Long Xiao returned to the Lin family's home after dark. Lin Xuan had hired a housekeeper named Aunt Ling.
Aunt Ling was in her early forties, with a simple appearance. Her clothes were old but very clean.
"Good evening, Mr. Long."
Seeing Aunt Ling's respectful demeanor, Long Xiao smiled and said, "Aunt Ling, there's no need to be so formal with me. You can just call me Long Xiao."
Long Xiao and Aunt Ling prepared dinner together. Just as the meal was ready and before they could eat, Long Xiao received a call from Zhou Zhizhong. Zhou Zhizhong informed him that Lu Tianxing wanted to see him.
Long Xiao, fearing that Lu Tianxing's injuries had worsened, rushed to the hospital by taxi. Upon entering the ward, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lu Tianxing sitting on the bed, chatting with Zhou Zhizhong.
"Long Xiao is here."
Lu Tianxing smiled and attempted to get out of bed. Long Xiao quickly stepped forward and said, "Director Lu, your wound hasn't fully healed yet. You shouldn't get out of bed."
Zhou Zhizhong pulled up a chair for Long Xiao. Long Xiao sat facing Lu Tianxing and asked, "Director Lu, is there something you need?"
Lu Tianxing looked at Zhou Zhizhong and said, "Long Xiao, do you know who the two people you asked Zhizhong to apprehend are?"
Long Xiao shook his head and replied, "No, I don't. Those two guys should be related to the owner of that antique shop."
Lu Tianxing nodded. "They are definitely related, but we don't have concrete evidence yet, so we can't touch the antique shop. That's because the mastermind behind the antique shop is Young Master Long from the capital."
Seeing the disappointment on Long Xiao's face, Lu Tianxing continued, "However, those two individuals are as good as dead this time, because they are the third and fourth of the Five Fiends of Ruan."
Lu Tianxing told Long Xiao that the Five Fiends of Ruan had been wanted for murder many years ago. After escaping, they had been hiding abroad for over a decade, and were responsible for the deaths of no less than a hundred people.
Their most recent appearance in Donghai was when they killed a garbage collector. As soon as the police traced their whereabouts, Lu Tianxing immediately arranged for their capture.
However, the arrest attempt failed, resulting in the deaths of two police officers. If Long Xiao hadn't appeared, Lu Tianxing himself might have lost his life.
To avenge their fallen comrades, police officers across the city had been searching within Donghai City for several days, but there had been no news.
A couple of days ago, someone sent a series of pictures to Lu Tianxing's phone. The eldest, second eldest, and fifth of the Five Fiends of Ruan had been killed, but the perpetrator was unknown. It was only discovered that alongside them, Director Zhao of Ruixiang Bank was also murdered.
Long Xiao naturally knew about the incident where he personally killed Zhao and the other three. When Lu Tianxing offered to show Long Xiao the pictures, Long Xiao shook his head and said, "Let's forget about it. Whether we live or die has nothing to do with me."
Seeing Long Xiao's lack of interest, Lu Tianxing did not open his phone.
"Thank you, Long Xiao, for helping us Donghai police eliminate a major threat. What reward do you desire?"
Long Xiao shook his head. "Director Lu, I'm a person who dislikes trouble. Please forget about the reward. You can attribute this merit to Director Zhou."
Long Xiao insisted on not accepting any reward, so Lu Tianxing did not press the matter. He informed Long Xiao that Zhou Zhizhong would be awarded a second-class merit and a bonus of fifty thousand yuan.
After leaving the hospital, Zhou Zhizhong drove Long Xiao home. On the way, Zhou Zhizhong thanked Long Xiao profusely and offered him the fifty thousand yuan bonus, which Long Xiao declined.
As they neared the Lin family's home, just as they rounded a corner, a disheveled person stumbled onto the road. The person was covered in dirt, clutching their chest, with blood on their hands. They appeared to be injured.
"Director Zhou, stop the car."
As soon as the car stopped, the person crashed into it and collapsed onto the ground, their body going limp.
As Long Xiao stepped out of the car, four men in black, wielding long swords, emerged from the shadows in pursuit.
