Urban Martial Saint

Wen’er looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Later, of course they went together to find the tomb of Ancestor Chen Tuan. With that clue to guide them, plus my father’s rich experience, entering the tomb wasn’t too difficult. However, what they found inside the tomb led to a tragedy later on.”

”What did they find in the tomb?” Ye Qing quickly asked, knowing this was the most crucial part.

Wen’er sighed and said, ”I heard from my father that they didn’t find Ancestor Chen Tuan’s corpse in the tomb, but they did find some engraved text.”

”Another engraving?” Ye Qing couldn’t help but exclaim.

”What do you mean by ’another engraving’?” Wen’er asked in surprise, not knowing that Ye Qing had seen many engravings before, which was why he said such a thing.

”Nothing,” Ye Qing waved his hand and said, ”Go on, what was the content of those engravings?”

”I don’t know the contents of those engravings either,” Wen’er shook her head and said, ”Actually, among those who entered the tomb, except for my mother, no one else recognized those writings. And while my mother was reading them out loud to my father and the others, they were suddenly ambushed by a group of black-clad attackers. At the time, although my father and the others had already started learning martial arts, their skills were far from enough and they were no match for the attackers. So, without much of a fight, they were all defeated.”

Ye Qing frowned, surprised that in Ancestor Chen Tuan’s tomb, they would be ambushed by a group of black-clad attackers. It seemed that this group had been following them and it wasn’t just a coincidence. Could it be that others had designs on Ancestor Chen Tuan’s tomb?

”What happened next?” Ye Qing asked.

”Then... then those black-clad attackers took my mother away...” Wen’er said with teary eyes, ”They threatened my father, telling him to collect one hundred and eight famed instruments, and then they would release my mother. My father and the others couldn’t fend off these people, and in the end, they had no choice but to follow their orders, forming the South Ridge Sect and starting to gather the famed instruments.”

Ye Qing suddenly understood why the South Ridge Sect was so frantically collecting famed instruments; it was to save Wen’er’s mother.

”But I heard from your father that the one hundred and eight famed instruments are used to open the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. How did they know about this?” Ye Qing asked.

”This should be the content recorded in those engravings found at Ancestor Chen Tuan’s tomb,” Wen’er said, ”I heard from my father that when my mother was halfway through reading the engravings, she was captured. After those black-clad attackers copied the ancient writings, they destroyed them. What my father knew was only the half that my mother had read. However, in that half, it mentioned the matter of the one hundred and eight famed instruments. It seems that they learned from that half that the famed instruments can open the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. But since their knowledge of the text was incomplete, they didn’t know exactly how to open it.”

”I see!” Ye Qing nodded slowly and, after a moment of silence, suddenly looked at Wen’er and asked, ”Do you know who took your mother away?”

”We didn’t know at first, but later, when these people started interfering with our South Ridge Sect to hasten the collection of the famed instruments, we gradually learned their identities.” Wen’er took a deep breath, looked at Ye Qing, and said, ”These people are actually Japanese ninjas of the Iga-ryu school!”

”Japanese ninjas!?” Ye Qing frowned, recalling encountering a skilled practitioner of ninjutsu in a treasure cave at the South Ridge Sect. At the time, Ye Qing was puzzled if the South Ridge Sect had colluded with the Japanese. Now it seemed it wasn’t as he had previously suspected; the South Ridge Sect was merely being threatened by them.

”Initially, we had already gathered the one hundred and eight famed instruments, but the Japanese ninjas violated the agreement at that moment. They told us not only to find the famed instruments but also the Dragon Blood Wooden Gold Threaded Armor, then they would release my mother.” At this point, Wen’er’s face was full of anger, and she said through gritted teeth, ”The Japanese ninjas are truly treacherous villains, forcing my father and the others to find the Dragon Blood Wooden Gold Threaded Armor, which led to the events that followed.”

Listening to this, Ye Qing felt somewhat embarrassed. This matter was somewhat connected to him. After the South Ridge Sect collected enough famed instruments, he took all of them, leading to the downfall of the South Ridge Sect and the uncertain fate of the Nine Great Gate Masters.

”Wen’er, I’m sorry,” Ye Qing sighed and said, ”I didn’t know there were such reasons behind this. Initially, I thought the South Ridge Sect was colluding with the Japanese, so...”

