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

Faced with the questioning from the Ming Jin martial arts master carrying a nine-ringed saber, before Zhao Linchuan could speak to smooth things over, Lu Guan pulled his hands out of his cotton-padded jacket sleeves and said calmly.

"Nanshi, Fujuban, Luguan. The shadow puppeteers under the overpass."

Upon hearing this, the martial artist carrying the nine-ringed saber was stunned.

The smug smile on his face instantly froze.

The martial arts experts around them, who were listening intently, exchanged a cryptic glance.

"Fuju Troupe... Oh, I heard my senior sister mention it. It's that little actor who developed his internal strength through unorthodox methods." Someone in the crowd muttered in a low voice.

In Tianjin's martial arts community, lineage and tradition are of utmost importance.

In their eyes, this kind of unorthodox method that forcibly overdraws potential to elevate one's realm through incomplete secret techniques is like fake tiger bone wine diluted with water in the black market.

He may look impressive, but he's nothing but rubbish inside and can't be considered a true martial arts practitioner at all.

The nine-ringed swordsman chuckled twice, took a half-step back without making a sound, and laughed awkwardly.

"So it's Master Lu, I've heard so much about you..."

After saying that, he turned his head away, his previous enthusiasm completely gone.

Standing to the side, Feng Changshan witnessed everything. His calloused hands were behind his back, and his brows furrowed even more deeply.

He, the dignified Director of the Investigation Department of the Military Equipment Bureau of the Governor's Office, is here tonight to handle this bizarre and mysterious case that has claimed seven lives.

These guys from the folk martial arts schools are something else. Not only do they value their lives and dare not go into the water, but they're also making friends and watching the show.

"Hmph, do you really think the Jiyi Division's blockade is just a teahouse under a bridge? All sorts of lowlifes and nobodies come to join the fun."

Feng Changshan snorted coldly, a hint of annoyance creeping into his eyes as he looked at Lu Guan.

In his view, this young upstart was nothing more than someone who had learned some unorthodox methods and wanted to show off in front of the governor's mansion before the annual examination and make a name for himself.

act recklessly!

"Splash—"

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, a loud bang suddenly came from the heavily surrounded ice cave!

The once lifeless black water churned like boiling molten iron.

A foul, muddy smell mixed with the stench of blood swept across the entire ice surface.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

Someone suddenly shouted.

Water sprayed skyward from the ice hole.

A ghastly green-black shadow, accompanied by a roar, suddenly emerged halfway out of the water.

It was a monster the size of an adult ape, covered in sticky green fur, with seaweed and silt clinging to its body.

Its face resembles a hairless, dead infant, and its eyes are like two burning will-o'-the-wisps.

On those claws, there were still bits of flesh and strips of cloth left from Junior Sister Su Ruoxue.

Water monkey!

Moreover, it had grown powerful and had drunk the blood of countless living people.

"hiss--"

The moment they saw the monster clearly, half of the Ming Jin martial artists who had been surrounding the ice cave, wanting to show off in front of Inspector Feng, instinctively retreated several feet.

This is a golden opportunity to show off in front of the military governor's office before the annual examination.

If we can kill this monster, we can not only get a reward of over a hundred silver dollars, but also get a black iron waist token.

However, one must be alive to enjoy the riches and honors of this world!

The water monkeys live in the Haihe River, at the lower reaches of the Nine Rivers. They move swiftly like the wind, using the force of the water, and possess immense strength.

These martial arts practitioners possess a complete and powerful internal force, which might allow them to split rocks and shatter monuments on land.

But once they're in the icy, bone-chilling river, they can't even use 30% of their skills; going down there is just feeding the beast.

"Open fire! Open fire!"

The patrol officer on the perimeter was so frightened that his voice cracked as he gave the order at the top of his lungs.

"Bang bang bang bang..."

More than a dozen old-fashioned rifles and Hanyang rifles opened fire simultaneously, flames spitting out in the darkness.

However, the water monkeys are very cunning.

It merely poked out half its body to intimidate, and the instant the gunshot rang out, it abruptly shrank back, disappearing with a "plop" back into the bottomless black water.

The bullets struck the ice, sending up large shards of ice, but only creating a series of splashes on the water.

"Cease fire, you bunch of useless trash!"

Feng Changshan shouted angrily, stopping the patrol officers from firing indiscriminately.

He walked to the edge of the ice hole with a livid face and stared at the churning black water.

A pair of purplish-red iron palms emitted a hidden force, causing even the surrounding air to subtly distort.

But he didn't take any action for a long time.

The most frustrating thing is having the ability but being unable to use it.

It's true that Feng Changshan is a master of internal strength; he can shatter the internal organs of a water buffalo with a single palm strike. But this beast hides several meters underwater and refuses to show its face.

He couldn't very well jump into this ice hole, where the temperature was below zero, and fight a water monster hand-to-hand, could he?

That's not exorcising demons, that's courting death!

