```

Pu Tianri really picked the wrong time to interfere. Ye Qing was in a hurry to catch Li Tianlu because Li Tianlu's fate was tied to the life and death of Wang Tiezhu. By obstructing Ye Qing at this moment, Pu Tianri was essentially preventing him from saving Wang Tiezhu. So how could Ye Qing be polite to him?

"Get out of the way!" Ye Qing shouted loudly, and landed a heavy punch on Pu Tianri's face, sending Pu stumbling back several steps while covering his face. It was lucky for Pu that he had a large face, which meant the damage wasn't too severe, but he still bled from his nose and mouth.

"How dare you hit me!" Pu Tianri yelled in rage, shouting, "Big brother, big brother!"

Another man stepped out of the car, and as soon as he landed, he shouted loudly, "Shameless Huaxia people, this is what you call martial arts? Relying on sneak attacks, truly despicable!"

The man was none other than Pu Tianri's senior brother, Lee Jung-ki, also from Stick Country, whose strength was more than a notch above Pu Tianri's. Coming to Huaxia, he shared Pu Tianri's contempt for Huaxia's martial arts. His first target to take down was Ye Qing, who had defeated his junior brother. He hadn't expected to encounter Ye Qing here and had just stepped out, ready to confront him.

However, Ye Qing didn't pay him any attention at all. Having pushed back Pu Tianri, he quickly pursued Li Tianlu.

Seeing that Ye Qing was completely ignoring him, Lee Jung-ki felt a loss of face and let out a roar. He suddenly advanced a few steps and, with a leap, kicked towards Ye Qing's back.

Ye Qing, hearing the footsteps behind him were amiss, hastily stepped aside and dodged Lee Jung-ki's kick. However, Lee Jung-ki's strength was much greater than Pu Tianri's. Even though he missed his kick, he twisted his body in mid-air and swept his other foot horizontally, hitting Ye Qing right in the chest.

Ye Qing staggered from the impact, while Lee Jung-ki landed smoothly, stepping right in front of Ye Qing. His movements were quick and smooth, looking very graceful.

The people from the Taekwondo Gym behind them immediately started shouting excitedly. Pu Tianri, still covering his face, ran over and yelled, "Ye, you think you can still refuse to admit defeat when facing my senior brother? My senior brother has never lost in all the matches he's fought in Huaxia, you're not even fit to carry his shoes!"

Ding Shaoyan was also visibly excited, urging, "Old Pu, let your senior brother kill Ye Qing, I'll pay whatever the price!"

Lee Jung-ki looked at Ye Qing with a hint of disdain and said, "Is this all you're capable of? I really doubt whether you defeated my junior brother using some despicable means. You Huaxia people, really untrustworthy!"

Ye Qing gave him a cold glance, turned around to go around him, but Lee Jung-ki stepped forward and blocked his way. After trying this twice, Ye Qing's expression turned icy, and he said in a deep voice, "Get out of my way!"

"A defeated opponent and still talking in that tone?" Lee Jung-ki sneered, "You can pass if you want to, just beat me and you'll be allowed through!"

Ye Qing said gravely, "I don't want to fight you!"

"Say you can't beat me if that's the case. What's this about wanting or not wanting? You Huaxia people never understand what it means to admit defeat!" Lee Jung-ki shook his head and added, "Since you refuse to admit defeat, I'll just have to beat you until you do. In short, if you can beat me, I'll let you go!"

"Courting death!" Ye Qing spat out these two words, and without maneuvering around any longer, he advanced directly towards Lee Jung-ki.

Lee Jung-ki let out a scoff and assumed a pose with an air of arrogance, and, with a loud shout, he lifted his foot to kick Ye Qing.

Without a word, Ye Qing punched back powerfully, hitting right on the sole of Lee Jung-ki's shoe.

Lee Jung-ki, full of confidence that he could kick Ye Qing away, did not anticipate that the punch to his sole would send him flying three to four meters back. He crashed to the ground and struggled to get up, only to feel an excruciating pain in his right leg, as if his bones were shattered. Lee Jung-ki stumbled almost falling over, and could only prop himself up on his left leg with difficulty.

This scene left the people from the Taekwondo Gym dumbstruck. Just when they saw Lee Jung-ki kick Ye Qing with such bravado, they thought he could defeat Ye Qing and regain some face for them. But they didn't expect Lee Jung-ki to be defeated so easily!

Pu Tianri's eyes widened in shock, finally realizing the gap between Ye Qing and himself. Knowing that his senior brother Lee Jung-ki was the strongest among them and yet he suffered a crushing defeat at Ye Qing's hands, it was clear just how formidable Ye Qing's strength was!

Nevertheless, Ye Qing did not bother with them any longer and hurriedly chased after Li Tianlu. However, Li Tianlu had long since disappeared due to the disturbance caused by Pu Tianri and Lee Jung-ki. After pursuing for over ten minutes and finding no trace of Li Tianlu, Ye Qing could only dejectedly leave the alley.

Those from the Taekwondo Gym had also disappeared, and so had Ding Shaoyan, seemingly taken away by the people from the gym.

But now, Ye Qing had no intention of pursuing trouble with Ding Shaoyan. Being sure that Wang Tiezhu had been taken by Li Tianlu, he needed to focus all his efforts on finding Wang Tiezhu. However, there was one consolation; as Li Tianlu was an assassin, he would only target his assigned mark and would not kill Wang Tiezhu!

At the same time, in the Ding Family Courtyard, in the small garden at the back, a spirited old man, likely in his nineties, was slowly trimming a bonsai tree. His movements were very gentle, as if he feared harming the bonsai. It took him a good half-hour to finish the trimming, after which he put his scissors aside.

Behind the old man stood a man in his sixties or seventies. During the time the elder trimmed the bonsai, the older man had stood there without changing his posture once, for half an hour straight. If it were a younger person, they might not have been able to endure it, let alone an elderly man.

Yet there he stood, silent the whole time, without saying a word, like a statue.

