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

There are only three days left until the annual assessment by the Military Affairs Department of the Governor's Office.

In recent days, the snow in Jinmenwei has been falling more and more heavily. The heavy snow has covered all the low shacks and scattered Western-style buildings in the southern part of the city in a pale white blanket.

At midnight, water droplets freeze instantly.

Lu Guan sat cross-legged on the wooden bed backstage of the Fuju Class, slowly exhaling a breath of stale air tinged with white frost.

He unbuttoned his cotton-padded coat and looked down at his heart.

The skin covered by the shadow puppet of "Rat Hiding" was covered with a layer of bluish-black frost, faintly exuding a foul and deadly aura.

"The sinister energy within this psychic skin is even more domineering than I imagined."

Lu Guan frowned slightly.

These past few nights, he has been draped in the shadow of the "Rat Shadow" puppet, following the trail left by the greyhound, eliminating another menace in the dark corners of the South City.

It was that heartless brothel madam who colluded with the canal gang.

By killing this beast, Lu Guan not only acted on behalf of Heaven, but also took the opportunity to plunder his possessions, reaping nearly a hundred silver dollars and several wild ginseng roots.

However, the price was that after being forcibly possessed twice, the gloomy aura belonging to the Gray Immortal began to seep into his bones.

Although he managed to withstand it with his "Dragon Tendons and Tiger Bones" and the immense blood and qi of his minor mastery of Ming Jin, he keenly sensed that the circulation of his blood and qi at the ends of his meridians was somewhat obstructed.

Damages the foundation!

"External things are ultimately just external things. If this Ming Jin (internal energy) is not honed to its ultimate level, this Yin Qi (internal energy) will become a hidden danger sooner or later."

In Lu Guan's mind, the image of the old master from Cangzhou performing "Tiger Climbing the Mountain" in the stage of creation involuntarily came to mind.

In the original owner's memories and martial arts anecdotes, there were those monsters who truly stood at the pinnacle of martial arts. For example, Li Shuwen, whose "unmatched fist" was unparalleled, and Guo Yunshen, who "conquered the world with his half-step collapsing fist."

The reason they are revered as "the pinnacle of martial arts" is not simply due to the accumulation of their cultivation level.

"Perfection is merely a threshold. Breaking through perfection and reaching the absolute limit is the pinnacle!"

Lu Guan clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked like popping beans.

But before that, we need to give this "Hidden Rat" shadow puppet a complete makeover.

[Current progress of the Nighttime Gathering: 2/3]

"Just one more time."

Lu Guan took out the secret book from his pocket and turned to the glaring page.

"On the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Qian Mazi, the owner of the 'Paradise Opium Den' in Nanshi, delivered three boys in exchange for fifty silver dollars and two doses of red pills."

Trafficking fellow citizens and harming young children. This Qian Mazi is a notorious tyrant in Nanshi, holding countless lives in his hands and employing more than a dozen armed thugs.

"Tonight, I'll use you, you beast, to make up the numbers!"

Lu Guan placed the "Hidden Rat" sticker on his chest.

"Buzz—"

A fleeting glint of light flashed in his eyes, and Lu Guan's life force returned to a deathly stillness.

He was like a ghost that blended into the night, veering out the window.

……

In the backyard of the "Extreme Pleasure Opium Den" in Tainan City, a den of iniquity.

On the surface, this place is a warehouse for storing opium, but in reality, it is a cellar where Qian Mazi hides "human sacrifices".

In the wind and snow, four thugs carrying Mauser pistols huddled under the eaves, rubbing their hands and cursing.

"This awful weather, and I still have to look after these little brats for Master Qian. I'm freezing to death."

Before the words were finished, a gust of cold wind swept through the corridor.

"Pfft, pfft!"

The two thugs felt a chill in their throats, and before they could react, the world spun around them.

Blood gushed from the severed carotid artery. The body fell limply, and was gently placed on the snow by a large hand.

The other two had just realized something was wrong and were about to touch their gun holsters when a dark figure loomed right in front of them.

