Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing had originally been worried, as going to the Western Province alone wouldn’t be enough to rescue the three people. On the contrary, if he fell into the enemy’s hands, they might use him to threaten everyone in Shenchuan City, just like Fu Qingping had warned.

Unexpectedly, Fu Qingping was willing to accompany him to the Western Province, which was a huge relief for Ye Qing. Ye Qing had witnessed Fu Qingping’s power firsthand; with his help, the chance of rescuing the trio was significantly greater.

”Master, if you’re leaving Shenchuan City too, should we tell General Helian about this?” Ye Qing asked.

”No need,” Fu Qingping waved his hand and replied, ”If he knows about us going to the Western Province, do you think he would let us go? Even if he does, given his nature, he definitely won’t feel at ease leaving just the two of us. He might decide to follow us there. Right now, things are critical in Shenchuan City, and he needs to assist Zi Yu; he barely has time to spare!”

”That’s true,” Ye Qing nodded. Helian Tiehua was preparing to confront Snake Gentleman and the others personally. If he were also burdened with worrying about Ye Qing’s matters, things could get more complicated. While Ye Qing could disregard other concerns, he couldn’t ignore matters concerning the safety of Huangfu Ziyu.

Having decided to temporarily keep everything from the people of Shenchuan City, Ye Qing boarded the ship with Fu Qingping, quietly leaving without drawing attention. Naturally, they didn’t remain on the ship for the entire journey. After all, traveling by boat was too slow; at this pace, they might only arrive in time to collect bodies when they reached the Western Province.

The two got off the boat at Beiyang City, where they could take a direct flight to Xifu City. They bought tickets there, flying to Xifu City to fast-track their journey. That morning, Fu Qingping took Ye Qing on a half-day exploration, and only boarded the ship in the afternoon, so they arrived late at night and could only reach Xifu City by dawn. Moreover, they were unfamiliar with Xifu City, so finding Ye Jun Black Bear, Liu Mubai, and the others wouldn’t be easy.

Meanwhile, the Hong Alliance’s Seven Steering Committees’ estate in Shenchuan City was already in chaos. Helian Tiehua had been busy dealing with Ao Wuchang’s affairs and was preparing to handle Snake Gentleman and his group personally. However, he abruptly received the news that Ye Qing had disappeared, which shocked him immensely.

Helian Tiehua deliberately forbade Ye Qing from entering the hall yesterday to prevent him from learning about Huangfu Ziyu’s situation, so Ye Qing wouldn’t be distracted. Yet, he hadn’t anticipated managing the secret well but failing to keep track of Ye Qing, who disappeared from the Hong Alliance’s Seven Steering Committees’ estate.

”When did you notice his disappearance?” Helian Tiehua urgently inquired.

”He wasn’t seen since the morning,” the man responsible for monitoring Ye Qing’s side of the estate replied.

”He went missing in the morning?” Helian Tiehua frowned deeply, asking in a grave tone, ”Did you search all over the estate? Did he go out? Did he leave to find his friends?”

”We combed through every corner of the estate, and even asked the guards at the estate, but Ye has not left today,” the man paused, replying solemnly, ”No one has seen Ye all day; it’s as though he vanished into thin air.”

Ye Qing had been taken away by Fu Qingping, yet to keep the matter from others, Ye Qing discreetly hid inside that car in advance. Not just those hidden masters, even the driver wasn’t aware another person was in the car. Hence, people within the estate had no clue Ye Qing had left hidden in Fu Qingping’s vehicle.

”Nonsense, how can a living person just vanish?” Helian Tiehua shouted angrily, pausing in thought, he suddenly gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice, ”Go call Uncle Fu, Blood Robe Sect Leader, and Wolf Monk here.”

The attendants quickly went out to summon them, and shortly afterward, one person rushed in first, saying, ”Great General, Senior Fu isn’t in the estate either!”

”What?” Helian Tiehua was even more stunned, asking, ”Uncle Fu isn’t here either? Did he… disappear as well?”

”Oh, that’s not the case,” the man said, ”In the morning, Senior Fu hired a driver to take him sightseeing in Shenchuan City. However, he stayed behind at the East District Wharf, instructing the driver to return alone, and hasn’t returned yet.”

Helian Tiehua found it odd that Fu Qingping suddenly wanted to go sightseeing. Moreover, it was late now, and Fu Qingping hadn’t returned yet; what was he doing out there?

