Watching Ding Huo leave the inn, the atmosphere in the hall seemed to loosen for a moment, only to be replaced by another kind of tension.
The waiter approached with a tray, trembling as he set the fine wine and dishes before Tang Lan and the others. Then he hurried away as though fleeing a plague.
Chai Yong, nearby, had watched coldly ever since Ding Huo came over to strike up a conversation. He was hot-tempered, but not stupid. That old fox Ding Huo had taken the initiative to approach them, spoken with them for so long, and only left after making an arrangement...
It shook his original impression of Tang Lan and the woman as merely "passersby who didn't know their own limits." Could they truly have some connection to Ding Huo? Or were they also Ding Huo's "clients"?
Yet when Ding Huo left, he had shown neither particular closeness nor any intention of protecting them. It was more as though he had simply completed a transaction. And after Ding Huo departed, Tang Lan and the woman merely remained seated in silence, making no further move.
After carefully sensing them out, Chai Yong felt that they did not seem to have any deep, direct connection with Ding Huo. Perhaps they were merely fat sheep Ding Huo had happened to notice. If so...
The wicked fire that had built up in his heart from being ignored by Tang Lan and the woman, and from Ding Huo's meddling, flared up once more! Especially when his gaze swept over the beautiful, cool-tempered woman beside Tang Lan, a thread of lustful and brutal desire rose uncontrollably within him.
"Hmph!"
With a savage look, Chai Yong swept his gaze over them again. He bared his pale teeth and let out a low, threatening laugh.