Urban Martial Saint

Song Yuanwu looked at the Killing Gate members and couldn’t help but ask, ”Why have you come here today? Is there something important?”

”Not something particularly important; just here to help out a friend!” Cui Yu replied.

”A friend?” Song Yuanwu was astonished. He knew that the appearance fee for the Ghost-faced Judge Cui Yu to kill someone was in the tens of millions. And the others among the Killing Gate Seven Hidden weren’t any less reputable than Cui Yu. Now, with these six figures showing up together, who could have such influence to have all these six men help out?

Not only was he shocked, but so was everyone else. They were all guessing who they were there to assist.

At that moment, Ye Qing happened to walk over. Seeing Ye Qing, the Netherworld Taoist immediately clamored, ”Hey, Ye Zi, Xu Cunxiao has escaped. You can’t blame us for that. This guy is full of tricks, as slippery as an eel – it’s not easy to stop him. We did our best, so don’t go back and say we didn’t help!”

With these words from the Netherworld Taoist, Song Yuanwu realized who the ’friend’ they referred to was: they were here to help Ye Qing!

The members of the seven sects all turned to look at Ye Qing, astonishment evident in their eyes. They knew well that not even the Left and Right Protectors of the Killing Gate could command the Killing Gate Seven Hidden. Aside from the Bloody Monk in the old days, no one could have them work together on something. And yet, Ye Qing managed to have the six of them come to aid him? Just how influential was Ye Qing? And more notably, the Netherworld Taoist was quick to explain even though the task failed, which showed that the Killing Gate Seven Hidden held Ye Qing in very high regard?

What these people didn’t know was that, among the Killing Gate Seven Hidden, only Cui Yu and the Netherworld Taoist, Pig King, were somewhat amicable towards Ye Qing – the others didn’t take him seriously at all. Especially Black Asura and Ghost King Li Ruoyuan, both of whom had always been looking for an opportunity to kill Ye Qing. The shift in their attitudes towards Ye Qing happened after the incident at Xihang Shen Family Manor, where Ye Qing nearly bled dry to save them – an act that not only benefited the Shen Family but also the members of the Killing Gate. Although the Killing Gate Seven Hidden were all assassins, they adhered to a code of honor. Ye Qing’s act of salvation was deeply etched into their memories, naturally bringing about a significant change in their attitude towards him.

Moreover, the people from the Western Province were their enemies as well. In this matter, their goals aligned with Ye Qing’s, so it was only natural they would come to assist him. Nevertheless, this ’natural’ development shocked the seven sects, leaving them wondering why Ye Qing held such sway. At the very least, the way they looked at Ye Qing had completely changed from before.

”I never insisted that you had to catch Xu Cunxiao tonight. It’s indeed not easy to capture him. But tonight’s affair can be considered quite smooth, nonetheless!” Ye Qing said with a light smile, ”Everyone, thank you for your assistance!”

Cui Yu responded, ”Don’t mention it. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be taking our leave!”

Ye Qing nodded, ”That’s fine. Once things are settled here, I’ll come find you.”

Cui Yu and the others did not linger, bidding farewell to the seven sects’ members before departing straight away. Naturally, the seven sects gave them a very serious and respectful send-off, as the Killing Gate Seven Hidden had been famous for too long and were highly regarded by them all.

Ye Qing, however, did not go out to see them off. He stayed inside the house, methodically searching room by room for any trace Xu Cunxiao might have left behind. However, the results were disappointing; Xu Cunxiao was too cautious and did not leave behind any useful clues.

The remaining people from the Western Province outside were directly captured by the Snake Form Gate. Without any coercion, these people quickly confessed everything in detail.

After listening to their confessions, the people from the seven sects were all enraged. Originally, if this matter was targeted solely at the Snake Form Gate, they might not have been as angry even if they had come to help. However, they had not expected that Xu Cunxiao’s true intention was to use the seven sects to deal with Ye Qing. In other words, all seven sects were part of Xu Cunxiao’s scheme, and certainly, this infuriated them immensely.

”We harbor no grudge against these people from the Western Province, yet they dared to use us against Ye Qing. Such insufferable audacity cannot be tolerated; we must seek an explanation from them!” an elderly man shouted angrily. He was the Sect Leader of the Tiger Shape Sect, with a temperament as fiery as a tiger’s.

”Going head-to-head with them like this seems a bit inappropriate, doesn’t it?” A somewhat younger man frowned slightly and said, ”The people from Western Province have been accumulating power for many years, their strength is no longer what it once was. Although our seven sects combined do have some strength, we are all old, not able to endure too much strain. If we fight against them head-on, we will definitely be the ones who suffer!”

