Urban Martial Saint

Although Ye Qing had drawn the map and distributed a copy to each of his subordinates, he did not act that very night. Instead, he asked these subordinates to memorize this map thoroughly.

This situation made everyone even more astonished, including Old Wang Ba, who found it quite strange. Ye Qing had done so much preparation—it looked like he was seriously planning to launch a surprise attack on the Qingfeng Club. However, with such schemes, the essence lies in striking first to gain the upper hand. Since he had made this decision, he should have acted immediately to achieve the desired effect. But he had delayed for an entire night, which was completely inconsistent with the definition of a surprise attack.

”Ye Zi, as the saying goes, ’The longer the night, the more dreams will come.’ Since you’ve decided to launch a surprise attack on the Qingfeng Club, why didn’t you take action tonight?” Li Lianshan couldn’t help but ask Ye Qing, ”I bet that both the Tianqing Gang and the Fu Bang are now aware that we’re preparing to hit the Qingfeng Club. They will definitely make arrangements. If we had struck tonight, we could have caught them off guard. If we wait until tomorrow, the situation might change drastically. No one can guarantee that they haven’t planted spies in our ranks, and if this map falls into their hands, it will be even more troublesome for us. So, we should make the first move!”

Ye Qing shook his head and looked at his brothers outside, saying, ”Everyone has been too exhausted these past few days; it’s not the right time to make a move!”

”Damn, when is the right time to act, then?” Li Lianshan asked in surprise.

Ye Qing did not speak and slowly walked into the room. Watching Ye Qing’s retreating figure, Li Lianshan was utterly confused, not understanding what Ye Qing’s true intentions were. But without Ye Qing speaking up, he couldn’t act on his own. He could only arrange for his men to watch over each other and ensure that the map drawn by Ye Qing was not leaked.

In fact, such measures taken by Li Lianshan were futile. With hundreds and thousands of subordinates, how many could he truly supervise? Less than half an hour after Ye Qing had drawn it, both Shangguan Tian and Li Wenyuan had obtained the map.

Looking at the key locations marked on the map, Shangguan Tian’s face turned somewhat pale. These places were exactly where his defenses were the most tight. In other words, simply from circling the outside of the Qingfeng Club, Ye Qing had identified the crux of the matter, which made Shangguan Tian inwardly shocked at Ye Qing’s perceptiveness.

Li Wenyuan seemed to be examining the map, but he was actually quietly observing Shangguan Tian’s expression. From Shangguan Tian’s face, he too deduced that the positions marked by Ye Qing were indeed crucial. Amidst his shock, he silently memorized these locations.

For this old fox, there was no such thing as a permanent friend. Even though he was currently allied with Shangguan Tian, he was scheming all the time, devising plans to deal with Shangguan Tian as well. If he managed that, Shenchuan City would belong to him alone!

After committing all the marked positions on the map to memory, Li Wenyuan turned his gaze to Shangguan Tian and asked, ”Gang Leader Shangguan, is there any mistake in this map drawn by Ye Qing?”

Shangguan Tian frowned slightly and after a moment of silence, he slowly shook his head. He knew that at this point, it was inevitable that Li Wenyuan would become acquainted with the internal layout of Qingfeng Club. Instead of concealing it, it was better to acknowledge it openly and change the layout later.

”Ye Qing only circled the Qingfeng Club twice before drawing this map...” Li Wenyuan looked at Shangguan Tian and said solemnly, ”Gang Leader Shangguan, do you think that’s possible?”

Shangguan Tian glanced at Li Wenyuan and said gravely, ”What is Gang Leader Li trying to say?”

”Gang Leader Shangguan, I shouldn’t be saying this but...” Li Wenyuan paused, then continued somberly, ”If we have been able to plant people on Ye Qing’s side, perhaps there could be someone Ye Qing has planted beside both of us. Otherwise, how could he have gotten such an accurate map?”

Upon hearing these words, Shangguan Tian’s expression changed abruptly. He had been mainly shocked by the map before, actually believing that Ye Qing was that capable. Now, hearing Li Wenyuan’s words, doubts sprang up in his heart. It didn’t make sense for Ye Qing to know this much—could it really be that someone from his own side had betrayed him and informed Ye Qing of the exact locations?

”The layout of the Qingfeng Club is not known by many in the Tianqing Gang, only a few of my closest aides,” Shangguan Tian said with furrowed brows. ”Are you suggesting that someone beside me has betrayed me?”

Li Wenyuan replied, ”If the price is right, even the closest person might betray you. You should understand this principle.”

Shangguan Tian’s frown deepened, and after a long silence, he asked, ”Who does Gang Leader Li suspect the most?”

”I don’t know,” shrugged Li Wenyuan. ”You should know best who among your people is suspicious. However, that being said, there is no need to know who is the most suspicious right now. Our current goal is Ye Qing!”

”What do you mean?” Shangguan Tian looked at Li Wenyuan with surprise.

With a faint smile, Li Wenyuan said, ”Ye Qing has obtained the map of the Qingfeng Club, and he has accurately marked the most critical locations inside. Yet, he hasn’t directly attacked. What do you think he’s trying to do?”

