Sitting in the helicopter, Shen Qingmei’s inner mood was extremely cheerful as she stared down at the pleasant countryside below her. Unconsciously, her lips curled upwards, forming a foolish-looking smile.
Excited! She was too excited! Thrilled! She was too thrilled!
Even during the time when she had been given her first doctorate degree in medicine, she hadn’t felt as excited or thrilled as now!
Because, after this, she would soon be able too…
After she returned to headquarters and met with Master, she would “finally” be able to complete the long-dreamed of wish she had harbored for over twenty years!
Master had brought her up since she was a child, training her into an extremely outstanding assassin that served as his own blade.
He had always been a formidable, indifferent, and noble god-like figure that watched down from above, someone that she had never hoped to reach!
Ever since she had been seven, from the first time that she had ever laid eyes on him, Shen Qingmei had vowed that she would conquer this man, throw him onto her bed, and tumble him off from his position high in the clouds!
Therefore, three years ago, in order to keep her as his blade, that man had not hesitated to sell out his own body to entice her. When it came time to sign the agreement, Shen Qingmei didn’t spare a single moment to agree!
Although his side of the agreement meant that she would face numerous perilous situations, going through Hell many times, what he offered in return was something that she was incapable of refusing—
As long as Shen Qingmei could complete all ninety-nine of the dangerous missions he assigned her, that handsome and noble man would obediently allow her to push him onto her bed, doing whatever she wanted him to!
Any! Play! Was! Allowed!
Ai, this was really an alluring offer! Even if she were a man, it would still be impossible to refuse!
Just thinking about that kind of scenario, Shen Qingmei couldn’t help but feel her entire body heating up, blood bubbling out of her nose, her blood boiling with vigour!
Today, her life was about to become complete!
Seeing the island in the distance approach closer and closer, Shen Qingmei felt so excited that she was unable to sit still. Inside her mind, she was unable to resist daydreaming about what she would do to Master once she arrived. She fantasized about him lying down on a large bed, his chest bared, his thighs exposed, his thin lips curled up in an extremely charming smile. As her body burned up with desire, her heart itched with impatience, wishing that she could just jump out of the helicopter and rush straight to his bedroom, tackling him like a wolf! Embracing him like a bear! Touching him like a lion! Kissing him like a snake!
With great difficulty, she managed to control herself until the helicopter landed on the lawn of the fortress on the island. Before the helicopter could properly settle on the ground, Shen Qingmei impatiently threw first her bag off the plane and then herself.
Within the fortress, attendants had already been stationed to wait for her.
“Miss, you’ve returned.”
“Mhmm!” Shen Qingmei was unable to suppress her excitement, her face radiant with joy. She raised her head to look around the surroundings, but was unable to catch sight of Master, who usually greeted her after successfully completing a mission. “How come r‘s not here? Where is he?”
r was Master’s English name, considered to be Shen Qingmei’s exclusive privilege. She was the only person in the fortress allowed to use that name.
Of course, this kind of privilege had been secured by her through the exchange of “blood”. Naturally, it wasn’t her own blood, but rather the blood of others.
Therefore it could be said that not only was Master a shrewd, calculating and ruthless character, he was also very stingy and liked to haggle over everything.
Over here, everything had a price.
No matter what you wanted, you had to be ready to give something that was the equivalent value. Of course, if you wanted Master’s elegant and noble head to be lowered, his highly respected knees to be lowered in a kneel as he presented you your shoe, that was all possible as long as you were able to procure something that he wanted.
Although, even though this kind of thing seemed possible if you thought about it, with Master’s arrogant and unyielding personality, as well as his imposing and omnipotent aura, if you wanted him to surrender to a compromise, it would definitely be harder than having the sun spin the other direction.
Therefore, when Master had agreed to her conditions, Shen Qingmei almost felt like something was wrong, not believing her senses.
Because those kinds of conditions, towards a man like Master, were extremely offensive!
