An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Now, men avoid her like the plague.

Even if they occasionally cast covetous glances, they quickly look away.

Of course, this didn't matter to Jiang Baobin; he just wanted a sword.

The saying goes, "He who has no desires is invincible."

So this guy, acting out of character, walked up to her and gave her a slight, pretentious bow.

"Good evening, madam. May I introduce myself?"

The woman gave a charming smile: "Of course, sir."

"I am Jiang, the secretary of the American Walter Company's Beijing office. May I speak with you?"

"Of course, please have a seat, Mr. Jiang. You can call me Beatrice de Guzman."

"Thanks."

The woman said modestly, "My English isn't very good, so please speak slowly."

"Yes, Mrs. Guzman, I..."

Although they sat down, they were momentarily at a loss for words, since it was their first meeting.

The two exchanged an awkward smile.

Beatrice was quite understanding: "You can speak frankly if you have something to say, Mr. Jiang."

Seeing you reminds me of my younger brother; you're probably around the same age.

"Alright, Mrs. Guzman, then I won't beat around the bush."

"Actually, I've always wanted to buy a swift sword."

"So a friend recommended you to me, saying you might have some."

Beatrice gave a wry smile: "Yes, it seems my story has spread far and wide..."

Then, without Jiang Baobin even asking, she began to recount her experiences.

It turns out that the Guzmans had been running rubber plantations in Latin America.

When things were going well, they made a lot of investments, but all of them ended in failure.

After the war, their business situation deteriorated, and they incurred a lot of debt as a result.

Later, they were misled into believing that China was now the only place in the world where war was raging, and that rubber had a huge market.

So the couple borrowed another sum of money and traveled a long distance to look for opportunities.

The result was that the level of corruption here was far beyond imagination; everything required money to get ahead.

To make matters worse, the so-called friends who lured them in were actually swindlers.

Now look what's happened; the already meager funds have been completely swindled away.

Mr. Guzman, unwilling to accept defeat, went to settle accounts with the swindler.

As a result, he was robbed for no reason and seriously injured (which, through misinformation, became a duel with someone).

Beatrice was left completely helpless, unable to return to Central America even if she wanted to.

News came from over there that, due to insolvency, the bank had seized their plantation through the courts.

It's difficult to even go back to my hometown in Spain. On the one hand, I don't have the money to buy a plane ticket, and on the other hand, I owe a large sum of money to loan sharks here.

Because they needed to live in Beiping and later needed to treat Mr. Guzman's illness, the expenses were considerable.

Do not doubt the power of any particular ethnic group; even in Beiping (Beijing), there were loan sharks who specialized in lending money to foreigners at exorbitant interest rates.

Beatrice is now at a loss and can only barely make ends meet by selling off what little she has left.

He was also waiting for his relatives back in Spain to help him out, considering they were both nobles.

As a result, many telegrams were sent, but very few replies came...

Upon hearing Beatrice's story, Jiang Baobin naturally felt deep sympathy.

But he simply couldn't understand the thought process of these noble ladies—

If you're already living such a miserable life, why would you come to such an expensive place?

The drink Beatrice ordered was enough to cover his wages for a day of working as Tom's henchman.

Since they've already fallen on hard times, is it still necessary to put on such an air?

Later he realized that the other person's real intention was not what it seemed...

The next day.

The early winter sun felt warm on my skin.

At this moment, Jiang Baobin was also in a great mood, and he came out of Jiang Hu's martial arts school with a big smile.

We hadn't walked far when we turned into a small alley.

Go through here and you'll find the bus stop.

Jiang Baobin was particularly happy because his wish had come true today, and he had accomplished two major things in a row.

First, he got the sword, which was now slung over his shoulder.

A proper Spanish swift sword!

As expected of an old noble family, the weapons they use are indeed different.

Both the style and the material are fantastic!

With a sword in hand, Jiang Baobin felt like he had wings, and couldn't help but be eager to find an opponent to spar with!

Because the combination of swift sword and Western fencing is definitely greater than 1+1>2.

His previous kung fu training had progressed too slowly.

For some reason, there are too many mysterious and esoteric elements in Eastern martial arts.

For example, Li Xiaolong created Jeet Kune Do, which even involves philosophical issues.

This is very frustrating, because it is extremely difficult to reach a high level of mastery.

Western martial arts, on the other hand, are not so complicated. As long as you learn the moves and master the way to generate power, you're all set.

Because foreigners are very direct—either I kill you, or you kill me, it's a zero-sum game.

Unlike the flower growers, who are hesitant and half-concealed, they come up with all sorts of creative tricks.

With so many variations, it's naturally harder to master.

But now, Jiang Baobin finally has a killer move.

Another piece of good news is that we also found out some information about Jia Jinwang.

The murderers were several bandits who had fled from Yanqing.

However, after they finished their mischief, these people had already fled back to the mountains.

Jiang Baobin breathed a sigh of relief at this.

He just wanted to know who it was so he could hand over the task.

What if the killer is still in the city, and the system malfunctions and sends him to kill them?

Now that I've already been a thief under the system's instigation, what's so surprising about me becoming a murderer again?

Although he had been practicing for several months, the thought of him fighting someone face-to-face was still terrifying!

Unfortunately, are there some things you can simply avoid?

Not far along, Jiang Baobin noticed two people standing in the middle of the alley.

At first, he didn't realize what was happening (he was too busy being happy).

Until the two men looked at them with hostile eyes.

Almost simultaneously, another person followed from behind.

That's when he realized what was happening.

Holy crap! We've run into a road malfunction!

His cautious yet decisive nature made him immediately stop in his tracks and turn around to run back.

The one behind is one-on-one, but the one in front is one-on-two.

He drew his longsword as he ran.

The other side was no pushover either; they brandished bayonets in both hands.

Wow, he's a trained fighter!

Each one is 25 centimeters long, absolutely sharp.

Compared to the rugged appearance of the bayonet, the rapier in Jiang Baobin's hand looked like a thin and long bean sprout.

However, at this moment, Jiang Baobin had no time to think about it, nor did he dare to.

He must unleash all the ferocity within him to deal with the danger before him!

It's a fight to the death, there's no room for distraction...