Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

In the Li family's courtyard, there were five or six servants standing.

Li Jinrong stood under the eaves, holding a folding fan in his hand.

"Don't pack that bundle so tightly. We'll need it when we get there. Who's responsible if it gets wrinkled?"

"Is the tea set ready? It's my blue and white porcelain set, not this one. Go exchange it!"

"And bring my mink coat too, it's colder over there than in Tianjin."

"..."

"Uncle Li, are you going on a long trip or moving?"

Chen Mo couldn't help but chuckle as he watched this scene.

Hearing the voice, Fatty Li turned around, closed his folding fan, and waved to Chen Mo: "You've come at the right time. Come in, come in. Don't stand at the door like a gatekeeper."

Chen Mo walked into the courtyard, walked around several open wicker boxes on the ground, and went to the porch.

A servant quickly brought over a chair.

Li Jinrong reopened the folding fan and slowly waved it twice. "I call this being prepared. I only feel at ease when I have everything I need when I'm traveling."

"Do you think everyone's like you, running around shirtless?"

Chen Mo looked down at his inspection bureau uniform and did not refute.

Li Jinrong sat down on the chair next to him, picked up the tea that the servant had just brewed, and took a sip. "I've also prepared your luggage."

He was taken aback: "Mine?"

"Of course I'm coming with you. Why would I wear this?"

He put down his teacup and counted on his fingers, "Make sure you have a change of clothes and toiletries. Ganzhou is colder than Jinshi, so don't freeze like a quail."

"Alright," Chen Mo nodded, "then I have to thank you."

"No need to thank me, just help me carry the boxes later."

He chuckled, leaned back in his chair, glanced at the various sizes of luggage in the yard, and casually asked, "By the way, how exactly are we going this time? You still haven't explained it to me clearly."

Li Jinrong put away his folding fan and tapped it lightly on the table twice, as if he were organizing his thoughts.

"We'll take the train to Jiangning first, then take a boat from the dock there, go upstream along the river, pass Poyang Lake and enter the Gan River, and go directly to Ganzhou."

"This waterway is safe, and we have people looking after us along the way."

"I originally planned to leave in three days," the fat man suddenly lowered his voice, glancing at the courtyard gate, "but after that incident in the Japanese concession last night, my old man called me overnight, urging me to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Go out and take a look now. Needless to say, the Japanese concession is under martial law, and even the French and British concessions are under curfew. The police are setting up roadblocks at intersections with guns in hand."

Chen Mo naturally knew what he was talking about.

"So the sooner we leave, the better. The situation in Tianjin is likely to change. Let me head south quickly, or I'll be used as a pawn."

"piece?"

Li Jinrong glanced at him, a rare seriousness in his eyes: "Are you genuinely confused or just pretending? Do you think the Japanese will let this go so easily?"

"Those consulates are already making connections, trying to force the coalition government to give an explanation. At a time like this, everyone who stays in Jinshi is at risk; who knows which side will take their place?"

Jiangning.

Chen Mo silently recited the place name in his mind.

Traveling south from Jinshi takes two days by train, and with the added time spent by water, it's estimated to take about a week.

------

For dinner, Fatty arranged for us to have a private room on the second floor of a restaurant called Yipinju.

Chen Mo originally didn't want to come, but he couldn't resist the fat man's persistent pleading, saying he wanted to introduce him to the other travelers on the road.

This restaurant is located at the border of the French Concession and the British Concession. It serves both northern and southern Chinese cuisine and is frequented by dignitaries and important figures.

It's rather quiet tonight.

As Chen Mo followed Li Jinrong upstairs, he noticed two black sedans parked in front of the police station across the street, with the Japanese flag on their hoods.

Several men in suits were hurrying inside.

"Did you see that?" Li Jinrong tilted his head and whispered, "The consulate people went straight to the police station. The coalition government is most afraid of foreigners causing trouble. If they cause trouble, they will back down, and if they back down, things will fall apart."

The door to the private room opened, and two people were already sitting inside.

A young woman, in her early twenties, was wearing a white cheongsam with a pale yellow sweater over it, her hair loosely tied back.

Hearing the door open, he looked up and revealed a handsome face with a resemblance to Li Jinrong, but much more refined than the fat man.

The other was a man in his forties, sitting by the window with his back ramrod straight.

He wore a gray lined robe, revealing the edge of a blue cloth jacket underneath, and looked like someone who had been handling guns and sticks for many years.

His vital energy was contained within, making him a spitting image of another Shen Dajiang.

A master of the Copper Skin Realm.

Chen Mo met his gaze for a second, and the man's expression changed slightly, as if he had discovered something, but he said nothing.

"Come, come, let me introduce you. This is my friend Chen Mo."

Li Jinrong placed the folding fan on the table, and after introducing the woman, he pointed to her and said, "This is my cousin, Shen Yunjin."

"She's from my third aunt's family. She grew up in Ganzhou and is coming home this time, so she's coming with us."

Shen Yunjin stood up, nodded slightly to Chen Mo, and said in a slightly distant tone, "Hello, Mr. Chen."

"Hello, Miss Shen."

