's extremely ill. The doctor says that if this continues, all his internal organs will be burned out..."