The Ascension of Contracted Spirits

Chapter 43 - 42: Breaking the Chain_1

Perhaps it was a brief moment, or perhaps it spanned a millennium.

Coming to his senses, the Ancient Stone gate seemed to have been erased by the gods, leaving not even a trace in the real world.

Ye Hanjun was left staring blankly.

"I can’t be mistaken; what was that?"

Confused and uncertain, he turned to look at the witch.

But the Desert Witch, newly named Huazhu and effectively reborn, looked bewildered, puzzled by what he was seeing.

"A very ancient aura, carrying an infinitely profound system of Principles..."

"Why did it manifest? Where did it disappear to? Does it have anything to do with me? Or...?"

With thoughts scurrying through his mind like sparks, Ye Hanjun found no answer.

As the storm around him quieted, the outside world gradually became clear. He was forced to abandon conjecture.

Having tidied himself and calmed his turbulent emotions, the first sight confronting him was the cold gaze of Bingji, as if he saw right through Ye Hanjun.

"The contract, is it really established!?"

"The Desert Witch, she actually agreed to form a contract with you!?"

Liu Yi was taken aback. Now, eating a chicken’s egg cooked with his thumb was not the limit. The potential of the human body seemed ready to surpass this limit.

Standing beside him, Zhang Xinyu remained silent. Yet the complex look in his eyes spoke volumes.

This made no sense!

No one would wish to contract with the Grey Flash! Never!

The ancient books clearly stated that these creatures represented disaster. Anyone trying to interfere with their fate is likely to invite calamity upon themselves.

This caused Patrons who believe in the mysteries of fate to view Grey Flash with aversion and fearful avoidance. Unless their brain has been kicked by a spirit, why would they entertain the idea of a contract?

Lord Han...

You are so wild!!

You have done what many people would not dare to think of! And you succeeded!

"The witch agreed?"

Shen Jiaoyun, who emphasizes on frequent care, looked dazed.

An experienced assistant, she has been stationed in the rescue center for many years.

She might not know every injured Fond Spirit living on the seventh floor, but certainly each one was familiar to her.

Especially the Desert Witch.

Captivated in chains, the Witch remained calm after her body was examined or when she was offered food. While her workload was relatively light; however, the Witch’s quiet demeanor and her perpetually numb eyes suggested that no matter how earnestly cared for she was, no one could enter her heart and earn her genuine approval.

Lord Han...what made him special?

"I see! You hurt the witch in order to further weaken her willpower!"

"So that when you formed the contract, you could command and conquer without any resistance!"

Liu Yi acted as if he had discovered a new continent and excitedly made his point.

"So you caught on to that, you’re really smart."

In a matter of serious importance, even Ye Hanjun had to be amused.

Unable to resist he looked at him as if observing a clown, and kindly bestowed praise on him.

"That’s impossible..." Yin Manman looked torn while sub-consciously shaking her head as she fiddled with her cotton snake, shaping it randomly.

Any keen observer could tell. Shackled within her cage, the Desert Witch, although stained yellow with her own blood, was frail and in dire straits. But the gaze in her eyes was like a pearl in a dark and gloomy morass.

With only that little glow, the darkness was no longer terrifying, a different kind of life-force started to blaze.

"The pain has significantly reduced..."

"The fatal injury from moments ago seems to have become a medium wound. Is this the inherent healing effect of establishing a contract?"

As a therapist of the second rank, Shen Jiaoyun was able to sense the state of the Desert Witch with her own Abilities.

She wasn’t sure of the exact changes, but judging from the facts, the Witch was safe and had completely escaped the chase of the God of Death.

"If possible, help me remove the chains and open the cages."

"Starting from today, the Witch becomes my contract partner, no longer in the care of the Rescue Center."

"Everything that follows, whether it’s public opinion or other issues, I want to bear alone."

Ye Hanjun stood upright, courteous and composed.

He did not look at others, his gaze fell on Bingji, without any hint of fear he met his gaze.

"Master Bing...right?"

"Earlier, my attack on the witch may have violated some rules here, for which I’m to blame."

"But my original intention was very simple. I wanted to take the witch with me. But simply debating or plotting wasn’t going to work."

"Now the result is clear: the witch accepts me and is willing to establish a bond with me."

"Does this mean that what I did was, arguably, justifiable and acceptable?"

Ye Hanjun’s blood-drained face was the center of attention from start to finish.

His words forced everyone to frown and think hard.

True, if the contract had failed, the witch would still not belong to anyone and would return to the rescue center.

In that case, Lord Han’s words and deeds would be like wild behavior, a blatant challenge to the Watchers within the domain, as well as these assistants, staff, volunteers.

But... Lord Han succeeded in the contract!

He hurt the Witch but counterintuitively signed a contract. Can the so-called price and punishment still be entirely blamed on him?

Such a bizarre cycle left Yin Manman, Zhang Xinyu, Shen Jiaoyun, and a few others thinking for a long time, but they still found it hard to make an objective evaluation.

"Yahhoo! Yahhoo!"

Quyin was a Demon’s Fond Spirit, able to communicate and already understand most human speech.

