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

The ghost market was deathly silent, with no loud shouts.

Both buyers and sellers are like ghosts. When they see something they like, they hide their hands in their wide sleeves and secretly bargain with their knuckles. This is called "swallowing gold in the sleeve".

Using the "night vision" and "sense of smell" abilities granted by the [Rat Concealment], Lu Guan moved around the various stalls without making a sound.

Suddenly, he stopped in front of a stall selling scrap metal and dead people's clothes.

Several costumes stained with dark red blood were carelessly tossed about on the stall.

Beneath the costume lay an ancient mirror covered in verdigris and a tattered, thread-bound book gnawed by rats.

Lu Guan's gaze sharpened.

The blind man once told him that back in the day, when the imperial guards of the Qing Dynasty's Yin-Yang Bureau were handling strange cases, they would always carry a bronze mirror at their waist to reveal the true form of demons and monsters.

Although the bronze mirror was covered in dirt, Lu Guan could vaguely see two ancient seal characters on its back through his night vision: "照心" (Zhao Xin).

The tattered cover of the thread-bound book bore the crookedly written title: "Thirteen Styles of Shadow Walking".

If he wasn't mistaken.

This must be a secret manual of shadow puppetry techniques left behind by an old shadow puppeteer from outside the Great Wall!

"Boss, how much for this pile of junk?" Lu Guan asked in a hoarse voice as he squatted down.

The stall owner was a pale, tall, thin man. Without even raising his head, he stretched out his right hand, his wide sleeves open.

Lu Guan understood immediately and slipped his hand into the other person's sleeve.

The two men quickly made hand gestures in their sleeves. The tall, thin man made the number "five" and demanded a whopping five silver dollars.

Lu Guan sneered, then snapped his index and middle fingers together and pinned them against the other man's palm, replying with a "three".

In those days when one silver dollar could buy thirty catties of good flour, three silver dollars to buy a pile of junk of dubious authenticity was definitely an exorbitant price.

The tall, thin man felt the chilling force emanating from Lu Guan's fingertips and didn't dare to haggle any further, silently withdrawing his hand.

Lu Guan tossed down three silver dollars, rolled up the "Thirteen Styles of Shadow Walking" and the "Heart-Illuminating" bronze mirror into his pocket, and turned to leave.

As they ventured deeper into the ghost market, the earthy smell and eerie, malevolent odor in the air grew stronger.

In an extremely secluded corner, Lu Guan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

His "sense of smell" detected a scent carrying an eerie, sweet peach blossom aroma.

This taste is exactly the same as the fox spirit aphrodisiac that Manager Zhao mixed into the medicinal herbs that day!

Following the scent, one could see a pure white fox pelt, without a single stray hair, laid out on a black cloth stall ahead.

The stall owner was an old man wearing a melon-shaped hat. As Lu Guan approached, he lowered his voice and fawned.

"Sir, you have excellent taste."

"This is a wild fox pelt freshly stripped from the old forests of Changbai Mountain. Make a cloak from it, and it will ward off all evil spirits in winter. It's absolutely pure wild animal, not something offered in a shrine."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the shadow puppet of "Hidden Rat" that Lu Guan had pressed against his heart began to tremble violently.

That was the instinctive fear of a low-level spiritual being when it encountered a superior natural enemy.

"Wild fox fur?"

Lu Guan did not extend his hand, which was tucked into his sleeve.

"Shopkeeper, your lie doesn't hold water."

"How could wild animals from Changbai Mountain have such a strong smell of incense ash from dead bodies under their fur? The edges of the hide are smooth, clearly it was skinned alive. And..."

Lu Guan paused deliberately, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and a trace of the overwhelming pressure of his fully developed Ming Jin energy leaked out through his gaze.

That one tiny detail made the old man in the melon-shaped hat feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

"Moreover, this leather has a foul smell of peach blossom miasma. If this stuff were made into a cloak and worn, within half a month, a living person's life force would be completely drained, and they would end up as a skin and bones dried corpse."

Lu Guan sneered, "You're selling this deadly, malevolent thing as wild goods? Do you think you're tired of living, or do you think I'm blind?"

The old man in the melon-shaped hat turned pale, and a layer of cold sweat instantly seeped out from his forehead.

Those who frequent the ghost market are all shrewd people, and he naturally knew that the leather was of dubious origin. He had originally intended to deceive a wealthy young master who didn't know its value.

Who would have thought they'd run into a tough nut to crack? Moreover, the menacing aura emanating from that person was something no ordinary martial arts practitioner could possess.

"Sir...sir, you're the expert. I admit defeat."

The old man swallowed hard, quickly tucked his hands into his wide sleeves, and thrust them forward, embodying the "gold-swallowing-in-sleeves" rule of the ghost market.

Lu Guan didn't stand on ceremony and reached into the other person's sleeve with one hand.

The old man pinched his fingers together and made a "thirty" gesture.

