She felt much better having had a nap.

  She walked towards the living room in search of her host.

  Meanwhile, in the back garden where the greenhouse was located……

  “How on earth am I supposed to weed the garden when there aren’t any weeds left? ”


  Yin Xie fished out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, withdrawing a stick and lighting it. He surveyed the garden expressionlessly. Not a single blade of withered grass was left. What was he supposed to weed?

  Ming Yan walked over. “Yin Xie, what are you doing here?”


  “Master asked me to weed the garden.” Yin Xie exhaled a thick cloud of nicotine-infused smoke.

  “He ordered you to weed the garden?” Ming Yan eyed the garden with an incredulous look. “Perhaps he meant for you to mow the lawn?”


  “What lawn are you talking about? He ordered me to pull out the weeds in the garden!” Yin Xie chewed the cigarette in his mouth as he leaned against a pane of glass separating the greenhouse from the garden.

  Ming Yan could not help but laugh. “Did you make master angry?”


  “Master got angry with me over a woman. I just wanted to know where she came from……” Yin Xie recalled the woman’s kick that he had received. Even now, his arm still throbbed painfully.

  “A woman? Is there really a woman here? Why haven’t I seen her yet?” Ming Yan mumbled uncertainly.

  “She should be with her master. I suspect she has some ulterior motive woman in getting close to him.” Yin Xie sighed.

  It was Ming Yan’s first time hearing his master lose his cool over a woman, so he wanted to see what was so special about her. “I’ll go and take a look.”


  Ming Yan marched towards the living room with purposeful strides.

  Yin Xie returned to his self-appointed task of staring at the garden in search of weeds. While doing so, he took a deep puff of his cigarette……

  Qin Shu walked into the living room but didn’t see the man. Maybe he had returned to his room?

  “Who are you?”


  Ming Yan walked into the living room and saw a woman climbing up the stairs. She was probably the woman Yin Xie had mentioned earlier.

  She paused mid-step when she heard someone calling out to her. Without meaning to, he turned around and saw a man heading in her direction. It was the man she had seen the previous night. He was the man who assassinated Luo Junsheng.

  Ming Yan caught sight of Qin Shu’s appearance when she looked back. Her delicate features paired with her limpid eyes stole his breath. She was a heaven-defying beauty.

  Qin Shu took the opportunity to size up Ming Yan. Ming Yan ranked third on the list of most dangerous assassins. He had a one hundred per cent mission success rate – not having failed a single mission assigned to him before. In some circles, he was known by the monicker: “Death Note”.

  Why hadn’t she recalled this piece of information sooner?

  Shaking his head, Ming Yan came to his senses and marched up to the woman standing on the stairs. He asked again, “Who are you?”


  Qin Shu arched a delicate brow and asked, “Who am I? I don’t see how it concerns you.”


  Ming Yan frowned at Qin Shu’s clear provocation. No wonder Yin Xie had been so angry.

  “Don’t think for a second that I don’t know what you’re scheming. You must have some ulterior motive cosying up to our master. Regardless of your motives or designs, if you hurt him in any way, I’ll be the first to string you up and make you wish you were dead.”


  Ming Yan’s eyes were cold and ruthless. There was a hard finality to his voice that bespoke the truth of his words.

  “Are you done?” Qin Shu stared at him calmly as if she were looking at an ant.

  Ming Yan was rendered speechless by Qin Shu’s haughty retort. Her reaction had exceeded his expectations in the way he thought she would react. His words sloughed off her like water off a duck’s back. She was the very picture of a calm and composed woman who knew her own worth. It was not a reaction he had been expecting. He thought that the woman in front of him would be frightened by his aggressive display, but apparently not.

  Nonetheless, Ming Yan was not the third most dangerous assassin alive without reason. He quickly realized where her confidence stemmed from. If she thought she had the master’s support, then there was nothing she needed to fear from his subordinates.

  “Just because you have master’s support, it does not mean you’re invulnerable.” Ming Yan hissed.

