Urban Martial Saint

This was a man in his fifties, and the only word to describe his appearance was sleazy. His hair, greasy as it was, was combed into a middle part that had gone out of style years ago. It was hard to tell how much gel had been used, but now dried, the hair held stiffly, giving the part a semblance of a troop divided down the middle.

Most notably, the dried gel formed into white flakes, littering his hair, making him look somewhat like the White-Haired Girl. If it weren’t for his middle part, those unaware might think he was Hua Yingxiong from Chinese Hero, but a closer look revealed him as nothing more than a traitor with white hair.

There was a mole with black hair near the corner of his mouth on the left side of his face, which greatly resembled those shameless street fortunetellers of old. He wore greasy, tattered clothes that looked unwashed for ages. In his hand, he carried a snake skin bag, its contents unknown. Coupled with his sleazy demeanor, he closely resembled a street smuggler.

It was this Traitor Dealer who said the following to Ye Qing.

Seeing Ye Qing stop in his tracks, a gleam of joy flashed in the eyes of the Traitor Dealer. He fished out a crumpled Red Plum cigarette from his body and offered it to Ye Qing, saying, ”Sir, how about a fortune-telling?”

”I have no money!” Ye Qing shook his head, even if he did have money, he wouldn’t spend it on this.

The Traitor Dealer shook his head, pointing at Ye Qing, and said, ”Your fate, it’s free!”

”Oh?” Ye Qing couldn’t help but be curious, The proposition was indeed intriguing. Fortune-telling for free, what then do you want?

The Traitor Dealer, looking mysterious, said, ”For your fate, I ask for no money, but, I ask for a promise from you!”

”What promise?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

The Traitor Dealer said, ”Someday when you attain great success, I’ll only take one-thousandth of your wealth!”

”What exactly do you mean by great success?” Ye Qing asked, the old man’s words were always evasive. Ye Qing was currently flat broke, with just over one thousand yuan to his name, his entire fortune. By that calculation, if Ye Qing could make two thousand yuan, that would be considered great success, and he’d owe him two yuan?

The Traitor Dealer clearly hadn’t expected Ye Qing to ask such a question, he hesitated briefly before waving his hand and saying, ”Ah, to be considered truly successful, well you should at least own a wealth over a million.”

”Oh,” Ye Qing nodded, ”So you’re saying, I’ll definitely make over a million in the future?”

The Traitor Dealer smiled faintly, shaking his head, ”As long as you do as I say, your life will certainly not stop here!”

Ye Qing looked at the Traitor Dealer with interest and asked, ”Do what?”

Affecting a look of deep mystery, the Traitor Dealer boasted, ”As the saying goes, fate is first, followed by luck and Feng Shui. Fate and Feng Shui are fixed, but luck often plays a crucial role. It’s said, ’Of the Great Fifty, Forty-Nine are saved,’ and luck is that elusive one. Thus, succeeding in life heavily depends on luck.”

”Your fate and Feng Shui are excellent, but, your luck appears not so favorable!” The Traitor Dealer scrutinized Ye Qing, slightly more serious, ”Your forehead is darkened, there seems to be a looming disaster of bloodshed!”

Ye Qing silently laughed internally, this Traitor Dealer was no different from those street fortunetellers, always starting with the good before the bad. It was needless to say that he was about to mention how to avert this looming disaster.

Earlier, the fact that the Traitor Dealer had said it was free had piqued Ye Qing’s slight interest. Hearing this, Ye Qing no longer felt like listening further.

He looked up at Old Five Chen sitting by the window and said, ”Based on what you’ve said, I’m in great danger recently, aren’t I?”

”Not necessarily, your Life Grid is unparalleled, even if there’s a disaster, it could be averted for some reason.” The Traitor Dealer paused briefly, seeing that Ye Qing wasn’t taking the bait, he boldly said, ”For example, meeting me is fated. The resolution to this disaster rests with me!”

The old man finally showed his true colors!

”Oh, what should I do then?” Ye Qing asked casually, his eyes continuously scanning the restaurant. He noted how many people were present, how many were Chen’s men, and where they were positioned—Ye Qing was making sure he had a clear understanding of everything.

”It’s simple, just get a life-saving amulet!” The Traitor Dealer said, and pulled out a dark pendant from his person. Whether due to wearing it for too long, even the red cord of the pendant had turned black, at a glance, it looked like it was just a black cord.

The Traitor Dealer said, ”This Golden Glimmer Pixiu has been blessed by Master Dade in Mount Wutai. It matches your Life Grid perfectly and wearing this will definitely allow you to safely get through this ordeal!”

”Oh, thank you, master!” Ye Qing took it casually, without any reservation.

The Traitor Dealer was stunned, he had never encountered someone so straightforward. You take the item, shouldn’t you at least ask about the price?

”Uh, this... this item, actually... actually, it’s not cheap, I...” The Traitor Dealer scratched his head and said, ”I brought it from Mount Wutai, it’s a priceless treasure. But since we are fated, I’m willing to half-sell, half-give it to you for three thousand yuan!”

