Chapter 208 - 206: Instructor, Smoker, Young Master, and Two Major Events

Chapter 208: Chapter 206: Instructor, Smoker, Young Master, and Two Major Events

The "Shenghai Thirteen Taibao" was the name given to thirteen individuals who once turned this Far East First City upside down.

Hailing from all walks of life, they were a mix of righteous and evil. Each was powerful, and each possessed a unique, formidable skill.

Back when the Westerners’ ironclad ships and powerful cannons had just battered down the nation’s gates, before the new elite had finished setting up their chessboard, any one of these thirteen could hold Shenghai in the palm of their hand.

The common folk, in their awe and fear, bestowed upon them the title of "Taibao."

However, times have changed.

As capital and rules from the Western World flooded in, the landscape of power in Shenghai swelled and was reshuffled. The status of the former "Taibao" plummeted. In the face of vaster powers and interests, they inevitably became mere pawns and weapons.

After several rounds of infighting and power struggles, these thirteen scattered to the winds, fading away with the old era. Today, few people even remember their name.

Madam Ding had come to Shenghai at sixteen, witnessing all of its upheavals. Now, as she serenely recounted these old tales, Fu Juemin felt as if he were listening to a story from another era.

"...Back when Mr. Wen wasn’t yet the mayor, he had dealings with a few of these thirteen, and was a great benefactor to some of them. Now that Mr. Wen has need of them, he sent a few telegrams, and they came. It shows he’s a man of his word."

Just as he was listening to Aunt Ding, Big Cat, who was waiting beside them, murmured a quiet reminder, "They’re here."

The two rose from their wicker chairs and looked toward the station exit.

Fu Juemin narrowed his eyes. At the exit, the Qinglian Gang members he had sent to meet them were leading three men straight in their direction.

The three men had wildly different auras, as if they came from three completely separate worlds.

The leader was powerfully built and steady, his skin the color of bronze. He wore a faded brown shortcoat, a neatly trimmed mustache, and an old-fashioned chauffeur’s cap. His features were plain and his gait was solid, yet he exuded a quiet, imposing presence.

Beside him was a man as tall and thin as a bamboo stalk. His face was a sickly pale, the kind that comes from never seeing the sun. His eyes were vacant, and his steps were unsteady, as if he were half-asleep after pulling an all-nighter.

The last was a handsome, well-preserved man. He had fair skin and was dressed in a brocade robe, a floral-patterned magua, and a lustrous piece of Ancient Jade at his waist. Though he was clearly no longer young, he still carried the air of an old-money idler, his eyes holding the lingering traces of his former life as a dashing young gentleman.

The three walked abreast, a mismatched yet strangely harmonious trio.

They didn’t deliberately draw attention to themselves, but wherever they went, the bustling crowd parted as if moved by an unseen hand, unconsciously clearing a path. The people stepping aside didn’t even seem to notice they were doing it.

Fu Juemin, watching from the side, saw it clearly. It was a bizarre phenomenon—their sheer "presence" was so overwhelming that the environment itself was forced to "adapt" to them.

Fu Juemin activated his Yao Ling. The entire station plaza dissolved into a chaotic sea of sound and light, where pedestrians flickered like dim fireflies. In contrast, the three approaching men were like three steady, unabashedly burning torches—their light was scorching and impossible to miss.

’Gratitude...’

Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise. ’Three of them.’

’But on second thought,’ he mused, ’with the current situation in Shenghai, anyone less than a top-tier martial artist at the Gratitude Sensing Realm would be useless. And if they were only at the Tongxuan Realm, they wouldn’t be important enough for Mayor Wen Zhiqiu to summon them personally by telegram.’

’Old Shenghai produced only thirteen of these "top-tier figures," after all. Time is a great filter; you don’t survive this long without real ability.’

Madam Ding led Fu Juemin and the others forward to meet the trio. When the two groups came face-to-face, she offered a fist-and-palm salute to the sturdy, chauffeur-like man and said, "Instructor Guan."

He returned the salute and was about to speak.

Just then, the dapper man dressed like a rich young master flashed a bizarre smile and lunged toward Madam Ding like a phantom.

"Hmph!"

Almost simultaneously, Big Cat and Kitty snorted coldly and surged forward, pressing in on him like two closing walls.

But the man’s Body Technique was more fluid than they could have imagined. Like formless water, he slipped right through the supposedly seamless gap in their pincer attack!

It was a feint. He suddenly abandoned his attack on Madam Ding, his real target being Fu Juemin all along!

A glint flashed in Fu Juemin’s eyes. He didn’t move his body, maintaining a relaxed posture with one hand in his pocket as his other hand moved to meet the attack.

"BANG!"

Fist met palm with a short, dull CRACK!

The air between them shuddered, and an invisible shockwave rippled outward, rustling the clothes of those standing nearby.

The man chuckled. At that exact moment, a low shout rang out, "Young Master!"

"WHOOSH—"

It was as if a breeze had just swept past.

By the time everyone recovered, the devil-may-care dandy was already standing calmly back in his original spot. His fine clothes were unruffled, his breathing was even—it was as if he had never moved at all.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. By the time anyone could react, the exchange was already over.

"’So the rumors were true...’"

The handsome, richly dressed man glanced at his own palm, then at the expressionless Fu Juemin. A playful smile touched his lips as he murmured, "Dragon Elephant Wisdom... It really is Dragon Elephant Wisdom."

