Everyone watched the two intently, for they all knew that duels between masters were decided in an instant, with life and death hanging in the balance.
They saw the little wild man, Ren Jian, slowly raise his short sword. The white light of the sword was as dazzling as moonlight, and its hum vibrated deep into their hearts, making their chests tremble involuntarily.
"Long Xiao, be careful."
"Long Xiao, don't..."
"Boss, run!"
"Hahaha, Long Xiao, you're fin—"
As soon as Xiao Yeren Ren Jian swung his sword, everyone involuntarily shouted out.
Before they could finish their shouts, the dazzling white light of Xiao Yeren Ren Jian's short sword vanished, and so did its hum.
Long Xiao still stood there, holding his cleaver. A drop of blood slowly dripped from the dark Xuan Iron cleaver onto the ground.
Long Xiao extended his left hand to catch Xiao Yeren Ren Jian's right hand and short sword that fell from the air, and only then did everyone react.
Xiao Yeren Ren Jian retreated a few steps and collapsed onto the ground. Blood spurted from the stump of his right arm. He pulled out several silver needles and inserted them into his arm, instantly stopping the bleeding.
Long Xiao tossed the Xuan Iron cleaver to Xiao Ming and took the short sword from Xiao Yeren Ren Jian's right hand. He examined it and said, "This sword is good. I'll keep it for now. You can redeem it for five hundred million within ten days."
The battle had ended too quickly for anyone to see how Long Xiao had moved. Iriguchi Gorō trembled with fear and wanted to sneak away, but his legs wouldn't cooperate.
Long Xiao paid no attention to Iriguchi Gorō. He threw Xiao Yeren Ren Jian's right hand back to him and said, "The cut is clean. Reattachment shouldn't be difficult."
Xiao Yeren Ren Jian caught his right hand and bowed respectfully to Long Xiao, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Long Xiao."
Long Xiao nodded, smiled, and said, "Take a message back to Old Iliguchi: redeem Iliguchi Gorō within half a month for ten billion. The price will increase after that, and if he's not redeemed within a year, he'll be executed."
Xiao Yeren Ren Jian nodded, turned, and got into his car to leave.
Long Xiao turned back to look at Iliguchi Gorō and said, "Let's go, Mr. Iliguchi."
"Go, go where?" Iliguchi Gorō asked, his lips trembling.
"To the west city, Jinxiu Mountain Villa."
Seeing Long Xiao's complete victory, Luan Jiping excitedly rushed forward and hugged Long Xiao tightly. Just a minute before, she had been worried that Long Xiao would end up as a corpse.
"Sis, don't do that, there are so many people watching. It's not appropriate."
"Your wife isn't here, what's wrong with a hug?" Luan Jiping said with a hint of displeasure, rubbing her eyes.
"Boss, hehe, I didn't see anything. I won't tell the boss's wife. I just need more roast duck."
Xiao Ming shouted loudly, holding up two fingers to Long Xiao, making a gesture that said "you know."
The fight outside the restaurant ended in an instant. Long Xiao handed Iliguchi Gorō over to Ban Jianghong, who immediately dispatched her people to escort him to Jinxiu Villa in the west city.
Jinxiu Villa was Sister Hong's territory, managed by Brother Hu of the west city. The villa covered over a thousand mu and housed underground dogfighting rings, casinos, and illegal fighting rings, as well as tea houses, restaurants, and various entertainment facilities.
As Iliguchi Gorō was being taken away, he loudly declared that he was a foreign guest and a Japanese national.
Long Xiao took out silver needles and sealed his mute acupoint. He also instructed the people escorting him to break one of his legs upon arrival, so he wouldn't be too fast to catch if he tried to escape.
After Iliguchi Gorō got into the car and left, Long Xiao turned back and smiled, saying, "Sister Hong, does your restaurant have surveillance?"
Ban Jianghong chuckled and said, "Don't worry, brother. I'll handle this. Iliguchi Gorō was never here."