It was angry at the challenge to its previous master’s authority, constantly emitting threatening calls, and resolute in its refusal to let this matter rest.

"Hoo!" Bingji exhaled, his eyes flickering with sharp glints.

He took large strides, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Ye Hanjun, looming over him with his greater height, his terrifying pressure rolling over him like waves.

"Buzz Buzz Buzz——"

Countless grains of sand suddenly floated up, finer than grains of rice and of a mixed dull color.

Unfortunately, constrained by bans and state, they could not breach the barrier, nor could they stand in front of Ye Hanjun to form a barrier.

Bingji was stunned!

He abruptly turned his head, his large eyes staring fiercely at the Desert Witch, his gaze malicious and deeply hidden.

"It seems, you did form the contract by genuine means."

"Just after completing the ceremony, the witch is willing to protect the master, this kind of human-concerned attitude... it’s my first time seeing it."

"Master Bing flatters me." Ye Hanjun smiled.

"The rule of the rescue center is that if you want to adopt a Fond Spirit, you must sign the contract here."

"In this way, we exclude the false goodwill of those with ulterior motives, and once again prove the adopter’s determination."

"Thus, we can rest assured and allow the contractor to take the injured Fond Spirits."

Bingji expressionlessly declared:

"From the perspective of rules or procedures, you did nothing wrong."

"But your methods are too extreme, and the commotion you caused is too large. It has seriously disrupted the peace and order of the seventh floor."

"In this regard, Master Bing is correct."

Shen Jiaoyun frowned and complained:

"There are too many frightened Fond Spirits, you’ve increased our workload for no reason. Pulling an all-nighter, we may not even be able to handle it."

"And such a loud noise would have scared some timid creatures to death. It’s a disaster out of the blue..."

Yin Manman suddenly became serious, hesitated for a moment, and was the first to leave.

"I’m going to check around, maybe I can save a few lives."

"Eh?" Zhang Xinyu scratched his head, visibly uneasy.

He probably wanted to stay here and eavesdrop on Bingji and Lord Han’s conversation.

After all, it might involve very important information and if he could get an opportunity to peek at it, it might be of lifelong use.

"Ah..."

With a silent sigh, Zhang Xinyu left with the bamboo basket and the Moonlight Vine.

Even Yin Manman, a student volunteer, was willing to give up this opportunity to dedicate herself to the medical cause unselfishly.

He, a proper Canghai Pavilion staff member, collecting salary and taking in money, is somewhat embarrassing now.

"Cough... Cough!"

Ye Hanjun coughed lightly and, after coughing up a bit of blood, his breathing gradually became fluent.

He waved his hand, indicating that he doesn’t need help.

His fingers once again pointed at the Desert Witch in the cage, the silent meaning was clear.

"Boom!"

The giant sword was lifted and violently slashed down.

The sturdy metallic bars collapsed with a boom, the sword light did not diminish and continued to slash towards the energy draining chain on the witch’s chest.

"Crash ... Crank... Bang!"

The chain was shattered.

Bingji, cold and ruthless, glanced at the witch, and calmly said, "Since you’ve found a master, I’ll return your freedom."

"But Assistant Han, don’t you have anything else to say?"

"What aspect are you referring to?"

Ye Hanjun pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the corner of his mouth.

"If you mean my methods are too intense and have affected other injured Fond Spirits... indeed, it was my mistake."

"If possible, I would like to compensate with a substantial amount of Spirit Stones, but very unfortunately, I currently lack the capability to repay, I can only owe a debt and charge it to the account temporarily."

"Of course, if Master Bing agrees, I am also willing to owe a favor to the center in my personal name."

"I believe, my favor is more valuable than the IOU, provided that Master Bing is willing to believe."

Liu Yi, who was idling away and about to leave, obviously heard this conversation. He turned his head to sneak a glance with a look of disbelief as if he had seen a ghost.

"Where did this little guy get his confidence from..."

"Alright, alright, Master Bing and Assistant Shen are here, this matter isn’t up to us."

The old man who appeared at the entrance of the seventh floor at the beginning patted his back and urged him to go inspect the frightened injured Fond Spirits.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh——"

With a flash of silver light, Shen Jiaoyun activated her ability ’Acupuncture Skill’ after getting Ye Hanjun’s agreement.

Her needles were different from Sikong Wei’s, who used his own prepared metallic needles and controlled them with the Tailor’s ability.

The needles for ’Acupuncture Skill’ were completely condensed from energy and appeared at the summoning of the user’s thoughts.

In just a blink of an eye, the needles were all inserted into the Desert Witch’s battered body, a faint white light flickering continuously.

"The witch... the essence of the Grey Flash hasn’t changed at all..."

"I can feel it, although her pain has lessened, the internal chaos in her body is even worse than before..."

"Don’t mind me blabbering but contracting such a spirit, what were you thinking?"

"Judging by the commotion you caused when activating the contract, even a Mud-cast Fetus of Perfect rare Fond Spirit, you could easily tame, right? Why did you bet on the witch?"

Shen Jiaoyun frowned, deeply worried and simultaneously filled with doubts, she asked.