st completely. He knew that he was a powerful warrior, so he made sure to act both cute and deferential, and 'uncle' seemed the best thing to call him.

His gaze darted from place to place, and finally fell upon the knife. He gritted his teeth. The best thing to do, he thought, would be to stab this Master Fei to death.

Sensing his movement, Wu Zhu stood up. "You are so different from the Lady," he said, shaking his head. "So young and yet so ruthless. I don't know who taught you to be like that."

"I learnt it myself." Fan Xian didn't dare offend this warrior; not when he was the only person he trusted. "Uncle, I know that you've spent all this time in the shop protecting me. And I know that you're worried my mother's enemies could find me because you're here, so you didn't stay in the Count's house. So it's a good thing that I'm a little ruthless."

Wu Zhu shook his head again, saying nothing.

Fan Xian knew that this sworn servant of his mother was beginning to get suspicious. He laughed. "Uncle, what do we do next?"

His meaning was clear. Killing was an area in which Wu Zhu excelled.

Wu Zhu's response came as a surprise. "Young master, you got the wrong man," he said coldly.

"Huh? The wrong man?" Fan Xian stood dumbfounded, slowly lowering his head to look at the a.s.sa.s.sin's bloodied face.

"But either way, we can't stand around doing nothing."

"Master Fei is head of the Third Bureau of the Overwatch Council," Wu Zhu said coolly. "But secretly... to be precise, he is a subordinate of a subordinate of your father. So he hasn't come to Danzhou to kill you. If he wanted to, I don't think there would be anything you could do about it; you’d already be dead."

Fan Xian thought back. The a.s.sa.s.sin now lying on the ground had said that his father had sent him, but...

...…

"h.e.l.l, you've become just like T-Bag. Who'd believe this old lech?"

Fei Jie had been in the Overwatch Council for years. He was now in his fifties, and though he had a reputation as an expert in poisons, the truth of it was he was already semi-retired. If he hadn't had an offer from a powerful person to teach in Danzhou, and he'd had the courage to turn it down, he'd never have left the capital.

But he didn't expect to be a.s.saulted, left bleeding and close to death the first time he laid eyes on his student.

Looking at the cherubic face of this young boy, with his big blinking eyes, he felt a twinge of fear mixed with shame. He knew exactly who this cute little kid was, and it filled him with a sudden anger that he couldn't express.

He turned to face a young lad who looked like some kind of servant, ready to take his anger out on him. "You! Untie me this instant! I am Master Fei, and the Count has paid a lot of money for my services!"

The servant appeared to be even more arrogant than he was. He didn't pay any attention to him at all. "I don’t recall it ever being stated in your boss’s and my agreement that you would come teach," he said coolly.

"Master Wu?" Fei Jie's muddied eyes widened - though they were discolored brown from the use of poison, he could see clearly now who the servant was. "Why, it's you!"

Fan Xian stared at the now-awake a.s.sa.s.sin. This was puzzling indeed.