Shangguan Tian pondered for a while and then said, ”Are you suggesting that Ye Qing is playing a game of luring the tiger away from the mountain?”

Li Wenyuan laughed and said, ”Isn’t it obvious? In his current state, he simply doesn’t have the capacity to directly confront us. If he really were to stealthily attack the Qingfeng Club, wouldn’t that be akin to courting death? Therefore, it’s highly likely that he’s playing a game of moving the tiger away from the mountain, attempting to lure our people out of Shenchuan City!”

Gang Leader Shangguan slowly nodded in agreement with Li Wenyuan’s words. However, considering that it was his own territory Ye Qing was now watching, he still felt somewhat uneasy.

”Regardless, I must send people to the Qingfeng Club,” Shangguan Tian said in a deep voice.

Li Wenyuan shrugged. Truthfully, ever since Ye Qing returned to Shenchuan City, Shangguan Tian had been somewhat panicking, with every move of Ye Qing leaving him scrambling for a response. In fact, Li Wenyuan felt the same way. However, since Ye Qing was currently focusing on the Tianqing Gang’s Qingfeng Club and not his place, he felt slightly more at ease. Otherwise, the one panicking now would be him!

In the end, Gang Leader Shangguan dispatched over one hundred people to rush to the Qingfeng Club. Including the people already there, there were now over two hundred people at the location. With so many people, even if Ye Qing really launched a surprise attack, they could hold out for some time, at least long enough for Shangguan Tian to send reinforcements.

After sending these people there, Gang Leader Shangguan finally felt a bit more settled. But after waiting the whole night without any incident occurring, he was greatly puzzled as to what Ye Qing was actually planning to do.

The next day, Ye Qing hurried to the Qingfeng Club to take another look around, seemingly confirming the specifics of the club’s circumstances. Afterwards, Ye Qing found Liu Yuan’s younger uncle and borrowed over a dozen sedans, also summoning more than twenty trucks. It looked as though he was preparing to make a big move!

This action of Ye Qing made Shangguan Tian vigilant once more, tensely watching Ye Qing and guarding against any possible surprises. However, Ye Qing merely gathered the vehicles without showing any intention to act, which bewildered Shangguan Tian even more about Ye Qing’s intentions.

Around eleven o’clock at night, Ye Qing suddenly called all his underlings to rise, ordering them to remove all communication devices and to monitor each other in pairs.

”Ye Zi, are we making a move tonight?” Li Lianshan also perked up, rushing out with his Mountain-splitter Knife in hand. His knife looked intimidating, but in truth, he couldn’t wield it effectively; it was more for show than practical use.

Ye Qing nodded and said solemnly, ”I’ve completely figured out the situation at the Qingfeng Club. They didn’t act at all last night, so the Tianqing Gang members must be somewhat tired now. Striking tonight is most ideal!”

”Really?” Li Lianshan was somewhat skeptical and said, ”One night’s time is enough to tire them out? Ye Zi, that doesn’t sound quite possible!”

”What’s not possible?” Ye Qing replied, ”Rest assured, if we strike tonight, we will absolutely catch them off guard!”

Li Lianshan, looking at the fully confident Ye Qing, also gritted his teeth and said, ”Alright, I’ll listen to you. Damn it, tonight I’m going to tear down that Qingfeng Club if it’s the last thing I do!”

Once everyone had checked each other, the communication devices were left behind, and they got into the vehicles in batches. Within less than half an hour, dozens of cars had driven out of the teahouse’s vicinity, racing towards the Qingfeng Club under cover of night.

Cui Yu stood at the entrance of the teahouse, watching as Ye Qing and his men disappeared into the vast night, and couldn’t help but shake his head.

”This kid is simply useless!” Ghost King Li Ruoyuan mockingly said, ”To think he’s a successor of Third Master Li? What a joke. I bet you that if even half of his men come back tonight, it would be a miracle!”

”Why do you always have to look down on people?” Lin Mengjie, not happy with his words, turned and glared at him, saying, ”I believe in Ye. They will all return safely!”

”Heh heh heh...” Li Ruoyuan scoffed at Lin Mengjie, ”Little girl, do you really think Ye Qing is some kind of god? Is your admiration for him helpful? Shangguan Tian has been entrenched in Shenchuan City for so many years; his foundation is incredibly deep. Ye Qing’s hastily assembled force is no match for him. Besides, there must be spies from Shangguan Tian around Ye Qing, who would definitely be informed of their move. By the time they get there, members of the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang might already be lying in ambush waiting for them. Forget about returning with half their force; complete annihilation is also a possibility!”

”You’re talking nonsense!” Lin Mengjie retorted angrily, ”Ye’s decisions will definitely not be wrong; they will surely return in triumph tonight!”

Li Ruoyuan coldly said, ”Pah, if they return in triumph, I’ll take my own head and let you kick it around like a ball!”

”Ghost King, that’s a bit tasteless!” Old Wang Ba, standing by the side, suddenly smirked and suggested, ”How about this? You two make a bet, and I’ll be the judge. How about that?”