Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Fine, then let's get the world's number one assassin squad and wipe out that Yang Ce. Damn it, I refuse to believe the world's number one squad can't kill him!" Ouyang Junyuan's eyes lit up with excitement as he spoke, his fists clenched, his voice vicious.

"The world's number one isn't an assassin organization—it's one man, a lone assassin," the Eagle Eye steward said. "He is the King of Assassins, an undying legend of the assassin world. From decades ago until now, he has never once failed. His failure record is zero."

"The King of Assassins? For real?" Ouyang Junyuan was startled. "Well, that's just perfect. Let's get this King of Assassins then. Heh heh, the king of the assassin world—there's no way he won't finish off that brat Yang Ce. Wahahaha, him, definitely him!"

"..." The Eagle Eye steward shook his head. "The King of Assassins retired a few years ago. Word is the King of Assassins isn't one person—the title passes down from master to disciple through the generations. Every so often, the King of Assassins chooses a disciple he favors. Once he finds an heir, he retires and devotes himself to training that disciple until the disciple can stand alone and become the next King of Assassins. And as it happens, now may be exactly the moment the King of Assassins is changing hands."

"Huh?" Ouyang Junyuan was dumbfounded. This was secret lore of the assassin world, and naturally he knew nothing of it—but the Eagle Eye steward was part of that world, so of course he'd have some knowledge of such secrets.

"Still, the King of Assassins did take a job a while back—a fairly simple one. What it was exactly, I don't know. The payment was said to be a diamond mine. A price like that is more than ordinary people could bear," the Eagle Eye steward said with a bitter smile. "I hear he was training his disciple. The specifics, though, are unknown. In any case, the King of Assassins doesn't take jobs lightly these days."

"Then forget it. Is there an assassin number two?" Ouyang Junyuan asked. "Number two ought to be more than enough to kill Yang Ce, right?"

"Like I said before, those people cost a fortune. We can't afford them," the Eagle Eye steward said. "But we can look for assassins ranked a bit lower—say, after number nine or ten."

"Number nine or ten? Can they even do it? Even Delay Hero 001..." Ouyang Junyuan asked, sounding unconvinced.

"Delay Hero 001 would naturally be an expert in our Eagle Eye squad, but compared to those people, he's nothing," the Eagle Eye steward said with a bitter smile. "On the solo assassin rankings, Delay Hero 001 might not even crack the top hundred. Saying 'might' is already flattering him—in truth, he's probably past two hundred."

"Holy shit," Ouyang Junyuan exclaimed. "Then the ones ranked ninth or tenth must be absolute monsters!"

"That's right." The Eagle Eye steward explained, "The ones ranked ninth and tenth aren't actually that far behind number two, because they all belong to the same assassin organization—the Butterfly Assassin Group.

Word is that behind this group stands a rather formidable family. So ranks two through ten are all filled by members of the Butterfly Assassin Group."

"The Butterfly Assassin Group—sounds like a strange name." Ouyang Junyuan nodded. "Fine, let's go with this Butterfly Assassin Group. About how much will the fee be?"

"If we liquidate all the Ouyang family's holdings, it should just about cover it." The Eagle Eye steward sighed, then tried to counsel him. "Young master, are you truly decided on this? After all, those holdings were the lifeblood of the eldest young master and the master..."

"They're dead. What good is lifeblood now? If I don't kill Yang Ce and take revenge, this will fester inside me until I'm sick," Ouyang Junyuan said savagely. "Sell it all, sell everything. I'll keep a little for myself—enough for a lifetime—and give the rest to the assassin. He must complete the job."

"Very well. Then I'll go make contact." Seeing Ouyang Junyuan's tone was firm, the Eagle Eye steward nodded. "But this can't be rushed—we'll have to see about their time and schedule."

"Fine, I can wait. As long as Yang Ce dies," Ouyang Junyuan said. "Heh heh, this time I'll have that Butterfly family finish off Yang Ce. Oh, and it'd be best to kill that little woman beside Yang Ce too."

The woman Ouyang Junyuan meant was naturally Sun Jie. She was the only woman he had ever seen with Yang Ce, so he assumed she was the only one. He also knew very well how powerful the Sun family was, which was precisely why Ouyang Junyuan would never imagine Yang Ce had other women.

"That's one more person. I don't know if they'll agree," the Eagle Eye steward said.

"Give them money—give them all the money!" Ouyang Junyuan said madly. "That little woman has to die too, or my hatred will never be sated."

Since the whole affair had started with Sun Jie, Ouyang Junyuan hated her bitterly as well. Naturally he wanted her dead too, to wash away his shame in blood.

"All right, I'll try," said the Eagle Eye steward. Having received his orders, he went off to contact the assassin group.

As for Ouyang Junyuan, he began reaching out to friends to sell off the family's holdings.

By the time Yang Ce and Bao Lin returned to the jewelry company on the commercial street, the fire had already been put out. Hou Lin was handling the aftermath, and Lin Yanhe stayed glued to Hou Lin's side the whole time.

"Little Yun, sweetheart." Seeing that Lin Yanhe was unharmed, Yang Ce was overjoyed. He ran over in a few strides, threw his arms around her, and pulled her into his embrace.

"Ah!" Lin Yanhe, suddenly seized from behind, jumped in fright. Only when she heard "Little Yun, sweetheart" did she realize it was Yang Ce. But that pet name made her face flush bright red in an instant. "Yang Ce, don't call me that—there are so many people here!"

"So what if there are people? They're all our own. They all know you're my little Yun sweetheart." Yang Ce, utterly shameless, didn't care in the least.

Lin Yanhe's face burned with embarrassment, and she lowered her head sheepishly. "Then can you call me that when we get home?"

Yang Ce chuckled, released her from his arms, and took her hand. "Cold? Look at you—why aren't you wearing gloves?"

Lin Yanhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You're the one who dragged me out running! It was so rushed—when would I have had time to grab gloves?"

Yang Xutang's expression turned awkward for a moment. "So that's how it is. Heh heh. Then let me warm your hands for you." And without another word, he seized Lin Yanhe's hands and tucked them into his own coat.

Lin Yanhe did not resist. Her little face was flushed bright red, though whether from the cold or from embarrassment, it was hard to say.

"Brother Yang. Sister-in-law." Hou Lin, having finished dealing with the aftermath at the scene, came running over. "This time only the company's exterior burned badly. There wasn't much damage inside. It's just that when they sprayed water to put out the fire, some of the first-floor rooms got soaked."

"That doesn't matter. A quick clean-up and it'll be fine," Yang Yanzhou said. "If there's nothing else, I'll head back first. You stay here and take care of things."

Yang Ce ruthlessly abandoned Hou Lin on the spot.

Hou Lin, however, did not mind in the least. He worked for Yang Ce to begin with, and whatever Yang Ce ordered, he would see done. Right then, he and Bao Lin set to work cleaning and repairing the jewelry company through the night.

Bao Lin phoned Boss Niu, and that very night Boss Niu brought men over to help redo the exterior maintenance of the jewelry company. This was a golden chance to get close to Bao Lin—Boss Niu climbed off his little sweetheart and hurried over.

Although Bao Lin said that for a job well done this time Boss Niu would be paid double, Boss Niu refused. He was not so tactless as that. In the end, though, Boss Niu still got double the payment afterward.