Strangers meeting

The journey north was longer and more difficult than Shen Lanjun had anticipated.

She and Xiao Chen, a courier disguised as a worker, left behind their sophisticated Shanghai personas, donned coarse cloth clothes, and mingled with the fleeing crowds, trekking on foot. The scene before her was completely different from the Shanghai she knew, a place filled with intrigue and the aroma of coffee. Cracked earth, abandoned villages, emaciated children, and an air perpetually thick with the smell of dust and despair.

"Shopkeeper, have some water." Xiao Chen handed over a water bag, cautiously observing their surroundings. They had entered Henan territory, where war, banditry, and famine had left this Central Plains devastated.

Shen Lanjun took the letter, sipped it, and glanced at the staggering crowd. Her mind, however, was racing, processing the information she had observed along the way: the Japanese-controlled transportation lines, the directions of the scattered retreating soldiers, the distribution of resistance forces in various places according to rumors... These fragments would become the foundation for her to rebuild the northern network.

"Xiao Chen, what area is ahead?" she asked, her voice slightly hoarse from the long journey, but still calm.

"Reporting to the shopkeeper, we're almost at the Yellow River. Once we cross the river, we'll be in Hebei province. But I heard the ferry crossings are guarded by Japanese or (Kuomintang) defeated soldiers, and the checks are very strict," Xiao Chen replied in a low voice.

Shen Lanjun nodded, and was about to ask another question when a commotion and terrified cries suddenly came from ahead!

"Japanese devils! It's a Japanese patrol!"

The crowd erupted into chaos, scattering like headless flies! From behind the earthen slope ahead emerged seven or eight Japanese soldiers in khaki uniforms, bayonets fixed on their Type 38 rifles, shouting and yelling, their faces displaying a mocking and cruel demeanor, like cats catching mice. They were clearly not a large force, but rather a small, scattered group of soldiers who had broken away from the main force and were looting indiscriminately.

"Oh no!" Xiao Chen's expression changed, and he subconsciously reached for the pistol hidden at his waist.

"Don't move!" Shen Lanjun grabbed his hand, her eyes sharp. "They don't have many people, but if they fire, it will attract more enemies. Blend in the crowd and act according to the situation!"

She quickly pulled Xiao Chen along, using the chaos of the crowd as cover, and moved towards a dry ditch nearby. However, several Japanese soldiers had already spotted them, especially noticing Shen Lanjun's delicate features, which were still evident even in her coarse clothes, and their eyes immediately lit up with lewd light.

"Pretty girl! Hehe..."

Three Japanese soldiers, bayonets at the ready, grinned maliciously and surrounded them, completely blocking their path. Xiao Chen's temples bulged with veins, and he almost couldn't resist drawing his gun.

Shen Lanjun shielded Xiao Chen behind her. Facing the approaching bayonets, she took a deep breath, and the starting stance of Baguazhang was already subtly formed in her sleeve. She couldn't reveal her identity, but she also couldn't sit idly by and wait to die!

At this critical moment!

A black figure, like a silent hurricane, suddenly burst out from the chaotic crowd! He was incredibly fast, carrying an unstoppable momentum, without even uttering a shout.

The Japanese soldier in the lead had barely noticed what was happening and hadn't even had time to turn his gun around when the dark figure had already cut into his center!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud! The dark figure used the simplest and most direct impact, combining the power of its shoulder, elbow, and hip, like a charging bull, yet containing some peculiar power-generating technique! The Japanese soldier felt an indescribable force, his chest tightened, and he was knocked off the ground, flying backward, his rifle flying out of his hand.

It's Gu Tieshan!

His bewildered eyes held no complex emotions, only an almost animalistic instinct for danger and disgust towards the perpetrator. After knocking one man away, his movements didn't falter; as if by instinct, his left hand darted out and precisely seized the wrist of the second Japanese soldier holding a gun, twisting and pulling!

The Japanese soldier screamed, his bayonet veering to the side. Gu Tieshan's right fist, like a cannon ready to fire, shot out like lightning, aiming straight for the enemy's heart!

"Snap!"