Although Shen Qingmei was his most favored chess piece, from childhood to now, she had only been subject to the harshest training regimes. Never had Master ever shown her even a trace of affection.
Furthermore, the reason why it was said that Master favored her the most, was mostly because all of the missions that he assigned her were the most difficult and important ones. During those missions her life was in danger at all times; moreover, if she were to fail, the punishment for doing so was simply inhuman!
Towards this kind of “affection”, every time on a mission Shen Qingmei was faced with a life-threatening situation, she couldn’t help but want to “be extremely grateful” to Master.
Your mother, he really treated her well. So well that she practically wanted to die!
The attendant had no knowledge of the agreement between Master and Shen Qingmei. Why Master hadn’t come out to welcome his most important “daughter”, he also felt was rather strange. However, the inner workings of the Master’s mind was not something that he, a lowly subordinate, could comprehend.
Hearing Shen Qingmei’s question, the attendant only gave a faint smile.
“Sir is currently in his room. If Miss has any problems, she can go upstairs to find Sir.”
“In which room?”
Shen Qingmei raised her eyebrows, thinking. After a moment she glanced around and then turned to the attendant, lowering her voice: “Has r today been… somewhat different?”
“Different?” The attendant frowned slightly. After a moment of reflection, he asked again, “And what aspect is the Miss speaking about?”
“Just if he’s acted out of character today?”
“It seems like… there’s none.”
Hearing this, Shen Qingmei felt somewhat disappointed. Most of the heat of desire that had been burning inside of her died out, a dejected expression surfacing on her face.
Could it be that he wants to act dumb and pretend the deal never happened?!
If it was really that way then it would be terrible. If Master remained refused to bow down, claiming that he had only been joking with her, and then dismissed her like that, then she would be powerless to do anything!
Although she knew that that man’s words were always truthful, and that he disdained those who broke their promises, once she thought of that possibility, Shen Qingmei’s heart couldn’t help but cool down, losing most of the boiling fervor from before, becoming apprehensive instead.
“Oh, right…” The attendant suddenly looked as if he remembered something. “This morning Sir had some people import some water from the hot springs in Iceland, and he bathed in that for about an hour. He also poured some ylang ylang flowers into the water… this, isn’t that a bit strange?”
“Ylang ylang flowers? Are you sure it was ylang ylang flowers?”
Shen Qingmei’s eyes lit up, her energy being restored once again by the attendant’s words!
“Yes, I’m sure. Because right now the flowering season for the ylang ylang tree is in about half a month, so if you want to pick fresh ones it will be rather difficult. I heard that the Shadows took almost a day before they could find a local who supplied them with seven hundred blossoms.”
“Pu—”
Hearing the attendant’s words, Shen Qingmei couldn’t help but laugh.
“r used the Shadows to pick flowers? Did he have to be so extreme?!”
“It was because the matter was rather urgent for Sir. The Shadows anyway had just finished a mission in Burma, so it was convenient for them to help.”
The reason why the attendant remembered so clearly was not only because the Shadows were the men who carried out all the demands that Master made, but also because he had taken note that the uncommon ylang ylang flower possessed a unique property.
At that was—aphrodisiac.
Hearing the attendant’s confident response, Shen Qingmei felt as if she would burst with joy.
Not only did he import hot water to take a bath, he also spread the aphrodisiacal ylang ylang flower petals in his bath—Master’s intentions were obvious to everyone!
“Alright, I understand! You go and continue your work, I’ll go and find r and report to him about the mission’s completion.”
Unable to cover up the excitement in her heart, Shen Qingmei clutched her bag tightly as she glanced towards the nearby red-tiled and white-walled building. As if she were floating, she entered into the building.
The attendant didn’t doubt her intention. Towards this woman who had never lost control before, he felt both great reverence and fear. An assassin could make zero mistakes, and could definitely not rely on luck, instead relying on their own ability and capability to survive.