Fu Juemin remained silent, his expression calm. Madam Ding, however, frowned slightly. An unseen tension filled the air.

Just then, a voice cut through the tension.

"A light! Anyone got a light? Can someone give me a light?!"

The pale, drowsy-eyed, tall and thin man among the three had suddenly started shouting frantically.

One of the Qinglian Gang escorts instinctively reached for his pocket. But just as his fingers brushed the fabric, the matchbox inside his pocket vanished, reappearing as if by magic in the tall, thin man’s hand.

With the matches secured, the man immediately pulled a pack of cigarettes from his coat. With trembling hands, oblivious to everyone around him, he quickly lit one. He took a long, deep drag, his cheeks sinking in as if he were trying to inhale the very soul and essence of the cigarette.

One cigarette, then two, then three...

He chain-smoked three cigarettes without exhaling a single wisp of smoke.

Finally, he slowly opened his mouth and exhaled a single, large, murky cloud of smoke that carried a strangely sweet scent. An expression of utter, near-debilitating satisfaction spread across his face.

This grotesque interlude unexpectedly broke the standoffish, volatile atmosphere.

The sturdy, chauffeur-like man of the trio stepped forward at the opportune moment. Saluting with his fist once more, he said, "Mr. Ding, the Young Master was rude just now. I, Guan, apologize to you on his behalf.

However..."

The sturdy man left his sentence hanging, his gaze shifting to Fu Juemin. His tone was level, but every word was clear. "We may have been out of the Martial Arts world for many years, but we’ve still heard of the name Demon Elephant Ji Shaotong."

"’It may feel good to let the tiger run wild for a while, but you should think about how you’re going to clean up the mess afterward...’"

"’That is all I, Guan, have to say.’"

With that, he said no more, simply beckoning for the other two to leave.

Madam Ding watched them turn to leave. After a moment’s thought, she called out, "Instructor Guan, I, Ding, have already arranged accommodations for you three."

Without turning back, they merely tossed a single word over their shoulders—"Unnecessary"—and vanished into the crowd.

"A trio of oddballs... and quite the temper on them."

Gazing in the direction the three had gone, Fu Juemin pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket and began wiping his hand, his voice calm as he spoke.

His words made Madam Ding laugh. She couldn’t help but shake her head. "They were once titans who ruled Shenghai Beach, after all, and they possess world-class skills. It’s only natural they’d be arrogant.

"’Even I, your Aunt Ding, am just a junior in their eyes...’"

"’Mayor Wen is in for a disappointment, I’m afraid.’"

Fu Juemin replied casually, then turned to Madam Ding. "Do you have other plans, Aunt Ding?"

"’Not only did we fail to receive them, but we ended up on bad terms. I have to go report this to Mr. Wen.’"

Madam Ding sighed. "If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have asked you to come along. I was hoping to use this as a chance to introduce you to Mr. Wen... Oh, well."

She patted the back of Fu Juemin’s hand, her smile warm. "You go on and have fun. Just be careful."

With that, Madam Ding hastily departed with her people.

Fu Juemin stood where he was, shaking his head as he replayed the recent events in his mind.

He casually tossed the handkerchief on the ground, then gestured for Big Cat and Kitty to leave.

So much for picking them up. A complete waste of time.

...

As the Lunar New Year drew near, a festive spirit began to fill the streets and alleys of Shenghai.

But beneath this peaceful veneer, two major events rocked Shenghai Beach!

First, rumors were running rampant that the infamous demon of the Martial Arts world, "Demon Elephant Ji Shaotong," had surfaced in Shenghai and, upon his arrival, had massacred the entire family of Zhao Jigang, the president of the Shenghai Martial Dao Association.

Terrifying stories of the demon’s past deeds were unearthed and passed by word of mouth in teahouses and taverns. Embellished by countless silver-tongued storytellers, these tales became the most thrilling gossip and material for this year’s holiday season.

It also added a bloody, martial-world edge to the otherwise prosperous and splendid city of Shenghai.

Second, the refugee riots in the Southwest, sparked by a mid-year drought, had not been suppressed. On the contrary, with the onset of a harsh winter and the worsening disaster, the situation had only escalated.

The Xin Republic’s Government had managed to keep a lid on the crisis for nearly half a year, but now, the lid had blown off. Thanks to the Xin Republic Central’s "proactive" disaster relief and pacification efforts, the Southwest Rebel Army had snowballed, growing to several dozen times its mid-year size. Five major southern provinces, including Xianzhi and Yangping, fell to the rebels one after another.

Song Zhenyuan, the Governor of Yangping Province, abandoned his post and fled north with his remaining forces. He publicly announced he was switching allegiances, pledging himself to the Northern Army!

The news sent the entire Southern region into an uproar.

Once the news hit the papers in Shenghai, students from the major universities and prominent figures from all circles were overcome with outrage, taking to the streets in protest.

Bowing to the pressure of public opinion, the Xin Republic’s Government finally decided to establish the "Southern Country Special Operations Bureau" in Shenghai.

And the post of the bureau’s first director would be a concurrent appointment for Nan Xiangcheng—the current Chief of the Shenghai Public Security Bureau, Secretary-General of the Municipal Council, and newly appointed Deputy Mayor of Shenghai City!