All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 212: Mysterious Eye Technique

“That’s correct, we are indeed not from the Great Fortune Kingdom,” Zhanyue answered honestly, trying to gauge Prince Yu’s intentions. His eyes occasionally glanced at the two beautiful maids behind Prince Yu, probably the most attractive local people he had seen in this world.

“Young Master Zhan single-handedly killed the enemy general, turning the tide of battle. He should be credited with the top merit for this war. And Miss Feng, assisting me in quickly containing the plague across three provinces, also deserves great merit. I don’t know how to reward you properly. Would you be interested in official positions at court?” Prince Yu asked.

Zhanyue and Feng Xueqing both shook their heads, expressing no interest.

“Then are you interested in gold and silver?” Prince Yu asked directly, as he could tell these two were not ordinary people.

“Gold and silver are of no use to us,” Zhanyue replied. They weren’t from this world and would leave after completing their mission, so what use would they have for this world’s money?

“Power and wealth, you want neither. Then I truly don’t know how to reward you,” Prince Yu showed a troubled expression.

Zhanyue understood Prince Yu’s meaning; he was letting them name their conditions. So Zhanyue didn’t hesitate, “Your Highness is knowledgeable and experienced. Have you encountered any extraordinary objects? We two are interested in such things.”

Prince Yu smiled and clapped his hands. The maid beside him understood and retrieved something from a nearby cabinet. It was an object on a tray, covered with a red cloth inscribed with scriptures, looking quite mysterious.

“You two are indeed extraordinary, seeking extraordinary things. I happen to have a treasure here that I can give to you, to thank you for your kindness.” Prince Yu had his servants remove the zither and placed the object on the table, then removed the red cloth covering the mysterious item about a quarter of a person’s height.

Under the red cloth was a statue, seemingly made of a mysterious purple blood jade. The statue’s face was fierce, baring fangs, like a rakshasa demon. One foot was planted, the other raised, with a foot much larger than a human’s, having seven toes with long nails, carved lifelike. Its two hands, however, had five fingers each. One hand pointed high to the sky with one finger extended. The other hand held a ‘small thing’. Looking closely, it was actually a human infant, smiling happily in the monster’s arms, seemingly unafraid.

Zhanyue was reminded of the Guanyin who sends children from his homeland, but this monster was likely not Guanyin. Given the prevalence of fox god worship in this world, it was questionable whether legends of Guanyin even existed here.

“This object is called the ‘Child-Sending Rakshasa’ statue. It’s very mysterious, definitely not an ordinary item,” Prince Yu explained. “In this world, there are loving couples who cannot conceive for years. If they place this statue in their bedroom, it will take effect within a month. This has been verified by nearly a hundred couples without fail, before it came into my possession. Today, I’m gifting this treasure to you two.” Prince Yu was catering to their interests. If he wasn’t sincerely trying to win these two over, he wouldn’t part with this object. As he said, it was truly a treasure, seemingly related to the legendary ancient Rakshasa religion.

“It really is a child-sending Guanyin?” Zhanyue was secretly surprised. Although this thing didn’t look like the child-sending Guanyin and seemed quite sinister, its function was the same. He and Feng Xueqing could sense a mysterious power emanating from it, definitely not an ordinary statue.

“In that case, we’ll accept it,” Zhanyue said without hesitation. The treasures of this world were real treasures, not to be missed.

As they agreed to accept this treasure, both received a message from their identity tokens simultaneously.

“Because you accepted the Rakshasa religion’s holy object – the Great Joy Heaven Eternal Life Demon Statue – gifted by Prince Yu, you have formed a karmic connection with Prince Yu. The final task is to help Prince Yu ascend to the throne. Task success condition: Prince Yu successfully ascends the throne; Task failure condition: Prince Yu is defeated in battle and dies.”

Zhanyue and Feng Xueqing exchanged a quick glance. As expected, Prince Yu did indeed have ulterior motives, and their final task was to help him claim the throne.

“Thank you for your generous gift, Your Highness,” Zhanyue said gratefully.

Prince Yu had servants bring a wooden box to pack the statue and sent it to Zhanyue and Feng Xueqing’s lodgings.

“Your Highness, I have a question,” Zhanyue suddenly said.

“Please, go ahead,” Prince Yu showed interest.

