Urban Martial Saint

After sending off the two brothers, Ye Qing immediately called in his own underlings and instructed them to ask Old Chen for the address of Old Chen’s family right after he finished his meal. Then they were to arrange a car to send Old Chen back, and take the opportunity to feel out Old Chen’s background. If Old Chen really had no issues, they were to just send him home and leave him alone. To be honest, Ye Qing really didn’t want this old geezer staying here any longer; that nagging mouth of his was simply a nightmare.

After giving instructions about Old Chen, Ye Qing went straight to the guest room where the Seventh Elder was staying. After they returned last night, Ye Qing had arranged for the Seventh Elder to stay in this guest room. On one hand it gave the Seventh Elder a chance to rest; on the other, Ye Qing needed time to think about fabricating that Taoist Incantation.

The Seventh Elder was up fairly early. Seeing Ye Qing come over, he wasn’t very surprised. In fact, on the way back he had already thought through how he should handle this matter. First of all, he had completely lost any affection for the Wanyan Family; what remained was only resentment. So how to deal with the Wanyan Family was the first thing he had to consider. Next came the question of whom he should cooperate with.

After coming out of the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, the Seventh Elder discovered that his Inner Strength still hadn’t recovered at all, which made him begin to doubt the state of his own body. Although he still held out hope in his heart, he vaguely worried whether his power would never recover. If it truly became impossible for his strength to return, then he would be no different from a cripple. Without power, how was he supposed to survive in this chaotic world, how was he supposed to take revenge? That was a crucial problem. And within this problem, how to maintain his relationships with the major powers was also a key issue.

First off, the Wanyan Family was definitely a place he could never return to; on top of that, he still had to take them down. Then there was Iga-ryu, the force that was connected to his identity as the Seventh Elder. If he returned to Iga-ryu now, he would still be the Seventh Elder; what’s more, if he took what Ye Qing had obtained from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, he would be rendering Iga-ryu a great service and would definitely be heavily used. But the key problem was that he was one of the Wanyan Family; for the Wanyan Family to treat him like this was essentially to abandon him. If he went back to Iga-ryu, the Wanyan Family might very well expose his identity. In that case, without the Wanyan Family even needing to act, Iga-ryu would probably get rid of him first. So after thinking it through, Iga-ryu likewise was not his final destination—going back to Iga-ryu was certain death.

With these two forces both cut off from him, after thinking it over and over, only Ye Qing’s side remained. Ye Qing’s personal power was not strong, but here there were the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance; that was the power worth paying attention to. In other words, if he could stay on the side of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, he would be safe. However, how he was to remain with the Seven Steering Committees was also a big problem. Moreover, how to use everything he currently had to take revenge on the Wanyan Family was something that merited careful thought.

When Ye Qing arrived at the Seventh Elder’s quarters, the Seventh Elder had just finished breakfast and was waiting for Ye Qing to come over.

”Seventh Elder, what you wanted, I’ve already written it out for you!” Ye Qing took out that piece of Taoist Incantation he had arbitrarily cobbled together and handed it to the Seventh Elder, saying, ”This is something I got from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. I don’t know what it says; what’s written on it should be Taoist Incantation, but I don’t understand it. I copied a version; this is everything I got from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. Can you give this to the Iga Ryu Clan Master and have him release Zi Yu?”

The Seventh Elder took that Taoist Incantation and pretended to study it carefully, then slowly nodded and said, ”The world says that within the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master are hidden major secrets of the Taoist Sect and the Heaven, Earth, and Man Three Gates. I suppose those secrets are contained in this Taoist Incantation. Mr. Ye, rest assured, with this Taoist Incantation, I will definitely make the Sect Master release Miss Huangfu!”

”Then I’ll be troubling you, Seventh Elder!” Ye Qing hurriedly expressed his thanks. In truth, he didn’t really care whether the Iga Ryu Clan Master would actually release Huangfu Ziyu or not. What he wanted was for the Seventh Elder to hand this Taoist Incantation over to the Iga Ryu Clan Master, because the ink he had used contained radioactive material that could be tracked. Wherever the Seventh Elder took this thing, he would be able to follow. As long as the Seventh Elder handed this to the Iga Ryu Clan Master, Ye Qing would be able to find the Iga Ryu Clan Master, and rescuing Huangfu Ziyu would become much easier.

”Mr. Ye, no need to be so polite. If not for Mr. Ye’s help this time, I wouldn’t have been able to walk out of the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master alive!” The Seventh Elder put away that Taoist Incantation and slowly nodded. ”We’ll still do it as we discussed before: I’ll hand this over to the Sect Master. I’ll stay here as a hostage; if the Sect Master takes the thing and doesn’t release her, I’ll leave myself at Mr. Ye’s disposal.”

Ye Qing quickly said, ”Seventh Elder, there’s no need for this. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have asked you for help.”

