Chapter 170 — The New King of Assassins

Old Zha Ce accepted this reality very quickly. There was nothing else he could do—in a sense, Yang Juehuan's status was one of towering superiority, because this man was, after all, the world's number one King of Assassins.

So old Zha Ce's state of mind settled into calm in an instant. Yes, there was no way he could keep playing dumb in front of Yang Ce any longer, because the man had every right to stand on equal footing with him.

Now that he thought about it, Yang Ce had been able to slip into his room without a sound, and not a single one of his subordinates had reported anything to him yet. This was no coincidence—and old Zha Ce felt a chill of secret alarm. Was Yang Juehuan's ability simply too great?

It seemed that this kind of silent infiltration, undetected to this very moment, was something even Fang Tian could not manage. Or perhaps the student had surpassed the master? Or had Fang Tian improved again? Or was it simply that Fang Tian had never truly revealed his full strength before them all?

"I wouldn't dare call myself the new King of Assassins—I'm only in my probationary period." Yang Heng smiled and spoke faintly.

"Whatever you say. Since the King of Assassins has spoken, I naturally cannot refuse him this face. Zhou Tianxiang is yours." Old Zha Ce shrugged. "Truthfully, he knows too much. It's only that I couldn't quite bear to kill a man who has followed me for so many years. I intended to inject him with certain drugs and strip him of all his memories."

"Loss of memory?" Yang Wenru frowned. "Wouldn't that make him like a newborn infant?"

"But now that's certainly unnecessary, because your status speaks for itself. Since he is your father-in-law, I can rest easy that he won't do anything to my disadvantage." Old Zha Ce smiled as he spoke.

"Then I thank you, Uncle Zha Ce." To resolve things in such a peaceful manner was exactly what Yang Ce had hoped for. After all, he still wanted to seek cooperation with the Zha Ce family, and he did not wish for a direct conflict to break out just like that.

"Ha ha, that you can call me Uncle Zha Ce—that alone gives me tremendous face. I never thought that one day old Zha Ce would become an elder of the King of Assassins." Old Zha Ce laughed merrily, and one could see that his smile was utterly sincere.

"Then the matter of Uncle Zhou is settled just like that. As for Zha Ce's side, I will speak to him. If he has any objections, let him come to me directly." Yang Heng spoke.

"That is only natural." Old Zha Ce hesitated a moment, then said, "However, I hope you won't involve Zha Ce in this. That he likes Zhou Yanning is his own freedom; whether Miss Zhou accepts him is another matter entirely."

"Rest assured, Uncle Zha Ce. How should I put it—Zha Ce and I get along quite well. I am not as hot-tempered as you imagine. That earlier round of intimidation was truly out of necessity; had I not said such things, you would never have been able to calm yourself and talk with me." Yang Heng smiled, speaking with a trace of apology.

"Ha ha, since you say so, then I am at ease. Mr. Yang Ce, when you see Zha Ce, help me urge him a bit—even if he doesn't like the family business, he should still spend more time with an old man like me when he has the chance. After all, I am getting on in years and would like more time with him." Zha Ce spoke.

"Of course, rest assured, Uncle Zha Ce. I will tell him." Yang Yuting nodded and spoke to old Zha Ce.

"Mm, then you may take Zhou Tianxiang away. I'll make a phone call and have him leave with you." Old Zha Ce asked.

"There's no hurry for that. This visit, I have one other matter." Yang Ce hesitated a moment, then spoke. After all, Yang Ce had originally intended to find an opportunity to meet old Zha Ce anyway; now that the chance had come, it would be best to settle everything at once.

"Oh? What other matter is there?" Old Zha Ce asked, somewhat puzzled. In his view, Yang Ce had come to him solely because of Zhou Tianxiang. Now that the matter was resolved, what else would Yang Ce want with him?

"It's like this, Uncle Zha Ce. I was thinking—might we be able to cooperate?" Yang Ce said with a smile.

"Cooperate?" Hearing this, old Zha Ce's heart stirred at once. Had he not been wanting to find a partner all this time? And was not the Yang Ce before him the perfect candidate for cooperation?

What old Zha Ce could least bear to let go of was the assassin enterprise he had built through such hardship. He did not want it to wither away because of his own aging and young Zha Ce's dislike of it.

Now, with the heir of the King of Assassins and the heir of the Butterfly Family both willing to cooperate, then at the very least his assassin enterprise would not perish, and those assassins would continue to have food on the table.

At this thought, old Zha Ce could not help but feel a surge of excitement. Yes, he had not expected Yang Ce to wake him from his dream with a single sentence. With such a formidable partner, old Zha Ce could spend his twilight years in peace.

"Yes. Cooperation." Yang Ce nodded firmly.

"How shall we cooperate?" Old Zha Ce asked, excitedly, unable to stop himself.

"I would like to borrow some people from Uncle Zha Ce as instructors, to train my own forces." Yang Yanzhou laid out his idea.

"Training?" Old Zha Ce was taken aback. "Wouldn't it be more effective for you to train them yourself? Why do you need my people to do the training?"

No wonder old Zha Ce was puzzled. Yang Ce was the personal disciple of the King of Assassins—would it not be more effective for him to do the training himself?

Yang Xutang gave a bitter smile. "Uncle Zha Ce, there are reasons of my own why I cannot train them personally. First, my master has said that my body has rather peculiar characteristics—it seems I can imitate almost anything, learning whatever I see until I resemble it exactly. That is how I was able to master so many of Old Man Fang's skills within half a year. But these things plainly do not apply to ordinary people. Making them practice the same way would backfire and easily lead them into deviation. Moreover, some martial arts are passed down from generation to generation and may only be taught to formal disciples, never to outsiders. So I have no way to pass certain special things on to the members of the organization. And finally, I truly do not have that much time—Yanyan and I are both university students, and we still have to attend classes."

Yang Yanzhou was being fairly open and honest, so after hearing this, old Zha Ce nodded in deep agreement. "Indeed. Now that you put it that way, I understand. You mean the mass training method."

"Exactly. That is why I wanted to seek cooperation with Uncle Zha Ce." Yang Yuting nodded.

But old Zha Ce grew even more astonished. To say nothing of the fact that Wang Yanqiu was the heir of the Butterfly Family and that finding training instructors from the Butterfly Family would be an easy matter—Yang Ce himself, as the heir of the King of Assassins, also had deep ties with the Butterfly Family. Why would he not go to the Butterfly Family for people?

Could there be some hidden complication between him and Wang Yanqiu? Ah, yes—Wang Yanqiu had run away from home. It was only natural that she would not want to rely on her own family. Perhaps that was the reason.

But precisely because of this, old Zha Ce keenly sensed that this was a good opportunity for him—a good opportunity to establish a deep cooperative relationship with Yan.

"Since it is cooperation, then both sides should benefit mutually, correct?" asked the old fox, Zha Ce.

"Yes." Yang Yuting nodded.

"Then, in this cooperation, what benefit can I gain from it?" Old Zha Ce laid his trap step by step.

"I can pay training fees." Yang Yanzhou said. "In return, although your people are the instructors, they can also learn some training methods they do not know—methods I have developed myself."