Charley left the city and arrived at a place where a carriage passed by at dusk.
It was a desolate countryside with only a few bare trees.
Charley came to a halt here with measured steps;
she lifted her head, raised her eyebrows in a beautifully arched manner, and casually called out:
"Qingyan!"
The sound of a silver bell arose with the night breeze, and drifted somewhere.
Where there was once no one, there was now someone;
the presence of a person there seemed as natural as the absence of one before.
The young woman standing in that place had skin as fair as the snow, delicate features, and a perfect figure, making her resemble a night-blooming cereus;
she wore a light purple dress cinched at the waist, accentuating her slender waist and graceful figure;
at that moment, her elegant figure stood alone in the wilderness.
The only thing Charley wanted to remember about the young woman's identity was:
she was one of the few people she could trust!
"Qingyan."
With the first call and the second call, the young woman woke up groggily;
her moonlight-like black eyes opened wearily, gazing somewhat confusedly at her mistress.
As the young woman raised her head, she met Charley's eyes;
the latter's composed gaze instantly turned into sharp pain, nailing the girl like a spike;
accompanying that gaze was Charley's already somewhat pale face, which, at the moment when emotions were about to be released, turned ashen, sorrowful like a moon hung high in the sky.
"Qingyan, don't fall asleep, you have a task to do."
"What task..."
Before the girl called "Qingyan" could finish her sentence;
Charley had already walked up to her, interrupting the unfinished words with brisk footsteps.
Charley's gaze was like a sudden surging wave, swirling with pain, dissatisfaction, and resentment.
She looked at Qingyan with anger and sadness, her eyes devoid of their usual depth and charm, only managing to slightly calm her emotions after a long while, suppressing the trembling in her tone:
"Qingyan, go to the 'Disaster Elimination Society', and present a request there."
"What kind of request?"
In an instant, the scattered light in Qingyan's eyes contracted slightly, turning deep like a pond.
"Use the savings I entrusted you with, to hire the most powerful 'Silver Blade', to help me kill someone."
As Charley answered Qingyan, she curved her lips as if smiling, but with a bitter taste akin to yellow lotus.
With a seemingly casual pat on Qingyan's shoulder, Charley caused a wave of forbidden spell to flow into Qingyan's body, altering her appearance.
Charley walked gently past Qingyan, and when she turned back a few seconds later, the extended gaze fell upon a face exactly like her own.
Charley would never forget; she always remembered the forbidden curse she possessed, which was potent enough to change her own appearance.
Just moments ago, Charley had used a bit of magic to allow the shape-changing curse to work on Qingyan.
If Qingyan wanted to return to her original appearance, there were only two possibilities.
Either the master lifts the curse or the power within the master is exhausted.
To allow someone other than oneself to be transformed by a curse for a long time is quite a drain on the person in question, yet it was her choice.
After some consideration, she decided to make Qiuyan look like herself, and from that moment on, the other person became another version of herself.
"You will go to the 'Disaster Relief Society' with this appearance, and then, in my name, hire 'Silver Blade' to kill you!"
After some time, the best plan Charley could come up with to deal with Bai was to commission her impostor self to hire Silver Blade (who is also Bai) to kill Qiuyan.
Naturally, this commission could not be completed.
After all, the real Qiuyan had become like the master;
As long as Charley did not lift the effects of the curse, even if Bai searched for a lifetime, she would not be able to find the target's trace.
And that was Charley's plan, to make Bai leave Wang Xiaole's side through a new commission.
However, there were two issues in this plan.
First:
Bai had already accepted the task of assassinating Wang Xiaole before, so even if Qiuyan submitted a commission to the "Disaster Relief Society" to hire Bai, the current task would not end so easily.
For this first problem, Charley's solution was quite simple:
Offer a higher price!
The "Disaster Relief Society" may be a legitimate assassin organization that follows the rules, but it is ultimately a for-profit organization;
As long as Charley offers a higher price, it is possible to unilaterally terminate Bai's current task by the head of the society.
Moreover, since receiving this task, Bai had not been successful.
This ace assassin, who used to be able to take down her target on her first mission, was now stalling with the target after finding their residence.
Even if the head did not take action with Bai, as the days passed, that woman would eventually find out.
