Urban Martial Saint

Just as Snake and his men were leaving for Li Lianshan’s grand hotel, a black sedan slowly pulled out from around the corner outside their courtyard. Four people were seated inside the car, three of whom were Mr. Wu and his two associates. Sitting beside him, with a gloomy expression, was Xu Cunxiao.

As they watched Snake and the others leave, a cold smile flickered across the faces of Mr. Wu and Xu Cunxiao, everything was within their control.

”These people are really easy to deceive. I just threw out a few words, and they rushed to find trouble with Ye Qing!” Mr. Wu sneered and said, ”They didn’t even think about it—how could such a remote piece of land be worth a billion? Besides, they’ve sold their land to Huangfu Ziyu already. Whether it was coerced or not, since they’ve signed the contract, they have no right to intervene anymore. Now they’re still looking for that piece of land, huh, these people are really blinded by money!”

”Human nature is greedy, some crave money, some lust, some food, some alcohol. In this world, as long as someone is human, they have flaws. If you can grasp their flaws, you can control them!” Xu Cunxiao sneered and said, ”The Snake Form Gate and those six Sects have virtually reached a point of complete decline today. These people have no real abilities and have been suppressed by the Southern Xingyi School in Shenchuan City, without opportunities to develop. They’ve become so destitute they’re now mingling with country bumpkins. As the saying goes, poverty breeds cunning plans. The Snake Form Gate used to be a major Sect, but look at them now, fallen so far that they’re no different from the street hoodlums. Now that a billion is in front of them, their eyes have turned red, and they wouldn’t think whether you are deceiving them or not.”

”That’s also true,” Mr. Wu nodded, pausing for a moment before saying, ”Third Brother, there’s still something I don’t understand. Since you wanted them to go against Ye Qing and Li Lianshan, why did you have me tell them earlier not to start conflicts with Ye Qing and Li Lianshan’s people? If they don’t start conflicts, wouldn’t our plan be impossible to execute?”

”You warned them not to start conflicts with Ye Qing, do you really think that means there won’t be any conflicts?” Xu Cunxiao smiled and said, ”This Snake, he is no easy contender. Several of his men were injured by Ye Qing and Li Lianshan, and he has been holding back his anger. Soon, that Li Lianshan, who is known for his volatile temper, will definitely not speak kindly. With Snake’s temperament, I guess they will come to blows after just a few words. The reason I had you tell them to avoid conflicts with Ye Qing was actually to confuse him, to make him think you truly cared about his well-being, not that you want to incite a feud between him and Ye Qing!”

”So that’s how it is,” Mr. Wu realized, unable to help but praise Xu Cunxiao, ”Third Brother, you really do think ahead. I hadn’t thought of that. It seems that tonight, the battle between the Snake Form Gate and Ye Qing and Li Lianshan is inevitable!”

”Even if they don’t fight, it doesn’t matter,” Xu Cunxiao smiled and said, ”I have already arranged for people. If they don’t end up fighting at Li Lianshan’s hotel, then my men will ambush them halfway there, and the blame will fall on Li Lianshan. Considering Snake’s character, he will definitely seek revenge, and the conflict will still erupt.”

”Third Brother, you really have thought of everything!” Mr. Wu exclaimed joyfully, ”In this way, the matter is truly foolproof!”

”Humph!” Xu Cunxiao’s face filled with a cold smile, ”How could my plan possibly have flaws? As long as Snake clashes with Ye Qing and Li Lianshan, the Snake Form Gate will inevitably be dragged into this affair. Although the Snake Form Gate has fallen, the strength of a few old fellows is still decent. Also, those six Sects nearby have some skilled masters who maintain good relationships with the old fellows of the Snake Form Gate. As soon as these few old fellows step in, those six Sects will certainly send people to help. Together, these seven Sects are more than enough to deal with Ye Qing and the people from Sha Men, leaving us free to deal with the Chen siblings!”

To set these seven Sects against Ye Qing and Sha Men was Xu Cunxiao’s real plan. Xu Cunxiao, sinister and unpredictable in his methods.

Meanwhile, Snake led his group, bustling mightily to Li Lianshan’s grand hotel. By this time, the first floor had just been tidied up. Seeing so many people arriving, a few quick-witted waiters immediately went upstairs to find Li Lianshan.

Li Lianshan and Ye Qing came down again, seeing among this crowd a few who had just made trouble before. Li Lianshan immediately cursed, ”Damn it, isn’t this over yet? Wasn’t one beating enough, now you want a second? Do you only stop when you’ve had enough?”

