Ten Covenants

Upon hearing Jessica's question, Feng Xue didn't resort to any dramatic twists; instead, she nodded.

"Undeniably, there are always some people in this world who are gifted with languages. In this team, there just happens to be such a genius. During his labor career, he mastered most of the languages used by the laborers and built good relationships with them through storytelling. You can imagine how valuable someone who can communicate and tell stories is in an environment where every day is just about working like crazy."

Jessica nodded in agreement. Having experienced wilderness survival herself, she knew very well how important it was to have someone to talk to in extreme environments.

"So, what's the use of that metal plate?" Jessica was very interested in this legendary story and naturally became the straight man. Feng Xue didn't play the riddle-maker either, and directly gave the answer:

"This Language Genius was born into a merchant family in Yan State, but due to the times, his family fell into decline and he himself became a laborer. However, this does not change the fact that he was educated."

"By a combination of guesswork and deduction, he deciphered the ancient Yan language on the metal plate. Although he was skeptical, having already been reduced to a laborer, he still risked working with his teammates to hide the metal plate. And this hidden metal plate was actually a contract."

"A contract?!" Upon hearing this word, Jessica almost instantly thought of the legendary demonic contract. Looking at the "Mr. Deal" in front of her who didn't quite admit to being a demon, she had an expression that said, "I'm starting to understand everything."

"Well, the contract—its exact era is uncertain, but it's confirmed to be a 'contract of executioners.' According to the contract, it's an appendage of a certain legal code, existing to maintain the balance between morality and law, and to fill any loopholes in the law. The person who signs the contract will gain immense power, but they must also abide by its terms and strive to maintain the balance between law and morality."

"So, what's on the other side of the scale, besides gold bars, is the law? Or rather, legal documents?" Jessica's focus was clearly a bit off, but Feng Xue shook her head:

"The original box containing this contract did indeed have a heart and a document on the scales, representing conscience and law, but this coin is not like that, because the team's philosophy and the contract are somewhat different."

Feng Xue tapped the table lightly with her index finger. Jessica realized she had interrupted the "bard's epic" and immediately fell silent. Feng Xue then continued telling the story—

After hiding the metal plate, the young man began to diligently translate and study it. Fortunately, the civilization of Yan Kingdom had not been interrupted, and the ancient script and the traditional Chinese characters of that period still had many similarities. After he deciphered the contents, he learned that the core of this contract was simply "maintaining balance," "upholding justice," and "based on morality." Without violating these three points, the contractor could write down the power he wanted on the contract, and the contract would generate new terms based on the power.

He told his teammates about the contents of the contract, and they just treated it as a story similar to the genie's lamp. However, even so, in an environment where all they did was work, they couldn't help but wonder what kind of power the executioner would possess if the contract were real.

"At first, the discussion was about topics like 'a hero or Knight-errant from one's own country's history might be the executioner,' but later, people couldn't help but start to fantasize about what kind of power they would want if they were the executioner."

Some say he should be like a legendary Knight-errant, capable of killing one person in ten steps and leaving no trace for a thousand miles; others say he should be blessed by the gods, possessing immense strength and invulnerability to weapons; still others say he should have inexhaustible wealth, so that he can Act of Chivalry every day without having to worry about his own livelihood...

"Later, the young man summarized everyone's ideas and wrote them on the back of a metal plate with carbon paper. When he saw the guards with guns, he added one last point—to be unafraid of guns and cannons."

"However, as the writing continued, the Language Genius discovered a problem: despite the small metal plate and thick carbon stick, he encountered no obstacles in writing. In fact, it seemed as if the metal plate was inexhaustible; no matter how many entries he wrote, there was always plenty of space left..."

"It sounds just like handwriting input on Smart Phone..." Jessica muttered to herself before continuing:

"So he discovered the contract was real and became the executioner?"

"To be precise, they became the executioners," Feng Xue corrected Jessica's guess. "When all the expectations were written down, the pitch-black characters made of charcoal began to slowly disappear, and then transformed into the 'traditional Chinese Flame Script' used by that Language Genius. Apart from the initial three, there were a total of seven contracts."

"Seven points..." Upon hearing this, Jessica immediately picked up a pen. Although she had a voice recorder, she still wanted to write everything down in her own hand.

"First, the executioner must conceal his identity in exchange for the means to keep quiet."

"Second, the executioner must not harm the innocent in exchange for the Art of Slaughter."

"Third, the executioner must kill someone out of a commission, in exchange for endless wealth."

Fourth, the commission accepted by the executioner must be fair (retribution in kind) in order to gain the support of ordinary people (so as not to be reported by unrelated witnesses).

Fifth, the executioner must conduct a thorough investigation before taking action to verify the authenticity of the commission, thereby gaining the ability to Discern Right from Wrong.

"Sixth, the executioner must act alone in exchange for the physical strength to fight against a thousand men."

"Seventh, the executioner shall not use firearms as weapons in exchange for the protection of being immune to flying arrows."

"The above seven points, plus the three points of maintaining a balance between law and morality, upholding justice, and conforming to moral standards, make a total of ten, which the Scales Organization later called the 'Ten Covenants'."

Jessica wrote down the ten clauses of the contract. A strong sense of déjà vu washed over her, and she couldn't help but glance at Feng Xue. However, remembering the clause in the contract that required "concealing one's identity," she suppressed the question and simply said:

"Then what?"

"And then? Then this team realized that the contract was a true supernatural force, and then, following the translation method of Language Genius, they signed the contract. Relying on the magical power granted by the contract, they escaped the ruins, and then, with the help of endless wealth and powerful strength, they established the Scales Organization. They adhere to the principle of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth' and bring justice to those who cannot obtain justice through the law."

"Don't gloss over the most exciting parts!"

Coins are actually quite important, but there's not enough space to explain them in this chapter, so I've decided to dedicate a separate chapter to them later. Don't worry, it's free.