Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 32 Eat when it's time to eat, kill when it's time to kill!
Chen Zhan shook off his pursuers, pulled his hat brim low, and entered the British concession from Guangdong Road.

There weren't many guards between the concessions, but foreigners had the right to fire within the concessions, so generally no one would start a major conflict within them.

Therefore, although the Green Gang and the Japanese entered the British concession, they would restrain themselves considerably.

Chen Zhan is on the wanted list, and the Municipal Affairs Bureau and the Police Station have issued orders, but the arrest warrants are not being issued very forcefully.

The only two people who were truly dedicated to capturing people were the Japanese and Yuan Bai.

Chen Zhan originally planned to leave Tianjin after altering his fate and having enough lifespan, then head south to learn more from Sun Lutang.

But after being chased and killed, he changed his mind.

Eat when you should eat, kill when you should kill; those who deserve to be killed should be killed, and those who deserve to die should die.

The water in Tianjin is already murky; let's add more fuel to the fire and make it burn brighter.

As Chen Zhan walked down the street, he saw that among the various ethnic groups, Chinese people still made up the majority. Wearing a straw hat seemed a bit out of place, but no one seemed to care.

There were naturally Green Gang informants in the concessions. Rickshaw pullers were everywhere and were the best informants.

Chen Zhan's appearance was imprinted in their minds. Whenever they saw him, they would whisper to each other and pass on information while attracting customers.

Chen Zhan was helpless. Money could move people's hearts, and these people didn't know that the Japanese wanted to arrest him, nor did they know that the Green Gang boss they respected had long since defected to the Japanese.

He couldn't possibly kill them all.

This is a limitation, and it's also a case of people dying for wealth and birds dying for food.

After walking along the river for a while, more and more people followed behind him, but Chen Zhan didn't care, because no one dared to make a move here.

Because the first thing you see when you look up is "AstraLand Hotel".

Built in 1863 by the British clergyman John Ingsend, it is now one of the most famous hotels in North China, and is where dignitaries from all over the world stay when they come to Tianjin.

The Victorian-era decor is exquisite and elegant.

There were only armed British guards at the entrance, five on each side.

Be vigilant about your surroundings at all times.

In this situation, no matter how anxious the person behind him is, he dares not make a move. He might have the life to take that thousand silver dollars, but he might not have the life to spend it.

Chen Zhan didn't linger; he vanished without a trace behind Li Shunde.

The pursuer was bewildered. He looked around for a long time, but the road was wide and he didn't know how to continue the pursuit.

Chen Zhan, carrying a newspaper he had smuggled, went into a Buddhist hall.

"Lay Buddhist Association".

The Buddhist Association moved its address here just last year, backed by a high-ranking figure in the Beiyang government who is also a Buddhist.

The building is magnificent. The main gate of the Buddhist temple is located at the south end. The gate is made of brick and stone, and a plaque with the three characters "Lay Buddhist Association" hangs above it.

Facing south, the main hall is spacious, with a bronze Vairocana Buddha enshrined on the central altar. This Buddha was cast in purple bronze during the Yuan Dynasty and weighs a thousand catties.

Other Buddhist statues, such as Guanyin Bodhisattva and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, are enshrined on the left and right sides.

An offering table is set up in front of the Buddha altar for placing incense, candles, flowers, and offerings. The floor is paved with blue bricks, and plaques and couplets inscribed by famous people hang on the beams and pillars inside the hall, indicating that those who come here are people of noble status.

The main door of the Buddhist hall was wide open, but no one was going in or out.

Today is not a day for sermons, Dharma assemblies, or Buddhist gatherings. The lay Buddhist center is never open to everyone.

Buddha does not save ordinary people.

Chen Zhan glanced at it only once and walked past quickly.

The Buddhist Lodge covers a large area. After walking around the Buddha Hall, I could roughly see the purpose of many of the magnificent buildings.

The main hall is flanked by two east and west halls, and the courtyard is very large, connecting to the monks' quarters, dining hall, scripture pavilion and lecture hall in the back courtyard.

Chen Zhan left the Buddhist Association, found a dark spot to lie in wait for two hours, and returned after dark.

Standing at the back gate of the Buddhist Lodge, where rice and vegetables are usually transported, there was no movement late at night. However, occasionally someone would walk by, but the sound was very soft.

