Urban Martial Saint

Huangfu Ziyu spent a moment tidying up in the restroom, and the sound of the cold water running only made Ye Qing’s thoughts grow more chaotic instead of calming him down. After a good while, Huangfu Ziyu finally walked out of the restroom.

Meeting Huangfu Ziyu’s eyes again, Ye Qing suddenly felt a bit unsettled. Watching her like this, he hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, ”Miss Huangfu, about what happened earlier, I...”

”You don’t need to say anything. It was all voluntary on my part; I won’t blame you!” Huangfu Ziyu paused, frowned slightly, then looked at Ye Qing and said, ”But, there’s something I need to tell you!”

”Go on,” Ye Qing quickly replied.

”Don’t call me Miss Huangfu anymore!” Huangfu Ziyu chuckled lightly and said, ”Call me Ziyu!”

”Ziyu?” Ye Qing froze for a moment. That name felt a little too intimate, didn’t it?

But thinking back on what had just transpired, the two of them had already reached such an intimate stage that this form of address actually felt quite ordinary.

”What? Are you unwilling?” Huangfu Ziyu teased.

”No, I... I’m willing…” Ye Qing hurriedly waved his hand, hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly, ”I... I’m just afraid that calling you this might feel… disrespectful to you...”

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Ziyu’s heart warmed. She responded softly, ”Ye Qing, you never need to worry about being disrespectful toward me!”

Those words brought Ye Qing a similar warmth to his heart. He lifted his gaze to look at Huangfu Ziyu, but for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

The two silently stared at each other for a while. Though neither spoke, their hearts brimmed with unprecedented sweetness. Perhaps this was how lovers deep in romance felt; in this moment, they truly had the sensation of being in the throes of passionate love.

After some time had passed, Huangfu Ziyu suddenly asked, ”By the way, why are we here?”

”Oh no!” Ye Qing snapped out of his daze, quickly turned to look at the clock on the wall, and exclaimed in urgency, ”Oh no, it’s already this late! We need to leave immediately, or we’re going to miss it!”

”Miss what?” Huangfu Ziyu asked curiously, as she still had no idea what was going on.

”Miss the flight to the Capital!” Ye Qing hurried over to pack up his belongings from the room, saying with haste, ”We need to quickly catch the plane!”

”Catch a plane? To the Capital?” Huangfu Ziyu was taken aback and asked, ”Why are we going to the Capital?”

Ye Qing didn’t have time to explain and said, ”It’s a long story. Let’s first catch the flight, and I’ll explain on the way!”

Seeing Ye Qing so anxious, Huangfu Ziyu didn’t ask further and promptly followed him out of the room and downstairs.

Although it was early morning, there were plenty of people leaving the hotel. Many were gathered at the front desk waiting to check out, and Huangfu Ziyu followed Ye Qing over to join the queue.

”What are we doing here?” Huangfu Ziyu asked in bewilderment, seeing Ye Qing stand at the back of the queue.

”Checking out of the room,” Ye Qing said, holding up the room card.

”What does checking out mean?” Huangfu Ziyu asked, her tone laced with confusion. She had stayed at hotels before, but she had never had to check out like this. In Dongzhou, after all, most hotels were her own properties.

Ye Qing patiently explained it to her, and Huangfu Ziyu finally understood. Looking at the queue in front of them, she said, ”Then go directly to check out! Why stand here?”

The people around them all turned to stare at Huangfu Ziyu, while Ye Qing felt a surge of awkwardness. Clearly, Huangfu Ziyu not only had no concept of checking out but also didn’t understand the idea of queuing. Though Huangfu Ziyu was unmatched in Dongzhou and had been fighting for survival since she was young, her approach was often unrelentingly domineering, lacking any sense of order or customary etiquette.

”Everyone’s standing here to wait their turn. We can only go handle the procedure when it’s our turn,” Ye Qing explained softly.

”How much longer will it take?” Huangfu Ziyu muttered under her breath. She had never waited for anything before.

Ye Qing softly reassured her, and upon hearing his words, Huangfu Ziyu became more relaxed. Being with Ye Qing, even waiting felt sweet. She didn’t go directly up to skip the queue either.

While the two were waiting, a man and a woman walked downstairs. The woman suddenly strode over to the front desk, rapped loudly on the counter, and said curtly, ”Clerk, check me out!”

”Apologies, miss, due to the current number of people waiting, we need to process checkouts in order,” the clerk replied politely. ”Please queue up first.”

”Process mine first! I have urgent matters!” The woman snapped loudly, paying no attention to the annoyed stares from the people waiting behind her.

Seeing this unfold, Ye Qing furrowed his brows slightly. Judging by the woman’s demeanor, it didn’t seem like she had any genuine urgency—she clearly just wanted to cut in line.

”You have urgent matters, but does that mean we don’t?” Before Ye Qing could speak, Huangfu Ziyu responded sharply.

The woman, stung by Huangfu Ziyu’s response, instantly became furious and turned to snarl, ”Did I say you could talk to me? You filthy little—”

Before the woman could finish her sentence, Huangfu Ziyu lunged forward, delivering several quick slaps that left the woman’s face swollen on both sides. The sequence of action was so quick that the entire room—everyone present—had barely registered what happened. Even Ye Qing only saw a vague blur, which spoke volumes about how swift Huangfu Ziyu’s movements were.

