Urban Martial Saint

He Ziqiang leaned back on the sofa at a leisurely pace and said, ”No rush, no rush. To pull off something like this, you need brains, a thorough plan, and to hit the mark with one shot. That’s how you make big money. You’ve been with me for a short while and are all greenhorns; you still need to be honed. Once you’ve had enough practice, I’ll take you out to earn big money!”

With that, He Ziqiang cast a glance over the crowd and said with a faint smile, ”Our target this time is Lin Huayu, the only daughter of Lin Corporation in Shenchuan City. There’s no need for me to elaborate on the Lin family’s situation, with a family fortune of over one hundred billion and just this one girl. If we pull this off, each of you could pocket at least eight to ten million!”

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately cheered and was overjoyed. Indeed, people die for wealth as birds die for food, but they didn’t consider that the ten million would require risking their lives.

A cold smirk flickered across He Ziqiang’s mouth. He typically didn’t bring many people along for his operations, but those he had brought this time were almost all out of commission. Now he could say he was a commander without an army. Although smart, he was helpless without people to do the groundwork for him.

Therefore, he had gathered these individuals, luring them with promises of money to ensure they would do his bidding and risk their lives for him. As for the ten million? Hmph, were these few people worth that much?

Just as everyone was excited and agitated, a man walked in through the door without warning, none other than Ye Qing. He quickly strode to the center of the living room, and only then did people notice him, which gave everyone in the room quite the start.

Ye Qing scanned the crowd and said softly, ”Ten million, are you worth it?”

Everyone’s expression changed, and He Ziqiang was particularly jolted. He had never expected Ye Qing to show up here. As confident as he was, he didn’t dare confront Ye Qing directly.

The men He Ziqiang had brought with him didn’t recognize Ye Qing. One of them stood up, pointed at Ye Qing, and cursed, ”Motherfucker, who the hell are you to eavesdrop on our conversation!”

Ye Qing ignored him and simply looked at He Ziqiang, saying, ”Let’s go.”

”Do you really think you can catch me?” He Ziqiang said coldly.

Ye Qing replied softly, ”Want to try?”

He Ziqiang gave a cold laugh, then suddenly turned to the seven or eight people and shouted, ”This guy is a cop, don’t let him get away, or we’re all done for!”

No sooner had he spoken than the men’s faces changed and they stood up in unison, warily eyeing Ye Qing.

Meanwhile, He Ziqiang turned and backed away, shouting, ”Catch him! Catch him first!”

The men, already enticed by the promise of He Ziqiang’s ten million reward, immediately charged at Ye Qing with loud yells, hoping to make a good impression in front of He Ziqiang. Little did they know that He Ziqiang was already retreating quietly, hoping to escape while they surrounded Ye Qing.

Ye Qing frowned slightly and plunged into the crowd. In less than two minutes, he had knocked all the men down. Of course, this time he hadn’t been ruthless. These men hadn’t committed any heinous acts; they were simply beguiled by He Ziqiang and didn’t deserve to die.

After dealing with them, He Ziqiang was nowhere to be seen. Ye Qing chased out the back door and from a distance, saw He Ziqiang climbing the wall, ready to jump over.

Ye Qing quickly caught up and reached out to grab He Ziqiang. The nimble He Ziqiang, in turn, threw a black bead the size of a chicken egg down.

Upon hitting the wall, the bead burst, emitting a puff of white smoke that instantly engulfed Ye Qing. The smoke was thick, and trapped inside, Ye Qing couldn’t see anything; his grasp met thin air.

Ye Qing somersaulted over the wall, dashing out of the white smoke by instinct. Looking again, He Ziqiang was already a dozen meters away. Ye Qing hurriedly pursued, and just then, his cell phone began ringing loudly.

Pulling out his phone, Ye Qing kept chasing after He Ziqiang while answering. Li Lianshan’s urgent voice came through, ”Ye Zi, something’s happened!”

”What happened?” Ye Qing asked.

Li Lianshan replied gravely, ”Your two friends, Fang Tingyun and Mo Xiang, have been kidnapped. My brothers got injured—seven or eight of them—trying to protect them!”

”What?” Ye Qing stopped abruptly and asked sternly, ”Who did it?”

”It was Tiger King’s men!” Li Lianshan said urgently, ”He left a message for you to meet him at the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena. You can’t bring the cops, otherwise, he said he’d chop up the girls and feed them to the dogs. Where are you now? Tiger King is crazy; he’ll do what he says!”

”Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena? Where is that?” Ye Qing said in a deep voice.

”You go to Ping Shui Town in the Southern Suburb and ask around—someone there will know.” Li Lianshan paused before continuing gravely, ”I’ve already called the brothers and am rushing over. Get here quickly, damn it, Tiger King has gone too far this time. I’m going to go all out against him!”

Ye Qing furrowed his brow deeply and said, ”Don’t be impulsive, let’s talk when I get there!”

”There’s no time for chit-chat. If I don’t get there quickly to intercept, by the time you arrive, those two friends of yours are probably already done for. That’s it, I’m here, hurry up!”

After Li Lianshan hung up the phone, Ye Qing’s eyebrows were tightly knotted as he turned to look for He Ziqiang, who had already run off without a trace. If he continued the chase like this, he would definitely be able to catch He Ziqiang. However, He Ziqiang was too cunning, and capturing him would take time he simply did not have to waste right now.

