Selecting the Vanguard (Please follow, esteemed sirs, move your lucky little hands to the next page, or2 I'll be eternally grateful)

A warm current soaked through his limbs and bones, like ginseng medicine slowly repairing Luo Bin's body; some hidden injuries left from the inhuman treatment in the Pei Mansion were actually healing at a slow pace.

Even more remarkable was that his mind, previously foggy from the original body's malnutrition, was now beginning to clear.

The warm current gradually turned scalding, seeping into Luo Bin's muscles and meridians, starting to engorge, tear and stretch, then repair—yet he could only feel the muscles writhing under his skin, without any pain.

"What a strange sensation."

"Is this the swelling feeling of bursting power?"

Feng Yi shoveled a mouthful of food, glanced at Luo Bin, and remarked with emotion, "Brother Luo, you look only sixteen or seventeen, but your body's so sturdy. I didn't notice in the dim light at the dock earlier—the hall master sure has good eyes."

Luo Bin was about to deflect with some polite modesty when Feng Yi's trusted man, Liu Chuang, stepped forward and said:

"Brother Luo, there's a woman insisting she has to see you in the kitchen. We couldn't stop her, and since Hall Master Luo values you, we weren't sure what to do..."

Feng Yi's brows shot up at this, and he snapped coldly, "You idiot! If she wants to see Brother Luo, she must be his family. Are you a pig-brain?"

Liu Chuang caught on: "Oh oh, I'll bring her over right away."

Feng Yi wiped his mouth, patted Luo Bin on the shoulder, and left, giving the kitchen over to Luo Bin for a private talk.

Luo Bin's mind was in a mess now. Too much had happened in a single night—from being arranged by the Pei family to stay in a broken building, to crossing over at night, the life-or-death choice at the dock, and then the "negotiation" with Luo Wendi.

Even for a lively soul from the twenty-first century, it was a bit much. After all, he'd nearly been mowed down by a machine gun—who could handle that?

But now Luo Bin was starting to understand the backdrop of this world. Twenty years ago, the Dali Dynasty collapsed under the assault of Western powers, entering a new era of a republic. The social setting was similar to his past life...

Except this world was blatantly "man-eating." After Western ironclads and cannons blasted open the nation's gates, the concessions, canal transport, and trade routes were all controlled by foreigners in many places.

More importantly, this world also had so-called "martial arts," and demons and monsters inherently existed.

Take the Pei family, for instance. Though he didn't know their connection to "demons," it was true they often spent heavily to recruit capable people from the jianghu.

Among them was a Taoist who mastered a divine ability called "Spirit Binding and General Commanding"—everyone in the Pei Mansion knew it.

It was just that the original body's level was too low; he couldn't access many suspicious pieces of information. After Feng Yi's explanation, Luo Bin realized... this was indeed a high-risk world.

He needed to study the panel carefully and rapidly boost his strength, so he could live with some peace of mind.

A sharp, mournful cry came: "A-Bin! A-Bin! It's so good you're alive!"

At the doorway, beside a few French roses, a young woman in plain clothes with dirt smeared on her face stood with tear-filled eyes. When she saw Luo Bin, her dim gaze immediately brightened.

"Aunt Wen? Why are you alone? Where's Wen Xue?" Luo Bin asked with a frown.

The woman before him was his aunt, Wen Li. She used to live on Stone Slab Alley near the Pei Mansion. Three years ago, she found the original body wandering the streets and took him in. Later, the original body joined the Pei family as a guard, and through introductions from Zhang Xin and others, Wen Li began working odd jobs at the Pei Mansion.

That was how Wen Li and her daughter Wen Xue managed to survive in the increasingly chaotic Pingcheng.

Hearing Luo Bin's question, Wen Li's eyes reddened, and tears fell like pearls from a broken string:

"Xue'er... I stuffed Xue'er into Yu Ping's hands. She's already boarded the ship... I saved Yu Ping once before, so this time she's helping us in return..."

