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Looking up at the King standing before him, Feng Wuqing sighed, "I lost. Go ahead and do it!"

He knew very well that to challenge the King, you had to start with detailed arrangements, just like how he had just created opportunities to desperately complete his tasks. Now, even such arrangements had failed. Facing him head-on was undoubtedly like striking a stone with an egg.

"I'm giving you another chance." Li Yan said calmly as he looked at Feng Wuqing.

Feng Wuqing flinched slightly and looked at him carefully. "What do you mean? I could run out when a car comes."

"You haven't made your actions public like them. You didn't have time to make a move before I stopped you. If you still intend to come back, contact Queen and report back. Otherwise... retire!" Li Yan finished speaking and stood up.

"Wait!" Feng Wuqing called out to him, "Are you really willing to let me return? Aren't you afraid I'll rebel again? Aren't you afraid I might kill you one day?"

"Calling it rebellion is too harsh. From Liu Yunqing and the others, I've already understood your intentions, it's just for profit. Why else would anyone do this line of work? As for killing me... you just want to surpass me but never found the chance. Don't talk about surpassing me, when you reach my level, you might have a new understanding."

Li Yan said no more and returned to the restaurant. To him, Feng Wuqing was a useful talent. Now that Peng Duandao, Liu Yunqing, Wan Liming, and Chen Xingye had all fallen under his hands, he hoped to bring Feng Wuqing back. As for the threat... if Feng Wuqing was a threat to him, he would've already been eliminated.

The recent contacts with them made him realize that Feng Wuqing was actually just like the other two, eager to challenge the King deep down but not confident enough. They were stuck at a bottleneck, and failing to break through it, they would rather challenge and die at the King's hands.

Watching the indifferent back of the King, Feng Wuqing fell silent.

Two years.

He had taken a two-year break and returned, still a king, still the God of Assassins!

He had worked hard for two years, yet in front of him, he still had no chance to display his skills, no courage to challenge directly!

Thinking for a while, Feng Wuqing pondered Li Yan's words, 'When you reach my level, perhaps you'll have a new understanding.' Maybe, reaching that realm, even a break can be a form of training...

He quickly made a decision to contact Queen again. Even if starting over with a new code name, it didn't matter, because he understood one thing: leaving the organization might not mean earning more money, but leaving the King's side certainly would not lead to greater breakthroughs.

...

Li Yan escorted the person out, and people in the restaurant watched from behind the window. Although it was a matter between customers, being accidentally injured inside the restaurant was hard to explain. After seeing the two talk for a while, Li Yan returned alone, and the other customer, after lying on the ground for a while, actually got up and left. Besides being relieved, they couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't really a customer dining inside.

"Mr. Li, are you alright?" Shinohara Mirai and Matsushima Kui also noticed the scene but didn't intervene, fearing they might cause confusion due to the language barrier, thus they didn't help.

Li Yan smiled, "It's nothing, just a friend joking with me, and I gave him a little lesson."

Seeing how casual he spoke, Shinohara Mirai didn't think it was that simple and whispered, "Was it, looking for me?"

Li Yan shook his head, "Don't overthink it, although I'm not your bodyguard, with me by your side, you're absolutely safe. Now is the time to stay excited and enjoy authentic Yun Country cuisine."

As he spoke, dishes began arriving, and the young girls' thoughts were immediately diverted.

As expected, the restaurant wasn't short of spicy food. Shinohara Mirai and Matsushima Kui could eat a bit of chili but weren't entirely accustomed to it. Despite craving for the delicacy, they turned red and started to sweat, eating while making "hiss hiss" and "huff huff" sounds.

With the meal accompanied by a mixed conversation in Yun Country language and international language, the three of them got to know each other a bit more. It turned out that Shinohara Mirai's father was a big boss, and her mother was from Yun Country. Unfortunately, her mother died in childbirth. Therefore, she was very unfamiliar with Yun Country but had a natural fondness for it, liking it instinctively. However, because there were no friends around her who understood Yun Country language, her language skills were poor, and her understanding of Yun Country relied on books and films.

This was why, coming to Yun Country, she wasn't keen to first see the world-famous landmarks but rather to understand the everyday life of ordinary Yun Country People. Maybe she just wanted to try and experience the life scent of her mother's past from ordinary people's lives. — Even though she had no information or impression at all, it was purely a sentiment.

