Chapter Sixty-Eight: Wang Ying
“Is it really possible? Are you really willing to save me? I, I want to hear!”
After Luxianbei expressed her willingness to extend a helping hand, the gentle murmurs in her ears trembled with excitement.
It was clear that her response delighted the Inheritance Beast beyond expectation.
“You seem very happy?” Luxianbei asked in reply.
“Mm mm!” The Inheritance Beast responded twice.
“Then you’re too happy too soon!” Luxianbei said calmly. While speaking, she quietly released a faint charm ability to slightly increase the success rate of convincing the Inheritance Beast.
He was just a bit mentally immature; it wasn’t that he had an intelligence problem. Not using some tactics, Luxianbei worried she wouldn’t be able to persuade him easily.
“I will save you, but it comes at a cost.”
In the seconds following the departure of the Proxy Player Sister and before opening her mouth to question the Inheritance Beast, Luxianbei’s mind churned as she weighed how to persuade him to sign the contract.
Thinking from another’s perspective, if it were her being long-term controlled and imprisoned by some dark force, suddenly encountering a stranger claiming to be able to save her, what would she think?
Luxianbei concluded that there must be a price; this would make it seem more credible. Showing kindness for no reason would rather make it more suspicious.
Most of the time, what is free is the most expensive.
Moreover, even if the Inheritance Beast were truly naive enough to unconditionally trust the goodwill from a stranger claiming to be a ghost story, Luxianbei would not unconditionally trust the Inheritance Beast.
If she couldn’t impose certain limitations on his behaviors post-rescue before helping him escape the Solar Eclipse Society’s control, it would be better to let him fend for himself.
He had already shown incredible destructiveness under the control of the Solar Eclipse Society and had done many frightening things—who could guarantee that after granting him freedom, he wouldn’t go out of control?
One couldn’t just believe he was really harmless because he looked harmless, right?
Even a giant panda escaping from a zoo could cause significant destruction, let alone a disaster-class ghost story like the Inheritance Beast.
Often, one unintentional act of his could cause a disastrous calamity!
Only children would believe strangers they met for the first time so easily, while adults typically value stability, Luxianbei thought.
“…”
The suspended Inheritance Beast’s chest slightly heaved as he murmured, “A cost?”
Just as Luxianbei had thought, if she directly proposed to offer help, the Inheritance Beast would indeed doubt her motives.
It wasn’t because he had a deep scheming mind, but because from the day he was born in that white room, he had not received any goodwill and thus did not dare to believe it.
In the beginning, to survive, he had to obey the caretaker’s arrangements.
Later, to avoid torment, he had to conform to the will of the Solar Eclipse Society.
Now, to gain limited freedom, he had to meet Luxianbei’s demands.
Everything requires a price; that’s only reasonable.
After a brief silence, the Inheritance Beast tentatively inquired, “So, what is the cost?”
“The cost is that you must sign a contract.” Luxianbei paused for a moment and added, “A contract similar in function to a Family Mark.”
“And then? Then I won’t have to help you do anything?” the Inheritance Beast pressed.
Yes! After signing the contract, demanding him to do some things would be more reasonable… Luxianbei thought to herself and raised a finger, “First, you must restrain your instinct to copy the powers of spiritual ability users and ghost stories…”
This was the most crucial limitation; the Inheritance Beast’s unrestrained instinct to replicate abilities was the source of his destructiveness.
“Second, find a way to recite ‘The Book of Siye’ for me!? Then… I haven’t thought of the others yet; I’ll let you know once I do.”
“If you’re willing to accept my terms…”
“I agree!”
Before Luxianbei could finish her words, the Inheritance Beast decisively gave a positive response without hesitation.
He hadn’t even managed to fully comprehend Luxianbei’s plan before instinctively feeling that he had been saved.
He had stayed in darkness and despair for too long; surviving to this point without collapsing was nothing short of a miracle.
In such circumstances, if a beam of light, however faint, suddenly appeared before him, he would seize it without hesitation.
To survive is the instinct of all living beings, and the Inheritance Beast was no exception.
“What the heck?” Luxianbei was taken aback.
I haven’t even had the chance to enchant you yet, and you just gave in?
It was like a delusional old maid who, wanting to get married, simply said “I agree” because a man showed up.