Long Xiao shook his head and said, "There's no need for that, Sister. The police should know that I had dinner and drinks with Iliguchi Gorō. We were very friendly and had no conflict. He's my friend. If the police need me, I'll cooperate with them in their search for Mr. Iliguchi Gorō."
Ban Jianghong sighed, looked back at Luan Jiping, and said, "Black Widow, you were given that name in vain. In the future, there will be five 'blacks' in Donghai, and he will be blacker than all of us."
After some lighthearted teasing, Ban Jianghong and Luan Jiping both turned their sharp gazes towards Zhao Sikai, as if they were about to devour him.
Zhao Sikai shivered with fear and quickly ran behind Long Xiao, saying, "Brother Long, you must stand up for me."
Long Xiao nodded and said, "Sister, Zhao Sikai is my friend. I arranged for him to find Iliguchi Gorō."
Zhao Sikai quickly took out a voice recorder and added, "Sisters, Brother Long is telling the truth. I have evidence of Iliguchi Gorō framing Brother Long."
After listening to the contents of the voice recorder, Luan Jiping breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. This will prove your innocence."
Zhao Sikai said softly, "Brother Long's innocence doesn't need this proof. No one died, and the poison was already confiscated by the police."
When Ban Jianghong and Luan Jiping learned that this was all Long Xiao's doing, their expressions turned grim.
"Little brother, Sister was worried about you for nothing. Why didn't you say anything sooner?"
"Little brother, can't you even trust your sister?" Luan Jiping asked, putting on a stern face.
Xiao Ming looked on with amusement and chuckled, "Boss, you're in trouble now, hehe. It's even bigger trouble than the boss's wife's."
Long Xiao had no choice but to host a banquet at the restaurant and personally toast his two older sisters to apologize. Only then did they stop bringing it up.
The incident at Xinglin Medical Hall quickly subsided, and Iliguchi Gorō's recording was made public. Soon, Xinglin Medical Hall reopened, and within a few days, the dozen or so cancer patients from the backyard were discharged, fully recovered.
Since the Xinglin Medical Hall incident, its reputation had spread throughout China. A large number of tumor patients began inquiring whether Xinglin Medical Hall could truly treat late-stage cancer, and online appointments became increasingly popular.
As soon as the cancer patients from the backyard were discharged, a new batch moved in. Most of these patients were wealthy businessmen and officials who had pulled strings to get in early.
The online sales of 'Beauty Elixir' and 'Scar Repair' were also booming. Boxes costing over a thousand yuan sold out instantly, and Xue Kai's popularity soared.
Advertisements for 'Scar Repair' began to appear on major media outlets and websites. Luo Yan's stunning beauty after her scars were removed earned her the admiration of countless men, and people everywhere were searching for information about her.
Seeing the excellent effect of Luo Yan's advertisement, Xue Yanmei directly suggested that Lin Xuan sign an agreement with her to make Luo Yan the spokesperson for Xuanxiao Group's products.
After seeing Luo Yan's advertisement, Lu Ying directly approached Long Xiao, wanting Luo Yan to sign with her Lan Yin Film and Television company and be trained into a top-tier star.
After obtaining Luo Yan's consent, Long Xiao quickly took her and signed a contract with Lan Yin Film and Television.
After signing, Long Xiao stated his requirements. He asked Luo Yan to stay in Donghai as much as possible and to return to Xinglin Medical Hall every night.
Lu Ying didn't know why Long Xiao was doing this. She thought Long Xiao had fallen for Luo Yan and couldn't bear to be apart from her.
"Brother Long, are you trying to keep her as a mistress?"
Long Xiao knew that if he didn't explain Luo Yan's situation to Lu Ying, she would misunderstand him.
After hearing about Luo Yan's condition, Lu Ying sighed and said, "Luo Yan is such an unfortunate child. Brother Long, I believe you can find a way to remove the lotus from her body."
Long Xiao currently had no solution for the lotus within Luo Yan. However, he had only opened a small portion of the 'Dragon Repository.' He hoped to find a way to remove the lotus after opening the remaining parts.