The four guys didn't believe a word Xiaoming said. No matter how capable a ten-year-old was, he couldn't possibly have killed over a hundred and thirty people overnight without a sound.
However, Xiaoming's strength was undeniable. Even if they didn't believe him, they didn't dare to say it, lest Xiaoming's palm land on their faces again.
Seeing that the four men were silent, Xiaoming said, "Scared, are you? Good if you're scared. Now you can leave. Report here tomorrow morning. If you're late, I'll kill your whole family."
The four men thought, "Is this guy a bit crazy? If we leave now, and come back tomorrow morning, only a fool would come back."
Seeing the four men turn to leave, Xiaoming said again, "Remember, report tomorrow morning, or your families will be killed."
With that, Xiaoming turned and went back inside to sleep. Long Xiao was too lazy to ask and also went to sleep.
The next morning, after breakfast with Long Xiao and Lin Wei, Xiaoming told them about what had happened the night before.
"Why did you tell them to come?" Lin Wei asked curiously.
"Grandpa, didn't you say there was a stretch of road where we couldn't drive, and we had to walk?"
Lin Wei nodded and said, "Yes, up to Phoenix Mountain, there's indeed a section where we have to walk. Forget cars, even motorcycles can't get through."
Xiaoming pointed to the things in the car and said, "I brought so much food. If we go into the mountains, what will we eat? Those four are free porters."
They waited in the parking lot until the sun was high in the sky, but the four who had smashed the car window yesterday never showed up.
"Xiaoming, they're not coming. Let's go," said Long Xiao.
Xiaoming shook his head and said, "No, I have to go find them. Such good labor shouldn't be wasted."
Xiaoming went to the parking lot's security room, gave the security guard a large bill, and quickly got the surveillance footage from last night.
Just as Xiaoming was about to ask the security guard their names, the guard said, "Aren't these the Four Scoundrels? Those four do all sorts of bad things, but they've never done anything good."
"Do you know where they live?" Xiaoming asked.
"Of course, I do." The guard said, "Our city isn't big, and the Four Scoundrels are quite well-known. Most people here know where they live."
This guard was on the night shift and was just about to get off work. Xiaoming gave him another large bill, and the guard happily agreed to lead the way.
They drove to a large compound. The guard pointed to the first house in the row of bungalows and said, "That's the Big Scoundrel's house."
The four scoundrels had returned home happily yesterday, but that night none of them could sleep, feeling uneasy. Xiaoming's speed was too fast, leaving a psychological shadow on them.
In the morning, the other three scoundrels had gathered at the Big Scoundrel's house to discuss countermeasures. They were worried that Xiaoming would show up when the Big Scoundrel saw Xiaoming's stretched Lincoln through the gap in the courtyard gate.
"We're in trouble, that kid's here, run!" the Big Scoundrel shouted, dashed out of the house, and climbed over the wall.
Long Xiao saw someone on the wall and was under it in a few steps. As the Big Scoundrel jumped off the wall, he almost ran into Long Xiao.
"What are you doing? You scared me to death," the Big Scoundrel grumbled.
"Where are you going?" Long Xiao asked.
"Fleeing for my life. It's none of your business, hurry and get out of the way, or it'll be too late." The Big Scoundrel pushed Long Xiao and was about to run.
Long Xiao chuckled and said, "Can you escape?"
The Big Scoundrel froze for a moment, and Long Xiao's right hand lashed out.
Long Xiao also deliberately slowed down, as much as possible, to let the Big Scoundrel see how he was being beaten.
The Big Scoundrel was stunned by Long Xiao's blow. Yesterday, Xiaoming's speed had seemed beyond human to him. Today, Long Xiao's speed was no slower than Xiaoming's.
His head buzzed. The Big Scoundrel shook his head, reached up to touch it, and found that his head was much more swollen than yesterday.
When Long Xiao brought the Big Scoundrel to the car, Xiaoming had already brought the other three scoundrels over.
The four of them knelt in front of Xiaoming in unison, shouting, "Hero, spare our lives."
Xiaoming kicked each of them over and said, "If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."
The four men got up again and knelt on the ground. Xiaoming opened the rear door of the car and looked inside. There were too many goods, and it would be difficult for the four of them to squeeze in.
"Get in," Xiaoming said.
The four men looked at the inside of the car, their faces showing hesitation.
"Squeeze in, or I'll wipe out your families," Xiaoming shouted loudly.
The four scoundrels, terrified, hastily squeezed into the car. Xiaoming used his foot to push the four of them as he closed the car door.
The road became progressively worse. After driving for over four hours, the road disappeared. Xiaoming had no choice but to park the car at the foot of a slope, open the rear door, and shout, "Everyone out."
Seeing that Xiaoming had brought them to the wilderness, the Four Scoundrels were all terrified and knelt down, shouting in unison, "Hero, spare our lives, we don't want to die."
Xiaoming was amused by the four scoundrels' fear and said, "I never said I was going to kill you, so what are you afraid of?"
"If you're not killing us, then why did you bring us to this desolate place?" asked the Second Scoundrel.
Xiaoming looked around at the green mountains and clear waters and said, "We're here for a spring outing, and we're short of a few porters to carry things. I thought you were perfect for the job, so I brought you along."
"Hero, we're not suitable," said the Third Scoundrel.
"Fine, then I'll slaughter you and throw you into the gully."
The Four Scoundrels quickly said, "We're suitable, we're suitable for anything."
The four men carried four large bags of food and followed Xiaoming. They began to climb the mountain.
Phoenix Mountain was usually deserted. Not long after Long Xiao and his group started, they encountered a team carrying backpacks up the mountain. These people each had a walking stick and a large backpack, typical backpacker gear.
The two groups passed each other without acknowledging each other, as if they hadn't seen one another.
After walking for a while, they encountered another group. These people were carrying some camera equipment and seemed to be a survey team.
Upon asking, they found out it was a wildlife survey team.
From the foot of Phoenix Mountain to the summit, they walked for six hours. Long Xiao and his group encountered a total of ten teams, including backpackers, various survey teams, and a geological team.
The once quiet Phoenix Mountain had suddenly become lively. After reaching the mountain, these people found places to set up camp and set up telescopes to look around.
Long Xiao and his group went directly to the summit. The mountain wind howled, and the temperature suddenly dropped.
The Four Scoundrels shivered from the cold, but Long Xiao and the other two felt no discomfort.
To take care of the Four Scoundrels, Long Xiao found a sheltered spot under a rock face.
They gathered some wood and lit a bonfire. The Four Scoundrels, who had almost frozen to death, finally felt better.
It was very difficult to find the legendary Fire Qilin in the wilderness, and the accuracy of the news about its appearance was also questionable.
The news of the Fire Qilin's appearance came from a hunter.
Half a month ago, this hunter had gone up the mountain to hunt secretly. He had injured a wild dog and chased it until dark, but he couldn't catch it.
Just as he was about to give up, a creature emitting red light, a "four-unlike" (a mythical creature), suddenly appeared in the bushes. The hunter was so scared that his soul left his body. He fired a shot and fled in a panic.
The Fire Qilin did not pursue the hunter. After the hunter escaped home, he fell seriously ill and died a few days later. Before he died, he told people about encountering the Fire Qilin.
The hunter did not reveal the specific location where he encountered the Fire Qilin, so those looking for the Fire Qilin were searching aimlessly on Phoenix Mountain.