Urban Martial Saint

That night, Ye Qing once again took a plane and rushed to Wentou City.

Just as Ye Qing had anticipated, although Humeng City was under strict defense, Wentou City was relatively less guarded. Of course, there were also people from the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance stationed at the airport. However, the defense here was not very tight, and Ye Qing easily bypassed these people and directly entered the city center of Wentou City.

Wentou City is about more than a hundred kilometers away from Humeng City. If Ye Qing wanted to go to Humeng City, he would have to drive himself because he knew the people from the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance had blocked all means of transportation. Whether by train or by car, he would be spotted by them.

Before coming to Wentou City, Ye Qing had already familiarized himself with the situation there. The Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance claimed to have 100,000 disciples in Meng District, but it’s not just about numbers. These 100,000 disciples also needed the support of industries to survive. Without industry support, the Seven Steering Committees would have collapsed long ago. In Meng District, they controlled many industries, such as the car rental business, which was under their control. All car rental industries in Meng District were Hong Alliance’s.

It’s actually quite easy to understand this matter; by controlling transportation, the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance can better manage the situation. Car rental is a major mode of transportation. As long as they control this industry, they can collect all the information of anyone renting a car and thereby grasp the intelligence they want.

So renting a car to get to Humeng City was not an option for Ye Qing. Trains and cars were out, renting a car was impossible too. How to get to Humeng City became quite a difficult problem.

Fortunately, Ye Qing had prepared for this. On the plane, he already thought of a way. With strict defense over in Humeng City, entering it from the main road was impossible. Moreover, Ye Qing wasn’t planning to go into Humeng City; he was heading to Dragon Burial Mountain, outside of Humeng City. He could take a car to the outskirts and then take the small roads on foot to reach Dragon Burial Mountain, thus avoiding the Hong Alliance’s defense. After all, even if they had more manpower, they couldn’t blockade all the roads and paths around Humeng City.

With this idea, Ye Qing didn’t stay after landing. He found a taxi in the city and asked the driver to take him to Humeng City.

”Brother, from your accent, it sounds like you’re not from here,” the taxi driver looked at Ye Qing and said, ”You can’t go to Humeng City these days!”

”Why?” Ye Qing asked in surprise.

”You can’t enter the city,” the driver said, ”It’s been a week now when taxis aren’t allowed into the city. Brother, if you want to go to Humeng City, you should take a bus or train. Even private cars are having a hard time getting in.”

Ye Qing was slightly surprised, then quickly realized it must be due to the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance. To prevent anyone from sneaking into Humeng City amidst the chaos, they strictly controlled the traffic situation around Humeng City, not allowing taxis from outside to enter the city, even restricting private cars. This was clear evidence of Hong Alliance’s considerable strength in Meng District!

”It’s fine, I’m not planning to enter the city anyway,” Ye Qing said as he got into the car, ”Just take me to the outskirts of Humeng City.”

”The outskirts?” The driver looked Ye Qing up and down, shook his head decisively, and said, ”No way!”

”Why not?” Ye Qing asked in surprise, ”I’m not asking you to enter the city, so why not?”

”Have you been to Humeng City before?” the driver asked.

”Once...” To avoid suspicion, Ye Qing replied casually.

”Then don’t you know what the outskirts of Humeng City are?” the driver asked.

”What... what is it?” Ye Qing’s forehead began to sweat; being caught in a lie was truly awkward.

”Around Humeng City, it’s all grassland. There’s no such thing as an ’outskirts.’ When you say you want to go to the outskirts of Humeng City, which outskirts do you mean? Beyond the city, it’s all grassland. Are you going to that grassland?” The driver looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Friend, are you sure you don’t have a grudge with the people of the Great General, trying to sneak into Humeng City amidst the chaos?”

Ye Qing’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t expected even the taxi driver to know of the Great General’s reputation. It seemed Great General Helian Tiehua’s fame in Meng District was indeed well-known. Moreover, from the driver’s wary look, he was evidently on the Great General’s side. Who knew how Helian Tiehua had managed to earn such loyalty from the ordinary people here?

”How could it be?” Ye Qing quickly smiled and said, ”I’m just looking for someone there. Look at me; if I wanted to trouble the Great General, wouldn’t I be asking for it?”