In 1925, thirty silver dollars could buy nine hundred catties of good flour. If this were truly a top-quality wild fox pelt, it would be worth that price.

But this skin is a hot potato; ordinary people simply can't handle it.

Lu Guan chuckled, his index and middle fingers joined together like an iron clamp, gripping the old man's pulse point tightly, and he made a "five" gesture with his hand behind his back.

Five silver dollars!

It cut right down to his ankle.

The old man gasped in pain, struggling desperately inside his sleeve, trying to refuse.

Lu Guan's fingers, though seemingly radiating strength, caused the old man to break out in a cold sweat from the pain. Finally, he gave in, tapping Lu Guan's hand with his fingers and accepting the deal.

Clang.

Lu Guan pulled out six gleaming white silver dollars from his pocket, threw them onto the black cloth, then tore off a piece of tattered oilcloth, wrapped the white fox fur in it, and tucked it under his arm.

Seeing that the other party had given him more money, the old man felt less annoyed. He rubbed his wrist while looking at Lu Guan with lingering fear.

Lu Guan lowered the brim of his hat and asked casually.

"Shopkeeper, I want to ask you about someone."

"A while ago, there was this skinny guy who used to set up a stall around here, dealing in weasels and the hides of mixed-breed animals. Where have he been these past few days?"

This was the same weasel stall owner who was suspected of being involved in several cases of mysterious deaths of tomb raiders, and was on the list of unsolved strange cases from the Military Equipment Bureau's Investigation and Investigation Department.

Upon hearing this, the old man's expression became even more peculiar. He looked around and then lowered his voice.

"Sir, why are you asking about him? That 'Yellow Rat' is a wicked fellow. I heard he finished a business deal with some tomb raiders a few days ago and hasn't come to Xiaoshi since."

"Some say he dug up some ominous artifact in a mass grave outside the city, fell under a spell, and died in the wilderness."

"Some say he offended some 'spirit' he shouldn't have, and fled back to the border to avoid trouble. In short, no one in the ghost market dares to mention him these past few days."

Thank you.

Having obtained the information he wanted, Lu Guan did not linger any longer. Carrying his lantern, he turned and disappeared into the vast night.

In order to shake off any potential pursuers, Lu Guan spent the better part of an hour wandering through the maze of alleyways where the Japanese concession and the Chinese-controlled area intersected.

Only after confirming that there was no ghost behind him did he climb over the dilapidated courtyard wall of Fujuban.

Back in the cold, damp backstage area, Lu Guan quickly bolted the wooden door shut.

He took a deep breath and ripped the "Hidden Rat" shadow puppet that was stuck to his chest.

"hiss--"

The moment the evil energy left his body, a layer of frost visibly formed on the skin of Lu Guan's chest.

But before the chill could penetrate his bones, the powerful yang energy within his body surged forth, like the sun melting snow, evaporating the foul, deathly aura completely.

A martial artist at the Great Completion Realm is immune to all evils, so this kind of low-level Yin Qi backlash is like scratching an itch through a boot to him.

"The blind man is asleep, perfect timing to get things done."

Lu Guan walked to the clay stove and spread the white fox pelt on the table.

The fox spirit's alluring poison and demonic resentment contained in this pelt are several times more intense than the previous Gray Immortal Rat pelt.

Without "yang water," he could only resort to the "Seven Methods of Cleansing the Shadow Puppet" taught by the old blind man.

Sour and smelly old rice water had already been prepared, and Lu Guan soaked the white fox fur in it.

After soaking thoroughly, Lu Guan held the leather-pushing knife, channeling his inner strength into the tip of the blade. The blade moved across the skin, peeling away the remaining flesh and fat bit by bit.

With each cut, the malevolent energy on the skin weakens a little.

This is followed by fixing with bamboo nails, air-drying in the shade without sunlight, and the most crucial step of fumigation with medicine.

After two full hours of work, when the alum water was finally set for the last time, the originally sinister white fox pelt was finally transformed into a piece of high-quality shadow puppet material as thin as a cicada's wing.

Lu Guan ground up the old mineral pigments, such as cinnabar and orpiment, which had been buried underground for decades, and picked up a willow charcoal pencil.

Since the "Record of One Hundred Physiognomies" includes the appearance of a rat, it must also include the appearance of a fox!

In Lu Guan's mind, the ancient and weathered [Creation Stage] had already shaken violently.

As the curtain swayed, several lines of gilded characters shone brightly in the void.

[Material detected: Spirit Skin (White Fox Fairy Skin)!]

[The materials meet the requirements for making a body as described in "The Record of a Hundred Physiognomists: The Chapter on Borrowing a Body"!]

[Can create a wondrous appearance—[Fox Spirit]!]

[Requirements for preparation: Use spirit fox fur as the main material, aged ox tendon as thread, and supplemented with the host's essence and blood.]