Xiao Ming brought the terrified young man to Long Xiao and sat down, asking, "Tell me, what is your Yaowang Temple for?"
The young man looked at Long Xiao and Xiao Ming with trembling fear and said, "I dare not say, or Yaowang will kill me."
Xiao Ming scraped his Black Iron cleaver against a stone a few times, the sound incredibly grating. "If you don't speak, I'll chop you up right now."
"I, I really can't say," the young man said, looking at Long Xiao, his voice quivering.
A flash of black blade light, the young man felt Xiao Ming move. A sharp pain struck his head, and he quickly reached up to cover it.
Blood seeped through his fingers. The young man clutched his ear and let out a scream.
"First, I'll take your ear. If you still don't speak, I'll take your life," Xiao Ming said fiercely.
"I'll speak, I'll tell you everything," the young man stammered.
Long Xiao tossed two wound-healing pills to the young man. "One to be taken internally, the other to be mixed with saliva and applied to the wound."
Soon, the bleeding from the young man's severed ear stopped, and the pain lessened considerably.
The young man told Long Xiao and Xiao Ming that three Daoists had come to the Yaowang Temple last year. After their arrival, they offered free medical treatment to the people, and the temple's incense offerings quickly became more prosperous.
The three Daoists took in over a dozen disciples from the local area. These disciples ran errands for them daily and earned over ten thousand yuan each month.
"How do they make money?" Long Xiao asked.
The young man shook his head. "I don't know. The three masters save people, and the money donated by the pious believers, besides paying our wages, is all used to buy medicine."
"Why do they prick those pious believers who donate money to the Yaowang Temple?" Long Xiao asked again.
The young man shook his head. "I really don't know. They never mentioned it. I only saw them prick people accidentally. I didn't dare tell anyone about this."
It seemed that only the three Daoists knew everything. Long Xiao asked, "Where do the three Daoists stay at night?"
The young man told Long Xiao that the three Daoists did not stay at the Yaowang Temple at night. As no one stayed at the temple after dark, they resided in a villa in the eastern suburbs.
After learning the exact location of the villa, Long Xiao waved his hand. "You can go now."
The young man looked at Long Xiao and Xiao Ming, showing no intention of leaving. Xiao Ming asked, "Don't you want to go? Are you waiting for us to feed you?"
The young man shook his head. "I dare not. I dare not go back. If I return with my ear cut off, Yaowang will surely suspect me of betraying him."
"Is the Yaowang you mentioned someone who has killed people?" Long Xiao asked.
The young man nodded. "One of my fellow disciples was careless in his work, and then he disappeared. He was definitely killed by Yaowang."
Long Xiao stood up. "Since that's the case, find a place to hide. When that fellow wakes up later, I'll say you're already dead."
The young man nodded frantically. "Thank you, big brothers. Thank you for sparing my life."
The young man went up the mountain along a small path. After Long Xiao and Xiao Ming rested for a few minutes, the young man, who had been knocked unconscious by Xiao Ming, slowly woke up.
Seeing Long Xiao and Xiao Ming looking at him, and noticing the bloodstains on the ground, the young man immediately realized his companion was dead.
"You, you killed Xiao Liu?" the young man asked tremblingly.
Long Xiao nodded. "We asked him a few questions, but he wouldn't say anything, so we killed him and dumped him in the ditch."
The young man's legs trembled, and he knelt on the ground. "Don't kill me, I'll tell you everything. I'll say it all."
This young man knew more and in greater detail.
In addition to what the other young man had said, he informed Long Xiao and Xiao Ming that every Friday, someone drove to the villa to deliver medicinal herbs and took away the blood samples collected that week.
If the three Daoists were from the Bian Que Sect, the medicinal herbs delivered would likely have come from there.
"Do you know where Yaowang is from?" Long Xiao asked.
The young man shook his head. "No, Yaowang never mentioned it. Judging by his accent, he sounds like he's from the north."
Long Xiao looked at Xiao Ming. "Are there any northerners in the Bian Que Sect?"
Xiao Ming shook his head. "I haven't seen any northerners. If there are, they should be very few."
After asking a few more questions, they let the young man go.
Watching the young man descend the hillside, Xiao Ming said, "Brother Long, won't this alert the enemy?"
Long Xiao stood up. "It doesn't matter. We'll go to the villa and wait for them. Tomorrow is Friday, and someone will deliver a batch of medicinal herbs. We'll deal with the herbs first."
Long Xiao and Xiao Ming left the tourist area and drove back to the city, arriving near the villa the two young men had mentioned.
They found a place to park the car, then circled around to the back of the villa and climbed over the wall.
The villa was not large, with the main building being a three-story house. As soon as they entered the yard, Xiao Ming smelled the aroma of herbs.
"Brother Long, we came to the right place. I smell herbs."
Long Xiao only smelled the aroma when they reached the front of the main building. The scent was very faint, suggesting the herbs were well hidden.
They pushed open the door and entered the living room. A middle-aged woman sat on the sofa, watching television.
Seeing Long Xiao and Xiao Ming, the middle-aged woman asked in surprise, "Who are you? How did you get in?"
Xiao Ming chuckled. "We walked in."
"Sage, attack!"
The middle-aged woman shouted, and a Tibetan Mastiff jumped up from behind the sofa, lunging at Long Xiao and Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming stepped forward and kicked the Tibetan Mastiff, sending it tumbling. Long Xiao remembered the Beast Taming Technique from the "Long Zang" and flashed forward, placing his right hand on the Tibetan Mastiff's head as it was getting up.
As a surge of energy entered the Tibetan Mastiff's body, it lay down comfortably on the ground, emitting soft grunts.
Long Xiao patted the Tibetan Mastiff's head. "Young fellow, get up and guard the house well."
The Tibetan Mastiff stood up again, as if it understood Long Xiao's words. It nodded at him and then squatted by the door, remaining motionless.
Seeing that Long Xiao had easily subdued the Tibetan Mastiff, the middle-aged woman turned and ran upstairs.
"Auntie, stop, or I'll have to use force," Xiao Ming shouted.
The middle-aged woman glanced back at Xiao Ming and waved her right hand, sending a flash of cold light towards him.
Xiao Ming dodged to the side and caught the thrown short dagger. With a snap, he broke the dagger in his hand.
Seeing that Xiao Ming had easily caught the dagger, the middle-aged woman dared not attack further and continued to flee upstairs.
Before she could run up a few stairs, Xiao Ming flicked his hand, sending the two broken halves of the short dagger flying.
The middle-aged woman screamed and tumbled down the stairs, landing in front of the coffee table.
"Alright, stop struggling. Let's talk," Long Xiao said, sitting on the sofa.
The middle-aged woman was sweating profusely from the pain. She eyed Long Xiao and Xiao Ming vigilantly. "You're not police officers?"
Xiao Ming nodded. "Don't worry, we're not cops."
The middle-aged woman said, "Brothers, we have no quarrel with each other. You can't afford to mess with our organization. Go, I'll pretend you never came."
Long Xiao leaned back on the sofa and placed his legs on the coffee table. "Xiao Ming, go find the medicine. I'll have a chat with this elder sister."