”True!” the taxi driver snorted coldly and said, ”But you said you were looking for someone in the outskirts of Humeng City? Who are you looking for? Let me tell you, the Great General’s people have set up blockades twenty kilometers outside the city. So our car can only go up to twenty kilometers away. Beyond that, it’s all grassland with nobody around. Who are you looking for?”

”Uh...” Ye Qing stammered awkwardly, ”Well, I... I have a friend who is herding there...”

”Nonsense!” the taxi driver glared and said, ”Outside Humeng City, it’s not a pasture. How could there be herding? Besides, there are plenty of grassland wolves out there. Forget going alone, even with seven or eight people, if you encountered a wolf pack, you’d be dead.”

Ye Qing hadn’t expected the outskirts of Humeng City to be like this; he hadn’t inquired about this properly before arriving. It seemed entering Humeng City wasn’t going to be easy. Moreover, the taxi driver blatantly didn’t want to take him, which was a problem.

From the taxi driver’s tone, he clearly suspected Ye Qing. Ye Qing was sure that if he left, this driver would definitely call the people from the Hong Alliance to capture him. So he had to handle this right, otherwise, he might get noticed by them before even leaving Wentou City.

”Let me explain it to you slowly,” Ye Qing smiled, patting the driver’s shoulder, ”Don’t worry, I’m not a bad person.”

The taxi driver gave a cold snort, about to retort, when Ye Qing suddenly reached out and used his thumb to press on an acupoint at the driver’s nape, knocking him out instantly.

”Sorry about this, brother,” Ye Qing apologized to the driver, moved him to the back of the car, and then drove off.

Ye Qing had already decided that since the taxi driver was suspicious and unwilling to take him, he would drive there himself. This way, he could reach Humeng City conveniently, and with the driver in the car, he wouldn’t be able to notify the Hong Alliance, a win-win situation.

Of course, once the taxi driver woke up, he would certainly report this to the Hong Alliance. But by then, Ye Qing estimated he would have already arrived at Dragon Burial Mountain. Even if he told the Hong Alliance, what could they do? So many people were trying to enter Humeng City over the past few days that the Hong Alliance couldn’t manage them all!

Over a hundred kilometers away, on unfamiliar roads, it took Ye Qing almost three hours to get there. Based on the distance, he surmised he was still thirty kilometers from the Humeng City area. Ye Qing dared not go any further, although the taxi driver mentioned Hong Alliance’s people set up checkpoints twenty kilometers outside the city. However, getting too close might lead to unforeseen complications, so he stopped thirty kilometers away.

Given his years of experience and increasing strength, thirty kilometers was nothing for Ye Qing.

Parking the vehicle by the roadside, Ye Qing took out two thousand yuan and placed it on the unconscious taxi driver. After sorting everything out, he got out, locked the driver inside the car.

On the dark highway, it was silent, with no vehicles in sight. So Ye Qing’s parked car wasn’t conspicuous. After checking his surroundings, he set out towards the grassland alongside the road.

To enter Humeng City, Ye Qing needed to avoid the guarded checkpoints. These checkpoints were definitely on the highways, so he had to pass through the grasslands to evade them.

The situation outside Humeng City was just as the taxi driver said. All around was a vast expanse of grassland, mostly plains. In the distance were a few towering mountains, starkly contrasting with the plains.

Ye Qing carefully observed those mountains and indeed found one that looked like a coiled dragon. Without a doubt, it must be the Dragon Burial Mountain mentioned by Old Wang Ba, the place Ye Qing needed to go, where Huangfu Ziyu was.

The thought of soon seeing Huangfu Ziyu excited Ye Qing. Without hesitation, he continued walking across the grassland towards Dragon Burial Mountain.

The grassland was tranquil, with the faint sounds of insects chirping and occasionally rabbits leaping out of the grass. Walking among them, Ye Qing found the peace surprisingly calming, giving a sense of ease.

Even though Ye Qing was excited, he remained highly vigilant. As the driver mentioned, the outskirts of Humeng City weren’t pastoral land, and the ecosystem here was well-preserved, with the potential danger of encountering grassland wolves.