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

For the next few days, the gates of Fuju Class were kept tightly shut.

During the day, Lu Guan and the old blind man went to perform for money under the overpass as usual.

Even in the biting cold, even if they only earned a few dozen copper coins, the play "The Warrior of Cangzhou" was still performed with utmost care.

To outsiders, he was still that down-on-his-luck young master struggling to make a living.

But at night, the backstage area of ​​the Fuju troupe becomes a blazing furnace.

Stewed meat with century-old ginseng, and drink tiger bone wine like water.

With such a terrifying influx of resources, Lu Guan's "dragon tendons and tiger bones" physique was brought to its fullest potential.

Every drop of medicinal power was perfectly absorbed, transforming into surging blood and qi, constantly washing over the skin and bones.

He is making a frantic sprint toward the realm of "Minor Mastery of Ming Jin"!

In secret, he kept the shadow puppet of the "Hidden Rat" close to his heart and nurtured it.

He can now use the abilities of "stealth," "night vision," and "sense of smell" that the stage of creation has given him with ease.

……

On this day, the sky was so overcast it looked like it was about to collapse.

There were far fewer onlookers under the overpass than usual.

Lu Guan had just finished packing up his stall and was squatting by the brazier to warm himself when he saw several laborers and rickshaw pullers who usually hung out on the streets gathered together, whispering to each other with pale faces.

"Have you heard? There's been another accident at the confluence of the Haihe River!" A driver wearing a tattered felt hat said in a low, trembling voice.

"Another accident? Didn't someone pulling ice just fall in the other day?"

"What do you mean 'fell down'? It means it got eaten!"

The driver suddenly slapped his thigh. "This morning, the foreign detective from the police station led a group to break the ice. Good heavens, there were seven pairs of worn-out cotton shoes neatly laid out next to the ice hole!"

"Seven laborers who hauled ice, have vanished without a trace, neither alive nor dead."

"Only those seven pairs of shoes were left, covered in gnawed fragments from some kind of sharp teeth, and the shoe soles were filled with frozen blood!"

"The foreign detective glanced at it, his legs went weak, and he vomited directly onto the ice. The patrolmen he brought with him couldn't even draw their guns; they were so scared that they scrambled away."

A collective gasp erupted from the crowd.

"Is this... a water ghost seeking a husband, or a river demon demanding a life?"

"Who knows? Anyway, the police station can't handle this case."

"I heard that according to the old rules of the Governor's Office, the case file was directly transferred to 'that place'."

Upon hearing this, the old blind man, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly stopped holding his broken erhu.

After the crowd dispersed, Lu Guan helped the old blind man walk back to Fuju Class.

"Old blind man, what is this 'place' they were talking about? Does the military governor's office handle such strange cases among the common people?" Observer Lu noticed the old blind man's unusual behavior and asked in a low voice.

The old blind man sighed, his withered fingers gently caressing the erhu, and slowly began to sing.

"Young Master, where do you think the prosperity of Tianjin comes from? The older generation all know that Tianjin is located at the confluence of nine rivers, with lots of water, graves, and foreigners, so naturally there are many evils."

"Countless wronged souls lie beneath the Haihe River, and countless violent deaths are buried in mass graves. What use are ordinary police officers with guns to deal with such demonic and evil matters?"

The old blind man paused, his voice extremely low, as if afraid of disturbing the dirty things in the wind and snow.

"During the Qing Dynasty, there was a special department called the 'Yin-Yang Division' in the government. It was staffed with extraordinary people who were skilled in Qimen Dunjia and Feng Shui, and they were in charge of these kinds of strange cases that were beyond human control."

"Later, the dynasty changed, and the Republic of China came into being."

"The Governor's Mansion thought the name 'Yin Yang Si' (陰陽司) sounded too feudal and unlucky, so they changed it to a more modern name..."

"Armament Department, Bureau of Investigation and Rectification!"

Lu Guan raised an eyebrow: "The Bureau of Exorcism? To put it bluntly, it's still that kind of ghost-catching and demon-slaying business?"

"It's just the same old thing in a new bottle!"

The old blind man sneered, "It's just that now they're wearing military license plates and are being paid by the governor's office, so they're acting even more domineeringly and ruthlessly."

"But the Tianjin Guard has too many strange and unusual cases, and the number of people in the Investigation Department is simply not enough. So whenever they encounter a difficult or bizarre case, they will draw on skilled people from various martial arts schools and gangs in the southern part of the city to help them."

They are called "external martial arts instructors," but in reality, they are cannon fodder who risk their lives to earn money.

The old blind man turned his head, his blind eyes staring straight in Lu Guan's direction.

"But this is also a shortcut to wealth and status, risking one's life."

"The Department of Mysterious Cases has a system of ranking for strange cases. The water mystery that swallowed seven people in one go is at least a 'fourth-grade mystery case'."

