Republic of China era: A hundred-year-old still practicing martial arts? Is that right?

The crowd that had been packed tightly around the arena dispersed like a receding tide.

People walked out with their heads down, occasionally letting out a few sighs and whispered conversations.

The martial arts masters who had shouted the loudest earlier hung their heads, as if their spirits had been drained, and quickly fled.

Lin Ji, along with the Bai siblings, mingled in the crowd. His gaze swept across the direction of the Linjiang Tower and Wangjiang Tower on the street, and his ears twitched slightly as he caught a few whispers drifting down from the second floor.

In a private room on the second floor of Linjiang Tower.

On the octagonal table, the tea in the celadon teacup still exudes a fragrant aroma.

Liu Qingzhu ran her fingertips along the rim of her teacup, then looked up at the man in black robes opposite her:

"Mr. Du, you should go back to the gang and keep an eye on things as soon as possible."

"After this incident, Jiangcheng is likely to be in chaos. Foreigners, police, and various martial arts schools will definitely take action. Don't let your men run into the crossfire."

The man in black robes, whom Liu Qingzhu called Mr. Du, leaned over the window, his gaze fixed on the open window of the Wangjiang Tower across the street.

Inside the window, a blond, blue-eyed foreigner was raising his glass and laughing loudly, while a short, stout man in a light gray Zhongshan suit was bowing and scraping beside him.

"A single win or loss doesn't matter."

"We really can't afford to lose the big competition a year from now."

Mr. Du turned around and looked at Liu Qingzhu:

"Will Miss Liu make a move then?"

Liu Qingzhu didn't respond, but simply adjusted the lid of the teacup.

The lid lightly touched the rim of the teacup, producing a crisp sound unique to celadon porcelain.

The rising steam from the tea obscured the expression in Liu Qingzhu's eyes, and Liu Qingzhu remained silent.

Mr. Du didn't ask any further questions. He straightened his clothes, stood up, and strode out of the private room.

"I'm heading back to the gang now. If Miss Liu needs anything, please feel free to ask. The world is about to descend into chaos."

Liu Qingzhu watched Mr. Du's departing figure, put the teacup back on the table, and fell into deep thought.

The Green Robe Gang had been entrenched in Jiangcheng for many years, and had long been a thorn in the side of foreigners.

After this competition ends, the foreigners will surely take the opportunity to make things difficult for us, and we will inevitably have to deal with several rounds of open and covert attacks.

Just as Lin Ji reached the intersection leading to Gouwei Alley, he saw several men dressed as rickshaw pullers carrying a door panel and hurrying out.

Li Jinsi, wrapped in coarse cloth, lay on the door panel.

Blood seeped through the coarse cloth and was flowing down the door panel to the ground.

Li Jinsi's eyes were closed, and his face was completely bloodless. If it weren't for the faint rise and fall of his chest, no one would be able to tell if he was still alive.

Bai Xiaonian clenched his fists tightly as he watched the drivers drive away.

Bai Yu'er lowered her head, unable to bear the sight of this tragic scene.

Lin Ji's gaze fell on the bloodstains on the ground, and he sighed inwardly.

He is a true hero who serves his country and its people!

But in this world, even a master of internal strength can't defend against the dirty tricks of foreigners.

The three walked in silence. Many shops along the street had their doors closed, with wooden signs hanging in front of them that read "Temporarily Closed".

Occasionally, armed police officers would pass by the crowd.

The police officers puffed out their chests more than usual, their eyes gleaming with arrogance, as if they were the foreigners who had won the contest.

Lin Ji walked ahead, listening to the suppressed sighs of the two people behind him, and casually uttered:

"Losing a fight is nothing, it won't bring the sky down. Don't let your backbone give way first."

Bai Xiaonian pursed his lips and remained silent, while Bai Yu'er glanced at Lin Ji before looking away.

Back in the small courtyard of Dog Tail Alley.

I just pushed the door open and came in.

Bai Xiaonian plopped down on the woodpile that Lin Ji had split in two, holding his head and muttering a complaint:

"I'm not practicing anymore. What's the use of practicing martial arts? Even masters of internal strength are almost being killed by others. Even if I reach the next level and become a skin refiner, what good will it do?"

