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

Chapter 73 Even thieves have their code of honor, and even thieves have their techniques.

The Japanese held a special position in Fengtian.
With four other countries keeping them in check in Tianjin, the Japanese were almost completely unrestrained in Northeast China!
Last year, they directly bombed and killed the highest commander in Northeast China, and nothing happened to them. This cannot be described as mere provocation.

The Northeast Army dared not even announce a death, choosing instead to keep it a secret in order to maintain internal order.

Many ordinary people didn't understand the bigger picture; they only noticed that the Japanese were becoming increasingly arrogant, domineering, and abusive in Northeast China, yet no one dared to intervene.

Let alone the small fry of the Fengtian Thieves' Guild, even the Gong family and the Bagua Sect are like mayflies trying to shake a tree compared to the Japanese.

Li Yao led the way, limping, with Chen Zhan and the other man following behind.

The group of seven walked through several alleys until they reached the vicinity of the Medicine King Temple in the south of the city, then turned into a small courtyard.
The two-section courtyard with blue bricks is not large, but there are quite a few people inside.

As Chen Zhan and Ye Ningzhen, two unfamiliar faces, entered, a large group of people rushed out of the small courtyard, which had two sections, inside and out.

Some were cooking with rice scoops, some were practicing their knife skills, such as cutting open purses with a small knife, and some were holding two stone locks. There were more than a dozen people in total.

There were both men and women, but more men than women, and they all looked tense.

The woman who came out of the main house was quite beautiful, charming but not seductive. She leaned against the door frame, her floral cheongsam accentuating her swaying waist, and her ample bosom was undeniably attractive.

The woman said sternly, "Second brother! How dare you bring outsiders here?"

This place is the lair of thieves; the entire Fengtian gang of thieves, mafia, and sparrows use it as their base and never bring outsiders here.

Li Yao was helpless; with a Mauser pistol pointed at his back, what could he do?

Chen Zhan entered the courtyard, glanced around, and gave Ye Ningzhen a wink, at which point she put away her gun.

Li Yao relaxed a little, but dared not speak carelessly, so he said, "Sister Hua, we accidentally offended these two martial arts masters today. They said they want to come and take a look at our hall."

He emphasized his words when he said "accidentally," and Sister Hua immediately understood.

Thieves are masters of reading people's expressions and intentions; when they get into trouble, they often smuggle themselves into the wrong people.

Sister Hua stood up from the door frame and took a few steps forward.

"Master of the Martial Arts School, we really shouldn't have offended you. But you didn't suffer any losses, and you even injured our people. How about we call it quits?" Sister Hua said, clasping her hands in a fist salute.

When Chen Zhan saw her face clearly, he found that she looked very young from a distance, but upon closer inspection, the makeup couldn't hide the wrinkles around her eyes, indicating that she was not young.

"certainly."

"no!"

When Chen Zhan said "of course," Sister Hua felt a moment of relief, but immediately heard "no," followed by a whooshing sound behind her.
"Whoosh!"

"Jingle, clang, clang."

The sound of three silver needles being blasted away exploded right next to Sister Hua's ears.

Then, Chen Zhan took a step forward, and with a whoosh, a figure flew out, like a hawk swooping down on its prey, rushing past her side and making the cold morning wind in the courtyard howl loudly.

Hua Jie turned her head and saw that Chen Zhan's eagle claws had already landed on Lao Jiu's shoulder, who was leaning against the wall and using hidden weapons. The claws were moving in a series of rapid successions, and the movements were not visible.

"Click! Click!"

"Ah~ah~"

Old Nine let out two screams, his shoulders slumped, and Chen Zhan carried him back to Sister Hua in a few steps.

In the back and forth, many people didn't see the movements clearly. They only heard Lao Jiu's two screams, and when they looked again, Chen Zhan had dislocated his arm, and he was lying on the ground howling in pain.

"He used silver needles to sneak up on me and break both of his arms. Is that alright?" Chen Zhan said calmly.

stunned.

Sister Hua stood still, with more than a dozen people behind her, each holding something, but they had no time to react.

By the time he realized what was happening, Lao Jiu's arms had already been dislocated.

A master of internal energy is almost not the same kind of creature as a petty thief who only has a few tricks up his sleeve.

It's like a mayfly trying to shake a tree—it's no different.