”Since we agreed beforehand, I definitely can’t go back on my word. Let’s handle this the way we said before.” The Seventh Elder replied with a light laugh. In fact, the reason he kept stressing that he wanted to remain in the manor of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance was that he had never intended to leave.

Originally, the Seventh Elder’s plan had been to get the things from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master and then immediately contact people from the Wanyan Family to have them rescue him. But now that he could no longer rely on the Wanyan Family, and couldn’t return to Iga-ryu either, staying in the manor of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance was his safest option.

According to his earlier thinking, the Seventh Elder had intended to directly reveal his identity to Ye Qing and seek cooperation with the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance. But on second thought, revealing his identity so early might interfere with his plan for taking revenge on the Wanyan Family. So he decided to conceal this matter for now; as long as he could temporarily remain with the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, he would be safe. As for everything else, there would be plenty of time to deal with it later.

Ye Qing had no idea what the Seventh Elder was thinking, because he completely didn’t know that the Seventh Elder was a man of the Wanyan Family. Right now he only hoped the Seventh Elder would hand this Taoist Incantation over to the Iga Ryu Clan Master, so he would have a chance to rescue Huangfu Ziyu. As for other matters, he had no energy to think that far.

After chatting with the Seventh Elder for a few more sentences, Ye Qing left the Seventh Elder’s room. According to the Seventh Elder, he would deliver this Taoist Incantation to Iga-ryu sometime today, and Ye Qing didn’t press him further. After all, how it would be sent to Iga-ryu was their secret; Ye Qing couldn’t hover at his side watching.

As soon as Ye Qing stepped out of the Seventh Elder’s room, the expression on the Seventh Elder’s face immediately changed. A moment ago he had been smiling lightly; now he turned incomparably gloomy. He looked at the Taoist Incantation in his hand, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice, ”So this is the thing from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. Once, I would have risked my life to seize this for the family at any cost. Yet now that I’ve got it in my hands, I’m not thinking of giving it to the family at all. Wanyan Family, what you’ve done has wounded me too deeply. I suppose you never imagined that the one who would end up with the item from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master would actually be me, Old Seventh Wan Yan, did you?”

As he said this, the Seventh Elder’s face was full of resentment, his voice steeped in poisonous hatred. His hatred for the Wanyan Family truly ran to the bone.

Taking a deep breath, the Seventh Elder set the Taoist Incantation on the table, then picked up a cellphone from the side and slowly typed out a text message—”I have obtained the item from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, come and take it immediately!”

After finishing the text, the Seventh Elder slowly exhaled, then pressed that familiar number in the recipient field. This was Wanyan Second Master’s number, one he had firmly memorized in his heart. All his dealings in Iga-ryu had always been through Wanyan Second Master.

Once the message was sent, the Seventh Elder slowly picked up the Taoist Incantation and muttered under his breath, ”Second Brother, hurry and come take this Taoist Incantation. I want you all to know that even though you betrayed me, I am still wholeheartedly loyal to the family and willing to give everything for it—I bear no resentment toward the family, isn’t that so? Heh heh, Second Brother, I know your character very well. If I showed the slightest grievance or resentment toward the family, you would not hesitate to kill me for the family’s sake. Now that I’ve given you this Taoist Incantation, it’s the same as proving my loyalty to the family. That way I can keep my life. But don’t be in a rush, Second Brother. Very soon, I’ll let you see just how great the price is for betraying me!”

The hatred in the Seventh Elder’s words was enough to make one’s hair stand on end. Unfortunately, no one was there to hear him at this moment, so naturally no one knew how deep his resentment truly ran. At the very least, by sending this text to Wanyan Second Master, he had already secured his own life for the time being. Because Wanyan Second Master had already instructed Wanyan Hongsheng that if the Seventh Elder harbored any resentment or rebellious intent, he was to be killed without mercy. Now, by taking the initiative to contact Wanyan Second Master and hand over this Taoist Incantation, hadn’t he clearly expressed his intentions?

Preserving his life so he could take revenge—this was the only thought in the Seventh Elder’s mind!

After his soft muttering ended, the Seventh Elder slowly stood up, paced back and forth a couple of steps beside the table, and spoke under his breath, ”Looks like I still have to help Ye Qing rescue Huangfu Ziyu. After all, Huangfu Ziyu is a key member of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance and has that kind of relationship with Ye Qing. If I rescue her, it’ll be like doing a big favor for the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance and for Ye Qing. Only then can I hope for the protection of the Seven Steering Committees in the future.”

After saying this, the Seventh Elder drew a deep breath and muttered, ”But how do I rescue Huangfu Ziyu? Even though the Sect Master captured her, I don’t even know who the Sect Master is, much less where to find him. What should I do?”

He paced back and forth in the room for nearly half an hour, thinking it over and over, until a sharp light suddenly flashed in his eyes. He murmured, ”Got it. If I can’t reach the Sect Master, I can contact an Iga-ryu branch. As long as I let the Sect Master get this news, he’ll take the initiative to contact me. Then won’t I be able to save Huangfu Ziyu?”