```

This elderly man was the one spoken of as a mythical figure in Shenchuan City, the old bodyguard who had always accompanied Elder Master Ding. Once, armed with a single blade, he eradicated an entire gang overnight.

To this day, the mention of him still strikes fear into the hearts of those involved with the underground forces in Shenchuan City, and it is also the primary reason why nobody dares to provoke the Ding Family!

The elder trimming the potted plants was none other than Elder Master Ding himself, the one wielding great power within the Ding Family.

Setting down the scissors, Elder Master Ding picked up the teacup beside him and took a few sips before asking, "Has Yan'er not returned yet?"

The old bodyguard replied, "Not yet."

"He's been out for too long, it's not good for a young man to spend too much time outside!" the elder spoke, then set down his teacup and slowly walked into the back room.

The old bodyguard watched Elder Master Ding enter the back room, then turned and left. As he walked out of the small garden, there stood a man outside, the tall individual from the Xingyi Martial Arts School.

"Master..." The tall man, upon seeing the old bodyguard, couldn't help but express his excitement, hastily saying, "There's been trouble!"

If Ye Qing were here, he would be utterly astonished. Who could have imagined that the old bodyguard of the Ding Family, legendary as he was, would be the master of both the short and tall men? By that account, didn't that mean the people from the Xingyi Martial Arts School were also his disciples?

First, Ye Qing had injured Ding Shaoyan, and then he was also responsible for disrupting the Xingyi Martial Arts School. Either incident alone would be enough to enrage the old bodyguard, no wonder the short man had repeatedly admonished Ye Qing against acting rashly. With both matters combined, Ye Qing was indeed in real danger now.

"What happened?" asked the old bodyguard straightforwardly.

After recapping the events at the Xingyi Martial Arts School, the tall man turned to the old bodyguard who furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "Is this Ye Qing the same person you mentioned to me before?"

"Yes, it's him!" The tall man nodded and added, "Senior brother said that his martial arts must be the Northern Li Family's Baji Quan!"

The old bodyguard nodded slowly and said, "Let's go."

The tall man followed behind the old bodyguard as they hurried to the Xingyi Martial Arts School.

Inside the Xingyi Martial Arts School, many were wounded by Ye Qing and receiving bandages in the hall. The short man had several dressings himself and was applying medicinal wine to his bruises. When they saw the old bodyguard enter, the short man and Wu Xinghuai stood up hurriedly, as they were the only two who knew the identity of the old bodyguard.

The old bodyguard gestured to them not to make a fuss, but instead walked straight in and sat down.

"Xing Huai, take everyone out first," said the short man, clearing the room before he hurriedly bowed down and greeted, "Master."

The old bodyguard didn't respond, only pulling aside the short man's clothes to check his wounds, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"What exactly happened?" asked the old bodyguard.

The short man didn't dare to delay and quickly recounted the entire event from beginning to end. Of course, he didn't conceal the matter involving Wang Lili and Wang Tiezhu but laid it all out.

Just now, the short man had almost forced Wu Xinghuai to recount all the events in detail, informing him of the situation with Wang Lili and Wang Tiezhu. Although Wu Xinghuai's account was slightly different, it was quite clear who was right and who was wrong.

After finishing, the short man said, "Master, Ye Qing may be a bit impulsive in his actions. However, this time I think there is a reason behind what happened. Wang Lili, who was bullied into attempting suicide last time, although lucky to survive, is now a vegetable. Wang Tiezhu was nearly killed by Shao Yan last night and has suddenly disappeared today.

If Ye Qing suspects Shao Yan is behind this, his reaction is understandable!"

The old bodyguard's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard the short man's last conclusion. He looked down in silence for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to resolve the issue. Just then, someone stumbled through the door, it was Ding Shaoyan.

"Great Master Uncle, Second Senior Uncle, save... save me..." Ding Shaoyan seemed very weak; he was actually in pain from his ribs.

"Shao Yan?" The short and tall men were both startled and hurried over to help Ding Shaoyan inside.

It was only after reaching the hall that Ding Shaoyan saw the old bodyguard. He first paused, then tears immediately welled up and he ran over to clutch the old bodyguard's leg, crying out, "Grandpa Tie, you... you must avenge me, I don't want to live anymore..."

The old bodyguard's brow furrowed as he glanced at Ding Shaoyan and said sternly, "A man stands up when he speaks!"