Inverse Yin Yang

With no time to hesitate further, Ming Lunyu chose Ma Hongjun directly and silently recited, "Contract."

An ancient, weighty voice sounded from the void.

"Contract initiated."

The gray bead floated out, blazing with light.

The black-and-white aura coiled around the bead swelled and surged forth, enveloping Ma Hongjun's entire body. It then continuously contracted and churned, transforming into a large gray cocoon.

About half an incense stick's time later, the gray cocoon burst open with a soft pop, and a petite figure landed lightly on the ground.

Perhaps due to the gray aura, Ma Hongjun's clothes had been completely worn away, leaving her in a completely natural state.

Ming Lunyu did not think much of it at first and wanted to check on her condition.

But when he lowered his head, his pupils contracted!

Ma Hongjun, lying on the ground, had actually... actually!

So that was it. So that was it!

Ming Lunyu finally understood what Inverse Yin Yang meant by reversing yin and yang.

The green caterpillar would not evolve into a butterfly—it would turn into a bottomless pit instead.

"Wait, this... this isn't right, is it...?"

For a moment, Ming Lunyu was at a complete loss.

Panicked, he rummaged through the ruins of the house.

Since he had already contracted his first Contractor, his Soul Power had naturally broken through level ten and reached level eleven.

As an eleventh-level Soul Master, he was still stronger than an ordinary person. Thus, he could now move aside the rubble that had previously been too difficult to shift.

After searching for a while, he finally found a clothes chest and pulled out a set of his own clothes. Suppressing his embarrassment, he helped Ma Hongjun put them on.

However, he could not find any shoes no matter how hard he looked.

As a result, Ma Hongjun's small, delicate, snow-white feet remained exposed to the air. Her pearly toes were round and smooth, utterly unlike before. They were unmistakably the feet of a little girl.

Ming Lunyu sighed helplessly.

Ma Hongjun's life had certainly been saved, but now she was like this...

"How am I supposed to face Xiaojun?" Ming Lunyu was deeply troubled.

He feared that Ma Hongjun would not be able to accept this reality.

Ma Hongjun only felt as though she had endured an endlessly long nightmare, her consciousness muddled and hazy.

"Ugh..."

Ma Hongjun weakly opened her eyes and found herself lying in a familiar embrace.

"Brother Yu..."

Sure enough, it was Ming Lunyu's reassuring face.

Ma Hongjun relaxed.

A few minutes later, after recovering some strength, she sat up.

"Brother Yu, how is Grandpa?"

The instant she spoke, Ma Hongjun felt that something was wrong.

Why did her voice sound a little different?

Though the voices of six-year-old children were all tender and clear, there were still subtle differences between boys and girls. Ma Hongjun could sense that her voice seemed to have changed somewhat.

And what was this strange feeling of emptiness?

"Xiaojun..." Ming Lunyu's expression was subtly complicated. "Listen while I explain it slowly. You need to hold on!"

"Okay..."

Afterward, Ming Lunyu recounted everything that had happened in detail, along with his own guesses.

When he spoke of Grandpa's death, Ma Hongjun was, as expected, devastated and immediately resolved to avenge him.

However, after he finished explaining the changes to her body, Ma Hongjun's reaction was not as intense as Ming Lunyu had expected.

"Xiaojun, you don't mind? Becoming a girl and all that?" Ming Lunyu asked cautiously.

Ma Hongjun pursed her lips and carefully examined her pale, slender hands. She gently shook her head, and the strands of hair that had grown much longer after the contract swayed with the motion.

"It's not that I don't mind at all. I'm just more thankful than anything. If Brother Yu hadn't contracted me, I might already be dead. So Brother Yu was the one who saved me."

As Ma Hongjun spoke, her large, watery eyes remained fixed on Ming Lunyu, filled with closeness and dependence.

"Compared to the kindness Brother Yu has shown me, what does the small price I paid matter? Besides, as Brother Yu said, being contracted by you is beneficial to me too. Look, Brother Yu."

