Urban Martial Saint

Huangfu Ziyu also took a deep breath, took the Sun-shooting Bow down and held it in her hand, then nodded at Ye Qing.

Ye Qing, having gone through this final checkpoint before, wasn’t as nervous as Huangfu Ziyu. He smiled slightly and said, ”As long as we don’t look at those words, it’ll be fine. These Magic-devouring Flowers will only appear once. They’re very slow, so we just need to avoid them and we’ll be fine!”

”Okay!” Huangfu Ziyu nodded, but in truth, she was still a bit nervous, as she had never been here before. Moreover, she had heard too many legends about the Northern Mang Mountains, so she was inevitably a little worried.

Ye Qing held on to the famed instrument with one hand and held Huangfu Ziyu’s hand with the other, slowly walking into the cave. The situation here was almost identical to when they last entered; the cave was pitch black, and occasionally you could see a skeleton or something — remains of those who had entered before and died here.

The two of them didn’t move slowly, and soon they reached the vicinity of the exit. Ye Qing lowered his head and softly reminded Huangfu Ziyu, ”Ziyu, right here on the ground, don’t lift your head to look at those words. Once you see them, you’ll fall into an illusion!”

”Alright!” Huangfu Ziyu, learning from Ye Qing, also lowered her head, not daring to look up.

Ye Qing, estimating the distance, walked for about two minutes and suddenly felt something unusual behind him with Huangfu Ziyu; her hand was exerting force, as though she was preparing to break free from Ye Qing’s hand.

”Ziyu, what’s wrong?” Ye Qing asked anxiously. He still didn’t dare to lift his head and could only say softly, ”We’re almost out, don’t move.”

There was no answer from behind, and Huangfu Ziyu’s struggle grew more intense, her strength increasing, making it hard for Ye Qing to hold onto her.

”Ziyu! Ziyu!?” Ye Qing was even more surprised. At this point, he had no choice but to turn his head to look.

Huangfu Ziyu was standing behind him, but her expression at this moment was completely different from usual. When with Ye Qing, Huangfu Ziyu was always very happy. But now, her face was full of anger, and there was even a hint of ferocity in her eyes as she viciously stared at Ye Qing.

”Ziyu! Ziyu! What’s wrong with you?” Ye Qing asked anxiously.

”What’s wrong with me? You’re asking what’s wrong with me?” Huangfu Ziyu suddenly spoke, breaking free from Ye Qing’s hand, and shouted angrily, ”You ask what’s wrong with me? Ye Qing, what exactly are you doing?”

”I... what have I done?” Ye Qing was even more puzzled and said, ”I’m taking you to rescue someone, what’s wrong with that?”

”Rescue someone? Who are you rescuing?” Huangfu Ziyu took a step back and shouted angrily, ”Do you know who you’re rescuing?”

”Yin Xianzi and Ding Lianshun, what’s wrong with that?” Ye Qing asked in bewilderment.

”They’re people from the Twelve Qing Hall! They are the Left and Right Protectors of the Twelve Qing Hall, did you know?” Huangfu Ziyu yelled.

”I... I know...” Ye Qing was even more bewildered, not knowing why Huangfu Ziyu suddenly became angry.

”Do you know? It was the Twelve Qing Hall that massacred my Huangfu family back then. Do you know? Because of the people from the Twelve Qing Hall, I lost my parents and family’s love from a young age. From a young age, I had to bear so many responsibilities that shouldn’t have been mine?” Huangfu Ziyu’s eyes became even more vicious, her voice almost roaring, ”I hate the Twelve Qing Hall! I hate everyone from the Twelve Qing Hall! I have to kill them all! I want to kill everyone from the Twelve Qing Hall!”

Ye Qing was suddenly stunned; he didn’t expect Huangfu Ziyu to explode at this moment and suddenly oppose him rescuing Yin Xianzi and Ding Lianshun. They had spoken well outside, so why did she suddenly lose her temper here?

”I hate you! I hate you!” Huangfu Ziyu suddenly raised her voice, at the same time lifting the Sun-shooting Bow in her hand, aiming at Ye Qing, actually preparing to attack him.

”Ziyu, you...” Ye Qing was shocked, about to speak when his heart suddenly jumped, a question forming in his mind.

With Huangfu Ziyu’s feelings towards him, how could she raise a hand against him? What’s going on? Could this... be an illusion?

Upon thinking of this, Ye Qing suddenly felt the scenery around him change dramatically, as if he was waking from a deep dream, suddenly opening his eyes. He was still standing in the same spot as before, but Huangfu Ziyu’s hand was no longer in his hand!

Ye Qing was taken aback; he already knew that everything that had just happened was merely an illusion. In other words, he had once again entered an illusory realm. But what was going on? He hadn’t even looked up at those words, so how did he enter the illusion again? Could it be that, regardless of looking at those words, one would still enter the illusion?

Ye Qing had no time to ponder, because he saw a Devouring Demon Flower approaching him. He quickly stepped back and turned to look, finding Huangfu Ziyu standing not far beside him, her eyes still tightly shut. However, she already held the Sun Shooting Bow in her hand, her face displaying panic and fear, clearly also trapped in an illusion, though he did not know what her illusion depicted.

