Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing and Shen Qingyi stood still, even though they were far apart. At this moment, their eyes met and both forgot what they were supposed to do.

”Ye, how are you?” After a long while, Shen Lingwei’s voice finally woke them up.

Both felt somewhat awkward, and Ye Qing quickly turned his head to Shen Lingwei and said, ”Miss Lingwei, how did you know it was me?”

Shen Lingwei was blind, something Ye Qing was aware of; she couldn’t see a thing. Moreover, he had been silent ever since he left the room, yet Shen Lingwei could still guess his identity, which surprised him.

”Hehe...” Shen Lingwei chuckled lightly, not answering Ye Qing’s question, but gently patted Shen Qingyi’s hand.

Seeing Shen Lingwei like this made Ye Qing suddenly understand. Shen Lingwei was merely guessing. After all, Shen Qingyi beside her would only enter such a state when seeing him. Although Shen Lingwei couldn’t see anything, her meticulous nature helped her deduce many things through small details.

Since Shen Lingwei spoke, Ye Qing walked over slowly. He looked at Shen Qingyi and asked softly, ”How... how have you both been recently?”

Shen Qingyi lowered her head, unable to meet the gaze of the one she loved. Despite everything that had happened, she longed to throw herself into Ye Qing’s arms to feel the warmth of his protection. But she knew she couldn’t do that, because of Huangfu Ziyu!

”Everything is fine,” Shen Lingwei replied softly, her expression always calm and natural. Her innate Taoist heart allowed her to remain calm, something not everyone could achieve.

”Are you comfortable living... living here?” Ye Qing asked again, primarily wanting to inquire about Shen Qingyi.

But Shen Qingyi surely wouldn’t answer him. Knowing Shen Qingyi’s mood, Shen Lingwei nodded slightly and replied softly, ”Everything is fine, except Qingyi hasn’t been in the sun for a long time, causing her resistance to drop a bit. But it’s fine now; once this phase passes, everything will be okay!”

Upon hearing this, Ye Qing suddenly thought of something. He quickly took out a bag from his pocket and handed it directly to Shen Qingyi, saying, ”Qingyi, this... inside are some medicinal herbs, even more effective than the Ziyu Chenxiang Pill. If you feel unwell, taking a small piece will be very beneficial to you.”

Looking at the bag, Shen Qingyi had tears in her eyes. She knew that Ye Qing still cared for her. However, between them, it was impossible now.

”Ye, thank you.” Shen Qingyi shook her head, saying softly, ”I... I’m fine, there’s no need to take these medicines...”

”How can you not carry medicines with you?” Ye Qing rushed, ”I know, there’s not much of Shen Family Manor’s Ziyu Chenxiang Pill left. Also, you can’t go back to Shen Family, and without agar trees, you can’t make Ziyu Chenxiang Pill. If you don’t carry medicines with you, it’s very dangerous. Don’t worry, I have plenty of these medicines; you take them first.”

”I...” Shen Qingyi wanted to refuse, but Shen Lingwei reached over and took the bag.

”Ye, thank you very much!” Shen Lingwei replied softly, gently patting Shen Qingyi’s hand, telling her not to be agitated. Though blind, Shen Lingwei understood the emotions between this couple. Shen Qingyi was embarrassed to accept, which was normal. But refusing might hurt Ye Qing’s feelings more.

Seeing Shen Lingwei take the medicine, Ye Qing sighed with relief. He wanted to say more but suddenly realized that he didn’t know what to say. Despite their feelings for each other, things were not developing as they imagined. Ye Qing cared for Shen Qingyi, but he also loved Huangfu Ziyu. This complex emotion left Ye Qing unsure of how to deal with these two girls.

Fortunately, Handsome Fatty Wang emerged from the hall in time, grumbling from afar, ”Damn it, what kind of nonsense monk is that? He talks nonsense like farting, says a lot without getting to the point, wasting Fat Lord’s time.”

Hearing Handsome Fatty Wang’s complaints, Ye Qing turned back immediately. Seeing Fatty Wang’s indignant look, Ye Qing couldn’t help but smile and said, ”What’s the matter, Fat Wang?”

”What’s the matter, my ass!” Handsome Fatty Wang said, ”Given the situation, we must prepare more weapons. That old guy said there might be something even more terrifying inside the tomb!”

”Terrifying? How terrifying?” Ye Qing asked hurriedly.

”How would I know!” Handsome Fatty Wang replied, ”I’ve seen some corpses before when entering tombs, already terrifying enough. But according to that old guy, the things inside this tomb might be scarier than those corpses. Damn, what could be scarier than corpses?”

