Chapter 62: Do you really think I won't kill you?

Wang Yang groped around, pulled the candle off the bronze candlestick, and said:

"First, you knocked over the bamboo pole propping the window when you jumped in. Second, my voice didn't sound like someone who was asleep. Third, he left too decisively. Although he didn't ask to enter the room at the time, he was already suspicious in his heart. Since he was suspicious, he would definitely come to investigate."

The young lady asked again: "Then you took off... why?"

"The room is only this big, and the gauze curtains aren't thick. With the firelight, one look would reveal the problem! I took them off so their attention would be entirely on me, and they wouldn't dare to look closely. It was also a stroke of luck that you happened to knock over the paper and the candlestick."

As Wang Yang spoke, he hid the candlestick in his right sleeve.

"So what if the paper and candlestick were knocked over?"

"Uh... that's very complicated, it's hard to explain clearly in a moment." Wang Yang replied vaguely, pulling his sleeve down a bit.

The gauze curtain was pushed aside. The young lady stepped off the bed and sat down opposite Wang Yang, her gaze cold: "I ask, you answer. You are not allowed to lie."

Wang Yang said solemnly: "You saved my little sister yesterday; you have a great kindness toward me, so of course I won't speak falsely. Just ask away; I will tell you everything I know, without holding anything back."

"Name, identity."

"My surname is Liu, given name Bi, and I am a student at the Jingzhou Commandery School." Wang Yang said without changing his expression.

"Do you know Jiao Zheng?"

"I just met him today."

"What did you come to his house for?"

"To settle a score with him."

"Settle what score?"

"He tampered with the military register and transferred one of my subordinates to an outer commandery."

The two asked and answered without a single pause.

The young lady stopped talking and stared at Wang Yang, as if judging something.

Wang Yang secretly pondered a strategy to escape.

"Is he very afraid of you? Are you from a noble clan?" The young lady suddenly asked.

"I am from the Nieyang Liu clan. 'Afraid' is not the word; at most, there is a bit of respect on the surface."

Claiming to be from a noble clan was to make this woman have some scruples, but he worried that if he set his status too high, he would become a 'rare commodity to be hoarded.' So, Wang Yang swapped in the Nieyang Liu clan persona. He had been with Liu Zhao for the past few days, so if the young lady asked in detail about the Nieyang Liu clan, he could handle a few questions.

The young lady's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly: "You are not from the Nieyang Liu clan."

Wang Yang's heart skipped a beat, but he put on a bewildered look: "Ah?"

"Yesterday in the market, you boasted and told the Commandery School Libationer Liu Zhao to come see you. If you were of the same clan as Liu Zhao, you shouldn't have addressed him by his full name."

Right, I forgot about that. A mistake.

Wang Yang laughed: "Don't look at me as being young; my seniority is higher than Liu Zhao's. I am his fifth cousin. When there are no outsiders around, I always call him by his courtesy name, 'Mingyang.' Yesterday in the market, I was worried others wouldn't know who I meant, which is why I used his full name."

Mr. Liu, my apologies! I didn't mean to take advantage of you!

The young lady did not pursue the matter further, seemingly accepting this explanation. She lowered her eyes, not knowing what she was thinking.

Wang Yang took the opportunity to say: "The guards outside should have relaxed by now. The heroine can take this chance to sneak out. If you wait until dawn, it won't be easy to leave."

"Don't trouble yourself with that. Call someone now. Tell the servants in the residence to summon Jiao Zheng to your room, saying you have important business to discuss. Remember, only let Jiao Zheng enter alone."

Wang Yang thought, 'This is bad,' and demurred: "It's so late, why would he listen to me? He definitely won't come."

The young lady swept a cold glance at Wang Yang: "Jiao Zheng is a man who covets vanity and clings to noble clans. You are from the Nieyang Liu clan; if you summon him with business, he will definitely come."

Wang Yang hurriedly said: "This time is different. He previously led people to search for your whereabouts and is still on alert. If I suddenly summon him, he will definitely be suspicious—"

"No matter, go call him."

Wang Yang said with a concerned and urgent tone: "If he is suspicious, he will definitely bring people—"

The young lady interrupted directly: "Don't worry about any of that. Call him here now."

