Urban Martial Saint

The sky was gradually darkening as three vehicles slowly entered Xi Hang, with one particularly large luxury business van standing out. The massive body of the vehicle made it tower above the rest on the street.

Seated in the business van was Huangfu Ziyu, cradling the Cold Moon Blade in her arms, her beautiful eyes staring blankly at the streets of Xi Hang, lost in her thoughts.

”Miss, should we find a place to rest first?” asked Tianfu quietly from the front seat.

”No need,” Huangfu Ziyu shook her head immediately, sighed softly while looking out of the window, and whispered, ”Let’s go home.”

Tianfu spoke softly, ”Miss, that place... it has changed...”

”I know!” Huangfu Ziyu glanced at him and said, ”Even if it has changed, it’s still my home.”

Tianfu didn’t say anything more, only instructing the driver to continue onward.

The three cars eventually stopped outside a large commercial center in the North District of Xi Hang. Tianfu let out a sigh as he looked at the commercial center, turned to Huangfu Ziyu, and said quietly, ”Miss, we’re here.”

Huangfu Ziyu did not respond, just quietly watched the commercial center outside, her thoughts inscrutable. Tianfu, seeing her like this, didn’t disrupt her silence and just quietly sat beside her.

After a long time, Huangfu Ziyu finally sighed gently and said, ”I remember, when I was a mischievous child, I used to love running around in that yard. My mother, worried that I might fall, would always follow behind me. My father liked to warm a pot of wine, sit in the pavilion, and watch my mother and me with affection, often bursting into hearty laughter. My older brother would be practicing his boxing nearby, and if he didn’t perform well, our father would scold him. But, father never scolded him. I still remember him always telling my brother to master martial arts so that he could protect me one day, and that’s why I didn’t need to learn boxing. However, everything was gone after the big fire twenty years ago. My father, my mother, my older brother, everyone in the family, everything was gone!”

Tianfu looked at Huangfu Ziyu with an expression of indescribable sorrow as the events of twenty years ago replayed in his mind. He sighed softly and whispered, ”Miss, your lord father and older brother in heaven will surely bless you to avenge them and restore the Huangfu Household!”

Looking at the commercial center outside, Huangfu Ziyu’s eyes gradually turned frosty as she said word by word, ”The Huangfu Household will one day rise again on this land. Shen Family, you dared to sell the Huangfu Household’s property, I will make you pay tenfold!”

Tianfu also clenched his teeth and said angrily, ”The Shen Family has gone too far. Although it was the Southern Fist King who saved you, these properties were ultimately ours. If they wanted to sell, they should have at least notified us. Without a word, they sold all our properties and even built this commercial center on the site of our former home, blatantly trampling on the dignity of the Huangfu Household. Miss, this time, no matter what, we must topple the Shen Family and take back what belongs to the Huangfu Household!”

Huangfu Ziyu slowly nodded, raised the Cold Moon Blade in her hand, and said in a cold voice, ”I am ready for this battle!”

Tianfu looked at the Cold Moon Blade in Huangfu Ziyu’s hands. Huangfu Ziyu was truly a born genius; it had taken her only two days to make the Cold Moon Blade recognize her. Now, Huangfu Ziyu with the Cold Moon Blade was like a tiger with wings added, more than capable of challenging the Sha Men of the Shen Family and the people from the Western Province!

Just as Huangfu Ziyu and her group were about to leave, her eyes inadvertently caught sight of a person standing in the alley across from the commercial center, observing the scene. However, when Huangfu Ziyu looked over, the person had just turned to leave. She only saw his back, which felt somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t quite remember who the person was in a short time.

”Miss, what’s wrong?” Tianfu, seeing Huangfu Ziyu like this, couldn’t help but ask curiously.

”It’s nothing,” Huangfu Ziyu waved her hand and muttered to herself, a bit perplexed, ”Maybe I saw wrong.”

At 9:30 in the evening, Ye Qing took advantage of the night and arrived outside the Shen Family Manor. Everything at the Shen Family seemed the same as before. It appeared that the Sha Men people hadn’t come yet, and the chaotic battle had not yet erupted.

Just as Ye Qing was preparing to go around to the back and climb over the wall into the Shen Family Manor, suddenly five cars came driving down the road leading to the manor.

Ye Qing frowned slightly, wondering if it was such a coincidence that the Sha Men people were coming now.

He hid himself in the small woods and let the five cars pass, wanting to observe the situation first.

The five cars arrived at the entrance of the Shen Family Manor, and the people of the Shen Family Manor did not obstruct them; instead, they were let right through. This surprised Ye Qing; if these were indeed people from Sha Men, should it not have been this easy to enter? Who exactly were the people in these cars?

