Urban Martial Saint

Lin Peng hurriedly drove the vehicle back to the foot of the mountain, and Li Qiang even jumped directly from the car, running to the nearby grove to start searching.

”What are you looking for?” Lin Peng jumped down from the car and shouted.

”Herbs!” Li Qiang glanced at Ye Qing who was still closing his eyes inside the vehicle and urged, ”Hurry up, help me look.”

Lin Peng asked anxiously, ”Do you know which herb it is?”

”Isn’t it the same herb he just used?” Although Li Qiang said this, he still had no confidence. He knew that this kind of snake venom, if not treated with serum, could hardly be cured by herbs alone. Moreover, if the herb they had used earlier really could cure someone, why hadn’t Ye Qing used it to save his brother directly?

Lin Peng did not know what herb was needed either, so he could only go to the other side, shook Ye Qing, and anxiously asked, ”Ye Zi, Ye Zi, how are you doing? How are you doing?”

Li Qiang also looked at Ye Qing anxiously, fearing any danger to him.

Lin Peng shook him several times until Ye Qing gradually opened his eyes and took a long breath.

”I am fine!” Ye Qing stretched his limbs, the snake venom had been flushed from his body. However, since the venom had mixed with his blood when it entered his body, it made him somewhat weak now, and he estimated that it would take a day or two of rest to fully recover.

”You’re fine?” Lin Peng widened his eyes, examining Ye Qing, and said, ”Ye Zi, are you… are you really fine? Don’t joke about this, that’s a Siberian pit viper, a bite could be fatal. If it’s not working out, I can take you back to get the serum, there’s still time!”

”Ye…” Li Qiang looked at Ye Qing and called out, but he was unable to speak further.

”It’s okay, don’t worry.” Ye Qing got down from the vehicle and walked a few steps back and forth to prove to Lin Peng that he was indeed alright.

Lin Peng stared wide-eyed, the Siberian pit viper’s venom is extremely potent; a simpleton bitten by it had soon fallen into a coma. Ye Qing had been bitten earlier and had almost lost his strength in such a short time; now that he was back on his feet, could he really be alright? But how could he have managed this? Even a simpleton injected with serum hasn’t come around yet!

Ye Qing pointed at the simpleton inside the car, saying, ”Lin Peng, sit here for a while, help take care of him.”

”And you?” Lin Peng asked curiously.

Ye Qing turned to look at Li Qiang and said, ”I’m going to talk with him.”

Lin Peng glanced at Li Qiang with reluctance, really wanting to take Li Qiang back. But since Ye Qing had said so, he could only let it be.

Li Qiang remained silent, following Ye Qing for several dozen meters until they sat down in a pavilion at the foot of the mountain. At this moment, he was completely different from the crazed beast he had been earlier, and his attitude towards Ye Qing had greatly changed. Standing beside Ye Qing, he felt somewhat uneasy. It was the first time he felt genuine admiration for someone, admiring them from the bottom of his heart!

”Ye, I have nothing more to say,” Li Qiang gritted his teeth and said, ”I admit my guilt regarding the Lu Family matter. I’ll turn myself in now, or you could have your friend take me back. However you treat me, I am prepared to face it. I will take responsibility for what I’ve done!”

Ye Qing glanced at him and said, ”If you die, what will happen to him?”

Li Qiang was stunned; he knew that the ”he” Ye Qing was referring to was his brother. Indeed, what would happen to his brother if he were to die? If his brother were a normal person, even if he died, his brother could still live a normal life. However, his brother was mentally handicapped and completely unable to care for himself. If he were to die, how long could his brother survive in such a dire environment?

”When dealing with life, do not always resort to desperate measures or gamble with your life. Whether or not you have dependents, life is precious, and you must cherish it. As the saying goes, even ants cling to life, let alone humans,” Ye Qing looked at Li Qiang and continued, ”Regarding the Lu Family murder, legally speaking, you must take responsibility. However, from a moral standpoint, I don’t think you are at fault!”

Li Qiang was again taken aback, looking at Ye Qing in astonishment and said, ”Ye, you... you don’t think I’m at fault either?”

”Perhaps my moral perspective differs from others, but I believe that everything has its causes and effects. The outcome the Lu Family met with is the result of the evil they had done before, what we call retribution; it’s nobody else’s fault,” Ye Qing paused, looking at Li Qiang and added, ”However, not every murder you commit counts as retribution, nor is every murder you commit justified.”