”What are corpses?” Ye Qing asked.

”They are bodies that have undergone corpse transformation.” Handsome Fatty Wang explained.

”Corpse transformation?” Ye Qing’s eyes widened, ”Can bodies really transform?”

”Of course!” Handsome Fatty Wang shot a glance at Ye Qing, ”Didn’t you see it at Shen Family Manor last time? That Corpse Ghost Dragon can control bodies.”

”That’s Necromancy of Corpse Ghost Dragon, controlling bodies with sorcery; that’s normal. But corpse transformation, isn’t that something supernatural?” Ye Qing said, ”Corpse transformation, isn’t that seeing ghosts?”

”Corpse transformation is corpse transformation, and seeing ghosts is seeing ghosts; they’re not the same.” Handsome Fatty Wang explained, ”You said necromancy is quite similar to the principle of corpse transformation. The so-called corpse transformation is the residue power in a body failing to dissipate, reactivated by external influence, causing the body to move. To put it simply, it’s a result of martial artists whose inner strength hasn’t completely dissipated.”

”Inner strength not completely dissipated?” Ye Qing frowned. He had heard from Ding Lianshun before that some very powerful masters could maintain inner strength for a period. But sustaining it for years without dispersing is rare. Could it be that the bodies undergoing corpse transformation all had powerful strength in life?

”Yes, inner strength not completely dissipated.” Handsome Fatty Wang said, ”These people have very unique physiques; after death, their meridians automatically close. If the force hasn’t been fully expelled before the meridians close, it remains inside, posing a risk of corpse transformation. Of course, these individuals are extremely rare, tough to find even one among ten thousand. But in ancient times, some sorcerers specifically captured people with such physiques, made them practice Inner Strength, killed them, and placed them in the tombs of high officials and nobles as tomb guardians. Therefore, the wealthier the tomb, the higher the chance of encountering corpses!”

Ye Qing’s eyes widened, astonished to learn the origin of these transformed bodies. Listening to Handsome Fatty Wang’s explanation truly broadened his perspective.

”Then how do you usually deal with these bodies?” Ye Qing asked.

”The best method is to cut them directly. But if someone deliberately created corpses as tomb guardians, those bodies are soaked with medicine and extremely tough, difficult to injure, and impossible to cut.” Handsome Fatty Wang explained, ”So people later invented the Black Donkey Hoof to deal with these corpses.”

Ye Qing asked, ”Can the Black Donkey Hoof smash the bodies?”

Handsome Fatty Wang replied, ”Of course, it doesn’t smash the bodies. I’m not sure why, but using the Black Donkey Hoof on a corpse disperses its internal power, thus resolving it. So, when entering tombs, we always carry Black Donkey Hoofs just in case.”

”I see.” Ye Qing realized something, then asked again, ”You mentioned seeing ghosts and corpse transformation are separate; have you encountered ghosts before?”

”How to say this?” Handsome Fatty Wang scratched his head, ”After entering tombs, we often encounter strange occurrences. Like ghost walls, a place seemingly simple, but no matter what, you can’t leave. Or ghost blindness, standing in one spot and all you see are bizarre things, like an illusion. In that illusion, unknowingly, you get led into traps. Such situations are collectively called seeing ghosts. But in reality, no one has ever seen a ghost!”

Ye Qing felt a stir at heart; he could actually explain the situations described by Handsome Fatty Wang. Ghost walls are formations in Qimen Dunjia that prevent one from leaving. As for ghost blindness, it’s a method to trap someone in an Illusory Realm encountered in the Demon Hideout Cave before. Hence, it’s not about ghosts; it’s merely mechanisms left by ancient masters.

From this, the bizarre occurrences encountered in tombs aren’t that strange. At most, they’re illusions set by others; just remain cautious to guard against them.

”Given this, what should we prepare?” Ye Qing said, ”Tonight, it’s best for us to depart. Whatever you need, I’ll arrange for you.”

”Judging from that monk’s words, this tomb may not be simple.” Handsome Fatty Wang frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, ”This time entering the cave, we need to bring everything. But there are only two of us; we can’t carry much ourselves. Maybe I should gather a team to go down the tomb together; so we can look out for each other. What do you think?”

”Sounds good!” Ye Qing agreed without a second thought. His high skills leave him generally unconcerned about other things. With his current strength, only encountering a Peak Master could press him. Mere common prowess poses no threat. No matter how strong those summoned by Handsome Fatty Wang are, they can’t pull tricks in front of Ye Qing.