Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Qin Ming quickly ran over, his face showing some worry: "Mr. Chen, you're back. Are you alright? I could vaguely hear gunshots coming from inside the concession."

Chen Zhan nodded, turned around, his back to Qin Ming, and said calmly, "Help me remove the gunpowder residue from my back. It's a bit of a hassle."

Qin Ming was taken aback, then his gaze fell on Chen Zhan's back, and his eyes widened instantly.

Good guy.

Chen Zhan's back was covered with tiny bullet holes, each about the size of a fingernail. Countless black gunpowder and tiny shrapnel were embedded in his skin, a horrifying sight that was unheard of.

Qin Ming's heart was in turmoil, and he murmured to himself, "Are you really... invulnerable to swords and spears?"

Previously, he had heard people from the Incense Society and the Boxer Rebellion preach that one could become invulnerable to swords and spears by having a divine body enter one's body or by having talisman water enter one's stomach.

He always thought it was just an inspirational slogan used to deceive the people, and he never believed it.

Seeing the bullet holes on Chen Zhan's back with my own eyes, I realized that there really are people in this world who are invulnerable to bullets and blades.

He had witnessed the power of a musket firsthand; a single bullet could easily kill a strong man, and even a top-notch boxer would find it difficult to survive if hit by a bullet.

Not to mention a hail of bullets
Chen Zhan's back was riddled with bullet holes, but he didn't bleed much. Clearly, the bullets hadn't hit any vital organs, and his meridians hadn't been severely damaged.

He roughly estimated that Chen Zhan had at least dozens, if not hundreds, of bullet holes on his back.
In other words, he was shot at least dozens or even hundreds of times, yet he remained unharmed.

"Don't just stand there."

Chen Zhan's voice interrupted Qin Ming's thoughts, "Get the wine, get the tools. It's uncomfortable to have these residues on you."

"Yes, Mr. Chen, I'll be right there."

Qin Ming quickly snapped out of his daze and, without daring to delay, turned around and ran to get the wine and tools.

Just as Qin Ming turned to leave, a slight sound came from a corner of the backyard. It was so faint that an ordinary person would not have been able to detect it.

Chen Zhan and Qin Ming, who had just turned around, exchanged a glance and both pricked up their ears to listen carefully.

Soon, they heard a soft footstep, light, gentle, and ethereal, landing without a sound.

Clearly, the newcomer's agility was exceptional.

Moreover, judging from the footsteps, it was a woman.

"My name is Xu Ying. I apologize for disturbing you, sir."

In the darkness, a figure slowly emerged. Tall and slender, dressed in a light blue dress, she appeared to be in her thirties or forties, with a beautiful face and a graceful demeanor, exuding a cool and aloof aura.

She clasped her hands slightly in a fist and bowed to Chen Zhan, speaking respectfully.

She had actually come once before, but Chen Zhan wasn't at the pawnshop at the time, so she didn't show herself.

Qin Ming naturally couldn't find her either.

The commotion just now was made proactively to avoid any misunderstanding.

Qin Ming didn't know Xu Ying, but he could clearly sense that this woman was not simple.

Chen Zhan said calmly, "It's alright, we're all on the same side. Qin Ming, go get the tools and have her help me handle this."

"Yes, Mr. Chen."

Although Qin Ming was somewhat puzzled, he nodded and turned to get his tools.

Xu Ying walked behind Chen Zhan, her gaze falling on his back. Seeing the densely packed shell craters and embedded gunpowder and shrapnel, her expression instantly changed, her eyes filled with astonishment. She couldn't help but ask:
"What...what's going on here?"

"fine."

"I went to the foreign concession and played with the foreigners' musketeers."

Xu Ying looked at Chen Zhan's back, her shock growing.

Although his back was embedded with countless black powder and shrapnel, he didn't bleed much.

Chen Zhan had honed his ability to control muscles and blood to the bone, enabling him to completely control blood flow and prevent it from pooling at the injured site, thereby reducing blood loss.

Even top boxers would find it difficult to achieve this level of skill.

What's more, he was able to control his blood and qi so calmly after being shot hundreds of times.

Soon, Qin Ming brought over a medicine box containing strong liquor, tweezers, gauze, and wound medicine.

Xu Ying took the medicine box, picked up the tweezers, dipped them in strong liquor, and helped Chen Zhan remove the shrapnel and gunpowder residue from his back.

As she got closer, she could see more clearly that Chen Zhan's skin, which looked like that of an ordinary person, was exceptionally tough, and the shrapnel was not embedded too deeply.