Several of Snake’s men had been injured, and he was already holding a belly full of anger. Hearing this, his anger flared even more. However, out of respect for Ye Qing and Li Lianshan’s reputation, he restrained his anger and asked, ”Excuse me, are Mr. Ye Qing and Li here?”

”I am Li Lianshan. What do you want with me?” Li Lianshan responded brusquely, his origins as a hoodlum leaving little space for manners.

Ye Qing stepped forward, smiling, ”I am Ye Qing, may I ask who you are?”

Snake said, ”I am Snake of the Snake Form Gate. The brothers nearby give me face by calling me Snake!”

”Oh, it’s Snake!” Ye Qing smiled and pointed to the sofa next to him, ”Snake came here, what’s up? Come, take a seat, let’s talk it over slowly.”

Seeing how polite Ye Qing was, Snake’s anger subsided a bit. He walked over with his brothers and sat down, and Li Lianshan, seeing Ye Qing being so courteous, felt it inappropriate to remain enraged and also took a seat.

”My brothers came over a while ago to discuss something with Li. Perhaps one of my brothers, clumsy with words, offended Li, so Li gave them a bit of an education,” Snake said, looking at Li Lianshan with a sardonic tone, ”These brothers of mine aren’t very polite in their ways; I’ve wanted to teach them a lesson myself for a long time. This time, Li did the job for me. Honestly, I should thank him for that!”

Li Lianshan snorted and disregarded Snake, turning his head away.

Snake’s expression changed again, thinking Li Lianshan was not giving him enough respect. Fortunately, Ye Qing chuckled and smoothed things over, ”It was just a small misunderstanding earlier. Some of our friends here got hurt too, so I hope Snake won’t mind!”

Snake waved his hand, ”These are trivial matters, not worth bothering about. Brother, I came here mainly because there’s something I want to discuss with Mr. Ye and Li!”

”Please speak, Snake!” Ye Qing replied with a smile.

”It’s a simple matter,” Snake said. ”I think Li must know about it too. The land you are currently building the hotel on was actually our Snake Form Gate’s land in the past. However, our predecessors in the Snake Form Gate were bullied and robbed of this land by that bitch Huangfu Ziyu, which led to our current destitute state. Recently, Huangfu Ziyu sold this land to Li at a low price, which puzzles us. This land was originally ours, forcefully taken by that bitch Huangfu Ziyu. Even if she was to sell it, she should have consulted us at the Snake Form Gate first, right? Now, she just sold it like that, and Li is building a hotel here. Isn’t this a blatant disregard for our Snake Form Gate?”

Actually, when Snake had walked in, Ye Qing had intended to talk things over with him because he always felt there was a conspiracy in this matter. However, Snake was speaking foully of Huangfu Ziyu, constantly calling her a ’bitch’ and ’cheap tramp,’ which also angered Ye Qing.

”What the hell are you talking like that for?” Li Lianshan suddenly stood up and said, ”I bought this land with money. I have all the deeds and contracts, all of it legally valid. What right do you have to challenge it? Your Snake Form Gate occupied this land in the past, but that was in the past. If you had the ability, you shouldn’t have let it be taken from you. Now that I’ve bought this land, you come to me demanding explanations, thinking I’m easy to bully, huh?”

Angered, Snake stood up and said, ”I’m stating the facts. This land was forcefully taken by that bitch Huangfu Ziyu. The contracts made earlier were forced upon our predecessors by that bitch. So, I think those contracts should not count, and this land should still belong to our Snake Form Gate. What are you implying, that if a robber steals something and then sells it, it suddenly becomes legal?”

Li Lianshan angrily retorted, ”To hell with you, I don’t care if it’s a robber or not. I have the land title, the contract, all the necessary permits, so nobody can touch me. If you disagree, you’re welcome to confront me here, hmm, I’d like to see how capable you are and what you can possibly do to me!”

”Fuck, are you saying there’s no need to discuss this further?” Snake slammed the table angrily, ”Li, I know you have some influence in Shenchuan City. But don’t think our Snake Form Gate is afraid of you. I’m warning you, if you don’t give us an explanation, it’s not over between us!”

”Who the hell do you think you are, asking for a beating?” Li Lianshan exploded in rage and reached out to shove Snake.

”Damn!” Snake cursed, grabbed Li Lianshan’s hand, and went to throw a punch. But before his punch could land, a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled his fist away.

”What are you doing?” Snake angrily turned his head to see Ye Qing, who had grabbed his wrist, and said in a deep voice, ”Ye, are you trying to stop me? Don’t blame me for not warning you, I...”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ye Qing punched him in the face, causing Snake to suddenly crouch down, clutching his face.