Urban Martial Saint

The old Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor looked calm and said, ”In this line of work, you see life and death all the time. Haven’t we seen everything? Whether you take things lightly or not, it’s all just one lifetime. Why make life so exhausting for yourself?”

Ye Qing didn’t respond. The old doctor’s serene demeanor and his apparent greed seemed like two completely different personas, making him appear contradictory.

In truth, Wang Tian’an’s Junior Brother had successively cured Wu Yian and Zhao Chengshuang’s grandfather, which made Ye Qing trust him too much and thus did not suspect him. This Junior Brother deliberately acted greedy to mislead Ye Qing, but now pretended to be serene and indifferent to deceive him further, which in itself was a glaring flaw. Unfortunately, Ye Qing hadn’t noticed it yet.

Junior Brother sat behind Ye Qing in the car, glaring at Ye Qing, who was driving, and was itching to activate the Twin Life Gu and implant it into Ye Qing’s body right away. However, he thought about it for a long time and still didn’t dare to act.

For one, both he and Ye Qing were confined within the car. If he activated the Twin Life Gu, it was uncertain whether it would attack him or Ye Qing. Moreover, Ye Qing’s strength wasn’t inferior to his; if the Twin Life Gu failed to succeed in one strike, he would be done for. Falling into Ye Qing’s territory meant he couldn’t escape even with wings.

After much deliberation, he gave up the thought. They continued driving to the hotel, and just before getting out of the car, Junior Brother suddenly glanced at Ye Qing and said, ”Young man, your health isn’t looking too great.”

”Me?” Ye Qing paused, puzzled, and said, ”I… I think I’m fine? I don’t feel unwell.”

”Is that so?” Junior Brother scanned Ye Qing from head to toe and said, ”I don’t think that’s the case. Kid, illness isn’t judged just by whether you feel discomfort in your body. Some illnesses might not show any signs for now, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Especially hidden conditions—they’re much harder to treat once they surface!”

Junior Brother’s words genuinely startled Ye Qing. He looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror and asked curiously, ”Sir, does my complexion look bad?”

”Not your complexion!” Junior Brother shook his head and said gravely, ”It’s your meridians!”

”My meridians?” Ye Qing was even more shocked, staring at him in disbelief. Wasn’t this guy just an old Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor? How did he know about martial arts?

Junior Brother said, ”You likely have congenital meridian blockage and were born unable to practice Neijia Kung Fu!”

”How do you know?” Ye Qing blurted out. Shen Tianjun had mentioned this to him, and members of Sha Men had also remarked about it. The fact that his arms could achieve Internal Energy Release was astonishing enough. Now this old doctor pointed it out as well—Ye Qing was utterly astonished.

”How could I not know?” Junior Brother smirked mysteriously and said, ”Traditional Chinese Medicine and Neijia Kung Fu aren’t contradictory. When I was young, I also wanted to learn martial arts, but just like you, my congenital meridian blockage made it impossible to cultivate Inner Strength!”

Upon hearing this, Ye Qing was taken aback and gave the old doctor an astonished look. He didn’t expect this old doctor to know about Neijia Kung Fu; clearly, he was a true expert.

”With your level of medical expertise, couldn’t you clear those blocked meridians?” Ye Qing asked.

”Ah!” Junior Brother sighed, pretending to be helpless, and said, ”When I found out I couldn’t practice Neijia Kung Fu, I was very disheartened and sought out numerous medical texts to find a solution. But by the time I found a method to unblock meridians, I was already over forty, far past the optimal age for martial arts practice. So I gave up and haven’t touched martial arts since.”

Ye Qing’s heart was alight with joy upon hearing this. Shen Tianjun had said earlier that, given his current condition, if he could completely clear all his meridians, his strength would increase severalfold. But finding someone capable of unblocking all his meridians was next to impossible. Yet now, he had encountered precisely such a person—it meant Ye Qing finally had the chance to thoroughly master Inner Strength. How could he not be excited?

”Sir, can you truly unblock all the blocked meridians?” Ye Qing couldn’t help but ask.

Junior Brother glanced at Ye Qing and said, ”Your issue isn’t merely about unblocking meridians. The most critical thing now is figuring out how to save your life!”

”What?!” Ye Qing was greatly startled and asked in shock.

”What puzzles me is how you’ve managed to cultivate Inner Strength despite having all your meridians blocked,” Junior Brother said curiously. He’d long wondered about this, and now he could finally ask Ye Qing openly.

This was something Ye Qing himself couldn’t explain. Even he didn’t know where the Inner Strength in his body had come from. In theory, his short practice of the Breathing Method from the Acupoint Seeking Technique shouldn’t have produced such strong Inner Strength. Yet, his Inner Strength was comparable to experts like Wang Tian’an, which was deeply puzzling to him.