He actually used his bare body to block the impact of the gunpowder.
She came from the Boxer Rebellion and had heard countless incantations about immortal beings entering the body, divine fire burning the body, and invulnerability to swords and spears, and she had also chanted them countless times.

I initially thought it was just a vision, a way to boost morale.

But the man in front of me was truly invulnerable to swords and spears; he truly possessed a physical body like that of an immortal.

As Xu Ying treated her wounds, she was restless, and her fingers trembled slightly.

It's truly unimaginable how one could temper their physical body to such an extent.

Just then, Chen Zhan suddenly spoke up: "Back then, you were one of the Three Immortals of the Boxer Rebellion, right? 'Jade-Faced Immortal' Xu Ying."

Chen Zhan's words revealed her identity, and Xu Ying's hand suddenly froze, her grip on the tweezers stopping instantly.

She fled to Tianjin after the Qing government's suppression of the rebellion, living in anonymity and never revealing it to anyone.

Back then, the Boxer Rebellion was a powerful force, and the Three Immortals were key figures. However, as many Boxers were killed or captured, the Three Immortals were also killed or wounded, and the force was severely weakened. Their once formidable power had long since vanished.

Over the years, she secretly developed her forces in the village, but the progress was slow. It was only with great difficulty that she managed to gather some of the remaining Boxers and barely regain some of her strength.

Eight years ago, she led a group to the capital to develop her business, but unexpectedly, her plan was exposed. She clashed with an old eunuch in the palace and was struck by his poisonous palm.

Damaged meridians allow toxins to lurk.

The capital was a den of dragons and tigers; we dared not linger and could only flee in disarray.

Back in his hometown, with no renowned doctors and no suitable medicine, this poisonous palm strike meant certain death.

In desperation, she chose to sneak into Tianjin and sought medical treatment everywhere for many years, barely managing to stabilize her injuries, only to watch helplessly as the toxins slowly eroded her body.

Xu Ying took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and bowed respectfully to Chen Zhan, her tone respectful and sincere:
“Sir, you have a discerning eye. It is indeed me. I never expected that after so many years, someone would still remember a down-on-his-luck man like me.”

Chen Zhan nodded: "I've looked at some old files in the Governor's Office's dossier. When I first saw you, I thought your age was a bit strange. You shouldn't look so old, but since it was caused by poisoning, it makes sense."

Xu Ying didn't speak. She picked up the tweezers again, dipped them in strong liquor, and continued cleaning the bullet holes on Chen Zhan's back.

Chen Zhan continued, "The Three Immortals of the Boxer Rebellion were famous throughout Tianjin and even the North back then. Even after so many years, they shouldn't have been completely forgotten. Can you still contact them from back then?"

Xu Ying paused, nodded, then gently shook her head: "I can still make contact with some people, but... I'm not as fearless as I used to be."

Chen Zhan understood her unspoken meaning.

The remnants of the Boxer Rebellion today have long lost their former fearlessness. Back then, after drinking talismanic water, the Boxers dared to charge at the musketeers with broadswords and spears, partly because they had never seen the power of firearms, and partly because they were blinded by the so-called "magical arts."

But later, they witnessed their brothers fall one after another, shot dead by muskets like mowing grass. That fear was etched into their very bones.

Anyone who has experienced such a scene would feel fear.

Is there anyone I can trust?

Chen Zhan asked, "I never intended to send a large number of people to their deaths. It's not about the quantity of people, but the quality."

Xu Ying was silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "There are people I can trust, but... they are all women. The leader is called Lin Heier, and she is currently secretly developing a group of female Boxers in the countryside around Tianjin."

Upon hearing the name "Lin Hei'er," Chen Zhan immediately became interested.

This man was a very famous figure in history, an important leader of the Boxer Rebellion, and the founder of the Red Lantern Society.

However, at present, the Red Lantern Society has not been officially established, and she is just a female leader in the Boxer Rebellion.

Chen Zhan knew that a century later, it would be a great disgrace for Lin Heier's body to be exhibited abroad for a hundred years.

"can."

Chen Zhan replied without hesitation, "Women are even better. Find some to bring into the city. Not too many, just some with good skills."

"Um, what does Mr. Chen want to do?"

Xu Ying hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Chen Zhan.

Chen Zhan saved her life, and she was willing to go through fire and water for him, but she was reluctant to involve the women under her command.

Most of those women were pitiful people who had been persecuted by the church and foreigners, resulting in the destruction of their families and deaths. She didn't want them to die in vain.

Chen Zhan didn't intend to hide anything and directly explained his plan, even mentioning that he would be going to rob the machine bureau of muskets and gunpowder the following night.

However, this step doesn't require her people.

