Since Ikeda Kono conceded, he had to fulfill the bet. Zhao Xintian's face turned green; it was his father, Zhao Liang, who had instigated Ikeda Kono to cause trouble for Long Xiao.
Zhao Xintian took out his phone to call his father, intending to tell him to find a place to hide, but as soon as he pulled it out, Xiao Ming spotted it.
Xiao Ming's body flickered as he lunged at Zhao Xintian.
Zhao Xintian had just dialed the number, and before it connected, he felt his grip loosen, realizing his phone was gone.
"Xintian, is something wrong?" Zhao Liang asked as the call connected.
"Zhao Xintian and Ikeda Kono have been captured by us. If you want them alive, get a table ready for me at the Donghai Grand Hotel immediately, or I'll start killing," a voice snarled.
"Who are you, and why have you captured my son?" Zhao Liang asked nervously.
"Don't ask who I am, just do as I say. Remember, ten roasted ducks. If I don't see them within an hour, I'll chop your son up and feed him to the dogs."
With that, Xiao Ming directly hung up the phone and casually tossed it over the courtyard wall.
Zhao Liang, a prominent figure in Donghai, was furious at being threatened like this and smashed his phone to the ground.
"Someone, investigate and find out where Zhao Xintian is right now!" Zhao Liang roared.
Soon, the Zhao family's bodyguards and housekeeper rushed in.
The housekeeper asked, "Master, what has happened?"
Zhao Liang recounted the conversation with Xiao Ming to the housekeeper. The housekeeper replied, "Master, I'll send people to investigate immediately. However, I suggest booking a table at the Donghai Grand Hotel first. The kidnapper, who dared to call you so arrogantly, will dare to go there."
Zhao Liang, who had been momentarily stunned by anger, hadn't thought much of it before, but now, upon careful consideration, the housekeeper's suggestion made sense.
"Stop investigating, let's go to the Donghai Grand Hotel now."
After defeating Ikeda Kono, Long Xiao waved to Zhao Xintian's bodyguards and said, "Come, two of you, help him into the car. We're going to the Donghai Grand Hotel."
Long Xiao and Ikeda Kono got into a car. As soon as they were seated, Ikeda Kono took out his phone and dialed Kameyama Kyuji's number.
When the call connected, Ikeda Kono's swollen mouth made it impossible to speak. He directly handed the phone to Long Xiao.
"What do you mean?" Long Xiao asked.
Ikeda Kono mumbled incoherently and gestured frantically with his hands, urging Long Xiao to take the call.
From the phone, Kameyama Kyuji's voice came through, "Hino, what's happening there?"
"Hello, I am Long Xiao. Ikeda Kono is currently unable to speak."
Ikeda Kono had told Kameyama Kyuji before setting out to cause trouble for Long Xiao, so upon hearing Long Xiao's voice, Kameyama Kyuji knew Ikeda Kono had lost.
"Long Xiao, what do you want?" Kameyama Kyuji asked.
Long Xiao chuckled a few times and said, "Ikeda Kono and I have a bet. We are on our way to the Donghai Grand Hotel now. If you want to see Ikeda Kono as soon as possible, come to the Donghai Grand Hotel to find us."
After speaking, Long Xiao hung up the phone without waiting for a reply and put it back into Ikeda Kono's pocket.
Long Xiao glanced at Ikeda Kono's swollen mouth under the streetlights shining through the car window and said, "You're having trouble speaking. How about I treat you?"
Upon hearing that Long Xiao wanted to treat him, Ikeda Kono nodded eagerly in agreement.
Long Xiao took out a pill from his pocket and placed it in his palm, saying, "This pill is very precious. You'll have to pay for it."
Long Xiao displayed his payment QR code. Ikeda Kono quickly took out his phone again and opened his payment code.
When filling in the amount, Ikeda Kono entered ten thousand. Long Xiao shook his head, reached out, and added two zeros, saying, "This is a wound medicine I made myself. Nothing is less than a million."
What kind of medicine is this, costing so much? Although Ikeda Kono was extremely reluctant, he didn't dare to change the amount on his phone, fearing Long Xiao might get angry and hit him.
After receiving the money, Long Xiao put away his phone and muttered to himself, "Alas, there's nothing I can do. Since I've taken your money, I have to use the ancestral secret recipe."
With three soft "plop" sounds, Long Xiao spat three mouthfuls of saliva into his palm and prepared to smear it on Ikeda Kono's mouth.
Ikeda Kono flinched back in fear. Long Xiao said, "Don't you like using saliva? Actually, saliva is the best healing medicine."
Ikeda Kono still mumbled and dodged Long Xiao's hand. Long Xiao glanced at his palm and said, "Oh, sorry, I forgot to add the medicine."
As Long Xiao prepared to add medicine to the saliva, Ikeda Kono started mumbling again.
Long Xiao looked at Ikeda Kono and asked, puzzled, "You don't like my saliva?"
Seeing that Long Xiao understood his meaning, Ikeda Kono nodded vigorously, indicating that Long Xiao was right.
Long Xiao asked, "You don't like mine, so whose do you like?"
Ikeda Kono made a gesture like pouring water. Long Xiao suddenly realized, "You mean, you want to dissolve it in water when we get to the Donghai Grand Hotel? Am I right?"
Fearing Long Xiao would say something else, Ikeda Kono nodded furiously, confirming Long Xiao's guess.
They soon arrived at the Donghai Grand Hotel. As soon as they entered the lobby, Ikeda Kono made muffled sounds, urging Long Xiao to find water.
Long Xiao asked the front desk for a bottle of water, dissolved the medicine, and applied it to Ikeda Kono's mouth.
Zhao Liang's private room was on the eighth floor. They took the elevator upstairs. As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Ikeda Kono noticed that his swelling was rapidly subsiding, and he could speak.
"It's miraculous, it's gone down so quickly," Ikeda Kono exclaimed.
Long Xiao, walking ahead, heard Ikeda Kono speak and looked back at him, saying, "Of course. This pill was worth a million, wasn't I right?"
"But my face is still very swollen, and I can't see."
"Oh dear, my apologies. I applied too much medicine to your mouth, and I forgot your face was still swollen."
Ikeda Kono knew Long Xiao was doing this intentionally, trying to fleece him for more money.
As expected, Long Xiao continued, "Mr. Ikeda, how about you pay another million, and I'll sell you another pill?"
Ikeda Kono gritted his teeth and said, "No, thank you. It'll heal in a couple of days without the medicine."
Long Xiao pretended to ponder and said, "You're right, it's just a couple of extra days of pain. Saving a million by enduring two days of pain is worth it."
They entered the private room. Zhao Liang, the housekeeper, and several bodyguards were already on high alert.
When they saw Ikeda Kono's face, swollen like a steamed bun, and the smiling Long Xiao, Xiao Ming, and Luo Tianshui, their anger immediately erupted.
"Long Xiao, how could you beat Mr. Ikeda to this state?" Zhao Liang roared.
Hearing Zhao Liang's roar, Ikeda Kono's anger surged, "Zhao Liang, you bastard! It was all your idea to get me to find trouble with Long Xiao!"
"Dad, Mr. Ikeda lost the bet with Long Xiao, run!" Zhao Xintian shouted upon seeing Zhao Liang.
Zhao Liang found it strange. How was Long Xiao and Ikeda Kono's lost bet related to him? Why should he run?
Before Zhao Liang could react, Xiao Ming and Luo Tianshui both stepped back, guarding the door, ready to fight.