All Things Are Contracts

The two returned from their shopping trip, each lost in their own thoughts.

“What do you think about the Ghost Shark clan? Their strength is hard to fathom, and each of them has so many rare items. Isn’t that strange?” Zhanyue asked curiously.

Baizhi hadn’t thought that much about it. “You’re asking me? How would I know? The Ghost Shark clan doesn’t move around in the outside world. Even those Spirit God Realm experts can’t come in here. The outside world knows nothing about them.”

“What exactly is in the secret realm? They’re willing to exchange these treasures, yet absolutely don’t allow us to take anything out of the secret realm,” Zhanyue felt increasingly that this place was full of oddities everywhere.

“We’ll only know after we’ve been to the secret realm. Let’s go back first.” The sky was gradually darkening, but this place had no worries about Nightmares, it was truly a blessed land.

Although it was his own room, Zhanyue was now locked outside. He waited silently with a bitter smile. After a while, the door finally opened.

No longer in all-black robes, she was now wearing a green dress. Her hair was coiled up into a butterfly bun, with some strands falling over her shoulders. Her pretty face was tinged with a few streaks of red, like sunset glow on jade. Her small face was adorned with delicate features, and her bright eyes were somewhat evasive. If the illumination Goddess had a cold and noble aura like Chang’e in the moon palace, then Baizhi before him was more like a harmless and cute jade rabbit. Even Zhanyue, who had seen incomparable beauties, was stunned for a moment. Only now did he understand what ‘pitiful even at a glance’ meant. This appearance naturally evoked a sense of protectiveness in Zhanyue. Compared to that otherworldly beauty, Baizhi had more of a touching charm, more like a delicate and boneless nation-toppling enchantress.

Zhanyue swallowed and said, “Do you still have any of those poison pills? Maybe you should take another one.” Zhanyue joked.

Baizhi said irritably, “Come in first before you speak.”

Closing the door, Zhanyue had a mistaken feeling of hiding a beauty in a golden house. This girl was so beautiful, it was indeed dangerous for her to be alone outside, no wonder she had disguised herself all the way.

“This counts as fulfilling your request. You’ve seen what I look like. I’m only sharing a room with you out of necessity, it would be more troublesome outside. But I have plenty of life-saving methods, you’d better not have any ideas about me, otherwise…” Baizhi glared fiercely at Zhanyue, extending two fingers in a scissor gesture, the implication clear without words.

Zhanyue just smiled without speaking. Baizhi was at the ninth stage of Soul Control, with who knew how many secrets. If they really fought, he might not be able to beat her. It’s just that this girl was obviously too naive. How much scheming could someone who could hide in someone else’s room and cry in the blanket have?

“Mm-hmm, now I’m more curious about why you ran away from home, and why you’re seeking an eighth-grade pill formula here?” Zhanyue asked curiously.

Baizhi seemed about to speak but then stopped, unsure whether to tell Zhanyue.

“What? You’re willing to share a room with me but still don’t trust me? How do you plan to buy that eighth-grade pill formula? Tell me the whole story, maybe I can help you,” Zhanyue said.

Although Baizhi didn’t believe Zhanyue could help her much, she had been wanting to express some of her troubles for a long time.

“You already know, I’m from the Bai family of the Thousand Beauties Women’s Kingdom. My grandfather was the former family head. He and my father went to explore a secret realm and then disappeared without a trace. My mother passed away when I was very young, and my grandmother is seriously ill, always secluding herself and not seeing outsiders, with no power in her hands. The current head of the Bai family is my second uncle, my grandfather’s younger brother. He’s a seventh-grade alchemist, and also a Spirit God Realm powerhouse,” Baizhi narrated.

Zhanyue nodded, guessing the subsequent developments in his heart. This second uncle must not be simple.

“Originally, my second uncle was also extremely good to me. Compared to my grandfather who had to consider the thoughts of other family members, my second uncle, to compensate for my loss of parents, gave me double the resources within the family and was willing to fulfill any request I had. Until one day, that person came to our door,” Baizhi’s eyes dimmed.

“He’s a seventh-grade alchemist without any backing, an old monster. Somehow he took a liking to me and actually came to propose marriage, with the bride price being the formula for an eighth-grade pill. You should know that none of the four great families have an eighth-grade alchemist. It’s not because of insufficient talent, but because without an eighth-grade pill formula, there’s no chance to even attempt breaking through to the eighth grade. My second uncle’s alchemy talent is also extremely good. He naturally wants to push towards becoming an eighth-grade alchemist. If he could advance to eighth-grade alchemist, our Bai family would firmly sit on the throne of the first family, and the price was just me,” Baizhi bit her red lips, her eyes dim.

“That old monster calls himself the Golden Pill Immortal, notorious for his lechery. Everyone knows he’s already married 98 wives and concubines. I don’t know where he got the eighth-grade pill formula from, or when he set his sights on me. Knowing that my Bai family is not easy to offend and he couldn’t use force, he actually used the formula to exchange for me.”

“At first, my second uncle didn’t agree. He was afraid, afraid that my grandfather would suddenly return and he wouldn’t be able to explain. Until one day, he seemed to have learned some information and actually had the idea of agreeing to the Golden Pill Immortal’s proposal. I naturally didn’t want to become the 99th concubine of that Golden Pill Immortal, so I cried to my grandmother. Grandmother, seriously ill, had long stopped managing affairs and naturally couldn’t help me much, but she did find a way to help me escape from the Bai family. However, I didn’t expect that my second uncle had already left a backup plan, planting a mark in my spirit veins. No matter how I ran, someone could always catch up,” Baizhi revealed everything.

