Urban Martial Saint

The woman who spoke was Ding Shaoyan’s aunt, named Ding Xiangyun. From a young age, the person who doted on Ding Shaoyan the most was her, and upon hearing the things Ding Shaoyan had done, she didn’t think they were a big deal. She had been somewhat dissatisfied with Tie Yongwen summoning everyone here from the beginning, and now seeing Tie Yongwen’s anger, her tone had softened quite a bit.

Nevertheless, she still viewed Ye Qing with discontent, as Ye Qing’s injuring of Ding Shaoyan was something she could not feel any fondness for.

Tie Yongwen frowned deeply. He hadn’t expected that the Ding family members would have this kind of attitude, so dismissive of Ding Shaoyan’s wrongdoings. Rather than disciplining Ding Shaoyan first, they wanted only to resolve the matter with money, which greatly pained him.

”The money must be paid in full to the other party,” Tie Yongwen said, waving his hand with a stern voice, ”But Shao Yan also must pay the price for his actions!”

Ding Changyuan frowned and said, ”Uncle Tie, we, of course, won’t skimp on the money that needs to be paid. But Shao Yan is still a student, and we can’t delay his studies. Uncle Tie, why don’t you let me handle this matter? I assure you, Shao Yan will never commit a similar mistake again!”

”Nonsense!” Tie Yongwen burst out in rage, glaring at Ding Changyuan and said, ”So what if he’s a student? Does being a student give him license to be lawless? He’s not a child anymore. By indulging him this way, you’re only harming him. If we don’t teach him a lesson over this matter, he will definitely become worse—do you understand?”

The members of the Ding family exchanged glances, their hearts filled with dissatisfaction. However, since Tie Yongwen had followed Elder Master Ding for so many years, and his words carried almost the same weight as those of the elder, none of the Ding family dared to defy him.

”Uncle Tie, then what do you think we should do?” Ding Changyuan asked in a low voice, his tone quite resentful.

Tie Yongwen said with a serious voice, ”The things he has done, if taken to court, would merit at least a twenty-year sentence.”

”What?” Ding Shaoyan was startled and said in a panic, ”I... I... I don’t want to go to jail...”

”Uncle Tie, aren’t you exaggerating a bit?” Ding Xiangyun asked. ”This is just a minor dispute among children, not a serious matter; why bother going to court? Besides, we are willing to pay compensation. It is our responsibility and we will bear it, so there is no need to make a big deal out of this, right?”

Tie Yongwen became furious and was about to speak when Ye Qing, who had been standing to the side, suddenly said, ”How much money can you compensate?”

Tie Yongwen looked at Ye Qing, unsure of his intention. Was Ye Qing only interested in resolving the issue with money?

Upon hearing Ye Qing’s words, however, the Ding family members felt somewhat triumphant. They believed that Ye Qing was just trying to extort money, which is why they didn’t take the matter seriously. Now that Ye Qing had indeed inquired about the money, it seemed the matter would be easy to resolve.

”How much money do you want?” Ding Changyuan asked with a cold smile. ”Ten million? Or twenty million?”

Ye Qing said coldly, ”In your eyes, can twenty million compensate for a girl in the bloom of youth being turned into a vegetable?”

Ding Changyuan said, ”Boss Ye, you must understand. The twenty million is the compensation from our Ding family to express our apology. If this matter really went to court, I doubt we’d have to pay even a million. You think twenty million isn’t enough?”

”Twenty million, do you think that’s enough?” Ye Qing countered.

”I think it’s enough!” Ding Changyuan coldly glanced at Ye Qing, threateningly adding, ”Don’t think you can threaten our Ding family by holding onto this matter. Let me tell you, our Ding family is not like the Lin family. Humph, anyone who dares to cause trouble in our Ding residence won’t ever walk out again!”

”Rest assured, I won’t be causing trouble at your Ding family’s home,” Ye Qing replied coldly. ”Twenty million, if you think that’s enough, then fine.”

As he spoke, Ye Qing slowly moved forward to Ding Shaoyan’s side and said, ”Mr. Ding, I’ll give you twenty million, and then I’ll turn Ding Shaoyan into a vegetable—how does that sound?”

After finishing his words, Ye Qing kicked at Ding Shaoyan’s chest, sending Ding Shaoyan flying backward through the air. Just as he was about to strike again, Tie Weihua had already run over, intercepting Ye Qing with a punch aimed at him.

Ye Qing traded two moves with Tie Weihua before suddenly hearing Tie Yongwen’s angry shout from behind, ”Stop!”

Ye Qing then ceased his attack, and Tie Weihua glared at him resentfully, clearly dissatisfied with Ye Qing’s actions.

”Ye, what are you trying to do!” Ding Changyuan stood up and yelled angrily, ”You dare to assault a member of our Ding family right in front of us, are you looking for death?”

”Mr. Ding, as you said, twenty million is enough,” Ye Qing replied coldly. ”Rest assured, I will definitely give you the money. But first, I need to turn Ding Shaoyan into a vegetable!”

Ding Changyuan’s face changed abruptly as he shouted angrily, ”Nonsense, can that girl compare to a member of our Ding family?”

”Is a member of your Ding family not human?” Ye Qing suddenly turned his head and bellowed, ”A life is a life—why can’t they be compared? What era do we live in that you think you’re ancient nobility with lives of different value? From what you’ve done, in my eyes, you’re no different from beasts!”

