Chapter 1: Big Knife King Wu
In September of the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the six gentlemen of the Reform Movement of 1898, who had written passionate articles to guide the country's development on this decadent land in the middle of the year, were all ordered by Empress Dowager Cixi to be beheaded at Caishikou in the capital at the end of this month.

At this point, the future of this country, which has already reached the end of its dynasty, is becoming increasingly unclear.

In Yutai Teahouse, under the gaze of all kinds of people, a mother and daughter who were so poor that they could barely make a living walked in timidly.

Looking at the exquisite snacks on the porcelain plates on the eight-immortals table in the middle hall, the daughter with a straw sign on her head pleaded in a low voice: "Mom, I'm hungry, I'm hungry."

After hearing the girl's pleading cry, the middle-aged man in brocade clothes sitting beside the Eight Immortals Table showed pity on his face and was ready to take out a few copper coins to give her alms, but when he found nothing, his face suddenly turned ugly.

Feeling the gazes from the people around him, Master Qin, who felt embarrassed, said coldly: "Little Wang, get out."

When Wang Lifa, the owner of the teahouse, found out that his landlord had spoken, he immediately waved his hand and chased him away: "You can't stay here anymore."

The woman, whose face was covered with frost and whose exact age could not be seen, was so frightened after hearing the words of driving the man away that she gritted her teeth and shouted, "Sir, please be kind enough to buy this child..."

But this scene that made people cry did not move the onlookers at all, because the scene of selling children was everywhere in this decadent and corrupt land.

In a corner of the teahouse, a young man in a gray Taoist robe frowned and glanced at the central hall, then paid no attention to that place.

The world is too chaotic, and there are too many miserable people. Even he himself is barely struggling to breathe in this scorching world, and he really can't take care of everything.

However, the skinny Taoist boy sitting next to him looked reluctant and wanted to take some action.

But before the skinny Taoist boy could get up, the gray-robed Taoist priest reached out a hand and held him down tightly: "Junior Brother Qianhe, we are in trouble now and it is easy to bring harm to others. If we lend a hand at this time, we will not help them, but harm them."

After hearing this, the skinny Taoist boy Qianhe stopped struggling to get up and thought about what he and his senior brother had done the night before.

He understood that the reason why his senior brother did not lend a helping hand was indeed for the good of the mother and daughter.

Just as the table of the two brothers was returning to silence, a high-spirited figure walked quickly from outside the teahouse and sat down in front of the two brothers.

The man was tall and sturdy with bulging temples on both sides. Behind him was a sheathed tiger-headed golden sword. Although it had not been unsheathed, it still exuded a fascinating aura of gold.

This person was no one else but the wanted criminal of the Qing court, the chief escort of Shunyuan Escort Agency in Beijing, Wang Wu.

"Master Wang Wu, my two brothers have already carried Mr. Zhuang Fei's body back for burial. The coffin was delivered to the back door of Liuyang Guild Hall this morning and handed over to the old leader Liu Fengchi for placement.

From today on, my two brothers will go south to the Maoshan ancestral temple to recognize our ancestors. From now on, the road ahead will be long and arduous. I hope Fifth Master will take good care of himself."

After saying this, the gray preacher Ding Hai did not wait for Wang Wu, who was sitting opposite him, to respond, and quickly pulled his junior brother Qianhe beside him and left Yutai Teahouse.

Wang Wu, the Big Knife, said nothing about the two men's hasty departure. He just silently untied the tiger-head gold-swallowing knife tied behind his back and placed it on the table, looking down with disdain at the many tea drinkers in the teahouse who had suddenly quieted down.

A few steps out of Yutai Teahouse, Dao Tong Qianhe, who had been dragged by his senior brother Ding Hai, suddenly shook off the big hand that was tightly holding his arm: "Senior brother, there is no tiger chasing us, why are you running so fast?
Master Wang Wu just sat down, and you didn't even offer him a cup of tea. You must have forgotten the way of hospitality taught by the master." Qian He looked at Ding Hai beside him angrily, with a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

Although he is young, children from poor families have to grow up early and he understands what he needs to understand.

Although the Reform Movement initiated by Mr. Zhuang Fei, Tan Sitong and his friends failed, they were not wrong in the final analysis. They wanted to save the country, but they were unable to do so.

Although Master Wang Wu was not as famous as the Six Gentlemen, everyone in the capital knew how much he paid to protect Mr. Zhuang Fei and other reformists.

The Shunyuan Escort Agency, which once reached the two rivers outside the Great Wall, is gone. The elite escorts he brought out were killed or injured, and even he himself became a wanted bandit by the Qing court.

