All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

As for the uproar caused by Bai Jiaxuan killing that man, Bai Jiaxuan didn't care at all.

Let alone the son of a mere consul, if given the chance, why not kill the opposing emperor himself!

Bai Jiaxuan returned to the rented courtyard and, seeing that everything was normal, finally felt relieved!

Now that the decision had been made to set up the dueling arena on the Huangpu River, Bai Jiaxuan stopped thinking about these things.

He wasn't worried about not finding a ship to host the duel. He would spread the word and someone would provide the ship. He would only need to plan the retreat route!

In the vast Huangpu River, if you jump into the water, who can find you?

With his worries gone, Bai Jiaxuan did not go to Jingwu School immediately. Instead, he began to plan an escape route. Zhang Xiaopeng and his group also began to explore along the Huangpu River, creating at least three escape routes for Bai Jiaxuan!

When Zhang Xiaopeng and his group arrived in Shanghai, everything there greatly shocked these rural teenagers.

This shock comes not only from the prosperity of Shanghai, but also from the darkness behind that prosperity. For some, this is a true hell, but for the ambitious, it is a paradise.

There are countless opportunities to make a fortune here. All kinds of goods are readily available, including various contraband items, which can be purchased anytime as long as you have money.

Every night, countless corpses are thrown into the Huangpu River; sin and money permeate this blood-soaked city!

Zhang Xiaopeng felt a deep sense of dread towards this city, yet he was also deeply attracted to it. He had already made a plan in his mind: he and his brothers from Wuzhishan must secure a place for themselves here!

This idea didn't stem from Zhang Xiaopeng's great ambition, but rather from his knowledge that Bai Jiaxuan would establish herbal medicine distribution channels in Shanghai.

Without sufficient strength, the herbal medicine business will inevitably attract the attention of various powerful forces sooner or later. The only way is to make yourself strong enough to protect the wealth of Wuzhishan!

Bai Jiaxuan didn't value money much and intended to cultivate these little monkeys. He knew that the future herb trade would eventually be handed over to Zhang Xiaopeng and his group, so he naturally wouldn't stop Zhang Xiaopeng's arrangements.

In any case, the wealth from selling herbs will basically stay in Wuzhishan, and Zhang Xiaopeng can decide how to spend it!

As long as these little monkeys don't break away and betray his ideas, he'll let them cause trouble!

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Bai Jiaxuan appeared at Boss Huang's dance hall again. This time, he told Boss Huang directly about the fact that the martial arts arena would be set up on the Huangpu River, and asked him to publish the news in major newspapers the next day.

The duel is scheduled for three days from now!

This is naturally to prevent things from getting complicated!

As for the boats used for the martial arts competition, Ye Huai'an naturally didn't need to worry about them. Boss Huang was, after all, a businessman. As soon as he heard that Bai Jiaxuan was going to have a martial arts competition on the Huangpu River, he immediately sensed a business opportunity and made a plan in his mind. He patted his chest and guaranteed that he would take care of the boat issue.

Aside from Bai Jiaxuan choosing the location, the issue of the boats was entirely left to Boss Huang!

After settling the matter, Bai Jiaxuan sneaked into the Jingwu School that very night and went straight to Huo Ting'en's bedside.

In the darkness, Huo Ting'en suddenly woke up and shouted.

"who!"

In the darkness, Bai Jiaxuan's leisurely voice drifted over.

"it's me!"

Chapter 49: That man is back!

Hearing that familiar voice, Huo Ting'en suddenly woke up, thinking he was dreaming.

This voice had appeared in his dreams countless times.

It wasn't until a ray of moonlight shone in and shone on Bai Jiaxuan's cheek that Huo Ting'en finally woke up, rolled over, and sat up.

This is not a dream, it's all real!

That man is back!

Huo Ting'en's face immediately lit up with ecstasy, and he exclaimed in surprise.

"Chen Zhen, Brother Chen, you've finally appeared!"

Bai Jiaxuan made a shushing gesture, signaling Huo Ting'en to keep his voice down.

