The Most Powerful Bandit Chief (3/3)

"No need. This is just once. After this, your status Book-holding woman will disappear." The job of Book-holding woman is a temporary profession created for a specific task. Once the task is completed, the profession will naturally be unnecessary. After all, it's fine as a temporary job; if it continued for a long time, would those Book-holding woman still need to marry and have children?

"Oh..." Zhou Zhuling nodded slowly, but there was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Ma Feifei found it strange and asked, "What? Are you unwilling?"

Now that the Book-holding Woman Badge has been given, if Zhou Zhuling is unable to go to the capital to hold the book during the imperial examination ceremony on March 1st, then things will get really interesting.

"No!" Zhou Zhuling quickly shook her head and replied, "I'm willing to help Brother Zhuling. Once Brother Ma has set a time to go to the capital, he can just send someone to let me know. Zhuling."

"Okay, I'll let you know in advance before I leave." Receiving Zhou Zhuling's affirmative answer, Ma Feifei felt much more relaxed. Next, only Azi and Lian Yi were left; the others were at the Mysterious Bookstore and could be taken away at any time.

"Yes, I'll do as Brother Ma instructs." Zhou Zhuling nodded in response.

Ma Feifei picked up the teacup on the table and pretended to drink water. For some reason, he felt the atmosphere gradually becoming awkward, and he had nothing left to say to Zhou Zhuling.

"I won't bother you any longer, I'll take my leave now." Unable to bear the atmosphere, Ma Feifei put down her teacup and prepared to leave.

"Is it time to leave...?" Zhou Zhuling's tone was somewhat reluctant, and she seemed a little dazed.

Seeing Zhou Zhuling's expression, Ma Feifei's heart sank. He suddenly understood why Zhou Zhuling had said the pastries he brought were delicious earlier.

When Ma Feifei first met Zhou Zhuling, she had made him some pastries, and they had an indirect intimate encounter.

It was during that time that Zhou Zhuling made Ma Feifei experience the innocent taste of first love.

Although that feeling only lasted for a very short time, and even Ma Feifei himself had long forgotten about it, that feeling was deeply imprinted in Ma Feifei's heart and was unforgettable.

Ma Feifei didn't even know how he finally said goodbye to Zhou Zhuling. It wasn't until he went down the stairs and came to the lobby on the first floor that he came back to his senses when he heard the noisy noise.

"Smack!"

Ma Feifei slapped himself and cursed, "You coward, you wasted all that time reading those Human Book, didn't you? You deserve to die alone!"

I'm so disappointed in you!

Ma Feifei could only look up to the sky and sigh, beat his chest and stamp his feet, shaking his head as he prepared to leave the Wantong Trading Market.

But before he could take two steps, someone called out to him and stopped him.

"Hey! Young master!" The speaker was the woman Ma Feifei had encountered before going upstairs, the one who occupied a stall with an exorbitant rent but sold cheap pastries.

"I don't eat pastries!" Ma Feifei stopped and looked at the woman in front of the stall, replying patiently.

The woman shook her head, her face pleading, and whispered, "Young master, please don't leave yet. Can I make a deal with you?"

Looking at the woman's pitiful expression, Ma Feifei sighed, took two steps forward, and said, "Tell me, what's the deal?"

The woman was overjoyed. Ignoring the pastries still displayed on the stall, she stepped onto it and took two steps toward Ma Feifei, wanting to whisper something in his ear.

Ma Feifei wasn't about to be taken advantage of, so she instinctively took a step back, looked around, and said, "If you don't mind, let's go outside and find somewhere to talk."

He finally understood that he wouldn't escape the woman's entanglement until he resolved this matter today, so he simply took her back to the Bookstore to see what she was up to.

The woman wasn't afraid at all; she abandoned her stall and was about to leave with Ma Feifei.

Seeing this, Ma Feifei had no choice but to take the woman back to the backyard of the Mysterious Bookstore.

In the backyard of the Mysterious Bookstore, a woman sat awkwardly on a small stool, her uneasy little eyes scanning the surroundings with shock.