  Indifferent, Qin Shu responded with a lazy toss of her hair. “Move aside if you’re done talking. I still have things to take care of upstairs.”


  Ming Yan blinked at her with a dazed look in his eyes. It felt like he was punching cotton with the way his words failed to elicit a reaction he could predict.

  Qin Shu no longer looked at him. She simply pushed him aside, brushing him off like he was a lowly peon. With even steps, she continued up the stairs unhurried.

  Ming Yan glared at the woman’s back with a frown. Who was she?

  Qin Shu walked straight up to the third floor and arrived outside the door to the man’s room. The door was open.

  “Master, we have ways to persuade Gu Yan to cure you. Please leave it to us.”


  Just as she was about to enter the room, she heard someone inside talking about Gu Yan.

  “Master, I don’t believe that he’s not afraid of death at all. If he refuses to cure you, I’ll break his arms one at a time before……”


  “Enough.”


  Though the man spoke softly, his voice seemed to carry an unshakable compulsion demanding obedience.

  “B-but Master, if he does not cure you, you’ll be dead before the year is up……”


  Yin Shi’s voice trembled with agitation. It was clear that he was deathly afraid for his master’s wellbeing.

  Qin Shu stood at the door, eavesdropping on the conversation. She could not believe her ears. Was the man really going to die so soon?

  Gu Yan had been held captive for more than half a month. Yet, in all that time, he had not managed to persuade Gu Yan to concoct an antidote for him?

  Despite not having been cured, he was still willing to let her leave with him in three days…… Wouldn’t that mean he was going to die?

  Was this some sort of set-up?

  “Get out.”


  There was a moment of silence.

  “Understood, master.”


  Yin Shi walked out of the room and saw Qin Shu standing by the door. He did not stop to speak with her. He didn’t even know her name.

  He would ask him again some other time. He had to think of a way to convince Gu Yan to treat his master.

  Qin Shu stood by the door for a long time before she walked in.

  When she entered, she saw the man sitting on the sofa with one hand on his forehead. He seemed to be in extreme discomfort.

  She walked up to the man and stood in front of him. Staring down at him, she only wanted to confirm one thing. “Were you lying when you said you would allow me to leave with Gu Yan after three days?”


  The man raised his head as if he sensing her gaze. “Are you afraid that I won’t keep my word?” he asked.

  “Gu Yan’s life is in your hands. If you don’t keep your word and decide against allowing me to leave with Gu Yan, wouldn’t I have spent three days here in vain?” Qin Shu asked quietly.

  The man smiled. “Your worries are unfounded. If I go back on my word, you are free to kill me – just like how you wanted to do so last night.”


  “You could have easily taken my life. No matter how fast my reactions might have been, it still wouldn’t have been faster than that dagger you had poised against my throat.”


  Startled, it took Qin Shu a while to compose herself. How did he know she had made an attempt against his life last night?

  He even knew the distance between the dagger and his neck!

  What she could not understand was his lack of reaction the previous night. He had not reacted at all despite having a knife against his throat. He had slept like someone in a deep sleep and she was sure he had let his guard down.

  “Were you so certain that I would not kill you? Is that why you did not react at all?” Qin Shu asked.

  The man shook his head. “I didn’t know. I gambled with my life and won.”


  A faint smile tugged at his lips.

  Qin Shu was flabbergasted by his flippant disregard for his own life. How could he gamble it so carelessly?

  Was he crazy or did he not possess a shred of self-worth?

  He was not a cat with nine lives. How could he do something so foolish?

  “Then you should know that if you had lost that bet, your life would have been forfeit.”


  If she had not stayed her hand, he would have undoubtedly died.

  The man did not think much of it. “Mm. It wouldn’t be called gambling if there weren’t any stakes, right?”


  Qin Shu finally understood one thing. Gamblers were all crazy.

  The man continued, “I will keep my promise, of that you need not doubt.”


  Qin Shu did not relax even though she had secured his promise. She could not relax – not until she left with Gu Yan safely.

  Suddenly, a thought popped into her mind. “Do you know me?”