Without their sabers, the two young men paled in alarm and scrambled backward, preparing to flee.
Long Xiao twirled the saber in his hand and said, "If it were me, I wouldn't run. Running away right now is incredibly foolish."
"You, who exactly are you?" one young man stammered, looking at Long Xiao with fear.
Long Xiao smiled and replied, "Who I am is not important. Tell me, who sent you?"
The two glanced at each other, remaining silent. Long Xiao, pinching the saber between two fingers, snapped it in half with a crack. Both sabers broke simultaneously.
With a flick of his right hand, the two broken saber fragments flew out and embedded themselves in a metal bollard fifty meters away, which served to block vehicles.
This display of skill terrified the two young men to the point their legs went weak, and they immediately knelt.
"Big brother, it wasn't us who followed you; our boss sent us. We had no choice."
"Where is your boss?" Long Xiao asked.
One young man said, "Our boss is in the shop. He told us we absolutely had to get that thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, or we'd be punished."
"Do you guys do this kind of thing often?" Long Xiao inquired.
"No, no, we don't do it often. Just once in a while."
Long Xiao pointed towards the parking lot exit and said, "Wait for me at the exit. I'll take you to your boss with the Polygonum multiflorum later."
Both men were bewildered. They had expected an unsuccessful robbery, but instead, the victim was offering to hand over the very item they were supposed to steal.
"You're really going to give our boss the Polygonum multiflorum?" one young man asked, disbelieving Long Xiao's words.
Long Xiao nodded. "Of course, I'll give it. I, Long Xiao, never lie. Let's see if he dares to take it."
Whether the boss dared to accept it was his problem. As long as the Polygonum multiflorum was presented to the boss, the mission would be considered complete. The two young men, thinking this, headed to the exit to wait for Long Xiao.
What Long Xiao sought was the life force of these medicinal herbs. Without their life force, the herbs were useless to him; even if they could treat illness, their efficacy would be greatly diminished.
After the two young men left, Long Xiao opened the car door, got in, picked up the human-shaped Polygonum multiflorum, placed it in his palm, and began to absorb its life force.
The life force of the human-shaped Polygonum multiflorum was incredibly potent. As Long Xiao absorbed it, the area around him was suffused with a green glow of life force, filling the entire car with vitality.
It took half an hour to absorb the essence of one Polygonum multiflorum. Long Xiao looked inward at his dantian and found that the mass of life force there had grown into a football-sized sphere, emitting a green light.
The green sphere had a metallic texture, as if forged from green steel. The other masses of qi were only the size of ping-pong balls and clearly appeared to be just gaseous masses.
Looking at the human-shaped Polygonum multiflorum in his hand, it had become shriveled and lifeless, resembling a piece of deadwood carved into shape.
He placed the withered Polygonum multiflorum into a bag, then took out the Panax notoginseng and Aconitum carmichaeli to absorb their essence.
The life force of tens of pounds of medicinal herbs was absorbed by Long Xiao in just three minutes. Looking inward at his dantian again, he found that the green qi ball had not grown larger, but it was brighter.
Carrying the three bags, he got out of the car and went to the parking lot exit. The two young men were still waiting, examining the two broken saber fragments embedded in the metal post.
Only a small portion of the two saber fragments protruded. Such wrist strength was beyond the capability of an ordinary person.
Seeing Long Xiao approaching, the two young men eagerly greeted him. Without Long Xiao asking, they told him all about their boss.
Most merchants in Nankou dealt in medicinal herbs. Their boss was the largest medicinal herb dealer in Nankou and also the kingpin of its underworld.
In Nankou, any valuable medicinal herbs had to be delivered to their boss. Large-scale herb trading required their boss's approval, or it could result in the destruction of goods and death.
"What is your boss's name?" Long Xiao asked.
"Our boss's name is Su Guoqiang, known in the martial world as Nán Bàtiān (Southern Tyrant)."
Long Xiao nodded slightly. "I see."
The two men looked at Long Xiao's expressionless face, unsure of what he was thinking. However, they knew that once Long Xiao met their boss, the Polygonum multiflorum in his hand would be gone. It would be either the Polygonum multiflorum or their heads.
Long Xiao followed the two young men back to the large medicinal herb store.
Long Xiao pulled up a chair, sat down, and casually tossed the three bags he was carrying onto the counter as if they were trash.
"Big brother, please wait a moment. I'll go and call our boss for you."
The two young men entered a small door, and after a few minutes, a booming laugh echoed from behind it.
A fat man with a face full of flesh, clutching a pair of shiny, oiled walnuts, walked out of the door with a wobbly gait.
Behind the fat man followed a thin, old man. The old man's eyes were like lightning, his temples were bulging, and he wore a white cloth robe.
"I'd like to see who it is that wishes to see me," the fat man boomed as he emerged from the small door, looking at Long Xiao.
Upon seeing the fat man, Long Xiao did not stand up. He remained sitting with his legs crossed, looking relaxed and at ease.
The fat man strode up to Long Xiao and, glancing at the bags on the counter, said, "I heard you wanted to give me a thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum?"
Long Xiao appraised the fat man from head to toe and asked, "Do you think you're worthy?"
The fat man did not get angry at Long Xiao's words. He continued to smile and said, "Young man, you have guts. You're the first person in Nankou to speak to me like this."
The old man behind the fat man stepped forward and said, "Young man, you're arrogant. I want to see the basis of your arrogance."
In Long Xiao's eyes, the fat man was a treasure trove. It was right to extort such scum.
"If you want to see my foundation, fine. I'll give you the Polygonum multiflorum, for one hundred million yuan. Not a single fen less. Pay first, and once I have the money, I'll show you what you want to see."
Su Guoqiang never expected Long Xiao to directly challenge him. Everyone in Nankou knew how formidable Su Guoqiang was. Those who dared to challenge him had long since perished.
"You have courage. As long as your strength is sufficient, I'll give you several hundred million."
Saying this, Su Guoqiang reached out and picked up a bag from the counter. He opened it, revealing a pile of shriveled Panax notoginseng, and casually dumped it on the ground.
He picked up the second bag. Although it contained a human-shaped Polygonum multiflorum, it looked as if it were carved from rotten wood.
"Is this your human-shaped Polygonum multiflorum?" Su Guoqiang asked, throwing the Polygonum multiflorum on the ground.
Long Xiao nodded. "One hundred million. Pay quickly. You've already taken it, so it's yours."
"Trying to force a sale on me? Hahaha, Old Xing, teach him a lesson and let him know who rules in Nankou," Su Guoqiang said, waving his hand at the old man.
The old man suddenly lunged at Long Xiao. Long Xiao did not dodge. He swung his fist to meet the old man's attack.
The white qi energy surged from Long Xiao's dantian, enveloping his fist and forming an illusory fist outside it.
A sound of bones cracking echoed. The old man's arm shattered inch by inch, exploding outward. In the end, his entire arm turned into fragments of bone and flesh scattered on the ground.
The old man was shocked, and Su Guoqiang felt a deep sense of fear. The old man's strength, reaching the middle stage of the Profound Realm, was his greatest reliance; he was invincible in Nankou.
Now, with just one punch, the old man's arm was shattered. It was evident that Long Xiao's strength was not on the same level as the old man's; he was at least at the great circle of the Profound Realm, or even a master of the Earth Realm.