Matsushima Kui also loved Yun Country culture very much, and her Yun Country language was self-taught. The two were university classmates, not Shinohara Mirai's assistant, as Li Yan had noticed early on. Unexpectedly, with Matsushima Kui's limited language skills, Shinohara Mirai was actually learning the language from her, no wonder her conversational level was even lower.

"Mr. Li, can you teach me Yun Country language?" Coming to her mother's country and knowing so little of her mother's tongue made Shinohara Mirai quite regretful. Before coming to Yun Country, she thought Matsushima Kui's language skills were already impressive. However, compared to real Yun Country People, the gap was evident.

Li Yan wasn't willing to take on extra trouble, slowing his speech, he responded perfunctorily, "Aren't I teaching now? 'Spicy', '... dish'..."

"Spicy?... dish?" Shinohara Mirai repeated after him.

Matsushima Kui encouraged her, "Mirai, you have to be brave, talk more, and learn faster, just like me." She herself kept trying to chat with Li Yan in Yun Country language. "Mr. Li, do you guys like spicy food? And girls eating spicy?"

"Haha, it depends, generally it doesn't matter, but sometimes not preferred."

This response piqued their curiosity, "What situations don't you like it?"

"For example, when on a date at night with a girlfriend, it's not good if she's eaten too spicy." Li Yan jested.

Such a nuanced joke puzzled the two Beihai Country girls. They exchanged puzzled looks and whispered in Beihai language but still couldn't grasp the meaning. Finally, a bit embarrassed, they whispered, "Is it because eating spicy is bad for, k-kissing?"

Li Yan laughed and shook his head, "Not convenient to explain."

"Why? We sincerely want to understand Yun Country People." The two were full of anticipation, and though they didn't have Yun Country boyfriends, of course, girls are curious about dating taboos.

...

After eating, the two continued to stroll along the street with Li Yan.

Li Yan reckoned inwardly that with the girls close to him, he hadn't gone shopping with his wife, Zhang Yurong, nor with Yue Yao, nor Yu Xiaodi, not even Wen Qianyi, and certainly not Hai Fu... He never expected to accompany two Beihai Country girls shopping today.

Oh wife, your command has given my 'shopping virginity' to others, going along with eating, drinking, and shopping too! Fortunately, the two only wanted to experience the life of Yun Country People without making extensive purchases, so Li Yan didn't have to awkwardly carry large bags.

Sweaty from the spicy lunch, and having shopped for quite a while, by four in the afternoon, Matsushima Kui and Shinohara Mirai suggested soaking in hot springs. Li Yan was at a loss; he remembered there were no hot springs near S City, so he had to let them return to the hotel, shower, bathe, and sauna as they liked.

Yet they might be so accustomed to hot springs in Beihai Country that, after a tiring stroll, they very much wanted to relieve their fatigue in hot springs, holding Li Yan's arms one on each side, saying "please" and "trouble you."

Li Yan, having no choice, thought that the Celestial Dynasty, known for its vastness and resources, should not be outdone by Beihai Country's hot springs. He had to flag down a taxi, asking whether it was willing to run a long distance and if it knew where the nearest county's hot spring resort was.

For the taxi driver, a long-distance trip meant not having to worry about business for most of the day; running on the street still costs fuel. As long as the passengers were willing to pay, he immediately agreed and recommended a hot spring area in the suburbs of the neighboring G City.

Li Yan got in the car with the two of them, asked the driver to start driving, then searched online via his phone about the nearby hot spring hotels, confirmed their recommendation by calling Ctrip, and booked a deluxe suite with two bedrooms.

After a two-hour highway drive, they arrived at their destination. Matsushima Kui and Shinohara Mirai had gotten some rest, napping in the car, regaining a lot of energy. Knowing they couldn't return immediately after enjoying the hot springs, and having been informed by Li Yan that he had already booked a room, they were in no hurry. They strolled around for a while, each buying a change of clothes, then found a place for dinner, though the ramen dish they wanted wasn't available.

Using her card at the front desk, Shinohara Mirai paid and checked into the hotel. The cost of this hot spring hotel was considerable, but it fell short of a five-star rating. The deluxe suite was quite nice, but compared to a five-star presidential suite, there were differences. However, neither of them cared about that; they were there for the hot springs, not to nitpick.

This hot spring hotel offered a variety of options: public baths, multiple small baths, VIP private baths, and hot springs fed into in-room bathtubs... allowing customers to choose according to their preference.

Whether for hygiene reasons, their status, or other causes, Li Yan chose the pricier VIP private bath. (To be continued. For the continuation of the story, please log on to www.qidian.com for more chapters to support the author and read the original text!)

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