Tu Tian, along with four individuals of comparable strength, lunged at Long Xiao with clenched fists. Despite his apprehension towards Long Xiao, the presence of so many allies gave him a sense of security.
Long Xiao shifted his stance, evading them swiftly. The four men couldn't land a single blow on him.
Seeing that the four were no match for Long Xiao, Long Nian grew anxious. He waved his hand and shouted, "Everyone attack, show no mercy."
The woman standing beside Long Nian shot towards Long Xiao like a wisp of smoke, her hands unleashing a cloud of gray mist that enveloped him.
A stench of decay filled the air. Long Xiao quickly held his breath and retreated.
Long Xiao's footwork was disrupted, and Tu Tian's fist landed on his chest. With a bang, Long Xiao stumbled back two steps. Someone attacked from behind him, and he hastily moved to dodge.
Another stream of gray mist attacked, this time emanating from a man. The man wore a red cloth wrapped around his head, coarse cloth clothing, and a pair of army boots.
Long Xiao held his breath and dodged again. Clearly, the gray mist from these two was peculiar. As Long Xiao continuously evaded them, his ability to counter the others' onslaught became increasingly difficult.
This was the first time he felt a sense of crisis. In previous confrontations, he had been utterly confident. This time, he felt somewhat overwhelmed.
Unable to counter, Long Xiao was forced to dodge incessantly, becoming more and more passive.
Half an hour later, Long Xiao had taken several blows. Although his wounds quickly healed, the brief pain was extremely irritating.
Over a dozen experts, and they hadn't subdued Long Xiao in half an hour. Long Nian frowned and said, "Hu Qinglai, you go too."
An old man in a Tang suit appeared. He glanced at Long Nian and nodded slightly, saying, "Yes, Young Master."
Hu Qinglai entered the battlefield with his hands behind his back. Everyone stopped fighting, surrounding Long Xiao.
"To make an old man like me step in, young man, you must be quite strong."
Long Xiao rubbed his sore arm and replied, "So-so. Dealing with you shouldn't be a problem."
After observing for a while, Hu Qinglai had grasped Long Xiao's boxing style. He was surprised by Long Xiao's use of the "Overlord Dragon Fist" but said nothing.
The Overlord Dragon Fist was a unique technique of the Long family. Although Long Nian was a member of the Long family, he was born after his father was expelled, so he was unaware of the Overlord Dragon Fist.
"Then let's give it a try. I am also familiar with your boxing style."
Hu Qinglai also employed the Overlord Dragon Fist, much to Long Xiao's surprise. After a few exchanges, Long Xiao realized that this old man had only learned the superficial aspects of the technique.
Since the opponent knew the Overlord Dragon Fist, Long Xiao worried he was a member of the Long family. He even refrained from using the "Dragon's Roaming Hand" and instead used the "Zheng Family Fist."
The "Zheng Family Fist" was adept at both offense and defense. Long Xiao and Hu Qinglai fought for ten minutes without a clear victor. The woman dressed in Miao attire, seeing their stalemate, flicked her wrist and sent another cloud of gray mist towards Long Xiao.
This time, Long Xiao clearly saw numerous egg-like objects within the mist. Terrified, he dodged frantically. Hu Qinglai seized the opportunity to attack Long Xiao fiercely, and Long Xiao began to retreat.
Just as Long Xiao was fumbling, a dark silhouette appeared. A black long sword, emitting a sharp whistle, lunged towards Hu Qinglai.
The sword moved too fast. Hu Qinglai had no choice but to retreat, abandoning his attack on Long Xiao.
Long Xiao saw the silhouette was clad in black and wore a mask. He wondered who this person was and why they were helping him. The masked figure grabbed Long Xiao and whispered, "Brother Long, hurry and go."
Recognizing the voice, Long Xiao realized it was Luo Tianshui. He quickly asked, "Why are you here?"
"Brother Hu of the West City notified me. You can't take Jing Kou Gorou anymore. Let's leave first, and we can talk when we're back."
Luo Tianshui and Long Xiao cut through the crowd. Seeing that Long Xiao had given up on capturing Jing Kou Gorou, Long Nian waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to let them go.
Back at Xinglin Caotang, Long Xiao felt extremely dejected. It was the first time he had been unable to defeat an opponent.
Seeing Long Xiao's crestfallen expression, Luo Tianshui tried to comfort him, "Brother Long, there's always someone better. You're not invincible, so it's normal to lose sometimes."
Long Xiao sighed and shook his head, "I don't have any backing, no deep reserves. Therefore, I must have strength."
Mi Tianfu and Mingyue, who hadn't found Long Xiao, returned and saw his gloomy demeanor. They also tried to console him.
"Master, don't be upset. Eventually, you will be unrivaled in the world."
Long Xiao shook his head and said, "Being unrivaled in the world doesn't matter. What matters is that I have enough strength to protect my family."
Before lunch was over, Long Xiao received a call from Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan's concern lifted his spirits considerably, and he decided to stay at Xinglin Caotang for lunch.
During lunch, Brother Hu of the West City and Luan Jiping arrived. They both offered Long Xiao words of encouragement.
"Sister, do you know anything about Long Nian?" Long Xiao asked.
Luan Jiping informed Long Xiao that Long Nian had only appeared in Donghai in the past two months. He claimed to be from the Long family, but no one who had connections to the Long family had ever heard of him.
"Sister, do you know why Long Nian came to Donghai?"
Luan Jiping shook her head. "I don't know. As soon as he appeared, I sent people to investigate, but we've found nothing yet."
"Sister, the Long Nian I encountered today had a Miao woman subordinate who is skilled in poisoning."
Mentioning poisoning, Luan Jiping immediately recalled the cold cicada within her body.
"Was the cold cicada in my body placed there by her?" Luan Jiping asked.
Long Xiao shook his head. "I can't confirm that. Ji Dahai and Bao Tiexiong also have蛊 (gu worms), and these worms are extremely difficult to remove."
"Bao Tiexiong was also poisoned?" Luan Jiping asked in surprise.
Long Xiao nodded. "Yes, I noticed it when I was treating his paralysis. However, I'm not close to him, so I only suppressed it and didn't remove it."
Hearing Long Xiao's words, a terrifying thought emerged in Luan Jiping's mind.
She began to suspect that the "Three Dragons, Two Tigers, One God of Wealth," "Four Blacks," and the patriarchs of several major families in Donghai had all been poisoned.
The relationships among the high-ranking officials in Donghai were complex, with both conflict and cooperation. If the entire elite were controlled by poisoning, it would be a horrifying situation.
Luan Jiping did not want to drag Long Xiao into the power struggles of Donghai's elite, so she kept her thoughts to herself.
Everyone finished lunch together. The topic of Long Nian was not discussed further, but each person had made their own plans.
In the afternoon, after Long Xiao saw off Brother Hu of the West City and Luan Jiping, he returned to Xinglin Caotang and went to Luo Tianshui's room.
"Tianshui, what do you think about today's events?" Long Xiao asked.
Luo Tianshui sighed. "Brother Long, I advise you not to get involved in Donghai's mess. Donghai is about to undergo a major change."
"Tianshui, what did you see?"
Luo Tianshui shook his head. "I didn't see anything specific. It's just a hunch. My intuition is usually very accurate; it has saved my life countless times."
Long Xiao nodded. "I believe you. Alright, as long as no one bothers me, I won't concern myself with their affairs."