Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing hid outside the door, listening to the conversation between the two, and couldn’t help but be astonished. The girl’s manner of speaking didn’t seem simple-minded but rather as if she had no understanding of worldly affairs at all. She seemed not to know what kidnapping really meant and appeared to have very little experience interacting with others; even her speech sounded naive and laughable.

But each word she spoke was truly what was on her mind, without any guard or deception toward the man. This made it clear that the girl’s thoughts were innocent, like a blank sheet of paper, untainted by the complexities of society.

”Stop talking, just sit here. I don’t want to harm you, don’t make things difficult for me!” the man said in a deep voice.

”Why would you be in difficulty?” Shen Qingyi still didn’t understand anything, for she truly didn’t grasp what kidnapping meant.

The man ignored her, stood up, and walked to the table to pick up a wooden box.

Shen Qingyi stood up and said, ”Can you send me back? I’ve been out for such a long time, and my brothers are all waiting for me. If they don’t see me soon, they will definitely be worried.”

The man said in a deep voice, ”I haven’t gotten what I want; you’re not going anywhere!”

”Oh,” Shen Qingyi thought for a bit and said, ”Then can you call my brothers and tell them not to worry about me?”

The man was on the verge of breaking down again. Kidnapping such an innocent girl made threats useless. And he did not want to hurt this helpless girl, so he had no idea what to do with her at the moment.

”Stop talking!” The man clenched his teeth, picked up the wooden box, walked to the window, and suddenly knocked on it, saying, ”Come out, you’ve been listening here for quite a while.”

Ye Qing, who was standing by the window, heard this and knew the man must have discovered him a long time ago.

Ye Qing stood up straight and nodded at the man, saying, ”Friend, we meet again!”

The man was somewhat surprised to see Ye Qing, but his expression quickly turned cold again.

”So it’s you!” The man looked at Ye Qing coldly, and said, ”What, you want to meddle in my affairs? Young man, you are a successor of the Southern Xingyi Quan Sect, and I just let you off last time. I advise you not to get involved with my affairs; otherwise, even if Tie Yongwen himself comes here, I will not show him any respect!”

Ye Qing frowned slightly. Knowing Tie Yongwen’s reputation in Shenchuan City, the man’s words revealed his arrogance. But on second thought, since he dared to kidnap the heiress of the Xihang Shen Family, what wouldn’t he dare to do? Considering this, rescuing Shen Qingyi from his hands was probably not going to be easy!

”Miss Shen was abducted on my turf. If I don’t look into this matter, how can I explain myself to the Shen Family?” Ye Qing looked at the man and continued, ”The Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena has just opened, and such an incident has occurred. If I don’t handle it well, it might affect the business. Moreover, with your strength, taking on a helpless girl will not look good when word gets out.”

The man’s expression turned icy as he pointed the wooden box at Ye Qing and said, ”Humph, after all that talk, you just want to get involved, right?”

Ye Qing bowed slightly, ”I merely wish to escort Miss Shen back home. Please be magnanimous and let Miss Shen go.”

”I’m not in the habit of being magnanimous,” the man said as he slowly walked to the doorway, looking at Ye Qing in the courtyard, ”but if you can beat me, not just taking her, but taking my head back is also fine by you!”

Seeing the wooden box in the man’s hand, Ye Qing was on alert. Having witnessed the man’s strength firsthand, he knew all too well that he couldn’t last many moves under him.

”What, are you scared?” The man looked at Ye Qing with a cold smirk and said, ”Young man, rest assured, I don’t need this knife to fight you.”

As he spoke, the man threw the wooden box aside and said, ”I’ll give you one more chance. If you don’t dare to fight me, get lost early, and don’t bother me anymore!”

Ye Qing fell silent for a bit, then with a bow said, ”In that case, I must offend!”

The man was a bit surprised; he had thought his words would have been enough to intimidate Ye Qing. But in the end, Ye Qing chose to fight.

”Are you sure you want to fight?” The man said solemnly, ”You’re a disciple of Tie Yongwen, and I don’t want to hurt you. But if you insist on interfering, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Ye Qing’s body slightly bent, his knees slightly flexed, he quietly watched the man, and said, ”If you can let Miss Shen go, then I will leave immediately and definitely won’t bother you anymore.”

”You sure have guts, thinking of saving someone else at this time!” The man sneered coldly and said, ”Since that’s the case, let’s see who’s better!”

With those words, the man charged straight at Ye Qing, his right hand forming a fist, hurling it towards Ye Qing’s chest.

The man’s punch seemed plain and unremarkable, even the speed wasn’t particularly impressive. However, that very ordinary punch left Ye Qing not knowing where to dodge. No matter where he tried to dodge, the man’s fist seemed to follow him, ready to change direction at any moment, cutting off his escape route.

