From the end of the world

Chapter 690 The Dog's Contract

Xiao Wan's words were very captivating.

Putting myself in Ai Ye's shoes, if I heard this little girl invite me with such a charming reason, I would definitely not be able to resist and would want to join her no matter what.

Of course, my personal personality also played a part. I just can't resist the classic trope of "being invited by a beautiful girl to join an organization that protects the world." But even though Ai Ye's personality differs greatly from mine, Xiao Wan's words offered ample leeway, and under the pressure of the situation, I had no choice but to go with the flow and comply.

Ai Ye quickly relinquished control of her body to Xu Gou. Silvery-white magic enveloped her body, then transformed into jet black as if oxidizing and rusting metal, revealing a three-meter-tall black power armor once more.

I don't know if it's because the power armor has a built-in voice-changing device, but Xu Gou's male voice also started to ring out.

"—Thank you, Number Two."

He slowly lowered his center of gravity, knelt on one knee, and said with deep gratitude, "Thank you for allowing me to reunite with Ai Ye... I will never forget this kindness. If you ever need anything in the future, I will do anything for you, even go through fire and water."

"Shouldn't you thank me first for sparing your life?" I said.

The dog hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly said, "...Okay, thank you too."

Xiao Wan smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Xu Gou, I have something to ask of you now. May I ask what you need?"

The dog said respectfully, "Please give the order."

"I hope you can go and assist Brother Zhuang Cheng in defeating the Lord of Peach Blossom Village," Xiao Wan said.

Upon hearing this, the dog froze.

Xiao Wan keenly sensed Xu Gou's unusual behavior and asked seriously, "Is there some difficulty? For example... because you have worked with the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, would you feel very guilty about betraying him?"

Dog's body trembled slightly. If he angered Little Bowl, he might never be able to speak to Ai Ye again—though it certainly wouldn't come to that, the necessary condition for him to meet Ai Ye was in Little Bowl's hands, that much was undeniable. He absolutely wanted to avoid disappointing and angering Little Bowl.

Little Bowl simply lacks the power to fight; she appears gentle and kind, but is not a soft-hearted character in essence. Dog might intuitively understand this as well.

“No, that’s not it… I have no feelings for the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, it’s just a relationship of mutual exploitation,” Xu Gou quickly said. “It’s just… I can’t bring myself to attack the Lord of Peach Blossom Village.”

"Why is that?" Xiao Wan asked curiously.

“It’s a contract,” said Xu Gou. “Although the Lord of Peach Blossom Village welcomed me to join his camp and granted me authority second only to him within Peach Blossom Village, he did not trust me unconditionally. I entered into a non-hostile contract with him, and if either side breaks the contract, their soul will be disintegrated.”

“That doesn’t make sense. You’re a Great Impermanence level cultivator, how could there be a contract that could bind you?” I said.

After thinking for a moment, Xiaowan said, "...The contract between you was made under the witness of 'Shangri-La,' right?"

The dog nodded helplessly. I also understood the key point.

Generally speaking, no contract can bind the Great Impermanence. It's like when Mingzhuo lost to me in the past, he also made a contract, saying that he was not allowed to attack the important people around me, but in the end, he was still able to attack Asaho and others. The existence of the contract is only limited to "I can immediately sense when Mingzhuo breaks the contract".

Even such a reckless and unruly being exists within a contract he cannot deny: a contract with Naraku's will—in exchange for immortality, he cannot extend his lifespan in any way. Though he should rightfully live as long as heaven and earth, he is destined to die of old age in the near future.

Yes, if one makes a contract with someone whose power far surpasses one's own, even the carefree and unrestrained Great Impermanence must obediently abide by the rules. Similarly, although the contract with the Dog is with the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, because the "Peach Blossom Spring" whose power far exceeds that of both parties serves as witness, one must bear extremely strong constraints.

“Bound by the contract, if the Lord of Peach Blossom Village explicitly demands that I stand on his side and attack Zhuang Cheng in the subsequent battle, then I will have no choice but to do so. Therefore, I cannot stay here any longer, otherwise we will only become enemies again,” Xu Gou said.

“This is troublesome,” I said. “This place is currently a chaotic and illusory spacetime, and I can’t move an inch here. Forget about getting close to the Peach Blossom Village Lord, I probably can’t even return the way I came. There’s no way to make any progress.”

