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

Chapter 54 The Boss

Upon hearing Baili Jing's third request, both Zhou Erquan and Ding Yan relaxed.

To them, martial arts skills are nothing more than a few lines of text or a few pictures on paper. What harm would it do to give them ten or eight books?

With this third matter settled, tonight's banquet finally came to a peaceful end.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they pushed open the door and left the private room.

Night had fallen, the performance inside the building had temporarily come to an end, and the crowd had gradually dispersed.

However, leaving Jiangshan Fengyu Tower does not mean that Baili Jing's mission for the night is over.

Now that he has become the fourth leader of the Grand Canal Gang, according to the rules, he must visit the residence of the first leader to formally pay his respects to the true master of the Grand Canal Gang.

Zhou Erquan actually drove the carriage himself, intending to take Baili Jing to the north of the city.

Ding Yan did not follow.

His son died today, and he has to go back to handle his son's funeral arrangements.

The carriage slowly started moving. Baili Jing sat in the carriage, looking at Ding Yan's back through the window, and a chill ran through him.

He genuinely admired the fat man, but of course, he was also wary of him.

His biological son had just died, yet this old man could still smile and clink glasses with someone at night, and even when he was being blackmailed, he could still smile and agree.

The more cunning and calculating someone is, the more terrifying they are.

In addition, Baili Jie did not accompany anyone tonight.

According to Zhou Erquan, the location of the chief's residence was a secret of the Canal Gang. Apart from her loyal servants who stayed in her own house, only a few leaders in the gang knew the location. No one else was allowed to know the location.

The carriage traveled through the streets of Shanghai for about the time it takes to burn two incense sticks before finally coming to a stop deep in a secluded, narrow, old alley in the north of the city.

Baili Jing got off the car with Zhou Erquan.

He looked up and saw an ancient courtyard house before him. The vermilion gate was peeling and the paint was faded. A black wooden plaque hung above the gate, with two characters engraved in simple running script:

Li Residence.

Baili Jing raised an eyebrow: "Second brother, our leader's surname is Li?"

""

Zhou Erquan stood on the stone steps with his hands behind his back and shook his head slightly: "Eldest sister's surname is Jin, and Li is her husband's surname."

After saying that, he stepped forward, picked up the beast-head door knocker, and knocked it lightly a few times.

A moment later, a crack appeared in the heavy wooden door.

A woman in green, carrying a gas lamp, silently stepped aside to lead the way for the two heads of the household.

After entering the courtyard, Baili Jing sniffed and looked around, a hint of doubt appearing on his face. This place was quite strange.

The mansion was excessively old, exuding a decaying and gloomy atmosphere of antiquity, yet at the same time, all sorts of steam-powered mechanical creations could be seen everywhere.

Beside the ancient well in the center of the courtyard, instead of a hemp rope bucket, an automatic steam water pump covered with gears and valves is used to draw water.

Outside the carved wooden windows of the side rooms, brass pneumatic pipes climb along the base of the wall;

Even the switches for the artificial rockery and pond, and the wicks for the roadside stone lamps, were made into precise mechanical transmission structures.

It was very late at night, and the entire mansion was deathly silent, without a sound of any living person. Strange steel mechanical components stood everywhere in the corridors and flowerbeds.

Because the furnace wasn't started and gas wasn't being supplied, these iron lumps remained still in the darkness, and Baili Jing couldn't tell what they were used for.

Considering that Ding Yan had mentioned that his older sister was a mechanic, Baili Jing didn't find it too strange. However, his strong curiosity about the common people drove him to look around.

Zhou Erquan walked ahead and said quietly, "Fourth brother, remember this: if you ever come here alone to see your eldest sister in the future, you must never touch any machine or valve in this courtyard."

Upon hearing this, Baili Jing withdrew his gaze and scratched his head: "Why, Second Brother? Is there still danger?"

