The initial victory had the entire Donghai team, especially Zheng Dongyang, in high spirits. For years, Donghai had been at the bottom of the rankings, but this first victory meant they wouldn't be last this year.
After lunch, Long Xiao put on an act of being drowsy, closing his eyes to rest. Xiao Ming, also done with his food, followed suit, pretending to be asleep with his eyes shut.
Soon, it was time for the eighth match. Chen Meijia nudged Long Xiao and said, "Brother Hu, it's your turn to go up."
Long Xiao stood up, swayed a bit, and climbed onto the stage. He rubbed his eyes and asked, "Who am I fighting?"
His opponent was a robust young man who was very popular. As soon as he stepped onto the stage, the crowd roared, "Brother Lu, victory! Brother Lu, mighty!"
The referee looked at Long Xiao, who was dressed in a fancy suit, and asked, "Why aren't you changing clothes?"
Long Xiao replied impatiently, "Changing clothes is too much trouble. It'll be over in a few moves. What's the point of changing back and forth?"
Long Xiao's nonchalant attitude irked the referee. He stepped back a few paces and said, "Begin."
The young man, surnamed Lu, lunged at Long Xiao with a punch. His punch was steady and swift, and the force of it was sharp and fierce.
This level of skill was nowhere near Long Xiao's. With one punch, he could send this kid flying.
To appear normal, Long Xiao adopted a stance and exchanged a few moves with his opponent.
From the audience, Zheng Dongyang's heart sank. All that boasting, and his fighting skills didn't seem all that impressive.
"Xiao Ming, why don't you go for the next match?" Zheng Dongyang whispered.
Xiao Ming opened his eyes, looked at Zheng Dongyang, and said, "I can't be bothered to move. Brother Hu will definitely win, don't worry."
After more than ten exchanges, Long Xiao quietly said, "Jump off the stage yourself, or should I knock you off?"
"What are you talking about? Are you dreaming?" the young man surnamed Lu asked dismissively, looking at Long Xiao.
"Then get off. I need to rest."
As soon as Long Xiao finished speaking, the young man surnamed Lu threw a punch at Long Xiao's head. Long Xiao tilted his head, and his right hand struck the young man's chest.
The young man stumbled back a few steps, trying his best to regain his balance. He didn't expect the force to be just right, pushing him exactly to the edge of the stage, where he fell off.
The young man got up from the ground and looked at the stage, which was over six feet high. He couldn't comprehend how Long Xiao's gentle punch had caused him to fall off so accidentally.
Although the referee disliked Long Xiao, he reluctantly declared Long Xiao the winner.
Returning to his seat, Long Xiao said, "President Zheng, if we don't have any more matches today, Xiao Ming and I will head back."
Zheng Dongyang nodded. "Alright, you two go back first. The second round of matches is tomorrow morning, and today's winners will draw lots again."
Xiao Ming and Long Xiao drove away. They found a secluded roadside spot, where Long Xiao removed his human-skin mask and changed his clothes.
"Brother Long, we had a great victory today. Shouldn't we have a big meal?"
Long Xiao glanced at Xiao Ming and said, "You're treating."
Xiao Ming instinctively touched his shirt pocket and said, "Let's forget it. I don't have much money. I'm saving it to sell my house and get married."
A true foodie and a miser. Long Xiao chuckled and started driving again.
Upon returning to Xinglin Caotang, Long Xiao heard a commotion coming from Li Yizhen's consultation room. He quickly pushed through the crowd of onlookers and entered.
The person arguing with Li Yizhen was a woman dressed provocatively. On the surface, she appeared to be wearing revealing clothes and speaking in a shrewish manner, like a virago. However, Long Xiao sensed that this woman was not simple.
"Sister, what's going on?" Long Xiao stepped forward and asked.
The woman heard his voice, turned to look at Long Xiao, and then yelled at Li Yizhen, "I don't care what you say, this matter isn't over. Get your boss out here."
