NEBM Chapter 25: A Binding Contract

The last day of the Sword Competition Assembly ended in a mess.

Elder Shen “fainted” and was picked up by his disciple. Under everyone’ shocked gaze, Yan Jin directly held the person, leaving behind a sentence, “Yan Shen’s matter can be left for Sect Leader Song to decide,” before hurrying away.

Song Ming was so annoyed that the table corner on the other side was also crushed into pieces.

Under everyone’s gaze, he could only order for Yan Shen to be locked in the sect dungeon to await further punishments. The worst of it was that, in this way, Yen Shen could not “accidentally” have a mishap. After all, the person was under his nose. If something were to happen, it would only give cause for others to talk about him.

Song Ming hated gossip about himself, especially because he lacked ability when compared to others. Whenever he heard something to this degree, he would quietly bear it in his heart, and in the future, he would find an opportunity to exact vengeance just as quietly.

After handing the rest of the matters to the other elders, Song Ming took the blue tendons that were bubbling up in his head and left with a cold face, flicking his sleeves—not because he didn’t want to maintain the kind and steady image of the sect leader but because he was afraid he might spit blood otherwise!

The kind of person that man was, he sure could teach his disciple to be just the same!

An arrogant person like Shen Zhixian should have no disciple!

Song Ming returned to his room, so angry that he flipped a table, knocking over the cups, which shattered on the ground. His chest rapidly rose and fell as he panted, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

How did things manage to develop so out of control today?!!

When Shen Zhixian was in the limelight, he could do nothing but peep secretly like a mouse hiding in the gutter, suffering from the great disparities between their strengths. Later, he waited with great difficulty for something to happen to Shen Zhixian’s body. He’d overcame all the stumbling blocks that stood in his way, only to reach this point.

In the first year, he was quite smooth, holding the image of a good sect leader and a good brother. Although Shen Zhixian was cold to him, he could still bear with it.

But, since the failure of the Hidden Sword Pavilion, he felt that Shen Zhixian was gradually returning to his original self; every move, every smile, all revealing a superior and noble image!

In front of Shen Zhixian, even if he was the Sect Leader, he was still wholly inferior!

Song Ming bitterly hated. Tea drenched the corner of his robe, turning it cold, matching the gradually deepening chill in his expression.

He had not retreated since doing that thing that year.

Retreat was for the dead. Losing was for the dead.

He had only one path and that was forward.

…………..

Fifth Peak, in the summit house.

Smelling the familiar bitterness, Shen Zhixian didn’t know whether he should continue to pretend to be unconscious or to “wake up.”

If he continued to be unconscious, his intimate disciple might fill him with a pot of elixir. If he “woke up,” Yan Jin might be more forgiving and allow him to drink only half.

The thought was like a stone being lifted from his mind. Shen Zhixian put on the act of an ancestor, mumbling in a low voice and gradually shifting his body on the bed. His eyelids slowly drifted open.

The long eyelashes trembled, revealing a faint layer of mist within the depths of his eyes. Shen Zhixian’s gaze looked blank for a moment, before he managed to focus on the man in front of him. “A’Jin…?”

The young man’s originally serious and worried expression suddenly relaxed by half, revealing a smile Shen Zhixian had never seen before. Although, the smile was so fleeting that he barely caught sight of it.

Yan Jin set the elixir aside and, after helping Shen Zhixian sit up, he went to grab a cup.

Shen Zhixian lifted his hand. Holding the young man’s wrist, he coughed softly and quietly said, “It’s not necessary. I don’t need to drink.”

Yan Jin paused and looked back, obviously not agreeing. However, Shen Zhixian was more determined than him. He shook his head, squinted for a moment, and put his foot down on the position of unwilling to drink.

Yan Jin couldn’t help it. Shen Zhixian was awake, and he didn’t dare to force feed him. He had to ask, “Master, how are you feeling?”

Knowing what he was asking, Shen Zhixian shifted slightly and turned his attention inward to conduct an internal evaluation. The original body was in the tenth stage before his heart ailment. As a result, his spiritual power was pure and majestic. The heart injury only prevented him from using his spiritual force frequently and, fortunately, did not dissipate his accumulated spiritual force over the years.

The devil qi was trapped in a corner by his spiritual force and was being slowly consumed. According to Shen Zhixian’s calculations, it would probably be gone in a day or two.

Shen Zhixian shook his head. “There’s no harm.”

