Urban Martial Saint

Late at night, inside a seemingly dilapidated residential house in the Southern Suburb of Shenchuan City, Xu Dingjiang stood respectfully before Xu Cunxiao. Xu Dingjiang and his ilk were all Xu Cunxiao’s hands. Almost everything that happened in Shenchuan City could be said to have been arranged by Xu Cunxiao himself; he was the one hidden in the shadows.

”Big Brother, with Ye Qing returning this time, I’m afraid things might get troublesome!” Xu Dingjiang spoke gravely, ”I heard that he helped Liu Changping, the Chief of the Dong Province Police Department, find his illegitimate daughter, and now Liu Changping is backing him. Furthermore, with Zhou Bolong supporting him from behind, we can’t suppress him on the official level anymore. Plus, this man is extremely tough in his tactics; coming back this time, he’ll surely investigate the matter thoroughly. Should I get rid of those few people first, so that he finds no leads?”

”No need,” Xu Cunxiao slowly shook his head, his expression still calm.

”No need?” Xu Dingjiang was startled, fell silent for a while, then said, ”Does Big Brother mean to directly take out Ye Qing?”

”No need,” Xu Cunxiao still shook his head.

”Not killing Ye Qing, nor taking out Shangguan Tian and Li Wenyuan; Ye Qing will definitely be able to follow the vine to find us,” Xu Dingjiang said, ”Big Brother, if Ye Qing finds us, it would likely affect your plans. And, I’ve got word that the Xihang Shen Family’s people are almost to Shenchuan City. The person leading them is none other than Shen Qianyue, the most prominent of the younger generation of the Xihang Shen Family. This Shen Qianyue is both intelligent and brave; if he captures any leads, this matter…”

Xu Dingjiang looked at Xu Cunxiao, not saying much, just hinting at him. However, Xu Cunxiao seemed to hear nothing, his expression still calm.

”Big Brother, aren’t you really worried about the Shen Family’s people?” Xu Dingjiang couldn’t help but ask.

”What’s there to worry about?” Xu Cunxiao glanced at Xu Dingjiang and said, ”Dingjiang, you’re overthinking, yet you haven’t thoroughly considered every matter. Do you think Shen Qianyue doesn’t know about the things you’ve done?”

”Ah?” Xu Dingjiang was taken aback, his eyes widening in astonishment as he looked at Xu Cunxiao, ”Big Brother, are you saying that Shen Qianyue actually knows all about what we’ve done? Impossible, Shen Baichuan surely wouldn’t dare tell Shen Qianyue about these matters. After all, he was also involved in the murder of Tie Yongwen. If the Shen Family learns of this matter, he would undoubtedly face death!”

Xu Cunxiao shook his head and said, ”There’s no need for Shen Baichuan to say it. Dingjiang, you still underestimate Shen Qianyue. A man who is considered the foremost of the younger generation within the Shen Family is definitely not simple.”

Xu Dingjiang looked at Xu Cunxiao, still somewhat astonished, and said, ”Big Brother, if Shen Qianyue knows about this, then why on earth would he leave Shen Baichuan in Shenchuan City? I think, he probably still doesn’t know about it!”

”On the contrary!” Xu Cunxiao said, ”Let me put it this way: you know what kind of person Shen Baichuan is. He’s someone who could cause trouble anywhere, anytime. If you had a brother like that, would you keep him close and watch him, or would you let him go out and create problems, especially given that he has several enemies in Shenchuan City? Keeping Shen Baichuan here, conflicts are bound to happen eventually!”

Xu Dingjiang’s expression changed slightly; Xu Cunxiao’s words suddenly seeded doubt in his mind. Shen Qianyue, who was extremely cautious and exceedingly modest in public, never gave others an excuse to criticize him. How could such a person leave his problematic younger brother in Shenchuan City? There must be something amiss!

Gazing at Xu Cunxiao, Xu Dingjiang spoke quietly, ”Big Brother, are you suggesting that Shen Qianyue also wants to deal with Tie Yongwen?”

Xu Cunxiao shook his head, ”His ambitions are greater; what he wants is the entire Shen Family!”

”The entire Shen Family?” Xu Dingjiang frowned, ”Right now he is recognized as the foremost of the younger generation of the Shen Family, and his relationship with Shen Qingyi is almost confirmed. As long as he marries Shen Qingyi, he’ll definitely become the Head of the Shen Family in the future. There’s no need for him to do these things now, right? If the family learns of this, it might backfire terribly!”

”Heh…” Xu Cunxiao let out a faint smile and said, ”To outsiders, Shen Qianyue is indeed considered the number one of the younger generation of the Xihang Shen Family. But as to how things really stand, he knows better than any of us. Madam Shen has always been dominant and attaches great importance to propriety. She would never entrust the family to a branch to manage. Otherwise, why would Shen Tianjun leave and not return home for twenty years? She forced Shen Tianjun to leave, and all these years she hasn’t shown any regret, so how could she possibly entrust the family to a branch today?”

”Shen Tianjun was driven away by Madam Shen?” Xu Dingjiang stared at Xu Cunxiao in shock; of course, he was unaware of those past events.

Xu Cunxiao sneered, ”Wasn’t it just over an illegitimate daughter? Hmph, that old hag is more overbearing than anyone else.”

