Hidden Assassin 189

It was late at night. A large bonfire was blazing on the beach, and the party was still going strong.

“I showed her that thing yesterday, but… I’m afraid the result will disappoint you.”

Sitting on a chair by the grass, holding a glass of juice, was Dongfang Lu, who had finally found some free time. After greeting Jia Ming, he frowned and took a small sip of red wine.

“Miss Jian can’t help either?”

“She has indeed had some incredible experiences, but she’s not what you guys think, some kind of natural evolutionist. She doesn’t understand anything about supernatural abilities. I didn’t expect you to come today. I’ll have a chance to return the documents to you in two days.”

Dongfang Lu nodded, then shook his head and chuckled. “Well… you know about these things. You know, supernatural abilities… all that stuff…”

“I know.” Jia Ming admitted frankly. “There’s no need to hide it anymore. I’ve learned some things, I know some things, she taught me… Heh, Yan Huang Jue Xing, I’ve heard a lot about it…”

“Interested? I can introduce you.”

“No, I’m not.”

“I thought as much.” Dongfang Lu didn’t seem surprised. “But you’re pretty strong, I thought that from the start. Han Gangcheng couldn’t beat you for more than ten minutes on the stage, and you even managed to trick him. Heh, Teacher Chen said that if you could unleash your full potential without any reservations, he wouldn’t last thirty seconds against you.”

“I don’t like fighting.”

“I figured… but you can at least protect Lingjing…” He lowered his head and chuckled, then stood up. “I’ll tell them about it. Whatever happens, thank Miss Jian for me.”

With those words, Dongfang Lu turned and left. Jia Ming took a sip of his juice and turned his head to say, “Kong Jian Zhi Chen.”

“Huh?”

“A shard of a relic.” Jia Ming explained. “There used to be a monk called Kong Jian, supposedly a natural evolutionist. After his death, he left behind a relic, which was later broken into four pieces and stolen. People called them Kong Jian Zhi Chen. Suyan said… the Kong Jian Zhi Chen has the power to calm mental energy, but she’s not sure if it’s actually true. So she told me not to mention it. Hmm, I heard that there were rumors about the thing in Europe a few years ago, but very few people knew about it. It was later confirmed to be fake. If you’re interested, and you have some spare energy, I think you could maybe investigate it…”

Dongfang Lu wasn’t officially a member of the Yan Huang Jue Xing, so naturally he didn’t understand these esoteric things. He blinked, then nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

With Dongfang Lu gone, the matter of Dongfang Ruo seemed to be settled. After all, Dongfang Ruo was a supernatural being with the power of prophecy. On the other hand, she was also Fang Zhitian’s niece, so the Yan Huang Jue Xing would never give her up easily. If he had just casually said he didn’t know, the Yan Huang Jue Xing would likely continue their investigation in secret and ask him to step in. Now that they had a target, it would at least divert their attention.

The Kong Jian Zhi Chen, although it sounded fantastical, was a real thing. In his past memories, this object would be unearthed from an ancient tomb in Europe more than ten years later, causing a huge sensation. It was during that incident that they encountered a powerful and monstrous supernatural being, and Yuan Lai Chao Chuang died protecting him. Even though they eventually obtained the Kong Jian Zhi Chen, Jia Ming couldn’t sense anything special about it. It was likely something used by supernatural beings, and to ordinary humans, it was just a piece of dead bone.

But speaking of which, why had Dongfang Ruo’s life, which should have continued for another ten years, suddenly become precarious after this incident? Was it because of him, or was there some unknown third party involved? If it was him, what about the headaches he’d had several times before? Could it be that he was reborn thanks to the phoenix, and then it gave him the power to be immune to supernatural abilities? And while Dongfang Ruo was trying to spy on him, did it also severely injure her?

It was impossible to reach a definitive conclusion through mere speculation. Soon, Dongfang Wan, still being chased by Lei Qing, came running over and dragged him, her shield, into the living room to dance. Naturally, she couldn’t help but say “we” and talk about the toy factory she’d bought, trying to stir up Jia Ming’s sense of belonging. After the dance, Jia Ming went to get a drink. As the music softened, he faintly heard the word “Ya Han” slip into his ears.

