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

"What, in such a hurry to be reincarnated?"

Scarface turned around as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

He was a formal disciple of the Nanshi Canal Gang. Although he hadn't yet mastered the full strength, he had blood on his hands.

Normally, dealing with these low-class actors is enough to scare them so much they wet their pants.

The martial arts students at the surrounding tables, dressed in shorts, also stopped eating, looking on with expressions of anticipation.

In the southern part of Tianjin, it was commonplace for people to bleed in the streets over territory and petty squabbles.

No one thought a frail young man could cause any trouble.

Lu Guan did not respond.

In his mind, the shadow puppet of a warrior carved from tiger skin with piercing eyes and a white forehead overlapped with his body at this moment.

In shadow puppetry, there's a term called "walking shadows."

That's the technique for manipulating shadow puppets to move on the screen, emphasizing "feet never leaving the ground, smooth and gliding movements, and ghostly motion."

Lu Guan took a deep breath, using his spine as the main "neck" and his arms as "hands".

"despair,"

Lu Guan kicked off with his foot.

He moved forward three steps like a shadow puppet stuck to a screen, instantly closing the distance between himself and the scarred man.

It's too fast; it completely goes against the normal way people exert force.

Before the sneer on Scarface's face had faded, his pupils suddenly contracted as he felt a gust of wind rush towards him.

"You little brat, you're asking for it."

Scarface reacted quickly too.

Years of street brawls had honed his instincts, and he suddenly raised his right hand, delivering a powerful hook punch straight at Lu Guan's temple.

Lu Guan neither dodged nor flinched, but suddenly raised his left arm to block.

"Bang."

A muffled thud echoed through the restaurant.

Scarface felt as if his arm had been smashed into a cast iron pillar. A recoil force swept back, making half of his body numb and causing excruciating pain in his wrist.

"what……"

The scream had barely begun when Lu Guan's right fist arrived.

To manipulate the pole, to strike the skewer.

This punch perfectly mimics the killing move from the shadow puppet show "The Warrior of Cangzhou"... Yama's Three-Point Hand!

Although he has not yet received the true transmission of "Ming Jin" in Bajiquan, he does not know how to inhale and exhale power.

But now he possesses extraordinary vitality and strength, coupled with the fierce aura of this tiger shadow puppet.

This punch was extremely domineering.

"Thump."

The first punch landed squarely on Scarface's chest.

"Click."

A cracking sound rang out, and the black cotton-padded jacket on the scarred man's chest instantly caved in, revealing several broken ribs.

Lu Guan then transformed his palm into a claw, gripping the scarred man's shoulder tightly and dragging him to the spot.

Immediately afterwards, his right knee slammed into Scarface's right knee.

"Pfft."

Scarface's right kneecap was shattered by the strange force, and his entire leg broke in the opposite direction.

"thump."

Lu Guan released his grip, and the scarred man collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, his eyes rolling back, unable to even let out a scream. A pool of blood and yellowish-white fluid quickly spread beneath him.

It's ruined. Utterly ruined.

Even if Hua Tuo were alive today, he couldn't have reattached this leg.

"this……"

The entire Juyinglou was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The apprentices from the surrounding martial arts schools gasped in shock, thinking to themselves how ruthless this young man was.

One move?

He crippled Scarface of the Canal Gang with a single move?

Moreover, the way he exerted his strength was fierce, strange, and exuded a menacing aura, which was not at all like the fighting style of ordinary people in the streets.

"This is a tough one, I'll take him down."

The remaining three gangsters were stunned for a moment before finally realizing what was happening.

If they chicken out today, even if they go back, Gray will skin them alive.

With bloodshot eyes, several men drew gleaming daggers and iron rulers from their waists and pounced on Lu Guan.

"Blind man, protect your head and face."

Lu Guan coldly gave an order and then picked up the solid wood bench next to him.

The mahogany bench, weighing over a hundred pounds, felt as light as a feather in his hands.

Lu Guan gripped one end with both hands, like manipulating a heavy shadow puppet's "big pole," and aimed at the lower body of the two thugs charging at the front, delivering a sudden horizontal sweep.

Pick the thread, sweep it.

"Click, click."

Two sounds of bones breaking rang out simultaneously.

The two bruised men's shinbones were smashed by the solid wood bench, and they screamed as they fell to the ground, clutching their broken legs and rolling around frantically.

The last thug with the iron ruler was so frightened that he turned and ran towards the stairwell, wishing he had more legs.

Did I let you leave?

Lu Guan's eyes turned cold, and he flicked his toe.

He flicked a dagger off the ground into the air, then swung his right fist fiercely.

"Whoosh."

The dagger transformed into a streak of black light, instantly piercing the right thigh of the fleeing thug and pinning him to the step of the solid wood staircase.

"what……"

The man with the green skin was convulsing violently, clutching his thighs tightly with both hands.

From the moment Lu Guanbao was arrested until all four gang leaders were crippled, it all happened in just a few breaths.

There were no unnecessary words, only ruthless moves to break a person's hands and feet.

Lu Guan threw down the bench, dusted off his hands, walked to the limp, scarred-face man, and slowly squatted down.

"What else do you want to do...?"

Scarface stared in terror at the boy before him, his voice trembling.

"I'm from the Canal Gang, Master Hui... Master Hui won't let you get away with this."

"Smack."

Lu Guan slapped him across the face, causing the scarred man to spit out two more bloody teeth.

"Don't try to intimidate me with Greyhound dogs."

Lu Guan's eyes were icy cold. "Go back and tell him that I will personally go to him to settle the score regarding my master's fate and the land deed for the Fuju Opera Troupe."

"Let him wash his neck and wait."