Long Xiao said, "I am the boss here. Tell me what the problem is."
The woman turned back to Long Xiao and said, "Your doctor here touched me. How are you going to handle this?"
Long Xiao chuckled and asked, "Where did he touch you?"
The woman pointed to her stomach and said, "He touched my stomach."
The woman's top was very short, exposing her stomach, which was very white and delicate. She wore a metal ring around her navel.
"Sister, this is a medical clinic. You're a patient. If I can't touch you, how can I diagnose your illness?" Long Xiao asked.
"You can diagnose without touching. Why did you have to touch my stomach?" the woman insisted.
As they were speaking, Long Xiao's phone rang. Long Xiao said, "Excuse me, I need to take this call outside."
As he walked out of the consultation room, Long Xiao answered the call. Night Owl's voice came through the receiver: "Brother Long, my senior sister, Night Charm, is here. She's skilled in using poison, so you must be very careful."
Long Xiao had abundant vital energy within him, making him least afraid of poison. However, anyone here other than him and Xiao Ming who was poisoned could not detoxify themselves.
"Do you have a photo of your senior sister? What does she look like?" Long Xiao asked.
"I don't have a photo, but I can describe her appearance and her dressing habits."
After listening to Night Owl's description, Long Xiao looked around the consultation room and said, "She's here at Xinglin Caotang. I'll handle it."
"Brother Long, my senior sister has been kind to me. Can you spare her life?" Night Owl pleaded.
"Alright, I can spare her life."
Putting away his phone, Long Xiao parted the crowd and entered the room. He said, "It's almost noon. Please come back in the afternoon if you need to see a doctor..."
Soon, Long Xiao persuaded everyone who had gathered to leave Xinglin Caotang.
Long Xiao returned to Li Yizhen's consultation room and said, "Old Li, you go out too. I'll meet this sister myself."
Li Yizhen sensed something was wrong and quickly got up to leave. The woman grabbed for Li Yizhen, but Long Xiao stepped forward and caught her hand.
"Sister, he's an old man. Why bother him? Tell me what you need," Long Xiao said with a smile.
"What are you grabbing me for? Let go!" the woman shouted.
Li Yizhen circled behind Long Xiao and quickly left the consultation room. Long Xiao casually closed the door.
"Sister Night Charm, please have a seat," Long Xiao said, gesturing to a chair.
Night Charm looked at Long Xiao and sighed. "Did that little slut Night Owl sell me out?"
Long Xiao shook his head. "She wasn't selling you out, she was pleading for you, asking me to spare your life."
"Based on you? Look at your hand. It's already poisoned," Night Charm said, pointing to Long Xiao's hand, and then sat down on the chair.
Long Xiao had been suppressing his vital energy, so his hand started to show signs of poisoning quickly.
"It's just a bit of poisoning. I'm a doctor. No poison can stump me."
Night Charm curled her lip in disdain. "You're bragging. If you could detoxify, your hand wouldn't be black."
Long Xiao looked at his hand, which was gradually turning black. "Do you want to see how I detoxify?"
"Sure, I'd love to see how you, a master of traditional Chinese medicine, detoxify."
Long Xiao picked up a pen and paper, drew a talisman, and held it between his fingers, saying, "Heaven above, Earth below, bless me..."
Night Charm was completely dumbfounded. She had been refining poisons since she was young, seen many people detoxify, and poisoned many to death, but she had never seen someone detoxify with a talisman before.
After chanting the incantation, Long Xiao looked for a lighter on the table. He didn't smoke and never kept one handy.
As he was puzzling over this, the 'Crimson Flame Worm' poked its head out, looked at Long Xiao, and then retreated.
Long Xiao tucked the talisman inside his clothes and quickly pulled it out. With a 'poof,' the talisman was ignited by the 'Crimson Flame Worm.'
When the talisman burned out, Long Xiao stuck the ashes onto his hand.