"Snap, snap!"

Two crisp cracking sounds of bones breaking echoed. Lu Guan transformed his hands into blades, using the power of a minor mastery of Ming Jin to instantly sever the cervical vertebrae of both men.

Killing people is as easy as cutting grass.

With the stealth and night vision provided by the [Mouse Concealment] technique, combined with his minor mastery of Ming Jin cultivation, these ordinary thugs didn't even have time to react before firing a shot.

Lu Guan pushed open the door to the main house, and a cloying, sweet smell of opium wafted out.

Qian Mazi was lying on the opium couch, with a disheveled prostitute in his arms, fast asleep.

puff.

The poisoned iron dagger transformed into a streak of black light, piercing Qian Mazi's throat directly into the hardwood pillow.

Just as the prostitute was about to wake up, Lu Guan knocked her unconscious on the bed with a chop to the neck.

Draw the knife, wipe away the blood, and loot.

It flowed smoothly and was completed in one go.

Lu Guan not only found two gold bars and seventy or eighty silver dollars in a hidden compartment under the bed, but also found a Browning M1911 pistol and three magazines full of bullets under Qian Mazi's pillow!

During the warlord era of the Republic of China, even the best kung fu master was afraid of a kitchen knife.

Seven paces away, the gun is fast. Within seven paces, the gun is both fast and accurate!

Having a foreign gun by your side is undoubtedly an extra trump card for survival.

Lu Guan tucked the pistol and bullets into his pocket, weighed the heavy package in his hand, and felt a sense of security welling up inside him.

Including the valuables he had previously seized from Greyhound, Zhang Mazi, and others, he now had a full eighteen small yellow croakers and over three hundred silver dollars in his hands!

In an era when one silver dollar could buy thirty catties of good flour, this amount of money was enough to buy a whole street of shops in Tianjin.

With this huge sum of money, the century-old medicine needed to break through to the Mingjin realm will no longer be a problem.

At that moment, a burst of golden light flashed in my mind.

[Nighttime Gathering Progress Update!]

[Slay a wicked man burdened with heavy karma and seize his ill-gotten gains!]

[Current progress: 3/3!]

[The gathering of thoughts is complete; the shadow puppet has been transformed. The host has completely tamed the "rat-like" form, and the possession time has increased to half an hour! The backlash from Yin energy has been greatly reduced!]

[Unlock a minor superpower: Bone shrinking and disguise!]

Lu Guan immediately felt the chill in his heart dissipate, replaced by a sense of control that felt as close as flesh and blood.

His bones seemed to become as soft as dough at that moment. With just a thought, he could raise or shrink his body by an inch with a series of "crackling" sounds, and even change the direction of his facial muscles at will.

"What incredible power!"

"With this shrinking disguise and half an hour of concealment, I'm in the dark while the enemy is in the light. Let's see how those cunning foxes can play with me now."

Lu Guan felt much more at ease.

He subtly altered his appearance, transforming into a gaunt young man, then turned and disappeared into the wind and snow, quickly retreating.

……

To avoid the police station's late-night patrols, Lu Guan deliberately took a long detour, traveling along the frozen edge of the Haihe River towards Fujiu Ban.

The river wind was like a knife, scraping my cheeks until they hurt.

Lu Guan was walking briskly through the snow when the "sense of smell" granted by [Mouse Concealment] suddenly jumped.

A bloody smell, mixed with the fishy smell of water, entered my nostrils on the river breeze.

Something's up.

Lu Guan immediately lowered his body, concealing his presence to the extreme. Under the cover of darkness, he moved toward the direction from which the scent was coming.

After rounding a bend in the river, the ice surface ahead was brightly lit.

A dozen or so thick torches fluttered in the cold wind, illuminating the ice surface as bright as day.

The area was cordoned off, and a dozen heavily armed police officers, their faces ashen, stood with their guns pointed fixedly at the ice hole in the middle of the river.

And at the edge of that hole, half a bloody arm lay exposed!