After saying that, Lu Guan reached into his clothes and began to grope around.

Soon, he pulled out a greasy money bag.

He weighed it in his hand and found that there were two silver dollars inside, plus a dozen or so silver coins called "haoyang" and a bunch of copper coins.

In addition, there was a poisoned iron dagger.

Lu Guan unceremoniously stuffed the money bag and dagger into his pocket, and then searched the other three unconscious thugs as well, seizing a total of nearly five silver dollars' worth of valuables.

In Tianjin in 1925, one silver dollar could buy thirty catties of good flour.

Five silver dollars—that's a windfall, enough for an ordinary family to eat for half a year.

Lu Guan stood up and walked to the counter.

Manager Zhao trembled with fright and instinctively took a step back.

Clang.

Lu Guan took out a silver dollar he had just seized from his pocket and slapped it on the counter.

"Manager Zhao, I apologize for disturbing you."

"This money is considered compensation for the damaged tables, chairs, and dishes; any overpayment will be refunded, and any underpayment will be collected."

Manager Zhao glanced at the silver coin, then at Lu Guan's calm expression, swallowed hard, and quickly put on a fawning smile.

"Young man, you're too kind. It's nothing, it's nothing..."

Lu Guan didn't waste any more words. He turned around and helped up the old blind man who had been squatting in the corner, holding his erhu.

"Grandpa, are you full? If you are, we'll head back."

"I'm full, I'm full."

"Young Master's punches are so powerful, even this old man feels invigorated just listening to them!"

Although the old blind man couldn't see, he heard those sounds of bones colliding very clearly.

Amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd, the two pushed open the doors of Juyinglou and stepped back into the swirling snow.

In a private booth facing the street on the second floor of Juyinglou, behind a half-rolled bamboo curtain, sat a young man dressed in a moon-white silk shirt.

The young man had a fair complexion, but his eyes were sunken.

Beside him stood a man in a blue robe and short jacket, standing respectfully.

"Senior brother, this young actor is ruthless. He practices the powerful style of Bajiquan, but I haven't seen him use any real strength. It seems like he's just relying on brute force," the man in blue reported in a low voice.

The young man in the silk shirt nodded and took a small sip of the warm Shaoxing wine.

"What do you know?"

"He has never practiced any proper methods, yet his qi and blood are as vigorous as a furnace. This is a rare and exceptional person."

He leaned forward slightly and said.

"The 'Fairy of the Hu Family' whom I worship is currently at a critical juncture of transformation and urgently needs the best blood food to nourish her body."

"This kid's qi and blood are so domineering. If we can break through the whole qi barrier, he should be able to stabilize the Fairy Maiden's support for this period of time. Heh, it seems this trip to Tianjin was not in vain after all."

Upon hearing the words "Hu Men Xiangu," the man in blue broke out in a cold sweat.

He knew that the fox spirit enshrined in his senior brother's shrine was most skilled in the art of sexual cultivation.

Once she gets involved, you'll be drained of your life force and reduced to a skin and bones.

"Go, send a few men over the next couple of days to thoroughly investigate this kid's background."

The young man in the silk shirt turned and ordered, "Investigate thoroughly where he usually hangs out, whether he's frequented brothels, and whether he's ever lost his virginity."

"Does Senior Brother mean to check if he's a virgin?"

"Nonsense. Fairy nuns value virginity above all else. If it is a defiled person who has lost their virginity, no matter how strong their blood and energy are, they will still be tainted with filth, and fairy nuns cannot swallow it."

The young man in the silk robe sneered and leaned back in his armchair.

"If she's still a virgin and hasn't lost her virginity, then arrange for someone to make contact with her."

"Don't rush into action. Give him some sweetness first, and raise him slowly in a cage like a hawk. It won't be too late to offer him to the fairy maiden for 'dining' when he breaks through his cultivation and reaches the peak of his qi and blood."

"Yes, senior brother, I'll take care of it right away."

The man in blue shivered, dared not say another word, and quickly obeyed the order and withdrew.

……

Outside the restaurant, a cold wind blew, and Lu Guan frowned slightly.

Although the outburst he had just experienced was exhilarating, he could feel that without the support of internal martial arts techniques, relying solely on brute force and the imitation of shadow puppetry was extremely taxing on his vital energy.

Moreover, he always felt that there was a pair of eyes watching him from behind, which made the back of his neck feel a little uneasy.

The canal gang will never let this go.

The Gray Lord who worships the "Gray Immortal" is far more powerful than a few street thugs.

I've heard that evil spirits can confuse people's minds and harm them invisibly; my master was one of those who fell victim to them.

Moreover, the waters of Tianjin are probably deeper than he imagined.

"We must get the remaining six 'full house' performances together as soon as possible."

Lu Guan clutched the bag full of money tightly in his arms.

Once you obtain the true teachings of "Bajiquan·Mingjin" and thoroughly train your muscles and bones, your qi and blood will be as vigorous as a furnace fire, and ordinary evil spirits and demons will not be able to get close to you!

By the time we returned to the dilapidated Fujuban Opera House, it was already completely dark.

After settling the old blind man in, Lu Guan returned to the backstage area alone.

He lit the kerosene lamp, sat down in front of the old camphor wood opera box, and took out the shadow puppet of "Master of Eight Extremes" again.

Whether it was just my imagination or not, after four performances and a real battle, this shadow puppet carved from tiger skin seemed to have undergone some changes.

The originally rough edges became more rounded, and a faint glint of blood could be seen around the charred bullet hole in his chest.

Even more strangely, when Lu Guan stared into the shadow puppet's eyes, he vaguely felt that the shadow puppet was also looking at him.