”So are we just going to let this matter drop? Are we supposed to take this injustice silently? If so, who knows if there will be others who will step on our heads and defecate and urinate in the future!”

The elders of these seven sects were constantly arguing among themselves; some were advocating to take on the people from Western Province, while others were more conservative and felt it wasn’t worth the fight against those from Western Province. Of course, Ye Qing couldn’t participate in the discussion and had nothing to say. For him, not making enemies with the people of the seven sects was already a good outcome; he hadn’t considered anything beyond that!

After spending more than an hour there, once the people from Snake Form Gate finished interrogating the few from Western Province and took them away, Ye Qing would inevitably have to face them head-on. He had to gain a preliminary understanding of the strength of Western Province and interrogate these individuals carefully.

When he was leaving, Snake was very reluctant to part with Ye Qing and kept expressing his gratitude. After all, if it weren’t for Ye Qing’s help with this matter, he would probably have been in great danger. Xu Cunxiao intended to instigate enmity between Snake Form Gate and Ye Qing, which would certainly have led to Snake’s demise. In the end, Ye Qing not only saved his life but also helped him preserve the Snake Form Gate, so he was naturally extremely thankful.

”No need to thank me, just make it a bit easier for us when we open a shop over there!” Ye Qing said with a smile.

Snake’s face turned red as he remembered sending people to extort money from Li Lianshan and couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, hastily saying, ”Ye brothers, rest assured. Let Li come over and start his business; I dare not promise other things, but the local hooligans definitely won’t dare to make trouble. If anyone dares, just have Li come to me, and I’ll make sure to take care of it!”

”With your word, I’m at ease!” Ye Qing patted Snake’s shoulder with a smile and said, ”By the way, our restaurant still lacks some security guards. I wonder if there are any people in your village who could do the job? If so, could you introduce me to them? How about that?”

”What’s there to introduce?” Snake immediately perked up. Pointing to the remaining brothers of Snake Form Gate in the courtyard, he said, ”I’ve got a bunch of people here idle all day, just worried about it. Whatever else they can’t do, being security guards is no problem. Ye brothers, if you think they’re suitable, I’ll send them to work right away. Even if the salaries are on the lower side, it’s fine; the main thing is not to let them idle away every day, that leads to demoralization!”

”That would be best!” Ye Qing laughed and said, ”The salary won’t be low; our restaurant demands higher service standards, and the compensation is much higher than the norm. Plus, if you guys do a good job, all the security work here will be entrusted to you, including valet parking and such, which pays well. However, we might not have enough people, we’ll need at least a hundred or so.”

”That’s great, that’s great. You don’t need to worry about manpower; I will help you find them,” Snake said, excitedly rubbing his hands together. These people had not been able to find work, forcing them to turn to petty thuggery. Now that they had the opportunity for employment, he naturally didn’t want to continue being a hooligan. Moreover, he had seen the hotel Li Lianshan was running here, which was indeed extravagant. He couldn’t wait to work there, which clearly showed his excitement.

Actually, Ye Qing’s offer for Snake and his men to become security guards was also giving them a chance. For one, since Snake and his men were locals, it would make things more convenient for Li Lianshan’s hotel to operate here. Secondly, Ye Qing felt that Snake had a straightforward and honest temperament, so he gave him this opportunity to avoid causing trouble. If Snake was willing to work hard, Ye Qing was prepared to offer him more opportunities in the future to develop and grow since he would be considered a friend!

With a thousand thanks, Snake excitedly saw Ye Qing off, then ran back to the inner room full of excitement to tell Song Yuanwu about the opportunity.

Song Yuanwu was discussing with others how to deal with those people from Western Province when he heard this news. He also became quite excited, saying, ”Is that true? But isn’t that restaurant owned by Li Lianshan? Does what he says count?”

”Dad, you may not know,” Snake excitedly replied, ”Although the restaurant is owned by Li Lianshan, Li Lianshan is as close as a real brother to Ye Qing. Moreover, everyone in Shenchuan City knows that Li Lianshan’s position as the boss was actually yielded to him by Ye Qing. Ye Qing’s words definitely count!”

”That’s great! That’s great!” Song Yuanwu was overjoyed; coming from a martial arts background, only the decline of Snake Form Gate led to the loss of the sect’s properties. His heart carried guilt for his son’s current plight, always wanting him to get on the right track, but there was nothing to do, and he himself was helpless. Now the opportunity had come; if his son and disciples could do well here, they wouldn’t have to live like hoodlums stirring up trouble every day anymore. That would settle one of his major worries.

”Of course it’s good!” Snake said excitedly, ”I heard that he’s planning to develop a series of additional industries nearby. This area will definitely develop well. If I do a good job, I might be able to take over all the security jobs – that would be fantastic!”