Urban Martial Saint

Jiuchuan County, located in the central part of the country, is a poor county and also the place where Ye Qing grew up.

Since graduating from university, it had been five years since Ye Qing had returned to this place. The massive changes in the county town were too much for Ye Qing to keep up with. High-rise buildings under construction were everywhere, a stark contrast to the low-rise buildings from Ye's memory, almost like two different worlds.

Based on his memory, Ye Qing finally managed to find the village where he used to live. This was a village on the outskirts of the county town and was quite remote. However, the recent development had brought prosperity to this area too, and the new houses around almost made Ye Qing unable to recognize his own home.

After several rounds, Ye Qing finally found his house.

The entire county had changed, but his home remained the same as before. The same low flat houses, the same shabby wooden door, all stood out as particularly shabby amidst the county town.

Ye Qing pushed the door and walked into the courtyard. Before even entering the house, he heard a sharp female voice from inside, "It's not okay, I just don't agree. Stop talking, you compensate so little for such a big house of mine, what is it worth? If you take this land, and we get so little money, where is my family supposed to live, under a bridge?"

"Sister-in-law, everyone has signed the contract and agreed to this compensation, your disagreement is obstructing the development of the county town!" a male voice followed, "Promoting urbanization of the surrounding villages and speeding up the development of the New District is the county's policy. If you alone disagree, do you intend to halt the progress of urbanization?"

The woman said, "Don't pressure me with the county's policy, I simply do not agree."

The man coldly said, "Sister-in-law, we've said all we can in good faith, don't be ungrateful. Even if you don't sign, our project will not stop. Don't blame me for not warning you, once the work starts, outsiders will flock in. If you continue living here and something happens, you can't blame others!"

"What do you mean by that! Are you threatening me? Just try to touch me, see if you dare, hit me now if you can!"

The noise inside escalated, and Ye Qing could clearly hear the sound of something hitting the floor; it seemed a fight had broken out.

"Bitch, you dare to scratch me, I'll kill you!" a man bellowed.

Realizing something was wrong, Ye Qing immediately rushed to the door just in time to see a burly man grabbing a woman by the hair and slapping her fiercely. Around her stood five or six men, encircling the woman with threatening postures.

This woman was none other than Ye Qing's stepmother, Zhou Hongxia!

Seeing this, Ye Qing's expression changed drastically; he rushed into the room, grabbed the man by the neck to pull him away, and kicked him in the waist, knocking him down to the ground.

"What are you doing! What are you doing!"

The room immediately descended into chaos, and two men came up to hit Ye Qing.

Ye Qing did not hesitate; with one punch each, these two men immediately crouched on the ground holding their noses. Three others hesitated, but Ye Qing didn't; he kicked one of them straight out of the room. The remaining two, seeing no escape, opened their arms to grab Ye Qing, trying to pin him down.

Ye Qing bent down, and his right fist hit one in the abdomen, making him immediately curl up on the floor holding his stomach.

The second man managed to grab Ye Qing, but he could not pin Ye Qing's arms.

Ye Qing pulled the man's head over with his left hand while his right fist repeatedly punched him in the head, making him instantly loosen his grip and collapse to the floor.

Six men, in less than two minutes, were all down on the ground while Ye Qing sustained no injuries.

For Ye Qing, this was not a big deal; he had been the combat champion in the military for three consecutive periods, capable of handling three well-trained Special Forces on his own, let alone a few thugs.

A man struggled to get up, pointing at Ye Qing furiously, "You little brat, you... you even dare to hit me, you're asking for trouble..."

Ye Qing turned his head sharply, and the man shivered suddenly, instinctively stepping back.

"You... who are you..." the man stammered, "I... I'm very close with Da Fei, and this matter is also Da Fei's affair, you..."

"Scram!" Ye Qing said sternly.

The man, furious, hesitated with his mouth open for a long time, but still left dejectedly with his people.

Zhou Hongxia, watching the scene unfold, was utterly shocked. It took her a long while before she pointed at Ye Qing, tremblingly saying, "You... you... you are Ye Qing!?"

"Auntie!" Ye Qing nodded, "I've been discharged from the military!"

"What?" Zhou Hongxia was once again stunned, "How… how were you discharged? Isn't… isn't it not yet time for you to be discharged?"

"I wrote an application for early discharge." Ye Qing went to right the table he had knocked over earlier, "Who were those people just now?"

"Oh!" Zhou Hongxia sighed, "Your father will be back soon, you can wait for him to explain it to you."

Ye Qing did not ask further, as his relationship with Zhou Hongxia was not very harmonious. Zhou Hongxia had two children of her own, and in such a blended family, everyone was essentially living for their own relatives. He had no blood relation with Zhou Hongxia, and combined with his naturally reserved and stubborn temperament, their relationship was quite estranged.

