Urban Martial Saint

Several police officers stared dumbfounded at the departing Ye Qing. It took quite a while before one of them snapped back to reality, hurriedly grabbed the walkie-talkie, and shouted, ”Headquarters, headquarters, this is the Southern Suburb blockade line 3. Just now, a man riding a motorcycle with a dog passed the blockade line. He is very likely a fugitive, requesting support from headquarters!”

In another car behind, a driver envied the departing Ye Qing and said, ”Damn, if I had known to ride a motorcycle, I wouldn’t have to deal with all this crap. The young people these days sure have guts!”

On the other hand, this message was quickly relayed to Zhou Jianbin. Hearing of this incident, Zhou Jianbin took it very seriously. If someone was forcing their way through the blockade at this time, it was very likely related to the kidnapping of Lin Yashi. He immediately issued orders for his subordinates to take a team and pursue, determined to stop the man on the motorcycle at any cost.

Zhou Jianbin stayed at the precinct, mainly responsible for collecting information from various blockades and arranging plans while allocating personnel for investigations in different areas. As the most promising rising star of the city police, Zhou Jianbin indeed had some skills, especially in urban area canvassing and deployment, where he was truly experienced.

Furthermore, the matter involved the Lin family and Lin Yashi, both of which made him even more eager to put on a good show and add some leverage for his future promotion.

Twenty minutes later, Boss Lin personally came to find Zhou Jianbin to inquire about the progress of the investigation on behalf of Old Lady Lin.

”Tianhao, tell Old Lady Lin not to worry. With me here, Yashi will be fine!” Zhou Jianbin patted his chest and said, ”We have deployed police forces across the entire city. As soon as there’s any clue anywhere, our personnel can reach the scene immediately.”

Boss Lin said, ”Uncle Zhou, the critical question is whether there are any clues. Grandmother has been worried sick about this. For each minute my younger aunt is not found, she can’t find peace!”

”We have already obtained some specific clues. Moreover, according to our information, the leader of the kidnappers has quite the background—it’s likely to be He Ziqiang, the notorious thief who once ravaged Xiangjiang. This man is cunning and not so easy to deal with.

Even the Xiangjiang Police have had no luck with him.” Zhou Jianbin paused and then said, ”However, this is Shenchuan City, and I am confident that I can capture him and bring him to justice. Tianhao, go back and tell Old Lady Lin that we’ve got a very critical clue and we will soon find those people!”

”Uncle Zhou, what exactly is this critical clue? At least tell me something,” Boss Lin said, shrugging helplessly. ”Otherwise, I have no way to explain it to Grandmother. I’ve got to bring back some specific clues, right?”

Zhou Jianbin frowned slightly and after a moment of silence, he said, ”Tell Old Lady Lin that just now someone on a motorcycle crashed through the Southern Suburb blockade line. We suspect that this person is with the kidnappers. Our officers have already been dispatched to pursue and should be able to capture him shortly, and then there will be news.”

However, Zhou Jianbin did not notice the flash of panic in Boss Lin’s eyes as he spoke. Shicun in the Southern Suburb was exactly where He Ziqiang and his men were hiding Lin Yashi. If the police started searching in the Southern Suburb, wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?

”Just inform Old Lady Lin about this so she can be at ease; there’s absolutely no problem!” Zhou Jianbin patted Boss Lin’s shoulder and added, ”Also, have your friends in the city keep an eye out and inform me immediately if there’s any news!”

”Okay... sure, no problem…” Boss Lin managed a forced smile and said, ”Since that’s the case, Uncle Zhou, I’ll head back now to inform Grandmother, so she won’t worry!”

”Good!” Zhou Jianbin nodded and said, ”Tell Old Lady Lin that even if costs me my life, I will make sure to rescue Yashi!”

Deep down, Zhou Jianbin harbored feelings for Lin Yashi, and naturally, at a time like this, he was determined to demonstrate his resolve. Unfortunately, Boss Lin no longer paid attention to his words, quickly took his leave from Zhou Jianbin, and hurried away.

In Shicun, on the vacant lot where Lin Yashi was hidden, He Ziqiang and four men sat in the darkness.

They had managed to stop Lin Yashi’s bleeding, but she had fainted due to excessive blood loss. As they looked at Lin Yashi’s blood-covered face, the men had lost any lust and sat on the ground smoking.

Finally, one man grew restless, suddenly picked up a small stone beside him, and angrily threw it at Lin Yashi, cursing, ”Damn it, we could have had some fun with her. This chick sure has some temper!”

”It ruined our good mood, turned out like this—what a buzzkill. How are we supposed to just sit here for such a long night?” another man grumbled as he too picked up a stone and threw it. But his throw missed the mark.

”This one’s pretty good,” a third man also threw a stone, but he too missed.

