The Farce Ends

This made Venus raise an eyebrow slightly.

She had expected to have this owner flustered and scrambling in no time, perhaps even accidentally knocking over a few tables.

But so far, she hadn't been able to truly shake him? Shake an ordinary person?

Venus's heart sank, and she became a bit more serious, her speed increasing slightly.

Her figure flashed from the stairs to the side of the bar, leaving behind little more than a blurry afterimage.

Yet in the next instant, Li Yuan's hand appeared exactly where she had just stopped—reaching directly for her wrist.

Venus's pupils constricted slightly, and she immediately twisted away, his hand grazing her sleeve as it passed.

She took a step back, her previous smile long gone, replaced by a trace of solemnity and confusion.

Venus wasn't quick to jump to conclusions. She shifted her footing, feinting toward the door before suddenly doubling back, using the back of a chair as cover to circle toward the window from his blind spot.

It was a simple feint. But for an ordinary person, it should have been enough to make them lose their sense of direction.

However, the moment she stopped, Li Yuan appeared silently behind her—reaching for her wrist once again.

Venus's gaze finally turned entirely serious. She abandoned her playful footwork and increased her speed to a level that even low-rank professionals wouldn't be able to track.

In a flash, she blurred from the window toward the bookshelf.

The next moment, Li Yuan turned.

She flashed again, circling behind the bar.

Li Yuan raised his hand.

She pushed off the edge of the bar, landing in front of the stairs.

Li Yuan's pace remained unhurried, yet it was as if he knew exactly where she would stop; he reached out to grab her again.

This time, Venus didn't immediately dodge. Instead, she fixed her gaze intently on the young man's reaching arm.

Something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

She hadn't felt even the slightest ripple of mana until now, nor did she see any signs of the physical reinforcement that should accompany a battle technique.

In other words, this young man wasn't using any vocational skills.

Yet no matter how she moved, he could always lock onto her position in the next moment.

He wasn't even chasing her—he was waiting for her in advance, as if he knew exactly where she was going. It was... as if a hunter were waiting for his prey to fall into a trap.

For the first time, Venus felt a flicker of uncertainty.

As she was thinking, just as Li Yuan's hand was about to reach her, Venus jerked to the side. She leaned back while dodging, almost sliding across the tabletop.

She braced herself against the edge of the table and flipped lightly over it, landing on the other side.

The moment she landed and prepared to move again, she saw Li Yuan already standing before her, his hand reaching toward her with that same casual motion.

Venus finally frowned, a sense of powerlessness welling up within her. She tried to deny the reality before her eyes, but she couldn't—this defied all logic!

This time, she didn't dodge.

From the beginning until now, she had already pushed her speed to the absolute limit she could exert at this stage, yet the young man before her was able to block her path every single time.

It was as if those calm eyes could see through her every move, always arriving at her destination a fraction of a second before she did.

This made no sense. She was a Great Sage of the Empire! A Heroic Spirit Rank Sky Knight! One of the five strongest people in the world!

When it came to speed, Venus could say without hesitation that she was the fastest person in the world, bar none.

So, as the young man's hand reached out once more, she gave up on this game of chase.

A second later, his fingers clamped firmly onto her wrist. Simultaneously, she grabbed his other wrist in a backhand grip, her expression grave.

“Just who are you?”

Li Yuan gave her a strange look, as if he had heard a nonsensical question.

After pulling his hand from her grip, he said seriously, “Just an ordinary teahouse owner.”

With that, he gripped her wrist again, intending to escort this unruly guest out the door.

But Venus had no intention of leaving just like that. If speed didn't work, she would use strength.

The mana within her body began to circulate rapidly, and her Heroic Spirit Rank aura suddenly erupted.

A Heroic Spirit Rank expert didn't need any special moves or magic; pure mana infusion alone was enough to render an ordinary professional immobile.

However, she didn't use her full power yet, intending to control her strength to a level just enough to make him back off.

Once her mana had risen sufficiently, she prepared to wrench her wrist from Li Yuan's restraint—only to find that her hand still couldn't move an inch.

Venus's brow furrowed as she increased her strength further.

An ordinary professional should have let go long ago under this pressure, yet the young man's hand remained firmly clamped around her wrist, as steady as a mountain.

Her heart sank, and she stopped holding back.

Her Heroic Spirit Rank mana erupted in full, and her battle technique reinforcement was instantly pushed to the limit. An outpouring of power of this magnitude was enough to flip an adult dragon.

Yet the young man remained standing where he was, seemingly completely unaffected.

For a moment, the teahouse was deathly silent. Venus stared at her wrist, which was held firmly by the young man, then slowly looked up. Their eyes met once more.

The young man still wore that same unruffled expression. The look in his eyes seemed to carry a trace of helplessness, as if he were waiting for a child to finish a tantrum.

A surge of inexplicable, complex emotions churned in Venus's heart.

Her eyes were filled with disbelief. Facing this “ordinary” young man, she abandoned her lazy and casual tone for once, asking seriously, “Who exactly are you? Why doesn't my power work on you?”

Li Yuan had no intention of answering. Regarding the lady before him, he felt nothing but a headache and helplessness... and perhaps a bit of irritation.

To say she was unreasonable... well, she hadn't done anything unforgivably absurd, and her nature was still fundamentally good; she was just a bit stubborn.

She had some personality flaws, but he could understand them.

However, understanding didn't mean he would continue to tolerate her pestering. The best way to deal with it was “out of sight, out of mind.”

So, after her nonsense ended, Li Yuan escorted her out the door. Rubbing his temples, he left the stunned lady with one final sentence.

“If you want to drink tea in the future, wait until business hours.”

Then, he closed the door.

Venus stood at the teahouse entrance, staring blankly at the closed wooden door. A moment later, she looked down at her wrist—had she really just been “escorted” out?

And looking at the expression in his eyes... it seemed he actually found her annoying.

That was the one thing Venus didn't want to admit, nor was she willing to accept it.

After a long silence, she took a deep breath and whispered with a determined gaze toward the small teahouse.

“Business hours, is it? Fine, just you wait!”

With that, she stopped lingering, turned with a flourish, and walked away.