As Ye Qing was pondering, the cars stopped inside the Shen Family Manor. The car doors opened, and about a dozen people came out, among whom there was an old woman with pure white hair, leaning on a Dragon Head Cane, exuding a powerful aura.

The old lady certainly looked advanced in years, but her full head of white hair was neatly combed. Leaning on a dragon head cane, she wasn’t very tall, but amidst the crowd, her presence towered over everyone else. Her expression was stern, with an authority that did not require anger to enforce. Everyone around her, as well as those exiting the Shen Family Manor, stood before her with the utmost respect and dared not be careless.

Even though Ye Qing had not met her in person, he was certain, without a doubt, that this old lady must be the long-reputed Old Madame Shen of the Shen Family. Only Old Madame Shen could possess such a formidable aura, he thought!

When Ye Qing arrived yesterday, Old Madame Shen was not at Shen Family Manor, likely out seeking help. At the time, the manor was under Shen San’s control. Unexpectedly, by tonight, Old Madame Shen had returned. It seemed she had made it back just in time to prepare for the assault by Sha Men.

After Old Madame Shen and the others entered the inner chambers, the Shen Family Manor once again settled into quiet. Ye Qing waited in the small grove for a little while to ensure that the manor had calmed down, then he silently made his way around and climbed over a hedge wall from the outside.

Ye Qing had scoped out the exterior of Shen Family Manor during the day. While the interior wasn’t entirely clear to him, he had a good understanding of the outside. After climbing into the manor, he took advantage of the night and ran to a small flower bed nearby to hide. After waiting for about three minutes, two Shen Family guards on patrol walked by, and Ye Qing, hidden in the flower bed, could overhear their conversation.

”The Old Madam didn’t bring back much help this time.”

”Yeah, only seven or eight people came, and none of them were particularly famous. Alas, our Shen Family’s influence isn’t what it used to be!”

”Don’t talk nonsense. If someone from the family hears this, we’ll be in big trouble!”

”Who could hear us? Everyone is too busy dealing with Sha Men’s surprise attack tonight to care about us.”

As the two guards chatted and passed by the flower bed where Ye Qing was hiding, he listened carefully to the surroundings, ensuring no one else was there. He picked up a small stone and tossed it at a nearby ornamental tree.

With a slight snap, the noise was faint but caught the attention of the two men. They quickly turned around, and one of them called out in a deep voice, ”Who’s there?”

Ye Qing remained silent in his hiding spot in the flower bed, gently nudging a small bush next to him, causing it to shake subtly as if something were scurrying through it.

This startled the guards even more. But seeing nothing, they didn’t raise an alarm. Instead, they cautiously approached to investigate the shaking bush.

Ye Qing timed his move with their footsteps and proximity. Just as they nearly reached the flower bed, he suddenly leaped out. The guards hadn’t a moment to react before Ye Qing tackled them to the ground. He struck one in the temple with his fist, knocking him out cold instantly. The other tried to shout, but Ye Qing quickly covered his mouth and pinned him to the ground, delivering a punch to his stomach that nearly made him vomit.

Letting go, the guard’s mouth hung open, but no sound came out. The punch to his stomach made even breathing difficult; his face turned a deep flush of red as he looked at Ye Qing with a mix of shock and fear.

As a guard of Shen Family Manor, of course, he recognized Ye Qing. After all, Ye Qing had been strung up in the Eight Trigrams Array all of yesterday, and by now, virtually all the manor’s guards had seen him and knew who he was.

Placing the Seven-Star Ancient Sword against the guard’s neck, Ye Qing said in a grave tone, ”Don’t yell, or I’ll kill you first!”

The guard immediately clammed up. The chilling sensation and sharpness of the Seven-Star Ancient Sword raised goosebumps on his skin and made him tremble uncontrollably in fear.

Ye Qing dragged the unconscious guard into the flower bed, took off his coat, and put it on himself, dressing up as a guard. He then tied the man up securely with rope, ensuring that, even if he woke up, he could make no sound. Only then did he feel at ease enough to leave.

Stuffing the Seven-Star Ancient Sword into his clothes and pressing its tip into the back of the awake guard, Ye Qing commanded, ”Take me to Shen Qingyi!”

”We... we have fixed patrol routes. If we just go there, it will arouse suspicion...” the guard whispered hesitantly, ”and if someone comes to ask, you’ll be exposed...”

With a stern voice Ye Qing replied, ”If anyone asks, just say that Old Madame Shen sent you to find Shen Qingyi. Don’t say anything else!”

Scratching his head, the guard ultimately dared not disobey Ye Qing’s order and reluctantly led the way to Shen Qingyi’s quarters.