The living room of Yi’s villa was quite large. The design featured glass doors and windows on three sides, giving it a modern feel. In the summer, many of them could be opened, making the room particularly cool. Jia Ming turned his head and saw the horse-drawn carriage and the hostess, Yi Huaying, chatting in the hallway not far away. From their expressions, it was clear they had known each other for a long time. Since he had nothing better to do, and after years of being an assassin, he had developed an eye for spotting evil vibes. Jia Ming held his water glass, leaned against a nearby pillar, and looked at the people in the living room. Then, their conversation drifted to his ears.

“… I’m serious, I really admire you. She’s a real gem in high society. Since she came back to Jiang Hai a few years ago, there’s been a whole battalion of suitors, she’s polite to everyone, but never gives anyone hope. Xu Mo was definitely the most obsessed with her, but… when I saw her and you grilling, I knew you had a chance, she was so friendly with you…”

“No, that’s just called being friendly… Uh, but it’s been a month. She seemed really different today…”

“Come on, how can you compare her to those women? Zhang Yahán has been a prodigy since she was a child, she skipped grades, went to Cambridge, studied abroad, she’s always hung out with people older than her. Girls like that aren’t very open, they’re usually very conservative, and she’s definitely one of those very conservative types… You know, these past few years, she’s only accepted invitations for social events that are related to her work. She’s always turned down any other personal invitations, what’s it called, not giving anyone any hope? That’s what it is! Girls like her, if you want to date them, it’s all mental. You make her happy, you make her feel good, and she’ll give you her body. It’s not like normal girls, you hold her hand today, kiss her tomorrow, touch her chest the day after tomorrow, and the next day you can jump into bed and tell her you love her. You’ve already successfully taken the first step.”

“No, no… I haven’t even inquired, is she really… that… that…”

“Of course she is. Everyone here knows. But I guess you could get her to come out, probably because she recently broke up with her boyfriend. Oh, right, you must know Xu Mo is chasing her, I know you’ve always had a rivalry with him…”

“Of course I know Xu Mo. What happened back then… Cut it out, what’s so great about you and Xu Mo? Didn’t he look down on you back then? After all, he’s in shipping, and your family used to smuggle… But his family is much richer than ours, what can we do? Heh… what do you mean, Yahán broke up?”

“It came out in May. Zhang Yahán was dumped by her boyfriend, apparently for real. Actually, we suspected she had a boyfriend before, she just kept it a secret. You think about it, why would a girl turn down any date, any flowers, any love letters? Because she loves her boyfriend so much, right? They say she cried on the back hill of Sacred Heart Academy that night. Xu Mo tried to take advantage of the situation, but failed. Heh, I didn’t expect you to get lucky. But… are you chasing her just to get back at Xu Mo? I think that’s a bit…”

“No wonder, whenever I see her these past few weeks, she’s always so gloomy and depressed… Heh, it started because of Xu Mo. But, you understand, Yahán is beautiful, has great temperament, of course I really like her. Actually… to be honest, she didn’t want to come out today. She already rejected me, then her stepmother insisted she come out for a walk, so she came in my car. I don’t understand why she became happy later… I didn’t do anything special… ”

A short silence.

“Uh, maybe she suddenly found something cute about you… It’s hard to explain these things, at least… at least you’re already ahead of everyone else, be happy, be happy…”

“To be honest, you’re making me a little scared.”

“No matter what, keep trying. At least you have a better chance than Xu Mo, a better chance than everyone else. Push yourself. You have to understand, Zhang Yahán is Zhang Jing’an’s only daughter, and she’s been sick, so she’s always been treated like a treasure. If you can treat her well, in the future everything Zhang’s got will be yours. By then, Xu Mo’s family background will be nothing, his shipping company is less than a third of Zhang’s.”

A long silence.