”Illegitimate daughter?” Xu Dingjiang was even more astonished, ”Shen Tianjun had a child out of wedlock with someone else?”

”What are you thinking?” Xu Cunxiao glanced at him, ”It’s not that Shen Tianjun had an illegitimate daughter with somebody else, it’s that Shen Tianjun’s son had an illegitimate daughter with someone. This girl should be related to Shen Qingyi as sisters and they are about the same age too.”

Xu Dingjiang’s mouth dropped open; he had not expected this to be the inside story of Shen Tianjun’s departure. In that case, it made sense for Shen Qianyue to take great risks because he knew all too well that Madam Shen, given her nature, would never allow a branch of the family to become the Family Head!

”But, what good would killing Tie Yongwen do for Shen Qianyue?” Xu Dingjiang wondered aloud.

”What we want to do is exactly what Shen Qianyue wants to see!” Xu Cunxiao smiled faintly and said, ”We want Sha Men to clash with the Xihang Shen Family, and so does Shen Qianyue. Only in the midst of this great battle can he find the opportunity to grow his own power and gradually swallow up the Xihang Shen Family’s influence. Unfortunately, he’s still too young to see the true motion behind this event. He still believes that your cooperation with Shen Baichuan is merely following Yang Shitao’s orders, seeking revenge by killing Ye Qing. He doesn’t realize that while the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, he is but dressing others in robes meant for his own wedding!”

Xu Dingjiang suddenly understood and excitedly looked at Xu Cunxiao, saying, ”Big brother, your plans are truly brilliant. Let Shen Qianyue clash with the people from Sha Men. When they’re both badly injured, we’ll step in to clean up the mess. At that point, I want to see how Shen Qianyue is going to cry!”

Xu Cunxiao sighed and said, ”However, I have calculated everything but still missed one thing. I didn’t expect that Ye Qing would survive, even gaining such two powerful backers. What’s more, now with Sha Men’s people protecting him, it would be very difficult for us to kill him. I’m afraid that he will become the biggest oversight in my plan.”

Xu Dingjiang furrowed his brows and asked, ”Big brother, should I send someone to kill Shangguan Tian Lin Yaqing and the rest, cutting off Ye Qing’s ties completely?”

”We can’t kill these people!” Xu Cunxiao shook his head and said, ”The people of the Xihang Shen Family are not fools. They will definitely seek a reason for Tie Yongwen’s death. If these people die, it will only arouse their suspicions further, complicating matters. If they conduct a thorough investigation, they might really trace it back to me, and then my plan would be finished!”

”So, what do we do now?” Xu Dingjiang asked anxiously.

Xu Cunxiao replied, ”Let them investigate, but direct all the arrows towards Yang Shitao, making them believe that Yang Shitao is the true puppet master behind everything.”

”That’s right!” Xu Dingjiang realized and nodded, saying, ”When I contacted those people, I did it under Yang Shitao’s name. If they really investigate this, they can only trace it back to Yang Shitao, absolutely not to us!”

”Exactly!” Xu Cunxiao nodded and said, ”But now, there’s a biggest trouble!”

”What trouble?” Xu Dingjiang asked curiously.

Xu Cunxiao looked at Xu Dingjiang with a faint smile and said, ”The first lead they’ll get from Shangguan Tian Lin Yaqing or even Young Master Ding is you. Therefore, the first person they will look for is you. But can you keep your mouth shut?”

Xu Dingjiang hastily replied, ”Big brother, rest assured, can’t you trust me after all this time?”

”It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that when great achievers take action, they would rather betray the world than let the world betray them!” Xu Cunxiao looked at Xu Dingjiang and said, ”I have always believed that only the dead can truly keep a secret.”

Xu Dingjiang’s face changed, and he staggered back a step, his voice trembling as he said, ”Big brother, you... you... you know I’ve always been loyal, I would never leak any secrets. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Second Brother!”

In fact, Xu Dingjiang was a subordinate of Xu Cunxiao’s younger brother, Xu Cunzhi, and had been picked by Xu Cunxiao to come to Shenchuan City for this job. Now, the fact that Xu Cunxiao might want to kill him deeply shocked Xu Dingjiang.

Xu Cunxiao did not chase after Xu Dingjiang, but with his hands behind his back, he said, ”Second Brother, after all I’ve said, you should understand my intentions.”

”Second Brother?” Xu Dingjiang turned around to look, and his expression suddenly froze. Behind him, without his knowing when, stood a man with a gloomy face—it was Xu Cunxiao’s younger brother, Xu Cunzhi.

”Second Brother! Second Brother!” Xu Dingjiang hurried over and said, ”Please speak to big brother for me, you know how I am, I would never make any mistakes, you know this!”

With a cold expression, Xu Cunzhi suddenly stretched out his hand, grabbed Xu Dingjiang’s neck, and twisted it with force.

Grasping at Xu Cunzhi’s hand, Xu Dingjiang couldn’t break free at all and could only watch Xu Cunzhi, his body slowly stiffening.

”Second Brother, we’ve been planning for over twenty years, and there can’t be the slightest error!” Xu Cunxiao looked at Xu Cunzhi and heaved a sigh, saying, ”As I explained to you earlier, killing him was a last resort. But don’t worry, I will make sure his family is well looked after!”