Urban Martial Saint

Shen Qingyi was holding a sunflower in her arms, the very one Ye Qing had given her back in Shenchuan City. Unexpectedly, she not only brought the sunflower back to the Xihang Shen Family Manor but also cherished and nurtured it like a treasure, which warmed Ye Qing’s heart immensely.

As Ye Qing watched Shen Qingyi walking over, a surge of hope suddenly filled his heart. Because his mouth was stuffed, he couldn’t make any sound; he could only struggle desperately, trying to catch Shen Qingyi’s attention.

However, the spot where he was hung was somewhat too high. Shen Qingyi and the girl with her didn’t even look in his direction but were instead discussing the sunflower, completely oblivious to the fact that a man was hanging nearby.

As the two women were about to pass by the pile of rocks, Ye Qing’s heart raced with urgency. Shen Qingyi was his only hope for rescue, and if he missed this chance, he feared he might actually die here. Moreover, being hung here, he was likely to endanger Cui Yulong as well—this was an even greater concern for him.

But he couldn’t make a sound, and trying to catch Shen Qingyi’s attention seemed nearly impossible. At this critical moment, Ye Qing suddenly noticed a large boulder not far ahead with a higher elevation. On top of that boulder, a small rock seemed precariously close to the edge, as if it were about to fall off at any moment.

Seeing this small rock, Ye Qing was filled with hope again. He measured the distance between himself and the boulder, confident he could reach it. Yet, he would need to vigorously swing his body back and forth to get there.

Ye Qing had been hanging for nearly ten hours, his arms nearly severed by the ropes and he was now completely exhausted. Every small movement required a significant accumulation of strength, and the pain in his arms from swinging was almost unbearable. However, to seize this slim chance, Ye Qing clenched his teeth and violently shook his body, gradually increasing the swinging amplitude to crash towards the top of the boulder.

After about half a minute, Ye Qing finally got himself swinging, getting closer and closer to the boulder. However, he had miscalculated the height of the boulder, and he couldn’t reach its top but instead hit the boulder’s upper surface. After crashing twice, it left Ye Qing dizzy and disoriented, but he dared not pause as Shen Qingyi and the girl had already moved farther away. If he missed this chance, it would be the end for Ye Qing!

Clenching his teeth again, Ye Qing swung his body and forcefully collided with the boulder. But this time, he changed his strategy. Instead of hitting the boulder hard as before, he spread his legs and clamped the edge of the boulder between them. This move stabilized his body, but with his hands tied, he couldn’t climb up or touch the small rock.

As Shen Qingyi and the girl were about to turn the corner, Ye Qing bit down hard and suddenly rammed his head towards the small rock.

This move actually worked. Though the impact sent a sharp pain through his head, the small rock was dislodged. It wobbled, then fell off the top of the boulder, bouncing against a nearby rock with a loud snap.

The noise was not insignificant, and both Shen Qingyi and the girl, who were about to turn the corner, heard it. They both turned their heads in surprise, with Shen Qingyi curiously asking, ”What was that noise?”

The girl was the first to spot Ye Qing and immediately said, ”Miss, look!”

Shen Qingyi looked up and only then saw Ye Qing hanging from the rocks above. However, it was too dark for her to see clearly who it was. Nevertheless, her kind-hearted nature took over, and she panicked and rushed over, asking urgently, ”What’s happened here? Who tied him up there?”

Shen Qingyi hadn’t realized yet that the person above was Ye Qing. As she walked closer and got a clearer view of who was hanging there, her expression changed drastically and she exclaimed urgently, ”Ye... Ye... Brother Ye, is that... is that you, Brother Ye?”

Ye Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief although, with his mouth stuffed, he couldn’t speak but could only look helplessly at Shen Qingyi.

After a moment of shock, Shen Qingyi immediately grew anxious and quickly said, ”Brother Ye, just hold on, I’ll find someone to rescue you right away.”

Saying this, Shen Qingyi hurriedly turned to the girl beside her and said, ”Lili, hurry, go find someone to help.”

The girl hurried toward the nearest house while Shen Qingyi walked over to Ye Qing, hanging above, and said anxiously, ”Brother Ye, how are you holding up? Just hang in there, someone will come to rescue you soon. Don’t worry, it will be okay.”

Ye Qing couldn’t speak, so he simply nodded at Shen Qingyi, indicating that he was still okay. Yet, Shen Qingyi continued to pace worriedly, her eyes slightly reddened, clearly distressed over Ye Qing’s plight.

It wasn’t long before Lili returned, accompanied by several people from the Shen family.

”Quick, put him down!” Shen Qingyi hurriedly shouted.

The leader hurriedly responded, ”Miss, he was ordered to be hanged by Third Master. We cannot let him down.”