As I spoke, I glanced into the distance.

The magical fluctuations of the Water Master Xuanwu have subsided. We could sense that he had been trying to approach our location, but the distance of his magical fluctuations varied greatly. Sometimes it felt like he was only a few streets away, and other times it felt like his spatial coordinates were even far off from the city's borders. Now, he seems to have realized that he couldn't meet us no matter what he did, so he has simply given up on getting closer for the time being.

As a member of the Peach Blossom Village faction, Xu Gou (戌狗) will not be affected by this chaos. I was originally hoping that Xu Gou could lead the way for me, but now it seems quite difficult. Should I just force Xu Gou to lead the way? Anyway, I've beaten him half to death, and he's in a state where he can't fight. Even if the Peach Blossom Village Lord asks him to betray us later, he won't be able to cause much trouble.

He is likely to be purged by Meng Zhang, the lord of Taoyuan Township, and with Meng Zhang as his opponent, I am not confident that I can spare the attention to save his life.

“If you just want to move around normally in this time-space maze… I do have a way to help you,” said Dog.

"How do I do it?" I asked.

The Dog said, "Before that, I need to restore my soul."

“I grant permission. You may begin,” I said.

The dog took a deep breath.

His soul seemed to begin repairing itself at a remarkably rapid pace. Before long, he had recovered to a near-complete state, and his magical energy fluctuations became quite vigorous, as if he had transformed from a nearly burned-out pile of ashes into a blazing campfire.

Then, he extended his armored hand, and a ball of silvery-white magical light appeared in his palm.

The silver ball of light moved in front of me, and I caught it knowingly. Although it was an ethereal light, it felt like a hard block of silver to the touch, and I could clearly feel a heartbeat-like rhythm within it.

After performing this action, the dog's magical energy fluctuations cooled and extinguished rapidly, as if a large bucket of water had been poured over a fire, leaving only a few embers and residual heat. Its condition was even worse than when I had just severely injured it.

His voice became incredibly weak, as if he were about to die.

“This light… can guide you in the right direction in the labyrinth of time and space,” he said helplessly.

I looked at the silver ball of light, then asked him, "Is this the price you pay for breaking the contract?"

"...I didn't directly attack the Lord of Peach Blossom Village; I merely offered you some assistance, so that's enough. But... I really can't take it anymore. Even with my regenerative abilities, I won't be able to regain my fighting ability for a long time." Xu Gou's breathing was quite heavy.

I carefully examined his condition and then agreed: "It seems you're telling the truth, so I won't force you. Can you leave this city on your own later?"

"Sure. I can manage something like this," the Dog replied.

I summoned a fireball and shoved it into his arms. I meant literally shoved it in; the fireball entered his body like a phantom.

“After you leave, go to the Luoshan headquarters. You should know where it is, right? Then find Fazheng and explain your situation to him. I don’t need your help to deal with Taoyuan Township Master, but from now on, you can help Fazheng and the others deal with the Gospel Academy. There’s a message I left inside this fireball; Fazheng will understand once he sees it,” I said. “As for your injuries, use the resources in Luoshan to treat them properly. I hope you can recover your fighting ability before the war between Luoshan and the Gospel Academy begins.”

“I will also try to see if I can use the power of blessing to heal Mr. Xu Gou later.” Xiao Wan carefully observed Xu Gou. “The injuries he suffered from breaking the contract seem to be different from ordinary injuries. It may involve a part of the nature of true spirit power. Although the power of the divine seal fragment should be able to overcome it... the specific effect still needs to be seen in practice.”

"Looking for Fa Zheng?" Xu Gou hesitated, "I killed his right-hand man, Fu Feng, before..."

"Because of your fighting ability, he won't come after you right away, so you can rest assured," I said.

"but……"

Dog seemed a little hesitant, but soon he seemed to have figured it out and said with relief, "By the way, Ai Ye has been resurrected. From now on, let Ai Ye handle all the things that require thinking. I just need to focus on fighting... Hmm? Number Three, why are you looking at me like that?"

"...It's nothing, I just suddenly feel complicated..." I quickly changed the subject.

Then, I lowered my head and examined the silver ball of light in my hand for a moment.

After focusing my attention, I felt my mind become intertwined with a wonderful experience and insight.

(End of this chapter)