I became the Martial Saint of the Wasteland

In this era before electricity was widely available, kerosene lamps were one of the most common lighting methods.

Rosen's steps were steady.

He walked under the thin curtain of rain, his back deserted and lonely.

The patter of raindrops slid down the edge of the umbrella, and then hit the muddy ground, splashing turbid water.

There were very few pedestrians on the rainy night, and his figure was particularly abrupt, attracting the attention of those who were hiding and peeping around the port.

Ports everywhere are places where goods circulate.

It contains opportunities for wealth and business, but it is also a hotbed of evil.

At this time, Rosen was dressed in Western clothes, looking like a gentleman who had returned from overseas.

In a way, this external identity is completely equated with the label of big fat sheep in the eyes of those who are interested.

Before he had gone very far, there were several figures ready to move in the darkness behind him, trying to approach quietly under the cover of the rain curtain.

These figures have different postures, holding sticks and swords in their hands.

There was even one person who put his wrist on his waist, where a mottled revolver was clasped.

At a certain distance, firearms do have advantages.

As they approached quietly, they sensed the aura of the "returned gentleman" in front of them.

No energy or blood was found to be flowing.

Normally, those warriors rarely choose to study abroad.

The reason is also very simple, because the demon is more interested in the blood of warriors.

When a warrior goes to the demon kingdom in the west, it is like a plate of delicacies delivered to his door.

If you go there as an ordinary person, you will be less likely to get into trouble.

Because there are also a large number of ordinary Westerners in those demon kingdoms.

Although ordinary people will also suffer from the oppression of demons, at least it is not as obvious as that of warriors.

If you bring enough money, you can still live a good life outside.

Therefore, there are many gentlemen who have returned from overseas and basically do not have any martial arts training.

This is also the reason why Rosen quickly became a "big fat sheep".

After repeated confirmations, the gun-wielding leader calmly gestured to the surrounding men.

The figure approaching slowly in an arc-shaped circle suddenly quickened its pace.

It rained harder at this time.

The patter of rain seemed to cover up all sounds in heaven and earth.

When the distance between the two sides was less than three feet, Rosen suddenly stopped.

"A few people are following someone sneakily. Is there something going on?"

Even though it was raining heavily, his voice was still extremely penetrating and accurately reached the ears of several people.

This stopped them immediately.

The leader finally realized something was wrong.

He raised his palm and pressed down, indicating to his men to keep a low profile.

Then he blocked the revolver with the wet hem of his clothes.

Others also put their knives and sticks behind their backs.

"Brothers are just passing by..."

"It's raining heavily. I'm going to the walled city to dry my clothes and warm myself up."

"Master, we won't disturb you on your way, so let's take the first step!"

He explained angrily, and after that, he led a few people through Rosen.

The returned gentleman under the umbrella looked more and more unusual.

Especially when you get closer, the trouser legs that are not stained by any muddy water are even more abrupt.

But before they could take a step forward, they heard a sneer.

"Haha, I'm following you secretly on a rainy night."

"Even if you are not a bad person, you have malicious intentions!"

"You still want to leave!"

Rosen's words shocked them.

The leader with the gun was considered quite experienced, and he hurriedly shouted: "Let's go!"

However, the figure in the umbrella in front suddenly disappeared.

Only a black light and shadow danced in the sparse light of the rainy night.

In just two or three seconds, the four younger brothers scattered around all fell into the rain.

And the black light finally stopped and appeared a foot away from the leader.

The so-called light and shadow are just the reflection of the sharp top of the black umbrella when it moves. At this moment, blood is flowing between the umbrellas, and the blood is quickly diluted by the rain.

Looking carefully, all of his little brothers had precise puncture wounds in their throats.

This was a fatal injury, but they didn't die for a while. They were all holding their bleeding throats and trembling, and their bodies were swaying like fish struggling in the mud.

The leader was quite decisive and knew that he had encountered a tough situation.

He hurriedly pressed the trigger and emptied the revolver's magazine.

Six bullets flew out with smoke.

Greater smoke is one of the disadvantages of black powder.

Rosen didn't even bother to hide. He saw the bullets shot in front of him one after another, but they froze in front of him.

As if trapped in an invisible quagmire.

The spiritual thoughts turned into reality, causing ripples to appear in circles in front of him.

The warheads got stuck in the spiritual thoughts that turned into reality, and then fell down.

"God-refining monk!"

