Urban Martial Saint

This thought made Ye Qing immediately stop his downward movement; he really didn’t dare to act rashly. This was Wanyan’s territory, and if anything went wrong, he would be doomed.

Staring carefully at the artificial mountain for a while, Ye Qing finally shook his head. Seeing there was no one around, he took out a bundle of silver threads from his body, which he obtained from the pupil of Ghost-faced Judge Cui Yu, a little girl, when he first arrived in Shenchuan City. Although this silver silkworm thread is very thin, it is extremely tough, and can easily support two to three hundred pounds without any problem.

Ye Qing always carried this silver silkworm thread with him, and sometimes it proved quite useful. Like in tonight’s situation, Ye Qing spread out the silver silkworm thread, with one end tied to a steel awl, which was very sharp and was precisely the weapon of the little girl.

Ye Qing grabbed one end of the silver silkworm thread, twisted the end with the steel awl a few times, and threw it out. The steel awl flew out along with the silver silkworm thread, hitting a big tree inside, wrapping around the trunk several times, securely winding itself onto the tree trunk.

Ye Qing pulled at it a few times to ensure that the silver silkworm thread was tightly wound, took a deep breath, grabbed the end of the silver silkworm thread, and suddenly leaped off the wall. As he jumped down, he continuously pulled back on the silver silkworm thread. This way, he used the pull of the silver silkworm thread to swing forward, crossing over the range of the green grass, and landed on solid ground.

Looking back at the range of the green grass, it really seemed like ordinary grass with no noticeable oddities. If Ye Qing hadn’t previously observed the Wanyan family members avoiding this grass, he definitely would have jumped directly onto it. It was unknown how many people this grass had trapped, nor what mechanisms lay within it. However, Ye Qing had no desire to find out; curiosity kills the cat, and Ye Qing well understood this principle.

Ye Qing’s objective was very clear. Once down, he directly walked along the path toward the direction of the building at the back. Before coming in, he had already grasped a reasonable understanding of the patrol situation inside the Wanyan estate, so he could easily avoid these patrolling guards. In fact, there were not many guards inside the Wanyan estate, indicating that the Wanyan family was very confident in their defense of the Wanyan Manor, assured that no one could easily infiltrate.

Ye Qing was definitely an exception. Having served as a Special Forces soldier for five years, he was most adept at matters of attack and defense. Before each assault, Ye Qing would make thorough preparations. It was precisely this habit that allowed him to stealthily enter the Wanyan Manor smoothly. If it were someone else, it certainly would not be as easy, so the Wanyan family’s confidence was not unfounded.

After about ten minutes, Ye Qing finally arrived outside the building at the rear. The sentry here had just changed, and now more than twenty guards stood spiritedly at this spot. With so many pairs of eyes watching, even a fly would have difficulty entering this building. Moreover, apart from one door, there was no other entry point to this building, not even a window, so as long as these people guarded this door well, no one could enter the building.

Ye Qing hid in a flower bed in front of the building, carefully observing for a while, but still couldn’t find a way to enter the building. He pondered for a moment, then quietly left the place. Charging directly into the building here was impossible; he had to think of another way. Additionally, considering how difficult it was to get into this building, Ye Qing felt he should first determine whether it was worth the effort.

Leaving the building, Ye Qing didn’t go far but instead sneaked to a courtyard outside the northeast corner of the building. There weren’t many people in this courtyard, and the defense wasn’t very strict. Ye Qing walked to the back of the courtyard without anyone noticing him.

In the back of the courtyard was an open area with a few trees planted, looking quite tranquil. Observing that there was no one around, Ye Qing climbed over the back wall into the backyard directly.

There were quite a few people in the front of the side yard, but not a single one in the back. Moreover, the environment in the backyard was poor, completely different from the front yard. There was even a woodshed in the backyard containing a lot of coal and other things. Next to the woodshed was a boiler room, where the temperature was quite high.

Winters in the North were extremely cold, traditionally heated with brick beds, but now mostly converted to central heating. Large families like the Wanyans obviously used central heating too, and coal was naturally indispensable.

Seeing the woodshed full of coal, a plan formed in Ye Qing’s mind. Taking advantage of no one around, he sneaked into the boiler room.

Inside the boiler room, a boiler was burning, with two bare-chested men sitting together drinking beer. Despite the freezing cold outside, the boiler room was hotter than summer.

The two men obviously knew no martial arts, and had drunk a bit, not even noticing that another person had entered the boiler room, so they leisurely drank and bragged.

