Long Xiao was prepared. With his 'Ghost Xuan' steps and 'Dragon Form' hands, as soon as the two robbers stabbed empty, before they could even withdraw their hands, Long Xiao had grabbed their wrists.
With two cracking sounds, the bones in the wrists of the two robbers were twisted.
As the daggers fell to the ground, the two quickly retreated. A puff of green smoke emerged from the handles of the daggers.
Long Xiao moved swiftly, also pulling along two fleeing customers.
As soon as he stepped outside, he heard a deafening roar from the sales hall.
The blast wave had barely subsided when the sirens began. Long Xiao released the two customers he was holding and turned back into the smoke-filled hall.
The sales hall was in disarray, with broken glass scattered everywhere. More than ten people lay on the ground, their lives hanging in the balance. The two robbers were gone, and there was a lot of blood around the two injured robbers.
Long Xiao walked up to the two injured robbers and looked at them. Both had been shot between the eyebrows and were long dead.
Soon, Xiao Ming and Ji Yuelan entered, followed by police officers and medical personnel.
The medical personnel carried away the injured, and the staff began to clean up the scene. The police cordoned off the area around the two dead robbers.
In the office behind the jewelry store, Long Xiao, the other two, and the remaining store employees gave their statements.
After leaving the jewelry store, Long Xiao and Xiao Ming drove Ji Yuelan home.
"Brother Long, these robbers don't seem like ordinary criminals."
Long Xiao, who was driving, nodded and said, "They were likely targeting me. It seems our Xinglin Caotang has been under surveillance."
Who the four assassins were, he couldn't tell yet. After much thought, Long Xiao decided to change his identity and disappear for a while. He worried that if this continued, those around him would be harmed.
To make his opponents afraid to move against those around him, he had to make them feel terror. Only boundless terror would make them think twice before acting. The higher the cost of harming those around him, the safer they would be.
After sending Ji Yuelan home, Long Xiao called Luan Jiping, telling her he had an urgent matter to discuss.
At a coffee shop, Long Xiao and Luan Jiping sat opposite each other.
"Sister Luan, the assassins have attacked me repeatedly. I'm worried that the forces targeting me, if they can't kill me, will go after those around me."
Long Xiao himself wasn't afraid of assassins, but Lin Xuan's family, his adoptive father, and his sister were ordinary people. If anything happened to them, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
"Little brother, whatever you want to do, I'll help you," Luan Jiping said, her pretty face calming down as she looked at Long Xiao.
"Sister, I want to disappear for a few days. Please help me inform the patriarchs of the major families in Donghai that I've asked them to help me investigate who was responsible for this jewelry store explosion."
"You want to retaliate against those who attacked you?"
Long Xiao nodded and said, "Yes. They can deal with me, but they can't touch those around me. This time, I implicated the Ji family and almost got Yue Lan injured."
Luan Jiping nodded and said, "Okay, I'll call them right away."
Luan Jiping took out her phone and contacted the "Three Dragons, Two Tigers, and One God of Wealth" of Donghai. She also called Banjiang Hong, Zheng Dongyang of Sanqiannian, and the Living Dead.
After Luan Jiping finished her calls, Long Xiao stood up and said, "Sister, I'm leaving. Please help me keep an eye on Xinglin Caotang and the Lin family."
Luan Jiping rolled her eyes at Long Xiao and said, "You've asked me to look after your wife, what am I to you?"
Long Xiao chuckled and said, "You're my sister."
Luan Jiping sighed softly, watching Long Xiao's back as he walked out of the coffee shop, and muttered to herself, "He's just a blockhead."
Long Xiao left the coffee shop and threw the car keys to Xiao Ming, saying, "Xiao Ming, while I'm away these few days, don't steal and eat all the medicine in the Xinglin Caotang pharmacy."
Xiao Ming took the keys and said, "Don't worry, I'll only steal and eat a little occasionally, I won't eat it all."
Watching Long Xiao walk away, Xiao Ming asked, "Brother Long, where are you going? How should I tell Sister-in-law?"
"Just tell her I'm in the capital and haven't returned. If she needs anything, she can call me."
Watching Long Xiao disappear into the bustling crowd, Xiao Ming shook the car keys in his hand and said, "So irresponsible, just leaving like that."
Long Xiao walked along the road for over an hour without noticing anyone following him, then turned into a narrower street.
He found an ordinary clothing store and bought a few items of clothing, then walked into a small park not far away.
After transforming in the bushes, Long Xiao emerged from the bushes with the face of Hu Lei.
Long Xiao knew that to disappear into the vast sea of people, he had to live the life of an ordinary person, down to the smallest detail. Dressed as an ordinary worker, he walked along the road for a while before throwing the bag he was carrying into a trash can.
He would first find a place to work and then return to the old house he had bought a few days prior at night. This way, on the surface, he would be exactly like a migrant worker.
As he walked and thought, Long Xiao soon arrived near a construction site and walked in.
The old man at the gate stopped Long Xiao. Long Xiao smiled, took out a pack of cheap cigarettes, lit one, and handed it to the old man, saying, "Uncle, I'm here to ask if you're still hiring."
The old man looked at Long Xiao and said, "You should still be hiring. Wait a moment, and I'll ask the foreman when he comes."
The foreman was a fat man wearing a vest and a hard hat. When he heard that Long Xiao was looking for work, he didn't ask what Long Xiao could do. He just smiled and said, "Hiring, of course, we're hiring. What kind of work do you want to do?"
Long Xiao didn't know what he should do, so he said, "Whatever work isn't too tiring."
The foreman smiled at the old man at the gate. Just as he was about to say something, Long Xiao said, "Brother, it's almost noon. Let's go, I'll treat you to a meal."
The foreman chuckled and said, "Alright, young man. You seem very smart. Good, work hard for me, and making money will be no problem."
Long Xiao took the foreman to a small restaurant nearby for a meal. By the afternoon, they had become familiar with each other.
Long Xiao wanted to do lighter work, which was just a word from the foreman.
"Fat Brother, all the people doing this kind of work are older women." Following the foreman, Long Xiao came to the rebar bending station and said sheepishly, seeing several women working.
"As long as you make money, why do you care who you work with? Don't worry, with me covering for you, you can do whatever you want on this construction site."
Long Xiao spent the afternoon with the older women. In the evening, he passed by the market, bought some fruit, and returned to the neighborhood where the house he bought under Hu Lei's name was located.
Passing by the entrance, Long Xiao had nothing to do and chatted with the security guard for a while. He offered cigarettes and fruit, and soon the security guard recognized Long Xiao, knowing he was called Hu Lei and lived in Building 3, Unit 203.
Upon entering the community and reaching the ground floor, Long Xiao enthusiastically greeted his neighbors, letting them know he was called Hu Lei and lived in Building 3, Unit 203.