The islanders indeed had a scheme, but this was not the East Sea; it was the Nangong family's territory, and Long Xiao had no authority here.
As long as they could leave smoothly tomorrow, he wouldn't care what the islanders did here. The stronger one became, the greater the responsibility. He had no power now, and meddling too much would only bring him more trouble.
Having finished eavesdropping, Long Xiao went to the kitchen to find Xiao Ming stuffing food into several large bags. The kitchen maids, after finishing their cooking, had already retired to their rooms. Besides Xiao Ming, no one else was there.
Seeing Long Xiao arrive, Xiao Ming happily said, "Boss, we've packed almost everything. We should go back."
There were five large bags in total. Long Xiao picked up three, leaving two for Xiao Ming.
"Let's go."
Xiao Ming grabbed the bags and rushed out of the kitchen first, disappearing into the darkness.
Long Xiao hurried to follow, knowing that if he lagged too far behind, he wouldn't be able to catch up.
They returned to their lodging and, without much preamble, opened the bags and began to eat.
Most of the food they had brought back was seafood, with only one bag containing over ten roasted ducks.
With seafood available, no one touched the roasted ducks. After eating, Xiao Ming packed all ten-plus roasted ducks into his backpack.
"You can't eat that much, it'll spoil after a while," Xue Kai reminded Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming shot Xue Kai a look and said, "We're escaping tomorrow. We might not even have time to buy food on the road."
"Surely not. We have to escape just to visit your grandmother?"
Xiao Ming chuckled, saying, "You're all unfortunate children, unloved by your grandmothers and uncles, just like me."
Before dawn the next day, everyone got up in a hurry to prepare for their escape. Nangong Yue and Nangong Xia understood Nangong Yu's personality; they knew he wouldn't stop until he achieved his goals.
As the two families just got into their cars, car lights could be seen flickering in the distance.
Xue Xingjian saw the headlights and said, "Quick, someone's coming."
Lin Xuan stepped on the accelerator and sped away. She was a hundred times unwilling to donate her kidney to her own grandmother.
The cars were heading towards each other. As they brushed past, Nangong Yu saw Lin Xuan's car and shouted, "Turn around, they're trying to escape!"
Four cars turned around and gave chase. Long Xiao and his group sped towards the pier; to leave the island, they had to take a ferry.
Long Xiao looked at Lin Xuan, her face filled with panic, and said, "Wife, don't be afraid. I won't let them succeed."
"Boss's wife, with me, Xiao Ming, here, no one can touch you," Xiao Ming said, taking out a cleaver wrapped in coarse cloth from his backpack.
The guest rooms were not far from the pier. Just as Long Xiao's group drove onto the ferry, Nangong Yu and his group caught up.
Four cars stopped on the pier. Nangong Yu got out and waved, shouting, "Stop them! Don't let any of them get away!"
Before Long Xiao could get out of the car, Xiao Ming, sitting with Nangong Yue in the back seat, leaped out and charged towards the Nangong family experts who had exited their cars.
The butler, Luo Kai, was the first to get out, followed by his godson, Jin Yue.
Xiao Ming's cleaver whistled as it swung towards Luo Kai's feet. The speed was so great that Luo Kai didn't have time to counter and stumbled back a step to narrowly dodge.
Jin Yue was greatly surprised by Xiao Ming's speed. Even with his full effort, he couldn't move that fast.
Drawing his soft sword and flicking his wrist, he lunged at Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming made no move to dodge. The cleaver, having missed Luo Kai, swung towards Jin Yue's right foot.
Before Jin Yue's sword could reach Xiao Ming, he fearfully retracted it. If his sword had struck Xiao Ming, his right foot would surely have been severed.
As the two dodged and prepared to attack again, Xiao Ming had already surged forward, his cleaver chopping towards others' feet.
This unconventional fighting style caught everyone off guard.
In the ensuing chaos, only three highly skilled individuals managed to dodge Xiao Ming's cleaver. The rest let out screams and sat on the ground clutching their feet.
After a sweep of attacks, Xiao Ming returned to the bow of the boat, holding his dripping cleaver, and said indifferently, "How embarrassing, I didn't finish them all."
