Urban Martial Saint

The girl was about to reach out to check the person’s breathing on the ground when she was abruptly pulled away by an old woman.

”What are you doing?” the old woman yelled without letting go, dragging the girl and shouting, ”Are you planning to stab him eight more times? You’ve already hit and killed him, and now you want to deny it? Oh heavens, I might as well be dead. You might as well run me over too!”

Seeing the situation, Old Wang Ba couldn’t help but laugh and said, ”Heh heh, looks like this young lady is about to be scammed!”

Listening to Old Wang Ba’s words, Ye Qing frowned slightly and took a closer look. Although the old woman was yelling ferociously, there were hardly any tears in her eyes; she was just wailing dryly. Looking at the person on the ground, his head was covered in blood, but since he had fallen, the bloodstains hadn’t spread at all. In other words, he hadn’t bled any more since then. Had there truly been a major injury, the blood would not have stopped, and the ground would have been covered in a large pool of it by now.

Observing the people making a scene around them, who appeared indignant, it was clear that most were actually instigating trouble. Putting all this together, Ye Qing immediately concluded that this wasn’t a traffic accident at all but a deliberate scam set up by these people!

Seeing the girl surrounded by several people, with a few men purposely rubbing against the girl, clearly taking advantage, Ye Qing’s brows knitted together. How bold these people were, pulling off such a scam at a highway exit and so blatantly at that. Had the public security in Xishan City deteriorated to such an extent?

Ye Qing opened the car door and stepped out. Old Wang Ba saw him and quickly said, ”What are you doing? Don’t meddle in others’ business!”

Ye Qing ignored him and walked straight to the group surrounding the girl, looked at the person on the ground and then at the girl, and said, ”I don’t think it’s a big deal. You should drive off first!”

”What did you say?”

”Who the hell are you to speak here?”

”The person has been hit and killed, and you say it’s not a big deal!”

”If she leaves, are you going to take responsibility?”

People around immediately began shouting with righteous indignation, and they were not at all polite towards Ye Qing. Especially a few of them, rubbing their palms and glancing at Ye Qing, seemed ready to come up and give him a beating.

Ye Qing frowned slightly and said, ”Is it not shameful for so many of you to be bullying a girl?”

”What do you mean by that? What do you mean by saying so many people are bullying a girl!” A man immediately got upset and, grabbing Ye Qing’s clothes, angrily said, ”I warn you, you better explain yourself clearly. If you can’t explain, don’t blame me for not being polite!”

Ye Qing’s frown deepened as he coldly glanced at the man and said in a stern voice, ”You should know better than me what exactly is going on. There’s no need to escalate the situation. If the police get involved, it won’t be good for any of you!”

Ye Qing assumed these people were scam artists and would be afraid of the police. To his surprise, after he spoke those words, the people immediately burst into laughter.

”I don’t know what you’re talking about, but since you’ve brought it up, let’s call the police!” The man who had spoken earlier glanced at the girl and said, ”Little lady, it was this guy who suggested calling the police. When the police arrive, don’t blame us for how they handle it. Blame him for poking his nose into other people’s business!”

The girl looked flustered, glanced at Ye Qing, but didn’t say anything to stop it.

That man arrogantly made the call to the police with a loud voice. Soon, a police car slowly approached, and three police officers got out. The leading officer immediately started shouting as he got out, ”What happened here? Wow, how could it be such a severe hit? Is he dead?”

Upon hearing the police officer’s words, the old woman started crying and wailing again, ”Oh, my husband, just like that you’re gone. I might as well be gone with you, I don’t want to live anymore!”

The old woman then pretended to seek death, banging her head against the front of the girl’s car. The girl, startled, hurriedly came forward to stop her.

”What happened?” the police officer asked with a frown.

With a trembling voice, the girl said, ”Officer, I really don’t know what happened. I hit the brakes, and his tricycle just ran into me, it’s not... it’s not my fault...”

”You’re lying!” the man next to her immediately said, ”I saw it clearly, it was you driving too fast, knocking over his tricycle. Officer, think about it, how slow is a tricycle? How could it possibly hit that hard!”

”Right, I also saw it, it was her driving that hit the person!” Another person took the opportunity to point at Ye Qing and said, ”And this guy, he’s in cahoots with that girl. Not only did he not help, he even tried to get the girl to run away. We tried to stop her, and he wanted to beat us up!”

Ye Qing, standing aside, was suddenly dumbfounded. How shameless could these people get, lying without even a second thought? He hadn’t lifted a finger; when had he attempted to beat them up?

The police officer frowned, gave Ye Qing a cold look, then turned to the girl and asked in a deep voice, ”Is this the person you knocked over?”

The girl quickly said, ”Officer, I braked, I...”

The officer glared and said, ”I’m asking you whether it was or wasn’t you, what’s all this nonsense!”

The girl hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to answer the question.

