Chapter 29: Even the Toilets Should Be Clogged Up

A foot clad in a brown snow boot appeared in Fang Yun’s line of sight. Her eyes sharpened instantly, and she moved swiftly, plunging a fruit knife fiercely into the foot.

The fruit knife sank entirely into the boot. The man stiffened, but before he could utter a sound, Fang Yun leapt up, retrieving another fruit knife from her spatial pocket. Taking advantage of his momentary shock, she aimed precisely and ruthlessly at his neck, stabbing straight in.

Breathing heavily, her heart racing, Fang Yun feared she hadn’t struck true. Quickly, she pulled out yet another knife from her space.

Just as she was about to strike again, the man suddenly clutched his neck, gasping “Huff, huff,” blood gushing from his mouth.

He fixed his gaze on Fang Yun, attempting to speak, but then collapsed backward.

Judging by his reaction, Fang Yun knew she had succeeded. Overjoyed, she crouched quickly, scavenging weapons from his body.

“Damn it, there really are accomplices!” A fierce male voice rang in her ear, followed by a gunshot. The bullet struck the still-warm corpse on the ground.

Startled, Fang Yun realized she had been discovered. She swiftly gathered her spoils and dashed toward the cliff’s edge.

Behind her, gunshots and curses echoed intermittently, bullets whizzing past her feet several times.

Whether it was their poor aim or her luck, despite her frantic dodging, not a single shot hit her.

When she finally reached the cliff’s edge, she came to an abrupt halt, watching as loose stones tumbled down, their echoes lingering. She swallowed hard.

Seeing her stop, the pursuing footsteps slowed.

Fang Yun glanced back. The sounds of their jeering filled the air.

Ma Qibo’s stash was cleverly hidden within the sheer cliff face, with no visible access routes. Supplies were retrieved by manual rope pulley—though this was all a facade for outsiders.

Ignoring the shouts behind her, Fang Yun found her spot, closed her eyes, and leapt.

The two guards behind gasped in shock and sprinted to the cliff edge, peering down, but saw no trace of her.

Meanwhile, Ma Qibo had his men take away Ma Zhen and was already scheming how to deal with Chen Yuanlin.

Before he could send someone to investigate how Chen Yuanlin had acquired his medicine, one of his subordinates stepped forward, recounting the entire sequence of events.

Upon hearing that Chen Yuanlin was the one who had handed over the woman to him, Ma Qibo suddenly recalled the matter.

“Where is the man?” he snapped back to reality.

Since the medicine was meant for the woman presented to him, how did Chen Yuanlin end up using it on himself?

The subordinate hesitated, unsure how to answer.

Had Fang Yun been there, she would have recognized this subordinate as the one who supplied the medicine to Chen Yuanlin.

“Useless!” Ma Qibo cursed loudly.

At that moment, Li Wangcheng suddenly flung open the tent flap and entered.

He scanned the tent’s interior and his gaze settled on Chen Yuanlin, whose face had turned somewhat bluish from the cold. His eyes darkened.

As he took the lead, others gradually followed him inside.

Ji Qingwan, upon seeing Ma Zhen carried out of the tent, realized something had gone wrong.

Her unease deepened, especially since Chen Yuanlin had been missing for some time.

Anxious, she pressed forward to follow Li Wangcheng inside, inadvertently entering the tent with several high-ranking men.

Once inside, her gaze landed on Chen Yuanlin, and her face drained of color.

Anyone but a fool could tell what had transpired from his appearance.

Ji Qingwan could not fathom how matters had turned out this way. Wasn’t it supposed to be Fang Yun and Ma Qibo? How did it end up with him and Ma Zhen?

The thought of Chen Yuanlin having been involved with Ma Zhen twisted her heart with pain.

One problem after another—first Fang Yun unresolved, now Ma Zhen—why? Why? Why?!

No one noticed her breakdown. Ma Qibo now wished to kill Chen Yuanlin, but the sudden arrival of Li Wangcheng and the others left him momentarily restrained.

“Master Ma, with all due respect, this young man is half your son-in-law. Should he be left out here freezing? What if he falls ill?” someone teased Ma Qibo, gesturing toward Chen Yuanlin.

Ma Qibo’s face twitched as he forced a sinister smile.

“Half son-in-law? He’s a reckless nobody. Does he even deserve to be my son-in-law?” he sneered.

Snapping back to reality, Ji Qingwan heard the deadly intent in his words. Forgetting Chen Yuanlin’s betrayal, she was consumed only by the thought that he must not die.

As she frantically searched for a way to save him, a gunshot suddenly rang out from a distance, shattering the tent’s tense atmosphere.

Silence fell over the group. Ma Qibo’s expression grew especially grave. Then a second and a third shot sounded, allowing many to roughly pinpoint the direction.

Just then, someone rushed into the tent and whispered something into Ma Qibo’s ear.

After hearing the news, Ma Qibo ordered Chen Yuanlin to be locked up immediately and instructed Hong Li to tend to the guests before leaving abruptly.

Watching his hurried retreat and recalling the gunshots, it was clear something significant had happened in his camp.

The crowd murmured among themselves, while Li Wangcheng exchanged a knowing glance with Shang Xingbing. Their suspicions were the same.

Because of this, their faces were unusually solemn.

“Everyone, Master Ma has gone to deal with some troublesome pests. Please forgive the poor hospitality. It’s bitterly cold here; let us move back to the other tent,” Hong Li announced loudly.

With the excitement over and the chill setting in, everyone obediently retraced their steps.

Li Wangcheng, worried about Fang Yun, spotted two subordinates in the distance and signaled them to act.

They acknowledged with a nod before quickly disappearing into the crowd.

Back at the banquet tent, Li Wangcheng’s demeanor shifted from cold to direct. He sought out Hong Li, demanding an explanation for Fang Yun’s disappearance.

Hong Li was troubled. She half suspected Li Wangcheng was deliberately stirring trouble, but the fact remained—his companion was indeed missing.

The bigger problem was that a major incident had erupted in the camp, leaving no time to help him search.

“Mr. Li, your companion probably just went to the restroom. She’ll be back soon,” Hong Li said, though it was a poor excuse.

From when Li Wangcheng noticed Fang Yun’s absence until now, too much time had passed without a sign of her. Even if she were constipated, the bathroom should have been blocked by now.

“Are you trying to stall me?” Li Wangcheng asked impassively.

Upon hearing this, Hong Li’s smile stiffened, and she cursed silently in her heart.