Urban Martial Saint

”What!?” The captain’s face changed, and he asked urgently, ”How is that possible? Mr. Ye wasn’t even in the room! How could so many people have died?”

The policeman shrugged and said, ”I don’t know either, but the room is littered with flesh and gore!”

”Damn, how is that possible? Let me see for myself!” The captain immediately ran over, and the moment he reached the doorway, his face turned pale.

At the room’s entrance, a few police officers were clutching the doorframe, vomiting uncontrollably. Ye Qing also approached and took a look inside. The entire room was nearly obliterated by the explosion, and the floor was strewn with mangled flesh. The eight people inside earlier—none of them were left intact, all blown into pieces. The floor, ceiling, and walls of the room were all smeared with blood, flesh, and bone fragments. Anyone without a strong stomach would vomit at just a single glance.

”What happened here?” Ye Qing put on a look of astonishment and asked, ”Why were there so many people in my room?”

”Mr. Ye, is this really your room?” the captain asked, bewildered.

”Yes!” Ye Qing replied, ”This is indeed my room, but there was no one in there before! Where did all these people come from?”

”What on earth is going on?” The captain was equally baffled.

”Could it be that these people snuck in quietly?” Ye Qing speculated aloud.

”The hotel should have surveillance footage, right? Let’s pull it up and take a look,” the captain ordered.

Two policemen immediately ran off to retrieve the surveillance footage. Before long, a large team from the provincial department also arrived. This time, Liu Changping personally led the team. One, because an explosion case was no small matter, and two, because this case involved Ye Qing; Liu had to come personally to check things out.

When the captain saw that Liu Changping had arrived in person, he rushed forward to report the situation at the scene. Hearing that many people had been killed in the explosion, Liu furrowed his brows as he walked over to look at Ye Qing. Ye Qing, however, wore an expression of innocent confusion, as if the entire incident had nothing to do with him.

Noticing nothing unusual from Ye Qing’s expression, Liu naturally couldn’t guess that it was all a carefully orchestrated plan of Ye’s—an operation to kill using others’ hands. Ye Qing’s visit to Dongzhou had one purpose: to kill Huang Boxiong. Huang had sabotaged the approval for the orphanage project, and Ye Qing was determined to make him pay.

Of course, Ye Qing wouldn’t do it himself, as that would cause unnecessary trouble. Conveniently, the mercenaries who had been tailing him became the perfect tool. Ye Qing used them to eliminate Huang Boxiong!

After all, the bomb was planted by the mercenaries, and it was Huang Boxiong who decided to enter Ye’s room of his own volition. On top of that, it was the hotel manager who unlocked the door for him. At the time of the explosion, Ye Qing was not in the room. No matter how one looked at it, Ye Qing bore no responsibility. If anything, it seemed like sheer bad luck on Huang’s part. He walked into a room rigged with a bomb while plotting against Ye Qing, only to blow himself up. If this story got out, it would only serve as a cautionary tale against doing bad deeds. Who would ever suspect that every detail was meticulously orchestrated by Ye Qing?

From the two newspaper vendors, the police confiscated a dagger and a remote control, which led them to conclude that these two were mercenaries and promptly arrest them. The hotel manager who unlocked the door and let Huang Boxiong and his group enter was also apprehended. Now that Huang and his men had been blown to bits, the manager had to take the fall. He, along with several others, was arrested. Tonight’s incident caused quite a commotion.

Ye Qing, however, escaped unscathed. None of the surveillance footage showed him entering the room. Furthermore, the bomb was planted by the mercenaries, and the group entered thanks to the hotel manager. How could any of this be pinned on Ye Qing? On the contrary, it could almost be argued that Ye Qing was nearly a victim himself!

Besides, with Liu Changping handling the case, he had no reason to make things difficult for Ye Qing. After a brief interview to take Ye Qing’s statement, Liu released him. The rest of the work involved interrogating the mercenaries and holding the hotel manager accountable.

When Huang Jianan received the news, he rushed to the police station to demand answers. But with his son Huang Boxiong already blown to pieces, all he could do was arrange to collect his son’s remains.

When Huang saw his son’s body—reduced to no more than a bag of fragments—he nearly broke down. He vehemently insisted that the incident was somehow connected to Ye Qing. However, Liu Changping completely ignored his accusations. Police work is grounded in evidence, and all the evidence pointed to the fact that Ye Qing had nothing to do with the case. In fact, Huang and his men breaking into Ye Qing’s room was already illegal. Their deaths, caused by mercenaries’ explosives, had nothing to do with Ye Qing. If blame were to be assigned, it would fall on the hotel manager for letting them enter Ye Qing’s room. No matter how one tried, nothing could implicate Ye Qing.

Huang Jianan, despite holding a high position, was no match for Liu Changping, who gave him no face whatsoever. Huang caused a scene at the police station but was promptly ejected by Liu’s men. At the same time, Liu reported the incident to provincial authorities. As the provincial department director, Liu’s rank and authority were equal to Huang Jianan’s. He had no need to appease Huang. Even though Huang Jianan had the backing of Huang Jianbin, Zhou Bolong’s prominence ensured that Huang Jianbin wouldn’t dare meddle in the case either.

