It was eight in the evening when they arrived at Guankou Ghost Market.
Unlike last time, Chen Fan stopped the car and strode in directly.
The current Guankou Ghost Market seemed much more desolate, with fewer people around.
As soon as he entered, he seemed to have attracted some attention. Before he could reach the depths of the Ghost Market, someone stepped forward to block his path.
"Mr. Chen, my young master requests your presence!"
The man who stopped Chen Fan, appearing far from friendly, said.
Chen Fan was not particularly surprised by this, narrowing his eyes and saying, "Lead the way."
The man led the way, but not to the underground boxing ring. Instead, he led Chen Fan to an old building. They went up the external stairs, navigating through a complex, spiderweb-like structure for a while before arriving at a spacious room.
Several men with impressive physiques guarded the entrance, staring intently at Chen Fan as if facing a formidable enemy.
Inside was a video arcade, currently showing a Hong Kong film from the 1990s, filled with intense action.
In the arcade, there was only one young man and a few bodyguards. He picked up the remote, turned down the volume, and stood up, saying to Chen Fan, "Mr. Chen, welcome back to Guankou Ghost Market."
Chen Fan looked at the young man, whom he did not recognize.
However, there was a striking resemblance between this person's eyebrows and Ji Cang's.
"My name is Ji Qing, and my father is Ningnan King Ji Cang!"
Seeing Chen Fan scrutinizing him, the young man extended his hand and said with a smile.
Chen Fan did not reciprocate the handshake, instead narrowing his eyes and saying, "Your father and I are quite acquainted, we are equals. For you not to personally welcome me, but to summon me here, is this how Ji Cang raised you?"
"What... what did you say?"
"How dare you speak to Young Master Ji like that? Are you looking for death?"
Ji Qing did not speak, but his subordinates erupted.
*Slap!*
*Slap!*
Ji Qing, startled, turned and delivered two slaps.
"Get out, damn it! Do you know who you're talking to? Do you think this is a place for you to speak? If you want to die, I won't stop you, but don't implicate me..."
His extreme reaction startled his subordinates, who quickly covered their faces and retreated.
It wasn't that they were unaware of Chen Fan's identity, but showing a bit of loyalty seemed like a surefire way to gain Ji Qing's favor.
However, they were oblivious to the magnitude of the trouble Chen Fan had caused in the capital, a fact that Ji Qing was keenly aware of, hence his strong reaction.
When he had sent for Chen Fan earlier, it was indeed tinged with arrogance. Chen Fan had caused immense losses to Guankou Ghost Market last time, a fact he had not forgotten and which still stung him.
Therefore, upon learning that Chen Fan had returned to Guankou Ghost Market, he deliberately waited here for his subordinates to bring Chen Fan, to at least give himself a sense of control and superiority over Guankou Ghost Market.
In front of Chen Fan, he wouldn't feel at a psychological disadvantage.
But such petty tricks were completely useless against Chen Fan.
Especially after his subordinates' suicidal behavior, it had made his heart pound.
After all, Chen Fan was the one who had crippled the Brotherhood.
Both he and his father, Ji Cang, had only a vague understanding of the Brotherhood initially, and they held it in great awe.
Thus, deep down, he was extremely fearful and wary of Chen Fan.
"Chen... Mr. Chen, I apologize. I failed to discipline my subordinates properly. Please don't take offense. If you are still not satisfied, I will have them kneel and kowtow to apologize!"
"Forget it."
Chen Fan sat down, saying lazily, "The Brotherhood's leader, Wu Zhaohui, invited me to Guankou Ghost Market to meet. Do you know about this?"
"I don't know, absolutely not!"
Ji Qing was startled again and quickly replied, "Our Guankou Ghost Market doesn't have much of a relationship with the Brotherhood. At most, the Brotherhood extends its influence here to extort us."
"This place is a melting pot, and we're not sure who has ties to the Brotherhood. If you're not satisfied, I'll have people investigate thoroughly later!"
He hastily tried to distance himself.
Chen Fan waved his hand and said, "Arrange for people to patrol and check at the entrance of Guankou Ghost Market and various locations. Report to me if you notice anyone suspicious or any unfamiliar faces."
"You mean, if the Brotherhood's leader comes, you want to be the first to know?"
Ji Qing asked.
Chen Fan nodded and said, "Give me the remote and go. Also, I haven't eaten yet, bring some food!"
"Ah, Mr. Chen, you should have said so earlier! I'll treat you to hot pot!" Ji Qing said promptly.
"Bring it here, I'll eat while watching the movie," Chen Fan said.
"No problem!"
Being ordered around like this, Ji Qing was actually delighted and quickly went to make arrangements.
Chen Fan turned up the volume of the movie and leisurely watched the old film.
The arrangements he had made earlier were unlikely to be very effective.
Since Wu Zhaohui had arranged to meet here, it meant he had ways of getting in, and if he had other plans, he would have made them.
However, the benefit of doing so was that it would at least create some trouble for Wu Zhaohui and put some pressure on him.
Ji Qing was swift. He had his subordinates bring hot pot, with beef, lamb, and assorted side dishes.
To facilitate Chen Fan's meal, they even moved furniture and brought in a table.
Chen Fan, of course, did not stand on ceremony, cooking his hot pot while watching the movie.
During this time, he received several phone calls.
After finishing one call, he picked up a chopstick of green vegetables to eat, but after chewing a few times, he suddenly dropped the chopsticks and spat out the vegetables.
Hearing the commotion, Ji Qing outside rushed in.
"Who brought these vegetables just now?" Chen Fan asked.
"Who, who brought them?"
Ji Qing, not understanding what Chen Fan was up to, shouted at his subordinate at the door.
A lean man nervously said, "It, it was me, Young Master Ji."
"So, you're saying you poisoned it?" Chen Fan said slowly.
The man looked bewildered, "Poisoned?"
"Poisoned?" Ji Qing pondered Chen Fan's words, his expression turning anxious as he considered his next move.
"Why don't you try it?" Chen Fan said.
The man was still lost. Under Ji Qing's urging, he picked up a chopstick of vegetables, swished it in the pot, and was about to put it in his mouth.
Chen Fan slapped his chopsticks away and said, "Don't try it, it's lethal. It's only because I ate it that I'm okay. Anyone else would have died instantly."
"Think carefully about where these vegetables came from and if anything happened on the way here."
"These are from the hot pot restaurant downstairs. On the way... Ah, someone bumped into me! I didn't pay much attention at the time!" The man exclaimed after thinking for a while.
Ji Qing revealed a look of understanding and ordered, "Investigate this! Turn Guankou Ghost Market upside down until you find the person who poisoned it. Zhao Si, try to recall what that person looked like!"
"That person was wearing a hat, and I didn't notice... It seemed, it didn't seem like a young person..."
Zhao Si tried hard to recall but was still clueless. He hadn't paid much attention at the time.
Chen Fan held out little hope for such matters and, having lost his appetite for hot pot, waved Ji Qing off to investigate.
He took out the phone that the child had given him and dialed the number Wu Zhaohui had called from earlier, but no one answered.
The current time was eight forty in the evening.
He mused to himself, could it be that Wu Zhaohui had already arrived at Guankou Ghost Market?
But the method of poisoning made him suspicious. This did not seem like Wu Zhaohui's style.
Someone like Wu Zhaohui, who was extremely self-important and arrogant, would likely view poisoning as a disreputable tactic.
Unless, Wu Zhaohui, driven to desperation, had become ruthless?