Chen Zikun subconsciously turned his head and saw the young man who was leading his disciples in practicing boxing at Jingwu Association smiling at him.

  "Are you calling me?" Chen Zikun asked.

  "Chen Zhen, you really don't remember me? I'm Huo Dongge." The young man walked over and warmly patted his shoulder.

  Chen Zikun said: "Sorry, two years ago I fell off a horse and lost my memory. I forgot everything that happened before."

  He Dongge said: "No wonder, in those years we ate and slept together, like brothers, I said why you saw me but didn't greet me."

  Chen Zikun was taken aback: "So I'm really a disciple of Huo Yuanjia? Why didn't Master Liu Zhensheng recognize me just now?"

  "He didn't refuse to acknowledge you, it's just that he had no idea Master accepted you as a disciple."

  Chen Zikun was even more surprised: "What's going on here?"

  A shout came from the direction of the Jingwu Association: "Dong Ge, Big Brother is looking for you."

  Huo Dongge said: "I still have something to do, I'll come find you later, where do you live?"

  Dadong Hotel Room 306.

  "Alright, see you later." Huo Dongge flashed a row of white teeth and smiled, then quickly ran back to the Jingwu Association.

  "Chen Zhen? I'm Chen Zhen?" All the way, Chen Zi-kung was pondering this strange yet familiar name.

  Zhabei belongs to the Chinese quarter, the streets are bustling with people coming and going. Several newspaper boys waved oil-printed flyers, handing them out to passersby, and Chen Zikun's pocket was also stuffed with a copy. On it was printed in bold letters "National Salvation Newspaper", the content was all about the Shandong issue, with eye-catching black characters warning people to beware of Japanese poisoning.

  Turning the corner, a large group of students came marching from across the street, carrying Fudan University flags and banners with slogans such as "Boycott Japanese goods" and "Return Qingdao to us". They chanted slogans as they marched, while several police officers watched from a distance without intervening. On the side of the road, there was a tea stand with a notice that read: "The Qingdao issue has arisen, all sectors are united in protest, students are passionate for the country, but have only slightly exerted their strength". The notice was signed "A plea from the brothel industry".

  Look again at the tea shed, where several elegant women with delicate eyebrows and slender waists are seated. Four or five young girls with downcast eyes hold teapots and trays beside them, waiting on them. From time to time, students who have been shouting slogans come in, thirsty, to drink some tea.

  "Isn't that Jian Bing?" Li Yaoting's eyes were sharp, and he recognized Jian Bing at a glance. The three of them walked into the tea shed to chat, and it turned out that this was a special service provided by the Qinglou Rescue Team of the Shanghai Flower World Organization for the demonstrating students.

  Chen Zikun felt a little awkward when he saw Jian Bing, but Jian Bing was as if nothing had happened and warmly invited them to sit down and have tea. After discussing the current situation for a while, they got up and bid farewell.

  As they walked along the road, Jiang Zhiqing was very silent. Chen Zikun noticed his abnormality and asked: "Brother Jiang, what's on your mind?"

  Jiang Zhicheng said: "Chen younger brother, what's your view on this movement?"

  Chen Zikun was momentarily speechless, and he really hadn't seriously considered this issue before.

  Jiang Zhiqing said to himself: "The patriotic enthusiasm of students is indeed precious, but recovering Shandong and restoring sovereignty cannot be solved by just parading, demonstrating, and boycotting Japanese goods. I have studied in Japan for many years and deeply understand that although the country is small, its ambition is great. After the First Sino-Japanese War, it has been eyeing our China covetously, and this problem cannot be solved without a war."

  Chen Zikong said: "If he wants to fight, then let's fight."

  Jiang Zhiqing shook his head: "China is fragmented and at odds with itself, and as soon as war breaks out, it will immediately collapse."

  "What's good about that?"

  Chiang Ching-qing gazed out at the southern horizon, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes: "If we speak of heroes who have stemmed the tide and saved China from peril, there is only Mr. Sun Yat-sen."

  "Sun Wen..." Chen Zikun muttered to himself, a name he was familiar with from his time at Beida, but it seemed that those students didn't hold him in as high esteem as Jiang Zhicheng.