”Zi Yu! Zi Yu!” Ye Qing hurried over to pull her away. But when his hand touched her, Huangfu Ziyu suddenly screamed, bending her bow and shooting an air arrow that pierced the sky, hitting the Devouring Demon Flower above her head.

The Devouring Demon Flower was forced to retreat a little, but remained unscathed. Nevertheless, Huangfu Ziyu did not stop, shooting one arrow after another, pushing the Devouring Demon Flower back continuously, unable to approach her.

Ye Qing stood by, watching Huangfu Ziyu shoot arrows at the Devouring Demon Flower as if she was possessed. He knew that something unbearable was happening within her illusion. Seeing Huangfu Ziyu’s agitated state, Ye Qing recognized the danger, understanding that if he didn’t stop her quickly, it might become perilous.

”Zi Yu!” Ye Qing called softly, walking over and suddenly pressing his hand on the acupoints of Huangfu Ziyu’s shoulder.

Immediately, almost all of Huangfu Ziyu’s strength was sealed by Ye Qing, and she collapsed into Ye Qing’s arms.

It wasn’t until this moment that Huangfu Ziyu slowly opened her eyes. Looking at Ye Qing holding her, tears welled up, and she couldn’t help but cry softly.

”It’s okay, it’s okay,” Ye Qing gently patted Huangfu Ziyu’s shoulder, whispering, ”The illusion happens only once; once it’s over, it’ll be fine. It’s alright now.”

”Ye Qing, did you know? I... I just went back to twenty years ago, to that night when my family was exterminated,” Huangfu Ziyu said, sobbing while leaning on Ye Qing’s shoulder. ”I watched with my own eyes as those people killed everyone in my family in front of me, killed my parents, my family, all of my relatives. For twenty years, I haven’t escaped this nightmare; I’m really scared!”

Even though she is the East State Poisonous Mantis, she is still a woman. As a woman, she too has a vulnerable side. The scene of her family’s massacre twenty years ago is a wound in her heart that can never be erased.

Ye Qing couldn’t help but sigh, gently stroking Huangfu Ziyu’s hair, softly saying, ”Everything is over now, and you can completely control your own fate. Even if those bad people come again, I won’t let them harm you at all. Don’t worry, I will definitely protect you!”

Hearing this, Huangfu Ziyu’s sobbing finally lessened. She clung to Ye Qing’s neck, whispering, ”I will remember what you said, in this lifetime, you must protect me well!”

Ye Qing laughed, ”Anyone who dares to touch a single hair on you, I’ll fight them to the end!”

Huangfu Ziyu looked overjoyed, raising her head to look at Ye Qing, suddenly hugging his neck and deeply kissing his lips.

Inhaling the faint fragrance, kissing those soft lips, at that moment, Ye Qing’s heart also warmed. He involuntarily embraced the woman in his arms tightly, sharing a deep kiss, only releasing her slowly after a long while.

Locked in each other’s gaze, Huangfu Ziyu blushed slightly, turning her head aside. Yet, Ye Qing’s heart was filled with love, and he wrapped his arms around Huangfu Ziyu’s soft waist, laughing aloud, ”Come on, with me here, you have nothing to fear!”

”Mm!” Huangfu Ziyu nodded like a little wife, closely following beside Ye Qing. Of course, she still tightly held the Sun Shooting Bow in her hand, her heart still not at ease.

The two Devouring Demon Flowers, having failed to consume anyone, slowly retreated. Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu had escaped the earlier illusion, moving forward effortlessly past the final barrier without entering another illusion even when they saw the words on the wall.

”It seems that the final challenge really tests one’s true nature!” Ye Qing remarked, ”Last time, Yin Xianzi said that the final checkpoint would pose no problem as long as one avoided looking at those words, but it seems she was wrong. In this final test, no matter what you do, you’ll fall into an illusion. Whether you look at the words or not, the result is the same. Passing through here requires a strong heart to overcome the illusion. If you’re trapped in it and can’t come out, you’ll be consumed by the Devouring Demon Flower!”

”This final challenge can draw out the deepest fears in a person’s heart, which can be called the heart demon,” Huangfu Ziyu nodded in agreement. ”For practitioners of martial arts, the greatest obstacle is the heart demon. The Great Demon King truly is a remarkable figure; by designing this final barrier, he can keep most people out. Who can actually get past the heart demon stage?”

Ye Qing nodded; this test was indeed challenging, and many Peak Masters reached this point but refused to proceed further. In fact, last time, neither Ding Lianshun nor Yin Xianzi could get through this stage. Ding Lianshun awoke only due to some disturbance. As for Yin Xianzi, Ye Qing was the one who woke her up. Similarly, Huangfu Ziyu had failed the test just now, woken by Ye Qing.

In truth, Ye Qing was the only one who had truly overcome the heart demon stage.

(A recommendation for a friend’s book, ”Ultimate Agent,” can be found by searching the title.)