Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing did not return to the city with Zhao Chengshuang and the others. Instead, he wandered around the area a couple more times, hoping to find some clues. However, it was clearly a futile effort; after all, with so many police officers unable to find even a trace of a clue, he certainly had no hope alone.

Unable to find any clues, Ye Qing did not linger here and drove directly towards the city.

In the North Suburb, there were still relatively few people at night, given its proximity to the mountainous areas. Recently, there hadn't been much commotion in Shenchuan City, so Ye Qing was not as vigilant as before. He drove back alone without any concern about a sneak attack.

In fact, ever since Ye Qing entered the abandoned factory district, a group of people had been watching him. This group was led by none other than Prince Wan Yan.

Last time in Tianfu City, Prince Wan Yan killed Master Craft and his son, then sent his own son Wan Yan Ming, along with many men, to capture Handsome Fatty Wang. In his view, the set taken by Handsome Fatty Wang was the Genuine Article, so he dispatched most of his forces to pursue Handsome Fatty Wang, while he personally led a portion to deal with Ye Qing.

As Prince Wan Yan saw it, it was Ye Qing, Handsome Fatty Wang, and Northern Martial Zen who joined forces and destroyed the Wanyan Family's ancestral tomb, releasing someone who had been imprisoned for nearly thirty years. Hence, in his mind, Ye Qing, Handsome Fatty Wang, and Northern Martial Zen were marked for death. This time, he came to personally kill Ye Qing to avenge the destruction of the ancestral tomb.

Standing some distance away on a hillside, watching Ye Qing drive away from the abandoned factory, a cold gleam flickered in Prince Wan Yan's eyes as he said in a deep voice, "Is everything in place?"

A subordinate nearby quickly responded, "Everything's set; the roadblocks are in place, ensuring he can't get through. However, to kill him, it seems that Your Majesty will need to take action personally!"

"Hmph, of course, I have to take action personally!" Prince Wan Yan said coldly. "I wouldn't trust you to kill him anyway. This Ye's life is too big; he's survived death multiple times and even gained so much. If we let him continue like this, how can we bear it?"

The subordinates nearby didn't dare speak. They knew Prince Wan Yan was determined this time; no matter what, he had to kill Ye Qing. Previously, he had some scruples about the Xihang Shen Family, but this time, he didn't care anymore. He would rather offend the Xihang Shen Family than leave Ye Qing alive.

Just as Prince Wan Yan turned to head down the mountain to intercept Ye Qing, to his surprise, he found someone standing not far behind them, leisurely watching them.

This person had only one eye, the other covered with a black cloth; it was none other than the master from Twelve Green Halls, One-Eyed Ding Lianshun!

Prince Wan Yan's expression changed; though he was a Top-Level Master, he hadn't noticed when Ding Lianshun approached him from behind, highlighting the gap in their respective abilities. If Ding Lianshun had decided to ambush him, his life would have ended there and then.

After a fleeting moment of shock, Prince Wan Yan quickly regained his composure, took a deep breath, and said, "I wondered who it was; turns out it's Protector Ding. It's been many years, yet your charm remains undiminished!"

Prince Wan Yan had crossed paths with Ding Lianshun once, so he spoke this way in a bid to establish a rapport. Naturally, he didn't want to make Ding Lianshun an enemy.

"The same goes for you, Prince Wan Yan," Ding Lianshun replied with a smile. "It's been many years, and yet your might far surpasses before. Your influence in Shenchuan City is like controlling the winds and rains; clearly, your powers have greatly improved from the past."

Prince Wan Yan's face changed slightly. In Shenchuan City, he had no power to speak of. Ding Lianshun's remark was clearly a sarcastic jab at his attempt to corner Ye Qing. After all, he was an elder-generation master having to personally deal with Ye Qing, which was already embarrassing. Having to rely on numbers to corner Ye Qing was even more humiliating.

"Protector Ding, what brings you here this time?" Prince Wan Yan directly shifted the topic.

"It's nothing really, just wanted to talk with you," Ding Lianshun smiled and said. "You just mentioned that we haven't seen each other for years. Old friends should have a chat when they meet, right?"

Prince Wan Yan frowned involuntarily. He and Ding Lianshun had no close ties or anything to discuss. Yet Ding Lianshun sought him out to chat—what could be his purpose?

Prince Wan Yan was well aware that since Ding Lianshun appeared here, he must have known that Prince Wan Yan's true goal was to target Ye Qing. And now, Ding Lianshun's intention to chat was evidently to delay him. But why would Ding Lianshun want to hinder him? Did Ding Lianshun not want him to kill Ye Qing?