Huo Ting'en nodded quickly, and after calming down a bit, he stepped forward and approached Bai Jiaxuan to say something.

"Brother Chen, you left two years ago without leaving any way to contact you. You have no idea how many people have been looking for you this past year!"

Bai Jiaxuan smiled wryly and said helplessly.

"Alright, do you think someone like me should just leave my contact information and wait for someone to come to me?"

Huo Ting'en scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward smile, indicating his approval!

Bai Jiaxuan then got down to business, asking casually.

"Ting'en, I think 'they' must have been expecting me to come for a long time, right?"

Huo Ting'en naturally knew that the "they" Bai Jiaxuan was referring to were the Republic of China government officials who wanted to buy the medicine powder, and immediately nodded in agreement.

"Brother Chen, you must have brought some medicinal powder this time, right?"

Bai Jiaxuan nodded and said.

"This time I brought two thousand kilograms of medicinal powder, still one hundred silver dollars per kilogram, for a total of two hundred thousand silver dollars. Tell them to get ready. The transaction will take place at Jingwu Gate at eight o'clock tomorrow night. Money on delivery!"

In addition to the ocean, we also accept US dollars and gold equivalents. We also ask them to keep the transactions confidential and not to disclose the information.

I don't think they'd want to see me selling the powder to other people either.

Huo Ting'en hadn't expected the transaction to happen so quickly, which certainly disrupted some people's plans.

Before Huo Ting'en could say anything more, Bai Jiaxuan waved his hand to interrupt him and spoke directly.

"Ting'en, don't bother trying to be a lobbyist. I have no interest in the Republic of China government, nor do I want to meet anyone. My business dealings with them are purely transactional. If they don't want a one-off deal, they'd better prepare their money. Alright, I'm leaving!"

After saying that, Bai Jiaxuan was about to leave when Huo Ting'en hurriedly called out to him anxiously.

"Brother Chen, will I... will I ever see you again?"

Bai Jiaxuan shook his head helplessly and said casually.

"Don't worry, I'll be coming to Shanghai often in the future!"

Bai Jiaxuan thought for a moment, then took out a bronze plaque from his pocket, on which was a string of numbers.

Bai Jiaxuan tossed the bronze medal to Huo Ting'en before speaking.

"Alright, remember this string of numbers and this bronze token. In the future, when the powder transactions are handled by other people, if someone contacts you, they will give you this string of numbers, and they will take back the bronze token from you. This kind of token is replaced every year, so keep it safe!"

This bronze token was part of Bai Jiaxuan's long-planned scheme. These tokens were replaced annually, and if he wanted to trade with a particular faction, he would give them a token, which could be used to trade a certain amount of medicinal powder.

Besides waiting for the best price, it also allows for better control over customer selection. After all, the medicinal herbs in Bailuyuan are harvested only once a year, and the yield far exceeds two thousand catties. In the future, in addition to the Republic of China government, new partners will definitely need to be found.

Going forward, he also planned to hand over the task of trading the medicinal powder to Zhang Xiaopeng and the others. With this token, which would serve as a transaction certificate, transactions could be completed without Bai Jiaxuan.

Huo Ting'en accepted the bronze medal and nodded. He wanted to talk to Bai Jiaxuan a little longer, but when he looked up, there was no one left in the room. The other party had already disappeared without a trace!

Huo Ting'en sighed, then stopped sleeping. He put on his clothes, went to the backyard, and gently knocked on a door. Soon, a light came on inside, the door opened, and a figure appeared – it was Nong Jingsun.

Nong Jingsun was a veteran of the revolution and had an inextricable relationship with the Republic of China government. In addition, he was a close friend of Huo Yuanjia, so he was quite prestigious in the Jingwu School.

Because of the Chen Zhen incident last year, the Republic of China government arranged for him to be stationed at Jingwu School. Whenever there is news about Chen Zhen, he will act as an intermediary between Chen Zhen and the Republic of China government.

When Nong Jingsun saw Huo Ting'en knocking on the door so late, he was startled and quickly asked what was wrong.

"Chen Zhen came by?"

Huo Ting'en nodded solemnly!