After listening for half an hour, Chen Zhan summarized the pattern: the lay Buddhist association had someone patrolling at night, about once every fifteen minutes. In those days, there were too many poor people, and quite a few would sneak into the Buddhist hall at night to steal some food.

The monks would catch them, beat them severely, and throw them out. This served as a warning to others, but it couldn't completely stop the problem.

As soon as he walked away, Chen Zhan leaped up, braced himself against the wall with one hand, and landed lightly without making a sound.

The Buddhist retreat doesn't keep animals, there are no old dogs, and nobody knew he had infiltrated it.

The lay Buddhist center has a large backyard with many monks' quarters and guest rooms.

After all, it was a Buddhist temple prepared for high-ranking officials and nobles. Many people from other places who came to meditate and worship Buddha were unwilling to stay in grand hotels and preferred to stay in this imagined Buddhist holy place.

It is as if sincerely worshipping Buddha can cleanse one of sins.

Little did they know, it was impossible to say for sure who had committed more sins.

Chen Zhan, hidden in the shadows, found a pebble and threw it at the bamboo bucket in the distant courtyard. "Thump!"

A soft sound caught the attention of two patrolling monks.

At the slightest sound, Chen Zhan pushed open a guest room door, quickly slipped inside, and then closed the door.

Since opening and closing the door inevitably makes noise, which he couldn't avoid no matter how skilled he was in martial arts, he used this method to divert attention.

Sure enough, no one noticed him.

The detached villa is undeniably luxurious in its interior furnishings.

The room is divided into two sections: a main hall and two inner rooms, furnished with rosewood tables and chairs, and decorated with calligraphy and paintings by eminent monks and literati.

A carved canopy bed, a cream-colored brocade quilt with embroidered lotus flowers, a sandalwood table with the Four Treasures of the Study, Duan inkstone, Huzhou brush, Xuan paper, ancient books and scrolls, and an antique shelf.

Chen Zhan watched in amazement, marveling at what a truly enjoyable place it was.

This is not a sacred Buddhist site, it's a place for Buddhists to enjoy themselves.

It is said that there are even more extravagant Buddhist temples in the south, with "private courtyards for the powerful and wealthy".

Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, being close to Nanjing and Shanghai, often received military and political dignitaries. Its "Yunqi Abode" is an independent courtyard, furnished with rosewood furniture and a plaque inscribed by Master Taixu. The courtyard is planted with rare golden osmanthus trees, which were specially reserved for dignitaries to stay and enjoy the osmanthus in autumn.

Temples would even assign special monks to handle these matters, while allowing dignitaries to bring their own servants to wait in the side rooms to provide personal services such as food and lodging.

Chen Zhan sighed inwardly.

The Golden Pavilion is a "money-burning den," and this Lay Buddhist Association is a "forest of the powerful and wealthy."
Feeling perfectly at ease resting indoors, Chen Zhan wasn't worried at all about being disturbed.

No distinguished guest would come at this time; only an unpleasant guest like him.

Using a sliver of moonlight, Chen Zhan opened the newspaper in his hand.

The most prominent image on the screen was his own wanted poster, which occupied the largest portion of the page and was a significant upgrade from what it had been a few days ago.

The crimes, needless to say, follow the same formula of being too numerous to recount.

The reward was increased by another 500 silver dollars.

Chen Zhan was even considering handing himself over to collect the money—all those silver dollars!
One silver dollar,
It can buy more than 20 kilograms of rice and flour.

You can ride a rickshaw ten times!
You can buy a second-class ticket for a performance by the famous Peking Opera star Mei Lanfang!

In the old city, a courtyard house rented for about two or three silver dollars a month, while in the concession area, a Western-style house with a bathroom rented for about ten silver dollars a month.

Fifteen hundred silver dollars is enough for those gang members to live a good life for the rest of their lives.

No wonder it drives people crazy!
Chen Zhan's focus was not on this, but on another piece of news in a corner of the newspaper.

Five days later, the Buddhist Association will hold its annual Guanyin Dharma Assembly.

The message was short, but important.

(P.S.: I just finished writing this chapter, and the next day the Shaolin abbot was suddenly attacked. I believe you can all see that I have absolutely no respect or goodwill towards Buddhism. Don't think I'm being sarcastic; I'm openly criticizing it. I'll definitely cause trouble for Buddhism later. If you are a Buddhist, you can stop reading now; this book is definitely not for you.)

(End of this chapter)