According to the intelligence gathered by Charley:
Whenever Bai targeted a prey not far away, she would return to the organization within ten days.
Calculating from today, it was the third day of Bai's mission, meaning there were still seven days to go;
After seven days, the head of the organization would certainly notice the difficulties surrounding this mission.
By then, Qiuyan, who had been commissioned ahead of time, would become the head's new choice for an employer.
The outcome was not hard to predict.
Rather than admitting that the operation of the most powerful assassin was not going well, the "Disaster Relief Society" would prefer to unilaterally terminate the commission to mitigate the damage to its reputation.
Alright, the first issue was not a problem. Now onto the second one:
When the person causing trouble accepted a new commission and left Wang Xiaole out of necessity, Charley had to ensure that Bai could not come back.
In case Bai returned, Wang Xiaole would only cherish the little girl more, putting Charley in a more delicate situation.
It was more likely that the relationship between the two would be solidified by this brief separation;
At that point, Charley would never be able to smile again.
How could she make sure Bai could not come back?
It all depends on Qiuyan's ability.
Out of trust in Qiuyan's skills, Charley told her:
"Once 'Silver Blade' sets its sights on your life as planned, there is only one thing you should do at that time..."
Considering the sudden drop in temperature in Charley's voice when saying these words, Silver Blade shrank its neck and made a slashing motion with its knife hand.
"Is the Master asking me to kill 'Silver Blade'?"
"I... well, killing it won't work! On the contrary, once news of Silver Blade's death spreads, it will only harm me. "
"Not kill? Then what should I do?"
"You defeat her, lock her up in a secluded place, that's enough, no need to bother with useless actions."
In Charley's mind, the plan was to entrust Qiuyan with the task of imprisoning Silver Blade for a long time and taking care of this terrifying girl.
Imprisonment also had a deadline;
The day for that deadline was the day Charley cooked the rice.
However, Charley realized that both herself and Wang Xiaole hadn't even started cooking the rice yet, so achieving that step would undoubtedly take a very long time.
When it came to that lengthy period, Charley believed she could wait, and her loyal confidant, also cherished by her, was similarly unbothered by spending several years.
Qiuyan thought to herself while pondering:
The Master has become kind-hearted, worrying about what happens "after"?
As someone well-versed in this business, Qiuyan knew very well:
If one truly wanted to kill someone, there were plenty of ways to make the person disappear without a trace, treated as a missing person all along.
There were countless ways to kill someone without letting the outside world know that the person had been killed!
Yet even so, the Master still chose to leave a living person;
At this thought, Qiuyan couldn't help but think:
The Master must have been slightly changed by that person who often came to entangle her.
"Master, that person really, why bother not getting along with you?"
Qiuyan closed her eyes again, relying on this seemingly sleeping state to turn her body, and started to carry out the task she had been given.
"Him and me? You're mistaken, it's me who can't get along with myself."
No one asked why, but Charley's answer didn't need anyone to ask, just as she didn't need to deliberately tell anyone:
No matter how many men there are in this world, whether one or countless, I only love him;
Whether he's the best or the worst, I only want him!
Was this what Charley said to Qiuyan?
No, her reliable confidant had already left;
Not to mention:
What Charley said to Qiuyan tonight was just her previous instructions...
Whenever she was alone, she couldn't help but think, asking her foolish self:
For what reason is this obsession?
Perhaps, it was for the mistake that shouldn't have happened;
Since it's already wrong, why not make it wrong all the way?
Complained, struggled, but never gave up, never regretted.
On the desolate wilderness where she was the only one left, a figure turned grey, as if blending into the night.
She was dim like a ghost, as if ready to dissipate at any moment.
Only the rustling sound of the wind, seems to have existed since the birth of people and emotions and never vanished;
The sound of the wind, like a wisp of smoke, lingers incessantly, intertwining deep in the heart.
In the wee hours of the morning, she remembered what the fortune-teller had said, and couldn't help but scoff.
Flower, water;
A woman can be a flower, and a man can be water.
Flowers chase water, even if water stubbornly rushes towards its source, the chase continues;
The fallen flower into the water is not the end, but just the beginning, the beginning of lingering obsession;
Even at the source, the obsession continues unabated!
Night has fallen, yet it continues;
The moon is out tonight, with countless stars in the sky, but her heart remains dark and cold inside and out.
