Chapter 93: Assassin Versus Assassin

Yun'an—Lu Feng estimated that Xia Yubing would bring her brother here for his eye treatment within the next couple of days, so he had already prepared everything needed for the Golden Needle Obstruction Removal Technique.

In the afternoon, Xia Yubing arrived at the entrance of Yun'an with her brother Xia Keming. She paused at the door, remembering how her last visit had been a ruse to get close to Lu Feng; this time, she was here to help her brother with his eyes.

The rapid turn of events left her struggling to adapt.

Worried she might be recognized by the receptionist, she pressed the brim of her baseball cap lower before guiding her brother up the steps. "There are steps here. Be careful. Do you want me to carry you?"

Xia Keming shook his head, lifting his foot higher to climb the stairs.

Approaching the Yun'an reception, Xia Yubing was still a bit anxious. It was then she noticed something off about the foreigner speaking to the receptionist.

Her instincts as an assassin told her the man was trouble.

First, he asked where Yun'an's best traditional medicine doctor could be found; then, he requested to use the restroom.

Xia Yubing watched him head toward the bathroom, quickly thought it over, and immediately pulled her brother over to the guest sofa in the lobby, whispered a few instructions, and rose to follow the foreigner to the restroom.

...

Su Muyu had come for her monthly check-up. After her examination, she left the lobby, debating whether to pay Lu Feng a visit.

Then she spotted a little boy, about six or seven, sitting alone on the sofa. He kept turning his head as if searching for someone, but his eyes were vacant.

Su Muyu knelt in front of him and asked, "Little one, who are you here with? Where's your mom?"

"I'm here with my sister. She went to the restroom."

"And what's your name? I can wait here with you until your sister comes back, would you like that?" Su Muyu asked.

"My name is Xia Keming. Thank you," Xia Keming replied.

Su Muyu sensed something was wrong with his eyes. She waved her hand in front of him and asked, "Why are you at Yun'an? Is your sister here for beauty treatments?"

"I'm here to see a doctor," Xia Keming answered.

Su Muyu frowned slightly. Yun'an was an herbal wellness center—although it had some medical capabilities, it was not a proper hospital.

"Why not go to a hospital?"

"The hospital can't help me. There's a doctor here who can," Xia Keming replied.

"Oh..." Su Muyu nodded, guessing the boy must mean Lu Feng. She smiled and said, "I'll go get you a cup of hot milk. Sit here and wait for your sister, don't wander off, okay?"

"Thank you, sister," Xia Keming nodded obediently.

Su Muyu then went to the pantry to warm some milk.

...

Xia Yubing reached the restroom, took a mask from her pocket and put it on. She walked into the men's room, checked every stall—there was no one there, certainly not the foreigner.

She searched the women's restroom as well, but found nothing. The situation seemed increasingly complicated. Worried about her brother, she hurried back to the lobby, took Xia Keming to the reception to book Lu Feng's appointment.

The receptionist glanced at the boy Xia Yubing was holding and asked with a smile, "Are you Miss Xia?"

Xia Yubing nodded, "Yes, my surname is Xia."

"Hello, Miss Xia. Dr. Lu has already instructed us—you may go directly to his office. His consultation room is on the second floor, Room 201." The receptionist gestured politely.

Xia Yubing led her brother quickly upstairs, taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

...

Knock, knock, knock...

The door was rapped three times, hurried and heavy.

Lu Feng called out loudly, "Come in!"

Xia Yubing pushed the door open at once, ushered her brother Xia Keming inside, and shut the door behind them.

Lu Feng glanced at Xia Yubing, pointed at the chair in front of him. "Sit! Let me check his pulse."

Xia Yubing settled her brother onto the chair, then began rummaging through Lu Feng's desk, picked up the longest acupuncture needle, tested it in her hand, found it unwieldy, and switched to a pen instead.

"What are you doing?" Lu Feng frowned.

"I didn't bring my knife," Xia Yubing replied. On her previous visit, she was here for an assassination; this time, she was accompanying her brother for treatment. She felt uneasy—bringing a weapon didn't seem right, so she had left it behind.

"Why would you need a knife? Has the bounty on me gone up again?" Lu Feng joked.

Xia Yubing shot him a look. "I noticed a foreigner acting suspiciously when I came in."

"Yun'an often has foreign guests. What's so odd about that?"

"You don't understand! I sensed he was dangerous—very likely a member of the Assassin League," Xia Yubing shook her head.

The Assassin League was a group that could be traced back to medieval Europe. Over the centuries, it had vanished and resurfaced multiple times, persisting to this day.

"Your peers?" Lu Feng asked with a smile.

Xia Yubing glared at him. "Yes, I attacked you once—I'm in your debt. But you don't have to keep mentioning it."

"I didn't mean it like that," Lu Feng said, taking Xia Keming's pulse as he spoke. "You're saying someone else took the contract to kill me?"

"That's certain. For me, the price is a hundred thousand, but I'm sure the client spent at least five hundred thousand, maybe more. Besides the organization's cut, a large portion is a guarantee fund—meant to ensure that after the first assassin fails, a stronger one will be sent."

Xia Yubing found the pen too flimsy and picked up a medicine spatula from the desk.

"So what you're saying is, the new assassin is better than you," Lu Feng, ever adept at cutting to the heart of the matter, remarked.

Xia Yubing exhaled sharply, annoyed. "Not necessarily. Our master needs to keep his identity hidden, so we never take difficult jobs—the targets before were easy to handle. The opponents we deal with are much harder than these people."

At that moment, another knock sounded at the door.

Xia Yubing immediately became alert, moved behind the door with the medicine spatula, ready to strike whoever entered.

...

Su Muyu returned to the lobby with a cup of hot milk, only to find the little boy gone. She pointed at the sofa and asked the receptionist, "Where did the boy who was sitting here go?"

The receptionist gestured toward the stairs. "A Miss Xia took him upstairs—she booked Dr. Lu for a consultation."

"Oh..." Su Muyu nodded, carrying the milk upstairs, thinking she could drop in on Lu Feng as he examined his patient.

...

The door opened. Xia Yubing sprang into action, pressing the medicine spatula to the visitor's throat.

Su Muyu was startled, dropping the milk, which smashed on the floor with a crash.

"Mu Yu, why are you here?" Lu Feng quickly stood up.

"I came to... see you, and brought this little brother some milk," Su Muyu stammered, too frightened to move, glancing at Xia Yubing in confusion.

"Let her go!" Lu Feng ordered, frowning.

Xia Yubing realized Su Muyu wasn't an assassin and withdrew the spatula. "Sorry, I was too tense."