Although no one dared to talk about such a heroic act openly on the street, everyone would give him a thumbs up and praise him as a hero behind his back.

When a hero is in person, even if you can't have a heart-to-heart talk with him, at least you should offer him a cup of hot tea.

Looking at the angry and silly junior brother Ding Hai beside him, his head was pounding. Who wants this junior brother with eyes as clear and innocent as a college student? Come and take him away quickly!

If he didn't take him away, Ding Hai was afraid that he would not be able to help but give him two blows on the head to let him see the profoundness of Taoism.

"Qianhe, it's okay, just let the thing on your neck move, okay? It's true that we two poor Taoist priests don't come to Yutai Teahouse very often, but you should know the main source of Yutai's customers.

Starting from Wang Lifa's father, Yutai has been aiming to earn money from the pockets of small merchants and business owners in the surrounding seven or eight streets. But have you seen a familiar face in Yutai today?

Except for Wang Lifa and the self-satisfied Mr. Qin, it is hard to say whether the others are human or ghost. Even the mother and daughter who shouted that they wanted to sell themselves were too coincidental. "

"Brother, are you saying that there was something wrong with the tea drinkers in the teahouse just now?" Although his eyes were purer, Qianhe's mind was still working.

Ding Hai looked at the teahouse behind him in a secretive manner and said, "These people are probably the lackeys of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We can't afford to offend them with our thin arms and legs."

After learning from Ding Hai that someone wanted to harm Wang Wu, Qian He, with her blood still hot, immediately turned around and wanted to rush into the teahouse to inform Wang Wu.

"You're so stupid. Can you use your brain before doing anything?" Ding Hai, who had already guessed his junior's next move, tied up Qianhe.

"Master Wang Wu came to the meeting alone just to help us out. We should not let him down."

"Another thing is, with our mediocre skills, how can we defeat anyone? If we go back now, Master Wang Wu will have to worry about our safety while fighting.

Come with me to the Caoyun Wharf and take a speedboat to leave the capital, so that the minions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will not suffer a great loss at the hands of Master Wang Wu and then use us as a gimmick. This will be the greatest help to Master Wang Wu."

Although he has some abilities, Ding Hai, who has a clear understanding of himself, knows that he is nothing in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

If you really fail to recognize the situation and rashly go back to fight with Wang Wu, not only will you not be able to help Wang Wu, but you will add burden to Wang Wu and play the role of a stupid teammate.

If he had not been targeted by the minions of the Imperial Household Department when he went to Caishikou to collect Tan Sitong's body last night and had no way to escape, he would have thought of a way to flee the capital long ago.

Since traveling to the end of this dynasty, Ding Hai has never had a smooth day.

The first day he opened his eyes, he was put on a makeshift barbecue grill by a group of hungry refugees.

If his master had not happened to pass by that mountain temple, he would probably have become the first time traveler to be eaten by others.

After being brought to the capital by his master, his life was not easy. His master, a poor Taoist priest, could not afford cow and goat milk, so he lived on rice noodles when he was young. It was okay if he didn't eat well, after all, every family was like this these days.

What makes people cry is the housing. It was not until he was six years old that his master reluctantly bought a piece of wasteland in the south city and built a dojo with only three rooms.

Before this, the master and his disciple either shamelessly hung up their names at a Taoist temple on the outskirts of the city, or wandered around the surrounding charity cemeteries to live with the village guards, leading a carefree life.

I thought that after I got on my feet, good days would eventually come, but who knew that hard times had just begun. It took three years to sweep the floor and set the rules, three years to carry water to build strength, and three years to recite scriptures to understand the truth.

After studying Taoist scriptures for nine full years, he was finally formally accepted into the Maoshan evil-slaying lineage by his own master.

It was even more troublesome after he became a Taoist priest. Before his master could teach him many skills, he was summoned away by a letter sent by a paper crane from the Maoshan main temple.

He was left as a young boy to struggle to survive in the capital with his junior fellow apprentice Qianhe who was only a dozen years old.

If it weren't for Master Wang Wu who lived on the same street and couldn't stand it anymore, he would have said that hooligans were not allowed to hang around the Shunyuan Escort Agency, and he would have secretly protected them.

The two of them are probably rotting into a pile of bones in the gutter now.

As the old saying goes, when you receive a favor from someone, you owe them a debt.

No matter how much money you have, there is always a limit, which can be explained and calculated clearly, but the debt of favor is different.

Six days ago, Tan Sitong and six others were pushed to Caishikou and beheaded as a public display. The Qing court issued an edict to allow relatives and friends to bury the bodies on the same day.

