The Pact

Xia Ming returned to his hotel room to find Wu Feng sitting alone on the bed by the window, her head bowed low.

Her long, fiery red hair hung down, obscuring most of her face.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Wu Feng's shoulders couldn't help but tremble.

She slowly lifted her head, her movements somewhat sluggish.

At this moment, her eyes were veiled in a mist of tears, the corners slightly reddened as if she had just rubbed them vigorously.

"You're back..." Her voice was low and hoarse.

Immediately after, as if she had exhausted all her strength, she asked a question for which she already knew the answer:

"Are you leaving tomorrow?"

The voice was very soft, yet it trembled slightly.

"Yes." Xia Ming nodded.

His heart tightened slightly at Wu Feng's uncharacteristic reaction, and his brow furrowed instinctively.

This reaction of hers, how should he interpret it...?

A near-absurd thought flashed through his mind, but he immediately forced it down.

How could that be? He shook his head inwardly, mocking himself.

All told, they had only known each other for a little over a month.

She was one of the doted-upon little princesses within the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and in the original story, she was a die-hard lesbian.

And all he had done was have her accompany him in the role of a "maid."

Trying to "straighten" her out in just a month?

That idea was far too unrealistic and far too arrogant.

It was likely just that she was reluctant to part with a peer who was nominally her master but effectively a playmate.

After all, given her special status in the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, perhaps only Ning Tian was a companion she could truly interact with as an equal among her peers.

Hearing Xia Ming's affirmative answer, the light in Wu Feng's eyes seemed to dim a little further.

She lowered her head again, her hands unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, revealing a fragility that stood in stark contrast to her usual temperament.

After a long while, Wu Feng spoke in a voice that was almost inaudible, carrying a trace of cautious expectation and the courage of someone burning their bridges:

"Can you not go? Could you come stay at our Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect for a while?"

She suddenly looked up, her eyes eager, even tossing out a bargaining chip that she considered highly tempting:

"My grandfather must still have some treasured spirit bones! I'll steal one for you when the time comes!"

You really are a filial granddaughter!

Hearing this, the corner of Xia Ming's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

To keep someone, she could even come up with the idea of "stealing her grandfather's family fortune"—it was certainly in line with her usual style.

However, he remained unmoved, simply shaking his head calmly.

Setting aside the fact that he wouldn't accept a spirit bone obtained in such a way, even if someone were to gift him one, he wouldn't want it.

Just as Mu En had said.

The sheer number of hundred-thousand-year spirit rings he was already projected to obtain would be enough to yield several hundred-thousand-year spirit bones.

Unless a lower-grade spirit bone possessed some unique spirit skill, absorbing it would only lower his own potential.

"I'm returning to Shrek, not disappearing forever."

Xia Ming softened his tone, attempting to comfort her with a more practical future.

"In four years, aren't you coming to enroll at Shrek Academy? We'll naturally be able to see each other again then."

However, this comfort focused on the future still seemed too distant for Wu Feng, who was currently enveloped in the emotions of parting.

After all, she was only seven years old.

In her life thus far, four years was still too long a time.

Consequently, not only was Wu Feng not comforted, but she seemed to have been struck in her most vulnerable spot by those words.

She pressed her lips together tightly, her eye sockets reddening further; that sense of loss was almost overflowing, yet she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.

Seeing her in this state, Xia Ming sighed inwardly.

He stepped forward, stood still in front of Wu Feng, and suggested, "Don't mope in the room.

The night in Heaven Dou City is very lively; let's go out for a walk? Consider it a final look at this city before I leave."

Hearing this, Wu Feng suddenly looked up; the moisture in her eyes hadn't faded, but a faint glimmer of light had already ignited within them.

She nodded vigorously: "Mm!"

The night in Heaven Dou City was ablaze with lights.

As one of the top five major cities on the continent, and with the tournament having just concluded, the vast majority of spectators were still lingering in the city.

At least for tonight, the nightlife here was truly bustling.

The two children wove through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, appearing entirely unremarkable.

The lamplight reflected on Wu Feng's face, momentarily dispelling the gloom between her brows.

She looked around curiously, occasionally pulled to a stop by some novel trinket to watch with Xia Ming.

Xia Ming indulged her, occasionally buying inexpensive but interesting little things to tuck into her hands.

Yet, in the corners where the lamplight could not reach, the deep-seated reluctance and confusion on Wu Feng's face had not faded.

The two played until late at night before returning to the hotel.

If this were Xia Ming's past life, two seven-year-old children not returning home late at night would have likely caused a massive uproar.

But this was the Douluo Continent.

Here, power was the only measure of safety and freedom.

Even without counting Xia Ming, Wu Feng was a power-attack system soul master with a top-tier martial soul.

Looking across the entirety of Heaven Dou City, her strength was one in ten thousand.

Pushing open the door, the silence of the room instantly enveloped them, completely cutting off the last traces of the bustle outside.

The smile on Wu Feng's face, barely maintained by the night market lights and novelties, faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

She walked silently to the bedside and sat down, her head lowered as her long, fiery red hair fell forward to hide her expression.

The air in the room seemed to become stagnant once again.

Xia Ming saw this and understood in his heart.

Simple play could only temporarily divert her attention; it could not resolve the root of her emotions.

He walked up to Wu Feng, not sitting down, but speaking in a calm tone:

"Let's make a promise."

Wu Feng's body trembled slightly.

She jerked her head up, her eyes filled with caught-off-guard astonishment.

"..." She opened her mouth, but no sound came out; she only asked eagerly with her eyes.

Xia Ming met her gaze and continued, "Four years from now, on the freshman registration day at Shrek Academy, I will wait for you at the academy gates."

He paused before continuing, "As a friend."

"When the time comes, let me see just how far you can grow within the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect over these four years. Don't let me be too disappointed."

Wu Feng stared at him blankly, the moisture in her eyes seemingly beginning to gather again.

She sniffled hard and nodded heavily.

"Mm!"

Meanwhile, deep within the palace of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The Heavenly Soul Emperor was bowing slightly with an incomparably solemn posture toward the seemingly ordinary old man before him.

"Your Excellency Dragon God, I leave it to you then."

At this moment, the usual gentleness on Mu En's face was replaced by a rare sharpness and gravity.

He nodded with extreme weight:

"Your Majesty is too kind."

"Likewise, this old man must also entrust this matter to the Heaven Dou Empire and the Body Sect."