However, with the opening of a highway in recent years—a dozen kilometers away from this area—this region has gradually declined. Vehicles rarely choose the old and longer national highway anymore, causing the town to slowly fall into disrepair.
As for the four masters who had fought a fierce battle not far from here, Chen Xiao inquired a little about the situation in the town and received an answer that made him both laugh and cry:
The four masters fought a tremendous battle, with dark clouds, lightning, and thunder, and it is said that a tornado was even triggered.
Meteorological departments in surrounding cities were immediately informed, but mistakenly attributed the change to a special meteorological disaster, saying things like "a strong discharge caused by a small-scale change in air pressure in the region."
They also issued an orange triple alert for hurricanes, rain, and thunderstorms, and even detected small tornadoes in the area. They simply issued a notice and temporarily closed the highway.
As a result, after the highway was closed, passing vehicles and passengers could only choose to travel on another highway to the west, which in turn "emptied" a battlefield for the four masters in the vicinity!
Chen Xiao arrived in town and went into a small shop, only to find the shop owner watching the weather forecast on TV with a bored expression, grumbling and complaining about the awful weather, with thunder and wind blocking the roads and disrupting his plans to buy goods.
Seeing that he hadn't caused any social commotion, Chen Xiao felt a little relieved. He bought a lot of food, drinks, and miscellaneous items, and also went to several pharmacies to buy some things before quickly leaving the town and heading back.
Chen Xiao ran back and forth, and the weather had gradually improved.
After all, without these few extraordinary individuals stirring up trouble, the dark clouds in the sky quickly dispersed, and the rain gradually stopped.
When Chen Xiao ran back, the guys were still lying there motionless, so Chen Xiao had to serve them water and food one by one. He was initially a little worried about Champagne's unconsciousness, but Lao Tian was quite relieved, saying that it was probably due to the sound waves or air currents caused during the fierce battle that had put Champagne in a temporary unconscious state, and that it was nothing to worry about.
He fed Xiangbin water and gave Lao Tian a can of eight-treasure porridge. As for Lin San, although he was still somewhat hostile towards Chen Xiao, he did not refuse when Chen Xiao fed him water.
After giving the sea god some water and putting raincoats on everyone, Prince protested.
Although Chen Xiao was tempted to take advantage of the situation—after all, he had some connection with this old madman in Japan, who had enthusiastically acted as his tour guide for half a day and even taken him to that maid café—he couldn't bring himself to actually kill the guy, despite his anger.
However, everyone was badly injured in the fight, resulting in this miserable situation. It was all because of this madman's instigation… Not attacking him was already showing a clear conscience. As for food and water, Chen Xiao deliberately ignored him, completely disregarding the madman.
Prince watched as Chen Xiao fed and watered everyone else, even putting raincoats on them, while he himself lay there unattended. He couldn't help but call out, "Hey, Chen Xiao. Treat everyone equally! I've been starving for two days too!"
Chen Xiao snorted and said angrily, "I'm feeding you so you have energy, and then you start acting crazy?"
Prince, however, wasn't annoyed at all. He grinned and said, "I've had enough of that. I can't cause any trouble now. Hey, do you have anything to eat? Could you share some with me? Hmm, a piece of chocolate would be fine! If all else fails, how about a bottle of juice..."
Chen Xiao was about to refuse when he suddenly heard Mr. Lin San coldly say, "Give it to him! He is, after all, a highly accomplished person. It would be beneath us to mistreat him in terms of food and drink."
Chen Xiao was furious upon hearing this. He had worked himself to the bone to get all that food! Why did Lin San have to be so nosy? Besides, he hadn't even questioned Lin San about kidnapping someone in his shop! If Lin San hadn't kidnapped someone, this whole mess wouldn't have happened!
Old Tian, after all, shared some similarities with Lin San. He knew that a highly skilled person like Lin San was proud and arrogant, and even as an enemy, he maintained "respect for his opponent." He preferred to defeat his opponent head-on with strength, but could not tolerate the use of other means to torment his enemy.
Seeing Chen Xiao's displeased expression, Lao Tian sighed and said, "Give it to him."
Chen Xiao snorted and placed a piece of bread and a bottle of mineral water next to Prince, saying, "Help yourself if you want to eat!"
After waiting for several more hours, it was already evening. Chen Xiao started a fire. It had just rained, and the nearby trees were soaked, but Chen Xiao had come prepared. He had bought some charcoal when he went shopping. After starting the fire, he sat down in the middle of the group.
