Urban Martial Saint

When they had driven over 260 kilometers along the desert highway, Ye Qing and the others were still about forty to fifty kilometers away from Alagu Mountain, but the sky was beginning to darken.

In the desert, darkness is the most dangerous time. This is when desert wolves emerge to hunt for food. Because of the scarcity of food in the Sanggedan desert, desert wolves often attack passing travelers to fill their bellies. Hundreds of people fall victim to these wolves every year.

Ye Qing and the others were quite bold, having witnessed battles between millions of Long-toothed Rat swarms and snake swarms. Wolves didn’t really faze them. However, as night approached, Ye Qing and his team remained a bit cautious, especially since robbers also prowled the desert. Encountering robbers could be troublesome.

Yelu Ying was in the back seat, already wrapped in a down jacket. She fetched a coat from the back seat and draped it over Ye Qing, who was driving in front, saying, ”Ye, put on a jacket.”

”Thank you, you too...” Ye Qing had just begun to speak when the car suddenly started skidding. He quickly gripped the steering wheel, but the vehicle was going too fast, and eventually, it veered wildly, flipping over on the ground after skidding several dozen meters.

The people in the car were not weak, so, despite the crash, they were not seriously injured. They climbed out of the car and looked around, their expressions somewhat grim.

They were near a Gobi Desert area, with nothing around but the endless desert. The sky was gradually darkening, and the temperature was dropping. The coat that Ye Qing had just worn slipped off in the car, but fortunately, his robust body didn’t feel the chill. Still, wearing so little in such cold weather was quite uncomfortable.

”How did we suddenly flip the car?” the tall Elder asked in surprise. They were still over forty kilometers from Alagu Mountain. Having a car accident here meant it would be challenging to reach the mountain. Were they supposed to walk?

It was late at night, and catching a ride was hard. Walking all the way wasn’t impossible, but traveling through the desert posed significant risks, with the unpredictability of potential dangers. Especially at such a dark hour, losing one’s way in the desert could be fatal.

Ye Qing walked to the car to take a look, frowning sharply, and said in a deep voice, ”The tire’s punctured.”

”Were there nails on the road you didn’t notice?” wondered the tall Elder.

”Not necessarily!” Ye Qing scoured the surroundings and said quietly, ”Everyone be careful, we might have encountered robbers!”

Upon hearing this, the two Elders became instantly alert, and Yelu Ying quietly gripped the dagger at her waist to prepare for the appearance of robbers.

After about five minutes, a light flashed from behind. The group turned to see an SUV approaching slowly. They immediately watched the vehicle warily, not daring to let their guard down.

The SUV seemed oblivious to their situation and drove leisurely until it stopped about a dozen meters from their overturned car. A man stepped down, glancing at Ye Qing’s tipped-over vehicle and then at Ye Qing and his companions beside the car.

”What happened?” the man asked loudly, seemingly wary of Ye Qing and his company.

”The tire hit a nail and flipped,” replied Ye Qing.

”How did it hit a nail?” the man scratched his head, still seemingly cautious of Ye Qing’s group, and retreated slowly to his car.

In fact, while this man was wary of Ye Qing and the others, Ye Qing’s group was equally guarded against him. Ye Qing scrutinized the man closely, not daring to be careless. After all, in the middle of the night, few people would be driving through the desert, and who could say this man wasn’t with the robbers?

The man in the car looked around at Ye Qing’s group, and the surroundings, then said loudly, ”Sorry, guys, I can’t help much. Here, I have a spare tire; I’ll leave it here for you. If you’re not robbers, then I suppose I’ve done a good deed.”

Hearing this, Yelu Ying and the other two exchanged glances. This could indeed be a good thing. If the man provided them with a spare tire, Ye Qing and the others could drive on. Also, judging by his words, this man might really not be a robber after all.

”Thank you, big brother!” Yelu Ying replied.

”You’re welcome. Out in the world, everyone hits a snag now and then,” the man said as he opened the back car door, a spare tire rolled out and landed on the ground not far away.

”Alright then, I’m off. See you if there’s a chance!” the man said, driving his car far around Ye Qing’s group, then leaving the place.

”There are still more good people!” Yelu Ying sighed and walked over to pick up the spare tire, but was quickly stopped by Ye Qing.