Then, he looked at Yan Jin and softly said, “A’Jin, were you already aware?”

So he already knew there was dark qi in his body and probably wanted to use this magic to do something. To do what?

Yan Jin tightened his mouth and made a sound of assent.

“Yan Shen wanted to frame you, but you didn’t even refute him and did nothing—Why?”

Yan Jin didn’t want to lie to Shen Zhixian, so he could only remain silent.

After a long time, Shen Zhixian still couldn’t get an answer out of him so he could only sigh. In a voice brimming with disappointment and helplessness, he simply said, “This demonic qi had been in your body for a while. You noticed that it was there, yet allowed it to ferment…Did you want to become a demonic cultivator and betray your master on the spot? From now on, you wanted to break it off with Master?”

“Master, I…” Who knew which words managed to jab at Yan Jin’s soft spot. His lips moved, seeming to find it difficult to speak. “I…Disciple…I’m not…”

But, Shen Zhixian didn’t give him an opportunity to explain. He seemed to be discouraged, as if he’d finally given up. With exhausted, slightly lowered eyes, he murmured, “I know you have ambitions in your heart and have wanted to leave for a long time now. Today, I won’t stop you anymore. After you’ve arranged matters, you can leave to seek experience.”

He continued to act like the reluctant master, lifting up his eyes to reveal a calm silence. With a sigh, Shen Zhixian added, “When you’re done, if you find that you’re unwilling to come back, then you don’t need to.”

Yan Jin’s eyes widened, unable to believe what he was hearing. He stepped forward, his knees knocking against the edge of the bed and making a loud noise. Hearing this, Shen Zhixian thought that it might hurt, but Yan Jin didn’t seem to be conscious of it. Instead, he carefully asked, “Master, you, are you really in such a hurry for the disciple to leave?”

The tone was apprehensive and uneasy, like a little beast that was about to be beaten.

—The little hedgehog was about to be hooked.

Shen Zhixian smiled in his heart, but his face was full of sadness and helplessness as he whispered, “The world is big. Once you experience it, you might not want to come back. If you still want to come back, then that means that you’re willing to recognize me as your master…”

Shen Zhixian paused for a moment. Sure enough he caught a glimmer of light in Yan Jin’s eyes. He smiled mildly, sat slightly upright, and slowly pulled a piece of paper out of the pillow-side storage bag.

“If you would still like to recognize me as a master, we might as well complete this deed.”

Sandwiched between long, white fingers was a piece of paper as thin as cicada wings. It was slightly yellow, and the edges were uneven and worn out, looking like it’d been torn out of a book many ages ago.

Yan Jin shifted his gaze to the piece of paper, hesitated for a moment, and took it carefully.

This piece of paper was not very well preserved, and the words on it were blurred. In order to make out the words, he had to squint his eyes and look carefully.

“I found this by chance. It’s a contract between master and disciple. I thought that, if you want, we could create a binding contract between us.”

Because it was not a complete page, the above content was unknown. The first half of the fragmentary parchment was the method of making a contract. The few lines in the second half seemed to detail the contract’s effect. The general idea was that after the contract was initiated, they could not hurt each other. Otherwise, the violator would be punished with heavenly retribution.

There was another line at the end, which was too vague. Yan Jin studied it for a long time before faintly recognizing a few words.

…Be as of one heart and never let go.

His mind was entangled by Shen Zhixian’s words, making him subconsciously want to follow along with Shen Zhixian’s way of thinking.

A master and disciple contract… Between the master and disciple, they would be united together, so as not to hurt each other, as if… There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it.

Yan Jin thought absentmindedly that this contract was really suitable for them both.

He pinched the paper fragment between his fingers, suddenly thinking that the journey ahead was boundless and indistinct, and he didn’t know what course to follow.

Master wanted him to leave…

Obviously, his long awaited desire had born fruit. But why was it that, after being told to leave by Shen Zhixian, he felt really uncomfortable in his heart?

He even had the faint idea of ​​not wanting to leave.

There was a clump of weed in his mind, and he desperately pulled it, making excuses for himself.

Yes!

Sui Xian!

There was still Sui Xian!

He still hadn’t figured out what happened that day when he heard the name “Sui Xian” mentioned. He felt deeply and instinctively that he’d missed this link in two lifetimes.

The pale face of the man in front of him was completely different from the person in his memory—No, the memory was too chaotic. Two lifetimes…Perhaps, more than two lifetimes. The memories were mixed together, pitted with holes. There were many things he still couldn’t remember, still couldn’t piece together. Just by appearance alone, it was impossible to judge what was real and what was illusion.