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

Bai Yu'er immediately exploded, her eyes turning red, and she pointed at Bai Xiaonian's nose, cursing:

"I risked my life to raise you so you could have a chance to succeed, and this is the kind of discouraging thing you say? Don't you even have this much backbone? Do you even deserve to be in the martial arts hall?"

"I'm not worthy!" Bai Xiaonian stood up abruptly, raising his voice, "Perfect! I'm not training anymore. I'll go work as a laborer at the docks. I'm not going to starve, am I?"

"Snapped!"

Bai Yu'er stepped forward, raised her hand, and slapped Bai Xiaonian across the face, her hand trembling with anger: "You bastard! Say that again!"

Bai Xiaonian stared blankly at Bai Yu'er for a few seconds, then covered his face, turned around, opened the courtyard gate, and rushed out.

Bai Yu'er stared at Bai Xiaonian's back, tears streaming down her face. She squatted down, biting her lip to keep from crying out loud.

Lin Ji shook his head; he had no time to care about the siblings.

The woman surnamed Shen from the Haijiao Gang has suffered several losses; sooner or later, she'll come after them.

There were also foreigners, the ban on weapons, and one thing after another hanging over our heads.

With his current level of meat refining, even protecting himself would be a problem.

He turned and went into the main room, taking out the herbs from the cloth bag.

He stuffed angelica, astragalus, deer antler... into the clay pot all at once, twice the usual amount of medicine.

He carried the clay pot to the stove in the yard and lit the fire.

In the firelight, Lin Ji's gaze was deep and thoughtful.

The firelight licked the bottom of the clay pot, and the aroma of herbs slowly spread.

He stood with his back bent in front of the stove, his bones trembling slightly. Before the medicine took effect, the periosteum in his arms had already started to heat up.

Every extra moment of waiting increases the risk, so the bone-refining process must be accelerated.

……

It was afternoon.

A newsboy's shout suddenly broke the afternoon's tranquility at the alley entrance.

"Extra number! Extra number!"

"The foreigner wins a decisive victory in the martial arts competition between China and the West! A grand competition a year later will determine the fate of the martial arts ban!"

Lin Ji pushed open the door and walked out of the courtyard, glancing at the newsboy waving a newspaper.

Many neighbors had already gathered in the alley, handing over coins.

Lin Ji stepped forward, pointed out two copper coins, and took one as well.

As you open the newspaper, the smell of ink hits you.

A photograph took up most of the front page of the newspaper.

Li Jinsi lay on the ring, his face covered in blood, his half-closed eyes empty and filled with despair.

Next to the photo were bold, large black words:

"Chinese martial arts are utterly vulnerable; the warriors of the British Empire have won a complete victory. A ban on martial arts is inevitable!"

The text is full of praise for foreigners and denigrates Chinese martial arts to nothing.

Lin Ji glanced at it, then looked away, his gaze landing on the corner of the page.

Zhao Qiaosheng!

The newspaper page ended with a photo of Zhao Qiaosheng.

The accompanying text detailed Zhao Qiaosheng's crimes, and the reward was increased from five hundred silver dollars to one thousand.

They also added the charge of "colluding with rebels and undermining diplomatic relations" to his name.

The last words at the end read: "Whether alive or dead, I want to see him."

The wind rustled the edges of the newspaper, and Lin Ji's nose twitched slightly as he caught a faint, almost imperceptible whiff of blood coming from the alleyway.

In the distance, there could be the chaotic sound of police footsteps, as if they were searching for someone.

Lin Ji frowned and walked back.

The foreigners are determined to kill him.

It seems that Zhao Qiaosheng's assassination of the British envoy truly struck a nerve with the foreigners.

Lin Jicai closed the courtyard gate.

The courtyard gate behind them was slammed open again with a loud crash.

Bai Xiaonian stumbled in, half his body covered in blood, with someone slung over his shoulder.

The man was covered in blood, with two gunshot wounds in his chest that were oozing blood. He was unsteady on his feet and his face was deathly pale. He was only kept from falling by Bai Xiaonian's support.

Bai Xiaonian called out in a low voice:

"Come help!"

Lin Ji took a closer look.

Zhao Qiaosheng!

Upon seeing Lin Ji in the courtyard, Zhao Qiaosheng struggled to sit up, cupped his hands in a respectful greeting to Lin Ji, his voice so hoarse he could barely utter a sound:

"Sir, I'm sorry to trouble you again."