As she bounced her way quickly into the building, Shen Qingmei felt as light as a cloud, wishing she could sprout wings and float upstairs, looking in at Master’s beauty from the window.
Under Master’s sinister seduction, Shen Qingmei had never suspected anything off with the ninety-nine tasks she had been assigned, willingly putting herself into immense danger with every assassination. In fact, the last event had taken her over three entire months for her to plan out, before she dared to bring out the guns.
The ancients used to say that when one saw a beauty, it was impossible to forget them. In one were to be seperated with them for even a day, their minds would be filled with only that beauty.¹
Now, Shen Qingmei had gone three months without seeing her noble and arrogant Master. All she could think about was how to cure this sickness!
Hurriedly she ran up the stairs, quickly hurrying to the direction of her Master’s room. Within two minutes, Shen Qingmei went from the garden below to the entrance of that room.
As she reached out a hand to grab the doorknob, Shen Qingmei’s stomach began to jump violently, her fingers trembling. Unexpectedly she felt somewhat nervous, hesitating at the doorway and not daring to enter.
At hearing the familiar footsteps, r didn’t need to think before he knew exactly who had returned.
Still, he opened his mouth to ask, “Who’s outside? Come in.”
That familiar, magnetic and extremely cold tone, incomparably sexy, belonged to that man, remaining constant for over ten years.
Shen Qingmei’s ears twitched, hear heart pounding against her chest.
Cautiously turning the door handle, as if exerting too much strength would destroy the beautiful fantasy in front of her, a second’s worth of time was extended into unlimited length. The fingers pressing against the door gripped extremely tightly, as if trying to squeeze away all the nervousness.
“Kacha—”
Never had there ever been a door so hard to open as this one.
¹The opening line of the famous qin song Male Phoenix Loves the Female Phoenix (Feng Qiu Huang), said to be played by poet Sima Xiangru to woo his later wife Zhou Wenjun
²Her last name was incorrectly translated as Chen. It’s actually read as Shen in the context of a surname.
Sitting in the helicopter, Shen Qingmei’s inner mood was extremely cheerful as she stared down at the pleasant countryside below her. Unconsciously, her lips curled upwards, forming a foolish-looking smile.
Excited! She was too excited! Thrilled! She was too thrilled!
Even during the time when she had been given her first doctorate degree in medicine, she hadn’t felt as excited or thrilled as now!
Because, after this, she would soon be able too…
After she returned to headquarters and met with Master, she would “finally” be able to complete the long-dreamed of wish she had harbored for over twenty years!
Master had brought her up since she was a child, training her into an extremely outstanding assassin that served as his own blade.
He had always been a formidable, indifferent, and noble god-like figure that watched down from above, someone that she had never hoped to reach!
Ever since she had been seven, from the first time that she had ever laid eyes on him, Shen Qingmei had vowed that she would conquer this man, throw him onto her bed, and tumble him off from his position high in the clouds!
Therefore, three years ago, in order to keep her as his blade, that man had not hesitated to sell out his own body to entice her. When it came time to sign the agreement, Shen Qingmei didn’t spare a single moment to agree!
Although his side of the agreement meant that she would face numerous perilous situations, going through Hell many times, what he offered in return was something that she was incapable of refusing—
As long as Shen Qingmei could complete all ninety-nine of the dangerous missions he assigned her, that handsome and noble man would obediently allow her to push him onto her bed, doing whatever she wanted him to!
Any! Play! Was! Allowed!
Ai, this was really an alluring offer! Even if she were a man, it would still be impossible to refuse!
Just thinking about that kind of scenario, Shen Qingmei couldn’t help but feel her entire body heating up, blood bubbling out of her nose, her blood boiling with vigour!
Today, her life was about to become complete!