”Don’t move yet.” Ye Qing said sharply.

”What’s wrong?” The two elders looked at Ye Qing in surprise. With the spare tire now available, all they needed was to replace it, and they could continue their journey. But the question of whether the puncture was set up by bandits lingered. As long as they leave this place, they wouldn’t be in danger. Moreover, they could make it to Alagu Mountain in time, which was the most crucial thing.

Ye Qing paused silently for a moment, then said softly, ”Did you notice where that person threw the spare tire from earlier?”

”From the cabin, what’s the matter?” Everyone looked at Ye Qing in astonishment, not understanding why Ye Qing asked that question.

Ye Qing continued, ”Where are spare tires normally placed in a car?”

”Generally, they are placed in the trunk or under the trunk, or hung at the back of the car.” Yelu Ying was also puzzled, looking at the departing SUV, whispered, ”That’s right, why was his spare tire inside the cabin?”

The two elders exchanged glances. The taller elder said, ”Are you two overthinking this? Does it matter where the spare tire is placed? He put it in the cabin, perhaps for convenience of use.”

”Putting it in the cabin is indeed convenient, but when he gave us the spare tire earlier, he simply opened the door and pushed it out. This indicates that the spare tire wasn’t secured in the cabin!” Ye Qing said, ”We’re traveling on a desert highway, which isn’t very smooth. If there’s such a heavy item unsecured in the vehicle, rolling around, it’s probably unsuitable?”

The taller elder scratched his head, puzzled, ”Do you mean there might be issues with that person earlier?”

”In such a desert, it’s better to be cautious.” Ye Qing looked around the Gobi, ”Especially in such an environment, surrounded by Gobi, which is quite suitable for hiding. If there were really bandits, this would be the perfect hiding spot!”

”You know, I noticed that too.” The taller elder looked around the Gobi, ”Other places are vast and open, offering nowhere to hide. This complex Gobi environment is ideal for someone to evade capture. If I were a bandit, I’d definitely hide here too.”

”What do we do now?” the shorter elder asked, ”The tire’s punctured, we can’t use the spare tire, and this place seems dangerous as you say, we’re already at a dead end. I’d say, if the opponent really set an ambush, with our car broken down here, they’d just surround us immediately, why bother being so complicated? Can there really be anything wrong with the tire?”

The shorter elder said as he headed straight towards the tire.

”Well, you’re right!” The taller elder nodded; this man was a bit indecisive, agreeing with everyone.

Ye Qing hesitated slightly but didn’t stop the shorter elder. He was also perplexed, feeling that the bandits were overly cautious. However, his intuition told him this wasn’t that simple.

The shorter elder picked up the tire and pushed it over, ”See, no problem, right? You guys were overthinking. It’s just a tire, what could be wrong? If it was set up by bandits, would they go through such effort?”

Seeing the tire was indeed fine, Yelu Ying and the taller elder also breathed a sigh of relief. The taller elder looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Alliance Leader Ye, I mean no offense, but you are overly suspicious. Actually...”

Before the taller elder finished speaking, the tire suddenly burst with a bang. White smoke erupted from the tire, enveloping the four instantly.

Ye Qing smelled a distinct fragrance, followed by the sound of bodies hitting the ground beside him. Evidently, Yelu Ying and the others had fallen. It was clear this white smoke wasn’t anything good, likely a kind of mesmerizing medicine. The tire indeed had a trap inside.

Within Ye Qing’s body were three forces, rendering him immune to all poisons. However, Ye Qing pretended to be mesmerized and slowly fell to the ground.

By doing this, he intended to see ultimately who orchestrated this setup. After all, typical bandits wouldn’t employ such methods, and ordinary bandits wouldn’t have access to this kind of mesmerizing medicine. Additionally, Ye Qing actually didn’t have much ability to resist now; even if he didn’t faint, it wouldn’t change anything.

Shortly after the four fell, a group of people emerged swiftly from behind the Gobi on both sides, coming quickly to the highway. These individuals were tightly wrapped, unaffected by the mesmerizing medicine. After coming over, they promptly lifted Ye Qing and the others from the ground, heading straight behind the Gobi. Another group stayed behind, swiftly cleaning up the scene, the whole process exceedingly neat and tidy.