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

Night, in the north of Nanshi City, on Yizhuang Street.

The entire street here is lined with coffin shops and paper offering shops that sell the dead.

For the past few nights, eerie chiseling sounds have been emanating from the century-old "Fu Shou Shop" at the end of the street.

The police officer, nicknamed "Black Dog," went in twice to investigate. All four men who went in were stuffed alive into sealed coffins. When the coffins were opened the next day, the bodies had turned into a pile of wood chips that had been drained of blood and flesh.

Danger rating: Mid-level of Grade 3.

Bounty Points: 600!

In the cold wind, Lu Guan, wearing only a thin jacket, kicked open the rickety wooden door of the Fushou Shop.

"Squeak—"

The shop was dark and gloomy.

A dozen or so unpainted cypress coffins were scattered haphazardly in the courtyard.

"Thump...thump...thump..."

The sound of chiseling wood came from a large red coffin at the deepest part of the room.

"Playing tricks."

Lu Guan snorted coldly, pressed the [Rat Concealment] shadow puppet against his chest, and instantly activated [Night Vision] and [Sensory Senses].

In his eerie green vision, he could clearly see a monster covered in moss, its limbs like withered wood, lying on the large red coffin.

This is a "Wooden Guest," also known as a Resentful Wood Spirit.

It is a malevolent spirit born from the resentment of a person who was nailed to the coffin and buried alive, which lingered and merged with the ebony wood.

"Hunger...blood..."

The wooden man sensed the yang energy of the living person and suddenly turned his head.

The face, devoid of features and consisting only of a dark hole, was aimed at Lu Guan.

"Whoosh!"

It was like a giant spider, its four limbs kicking off the coffin, bringing with them a gust of cold wind that rushed straight at Lu Guan's face.

The ten fingers are sharp as iron nails. Once they pierce the flesh, they will instantly take root and sprout, sucking the life out of the living person and turning them into withered wood.

But it chose the wrong opponent.

"Get down here."

Lu Guan neither dodged nor evaded, but his qi and blood suddenly erupted.

The spine's major tendons emitted a crisp sound like a dragon's roar—the Eight Extremes Killing Move... Fierce Tiger Climbing the Mountain!

"roar!"

A fierce and incomparably powerful tiger fist intent transformed into a masculine aura, directly suppressing the ferocity of the wooden guest.

Lu Guan's right fist, like a cannonball, slammed solidly into Mu Ke's chest.

"Click."

The dark wood body, strong enough to withstand the chopping and hacking of knives and axes, exploded with a bang under Lu Guan's extreme punch.

Amidst the flying sawdust, the woodcutter let out a miserable howl as his body was struck in two at the waist and crashed into the pile of coffins behind him.

Lu Guan stepped forward, and with a flash of cold light, the iron dagger in his hand pinned the man's head to the floor.

One case.

Lu Guan pulled out an iron dagger and skillfully cut off the most crucial piece of "gloomy resentful wood" from the wooden man's body as a token, then turned and walked into the wind and snow.

……

Two hours later.

On the edge of the French Concession, there is an abandoned three-story villa.

The case of the woman in red who was a mourner in the French Concession.

Danger rating: Mid-level of Grade 3.

Bounty Points: 400!

This Western-style building originally housed a concubine who had been abandoned by a warlord. She hanged herself on the third floor, wearing a red wedding dress.

Since then, every man who passes by this Western-style building will see a stunningly beautiful woman beckoning in his hallucination, and then be strangled to death by an invisible rope in front of the building's gate.

Lu Guan pushed open the iron gate of the Western-style building and stepped into the courtyard.

"Ding-dong..."

A faint, ethereal phonograph melody filled my ears.

The abandoned Western-style building in front of us was transformed in an instant, becoming magnificent and warm as spring.

On the second-floor balcony, a woman with a seductive figure, dressed in a bright red cheongsam, was giving Lu Guan flirtatious looks.

"Young master, please come up and have a seat..."

Her voice was soft and sweet, penetrating to the bone.

At the same time, a thick, scarlet hemp rope, which had somehow appeared, dangled from mid-air like a venomous snake and was placed around Lu Guan's neck.

This is the most vicious "hallucinatory hypnosis" and "hanging ghost claiming life" of the red-clad mourner!

"Such a shoddy illusion, and you dare to embarrass yourself with it?"

