Urban Martial Saint

Seeing that these two were talking for quite a while, Ye Qing felt a bit anxious and couldn’t help but say, ”Are you guys leaving or not?”

”Hold on...” The man dressed in Han clothing waved at Ye Qing, then hurriedly spoke a few more words to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man looked at Ye Qing, was silent for a moment, and then said something in a deep voice, seemingly directed at Ye Qing, though Ye Qing couldn’t understand it at all.

The man in Han clothing turned his head to look at Ye Qing, saying, ”Gu Master Xiang Jiu is asking you, why are you going to Zhenmu Dong after all?”

It turns out this middle-aged man is also a Gu Master, but his appearance is completely different from Huo Lie and his men yesterday. His steps are unsteady, and he looks like he’s even struggling to stand. What kind of Gu Master is this?

”I’m looking for someone!” Ye Qing said.

”Who are you looking for?”

”My woman!” Ye Qing paused, then said in a deep voice, ”She was kidnapped by a group of Miao ethnic group Gu Masters, and I want to rescue her!”

”What?” The man in Han clothing froze for a moment, saying, ”Kidnapped... kidnapped by Miao ethnic group Gu Masters? Who were the ones that kidnapped her?”

Ye Qing shrugged: ”I don’t know either.”

The man asked, ”Do you know what clothes they were wearing?”

Ye Qing thought for a moment and described Huo Lie’s attire and appearance. After listening to Ye Qing’s words, the man’s expression immediately changed, and he said in a deep voice, ”This... isn’t this the Huo Family? How did you get into conflict with the Huo Family?”

”What’s wrong with the Huo Family?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

The man didn’t explain to him, but instead turned to Gu Master Xiang Jiu and said a few words. Gu Master Xiang Jiu replied a few sentences, and it was clear his expression gradually softened. It looked like his hostility toward Ye Qing was reduced.

The two talked for a while longer, then the man turned his head to look at Ye Qing, saying, ”Alright, we can go now!”

It was clear that the man had finally convinced Gu Master Xiang Jiu. Without hesitation, Ye Qing got into the car, and over there, the man helped Gu Master Xiang Jiu and the girl into the car as well.

Inside the car, Ye Qing directly started the vehicle. Gu Master Xiang Jiu and the girl were visibly astonished. It was clear they had probably never seen a car before, let alone ridden in one. Sitting in the car, both of them were filled with shock and curiosity, looking as if they were puzzled about how such a big thing could move so quickly.

However, the man in Han clothing was relatively calm, sitting in the front comfortably, fastening the seat belt, looking like someone accustomed to car travel.

”Hello, I’m Xiang An, we’re all from Xiang Yun Dong!” The man, seemingly sociable, promptly introduced himself upon entering the car.

”I’m Ye Qing!” Ye Qing only responded with that one sentence, then directly asked, ”How do we get to Zhenmu Dong?”

”Take this way...” Xiang An pointed to a side road and said, ”There are very few vehicles entering the Miao Borderlands, so there aren’t any major roads. However, driving on this road definitely won’t be a problem.”

”Approximately how long will it take to get to Zhenmu Dong?” Ye Qing asked.

”We’re already less than eighty kilometers from Zhenmu Dong, but the mountain road is difficult. It’s estimated it’ll take another three hours to reach Zhenmu Dong,” Xiang An paused, then asked, ”When was your woman captured by the Huo Family?”

”Over four hours ago,” Ye Qing said solemnly. In that four-plus hours, he circled around in the mountain forest several times but still couldn’t catch up with Huo Lie’s group. With no other choice, he left the forest, found a village, and prepared to head to Zhenmu Dong.

”It’s been over four hours...” Xiang An furrowed his brows, looked at Ye Qing, sighed, and said, ”Those people travel by foot to Zhenmu Dong, they definitely can’t be that fast. We’ll probably reach Zhenmu Dong before they do!”

Ye Qing nodded, but his brows furrowed even tighter. The most troublesome problem now wasn’t when they would reach Zhenmu Dong but that he must find Huangfu Ziyu within six hours. Because six hours had already passed since he last made physical contact with Huangfu Ziyu, meaning in another six hours, the Twin Gu larvae inside him would lose control. If he couldn’t locate Huangfu Ziyu in time, he might die first, let alone rescue Huangfu Ziyu.

Following the route indicated by Xiang An, the journey was relatively smooth. They passed through several Miao people’s villages, but Ye Qing did not stop and encountered no obstacles. After driving for more than two hours, as Ye Qing concentrated on driving, a sudden muffled groan came from behind.

Xiang An immediately turned his head to look, and Ye Qing glanced through the rearview mirror, only to see that Gu Master Xiang Jiu was sweating profusely and slumped on the car seat, looking very uncomfortable. The girl was anxiously holding him, not knowing what to do, with tears streaming down her jade-like cheeks.

