Blood Pact
"Bai Fangsui and Qin Yuman were actually eliminated early..." Yingshi muttered.
This was too huge a deviation from the original book's plot.
Originally, in the Tiangang Martial Arts Tournament arc, these two were present the entire time and both secured a ranking at the end.
Of course, their personal futures meant absolutely nothing to Yingshi. Who asked them to actively attack them in the first place?
She barely had enough time to worry about herself right now!
Qin Yuman had disappeared, but the puppet spell he cast on her had not lost its effect!
Sure enough, she soon heard Shuangjian speak again, "There is only one matter that is somewhat troublesome. Qin Yuman's true body has escaped from the trial grounds, but the Heavenly Silkworm Weeping Silk will not disappear with him." He lowered his eyes to look at her, "This means you still cannot move freely, and my previous method of using him to control your movements is no longer viable."
"Save me, does this mean I can only be a block of wood from now on?" Yingshi said with a bitter face.
Shuangjian pondered for a long while before saying, "If there is another method that can override Qin Yuman's restriction on you, would you be willing to try it?"
"Of course I would!" Yingshi nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "What method is so good?"
She did not know what was so hard to say, but Shuangjian spoke these few words very slowly. Under Yingshi's impatient stare, he finally spat out two words silently from his mouth: "Blood Pact."
"Blood Pact?"
Great, another setting produced by Jing Fengliu but never resolved had appeared!
In the original text, the mention of the Blood Pact, a spell that sounded incredibly solemn, was already in the latter half of the story.
At that time, when the male lead came to the Holy Spirit Mountain, he would meet another capturable female supporting character positioned as an adorkable spiritual pet, Qiaoyuan.
As a legendary divine beast, Qiaoyuan chose the male lead as her master at first sight, volunteering to form a master-servant contract with him and become his summoned beast.
But in this way, wouldn't the summoned beast to the male lead be equivalent to Pikachu to Ash?
That sounded way too lacking in romantic chemistry and sexual tension!
So Jing Fengliu waved his pen and created a setting called the Blood Pact. The two parties forming the pact had to exchange bodily fluids like a vampire's First Embrace. Once the contract was formed, the two would develop a tight physical and mental connection, existing in a symbiotic dependency and a one-way commanding relationship. Under special conditions, they might even share each other's senses... How ambiguous did that sound!
Thus, in the original text, after Qiaoyuan was rejected by the male lead on the grounds that he did not want to establish such an unequal relationship as master and servant, she decisively proposed the Blood Pact plan.
But who could have expected that Jing Fengliu's old habit would act up again? He wrote this setting purely to bait the readers, and he had no intention of actually implementing it. Therefore, it was left unsettled later on.
Now that Shuangjian proposed using the Blood Pact to override the puppet spell Qin Yuman had cast on her, Yingshi was truly somewhat surprised. She tried hard to analyze the pros and cons of this, but found it completely difficult to think purely about it.
Comments from readers in the comment section about the Blood Pact would occasionally flash through her mind, things like bodily fluids, First Embrace, double sensory sharing, and so on... It made it very hard for a person to stay calm!
Although the Blood Pact was not the kind of contract that could never be broken once formed, breaking it seemed to be extremely difficult, and both parties would suffer a severe loss of vitality.
Moreover, the Blood Pact was essentially still a variant of the master-servant contract, especially that one-way commanding setting which had already exposed everything.
Naturally, Yingshi would not mind Shuangjian unilaterally controlling her or anything like that. She knew Shuangjian was the most reliable person, and she could completely entrust herself to him with peace of mind. He would never cross the line or act recklessly. Furthermore, the commanding priority of the Blood Pact was higher than that of the puppet spell, which could completely solve her current problem. But the key was... the form itself always made people feel it was a bit too much...
"Let's not," Yingshi said dryly. "It feels too complicated..."
"Indeed." Shuangjian nodded, saying nothing more, only stating appropriately, "A blizzard is about to start. I will take you away now."
"I leave it to you."
Yingshi blinked, feeling like she was currently a tree that had gained consciousness, and the kind that had not cultivated properly at that.
She could speak, but she could not move. Her entire body was stiff and straight, and even when Shuangjian picked her up, she was as straight as a spear.
Shuangjian had no way to carry her on his back, because her body no longer possessed the natural curves of a normal human body. He could not carry her in his arms either, as it would be like holding a piece of air-dried toilet paper. He could only carry her with one hand, like lugging a piece of luggage.