Ma Feifei sat in the rocking chair opposite her, glanced up at Zhang Caicai who was scolding Mu Qingyi in the kitchen, and said, "You probably know who I am. Tell me, what kind of deal do you want to make with me?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then replied somewhat timidly, "Um, can we cancel the deal?"

Ma Feifei frowned. "What? Are you teasing me?"

"No way! If you don't trade with me today, I'll trade you!" Ma Feifei said sternly. He was the owner of the Mysterious Bookstore, and his time was extremely precious. If everyone acted like this woman, how could he possibly get any real work done?

The woman was startled by Ma Feifei's words, trembling with fear, and eventually couldn't even speak.

"Hmm?" Ma Feifei frowned.

Why are you scaring people?

"Whoosh!"

Yun Qingyang jumped down from the roof and came to Ma Feifei's side, his expression showing considerable dissatisfaction.

Ma Feifei shrugged, lay on the rocking chair without saying a word, and looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle.

There was nothing he could do; he owed Yun Qingyang countless Spirit Crystal, a debt Jidu could never repay in this lifetime. He was terrified of his creditor, fearing that she might demand repayment in a fit of anger.

How embarrassing!

"Why do you want to do business with the shopkeeper? Do you need to borrow Spirit Crystal? How many do you need? I can lend them to you too." Yun Qingyang asked several questions in a row, completely baffled the woman.

Even Ma Feifei was speechless, unsure of what to say.

The woman glanced at Yun Qingyang, then at Ma Feifei, and finally sighed softly, a look of sadness on her face. She slowly said, "Actually, I wanted to ask him about someone."

"Asking about someone?" Upon hearing this, Yun Qingyang's face instantly turned cold. With a 'whoosh,' he returned to the rooftop, no longer even bothering to ask any further questions.

"Continue," Ma Feifei said, seeing the woman's bewildered expression. He wasn't surprised at all by Yun Qingyang's reaction; Yun Qingyang was a cold and aloof person, how could she suddenly start talking to someone for no reason?

Only Spirit Crystal could make her lose her mind!

Since she had already spoken, the woman decided to continue, "My name is Qinglian. The reason I've been selling pastries at the market is because I made a promise to someone."

"Qinglian was originally from the Yan State. Having heard of a very magical Bookstore in Dubian Town in the Great Chu, she greatly admired it and traveled thousands of miles from the Qin State to come to the Chu Kingdom."

"However, within the Qin State, Qinglian encountered a group of bandits and nearly lost her life. At the critical moment, a young man riding a white horse appeared, rescued Qinglian, and escorted Qinglian all the way to Dubian Town."

He then had to leave due to urgent business, and Qinglian didn't have time to ask him his name.

"The kindness of saving my life is like that of my second parents. I, Qinglian, have no way to repay it. I only wish to repay their kindness in this life and follow them to their side. That is why I rented a stall in the market, hoping to see my benefactor again."

"He said he was coming back, so you're just waiting for him in Dubian Town?" Ma Feifei couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Why hadn't this kind of melodramatic plot happened to him?

Qinglian nodded vigorously and said, "My benefactor told me to wait for him here. He said he would come back to find me after he finished his business. My benefactor likes the pastries Qinglian make, so Qinglian put them on the stall. That way, whenever my benefactor comes to the market, he will definitely see them."

Ma Feifei pursed his lips; this girl really is a hopeless romantic.

"But what does this have to do with me? Why should I make a deal with you?" Ma Feifei asked curiously, since he wasn't the person Qinglian was waiting for.

Qinglian hesitated for a moment before saying, "Because Qinglian mistakenly thought you were a bandit, I rashly wanted to make a deal with you to find out where my benefactor is."

"You think bandits can find out where your benefactor is?" Ma Feifei found it a bit funny.

Qinglian nodded earnestly and said, "Because my benefactor is also a bandit, and he said he wants to be the most powerful bandit leader on the Azure Dragon Continent."

"..."