However, Helian Tiehua was most concerned about Ye Qing. So, he didn’t think much about Fu Qingping’s outings, nor expected Ye Qing left with him.

After a while, Bloody Monk and Wolf Monk arrived. Hearing about Ye Qing’s disappearance along the way, they hurried over, appearing anxious and worried. As soon as they walked in, Wolf Monk quickly asked, ”General Helian, what happened? Where is Ye Qing?”

Helian Tiehua frowned deeply, replying solemnly, ”I suspect Ye Qing was abducted. Therefore, I brought you two here, as we must rescue Ye Qing tonight by whatever means.”

”Abducted?” Wolf Monk furrowed his brow, asking seriously, ”Who did this?”

Helian Tiehua shook his head; with no leads, he couldn’t know who did it.

”Without knowing who took him, how do we rescue him?” Wolf Monk asked again, genuinely worried yet equally clueless about it.

”I have a list of hidden peak masters in Shenchuan City, with fourteen names on it. If Ye Qing was abducted, it must be one of these fourteen people.” Helian Tiehua pulled out a note and said firmly, ”We don’t know who took Ye Qing, so we will question each of them. These fourteen people, we may have to face them all!”

Wolf Monk glanced at the list, a shrewd gleam flashing in his eyes. To find Ye Qing tonight, they had to investigate these fourteen peak masters—a daunting task, considering if united, the trio wouldn’t stand a chance.

However, with Ye Qing’s rescue being the priority, there were no alternatives.

”If that’s the case, let’s not delay any further!” Wolf Monk clapped decisively, exclaiming, ”When do we head out?”

”No delay, now is best!” Helian Tiehua looked at Bloody Monk, waiting for his response.

Bloody Monk, silent since he entered, now raised his head and looked at Helian Tiehua, saying, ”Let’s go!”

Those two simple words needed no further explanation, Bloody Monk’s intentions were already clear. In this matter, he’d not shy away. Relating to Ye Qing, regardless of the numbers, he must investigate thoroughly!

With Bloody Monk’s support, Helian Tiehua was invigorated, arranging vehicles to go with Bloody Monk and Wolf Monk to confront these peak masters, inquiring if Ye Qing had been captured by them. Fortunately, those fourteen peak masters operated independently, without any ties or collaboration in their residence. Therefore, Helian Tiehua and his team could investigate individually with relative ease. If all fourteen were together, the trio wouldn’t be able to manage the investigation.

Of course, before departing, Helian Tiehua reminded his subordinates, informing him immediately if Fu Qingping returned. Despite receiving Bloody Monk and Wolf Monk’s backing, Helian Tiehua felt slightly uneasy, given Shenchuan City housed numerous peak masters. Having Fu Qingping’s assistance would undoubtedly deter many masters from his era.

Unquestionably, tonight’s Shenchuan City was destined to be unsettled due to Ye Qing’s departure. However, it was precisely what Ye Qing hoped to see. Only when Helian Tiehua stirred things up would those hidden peak masters realize Ye Qing was already absent from Shenchuan City, and they would scramble to find him, focusing less on confronting the Hong Alliance Seven Steering Committees and Ye Qing’s brothers. Moreover, Ye Qing purposely didn’t notify Helian Tiehua of his departure, causing Helian Tiehua to think someone captured Ye Qing, leading him to inadvertently create a disturbance. Before finding Ye Qing, no matter how tumultuous the situation became, it wouldn’t escalate to a life-and-death battle.

Additionally, until Ye Qing was found, these peak masters wouldn’t rashly attack the Hong Alliance Seven Steering Committees. Ye Qing wasn’t within the Seven Steering Committees, attacking them would be futile. Conversely, the Seven Steering Committees were formidable, and opposing them would be perilous. Unless seeking the Buddha’s Relic, these people wouldn’t aggressively engage the Seven Steering Committees. Hence, Ye Qing chose this method to leave Shenchuan City, temporarily pacifying the situation, safeguarding the Seven Steering Committees and his nearby friends.

Even though he calmed Shenchuan City for a while, solving Xifu City’s issues wasn’t as easy. Ye Qing and Fu Qingping arrived at Xifu City, reaching downtown from the airport at dawn. Xifu City was enshrouded in silence, with few pedestrians on the streets.

Worried about Ye Jun’s trio, Ye Qing couldn’t identify where to investigate immediately upon reaching Xifu City, opting to find a place to stay and rest for the night. Search for Ye Jun would commence the next day.