Seeing the island in the distance approach closer and closer, Shen Qingmei felt so excited that she was unable to sit still. Inside her mind, she was unable to resist daydreaming about what she would do to Master once she arrived. She fantasized about him lying down on a large bed, his chest bared, his thighs exposed, his thin lips curled up in an extremely charming smile. As her body burned up with desire, her heart itched with impatience, wishing that she could just jump out of the helicopter and rush straight to his bedroom, tackling him like a wolf! Embracing him like a bear! Touching him like a lion! Kissing him like a snake!
With great difficulty, she managed to control herself until the helicopter landed on the lawn of the fortress on the island. Before the helicopter could properly settle on the ground, Shen Qingmei impatiently threw first her bag off the plane and then herself.
Within the fortress, attendants had already been stationed to wait for her.
“Miss, you’ve returned.”
“Mhmm!” Shen Qingmei was unable to suppress her excitement, her face radiant with joy. She raised her head to look around the surroundings, but was unable to catch sight of Master, who usually greeted her after successfully completing a mission. “How come r‘s not here? Where is he?”
r was Master’s English name, considered to be Shen Qingmei’s exclusive privilege. She was the only person in the fortress allowed to use that name.
Of course, this kind of privilege had been secured by her through the exchange of “blood”. Naturally, it wasn’t her own blood, but rather the blood of others.
Therefore it could be said that not only was Master a shrewd, calculating and ruthless character, he was also very stingy and liked to haggle over everything.
Over here, everything had a price.
No matter what you wanted, you had to be ready to give something that was the equivalent value. Of course, if you wanted Master’s elegant and noble head to be lowered, his highly respected knees to be lowered in a kneel as he presented you your shoe, that was all possible as long as you were able to procure something that he wanted.
Although, even though this kind of thing seemed possible if you thought about it, with Master’s arrogant and unyielding personality, as well as his imposing and omnipotent aura, if you wanted him to surrender to a compromise, it would definitely be harder than having the sun spin the other direction.
Therefore, when Master had agreed to her conditions, Shen Qingmei almost felt like something was wrong, not believing her senses.
Because those kinds of conditions, towards a man like Master, were extremely offensive!
Although Shen Qingmei was his most favored chess piece, from childhood to now, she had only been subject to the harshest training regimes. Never had Master ever shown her even a trace of affection.
Furthermore, the reason why it was said that Master favored her the most, was mostly because all of the missions that he assigned her were the most difficult and important ones. During those missions her life was in danger at all times; moreover, if she were to fail, the punishment for doing so was simply inhuman!
Towards this kind of “affection”, every time on a mission Shen Qingmei was faced with a life-threatening situation, she couldn’t help but want to “be extremely grateful” to Master.
Your mother, he really treated her well. So well that she practically wanted to die!
The attendant had no knowledge of the agreement between Master and Shen Qingmei. Why Master hadn’t come out to welcome his most important “daughter”, he also felt was rather strange. However, the inner workings of the Master’s mind was not something that he, a lowly subordinate, could comprehend.
Hearing Shen Qingmei’s question, the attendant only gave a faint smile.
“Sir is currently in his room. If Miss has any problems, she can go upstairs to find Sir.”
“In which room?”
Shen Qingmei raised her eyebrows, thinking. After a moment she glanced around and then turned to the attendant, lowering her voice: “Has r today been… somewhat different?”
“Different?” The attendant frowned slightly. After a moment of reflection, he asked again, “And what aspect is the Miss speaking about?”
“Just if he’s acted out of character today?”
“It seems like… there’s none.”
Hearing this, Shen Qingmei felt somewhat disappointed. Most of the heat of desire that had been burning inside of her died out, a dejected expression surfacing on her face.
Could it be that he wants to act dumb and pretend the deal never happened?!
If it was really that way then it would be terrible. If Master remained refused to bow down, claiming that he had only been joking with her, and then dismissed her like that, then she would be powerless to do anything!
Although she knew that that man’s words were always truthful, and that he disdained those who broke their promises, once she thought of that possibility, Shen Qingmei’s heart couldn’t help but cool down, losing most of the boiling fervor from before, becoming apprehensive instead.