Sister Hua wasn't ignorant; having lived in Fengtian for many years, she had even witnessed Gong Baotian in action. Chen Zhan's speed, strength, and hidden weapons were all on display, and she couldn't discern who was superior to Gong Baotian. But that was enough!
They said respectfully, "You are a master, we admit defeat. Just tell us what you want."

"Very well, let's go inside and talk."

Chen Zhan led Ye Ningzhen straight inside. When they reached the entrance of Sister Hua's main house, men, women, and children automatically made way for them.

Sister Hua followed behind and said to the dozen or so people, "Disperse first, reattach Lao Jiu's arm, and apply some medicine to Xiao Budian."

Li Yao lowered her head and scolded the old man and the little one, "It's all your fault."

The two dared not argue and went into the inner courtyard.

Chen Zhan pushed open the door and went in. The small room was not big, with a few chairs scattered around. They were all made of old jujube wood, sturdy but also worn.

Da Majin sat in the main seat, while Ye Ningzhen sat in the secondary seat to his right.

"Is the Thieves' Guild really this shabby?"

Chen Zhan noticed as soon as he entered that although the thieves had various skills, they lived a rather shabby life.

The family lived in a small, cramped house, with several people sharing a room. Their food, clothing, and daily necessities were very poor. Only Sister Hua dressed up a little better, but she still used cheap cosmetics.

In ancient times, the Thieves' Guild was no small sect; it was one of the most prosperous and thriving among the lowest of the low.

Bees, hemp, swallows, and sparrows have a clear division of labor, and there are countless skilled individuals among them.

Almost all the thieves on the roof had considerable martial arts skills, the most famous of whom was Yanzi Li San.

In later generations, "Yanzi Li San" became a metaphor, not referring to a person, but to a kind of code of conduct among thieves, referring to all those who can scale walls and leap across rooftops.

The thieves' guild in Fengtian was not only poor, but also lacked skilled fighters; they only had a handful of Ming Jin masters.

It's really strange that things have turned out this way.

Sister Hua smiled bitterly, no longer panicking. She had figured it out: a master like Chen Zhan wouldn't come to this dilapidated gang for money, and he was measured in his actions, not trying to kill anyone, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

Barefoot people aren't afraid of those wearing shoes.

He closed the door, walked a few steps, and sat down below Chen Zhan.

"Master of Martial Arts, what is your name?"

“My surname is Chen,” Chen Zhan said.

"Mr. Chen, you may not know this, but there are rules in the world of thieves, which can be summed up in eight words: 'Even thieves have their code of conduct, and even thieves have their skills.'"

"The so-called righteous way is: do not steal from the poor, do not steal from the old and young, do not take from the injured, do not harm the innocent, and never take ill-gotten gains."

"The so-called skill is theft, which is about stealing empty space, doing odd jobs, and taking advantage of others. It is about technique and deception. Without the use of force to rob or coerce, that is the work of bandits and horse thieves."

"So Little Dot only intended to cut the bag with the blade, not to hurt anyone."

Ye Ningzhen raised an eyebrow. She hadn't really thought that much about it at the time. The short dwarf had a razor blade hidden between his fingers, so she just went ahead and attacked him.

However, she didn't say anything. She wasn't a saint; if she was hurt, she was hurt.

At that time, we were enemies, so who cared how much malice you had?
After Sister Hua finished speaking, she waited for Chen Zhan to ask a question. Chen Zhan nodded and said, "In that case, there really aren't many people left in Fengtian City who can be targeted."

The three major powers in Fengtian—the Northeast Army, the Japanese, and the Nationalist Society—did not dare to touch any of them. The people of the Northeast martial arts world were all protected by Gong Baotian, so they dared not provoke them either. Most of the remaining people were those who adhered to the code of honor among thieves.

Although Chen Zhan agreed with his statement, he laughed and said, "It's normal to be poor. How come there are so few cats and kittens left? And they're all old, weak, sick, and disabled."

Of the dozen or so thieves, only Li Yao was middle-aged, leading two teenagers; the rest were all old, weak, sick, or disabled.

At this point, Chen Zhan keenly noticed that Sister Hua's facial muscles twitched slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "The thieves' profession is declining, and no one wants to do it. We can't find any young and strong men."

Chen Zhan nodded and then shook his head, slowly saying:
"If you say so, then so be it."

“You thieves’ gang will do two things for me, so it won’t be for nothing.”

(End of this chapter)