Urban Martial Saint

The smoke was hazy as Li Qiang spoke of the past, the ferocity in his eyes growing ever stronger. Having lived his childhood amidst murder and darkness from the age of ten, it was no wonder he had such a mindset today.

”That night, I held her in my arms, fragile like a flower that couldn’t withstand the storm, withering away before it could even fade. She clutched my hand, wanting me to ease her pain, but I couldn’t do anything except watch her die in my arms,” Li Qiang crushed out his cigarette on the ground and said, ”She was only nineteen when she died. In those nineteen years of her life, how many days did she actually live happily? Abducted at nine and living in darkness until she was sixteen. After sixteen, she suffered from illness for three years. People always tell me about karma, but I really can’t understand what wrong she did, what evil she committed, to deserve such a fate.”

”After she died, I swore that I would never believe in karma or retribution again, I only believe in myself, in my own fists. After burying her, I took three men to hunt down those traffickers. They were people from the Northwestern Frontier who, after making a lot of money, had gone home to rest. It took me three years to track each of them down and personally kill them all, avenging the Old Hunter and those they had killed. Then I returned to Jiuchuan County, hoping to bring my relatives back. But I never expected that, being two months late, my home had turned into this. I killed people from the Lu Family because that was what they owed me. I’m not afraid of revenge from others, nor am I afraid of the police arresting me. In these past years, I’ve been through all sorts of things; my life has long been at stake. Even if I were to die now, I wouldn’t be scared, because I should have died long ago.”

Having said all this, Li Qiang sighed heavily, turned to look at Ye Qing, and said, ”Ye, I always thought I would never change in this lifetime. But what you did tonight moved me deeply. Just like you said, there are still good people in this world, and you are one of them!”

Ye Qing smiled faintly, shook his head, and said, ”I don’t really consider myself a good person. I just feel that the most important thing about doing anything is to have a clear conscience. You’ve been to so many places over these years, met so many people, and killed so many. Have you ever felt guilty?”

Li Qiang was stunned for a moment, and said, ”I... I hadn’t thought about that...”

Ye Qing said, ”Not having thought about it doesn’t mean you won’t have regrets. Even if you don’t believe in karma, you should at least make fewer enemies. If your family suffers because of you, and something happens to your brother because of your actions, I don’t think you could ever forgive yourself in this lifetime!”

Li Qiang slowly nodded, and said, ”Ye, you are right. I’m not afraid to die, but I can’t implicate my brother.”

”That’s the right way to think,” Ye Qing stood up, patted Li Qiang’s shoulder, and said, ”It’s getting late. It’s time for you to leave.”

”Leave for where?” Li Qiang looked at Ye Qing in astonishment.

Ye Qing said, ”Leave Pingnan Province. It’s no longer safe for you to stay here.”

”Ah?” Li Qiang stared at Ye Qing in shock and asked, ”Ye, aren’t you going to arrest me?”

”Why would I arrest you?” Ye Qing said, ”I’ve said before, in my view, what you did wasn’t wrong. I’m not a policeman; it’s not my duty. From my personal moral standpoint, you’ve only been overly extreme, not wrong. Why should I arrest you? Besides, if I arrested you, what would happen to your brother? You brothers finally met, how could I let you be separated again?”

Li Qiang was stunned for a long time, then suddenly knelt down and said in a deep voice, ”Ye, thank you!”

”Stand up, what are you doing!” Ye Qing hurriedly helped Li Qiang up and said, ”I helped you because I think you are a man of integrity and you are considering turning over a new leaf. If you were truly beyond hope, I would still arrest you. Remember my words, kill fewer people, make fewer enemies, and keep your brother safe.”

Li Qiang nodded vigorously, bowed to Ye Qing, and said, ”Ye, I don’t have many talents in my life. I’ll remember your kindness. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll go through fire and scale mountains to repay your kindness today!”

”You don’t need to say all this, I didn’t help you expecting you to repay me,” Ye Qing waved his hand and contacted Da Fei to bring Li Qiang’s car over.

The car still had Li Qiang’s two men in it; Ye Qing let them go, letting Li Qiang and his companions drive off with the idiot overnight, leaving Jiuchuan County behind.

Li Qiang repeatedly thanked Ye Qing before leaving, and it was clear that this unruly Northwest Bandit had genuinely submitted to Ye Qing, almost revering him as a Heavenly God. His two subordinates also held immense respect for Ye Qing, as they hadn’t gained the slightest advantage in front of Ye Qing and were well aware that Ye Qing’s strength was no small matter.

After seeing off Li Qiang and his group, Ye Qing finally returned to his car. Although Lin Peng was reluctant to let Li Qiang go just like that, since it was Ye Qing’s decision, he didn’t say anything further.

