CHAPTER 596: CHAPTER 596: BORROWING A KNIFE TO "KILL" THE UNDERWORLD MARKET

Feng Bailing’s gaze wandered through the crowd, finally settling on Xiao Junci.

"Regent King, are you also afraid of the Underworld Market?"

"Joke. This king fears neither heaven nor earth."

In front of Feng Bailing, Xiao Junci would not admit defeat.

Moreover, he was not afraid of the Underworld Market at all.

Although most people dared not take action, a small number of people like Xiao Junci were already tempted, and in fact, without Feng Bailing mentioning it, Xiao Junci had a bad debt to settle with the Underworld Market.

Xiao Junci had long been a regular of the Underworld Market, and even a VIP. He had purchased Monkey Wine and Purple Ginseng there, all at great expense, originally intended for life-saving purposes.

Unexpectedly, things went south in the Red Scorpion Desert; Xiao Junci first found that Monkey Wine was no different from horse urine, and then that the Purple Ginseng was simply a rotten piece of wood, without any medicinal effect to speak of.

This made Xiao Junci lose all face in front of the Beiqi Team, and several members of Beiqi choked and eventually died due to the lack of medicine. This was something Xiao Junci could not swallow.

He planned to settle accounts with the Underworld Market and Zhangsun Rou after leaving the Red Scorpion Desert.

"True to the Regent King’s reputation, with extraordinary courage and insight. It seems that in the end, even the Red Scorpion Queen will belong to Beiqi."

Feng Bailing flattered Xiao Junci until he was floating on air.

"We should also deal with the Underworld Market regarding our wine and Purple Ginseng."

Dongfang Yu also suddenly spoke up.

It turned out, the Crown Prince Mansion’s ordeal was almost identical to that of Xiao Junci.

Nalan Yan’er firmly believed in the miraculous effects of her wine, which Dongfang Yu had personally tasted earlier. However, after the wine was auctioned off by the Underworld Market, a big mess ensued.

During the time in the Red Scorpion Desert, several leaders and members of different countries demanded Nalan Yan’er to take responsibility, leaving her feeling wronged, saying that it was the Underworld Market that damaged her reputation.

On this matter, Dongfang Yu naturally wanted to seek out the truth from the Underworld Market.

Xiao Junci was a man of swift and decisive action and left for Qinghe City immediately after speaking.

The representatives of other teams also gradually left the Red Scorpion Desert, heading back to the city to regroup.

"Let’s also head back to Qinghe City first, and I’ll inquire about Brother Zhang’s situation."

Ouyang Chenchen comforted Zhang Erfa. When she made eye contact with Feng Bailing, Ouyang Chenchen understood that saving Brother Zhang needed careful long-term planning.

After returning to Qinghe City, Feng Bailing checked Zhang Erfa’s wounds and then returned to her own inn.

Into the night, Feng Bailing told Dugu Wu that she would be accompanying Xiaojin tonight.

"I haven’t spent enough time with Xiaojin before, starting from tonight, I plan to spend more time with him."

"Father, I want the Queen Mother to tell me stories."

Dugu Xiaojin also looked adorably obedient, clinging to Feng Bailing’s hand and refusing to let go.

Since returning from the Red Scorpion Desert, Dugu Xiaojin and Feng Bailing had grown closer. The mother and son often whispered to each other, leaving Dugu Wu, the father, with no opportunity to join in.

This made Dugu Wu somewhat envious, but he wouldn’t say it out loud.

Ever since Feng Bailing learned that Dugu Xiaojin was her biological son, the relationship between mother and son deepened even more.

Especially since Dugu Xiaojin found out about the existence of the Medical Cabin, feeling that he and the Queen Mother had a unique little secret, the little guy admired and trusted his own mother much more than Dugu Wu, his father.

Dugu Wu glanced at his son’s excited behavior, and felt somewhat uncomfortable, intending to remind her not to spoil Xiaojin. Xiaojin was a boy; it would be more proper to raise him in poverty and hardship.

But then, seeing the expectant look in Dugu Xiaojin’s eyes filled with anticipation, his heart softened again; he didn’t want his son to experience the same kind of childhood as himself.

Dugu Wu remained silent and turned to close the door.

As soon as Dugu Wu left, Dugu Xiaojin looked over at Feng Bailing.

"Queen Mother, why did you deceive Father?"

Earlier, Feng Bailing had Dugu Xiaojin propose that she needed her to accompany her to sleep at night, thinking of a way to distract her father.

Dugu Xiaojin, obedient as ever, did as Feng Bailing had instructed.

"Queen Mother has something important to do tonight and cannot let your father know for the time being, but I promise you, I will not do anything bad. You must cover for your mother," Feng Bailing reassured her, gently tapping Dugu Xiaojin’s nose.

The little one nodded solemnly.

When Feng Bailing tiptoed out of the inn, she saw that the light was still on in Dugu Wu’s room, which made her feel a bit guilty.

The matter concerning the Red Scorpion Queen; she had even implicated Dugu Wu in it, and she wondered whether he had grown suspicious.

However, Feng Bailing’s worries were unfounded this time; Dugu Wu did not suspect that the disappearance of the Red Scorpion Queen had anything to do with Feng Bailing. In his view, only a master like Medical Buddha could have taken the Red Scorpion Queen away without anyone noticing beneath the watchful eyes of him and Gan Liu.

As for the matters of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Dugu Wu also did not plan to interfere with Feng Bailing.

He knew the relationship between Feng Bailing and the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce was not simple. Ouyang Chenchen was one of the owners of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, and given her close relationship with Feng Bailing, as well as the fact that Feng Bailing was an apprentice to Medical Buddha, who supplied medicine liquids to the Chamber, it was natural for Feng Bailing to show extra concern for it.

After leaving the inn, Feng Bailing saw Ouyang Chenchen waiting outside.

"I’ve already had someone inquire about it. Zhang Dafa was not taken by the people from Soldier Inn. In his escape, he accidentally fell into Ruo Gully. His current whereabouts are unknown," Ouyang Chenchen said with a somber voice as soon as she saw Feng Bailing.

Upon returning to Qinghe City, she had hurriedly inquired about Zhang Dafa’s whereabouts and learned the origin of Ruo Gully.

After learning all of this, Feng Bailing’s brows furrowed deeply.

Three days had passed, and with Zhang Dafa injured, his fall into the notoriously dangerous Ruo Gully likely meant a slim chance of survival.

"Underworld Market and Soldier Inn colluding together is truly despicable," Ouyang Chenchen expressed in anger.

"Let’s keep on searching. As long as there’s a glimmer of hope, we must find a way to locate Brother Zhang."

Although the Zhang brothers were merely subordinates to Feng Bailing, they were very loyal to her. Zhang Dafa, in particular, was an honorable man; if anything happened to him, Feng Bailing would feel extremely remorseful.

The two left the inn and headed in the direction of Ruo Gully.

Within the nighttime streets of Qinghe City, most of the shops had already shut their doors.

The streets were silent.

"By the way, the Underworld Market is just ahead; let’s go take a look. When I was on my way to the inn, I saw Xiao Junci with a horse carriage heading in that direction," Ouyang Chenchen gestured with her mouth towards the location of the Underworld Market.

Feng Bailing understood immediately; that Unlucky Star Xiao Junci was indeed going to settle accounts with Underworld Market.

As they reached the entrance of the Underworld Market, they hadn’t even gotten close when they heard a loud crashing noise.

The Underworld Market was not in its usual state; there wasn’t a single customer at that moment.

Some onlookers who came to watch the commotion were pointing and gesturing towards the Underworld Market.