The 18th year of the Da Yong reign: The beginning of the story involves rescuing revolutionaries.

It was a dark, windowless room, more like a cellar.

The candlelight on the wall flickered slightly.

There were three people inside, some sitting and some standing.

The person sitting there was reading a newspaper by candlelight. It was the Zhaoyang Times. This newspaper had a few sharp pens and its influence was quite good throughout the province. Rumor had it that the editor-in-chief was actually from the Shen family of Zhaoyang.

The two men standing near the door were dressed in ordinary laborers' short shirts, with cotton jackets over them.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door, and soon the door to the secret room was opened from the outside.

"Mr. Ning, you two."

The newcomer, dressed in a lake-green silk robe, looked like a businessman. He greeted the refined-looking man sitting behind the table.

"Mr. Huang, what's the situation in the city now?" The person who asked the question was Mr. Ning, whom the other party had mentioned. He put down the tabloid in his hand, but his face showed some worry.

Huang Sheng frowned and shook his head: "The situation in the city is tense. The county government is conducting a large-scale search in the East Ward, and the Daxing Gang, led by its leader, has personally stationed themselves on Wanliu Street."

These words made all three of them tense.

I knew the situation was not optimistic, but I never expected it to have come to this.

"It's my fault, it's my fault. I felt something was wrong when I was scouting the streets and gathering information. Now it seems I was being watched by someone with ulterior motives back then." The speaker was muscular, with a bulging waist.

Mr. Ning interrupted, saying, "Now is not the time to blame ourselves. Huang Sheng, you continue to keep an eye on their movements. If the situation becomes really critical, we may have no choice but to risk breaking out. Our stronghold in Liuzhou County must not be exposed, as it will affect the organization's subsequent plans."

"Breaking through is too difficult. It might be possible to break out of Liuzhou County, but all the exits by land and water have already been guarded by the government." Huang Sheng looked anxious.

"We had considered this possibility before. There is only one feasible route: to the north by land. If we can get through by deception, we will. If we can't, we will force our way through. There are fast horses prepared at Qilipo outside the city. We will ride straight to Qingfeng Mountain. The mountains there are dangerous and the roads are complicated. Perhaps we can find a way to escape."

"Mr. Huang, in the next couple of days, your pawnshop should be on the lookout for someone to pawn a landscape painting. Once you get the painting, please bring it to us immediately."

"Yes," Huang Sheng replied emphatically.

......

On that day, Wang Zhi calmed down and cultivated in a private room at Qingfeng Restaurant, practicing the Golden Essence Technique. Before going abroad to study, Wang Zhi had been an outer disciple of the Daluo Sect for several years, but he had not made a breakthrough yet, though he had learned some real skills.

On his way back home from studying abroad, he broke through to the level of a commoner, and it was on this journey that he saved Li Quanfu. He was twenty-one years old that year.

The Golden Essence Technique was only a white-quality technique, and every outer disciple had a copy. His aptitude and comprehension were both average, so he was never valued by the inner disciples.

But things are different now. Wang Zhi cultivated until dark, about two hours, and his experience points for the Golden Essence Technique successfully increased by 1 point, currently at 43/100.

However, two hours a day was already his limit.

A martial artist at the "Commoner Realm" has a body covered in copper, making them difficult to harm with ordinary swords and blades. Their muscles and bones resonate, and their blood and qi surge. As the saying goes, "When a commoner gets angry, blood will splatter ten steps away," which is the best description of this realm.

In cultivation, the greatest taboo is being greedy for more and faster progress. If one cannot control the power of qi and blood, at best the internal organs will be injured, and at worst, blood will flow backward to seek acupoints and the meridians will be reversed, thus ruining one's martial arts path.

Unless, of course, there is a cultivation technique that surpasses the white quality and can increase the cultivation time. But frankly speaking, it's just the game setting of "The Eighteenth Year of the Great Yong Dynasty".