”You mean Uncle?” Shen Qingyi widened her beautiful eyes, her face filled with disbelief, she said, ”How is that possible? Why would Uncle randomly hang someone up? Besides, Ye is my lifesaver. How could Uncle treat him like this?”

”Indeed, it was Third Master’s order...” the tall one said, ”Third Master said that this man is a great enemy of our Shen Family, he has killed many of our Shen Family. Therefore, we must hang him here to show the public, to let all those who dare to provoke the Shen Family know what Shen Family’s prestige is!”

”Impossible!” Shen Qingyi categorically shook her head and said, ”Ye is a good man. He has even saved my life. How could he do such a thing? I don’t believe it. There must be some misunderstanding by Uncle. Don’t worry about the others, let Ye down first!”

”Miss, it’s Third Master’s command. We dare not defy it!” the tall one said awkwardly, ”Third Master personally ordered him to be hanged here. If we let him down, Third Master will definitely not spare us!”

Shen Qingyi stamped her foot in urgency and said, ”You put him down first. Can’t I personally go and speak to Uncle myself to clear matters up?”

”Miss, why not... why don’t you go talk to Third Master first?” the tall one said, lowering his head, ”This is Third Master’s order. If you make us release him now, it will be really difficult for us. Actually, it doesn’t matter a little longer. As long as you talk to Third Master and he gives the word, we will immediately let him down. Miss, please don’t make things difficult for us servants!”

Shen Qingyi looked at the tall one, then at Ye Qing, her face full of anxiety yet helpless. Finally, she gritted her teeth and said to Ye Qing, ”Ye, hold on a little longer. I’ll go talk to Uncle right away to get them to release you. Don’t worry, there won’t be any problems. I’ll be back soon!”

After speaking, Shen Qingyi immediately placed the tray aside and jogged toward the residence of Shen San. Lili tried to follow her, but Shen Qingyi stopped her, asking her to stay here and look after Ye Qing.

Watching Shen Qingyi walk away, Ye Qing felt somewhat uneasy inside. Shen Qingyi couldn’t even command the Shen Family’s servants, indicating that although her status in the family was high, she didn’t have much real power. Her going to speak to Shen San might not necessarily persuade him, leaving little hope for his own rescue.

Just as Ye Qing had expected, about fifteen minutes later, a group of people came from afar, led by Shen San.

As soon as Shen San arrived, he glared coldly at Lili and said in a deep voice, ”Lili, I told you to take care of Miss. Why did you let her run around?”

Lili didn’t dare to meet Shen San’s eyes and replied softly, ”Third Master, Miss... Miss always takes the Sunflower to the backyard to sunbathe every day. She says the sun is better there... she wasn’t running around!”

”You’ve learned to talk back now?” Shen San burst in anger and said, ”Starting today, you keep a close watch on Qingyi. If anything happens to her, you’ll answer to me. Now go back and watch Qingyi closely. The Shen Family will be attacked by outsiders these next few days, do not let her leave her courtyard. Listen clearly, if she leaves her courtyard, I will break both your arms!”

Lili, terrified by Shen San’s words, trembled all over and dared not reply. She quickly lowered her head and hurriedly left.

Shen San walked over to the pile of boulders, looking coldly at Ye Qing, who was hung above the boulders, and said coldly, ”Ye, you really are capable. Even hung up here, you managed to get Qingyi to save you. You, a despicable villain. Qingyi has grown up in Xihang Shen Family Manor since her childhood, naive to the ways of the world, thus she was deceived by you. But you can fool Qingyi, you can’t fool me. You killed my eighth and ninth brothers, and I must use your blood to pay respects to them!”

Watching Shen San’s face contorted with anger, Ye Qing was also furious inside. Shen San was truly audacious, ordering Lili like that, clearly putting Shen Qingyi under house arrest. It seemed that the internal situation of the Shen Family was indeed not something he could guess.

After Shen San had cursed a few more sentences, he left with his people angrily. As the sky completely darkened, Ye Qing was left alone hanging over the boulder pile, not only starving but also feeling his hands almost losing sensation from the strain. Added to that the severe internal injuries he had suffered earlier, how many days he could hold out was unclear even to him!

At night, the Shen Family Manor was all brightly lit, the smells of delicious food constantly wafting around, making the starving Ye Qing even more unbearable. Meanwhile, in the small courtyard where Shen Qingyi lived, the newly served food was thrown out by her.

A few maids stood at the door, all with faces of bewilderment. They had grown up with Shen Qingyi and had never seen her lose her temper in all these years. Yet this time, Shen Qingyi had uncharacteristically thrown a fit. Although she didn’t say a word, her throwing all the food out was indeed very unusual!