Li Qiang sighed deeply and sat down at the edge of the pavilion, saying, ”Ye, you might not understand why I am so stubborn, why I am so ruthless when I strike. I was kidnapped and sold from the age of ten until now. During that time, I saw how those traffickers would drown sick children alive, how they drove women they had kidnapped mad through repeated sexual assault. That year, I was abducted from Pingnan Province to the Northeast. In a snowy field at minus ten degrees, I was only wearing a single sweater. Among the children abducted with me, two developed high fevers, which could have simply been treated with some medicine from a doctor. However, for fear of exposing their tracks, those traffickers killed those two children to silence them. I survived only because some women who were abducted with us huddled around the remaining children, warming them with their bodies.”

”These traffickers never considered that we could get sick, could freeze to death. They never regarded us as human. At night, they would take the girls away and assault them before us. It’s been over a decade, but I still remember the cries of those girls, one of the pretty ones who used to hold me every day and warm me with her body, allowing me to survive. Yet, she could not bear the assault and slit her wrists. The day she died, she held me tightly, but her body was already cold, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t warm her. The traffickers just threw her in the snowy woods, leaving her body for the wolves to drag away. From that time on, I first understood how cheap life could really be.”

As he said this, Li Qiang’s eyes were actually slightly red. He coughed lightly, concealing the choke in his voice, and said, ”In order not to be caught, we couldn’t take any vehicles, we could only trek through the snowy terrain. I remember there were seventeen children who went with me, but by the time we reached the village, only twelve remained; five had died along the way. Those girls, either they were defiled to a non-human extent, or they just endured the humiliation and were sold into the village. I witnessed those girls being handed over, the buyers would come directly with ropes and chains to tie them up and drag them away. Those chains, in the countryside, are used for tethering dogs!”

”Upon reaching the village, the traffickers scattered, taking us to nearby villages to sell. Two little boys were with me; I still remember, the trafficker who took us away was named Scar Three. Because, every night, that girl would be violated by Scar Three several times. And this Scar Three was also the most merciless among these traffickers. He led us for a day, and by nightfall, a child finally couldn’t stand it anymore, developed a high fever and collapsed. Scar Three, to avoid trouble, pressed his head into a snowdrift, intending to smother him to death. I watched as the boy was held down by Scar Three, his hands and feet desperately struggling, but he was completely unable to resist. Until gradually he stopped moving, until gradually he died, Scar Three’s expression never changed. Life, to him, was too cheap!”

”After smothering that child, Scar Three simply dragged his body deep into the forest and discarded it. And then, I realized, if Scar Three didn’t die, the next to die could very well be me. Even if I managed to be sold to a family, what would my life be like then? I was ten years old, I remembered my parents, I remembered my brother, I remembered my hometown, I couldn’t possibly spend my life there. So, at that moment, a bold idea entered my mind, I was going to kill Scar Three, I wanted to survive and leave that place!”

Ye Qing couldn’t help but glance at Li Qiang; a ten-year-old child having such thoughts, it seemed that what he had undergone truly had a profound impact on him.

”It wasn’t easy for a ten-year-old child to kill Scar Three. So, I discussed with another child, wanting to join forces with him to kill Scar Three. However, what I didn’t expect was that, after planning together, he actually betrayed me. Scar Three had just come back when he told Scar Three about my plan. From that time on, I began to understand that the person most likely to betray you is always the person by your side, always the person you think you can trust.”

”Scar Three flew into a rage as soon as he heard about my plan, and came to kill me right then. Seeing the situation was bad, I quickly turned and ran. But how could a child outrun Scar Three? In the woods, he caught up with me, grabbed my neck, and hauled me out, screaming that he was going to flay me alive. I was very scared, but while struggling, I managed to grab the dagger Scar Three always carried. At that moment, I had forgotten what I was supposed to do, I just wanted to survive, just wanted to live and get out of that place. Having grabbed the dagger, I blindly stabbed at Scar Three. I forgot how many times I stabbed him, but Scar Three’s entire chest had turned into a mess of flesh!”

Ye Qing looked at Li Qiang again, a ten-year-old child committing such an act was truly horrifying. But then, thinking about the people he encountered in Shenchuan City, he didn’t think what Li Qiang did was too excessive; it could only be said that Scar Three got what he deserved!

”What happened afterwards?” Ye Qing asked, ”Didn’t the other traffickers come after you? You were only ten years old, how did you manage to survive in that freezing, snowy wilderness?”