  "Come on, let's call up Chen Guofu and Dai Jitao. Let's drink to the heroes." Jiang Zhicheng suddenly became drunk.

  That night, Jiang Zhiqing set up a banquet, but Chen Zikun was thinking about his appointment with Huo Dongge and returned to the hotel early. However, after waiting for a whole night, Huo Dongge did not show up.

  The next morning, Chen Zikun couldn't help himself and went alone to the Jingwu Sports Association on Baoshan Road in Zhabei. When he arrived at 10 am, the hall was quiet, which made Chen Zikun wonder if they didn't practice martial arts there?

  Going inside, the guild hall was in disarray, the weapon racks, tables and chairs were all smashed to pieces, flagpoles were broken, there were faint bloodstains on the ground, some injured members lay moaning under the corridor, female members were hurrying back and forth with gauze and iodine.

  "Who are you?" A young man suddenly jumped out and asked loudly, his eyes staring at Chen Zikun with vigilance, and in his hand was a shining single-edged sword.

  Chen Zikong said: "I am a friend of Huo Dongge, I have something to look for him."

  The young man let out a sigh of relief and said, "Dong Ge was injured and is recovering inside the house."

  Chen Zikun was shocked. The Jingwu Association should be a prestigious organization in the domestic martial arts world, and Huo Dongge is the son of Huo Yuanjia. His kung fu skills can't be that bad, yet he was injured by someone. This shows that the enemy is not an ordinary person.

  He rushed into the hall, where more than a dozen wounded men were lying horizontally and vertically. Most of them had severe external injuries with broken bones and tendons, but only He Dongge's face was pale, with a thread of fresh blood hanging from the corner of his mouth, as if he had suffered serious internal injuries.

  Chen Zikong asked forward: "Dong Ge, who injured you?"

  He Dongge looked at him and forced a smile, saying with difficulty: "You've come... sorry, I'm in this state..."

  Another mouthful of blood spurted out, and a slender girl in tight clothes who was taking care of him beside him looked very dissatisfied. Her neat bangs fell to her forehead, and a pair of eyes stared at Chen Zikun, saying irritably: "Who are you? Who let you come in?"

  Chen Zikong was about to speak when a group of people suddenly came in, led by a middle-aged man with an extraordinary demeanor. The members present all showed respect and called out: "Nong Shu."

  The several robust men following behind Farmer Uncle walked with a gust of wind, and at a glance, they were obviously seasoned practitioners.

  "Scram." The little girl came forward and pushed Chen Zikong to one side, calling out to Farmer Big Uncle: "You can come now. Hongkou Daochang has invited a master to kick the hall, and Dongge has been beaten up like this, and all the brothers have also gotten hurt."

  The farmer frowned and examined He Dongge's injuries before asking, "Where is Liu Zhensheng?"

  "Big Brother Master has gone to the police station to report the case," said the little girl.

  The farmer uncle shook his head: "Nowadays students are causing trouble, the police department is overwhelmed, who has the leisure to take care of this? Besides, it involves Japanese people, they don't dare to intervene."

  "East Pavilion, which turtle egg hurt you, we'll help you get revenge." Those burly men squeezed up, shouting loudly, Chen Zikong was squeezed into a corner, accidentally touching something, turned his head to look, on the ground there was a black and white sign with four big words "Sick Man of East Asia".

  The men were still clamoring, some taking out their exclusive spiritual elixirs for He Dongge to take, others wanting to use internal strength to heal his wounds. However, Chen Zikun saw that although they were noisy and lively, there was a hint of schadenfreude in their tone.

  He Dongge's uncle, a farmer, blinked his eyes with difficulty and then cast his gaze towards Chen Zikun. The farmer seemed to have something to say, so he put his ear next to He Dongge's mouth and listened for a while before straightening up and looking at Chen Zikun.

  Chen Zikun had a premonition that this person should know his own life, and he couldn't help but stop in his tracks. Sure enough, Farmer Uncle walked up to him, looked him up and down, patted his shoulder and arm, and said with satisfaction: "You've grown up, and you're sturdy too."

