All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Upon hearing Bai Jiaxuan's words, everyone lowered their heads to examine the object carefully. Upon seeing it, a female disciple immediately exclaimed.

“I remember bringing back some dried crocodiles from Southeast Asia last year, I think it was for my master to treat his asthma. There are no dried crocodiles in this place!”

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the old man.

The old man was speechless for a moment, sweat beading on his forehead. After a long while, he stammered out his answer.

"Those dried crocodiles taste pretty good; I even had them with my drinks the other day!"

The old man's expression and words also caught Huo Ting'en's attention, and he pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Uncle Gen, I remember you said that dried crocodile is very expensive and you usually don't use much of it, so you keep it in the box under your bed. Go and see if you have any left!"

When the old man saw that Huo Ting'en also suspected him, his face turned ashen. He glanced at Bai Jiaxuan, then at A Xiang in the crowd, and then said.

"Ah Xiang, go check under my bed and see if there's anything else!"

The man named A Xiang was taken aback for a moment, then understood. He agreed and turned to walk out the door.

Bai Jiaxuan smiled and then said to Huo Ting'en.

"Ting'en, you should go and take a look too!"

Huo Ting'en was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, nodded quickly, and followed him out.

Just as everyone was whispering among themselves, a fight suddenly broke out outside, and everyone rushed outside.

As soon as they got outside, they saw Ah Xiang fighting with Huo Ting'en. However, Ah Xiang was clearly no match for Huo Ting'en and had already taken several blows. But Huo Ting'en didn't kill him.

Ah Xiang clearly didn't intend to fight to the death, but was eager to escape. As the two fought, they moved towards the door, and Ah Xiang had already stepped one foot over the threshold.

Bai Jiaxuan immediately saw through A Xiang's thoughts, walked to the dining table in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, picked up a chopstick, and casually tossed it. The chopstick was silent, but it shot towards A Xiang like a straight flying knife...!

Chapter 19

The chopsticks struck like lightning, pinning Ah Xiang's outstretched hand to the door.

A Xiang let out a scream as Huo Ting'en slammed his hand against the door. A Xiang's body crashed into the door, clutching his hand that was pinned to the door, his face flushed and showing a pained expression.

Huo Ting'en then noticed the chopsticks in A Xiang's hand and was greatly surprised. The others were also astonished by this sight.

It's not difficult to injure someone with chopsticks, but to nail someone's hand into a door panel is something that not everyone can do.

The old man at the back, seeing this scene, knew that his secret had been exposed. He immediately squeezed out of the crowd, knelt down in front of Huo Ting'en, and cried out in defense.

"This dried crocodile was soaked in poison. Ah Xiang gave it to me. I didn't know it would poison Master Huo. If I had known it would kill Master Huo, I would have preferred to die myself rather than poison him!"

“And my son was arrested and imprisoned. Ah Xiang said he had a way to get him out, so I agreed to it. Ting'en, I really didn’t know that the drug would kill Master Huo. I really didn’t know. I deserve to die, I deserve to die…!”

The old man cried and shouted, trying to defend himself!

Everyone was shocked when they heard the old man's words. They couldn't believe it. They never expected that their master had really been poisoned to death, and that he was the cook who had been in the Jingwu School for decades!

Ah Xiang silently covered his hand, while Huo Ting'en, his eyes bloodshot, raised his hand as if to attack Ah Xiang.

Upon seeing this, Bai Jiaxuan immediately shouted.

"Ting En, don't make a move! He's still useful!"

Upon hearing Bai Jiaxuan's words, Huo Ting'en gritted his teeth and stopped.

Bai Jiaxuan stepped forward, snatched the chopsticks from the other person's hand, and asked indifferently.

"You don't need to hide it anymore. The only person who could instruct you to poison Master Huo is Xiao Wazi. But you've been exposed this time, and Xiao Wazi will definitely not give you a way out. He will definitely get rid of you before you tell the truth! I'll just ask you one question: do you want to live?"

Looking at his bleeding palm and hearing the words of the person in front of him, Ah Xiang thought for a moment and realized that what the person said was true. He was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and said...

"I want to live! I want to live! Please, hero, save me!"