The clear sound of bones cracking was chilling! The Japanese soldier's eyes bulged out, and without uttering a sound, he collapsed to the ground.

The third Japanese soldier was startled by the sudden killing and yelled as he thrust his bayonet forward. Gu Tieshan neither dodged nor evaded, but met the bayonet head-on. Just as the tip of the blade was about to touch him, his body twisted strangely as if it had no bones, dodging the blade. At the same time, his right hand gripped the gun like an iron clamp and pulled it back sharply!

The Japanese soldier staggered forward, propelled by his immense strength. Gu Tieshan, with his left hand forming a sword-like gesture, delivered a short, powerful thrust, precisely striking the enemy's Adam's apple!

"Ugh..." The Japanese soldier clutched his throat, making a hissing sound as he collapsed in terror.

In the blink of an eye, three well-trained Japanese soldiers were instantly killed by this savage-like man with his bare hands!

The entire process was silent, efficient, and deadly! There were no fancy moves with fancy names, only the most primitive and direct killing techniques—the instincts of Xingyi Quan and Chuojiao Fanzi Quan ingrained in his bones!

The remaining Japanese soldiers were completely stunned by this ferocious scene and dared not step forward for a moment.

Gu Tieshan stood there, breathing heavily, his eyes still blank, as if he didn't understand what he had just done. He looked at the corpse on the ground, then at Shen Lanjun and Xiao Chen, whom he was protecting behind him, and tilted his head as if to confirm something.

Shen Lanjun was utterly shocked. Her mastery of Baguazhang was renowned for its skillful, swift, and ruthless attacks, but she had never witnessed such a domineering, direct, and seemingly battlefield-born killing technique! This man who had suddenly appeared reeked of blood and earth, his clothes tattered, his eyes vacant, yet his astonishing martial arts skills, and his instinctive act of protecting her and her companions behind him…

"Thank you for saving me, brave warrior!" Shen Lanjun suppressed the turmoil in her heart, stepped forward, clasped her hands in a salute, and used the etiquette of the martial arts world. She deliberately changed her accent, adding a touch of Hebei dialect.

Gu Tieshan looked at her without responding, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before he looked warily at the few Japanese soldiers in the distance who dared not approach.

Xiao Chen realized what was happening and quickly said, "Hero, the Japanese might have reinforcements. We shouldn't stay here any longer! Why don't we head north together?"

Gu Tieshan remained silent, but he glanced at Shen Lanjun, then at the north, and silently began to walk, following them at a distance. He seemed to have lost the ability to speak, or rather, the desire to communicate with others, and was simply following these two seemingly harmless people who were traveling the same way.

Shen Lanjun gave this mysterious and powerful man a deep look. Her heart was filled with questions: Who is he? Why does he possess such terrifying martial arts skills? And why does he look so lost and disoriented?

But now was not the time to explore these things. She signaled to Xiao Chen to remain vigilant, and the three of them blended into the newly gathered flow of refugees, quickly leaving this blood-soaked place.

Throughout the journey, Gu Tieshan remained unusually silent, simply following along. Shen Lanjun tried to speak to him several times, but he only responded with a blank look or uttered a few meaningless syllables. He was like a wounded lone wolf, wary and alone.

However, during the next few days of their journey, Shen Lanjun keenly observed that this silent man would unconsciously gaze at the starry sky while keeping watch at night, his fingers idly stroking an indistinct object wrapped in rags on his left wrist; when he saw starving corpses by the roadside, a barely perceptible hint of pity would flash in his eyes; and when sharing rations, he would push most of his share to the thin children in the group…

He lost his memory, but the kindness and sense of responsibility ingrained in his bones were not completely extinguished.

A thought gradually became clear in Shen Lanjun's mind. The journey north was fraught with danger, and rebuilding the organization required strong reinforcements. This man, possessing extraordinary skills and a kind heart, might... be the force that their "hometown" desperately needed. But how could he open his closed heart? And how could he make him work for him?

She gazed at the silent, tall figure ahead, a thoughtful glint in her eyes. At this moment, the trajectories of their destinies truly intertwined.