Tian Qiu Jing Er was of upper-middle strength among the island nation's warriors. Three warriors were slightly stronger than him.
Seeing that Tian Qiu Jing Er was no match, they exchanged glances, and the three of them rushed towards Long Xiao together.
The three had trained together, and had a specific formation to deal with opponents stronger than them.
They formed a pincer formation, both attacking and defending, and launched an assault on Long Xiao.
Long Xiao lacked combat experience. Facing the three, he felt that their attacks and defenses were orderly and their experience was profound. He wanted to use them to hone his skills.
He slowed his pace and attack speed. Long Xiao began to face perilous situations, seemingly at a disadvantage, but everything was under his control.
The other island nation warriors, seeing Long Xiao constantly dodging and unable to counter-attack, confidently retreated to watch.
Matsushita Kemushin, an island nation onmyoji, pocketed the two talismans he was holding.
Xin Yifei watched Long Xiao's fight, his brow furrowed. Others couldn't see it, but he could clearly tell that Long Xiao wasn't lacking in strength, but was toying with these islanders.
He knew for sure that Long Xiao could have defeated them in a single move with the exquisite swordsmanship and footwork he had displayed earlier.
Soon, after hundreds of exchanges, Long Xiao, without accelerating, fought more and more bravely, accumulating a wealth of combat experience.
As Long Xiao's swordsmanship slightly increased in speed, the three island warriors began to feel the strain.
The three exchanged glances, nodded slightly at each other, and prepared to unleash their killing moves.
Long Xiao had long observed their subtle movements. He retracted his thrusting sword and retreated to defend.
Suddenly, the three long swords accelerated, transforming into a white light that swept towards Long Xiao.
Long Xiao raised his long sword. With a clang, the long sword in his hand flew out.
Just as everyone was gloating, believing Long Xiao was doomed, Long Xiao suddenly intertwined his hands, moving like two swimming dragons through the blade light.
The three island warriors were greatly surprised and accelerated their swordplay again; this was already their fastest speed.
Suddenly, the three island warriors felt a lightness in their hands as all three long swords were snatched away by Long Xiao.
As the three tried to retreat and flee, the three long swords turned and flew, accurately piercing their hearts.
The three fell straight backward. Long Xiao didn't stop, charging towards the island warriors and unleashing a massacre.
With bursts of screams and cracking sounds, the island warriors fell one after another, their chests caved in.
Matsushita Kemushin's hand had just come out of his pocket to retrieve a talisman when Long Xiao grabbed him, talismans and hand included.
Clutching his severed arm, Matsushita Kemushin screamed and retreated. Long Xiao kicked him in the chest, sending him flying backward.
More than a dozen island warriors and onmyoji were all eliminated. Hearing the commotion, the Ji family bodyguards who rushed in were completely stunned. Although they held firearms, none dared to fire.
Long Xiao took out fried soybeans from his pocket and threw them again. This time, the fried soybeans did not float but whistled directly towards everyone present.
In less than a minute, everyone except Long Xiao and Xin Yifei lay on the ground.
The Ji family bodyguards had blood oozing from their brows as the fried soybeans pierced through their foreheads and exited the back of their heads. Xin Yifei's subordinates also had their foreheads pierced by fried soybeans.
The island warriors and several onmyoji, except for Matsushita Kemushin, had their hearts shattered.
Matsushita Kemushin's chest was caved in, and more than a dozen ribs were broken, but his heart was intact. He clutched his severed right forearm, pressing down hard to prevent excessive bleeding.
Xin Yifei looked at Long Xiao, fear washing over him. He didn't know how Long Xiao would deal with him.
To Xin Yifei's surprise, Long Xiao smiled and said, "Don't worry, Yifei, everyone is dead."
With that, Long Xiao waved at Xin Yifei and turned to walk out of the restaurant.
The bodyguards hiding in the darkness and bushes, although armed with firearms, trembled so violently that none dared to shoot.
Long Xiao had already noticed the remaining bodyguards. He merely glanced at them and didn't trouble them.
Reaching the manor gate, Long Xiao looked back at the brightly lit Ji family manor, then turned and slowly closed the two large gates.
