This discovery shocked her immensely. She later searched through many documents, but there was no record of that mysterious ancient stone, nor had anyone uncovered this secret. She considered herself lucky, knowing that in countless years past, other assassins might have stumbled upon it, but after losing their murderous intent, they were discovered, caught, and killed, leaving no record of it.

The existence of such an item was extremely astounding for ’Rose’. She didn’t know if there were similar things out there. Although this was already an exceptionally rare instance, she couldn’t let it go. Later, she persistently tracked the whereabouts of the stone to prevent any antique-collecting tycoon from buying an assassination and avoiding this task.

...

"Are you telling me a fantasy story? An ancient and mysterious stone from Qin and Ji! Why didn’t you say it was stolen from the Pharaoh’s Pyramid?"

When hearing about the mystery of this story, Li Yan’s expression noticeably changed! But after listening to the entire story, he responded with a sarcastic smile.

Of course, he believed it, because he himself had a similar ability to alter people’s minds, which he referred to as the ability of the "Heart Demon"!

He had secretly pursued these phenomena for many years, phenomena which science and psychology at present could not explain. His quest for information led this high school dropout to read extensively and learn a lot about psychology, thinking, and other related subjects.

Over the years, although he hadn’t found a way to solve the backlash side effects of the "Heart Demon," nor had he learned any documented methods of handling it, reading some psychology, philosophy, and traditional culture and legends of ancient ethnic groups had broadened and refined Li Yan’s personal thinking and mindset. Otherwise, he might have remained a pure cold-blooded, brutal assassin.

His studies were in pursuit of answers and solutions to the "Heart Demon," but the process and results subtly uplifted him in a comprehensive way that even he hadn’t anticipated or realized.

Now, unexpectedly hearing about something that could bring about similar changes, albeit passively, impressed him deeply with its power. Moreover, it seemed to stabilize the backlash from the "Heart Demon," providing significant protective effects within a certain range that made Li Yan excited!

Yet, just as his own secret of the "Heart Demon" had kept him satisfied for so many years, he couldn’t reveal his excitement, lest it aroused suspicion. He could only display disbelief and scorn.

Sonia wasn’t surprised at Li Yan’s words since ordinary people who heard about such mysterious events would likely think the same. However, when she observed Li Yan’s expression change during the storytelling, she believed that such an item was shocking to a super-assassin like King.

"I don’t know if it was stolen from the Pharaoh’s Pyramid, but I can tell you this story is true because one of our ’Rose’, apart from Eva and myself, has personally experienced it. The incident profoundly affected her, and we witnessed it with our own eyes."

Having reached the hotel, Li Yan didn’t comment, only smiled.

"So, shall we go up and talk some more?" Sonia, thinking he was uninterested, couldn’t help but ask before getting out of the car.

"I’m going to check out..." Li Yan parked the car and walked with her towards the hotel.

When they reached the lobby, he deliberately glanced at the clock and sighed, "Checking out at this time counts as another day’s stay. All right, I’ll go up and chitchat about the mysterious story."

He spoke of listening to the story lightly, but the truth was, only he knew how excited he was about that mysterious stone!

Sonia immediately took him back to her hotel room.

This was the third time Li Yan entered this guest room today, and after their mutual trip to the funeral parlor, both seemed to let their guard down considerably. Once inside the room, they were no longer on high alert with each other.

"You rest a bit while I use the restroom."

Sonia felt it necessary to have a real talk with Li Yan. She wanted to involve him without compromising her interests. She had already seemed weaker to persuade him upstairs, and now she needed to calm down and adjust her demeanor. So, she used the time in the restroom to adjust her emotions, thoughts, and prepare her words.

Unbeknownst to her, Li Yan also took this moment to take a few deep breaths and suppress his excitement. Occasional excitement might go unnoticed, but maintaining it too long, no matter how well hidden, could risk being discovered.

...

When Sonia returned, both were calm and rational.

"Go on! You said it was a personal experience of your sister. If so, it might still be false, perhaps she was just overly sensitive," Li Yan casually remarked.

"Why don’t you verify it yourself?" Sonia smiled as she spoke.

Li Yan’s heart skipped a beat at her words!

"You mean... the current owner of that mysterious stone, is?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Seeing Li Yan’s interest, Sonia only shook her head with a smile, "Not necessarily, I didn’t say that."

By now, Li Yan understood her stance: "Is this your sincerity? If I agree to your conditions, will you tell me where the stone is?"

"Exactly!"

"But since you came for the stone, I’m sure your bewitched sister came too, right? You also want me to spare Eva’s life, so what do I get? A story? A feel of the mythical stone? Then the three of you ’Roses’ might team up to kill me to silence me?" Li Yan laughed mockingly.

"I won’t deny our goal relates to the stone, but we’re not necessarily trying to acquire it. It doesn’t benefit us much. We just want to know who the next owner is, so if another mission targets him, we won’t take unnecessary risks. If you’re interested, you might acquire it. As for Eva, how strong can her fighting ability be now? If you capture her and hand her over to us, you can save a life. Since the cooperation is good, why risk killing you to keep secrets? Don’t forget, with your strength, competing with you is a life and death matter for us too. Once we become friends, why make a formidable enemy?"

Sonia was quite persuasive. Not only did her words and logic win people over, but speaking in others’ native languages often had greater psychological persuasive power.

Li Yan smiled: "So it’s going to change hands, huh? And you don’t know the next owner, meaning the mysterious stone is to be traded through auction, right? Miss Sonia has kindly given me the answer, so I don’t need to waste another condition."

"You..." Sonia frowned. She didn’t expect that Li Yan would deduce it from just a slip in her words. Since he figured it was an antique auction, finding out the specific time and place would be easy.

Li Yan suddenly withdrew his smile: "Sonia, she tried to kill me, I tried to kill her. We’ve both shot at each other; it’s my fault I didn’t kill her. I won’t seek revenge, and if she comes after me again, I promise to spare her life. As for finding her, sorry, I don’t have the time. Is that acceptable? I don’t want more enemies."

Hearing his somber tone, Sonia was a bit surprised. He clearly figured it out, so why agree to her terms? However, there’s no time to dwell on it. She nodded earnestly, "Thank you! Your mercy is appreciated by ’Rose’. We Roca people keep our word. We may be competitors, but not enemies!"

(Sorry, my internet was slow; I made a mistake but have corrected it. Please support with the Monthly Pass!)