After calming his breathing, Wang Zhi opened his eyes and asked Afu to instruct the restaurant to serve him some food to satisfy his hunger.

As night falls, Wanliu Street, which was bustling during the day, becomes quiet, except for the restaurants, brothels, and gambling dens, which are still bustling with activity and noise.

Two cold dishes and six hot dishes were served on the table. Among them were the restaurant's signature braised pork knuckle and steamed sea bass, as well as side dishes such as cucumber with minced garlic and fried peanuts. Wang Zhi invited Afu and the brothers on guard duty to eat together.

After a satisfying meal, Wang Zhi led Afu downstairs to inspect the various intersections and take a walk to digest their food.

Skinny Monkey and Fat Chicken were hidden personnel and were not on guard duty. They had previously disguised themselves to investigate the situation of the rebels.

The entire Wanliu Street is a complex place with a large flow of people, but the roads are very clear, with two main intersections and three smaller intersections.

Wang Zhi first went to the three forks in order, intending to give some instructions to his brothers, so that they would all be on high alert and not slack off in the slightest.

You must protect yourself and not act rashly if you notice anything unusual, as the rebels may have guns.

Most of the iron weapons manufactured by the Da Yong Dynasty were hardly a threat to ordinary soldiers, but the foreign guns made by the Western devils were extraordinary.

Just like what Director Zhou said before, ordinary soldiers really can't stop foreign bullets.

Ordinary people might not know, but how could Wang Zhi not know? Those foreign guns contained magic crystals.

In this game, the Western countries and the Great Yong Kingdom take completely different paths. The former developed magic crystal mines early on and, based on magic crystals and gunpowder, developed countless weapons of war that are not limited to physical objects.

What they coveted was not only the vast land of Dayong, but also the countless undiscovered and undeveloped magic crystal mines beneath Dayong's land.

Wang Zhike clearly saw the Mauser pistol at Zhou An's waist during the banquet; it was undoubtedly a second-generation E-class pistol from Xiyou, capable of piercing his copper casing.

Otherwise, how could Zhou An have dared to point a gun at Afu's forehead so easily?

After inspecting the three forks, the men seemed to be in good spirits.

Wang Zhi walked confidently towards the main road to the east.

Just as he reached the intersection, he saw a group of about five or six government officials, led by Director Zhou, heading straight for him.

"They've come with ill intentions," Afu said to Wang Zhi in a slightly lowered voice.

"Let's see," Wang Zhi replied, then greeted him with a forced smile, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture, "It's already dark, Director Zhou, you still have the heart to bring your yamen brothers to Wanliu Street for some fun?"

What he said is correct; the only brothel in the county, Baihualou, is located on Wanliu Street.

Director Zhou stared directly at Wang Zhi, his face serious: "Looking for fun? The rebels haven't been found yet, and this department doesn't have the leisure to look for any fun. The ten-day deadline given by the provincial government is almost here, and after tonight there will only be seven days left. Chief Wang, do you have any leads?"

Wang Zhi didn't care about Zhou An's attitude and replied, "Master Fu told me the news. My Daxing Gang has fully deployed defenses in Wanliu Street. As long as the rebels are here, there is no way they can escape."

"That's well said, but we no longer dare to completely trust you. If we can't catch the rebels, the provincial government will blame us. Not to mention the county magistrate, I, Zhou An, will definitely lose my job."

"What is Zhou Chu's idea?" Wang Zhi asked calmly.

"The entire East Ward, except for Wanliu Street, is now filled with government officials. Now, I'd like to leave a few capable brothers to assist Chief Wang." After saying this, Chief Zhou waved his hand, and one of them was already integrated into the Daxing Gang's guard team. The rest of them headed straight into the street.

Clearly, he did not intend to consult Wang Zhi's opinion; he was merely informing him.

Wang Zhi glanced at the blue-clad constables rushing inside, but did not stop them. He remained calm and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Director Zhou."