Zhanyue stared at Baizhi’s face carefully, looking until Baizhi’s face turned completely red.

“That Golden Pill Immortal, if nothing else, at least knows how to appreciate. He’s willing to exchange an eighth-grade pill formula for you,” Zhanyue sighed, then said, “You learned about Ghost Island and got insider information about the Blood Jade Token, so you desperately bid for the token. You want to find an eighth-grade pill formula yourself, then give it to your second uncle, making him refuse the Golden Pill Immortal’s request, right?” Zhanyue finally understood why Baizhi was so nervous at that time, terrified of not winning the Blood Jade Token.

“Yes, my second uncle just wants to break through to eighth-grade alchemist. If I can give him an eighth-grade pill formula, I would naturally be free,” Baizhi nodded.

“Well, let me ask, is there a possibility,” Zhanyue said with a dark face, “Even if you get an eighth-grade pill formula, he still insists on marrying you off to that old monster to exchange for a second eighth-grade formula? That’s an eighth-grade formula, who wouldn’t want more?”

Hearing this, Baizhi’s face turned pale, without a trace of color. “No… it can’t be. Second uncle just wants to break through to eighth-grade alchemist. If I’ve already given him an eighth-grade formula, he… he wouldn’t…” Baizhi spoke with increasing uncertainty, she really couldn’t guarantee.

“So you misjudged the problem from the beginning. If your second uncle really cared about you, even if you didn’t give him an eighth-grade formula, he absolutely wouldn’t let you marry the Golden Pill Immortal. After all, you yourself are a genius. In the end, you’re not his real granddaughter, and with your talent, you might become the head of the Bai family again in the future. Using the reason of the Bai family’s interests to marry you off, no one would dare oppose. This is killing two birds with one stone. How would he change just because you bring back an eighth-grade formula? It would just let him kill three birds with one stone,” Zhanyue said. The interests of great families are complex and intertwined, how could Baizhi, a blank sheet of paper, figure it out?

Hearing Zhanyue’s words, the simple-minded Baizhi seemed to lose her soul. All along, she had thought that as long as she brought back an eighth-grade pill formula, all problems would be solved. However, at this moment she realized that even if she took an eighth-grade formula back, she could still be exchanged for another eighth-grade formula. The problem wasn’t solved at all.

A clear tear flowed from her bright eyes. Baizhi cried again, suddenly leaving Zhanyue at a loss.

“Look, you’re a genius in the way of pills, a person at the ninth stage of Soul Control. How can you be such a crybaby? Please stop crying,” Zhanyue hurriedly said. However, Baizhi’s crying only grew louder, her pretty face wet with tears, like a pear blossom in the rain, moving one’s heart. Zhanyue only felt heartache, secretly sighing that after all, it was he who had made her cry.

“Stop crying. Crying won’t give you extra points. Let’s think of a solution together,” Zhanyue comforted.

Baizhi raised her head, looking at Zhanyue through teary eyes, “What solution do you have?”

“In the end, it’s because your strength is too weak. No matter how talented you are, it’s still just talent. Of course, at your age, it’s impossible to be too strong. Now, to solve your problem, there’s only one way: find a backer, a backer who can make decisions for you. And this backer needs to meet two conditions. First, this backer must be more powerful than the Bai family. Second, this backer must not harm you,” Zhanyue analyzed.

Baizhi’s eyes widened, then dimmed again, “Who could this backer you’re talking about be? I’m not familiar with the Myriad Steeds Trading Company, and they might not offend two seventh-grade alchemists for my sake.”

“Who says it has to be the Myriad Steeds Trading Company? The world is vast, could your Bai family be the biggest? Although I don’t know where your backer is now, with your talent, it’s not impossible to find protection. Don’t underestimate yourself. Don’t think too much about it now, focus more on how to get some points. Use those points to improve yourself, or if you really have a chance to exchange for an eighth-grade pill formula, it will be easier for you to find a backer,” Zhanyue replied.

Hope rekindled in Baizhi’s eyes. She wiped away her tears and retreated to the inner room. Lying on the bed, she carefully analyzed Zhanyue’s words, pondering how to find a backer for herself. Not long after, a fragrant smell wafted into the inner room. Baizhi, hungry for a day, finally couldn’t resist and came out.

Although Zhanyue had once disapproved of the Mountain Goblin Clan using the Earth Mother Golden Cauldron for cooking, he was now doing the same thing. There was no help for it, the food made in the Earth Mother Golden Cauldron was really damn delicious.

“This cauldron? Isn’t this an alchemy cauldron? And it doesn’t seem to be an ordinary one. You’re actually using it to cook soup? You… you…” Baizhi was furious. As a genius in the way of pills, how could she stand to see such behavior?

Zhanyue ignored her and instead took a bamboo bowl, ladled a bowl of soup with a wooden spoon, and handed it to Baizhi.

Baizhi took the hot soup. Although she was still a bit angry, she couldn’t resist her hunger and thirst and drank it down.

“How is it?” Zhanyue asked.

“Not… not bad,” Baizhi said with a red face, her tongue licking her lips. She handed the empty bowl back to Zhanyue, “I didn’t taste it properly just now. Give me another bowl to try.”

Zhanyue didn’t expose this girl’s little trick. “When I use this for refining pills, it’s an alchemy cauldron. When I use it for cooking, it’s just a pot. A tool doesn’t have any thoughts of its own, after all, it’s not human, it can’t resist. But you’re different. I really like your courage to run away from home alone.”

With that, Zhanyue handed over another bowl full of soup.

Drinking the soup, both Baizhi’s stomach and heart felt warm. It had been a very, very long time since she had felt this kind of warmth.

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