Bai Jiaxuan gave the other party a cold look, then stepped forward and whispered a few words in Huo Ting'en's ear.

Huo Ting'en nodded, then ran back, pulled Uncle Nong aside, and began to whisper among himself.

Soon, the entire Jingwu School began to mobilize.

Uncle Nong used his connections to notify several newspapers in Shanghai and also contacted the police station in the foreign concessions, with whom he had good relations.

Although the Japanese were arrogant in this era, they were just one of the great powers in Shanghai and their relationship with other foreigners wasn't particularly good. If this matter escalated, even the Japanese couldn't stop it!

Soon, reporters from various news outlets arrived, police officers were on duty to maintain order, and several doctors from a hospital in Shanghai also came.

Under the watchful eyes of the reporters, the coffin of Huo Yuanjia was then prepared for an autopsy.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Huo Daxia's liver was removed. Various flashes of light kept clicking. Huo Ting'en could not bear to see his father's body being insulted like this, and he burst into tears, turning his head away, unwilling to watch this scene any longer.

Then, the foreigner took out a test tube, put a small piece of liver into it, and soon the liquid in the test tube turned blue-black. The foreigner then shouted loudly in front of all the reporters.

"We are now 100% certain that Huo Yuanjia was poisoned to death, but we still need to conduct further tests to determine what kind of poison it was!"

The news reporters were already quite excited upon hearing the news; then came a flurry of clicking sounds and the constant writing of news reports.

Once things were settled, Huo Ting'en, at Bai Jiaxuan's prompting, called out to the reporters.

"The murderer who poisoned my father is Xiao Wazi. We have caught the murderer. Now, please come over here!"

Upon hearing this, the journalists rushed over.

Soon, A Xiang, whose hands were tied, was pushed out. He knelt in the courtyard, as if he were at a press conference, with reporters snapping photos below.

Next came the Q&A session with reporters, during which Ah Xiang broke down in tears and recounted how the Japanese had bribed him and how he had poisoned the dried crocodile.

Soon after, Huo Tingen displayed the dried crocodile, which attracted a lot of camera clicks from the reporters!

Soon, witnessed by reporters, Huo Ting'en personally handed the dried crocodile to the doctor who was testing it, and A Xiang was taken away by the police. Thus, the press conference officially came to an end.

After finishing all this, it was already evening. Everyone hadn't eaten for two meals. The old man called Uncle Gen didn't hand it over because Huo Ting'en pleaded for him.

The old man was too ashamed to stay at Jingwu Gate any longer, so he left that afternoon carrying a bag.

The reason for letting the old man go, besides the decades-long bond, was that the old man's son had not been rescued and had died in prison.

A group of female disciples started cooking and soon brought out the food. Everyone was starving, but they had no appetite and just stared blankly at the food on the table.

Bai Jiaxuan didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up his rice bowl and addressed Lu San and Zheng Mang, who had been in the background all day.

"Everyone, pick up your bowls and eat! Don't waste food!"

Lu San and Zheng Mang were both in shock these past two days. Zheng Mang was a little better, since he didn't know much about Bai Jiaxuan. He only knew that from now on, he would be working for this boss.

However, Lu San was still in shock and couldn't get out of it. The Bai Jiaxuan in front of him was someone he had watched grow up since he was a child. Lu San even suspected that the Bai Jiaxuan in front of him was possessed by a ghost. This change still made his head buzz.

Bai Jiaxuan took a bite of rice before shouting at the Jingwu Sect disciples who were still in a daze.

"What are you all standing there for? Now everyone knows that Master Huo was poisoned. Everyone knows that Master Huo was murdered, not that he died in a fight with that little Japanese guy. If Master Huo has a spirit in the afterlife, he will only be gratified and happy. I don't think this matter with that little Japanese guy is over yet, but I already have a plan. Do you all want to hear it?"

Huo Ting'en was the first to look up at Bai Jiaxuan, and the other Jingwu Sect disciples also looked up at Bai Jiaxuan. Uncle Nong stopped smoking his pipe, shook it, and looked at Bai Jiaxuan with a questioning gaze.

Bai Jiaxuan picked up a piece of food, ate a bite of rice, and then spoke.