Nong Jingsun glanced outside a few times, and seeing that no one was paying attention, he quickly whispered a warning.

"Come in and we'll talk!"

Huo Ting'en hurriedly went inside, and the two began to discuss the matter.

Bai Jiaxuan came to find Huo Ting'en secretly in the middle of the night, naturally out of caution. In fact, he had already visited Jingwu School several times in the past two weeks.

The area of ​​Jingwumen has now tripled. All the surrounding courtyards have been bought or rented by Jingwumen and connected together. Most of the street is now Jingwumen's territory.

The rapid expansion of Jingwu School was naturally due to the support of the Republic of China government. As the martial arts school expanded, the number of martial arts instructors and students also increased several times over.

The reason Bai Jiaxuan was unwilling to show himself openly was because he discovered that most of the martial arts instructors and students were not simply people who studied martial arts.

Most of those martial arts instructors seemed to have connections to the Republic of China government, and those students were no simpletons either. In addition to the people planted by the Republic of China government, countless other forces had also planted spies among them.

It seems that the Jingwu School of today is no longer as pure as it once was.

Huo Ting'en also lacks the martial arts skills and prestige of his father, Huo Yuanjia, and has clearly been sidelined.

This explains why Bai Jiaxuan sneaked into Huo Ting'en's house at night. As for tomorrow's pharmacy transaction, it will proceed as usual.

Those little monkeys are no pushovers either; in the past two weeks, they've already begun to adapt to the rules of Shanghai.

The two thousand kilograms of medicinal powder had actually been transported to Jingwu School by horse-drawn carriage three days ago, taking advantage of the school's procurement of supplies. It is now all stored in a storage room.

This elaborate strategy was naturally devised by Zhang Xiaopeng, who aimed to train the team.

The men he brought this time were all clever and quick-witted young men. Boldness and meticulousness are essential for intelligence work!

This two-week experience made Zhang Xiaopeng realize one thing: this is not Guanzhong. Although the local customs are not fierce, the environment here is ruthless and can be deadly.

To survive and establish oneself in an environment like Shanghai, the best way is to integrate into it, which means finding ways to integrate into various industries.

Six of the people Zhang Xiaopeng brought have already found jobs, although they are all in low-end industries for the time being, but this is a good start.

Someone successfully got a job at a grain and oil shop, and under his cover, taking advantage of the shop's convenience in delivering rice and other grains, he successfully transported the two thousand kilograms of medicinal powder into Jingwu Gate.

Because the carriage went through the back door, no one ever noticed anything amiss. This was just a martial arts school, not a secret service building. Zhang Xiaopeng could easily handle this small task!

That night, after talking with Nong Jingsun, Huo Ting'en returned to his room and didn't sleep a wink!

He had naturally witnessed the changes at Jingwu School over the past year. On the surface, he was still the leader of Jingwu School, but the current Jingwu School was no longer the same as it used to be.

Various forces came for Chen Zhen, including spies. Even the Republic of China government intended to make Jingwu School a prestigious brand for the government and planted a large number of martial arts masters in it.

These martial arts masters are highly skilled, and some of them are even no less skilled than Huo Ting'en!

The other party has a special identity, how can this be managed?

Huo Ting'en was already vaguely feeling overwhelmed, and even had the idea of ​​quitting.

Huo Ting'en grew up in a family of martial arts practitioners, where the motto was "to settle scores quickly and for all." He didn't want to get involved in those conspiracies, but once you're in the martial arts world, you're not in control of your own destiny.

Meeting Chen Zhen again today, Huo Ting'en felt not only excited but also conflicted. He tried several times to persuade Chen Zhen to stay, and even offered to give up his position as sect leader.

However, he ultimately did not say it aloud. He clearly saw that Chen Zhen's ambitions were far greater than his own, and that a small Jingwu School could not possibly restrain him!

Having not slept all night, Huo Ting'en finally drifted off to sleep in the morning. Before he was fully asleep, he heard a commotion outside. He struggled to get up, opened the door, and saw that everyone in the martial arts hall looked excited and agitated, as if something big was about to happen.