As they left the depths of North Mang Mountain and neared the North Mang Mountain North Slope Villa District, two Mercedes cars drove towards them.
The three cars of Long Xiao and his group were forced to stop. The doors of the two Mercedes cars opened, and four middle-aged men dressed as Japanese warriors got out and stood by the cars. Then, a small old man with a smiling face emerged from one of the cars.
Long Xiao had expected people from the Long Nian organization to appear, but he hadn't anticipated Japanese individuals.
“Elder Xiao, you and my sister are in the car. As soon as I make a move, you must leave this place quickly.”
“Long Xiao, let Elder Xiao accompany you. This old fellow looks very formidable,” Luan Jiping said.
Long Xiao shook his head and replied, “I can handle this myself. Trust me, no matter what happens later, as soon as I act, you must leave immediately.”
Seeing Long Xiao’s confidence, Elder Xiao said, “Miss, let’s follow Long Xiao’s plan. This old fellow might not necessarily be Long Xiao’s match.”
Looking at Long Xiao’s confident gaze, Luan Jiping said, “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Long Xiao got out of the car, and Elder Xiao moved to Long Xiao’s seat, preparing to drive.
Seeing Long Xiao disembark, Qian Yun and several of Luan Jiping’s subordinates, who were in the car behind, also got out and walked over.
The old man exuded an air of authority. With a smile, he looked at Long Xiao and asked, “Are you the Long Xiao that Iriguchi Gorō spoke of?”
Long Xiao nodded and replied, “Yes, I am Long Xiao. Who are you?”
The old man did not speak. A Japanese warrior said, “This is our Karate master, Watanabe Kenji.”
“Master Watanabe? Are you blocking our way, trying to rob us?” Long Xiao asked.
Watanabe Kenji hadn’t expected Long Xiao to mistake him for a bandit.
“What do you take me for? I’m stopping you to let you experience the prowess of our Japanese Karate.”
“How did you know we would be here?” Long Xiao asked.
“Long Nian informed us. That fellow didn’t dare to make a move against you, but we aren’t afraid of Tianyi Long Xiaotian.”
As Long Xiao was speaking with Watanabe Kenji, Qian Yun slowly moved forward, positioning himself behind Long Xiao.
Long Xiao’s attention was focused on Watanabe Kenji, and he didn’t notice Qian Yun.
Qian Yun suddenly attacked, striking Long Xiao’s back with a palm. With a bang, Long Xiao was sent flying five to six meters before crashing onto the ground.
Seeing Qian Yun’s sneak attack succeed, Luan Jiping reached for the car door, intending to get out.
“Wait, Miss, have you forgotten what Long Xiao just said?” Elder Xiao quickly pulled Luan Jiping back and said.
Elder Xiao knew that given Qian Yun’s strength, even if Long Xiao hadn’t been distracted, he wouldn’t have succeeded in such a sneak attack so easily. The fact that it worked so effortlessly meant Long Xiao had allowed it.
As Long Xiao fell, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Qian Yun rushed to Long Xiao’s side and viciously kicked towards Long Xiao’s chest.
Long Xiao had deliberately let Qian Yun’s initial sneak attack succeed. Now, seeing Qian Yun intending to strike again with such force, if this kick landed, several of his ribs would surely break.
Long Xiao rolled to the side, evading Qian Yun’s kick.
As Qian Yun regained his balance, Watanabe Kenji struck Qian Yun’s shoulder with a palm.
With a crunch, Qian Yun’s shoulder suffered a comminuted fracture.
Qian Yun glared fiercely at Watanabe Kenji, bewildered as to why this Japanese old man had attacked him.
Qian Yun dared not show anger. Enduring the pain, he said, “I am from Long Nian. I was the one who sent the information to you just now.”
Watanabe Kenji snorted coldly and said, “I don’t care who you’re from. I want to have a fair fight with Long Xiao. You dared to ambush Long Xiao from behind, which is disrespectful to me.”