Lu Guan stood still, his eyes cold.

【Fox Charm】"Exquisite Heart"!

"boom!"

At the same time, the ultimate martial arts intent of "heart and mind in harmony" within his body was instantly activated.

The most vigorous and yang energy transformed into a blazing sun, rising slowly in the illusion.

"break!"

A loud shout, like a thunderclap from the heavens.

The magnificent illusion, under the impact of this domineering yang energy, melted and disintegrated instantly, like ice and snow under the scorching sun!

"ah--"

The woman in red screamed, her illusion shattered, and she suffered a severe backlash.

The rope that was about to ensnare Lu Guan's neck was also scalded by this yang energy, emitting black smoke, and suddenly retracted back to the third floor like a snake whose tail had been stepped on.

"Trying to run away?"

Lu Guan exerted force with his feet, and the "Thirteen Shadow Steps" erupted instantly.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

His figure was like a weightless ghost. He tapped the mottled wall three times, leaped over the second-floor balcony, smashed through the third-floor glass window, and stormed into the house.

The room was filled with a chilling aura. The hanged ghost, dressed in tattered red clothes, had a ferocious face and was wielding seven or eight hemp ropes, whipping at Lu Guan.

"die!"

Lu Guan's hands moved like afterimages, completely ignoring the white marks left by the hemp ropes on his "leather-like" arms.

He pressed forward, unleashing a Bajiquan (Eight Extremes Crushing Fist) imbued with the intent of a fierce tiger, which struck the red-clad female ghost directly in the chest.

"Bang!"

The intense Yang energy penetrated her body, and the female ghost's illusory Yin body was instantly struck as if by lightning, with seventy percent of her soul being forcibly dispersed.

Lu Guan seized the core "hanging rope" and unleashed a torrent of his vital energy, completely suppressing the yin energy on it.

"The second one."

Lu Guan rolled up the lifeless hemp rope and tucked it into his pocket.

Two top-level mysterious cases were solved overnight!

Clean, efficient, and extremely violent!

This is Lu Guan, who has honed Ming Jin to its extreme and mastered the "Inner Three Harmonies" and the Fierce Tiger Fist, absolutely crushing ordinary evil spirits!

……

The next day, at noon.

The inner hall of the Military Equipment Department of the Governor's Mansion, where the White-Handed Chief was stationed.

"Bang."

A piece of somber, resentful wood and a rope used for hanging ghosts were thrown by Lu Guan onto the dilapidated desk.

Bai Dangtou stared at the two eerie-looking tokens, his remaining right eye twitching violently a few times.

"Wooden guest, red-clad mourner..."

He gasped, staring at Lu Guan as if he were a monster.

"You little rascal, you didn't sleep a wink last night, you went and tackled those two tough nuts to crack?!"

"This is a mystery that has stumped three of our best detectives in the Department of Mysteries."

"Stop talking nonsense, Senior Bai."

Lu Guan slammed his hand on the table. "Two cases, 1000 merit points. All crossed out."

"I'm going to the water dungeon to retrieve that century-old corpse!"

Half an hour later.

The Armed Forces Department is located three underground floors away, in a water dungeon that never sees the light of day.

Lu Guan stood in front of a huge, solid iron cage.

Inside the cage, a terrifying corpse, two meters tall, was chained with a thick steel chain.

The Qing Dynasty armor on this corpse was already tattered, and the exposed flesh had an eerie dark bronze color. The muscles were bulging, and the fingernails were as black as ink.

Compared to the one that was blown apart by Lu Guan during the annual examination, this corpse demon has a much more ferocious aura. It is obviously a top-quality one that was specially selected by the Armed Forces Department and fed with Yin energy!

Black-haired Demon's peak, half-step Iron Armor!

"roar!"

Sensing Lu Guan's surging, life-giving yang energy, the corpse demon in the iron cage roared, tearing at the chains, and tried to pounce on him and devour him alive.

"Lu Guan, have you thought this through?"

Feng Changshan, standing to the side, frowned deeply.

"This thing only recognizes flesh and blood; it has no mind. If you take it out, the slightest mistake could lead to its backlash..."

Feng Changshan hadn't finished speaking.

Lu Guan reached out and ripped off several talismans for suppressing evil spirits that were pasted on the iron cage, and said calmly.

"Open the door."