Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing fumbled carefully in the dark to turn on the light, and as soon as he saw the scene inside the main hall, his face changed drastically.

”Uncle Tie! Senior Brother Gao!” Ye Qing cried out in shock and rushed forward. The two dark figures lying on the living room floor were none other than Tie Yongwen and Gao Shusen.

Both were lying in pools of blood, their chests a bloody red, pierced by gunshots. Touching the bloodstains on the ground, their bodies still held a hint of warmth, which meant that they had died not long ago.

At this moment, Ye Qing couldn’t care less about finding out who the murderer was. Looking at the bodies of Tie Yongwen and Gao Shusen, grief surged from his heart. Having been in Shenchuan City for so long, the person he respected and admired the most was Tie Yongwen. It was this elderly predecessor who had taken the most care of him, always thinking of him and helping him so much, always believing in him unconditionally no matter the circumstances. And now, this elderly predecessor lay dead before him, and Ye Qing finally couldn’t hold back his tears, collapsing in front of Tie Yongwen’s body, mouth agape but unable to make a sound.

After what felt like an eternity, there suddenly came a burst of footsteps at the door, followed by a group of people entering the main hall.

”Ye...” One of them started to speak but suddenly let out a sharp scream, ”What... what happened? What’s going on?”

Ye Qing turned his head to look, and saw a group of people walking through the door, led by the tall Xiang Yunpeng. Following him were a bunch of fellow disciples from the Xingyi School, with Ding Shaoyan also among them.

Xiang Yunpeng, upon seeing Tie Yongwen and Gao Shusen lying in the blood on this side, had his expression change drastically and ran over quickly, collapsing to the ground next to the two men and frantically asking, ”What happened? What happened? What’s going on? Master, Master, Senior Brother, Senior Brother, wake up, wake up!”

The others hurried in as well, and upon seeing the scene, every one of them was in utter panic, unable to imagine such a situation. Once they confirmed that Tie Yongwen was indeed dead, a wave of mourning enveloped the room as everyone began to weep.

Ye Qing knelt beside the two bodies, now having forgotten about seeking revenge on Ding Shaoyan, with the successive blows leaving him feeling utterly dispirited. Looking at the two corpses, his heart contracted with pain.

After everyone had cried for a while, Xiang Yunpeng suddenly turned to Ye Qing and asked urgently, ”Ye Qing, what exactly happened? How could Master and Senior Brother die here?”

Biting his lip, Ye Qing spoke in a low voice, ”I don’t know...”

”Weren’t you here? How do you not know?” Xiang Yunpeng pressed urgently.

”By the time I came in, it was already like this; I genuinely don’t know what happened,” Ye Qing said, his voice trembling as he looked at the two bodies, ”I also don’t know who killed Uncle Tie and Senior Brother Gao!”

This revelation caused everyone to cry even harder, and Ding Shaoyan stood dumbfounded at the side, seemingly having forgotten to flee. After a while, he suddenly let out a scream, ”Then... that over there, isn’t that the murder weapon?”

Following where Ding Shaoyan was pointing, everyone saw that not far from the two bodies was a handgun. Xiang Yunpeng raced over to grab the handgun and, after looking at the wounds on Tie Yongwen and Gao Shusen, he roared, ”Master and Senior Brother died from gunshots, this gun must be the murder weapon, this gun must be the murder weapon!”

”Whose gun is this?”

”Never mind that, hurry up and call the police, notify the Ding Family!”

There was a commotion among the crowd, some took out their mobile phones to call the police, while others started to contact the Ding Family. Ye Qing, however, stared blankly at the gun in Xiang Yunpeng’s hand, the more he looked at it, the more he felt something was wrong. After a moment of silence, he suddenly stood up and ran outside.

”What are you doing?” Xiang Yunpeng asked, puzzled.

Without a word, Ye Qing ran out. Ding Shaoyan watched Ye Qing’s retreating figure with resentment in his eyes and said in a deep voice, ”Do you think, could it be Ye who killed Grandpa Tie and Elder Gao?”

Everyone was stunned, and Xiang Yunpeng frowned, ”That’s impossible. Master and Senior Brother have been so good to Ye Qing. He’s a man of clear-cut grievances; how could he commit such an ungrateful act!”

People nodded in agreement. Although many didn’t have a favorable opinion of Ye Qing, Tie Yongwen and Gao Shusen had been truly good toward Ye Qing, and no one suspected him.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing ran out of the courtyard and headed straight to his car. He searched frantically but could not find the gun he had left in the car.

Thinking back to the appearance of the gun that Xiang Yunpeng had been holding, Ye Qing’s anxiety heightened. That gun looked exactly like the one he had taken from Ding Changsheng, but how could it have ended up there?

After a moment’s thought, Ye Qing’s brow furrowed tightly; he suddenly realized that he had fallen into a trap.

Just then, Ye Qing’s phone rang abruptly. Upon answering the call, Black Bear’s anxious voice came through immediately, ”Captain, something terrible has happened, we are being surrounded!”

