As transporting a large quantity of antique medicinal herbs by train was inconvenient, the two purchased a used car and set off before noon.
After three hours on the highway, Long Xiao's car entered a service area, preparing to rest and grab a bite to eat.
As soon as Long Xiao parked, he saw a Hummer pull up in front of them.
A burly man in a suit got out and opened the rear door. An elder with white hair, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, emerged from the vehicle. He had a somewhat effeminate face and a righteous smile.
"Hu Lei, hehe, I've finally found you," the elder said with a triumphant laugh, looking at Long Xiao.
Long Xiao, using Hu Lei's identity, hadn't offended anyone. He looked at the elder, completely bewildered.
"I don't know you, do you need something from me?" Long Xiao asked.
The elder shook his head and said, "We indeed don't know each other. I need you to do me a favor."
"Heh heh," Long Xiao replied with a smile, "We're strangers, why should I help you?"
"Just because I want you to help me, you must help me."
Long Xiao burst into laughter and said, "This is the first time I, Hu Lei, have encountered someone who forces me to help."
The elder waved his hand and said, "He's being difficult. Teach him a lesson first and make him clear his head."
The two burly men nodded and lunged at Long Xiao from both sides, their fists, as large as sand pots, aimed at his head.
As soon as Long Xiao engaged with the two burly men, he realized they possessed a peculiar footwork. This technique was not only fast but its variations were comparable to 'Gui Xuan'.
Long Xiao refrained from using his Five Elements Qi and wanted to gauge the true strength of these two men, as well as understand the elder's motive for seeking him out.
Without using his Five Elements Qi or the 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu' (Ghostly Carefree Steps), Long Xiao fought the two burly men to a stalemate.
The elder watched for a while, then sneered, "With this level of skill, the Martial Alliance actually treasures them. It seems the Huaxia Martial Alliance is truly devoid of talent."
The elder suddenly attacked. His movements were so swift that even without his Five Elements Qi, Long Xiao couldn't discern how he struck.
With a thud, Long Xiao was hit in the chest by the elder's punch and sent flying backward.
"Take him to the car and go," the elder said without even glancing back, then got into his car.
A powerful force entered Long Xiao's body. His Five Elements Qi automatically dispersed throughout his system from his dantian, rapidly neutralizing the invading force.
The two burly men stepped forward, lifted the downed Long Xiao, and prepared to shove him into the car.
Seeing this, Xiao Ming reached for his Black Iron Cleaver, ready to intervene.
Long Xiao quickly shook his head, signaling Xiao Ming to stop him from drawing his cleaver, and gestured for him to leave quickly.
Xiao Ming nodded slightly and charged at the two burly men with a punch.
One of the burly men was busy shoving Long Xiao into the car, while the other rushed towards Xiao Ming.
Without using 'Chi Mei Xiao Yao Bu' or his Black Iron Cleaver, Xiao Ming was no match for the burly man.
After a dozen exchanges, he was sent flying by a punch, crashing onto the used car they had purchased.
"Call Long Xiao. Tell him if he wants Hu Lei alive, to find us at Zhen Dong Company in Mian Yin Town."
With that, the burly man got into the car and drove the Hummer onto the highway.
Xiao Ming, sore all over, climbed out of the car and immediately called Luo Tian Shui.
Upon hearing that Long Xiao was in trouble, Luo Tian Shui, after understanding the situation, said, "Wait here, Sister Ye Xiao and I are coming right over."
Ye Xiao, who was engrossed in a palace drama on her phone, saw Luo Tian Shui rush in frantically and asked, "Tian Shui, what's the big emergency? You look so flustered."
"Sister, Brother Long was taken!"
Ye Xiao immediately looked up and asked, "What happened? Tell me the details."
Luo Tian Shui explained everything to Ye Xiao, who then quickly turned off her phone and called Ye Mei, informing her of the situation.
Although Ye Mei had been diligently expanding her intelligence network, its current reach was limited to the capital and Donghai; agencies had yet to be established elsewhere.
"Senior Sister, you two go and meet up with Xiao Ming first. I'll try to track where that car went."
Ye Xiao and Luo Tian Shui prepared themselves and then headed towards the highway service area where Xiao Ming was.
Xiao Ming sat alone in the car, feeling dejected. He had always thought he was quite strong, only to be defeated by an ordinary bodyguard.
He removed his human skin mask, slumped in the car, and slept for a while. Feeling hungry, Xiao Ming opened the bag of herbs stored in the trunk and began to eat.
After a hearty meal, he returned to the car, sat down in a cross-legged position, and began practicing the 'Long Yuan' cultivation technique that Long Xiao had taught him.
When Luo Tian Shui and Ye Xiao found Xiao Ming, he had already absorbed all the life essence contained in the herbs.
Seeing them, Xiao Ming looked wronged and said, "Brother Luo, Sister Ye Xiao, I couldn't beat them..."
Ye Mei patted Xiao Ming's shoulder and said, "Xiao Ming, this isn't your fault. If even Long Xiao couldn't defeat them, then you certainly couldn't."
The three waited at the service area for a while longer. Ye Mei called and informed them that the Hummer had headed west along the highway.
There were surveillance cameras on the highway, and since they said they were taking Long Xiao to Mian Yin City, it seemed genuine.
"My people have already gone to Mian Yin City. I'm heading there now, wait for me in Mian Yin City," Ye Mei said.
"Junior Sister, has Master shown any signs of activity?" Ye Xiao asked.
"No, Master was severely injured by Long Xiao. He's been in seclusion recuperating since that night."
"That puts my mind at ease."
Mian Yin is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province. While not a large city, its output value is not much lower than that of major cities due to the highly developed local pharmaceutical and liquor industries.
As Xiao Ming's two cars approached the city, they found an inconspicuous small motel and checked in.
Luo Tian Shui searched online and found that Zhen Dong Company was Mian Yang City's largest pharmaceutical company, with a wide scope of operations. It not only had a pharmaceutical factory, a medical equipment factory, and a hospital, but also a large biochemical laboratory and a drug research institution.
Looking at the webpage's introduction, Luo Tian Shui said curiously, "Sister Ye Xiao, isn't Zhen Dong Company primarily in the pharmaceutical industry? Why do they also have elder care facilities?"
Ye Xiao replied without looking, "This Zhen Dong Company is likely cooperating with Japanese companies as well. Typically, medical institutions that partner with Japanese companies have elder care facilities."
Luo Tian Shui scrolled down and discovered that Ye Xiao was correct. Japan's Lin Chuan Pharmaceutical was a partner of Zhen Dong Company, and Zhen Dong Company had a large number of Japanese pharmaceutical experts sent by Lin Chuan Pharmaceutical.
"Brother Luo, that elder who flew Brother Long away was very powerful. He's likely from a prominent family."
Luo Tian Shui scrolled through the webpage again, looking closely. "The Chairman and General Manager of Zhen Dong Company both have the surname Nanggong. And the Nanggong family is in Sichuan Province. It's highly probable that Zhen Dong Company belongs to the Nanggong clan."
Upon hearing that the captors of Long Xiao might be from the Nanggong clan, Ye Xiao's mood immediately became heavy.
In the past, to successfully complete her missions, she had specifically researched the Nanggong clan. The Nanggong clan was a martial arts family, teeming with experts.
Legend had it that the head of the Nanggong clan, Nanggong Qin Yu, had broken through to the Heavenly Realm ten years ago, becoming one of the few Heavenly Realm experts in China.