Fu Juemin went up to his bedroom on the third floor.

The room was almost luxuriously spacious. A telephone, a gramophone, and a full set of polo equipment were displayed in a corner, and the entire south wall was made of floor-to-ceiling enameled windows.

Outside, the rain poured in sheets. Droplets hammered against the glass, casting a hazy, watery light across the room.

Fu Juemin walked to a yellow pearwood desk on the east side of the room. He casually set down the ginseng box he was carrying, his mind still on the matter of the water monkey.

He had gone to the docks and heard about the incident’s bizarre and sinister nature, but Fu Guoping had adamantly denied it all. Now, Fu Juemin wasn’t sure whether something strange had truly happened or not. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

’I hope not...’

Fu Juemin thought to himself as he pulled open the top drawer of the desk.

Inside was a neatly stacked pile of stationery—all love letters written by the body’s original owner. The recipient’s name was written on them: Zhou Yunzhi.

This Zhou Yunzhi was a student at a girls’ middle school in Luan River County. Her family was of average means, but she was very beautiful.

His predecessor had been utterly stunned by her beauty after seeing her just once and had begun to pursue her passionately.

The car crash that caused Fu Juemin to transmigrate had happened while the original owner was on his way to a meeting arranged by a note from Zhou Yunzhi.

Fu Juemin randomly pulled out one of the love letters and unfolded it. The cheesy and childish words left him speechless. No wonder they had been returned time and time again.

Pushing the letters aside, he rummaged deeper inside and finally found what he was looking for.

Two exquisite, palm-sized iron boxes. He took them out and opened them.

When he saw what was inside, Fu Juemin’s eyes twitched.

Inside was a revolver.

The gun’s frame was nickel-silver, finely polished to a soft, almost warm sheen. The grip was ebony, smooth as silk in his hand. One side of the handle was engraved with an olive branch and an eagle, along with a line of small text in Viliduo—"Webley..."

’Isn’t this more attractive than a woman?’

Fu Juemin couldn’t resist picking up the revolver. Mimicking the moves he’d seen in movies from his past life, he held the gun with both hands and extended his arms forward.

The revolver had been an eighteenth-birthday gift from his second uncle, Fu Guoping, last year. His predecessor had played with it for a while after getting it but had lost interest, leaving it to collect dust at the bottom of the drawer.

In this era where firearms were becoming widespread, nothing could give Fu Juemin a greater sense of security than a gun.

’I’ll have to ask Second Uncle to teach me how to shoot later...’

Fu Guoping was the director of the Luan River County Civil Affairs Bureau. The Civil Affairs Bureau was an agency under the police department, a government-sanctioned civilian armed organization primarily responsible for assisting in police and capture activities.

The Fu Family was wealthy, and Fu Guoping had several hundred men and over a hundred guns under his command. He even had his own private firing range for training.

Fu Juemin moved around the room with the gun, imagining all sorts of enemies charging at him from every direction, only to fall one by one before his weapon.

The revolver wasn’t loaded. Pulling the trigger only produced the crisp click of the mechanism, but even that brought Fu Juemin a deep sense of satisfaction.

He drifted over to the window and aimed the gun outside, searching for a target.

Suddenly, he saw two figures on the lawn of his backyard, holding a strange pose, squatting motionless in the rain.

Fu Juemin’s eyes shifted, and he slowly lowered the gun.

He stared at the two small figures getting soaked in the rain for a while. A moment later, as if he’d thought of something, he silently put the gun away and turned to leave the room.

The Fu Family estate was vast. The south side held the main gate for receiving guests, the east had a lawn and garden for the Fu Family relatives to relax, play, and gather, while the west and north sides contained the backyards, which were the servants’ activity areas.

Fu Juemin was now in the backyard.

Under a long, wide pavilion, a dozen or so sturdy, vigorous young men were gathered. Some were wrestling in pairs, others were lifting stone locks. Seeing Fu Juemin, they all called out, "Young Master."

Fu Juemin smiled at them, then walked straight toward the only person sitting in a chair under the pavilion.

The Fu Family adhered to the old customs of prominent households, employing a group of household guards who were both enforcers and bodyguards.

This group of household guards was managed by one person—the man Fu Juemin was now looking for. A "little old man" with a small, wiry frame and graying hair, half-reclining in a rattan chair.

Fu Juemin walked up to the old-looking man and said respectfully, "Uncle Tong."

The man heard his voice and looked up, smiling at him. The wrinkles on his face deepened, making him look even older.

"What brings the Young Master to the backyard?"

The man’s name was Li Tong. He was actually only in his forties. It was said that careless training in his youth, followed by an injury, had caused him to age prematurely.

Li Tong was the head of the Fu Family’s household guards. Fu Juemin only knew that he was a very skilled martial artist. He had been brought back by Fu Guosheng in his early years and had stayed with the Fu Family ever since. Even Fu Guosheng treated him with great respect.

"I wasn’t busy, so I came to have a look around."

A quick-witted guard brought a chair for Fu Juemin. He sat down next to Li Tong, saw a plate of fruit on the small table before them, and picked up a tangerine to peel and eat.

"Uncle Tong."

Fu Juemin pointed to the two people in the distance holding a Horse Stance in the rain and asked, "What are those two doing?"

Li Tong replied, "They weren’t doing their jobs properly. I’m teaching them a lesson."

"How long do they have to stand like that?"

"Not long. Just two shichen."

Two shichen is four hours.

Fu Juemin was secretly amazed. ’If this rain keeps up until nightfall, won’t they get hypothermia after four hours?’

Of course, that wasn’t his place to worry about.

He made idle small talk with Li Tong, mulling things over for a long time. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he peeled a tangerine and offered it to him.

"Uncle Tong, I have a favor to ask you."

Li Tong turned to look at him, a half-smile on his face. "What is it? Go ahead."

Fu Juemin said, "I want to learn martial arts from you, Uncle Tong."

The moment Fu Juemin spoke, the household guards sitting around them all stopped what they were doing and turned their heads in unison.

Li Tong was also taken aback for a moment. "Why the sudden desire to learn martial arts from me?"

Fu Juemin already had his excuse ready.

"After the car crash, the doctor from Xing’an Hall said my constitution was damaged. Daily medicine and diet can only help so much. The key is to strengthen my body from within..."

As he spoke, he put a perfectly helpless expression on his face and glanced toward the front courtyard. "I originally wanted to practice Western World fencing and polo, but Dad won’t even let me leave the house anymore."

Everyone in the Fu Family knew how serious the car crash had been, so his reason was perfectly logical. The household guards exchanged glances, their expressions showing their understanding.

After speaking, Fu Juemin waited quietly, his gaze fixed on Li Tong’s face.

Li Tong didn’t answer right away. He simply looked down at the peeled tangerine Fu Juemin had offered him.

After a long moment, he took the tangerine from Fu Juemin and slowly rose from the rattan chair.

"Let them stand for another half-shichen, then have the kitchen make a bowl of ginger soup for each of them."

Li Tong casually instructed one of the guards, then, with his hands behind his back, walked straight out of the pavilion.

Fu Juemin hurriedly stood up and followed, a sense of relief washing over him—this was eighty percent a done deal.