Urban Martial Saint

”Uh...” Old Wang Ba thought for a moment, then said: ”You could say that, the seventh and eighth days of the lunar calendar are called waxing moon. The twenty-second and twenty-third days are called waning moon, when the moon is only half visible, so you could call it Half-Moon Night.”

”So it seems it’s almost time.” Ye Qing looked up at the moon outside; tonight was the Full Moon Night, the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar. It was seven or eight days until the twenty-second and twenty-third days of the lunar calendar.

”Yes.” Old Wang Ba got excited too, after all, the Iron Calculation Sect also belonged to the Taoist Sect. The Tomb of Ghost Valley Master was a place where countless members of the Taoist Sect dreamt of entering; who knew how many secrets of the Taoist Sect were hidden inside.

Ye Qing nodded slowly and said: ”Well then, let’s prepare. When the waning moon comes, we’ll be ready to find the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master.”

”Alright!” Old Wang Ba nodded excitedly, but right after speaking, he suddenly furrowed his brow and said: ”Wait, I have a question for you.”

”What question?” Ye Qing wondered.

Old Wang Ba looked at Ye Qing and said: ”We have a way to locate the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, but do you know how to open it?”

Ye Qing was stumped by the question; he scratched his head and said: ”Before, when I was at the South Ridge Sect, I overheard some methods for opening the tomb. Supposedly, it requires one hundred and eight famed instruments to form a particular array to open the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. It’s not difficult to find one hundred and eight famed instruments, the issue is we don’t know what array to use with them.”

”One hundred and eight famed instruments aren’t a problem?” Old Wang Ba stared wide-eyed at Ye Qing and said: ”Since when did you become so loaded?”

Old Wang Ba didn’t know that Ye Qing had been quite fruitful during his latest venture. At Mount Duwang, in the tunnel leading to the Tomb of the Duwang Sect Master, Ye Qing acquired dozens of famed instruments, which were all stored at Mount Duwang and could be collected at any time. Not to mention the Demon Hideout Cave, where Ye Qing estimated there were at least thousands of famed instruments hidden, a number shocking to everyone. Plus, those Ye Qing previously obtained from the South Ridge Sect, which were substantial as well. So, for Ye Qing now, gathering one hundred and eight famed instruments was a breeze, with no difficulty at all.

”Don’t worry about where I find so many famed instruments. Just tell me how to use those one hundred and eight instruments to form an array?” Ye Qing asked.

”How should I know?” Old Wang Ba shrugged and said: ”That’s top secret. According to the writings left by Ancestor Chen Tuan, both the method to find the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master and the method to open it were researched by him. However, he stored these two methods in separate locations. The method to find the tomb is left inside the Xi Yi Sword. As for the method to open the tomb, no one knows where it’s stored. But I guess it should’ve been obtained by someone from the South Ridge Sect. How about you ask that girl from the South Ridge Sect? She’s the Grand Sect Master’s daughter; she surely knows many secrets of the South Ridge Sect.”

Ye Qing knew that Old Wang Ba was referring to Wen’er. Although her status was high at the South Ridge Sect, Ye Qing felt she probably knew little about these things. Even the sect leaders of South Ridge Sect might not understand this matter clearly. To get answers, they would need to find those sect leaders. However, since the last time Ye Qing was rescued by them, they haven’t been seen again, making the search difficult.

After leaving Old Wang Ba’s place, Ye Qing went straight to find Wen’er. Since Du Canglang brought Wen’er back last time, she had stayed at the estate of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, without leaving even once. Her villa wasn’t far from Ye Qing’s, so passing by Ye Qing’s villa happened naturally on his way to hers.

When passing by his villa, Ye Qing heard sounds of shouting coming from inside from afar. He walked around the garden to see a few people practicing martial arts together. Leading them was Liu Mubai, followed by Ye Jun and Black Bear. Behind them was a boy, the one Ye Qing brought back from the waste disposal site last time.

The boy’s two younger sisters were attending school at the orphanage. Yet the boy refused to go, choosing to stay at the estate. When Ye Qing was at the estate, he often requested to learn martial arts from Ye Qing. Ye Qing wasn’t very concerned, being busy with other things. Unexpectedly, now he was practicing martial arts with Liu Mubai alongside Ye Jun and Black Bear.

