On the second floor of the Willow Tea House in Yangzhou’s old district, tucked into a window seat, sat Teng Qingshan, his glasses perched on his nose. Before him, on the table, rested a cup of soy milk and a bamboo steamer of buns.

“My movements have been exposed; assassins will likely find me within the next day or two.” Teng Qingshan knew too well the immense power of the world's foremost intelligence organization, the 'Hand of Darkness.' An’yi County was merely a small administrative division under Yangzhou’s jurisdiction. He had only traveled from the county seat to the city center, over a hundred kilometers away, last night. It wasn't that he couldn't flee; it was because he didn't want to.

Because, in Yangzhou, was the person he most wanted to see!

“Qinghe!”

Teng Qingshan gazed toward an old, two-story residence in the distance.

He finished the buns, drained the soy milk, and even ordered a pot of tea, sipping it slowly while he waited. The tea was refilled three times; it was already eleven in the morning, yet the person he wished to see had not appeared.

“Time to go back.”

Teng Qingshan paid the bill and immediately left the tea house, returning to his temporary lodgings in Yangzhou.

……

This residence was located in the western district of Yangzhou. On the open market, such a dwelling might rent for about one thousand yuan a month, yet Teng Qingshan only needed it for three months, but he handed over ten thousand. The landlord asked no further questions about his ID and offered no complaints. With that amount of money offered, what more could the landlord possibly fear?

In the living room, Teng Qingshan was reclining on the sofa, having just poured himself a cup of tea, when his phone rang. Teng Qingshan frowned slightly.

This phone was purchased temporarily; only two people knew his number: Lin Qing, and Aunt Liu from the welfare home. He had bought the phone specifically to maintain contact with the welfare home.

“Hello, Teng Qingshan, want to grab lunch together?” A familiar voice inquired.

Teng Qingshan shook his head with a wry smile and replied, “I’m sorry, Lin Qing. I’ve already left An’yi County and am out of town now.”

“What?” A gasp came through the phone.

“How did you get out of town? Weren’t you just here yesterday…” Lin Qing sounded agitated.

“Lin Qing, my brother called yesterday saying there was an emergency back home, so I had to rush back to my hometown. Plus, it was already dark, so I didn’t want to bother you with a notification,” Teng Qingshan fabricated an excuse. He didn’t want ordinary people entangled in his world.

“Oh…” Lin Qing’s voice dropped, sounding disappointed. After a pause, she spoke again, “Teng Qingshan, where is your hometown? Maybe I can travel there sometime.”

“My hometown is in remote mountains; you wouldn’t know it even if I told you,” Teng Qingshan said. “Lin Qing, when I come back to An’yi County in the future, I’ll definitely look for you. Oh, I need to go eat lunch now; let’s chat again when we have time and opportunity.” With that, Teng Qingshan hung up.

Teng Qingshan let out a self-mocking laugh and tossed the phone onto the table.

Then, he reached inside his collar and took out a small, black tripod ding, no larger than a finger, hanging from his chest. He stroked the little cauldron gently, as if caressing a lover.

“Little Cat, am I not charming enough? I’ve already attracted a girl’s attention so quickly.”

Teng Qingshan stared at the small cauldron, speaking softly to himself, “Little Cat, I stayed in An’yi County for nearly a week. I also saw the Matron Grandma. She is as kind as ever, just like in the old days. Seeing her has fulfilled one of my wishes. Now, only one wish remains: to see my younger brother, Qinghe. Qinghe is in Yangzhou, and I expect I will be able to see him.”

“Once I see my brother Qinghe, I will have no regrets!”

“After that, I will roam the vast expanse of our nation, pursuing the pinnacle of the martial path. Of course, you will be accompanying me along the way!”

Although Teng Qingshan appeared superficially to be a young man fresh out of university, he was, in reality, nearly thirty. It was only because he had achieved an extremely high level in internal martial arts that the calluses and dead skin accumulated from years of harsh cultivation had peeled away, rejuvenating his entire being and making him look much younger.

He picked up his backpack beside him and took out the laptop within.

He plugged it in, powered it on, opened the music player, and then placed the laptop on the desk in front of him.

“I am a wolf from the north, walking in the boundless wilderness, the mournful northern winds blow…” A song by Chyi Yu, Wolf, echoed in the room. This was a favorite song of Teng Qingshan because for nearly two decades, he had only one name: Wolf!

Just as the woman he loved had only one name: Cat!

From the day he was taken to Siberia, Russia, the name ‘Qingshan’ became the past. After enduring numerous trials of life and death, clawing his way out of mounds of corpses, he finally earned a codename: Wolf!

Before the age of seven, he was carefree, a child of the orphanage.

The year he turned seven, he was adopted. He thought life would improve, but instead, he entered hell. He became a candidate assassin for a syndicate. In the first round of screening, a large group of children fought fiercely for mere scraps of food; out of 360 children, only 113 survived. Afterward, he was sent to the terrifying Siberian training camp.

By the age of ten, only 38 of the original 113 remained. He survived through sheer willpower and was bestowed the name: Wolf! That same year, he met his master, a Chinese master of Xingyi Quan named ‘Teng Bolei.’ Teng Bolei took on four disciples, but the other three were merely nominal students; only he was Teng Bolei’s direct disciple! Even the syndicate did not know this.

At sixteen, he returned to the syndicate and began his true journey as an assassin.

