Urban Martial Saint

”You have quite sharp eyesight.” Ye Qing smiled faintly, waving the dagger in his hand, ”That’s right, this is indeed the Wu Hong dagger, a famed instrument I brought out from Shen Family Manor. Initially meant for self-defense, who would’ve thought it would be put to use so soon!”

The leader’s face darkened, glaring fiercely at the three individuals who had been guarding Ye Qing earlier. All three lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze. Under their watch, Ye Qing had managed to cut through the iron mesh with a dagger, yet they hadn’t noticed—this was a serious dereliction of duty.

”Ye, anyone who dares confront Prince Wan Yan never ends well!” the leader said in a low voice, ”Even if you escape today, how long can you evade capture? Once Prince Wan Yan emerges, he’ll personally hunt you down. Where can you hide then? I’d advise you to hand over the Gold Silk Armor quickly, or you’ll regret it!”

”I’ll decide once I find Handsome Fatty Wang and get the Gold Silk Armor.” Ye Qing toyed with the dagger in his hand, ”But now, I’d advise you to run quickly. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

As Ye Qing spoke, he suddenly tightened his grip on the Wu Hong dagger. Everyone became tense, looking simultaneously at the leader.

The leader frowned deeply. That evening, when they captured Ye Qing, there were twenty or thirty of them, barely enough to match Ye Qing. But now, only seven or eight remained, no match for Ye Qing. If a fight broke out, they would surely suffer.

”Ye, you’ve got guts. We’ll see later, I’ll settle this debt!” the leader gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, ”Let’s move.”

Ye Qing did not stop them, watched as they left, and immediately took out his phone to dial a number.

At the same time, in the leader’s car, he was intently focused on a device in front of him. He was very thorough in his plans, and to guard against unexpected situations, he’d installed a bug on the iron mesh. Unexpectedly, it was coming in handy now.

As he listened, he heard Ye Qing’s voice through the device, calling Li Lianshan and instructing him to use all resources to find Handsome Fatty Wang.

Listening to Ye Qing’s instructions to Li Lianshan, the leader furrowed his brow, uttering in a low tone, ”He’s in such a hurry to find Fatty, so it seems he really wasn’t lying; that Gold Silk Armor was indeed swapped by Fatty! We must dispatch more people to find Fatty, no matter what. He must be found, and mustn’t let him pass the Gold Silk Armor to anyone, nor let anyone discover the secret of the Gold Silk Armor.”

After finishing the call, Ye Qing hung up and left the house without lingering a bit. He left the village, ran along a small path for about ten miles, and soon encountered a small pavilion.

A person was standing inside the pavilion. Seeing this person, Ye Qing couldn’t help but smile and ran straight towards them. Upon reaching the pavilion, he finally saw clearly that it was Liu Mubai.

Last time when Ye Qing left Shenchuan City, he and Liu Mubai had parted ways, Ye Qing coming to Xi Hang while Liu Mubai went elsewhere. Who would’ve thought that Liu Mubai would come here now.

”You finally came!” Seeing Ye Qing, Liu Mubai seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, saying, ”I thought you wouldn’t make it, and was about to go see if I needed to help you.”

”No worries, you gave me this famed instrument, those people couldn’t trap me.” Ye Qing said, handing the Wu Hong dagger to Liu Mubai.

If the leader were here to hear this, he would surely be extremely shocked. Just now, Ye Qing had claimed the Wu Hong dagger was brought from Shen Family Manor, and the leader believed him. Who would’ve thought the Wu Hong dagger was actually Liu Mubai’s. This meant Ye Qing had lied, but how did this Wu Hong dagger, belonging to Liu Mubai, end up with Ye Qing?

”You should keep this Wu Hong dagger, your Seven-Star Ancient Sword was taken by the Bloody Monk, and without a famed instrument for protection, how can that be?” Liu Mubai said, ”Though the Wu Hong dagger is short, it’s extremely sharp and might be useful for something else.”

”How can that be?” Ye Qing hurriedly waved his hand, saying, ”It’s your item, it’ll be useful for you.”

”No need to worry, I have another famed instrument with me, enough for protection. Carrying more would rather be inconvenient.” Liu Mubai smiled faintly, handed the Wu Hong dagger back to Ye Qing, saying, ”By the way, how’s it going? Did those people get fooled?”

”I guess they’re currently expending all efforts to track down Handsome Fatty Wang!” Ye Qing replied with a smile.

”That’s good.” Liu Mubai nodded, saying, ”This group is strong; if they become your enemies, it would be very troublesome for you. Now that Handsome Fatty Wang has drawn most of their attention, your pressure should lessen. By the way, how did you manage it, do they truly believe Handsome Fatty Wang stole the Gold Silk Armor?”

