Seven Kills

Ye Qian hadn't expected to encounter a familiar face from his past in China—an assassin from the Qi Sha organization. The Qi Sha, unlike the Wolf Fang, took on any job for money. Once, someone had hired a Qi Sha assassin to kill Ye Qian, which obviously ended in failure. Ye Qian didn't kill the assassin but instead sent him back with a message for the organization's leader, Lin Feng, telling him to come for Ye Qian's life himself instead of sending inept fighters to their deaths.

That was the only encounter Ye Qian ever had with Qi Sha, and he never saw its members again. Sometimes, Ye Qian even wondered if Qi Sha had suddenly vanished from the world, until just now when he crossed paths with one of its members on the street. Although they only brushed past each other, Ye Qian clearly recognized the organization's symbol—a mask. Normal people don't wear masks in the middle of the night, and Ye Qian could feel the chilling murderous aura that only an assassin possesses.

Members of Qi Sha aren't necessarily good or bad, but they adhere to their own creed, a code followed from top to bottom. The creed is as follows: Kill those who betray their country for glory, kill corrupt officials, kill those who betray trust, kill schemers and villains, kill the unkind rich, kill unworthy descendants, and kill those who harm women. It was because of this creed that Ye Qian had spared the assassin sent to kill him. Although Qi Sha's targets didn't always fall into these categories, they never mistakenly killed a good person. As for Qi Sha targeting him, Ye Qian felt they weren't wrong; by his own admission, he wasn't exactly a good person.

Sometimes, Ye Qian really wanted to meet Lin Feng, the formidable young leader of Qi Sha, but he never had the chance.

Watching the Qi Sha member quicken his pace, Ye Qian followed, maintaining a certain distance between them. In a moment, at the corner of a street, the Qi Sha member stopped. Standing in front of him was Zhao Tianhao, the chairman of Tianya Group. Zhao Tianhao didn't want to run, realizing escape was futile when he spotted the Qi Sha member. Rather than turning his back to flee, he chose to face the situation head-on, believing there might be a slim chance of survival, or at least it was better than being shot in the back without knowing why.

"I know there's no escape for me today. I just want to know, who sent you to kill me?" Zhao Tianhao asked, his voice devoid of fear.

The Qi Sha member didn't respond or attack; he just stood silently.

"Will you not even grant a dying man his last wish?" Zhao Tianhao pressed on.

After a moment of silence, the Qi Sha member finally spoke, "Was your former partner, Luo Ya, killed because of you?"

Zhao Tianhao was taken aback, staring at the masked man, unable to glean anything from his expression. "Who... who are you to Luo Ya?" he asked, both shocked and eager.

"That's not for you to worry about. You just need to answer me: yes or no?" the masked man pressed.

Zhao Tianhao sighed, "Yes, if it weren't for me, Luo Ya would not have died; it should have been me. Go ahead, I won't resist."

From a distance, Ye Qian shook his head in frustration, muttering, "Damn, at this point, can't you lie to trick this simple-minded guy?" While he thought this, he still admired Zhao Tianhao's bravery. Seeing Zhao Tianhao's excited reaction when Luo Ya was mentioned, followed by his lament, Ye Qian sensed there might be more to the story, or perhaps some other reason. He wondered if he should intervene if the masked man attacked Zhao Tianhao. Ye Qian didn't know Zhao Tianhao personally, nor did he know what kind of person he was, but he believed that a man who faced his fate courageously, even if he was a great villain, could be forgiven. Besides, the concepts of good and evil weren't always clear-cut.

"You are a man of honor. I promise you a painless death," the masked man said, slowly drawing a dagger from his coat and advancing towards Zhao Tianhao.

Zhao Tianhao closed his eyes, unafraid, even managing a slight smile on his face.

A gunshot rang out, and Zhao Tianhao, startled, opened his eyes to see a young man standing with his back to him, dressed in a security uniform that looked somewhat like Tianya Group's. The masked man, now standing up from the ground, had a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

Just then, as the masked man made his move, Ye Qian had decided to intervene and save Zhao Tianhao. Not for any particular reason, just for the smile Zhao Tianhao wore before facing death. Ye Qian had rushed forward and struck the masked man hard by the ear. Hearing the whooshing sound, the masked man hastily dodged, spinning around with his dagger aimed at Ye Qian's throat. Ye Qian's left hand shot out, catching the wrist of the masked man's attacking hand, and leaned forward, forcing the masked man to stagger back several steps. Ye Qian followed up with a fierce punch to his chest, sending him flying.

Ye Qian, recognizing him as a member of Qi Sha, still did not strike to kill. Otherwise, that punch would have been enough to knock him out or even kill him.

The masked man stood up slowly, wiping the blood from his lip, and looked quietly at Ye Qian.

Ye Qian pulled down his collar, revealing a wolf tattoo on his chest, and said slowly, "Give me this favor, let this go."

Seeing the wolf tattoo on Ye Qian's chest, the masked man paused briefly, then said, "You should know our rules; it's impossible. The ones we are sent to kill cannot live."

Ye Qian's brows furrowed slightly and he proposed, "Let's make a bet. If within three days, at any time and place, you can kill him, I'll accept my loss. Otherwise, you are never to target him again."