"Although this matter will be reported in the news, the Japanese will definitely not admit it. I plan to publish a notice in the newspapers that a martial arts competition will be held in a month to prove the Jingwu School. The theme of this competition is to promote the prestige of our country!"

Bai Jiaxuan's words stunned everyone. Huo Ting'en suddenly realized something and quickly asked.

"Brother Chen, are you getting ready to go on stage?"

The others also looked at Bai Jiaxuan with anticipation.

Bai Jiaxuan smiled cruelly and nodded.

"Yes, I will participate. This time I will challenge all the foreign devils, including the Japanese. In this competition, I want all Chinese people to know that foreign devils are not as powerful as everyone imagines. I want everyone to see the true Chinese martial arts!"

Bai Jiaxuan's words made Huo Ting'en stand up excitedly and shout.

"Brother Chen, we support you! The entire Jingwu School supports you!"

The other Jingwu School disciples also stood up excitedly and echoed the sentiment.

Bai Jiaxuan laughed heartily, then scolded.

"Since you support it, why don't you hurry up and eat your fill? The food's getting cold!"

The gloom vanished, and everyone picked up their bowls and began to eat heartily!

Looking at everyone's spirits and energy, Bai Jiaxuan couldn't help but sigh, "Young people are so easy to fool!"

However, the idea of ​​fighting with foreign devils was something Bai Jiaxuan suddenly thought of. Since leaving Bailuyuan, everything he had seen and heard had given him a sense of pessimism about this era.

In reality, many young people have a pessimistic view of the Chinese people in this era. Apathy and apathy are the mental states of the vast majority of Chinese people in this era.

Although the Qing Dynasty perished, the ensuing warlord conflicts, along with the actions of ambitious individuals and opportunists, plunged the people of the country into even greater despair.

The arrogant attitude of foreigners in China during this era is nauseating.

The sign that "No Chinese or dogs allowed" is hanging around the necks of Chinese people in this era. To change all this, we must break the image of foreigners in the minds of Chinese people and establish the pride that belongs to the Chinese people!

Bai Jiaxuan had no ambition, but as a Chinese, he felt an indescribable anger at everything he saw in this era.

He wanted to prove with his fists that the Chinese are no less capable than foreigners, and that China has its own strengths that foreigners cannot match!

Chapter 20

"Breaking News... Breaking News! The truth behind Huo Yuanjia's death: the murderer behind it all is...!"

Breaking news! Western doctors have dissected Huo Yuanjia and discovered a mystery surrounding Huo Yuanjia's poisoning!

"Those Japanese devils are too treacherous! They actually poisoned Huo Yuanjia's lungs with a lung-rotting drug!"

In just three days, everyone in Shanghai, from ordinary citizens to high-ranking officials, and even some Westerners who were gloating over the tragedy, knew that Huo Yuanjia had been killed by the Japanese. The whole city was talking about it.

This incident had a huge impact on the reputation of the Japanese. The Japanese side issued a statement in major newspapers the next day, firmly denying the poisoning.

However, other Western countries were happy to see the Japanese suffer a setback, so they deployed a large number of police officers to patrol near Jingwu Gate to prevent the Japanese from resorting to underhanded tactics, and allowed the newspapers to report on it at will.

Despite the Japanese statement, the situation did not calm down and even showed signs of spreading, with other domestic newspapers beginning to reprint it.

This incident has severely damaged the reputation of the Japanese army, and the high command of the Japanese army urgently requested the Shanghai branch to quell the situation as soon as possible.

This is not the time thirty years later, around 1940. The Japanese are no longer the enemies everyone hates. Now, the Japanese are slowly eroding China by winning over a large number of pro-Japanese factions.

In 1912, Japan had a better reputation in China than other Western countries. It could be said that many of the high-ranking officials of the Republic of China had studied in Japan, and even the "Father of the Nation" was a close friend of Japan.

For decades, the Japanese have relied on the principle that Asians don't deceive Asians to win over a large number of anti-Qing forces. Through decades of cultivation, they have built up a large number of close allies within the country.

The poisoning and despicable tactics being reported now are something that the Japanese are unwilling to see or admit. The Japanese Shanghai branch has been explaining for three consecutive days, but the situation has not stopped.