Urban Martial Saint

(Already ten chapters, asking for Monthly passes and recommendations.)

By the night market stalls, in a dark alley, a tall man was slowly moving forward, supporting the simple-minded man.

The simple-minded man was still giggling merrily, as if he knew nothing, understood nothing. He would do whatever anyone told him to do, obediently following the man away. Even if there was a pit ahead, he would jump in, for he did not know what it meant.

The tall man seemed unusually respectful towards the simple-minded man, holding him with both hands, carefully watching the path under his feet as if afraid he might fall.

The two walked past the alley, rounded a corner, and finally arrived at an empty, deserted sports field. There, a white van was parked, and the tall man supported the simple-minded one over, tapping lightly on the door.

The door opened, and a lean man poked his head out. Upon seeing the tall man, he immediately said, ”Big Brother, you’re back!”

The tall man nodded, said nothing, and carefully helped the simple-minded into the van. The simple-minded man didn’t know how to get in, hung his head, and didn’t know how to lift his feet onto the vehicle.

The man bent down and, with care, held the simple-minded’s greasy, dirty, and smelly shoes, lifting his foot and gently placing it inside the van. He seemed utterly unconcerned by the filth and stench of the shoes.

After settling the simple-minded man, he then got into the van, sat opposite his brother, and quietly looked at him, gently asking, ”Do you recognize me?”

”Hehe, hehe...” The simple-minded man just giggled foolishly, looking at the car’s interior, occasionally reaching out to touch the overhead light with a curious expression.

There were three other men in the van, and upon seeing the simple-minded man’s behavior, they all looked a bit surprised but no one spoke.

As he watched the simple-minded man behave in this way, the tall man’s eyes grew a little moist. He gently pushed back the hair at the corner of the simple-minded man’s eyes and softly said, ”Bro, it’s me, Qiangzi. I didn’t die, I’ve come back!”

Was this man the simple-minded man’s younger brother? The one who was kidnapped over a decade ago?

If the stall owner were here, he would surely exclaim in shock. Over ten years ago, the simple-minded man’s brother was only ten. Who would have thought that a ten-year-old boy, taken away for so many years, could return home and still recognize his own brother?

Of course, even more heartening was the fact that he had come back!

Carefully, another man said, ”Qiang, looking at Big Brother like this, I’m afraid we’ll need to find a doctor for him!”

Qiangzi paid him no heed, simply continuing to smooth the simple-minded man’s hair behind his ears, quietly saying, ”Bro, thirteen years ago, had you not taken that hit for me, I might have been the simple-minded one now. Bro, there’s no one else left in our family, just you and me. From today onward, I will take good care of you, I won’t let you suffer or be humiliated again. I want you to live the best life, eat the best food. I will find the best doctors, and I will definitely cure you!”

Qiangzi’s voice was very gentle, and the three men beside him wore faces of astonishment. Who could have imagined that this notorious lone bandit of the Northwest possessed such tender compassion!

After arranging the simple-minded man’s hair, Qiangzi embraced his shoulders and softly said, ”But, before I take you away from here, there are some things we have to deal with first. Bro, after we avenge our family, I’ll take you away immediately, how about that?”

The simple-minded man still giggled in his usual way, perhaps feeling an affinity for Qiangzi due to the thick bond of blood. Curiously, he touched Qiangzi’s face and broke into that nonsensical laughter.

Qiangzi also laughed, turning his head towards the man beside him, and instructed, ”You stay here and take good care of my brother. Big Eye, Tibetan Mastiff, the two of you come with me!”

”Yes!” The three responded in unison. The ones called Big Eye and Tibetan Mastiff got out of the van and followed Qiangzi into the vast night.

It was now half-past eleven, Jiuchuan County had fallen into darkness, with most people asleep. The three men, under the cover of night, walked straight into Chengguan Town and stopped outside a luxurious residence.

Qiangzi looked up at the wall ahead and whispered, ”Tibetan Mastiff.”

A lean man responded, dashed to the wall, grabbed the top with a jump, and vaulted over.

The Tibetan Mastiff scanned the area, took two items from his bag, and threw them into the yard. About five minutes later, he leaped into the yard, and soon the gate was opened.

Qiangzi and Big Eye entered the yard where two large, black dogs lay by the wall, seemingly poisoned by the Tibetan Mastiff.

After the Tibetan Mastiff shut the gate, Qiangzi went straight to the attic. Big Eye took out two iron wires, fiddled with the lock for a bit, and then opened the door.

Qiangzi walked in, and the room was pitch-dark. Big Eye found the switch beside him and turned on the light; the room instantly became as bright as day.

Sitting down by the sofa, Qiangzi waited while Big Eye and Tibetan Mastiff entered the adjoining room. It wasn’t long before angry shouts and the sounds of a tussle emerged from the room. Soon after, several doors flew open, and the sounds of opening doors and footsteps came from both upstairs and downstairs.