Once they had cleaned up the room, Ye Qing's father, Ye Changwen, also hurried back, prompted by the news. He was a former long-time employee at the county's parts factory, but he had been laid off a few years after the restructuring and now fixed bicycles at a stall at the street corner. He had rushed back upon hearing that the demolition team had arrived at his house, only to find not the demolition team, but his eldest son whom he hadn't seen in five years.

Not having seen him in five years, Ye Changwen had aged considerably, his hair now mostly grey. This change might have been related to Ye Jun's disappearance, as he was no longer the father who once shouldered the responsibility of supporting four children by himself.

Ye Qing hadn't returned home in five years mainly because he didn't want to cause any trouble for the family. After all, there were three people in the household with no blood relation to him, and his return would only disrupt the family harmony. However, that didn't mean he didn't miss his father during those years.

Looking at the white hair on Ye Changwen's head, Ye Qing felt a twinge in his nose. He walked over and, from an excited Ye Changwen who couldn't even speak, took the bike repair tools from his hands, "Dad, I've been discharged."

Tears filled Ye Changwen's excited eyes, and upon hearing this, he was startled again, "You… how have you been discharged? Did you make some mistake? Isn't it not yet time for you to be discharged?"

"I didn't make any mistakes, I just applied for early discharge." Ye Qing explained the situation again.

Upon hearing Ye Qing's words, Ye Changwen felt a bit more reassured, "As long as you didn't make any mistakes, good. Qingzi, no matter where you are, the men of the Ye family must be responsible and shouldn't flee after making mistakes!"

This was what Ye Changwen often said to Ye Qing since he was young, and it was also what Ye Qing respected him for the most.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Ye Changwen said to Zhou Hongxia, "Hongxia, go buy some vegetables, cut some meat, this evening let Xiao Yu and Xiao Zheng come back home, and our family can finally have a proper gathering."

"Xiao Yu and Xiao Zheng are so busy, how do they have time to come back?" Zhou Hongxia replied impatiently, "Besides, I don't have money to buy meat. We can't even cover this month's living expenses, let alone spend on such luxuries."

Ye Changwen's face turned red, and seeing some anger in him, Ye Qing quickly stood up and took out the money he was carrying.

"Dad, this is the allowance from the military. It's a total of forty-three thousand, I'm keeping three thousand for myself, and here's forty thousand for you to use first."

Ye Qing handed the money to Ye Changwen, who hesitated for a moment and then immediately waved his hands, "Qingzi, I can't take this money. You're not young anymore; you should start thinking about buying a house and marrying. This money is yours, you earned it, you should save it. It will be needed for buying a house, you can't just spend it carelessly!"

Ye Qing shook his head, "Dad, buying a house can wait. Xiao Zheng is still in school, paying for his education is the priority."

Ye Changwen still waved his hands, "But this is your money, how can I…"

"Oh, Old Ye, this is Qingzi honoring you, how can you not accept it!" Zhou Hongxia immediately came over, taking the money from Ye Qing, "Qingzi, I always say you are the most filial child. Your dad is just too stubborn to use your money. But the situation in this house is like this, your brother needs to go to school, we can't do without money. I'm not going to use this money; I'll save it for you. When you need to buy a house, you can just ask me for it!"

Ye Qing was very aware that once the money was in Zhou Hongxia's hands, getting it back would be impossible. But he didn't intend to ask for it back. If this forty thousand yuan could buy family harmony, he didn't mind at all!

"Hongxia, how can you do this, that's the kid's money!" Ye Changwen said urgently.

"Alright, alright, I'm going off to buy groceries. Qingzi, keep your dad company for a while, I'll also notify Xiao Yu and Xiao Zheng to come back for dinner tonight," Zhou Hongxia said and hurriedly left the house.

Ye Changwen wanted to follow, but Ye Qing held him back.

"Dad, let it go." Ye Qing shook his head and smiled, "Xiao Zheng is in school and needs the money. As long as Auntie treats you well, it's okay if the money is gone, I can always earn more."

Ye Changwen sighed deeply, looking guiltily at Ye Qing, "Qingzi, your dad is sorry. I haven't provided you with a single good day in this life. Your mom passed away early, and I thought finding a woman to take care of the two of you would be good. Who knew, she couldn't take care of the two of you, and you two…"

Tears choked Ye Changwen's voice as he was reminded of the missing Ye Jun.

Ye Qing also felt distressed. He gently sighed, "Dad, no matter what, Auntie has been by your side all these years. If she doesn't treat us well but treats you well, that's enough!"