Then Yang Juehuan appeared, and Wang Yanqiu was filled with hope once more. Of course, this was not to say that she had developed feelings for Yang Ce after he had had her once. It was simply that Wang Yanqiu had a rebellious streak and did not want others to dictate her fate.

She could not say she liked Yang Ce—she even found him rather detestable—but this man was at least more substantial than that fiancé she had never laid eyes on. At least he was someone she could see and touch. And he had not been arranged for her by anyone else. Even if she had slept with him because she had lost a bet, it had been her own choice, with no one else's hand in it.

So Wang Yanqiu felt that being with Yan was better than that blasted fiancé—the disciple of some so-called king of assassins. That was, of course, provided Yang Mo could actually build the assassination organization into something powerful.

Assassins all worshipped the strong, and Wang Yanqiu was no exception. Though she had plenty of complaints about Yang Cenbin's personal "lechery," formidable was formidable, and Wang Yanqiu had to admit it.

Weighing the pros and cons, Wang Yanqiu decided to take a gamble. She wanted to decide her own life, not have it arranged for her by others. As for her relationship with Yan, she had thought it through: a lover was a lover. If Yang Ce really decided to help her, then they would become partners, taking on missions together, and living together would be perfectly natural. Whether or not there was that kind of relationship between them no longer mattered.

"I had you? I think it was you who had me," Yang Jincong said with a laugh. "How about this—after I properly have you once more in a bit, I'll tell you."

"Why must you be so improper?" Wang Yanqiu arched an eyebrow—she looked quite lovely doing it. "Yang Ce, have you ever thought about joining an assassination organization?"

"Me, join an assassination organization?" Yang Ce thought it over silently and quickly grasped Wang Yanqiu's meaning. The girl had probably taken a liking to his talent and wanted him to join their organization.

Ha—wasn't this exactly what he had wanted to do? Yang Ce had been worrying that he had no way to find an opening, and now this little Wang girl had delivered herself right to his door. How could he not seize the opportunity?

Outwardly, however, he showed not the slightest excitement. Instead he asked flatly, "Assassination organizations—you know how I am. I've always gone my own way, and I'm not all that interested in killing. I only kill once in a while. Look, if I enjoyed killing, I would have killed you yesterday."

"Tch." Wang Yanqiu was instantly scornful. Only kill once in a while? How many people went their whole lives without ever killing anyone, and here he was, killing "once in a while," as casually as taking a sip of water. She was even more dismissive of his last remark: "You didn't kill me because you wanted to sleep with me."

"Uh—well, you've seen for yourself, I'm the type who can't bear to harm a delicate flower. Of course, the reason you mentioned is also part of it," Yang Mo said, a little embarrassed.

"Yang Ce, first tell me—where did you learn your martial arts?" Wang Yanqiu asked suddenly.

To be continued.

953. Whatever You Want

"Martial arts?" Yang Duo would never admit where his skills came from. "I taught myself."

"Taught yourself? How is that possible?" Wang Yanqiu clearly did not believe him. "Could self-training produce skill like that?"

"That's not fair of you to say. Zhang Wuji back in the day was self-taught too—why can't I be self-taught?" Yang Ce said, laying out his facts and reasoning.

Wang Yanqiu thought to herself, How is that the same? Do you think we're living in a wuxia novel? But she understood that for some people, the lineage of their master was a secret that could not be casually discussed—just as she never easily revealed her own origins.

"Still, there's no harm in telling you. By a stroke of luck, I once happened to save an old man who was a peerless master. He was grateful to me and taught me martial arts." Seeing that Wang Yanqiu did not believe him, Yang Ce continued, half true and half false: "You saw it yourself—when I was with Zhao Ying before, we ran into two thugs, but my skills were still poor then. Even though I won, I got hurt."

Yang Shuoxuan was not lying to Wang Yanqiu. He had indeed happened to save Fang Tian, and that chance encounter had set everything in motion.

Wang Yanqiu did not entirely believe Yang Juehuan's words, but she had no other explanation, and his account was at least plausible. She had wondered before why Yang Ce had been injured when dealing with those two thugs; hearing Yang Puqi explain it now, it was easier to believe.

"I'll believe you for now," Wang Yanqiu said.

"Your turn now," Yang Ce said, switching from high beams to low. The car had already entered the city proper.

"Me? Fine, I admit it—I'm with that Black Widow assassination organization. But how did you know the organization existed?" At this point Wang Yanqiu was no longer afraid of what Yang Shuyu might say; he already knew more than enough.

Last time in Macau, the two of them had been partners. Yang Ce was perfectly clear about her identity.

Yang Xutang was startled by Wang Yanqiu's frankness. "You really are with that Black Widow organization?"

"The Black Widow assassination squad isn't even famous—why would I need to impersonate them?" Wang Yanqiu said bitterly. When she had first left home, full of confidence, she had believed she could turn her assassination squad into the strongest in the world—or at the very least, one of the top two. But now the Black Widow remained obscure. That last trip to Macau had been Wang Yanqiu's first major mission in foreign territory. She had thought it a chance for the organization to grow, never imagining she would end up entangled in some conspiracy.

If not for Yang Ce's rescue, Wang Yanqiu believed, she could hardly have escaped on her own—she might well have been finished there. So when she learned that "Liu Lei" was Yang Ce, she was no longer so resistant to the idea of sleeping with Yan. After all, the man had saved her life.

"What position do you hold in the Black Widow assassin ring?" Yang Wenru asked with a frown.

"I founded the Black Widow assassin ring myself." Wang Yanqiu shook her head and said with some feeling, "But the overall strength is simply too weak—not worth mentioning at all."

"You founded it?" Yang Puqi was startled. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to stare at Wang Yanqiu. "You mean you're the highest-ranking person in the Black Widow assassin ring?"

"What? Is something wrong?" Seeing Yang Juehuan react so strongly, Wang Yanqiu was rather baffled.

"You sent people to make trouble for me?" Yang Ce stared into Wang Yanqiu's eyes and asked.

"Me sending people to make trouble for you? Isn't that the same as sending my people to their deaths?" Wang Yanqiu said with a touch of self-mockery.

"Not recently, but there was before." Yang Ce hadn't expected Wang Yanqiu to be the top leader of the Black Widow assassin organization—that saved him a lot of trouble, and he could get the answers he wanted from her.

"Before?" Wang Yanqiu fell into thought, then something seemed to strike her. "I remember now. It wasn't me sending people after you. It was one time when they went out of town on a mission. At the airport, you reported them for having knives in their bags. The underlings held a grudge and wanted revenge."

"Ah?" This time it was Yang Ce's turn to be stunned. Just that simple? Damn it, the airport again. How much trouble had that trivial little incident brought down on him?