The sleeves on his arms were made of black, tight-fitting fabric, with jagged edges, as if they had been torn off by some kind of wild beast.

A man and a woman stood on the ice.

The woman was Su Ruoxue.

She was still wearing that black outfit, with a black fox fur cloak draped over her shoulders.

He bit his lower lip tightly, gripped the willow-leaf dagger, and trembled slightly.

That severed arm belonged to Ruolan, her junior sister from the outer sect of the Liuhe Martial Arts School.

A few days ago, the bizarre case of seven pairs of broken shoes being retrieved from the Haihe River alarmed the Governor's Office, and the Investigation Division of the Military Equipment Department took over the case.

In order to investigate what was happening beneath the ice, the Jiyi Department forcibly conscripted disciples from several martial arts schools in Nanshi as "spies."

Ruolan was an excellent swimmer, so she was sent over and tied with a rope to go into the water.

But who would have thought that less than half an incense stick's time had passed since they went down into the water, a tremendous force came from underwater!

When the people above finally managed to pull the rope up with all their might, only half an arm remained.

Standing next to Su Ruoxue was Zhao Linchuan, who was wearing a dark blue cotton-padded jacket.

Compared to Su Ruoxue's grief and indignation, Zhao Linchuan's eyes were filled with apprehension.

He reached out and grabbed Su Ruoxue's cloak sleeve, lowering his voice.

"Ruoxue, the dead are gone! That thing underwater could tear even a Ming Jin martial artist apart in an instant; it's definitely not something we can handle."

"The people from the Bureau of Exorcism are all here. We must not act rashly and offend the officials. If our master blames us, no one can bear the consequences."

Su Ruoxue abruptly shook off Zhao Linchuan's hand and gave him a cold glance.

She turned her head and stared intently ahead.

Opposite them stood a middle-aged military officer in a yellow woolen overcoat, his hands clasped behind his back. He was a burly man with a square face and a short, bristly mustache.

A pair of thick, large hands were not wearing gloves, and in the freezing cold of minus ten degrees Celsius, the palms had an eerie purplish-red hue.

He was Feng Changshan, the supervisor of the Military Equipment Bureau's Investigation and Investigation Section in Nanshi, nicknamed "Iron Palm Feng"!

Hidden Strength Martial Artist!

Lu Guan, who was hiding in the shadows, suddenly narrowed his eyes the moment he saw Feng Changshan.

"This is hidden strength..."

In Lu Guan's perception, Feng Changshan was like a live volcano that could erupt at any moment.

Unlike the powerful martial artists who unleash their qi and blood and whose muscles and bones resonate, his body remained as still as a stagnant pool, suppressing all his turbulent qi and blood within his body.

A martial artist with hidden strength, ready to unleash his power at any moment!

The force penetrates through the skin and flesh, striking directly at the internal organs, killing without a trace!

"Supervisor Feng."

Su Ruoxue's voice was cold as she suppressed her anger: "My junior sister was recruited into the water by your Department of Extraordinary Things."

"You knew there was a great demon down there, yet you didn't even provide a diving bell or a water-repelling talisman, only a rope to send people down as bait. Shouldn't the Governor's Mansion give my Liuhe Martial Arts School an explanation for this?"

Feng Changshan frowned impatiently.

Those hawk-like eyes coldly swept over Su Ruoxue, and he said in a chilling voice, "An explanation? When did it become your place, a mere girl, to demand an explanation when the Governor's Mansion is handling matters?"

He was actually quite agitated inside.

His original plan was to use these disciples from private martial arts schools as cannon fodder to test the water monkey's strength.

Once you've figured it out, strike with lightning speed to kill.

So what if an outer disciple dies? At worst, we'll give him ten silver dollars as a resettlement allowance.

But Su Ruoxue, relying on being the true inheritor of the Six Harmonies Divine Spear, insisted on coming to the scene to question him.