The four men in black had expressionless faces and cold eyes, exuding a chilling aura of killing intent.
"Get out of the way."
Long Xiao said, "Director Zhou, help him into the car. I'll deal with these four."
Zhou Zhizhong nodded, helped the person up from the ground, opened the car door, and prepared to help them inside.
"You're looking for death."
The swords of the men in black were incredibly fast, and all four lunged forward simultaneously. Long Xiao felt a flash of cold light as the sword tips reached his chest.
He sidestepped, employing the 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu' (Wicked Spirit Free Step), dodging quickly. The four long swords followed Long Xiao's movements.
Long Xiao felt the pressure but did not retaliate, focusing instead on using the 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu' to evade.
In an instant, the four men in black thrust their swords over a dozen times, yet they didn't even graze Long Xiao's clothes, much to their astonishment.
The men in black paused for a moment, surrounding Long Xiao. After regrouping, they attacked again, significantly increasing their speed.
Long Xiao let out a cold snort and began to counterattack with the 'Long Xing Shou' (Dragon's Form Hand).
The four men felt as if they were being attacked by over a dozen colossal dragons. No matter how they dodged, they would collide with the dragons' claws.
Long Xiao was only using the basic level of 'Long Xing Shou'; he couldn't access the intermediate or advanced levels.
The basic 'Long Xing Shou' consisted of eighteen attack techniques, with no fixed stances, its changes unpredictable and difficult to defend against.
With a series of crisp clangs, the long swords in the hands of the four men in black were knocked to the ground by Long Xiao.
"Retreat, retreat quickly! He's a master of the Long family."
The man who spoke had a hoarse voice. Long Xiao sensed that this person's throat had been severely injured in the past.
The four men in black rapidly retreated, turning and charging through the greenery before scaling the wall.
Long Xiao did not pursue them. He watched as they disappeared before turning back to the car.
"Long Xiao, shall we take him to the hospital?"
Long Xiao nodded, reached out and grabbed the injured man's wrist, and checked his condition. The man only had serious external injuries; his internal organs were not significantly damaged.
"No, don't take me to the hospital. They'll find me."
"Who were those people? Why did they want to kill you?" Zhou Zhizhong asked.
The injured man shook his head. "I don't know."
Since the injured man refused to be taken to the hospital, and Xinglin Caotang (Medical Herb Hall) was almost renovated, Long Xiao decided to house him there temporarily.
After stating the address, Zhou Zhizhong drove the car.
Long Xiao pushed back the injured man's messy hair, revealing a pair of deep, dark eyes and a face like chiseled stone.
He recognized this person. It was the homeless man he had met a few days ago, who had helped him up after he was knocked over by Xiao Hui and Young Master Jin.
"We've met before. Last time I was injured, you wanted to help me, right?" Long Xiao asked.
A stiff smile flickered across the homeless man's face. He tilted his head and fainted.
Soon, they arrived at Xinglin Caotang. Long Xiao carried the homeless man inside.
Ming Yue heard the commotion and came out of the house. Seeing Long Xiao carrying someone, she called out, "Master, is this person injured?"
Long Xiao nodded. "Quickly treat his external injuries. I'll handle the internal injuries."
The front of Xinglin Caotang housed the clinic and pharmacy. The back courtyard had been renovated into a ward with fifteen rooms.
Long Xiao pushed open one of the newly renovated rooms and laid the homeless man on the bed.
He instructed Ming Yue and Mi Tianfu to treat the external injuries, then returned to the front yard. After a brief exchange with Zhou Zhizhong, he told him to return to the hospital.
Treating the external injuries took over an hour. The homeless man's clothes were all cut off, and he was bandaged up like a dumpling.
Due to the numerous external wounds, acupuncture was inconvenient. Long Xiao prescribed a dose of medicine for internal injuries and asked Ming Yue to boil it for him to drink when he woke up.
Before Long Xiao left Xinglin Caotang, he repeatedly instructed Mi Tianfu and Ming Yue not to tell anyone about the homeless man's presence there.