Before taking even a few steps, Yingshi herself broke character first.
Her arms were glued to her torso, her neck stiff, looking exactly like a Terracotta Warrior being relocated.
While moving, she could even clearly hear the faint creaking sounds her joints made due to stiffness. It was truly ridiculous!
This was too far from the image she had imagined before first entering the Tianshan Snowfields, where she would stand shoulder to shoulder with Shuangjian and show off her skills!
"...Shuangjian." Yingshi involuntarily closed her eyes, as if unwilling to directly face everything that was about to happen, and said stealthily, "Are you, are you willing to form a Blood Pact with me?"
Shuangjian's footsteps paused for a brief half-second, and his eyelashes also dropped extremely slightly for a moment, as if he had just blinked casually, before he asked in a low voice, "Why the sudden change of mind?"
"Just answer whether you are willing or not first."
"If I were not willing, I would not have proposed it."
"Then... let's give it a try." Yingshi tried hard to raise her head, attempting to meet Shuangjian's eyes, and whispered, "How much blood does the Blood Pact require? When you draw blood from me, can you do it as gently as last time?"
"It may not necessarily use your blood." Shuangjian coughed lightly, his throat seemingly a bit tight. With the two of them speaking in this cold wind, throat discomfort was quite natural.
Incredibly abruptly, the image of Yingshi crying like pear blossoms bathed in rain barged into his mind.
Shuangjian's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his gaze shifted to the distant snow-capped mountains, his eyes losing focus.
He said casually, "Tears... work the same way."
...
In the wind-sheltered cave, the firelight flickered.
The young man silently added cold, damp firewood to the fire, using his spiritual power to forcefully make it burn. Meanwhile, the young woman standing to the side had her eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at a certain point in the void—she was trying to use the soreness to force tears out.
Now that the second wave of the blizzard had also passed, the safe zone had further shrunk. In order not to encounter anyone causing sabotage while forming the pact, Yingshi and Shuangjian found a small haven to rest temporarily.
She learned the general process of forming the pact from Shuangjian: Shuangjian would feed her blood, and she would reciprocate with tears. After confirming that blood and tears had blended within their bodies, they would each take extra blood and tears to mix, casting a spell to dot it on the center of the brow as the contract.
Shuangjian would be responsible for all steps of casting and executing the spell, including the preparatory work. Yingshi did not need to provide any extra cooperation; she simply had to provide two drops of tears.
But who could have imagined that she, a crybaby who usually burst into tears at the drop of a hat, would be unable to cry at the critical moment?
Yingshi tried hard for a long time. A soreness had indeed developed in her eyes, but no tears ever made an appearance.
"Shuangjian, why don't we proceed with your part first?" she said gloomily. "I don't think I can cry. Did Qin Yuman seal my tear ducts too..."
She had not only tried the physical method of staring blankly but also attempted psychological attacks on herself, thinking of those sorrowful things: her sudden death when time waited for no one, her inexplicable transmigration into a book, the separation from her family and friends...
It couldn't be said to be completely ineffective. It was just that every time she managed to brew a little sadness, her mind would inevitably wander. Her gaze would gradually drift towards Shuangjian, and by the time she realized it, the corners of her lips would already be curled up in a smile.
She laughed at Shuangjian using his spiritual power to start a fire and burn wood. He clearly could have just used his spiritual power to keep warm directly, yet he went out of his way to do this. So, he too had moments of being "not quite bright."
But when the gentle warmth spread to her freezing hands, Yingshi couldn't smile anymore.
After she was turned into a puppet, her spiritual power could no longer flow smoothly, failing to cover her body and keep her warm. It was only because her five senses were no longer as sharp that she hadn't felt the extreme cold.
It turned out she was actually very cold.
And Shuangjian had noticed this even earlier than she had herself.
Shuangjian's face, illuminated by the firelight, clearly bore no extra expression, yet it exuded a hazy sense of tenderness.
"..."
At that moment, Yingshi's heart seemed to suddenly become very light, slowly rising within her body, almost lifting her physical shell into the air with it.
She quietly watched Shuangjian stand up and approach. He complied with her request to "proceed with your part first" without hesitation. When he raised his hand in front of her, blood was already flowing from a self-inflicted wound on his wrist.
The pale, strong arm was presented to her lips. Yingshi's mind was still numb, like a robot implanted with a program. She opened her mouth instinctively, and a metallic, sweet taste spread across her lips and teeth. It was... warm, she judged in a daze. Her lips rested gently against Shuangjian's wrist, almost as if she were kissing him...