Qiangzi sat quietly on the sofa, as if none of this had anything to do with him. Shortly, people from upstairs and downstairs gathered around, and a man in his fifties saw Qiangzi and couldn’t help but be stunned, angrily demanding, ”Who are you? Breaking into our house in the dead of night, are you trying to steal something?”

”Dad, why bother talking nonsense with him? It’s obvious he’s a thief!” A man in his thirties with a brutal look on his face intervened, ”Don’t waste words with him. He dares to steal from the Lu Family; he’s clearly asking for death. Damn it, let me show you what happens when you steal from us!”

As he spoke, the man ran toward Qiangzi, attempting to grab his collar, but Qiangzi landed a heavy punch in the man’s gut. The man immediately clutched his stomach and slowly collapsed to the ground. Extending a finger towards Qiangzi, he bellowed in rage, ”You... you dare to hit me...”

By then, the activities in the adjacent rooms had ceased, and Big Eye and Tibetan Mastiff came out, each dragging a person with them. These two men were half-dressed and bloodied; they were thrown to the ground.

Seeing this, the Lu Family was furious, shouting, ”Damn it, he dares to beat members of the Lu Family, kill him!”

Several from the Lu Family impetuously moved to attack but were held back by the elderly man. He watched Qiangzi with cold eyes, sensing that the man’s composure indicated danger.

”Who on earth are you?” the elder asked sternly, ”Why are you causing trouble for our Lu Family? We have no feuds or grievances, so what exactly do you mean by breaking into our home in the middle of the night?”

Qiangzi slowly raised his head, taking a glance at the elder, and said, ”Lu Youjin, do you not remember me?”

Lu Youjin was taken aback and inspected Qiangzi closely, his brow furrowing as he asked, ”Who the hell are you? Have we met before?”

”Hahaha...” Qiangzi burst out laughing as he stood and slowly extended a foot to rest it on the man on the ground.

”Ah!” The man beneath his foot screamed in pain, desperately trying to pull Qiangzi’s leg off, but he couldn’t budge him in the slightest.

”Third Brother! Third Brother!” Several from the Lu Family shouted, no longer caring about Lu Youjin’s attempts to stop them, rushing over to save him.

Big Eye and Tibetan Mastiff intercepted them, and as they tried to force their way past, Qiangzi suddenly kicked one in the chest. The man was quite tall, but he was sent flying by Qiangzi’s kick, shocking everyone in the room. The few Lu Family members who had acted rashly now quieted down, hastily retreating to where they had started.

Lu Youjin’s face turned even colder as he demanded, ”Who are you really? What grudge does our Lu Family have with you, that you feel justified in beating our people?”

”Lu Youjin, you’ve grown old!” Qiangzi slowly bent over to look at the man under his foot and said, ”Lu Laosan, you’re still so young, you must remember me.”

Lu Laosan roared, ”The hell I remember which onion you are, let me go. Otherwise, don’t you even think of walking out of Chengguan Town alive!”

”Oh, it’s been so many years, and you still have such a big temper!” Qiangzi said with a light chuckle, ”Lu Laosan, you can’t have forgotten. When I was eight, we swam together in the river, and I found a jacket on the shore. You insisted I stole your jacket. Because of it, you brought a lot of people from the Lu Family to beat me up. In the end, my brother took a beating for me, his head was smashed by a rock, and he’s been a fool ever since. When my dad went to argue with you, your family’s men broke his legs, and he didn’t last long before he was infuriated to death.”

As Qiangzi spoke, his voice grew colder, and the complexions of the Lu Family members in the room turned just as frosty. They had begun to guess who this man in front of them was!

”You... you’re Li Qiang!” Lu Laosan’s eyes widened in horror as he looked at Qiangzi. Once he knew who he was facing, his bravado disappeared.

”Lu Laosan, you do remember me!” Li Qiang laughed heartily, ”And here I thought the Lu Family had bullied so many people over the years that you would have forgotten about me!”

The members of the Lu Family were petrified, and Lu Youjin, trembling, said to Li Qiang, ”You... weren’t you kidnapped by human traffickers?”

”That’s right, I was taken by human traffickers!” Li Qiang nodded, ”I don’t know whether to be grateful to that trafficker or to hate him. If not for him, I probably would never have had the chance to seek revenge. But because of him, I didn’t get to see my mom one last time!”

At that point, Li Qiang suddenly exerted more pressure with his foot, causing Lu Laosan to scream in agony.

”I originally just wanted to come back, get even with you for the past, and that would have been enough for me. After so many years, I finally had the time to come back, to take my mom and brother away to let them have some good days. But what I didn’t expect was being just two months too late, just two damn months and I missed my mom’s last moments!”

As Li Qiang spoke, his eyes turned blood red, and he stared venomously at Lu Youjin, saying each word with seething rage, ”Lu Youjin, it was your doing that led my mom to her death. How do you think you should settle this account?”