Urban Martial Saint

”Hey, buddy, what are you doing going to the Miao Borderlands for?” The taxi driver was clearly the chatty type, striking up a conversation as soon as Ye Qing got into the car.

”Looking for someone,” Ye Qing replied.

”Looking for someone?” The driver turned his head and looked at Ye Qing, surprised. ”Buddy, you sound like a Han person. What kind of person are you looking for in the Miao Borderlands? Do you know someone there?”

Ye Qing: ”Yes!”

”My gosh, buddy, are you joking?” The driver widened his eyes. ”You know someone in the Miao Borderlands? How is this possible? Over there, Han people are almost non-existent. The person you know couldn’t be a Miao, right?”

Ye Qing thought for a moment and said, ”Sort of.”

”You really know a Miao?” The driver was even more surprised, giving Ye Qing another glance. ”Buddy, are you kidding me? You know a Miao? Preposterous!”

”What’s wrong with that?” Huangfu Ziyu asked in curiosity. ”Can’t we know Miao people?”

”That’s not what I meant...” The driver quickly shook his head. ”Actually, it’s normal to know a few Miao people living around here. I guess you’re not too familiar with the situation in the Miao Borderlands. Over there, it’s almost entirely populated by Miao people. Because the Miao population is relatively small and used to be oppressed by the Han people, Miao people are inherently wary of Han people. To be honest, the Miao in those lands generally resent Han people. Only in the border areas, where Han and Miao live together, do some Miao and Han get along. But even that’s rare, because the Miao are so unconventional, Han tend not to get involved with them.”

At this point, the driver paused and said, ”It’s not actually strange to claim to know a Miao person. But I imagine your relationship with this Miao might not be too good?”

”Why do you ask?” Ye Qing asked in wonder.

”Buddy, do you know what these days are?” The driver asked back.

”What days are they?” Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu exchanged glances, both clueless about the significance of the days.

The driver replied, ”These days mark the annual Ten Thousand Gu Festival in the Miao Borderlands, when all the Gu Masters gather, and the Dong Masters of the Seventy-Two Dong congregate to engage in Gu Battles. This is the largest festival in the Miao Borderlands every year, and most importantly, this time marks the decennial celebration of this festival. Such a festival is grand every five years, with a major celebration every ten years. During the five-year celebrations, the Dong Masters of the Seventy-Two Dong face challenges from Gu Masters across regions. The losers almost always lose their positions as Dong Masters. A celebration held every ten years is even more extensive, where not only the positions of Dong Masters but also the position of Master of Miaojiang can be challenged. There’s a high chance a new Master of Miaojiang will be selected!”

Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu exchanged another glance, though this time, their eyes held more joy and excitement. Such a Ten Thousand Gu Festival is indeed rare. For them, it’s a great opportunity. After all, their purpose for coming to the Miao Borderlands was to find a Miao Gu Master who could remove the Twin Life Gu. With all the Gu Masters concentrated at this festival, it would be much easier to find someone to remove the Twin Life Gu, at least without seeking them out one by one.

The driver glanced at Ye Qing and said, ”During this Ten Thousand Gu Festival, Han people generally don’t enter the Miao Borderlands. At the gathering of the Gu Masters, some Miao with strong hostility towards Han people may appear among the Seventy-Two Dong. If they see a Han person, they might even try Gu tests on you. If the Miao you know is your friend, they surely wouldn’t let you enter the Miao Borderlands at this time. It’s truly dangerous to enter now. Buddy, let me give you a piece of advice: nothing is more important than staying alive, no matter how crucial the matter might seem. If you’re determined to enter the Miao Borderlands, wait until the Ten Thousand Gu Festival is over!”

The driver seemed to be warm-hearted. Ye Qing nodded and said, ”Thank you, driver. But the thing I have to do is truly more important than life itself. So, I must enter the Miao Borderlands now!”

The driver gave Ye Qing another look and said, ”Young man, in this world, what could matter more than life?”

Ye Qing didn’t respond, just squeezed Huangfu Ziyu’s hand tight. The driver had no idea about their situation, and naturally didn’t understand what Ye Qing meant.

Shortly after, the driver dropped Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu off outside a car rental shop and said to Ye Qing, ”Buddy, our county is small and not very developed, so there are no car dealerships around. However, several tourists regularly visit the area for self-driving tours or to explore the scenery, so we’ve opened several rental shops, making renting a car here pretty convenient and much cheaper than buying one. Why don’t you check it out and rent a car?”

”Alright!” Ye Qing nodded, took out one hundred yuan from his pocket, and handed it to the driver. ”Thank you, driver!”

”Oh, no need to thank me.” The driver took the money and, while making change, continued to nag: ”Buddy, I still advise you not to go into the Miao Borderlands. It’s truly dangerous.”