Fortunately, Champagne finally woke up in the evening. She was indeed unharmed, only dizzy from the shock and feeling lightheaded after waking up. She was initially pleased to see that Chen Xiao was unharmed, but then she was shocked to see the miserable state of the four experts. Finally, Chen Xiao told her about their current predicament, and Champagne couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity, both amused and exasperated.
In the evening, Xiangbin ate something and then leaned against the fire next to Chen Xiao to continue sleeping. Chen Xiao glanced at the complexions of the four masters.
The redness on Old Tian's face had faded somewhat, but he still looked as if he were drunk, his drunken state quite convincing. Mr. Lin's face was still pale, but his breathing had improved considerably. Prince's bleeding had stopped, and he could barely turn over, but it would probably be a long time before he could stand up.
As Prince predicted, the one who recovered the fastest was actually Poseidon!
Poseidon's complexion had almost returned to normal. If it weren't for the dried bloodstains still remaining on his chest and at the corners of his mouth, he would look almost like an ordinary person asleep, breathing steadily and evenly, as if he were not an injured person.
"Sigh, this woman seems to have a special ability to recover, like a kind of dormant state. In this respect, she's better than any of the rest of us," Old Tian sighed.
Champagne, who was pretending to be asleep, quietly tugged at Chen Xiao's sleeve. She was actually just pretending to be asleep, but she suddenly lowered her voice and whispered, "Chen Xiao, think of something."
"What..." Chen Xiao was a little confused.
"You're so stupid!" Champagne said anxiously, but dared not raise her voice. She lowered her voice and said, "Let's wait here! It makes a big difference who recovers first! What if that winged guy recovers and goes crazy again and hurts us? If my third uncle recovers first, he'll probably arrest me immediately! After thinking it over, it's best if Old Tian recovers first!"
Champagne suddenly rolled her eyes and whispered with a hint of malice, "Tomorrow, when we eat, give that 'birdman' and my third uncle a smaller share! Otherwise, they'll recover first, and we'll be in trouble."
Chen Xiao rolled her eyes upon hearing this. As for Prince, he deserved to starve, so let's not even talk about him. Champagne actually suggested she let her third uncle go hungry. This girl is incredibly audacious!
Champagne chuckled, "My third uncle is incredibly capable. Missing a meal won't bother him; he won't hold a grudge. But if he recovers first, then I'll be in real trouble!"
She had barely finished speaking when she heard Mr. Lin snort loudly and angrily say, "You little rascal, you've tried to scheme against your third uncle!"
Uncle San overheard Champagne's words but wasn't afraid. He made a face and laughed, "Uncle San, you're not really angry, are you? I had no choice. If you drag me back, I'll never be able to leave that island again! Please bear with this for now. In the future, when I have the chance, I'll make chestnut cake for you myself, okay?"
Mr. Lin was both amused and exasperated, but he wasn't really angry with the girl. He could only glare at Chen Xiao and transfer his anger to Chen Xiao, the culprit who "stole" the champagne.
Chen Xiao felt wronged after being glared at, thinking to himself: It's your own daughter who wants to starve you, it's not my idea. You can't bear to punish your own family members, but why are you glaring at me?
Enraged, he hardened his heart and thought: Fine! I'll starve you tomorrow!
The night passed quickly.
At dawn, Chen Xiao, who had been sleeping soundly, was the first to wake up. He first sat up and stretched his body, then took a bottle of mineral water to rinse his mouth and wash his face. He looked at the torn muscle wound on his arm, which had been bandaged and treated last night, and there were no signs of the injury worsening.
After finishing all that, Champagne slowly woke up. Last night, she slept next to Chen Xiao, but she was very restless. In the middle of the night, she simply lay across Chen Xiao's stomach. Now that she was awake, she was the least injured one, and the dizziness and lightheadedness she felt after waking up from yesterday's coma had completely disappeared.
Just as she reached for the water bottle to rinse her mouth, she suddenly heard a noise next to her. Champagne was startled and let out a "Ah!" which startled Chen Xiao. When he turned around, he saw Champagne staring with wide eyes, pointing in a certain direction!
"ah!"
Poseidon sat up and stretched. Although her clothes were covered in mud and blood, her beauty was still stunning. Even though she had just woken up in the early morning, she still had a touch of languid charm. The way she stretched was like a begonia in its first bloom.
She seemed to have recovered, and stood up lightly. Her face still showed some drowsiness from waking up in the morning. She looked around intently, and then clarity gradually returned to her face, and her eyes became clear.
When she saw Chen Xiao and Xiangbin next to her, as well as Lao Tianlin San and Prince sitting around them!
"ah!!"