Sitting back in his car, Ye Qing said to Lin Peng, ”Lin Peng, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’ll need your help to cover up a lie this time.”

”Ye Zi, with our relationship, there’s no bother at all,” Lin Peng paused and then continued, ”It’s just that, I’ve been thinking, Li Qiang seems a bit mad. Really letting him go back, who knows what kind of trouble he could cause in the future. Ye Zi, I’m just reminding you out of goodwill, if he commits any atrocities in the future, you might have a hard time coping with it!”

Ye Qing smiled faintly and said, ”I trust him.”

Lin Peng gave Ye Qing a look, initially wanting to add something. However, seeing Ye Qing’s firm gaze, he eventually closed his mouth.

When Ye Qing and the others returned to the county town, Lin Peng had just arrived back when Wang Yuanbo received the news. They were still busy setting up a blockade on the highway, only to be informed that Lin Peng had already returned to the county. Wang Yuanbo was greatly astonished. He hurriedly led a group back to the county, where Lin Peng had already personally reported to Huang Feiming.

Before meeting Huang Feiming, Ye Qing and Lin Peng had aligned their statements: they would say that Ye Qing found Li Qiang and his men and rescued Lin Peng. However, Li Qiang’s group was too fierce, and to protect Lin Peng, Ye Qing ultimately couldn’t keep them and let them escape. But Lin Peng being rescued was already a significant victory. If anything had happened to Lin Peng, the impact on Jiuchuan County’s police department would have been even worse.

When Wang Yuanbo learned that Ye Qing had actually found Li Qiang at Li Qiang’s mother’s grave, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head, and he was filled with immense regret. Ye Qing had told him that Li Qiang would likely return to Jiuchuan County and had even advised him to station some people at Li Qiang’s mother’s grave. He had disregarded that, thinking Ye Qing was just causing trouble. Now, Ye Qing had returned to Jiuchuan County and found Li Qiang, whereas he had wasted most of his time elsewhere and missed a great opportunity to earn merits.

Consider, if he had followed Ye Qing’s advice at the time and led a team to guard Li Qiang’s mother’s grave, Li Qiang and his men would have been captured by now. If they had really caught Li Qiang, it would have been a significant accomplishment. The Lu Family massacre case was of great concern to the provincial office, and if he could solve the case and capture the criminals in such a short time, the provincial office would have definitely rewarded him, and his promotion would have been secure. Now that Li Qiang had escaped, catching him again would be even harder!

Reflecting on this, Wang Yuanbo suddenly realized that both times Ye Qing spoke of Li Qiang’s location, he had been correct. The first time, Ye Qing said Li Qiang would appear at his mother’s grave, and indeed, Lin Peng found them there. The second time, everyone thought Li Qiang had hit the highway and definitely wouldn’t return to Jiuchuan County, yet Ye Qing once again stated Li Qiang would be at his mother’s grave. And once again, Ye Qing was right. Wang Yuanbo’s previous disdain for Ye Qing vanished completely; he finally realized that whatever this man said was correct.

Wang Yuanbo really wanted to contact Ye Qing to inquire where Li Qiang might go next, as he now truly intended to follow Ye Qing’s advice on where to capture him. He had resolved that no matter what location Ye Qing mentioned this time, he would take a whole team there personally to make the arrest. However, after returning, Ye Qing went to Old Fifth Yang’s place to rest, and Xu Changzhi was there too. He wanted to go and ask Ye Qing, but he did not dare to disturb Xu Changzhi, ultimately abandoning the idea.

The next morning, Ye Qing woke up early, left Old Fifth Yang’s villa, and drove to the provincial road entering the county town. After waiting there for about an hour, a black Audi slowly arrived. The car bore the Shenchuan City license plate, and the person who came was Lin Tianyou.

”Ye Zi,” Lin Tianyou got out of the car, greeted Ye Qing, and said, ”This place is quite hard to find. It’s not even on the maps, and I had to ask several people before finding it.”

”Can’t help it, the roads out of the county town are not well-maintained, it’s just like this,” Ye Qing shrugged helplessly as he approached Lin Tianyou and sincerely said, ”Doctor Lin, thank you!”

”Saving lives and helping the wounded is the duty of a doctor, besides, it’s your friend, how could I not come?” Lin Tianyou smiled and continued, ”Besides, I also wanted to come and visit the local Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors here. Ye Zi, the medical methods you told me about before really work wonders. Many diseases that used to require surgery can now be cured just with massage and medication. They say true masters are found amongst the common folk, I don’t know how many such hidden experts are here in your villages. If there’s a chance, you must take me to visit a master!”

(Recommending a friend’s book, ”Super Soldier,” fans might want to check it out.)