Republic of China: From Street Performer to War God in a Chaotic Era

Lu Guan stared at the swirling, ever-changing light screen in his mind, slightly taken aback.

This plot... something's not right.

He had planned it very well.

With this "Qi and Blood Cleansing" as a foundation, he can save himself the years of hard work that ordinary martial artists have to put in to strengthen their muscles and bones.

Next, all you need to do is take your savings and go to Nanshi to find a reliable martial arts school to become an apprentice.

Once I've mastered real skills, I'll return to avenge my master and reclaim the Fuju Troupe's legacy.

But now, looking at this panel notification that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, he was momentarily dazed.

"If I complete ten performances with resounding applause, will I receive personal instruction from a Grandmaster of Eight Extremes in my dreams?"

Then why would he bother going to the trouble of visiting a martial arts school?!

Even if you pay tuition to become an apprentice at a martial arts school, the master will still hold back some of his skills. It will take three to five years before you can even grasp the basics of real kung fu.

And this stage of creation can actually directly pass on the legacy!

Lu Guan clenched his fists, a fiery glint in his eyes.

In this chaotic world where martial arts masters and demons coexist, this is the foundation for survival.

The master was killed by that evil spirit because he only knew magic tricks and not martial arts.

Now that his qi and blood have been cleansed, his strength is certainly enough to deal with ordinary hooligans, but it is definitely far from enough to deal with Master Hui of the Canal Gang, who knows unorthodox methods and worships "Grey Immortal".

But if you can obtain the true teachings of "Bajiquan Mingjin", everything will be different!

As far as he knew, Master Hui was just a martial artist who had entered the realm of Qi cultivation. He was only able to run rampant in Nanshi because he had the backing of Master Hui.

"Ten performances, ten standing ovations, the true essence of Ming Jin's teachings..."

Lu Guan suddenly stood up, walked to the window, and pushed open the dilapidated wooden window.

The snowstorm has stopped.

There were already people under the overpass: people carrying loads, pulling rickshaws, and doing manual labor, coming and going in twos and threes.

"The canal gang will be coming to collect the land deeds in three days..."

"Time is running out. We can't wait for customers in the theater; we have to go out on the street and sing for free!"

After thinking it over, he put the shadow puppet of the Bajiquan master into his close-fitting cloth bag, picked up two bamboo poles and a white cloth screen, and pushed open the backstage door.

A gaunt old man, his hands tucked into his sleeves and wearing a tattered felt hat, squatted by the threshold.

This is the old blind man, a musician whom my master picked up from a pile of corpses years ago.

The opera troupe disbanded, and like monkeys scattering when the tree falls, he alone refused to leave.

He was tightly clutching an old, chipped erhu in his arms, and also holding two old wooden clappers in his hands.

"Young Master, how can setting up the stage be done without any fanfare?"

Although the old blind man was blind, his hearing was extremely sharp. He grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth.

"Old man, I may be blind, but my hands are still sharp. In this life-or-death situation, I have to lend you a hand."

Lu looked at the old blind man shivering in the wind, his throat bobbed, and without saying anything sentimental, he simply nodded emphatically.

"Come on, old man. Let's go to Tianqiao today and put on a real show!"

We don't have the money to rent a venue, and we don't have the money to hire a large troupe.

So, a blind old man and a down-on-his-luck young master will gamble on a future!

……

Half an hour later.

Under the busiest overpass in Tianjin, the cold wind howled.

Lu Guan stuck two bamboo poles into the frozen ground, pulled back the white cloth, and lit the kerosene lamp behind the curtain.

The old blind man sat cross-legged on the side of the curtain, seemingly unbothered by the sharp ice shards on the ground. He took out his old erhu from his pocket and placed it on his lap.

Lu Guan stood behind the curtain, his hands gripping the control levers of the shadow puppet, his voice carrying through the white cloth.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today at the Fuju Banlu Temple."

"I don't want money, I don't ask for rewards, I just ask for your support."

"Today we will not sing of emperors and generals, nor of talented scholars and beautiful women."

"They'll only perform one piece... 'The Warrior of Cangzhou'!"

Upon hearing the words "free of charge," the laborers, rickshaw pullers, and two thugs who had been hurrying along all stopped in their tracks.

"Oh ho, there's free opera to listen to under the overpass?"

A man with frostbite all over his face stepped forward, glanced at the thin Lu Guan behind the white sheet, and sneered.

