Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Sure enough, after Wu Ming hung up, Bao Lin politely untied the ropes binding him and said, "Sorry about this time. But I was only carrying out the higher-ups' orders."

To be continued

976. Let's Change the Name to Black Butterfly

Though Wu Ming was somewhat baffled, he could not disobey Wang Yanqiu's words either. He cupped his hands toward Bao Lin and said, "I gave offense before."

Since the chief had said they were all on the same side from now on, Wu Ming did not make a fuss about it. After all, there had never been any deep grudge between him and Bao Lin—he had merely been ordered to take on someone else's mission.

"Think nothing of it." Bao Lin was a forthright man by nature, and with Yang Juehuan's instructions behind it, he laughed heartily and waved a hand. "No blow is too hard to make friends. Since your boss and my boss have both spoken, we're on the same side from now on—no reason for us to be at odds."

Wu Ming nodded, knowing Bao Lin was telling the truth. "Then I'll head back first. Thank you for your hospitality these past days."

Bao Lin blinked, thinking, Is that meant to be sarcasm? Hospitality, what hospitality—imprisonment, more like. But Wu Ming's expression was sincere, plainly not lying, and Bao Lin was puzzled; still, he waved a hand. "If I've done you any wrong, I hope you'll bear with me."

Wu Ming had spoken honestly. That he was alive at all he owed to Bao Lin bringing him food every day; otherwise, even if his boss and their boss had made peace, he would never have lived to see the day. So he said, "What is there to forgive? Before this we were enemies, and you didn't kill me—you even brought me food. That's already more than decent."

Bao Lin understood at last—so that was what Wu Ming meant.

Yang Ce and Wang Yanqiu both climbed out through the window. Going out by the front door, Yang Shuoxuan feared, might mean Chen Shutang and the others or Auntie Li would see them if they got up in the night, so the two of them, like thieves, went leaping over eaves and walls into the villa's courtyard.

"Not bad at all." Seeing that Yang Ce was even more nimble than himself, Wang Yanqiu could not help but marvel. "I should have realized long ago—back at the temple fair, when we were rock climbing, you were already very good."

"Likewise," Yang Hengye said. "Though at the time I only assumed you did a lot of athletic training."

Wang Yanqiu gave a gentle smile. Had she not thought the very same thing? Who would have guessed that Yang Ce was, like her, an assassin? At the thought, she shook her head. "Fate is strange indeed. To think we were both assassins in secret. Hey—what if I had killed you back then?"

"Killed me? Why would you kill me?" Yang Ce asked, surprised. "Didn't you say you wouldn't, on account of Zhao Ying?"

"I mean the business of delivering flowers for Li Yixun," Wang Yanqiu said. "Yang Ce, if these past two days hadn't happened, I think I really would have reached my limit—I might well have killed you."

"Ha!" Yang Jiyan laughed, unconcerned. "If you'd come to kill me, the two of us would probably still have ended up going through all this. You think you could have killed me?"

"That much is true." Wang Yanqiu paused, then nodded. "Yang Ce, tell me—can our assassin group ever become the best in the world?"

This was the second time Wang Yanqiu had said "our." The first was over the matter of Wu Ming; the second was now. After Yang Ce promised he would not leave the group, Wang Yanqiu had truly come to regard him as one of them, even though he had yet to carry out a single mission.

"Maybe." Yang Ce shrugged, thinking, I'm the disciple of the world's number-one assassin king—won't I be number one myself one day? Your little Black Widow outfit is riding on my coattails. Still, Black Widow really was an ugly name; it sounded so much like the feminine overpowering the masculine. A grown man called Black Widow—if word got out, people would die laughing. So he said, "Say, Little Yanyan, can't we change the name of this assassin group of ours?"

"Why change the name?" Wang Yanqiu was plainly not much moved by Yang Ce's earlier "maybe." Even she herself was not certain her group could become the best in the world—not to mention herself; her own family had worked for years and still had not surpassed that so-called assassin king. That was precisely why her father was so eager to marry her off to the assassin king's disciple: to be number one, there had to be a merging of forces. Once the assassin king's disciple became a member of the family, the family could rightly call itself number one in the assassin world.

But Wang Yanqiu simply did not want her fate arranged by her family like a piece of merchandise—which was why she was so eager to achieve something, dreaming of making her assassin group the best in the world, surpassing her family and even surpassing that assassin king. But all of it was only a dream; Wang Yanqiu knew the odds were slim.

Yet she still had to try, because her time really was running short. An eighth of her university life was already gone; only three and a half years remained.

"Change the name—to welcome a great master like me into your ranks!" Yang Ce declared shamelessly.

Wang Yanqiu curled her lip. "A name is just a label, nothing special. Besides, the Black Widow group didn't get where it is easily. We're not exactly famous, but we do have a bit of a reputation. Once we change the name, who'll know who we are? We'd have to start all over from scratch."

"Doesn't matter—is it so hard to get missions? And anyway, the ones you took before were all small-time jobs. Whether you take those or not makes little difference; they won't show up as many points on the assassin rankings," Yang Yanzhou said. "I just think Black Widow doesn't sound very nice. You're not a widow—how did you come up with a name like that?"

Wang Yanqiu fell silent a moment. But then, since Yang Ce was already one of the group and was going to be her partner, there was no need to hide much from him. "Because my father wants to marry me off to a man I don't know, and I want him dead. So I picked the name Black Widow."

"Holy shit—that vicious?" Yang Lanxu said, cursing inwardly: Damn it, the one sleeping with you right now is me—aren't you cursing me to die? So he hurried on, "Then we'd better change it for sure. There's no telling who you'll marry now—maybe even me. That name's far too unlucky."

Seeing Yang Ce hopping about, Wang Yanqiu suddenly found it rather funny—so even this fellow could be so childish sometimes. On reflection, Yang Yanzhou was right: it was only a name, and we're not famous anyway, so if it's to be changed, let it be changed. "All right, then tell me—what name would be good? Just don't pick something like 'Tomcat' or 'Mutt.' Let it be a new beginning. I hope our assassin group can climb another rung."

"Heh—why don't we call it Black Butterfly?" Yang Juehuan's eyes swept over Wang Yanqiu a few times, and he grinned.

"Black Butterfly? Why Black Butterfly?" Wang Yanqiu was taken aback. "Do you know that on the world roster of assassin groups, after the Assassin King, the number-one group is the Butterfly Assassins? You're not copying them, are you?"

"Screw that—why would I copy them? Who the hell are they, that I'd copy them?" Yang Ce shook his head. "The reason I say Black Butterfly is that you've got a butterfly tattoo on your butt. I thought it was pretty fun, so—Black Butterfly. But since you mention that Butterfly group, then Black Butterfly it is—and we'll be even stronger than they are."

"What?" Hearing Yang Yanzhou, Wang Yanqiu realized that was what Black Butterfly meant, and her face went red at once, like a smoldering coal, so overwhelmed with shyness she could scarcely bear it. "How can you be so improper? An assassin group's name is very important, and you come up with one so casually!"