”You...” Ding Changyuan was so enraged he pointed at Ye Qing but couldn’t utter a word.

Tie Weihua furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, ”Ye Qing, my father is here. Can we not have him deal with this matter?”

Ye Qing turned his head to look at Tie Yongwen, then slowly bent over and said, ”Uncle Tie, I see that the Ding Family is not a reasonable one. Let’s not trouble Uncle Tie with this; I’ll handle it myself.”

”There’s no need!” Tie Yongwen waved his hand and said, ”I’ve called them here today because I’ve already figured out how to resolve this. Nephew Ye, I understand how you feel, but don’t get too agitated now. Leave this to me. If you’re not satisfied with the outcome I decide on, then you can take action yourself. I absolutely won’t stop you then!”

Only then did Ye Qing nod and return to his original position.

”Uncle Tie, there’s no need to discuss this issue!” Ding Changyuan stood up and said gravely, ”Our Ding Family has never been insulted like this before. Mr. Ye, we definitely won’t let this go!”

As soon as Ding Changyuan finished speaking, he turned to leave. Tie Yongwen then slammed his hand on the table and bellowed, ”Sit down!”

Ding Changyuan was taken aback, looked at Tie Yongwen, and eventually sat down unwillingly at his original spot. He really didn’t dare to defy this old bodyguard who had followed Elder Master Ding for thirty to forty years.

Tie Yongwen stood up, his voice loud and clear, ”I’ve been with the Ding Family for thirty-nine years. Although my surname is not Ding, I’m practically half a member of the Ding Family. I’ve watched you all grow up; over the years, you all have established your own careers and have done very well. Your achievements are something both the Elder Master and I are comforted by.

But today, hearing all of you speak, I suddenly feel that you’ve changed too much. Since you were young, the Elder Master taught you to be upright persons. But what has happened over these years that could make you ignore the atrocious acts Shao Yan has committed?”

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and Ding Changyuan said in a low voice, ”Uncle Tie, I...”

”Shut your mouth!” Tie Yongwen glared at him, very dissatisfied, not wanting to hear another word from him.

”Ye Qing is absolutely right. There is an old saying, ’Would dignitaries rather have seedlings than honor?’ What era are we in that the value of a human life is still judged based on status? Don’t forget, when Elder Master first came to Shenchuan City, he survived thanks to a helping hand from an old farmer who shared half a bag of coarse rice with him.

You’ve never suffered these many years, so perhaps it’s easy for you to forget your roots. But no matter what, as a human being, you should at least have a sense of right and wrong in your heart!” As Tie Yongwen reached the end of his speech, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of profound distress.

The Ding Family members hung their heads, none daring to speak. However, most of them did not entirely agree with Tie Yongwen’s words.

Seeing the expressions of the crowd, Tie Yongwen sighed, knowing that they were unreceptive to his words, and said, ”For the crimes Shao Yan has committed, he must pay the price. However, he is still a student and his schooling should not be delayed. Therefore, I’ve decided to break three of his meridians and destroy his martial arts abilities as punishment!”

Upon hearing this, the Ding Family’s people’s expressions changed, and Ding Changyuan said anxiously, ”Uncle Tie, is such punishment necessary?”

”Uncle Tie, Shao Yan is still just a kid!” Ding Xiangyun said urgently.

Tie Weihua also said anxiously, ”Dad, if you break his three meridians, Shao Yan will never have the strength of a normal person again, effectively making him a Third Level invalid. Dad, you need to think this through!”

The Ding Family members didn’t know exactly what breaking three meridians would entail, but hearing Tie Weihua say so, they became more alarmed. Meanwhile, Ding Shaoyan was trembling all over, retreating step by step, his voice trembling, ”No... you... you can’t break my meridians, I... I will go back and find grandfather, he will definitely not let you break my meridians, you...

you can’t do this to me...”

Tie Yongwen said sternly, ”He is a child, but does that mean Wang Tiezhu’s sister, who is not yet sixteen, is not a child? I am only breaking his three meridians, but Wang Tiezhu’s sister has become a vegetative person. Which of these injuries do you think is more severe?”

Ding Changyuan said anxiously, ”Uncle Tie, I’ll compensate for Wang Tiezhu’s loss. His sister has already ended up this way, it’s irreversible. But... we can’t let Shao Yan become disabled too!”

”There’s no need for compensation!” Suddenly, an angry voice came in from the entrance.

Ye Qing looked up and saw Wang Tiezhu running in from afar, charging toward Ding Shaoyan and shouting, ”Let’s die together!”

As he neared Ding Shaoyan, a dagger appeared in Wang Tiezhu’s hand, stabbing straight toward Ding Shaoyan’s chest.

”Shao Yan!” Ding Changyuan cried out in alarm.

Luckily, Tie Weihua was right beside them, he grabbed the dagger from Wang Tiezhu’s hand and kicked out toward Wang Tiezhu’s chest.

Ye Qing, who noticed this, had his expression change instantly. Wang Tiezhu was already injured, and with Tie Weihua’s strength, if this kick landed, it would be disastrous!

”Pillar, fall back!” Ye Qing shouted, rushing over to grab Tie Weihua’s collar, pulling him back and throwing him onto the ground behind him.