"Young master, are you even fully grown yet before daring to come to the overpass? 'Cangzhou Warrior,' are you perhaps a coward?"

"Exactly, what Fuju Class? I've never even heard of it."

A thug wearing a tattered felt hat joined in the commotion, spitting a mouthful of yellow phlegm viciously onto the frozen ground.

"Kid, don't think that just because it's free, we men have to hold our noses and look at it."

"If your singing offends my ears, I'll smash your lousy business even if it's a waste of my time watching it."

"Yes, if you don't act well, you'll still curse them."

The audience burst into laughter.

A dozen or so people sparsely formed a half-circle, all hoping to gain an advantage and watch the spectacle unfold.

In their eyes, what kind of trouble could a half-grown child and a half-dead, blind old man possibly cause?

Faced with the cheers and shouts from the audience, Lu Guan behind the curtain did not respond, but gave the blind man a secret signal.

"Squeak—!"

The old blind man suddenly pulled the string with his withered wrist, and the broken erhu shrieked, like a clashing sword suddenly cleaving into the noisy street.

The clapperboard followed, clapping rapidly, each sound a death knell.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Guan let out a loud shout from his throat.

"Hey!"

In the light and shadow, the warrior's shadow puppet suddenly slumped its shoulders and elbows, and stomped its foot.

"Smack."

The shadow puppet of a martial artist on the screen actually performed an extremely standard Bajiquan killing move... Yama's Three Points!

In that instant, a fierce aura rushed straight to the faces of the crowd below the stage.

Shadow puppetry emphasizes "telling a thousand-year story with one mouth and wielding a million soldiers with both hands".

Manipulating shadow puppets relies entirely on three bamboo poles in one's hands.

One main rod is attached to the neck, and two auxiliary rods control the hands.

Lu Guan was no stranger to this play, "The Warrior of Cangzhou".

This was the first play his master taught him, and he wore out countless layers of skin on his hands to perfect the fighting scenes. It had become muscle memory.

Behind the curtain, Lu Guan's hands moved with incredible speed.

With a flick of the wrist, the movements of manipulating the rod, slinging, lifting, flicking, picking, and smoothing are fluid and effortless.

The shadow puppet of a warrior, carved from the skin of a tiger with piercing eyes and a white forehead, was pasted on the white cloth window. Its lines were rough and its aura menacing.

Every "appearance" and "shadow movement" is more domineering than ordinary shadow puppets!

If it had been yesterday, Lu Guan would definitely have been exhausted before he could even finish making such a heavy shadow puppet.

But at this moment, his blood and energy were abundant, and his arms were incredibly steady.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The shadow puppets moved nimbly on the white cloth, performing a "fierce tiger climbing the mountain" move followed by a "three-point hand strike from the King of Hell".

The force of the punches was so strong that it seemed to break through the thin white cloth and pierce the eyes of the audience below!

The few thugs and laborers who had been looking down on the audience were instantly stunned.

The man with frostbite on his face gasped and instinctively took a half step back, afraid that the shadow puppet would punch the curtain and burst out.

"it is good."

"Wow, this kid's got real skills."

Someone shouted something, and the area under the overpass instantly erupted in chaos.

All they had was a kerosene lamp, a piece of white cloth, and a blind man's broken erhu.

They really brought to life the tragic battle between the Cangzhou Bajiquan masters and Tianjin decades ago!

The old blind man played the erhu to its fullest potential.

The music, played at a fast tempo and sung at a slow tempo, was like a lament.

On the screen, the warrior with a bullet hole in his chest roared to the sky, exhausted from his battle, and collapsed to the ground.

The play has ended.

Despite the cold wind, the audience was completely silent.

Everyone's heart pounded wildly at the sight of that terrifying aura.

In Lu Guan's mind, the stage of creation flashed with light.

The audience was thrilled, and the hall erupted in cheers!

Current progress: 1/10.

Become!

Lu Guan took a deep breath, suppressing his elation, and was about to speak.

Clang.

A gleaming copper coin was tossed onto the frozen ground in front of the platform.

"Young master, I'm sorry, I had a foul mouth just now."

"This play is truly inspiring."

The burly man in the tattered felt hat shouted, his face flushed.

Immediately afterwards, a series of clanging sounds followed.

The laborers pulled out their cigarette and alcohol money, which they usually couldn't bear to spend, and threw it onto the stage without hesitation, even if it was just a copper coin or two.

Even though it was stated that no money would be charged, the poor people in this chaotic world still recognized this genuine skill.