Chapter 19: Encountering Lu Xun

Church converts—a special product of this era.

As Western powers smashed open China's gates with guns and cannons, a large number of missionaries followed. They were keen on spreading faith in God, attempting to control China through religion.

Christianity possessed extremely strong exclusivity. In their eyes, there was only God. Therefore, one could believe in the religion, but from then on, one could not worship ancestors, and could not even celebrate traditional festivals.

How could the common people accept this?

Ancestor worship was actually the faith of the Chinese people, already deeply rooted in their genes.

Precisely because of this, although there were various benefits after believing in the religion, the number of believers remained few, because once one believed, they would be ostracized by those around them, cursed as unfilial descendants, beasts who didn't even want their ancestors.

Even, after death, they wouldn't be able to enter the ancestral hall.

Precisely because of this, it was extremely difficult for Christianity to spread in the country. Thus, these missionaries had crooked ideas, using extraterritoriality as bait to attract rascals and traitors who fawned on foreigners to become converts. Extraterritoriality meant that if they committed a crime, the government could not try them and had to hand them over to the Christian church for trial.

Not only that, becoming a convert meant no need to pay taxes, no need to perform corvée labor, and so on.

It was precisely because of this that this Qian San dared to be so arrogant, not only eating three bowls of wontons without paying but also smashing the stall and beating the stall owner wantonly, because the government simply couldn't control him.

It was precisely because of this that he dared to challenge Yin Qi and even wanted Yin Qi to kneel and admit his mistake, because the church had special privileges in the locality, and even the Prefect had to fawn over the missionaries; what did he have to fear?

Rascals and traitors who fawned on foreigners became converts.

Previously, he had used the "deterrence" of the church to force a small landlord to kowtow and admit his mistake.

At that moment, he felt he had reached the pinnacle of his life.

"Convert!"

Yin Qi's eyes also turned cold.

In his memory, these converts wreaked havoc everywhere and were no different from the traitors of later days.

Or rather, they were traitors.

Surrounded by onlookers, seeing everyone angry but not daring to speak, Qian San became even more carried away. He pointed at Yin Qi's nose and shouted, "Kid, now kneel for me... ah..."

Before he could finish, he let out a miserable scream, because Yin Qi had grabbed his extended finger and snapped it, breaking his index finger directly.

That wasn't all; Yin Qi kicked out again.

Qian San screamed and flew backward, scaring the onlookers into hurriedly scattering to avoid being hit.

With a bang, Qian San fell to the ground.

His face was ferocious, blood spilled from his mouth, and he glared at Yin Qi like a ghost, roaring, "Bastard, you dog bastard, you actually dare to hit me. Not only you, I want your whole family to die, all of them must die."

A cold light flashed in Yin Qi's eyes.

He walked forward slowly, his face as cold as water.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Qian San knelt on the ground, clutching his abdomen, shouting wildly, "Why, not happy? If you're not happy, kill me then. Do you dare? Hahaha! I am a convert; if you kill me, the priest will definitely kill you."

"Young Master, calm down!"

Yin Hai hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Yin Qi.

Yin Qi did not make a move. He looked down at Qian San and slowly shook his head.

Qian San became even more arrogant, shouting with a mouthful of blood, "Since you don't dare, then kneel down for me!"

Yin Qi still shook his head and said coldly, "For someone like you, killing you would be too easy. You rely on the church to do evil, but I don't know if your priest will still care about you after I break your hands and feet."

Although his killing intent was fierce, he was not overwhelmed by it.

Severely injuring Qian San, with the Yin family's influence, the church couldn't do anything to him.

But if he really killed him, the trouble would be huge.

No matter what, to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, the church would never let it go.

"You..."

Qian San's pupils constricted.

Before he could speak, Yin Qi had already made his move, stomping down with force repeatedly.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Accompanied by four crisp sounds of bone fractures and Qian San's pig-like screams, his eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out.

Such a cruel scene, however, drew cheers from the whole crowd.

"Clap! Good, good. This young master is a real man; I have long found this beast Qian San an eyesore!"

"Qian San, this beast who forgets his ancestors, I don't know how much evil he has done over the years, and he has ruined the purity of several girls, forcing people to hang themselves, but because he is a convert, the government doesn't dare to lock him up."

"It's truly gratifying. But this young master, you should leave quickly, otherwise it will be too late when the government comes."

……

Qian San fainted from the pain, lying limp on the ground like a dead dog.

Yin Hai's face changed, and he hurriedly whispered, "Young Master, let's go quickly. If the government comes, we really won't be able to leave. Also, if the Master finds out, you will be confined again."

Yin Qi gave a faint "hmm," took out a few silver dollars from his bosom, and stuffed them into the old man's hand.

Then, he turned and left.

At this time, the crowd of onlookers also dispersed with a roar to avoid being implicated.

"Brother, wait a moment!"

At this time, a clear voice came from behind.

Yin Qi turned his head; it was a young man wearing a cyan robe, with a square face and firm eyes.

"I am Zhou Zhangshou. Seeing you act righteously and teach that convert a lesson, I felt truly gratified, so I wanted to get to know you. I don't know how to address you?"

"Zhou Zhangshou."

Yin Qi muttered, feeling that this name was somewhat familiar.

Suddenly, he remembered.

Isn't this Xun Ge'er!

The name Zhou Zhangshou might be unfamiliar to many people.

But when it comes to Zhou Shuren, basically everyone knows.

That's right, Lu Xun was originally called Zhou Zhangshou, and only later changed his name to Zhou Shuren.

Thinking of this, Yin Qi smiled gently, "So it is Brother Zhou. I am Yin Qi. Meeting is fate; this is not a place to talk, why not go to the tea house ahead and sit for a while."

Lu Xun smiled, "That's true, please."

……

Xinya Tea House.

On the second floor, by the window.

Yin Qi and Lu Xun sat opposite each other, with Yin Hai standing to the side to serve.

Lu Xun took a sip of tea and said with worry, "Brother Yin, these converts rely on the church to harm the countryside, and it hasn't been just a day or two. Even the government avoids them. You crippled him like this; I'm afraid the church won't let it go."

Yin Qi put down his teacup and said, "Thank you for your concern, Brother Zhou, but a mere rascal, the church can't do anything to me. This, after all, is our territory."

Speaking of this, Lu Xun was heartbroken, "Our territory? But in reality, what is the difference from the foreigners' territory? The government doesn't dare to control them, fearing the foreigners like tigers, and the common people are numb and indifferent. Not to mention resisting, they even willingly act as running dogs for the foreigners for some petty gains."

The Manchu Qing rule was dark and high-pressure, making the common people miserable and full of hatred.

Therefore, during the process of foreign invasion, there were even common people who willingly served them.

For example, during the First Opium War, in the Battle of Humen, tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Pearl River watched the excitement. After seeing the Manchu government ships sunk, the common people actually cheered loudly, as if they were watching a circus performance.

For example, in the subsequent invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the common people found that these foreign devils didn't burn, kill, or loot after landing, so they actually took the initiative to accept employment, using wheelbarrows to transport grain and grass for the Alliance.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 20 =====