Qian Yun had frequent dealings with the Japanese and knew they were typically unreasonable. He clutched his severely painful right arm and retreated, not daring to speak further.
Watanabe Kenji stepped forward and asked, “Long Xiao, how badly are you injured? Can you still fight?”
Long Xiao, lying on the ground, shook his head and said, “I’m seriously injured. I’ll need a few days to recover.”
Watanabe Kenji sighed, cast a venomous glance at Qian Yun, and said, “Long Xiao, go back and recuperate. When your injuries have healed in a few days, I will come find you again.”
Seeing Watanabe Kenji about to let Long Xiao go, Qian Yun hastily said, “Mr. Watanabe, you cannot let him leave. If we let a tiger return to the mountains, the future consequences will be endless.”
“If we don’t let him go back, where will he recuperate?” Watanabe Kenji asked.
Qian Yun thought for a moment and said, “How about this, let’s first detain him at the training camp in the mountains. When he’s healed, you can fight him there.”
Watanabe Kenji nodded and said, “Good. Call your men and have them take him.”
Seeing that Qian Yun and Watanabe Kenji were no longer attacking Long Xiao, Elder Xiao quickly started the car, drove around the two Mercedes, and accelerated away.
Luan Jiping’s subordinates were all injured. Seeing Elder Xiao and Luan Jiping leave, they also retreated to their cars and drove away.
Watanabe Kenji did not intercept them. He had been specially invited from Japan by Iriguchi Gorō to deal with Long Xiao. His target was Long Xiao.
Long Xiao lay on the ground, feigning severe injury. After waiting for half an hour, two Mitsubishi SUVs appeared.
Chachai got out and saw Long Xiao on the ground, looking very surprised. He hadn’t expected Long Xiao to be injured and captured. In his eyes, Long Xiao was incredibly strong, so strong that even Hu Qinglai couldn't defeat him.
“Mr. Chachai, I injured Long Xiao,” Qian Yun said, stepping forward to claim credit upon seeing Chachai.
Long Xiao, fearing Chachai might ask too many questions and expose him, cursed, “Qian Yun, you scoundrel, to ambush me from behind!”
Long Xiao’s voice was weak. Chachai could tell from his voice that he was indeed severely wounded.
Out of caution, Chachai still stepped forward, grabbed Long Xiao’s wrist, and checked his pulse.
Long Xiao’s pulse was weak, as if it were about to disappear.
“He is indeed very seriously injured. Carry him into the car,” Chachai waved his hand and said.
The young men who had come with Chachai carried Long Xiao into the car, preparing to leave.
Watanabe Kenji said, “Do not mistreat him. Give him a private room, find the best doctor, and let him recover properly.”
Chachai looked at Watanabe Kenji without responding. He had been at the training base in the mountains recently and hadn’t met Watanabe Kenji, so he was unaware of his identity.
Seeing that Chachai hadn’t answered him, Watanabe Kenji stepped forward a couple of paces and slapped Chachai across the face.
“I’m talking to you.”
Qian Yun, worried that Chachai might retaliate, quickly stepped forward and said, “Mr. Chachai, this is Japan’s Karate master, Master Watanabe Kenji.”
Watanabe Kenji’s reputation was well-known. Chachai had heard of him several years ago.
“Master Watanabe, I apologize. It was my mistake for not answering you immediately just now,” Chachai said, bowing his head respectfully.
Long Xiao was driven by Chachai and his men into the mountains. They traveled for over an hour on a bumpy, gravel road before stopping near a small mountain village, at a newly constructed camp.
Long Xiao was housed in a simple room made of corrugated metal. There were seventy to eighty such rooms in the camp, which could accommodate at least five hundred people if they were all filled.
After the people who had brought Long Xiao into the room left, Long Xiao got up and went to the window to observe the situation in the camp.
The camp resembled a military barracks. On the square in front, over two hundred people were engaged in various training exercises.
Lying back on the bed, Long Xiao activated the life force he had been suppressing. In less than a minute, he had completely recovered.