Feng Changshan wanted to lash out directly, but considering the Liuhe Martial Arts School's reputation in Nanshi and Su Ruoxue's fame, he had to suppress his anger. The feeling of being restrained made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Your junior sister's skills were not good enough, and her death in the water was simply her bad luck. The Department of Extraordinary Things will naturally issue compensation according to the rules."

Feng Changshan sneered, "Now, take your men and get out of here. Don't get in my way!"

"you--"

Su Ruoxue gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, her qi and blood, which had reached the initial stage of Ming Jin, showing signs of getting out of control.

"Ruoxue, don't be impulsive!"

Zhao Linchuan's face turned pale, and he quickly stood in front of Su Ruoxue, desperately trying to wink at her.

"Lord Feng is right. We'll be leaving now."

Zhao Linchuan held onto Su Ruoxue's arm tightly.

Just as the stalemate was at its peak, Feng Changshan, who was standing with his hands behind his back, suddenly twitched his eyebrows.

The Dark Force Supervisor completely ignored the tugging of his fellow disciples, his large hand suddenly clenched, his gaze sharp as a knife, sweeping towards the shadowy area outside the riverbank, obscured by the abandoned boat.

A martial artist with hidden strength possesses power that penetrates to the very marrow of their bones. Their perception of the surrounding energy is far beyond that of ordinary people.

Even though Lu Guan used the [Rat Concealment] supernatural power to make the air pressure as cold as ice, the slightest delay when the cold wind swept through the shadows still could not escape Feng Changshan's perception.

"Who is it? Hiding like a coward, come out!"

Feng Changshan roared, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, causing the ice shards on the ice surface to jump around wildly.

"Splash—"

The dozen or so patrol officers were startled by the shout.

They turned their guns around, aiming the barrels straight at the dark expanse of the riverbank.

In the shadows, Lu Guan's heart pounded.

"What terrifying perception. Is this the true strength of a master of internal energy? He can even detect the [Rat Concealment] technique. The waters of Jinmenwei are indeed unfathomable."

Now that his cover had been blown, Lu Guan stopped hiding.

With a slight thought, he deactivated the "Shrinking and Disguise" minor supernatural power of [Rat Concealment].

Crackle, crackle.

A series of cracking sounds rang out in the darkness.

Lu Guan's originally thin figure grew taller as if inflated, regaining his upright and muscular physique.

"Don't shoot, it's me."

Lu Guan, with his hands in the pockets of his tattered cotton-padded jacket, walked out of the darkness unhurriedly.

The dim firelight illuminated his stern face.

"Lu Guan?!"

Standing at the edge of the cordon, Su Ruoxue's beautiful eyes widened in astonishment.

She never expected that this young man, who had just killed three ruthless people in his own yard, would appear on this terrifying frozen surface of the Haihe River in the middle of the night.

"You... what are you doing here?" Su Ruoxue quickly stepped forward to greet her.

Lu Guan's lips curled slightly: "I couldn't sleep at night, so I came out to digest my food and also to check out the mysterious cases for which the Governor's Mansion has offered a reward."

The two exchanged a few words and reminisced briefly.

Zhao Linchuan also came over.

He had lost the indifference he had shown at their first meeting, and instead acted like a familiar江湖人 (jianghu person, a person from the martial arts world), cupping his hands in greeting to Lu Guan.

"Brother Lu, you have guts. The Haihe River is a deadly trap, and you dare to come here all alone?"

There was a hint of probing in his words.

The commotion attracted the attention of other martial arts school students inside the cordon.

Those forcibly conscripted by the Armed Forces Department this time were mostly skilled martial artists from the Tainan Martial Arts School who had developed whole-body strength or even just entered the initial stage of Ming Jin.

Seeing that Su Ruoxue and Zhao Linchuan, the two true disciples of the Six Harmonies, were so polite to a raggedly dressed young man, everyone couldn't help but turn their heads.

"Senior Brother Zhao, which martial arts school's top student is this? He looks unfamiliar."

A martial arts master carrying a nine-ringed saber approached and sized up Lu Guan.

"Judging by this young man's upright posture, could he be the last disciple of some famous master?"