Ye Qing was startled, he now understood why this man had been able to kill the Shen Family’s bodyguards and knock down Shen Baichuan in such a short time. His strength was truly terrifying, definitely not something Ye Qing could contend with at the moment.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, the man’s fist was already nearly at Ye Qing’s face. Ye Qing couldn’t dodge, so he bit the bullet, stepped forward, and braced his right shoulder against the man’s arm, trying to block the man’s punch. However, he knew it was futile, because all the man needed to do was lower his punch a bit more to hit Ye Qing’s shoulder!

Yet, when the man saw Ye Qing’s move, he was slightly startled and didn’t press his fist down. Instead, he allowed Ye Qing to block his arm.

Ye Qing himself didn’t expect that he could manage this. He was astonished, but his movements were very fast. He immediately swept his right elbow horizontally towards the man’s chest. This was the Elbow Collapse from Bajiquan, a move that uses the shoulder as a leverage to strike with the elbow, simple in motion yet powerfully brute. Since being taught by Third Master Li, the movements had been simplified, but the power had increased significantly, a standard Li Style Bajiquan.

”Huh?” The man uttered lightly, showing no signs of dodging, but instead raised his left hand, pressing down on Ye Qing’s elbow. Ye Qing’s fierce strike was as if it had hit a soft wall, unable to move forward at all and was completely stopped by the man.

The power of the elbow strike comes from a buildup and sudden release. Unless someone was much stronger than Ye Qing, it was unlikely for anyone to block it without being pushed back a few steps. And yet, the man stood his ground without budging, as if Ye Qing’s strength didn’t impact him at all, which surprised Ye Qing even more.

However, as surprised as he was, Ye Qing didn’t dare to slack off. He continuously executed Bajiquan techniques. He dared not use Xingyi Quan anymore, for the man’s strength was too great, and his recently learned Xingyi Quan was not very effective.

Seeing Ye Qing’s Bajiquan, the man’s face showed even more astonishment, as if he had encountered something unbelievable. He didn’t launch any more attacks but continuously dodged, occasionally pushing away Ye Qing’s fists and arms, showing no intention of counterattacking. It seemed as though he was observing Ye Qing’s techniques rather than actually fighting.

Ye Qing was already quite proficient in Bajiquan, and now that he fully unleashed it, he was fierce and unrestrained. Nevertheless, his strength was clearly inferior to that of the man, who easily diffused his attacks with a casual approach. If the man had intended to counterattack, Ye Qing probably would have been defeated several times by now.

After nearly ten minutes of fighting, Ye Qing had essentially completed a set of Bajiquan. The man’s expression turned to shock, and finally, he stretched out his hand, grabbed Ye Qing’s shoulder, and threw Ye Qing three meters away while also retreating a few steps himself, saying in a deep voice, ”Stop fighting!”

Ye Qing steadied himself and quietly watched the man. He could see that the man was holding back. This reminded him of Tie Yongwen’s instructions: to use Li Style Bajiquan against this man, which indeed proved effective. Could there be a story behind this?

The man stared at Ye Qing and said gravely, ”You are not Tie Yongwen’s disciple, so who exactly are you?”

Ye Qing clasped his hands together and said, ”I am Ye Qing, a disciple of Li Changqing, Third Master Li!”

”Third Master Li!?” The man exclaimed, obviously shocked by the title, his eyes widening. His whole demeanor seemed as if his soul had left his body, staring fixedly at Ye Qing, speechless and motionless.

”Do you also know Third Master Li?” Ye Qing asked, curious.

It took a while before the man came back to his senses. He quickly walked up to Ye Qing, grabbed his arm, and asked earnestly, ”Are you really Third Master Li’s disciple?”

”Could there be any doubt about that?” Ye Qing replied.

”Indeed, apart from Third Master Li’s disciple, who else in this world could perform the unique Li Style Bajiquan of the Third Master!” The man murmured to himself, his face showing excitement as he eagerly looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Then... where is Third Master Li now? How is he? Why hasn’t he appeared for the past twenty years?”

Ye Qing looked at the man, who appeared to be about thirty-five years old. Even if he had seen Third Master Li twenty years ago, he would have been just fifteen back then. What exactly was his relationship with Third Master Li? However, judging by his expression, he seemed to hold Third Master Li in high regard, somewhat similar to Old Wang Ba, what was going on? Could he be someone who had also received Third Master Li’s favor in the past?

”Third Master Li has passed away!” Ye Qing said somberly, ”He spent all these years hiding in my hometown. This Bajiquan I practice was taught by the Third Master there!”

”Third Master Li... has passed away?” The man’s color changed dramatically, and he asked tremblingly, ”How... How is that possible?”