Long Xiao released Zhang Eryong and the other two who were tied up. Zhang Eryong looked at Long Xiao guiltily and said, "Brother Long, I didn't handle things well, I'm sorry."
Long Xiao took out some wound medicine and handed it to Zhang Eryong, saying, "It's okay, you did your best."
He gave one pill of wound medicine to Jiang Ming and the driver each. Long Xiao held their wrists and checked them. They had no internal injuries, so Long Xiao was relieved.
Letting the driver take the van, Long Xiao and the other two walked behind, leaving the warehouse together.
As they reached the entrance of the abandoned factory, Watanabe Kemono looked at Long Xiao, wanting to say something but hesitating.
After they returned to Xinglin Caotang, Jiang Ming led people to unload the goods. Long Xiao called Ye Xiao and asked her to arrange for people to pay attention to the islanders in the East Sea and see what they were up to.
After unloading the goods, Long Xiao settled the bill with Jiang Ming, arranged for him to rest in the backyard, and began to sort the medicinal herbs that Jiang Ming had brought, picking out what he wanted.
For the next three days, Long Xiao refined pills every day, with Tong Hui and Li Xinran helping him.
Long Xiao's method of refining pills was completely different from traditional methods. Li Xinran, a top student from a university of Chinese medicine and a PhD in pharmacology, couldn't even understand Long Xiao's refining techniques.
Since these two were his disciple and his disciple's granddaughter, Long Xiao saw no need to hide his refining methods. As he refined the pills, he explained the process and principles to them.
However, their cultivation was too low, and they couldn't learn Long Xiao's refining techniques at all.
On the third day, when there weren't many pills left to refine, Long Xiao began to teach them his improved traditional refining methods hands-on.
It took them a full day, and both of them successfully refined a batch of pills. The pills they refined had very little life force, but their efficacy far surpassed similar medications.
Just as the three of them were immersed in the joy of successful pill refining, Long Xiao received a call from Luan Jiping. Luan Jiping told Long Xiao that a friend of hers was seriously ill and wanted Long Xiao's help with treatment.
"Sister, where are you? I'll come find you right away," Long Xiao said after hearing the details.
"Little brother, I've booked a private room at Xiyuan Restaurant, third floor, room 305. You can wait for me there."
Long Xiao packed the pills, picking out forty to fifty of each kind and packing them separately. He then drove straight to Xiyuan Restaurant with the pills.
Upon arriving at the parking lot in front of Xiyuan Restaurant, Long Xiao felt a hint of chilling energy around him as he got out of the car.
He looked up at Xiyuan Restaurant and saw a gathering of Yin Sha energy above it.
Long Xiao had been to Xiyuan Restaurant a few times. This place was owned by Sister Hong, who was under the jurisdiction of Brother Hu of Xicheng. Due to Brother Hu's great reputation in Xicheng, the business here had always been booming.
Entering Xiyuan Restaurant and stating the room number, a waiter hurried to lead him upstairs.
The waiters here recognized Long Xiao. Upon seeing him, someone immediately called Brother Hu of Xicheng to report the situation.
Long Xiao pushed open the door to the private room and found Luan Jiping and an elder with grey hair already there.
"Long Xiao, let me introduce you. This is Old Master Lu Bonian, a long-time family friend of the Luan family."
Long Xiao quickly stepped forward and shook the hand Lu Bonian extended, saying, "Old Master Lu, hello."
Lu Bonian sized up Long Xiao and nodded to himself. Based on his experience in judging people, this young man before him had a kind heart and kept his promises.
"Hello Long Xiao, thank you for your trouble this time," Lu Bonian said.
After they sat down and before the food arrived, Long Xiao asked about Lu Bonian's condition.
As soon as he entered, Long Xiao could tell that Lu Bonian's body was in good condition and he could live for another ten to twenty years without a problem.
Lu Bonian looked at Luan Jiping. Luan Jiping said, "Long Xiao, Old Master Lu suffers from angina pectoris every midnight, and it's getting worse day by day."
Long Xiao extended his hand and said, "Old Master Lu, let me take your pulse and see what kind of illness it is."
Long Xiao's fingers rested on Lu Bonian's wrist, and a faint stream of life force entered his body, quickly scanning his internal condition.
When he examined the heart, Long Xiao discovered that Lu Bonian's heart was enveloped by a weak stream of life force.
The life force of a person's heart surpasses that of other organs, but in Lu Bonian's case, the life force was running within the heart along the meridians, not on the outside.
It seemed that Lu Bonian's angina pectoris was related to this stream of life force.
The life force itself would not cause angina pectoris. This stream of life force was tightly wrapped around the outside of the heart, clearly enveloping another stream of energy.
Anyone who could inject life force into a person's body and even pinpoint it to a specific organ must have extraordinary medical and martial arts skills.
After the examination, Long Xiao asked, "Old Master Lu, who have you come into contact with in the past few days, for example, any medical or martial arts experts?"
Lu Bonian thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "I've only met a few clients in the past few days, and they are all ordinary people."
"Can you tell me in detail?"
Lu Bonian nodded and began to recount his recent experiences to Long Xiao.
Soon, the dishes and drinks were served. Long Xiao listened to Lu Bonian as he poured wine for the three of them.
Lu Bonian had interacted with ordinary clients for the past five to six days. He had known these people for many years and understood them very well.
After listening to Lu Bonian's account, Long Xiao couldn't find anyone who had attacked Lu Bonian.
Luan Jiping asked, "Old Master Lu, do you have any martial arts experts around you?"
Lu Bonian told Long Xiao and Luan Jiping that his bodyguard was very strong, having reached the intermediate level of Xuan Realm. Besides this bodyguard, many other security personnel and acquaintances were martial artists, but their strength was not high.
Since he couldn't find the person who attacked Lu Bonian, Long Xiao decided to first remove the life force surrounding his heart after dinner and see what energy was encased within.
While the three of them were halfway through their meal, Brother Hu of Xicheng entered with a bottle of red wine.
"Brother Long, Sister Luan, I've come to toast you," Brother Hu of Xicheng said with a smile.
Seeing Brother Hu of Xicheng, Long Xiao asked, "Ah Hu, have you offended anyone recently?"
Brother Hu of Xicheng shook his head and said, "No, but I've been quite unlucky lately, encountering a lot of troublesome things."
Long Xiao looked at Brother Hu of Xicheng. His body also carried a faint aura of malevolence.
"Someone is plotting against you. We'll talk about it after dinner," Long Xiao said, pulling a chair for Brother Hu of Xicheng.
After the four of them finished their drinks, Long Xiao asked Luan Jiping and Lu Bonian to wait for him in the private room while they had tea. He followed Brother Hu of Xicheng and toured the interior of Xiyuan Restaurant, finding several places that had been tampered with.
Looking at the items placed before him, Long Xiao asked, "Ah Hu, check if any islanders have dined here recently."
Brother Hu of Xicheng ordered the manager of Xiyuan Restaurant to check the records. They soon found that islanders had been entertaining guests there every day for the past five days.
The five private rooms where the islanders had entertained guests were precisely the five rooms that had been found to be tampered with.
"It really was the islanders. Do you have surveillance footage?" Long Xiao asked.
The manager standing nearby nodded and said, "Yes, I'll go and get the surveillance footage right away."