"But—"

The young lady revealed a dagger, its cold light flashing:

"Young Master Liu, please understand, I am not discussing this with you."

Wang Yang didn't know what would happen if Jiao Zheng came, but if weapons were drawn, it would inevitably cause collateral damage. In the chaos, while he might have a chance to escape, there was also no small amount of risk.

He guessed that this girl might kill Jiao Zheng first and then hold him hostage to charge out of the Jiao residence. Whether she would silence him afterward was hard to say.

Not to mention that Jiao Zheng still had to handle the Blackie matter, Wang Yang didn't want him to die. Just speaking of the fact that if Jiao Zheng were truly harmed, even if he survived, he would be hunted down by the authorities. Once the fake noble status was exposed, it would be a disaster.

Therefore, Wang Yang made up his mind: he absolutely could not do what this woman said!

"I won't go." Wang Yang said straightforwardly.

The young lady frowned, seemingly not expecting Wang Yang, who had been speaking softly and trying to build rapport, to suddenly turn tough.

"Do you really think I won't kill you?"

The young lady raised the dagger and looked coldly, staring until Wang Yang felt a chill throughout his body.

But he smiled slightly and said:

"Of course not, because you aren't stupid. Killing me won't achieve your goal; it has no benefits and would only pointlessly raise Jiao Zheng's guard, making it even harder for you to act later.

Besides, although I am not some high-ranking noble, I am still from a Jingzhou aristocratic family. If something happens to me, the whole city will definitely hunt for the killer, and my family will also seek revenge with all their might.

Although the young lady's skills are good, it might not be easy to escape unscathed."

The young lady didn't answer. With a movement of her hand, the dagger stabbed toward Wang Yang!

She's scaring me!

She must be scaring me!

Killing me is useless for her; it's actually harmful!

And she saved Blackie, so she has a sense of chivalry; she shouldn't...

The dagger stabbed straight forward, with no intention of stopping!

Wang Yang's smile vanished, his pupils shrinking rapidly!

Is this the end for me???!

The dagger's tip, fast as the wind, stopped abruptly right in front of Wang Yang's eyeball, without the slightest tremor, as if it were a precision-controlled machine—stopping the moment it was told to.

"I thought you weren't afraid at all."

The young lady looked at Wang Yang's bloodless face and slowly retracted the dagger.

Wang Yang swallowed, only then realizing that the clothes behind his back were soaked with sweat!

He thought to himself that he had to find a way to solve his 'combat-level-five-scum' status; this weakness was sometimes fatal!

"You said before that I saved that little girl, so you owe me a great debt. Aren't you going to repay it?"

Wang Yang steadied his mind and said: "I want to repay the debt, but I never repay debts in a muddled way."

"What counts as 'not muddled'?" The young lady's gaze was cold and deep.

"You want me to call Jiao Zheng into the room alone; what do you want to do?" Wang Yang countered.

"Abduct him." The young lady spat out the two words simply.

Huh? It's not killing him?

"Abduct Jiao Zheng for what?" Wang Yang asked again.

"I want to ask him one thing."

"What thing?"

The young lady didn't answer, just looked coldly at Wang Yang.

Wang Yang said:

"If you want me to help, you have to let me know the cause and effect so I can judge whether I can help you. You don't say anything and just ask me to help; how can I help? I'm the type who's like a donkey—if you lead me, I won't go; if you beat me, I'll back up! When I should help, even if it involves a massive risk, I won't hesitate! But my only requirement is: don't treat me like a fool!"

His voice was hearty and bold, the demeanor of a man of character.

But in his heart, he thought: 'Are you kidding? If I help you abduct a court official, then I really am a fool!'

The reason he wanted to ask for details was, first, to stall for time and ease the deadlock. Second, to probe the other party's background to formulate countermeasures and find weaknesses.

The young lady stared at Wang Yang, and Wang Yang didn't show any cowardice, staring right back!

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Author's Note: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding—Jia holds the top position. In the context of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the use of 'Jia Clan' was very strict, specifically referring to first-class noble families, distinct from second- or third-rate aristocratic families. Some academic works expand the concept of the Jia Clan to be used as 'aristocratic families' (such as Mr. Fan Wenlan's *Abridged General History of China*), losing the original meaning of the Jia Clan, which is inaccurate.