The Republic of China: From Storyteller to God

Even with the martial arts intent of a grandmaster, Liu Che's body was still that of an ordinary person.

No matter what, Wang Liu was a martial artist who had mastered the Ming Jin (明劲) technique and possessed extraordinary punching power.

He used a move reminiscent of Su Qin carrying a sword to stab Wang Liu's Xiaohai acupoint, but he also received three-tenths of the force from Wang Liu's punch.

That three-tenths of the force almost knocked the baton out of his hand.

He gripped the baton tightly with all his might.

However, this also resulted in the skin at the base of the fingers and the palm being torn.

My body is still too weak in this life.

Once the [Storyteller] profession is activated, you should start practicing your skills as soon as possible.

As he pondered this, Liu Che looked at his thirteenth aunt, who was examining his wounds, and felt a little strange.

He probably doesn't recognize Aunt Thirteen in this life.

Why is she so outgoing, immediately helping him treat his wounds?

"This is just a superficial wound. Use some medicine, bandage it up, and let it rest for a few days, and it will be fine."

Aunt Thirteen comforted her gently.

She noticed that Liu Che's hand was bleeding when Zhao Tianhu and the others left.

She didn't see Liu Che make a move and assumed he was being bullied by Zhao Tianhu and his gang.

Huang Feihong and Zhao Tianhu were at odds, and Liu Che generously helped drive away the Shahe Gang, so she regarded Liu Che as one of her own.

Moreover, Liu Che was fair-skinned and looked quite young, so she treated him like a younger brother and developed a sense of care for him.

In addition, since she had returned from studying abroad, shaking hands between men and women was a common occurrence.

So when she saw Liu Che was injured, she immediately came over to help treat his wounds and offered him some words of comfort.

"Come back to the clinic with us later, and I'll bandage you up."

Aunt Thirteen smiled and advised, "Those are all bad people. If you see them in the future, just avoid them."

Hearing her tone, which sounded like she was coaxing a child, Liu Che thought for a moment and understood the reason.

"How did you hurt your hand?"

Upon seeing Liu Che's wound, Huang Feihong asked with concern, "Did Zhao Tianhu and his men injure you?"

As he spoke, he frowned and glared at the flower vendor not far away.

Hua Lao shrank his neck, his eyes darting away, not daring to look directly at him.

"It's alright."

Liu Che withdrew his hand and laughed, "Luckily, Master Huang, you arrived in time, otherwise today would have been troublesome."

Huang Feihong glanced at the cudgel on the table, its handle stained with blood.

With his extensive experience in the martial arts world, he could roughly guess the reason after just one glance.

Recalling how Zhao Tianhu and the others surrounded Liu Che when he arrived, but dared not step forward, his gaze towards Liu Che became even more surprised.

So Liu Che had already fought against Zhao Tianhu and his group?

It seems Liu Che won?

But Liu Che said he only learned boxing for three days?

Zhao Tianhu and his gang were all seasoned ruffians with extensive experience in the underworld.

Although its combat strength is mediocre, it is not someone that ordinary people can deal with.

On average, they're not much different from the brothers in the militia.

If they are figures like Wang Liu or Qian Er, who are at the level of protectors, they are even more prominent among the people of Guangzhou.

It seems Liu Che had already clashed with the local ruffians, and arrived before Wang Liu and Qian Er could make a move.

If Wang Liu and his group were to attack Liu Che, then Liu Che would probably suffer more than just a broken skin on his hand.

"Master Huang."

The owner, who had been hiding behind the counter for a while, finally emerged and gratefully thanked Wong Fei-hung: "If you hadn't arrived in time, my teahouse would definitely have been smashed up by the Shahe Gang."

Wong Fei-hung bent down to pick up the broken chair leg: "We're still a bit late, otherwise we wouldn't have broken so many tables and chairs."

"It's alright, it's alright, a few chairs aren't worth much."

The owner waved his hands repeatedly, but couldn't help looking dejected: "After all this trouble they've caused, I don't even know if I can keep my teahouse running... Sigh!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiangwan's eyes dimmed slightly.

He understood the meaning behind the boss's words.

After today, he probably won't be able to come here to tell stories anymore.

Liu Che witnessed everything from the side.

He smiled, took out a ring from his pocket, and asked Wong Fei-hung, "Master Wong, which pawnshop in town is the biggest?"

This is a women's ring. On the pure gold engraved band, there is a deep red, blood-red old mine ruby.

On his escape, he naturally couldn't carry too much gold and silver, so he converted most of his money into jewelry beforehand.

The markets in the north and south are different, and customers' tastes also differ.

Wealthy nobles in the north tend to prefer antique porcelain, jade, and precious stones.

Guangzhou was a treaty port, and it had more business dealings with foreigners.

Therefore, Western gems are easier to sell here.

Therefore, most of the valuables Liu Che brought were Western-style jewelry.

Such jewelry wouldn't fetch a high price in the north, but in Guangzhou, it could fetch at least 30% more profit.

That 30% profit alone is enough to make up for the income he lost from selling off assets.

Wow! What a beautiful ruby!

Aunt Thirteen's gaze was instantly drawn to the ring in his hand, and she exclaimed, "This kind of gemstone is very valuable to foreigners. It is said that some alchemy requires this kind of gemstone."

If sold to foreigners, a gemstone of this clarity could fetch at least a thousand silver dollars.

"Yeah?"

Liu Che smiled faintly.

Of course he knew that.

He also knew that in the chaos following the emperor's abdication next year, with foreigners plotting an invasion, the price of this gemstone would rise even higher.

That's why he planned to pawn it instead of selling it.

"Foreigners have wolfish ambitions; this kind of thing is best not to fall into foreign hands."

Huang Feihong had a very bad impression of foreigners, so he took the initiative to suggest: "Pawnshops have very high interest rates. I know a silk shop owner who I once saved."

I'll take you there and we can pawn some money at his place; that way we can save some money.

Upon hearing this, Liu Che declined his offer: "Thank you for your kindness, Boss Huang, but I'd better go to the pawnshop. I don't want to owe anyone a favor."

Merchants who ran silk shops in Guangzhou were mostly well-established and influential.

If anything goes wrong, he, a mere seventh-rank merchant, is no match for them.

It's safer to go to a pawn shop.

"Oh well."

Huang Feihong did not insist.

He glanced at the injury on Liu Che's hand, thought for a moment, and then said to Hua Lao, who was not far away, "Come back to the clinic with us first, and we'll go get the money together later."

Hua Lao naturally didn't have the courage to refuse.

After bidding farewell to the teahouse owner, Liu Che and Huang Feihong's group returned to Po Chi Lam.

Huang Feihong personally bandaged Liu Che's hand, then arranged for Chen Xiangwan to rest at Baozhilin, and asked Aunt Thirteen to stay and watch over her.

He then took Liu Che and Hua Lao with him to Xiguan.

Xiguan is located on the north bank of the river and is a bustling commercial area with rows of residential buildings and shops.

Besides Zhenhai Tower, Liurong Pagoda and Guangxiao Pagoda, the largest building in the city is the six large pawnshops.

Huang Feihong led Liu Che to the first pawnshop on the west side, Xiguan Pawnshop, which was the largest pawnshop in terms of storefront and had eight floors.

"This is the largest pawnshop in the entire Guangzhou prefecture. It is said that the owner behind it is extremely wealthy, but I have never seen him."

Huang Feihong introduced Liu Che to the pawnshop as he led him inside.