Frank Quinn smiled, turned, and walked out of the house. By now, the sky outside was already completely dark. All around the house, the wasteland was covered in grass, filled with the sounds of all kinds of insects chirping.

Chapter 0002 Stealing Techniques (Part 1)

Cangzhou is located in North China and has long been known as a hub for both water and land transport. The Grand Canal runs through its entire territory, and the people of Cangzhou have always been known for their simplicity, integrity, diligence, and courage.

Because Cangzhou is a strategic area near the capital, it has always been a battleground for military strategists throughout history. In ancient times, it was called a “distant and harsh prefecture,” and during the Ming dynasty, it was nicknamed “Little Liangshan.” For over a hundred miles along the Bohai Sea, the area was all reed marshes and barren beaches, sparsely populated. It was both a place of exile for criminals and a refuge for rebellious generals.

So, starting from the Ming and Qing dynasties, some rebel generals wanted by the imperial court sought shelter among the strong and martial-loving people of Cangzhou. These people hid their identities, disguised themselves as monks, Taoists, or wandering heroes, and made a living by teaching martial arts. Thus, Cangzhou’s reputation as a “hometown of martial arts” began.

Although during those turbulent ten years, some martial artists were impacted for various reasons, and many boxing manuals and historical relics were destroyed, the development of Cangzhou martial arts suffered only a temporary setback.

But the martial arts spirit in Cangzhou never faded. Starting from the 1980s, all kinds of martial arts schools sprang up like bamboo shoots after the rain. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that every household practiced martial arts—even Old Harris, who sold sesame seed cakes, had some real skills.

At this moment, Frank Quinn was crouching outside the back wall of a family’s courtyard, keeping low. This family’s surname was Brooks, and they were considered a prominent household in Cangzhou, with more than a dozen tiled houses.

More than ten years ago, the Brooks family suffered a major blow—their house was once confiscated. In the early 1980s, the government returned the house to the Brooks family, and now four generations of the family lived there.

Unlike most family courtyards, the Brooks family’s backyard was very spacious and had been converted into a martial arts training ground. On the side of the yard stood two rows of weapon racks, filled with all kinds of weapons—sabers, spears, swords, halberds, and the like.

Right now, in the middle of the yard, seven or eight children around ten years old were holding martial stances. An elderly man, over eighty years old, sat at the edge of the yard, his eyes half-open, leisurely sipping hot tea from the table in front of him.

But whenever any child in the yard let their body slacken, the old man would immediately lash out with a long, peeled willow branch in his hand, striking the child like a venomous snake.

“Once you enter the training room, it’s either stance training or wall practice. If you want to learn Bajiquan, you must first hold your stance properly for me!”

Watching those half-grown boys who had been standing for more than half an hour, sweat streaming down their faces, the old man stood up and, intentionally or not, glanced toward the outer wall.

“Did Grandpa Brooks notice me?”

Hiding outside the wall and peeking in through a hole, Frank Quinn quickly pulled his head back.

In Cangzhou, martial arts are popular, and lineage is taken very seriously. What he was doing counted as stealing techniques. If he was caught, at best his tendons would be cut; at worst, he might even lose his life.

However, Frank Quinn’s gaze was exceptionally determined. He stood in the same martial stance as the children in the yard. Although his calves were trembling, he gritted his teeth and held on.

Just as Frank Quinn thought the old man had spotted him, a child in the yard suddenly spoke up: “Grandmaster, how long do we have to stand before we’re considered skilled?”

“How long? Stand for a lifetime!”

Seeing the confusion on the children’s faces, the old man shook his head and said, “Your grandmaster once roamed the world, undefeated in the martial arts community. This skill is the foundation…”

Seeing that it was about time, the old man waved his hand and said, “You can rest for a bit. If you want to learn real skills, you must be able to endure hardship. Otherwise, you’d better go home early!”

“Grandmaster, tell us a story about our grandmaster!”

Hearing the old man’s words, the children cheered and crowded around him. Except during training, the old man was actually very kind.

Outside the wall, Frank Quinn perked up his ears. He had been secretly learning here for several years, but every time he heard stories about the “Divine Spear” William Thompson, he still felt his blood boil.

“All right, I’ll tell you a story about when my master fought the Japanese with his spear. Back then, I hadn’t even been born yet…”

The old fear loneliness. Even though this old man had mastered Bajiquan to perfection and was one of the few great martial artists and boxing masters in the country, he still had the common weakness of the elderly: he loved reminiscing about the past.

But as the only surviving disciple of the “Divine Spear” William Thompson, the old man undoubtedly had the most authority, and the stories he told were all true.

It was 1895. When Yuan Shikai was training troops at Xiaozhan in the southern suburbs of Tianjin, he used various means and connections to recruit highly skilled martial artists, and he hired Japanese karate experts and German military instructors at great expense to train his elite troops.

William Thompson’s master, Harold Smith, received an invitation from Yuan Shikai, but as he was advanced in age, he recommended his disciple William Thompson to take the position.

When William Thompson arrived at the barracks with Harold Smith’s letter of appointment, someone naturally led him to the martial hall to meet Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai and the other instructors saw that he was unimpressive in appearance—thin and small, carrying a large spear—and mistook him for Harold Smith’s servant or houseboy.

When they learned that William Thompson was there to take the teaching position on behalf of his master, everyone burst out laughing.