”No!” Ye Qing spoke up in her defense.

”Fuck, with so many people watching, do you still want to blatantly lie?”

”It was her who knocked him over, officer, this man and that woman are in cahoots, don’t believe him!”

Several people nearby were shouting loudly, and the policeman immediately furrowed his brow, looking at Ye Qing with cold eyes, he said sternly, ”With so many witnesses, you still want to deny it?”

”I don’t intend to deny it, first, this has nothing to do with me, I’m just a passerby standing up for what’s right. Second...” Ye Qing glanced at the policeman and said in a deep voice, ”I think the way you handle things is also irregular. These traffic accidents should be dealt with by the traffic police. At most, you should control the perpetrator, but you have no right to do anything else. You three have been here for such a long time, yet you haven’t even done the most basic check on the victims, just pursuing responsibility here, isn’t this a bit incorrect?”

The policeman’s face turned cold, and he said in a deep voice, ”Are you teaching me how to do my job now?”

Ye Qing replied coldly, ”I’m just pointing out that you’re not following protocol, just sticking to the facts.”

The policeman stared at Ye Qing for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, ”You’ve got guts. You two, why aren’t you checking on the injured party yet?”

The remaining two policemen immediately went to check, and one of them turned his head and said, ”Captain, the person is just injured, not dead!”

”Not dead?” The old woman was stunned, then burst into tears again, crying, ”What’s the difference between not being dead and being dead? It’ll cost so much money to take him to the hospital. Our family is so poor we can’t even afford food, where do we get the money for his treatment? Old man, I might as well die with you!”

The captain furrowed his brow and, looking at Ye Qing and the girl, said, ”You two are lucky the person isn’t dead, but the responsibility for the accident lies with you. If the court were to rule, you’d both be sentenced to at least a few years. However, that won’t benefit them much either, since human life is at stake. I can talk to her on your behalf. If you’re willing to pay some money, I can let you settle this privately!”

The girl was obviously delighted, but Ye Qing frowned. The policeman hadn’t even asked what had happened before assuming they were responsible. Moreover, these people were clearly scamming, and now the policeman was talking about settling privately – he clearly had an issue too.

Ye Qing asked, ”Comrade, a major accident like this can be settled privately?”

The captain said very confidently, ”If I say it can, then it can. Don’t worry, as long as the negotiation is successful, no one will trouble you!”

It seemed that the captain was also very keen for Ye Qing to settle this privately. Ye Qing had never seen someone so eager to help, and as the saying goes, there’s something fishy when things are abnormal. Ye Qing’s suspicions were now fully confirmed.

”I think we shouldn’t settle this privately!” Ye Qing shook his head and said, ”Call the traffic police and let the transportation department determine the results of the accident and the responsibility before we discuss anything else!”

”What?” The captain and the girl both looked at Ye Qing. Being able to settle privately was the best possible outcome – why was Ye Qing insisting on complicating matters?

Ye Qing gave the girl a meaningful look, and seeing the look of assurance on his face, she stopped talking. For some reason, even though she didn’t know Ye Qing, she couldn’t help but trust him instinctively.

”What do you mean?” the captain asked in surprise.

”Of course, I don’t want to settle privately!” Ye Qing smiled and said, ”Report this accident and we’re willing to accept the court’s decision.”

”You... are you crazy?” the captain widened his eyes and said, ”The responsibility is entirely yours, and once a judgement is made, your driver will be sentenced for several years at least. And you’ll still have to pay the medical fees.”

Ye Qing looked at the captain with a meaningful expression and said, ”Comrade, it seems you really want us to settle this privately, don’t you?”

”I...” The captain’s face turned awkward, and he turned his head and said sternly, ”I’m considering both parties here. With such a serious incident, a trial is bad for everyone. They won’t get much compensation, and someone from your side will end up in jail. Instead of that, it’s better if you pay more and settle this privately, isn’t that good?”

Ye Qing said, ”Is it really better for them, or for you?”

The captain immediately furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, ”What do you mean by that? Are you implying you suspect the police too?”

”Hmph!” Ye Qing snorted coldly and said, ”You know exactly what’s going on. I think we shouldn’t speak too plainly. Otherwise, if things escalate, it won’t look good for anyone, don’t you think?”

The captain’s face changed dramatically, and he glared at Ye Qing angrily, saying, ”You... you dare talk to me like that, believe it or not, I can have you arrested!”

As the captain started moving towards Ye Qing, the girl walked over and stood in front of Ye Qing.

”Captain, good day,” the girl said politely, nodding at him, ”It’s just a traffic accident, why bother getting angry? Let’s handle this publicly. However, can I make a phone call first? I’m a reporter from Dongzhou Television Station, and there’s a meeting I need to attend. I have to call and ask for leave.”

”Ah? You’re a reporter?” The captain’s eyes immediately widened, and the corner of his mouth started twitching.