Chapter 91: Chaoter 91
Tian Heng stared at Feng Jiao Xue, his expression unreadable. Though he had agreed to follow her, there was still a lingering hesitance, an instinct not to trust too easily.
Feng Jiao Xue, ever perceptive, did not miss the flicker of doubt in his violet eyes. That was fine. Trust was not something given freely; it was earned. But before anything else, a proper agreement had to be made.
She reached into her robes and pulled out a small, aged book. The cover was deep blue, nearly black, with silver etchings of swirling patterns,runes woven into the very material of its binding. It was thin but when she flipped it open, the pages gleamed as though the ink were still wet, shimmering under the morning light.
"This" she said, her voice steady, "is a contract ritual from the Feng Library. It binds a master and a servant together."
Tian Heng stiffened at the word servant, but she lifted a hand before he could protest.
"Don’t misunderstand" she continued. "This contract does not make you a slave. It is not a shackle, but a pact." She turned the book toward him, letting him see the delicate calligraphy of the ancient text. "The servant must be loyal to the master, but in return, the master is bound by the contract never to harm them."
Tian Heng narrowed his eyes. "And if either side betrays the other?"
"The magic will know," she said simply. "If the servant betrays the master, their strength will be stripped away, their soul marked as an oathbreaker. But if the master harms the servant unjustly, their own power will turn against them."
He exhaled, processing the weight of it. A contract enforced by magic itself, one that did not allow for cruelty or blind obedience, but rather, a balance of trust and duty.
Feng Jiao Xue’s gaze did not waver. "I do not need a subordinate who follows me out of fear. I need someone who chooses to walk my path willingly."
Tian Heng was silent for a long moment, then nodded. "Alright. How does it work?"