“There are many legends of fox spirits circulating, and both the Great Fortune and Blue Hill kingdoms have numerous fox god temples. Have you ever personally seen these fox spirits or fox gods?” Zhanyue asked, curious whether this world actually had supernatural beings.

“Uh…” Prince Yu hadn’t expected this question. He paused, then smiled, “So Young Master Zhan is interested in such things. Although I haven’t personally seen any fox spirits, who can say what’s true and what’s false? Just like the appearance of unparalleled figures like you and Miss Feng in this world, it’s something I never imagined.”

Zhanyue nodded. He had spoken, yet seemed to say nothing at all.

They chatted for a long time, from strange tales to people’s livelihoods, then from livelihoods to governance. Prince Yu also casually probed their backgrounds. After a while, Zhanyue and Feng Xueqing finally stood to leave. Prince Yu personally saw them off, falling into deep thought as he watched them go. “I feel like these two know what I’m planning to do, and they seem quite supportive. In any case, it shouldn’t be a bad thing.”

Back in their room, Zhanyue finally sighed in relief, “I never expected it, but that honest-looking Prince Yu really does want to rebel.”

Feng Xueqing replied, “What’s unexpected about it? He’s been showing compassion to the people, doing good deeds everywhere. His reputation among the common people has long surpassed the emperor’s. It would be strange if he didn’t have any ambitions. It’s just that the incompetent emperor doesn’t care, seeming overly confident. So we need to take this task seriously.”

Zhanyue turned his head and suddenly froze, because he saw that Feng Xueqing had removed her disguise, restoring her original appearance. That pure, youthful, and stunningly beautiful face appeared again, captivating Zhanyue each time.

“What are you staring at? You’ve seen it several times already,” Feng Xueqing said, exasperated, flicking Zhanyue’s forehead. Zhanyue came to his senses, smiling awkwardly, “Why did you suddenly remove your disguise?”

Feng Xueqing looked at herself in the mirror for a long time, saying, “We’ve been in this world for so long, mostly not showing our true faces. I was afraid I’d forget what I really look like.”

“Let me guess, is it because I looked at those two maids a few extra times at the teahouse earlier?” Zhanyue, being sharp and clever, instantly guessed the reason.

“Hmm? What does you looking at other women have to do with me? You’re so thick-skinned,” Feng Xueqing said, trying to maintain composure after her thoughts were exposed.

“I was looking at those two maids earlier to see if they might be fox spirits in disguise. After observing for a while, they seemed to be just ordinary humans. I think both Prince Yu and you misunderstood. If you hadn’t been there, I’m afraid he would have offered those two maids to me on the spot,” Zhanyue teased.

“What if he really had offered?” Feng Xueqing asked, narrowing her eyes. No matter what expression she made, she was always incredibly beautiful.

“Of course I would refuse. After all, I have a wife at home who’s more beautiful than a celestial maiden,” Zhanyue joked.

Feng Xueqing rolled her eyes at him, “Who’s your wife? We’re just acting. I’ll definitely tell Sister Baizhi about this later.”

“Let’s not talk about this anymore. We haven’t closely examined the treasure Prince Yu sent,” Feng Xueqing suggested.

“You’re right.” Zhanyue looked at the statue covered by the red cloth in the room, then uncovered it. They examined it carefully for a long time, looking for anything unusual. Zhanyue touched it and suddenly had an idea. He summoned the Three Talents Wondrous Fire, intending to refine part of it. He had discovered that the Three Talents Wondrous Fire had remarkable effects on treasures and similar objects. Under the fire’s refinement, before long, the statue’s eyes flashed with a red light. Then, a flood of information poured into Zhanyue’s mind. Countless eerie chants of scriptures rang in his head, causing him to roll on the ground in pain. At the same time, the strange statue completely shattered.

“Are you alright?” Feng Xueqing felt a pang of worry, suspecting they might have fallen into Prince Yu’s trap. When she went to help Zhanyue up, she saw his eyes were blood-red, staring at her. Those eyes were filled with blood-colored scriptures, containing a wonderful world of human pleasures. By chance, Zhanyue had obtained the Rakshasa religion’s ultimate treasure – the Great Joy Heaven’s Lustful Blood Eyes. Clearly, at this moment, Zhanyue couldn’t control these eyes. But as his gaze met Feng Xueqing’s, her eyes also took on a blood-red hue. The two unconsciously drew closer to each other.