  Chen Zikun didn't know what to say, and Farmer Uncle smiled and said: "My name is Nong Jingrui, I'm a friend of your master's father, and also the founder of the Jingwu Sports Association. At that time when you became an apprentice, only three and a half people knew about it, and I was one of them. That half person was a child, who is your fourth senior brother."

  Nong Jingxu said, turning his head and shouting: "Don't just stand there, Xiao Yan, quickly move a chair for your Fifth Brother."

  That girl named Xiaoyan was suddenly stunned: "He is the fifth senior brother, then what am I?"

  Nong Jing said: "Before, you were the fifth sister, now that Chen Zhen is back, you are the sixth sister, anyway, you're still the youngest, and there's no loss."

  A slightly indignant Chen Zikun was invited to sit down, and everyone else followed suit. It turned out that the people who had come with Nong Jinguang were all big names in Shanghai's martial arts circle. Although they belonged to different schools and often competed with each other for students, when faced with the challenge of the Japanese, they put aside their differences and stood united against a common enemy.

  A respected elder said, "We've all experienced the Japanese karate skills of Hongkou Dojo before, but you were nothing special back then. Why could you severely injure Huo this time?"

  "This time is different from before, they invited a master and brought many ronin, that's why..."

  All the martial artists present shook their heads and sighed.

  "Is that thing in your hand a fire poker?" A fellow martial artist stood up indignantly, picked up the red-tasseled spear that had been chopped into two pieces on the ground, with an expression of regret and anger.

  Xiao Yan retorted, "Our Jingwu Association mainly focuses on fist and footwork, these knives, guns, swords, and halberds are all used for practicing routines. The Japanese ronin's long sword is sharp, one slash can cut off a gun pole, we may have lost, but it's not shameful. At least we're better than those who dare not face the Japanese, only knowing how to make sarcastic remarks."

  "Who are you talking about!" The martial artist's temple throbbed with anger, his eyebrows inverted, looking quite intimidating.

  "I knew it was you!" Xiaoyan said fearlessly, her words sharp as a needle.

  "Situ Xiaoyan, how can you talk to Master Yang like that? You don't have any manners at all." Nong Jingyun scolded, and then said to Master Yang, "Don't treat her as an equal, she's just a child."

  Xiao Yan's face turned red with anger and he stopped talking. Yang Zongtang, feeling embarrassed, pretended to be nonchalant and said: "Farmer brother, in my opinion, the most pressing issue at hand is to resolve the matter of hosting the National Sports Association. The Jingwu Association has suffered a great calamity and its vitality has been severely injured. I'm afraid it no longer has the strength to host this event. Why not let our Zhenwu Martial Arts Academy take care of it?"

  "No need for Yang to take charge, our Jingwu Association has plenty of strong and capable generals." The cold voice of Liu Zhen came from the entrance.

  "Big Brother! They're bullying people..." Xīao Yuēn shouted while jumping up and down.

  Liu Zhensheng raised one hand, and Xiao Yan immediately swallowed back the words he was about to say next, looking quite wronged as he stood beside Huo Dongge.

  Yang Zhangmen sneered, "Huo Yuanjia died at the hands of the Japanese, and now Huo Dongge has been seriously injured by the Japanese. You, Liu Zhenyin, are still recovering from a serious illness, and Huo Dongzhang and Lu Da'an are far away in the south. Who else does your Jingwu Association have? Are you relying on her?"

  He pointed at Sutou Xiaoyan with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

  Everyone in the Jingwu Association was furious, their faces red with rage, and their fists clenched so tightly they were cracking. However, they couldn't deny that what the other person said was true. Eldest Brother Liu Zhen Sheng had contracted tuberculosis recently and had only just recovered, but his body was still not fully healed and he couldn't exert himself too much. Second and Third Brothers were in Guangdong setting up a Jingwu branch, leaving only Fourth Brother He Dongge at home, who had now been seriously injured by the Japanese. Was it really going to come down to Little Sister taking the stage?

  Just as everyone was embarrassed, a tall young man wearing an old suit suddenly stood up and calmly said: "And me, Chen Zhen of Jingwu School."