Less than an hour after leaving the small town and traveling along the provincial road, just as they were about to turn onto a small path, Ji Yuelan suddenly said, "Brother Long, that Mercedes-Benz ahead, it's the two people who stayed at the same inn as us."
Long Xiao turned and saw the Mercedes-Benz parked on the side of the road with its door open, but he couldn't see the man and woman.
"Something might have happened, let's go take a look," Long Xiao said.
Ji Yuelan parked their car behind the Mercedes-Benz. As the three of them got out, Long Xiao heard faint sounds of fighting in the distance.
"Xiao Ming, protect your Sister Yuelan. I'm going to check it out."
With that, Long Xiao ran towards the direction of the fighting.
At the foot of a small dirt slope, a dozen people were besieging two individuals, who were the man and woman who had left the inn earlier.
Long Xiao stood on the slope and watched for a minute. These dozen people, all wielding long sabers, attacked and defended in an orderly fashion, clearly having received special training.
Long Xiao walked down the slope and shouted, "Stop what you're doing, or I won't be polite."
The leading assassin glanced at Long Xiao and said, "Two of you, go and take care of this idiot."
Two assassins lunged at Long Xiao. Long Xiao stepped forward and with one punch each, sent the two assassins flying backward, where they lay motionless on the ground.
The skill of these assassins was not high. The strongest was only at the peak of the Yellow Realm, far inferior to Long Xiao. Killing them was as easy as turning his hand.
The leading assassin, while assigning men to kill Long Xiao, led his remaining men to focus their full attention on the man and woman. Long Xiao shouted again, "All of you, stop right now, did you hear me?"
The leading assassin looked at Long Xiao and was greatly alarmed to see that the two brothers he had sent out were already lying on the ground.
"Who the hell are you, to dare interfere in my business?" the leading assassin roared.
"My name is Long Xiao."
As soon as Long Xiao finished speaking, he was already in front of the leading assassin. The leading assassin, scared, took a step back. Long Xiao grabbed his saber-wielding hand and with a crack, broke his wrist.
Long Xiao's speed was too fast. The leading assassin watched Long Xiao break his wrist, unable to even dodge.
"Make them stop, or I'll kill them all," Long Xiao said again.
Without the leading assassin's command, all the assassins were so terrified they dared not move, holding their sabers and staring at Long Xiao.
"You're holding sabers, do you intend to attack me?"
Everyone was so scared they dropped their sabers on the ground, each fearing Long Xiao might misunderstand them.
"You know them, is this matter related to you?" the leading assassin asked, gritting his teeth and clutching his broken wrist.
Long Xiao kicked the leading assassin in the chest. With a bang, the leading assassin was sent flying back over ten meters, several ribs broken, and he fainted from the pain.
"Did I give you permission to speak?" Long Xiao said.
Long Xiao's ruthlessness struck fear into all the assassins. Those who had thought of escaping lost that idea.
Long Xiao walked up to the man and woman and asked, "Are you two alright?"
The two recognized Long Xiao. Seeing him approach, they quickly stepped forward to express their gratitude.
Long Xiao smiled and said, "No need to thank me. We were just passing by and saw you, so we came to take a look."
After speaking, Long Xiao turned and asked, "Which of you can tell me who you are and why you were intercepting them?"
Several assassins exchanged glances, but no one spoke. Long Xiao said again, "Do I need to ask a second time?"
Immediately, one of the assassins said fearfully, "N-no, you don't. We'll tell you, we'll all tell you."
The assassins told Long Xiao that they were subordinates of Boss Lu and that they were ambushing these two because they had purchased some rare herbs from Ling City.
"Who is Boss Lu?" Long Xiao asked.
The woman in the leather jacket stepped forward and said, "Big brother, I know Boss Lu."
The woman in the leather jacket told Long Xiao that Boss Lu was a local tyrant in Ling City, who was evil and committed all sorts of atrocities. Anyone doing business with medicinal herbs in Ling City had to pay him tribute.
After the woman in the leather jacket finished speaking, Long Xiao nodded and said, "I see. Let's go."
On the way back to the road, the woman, upon hearing Long Xiao say he was going to Gejiabao, said happily, "We are from Gejiabao, we're going the same way."
Long Xiao looked at the backpack behind the woman and asked, "Why did you buy so many precious herbs? Is someone sick?"
The man following the woman said, "My grandfather has a strange illness that no hospital can cure. Recently, we met a miracle doctor who gave us a prescription requiring a large amount of precious herbs. We went to Ling City to buy them, and that's when we ran into trouble."
The woman told Long Xiao that her name was Ge Xin, and her brother's name was Ge Yu. Their Ge family was a prominent family in Gejiabao, and eighty percent of the town's residents were surnamed Ge.
"The miracle doctor, his medical skills are very high, aren't they?" Long Xiao asked curiously.
Ge Yu nodded and said, "Yes, very high. The illness is cured as soon as the medicine is administered. This miracle doctor has been in Gejiabao for over ten days and has cured many patients."
Hearing Ge Yu say this, Long Xiao became even more curious. Why would a miracle doctor capable of curing illnesses with medicine come to a small town in the Zhe Dong mountainous region for no reason?
"Do you know why this miracle doctor came to your place?" Long Xiao asked.
Both of them shook their heads. Ge Xin said, "It is a bit strange. Such a skilled miracle doctor could make a fortune anywhere in a big city. He wouldn't come to a small mountain town for no reason."
The three walked and chatted, and soon arrived at the roadside.
Ge Yu drove his BMW ahead, with Long Xiao's car following. They soon arrived at Gejiabao.
Upon entering the small town, Long Xiao and his group were preparing to find an inn to stay when Ge Xin said, "Brother Long, you saved my brother and me. Now that you're on our territory, don't stay at an inn. Stay at my place."
"Sister, is your house very big?" Xiao Ming asked.
Ge Xin smiled and patted Xiao Ming's head, saying, "Yes, my house has a large courtyard in the east of town. It can accommodate a hundred people."
Long Xiao didn't insist on staying at an inn and readily accepted Ge Xin's invitation.
Following Ge Xin's BMW, they drove across the town and arrived at a large manor in the east of town.
The Ge family manor was very large, covering an area of five to six hundred mu. The manor was lush with greenery, and various buildings were scattered among the trees.
After parking the car in the parking lot not far from the entrance, Ge Xin got out and said, "Brother Long, I'll take you to see my grandfather. My grandfather will surely thank you properly for saving my brother and me."
Long Xiao initially wanted to decline, but then thought that it was only proper to meet the patriarch of the family when staying as a guest. Moreover, Ge Xin's grandfather was ill, and perhaps he could help him.
Following Ge Xin and her brother, they walked along a winding path,绕过几幢建筑, and arrived in front of an exquisite two-story building.
"Brother Long, this is where my grandfather lives."
The group entered the building. The downstairs was the living room. Ge Xin put down her backpack and said, "My grandfather's spirit hasn't been good since he got sick, and he often rests in his bedroom. Brother Long, please sit down, I'll go and call my grandfather."
About ten minutes later, Ge Xin helped a robust elder with a slightly dark complexion down from the upper floor.
Long Xiao was greatly shocked when he saw the elder's complexion. This was not a strange illness at all; he was poisoned.