"Please spare me, brother. Just kill me if you want to," the assassin cried. "Please don't torture me anymore. I never torture my targets, so treat me the same way I treat them."
"Give me a swift death," he said.
Ning sighed. He still had one more thing he wanted to try, but he didn't want to use it if it meant the opponent wouldn't block it at all.
"Alright," Ning said and jumped down from the tree. "Are you ready?" he asked the assassin.
"Yes," the assassin said and took a deep breath to prepare himself for the swift death. "Thank you."
The assassin closed his eyes, getting ready to die. He felt Ning touch his head. 'Is he going to blow me apart? Electrocute my brain? Rip my head from my body?' many thoughts ran across his mind, while he waited for Ning to kill him.
However, nothing of that sort happened. Just as he was wondering what happened, he suddenly felt a jolt of energy enter his mind. Before he knew it, he started thinking of Ning as the person he should look up to and unequivocally follow.
Once Ning dominated the assassin's mind, he teleported the two of them back into the hotel room once more.
"Alright, since you don't want to fight, fine. I won't fight you either," Ning said. "What were your directives from the Pavillion?"
"To kill the princess, Master," the assassin said.
"That's it?" Ning asked.
"I was supposed to meet the rest of the assassins tomorrow morning in a pub, but you have them arrested already," the assassin said.
"Alright, go to the pub tomorrow morning and send a message to the Pavillion that you have no helper. If they tell you to still kill despite learning that you have nobody to help you, act as you tried. Shoot me at that time," Ning said.
"Yes master," the assassin said.
"Also, take this," Ning said as he gave a ring to the assassin.
"What is this, master?" the assassin asked.
"Put some Aether energy into this ring, and say whatever you want to say in it. I will hear it on the other side," Ning said.
"Like a telephone?" the assassin asked.
"Yes, but just one way," Ning said. "From now on, you will be my eyes and ears in the organization. Anytime, anything of import happens, you let me know, okay?"
"Yes, master," the assassin replied.
"Okay, I'll leave now," Ning said and left the hotel. He reappeared back in his room on top of his bed.
"Ning? Are you okay?!" someone was shouting outside.
"Huh?" Ning was surprised that someone was calling him when he had just returned. He took out his clock and checked the time.
'Who's calling me at 13 in the evening?' Ning wondered as he walked up to open the door.
When he opened it, he saw Fiona outside. His hands were in the air, ready to knock at the door.
"What's wrong? Why are you shouting?" Ning asked.
Fiona looked at him with confusion and said, "Why the hell did you take so long to open? I have been calling you for nearly 2 minutes now."
"Oh, uh… I fell asleep," Ning said.
"This early?" Fiona asked.
"Tomorrow's a big day. I need my full night of sleep, you know?" he said. "Anyway, what are you doing here? It's close to nighttime now."
"I came to thank you for helping with the assassins," she said.
"Oh, don't mind about those. I was really just helping the princess. You can save your breath," Ning said.
"No, let me thank you," she said.
Ning found it surprising that she insisted on it so much, but he just shrugged and said, "Alright, go ahead. Say it."
"No," Fiona said.
"Wha—" before Ning could say anything, Fiona pushed him aside and walked into his room. She closed the door behind them and looked at him.
"What are you doing?" Ning asked.
Fiona didn't speak and simply pushed Ning back onto his bed.
"Thanking you," she said as she unlocked her belt and threw it to the side. She then undid her pant button and started taking it off as well.
Finally, she took off her black top, standing there in her undergarments.
Ning was genuinely surprised. "This… this is you, thanking me?"
Fiona undid her bun and let the hair flow down to her lower back. "Of course," she said.
"Well, I am honored to think you would want to do this with me, but I will have to let you know that I'm not really interested in you. I already have a girl I love," Ning said while trying to get up from the bed.
Fiona pushed him back once again and said, "You aren't leaving anywhere."
Ning narrowed his eyes as he looked at her and asked, "if I'm not interested in this, and you still do this, you know this is an assault, right?"
"I don't care," Fiona said. "I've been attracted to that strength of yours from the day back in the zoo."
Ning smiled, "only my strength?" he asked. "Surely you don't think I don't know about how you like younger men right?" he asked.
"You know about that? That makes it easier then," Fiona said as he finally stripped off of her undergarment as well, standing in front of Ning in the nude.
Ning sighed. "Look, you're beautiful and all, and any man would be happy to get you, but I'm not that man. Please, dress back up, I really have no interest in you," he said.
"Then who?" Fiona asked. "It can't be the princess right? You do know that they will execute you if they find out you have feelings for the princess."
Fiona was now starting to try and blackmail him, and Ning didn't really like it.
"Sigh, you leave me no choice," he said. Suddenly, a tumultuous amount of Aether escaped from his body and started surrounding her, forcing her body down to the ground.
He walked up to her and stared at her straight in the eyes and said, "Do you still want to blackmail me?"