With such eagerness to agree, I suddenly suspect your motives aren’t pure!
Luxianbei thought, opening her mouth, ready to say something to the Inheritance Beast when, at that moment, the Proxy Player Sister’s voice unexpectedly sounded in her mind.
“Little brother, I’ve taken care of it here; I’ve found the contract for sale. What’s your situation over there now?”
Luxianbei paused and responded in her mind, “The first stage of conversation therapy is over; give me another minute.”
“Then hurry up! I’ll take this time to amend the contract.” the Proxy Player Sister said, “Call me when it’s done.”
“Got it!”
…
Seeing that Luxianbei had been silent for a long time, the Inheritance Beast anxiously repeated his earlier words, “I said I agree!”
Halfway through, his voice suddenly weakened slightly, “After all, my current situation is already the worst it can be; it can’t get any worse, can it?”
Moreover, he vaguely felt that if he missed this opportunity, he might never escape the control of the Solar Eclipse Society again.
Luxianbei, “…”
In fact, she could understand the Inheritance Beast’s feelings.
His situation was like hers in the boiler room of the Flower Language Sunshine Resort Hotel, swallowing the Witch’s Egg; it seemed like they still had a choice but actually had none.
They were both almost at the end, struggling desperately to see if there was any chance of rescue.
After a brief silence, she collected herself and looked at the bound Inheritance Beast, saying seriously, “Very well, then let’s sign the contract first?”
With that, she immediately called out in her mind to the Proxy Player Sister, “Proxy Player, initiate the contract!”
“Got it!”
As the voice of the Proxy Player Sister echoed in her mind, a distortion of light and shadows appeared in the palm of Luxianbei’s slightly raised right hand, followed by a golden scroll materializing out of thin air.
————
At the same time Luxianbei handed the Moonlight Project Contract to the Inheritance Beast, at Zhenwu Mountain, inside the gates of Dachunyang Palace.
In a pavilion by the cliff, two people sat facing each other across an octagonal table.
One wore a deep blue robe, had an aged appearance, with white hair and beard, and a perpetually faint smile at the corners of his mouth—this was Zhang Hainan, the Chief Priest of Dachunyang Palace.
The other appeared to be in his early forties, with a tall, imposing figure radiating a sense of sharpness. His dark complexion wore a pair of metallic-framed glasses that disguised his gaze, which sparkled like stars.
“I wonder why the Black Emperor invited me to Dachunyang Palace today?”
“Eh! No need for formalities. The General joked.” Zhang Hainan waved his hand, “It’s just that I haven’t played chess in a while, and I’m itching to; I invited you over just to have a match.”
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man called the General frowned deeply.
Many people in the Siye Society knew that Zhang Hainan, the Chief Priest of Dachunyang Palace, was a terrible chess player who enjoyed cheating. Ever since a game three years ago with another disaster-class spiritual ability user ended in rage when the opponent smashed the board, no one had played with him since.
Seeing the General remained silent for a long time, Zhang Hainan’s eyes darted around, and he waved his hand.
A chessboard and two boxes of pieces suddenly appeared on the octagonal table.
Seeing this, the General silently sighed, took the black pieces, and made his move.
Zhang Hainan chuckled, adjusted his clothing, sat up straight, and then made his move.
As soon as a piece landed, a rich, suffocating moisture spread from the chessboard, filling the entire pavilion.
The General paused for a moment, looked up at Zhang Hainan, his gaze slightly sharpened.
At this moment, he suddenly realized that Zhang Hainan’s invitation to play chess might not be just a matter of itchiness.
So, when playing his second move, he was completely alert.
“Clack!”
With the sound of the pieces colliding with the board, a sharp energy surged out, instantly dispelling the moisture surrounding them.
“Recently, things have been unsettled at Shanhaiguan!” Zhang Hainan remarked.
“Mm, but they’re all small fry; you don’t need to worry, Senior.”
“Oh.” Zhang Hainan nodded in relief.
“I heard that last month, two cities in Thailand vanished overnight, with no survivors? Truly alarming!”
“Hmph!” The General snorted coldly, tauntingly replying, “You also know those Thais have always been restless; they love to dabble in the underhanded.”
