The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 1 The Young Masters of the Republic of China
The afternoon sun slanted across the murky river surface.

Dark-skinned, lean laborers, like ants, carried goods from barges of all sizes crowded along the riverbank to the unloading points of various businesses. The air was filled with the sounds of shouts, the occasional whistle of a ship, the earthy smell of the river, the damp, moldy burlap sacks, the sour stench of sweaty shirts, and the smell of cheap tobacco.

A little distance from the riverbank, beneath the archway bearing the four large characters "Luanhe Wharf," a large crowd gathered, pointing and discussing among the dozen or so tall flagpoles beside the archway.

The only reason was that each pole had a corpse hanging from it, pale and swollen, like a dozen tattered sacks soaked in water.

Beneath the corpse, a Taoist priest in an apricot-yellow robe was performing a ritual, holding a peach wood sword, stepping in the Seven Stars style, and chanting: "All ghosts and demons, may all living beings receive grace, may grievances be resolved, may merits be perfected, may all beings be quickly reborn."
"Hurry and have more children than allowed!"

Fu Juemin was standing in the crowd watching the spectacle.

He had a neatly parted hairstyle, a handsome face, and a flannel suit that accentuated his tall and slender figure. A thin gold watch chain dangled from the second button of his vest, and a jade cufflink was faintly visible as he raised his hand.
The crowd around him was dense, but they all unconsciously kept a distance from him, their eyes filled with a mixture of awe and scrutiny.

"Master!"

A man wearing a flat-brimmed hat and a black short jacket squeezed through the crowd, jogged up to him, and reported breathlessly: "Everyone says it's the 'water monkey' from the river causing the trouble... This week, it has already killed more than a dozen people."

"Water monkey?!"

Fu Juemin couldn't help but frown, clearly disbelieving.

"Are you sure you've found out?"

"It's true."

As the man answered, he gestured with both hands, “Over five feet tall, covered in black hair, with chillingly green eyes!”
Several people witnessed people walking by suddenly being dragged into the river with a "whoosh"...

"Could they be river pirates?"

Fu Juemin asked again.

"I haven't heard of any stores losing goods in the last two days."

The man shook his head, then lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "Moreover, it wasn't just ordinary people who died this time; even Wu Xiaoyun, the leader of the Black Shark Gang, was killed."

Regarding what happened last night, Wu Xiaoyun, after watching a play at Qunyu Garden, went back to the dock and, for some unknown reason, insisted on standing by the river to urinate before leaving.

Before he could even take his pants off, that beast leaped out of the water, and the two even got into a fight. Many members of the Black Shark Gang witnessed it.

The man couldn't help but sigh again: "Young master, you may not know, but Wu Xiaoyun is no ordinary person. He is a martial artist who has practiced kung fu properly. A dozen or so ordinary people would not dare to get close to him."
As a result, after only a few rounds, he was pulled into the water and his body was completely drained of blood and fat. What else could he be but a water demon?
"If it weren't for Wu Xiaoyun's death, the businesses at the docks wouldn't have hired Taoist priests. I heard that all these corpses would be left to dry in the sun for half a month before being burned with old lychee branches."

Fu Juemin didn't say anything, but just looked at the corpse hanging on the pole again.

Looking at the corpses again now, he noticed many strange things—

The oldest of these corpses had been hanging for nearly a week. Despite the sweltering heat of August and the continuous exposure to the sun, not a single fly approached. Each one emitted an indescribable stench, unlike ordinary decomposition, more like decades-old sludge from the bottom of a river, making one feel nauseous even from dozens of steps away.

"Could it be... that there really are water spirits?"

He murmured to himself, a complex and unreadable expression flashing across his face—a mixture of excitement and bewilderment.

A moment later, Fu Juemin silently turned around and walked in one direction.

There was a gleaming black car parked there.

A man wearing a flat-brimmed hat jogged a few steps past him and eagerly opened the back door for him.

Fu Juemin got into the car, his face now calm.

"Thank you for your help today, Manager Liu."

"You're too kind."

The man laughed and said, "What trouble is this? Just let me know if you need anything, and come over often when you have time!"

The man quickly changed his mind halfway through his sentence, "You'd better not come to the dock in person during this time." Fu Juemin smiled, rolled up the car window, and the car slowly started moving.

Watching the car sway and stagger away, the man finally breathed a sigh of relief. Turning around, he saw the pole, the corpse, and the chaotic crowd, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "This world..."

"This world"

Inside the carriage, Fu Juemin stared absently at the ever-changing scenery outside the window through the glass.

grey.

Gray walls, gray tiles, and gray streets.

Both the signs and the buildings are mostly gray.

Most of the pedestrians on the street had an almost numb expression on their faces, as if all their luster had been worn away by the current situation.

In the third year of the Republic of China, the political situation collapsed.

The Southern government was newly established, while the Northern warlords were fighting each other. Foreign powers were pressing their ironclad warships at the gates, and internally, there were rebel parties, bandits, and cults causing trouble.

Man-made disasters continue, while natural disasters occur frequently, including severe droughts, floods, plagues, and locust plagues.
Newspapers published almost daily stories of refugees from various places coming to the city to beg for food, and appeals for donations from all sectors of society to help with disaster relief.

"The backdrop of the chaotic Republic of China era was bad enough, but now it seems we have to add a strange and evil element to it as well."

Having just experienced the incident at the dock, Fu Juemin was in a gloomy mood and turned his face away from the gray street scene outside the window.

He had no idea how he had transmigrated; he simply woke up one morning to find himself in this world, becoming, in a daze, the eldest son of the Fu family in Luanhe County.

The Fu family has a very large business in Luanhe, covering all walks of life. They operate two banks, three gold shops, and more than a dozen factories of various sizes. His adoptive father, Fu Guosheng, is even known as "Fu Half-City" in Luanhe.

However, being the eldest son of the Fu family isn't so easy.

Three months ago, the original owner of this body was involved in an "accidental car accident".

During the car accident, someone shot him; the bullet pierced his heart. Strictly speaking, Fu Juemin had already died once.

"I can't die a second time."

Thinking of this, Fu Juemin narrowed his eyes slightly, and a pale red dotted frame that only he could see slowly appeared in his field of vision.

Fu Juemin

Attack - 1, Defense - 1, Health - 1, Mana - 0

[Technique:]

【talent:】

Next to the red dotted frame, there is a circular groove shaped like a yin-yang symbol. The left half of the groove contains some blue energy, while the right half is empty.

It's unclear which martial arts game he played in his previous life had his character panel transported here with him.

Judging from the information on the panel, it is most likely related to martial arts. As for its specific function, we will have to explore it gradually.

Just then, a dark cloud drifted over from overhead, obscuring the sun and instantly darkening the sky.

Fu Juemin looked at the gloomy sky, which looked like it was about to rain at any moment, and let out a soft breath.

"In times of chaos, war, and evil spirits, what about martial arts?"

(End of this chapter)