”Brother, I’m not bragging here; I’ve worked at this Wanyan Manor longer than your uncle has,” said an older man, proudly eating pork head meat, ”Do you know when I came here?”

”Uncle, you look like you’ve worked here a long time; otherwise, you wouldn’t be so familiar with the place,” said the young man, smiling deferentially, ”But really, it’s hard to tell how long you’ve worked here.”

”Hahaha...” the older man laughed heartily, ”Let me tell you, my family has been working at the Wanyan Manor since my grandfather’s generation. My grandfather, my dad, my second and third uncles have all worked here. As for me, I grew up at the Wanyans, not to say, three generations! We are practically family with the Wanyans. Apart from not having the surname Wanyan, there’s no difference between us and the Wanyans. Don’t laugh at me for tending the boiler; let me tell you, Prince Wan Yan even held me when I was a kid!”

The older man was evidently a bit tipsy, speaking without inhibition. The young man laughed along, saying, ”So, Uncle, you’ve been at the Wanyans for quite some time?”

The older man laughed and said, ”Of course. When your uncle came here, I was the one who mentored him. My relationship with your uncle speaks for itself, and if the Wanyans weren’t short-staffed these days, I would have visited him.”

”That’s true. I often hear Uncle mentioning you, saying that you were particularly good to him,” the young man said. ”Uncle even said that working at the Wanyan’s is not a job just anyone can do. In this Northern Desert, even just tending the boiler for the Wanyans makes more than a white-collar job at other places. Working at the Wanyans’, this is a dream job.”

”Hahaha...” the older man laughed, ”That’s no lie! The Wanyans are such a big family; they were the imperial family before. The wealth left behind is unimaginable. Working here definitely pays more than anywhere else.”

”Really?” The young man seemed shocked, exclaiming, ”The Wanyans were the royal family?”

”Yes, haven’t you heard of the Jin Dynasty? The Wanyan family is the remnant dynasty of the Jin,” the older man said with pride, his expression suggesting he too bore the Wanyan surname.

”Royal family!?” The young man gasped, evidently shocked, enhancing the older man’s sense of pride.

Bragging is much like storytelling. It’s boring alone, but if you have someone to play along, it’s much more gratifying. Now, with the young man there, fully satisfying the older man’s vanity, he spoke even more uninhibitedly.

”With these sorts of things, it’s no wonder the Wanyans are so grand,” the young man said with envy, suddenly asking, ”By the way, Uncle, why didn’t you let me near the grass this morning? Honestly, I’ve never seen grass stay green in winter before; what kind of grass is that?”

Ye Qing couldn’t help but chuckle to himself; this older man really lacked a filter. Having employees like this was the Wanyan’s biggest flaw. Initially planning just to sneak into the woodshed and set the coal there on fire, Ye Qing, overhearing their conversation, abandoned that plan. Now he was curious to find out more.

”Let me tell you,” the older man boasted to the young man, ”you must be careful when working here. At this Wanyan Manor, you must be cautious. That grass is no ordinary grass; it’s Dream-Returning Herb, specially moved here by Prince Wan Yan from another place. Despite appearances, it’s not ordinary grass at all. If you touch it, it will daze you, knocking you out for at least a day and a night.”

”What?” The young man widened his eyes, looking completely shocked, making the older man more unabashed in his storytelling. Ye Qing, who stood listening nearby, couldn’t help but smile wryly. This older fellow was indeed loose-lipped. Ye Qing had initially planned on sneaking into the woodshed to set the coal on fire directly, but after overhearing the conversation, he abandoned that idea. Now he was keen to learn what exactly was going on.

”It’s that serious?” the young man said, looking utterly incredulous.

”Absolutely,” the older man said smugly, ”just take it from me, you have to be really careful working here. That grass isn’t ordinary; it’s a special herb called Dream-Returning Herb that Prince Wan Yan especially had moved here from another place. If you touch it, it’ll make you dizzy and knock you out for at least a day and a night.”

”What?” The young man’s eyes widened, a look of pure disbelief on his face, further inflating the older man’s ego.

Ye Qing was secretly amused; this older fellow really seemed quite indiscreet. Having heard their conversation now, Ye Qing abandoned his initial plan to directly go into the room and instead decided to wait and gather more information. Knowing what he did now about the Wanyan’s secrets, he realized how lucky he was not to have let his curiosity lead him into a dangerous situation with that grass. Otherwise, he might already be unconscious.

With this thought, Ye Qing decided to listen in more instead of rushing into the boiler room. It’s wise to have everything prepared when venturing into risky territory. With Mu Ling, at least he could guard against any poison.