He had vague speculations but didn’t dare to verify. The feeling of cowardice in this matter seemed to be entrenched in his bones.

Fearing, hesitating, painting the ground as a prison while perched on the edge of the truth, trapping himself in a chaotic memory and unable to escape.

“—A’Jin?”

The young man in front of his eyes seemed to be lost in a conflict of thoughts. Shen Zhixian’s tone was a little hesitant, wondering what was wrong? What did he see in the contract?

This fragmentary page was long and boring. He found it when he was looking for a book in the original owner’s old study. At that time, the page was randomly sandwiched in a whimsical book. If he’d turned it over a few pages instead just one, it would really be impossible for him to discover this thing.

Immediately after recognizing the first few words, he immediately pondered and thought that this was probably a contract that could protect his own safety. It was written above that the two people who agreed would not hurt each other—If this wasn’t perfect for him and Yan Jin, than what was?!

Shen Zhixian immediately tried to check the origin of the contract. However, the paper was too worn out, and the original owner also had no memory of where it came from. He didn’t even have a name to go by. He checked for a long time and still found nothing.

After a long time, he gradually forgot about it. The reason why he thought about it again was because of Yan Jin’s action in the hot spring.

He’d felt Yan Jin’s killing intent fully and clearly.

So this page was taken out again. After some thought, Shen Zhixian finally made a decision and began to prepare for it.

Waiting for this day.

“If A’Jin is unwilling, then just forget it. Everyone has his own will, and I shouldn’t force it …” Shen Zhixian suddenly coughed, leaning forward slightly, as if to cough out his entire heart and lungs. He coughed until he became hoarse.

With great difficulty, he stopped coughing. Shen Zhixian sighed and said, “….It’s difficult to let go of this master and disciple relationship that we’ve had for many years now. But, since you are unwilling…cough, cough, cough!”

This dose of strong medicine went down the right way. Yan Jin listened to him cough as if his spirit was going to fly away and no longer cared about the page fragment, allowing it to drop to the floor. He patted Shen Zhixian’s back carefully, saying, “Binding…Binding! Master, you mustn’t get angry. Disciple will agree to the binding…”

—Annnd the little hedgehog was hooked.

Biting the hook, he ran toward the direction Shen Zhixian wanted.

Pretending to cough was also very tiresome. Shen Zhixian calmed down for a bit and reluctantly allowed himself to be fed two sips of elixir. Afterward, he gasped and pushed Yan Jin’s hand away. “The binding requires incense…Go and bring the small incense burner from over there.”

Yan Jin didn’t dare disobey him and obediently went to grab the thing.

The incense burner was small enough to be nestled within the palm of a hand. It looked simple with only a few patterns carved on the sides. Shen Zhixian took it in his hand and gently lifted the lid. It was unknown what was burning inside, but a delicate layer of gray drifted out, exuding a faint, familiar aroma.

Yan Jin suddenly lifted his eyes to look at Shen Zhixian. This aroma…He smelled it when Shen Zhixian summoned the sword spirit!

A doubtful expression appeared on his face, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Master, this is…”

“Puppet wood.” Shen Zhixian closed the lid and replaced it. “This wood can be shaped to look like a real person. Ash can create illusions, making it difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is false. Go and throw them away under the cliff. Don’t let anyone see.”

Yan Jin took the small incense burner, suddenly understanding completely. When he spoke, his voice was a bit hoarse, “Master, then those sword spirits….”

“…A’Jin, this stinky pig!”

Yan Shen’s voice suddenly sounded. Yan Jin subconsciously turned toward the sound but only saw Xiao Caoya flying in from the open window.

“Very bad! Very bad!” This time, the voice change to that of the burly youth.

Yan Jin froze and stared blankly for a moment, even as he realized—Since the sword spirit was made with a combination of puppet wood mixed with ash, the so-called “truth” was just an illusion created by master. And, the dialogue between Yan Shen and the demonic cultivator…

Xiao Caoya can really learn how to imitate voices!

Yan Jin had a glint of a smile in his eyes. After the smile disappeared, his eyes became a little moist and his heart a little sour. He was silent for a long moment before he finally took the small incense burner out. As he walked out the door, he heard Shen Zhixian’s voice.

First, came one voice, then another.

“A’Jin is a little hedgehog!

“….Okay, you can stop now.”