For Black Bear to train with Liu Mubai, Ye Qing could understand a little, as Black Bear liked it himself. But Ye Jun also practicing martial arts was peculiar, given his conditions—one arm and leg missing—and past the optimal age for martial arts training. Ye Qing wondered why he trained when his progress would be limited.

Seeing Ye Qing approach, those training stopped and came out. Although Ye Jun had a prosthetic arm and leg, they weren’t his own, making his walk slightly awkward. Still, he wouldn’t accept assistance, his stubborn and determined nature mirroring Ye Qing’s.

”Ye Zi!” Liu Mubai greeted Ye Qing, while Black Bear stood straight and saluted, loudly calling him Captain. Despite having left the military long ago, habits from his service hadn’t changed; every time he saw Ye Qing, he would call him Captain.

Ye Qing smiled, nodded at them, and smiled at the boy hiding behind Black Bear before looking at Ye Jun and asked: ”Junzi, do you want to practice martial arts?”

”Brother, I know what you’re going to say; Big Brother Liu already discussed it with me!” Ye Jun answered matter-of-factly: ”I know practicing martial arts now won’t lead to significant achievement, mostly just helping me stay fit. But I don’t mind; I don’t necessarily need great accomplishments. According to Big Brother Liu, diligent practice can at least improve my mobility. I ask for nothing more; to run and jump like ordinary people would suffice!”

Ye Qing hadn’t expected Ye Jun’s goals to be so simple, his words causing a surge of joy for Ye Qing. Knowing Ye Jun still held hope for the future despite his physical limitations brought Ye Qing much relief.

”Don’t worry, if you practice diligently, it can absolutely be done!” Ye Qing patted Ye Jun’s shoulder.

”Mm!” Ye Jun nodded vigorously, looking proudly at his brother. Since childhood, Ye Qing had always been the one he admired most.

Ye Qing smiled slightly, then turned to Liu Mubai, taking out two secret manuals and handing them over: ”Big Brother Liu, I came across these secret manuals by chance. Take a look when you have time; you might find them useful.”

Liu Mubai took the secret manuals, glanced at them and, although he didn’t recognize the names on them, he could tell from the worn pages that they had been well-preserved for a long time. Such manuals, the longer they were preserved, the more valuable they tended to be. So, despite their unknown origins, Liu Mubai understood these manuals wouldn’t be ordinary.

These manuals were actually acquired by Ye Qing from the Tomb of the Duwang Sect Master. In the passage leading there, Ye Qing not only found numerous famed instruments but also many secret manuals. When he left, he chose three better-preserved manuals; one was the ’Indestructible Demon Body’, found on a corpse. The other two were the ones he had just given to Liu Mubai.

That ’Indestructible Demon Body’ manual, Ye Qing later compared to the records in the Demon Hideout Cave. Although Ye Qing wasn’t familiar with many ancient texts there, he could discern that the ’Indestructible Demon Body’ he obtained from the Tomb of the Duwang Sect Master differed from the Hideout Cave’s records. In fact, what Ye Qing found at the Duwang Tomb was just a partial version of the ’Indestructible Demon Body’.

Upon reflection, this seemed logical. If the man had the complete ’Indestructible Demon Body’, mastering it would have made him invincible, making the search for the Tianzhu Sword unnecessary. It is because that manual was incomplete that he sought the Tianzhu Sword to boost his power. Thus, what Ye Qing discovered was only part of the complete ’Indestructible Demon Body’, its effectiveness far from the true version.

Ye Qing didn’t give Liu Mubai the incomplete ’Indestructible Demon Body’, as it was a cultivation technique from the Demon Sect, which he distrusted. The term ’demon’ has always signified evil across ages, and Ye Qing was cautious about anyone close to him falling into the demon path. He’d rather destroy the manual than let it lead his companions astray.

Although Ye Qing hadn’t destroyed the ’Indestructible Demon Body’ yet, hoping to research it further, given his nonexistent meridians. To regain his strength, he must explore various methods. Since the ’Indestructible Demon Body’ is one of the Demon Sect’s strongest skills, it surely held unique qualities; perhaps studying it could reveal Ye Qing’s current circumstances.