"The reward offered by the Governor's Office is: as long as a martial artist who has passed the Mingjin Pass dares to take a trip, regardless of success or failure, he will receive a settlement allowance of ten silver dollars."

"If you can escape unscathed, you'll receive a reward of thirty silver dollars after the case is closed!"

"If you can not only survive, but also kill that monster and hand over its 'monster core'... the reward will be at least a hundred silver dollars, plus a registered waist tag from the Military Affairs Department of the Governor's Office."

……

Seven pairs of bloodstained, tattered cotton shoes were retrieved from the bottom of the Haihe River.

This eerie and mysterious case spread like a cold wind throughout the streets and alleys of Tianjin in just a few days.

Backstage at the Fuju Class, the charcoal brazier was burning brightly.

After listening to the old blind man's explanation of the "Military Equipment Bureau's Investigation Department" and the reward of several dozen silver dollars, Lu Guan simply shook his head noncommittally and casually added a piece of charcoal to the brazier.

"A few dozen silver dollars is indeed tempting, but it's a bottomless pit that you'd risk your life to fill."

"The waters in Tianjin are too murky. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. This strange case has nothing to do with us."

He now had two small yellow croakers and several dozen silver dollars that he had taken from the Greyhound, making him quite wealthy. There was no need for him to wade into this obviously deadly mess.

In this chaotic world where people prey on each other, the only truth is to survive, develop your strength, and hone your fists to be harder than iron.

Hearing this, the old blind man's tense shoulders relaxed, and he nodded, saying, "Young Master is a wise man. The money from the 'Strange Tales' is a hot potato."

Lu Guan didn't reply, but slowly stood up and stretched his muscles.

"Crackling, snapping..."

Lu Guan unbuttoned his faded coarse cotton-padded jacket and looked down at his chest.

The skin and flesh, which were originally somewhat thin due to the losses in the early years, have now been completely filled by the top-quality medicinal herbs and massive amounts of meat consumed over the past few days.

Faintly, one can see a faint bluish-black net-like texture moving beneath the membrane.

That's a sign that the body's Qi and blood are at their peak, forming a network under the skin.

The Mingjin Xiaocheng stage... "The skin is like leather, and the Qi and blood form a network!"

He estimated that, at this terrifying absorption rate, he would be able to completely cross that threshold and reach the level of minor mastery of Ming Jin in ten to fifteen days at most.

At that time, even if ordinary swords and knives cut him, as long as they don't pierce his vital organs, they won't be able to break through his tough, cowhide-like skin.

"However, the 'oriole' hiding behind the scenes is probably about to make its move." A cold glint flashed in Lu Guan's eyes.

Although the Canal Gang was blinded by the smokescreen of "Baoding Insect King" that Greyhound had thrown out so many days ago, the mysterious force that was secretly "raising pigs" with medicinal herbs through Manager Zhao could not possibly remain deaf and blind forever.

To keep the other party calm and prevent them from resorting to desperate measures, Lu Guan has been making occasional trips to Juyinglou these past few days, continuing to maintain his persona as a martial arts fanatic who "sold his pots and pans to buy medicine for practicing martial arts."

As usual, he took several packets of tiger bones and deer antler slices from Manager Zhao at a low price.

But after he brought those medicines back, he didn't dare touch them again.

……

In the dead of night, the backyard of Fuju Class was quiet.

Lu Guan sat at the table and unwrapped the several oil paper packages he had brought back from Juyinglou during the day. The tiger bone and deer antler slices inside were tempting in color and emitted a rich medicinal aroma.

If an ordinary martial artist smelled this, he would probably swallow it whole on the spot.

Lu Guan did not rush to act. He took a deep breath, reached into his robes, and pressed the shadow puppet carved from gray squirrel skin, known as "Squirrel Shadow," against his heart.

"Buzz—"

With a slight surge of his qi and blood, a chilling aura instantly connected with his skin and flesh.

Possessing another's image!

At this moment, Lu Guan's pupils glowed with a green light in the darkness. Even without a kerosene lamp, the pitch-black backstage area was as bright as day in his eyes.

At the same time, his nostrils twitched slightly, and the myriad mixed scents in the surrounding air were clearly presented in his mind, as if being peeled back from a cocoon.

Lu Guan brought his nose close to the packet of what looked like high-quality deer antler slices and took a gentle sniff.

"boom!"

Amplified by the keen sense of smell, a strange, unpleasant odor suddenly emerged from beneath the originally rich medicinal fragrance.

The smell was like overripe wild peach blossoms, mixed with a hint of animalistic fox odor.

Extremely sweet and cloying.

Just one whiff of it caused even a martial artist like Lu Guan to feel an inexplicable surge of restlessness, and a faint fire of evil fire rose in his lower abdomen.