Shen Yunjin seemed surprised by his coldness, paused for a moment, and then sat down again.

Li Jinrong then pointed to the man in gray, his tone more solemn than when he introduced his cousin: "This is Tie Kun, Master Tie. He will take care of all safety matters on this trip."

Tie Kun didn't get up, but simply nodded to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo nodded as well.

Neither of them spoke.

Li Jinrong looked at this one, then at that one, and sighed with a bit of a headache: "Well, you two are both taciturn. Just don't bore me to death on the way back."

The dishes were served one after another.

Braised crab meat lion's head meatballs, braised dried bean curd strips, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish... dishes filled the round table.

Shen Yunjin ate with great elegance, holding her chopsticks upright and gently tucking her sleeves around herself when picking up food; it was clear she was raised in a wealthy family.

She ate almost silently, a stark contrast to Li Jinrong next to her who smacked his lips loudly.

Chen Mo ate at a moderate pace, making little noise, and didn't pick up much food.

After eating most of a bowl of rice, I put down my chopsticks, picked up my teacup, and slowly sipped my tea.

"Does Mr. Chen work at the Inspection Bureau?" Shen Yunjin suddenly asked.

"Um."

"How many years have you been doing this?"

"I entered the country in the same batch as Brother Li."

"And now?"

"He's been suspended."

Shen Yunjin waited for two seconds, and when she realized that he didn't intend to continue, she pursed her lips.

"Mr. Chen always speaks so... concisely?"

Chen Mo glanced at her and said, "Mm."

This woman is a bit strange. We don't know each other well, so what's there to talk about?

Shen Yunjin: "..."

Li Jinrong almost burst out laughing, and quickly picked up a piece of lion's head meatball and stuffed it into his mouth.

Tie Kun didn't say much from beginning to end, occasionally picking up a piece of food with his chopsticks, and spending most of the time drinking tea.

His gaze would occasionally sweep over Chen Mo, as if he were examining something he hadn't yet figured out.

Halfway through the meal, Li Jinrong put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and his expression became serious.

"Hey, Mr. Tie, how's the manpower arrangement going on your end?"

Tie Kun put down his chopsticks: "Twenty gunmen, led by Uncle Fu, and twelve guards who cultivate Qi and Blood Martial Arts, all arranged, they will be in place first thing tomorrow morning."

"Where are the weapons?"

"I have both long and short ones. It's inconvenient to carry long weapons on the road, so I've packed the short ones and hidden them in the compartments of my luggage."

"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you this time, Master Tie."

.....

It was almost nine o'clock when we came out after dinner.

Li Jinrong ate with a rosy complexion, and two buttons on his silk robe were undone, revealing a white silk undergarment underneath.

He stood at the entrance of Yipinju, his gaze passing over Chen Mo and landing on the other side of the street.

That's the direction of Wan Hua Lou.

Even from two streets away, you can see that brightly lit area.

"It's been a long time since I've been there."

The fat man smacked his lips, his expression a mix of regret and melancholy. "Yuqin asked someone to pass on a message last time, saying that she had learned a new piece of music and wanted me to come and listen to it."

"It's a pity I have to get up early tomorrow..."

Chen Mo leaned against the car door, his hands in his pockets, somewhat speechless. "Even if I don't go, I won't die."

"What do you know?" He sighed, a thin layer of sadness rising in his eyes. "You know Yuqin, she's the most heartless person. After half a month apart, she probably hasn't even forgotten my last name."

Chen Mo recalled the woman who played the pipa. The last time he went there, the woman was playing "Ambush from Ten Sides" while glancing at the gold watch on Fatty Li's wrist.

"Get in the car. If you keep standing there, Master Tie will think you've been robbed."

Li Jinrong glanced in the direction of Wanhua Tower one last time, gritted his teeth, and got into the car.

"Never mind, business is more important."

Chen Mo closed the car door and went around to the other side to get in.

The car started, and the engine noise drowned out the sound of the wind on the street.

Li Jinrong leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and kept muttering to himself.

Looking at his expression, Chen Mo couldn't help but smile slightly.

.......

Before dawn, the Li family home was already bustling with activity.

Chen Mo opened his eyes promptly at five o'clock. When he finished washing up and went out, the courtyard was already bustling with activity.

Tie Kun and his men were loading boxes onto the truck. These wooden boxes were not large, less than a meter long and only about half a meter wide.

Each one looked heavy; judging from the guards carrying them, it was clear that they contained heavy objects.

Chen Mo stood under the eaves, his divine sense sweeping over the boxes.

Large yellow croaker?

Others couldn't help but estimate in their minds that these thirty-odd boxes must have been worth at least two or three million silver dollars.

I really want to rob them....

"Good morning, Mr. Chen." Tie Kun walked over and handed him a package of oil paper. "Steamed buns, still warm."

Chen Mo took it: "Thanks."

He leaned against a pillar and took a bite of his steamed bun.

The pork and scallion filling was finely chopped and tasted good.

Tie Kun stood next to him, also eating a steamed bun.

"It seems that Mr. Chen is not following the path of Qi and Blood Martial Arts?"

