Xuanwu Country, a small boat.
Seven sat in the boat, the Group Owner's words echoing repeatedly in his heart.
'Lay my cards on the table with her.'
'That way, no matter what decision she makes, I can put this attachment to rest.'
'This time, I can't repeat the same mistake from three years ago.'
'If she's willing to abandon her master and join me on the path to recover my memories, I will definitely take her with me. Let's see who dares to stop me.'
'But if she is unwilling...'
Seven sighed deeply, a resolute glint flashing in his eyes.
'Then, as the Group Owner said, let's end it.'
Splash.
The small boat glided over the water, quietly stopping beside a waterside pavilion.
In the pavilion, a few lotuses bloomed, and a beauty waited.
Today, Meihua Shisan had rarely changed out of her usual green cheongsam.
Instead, she wore a plain white long dress, her hair let down, cascading like a waterfall, looking stunningly beautiful.
Even with Seven's strong will, the moment he saw that silhouette, he was momentarily captivated before biting the tip of his tongue lightly and walking forward.
"Miss Plum Blossom, you're dressed beautifully today. Did you prepare specially to see me?"
Seven wore a hint of a playful smile, asking in the tone of the goofy Wu Liuqi.
The first, and possibly the last, date.
He didn't want to make the atmosphere too tense.
"Mm."
However, contrary to Seven's expectation, Meihua Shisan's sharp-tongued sarcasm did not appear.
The beauty was shy, her fair face slightly flushed.
Instead, she gently nodded her head, appearing somewhat timid.
'This...'
The corner of Seven's mouth twitched slightly. This wasn't what he had expected.
"After I learned you left Chicken Island, I always wanted to see you, to tell you what I feel in my heart."
Meihua Shisan, in her elegant white dress, gazed at Seven with deep affection.
In the depths of her eyes, there seemed to be a thousand kinds of tenderness.
"Gulp."
Even though Seven was mentally prepared, seeing Meihua Shisan like this, he couldn't help but swallow.
"Miss Plum Blossom, why are you so... today..."
"Different from usual, right? That's because if I don't say it today, I might not have another chance."
Meihua Shisan's pink lips parted, carrying a captivating fragrance that made Seven's soul tremble.
'Could it be... is it that?'
"Seven, there's something I must tell you!"
Meihua Shisan looked deeply into Seven's eyes, leaning closer and closer.
"You..."
Seven's heart pounded, his lips subconsciously puckering.
Wu Liuqi's goofy nature emerged uncontrollably at this moment.
"I... want to kill you!"
Swish…
A cold glint flashed.
Meihua Shisan snorted coldly. The plain white dress on her body immediately tore open, revealing the leggings and green cheongsam she wore underneath.
The icy blade swept past Seven's eyebrows.
It trembled and stopped right before his eyes.
Seven looked into her eyes. The previously infatuated, goofy expression had long vanished.
It was all an act.
Hers, and his.
"The scent on you, if I'm not mistaken, is the Assassin Organization's 'Weakness Powder', right?"
"Color like a white lotus, scent like flower fragrance, captivating. An ordinary person smelling just a whiff would immediately collapse, unable to exert strength in any muscle."
Seven let out a self-mocking laugh, gently pushing out a palm imbued with pure internal energy, dispersing all the Weakness Powder fragrance before him.
"You... you noticed everything!"
Meihua Shisan's pupils contracted sharply, a barely noticeable blush flashing across her face as she bit her red lip.
"Didn't your master tell you? I was once Xuanwu Kingdom's strongest Shadow Assassin, who has killed countless types of targets." Seven looked at Meihua Shisan, a trace of faint sorrow in his eyes.
"But..."
Meihua Shisan stared into Seven's eyes. For some reason, she felt a tearing pain in her heart.
"Why didn't you dodge that strike just now?!"
A clear, questioning, trembling inquiry, or perhaps one for which she already knew the answer, was uttered word by word from Meihua Shisan's lips.
That's right.
The sword strike she just made, aimed directly at Seven's life… he was fully capable of dodging it.
He might even have been able to grab the hilt and instantly kill her instead.
But,
The man before her stood straight there, not moving an inch.
Why?
Wasn't he afraid she would really kill him?
"Then, why didn't you thrust down?"
Seven said plainly.
The sorrow in his eyes rippled out in waves of mixed emotions, carrying a faint, salty scent that drifted in the air.
'I...'
Meihua Shisan's right hand trembled uncontrollably. The words reached her throat but simply wouldn't come out.
'Say it!'
'Tell him you are following your master's orders to take his Thousand Demon Daggers.'
'Tell him that from the very beginning, your goal was to find the Shadow Assassin Seven on Chicken Island and assassinate him.'
'Tell him everything!'
'But why...'
'Such a simple sentence felt like a steel needle stuck in my throat, impossible to utter?'
"You can't do it, can you?"
Seven's right hand gently flicked, his index finger sending out a powerful internal force that sent Meihua Shisan's sword flying.
"Sigh..."
He let out a long breath.
The Group Owner's words echoed repeatedly in his heart.
Make a clean break. Right now.
The wind blew, the lotuses bloomed.
A small bird quietly perched on a tender petal, emitting a clear chirp.
In this fairy-tale-like scene,
Seven's low, slightly weathered voice, carrying a hint of Wu Liuqi's playfulness, slowly spoke.
"Miss Plum Blossom, do you... like me?"
A whisper startled the bird resting on the lotus.
The bird flew, the flower stirred, the pond rippled, the heart was thrown into disarray.
"…"
Meihua Shisan was stunned.
On her cold, exquisite face, a flash of shy redness appeared momentarily.
But it quickly faded.
Her master's orders, her hatred for her father, her desire to become stronger...
Scenes from the past surfaced before her eyes one by one.
In the end, the assassin's heart she had maintained for sixteen years still conquered that hazy affection.
"I'm sorry."
She looked at Seven, biting her red lip tightly, forcing out three words from between her constricted throat, enduring the heart-wrenching pain.
"'I'm sorry,' huh? Heh, I understand."
Seven laughed. A self-mocking laugh, a carefree laugh.
He wore that white hoodie, just like during their first meeting.
As he left, he scratched his calf with his slipper, exuding that goofy aura, just like their first meeting.
Finally, he left behind only one candid sentence, echoing incessantly in Meihua Shisan's heart.
"Miss Plum Blossom, I liked you. I have liked you."