Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing had spent the morning in the hospital after his cousins were chased away, knowing that his uncles and aunts would soon appear.

As expected, by nine thirty, a commotion could be heard outside the ward. Ye Qing walked to the door and saw about a dozen people noisily making their way over, among them, his uncles whom he still remembered.

When Ye Qing was very young, he had visited his uncles’ homes with his mother. However, his memory of those times was that his uncles and aunts seemed to live well but treated him poorly. Whenever he visited home with his mother, they would only have a meal at his grandmother’s house and never even drank a sip of water at his uncles’ homes.

After Ye Qing’s mother passed away, the Ye family completely cut off contact with these uncles and aunts. During his poorest years in college, Ye Qing, like Wang Tiezhu, had eaten leftovers in restaurants. At that time, although his uncles were quite well-off, not a single one inquired about how their nephew was living.

Ye Qing had thought that he would never have any interaction with these uncles and aunts again in his lifetime, yet unexpectedly, here they were meeting under such circumstances.

In the midst of his reflection, those dozen people had already reached the entrance of the ward. The lead person peered into the ward, saw Zhou Hongxia taking care of Ye Changwen, and immediately turned his head, saying, ”This is the place!”

The crowd quickly gathered around. The leader, glancing at Ye Qing standing at the doorway, frowned slightly and suddenly asked, ”You are Ye Qing, right?”

Ye Qing recognized him; he was named Liang Xuepeng, his eldest uncle. The few people following him were also his uncles, among whom Ye Qing had the clearest memory of Fourth Uncle Liang Xuewen because he was the most successful person in the Liang Family, a building contractor earning almost a million each year. The Liangs were led mainly by Liang Xuepeng and Liang Xuewen.

”After all these years, it seems you still remember me,” Ye Qing replied softly, his face showing neither sadness nor joy. He felt neither affection nor sorrow towards these uncles. If there was any emotion, it was the anger over his father, Ye Changwen, having been beaten.

”Hey, how can you talk like that? You’re my blood nephew, of course I remember you,” Liang Xuepeng walked over warmly, putting an arm around Ye Qing’s shoulder, and continued, ”Your mom passed away early. Every time I see you, I’m reminded of her. Honestly, out of all my siblings, I was closest to your mom. Ah, it still pains me to think about it.”

Facing Liang Xuepeng’s appeal to family bonds, Ye Qing laughed inwardly, scoffing, ”It seems like you haven’t seen me since my mom died.”

Liang Xuepeng looked somewhat embarrassed and scratched his head, saying, ”Ah, let’s not talk about the past. Qingzi, I’m always your eldest uncle, and whatever I do is for your benefit. I know there’s some friction between you and some of the kids in our family. Your eldest uncle came here not to scold you, but to have a heart-to-heart with you.”

Ye Qing replied deliberately, ”It’s been so many years since we last met, what heart-to-heart could you possibly want to discuss?”

”Why can’t we talk? Whatever your eldest uncle does, it’s all for your good,” Liang Xuepeng insisted earnestly, waving his hand, ”This isn’t the place to talk, let’s find somewhere and have a good chat. You haven’t had lunch yet, have you? Let’s eat something together.”

As he spoke, Liang Xuepeng turned to Liang Xuewen behind him and said, ”Fourth Brother, book a private room at the best hotel in the county. We haven’t seen Qingzi in such a long time, we need to make it up to him!”

”No problem!” Liang Xuewen smiled and nodded to Ye Qing, ”Qingzi, you go with your elder uncles, I’ll go set things up. Let’s book the Triumphal Arch, their food is quite decent.”

Ye Qing offered a faint smile and did not decline; instead, he beckoned Da Fei Mad Dog, who was sitting not far away, signaling them to come over and guard the ward. In the morning, Old Fifth Yang had also sent some people over, ready to help however Ye Qing needed. With them watching over Ye Changwen, Ye Qing had nothing to worry about.

He wanted to see what medicine his uncles were really selling in their gourd.

Ye Qing followed Liang Xuepeng downstairs, where several brand-new sedans were parked. Liang Xuepeng proudly opened the door of the front Hyundai, letting Ye Qing get in first. He followed him inside, patting the driver in front and instructed, ”Triumphal Arch.”

The car slowly started, and Liang Xuepeng, sitting inside, looked at Ye Qing with a smug expression. These cars weren’t theirs; He Biao had lent them temporarily. However, He Biao had also promised that if they successfully obstructed Old Fifth Yang’s construction period in the New District, these cars would be given to them.

Thus, Liang Xuepeng already considered the car his own and felt an indescribable sense of superiority in front of Ye Qing.

Liang Xuepeng really wanted Ye Qing to ask about the car, but Ye Qing remained silent, which made him quite frustrated. By reasoning, the Ye family had been so impoverished these past years, this car should be enough to boast about in front of them. But why wasn’t Ye Qing reacting at all?