Upon hearing that the Jiangbei Manor had been attacked, Ji Tianhu rushed over with a large contingent of men. With him were Long Nian and Jingkou Gorō, along with their subordinates.
Looking at the corpses lying all over the restaurant floor, Ji Tianhu wanted to know what had happened.
In the courtyard, the bodyguards all said Long Xiao was too terrifying, not human at all.
With a wave of his hand, dozens of people were killed, and Long Xiao's wave of his hand caused holes to appear in their fingers and forearms.
When Jingkou Gorō saw the island warriors lying on the ground, he immediately had the physicians brought by him try to rescue them. After a thorough examination, they found only one surviving onmyoji, Matsushita Kemushin.
After emergency treatment by the island physicians, Matsushita Kemushin's injuries stabilized and did not worsen.
Two tables were pushed together for him to lie on. Under the stimulation of medication, Matsushita Kemushin gradually regained consciousness.
"Matsushita, who killed these people? Was it Mi Tianfu's men?" Jingkou Gorō asked.
Although Jingkou Gorō knew about Xin Yifei's surprise attack on Xinglin Grass Hall that evening, he did not approve.
In his eyes, although Mi Tianfu was known as a divine doctor, his medical skills and martial arts were not very high. The most pressing matter was to deal with other forces; Xinglin Grass Hall was not a significant threat.
For some reason, Long Nian insisted on attacking Xinglin Grass Hall.
He said that Mi Tianfu of Xinglin Grass Hall was just a paper tiger, and the real powerhouses were Long Xiao and the young man accompanying him.
Xin Yifei had not reported the outcome of the evening's attack on Xinglin Grass Hall to Long Nian, so Long Nian was still unaware of the result. However, he had a vague feeling that the attack on the manor was related to Xin Yifei's assault on Xinglin Grass Hall.
Matsushita Kemushin shook his head slightly and said, "It shouldn't be. That person claimed to be a banker and said Ji Tianhu owed him money and he had come to collect."
Everyone was stunned as they listened to Matsushita Kemushin recount the attack. A debt collector could be so arrogant as to eliminate so many experts in one go.
All eyes turned to Ji Tianhu. Long Nian asked, "Ji Tianhu, who do you owe money to?"
Ji Tianhu thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't owe anyone money. I know all the bankers in Donghai, and none of them have such high capabilities."
Matsushita Kemushin described Long Xiao's appearance after disguise. Ji Tianhu thought of Director Zhao.
"The person you described sounds like Director Zhao. However, as far as I know, Director Zhao knows nothing about martial arts, so he couldn't possibly have the strength to kill so many people."
Jingkou Gorō scanned the corpses on the ground and asked, "Where is Xin Yifei?"
Matsushita Kemushin looked at Long Nian and said, "Xin Yifei is in league with that killer. After the killer left, he left with him."
Before Jingkou Gorō and his group arrived, Xin Yifei had gone to pursue Long Xiao, following him from a distance to find out who Long Xiao really was.
Not long after, Long Xiao used the 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu' (Wandering Steps of Chi Mei) and lost him.
When Jingkou Gorō and Ji Tianhu arrived, Xin Yifei also hurried back, wanting to report the situation to Long Nian.
As he reached the restaurant entrance, he overheard Matsushita Kemushin saying that Xin Yifei was in league with the killer.
Xin Yifei stopped in his tracks, not daring to enter the restaurant.
With everyone either severely injured or dead, Xin Yifei's unharmed state was indeed suspicious.
Hearing footsteps, everyone saw Xin Yifei standing at the entrance.
Jingkou Gorō pointed at Xin Yifei and said, "Kill him."
Several experts beside Jingkou Gorō lunged at Xin Yifei. Xin Yifei quickly retreated, shouting, "I don't know that killer."
The island experts didn't stop. Xin Yifei had no choice but to retreat rapidly, evading their attacks.
Long Nian waved to his subordinates and said, "Capture him alive, and we'll question him."
Long Nian's subordinates also rushed at Xin Yifei. Xin Yifei knew that given the temperaments of these two, regardless of whether he was in league with the killer or not, he wouldn't have a good outcome.