Ye Qing shrugged and said, ”I don’t know either.”

”You don’t know about your own condition?” Junior Brother looked at him incredulously.

”I really don’t!” Ye Qing replied. ”For some reason, as soon as I started practicing, my body naturally accumulated Inner Strength, as though I was born with it.”

”How is that possible?” Junior Brother exclaimed, his face full of disbelief. He’d never encountered such a phenomenon.

”By the way, earlier you said I... I might face life-threatening danger?” Ye Qing asked curiously, ”What’s going on?”

”You still don’t understand?” Junior Brother glared at him. ”Think about it. You’re born with meridian blockage, and all your meridians are sealed. If you don’t cultivate Inner Strength, you’re just like any ordinary person and wouldn’t have any serious problems. But once you begin cultivating Inner Strength, you’re in danger. As your True Qi flows within your body, it becomes stronger over time. However, your meridians remain blocked, and the growing True Qi has no way to disperse. Inevitably, it will begin to assault your meridians. At that point, think about it—if the True Qi grows strong enough to rupture your meridians, wouldn’t you be in grave danger?”

Ye Qing had never heard this theory before. Hearing Junior Brother explain it now left him utterly stunned. ”What can I do then?” he exclaimed.

”What can you do?” Junior Brother replied, ”Clearly, you need to unblock your meridians. Open up the sealed channels so the True Qi can flow naturally!”

”Unblock the meridians?” Ye Qing looked at Junior Brother—it seemed that only he was capable of achieving this.

”This is a complicated matter and requires significant expenses!” Junior Brother feigned greed and said begrudgingly, ”It’ll cost ten thousand bucks!”

Ten thousand bucks to unblock all his meridians was no big deal for Ye Qing. Without hesitation, he nodded and said, ”Ten thousand it is. But when can you help me clear my meridians?”

Junior Brother internally smirked—Ye Qing had completely fallen into his trap. He eyed Ye Qing and said, ”If you’re willing to pay, I can start unblocking your meridians right now!”

”Now?” Ye Qing asked in surprise. ”Don’t you need some preparations first?”

”Preparations for what?” Junior Brother said. ”Needling acupuncture is all that’s required—no medicine is needed.”

”Really?” Ye Qing was overjoyed. If his meridians could truly be unblocked, his prowess would dramatically escalate. He wouldn’t need to worry even if he had to confront Wang Tian’an head-on.

Without further hesitation, Ye Qing followed Junior Brother upstairs, took off his jacket, and let him begin the acupuncture treatment. Unbeknownst to Ye Qing, he had already fallen completely for Junior Brother’s scheme.

Junior Brother pretended to administer acupuncture, inserting several needles. While Ye Qing was distracted, he slyly retrieved the Twin Life Gu hidden on his person.

The Twin Life Gu, as the name suggests, is a pair of parasitic insects born simultaneously. The one in Junior Brother’s hand was tiny, no bigger than a thumb, and still dormant. He placed the Twin Life Gu onto the table, then pulled out a white pill from his pocket, crushed it gently, and set it before the Twin Life Gu.

Once the white pill was crushed, it released a peculiar fragrance—the very scent that could activate the Twin Life Gu.

”What’s that smell?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

Junior Brother was startled and quickly replied, ”It’s medication I prepared personally.”

Ye Qing didn’t suspect anything; since he was lying prone, he didn’t notice the Twin Life Gu now sitting on the table.

As the fragrance from the crushed pill spread, the slumbering parasitic insect slowly opened its eyes, finally awakening. It fluttered erratically into the air, still sluggish as though half-asleep.

Junior Brother kept his eyes firmly fixed on the Twin Life Gu, elated but cautious. He was well aware of the danger posed by the Twin Life Gu and wasn’t about to let it enter his own body.

Watching as the Twin Life Gu flew toward Ye Qing, Junior Brother suddenly grabbed a needle and stabbed Ye Qing’s arm. Blood immediately gushed from the wound.

Ye Qing hadn’t expected such a sudden move from the old doctor and cried out in pain. Turning around in surprise, he suddenly saw the small insect darting toward him. The scent of blood seemed to quicken the Twin Life Gu’s movements. It shot straight to Ye Qing’s arm with alarming speed.

Unaware of what the insect was, Ye Qing paid it no mind. Turning to Junior Brother, he asked puzzled, ”What happened? Did you insert the needle incorrectly?”

Junior Brother didn’t respond to Ye Qing’s questions. His gaze was fixed on the Twin Life Gu now perched on Ye Qing’s arm. Unable to hold back his malicious grin, he snarled, ”Ye Qing, looks like you won’t escape this time!”