Ye Qing smiled faintly, ”Of course. Before leaving, I deliberately called Li Lianshan, instructing him to seek Handsome Fatty Wang with full effort. Didn’t I tell you, they had bugs installed on the iron mesh, and it conveniently served me just right. I made Li Lianshan look for Handsome Fatty Wang as part of creating a facade, making them think I was also pursuing Handsome Fatty Wang for the Gold Silk Armor, thus focusing their attention more on Handsome Fatty Wang.”

”Right, right, I remember now.” Liu Mubai said, ”When I brought you this Wu Hong dagger, you repeatedly told me to keep quiet - turns out there were bugs around you, and you feared my voice might be overheard by Prince Wan Yan’s people, right.”

”Exactly!” Ye Qing nodded, adding, ”In all of this, you absolutely cannot show up; this way, they won’t ever figure out where the Gold Silk Armor is actually hidden. By the way, have you already obtained the Gold Silk Armor?”

”Got it, it’s under the tree with your marking.” Liu Mubai said, ”When I came here, that’s the first thing I retrieved before rescuing you. Now, where do you plan to place the Gold Silk Armor?”

Earlier, when Ye Qing met Handsome Fatty Wang that morning, he already sensed something amiss. Ye Qing, coming from Special Forces, was very familiar with bugs and cameras; he noticed Handsome Fatty Wang carrying a bug and camera upon merely observing for a while, and knew something was surely off. So, he simply decided to leverage this situation, placing the bag containing the Gold Silk Armor next to the camera with Handsome Fatty Wang, letting them believe that the bag indeed contained the Gold Silk Armor. Later, Ye Qing called Liu Mubai, who flew over just in time to help Ye Qing significantly.

Actually, Ye Qing had truly swapped the Gold Silk Armor beforehand, conveniently tucked it under a certain tree while in the forest. Liu Mubai took it away, explaining why Prince Wan Yan’s group couldn’t find the Gold Silk Armor. They never imagined an unknown player like Liu Mubai was involved, and naturally didn’t think anyone else had taken the Gold Silk Armor.

If the leader and Handsome Fatty Wang heard these words, they’d certainly be furious. The leader was convinced that Handsome Fatty Wang swapped and took the Gold Silk Armor, thus searching incessantly for him. Handsome Fatty Wang was, indeed, the most wronged as he never got the armor, yet has a throng trailing him now – pursuing him. He’s running frantically, and all orchestrated by Ye Qing.

”Take it to Shenchuan City, hide it in the orphanage’s basement.” Ye Qing whispered, ”Nobody knows you came to Xi Hang, hence won’t suspect you took the Gold Silk Armor. Everyone’s eyes are on me and Fatty for now; as long as I don’t return to Shenchuan City, they’ll never think of searching for the Gold Silk Armor there.”

”Alright!” Liu Mubai nodded, looked at Ye Qing, ”What’s your plan next?”

Ye Qing paused for a while, then spoke softly, ”Have you received any word about Zi Yu?”

Liu Mubai glanced at Ye Qing, whispering, ”I did receive some, but I suspect it’s false. Miss Huangfu has never been to the North; how could she suddenly be in Northern Desert? Moreover, if Miss Shen truly regained freedom, she would surely contact you. I suspect Miss Huangfu is still detained somewhere, hence cannot reach you.”

Ye Qing sighed, ”For so long, there’s been no news from Zi Yu. Finally receiving one, only to risk it being false, alas!”

Liu Mubai, observing Ye Qing, saw through what was on his mind. Ye Qing was indeed unwilling to abandon any clue related to Zi Yu, even aware it’s likely fake; Ye Qing was intent on verifying it firsthand.

”The Northern Desert is Prince Wan Yan’s territory; if you wish to go, you ought to do it while he’s away, for safer passage.” Liu Mubai said, refraining from dissuading Ye Qing, knowing all too well he couldn’t dissuade him.

”I understand.” Ye Qing nodded, adding, ”Prince Wan Yan probably won’t stay long at Shen Family Manor; it’d be best to go during these few days.”

”That’s fine.” Liu Mubai nodded, ”Need me to accompany you? I’ll return to Shenchuan City tomorrow to stash the Gold Silk Armor, then join you to Northern Desert.”

”No need!” Ye Qing shook his head, ”For now, it’s best for us to keep distance, lest they deduce you’re the one hiding the Gold Silk Armor. I’ll manage the Northern Desert alone; fewer is safer. More people increase visibility and make stealth harder.”