Chapter 198 Rogue Action

When Hong Ling and Bing Tong realized that Jiang Ming didn't know how long he had disappeared, they were baffled and shocked.

"Y-You seriously didn't know about it?" Bing Tong enquired, clearly unable to believe him.

"Does it look like I'm joking?" Jiang Ming held a bitter smile as he shook his head.

"I thought only a few months had passed by and that's it." He added.

It was true that he really didn't know half a year had gone by due to the fact that there were still numerous people waiting at the entrance of the ancient ruin.

However, Jiang Ming didn't know that half a year was truly insignificant in the eyes of cultivators. Hence, even if they had to wait for a year, it would merely be a breeze for them.

Though that couldn't be applied in the same way in the mortal's eyes, much less in politics and power struggles.

Half a year was enough time for power to be shifted multiple times- to the point where someone else could suddenly soar to a new height.

After a few minutes, the two finally believed Jiang Ming's words, so they had no choice but to brief him on what happened during his absences.

"Currently, five second-tier clans had been exterminated whereas the rest of the second-tier clans had submitted themselves to the 6 powerful clans respectively." Bing Tong casually said.

Her casualness caused Jiang Ming to be dumbstruck by her calmness when mentioning the casualties of others.

A second-tier clan might not be powerful compared to the first-tier, but they still had at least thousands of people residing there. And for five second-tier clans to be exterminated, that meant at least five thousand or more people had been killed during his time in the ancient ruin.

"You're surprisingly calm for such an incident." Jiang Ming held Hong Ling by the waist as he sat down and placed her on his lap. His gaze remained fixated on Bing Tong though, clearly trying to see if there was a tinge of sadness in her eyes.

She was after all the princess of the Northern Continent, and those people could be considered her subject.

However, to his dismay, Bing Tong merely chuckled a bit as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Why should I be bothered by their death? Their deaths basically meant they were ignorant enough to not know how to adapt in time." She sneered coldly.

"I have already given them an option back then to have them submit themselves completely to the Royal Family. Alas, greed and pride got in their way which led to their ultimate demise."

Jiang Ming nodded his head.

He was glad that Bing Tong wasn't some naive and innocent woman that would feel bad about the people's death. He was just testing the water previously to confirm something.

"I'm happy that I'm not your enemy, Princess Bing Tong." Jiang Ming teased. Never once had he referred to her as princess except when he was joking with her.

Bing Tong also understood there, so she flashed a gentle smile at him, void of her coldness previously. Others might not know, but they were clear about each other and the incident that had happened when Jiang Ming cured her poison.

They were just a step close to making love, and Bing Tong couldn't help but feel bitterness whenever recalling that scene.

'He's obviously lusting after me, but why hasn't he actively contacted me or tried to meet up with me?' She cursed silently in her heart, feeling wronged by Jiang Ming's attitude.

Jiang Ming hurriedly coughed when he realized Bing Tong was seemingly glaring at him angrily.

"A-Anyway, what were the two of you discussing that needed to be private?" Jiang Ming asked, changing the topic of the conversation.

This time, it was Hong Ling who intervened to answer, "Jiang Ming, alchemist ren managed to refine the breakthrough pill after half a year, but somehow the news was leaked to the public. Hence, our Moon Bazaar was being crowded by numerous patrons, wanting to get their hands on the pill."

Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow. 'The news was leaked and not actually revealed on purpose?'

He thought that Hong Ling was advertising the breakthrough pill to increase their reputation and status. However, it was the exact opposite of what he had thought.

"Do you have any lead on who the leaker was?" He asked.

"The leaker was a spy implanted by one of the 6 powerful clans back when you first obtained the Moon Bazaar. And according to our sources, the spy was actually secretly someone sent by the daughter of Chen Peizhu." Hong Ling said in a grave tone.

'Chen Peizhu?' Jiang Ming was dumbfounded for a moment. During the opening ceremony, he personally decapitated Chen Peizhu for his audacity of causing a ruckus and not knowing when to back off.

Chen Peizhu traded the Moon Bazaar to him in exchange for a cure for his impotence, yet he still dared to frame him for stealing the Moon Bazaar when he realized it became a valuable asset.

Jiang Ming had thought the incident was over, but it seemed like his family wasn't keen on dropping the matter down.

"Who's Chen Peizhu's daughter?" Jiang Ming asked.

"Chen Yanmu. She was a disciple of the Tianshuang sect and recently came back after hearing the news of her father's death. Given that she was a disciple of a sect, she was able to convince the 6 powerful clans to actively make a move against your Moon Bazaar." Bing Tong was the one to answer.

Seeing how it was Bing Tong that had answered, Jiang Ming got the gist of her visit today. Bing Tong was the one that found out about the leaker and the person behind this incident, so she came here to notify Hong Ling.

Given how they could not contact him or Yang Liqin, Hong Ling became the de-facto leader of the Moon Bazaar. Thus, it was reasonable for Bing Tong to visit Hong Ling and inform her out of goodwill.

"Thank you, Bing Tong. The Moon Bazaar would have been in a major crisis if you didn't intervene." Jiang Ming thanked her sincerely.

The breakthrough pill refined by Alchemist Ren was too tempting for everyone. He was sure that a riot would have occurred and Hong Ling might be in danger if that were to happen.

However, Bing Tong seemed to be displeased about his thanks, almost like she wanted to slap his face for it.

"Are we that foreign?" She asked him softly. Her eyes were a bit teary as she tried to suppress her emotion.

Jiang Ming almost choked himself when he saw her pitiful expression. Pondering over his wordings for a second, he realized he had misspoken.

To thank her was equivalent to saying that their relationship wasn't that close and were just acquaintances.

Of course, it was a far-fetched reasoning, but that's usually how women see it toward their loved ones.

"Hong Ling, do you mind leaving the two of us alone for now?" Jiang Ming asked her gently. Since it was clear that Bing Tong had been helping his store a lot during his absences, he needed to chat with her privately.

Hong Ling was displeased for a bit, but other than that, she did not dare voice her opinion. She was a maid that was ordered to become Jiang Ming, and without him, she would still be a lowly maid in the Alchemist Guild where no one would give a damn about her well-being.

Thus, with reluctance in her eyes, she stood up and slowly headed toward the exit. Before leaving though, she made one last glance at Jiang Ming.

When she had exited, Bing Tong sighed softly as she stared at him. "Yet another innocent girl was somehow ruined by you." She commented.

"Does that innocent girl imply you as well?" With his thick-skinned behavior, Jiang Ming still had the leisure mood to joke around.

Bing Tong nodded her head.

"Unfortunately, yes, that would include me as well. For someone who had her time limited in life, you were just like a knight in shining shield that popped out of nowhere and rescued me. Without you appearing in my life, then I would most likely be a rotten corpse by now." She admitted it honestly, shocking Jiang Ming in the process.

She chuckled softly when she saw his expression.

"What? Surprised by my honest claim? I'm not going to act shy or be embarrassed when my heart has long been stolen by your rogue and bold action back in my personal room."

Upon mentioning the past, Bing Tong suddenly lunged herself forward to him and buried her head in her chest while punching him softly.

"You evil bastard! Damn scoundrel! After taking numerous of my first time, you just went ahead and ghosted me for so long. Do you take me for some casual girl or a prostitute in the street?" She pouted and ranted her emotions out that was always kept hidden in her normal facade.