The fourth man directly addressed He Ziqiang, saying, ”Boss, let’s do something fun, we aren’t seriously going to sit here all night, are we?”

He Ziqiang glanced at the four and replied, ”It seemed like you guys were enjoying yourselves. Why don’t we bet on something? See who can throw at the most accurate spot. Can’t hit the head, but for other parts, if you hit the foot that’s twenty thousand, the leg is ten thousand, the body is a penalty of ten thousand, miss is a penalty of fifty thousand. How’s that?”

”Boss, we don’t have any money!” one man exclaimed.

He Ziqiang raised an eyebrow and said, ”Put it on the tab. Once this deal is closed, won’t each of you be millionaires?”

The four men were overjoyed, exchanging looks and saying, ”That’s a great idea, come on boss, join in!”

”You guys keep playing, I’m going to check outside.” He Ziqiang walked out of the clearing, an uneasy feeling persisting in his heart, leaving him restless.

He meandered near the village where darkness had already fallen, and most of the households were asleep. Bored, He Ziqiang thought about returning to the mountain when suddenly, his cellphone rang.

As soon as He Ziqiang answered the call, Boss Lin’s anxious voice came through, ”Trouble, the police are searching toward the Southern Suburb, hurry up and lead your men out of there!”

Startled, He Ziqiang asked, ”What’s going on? How could the police find this place?”

”Heard someone rode a motorcycle through the Southern Suburb’s blockade, which drew the police over,” Boss Lin spat and cursed, ”Damn it, which bastard instigated the police at this time!”

He Ziqiang’s face paled, instinctively feeling this was no small matter. Before he could ask more, a faint rumble of a motorcycle engine and sporadic flickering lights suddenly came from a distance.

He Ziqiang immediately closed his phone and hid in an abandoned house, using the cover of night to watch the approaching motorcycle. The biker stopped outside the village, a man accompanied by a dog stealthily sneaking into the village. However, he didn’t linger and kept walking with the dog to the end of the village, then started climbing the mountain.

The night was dark and He Ziqiang couldn’t make out the person’s face, but from the build, it was likely Ye Qing.

He Ziqiang was shocked, realizing the person Boss Lin mentioned who dashed through the blockade was Ye Qing. However, he couldn’t fathom how Ye Qing had found this place.

Watching the duo head toward Stone Mountain, He Ziqiang immediately left the building and ran frantically along the path. If Ye Qing had found them, the police might be on their way. If he didn’t run now, he’d be in deadly trouble!

Ye Qing climbed the mountain with Da Hei, and in the darkness, both made no sound. Da Hei used its nose to sniff the ground, leading the way for Ye Qing. Though it didn’t know whom it was searching for, only a few people had been to Stone Mountain recently, and it could smell the scent of those few, including He Ziqiang.

Moreover, as they progressed, the air became thick with the smell of blood, a stimulus more intense for canines. Sniffing the bloody scent, Da Hei hastened, moving through the dark like a starving wolf on the hunt, unnervingly agile.

Following closely, Ye Qing was like a swift leopard. Walking in Stone Mountain, he made no sound at all, the entire woodland silent and eerie.

Finally, led by Da Hei, Ye Qing reached the outskirts of the clearing.

In the clearing, four men were still gambling. Lin Yashi lay unconscious, her body covered with pebbles, her head bruised from the impacts. The men’s aim was poor and, compounded by the darkness, Lin Yashi was hurt even more.

Seeing Lin Yashi in such a state, anger surged within Ye Qing. Kidnapping was one thing, but hurting a hostage was another!

Taking advantage of the dark, Ye Qing quietly approached the clearing. The four men, still in high spirits, didn’t notice anyone drawing near.

Suddenly, a stone flew out of nowhere, hitting one of them on the head. He collapsed instantly, while the other three jumped up in shock, standing and urgently asking, ”What happened? What’s going on?”

Then, hidden in the shadows, Ye Qing charged out like a swift leopard, rushing straight at the three men.

The first two bore the brunt of it, toppled to the ground by Ye Qing. They didn’t even get the chance to resist before he twisted and broke an arm of each upon hitting the ground.

The third man reflexively retreated, instantly heading toward Lin Yashi thinking of using her as a shield to protect himself.

In the morning, to block the acupoints, Ye Qing had been injured in the leg, which meant his movements weren’t as agile as before. Otherwise, he would have taken all three men down in one fell swoop.

Just as the third man seemed about to reach Lin Yashi, a dark figure leapt out and charged at him, only letting out a loud bark at the last second before pouncing and pinning him to the ground, biting his right hand.

”Ah!” The man screamed in agony as he struggled to shake off Da Hei. But the dog wouldn’t release his wrist, blood gushing out profusely.