Chapter 196: I Also Want to Know Who I Offended

Li Qintian saw Old Chi being questioned, hurriedly rose from his chair, his face full of sincere fear: "Old Chi, this really wasn't done by a junior. You have shown me great favor; in my heart you are like a second set of parents. How could I commit such a thunder‑and‑lightning act against you?"

"I didn't say it was you; I just want to ask, what do you think of this note?"

"It must be someone framing and scheming."

Chi Nan Yi heard this and asked softly: "Lord Li, have you offended any colleagues here?"

Li Qintian looked at Chi Nan Yi and found the voice very familiar.

He glanced at Xie Yuwei beside him, startled: wasn't this the person who came with Southern First Young Master?

Isn't he a man? Why is he wearing women's clothing?

Old Chi saw his silence and said lightly: "She is a junior in the household; Lord Li, you may speak freely."

"Junior in the household?"

Li Qintian's cold sweat instantly poured down.

Thinking back to how he had once made things difficult for her, he wished he could find a fissure in the ground and crawl into it.

"Chi… Miss Chi."

"Lord Li, we have dealt before; you may continue with the same attitude as before."

"No, no, no… it was my own blindness before, I didn't know Miss Chi was Old Chi's family member; I hope Miss Chi won't hold it against me."

Chi Nan Yi sneered, simultaneously rolling his eyes at her maternal grandfather.

How could the maternal grandfather have shown such favor to a wind‑following, opportunistic petty person like Li Qintian? What is he thinking?

Sensing his granddaughter's gaze, Old Chi chuckled awkwardly, lowered his voice and said: "Who hasn't been short‑sighted at some point?"

Li Qintian thought, then slowly shook his head: "I was transferred here to serve as magistrate only two years ago, have not offended anyone, nor had any dispute with that colleague."

"The so‑called conflict doesn't have to involve offense or quarrel," Chi Nan Yi said with a smile. "I wonder, Lord Li, in taking this magistrate post, whose path have you blocked?"

At this point, Li Qintian's heart sank: "Zhao Cheng, Lord Zhao—if I hadn't come, the magistrate position might have been his."

Zhao Cheng…

Chi Nan Yi and Xie Yuwei exchanged a glance; together with the note Zhao Cheng handed over a few days ago, who did this is self‑evident.

Seeing them remain silent, Li Qintian's sweat on his head increased, his heart pounding like a drum.

"Old Chi, I truly didn't do this! I swear, if this came from my hands, I will be struck by thunder and lightning and meet a terrible death."

"Alright, I'm not here today to convict you…"

Old Chi made small talk with him for a while before letting him leave.

After leaving the manor, Li Qintian's footing gave way and he almost stepped into a void; fortunately a young servant beside him steadied him.

"Sir."

"Go, investigate for me which short‑sighted person framed this onto me." Thinking of how Old Chi had invited Xie Yuwei to play chess before leaving, his heart grew heavier.

Who could have imagined Xie Yuwei's relationship with Old Chi was so close?

What kind of household is the Chi Family?

A prestigious lineage! A noble house with centuries of inheritance.

What worries him most is that Miss, openly giving Old Chi the cold shoulder, yet Old Chi still smiles and accepts…

Even the whole Daqi cannot find another…

It's over; I'm completely finished now.

At this moment, Zhao Cheng, who had been waiting for news in the courtyard, paced anxiously.

Not long after, a figure appeared in the courtyard; Zhao Cheng felt a surge of joy, thinking he had succeeded. Just as he stepped forward, the person thrust out a palm that struck Zhao Cheng's chest; Zhao Cheng's body, like a kite whose string had been cut, slammed onto the ground, a mouthful of fresh blood spurted, and he breathed his last.

"Useless, you can't even handle this small matter; you have no right to live."

He flickered and darted toward the outside of the courtyard.

He moved as fast as a ghost, arriving at a desolate courtyard.

"Boss."

Seeing him return, a group of men in black surrounded him: "How's it going?"

The man shook his head: "Failed."

"Then what do we do?"

"This failure means the Chi Family and Xie Yuwei will be on guard; attempting another move will be even harder."

"Then what?" a man in black said gravely: "If we fail, the master will punish us."

"The plague was also lifted by that Southern First Young Master, so to finish the task we must first deal with her. Once she's dead, we can re‑release the plague throughout the city, and no one will be able to cure it again." He shook the porcelain bottle: "This is a newly developed plague toxin; once it contacts, death comes within the time of a single incense stick, and after death the body is indistinguishable from someone infected with the plague. As long as we kill that Southern First Young Master, we can…"

Pfft—

Before he finished, a snicker reached his ears.

Instantly, everyone's nerves tightened.

"Who! Come out!"

"Who is there!"

The man in black scanned the surroundings; aside from them, no other presence was sensed.

But that laugh… they could not have misheard.

"Boss… no one… no one…"

"How could there be no one? Weren't you the one laughing just now?"

"I actually hope…"

"Shut up." The man in black stepped forward, bowed to the empty air: "May I ask if the senior…"

"Could it be that we misheard?" the man holding the plague virus said coldly: "Stop doubting here; we must quickly capture that Southern First Young Master; that's the most urgent."

Thud.

"Ah! I... I..."

The man who had just been urging them to capture Chi Nan Yi now clutched his throat tightly with both hands, eyes bulging wide, his pupils filled with terror, black blood frothing from the corners of his lips as he slowly collapsed.

"What's going on?" The crowd drew their long swords one after another, warily scanning their surroundings.

As the man fell, the figure behind him slowly came into view.

Chi Nan Yi wore a fitted outfit, a half-mask of black on her face, her eyes lifted slightly, the jet-black pupils gleaming with a piercing cold light, calm yet carrying a soul-seizing ruthlessness: "You want to capture me? You?"

She shook the porcelain vial in her hand; seeing this, everyone's hearts sank.

Wasn't that the plague virus they had just developed?

How was it in her hands?

"You..."

"A new-type plague virus. Not bad, the effect is decent." She glanced at the corpse on the ground, then looked up at the wary black-clad men: "Such a fine thing—why didn't you keep it for yourselves? After all, the plague suits rats like you from the gutters."

"You! How dare you kill our man! Do you know who you've offended?"

Chi Nan Yi smiled without speaking, took a porcelain vial from her robes, and poured the corpse-dissolving fluid inside onto the body. Wisps of white smoke rose as the intact corpse visibly dissolved at speed—clothing, flesh, bone, all reduced to a pool of dark viscous liquid that seeped into the crevices between the flagstones, leaving only faint white smoke and a pungent stench, as if that person had never existed.

Chi Nan Yi slowly raised her head, her icy gaze sweeping over the terrified crowd, and said in a low voice: "What a coincidence—I'd very much like to know who I've offended, too."