”How did this happen?” Ye Qing exclaimed in shock, urgently asking, ”What exactly happened?”

Black Bear said, ”We went to catch Old Bai, but ended up in a conflict with the people around him. A couple tried to stop us and they got injured in the process. We had actually caught Old Bai and were about to take him away when, to our surprise, Beggar King went crazy and sent over five hundred people to surround us. Now we’re trapped in the motel and it’s surrounded by Beggar King’s people. We’re guarding the entrance, but Yue Peng and a few others are injured and probably can’t hold out much longer!”

Ye Qing’s face turned frosty. He had not expected Beggar King to have such strength in Tianhui City. To dispatch five hundred people in one go was akin to the strength of a mid-sized gang. Judging by Black Bear’s report, if Beggar King’s men were to break through, wouldn’t Black Bear and his team be doomed?

After a few seconds of silence, Ye Qing clenched his teeth and said in a deep voice, ”Call the police!”

”Call the police?” Black Bear sounded surprised and replied, ”Captain, if we call the police, I’m afraid we won’t be able to escape either!”

”Being caught by the police, at worst you’ll be jailed for a few years. But if Beggar King’s men rush in, you’ll be dead for sure!” Ye Qing said sternly. ”Hurry and call the police, I’ll think of a way to rescue you!”

”Okay.” Black Bear responded and hurried to make the call.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing was holding the phone, stunned for a moment. The sequence of events that had unfolded today were beyond his expectations and had come too suddenly. Moreover, each incident was extremely disadvantageous to him. From the orphanage explosion, every event had been a massive blow to him. Now, Ye Qing felt as if he were trapped in a colossal cage that was shrinking rapidly, leaving him no room to struggle or to find a gap to break free.

Standing beside the car in silence for a while, Ye Qing picked up his mobile phone and dialed Huangfu Ziyu’s number.

The phone rang three times before a lazy and seductive voice answered from the other end, ”What, missing me already?”

”Miss Huangfu, I need your help with two things!” Ye Qing said with gravity.

Huangfu Ziyu giggled, ”Asking for my help comes with a price, young man. Are you sure you want me to lend a hand?”

”What price!” Ye Qing asked seriously.

”The specific price will depend on how troublesome the task you ask me to do is. First, tell me what you need, and then I’ll see how much it’s going to cost you!” Huangfu Ziyu paused and chuckled, ”Ye Qing, don’t say I didn’t warn you. If this matter is big, the price will be high. You might not be able to repay even if you offered yourself!”

Ye Qing didn’t have time for such talk and quickly relayed the situation on his end. After listening to Ye Qing, Huangfu Ziyu also fell silent for a while and asked for some details. The news of Tie Yongwen’s death was something she confirmed three times to ensure its truth, even she struggled to believe that it had really happened.

Finally, after clarifying the situation, Huangfu Ziyu’s voice turned cold, ”What do you want me to do?”

Ye Qing asked, ”Firstly, my brothers are in trouble in Tianhui City, can you help me out? I’ve already told them to call the police, can you help get them released?”

”You just said that Black Bear injured a couple in Tianhui City?” Huangfu Ziyu paused for a moment before continuing, ”Do you know who that couple is?”

”I don’t,” Ye Qing replied.

Huangfu Ziyu explained, ”The man is named Zhou Guangping; his father, Zhou Changwu, is the Deputy Secretary of Tianhui City’s Political and Legal Affairs Committee. His uncle, Zhou Chang’an, is the Deputy Director of the Dong Province Police Department. The woman is Beggar King’s own sister. Beggar King dares to act so recklessly because he relies on these connections. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Ye Qing frowned. He had thought that calling the police would save his brothers, but he hadn’t realized the complexity of the relationships involved. No wonder Beggar King sent so many people to hunt down Black Bear and the team; so Zhou Guangping had such an identity.

”Is there really no way to handle this?” Ye Qing asked somberly.

Huangfu Ziyu replied, ”I can utilize some contacts to ensure the police pick up your brothers first, so they won’t have to die tonight. But, I can only keep them safe for a month. If you can’t get your friends out of detention within that time, there’s nothing more I can do to help them!”

Ye Qing hadn’t expected Zhou Guangping’s father and uncle to have such influence, yet Huangfu Ziyu could still ensure a month of safety for Black Bear and his group. Indeed, the rumors were true; Huangfu Ziyu’s influence in Eastern Province was frighteningly vast.

”Then please, keep them safe for a month, I will definitely find a way to get them out!” Ye Qing responded. The most pressing matter was to preserve their lives; everything else could be dealt with slowly later.

”Alright!” Huangfu Ziyu said, ”But, this favor will come at a cost!”

”What cost?” Ye Qing asked with solemnity.

”Hehe...” Huangfu Ziyu chuckled lightly and said, ”I can’t think of a price right now, but you can owe me one. When I figure it out, I’ll come to collect!”