Xiao Ming's speed shocked everyone. Nangong Yu felt a chill in his calves, his legs trembling.
Long Xiao looked at the young man in the cockpit and said, "Start the ship, if you still want your legs."
The young man glanced at Long Xiao and suddenly lunged, his hands like iron clamps, grabbing for Long Xiao's neck.
"Long Xiao, be careful!" Nangong Xia shouted.
Long Xiao took a step back, narrowly dodging the young man's right hand. At that moment, Xiao Ming's cleaver also struck.
Blood splattered as the young man's right hand was severed by Xiao Ming. Long Xiao quickly shouted, "Don't kill him!"
Xiao Ming retracted his cleaver and said, "Start the ship."
The young man trembled in pain and had no strength left to pilot the ship.
Long Xiao stepped forward, took out silver needles, and pricked the young man's body. The bleeding from his arm began to slow.
Finding a rope, he bound the young man's arm and then picked up the severed hand from the ground and handed it to him.
"Take it. It can still be reattached within four hours."
The young man, holding his hand, stared blankly at Long Xiao, not knowing what to do.
Xue Xingjian stepped forward and kicked the young man away, saying, "Get lost, I'll pilot the ship."
Xiao Ming stood at the bow of the ship, glaring menacingly at the Nangong family experts. The ferry's engine roared to life, and the ship began to slowly back away from the pier.
"We can't let them leave! Get on board and capture Lin Xuan!" Nangong Yu pointed at Lin Xuan and roared.
Luo Kai leaped onto the ship. Jin Yue, along with the three uninjured Nangong family experts, followed him.
"Heh heh, bringing roasted ducks again. Boss, we'll stick to the old rule: one foot for one roasted duck."
Long Xiao laughed heartily and said, "Good, the old rule: one foot for one roasted duck."
Lin Xuan looked at Long Xiao, who was laughing heartily, and felt as if he had transformed. He was no longer the meek son-in-law but a chivalrous hero wandering the martial world.
With Long Xiao's promise, Xiao Ming flipped his wrist, and his Black Iron Cleaver swung with a roar.
This time, he no longer targeted only the legs. The pitch-black Black Iron Cleaver glinted under the lights, making it seem as if enormous cleavers were flying everywhere.
After a few fierce exchanges, Jin Yue found himself struggling. He wondered what kind of freak this was; his cleaver attacks were erratic and unpredictable, seemingly appearing from nowhere, as if the cleaver was everywhere at once.
Luo Kai also used all his might to evade Xiao Ming's attacks, looking for an opportunity to counter.
The other three experts, cooperating with Luo Kai, launched fierce attacks at Xiao Ming. Although they knew their attacks were ineffective, they understood that by disrupting Xiao Ming's rhythm, they could create an opening for Luo Kai.
Long Xiao knew that Xiao Ming, lacking technique, relied solely on his speed. Once these people became familiar with his fighting style, he would be at a disadvantage.
Among the group, Luo Kai was the strongest. Long Xiao took two dried beans from his pocket and scattered them, awaiting an opportunity to attack.
It was still dark, and the light at the pier was poor. No one noticed the few beans suspended in the air.
After more than fifty consecutive chops, and without even managing to sever a single foot, Xiao Ming began to grow impatient, and soon found himself on the defensive.
Long Xiao waved his right hand and softly said, "Go."
Two dried beans shot out rapidly. One struck Luo Kai's knee, and the other hit the leg of the person Xiao Ming was about to attack.
The person Xiao Ming was about to attack tried to dodge upon noticing Xiao Ming's movement, but a pain in his leg slowed him down, and half of his right foot was severed by Xiao Ming.
Luo Kai's knee was pierced, and he staggered, almost falling. He had always believed Xiao Ming to be the strongest among Long Xiao's group.
He was shocked that his knee had been pierced, and he hadn't even seen who attacked him.
With a stumble, Luo Kai dodged Xiao Ming's attack and rolled off the ship.
Luo Kai was the most powerful among the Nangong family's experts. With his retreat, the others dared not linger and jumped off the ship as well.