The effeminate man merely froze for a moment before shrieking sharply:
"You've got some nerve!"
"Do you know who I am?!"
"I..."
"The Eastern Depot," Shen Yi cut him off bluntly. "I could tell the moment you entered the inn."
Choked off, the effeminate man endured the searing pain and snapped angrily:
"If I die here..."
"The Eastern Depot won't let you off!"
Shen Yi scratched his ear.
"Quit trotting out those stale old lines."
"Tell me something useful."
He held up one finger and gestured.
"Who sent you? Do you have any accomplices?"
"What was your purpose?"
This time, Shen Yi spoke very slowly.
Yet his tone was exceptionally cold. The effeminate man could sense the chilling killing intent in his voice.
He realized that the Eastern Depot's name carried no weight here.
He raised his head and glanced at Tao Tao and Liu Qingci.
"It is said that the Marquis of Dingbei left behind an illegitimate daughter in Jianghuai. Is it one of you two?"
Tao Tao nodded in acknowledgment.
The effeminate man smiled.
"So it really was you..."
His instincts had not been wrong. It was only that his skills were inferior...
Shen Yi frowned. The effeminate man was answering beside the point.
He seized the man's wrist in a claw grip. With a burst of inner force, he squeezed down viciously as though grinding it to dust.
In an instant, a violent stabbing pain raced up the man's arm and into his nerves. He cried out at once:
"Aaaahhh!!!"
The miserable scream made Liu Qingci's heart lurch. She instinctively clutched Tao Tao's hem and hid behind her.
Her eyes held a trace of fear as she looked at Shen Yi.
Yet she did not turn away.
Nor did she say anything unnecessary.
She knew this was