Biting his teeth, Ye Qing abruptly turned back and ran to the villa, fished out a set of keys, started the car in the yard, and sped off toward the Southern Suburb.

The Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena was an underground boxing ring set up by Tiger King in Shenchuan City. Usually, there were also dog fighting events here, which many wealthy folks in Shenchuan City enjoyed. Betting on fighting dogs was one of the entertainment options for many rich people.

And in the basement, Tiger King’s underground boxing ring was famous throughout the entire Eastern Province, with millions or even tens of millions in turnover during each fight. Combined, the boxing ring and the dog arena could net Tiger King at least thirty million a month, making them his most lucrative ventures.

Li Lianshan had been here several times before and was very familiar with the place. His mood today, however, was drastically different. Bringing seventy or eighty men with him, Li Lianshan stormed toward the exterior of the dog arena with a fierce aura.

At the entrance, a burly man stopped Li Lianshan and said, ”Boss Li, the big brother said you can come to play, but today, only you may enter. After today, we’re all still friends.”

”Who the fuck wants to be friends with him, get Tiger King out here for me!” Li Lianshan shouted angrily.

”Boss Li, please watch your language,” the burly man said with a feigned smile, threatening Li Lianshan, ”My big brother has a bit of a temper. If he gets pissed off, it won’t look good for anyone.”

Li Lianshan angrily said, ”I’ve fucking come all this way today, ready to make a scene. Tell Tiger King to send out those two girls and the kid immediately, or I, Li Lianshan, am willing to risk my life today to smash this dog pit into the ground!”

”Why the big temper, Boss Li?” A mocking voice resonated from a distance as Tiger King strolled over leisurely, flanked by about thirty subordinates.

Tiger King was a man in his thirties with a pale, beardless face, giving off a somewhat effeminate appearance. His eyes were deep, and his brow bore a bloodthirsty ruthlessness. Standing at one meter eighty and weighing just one hundred and thirty kilograms, he seemed rather frail at first glance. Yet, paradoxically, he exuded an intimidating aura that made people wary.

Amongst Shenchuan City’s three major gangs, the other two had old qualifications and strong relationships, but the Fierce Tiger Gang was solely forged by Tiger King himself. Thus, if one were to talk about combat strength, the Fierce Tiger Gang was absolutely the most powerful in Shenchuan City!

Seeing Tiger King, Li Lianshan too became somewhat intimidated. Having been in Shenchuan City for so long, he was all too aware of Tiger King’s strength. Previously, he had always hoped to avoid any run-ins with Tiger King, but today he had to confront him directly. To be honest, he was really not confident within, and he truly did not want to confront Tiger King directly.

However, he had to proceed regardless of his feelings—this was a promise he made to Ye Qing!

”Tiger King, do me a favor and hand over those two girls and the child!” Li Lianshan said.

”A favor?” Tiger King looked Li Lianshan up and down before replying, ”If I grant you this favor, can you reattach my cousin’s hands and feet for me?”

Li Lianshan said gravely, ”Chen Qiang harmed so many children, he got what he deserved. Besides, Ye Zi didn’t kill him, which already gave you face. Why do you insist on protecting him like this?”

”Got what he deserved?” Tiger King laughed loudly, glancing sideways at Li Lianshan, ”Since when did you start playing the noble hero, Li Lianshan? Do you even have the right to say that? We all work in the underworld; whose hands aren’t stained with blood, who hasn’t done unspeakable things? Li Lianshan, do you actually think your hands are any cleaner than mine?”

Li Lianshan’s eyebrows furrowed tightly as he responded, ”I admit, I, Li Lianshan, am also no saint. From running brothels to covering up gambling, to killing to silence, I’ve done it all. But even if I’m fucking despicable, I would never stoop to making money off children. Even though we’re all hustlers, there should be some line we don’t cross.

Those kids are so young, they don’t understand anything, can you really be so heartless as to exploit them?”

”Stop giving me these pointless lectures. In this society, all this bullshit about humanity, justice, and ethics, all this crap about fairness and integrity, it’s all fucking nonsense. Let me tell you, survival of the fittest is the only truth.

If you want to stand your ground in this society, strength is the only law!” Tiger King stared coldly at Li Lianshan, ”Li Lianshan, you better just go back now, and we can still be friends after this. But if you insist on getting those people from me, huh, I’d like to see how you’re going to do that!”

Li Lianshan had seventy to eighty people with him, while Tiger King was accompanied by just over thirty. But looking at those thirty-odd people beside Tiger King, Li Lianshan couldn’t help but swallow hard. Each one of them was a veteran of life-and-death battles in the underground boxing ring, much stronger than any discharged soldier.

Even though Tiger King only had a little over thirty people, they were more than capable of taking on one or two hundred men. In other words, the men Li Lianshan brought were simply no match.

Moreover, this was Tiger King’s territory, and who knew how many more men were hidden inside. If a fight really broke out, Li Lianshan would undoubtedly be at a disadvantage!

After hesitating for a moment, Li Lianshan clenched his teeth, waved his hand, and shouted loudly, ”Fight!”