“Oh, right…” The attendant suddenly looked as if he remembered something. “This morning Sir had some people import some water from the hot springs in Iceland, and he bathed in that for about an hour. He also poured some ylang ylang flowers into the water… this, isn’t that a bit strange?”
“Ylang ylang flowers? Are you sure it was ylang ylang flowers?”
Shen Qingmei’s eyes lit up, her energy being restored once again by the attendant’s words!
“Yes, I’m sure. Because right now the flowering season for the ylang ylang tree is in about half a month, so if you want to pick fresh ones it will be rather difficult. I heard that the Shadows took almost a day before they could find a local who supplied them with seven hundred blossoms.”
“Pu—”
Hearing the attendant’s words, Shen Qingmei couldn’t help but laugh.
“r used the Shadows to pick flowers? Did he have to be so extreme?!”
“It was because the matter was rather urgent for Sir. The Shadows anyway had just finished a mission in Burma, so it was convenient for them to help.”
The reason why the attendant remembered so clearly was not only because the Shadows were the men who carried out all the demands that Master made, but also because he had taken note that the uncommon ylang ylang flower possessed a unique property.
At that was—aphrodisiac.
Hearing the attendant’s confident response, Shen Qingmei felt as if she would burst with joy.
Not only did he import hot water to take a bath, he also spread the aphrodisiacal ylang ylang flower petals in his bath—Master’s intentions were obvious to everyone!
“Alright, I understand! You go and continue your work, I’ll go and find r and report to him about the mission’s completion.”
Unable to cover up the excitement in her heart, Shen Qingmei clutched her bag tightly as she glanced towards the nearby red-tiled and white-walled building. As if she were floating, she entered into the building.
The attendant didn’t doubt her intention. Towards this woman who had never lost control before, he felt both great reverence and fear. An assassin could make zero mistakes, and could definitely not rely on luck, instead relying on their own ability and capability to survive.
As she bounced her way quickly into the building, Shen Qingmei felt as light as a cloud, wishing she could sprout wings and float upstairs, looking in at Master’s beauty from the window.
Under Master’s sinister seduction, Shen Qingmei had never suspected anything off with the ninety-nine tasks she had been assigned, willingly putting herself into immense danger with every assassination. In fact, the last event had taken her over three entire months for her to plan out, before she dared to bring out the guns.
The ancients used to say that when one saw a beauty, it was impossible to forget them. In one were to be seperated with them for even a day, their minds would be filled with only that beauty.¹
Now, Shen Qingmei had gone three months without seeing her noble and arrogant Master. All she could think about was how to cure this sickness!
Hurriedly she ran up the stairs, quickly hurrying to the direction of her Master’s room. Within two minutes, Shen Qingmei went from the garden below to the entrance of that room.
As she reached out a hand to grab the doorknob, Shen Qingmei’s stomach began to jump violently, her fingers trembling. Unexpectedly she felt somewhat nervous, hesitating at the doorway and not daring to enter.
At hearing the familiar footsteps, r didn’t need to think before he knew exactly who had returned.
Still, he opened his mouth to ask, “Who’s outside? Come in.”
That familiar, magnetic and extremely cold tone, incomparably sexy, belonged to that man, remaining constant for over ten years.
Shen Qingmei’s ears twitched, hear heart pounding against her chest.
Cautiously turning the door handle, as if exerting too much strength would destroy the beautiful fantasy in front of her, a second’s worth of time was extended into unlimited length. The fingers pressing against the door gripped extremely tightly, as if trying to squeeze away all the nervousness.
“Kacha—”
Never had there ever been a door so hard to open as this one.
¹The opening line of the famous qin song Male Phoenix Loves the Female Phoenix (Feng Qiu Huang), said to be played by poet Sima Xiangru to woo his later wife Zhou Wenjun
²Her last name was incorrectly translated as Chen. It’s actually read as Shen in the context of a surname.