“… Hey, how about this… I’m just suggesting, you know. You decide whether you want to do it or not, anyway, these youngsters here always do this… I’ll get the medicine for you. When Zhang Yahán gets tired of playing pool. Give it to her. It doesn’t have any side effects anyway. She’ll get sleepy, I have plenty of empty rooms here… She just broke up, and she’s got some feelings for you. Tomorrow morning, apologize to her, let her beat you up, we all know about this, what else can happen, at most… you say you acted impulsively, to show you’re sorry. Cut off a finger with a knife, I used to know someone, his girlfriend hated him. He did this, and they still got back together. This trick, it hurts, but even Xiaolongnu would be moved… To be honest, you really do like her.”

“I… I of course…”

“So I’m doing a good deed, bringing two lovers together… Whether you do it or not, you decide…”

While Matuo pondered, Jia Ming, leaning against the pillar, finished his glass of water in one gulp.

He walked around the flower bed. In the lounge room, five pool tables were lined up. More than ten men and women were gathered around the second table from the front, playing and chatting. The woman playing against Yahán was also her former classmate at Cambridge, named Lin Wan Zhen. She was wearing a smart grey-blue dress, her gemstone earrings sparkling under the lights. Obviously, she was a successful white-collar worker, but compared to Yahán, her temperament and appearance were still lacking. She was laughing and telling others about Yahán’s embarrassing moments at school.

Holding two glasses of water, Matuo hesitated, watching from a distance.

On the pool table, the snooker game was in progress. The red balls had all gone in, leaving only three colors left. On the scoreboard, Yahán was trailing by fourteen points, meaning she had to sink all three remaining balls to win. However, Yahán, sitting calmly with a faint smile, didn’t seem too concerned about the game. This wasn’t a friendly match. The other tables had bets of hundreds of dollars per game, and this one followed suit. Of course, for the people present, this amount was nothing. They were all spirited young people, and at such gatherings, bets of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars weren’t uncommon.

Sitting idly, watching her former senior lining up the shot, Yahán looked around. When she saw Matuo, she nodded with a smile, but then her eyes widened slightly. Behind Matuo, Jia Ming, with his hands in his pockets, was smiling and looking at her. Then, Lin Wan Zhen missed her shot and laughed as she called for a change of players.

Turning back, Yahán hesitated, then stood up. She seemed a bit dazed. She had known Jia Ming for a while, and she felt something else in that smile. After a moment, she took a deep breath, shook her head and smiled, and walked over to the table, bending down.

On the table, the blue ball she was aiming for was blocked by the black ball, making the angle incredibly tricky. Yahán closed her eyes, then opened them again, changing the angle. With a crisp “snap,” the white ball hit the edge of the table and rebounded perfectly, hitting the target. The blue ball went into the pocket. Everyone gasped in astonishment. “What luck…” Lin Wan Zhen exclaimed. She knew Yahán’s skill level, and it was clear that she was a good player. To suddenly pull off a shot of such high caliber, it could only be attributed to luck.

Yahán chuckled but said nothing, bent down, took a shot, and the pink ball went straight into the hole, followed by the black ball. The game was over, Yahán won by four points. Everyone applauded, the last three shots were truly amazing.

“What, that’s crazy.” Lin Wan Zhen laughed. “Yahán’s skill is practically the same as mine, I accepted the previous few games, how come she can even come back this time? Yahán, tell me, have you been practicing? Are you a pro now? You’re just messing with me… That blue ball couldn’t have gone in…”

“Heh, suddenly… uh, I felt inspired…”

“I’m defeated, I’m defeated… Hey, Matuo, you’re just in time, take over, you used to have a record of 102 points in one game. But Yahán is really good now, be careful, she might clear the table in one shot.”

“Uh, me? Can I?” Holding his water, Matuo approached, beads of sweat on his forehead, his eyes fixed on Yahán. Yahán just shrugged with a smile. “What’s the matter, play if you want, anyway, we didn’t beat you once or twice when we were in school.”

“Heh, let’s play a game then. By the way, Yahán, you’re tired, have some water.” He said, handing her the glass.

Yahán nodded, said thanks, and brought the glass to her lips. In the next moment, the glass was firmly gripped by a hand reaching from behind. At the same time, Matuo almost shouted in a panic, “What are you doing!” Since he was so close, his voice was deafening, startling Yahán.

“Wh… what’s wrong…?”

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