"Yes, it's a side sect, different from Master Tie's approach."

Chen Mo's answer was vague, and Tie Kun didn't press him for details.

In this kind of world, who doesn't have some secrets they'd rather not talk about?

He finished the steamed bun in a few bites, patted the crumbs off his hands, and turned to continue directing the loading of the buns onto the truck.

"Chen Mo!"

Li Jinrong came out of the main hall, having changed into a dark gray Zhongshan suit. He was still holding the folding fan in his hand, but the fan surface had been changed to a plain one, with only four characters written on it: "Safe journey".

"Did you have someone write this on the spot?" Chen Mo glanced at it.

"I had Lao Zhou write this last night," Li Jinrong said smugly, fanning himself with his fan. "How about it? Fits the occasion, doesn't it?"

"good."

Li Jinrong glanced at him sideways, his gaze sweeping over the guards packing boxes in the courtyard, and lowered his voice: "When we get there, something good will happen."

"What good news?"

You'll know when you get there.

"I remember you told me about five good things, and each time it was about going to the brothel, Wan Hua Lou..."

"This time is different."

Chen Mo pursed his lips, too lazy to pay him any attention.

The car is assembled.

Six trucks, three for cargo and three for passengers.

Tie Kun made meticulous arrangements: each truck was accompanied by four gunmen and two guards, with the men and vehicles never separated.

Li Jinrong and Chen Mo sat in the driver's seat of the middle truck, while Shen Yunjin rode alone in a car, accompanied by two guards.

"Let's go."

Tie Kun opened the door of the second truck and gestured for Li Jinrong to enter.

The sound of an engine echoed through the streets in the early morning, startling a flock of sparrows from the rooftops.

Before dawn, the streets of Jinshi were already filled with people.

People pulling rickshaws, carrying loads on shoulder poles, and driving mule carts out of town came and went in the dim light.

As the convoy passed an intersection, Chen Mo saw two men dressed in black standing by the roadside. One of them was smoking and his eyes were fixed on their car.

Chen Mo remained calm and simply scanned the area with his divine sense.

Ordinary people.

He had no cultivation level and carried no weapons.

The car traveled through the streets of Jinshi in the early morning.

When we passed the intersection in the French Concession, the police set up a checkpoint.

Uncle Fu got off the carriage behind, handed over a pack of cigarettes, and said a few words to the policeman.

The other party waved, and the convoy passed smoothly.

There weren't many people in the train station square.

Several police officers in black uniforms stood at the entrance, leaning on their guns, idly observing the passersby.

Tie Kun has already come from the freight yard and is waiting at the platform entrance.

"Mr. Li, the luggage is all loaded and in the third cargo hold," he said in a low voice. "Our compartment is in the fourth carriage, first class, on the inside."

Li Jinrong nodded and walked to the platform first.

The waiting hall was filled with the smell of coal smoke, and a few passengers sat on the benches, some dozing off, others eating dry food.

Li Jinrong bought several newspapers, gave one to Chen Mo, and then flipped through it himself.

Front-page headline: "Conflict escalates in Japanese concession; consular corps protests, demanding severe punishment for the inspection bureau."

Chen Mo glanced at it, folded the newspaper, and stuffed it into his pocket.

At 7:20, the train arrived at the station on time.

A dark steam locomotive, panting heavily, stopped at the platform. A metal sign on the front of the locomotive read "Jinshi-Jiangning".

Chen Mo was the last to get on the bus.

As he stepped onto the pedal, his gaze instinctively swept backward.

A middle-aged man wearing a tattered felt hat stood in a corner of the waiting hall, watching their carriage from afar.

Chen Mo didn't turn around and walked into the carriage.

The private room wasn't large, with two rows of soft seats facing each other, a small fixed table in the middle, and a brass wall lamp overhead.

Dark red velvet curtains hung on the car window, half-drawn, letting in light that illuminated the tabletop.

Shen Yunjin chose a seat by the window and placed the dark blue bundle beside her.

Li Jinrong sat opposite her, put the folding fan on the table, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Chen Mo sat near the door, placed his small bag at his feet, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

With a long whistle, the train slowly started moving.

The houses and streets of Jinshi slowly receded outside the window, eventually becoming a hazy gray background.

Shen Yunjin looked out the window and said softly, "I've studied in Jinshi for four years, and today I'm finally going back."

"You can't bear to part with it?" Li Jinrong asked.

She shook her head, turning her gaze from the window to her teacup: "There's nothing I'm reluctant to leave behind. This place has never truly belonged to me."

Li Jinrong pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and shuffled them vigorously: "Come on, let's play a few rounds if we're bored on the way. Chen Mo, what cards do you know?"

Chen Mo closed his eyes: "No."

"Then I'll teach you."

"I won't learn."

Li Jinrong: "...You're the kind of person who'll kill the conversation sooner or later."

Shen Yunjin looked at Chen Mo, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

She looked away, took out a yellowed booklet from her bundle, and began to read it.

Chen Mo scanned the cover of the booklet with his divine sense. It was titled "Miscellaneous Records of Feng Shui in Southern Jiangxi".

This woman knows about feng shui?