Urban Martial Saint

Late at night, in another part of the suburbs of Shenchuan City, two men stood proudly, silently watching the night scene of Shenchuan City.

One of these men was Wanyan Hongsheng, also the Third Master of the Wanyan Family. The other man was a complete stranger, his eyes appeared dazed, as if completely lost in confusion.

The two stood quietly, as if waiting for something. After a short while, the man’s body suddenly shuddered, his eyes gradually clearing from the daze, then turning dark and cold, his entire demeanor changed significantly.

If he previously looked like an ordinary person, he now appeared more like a grim conspirator.

”How is it?” Wanyan Hongsheng looked at the man with a faint smile and said, ”How does it feel?”

The man didn’t reply to him, he just slowly raised his arm, looking at his body, his eyes shifting from darkness to joy, and he sneered, ”Not bad, really not bad. This Corpse Ghost Dragon truly has some skill, to have practiced such a doppelganger technique. Even if the original body dies, the person can still live on by simply changing appearance and starting anew. Hahaha, now I no longer need to worry about anyone seeking vengeance on me!”

”Of course!” Wanyan Hongsheng laughed and said, ”You’ve changed bodies, even if you go out now and tell others you’re Li Changshan, nobody will believe you!”

If Ye Qing were here to hear this, he would be utterly shocked. This man is Li Changshan? What’s going on? Wasn’t Li Changshan colluding with Ning Qianshu? How did he end up with the Wanyan Family? Moreover, isn’t Li Changshan dead? Did he use the art of the doppelganger to hide his doppelganger in this man’s body, preserving his life?

The Corpse Ghost Dragon preserved its life this way, and the Wanyan Family obtained the secret of its doppelganger technique. If the Wanyan Family used the doppelganger technique to place Li Changshan’s doppelganger into this body, it could indeed be possible. But why would the Wanyan Family collude with Li Changshan?

”Hmph, the name Li Changshan has forever vanished from this world.” Li Changshan sneered, ”Ye is very shrewd, but even he wouldn’t think I’d use my life to deceive him. I did exactly as you said, and now the Purple Robe Lama fully believes I’m working for the Twelve Green Halls. The Purple Robe Lama has quite a temper, I think after this matter, he won’t let the people of the Twelve Green Halls, Ning Qianshu at least, off the hook. Wan Yan, your plan truly succeeded!”

”Hahaha...” Wanyan Hongsheng laughed proudly, ”Ning Qianshu thinks he’s very clever, but he doesn’t know that everything is under my control. I had already started planning all this. I used his hand to first get rid of Li Changqing and then destroyed three families of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, bit by bit wearing down their strength. This time, Hong Alliance’s Seven Steering Committees are weaker than the Twelve Green Halls, so I lent them a hand by having the Purple Robe Lama assist them against the Twelve Green Halls. Once they’ve both been worn down, who can stop our Wanyan Family?”

”Wan Yan, you’re truly the one pulling the strings!” Li Changshan quickly flattered, ”Your calculations are beyond their wildest dreams. I pretended to work for Ning Qianshu all along, making the people of the Twelve Green Halls think I’d been bought by Ning Qianshu, so they assumed whatever I did was arranged by Ning Qianshu. Therefore, even if the people of Twelve Green Halls didn’t give any orders for this matter, no one would believe it. And my original body pretended to be deceived by Ye Qing just now, saying all those words, they have already been convinced that the Twelve Green Halls did this. Hmph, they would never dream that it was our plan all along. Simply killing those children wasn’t enough to stir enmity between the Purple Robe Lama and the Hong Alliance’s Seven Steering Committees or the Twelve Green Halls. What my original body said is what truly stokes the flames, making enmity between the Purple Robe Lama and the Twelve Green Halls inevitable!”

”Indeed!” Wanyan Hongsheng laughed loudly, ”Especially now that your original body is dead, as the saying goes, ’the words of a dying person are kind,’ who would think that the things you said before dying were to mislead them.”

”Exactly.” Li Changshan laughed, ”Even if the people of the Twelve Green Halls want to refute this matter, my original body is dead, and they can’t refute it. As they say, ’a dead person has no alibi,’ this is truly the case. Haha, this time, the Twelve Green Halls will be unable to clear their name even if they jump into the Yellow River!”

Wanyan Hongsheng nodded with satisfaction, he looked at Li Changshan and said, ”By the way, when you met with Ye earlier, did you ask about the whereabouts of the Buddha’s Relic?”

”No.” Li Changshan shook his head helplessly, ”I had just entered and didn’t have time to ask him about it before he exposed my identity. In desperation, I had to control him and then pretended to be arrogant, revealing those things to him. As for the Buddha’s Relic, I simply didn’t have time to ask.”