This shocked the leader.

He could see that the mysterious "returnee gentleman" in front of him was not only weak in martial arts, but also had strong spiritual cultivation. Being able to make spiritual thoughts into reality was at least a skill that only the monks of Zuowang Realm had!

"The vision is not bad."

"But you're out of luck."

Rosen spoke softly.

He deliberately concealed his aura, no wonder the other party couldn't see through him.

So what this person lacks is not his eyesight, but his luck.

After that, he shook the long-handled umbrella in his hand, and the sharp umbrella tip turned into a black cold light.

In an instant, it pierced his throat.

A feeling of tenacity came over him. This man at least had the cultivation of Yi Jin and was considered a little master.

But that's all.

The blood stained on the tip of the umbrella was shaken off, leaving the leader with his eyes wide open and unconsciously covering his throat as he fell.

Rosen held the umbrella again and left decisively.

When he closed the umbrella just now, he activated his spiritual thoughts to materialize and cover himself, so he was not wet by the rain.

Now his control over spiritual thoughts has reached a very sophisticated level.

Not only can it achieve partial solidification, but it can also be adjusted to a certain extent, such as instant solidification or virtual-to-real transformation.

These are all studies on the use of spiritual thoughts.

The torrential rain and the ultimate noise are the ultimate quietness.

Rosen understood that there were still many prying eyes from afar.

But no one dared to take action anymore.

After walking out of the port area road, which was about 700 to 800 meters long, he officially set foot on the outskirts of Xiangjiang City.

At present, the development progress of the entire Xiangjiang Island and the two surrounding islands is less than 30%. Apart from the port area, there is only one such area besides the urban area.

Of course, there are still some settlements and villages outside the city.

The road into the city is a smooth hard road paved with stones, which can easily handle the traffic of vehicles and horses.

There is a kerosene street lamp every 12 meters or so on both sides of the road.

The light they create can be seen even in the port area.

The buildings on the roadside are mainly two- and three-story buildings with a mixed structure of stone and wood.

It has an architectural style that combines Chinese and Western styles.

It was a rainy day and night, and the suburbs seemed particularly deserted.

Almost no one lingered on the streets.

Most of the shops had their doors closed, and only the lights burning inside could be seen through the gaps.

It was still some distance from the main city, and unless he started running, he would have to walk for a while.

He walked forward for another seven or eight minutes, and finally saw a covered carriage with a guiding light on the side of the road. The driver in a raincoat also hung straw curtains to keep out the rain on the two packhorses.

"That's right! There's no one in Luoyu!"

As soon as Rosen approached, he heard the driver complaining in the local dialect.

It wasn't until he came to the carriage that the coachman noticed.

"Are you leaving?" Rosen asked directly.

The coachman understands Tianqing Mandarin.

He immediately asked with a thick accent.

"Where are you going sir?"

"Governor's Palace, how much does it cost?"

"Silver a penny and a half or two pence an English penny."

The driver said skillfully.

If you make a living in this business, quoting is a basic skill.

Here we often receive merchants from all over the world and foreigners from various countries.

Rosen shook one hand, took out a small silver nugget worth about three cents and threw it over.

"Let's go, the rest is your tip."

"I'm new to Xiangjiang. It's great that I have to find a local to ask about some things."

He raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said in a heroic tone.

The driver took the silver and was overjoyed.

Living in Xiangjiang, thanks to Westernized customs, you can occasionally receive tips.

But this is the first time I have tipped so much.

It's almost a dozen miles from here to the Governor's Palace. It's not a long distance for driving a carriage. You just have to pay a few carriage fees to enter the city.

"Sir, get in the car quickly."

He lowered the folding bench that hung beside the carport.

Rosen stepped on the stool and got into the simple covered carriage.

Although it has a carport, under such heavy rain, water leaks inevitably occurred in the car, and the two rows of wooden seats were also wet.

And the car still smells like poultry.

This kind of carriage is not specially designed to carry passengers. People and goods are often mixed together. Most of the time, they also accept carpooling from nearby villagers, so it has nothing to do with comfort.

The coachman naturally understood this, and after Rosen entered the coach, he quickly waved his whip to make the pack horse move.

At the same time, he handed a bamboo hat into the carriage.

"Sir, put on your hat and feel aggrieved for a moment."

"It'll be there soon."

The soft patter of rain made the coachman's voice outside the carport somewhat muffled.

