You believe that your gun is no match for my fist?

The streetlights burst forth, their yellow and white lights mingling together, illuminating the entire street.

Gao Zhan is a man of the 21st century, but he had never seen such a metropolis in his previous life.

To be more precise, it was the kind of international metropolis that you could only see on television in the early 20th century.

He witnessed it with his own eyes today.

The shops on both sides of the road were all open. The silk shop displayed whole bolts of fabric, and the pastry shop had white cakes stacked in the glass cabinets, decorated with red and green cherries.

The style is indeed different; it's as if he's living in a movie depicting the early 20th century.

However, he had no recollection of his hometown, Pucheng, being so advanced and prosperous in the early 20th century.

The Great Qian Dynasty hasn't fallen yet; it's only been around the early 2000s at most.

Gao Zhan walked down the street wearing the Hanfu he had just bought. It was a plain gray-blue silk dress with a turn-down collar, a cinched waist, and narrow sleeves. After changing into it, he looked completely different.

So-called Han-style Western clothing refers to modernized traditional Hanfu that emerged under the influence of Western learning. Its characteristic is that it retains the original features of Han clothing while incorporating features of Western-style clothing.

He was already handsome to begin with, and even in his country bumpkin clothes he stood out from the crowd, let alone now.

Eyes began to drift towards them from the street, men and women alike. Uncle Liu followed beside him, watching his attention-grabbing nephew, feeling quite pleased with himself.

He clicked his tongue twice, took out his cigarette case, and lit one for himself. He turned to look at Gao Zhan, who was still looking around.

Tang Liu didn't urge him, but just smiled, slowed his pace, and let his nephew look around.

Back when he first came to Pucheng, he wasn't much better off than me.

They strolled around leisurely for a while until Gao Zhan stopped in front of a watch shop. Tang Liu glanced at his nephew and saw him staring at a beautiful woman's portrait on the wall of a photo studio in the distance. He immediately laughed.

"Is it pretty?"

he asks.

Gao Zhan withdrew his gaze. "Beautiful."

"Let's go, there's something even better ahead."

Gao Zhan nodded and followed behind his sixth uncle. However, he still glanced at the direction of the photo studio every now and then.

He only looked away after the figure on the roof of the photo studio disappeared.

The wind blowing through the street carried the aroma of food and the ambiguous scent of women.

Qunyufang.

Don't get me wrong, this is just an ordinary restaurant.

The facade of Qunyufang doesn't look grand; it's just two ebony doors embedded in a gray brick wall, with a black plaque with gold lettering above them.

But once you step through the door, it's a completely different world.

The interior was quite bright, with a Western-style crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, bathing the entire hall in a pale golden glow. The floor was paved with dark red tiles that gleamed.

There was only a hall inside; I didn't see any dining tables.

At this moment, a girl dressed in dark blue Hanfu quickly came up to greet them. She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old and had short hair that reached her ears.

Nowadays, many people no longer grow their hair long or tie it up; short hair is in fashion, and this applies to both men and women. This ear-length short haircut has been a trend among fashionable women in recent years.

She gave a slight bow to the two men. "Greetings, gentlemen. Do you have an appointment?"

Tang Liu waved his hand: "I didn't make an appointment."

The girl then asked, "Were you a member of our Qunyufang?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Liu turned his head, a smug look on his face, and said, "Zhan, do you even know what a 'member' is?"

Seeing his expression, Gao Zhan said, "I don't know."

"This membership system is a foreign thing. Once you pay the fee and become a member, you're considered a regular customer."

"From now on, we won't have to wait for a table when we eat out or have tea, and sometimes we can even get a discount."

As Tang Liu spoke, he looked at the girl again, then pulled out a ticket book from his pocket, tore off a ticket, and scribbled a few lines: "No membership. I brought my nephew to dinner today. Are there any tables available?"

The girl glanced at the two of them briefly, then nodded without asking any further questions: "Please follow me."

She took the money and walked up to the two men, ready to lead the way.

"How much is that?"

Gao Zhan asked his sixth uncle a question, but his sixth uncle didn't answer, only glared at him. Gao Zhan understood and shut his mouth.

Just as I was about to take a step, a voice suddenly came from behind me, sounding somewhat surprised:

"Tang Liu? You're here too?"

The two turned around.

They found the second master standing by the door, wearing a beige suit and holding a felt hat in his hand.

He walked towards them with a smile on his face.

The second master was followed by two men, both tall. The one on the left was five feet eight inches (188 cm), with broad shoulders and a thick back, while the one on the right was exactly five feet tall, with a slightly thinner build.

Both men were dressed in black suits and wearing black top hats.

Gao Zhan's gaze swept over the thinner man's hat brim and recognized his silhouette on the roof of the photo studio.

At this moment, the second master walked forward with a smile, first bowing to Tang Liu, and said in a warm tone: "Sixth Brother, thanks to you today."

Tang Liu was clearly taken aback by being addressed as "Sixth Brother," and paused for a moment before forcing a smile: "Oh dear, Second Master, you're being so frivolous... I can't possibly accept such a title..."

Gao Zhan watched from the side, thinking to himself that Sixth Uncle had really gained face today.

The second master then turned to Gao Zhan and extended his hand to him. Gao Zhan was taken aback for a moment, then realized what was happening and shook his hand in return.

Tang Liuyuan, who was standing nearby, was about to speak up to remind him, but when he saw Gao Zhan holding his hand properly, he swallowed his words back.

"Tang Liu, your nephew is quite something! He's skilled in martial arts and even knows proper etiquette for foreigners!" The second master withdrew his hand, glanced at Gao Zhan, and spoke with a hint of approval in his tone.

Tang Liu nodded hurriedly, waving his hands modestly, but he couldn't stop smiling. "Oh dear, I'm just a country bumpkin who just came up here. I don't know anything. I just stumbled upon this by chance..."

The second master didn't respond, but simply gestured with his chin towards the girl in the dark blue Hanfu: "These two are my friends. Please book a private room on the third floor."

The girl responded and respectfully returned the check to Tang Liu before turning around and leading the way.

Qunyufang only has private rooms, and it operates on a membership and reservation system. Regular non-members can only book private rooms on the second floor at most; the third floor is not open to non-members.

The private room was small and simply furnished, but its style was quite sophisticated.

Of course, Gao Zhan couldn't understand any of this.

Shortly after everyone was seated, the door was gently pushed open, and a young woman dressed in a traditional ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) entered carrying a guqin (a seven-stringed zither). She bowed to the three of them, said nothing, and sat down at a low table by the window. She tuned the strings, and the clear, melodious sound of the guqin spread out.

At this moment, the second master also spoke up, "Since we happened to meet you two today, this meal will be on my behalf. Tang Liu, don't refuse, your nephew is new to Pucheng, I should treat him to a meal."

Just as Tang Liu was about to politely decline, the Second Master added, "Of course, I'm also treating you to a meal. You put in a lot of good words for me with my elder brother today, so I must thank you."

As he spoke, he picked up the teapot on the table and personally poured a cup of tea for Tang Liu, and also poured a cup for Gao Zhan.

"I heard your surname is Gao?" he asked with a smile as he poured tea for Gao Zhan.

Tang Liu watched from the side, his face beaming with smiles.

As for referring to Gao Zhan as his nephew, he didn't correct him.

Neither of them were particular about it, since they weren't related by blood. Gao Zhan called him uncle, and he called Gao Zhan nephew; they just used whatever was convenient for them.

"Yes." Gao Zhan picked up the teacup with both hands and nodded to the Second Master.

How old are you?

"Twenty-nine."

"Wow, he's not that much younger than me."

"Where are you from?"