""

Zhou Erquan nodded solemnly: "They are extremely dangerous. These things were all assembled by my eldest sister bit by bit over the past few decades. Many of the techniques used are decades old. Nowadays, there are not many people in the world who can understand them. This also means that once they are activated, there are very, very few people who can decipher and shut them down."

Baili Jing felt a slight chill run down his spine.

He glanced at the black iron contraptions, smacked his lips, and said, "To keep such deadly weapons in her own house—isn't she afraid that one day they might accidentally fire and hurt her own people?"

Zhou Erquan's voice was faint: "Fourth brother, you don't understand. People like us who don't have any cultivation—we always have to do everything we can to save our lives."

Upon hearing this, Baili Jing leaned forward and whispered, "Hey, Second Brother, what's your trump card for survival?"

""

Zhou Erquan paused slightly in his steps.

He slowly turned his head, his smile very gentle, but he didn't say a word.

Baili Jing's eyelids twitched, and he coughed dryly, laughing awkwardly, "Oh dear! I'm so sorry, so sorry! Second Brother, please don't be offended! I drank too much tonight and asked something I shouldn't have. My apologies, my apologies!"

'

Zhou Erquan smiled and shook his head: "It's alright—Fourth Brother, we've arrived."

The two stopped in front of a large door.

Zhou Erquan did not push the door open, but turned to the side and said, "My elder sister is waiting for you alone inside. It is the proper etiquette, so it is inconvenient for me to go in."

Baili Jing nodded and stepped inside by himself.

Upon entering, he was immediately dazzled by the room full of steam-powered mechanical creations.

The machines here are different from the inanimate objects in the yard; most of them are "alive."

.

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 hoarse opera music was playing. It was actually a steam music box.

On the west wall hangs a sophisticated steam-powered clock, emitting 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.

Besides these, the ground, tables, and walls were filled with ingenious creations that Baili Jing had never seen before.

"Is it... Fourth Brother?"

At that moment, from the deepest part of the bedroom, inside the large bed covered by gauze curtains, came the voice of an old woman.

Baili Jinghun withdrew his gaze.

He scratched his head and said with a smile, "Boss, judging from your voice, you could probably be my grandma. I'm still a little embarrassed that you call me fourth brother."

The old woman let out a soft chuckle: "Hehehe—in the martial arts world, seniority doesn't depend on your age, but only on your ability. If you have the ability, you're naturally qualified to be our fourth brother."

Behind the black veil, the somewhat aged shadow moved slightly: "Come, don't stand at the door, come forward and let this old woman—take a good look at you."

Baili Jing blinked, not too reserved, and strode forward, standing in front of the bed.

Then, he saw the shadow of a withered hand tremblingly lift up from behind the bed curtains and shake it: "What are you still standing there for? I can't see you through this thick layer of gauze—come on, lift it up."

"Okay, sure."

Baili Jing didn't think much of it.

He casually grabbed the black veil and pulled it to his side.

Splash—

The black gauze curtain was torn open, and Baili Jing looked inside. Then—his pupils shrank sharply, and he gasped!

He even subconsciously took a small half-step back.

On the bed lay an elderly woman, very old.

She was severely withered, her skin was pale and shriveled, her face was covered with age spots, and her white hair was sparse.

But that's not the worst part.

What truly blew Baili Jing's mind was that the leader of the canal gang in front of him only had an upper body!

From her waist down, there was no flesh and blood, only a complete set of steam-powered mechanical devices.

The mechanical device, shaped like an inverted funnel, was riveted and sewn into her mangled lumbar vertebrae.

Countless transfusion tubing and miniature pneumatic lines, like a spider web, extended from her half-broken, fleshy body, pierced into the mechanical device, and then spread along the gaps in the bed board, reaching deep beneath the bed.

I wonder what kind of device is connected beneath that bed.

Click, click, snap—

With each breath the old woman took, a mechanical rattling sound would echo from the machine below her waist.

The leader of the canal gang was in such a half-dead state!