Ma Hongjun summoned her Martial Soul.

With a clear phoenix cry, a crystalline red fire phoenix appeared.

It was no longer the "barnyard phoenix" that resembled a turkey and required close inspection to identify its true nature. Her Martial Soul had now transformed into the noble and elegant king of all birds.

"Thank you, Brother Yu! For granting me a new life!"

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun met each other's eyes.

Ma Hongjun's large eyes held not only gratitude and closeness, but also emotions called fervor and worship. There was one final, peculiar emotion that Ming Lunyu could not recognize.

Curling his lips into a smile, Ming Lunyu reached out and gently rubbed Ma Hongjun's head, just as he had done countless times before.

"Ah, forget it. No matter what Xiaojun becomes, as long as I know she is still my Xiaojun, that is enough. As for everything else... I'll let nature take its course."

At the foot of the back mountain, Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun erected a simple stone tablet together. It bore the inscription: "Grave of Grandfather Hu Dasheng," signed, "Unfilial descendants Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun."

They found Grandpa's body and chose this beautiful place amid the mountains and water to bury him solemnly.

The two knelt before Grandpa's grave, pressed their palms together, and bowed devoutly several times.

"Grandpa, rest assured. I will avenge you and everyone in the village one day! I don't know who exactly harmed you all, so I will swear to slaughter every evil person in the world! The true culprit will definitely not escape."

"Grandpa, how I wish I could see you once more, hear you call me 'Hongjun' one more time. But... rest assured, Brother Yu and I will definitely avenge you..."

Before Grandpa's grave, the two spoke sentence after sentence, pouring out the longing and fighting spirit in their hearts.

The hatred in their hearts still burned fiercely, but their former confusion gradually faded away, replaced by unwavering conviction.

On this day, two small children made a grand vow: they would strive to grow stronger and rid the world of all evil, not only to avenge the villagers, but also to bring justice and light to this world.

Though the road ahead was long and fraught with dangers...

But if it's you, you'll definitely be able to do it, won't you? Ma Hongjun gazed at Ming Lunyu's profile and thought with certainty.

After settling Grandpa's remains, the two found a relatively intact house to stay in temporarily and began discussing their plans for the future.

After pondering for a long time, Ming Lunyu said, "Xiaojun, perhaps we should leave this place as soon as possible. I can't be sure whether that murderer will return. I once read in a book that some killers enjoy returning to the scene of their crimes."

"So, for our safety, we should leave early. As for where to go... Pearl City. Pearl City is our best choice. It is the nearest city to us. We can reach it by following the main road outside the village."

"Once we reach Pearl City, we can seek help from the local authorities and tell them what happened here. The authorities certainly won't stand by and do nothing."

"Then..."

Ming Lunyu fell silent.

"What is it, Brother Yu?" Ma Hongjun asked in confusion.

Ming Lunyu held back for a moment before saying awkwardly, "I don't know if what we do next will be right..."

"What are we doing?"

Ming Lunyu's face reddened slightly. "Well, we should search the houses in the village for the money and valuables the villagers left behind, then use that money as tuition for the Soul Master Academy... That would save us the time of having to work and earn money ourselves, but..."

Ma Hongjun understood.

Brother Yu felt uneasy about it. After all, going through the belongings the villagers had left behind after their deaths did seem somewhat improper.

However, Ma Hongjun knew that this was actually the best choice, so she comforted him, "Brother Yu, let's look at it from another perspective. We're using the villagers' possessions in exchange for a path to becoming stronger. Only by becoming stronger can we avenge everyone. I'm sure the villagers would feel the same way."

Ming Lunyu gave a wry smile and waved his hand. "Xiaojun, I'm not so prone to getting stuck in my own head. You don't need to comfort me like that. We really do need money. What the villagers will think of me, I can hear once I join them in death. Since we are still alive, we should first consider what lies before us."

"In short, once we enter the Soul Master Academy, we must study desperately and work hard to become stronger. One day, we will definitely avenge the villagers. That will be our ultimate goal from now on."