Rosen was not picky and took the hat and put it on his velvet hat.

"Tell me about the situation in Xiangjiang."

"The gangs, the governors, the foreigners, the ports and the factories."

"Say what you know."

Rosen said to the outside of the carport.

Faced with this small additional request, the coachman naturally would not refuse.

And the driver knew very well that this was the reason for the reward of one and a half silver coins.

Their profession is fairly well-informed, after all, they deal with people from all walks of life all day long.

So he thought for a moment and started talking about the situation in Xiangjiang.

…

About half an hour later, the carriage stopped at a street intersection in the city.

Rosen got off the carriage and opened the black umbrella calmly.

I also have some understanding of the situation in Xiangjiang.

Entering the main city area, the surrounding scenery has changed greatly.

Western-style buildings can be seen everywhere, and the streets are smooth and clean. It is obvious that there are dedicated people to take care of and take care of them.

There are patrol teams patrolling every street.

The shops on the main shopping street that I passed by were still open for business.

There is also the sensual city that never sleeps, and the neon signs have entered the electrical age ahead of schedule.

It’s not that there is no electricity in this era, but that electricity is not yet widespread.

The popularization of electricity does not only refer to the popularization of energy, but also includes the popularization of electric-driven equipment.

These two points complement each other and are both important.

It also represents the unevenness of the current era.

While kerosene lamps were still used for lighting in the suburbs, electricity was already available in the city that never sleeps.

On the way here, he roughly understood the situation here from the driver's mouth.

Xiangjiang is a leased land of England, and there is a governor personally appointed by the Queen of England.

The governor's name was Zhou Haishun, and his father's generation was a prominent family in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Because he had defected to England decades ago, he was reused.

Therefore, Zhou Haishun became the governor of Xiangjiang in his generation.

The Zhou family is also the largest force in Xiangjiang.

The power of the governor is not small, and he has almost direct jurisdiction over this area.

In addition to the Zhou family's trained soldiers, there were hundreds of British soldiers.

Including several vampire barons and knights, as well as many transformed second-generation blood demons.

Xiangjiang was a commercial port, and British warships occasionally stationed here.

But more often than not, it goes north.

There are currently no foreign warships stationed inside or outside the port.

In addition to the Governor's Palace, there are three gangs and two associations in Xiangjiang Road, namely the Kowloon Gang, the Yau Wang Jian Gang, the Hong Gang, as well as the Pan Hai Society and the Shui Whale Society.

The most powerful among them is the Hong Gang.

It is said that this is an overseas association with influence all over the world.

It is mainly composed of Tianqing people overseas.

Not only does it have branches in many demon kingdoms, but it also has a certain say in the overseas underground world, making it a very influential force.

…

Of course, this so-called weight is only relative.

Although the Hong Gang has some reputation at home and abroad.

But there is no comparison with the imperial court, the demon army, and the old sects like Tianqing.

After all, the underworld is still the same as the street rats.

Several major gangs and associations each have their own sphere of influence.

For example, the port is divided between Panhai Society and Shuijing Society.

Those unlucky guys that Rosen killed just now should be members of these two societies.

The Kowloon Gang, Yau Wang Jian Gang, and Hong Gang have different territories in the city. They make huge profits by collecting protection fees and opening casinos, banks, and sex clubs.

There are constant conflicts between the two sides.

The Government House turned a blind eye to this.

When municipalities can't keep up, local gangs can maintain order to a certain extent.

The bosses of several gangs and associations also showed great respect to the Governor's Mansion, and would regularly send him regular banknotes and other benefits.

In many cases, they will also cooperate with the orders of the Governor-General.

Both parties have achieved a certain degree of interest bundling.

And this is precisely the prerequisite for cooperation.

In other words, the local power structure here has long been stable.

Except for the Governor's House, gangs and societies.

There are hundreds of chambers of commerce and business alliances, large and small, in Xiangjiang.

There are even more doorways.

There are many business alliances that represent a certain force in the mainland.

Under such circumstances, Rosen's Tiejin Chamber of Commerce seemed to have no sense of existence.

Moreover, there are many commodities circulating in Xiangjiang.

For example, canned food and milk powder are not very sensitive, only wine is slightly more sensitive, but the total trade volume is very large, and the wine consumed by Tiezin Chamber of Commerce is not much compared to the total volume!

This made Rosen aware.

...(End of chapter)