Xu Ying's eyes widened in shock: "You...you really want to do this? The Qing government and the foreigners will both do everything in their power to crush us. This is a certain death!"

"I know."

Chen Zhan asked calmly, "When you started the Boxer Rebellion, did you think about the consequences?"

Xu Ying was speechless for a moment.

No one really thought seriously about the consequences of the Tianjin Massacre and the subsequent rise of the Boxer Rebellion.

At that time, the missionaries of Wanghailou Church opened many orphanages under the guise of charity.

Tianjin was plagued by war for many years, and poor families could not afford to raise their children, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and send their children to orphanages.

Missionaries claimed to take in abandoned babies, treat their illnesses, and do good deeds, but they set a rule that children brought in were not to be taken in or visited, and their life or death was not to be questioned.

But over time, a pungent, putrid stench always wafted from outside the walls of the Mercy Hall.

For several days in a row, the bodies of dead infants rolled out from the cracks in the wall. Some were wrapped in tattered blankets and were only the size of a palm. It was heartbreaking to see them.

This incident quickly caused an uproar among the people. Some people caught several human traffickers, and after some interrogation, their confessions were even more chilling.

Those human traffickers were instructed by the church to lure children with candy and then send them to orphanages.

It was also revealed that child abuse was common in the orphanage, with sick children being thrown out at will, and some children even being used as experimental subjects, with marks of drilling and cutting on their bodies.

Angry citizens flocked to the government office, demanding an explanation from the church, a thorough investigation into the truth behind the child's death, and justice for the deceased child.

But what they received was a cold bullet.

French Consul Fontaine, carrying a pistol, stormed into the Tianjin Prefectural Government Office and opened fire on the civilians, one of whom fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

He even stood at the entrance of the government office and shouted insults, saying that all Chinese people were barbarians.

This shot pierced not only the chest of an ordinary person, but also the last glimmer of hope that the common people held for the Qing government.

This shot also ignited the long-suppressed resentment.

Enraged, a group of people retaliated, setting fire to the Wanghailou Church and the Mercy Hall, and executing more than twenty wicked missionaries.

However, the weak Qing government chose to compromise and back down in the face of threats from foreign powers.

Zeng Guofan was ordered to investigate and even ordered the arrest of the people who participated in the resistance, sentenced them to death, paid 490,000 taels of silver in compensation to France, and even sent people to France to apologize.

Zeng Guofan even lied in his memorial, claiming that there was no abduction or harm to children, in an attempt to cover up the bloodshed.

From then on, the sins of the Western church increased, and the Qing government's compromises became increasingly excessive.

From Tianjin to Jiangnan, from Wanghailou to Danyang, the bones of countless children piled up like mountains.

The Catholic Church's Guangzhou Holy Infant Home received 2,251 babies in two years, but only 135 survived.

The Qing government repeatedly protected churches and suppressed the people, and everyone finally realized that relying on the court for protection would only lead to being at the mercy of others.

To survive, one must take up arms and protect oneself.

Five years later, turmoil broke out in Tianjin. The Three Immortals of the Boxer Rebellion led the Boxers into the foreign concessions, burned down churches, and killed hundreds of foreigners.

The sound of the church collapsing and the screams of the evil missionaries mingled together, creating an exceptionally jarring noise.

Ultimately, the turmoil was jointly suppressed by the foreign powers and the Qing government, resulting in countless deaths and injuries among the Boxers, and the Three Immortals also met a tragic end.

This long-forgotten story was brought up again by Chen Zhan.

Xu Ying could no longer hold back her tears, which slid down her cheeks and dripped onto the ground, leaving a small wet patch.

As she recalled the scene from that year, the dead Boxers and children, her grief and anger surged like a tidal wave.

Chen Zhan remained silent for a moment, without saying a word.

He understood Xu Ying's feelings and knew that while the Boxer Rebellion had its foolish aspects, it also contained the purest form of resistance from the common people.

"Do you think that what we did back then, and the people who died back then, were all in vain?" Chen Zhan asked.

Xu Ying had already controlled her emotions, but she was stunned when she heard these words.

She truly felt it was meaningless. Over the years, the powers had grown stronger and the Qing government had become weaker and weaker, and recently it had been ceding territory and paying indemnities.

Who still remembers the Boxer Rebellion?

Who still remembers what the foreign church did back then?
They may still be doing it now, but it's become more covert, and nobody cares anymore.

Before Xu Ying could answer, Chen Zhan said, "I will not die in vain. History will remember me, the people of Tianjin will remember me, including what I am about to do. Perhaps we will not get the results or the answers today."

"But many years later, someone will enshrine these things on a monument." (End of Chapter)