Wanyan Hongsheng frowned slightly, obviously a bit dissatisfied, speaking in a low voice, ”Where do you think he might have hidden the Buddha’s Relic?”

”I don’t know.” Li Changshan said, ”I’m not very familiar with him, and I don’t know his habits in doing things. Plus, he’s very tight-lipped, and even though I spent so much time at the orphanage trying to locate the Dragon Blood Wood, no one around him knew its whereabouts. Even those closest to him didn’t know where he kept those things. Getting him to reveal those secrets is going to be hard!”

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Hongsheng’s expression became visibly more displeased. However, Li Changshan failed to notice any of this. He shook his arm, saying, ”This body may be young, but its meridians are too rigid, I need to start practicing martial arts again. Wan Yan, didn’t you say earlier that the Corpse Ghost Dragon has a way to channel someone else’s inner strength into another person’s body? Why not have the Corpse Ghost Dragon channel some peak master inner strength into me. If I achieve the level of a peak master, wouldn’t it be more convenient to help the Wanyan Family?”

”You are quite correct,” Wanyan Hongsheng smiled lightly and said.

”Right!” Li Changshan was also very excited, ”Since that’s the case, when shall we find some time to meet the Corpse Ghost Dragon?”

”What I meant earlier was that your words were indeed correct.” Wanyan Hongsheng looked at Li Changshan, speaking slowly, ”You’re dead, only that is truly a situation where a dead person has no alibi!”

”Huh?” Li Changshan looked at Wanyan Hongsheng in surprise, his expression clearly not quite right, he whispered, ”My original body is already dead, indeed—a situation where a dead person has no alibi.”

”But this person isn’t dead,” Wanyan Hongsheng said calmly.

”What...what does this mean?” Li Changshan’s face was panic-stricken as he looked at Wanyan Hongsheng’s vacant expression, suddenly feeling something was terribly wrong.

”Only when you’re dead will it truly be a case of no alibi!” Wanyan Hongsheng coldly said to Li Changshan, ”As long as you’re alive, we’ll never rest easy!”

”What do you... what do you mean?” Li Changshan stepped back a few steps, trembling as he spoke, ”Wan Yan, I... I’m working for the Wanyan Family; we’re all in this together. I’d never betray you. Moreover, in this shape, who would believe I’m Li Changshan even if I told them?”

”Whether they believe it or not is their business, but I can’t let my plan have any flaws!” Wanyan Hongsheng slowly walked towards Li Changshan, his pace seemingly slow, but regardless of how Li Changshan backed away, he could never escape. Wanyan Hongsheng reached Li Changshan, gripping his neck and pinning him in place: ”If I want my plan to be foolproof, you must die!”

Li Changshan trembled and said, ”Wan Yan, I... I absolutely will never betray you! I’ve done so much for the Wanyan Family over the years, and if I did betray you, others would never spare me either. Wan Yan, you... you have to believe me. I truly won’t betray you. Please don’t kill me... I’ve done so much for the Wanyan Family; even if I don’t deserve merit, I’ve put in effort. You can’t do this to me...”

Wanyan Hongsheng smiled lightly and said, ”Relax, you’ve done much for the Wanyan Family, and I remember that in my heart. So, I certainly won’t kill you!”

Li Changshan let out a sigh of relief, but before he could calm down, Wanyan Hongsheng added, ”At least, I won’t kill you with my own hands!”

”W-What does that mean? What do you mean you won’t kill me with your own hands?” Li Changshan anxiously looked around and said, ”Wanyan Hongsheng, you... you wouldn’t be planning to send someone else to kill me, would you? After everything I’ve done for the Wanyan Family, is this how you repay me?”

”I also won’t have someone else kill you,” Wanyan Hongsheng smiled and said, ”Li Changshan, in fact, from the moment your original body entered the manor of the Hong Alliance’s Seven Steering Committees, you were already dead.”

”What?” Li Changshan was even more shocked, completely unable to understand what Wanyan Hongsheng meant.

”Do you really think this doppelganger technique could preserve your life?” Wanyan Hongsheng sneered, ”This doppelganger technique was created by the Corpse Ghost Dragon. Even with its power, cultivating a doppelganger takes time. You, however, have only spent these few days. You’ve merely retained a prototype of a doppelganger at best. Do you really think a few days are enough to cultivate a doppelganger that will allow you to continue living? Li Changshan, with your intelligence, even if you weren’t dead, you would be useless!”

Li Changshan was dumbstruck, looking at Wanyan Hongsheng and trembling as he said, ”Impossible, the—this doppelganger, it clearly fused with this body, I... I won’t die...”

”That’s only temporary,” Wanyan Hongsheng said with a smile, ”Within two hours, this doppelganger of yours will slowly disintegrate and finally vanish completely. And you, will be truly dead, with nothing left!”