Xiang An turned his head and said something hurriedly, but Ye Qing couldn’t understand the Miao language, though he could see Xiang An was very anxious. The little girl replied a few words, and Xiang An, very worried, turned to Ye Qing and said, ”Mr. Ye, could I trouble you to stop for a moment?”

Although Ye Qing was anxious, he couldn’t ignore their plight. He stopped the car, and Xiang An immediately got out, helping the little girl guide Xiang Jiu out of the car, finding a large rock for Gu Master Xiang Jiu to sit on.

Standing nearby, Ye Qing didn’t know what was wrong with Gu Master Xiang Jiu, but he could clearly see that Gu Master Xiang Jiu’s right shoulder was showing some strange movements, as if something was trying to burst out, very bizarre.

Xiang An and the little girl tended to him, wiping sweat and giving him water, but they were helpless. Gu Master Xiang Jiu’s expression became more pained, as if enduring extreme agony, and the disturbance on his right shoulder grew more intense, as if something was ready to burst out at any moment.

Ye Qing stared at Gu Master Xiang Jiu for a while and suddenly stepped forward, asking, ”Gu Master Xiang Jiu, have you been afflicted with a Gu?”

Upon hearing this, Xiang An froze, turning to look at Ye Qing and then at Gu Master Xiang Jiu, momentarily speechless.

Ye Qing knew they were still wary of him, thus unwilling to speak frankly. Without hesitation, Ye Qing directly asked, ”Is it the Black Heart Gu?”

”How do you know?” Xiang An blurted out, immediately realizing his mistake, hurriedly saying, ”You… you also understand Gu Technique?”

Of course, Ye Qing didn’t understand Gu Technique, but he was familiar with Divine Doctor An Shiping’s Acupoint Seeking Technique. Within it, many Gu insects from the Miao Borderlands were documented, detailing their effects and the symptoms of the afflicted. Seeing Gu Master Xiang Jiu’s state, Ye Qing recognized it perfectly matched the Black Heart Gu, prompting his question; unexpectedly, it turned out to be true.

”I don’t understand Gu Technique.” Ye Qing paused, saying, ”However, I know how to break the Gu Technique!”

Xiang An looked at Ye Qing in astonishment, then sighed, ”We know how to dispel Gu too, but the Black Heart Gu is truly hard to break.”

Ye Qing replied, ”What’s difficult about it? I see Gu Master Xiang Jiu is quite skilled, having already forced the Black Heart Gu worm to his right shoulder, not yet at his heart. In such a case, you just need to extract the Black Heart Gu!”

”Easier said than done,” Xiang An glared, ”Sure, it’s easy to extract the Black Heart Gu, but it’s impervious to weapons; truly extracting it, how could it be exterminated? Gu Master Xiang Jiu managed to drive the Black Heart Gu to his right shoulder, preserving his life. Yet, if extracted without destroying it, the Black Heart Gu could attack again, and next time, Gu Master Xiang Jiu might not drive it to any area. If it reaches the heart, it’s surely fatal!”

Ye Qing finally understood their concerns, which were quite valid, for the Miao Borderlands had no weapons like the Seven-Star Ancient Sword. Thus, encountering impervious Gu insects, the Miao people were helpless. Even knowing how to dispel, they dare not extract it directly; otherwise, another attack would be troublesome. But for Ye Qing, it was straightforward; his Seven-Star Ancient Sword could slaughter these Gu insects effortlessly. Except for top-level Gu like the Twin Life Gu, which the Sword couldn’t cut, for other Gu insects, there was no difficulty.

”Let me help him…” Ye Qing took the Seven-Star Ancient Sword from the car.

Seeing Ye Qing wielding a sword, Xiang An’s face changed, while the little girl watched Ye Qing warily, holding Gu Master Xiang Jiu tightly, unwilling to let Ye Qing approach.

”What… what are you doing?” Xiang An anxiously warned, ”Don’t act recklessly; we kindly guided you. Without us, you’d never find Zhenmu Dong!”

”I’m only trying to help rid him of the Black Heart Gu, nothing more.” Ye Qing held the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, heading straight towards Gu Master Xiang Jiu.

Xiang An hesitated, while the little girl was full of hostility. As Ye Qing approached, she suddenly called out, and a flying insect from her pocket darted towards Ye Qing, revealing her own raised Gu insect.

Having spent considerable time in the Miao Borderlands, Ye Qing was acquainted with these Gu insects. As the flying insect rushed forward, Ye Qing casually slapped it away.

The insect was clearly weak, slapped aside by Ye Qing, remaining dazed on the ground, unable to rise. The girl was astounded, opening her arms to block Ye Qing, but Ye Qing pushed her aside with one hand.

Ye Qing knew explaining to these Miao people was futile; best to first help Gu Master Xiang Jiu dispel the Black Heart Gu.

Pushed aside, the girl frantically screamed, while Xiang An, extremely tense, grabbed Ye Qing’s arm, urgently saying, ”Don’t repay kindness with treachery!”