The Art of Blackmailing

[Learned from your previous generation?] At those words, the young man's body immediately stiffened. His hands behind his back immediately reached for a dagger hidden within his sleeves. A chilling murderous intent coming from his dark eyes.

Anyone who knew of his identity could not be left alive.

Yet when he looked into the girls' eyes, which were pitch black and nearly as deep as the deep sea. There was a strange emotion within him. Her gaze was that of a child just beginning to get to know the world. Children like this were as rare as the pearl among tens of thousands of oysters, growing up in such turbulent times did not bode well for the mind, and they had to mature quicker to carry on the burden inherited from their families. It was not something that children at a young age should bear.

A child her age would have seemed like the mini version of an adult, but there was a sense of curiosity within her eyes, seemingly wanting to know what would happen after saying those words. He could not bear to raise a hand to her.

It would have been easy, this was an enclosed space, he had made it so. Even if she screamed loudly to the top of her lungs until her throat was damaged, his neighbors who resided on the other side of the thin walls would not have cared the slightest. Given if her voice had managed to make it to the end of the alleyway to the street, those that heard her scream would have turned a blind eye anyway.

With this blade that he coated in Ghost Thorn poison, even a grown man would have trouble surviving with the slightest nick of the blade. He did not need to be strong, just quick enough to make a small wound, enough for the toxin to seep into the bloodstream, from then on, he would not have to worry about that specific threat any longer.

The grip on the dagger loosened as he stared at the child in front of him. He silently looked at her small stature and told himself she was not a huge threat, and the words she said had not meant anything.

Seeing his face that seemed to be making the most difficult choice in his life, her smile stiffened. Could he have been moved by her outer appearance? This made her wonder if he would make a move if she had been taller and looked more domineering. She was certain that behind his back, he held on to something that was coated in a combination of deadly toxins. What better way to administer it than through a cut, directly introducing it to the bloodstream.

"Li Yang." She called him, as though knowing him. His face was one that she remembered clearly. She had seen it while in Lin Zhi city on the fugitive posters, along with the many other faces that were drawn out. There was a resemblance, she had to give the artist that.

"Do not think that I will not kill you, I can do it very easily." He said as the dagger hidden was shown in an obscured view.

"Oh?" Her hand reached towards the arm that was well hidden by his sleave, pulling on it, until she saw that within his palm was a dagger that was barely the length of three inches, its metal body giving off a cold gleam under the dimmed light of the room.

"What if I told you that I had a friend that would report you to the authorities if I don't come out safely?" Xue'er said.

"What if I carry out my actions and escape to Northern Wei?" He asked the question.

"If you could do it safely then I'm sure you would have done it long ago." Xue'er said cheerfully.

The young man froze in shock at her words, sure enough, she had seen thoroughly. He watched her play with the blade full of curiosity. Perhaps he should have attempted to stop her, but she seemed to be enjoying the dagger a little too much.

Her hand ran against the blade that shone with a dark sheen that gleamed dangerously in the light. The blade had been freshly sharpened, such that it was able to split her delicate flesh easily, allowing a dark crimson liquid to come out of her skin. Xue'er stared at the new wound on her finger. The expression on her face told that she was not in the slightest bit of distress. She placed the wounded finger in her mouth not allowing her blood to fall on the floor.

Her smile as she was carefully sucking on her wounded finger was that of a child eating their favorite candy.

"Would you really?" She asked, giving him a quick glance.

"Are you okay…?" He asked as he knew how lethal the poison on his blade was. He was not in a mood to answer her question.

Xue'er nodded and removed her finger from her mouth. The blood had already stopped, and the only thing left on her finger was a dark-colored wound.

"I want you to help me find someone." Xue'er quickly said as he had begun to give her a sliver of empathy.

"Must you hurt yourself to ask for a favor?" He asked glancing at the wound.

"I think flesh and blood speak volumes, if I did not get hurt, would you help me?" The wound on her finger or the poison coursing through her veins were things she did not fear. Rather it was losing something she enjoyed observing that made her feel uncomfortable.

Li Yang thought for a moment. He himself did not know if he would be so willing to help a stranger. If this were the past, perhaps he would, but now he was unsure. "Who do you want to find?" He grumbled onward. The first thing to do was to hear the girl out first if it was within his means then, why not?

"Xiao Ya, I'm not sure if you have heard of her, but she was kidnapped by the accomplices of the people you call your patients." She calmly said as her gaze that was suddenly filled with nothingness shifted to the curtain.

Li Yang was confused and went over to check, what was revealed were two people who were gasping for air, their faces were blue with hints of blue. It was as though the air they were grasping to take in was choking them at the same time. The sounds that came from their throats were like that of a frog choking on water. It was quite awful to the ears.

"You won't be able to save them." Xue'er said blandly with emotionless eyes. There was not a shred of empathy left within them.

"As their physician who has the patients' trust, I cannot give up." Li Yang said seriously.

"You seriously have not learned from your previous generation. After all that has happened, you still chose the path of being a physician." Xue'er grumbled on, watching him.

"It is what my family has done for generations, my great grandfather, grandfather, father, and uncles have all served within the imperial physician's college, and I don't have anything else I'm good at." He said helplessly.