Leaving the police station, Ye Qing finally felt at ease. With all the city’s police now focused on hunting the mercenaries, they no longer had time to tail him. Now that Huang Boxiong was dealt with, Ye Qing could finally get a good night’s sleep.

Ye Qing found a room to rest at Huangfu Ziyu’s establishment, with Xiao Qing even assigning guards outside to protect him. That night, Ye Qing slept extraordinarily well. By the time he woke the next morning, the matter had mostly been resolved. The news was already reporting on the incident.

Unsurprisingly, the primary blame fell on the mercenaries, while secondary responsibility was assigned to the hotel manager who unlocked Ye Qing’s door and allowed Huang Boxiong’s group inside. Huang Jianan, believing that his son’s death stemmed from the manager’s actions, used all his connections to ruin the man.

The manager, originally trying to curry favor with Huang Boxiong, never imagined that he would bring such disaster upon himself. In the end, not only did he fail to gain favor, but he also landed himself in deep trouble. Even if he managed to keep his life, he would likely face a decades-long sentence. His life was effectively ruined.

Yet, no one felt any sympathy for him. His decision to prioritize flattery over principles—letting Huang and his men into Ye Qing’s room—was inherently wrong. What happened afterwards could only be described as his just deserts!

Seeing the news, Ye Qing felt a rare sense of satisfaction. His trip to Dongzhou had not been in vain. He booked an afternoon train ticket back to Shenchuan City. With some time to spare in the morning, Ye Qing decided to take a stroll. However, with few acquaintances in Dongzhou, he eventually decided to call Su Nuoyan. After all, she had been a significant help in the orphanage affair. Although the project had ultimately failed, she had still put in effort, and it was only proper to visit and express his gratitude.

Su Nuoyan was surprised to get Ye Qing’s call, not expecting him to be in Dongzhou. She quickly suggested, ”Brother Ye, that’s perfect! I was just planning to visit Dongzhou to see you. Are you free later? Let’s have lunch together, and I’ll introduce you to a friend.”

”A friend?” Ye Qing was puzzled. Why would Su Nuoyan suddenly want to introduce a friend? They had only met a few times and weren’t particularly close. Why the sudden connection?

Su Nuoyan didn’t elaborate, giving Ye Qing a time and place before hanging up. It was clear she was quite busy.

Since she insisted, Ye Qing didn’t refuse. Around noon, he headed to the restaurant Su Nuoyan had mentioned.

The restaurant wasn’t particularly luxurious, but its decor was elegant and tranquil—perfect for those who preferred a peaceful environment.

Arriving early, Ye Qing went to the reserved room, sat down, and slowly sipped tea. About ten minutes later, the door opened, and Su Nuoyan walked in.

Seeing Ye Qing, she smiled brightly and said, ”Brother Ye, I’m so sorry! I got held up this morning and ended up being late!”

”No worries,” Ye Qing replied with a faint smile. Su Nuoyan was undeniably beautiful and carried herself with a gracious elegance, clearly someone raised in a distinguished family. Based on Zhao Chengshuang’s previous analysis, Su Nuoyan’s background likely wasn’t simple either. After all, she had managed to secure a television program’s coverage of the orphanage story on the provincial network at a critical moment. That wasn’t a feat just anyone could pull off. At the very least, she had enough influence to sway the station’s director, or even high-ranking officials in the provincial propaganda department.

Still, Ye Qing had no clue which prominent figure in the Eastern Province Su Nuoyan was affiliated with.

He didn’t intend to probe. Their relationship was that of acquaintances, and he had no intention of leveraging her influence for personal gain.

After chatting briefly with Ye Qing, Su Nuoyan stood up as the door opened again. A man in his thirties entered the room. He walked with a commanding presence, exuding confidence and steadiness with each step.

The man had a square face, short beard, and a crew cut. His sharp gaze and upright posture clearly indicated a military background. He was no ordinary individual.

”Brother, why are you so late!” Su Nuoyan playfully teased as she glanced at him. From her tone and demeanor, it was evident they shared a close relationship.

The man smiled faintly at her, but Ye Qing could detect a trace of sorrow in his otherwise composed eyes.

Standing up, Su Nuoyan introduced him, ”Brother Ye, let me introduce you. This is my elder brother, Su Kaicheng. Brother, this is Mr. Ye Qing, whom I’ve told you about. He’s a great guy!”

Ye Qing stood up as well. Su Kaicheng gave him an acknowledging nod and said, ”Mr. Ye, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

”Nice to meet you, Brother Su,” Ye Qing replied. Meeting Su Kaicheng for the first time, he wasn’t sure of the man’s identity, but he could sense a certain camaraderie. They were both military men, and that in itself created a sense of mutual understanding.