To Prince Wan Yan's knowledge, the relationship between Ye Qing and Twelve Green Halls was not friendly. Ye Qing had repeatedly thwarted Twelve Green Halls' plans, sowing enmity between them. The Twelve Green Halls not taking action against Ye Qing was already considered merciful; why would they save him? But if saving Ye Qing wasn't their motive, then why was Ding Lianshun trying to stop him?

After much thought, Prince Wan Yan still couldn't fathom Ding Lianshun's intentions. As time ticked by, his anxiety only grew. If he didn't set off to catch Ye Qing soon, he'd miss his chance to kill him.

"Protector Ding, do you know what I plan to do tonight?" Prince Wan Yan asked tentatively.

"Of course, why else would I come looking for you?" Ding Lianshun replied candidly, making it clear to Prince Wan Yan that he was here to stop him from killing Ye Qing.

"Oh?" Prince Wan Yan frowned and said, "Forgive my ignorance, but I've never heard of the Twelve Green Halls being allied with Ye Qing."

"We and Ye Qing are not allied," Ding Lianshun responded calmly.

"Then what does Protector Ding mean by this?" Prince Wan Yan asked in a deep voice. He was actually quite displeased. In his view, Ding Lianshun's interference in his plan to kill Ye Qing was a pointless move against him. If it weren't for the fact that he wasn't a match for Ding Lianshun, he might have already lost his temper.

"It means nothing, just that someone doesn't want Ye Qing to die!" Ding Lianshun paused slightly and said, "Or rather, someone doesn't want him to die during this time!"

"What does this mean?" Prince Wan Yan was even more displeased and said, "What do you mean by not wanting him to die during this time?"

Ding Lianshun waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about what I mean, just remember that before the fifteenth of next month, he cannot die, and that's it!"

Prince Wan Yan said solemnly, "Is this your decision, or the decision of the Twelve Green Halls?"

"Whether it's my decision or the decision of the Twelve Green Halls, the result is the same," Ding Lianshun said coldly. "Just remember, before the fifteenth of next month. If you dare to harm a hair on Ye Qing, I will personally attack your Wanyan Family and completely destroy your family's thousand-year legacy!"

Prince Wan Yan's face turned cold, as no one had ever dared to threaten him like this. However, in this era, power is everything. Ding Lianshun had the power to make such declarations.

"Protector Ding, isn't this approach too tyrannical?" Prince Wan Yan said solemnly. "Does the Twelve Green Halls want to trample on my Wanyan Family?"

"The Twelve Green Halls doesn't wish to trample on anyone, but no one should think they can disrupt the affairs of the Twelve Green Halls," Ding Lianshun said. "As long as you can ensure Ye Qing is untouched before the fifteenth of next month, the Wanyan Family won't interfere with the Twelve Green Halls. If you can't guarantee that, you'll be undermining the Twelve Green Halls, and don't blame us for being tyrannical!"

After speaking, Ding Lianshun seemed somewhat pensive, looked deeply at Prince Wan Yan, and said, "Prince Wan Yan, some matters force the Twelve Green Halls' hand. If it weren't for this issue, I might have even helped you kill Ye, but now that's not possible. Before the fifteenth of next month, he must live!"

Prince Wan Yan furrowed his brow, noticing that Ding Lianshun seemed sincere. Could there truly be unspeakable difficulties for the Twelve Green Halls? But what was it about Ye Qing that made people from the Twelve Green Halls want to protect him? Furthermore, why specifically target before the fifteenth of next month? What exactly was happening?

After saying this, Ding Lianshun left the place directly. Now the time was almost up; even if Prince Wan Yan wanted to pursue Ye Qing, it was already too late.

Prince Wan Yan fell into silence. Several subordinates nearby glanced at the departing Ding Lianshun. One of them said softly, "King, now... what should we do? Should we call our brothers over there to delay Ye Qing a little longer?"

"Don't call!" Prince Wan Yan quickly waved his hand. As soon as he said it, he realized it was wrong and quickly added, "Quick, call them and tell them not to intercept Ye Qing anymore."

"Huh? Why?" the person asked in surprise.

Prince Wan Yan said solemnly, "Tonight, we can't kill Ye Qing, so we must not stop him anymore. Those people are no match for Ye Qing at all. Going out to stop him is just sending them to their deaths and might alert him!"

The man scratched his head, seeing that Prince Wan Yan had indeed yielded and decided not to kill Ye Qing before the fifteenth of next month. The threat from the Twelve Green Halls was considerable.

That subordinate quickly went to the side to make a call, while a more trusted subordinate looked at Prince Wan Yan and said softly, "King, is there some kind of conspiracy since the Twelve Green Halls doesn't want us to kill Ye Qing?"

Prince Wan Yan furrowed his brows tightly. He naturally suspected some conspiracy was involved. However, he couldn't see through what the Twelve Green Halls was planning, or why they suddenly wanted to protect Ye Qing, ensuring he remained alive until the fifteenth of next month.