Setis had remained in the small world to cultivate, and in the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed.
During these two months, Li Yuan had not paid special attention to her cultivation progress.
It was not that he did not care, but mainly because Hui was there.
Although the white fox had a sharp tongue and a less-than-pleasant temper, she would always keep her promises. Since Setis had been taken under her wing, Li Yuan naturally had nothing to worry about.
Besides, if he actually went to check on them every few days, Hui would likely make some sarcastic remarks again.
Thus, Li Yuan sensibly put the matter aside.
During this period, the royal capital gradually recovered from the chaos of that night.
The blockaded districts were opened one after another, and damaged buildings were being repaired. The City Guard patrolled more frequently than before, and many temporary guard posts were added outside the noble district.
The ordinary citizens still regarded what happened that night as a divine miracle, to the point that new temples were currently being built all over the royal capital.
The number of believers in front of the temples was several times greater than before, and even some nobles who rarely visited the temples began to send people to deliver offerings.
But none of this had anything to do with him; he had no hobby of showing off before others.
Whether it was a divine miracle or a divine punishment, as long as they could accept it, it was fine.
Life at the Midnight Teahouse returned to its original rhythm.
Closed during the day, and open at night depending on his mood.
If there were customers, he brewed tea; if there were none, he read books.
Hogg had visited several times.
The Royal Preceptor looked more exhausted recently than before. Although his physical condition as a Heroic Spirit was excellent, the mental fatigue was difficult to dispel.
Every time he entered, he did not say much, simply sitting in front of the bar counter to order a cup of tea.
Occasionally, he would chat with Li Yuan about trivial matters, but most of the time, he just drank his tea quietly. Li Yuan did not actively disturb him; anyone could see that things were truly too difficult for the Royal Preceptor.
Before leaving, Hogg would always leave a gold coin card.
At first, Li Yuan would decline politely, but later he found that declining was useless, so he simply accepted it.
Venus had also visited several times.
The Great Sage of the Empire was much more polite than at the very beginning, but she had also loosened up a lot, gradually adapting to the fact that Li Yuan's identity and strength did not match.
She was very good at choosing her timing, always arriving when there was basically no one in the teahouse.
After sitting down, she would first order tea and then chat casually with Li Yuan.
They talked about the Empire and the Kingdom, and occasionally she would ask questions that sounded like probes.
For example, which city in the Empire had a nice climate, which type of tea was suitable for long-term storage, or whether the streets here in the royal capital were too noisy.
Li Yuan naturally understood the underlying meaning in her words, but he merely brushed them off vaguely each time.
Venus was not in a hurry either.
Each time after finishing her tea, she would likewise leave gold coins, and she gave even more than Hogg.
So much so that Li Yuan felt a bit embarrassed.
Looking at the growing stack of gold coin cards in his drawer several times, he could not help but feel a touch of melancholy.
The back-and-forth between the two made it seem like they were competing with gold coins.
But to a teahouse owner, this kind of competition was truly hard to dislike.
At midnight, Li Yuan sat behind the bar counter, brewing a pot of green tea as usual, with a science fiction novel from the Blue Star spread out in front of him.
Although he had read it long ago, flipping through it again by chance after a long time was still quite interesting.
The fragrance of tea rose slowly, and just as he was getting to the exciting part, footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the door.
Li Yuan raised his eyes to look at the entrance, just in time to see Venus walk in first.
She looked to be in fairly good spirits today, with a bit more energy than usual.
However, the people following behind her were not in such a good state.
Vina walked in second, her face still visibly pale, and she had lost some of her sharpness from previous months.
Behind her were the siblings Noah and Leah.
The two seemed to have only just become able to walk normally. Leah, in particular, had barely any color on her face and needed her brother to support her as she walked.
All three were still recovering from severe injuries, so they looked quite sickly.
After more than two months of recovery, although they were no longer bedridden, they were still far from fully healed.
Li Yuan's gaze swept over them before landing on Venus's face, and he said softly:
“Lady Venus, bringing injured people here so late at night, I assume it's not simply to drink tea?”
Venus did not joke as she usually did. She walked to the bar counter, her expression uncharacteristically serious.
“I came today because there are some things I want to make a final confirmation on.”
Li Yuan was puzzled and asked:
“What is it?”
Venus turned her head to look at the three behind her.
Vina took the first step forward, her gaze landing on Li Yuan.
She sized him up very carefully for a long while, then nodded.
“That's him.”
Vina's voice still carried a clear weakness, yet she was absolutely certain.
“He is the person from the City of Divine Grace.”
Being identified on the spot did not elicit much of a reaction from Li Yuan. In any case, they certainly had not come to arrest him according to Imperial law.
Venus also seemed to have long known this would be the result. After letting out a soft sigh, she looked at the Allen siblings.
Noah understood and retrieved an ancient compass from his robes.
Leah also walked to her brother's side, raising her hand to hold the other side of the compass.
The two pointed the compass at Li Yuan at the same time.
In the next instant, the originally still needle suddenly began to tremble, as if someone were continuously flicking it.
Immediately after, the needle began to spin rapidly.
One rotation, two rotations, three rotations...
It spun faster and faster, until it was nearly a blurry afterimage.
Noah and Leah widened their eyes simultaneously.
Although they were mentally prepared, seeing the compass react this way with their own eyes was still shocking.
Leah subconsciously tightened her grip.
Noah's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his voice a few notches lower than usual.
“It's confirmed.”
Leah spoke almost at the exact same time as her brother:
“He is the person we're looking for.”
Venus nodded. Although this result was expected, they still had to go through the official process.
Vina had personally seen Li Yuan in the City of Divine Grace, and the compass in the hands of the Allen siblings had also given a definitive answer.
This way, there would no longer be any room for the Empire to find fault.
She had brought them here mostly to serve as witnesses.
After all, the injured members of the delegation had mostly recovered, and continuing to stay in the Kingdom of Kajinson did not make much sense.
The Empire was still waiting for news, so they would be leaving soon.
But before leaving, Venus wanted to make one final attempt.
She took a deep breath, first gesturing for Vina and the Allen siblings to make themselves comfortable.
Indeed, the three of them could not stand for too long in their state, so they sat down near the window.
Venus remained in front of the bar counter, her gaze shifting back to Li Yuan.
“Mr. Li.”
This time, she did not beat around the bush, getting straight to the point as soon as she spoke.
“On behalf of the Casnoe Empire, I would like to invite you to the Empire once again.”
Li Yuan closed the book in his hand and replied unhurriedly:
“Lady Venus, I believe I have already made my stance very clear on this matter.”
“I know.”
Venus did not avoid his gaze.
“But this is the last time I will extend this invitation to you before leaving the Kingdom, so please consider it seriously.”
She paused slightly, then continued:
“The Empire is willing to offer any conditions you desire. Whether it is shops, estates, gold coins, titles of nobility, or anything else you might need, as long as it is within the Empire's power, we can grant it.”
“You do not need to pledge loyalty to the Empire, nor do you need to take on heavy responsibilities. You only need to reside within the Empire's borders.”
“If you simply wish to run a teahouse, we can provide you with the quietest environment and the highest quality tea leaves, with all expenses covered by us.”
At this point, she paused briefly, her voice becoming even more serious as she continued:
“If you have no compelling reason to stay in the Kingdom, then going to the Empire might not be a bad choice after all.”
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