"Lord Feng, this...this beast is slippery in the water, and our firearms and fists can't touch it. What should we do?" the patrol officer asked as he stepped forward.

Feng Changshan gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Not far away, Su Ruoxue's hand holding the willow-leaf single-edged sword was trembling.

She stared at the ice hole that had swallowed her junior sister.

I hate this cannibalistic world, I hate the eccentric academic system that disregards human life, and I hate my own powerlessness at this moment!

She wanted revenge, she wanted to tear that beast to pieces.

But she doesn't know how to fight in water; if she jumps in, she'll only become another floating corpse.

The feeling of helplessness—watching her enemy swaggering underwater—brought her to the brink of collapse.

"Do you want revenge?"

A calm voice suddenly rang in Su Ruoxue's ears.

Su Ruoxue was startled and turned her head.

Lu Guan had already walked up to her side without her noticing.

The boy's eyes held neither the fear of the surrounding martial artists nor the mockery of those watching the spectacle; only a cold ruthlessness born from the chaos of a world overgrown with corpses.

Su Ruoxue bit her lip, and a trickle of blood seeped out.

Without any hesitation, she nodded emphatically: "Yes, I dream about it!"

Under the overpass, she once gave him three silver dollars and also gave him some pointers on martial arts.

Lu Guan clearly distinguished between gratitude and resentment.

This world is cold; if someone treats him with respect, he will repay them tenfold.

"it is good."

Lu Guan pulled his hand out of his sleeve and stretched his wrist joints.

He walked past Su Ruoxue and strode towards the core of the cordon, speaking calmly:

"Let me try."

The surrounding martial arts masters were taken aback at first, and then their faces showed absurdity and mockery.

Has this little actor gone mad?

That was a water-based monster that even the highly skilled Inner Strength Inspector Feng couldn't handle; bullets couldn't even hit it. And he, a novice who only recently entered the Ming Strength realm through unorthodox methods, dared to try it?

Are you really going to take off your clothes and jump into an ice hole to feed turtles?

Feng Changshan turned around, his gaze sweeping over Lu Guan like a knife.

With his discerning eye as a master of internal energy, he could naturally see the obscure aura that was deliberately suppressed on Lu Guan's body, a characteristic of unorthodox practices tainted by unclean things.

But beneath this gloomy atmosphere, Feng Changshan faintly sensed a surge of energy.

"This kid... his blood and qi are like a dragon's, his foundation is frighteningly strong. If he follows the right path, he might be able to break through to the Dark Force realm in the future," Feng Changshan thought to himself.

Unfortunately, he was too young and didn't know the importance of things.

"You want to go into the water?"

Feng Changshan stared coldly at Lu Guan, "The settlement allowance from the Governor's Mansion is easy to get, but I don't accept dead people who can't even swim."

"A water monkey is a dragon in the water, but a worm on land."

Lu Guan remained expressionless, meeting Feng Changshan's gaze. "If it won't come out, I'll lure it out."

"Fishing? What are we using to fish?" Feng Changshan frowned.

Lu Guan did not answer immediately, but turned to look at the martial arts school disciples watching the commotion outside the cordon.

"Could someone please make a trip to the Fuju Opera Troupe in Nanshi and bring me my old camphor wood opera trunk and the blind man from my troupe?"

Upon hearing this, the martial arts masters felt as if they had heard the biggest joke in the world.

The martial artist carrying the nine-ringed saber sneered.

"Young man, we're here to slay demons for the Governor's Mansion. Do you think we're just errand boys?"

"You think you can listen to opera on this man-eating ice in the middle of the night? Are you still half asleep?!"

The disciples from the other martial arts schools also looked on with disdain.

Asking martial arts masters of such status to carry boxes for a lowly street performer? That's just wishful thinking.

Seeing that not only did the crowd not help, but they also made sarcastic remarks, Lu Guan's eyes turned cold. Just as he was about to speak, Su Ruoxue, who was standing to the side, broke out first.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Su Ruoxue suddenly turned around, her beautiful eyes flashing with murderous intent, and swept her gaze directly at the outer disciples of the Liuhe Martial Arts School behind her.

"Zhao Si, Li Qi."

"You two, go to the Fuju Mart in Nanshi right now and bring back the people and things Brother Lu wants. Go and come back quickly!"

The two disciples who were called out looked embarrassed and muttered something while shrinking their necks.

"Senior Sister Su, it's the middle of the night, and it's freezing outside. Why should we go and carry boxes for some opera singer...?"

"go!"

Su Ruoxue pressed her hand on the hilt of the willow-leaf knife, and with a "clang," she drew the knife half an inch from its sheath, her powerful qi and blood, which had reached the initial stage of Ming Jin, surged forth.

The aura of the successor of the Six Harmonies Divine Spear held absolute dominance over these outer disciples.

"If you say another word, you'll be dealt with according to the sect rules."

The two trembled with fear and dared not disobey again.

He could only grit his teeth and glare at Lu Guan, stomp his foot, turn around and disappear into the snowstorm, running towards Nanshi.