Yu Ping was the head maid of the Pei family's second branch and had some say there. The eldest branch's Pei Yuan was ruthless, perfectly inheriting his father Pei Song's traits, but the second branch's young master had some of his mother's magnanimity.

That meant Wen Xue had a decent chance of surviving.

Luo Bin nodded, pulled Wen Li into the kitchen, ladled her a bowl of hot congee, and had the kitchen hands reheat the dishes. The kitchen staff, knowing this youth was valued by Hall Master Luo, did their best to comply.

"Now that it's come to this, we can only hope Xue'er lives well once she reaches Tianhai."

"Aunt Wen, the Green Bamboo Gang didn't do anything to you, did they?"

Luo Bin looked at Wen Li's deliberately ugly makeup, his heart aching. A woman of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, years of disguising herself, binding her chest so tightly she could barely breathe, just to escape with her life.

The original body had seen how strikingly beautiful she was beneath the disguise.

Wen Li's eyes were slightly red as she swallowed the congee and said:

"The Green Bamboo Gang is far more reasonable than those beasts in the Pei family. They didn't lay a finger on us and even sent people to protect us.

The Pei family left a few men with guns to kill us old, weak women and children, but the Green Bamboo Gang members shot them all dead."

Then she added, "I don't know where the rumors came from that the Green Bamboo Gang was vicious and evil."

Based on the original body's understanding, it was hard to grasp, but now he realized it was just a matter of different stances between the Pei and Green factions. Naturally, they'd do everything to slander each other. What was certain now was that the Pei family was truly venomous...

Thinking of how the Pei family wanted to wipe out even a group of women and children, Luo Bin felt like a boulder was crushing his chest, making it hard to breathe.

"Don't worry, Aunt Wen. Someday I'll go to Tianhai, find Xue'er, and bring her back to you."

Wen Li's reddened eyes looked at this suddenly much more resolute youth, and a flicker of unfamiliarity crossed her mind. But recalling their mutual support over the past three years, that doubt dissolved like wind-blown smoke.

When she came in, a man had told her that Luo Bin was now a promising youth valued by Luo Wendi, the hall master of Black Sheath Hall—one of the Green Bamboo Gang's strongest branches. The news hit her like a shock...

She had thought that people like her, born in the mud, were destined to serve masters their whole lives. She never imagined that this once timid boy would become the pillar holding up her heart.

"I believe you."

Afterward, Luo Bin discussed it with Feng Yi, deciding to keep the original Pei Mansion guards living together, while the women would be given a separate courtyard to stay in first.

There were plenty of vacant rooms, just waiting for the other group Luo Wendi had arranged to move in.

Luo Bin still bunked with Zhang Xin, Xu Ping, and the others. This courtyard was Pei Yuan's from the eldest branch—spacious, with elegant rooms. Luo Bin took one of the side chambers to sleep in.

At night, he couldn't settle his mind, his whole body burning with restlessness.

He knew it was from the night's stimulation... After all, it was his first time killing someone. He wasn't skilled at it, and his mental preparation hadn't been solid.

Luo Bin tossed and turned, then simply put on his clothes and began practicing that White Ape Through-Arm Fist.

The memories of the technique in his mind were crystal clear, and his muscle memory moved with practiced ease, as if he had thrown these punches countless times years ago.

Now he was merely reclaiming this fist art.

Bam bam bam!

Powerful, heavy strikes stirred up gusts of fist wind, rustling the leaves in the courtyard all night long, so much so that those sleeping inside thought a strong wind had blown in from outside.

"Indeed, the White Ape Fist I used before can't even compare to this set of techniques!"

Luo Bin practiced excitedly until dawn before returning to his room for a short sleep. Not long after the sun rose, Feng Yi sent someone to call for him:

"Brother Luo, get up quickly. I'll take you to the gang. Today the gang is selecting the vanguard—if you miss this chance, you'll have to wait three more months!"