”Brother Ye, it’s not your fault,” Wen’er interrupted Ye Qing, gently shaking her head and said, ”Actually, we all understand very well. Given the way the Japanese do things, even if we truly gathered the one hundred and eight famed instruments and found the Dragon Blood Wooden Gold Threaded Armor, they still wouldn’t let go of my mother. These people, once they have control over us, they won’t stop until they’ve squeezed out all our value. So, from when my father and the others began collecting the one hundred and eight famed instruments, they had already made two plans. They collected another set in hopes of opening the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master before the Japanese, to retrieve whatever was inside. Only by obtaining the items within the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, do we stand a chance of truly exchanging them for my mother!”

Ye Qing finally understood why the people at the South Ridge Sect wanted to collect an additional batch of famed instruments—because of this reason. In the end, the South Ridge Sect wasn’t willing to be at the mercy of the Japanese either.

However, the trouble now was that the people from the South Ridge Sect didn’t know how to open the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, and the inscriptions in Ancestor Chen Tuan’s tomb had been destroyed by the Japanese. So, the only ones who knew how to open the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master would be the group of Japanese ninjas. Of course, there was a possibility that Wen’er’s mother also knew, but since she was in the hands of the Japanese, it wouldn’t be of much use even if she did. Therefore, it seemed almost impossible for Ye Qing to open the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master now.

As Wen’er recounted the past, she was visibly sorrowful. After a while, she slowly regained her calm, looking at Ye Qing sitting silently beside her. Suddenly she asked curiously, ”Brother Ye, is there something you want to know about this matter?”

”It’s nothing, I just happened to hear some things about the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, so I came to ask. Now that you don’t know much about this either, I won’t disturb you any further. You’ve been tired these days, take a good rest,” Ye Qing stood up, and as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned to Wen’er and asked, ”By the way, how do you guys communicate with those Japanese ninjas? Do you call them directly if you have something to discuss?”

”No,” Wen’er shook her head and said, ”The Iga-ryu people have a base in Huaxia, specifically for regularly transporting famed instruments from us. To ensure my mother’s safety, my father has to meet with her in person from time to time.”

”A base! Where is it located?” Ye Qing’s eyes flashed with a bright light; this was indeed a big deal. He hadn’t expected the Japanese ninjas to be so bold as to establish a base in Huaxia. Moreover, from what Wen’er said, her mother was held in that base, which would undoubtedly make things easier.

”I don’t know the exact location, but I heard my father mention it should be near Wutai City. However, I’ve sneaked to Wutai City before and found nothing,” Wen’er sighed and said in a low voice, ”Actually, it’s been years since I last saw my mother...”

When she said that, Wen’er’s voice was noticeably low, revealing how deeply sad she was. It’s not surprising, for her mother had been taken so many years ago, and she hadn’t seen her since she was very young. The sorrow in her heart was imaginable.

”Wutai City!” Ye Qing slowly remembered the name. Now, if he wanted to open the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, he seemed to have everything in place—he had as many famed instruments as needed, and the Gold Silk Armor was in his possession. The only thing lacking was the method to open the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. Upon learning that the Japanese ninjas had a base in Wutai City and that Wen’er’s mother was being held there, he was determined to take down that base. After all, the enmity between Japan and Huaxia is significant. For ordinary people, the mention of Japan brings endless hatred!

Seeing Ye Qing’s expression, Wen’er was moved. She looked at Ye Qing and nervously asked, ”Brother Ye, what are you planning to do?”

Ye Qing glanced at Wen’er, smiled gently, and said, ”Wen’er, would you like to go to Wutai City with me?”

”Go to Wutai City together?” Wen’er was stunned. She looked at Ye Qing in surprise and asked, ”Brother Ye, you… you mean…”

”That’s right, I’ll help you rescue your mother!” Ye Qing nodded.

”Really… really?” Wen’er’s voice was trembling as she looked at Ye Qing and said, ”But Brother Ye, I heard from my father that there are many masters hidden in the Japanese base, including peak masters. If we…if we try to rescue her this way…”

”You don’t have to worry about that. I have my arrangements!” Ye Qing smiled and said, ”No matter how strong the Japanese are, they are no match for my master!