Recruitment, and the future

"Who sent you?" Ye Feng Tian asked coldly. Her black hair in a pony tail swished in the harsh night wind, fluttering with her black robes.

The assassin looked up at those glowing amethyst eyes and, as if suddenly having a realization, her eyes become clearer and watery, reflecting the pale moonlight.

In truth, Yue Yao was also merely just a pawn in the schemes of the wealthy. If she could start over with different circumstances, how could she choose killing innocents to make a living? She, like everyone within this dynasty, within these times--- just wanted to survive. And in this dog eat dog world, she had found that martial strength was the only way she had any value to attach to her life and sell for another day.

"I'll tell you, but if I tell you can you say you won't kill me?" Yue Yao laughed bitterly. "You will kill me, I'm sure. I can tell with one look at those eyes, you've killed before."

Ye Feng Tian was silent. The sound of cold wind blew in her ears and suddenly she grabbed the arm of Yue Yao and pulled her closer to her face, so she could come face to face with her eyes and take a good look.

"I won't kill you. Look into these eyes and tell me if you think you can tell if I'm telling the truth this time or not?" Ye Feng Tian asked expressionlessly, but her eyes glowed like two gems or two stars among a dark sky.

Yue Yao's eyes widened in shock and for a second, she believed the man in front of her. Those eyes, she couldn't read them. She couldn't trust them. They reminded her of sinking into an abyss that didn't have a end. But in the end, as she stared at those eyes that also seemed to reflect the countless stars in the sky at the moment, she saw something of hope. Hope in trusting the devil and making a deal.

She realised.

"You're not like me. You're nobility." She said, dazed.

"No. In this world, there is no such thing as nobility." Ye Feng Tian stated.

Yue Yao laughed for a while but suddenly as a cold wind blew by she realised that she was still being held intimately by the arm at a unbearably close distance to her and felt her cheeks flushing. She quickly tried to pry her arm away but felt the grip tighten with strength.

Ye Feng Tian said: "Agree to join my side and I will spare your life."

Yue Yao knew this was the only chance she had and finally, with a look of resignation she sighed and smiled.

"Fine. I'll join you, Mr. Not-Nobility."

Yue Yao felt that the wind was cold, but the arm gripping her was warm with strength that she never knew could exist. A new type of hope emerged in her heart. Of course, she knew that this man was not to be trusted, and her life of killing was far from over, but she also knew this from the moment she killed the first person. She had already lost the ability to regret and agonize over the deaths she caused. This time, she hoped that her killing was at least for something she wanted to be fighting for.

Finally, the long encounter was over. Ye Feng Tian returned to her resting area and prepared to light a lamp for the rest of the night to study. She changed into a set of warmer clothing that included a white fur fox coat and sat down by the candle. She learned that the assassin's name was Yue Yao and she was sent by the same people as the last incident, the An Shu family. Ye Feng Tian told her to stay at any spare residents within her courtyard and that after she completes a few missions for her, she will arrange better living conditions. She couldn't trust this as assassin yet, she could be a spy.

However, whether she was or not, one thing was clear. The An Shu family were starting to make their move and eliminate her.

Ye Feng Tian sighed. Things just kept getting more troublesome and she just wanted to hurry and escape the country, which basically held all her annoyances, including the Ye family, and the annoying politics and schemes.

She thought about her current situation. First, passing the exam no longer seemed that important. In the long term, what was the point if the country seemed to go to war at any moment? She suddenly thought about the orphans. She needed to check on them. If she could, she wanted to make sure their training progress was adequate. They needed to reach at least Yue Yao's level by the end of the next few years, if time could wait for them to do so. But ultimately, how useful they would be depends on what happens. Ye Feng Tian knew that in the end, they were kids. No matter how trained, this was not the same future she had come from and these kids definitely couldn't undergo the 'treatment' she had. Here, there were no special facilities and technology, equipment, top-tier nutrition, custom tailored physical assessment, injections, drugs, mental rehabilitation, that 'person' to instruct them.

She shook her head and looked at the dark night from her window. Tomorrow was the exam and Ye Feng Tian hoped her studying had been enough.