“Yeah, relying on ghost stories to channel energy, it was only a matter of time before something went wrong.” Zhang Hainan sighed, “They should have sent people to guard the borders, right? Let me know if you need anything.”
“Mm.” The General replied, his face slightly pale, beads of sweat gradually forming on his forehead.
He knew that his ability was slightly weaker than Zhang Hainan’s, but the characteristics of his spirit patterns did not allow him to surrender without a fight, forcing him to endure with clenched teeth.
The two fell silent for a long while, focusing on their game.
It seemed like a simple match, but with the intermittent sounds of pieces being placed, the energy fluctuations within the pavilion intensified, causing the supporting pillars to tremble, emitting a low hum.
As time ticked by, it was unclear whether Zhang Hainan had become somewhat rusty from not playing chess for too long or was intentionally accommodating; the black pieces gradually took the upper hand on the board.
Just as it seemed the black pieces were about to turn their advantage into victory, the General felt a strange sensation rise within him.
However, before he could delve into the source of that unusual feeling, a series of “clatter, clatter” sounds echoed in his ears.
Following the noise, a huge hand inexplicably pressed on the chessboard, chaotically moving the pieces. The pieces wrapped in energy fluctuations flew in all directions with each clash of energy.
“There’s a bug, d*mn it, a bug flew onto the board!”
“Clatter, clatter—!”
“Uh-oh, hitting a bug has messed up the pieces; how do we count this? How about we call this one a draw?”
Sensing the energy draw as the pieces flew, the General froze momentarily and quickly looked up at Zhang Hainan, who had transformed from a dignified Chief Priest into a rogue, his expression complex, momentarily speechless.
I™ was about to win, and you’re telling me it’s a draw?
“Let’s play another round! I won’t go easy this time; we’ll play seriously.” Zhang Hainan urged.
“…” The General remained silent for two seconds, wanting to tell Zhang Hainan to “get lost,” but ultimately blandly uttered a “good.”
As the most senior and powerful disaster-class spiritual ability user within the Siye Society, even if Zhang Hainan was being a sore loser, everyone would forgive him to some extent.
Seeing the General agreeing, Zhang Hainan glanced outside the window from the corner of his eye, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
In that case, that man won’t come after me, right?
————
On the other side.
In a shattered mental island, a girl with fiery red hair slowly extended the scroll in her hand towards the pale, emaciated figure before her.
Her delicate fingers unfurling the golden scroll revealed dense characters that looked like a variant of some form of script.
【…under witness of the General, this contract is established as a medium of power source…
We willingly offer our lives and freedom for the cause of the Solar Eclipse Society…】
Luxianbei’s gaze swept across the Moonlight Project Contract, and upon seeing the contents she had studied numerous times, her pupils suddenly constricted, and her heartbeat quickened slightly.
In less than a second of looking at the scroll, the text quietly shifted.
Originally concerning the General and the Solar Eclipse Society, the content faded away in the blink of an eye, followed by the golden scroll, where fiery red patterns emerged, resembling an electric plating and replacing the text with “Calamity” and Wang Buliu.
Luxianbei, “…What the heck! Can this thing really be modified and used on the spot? Can’t it be more professional?”
Just as Luxianbei silently complained, the Inheritance Beast, mustering all its strength, struggled to point a finger at the scroll, writing down…
“Um, if I don’t have a name, what should I write?” the Inheritance Beast weakly asked Luxianbei, “Should I write my old number? Or what those people called me?”
“No name?” Luxianbei pondered, “If you don’t mind, how about I give you a name?”
“…” The Inheritance Beast hesitated a moment, making what would be the most regrettable decision of his life, “Um, thank you.”
See, the victim is still thanking them!
“Whoo—!”
Luxianbei took a deep breath, calmly exercising her naming talent, and solemnly said, “I will grant you a name; from now on, you shall be called… let’s call you Wang Ying!”
In terms of foreign naming conventions, that’s “Yingying Wang”… Luxianbei added silently in her mind.
“Wang Ying…” The Inheritance Beast repeated, delighted, “That’s a very nice name!”
As he spoke, he used his pale finger to write three wobbly characters on the golden scroll.
At the moment he finished writing, golden flames erupted from the scroll, instantly engulfing it, then continued to spread, climbing up his arm, and burrowing into his body…