Unable to contain his frustration, Liang Xuepeng blurted out, ”Qingzi, how do you find this car?”

Ye Qing replied, ”It’s alright.”

”Not good enough. This car has poor shock absorption and isn’t comfortable to ride in. I’m just using it as a stopgap vehicle for now. I think, after a while, I might switch to another one, at least to something like a fifteen thousand dollar car!” Liang Xuepeng said, stealthily watching Ye Qing’s expression. However, Ye Qing’s face remained as calm as water, as if he hadn’t heard his bragging.

Liang Xuepeng felt increasingly suffocated, wondering to himself if perhaps he had set the price too low at fifteen thousand.

”Actually, I wanted to buy a car that cost upwards of three hundred thousand, but your aunt said that would be too flashy. To stay low-key, it’s better to just buy an ordinary one. You know, your uncle isn’t short on money these days, but sometimes, it’s better to keep a low profile in life, right?”

Liang Xuepeng boasted again, yet Ye Qing still showed no reaction. Liang Xuepeng was extremely frustrated inside; the price had been mentioned as three hundred thousand, which to the Ye family, was a staggering figure. Why didn’t Ye Qing show any response at all? Right, he must be suppressing his envy, not wanting to show it, Liang Xuepeng convinced himself.

Reassured, Liang Xuepeng felt rather relieved. Glancing sideways at Ye Qing, he added, ”Qingzi, do you know how to drive? Once your uncle gets a new car, I’ll give this one to you, how about that?”

”I don’t,” Ye Qing replied curtly.

Liang Xuepeng hurriedly said, ”You can always learn to drive. What kind of society are we living in now if we can’t drive? Look, next time you’re free, your uncle will teach you. Once you’ve learned, I’ll find a car for you!”

Ye Qing didn’t respond, and Liang Xuepeng felt a bit embarrassed, muttering a few more words. Nonetheless, as Ye Qing remained unengaged with his remarks, Liang Xuepeng couldn’t flaunt his superiority and spent the whole journey in moodiness.

Fortunately, they soon arrived at the Triumphal Arch, Liang Xuewen had already made arrangements and everyone accompanied Ye Qing upstairs.

Liang Xuepeng was actually entering the Triumphal Arch for the second time, having previously come for a meal by He Biao’s invitation. Despite it not being his first visit, the luxurious decor still somewhat distracted him.

As they approached the revolving door, Liang Xuepeng quickly turned to Ye Qing, cautioned, ”Stay close, don’t let the door spin you around.”

The first time he had been here, Liang Xuepeng had been taken for six or seven spins by the revolving door, totally embarrassing himself. Now, a bit savvier, he acted as if he frequented the place, considering the others mere bumpkins. While he warned Ye Qing, part of him secretly hoped that Ye Qing would get spun around a few times.

However, to his disappointment, Ye Qing handled the door even more adeptly than he did.

Liang Xuepeng’s frustration grew, because he thought the Ye family was so impoverished that even eating was a problem. How could they accept such modernized equipment? Why didn’t Ye Qing lose face here?

While Liang Xuepeng brooded angrily, laughter suddenly erupted behind him. He turned to look back and saw his younger brother, Liang Xuekun, being spun around by the door. It was Liang Xuekun’s first visit, so of course, he was clueless about the revolving door’s mechanism, being spun until he was dizzy and drawing plenty of laughter from bystanders.

Liang Xuepeng’s face flushed red instantly; he had hoped to see Ye Qing embarrass himself, but instead, his own family had lost all face.

Liang Xuepeng coughed and moved to grab the revolving door. However, since it was motorized, his grabbing it halted its spin, but also triggered a series of beeping sounds.

”What’s happening?” Liang Xuekun, dizzy from the spinning, took a moment even to think of getting out.

”Get out now!” Liang Xuepeng glared at him, his face expressing extreme frustration.

An attendant nearby warned Liang Xuepeng, ”Sir, please don’t do that, it’s dangerous!”

”Dangerous? What do you mean dangerous?” Liang Xuepeng stared at him, ”I know how this works. What’s dangerous about it?”

The waiter, scolded by Liang Xuepeng, was taken aback and dared not say anything more.

Seeing this, Ye Qing couldn’t help but secretly laugh. Pretending to act nonchalantly, he quietly reached over to the revolving door’s power source and pressed a button. Ye Qing pressed hard enough to possibly damage the internal circuits.

With Liang Xuepeng’s help, Liang Xuekun finally managed to exit the revolving door. Liang Xuepeng let go, expecting the door to start spinning again, but instead, it just stayed in place, beeping continuously.

”What’s going on?” Liang Xuepeng was completely bewildered. The last time he had been trapped inside, He Biao had rescued him in just the same way. But why was it different this time?

By now, nearly everyone in the hall was watching. Making such a spectacle in front of everyone was too much even for Liang Xuepeng’s thick skin; he turned beet red, his face covered in sweat, the awkwardness intolerable.