Right after Hong Ling got her set of new clothes, Jiang Ming lazily sat on his chair and sighed exhaustedly.
"Ugh, I can never seem to be able to comprehend the capability of my aunt." Jiang Ming was at loss on how much she was hiding from him. The more he tried to probe, the further he found himself to be away from the actual truth.
At first, he believed the enemies of his aunt to only have some ability, but never to the extent of his calculation.
Alas, he couldn't be any more wrong when Yang Liqin had to try to invent some type of strong poison to deal with her enemies despite her prowess.
That alone was enough indication for him to know that the Blood Curse was merely an appetizer from his enemies.
Sometime later, Jiang Ming decided to take a walk outside the Moon Bazaar. Ever since he had stepped foot in the Central District, he rarely got a chance to actually sightsee and understand what was so special about this place.
Right when he was about to leave the Moon Bazaar, Jiang Ming was surprised to see a familiar person entering.
"Chau Heung, what are you doing here?" Jiang Ming smiled briefly as he greeted her. Originally, he had planned to pouch Chau Heung over to the Moon Bazaar, but Hong Ling decided it was best for her to stay in the Alchemist Guild to retain a bridge of connection.
Besides, Chau Heung's brother, Chau Zhimen was studying under Alchemist Ren in the guild, so she didn't brood over the matter and accepted Hong Ling's suggestion.
"Ah, Jiang Ming, I didn't think you'll be back," Chau Heung held a surprised expression, clearly not expecting to meet Jiang Ming here. His disappearance for a long time was known to those who had worked for him, so naturally, Chau Heung was dumbfounded to see him here.
"Heh, I was merely in seclusion previously," Jiang Ming brushed it off as he noticed she was carrying a brown box.
"Why are you carrying the box and not storing it in a spatial ring?" He asked.
Chau Heung raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you mean this box? The box contains the latest batch of breakthrough pills that Alchemist Ren had refined. Storing it in the spatial ring might accidentally ruin its purity, so I decided to carry the box here."
"Huh? Who told you that the pill's purity would be ruined if you store it in a spatial ring?" Jiang Ming couldn't help but start laughing at her cute and naive mind.
Chau Heung pursed her lips when she saw him teasing her. Wasn't she just trying to be extra careful on this batch of breakthrough pills for his store?
How could he be laughing at her?
"Hmph, you're so mean, Jiang Ming." Chau Heung pouted slightly.
"So many people covet the item in this box, and I still risk my life to deliver it here. How could you still tease me like that?"
Jiang Ming raised his hand in surrender as he suppressed his laughter. "Alright alright, I'll stop teasing you now."
And he continued, "Next time, just directly store it in a spatial ring since you won't know if there will truly be assassins targeting you for the content of the box."
Chau Heung nodded her head. She knew the danger that she carried on today, but she blamed it on her little brother who tried to make a fool of her by saying the pill's purity would be ruined if she stored it in the spatial ring.
Although it was a harmless joke from him, the disaster could have been immense if someone actually took advantage of this situation.
"I'll make sure to do that next time," Chau Heung smiled shyly as she hurriedly ran upstairs to discuss things with Hong Ling.
Jiang Ming had already informed her about the distribution of partial rights given to Zhao Tong in advance, so he didn't mind letting her handle it.
However, before he left the Moon Bazaar, he made sure to signal for one of the members of the Blackheart Team to appear.
Almost like a shadow, a person kneeling on one knee appeared in front of Jiang Ming, clearly waiting for his instruction.
The Blackheart Team was under the control of Yang Liqin and Hong Ling, but he still had the authority to command them.
That was the life of a hands-free owner, letting others do the work while he enjoyed his time.
"Make sure to have someone protect Chau Heung in secret. She's an important personnel of ours and we can't afford enemies to try to harm her." Jiang Ming ordered.
With that said, the person nodded its head and vanished from sight. Despite that, Jiang Ming could still sense his presence around the vicinity.
Their skills left Jiang Ming in awe as he wondered where they had suddenly originated from.
'Could they have been here all along, but due to the previous Jiang Ming's insignificant skills, he failed to detect them?' He wondered silently.
Sometime later, Jiang Ming began strolling around the Central District, admiring the scenery and the buildings. It was only now that he realized that there are so many different stores available here.
Everything was simply luxurious or exquisite, proving one's status and power to be able to roam around the street. Each person walking around could possibly be a crouching tiger with a large background or power behind them.
Of course, Jiang Ming wouldn't bat an eyelid about them, but that wouldn't mean he would straight up provoke them for no reason. As Jiang Ming prepared to purchase a few mutton skewers to snack on, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure.
"Sun Jichen huh?" Jiang Ming was amused to see him being in the Central District.
The last time he remembered him was the time when Alchemist Ren told him that he had cut off all supplies of pills to the Sun Clan and how he tried to pacify things in the Moon Bazaar.
Sun Jichen currently was still a lackey and seemed to be currying favor and bootlicking to a young master. However, his expression changed when he saw Jiang Ming chewing on a mutton skewer.
"J-Jiang Ming?" Sun Jichen's mouth trembled slightly as he unconsciously took a few steps back. His sudden action caused some displeasure to the young master he was serving.
And when the young master noticed a large amount of fear in his eyes, he turned around and saw Jiang Ming.
"Hmm, who are you?" The young master asked Jiang Ming, his tone filled with a wave of arrogance and was practically demanding an answer.
Sun Jichen was naturally scared to death when he noticed the young master he was trying to curry favor for was courting death.
Was he fucking an idiot?
I mean like- yeah, he's an idiot and that's the main reason why I'm currying favor with him. But why do you have to provoke the literal god of death? Sun Jichen's mind was going crazy as he hurriedly informed the young master regarding the identity of Jiang Ming.
"Young Master Ping Chao, that person is Jiang Ming and the owner of the Moon Bazaar. He has a close relationship with Alchemist Ren and the royal family." Sun Jichen hoped that Ping Chao would understand his meaning and kindly back off.
Alas, his intention was not delivered and instead caused Ping Chao to sneer colder. He was from the Ping Clan and one of the 6 powerful clans. Others might not know it, but for him, he knew his father and the rest of the members were planning on overthrowing the royal family.
Hence, the moment he realized Jiang Ming had a close relationship with the royal family, he found it a good opportunity to earn some merits from his clan.
"Oh, so it's a lapdog of the royal family. What is so scary about that?" Ping Chao laughed wildly as he stepped forward and glared at Jiang Ming.
"Oy, kindly give the Moon Bazaar to our Ping Clan, and I might just spare your life when the tide has turned."
Although Ping Chao's meaning was ambiguous, Jiang Ming knew he meant that when the royal family had been overthrown by them.
"Heh, Sun Jichen ah Sun Jichen, is this the backup you were trying to gain when your clan is rapidly declining?" Jiang Ming glanced at him and asked calmly.
Sun Jichen's face was completely pale as he shook his head vigorously. The last time he had tried to meet with them in the Moon Bazaar had resulted in a large backlash. Not only was he discarded by his own clan, but he was also left homeless.
He had been relying on Ping Chao these days just to make ends meet. How could he possibly still have the courage to provoke Jiang Ming?
"N-No, Jiang Ming. I have nothing to do with this, and by no means am I trying to irritate you." Sun Jichen quickly knelt on the ground and banged his head, pleading for mercy.