Camouflage, stealth—all were learned and sharpened through constant brushes with death.

Throughout those long years, he was always accompanied by a girl his age, ‘Cat.’ They were from the same batch of 360. They survived the screenings together, endured the lethal training together, studied under Master Teng Bolei together, and were together within the syndicate… They supported each other, sharing hardship and reliance.

In the dark journey of assassination, unknowingly, the two of them could no longer live without the other.

The plan was to one day break free from the organization and live a life of freedom together. But—

In the early part of the year he turned 29, the nightmare descended.

The explosion and the fire plunged Teng Qingshan into despair. That time, the other half of his life, a female assassin named ‘Cat,’ died! She was the woman he loved most, the most vital presence in his life! Cat’s death drove Teng Qingshan into absolute madness, transforming him into a vengeful lone wolf, a frenzied lone wolf! He embarked on his revenge without regard for anything!

Kill! Kill the organization's high-ranking officials who formulated the plan!

He went for revenge fully expecting to die, but unexpectedly, in the final, fleeting moments of life and death, his signature flying dagger technique achieved a breakthrough, and he managed to escape the syndicate’s base alive.

……

Cat’s death completely altered Teng Qingshan’s state of mind. His current covert return to his homeland was to see the Matron Grandma, who was like a mother to him, and his biological younger brother, Qinghe. Once these two wishes were fulfilled, Teng Qingshan would have no lingering attachments and could dedicate himself wholly to pursuing the martial path.

……

After listening to the song once, Teng Qingshan took a deep breath, carefully placed the small ding into his inner pocket, closed the music player, and then connected to the broadband. Next, Teng Qingshan skillfully opened a foreign website.

It was filled with English text.

Yet, he clicked and typed with extreme familiarity. He typed the English alphabet with practiced ease.

“It’s always so troublesome to contact Elena; I have to download this ‘Beetle’ software every time.” After downloading the Beetle software, Teng Qingshan installed it on his computer. The Beetle software was a chat tool similar to QQ.

However, the Beetle software was written solely by Teng Qingshan’s friend, ‘Elena.’

If QQ had millions of users, the Beetle chat software had only two users—Elena and Teng Qingshan. This software was purely designed for the two of them to chat.

Upon launching the Beetle software, the entire screen abruptly turned pitch black, showing only two drops of blood-like scarlet beauty before revealing the fields for account and password. After inputting the login details, “Elena!” Teng Qingshan typed in English and waited for a response.

Within moments, the other party replied.

“Wolf! Oh, I should call you Teng Qingshan now.” In a villa in the suburbs of London, England, far away in Europe, a blonde beauty wearing only a bathrobe and barefoot tapped at the keyboard, her eyes shining with excitement.

“Elena, you told me last time that the orphan named ‘Qinghe’ back then is in Yangzhou now, correct?” Teng Qingshan inquired again.

“Of course. Do you doubt my intelligence? At the orphanage, his name was Qinghe. Later, after being adopted by his foster parents, he changed his name to ‘Qin Hong.’ He joined the military the year he graduated high school. He later joined a certain special national department and is now responsible for the Yangzhou region. The address I gave you is definitely correct.” Elena was certain.

Teng Qingshan nodded. He had waited half a day today, and although he hadn't seen his brother, it didn't mean he wasn't in Yangzhou.

“By the way, Wolf, I must remind you one more time! The powerful Redmayne family will never let you leave alive. This trip is tantamount to slapping the Redmayne family across the face. The Scythe of Death organization has accepted the mission to kill you; their two greatest Super-Experts have already infiltrated China. You must be extremely careful. Once your location is exposed, you must flee immediately and far away.”

“Oh, the two greatest Super-Experts of the Scythe of Death? Are they ‘Sharpshooter’ Sun Ze and ‘Body Crusher’ Dolgostrolov?” Teng Qingshan typed his response.

“Clever. It’s those two. These are two S-level assassins, neither weaker than you. You cannot be careless,” Elena warned.

A sharp glint burst in Teng Qingshan’s eyes: “Aside from those two in the Scythe of Death organization, I don’t pay attention to anyone else. But since they’ve come, it’s just in time for a match with me!”

“So arrogant? Tsk, tsk, worthy of being the ‘Flying Dagger’ Lone Wolf. Your fame now is certainly not weaker than theirs, but you are only one person. They are two—one for close combat, one for ranged attacks. Their combined coordination multiplies their power. Wolf, as your friend, I urge you: if your location is exposed, you must flee immediately.” Elena tried to persuade him.

“You’re too late with your advice; my whereabouts were exposed yesterday.” Teng Qingshan wore a peculiar smile. Ever since his wife, ‘Cat,’ died, the thing Teng Qingshan valued most was the martial path. Being able to fight against Super-Experts was something he deeply desired.

“What? It’s already leaked? Run, quickly!” Elena urged anxiously.

“Why run? Haha! I am right here in Yangzhou, quietly waiting for those two… to come and fight me!” Teng Qingshan’s gaze sharpened.

His wife was dead; he had no ties left. At this point, what else did Teng Qingshan have to fear?

No matter how many people came, Teng Qingshan would meet them!

At worst, he would stake everything right here in this small city of Yangzhou, quietly waiting for the world’s Super-Experts to arrive—one by one, he would fight them, two by two, he would kill them both!

“I really want to see who can kill me!” Teng Qingshan’s eyes were as sharp as blades.