”Then I don’t want it,” Ye Qing handed the amulet back.

”Why?” The Traitor Dealer was shocked and said, ”Without this pendant, you’d never survive this peril. If you could get past this, your life would be smooth sailing and prosperous!”

”The thing is, I don’t have three thousand yuan!” Ye Qing turned and headed towards the restaurant.

”What about a little cheaper, do you have one thousand five hundred?”

Ye Qing ignored him, and the Traitor Dealer hurriedly said from behind, ”One thousand! One thousand works too! No? If not, eight hundred! Five hundred! Three hundred!

One hundred? Damn, fifty, can’t go any lower!”

Ye Qing turned around, waving his right hand. The Traitor Dealer glanced at it and said, ”Five yuan? Buddy, stop joking, this is fine jade!”

”I said fifty cents!” Ye Qing replied earnestly.

The Traitor Dealer erupted in anger and said, ”Piss off, I get them wholesale for one yuan and fifty cents each. Fifty cents, you should sell it to me instead. I’ll give you one yuan, you buy two for me, I...”

He hadn’t finished speaking when suddenly a woman’s angry shout came from the other end of the alley.

”It’s him! Catch him! Don’t let him run! The Old Bastard, deceived me saying he could pull out teeth, but he took my gold tooth instead. He’s just a thief!”

A group of people shouting came running from the other end of the alley; the Traitor Dealer immediately disappeared in the blink of an eye, moving so fast that Ye Qing didn’t even have time to catch him—clearly, he was well-practiced.

Watching the Traitor Dealer’s fleeing figure, Ye Qing couldn’t help but smirk, but then turned to go upstairs. Just then, there was a sudden loud explosion upstairs, and Ye Qing felt the ground shake beneath him, shattering many surrounding windows. Instantly, the streets were filled with people’s screams.

Ye Qing hastily stepped back, looked up, and saw that a corner of the second floor by the window was completely obliterated. The scene was still smoking, and the spot where Old Five Chen had just been sitting was completely blown away. There was no doubt that Old Five Chen, sitting there, must have lost his life!

Ye Qing stared blankly at the corner, suddenly turned around, and scrutinized the crowd around him carefully.

Finally, at a street corner alley, Ye Qing spotted a man in a newsboy cap. The brim was pulled low, so his face wasn’t clear. However, he was staring at the restaurant from a distance, unpanicked like the rest of the crowd.

Ye Qing turned and casually walked towards the man. He had walked less than ten meters when the man suddenly turned and entered the alley.

Ye Qing immediately quickened his pace and strode after him.

Upon entering the alley, the man had already disappeared. Ye Qing chased inside, circling a few times, but still couldn’t catch the man. Even within this alley, he didn’t find a single trace of him.

Ye Qing frowned, there was no doubt that this man must be connected to the explosion. And the matter concerning Old Five Chen and the Beihua Residential Area could generally be connected. Because Xu Beihua and Old Five Chen were the main instigators in the case where the old woman was killed years ago.

Ye Qing could almost conclude that this man must be related to that old woman, the one who had come back for revenge. Observing his method, he first used a specialized explosive technique in the Beihua Residential Area to blow up the building, and then here, he preciseley took out Old Five Chen. This person was very experienced in bombings.

Moreover, his ability to exit the alley in such a short time without leaving a trace indicated that his anti-surveillance awareness was also very strong.

Ye Qing knew that this time, he had encountered a formidable opponent. If this person hadn’t shed blood on a battlefield, he must have received military special training somewhere, definitely not someone ordinary people could compare with!

Ye Qing walked back near the restaurant, which had already been cordoned off by the police who had been alerted to the incident. Fortunately, the police officer leading the team knew Ye Qing and was aware of his relationship with Zhao Chengshuang. When Ye Qing asked if he could go up to see, the police officer greenlighted him.

Ye Qing walked into the restaurant, where most people had already been controlled and were going to be escorted for individual questioning. The riffraff were furiously shouting about avenging Old Five Chen.

A man in his thirties suddenly slammed his hand on the table, cursing, ”Avenger your ass, you don’t even know what he looks like. Who are you going to take revenge on? Shut the hell up, all of you!”

The man seemed to command respect among the group, and at his words, everyone fell silent.

Ye Qing glanced at this man, then quietly asked a nearby police officer, ”Who is he?”

The officer said, ”Old Five Chen’s nephew, Chen Shibao, was Old Five Chen’s right-hand man.”

Ye Qing took another long look at Chen Shibao, then turned and walked upstairs to check the crime scene.

Just as he reached the second floor, the blood-soaked head of a man suddenly appeared before Ye Qing, one eye socket empty, the eyeball already dead. The sight was terrifying—it was the body of Old Five Chen!

(There’s a book ”Supreme Demon Emperor” recommended by a friend, you might want to check it out.)