Chen Yi had not said that without cause.
Rather, now that the dust had settled, the reward that should have appeared had yet to arrive, putting him on alert.
He waited a little longer.
Seeing that no one had shown themselves, Chen Yi continued in a hoarse voice:
"I just helped you deal with that black-clad man. You should be thanking me. Why not come out and have a chat?"
"I trust the Xiao Family is not so ungrateful as to repay kindness with enmity?"
As he spoke, he looked around.
The narrow alley remained utterly empty, silent as death.
He could even hear only his own breathing.
"Not someone from the Xiao Family?"
As Chen Yi considered this, his heart sank slightly.
Someone from the Liu Family?
He continued probing. "It seems a guest from the Liu Family of Shuzhou has arrived."
"What?"
"You do not truly believe the one who killed Liu Jing came from the Xiao Family, do you?"
"Do not fall for someone else's scheme to sow discord."
After a long while.
Seeing that there was still no sound from his surroundings, Chen Yi could not help baring his teeth.
This was the outcome he least wanted to see.
—The one behind the scenes!
"Not the Liu Family, not the Xiao Family, yet watching me this closely. You truly make things difficult for me."
"Do you not?"
"Hidden Guard!"
The instant the words left his mouth, True Essence erupted from within Chen Yi. He fully unleashed the Meteor Butterfly Steps, leaped onto the wall beside him in a single bound, and turned into a black shadow as he fled toward the Prefectural Yamen.
Almost the moment after he moved, a cool voice rang out beside his ear:
"Who are you? How did you know that it