But secretly the Qing court used Tan Sitong's body as bait, hoping to lure out more reformists.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that it was a trap, and they were afraid of being implicated so they dared not bury the body. Only Wang Wu was not afraid and wanted to arrange the funeral affairs for his friend.

But at that time he was already wanted by the Qing court, and showing up in person would only make the situation worse.

In desperation, Wang Wu asked his old friends for help.

However, all the friends he visited either refused to see him or looked away and talked about him again. No one dared to agree to let Wang Wu collect Tan Sitong's body.

Wang Wu also understood that this was the capital, after all, the headquarters of the Qing court. If his friends really helped him, not only would he not be able to continue to gain a foothold in the capital, it would be a problem whether he could escape the pursuit of the minions of the Imperial Household Department.

Just when Wang Wu was desperate and prepared to take the risk of breaking into the vegetable market to collect Tan Sitong's body, Ding Hai brought his junior fellow apprentice Qian He to find Wang Wu in order to repay the favor he owed in the past and settle the cause and effect.

That night, he took Qianhe and, under the surveillance of many Imperial Household Department spies, he gritted his teeth and carried back the resentful Tan Sitong.

After leaving the Liuyang Guild Hall and repaying his favor, Ding Hai originally wanted to take his fellow apprentice and go straight to the Caoyun Wharf, away from the capital, which was a place of trouble.

However, the minions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who were hiding in the dark with knives in hand blocked their way and forced them back to the Yutai Teahouse near the Shunyuan Escort Agency.

It was obvious that Che Ma wanted to use their fellow disciples to force Wang Wu to show up.

At this moment, Ding Kai took advantage of the fact that the minions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were distracted by Wang Wu and had no time to take care of the two of them. He dared not stay any longer. He walked out of the door and immediately took Qianhe with him and headed towards the canal dock.

Not long after the two men left, two figures in long gowns and jackets emerged from an alley on the side of Yutai Teahouse.

"Brother Wu, are we just going to watch these two guys escape?"

The short and fat patrolman Song Enzi was unwilling to give up. These were two ready-made revolutionaries. If he captured them and sent them to jail, he would get a reward of at least twenty dragon dollars.

Before sending him to jail, he would use some underhanded and shady means, and maybe he could even get those three gyms.

"This money is hot and hard to earn. In my opinion, let's just forget it." The tall and strong patrolman Wu Xiangzi was also greedy.

But thinking of the strange things that happened when he went to the Liu family's house in the south of the city for a banquet in March this year, and the strange behavior of the hyenas in the Ministry of Internal Affairs who trapped the two people but did not catch them, he suppressed the greed in his heart.

At the beginning of spring, the new concubine of Liu Lao Da in the south city could not stand Liu Lao Da's beating day and night, so she hanged herself.

In order to make money, Boss Liu invited people from the south of the city to his home to pay tribute to his concubine under the guise of handling her funeral.

Who would have thought that his concubine was so resentful that she pretended to be dead that night.

If it weren't for this older Taoist priest who happened to pass by and subdued the zombie, who knows how many people would have died that night.

In addition, the attitude of the Ministry of Internal Affairs towards this pair of brothers is also problematic. These hyenas are not easy to talk to and are even more greedy than the two brothers.

There must be something about this pair of brothers that makes them wary, otherwise how could they let them go.

Although Wu Xiangzi was greedy for money, he also knew that he could not afford to offend such a capable and extraordinary person. If he made an enemy of such a person, he might end up earning money but not being able to spend it.

Just when the two men at the entrance of the alley were pondering whether to take the risk of making a fortune, the minions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the other side of the wall had already started fighting with Wang Wu, and the flashes of swords and sabers instantly enveloped the Yutai Teahouse.

Ding Hai, who is not omniscient and omnipotent, has no idea that so many things have happened after he left.

He was so desperate to avoid the disaster that he didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he got on the speedboat heading south. He was returning the favor, but he was not prepared to risk his life.

Before Ding Hai could catch his breath, his junior fellow apprentice Qian He's pure voice rang in his ears again: "Senior brother, there seems to be an extra book in our gift."

Looking at the Xinyi Liuhequan boxing manual that Qianhe handed to him, Ding Hai rolled his eyes at him unhappily and said, "Could you please remove the word 'seemingly'?"

Xinyi Liuhequan is Wang Wu's signature boxing style that made him famous. This skill is not part of what our master taught us.

"This boxing technique should be a gift from Master Wang Wu. Whether you can learn this boxing technique or not should wait until you get to Maoshan and ask the master."

"Yes, senior brother." After hearing what Ding Hai said, Qian He put the boxing manual back into the bag. Most of the time, Qian He still respected his senior brother Ding Hai who brought him up.

(End of this chapter)