”Thank you for your advice,” Ye Qing smiled faintly and said, ”Keep the change.”

With that, Ye Qing took Huangfu Ziyu into the rental shop. The driver smiled broadly upon hearing Ye Qing and, holding the change in his hand, said, ”Oh, how kind of you!”

Even as he spoke, he slipped the money into his pocket. How much could he make in a day? Just from this, he already made an extra fifty or sixty yuan; how could he not be happy? Although he was kind-hearted, making money still made him very pleased.

”Buddy...” The driver opened the window and called out to Ye Qing. ”If you’re insistent on going, let me give you a tip. It’s best to find a Miao guide so entering the Miao Borderlands will be safer.”

”Is it easy to find a Miao guide?” Ye Qing wondered.

”It’s easy; the rental shops usually have them,” the driver said.

”Thank you,” Ye Qing replied.

”I should be thanking you,” the driver shook the one hundred yuan and smiled at Ye Qing. ”Buddy, good luck!”

Ye Qing smiled faintly and walked into the rental shop with Huangfu Ziyu. As they entered, several employees immediately came to greet them. However, a few of the male employees were visibly stunned by Huangfu Ziyu’s stunning beauty, utterly captivated by her looks.

Seeing the employees dumbfounded and speechless, Ye Qing took the initiative and asked, ”Excuse me, how do I go about renting a car?”

”Uh...” The employees finally snapped out of it, and one quickly came over, saying, ”Sir, are you looking to rent a car? What type are you interested in? Sedan, SUV, or business vehicle? We have all you need!”

”An SUV,” Ye Qing said. ”Are there mostly mountainous roads in the Miao Borderlands?”

”You’re heading to the Miao Borderlands?” The employees were obviously shocked, the manager who had been speaking said, ”Sir, where in the Miao Borderlands are you going? The outskirts are manageable, with not too many mountainous roads. But if you’re going inside, you’ll need a vehicle with strong off-road capabilities as the routes are mostly mountain paths without many paved roads.”

Ye Qing didn’t really know any of this; he thought for a moment and asked, ”Where is the Ten Thousand Gu Festival held?”

”You’re... planning to attend the Ten Thousand Gu Festival?” The manager’s voice stuttered a bit, shocked by what Ye Qing was saying.

During the Miao Borderlands’ Ten Thousand Gu Festival, the entire region was off-limits, and Han people definitely wouldn’t enter. At this time, Ye Qing actually targeted this place. To be frank, the people there began to wonder if Ye Qing had lost his mind.

”I’m going to find someone,” Ye Qing said. ”Forget it, help me arrange it. The most convenient car to get to the festival venue, that’s what I need.”

”Oh,” the manager nodded, a flash of a subtle expression crossing his eyes, and he quietly asked, ”Sir, would you like to hire a guide?”

”Is there a Miao guide?” Ye Qing asked.

”There is, but it costs a bit more,” the manager replied.

”Then get a Miao guide,” Ye Qing insisted, considering he wasn’t worried about the cost at this stage. The most critical thing was to save someone.

The manager’s eyes lit up at those words, and he said with a smile, ”Sir, please wait a moment while I arrange it for you.”

”Alright!” Ye Qing took Huangfu Ziyu to sit aside. The manager went to the front desk, got busy with some paperwork, then had Ye Qing sign some agreements and took money as a deposit. After quite some time, he finally arranged a Jeep Wrangler SUV for Ye Qing.

The manager said, ”Sir, this car should handle ninety percent of the road conditions within the Miao Borderlands. The Ten Thousand Gu Festival is held at Zhenmu Dong, two hundred kilometers from here. This car will have no problem getting there.”

Hearing that the festival location was only two hundred kilometers away, Ye Qing couldn’t help but feel pleased. Two hundred kilometers, just a few hours’ drive, and he would soon find a Miao Gu Master.

After a while, the manager brought over a burly dark-skinned man, fully dressed in Miao attire, looking every bit like a Miao person.

The manager introduced, ”Sir, this is the Miao guide we’ve arranged for you, named Bu Deng. He’s very familiar with the Miao Borderlands and was born in a Miao-Han mixed area, so he knows a lot of Chinese. He’ll be an excellent guide for you!”

”Excellent!” Ye Qing nodded in satisfaction with the manager’s arrangements. With a vehicle and a guide secured, he could set off immediately for the Miao Borderlands to find a Gu Master to help remove the Twin Life Gu.

Without lingering further, Ye Qing signed the necessary paperwork, made the payment, and swiftly left with Huangfu Ziyu and the guide on their journey.

Bu Deng’s Chinese was quite good, and he had no trouble communicating with Ye Qing. In less than half an hour, they had driven out of the county and into the woods. And here, they were already nearing the Miao-Han mixed area.