The woman froze, stunned by the sudden beating, while the man who had been with her erupted into anger. He cursed fiercely and charged at them, but Ye Qing stepped forward with a sigh, grabbed the man by the shoulder, and forced him down onto the ground with ease.

”Scram!” Huangfu Ziyu glared at the woman angrily. Seeing her boyfriend subdued, the woman no longer dared to retaliate, clutching her swollen face as she ran off, fuming.

The crowd marveled at the sight, stunned that such a beautiful woman could have such formidable skill as well.

After this brief episode, Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu smoothly completed their checkout and headed straight for the airport. Thankfully, both were quick-moving, and they made it to the airport just in time to board their flight.

Seated together on the plane, Huangfu Ziyu looked around excitedly and turned to Ye Qing, asking, ”Now can you tell me why we’re going to the Capital?”

At this moment, Huangfu Ziyu was unusually elated. To her, from the day she was brought to Shen Family Manor at the age of seven, she had never tasted such leisure in life. Her existence was burdened with a mission: to revive the Huangfu Household. She had lived every day striving for this, with no time to travel, let alone to embark on pursuits unrelated to her goal. But this time was different—she didn’t even know the reason for going to the Capital, yet she felt no need to stress over restoring her family’s legacy. For her, this lightness was new, exhilarating. What’s more, Ye Qing was by her side.

”We’re only going to the Capital to transfer flights; the real destination is the Miao Borderlands,” Ye Qing replied.

”Miao Borderlands?” Huangfu Ziyu froze slightly. ”The Twin Life Gu... haven’t we... haven’t we resolved it yet?”

Huangfu Ziyu, with her sharp wit, deduced the true reason for heading to the Borderlands from Ye Qing’s brief remark.

Ye Qing nodded and slowly recounted the events following Huangfu Ziyu’s ingestion of the Twin Life Gu. After hearing Ye Qing’s explanation, she was stunned. She hadn’t expected the complications stemming from her consumption of the Gu, nor the necessity of traveling to the Borderlands to attempt nullifying the Twin Life Gu’s effects. On top of that, she now understood why Ye Qing had to physically connect with her to soothe the dormant Gu eggs in her body.

”Is there a way to resolve the Twin Life Gu in the Borderlands?” Huangfu Ziyu asked softly.

”I don’t know either,” Ye Qing hesitated for a moment and looked at Huangfu Ziyu, his voice firm, ”But even if there’s only a sliver of hope, I have to try. I can’t let you die because of me!”

Hearing these words warmed Huangfu Ziyu’s heart. She reached out and held Ye Qing’s hand softly, saying, ”I’m not afraid to die.”

If this had been before, Ye Qing would surely have pulled his hand back. But this time, he didn’t. Instead, he held onto Huangfu Ziyu’s hand tightly in return.

Perhaps, in his heart, he had already chosen her.

Yet, the image of Shen Qingyi still occasionally surfaced in his mind. Ye Qing knew that she—this woman—could only be a memory to him from now on. Huangfu Ziyu had sacrificed too much for him; he couldn’t fail her.

Feeling the strength and warmth of Ye Qing’s palm, Huangfu Ziyu’s heart brimmed with warmth as well. Slowly, she rested her head on Ye Qing’s shoulder, like a pair of lovers, serene and comforting. Though neither spoke, the ambiance was just right; at this moment, their hearts felt as if they had truly merged into one.

Meanwhile, in an empty restroom within the airport’s waiting hall, Chen Yongchang was on the phone with Wang Tian’an.

”I just found out that Ye Qing has boarded a plane bound for the Capital,” Chen Yongchang said gravely. ”Third Senior Brother, is there perhaps some expert in utilizing Gu in the Capital capable of neutralizing the Twin Life Gu?”

”The Capital?” Wang Tian’an fell silent for a moment before replying, ”The Capital only has Prince Nalan—no other renowned Gu masters. While Prince Nalan is powerful, he definitely wouldn’t be able to resolve the Twin Life Gu. Who could Ye Qing be seeking help from there?”

”Then why is he going to the Capital?” Chen Yongchang asked, puzzled.

”Could it be… could it be that he plans to transfer through the Capital to the Miao Borderlands?” Wang Tian’an’s voice suddenly rose in urgency. ”That’s it! They must be preparing to transfer flights in the Capital to head to the Miao Borderlands. Most cities don’t have direct flights to the Borderlands, but the airport in the Capital does. They’re likely planning to pass through the Capital on their way there!”

”So they’re still heading to the Miao Borderlands? Do they really think someone can resolve the Twin Life Gu there?” Chen Yongchang scoffed slightly and said, ”Third Senior Brother, should I head to the Capital now and intercept them?”

”No need!” Wang Tian’an rejected outright, saying decisively, ”The Capital is Prince Nalan’s territory. Although Prince Nalan has stayed out of various disputes over these years, we’d best not provoke him. If we rouse his anger, it could jeopardize Master’s plans!”