"The taste of blood is unpleasant, you will have to endure it a little longer," Shuangjian said.
Yingshi unconsciously traced the wound on Shuangjian's wrist with the tip of her tongue. It must have hurt him, for he gave a barely perceptible tremble.
...The taste of blood was indeed unpleasant, but the taste of pain must be even worse.
Shuangjian had made many sacrifices for her.
He helped her and protected her without reservation.
He could have just ignored her, but every time, he gave his all, even willing to bear a price for it.
Putting herself in his shoes, Yingshi couldn't imagine crossing a blizzard just to rush to someone's side, nor could she imagine resorting to self-mutilation as a premise and self-binding as a result, just to help someone break free from a puppet state...
Why would a person go to such lengths for another?
"...Quick, there's a tiny teardrop on my eyelashes!" Feeling that speck of warm moisture, Yingshi's attention completely shifted. She hastily stopped drinking and anxiously reminded Shuangjian.
The young man's finger carefully reached beneath her eye. Yingshi forcefully closed her eyes, and a crystal-clear tear fell onto his knuckle. Shuangjian paused for a moment, then brought it to his lips and kissed it away.
It was a very restrained action, but watching it made Yingshi's heart pound wildly.
She felt she ought to say something, like "The taste of tears is unpleasant, you will have to endure it a little longer," or "Heal the wound on your wrist first," and so on.
There was a lot she could say, and a lot she wanted to say, but at that moment, she involuntarily remained silent. She stood there blankly, watching Shuangjian reach out to her again, his knuckles gently brushing past the corner of her eye.
The tear that stained his hand mixed with his blood. Shuangjian used his fingertip to smear that mingled drop of blood and tear onto the center of his own brow, leaving a crimson mark. Immediately after, he pointed to the center of Yingshi's brow.
As his fingertip pulled away, a pale golden, simple contract mark corresponding to his appeared on the center of Yingshi's brow. It flickered a few times before vanishing beneath her skin.
"...!"
An unprecedented sense of tight connection gradually emerged. Yingshi trembled from that wondrous throbbing. Her frozen body seemed to be soaking in a hot spring, the surface frost melting away in the warm water...
As the blood contract took effect, an indescribable sense of absolution enveloped her.
At this very moment, she was that enlightened stone, that freed sinner. The forced stiffness faded from her body, and the Heavenly Silkworm Weeping Silk seemed to lose its elasticity all at once. Yingshi's mind went blank, and her body went limp, about to collapse to the side.
Shuangjian caught her by the waist. His presence to Yingshi had always been strong, but at this moment, it was even stronger.
Dizzily, Yingshi heard him frown and ask, "I'm sorry, you... how do you feel now?"
His voice was so clear and magnetic. Without even passing through her ears, it reached straight to the bottom of her heart.
Was Shuangjian also impacted by the formation of the blood contract?
He looked much calmer than she did, yet he also seemed a bit at a loss.
Yingshi heard him stammer, a rare occurrence.
He actually said sorry.
He thought she disliked the smell of blood but was forced to drink his, thereby feeling wronged and shedding tears.
He thought she didn't want to form a blood contract but was forced to establish this bond with him, thereby looking dazed and being unusually silent.
...That wasn't it at all!
"I feel incredibly good!" Yingshi's voice carried an indescribable softness, but that wasn't her intention. It was just that the breath needed to speak had been impacted by the subtle tremors spreading throughout her body. She could only speak "weakly" with teary eyes, "I will treat you very, very well too, Shuangjian."
She suppressed the numbness in her torso that felt like an electric current running through her, suppressed her uncontrollably racing heart, and suddenly threw herself into Shuangjian's arms, hugging him tightly.
Finally, she could! She had wanted to do this for a long time!
A muffled grunt escaped Shuangjian's lips. Perhaps her pouncing posture was too enthusiastic, making it hard to withstand.
Yingshi should have shown concern by asking something like "Did I hurt you?" and then stepped back to create distance, apologizing for her recklessness.
But she didn't. She just buried her head in Shuangjian's chest, rubbing against him vigorously, uttering meaningless whimpers.
She didn't know if it was because the blood contract was taking effect, but having physical contact with Shuangjian made her feel an unprecedented sense of safety and satisfaction!
She really, really, really wanted to stay cuddled up like this forever!
—But damn it, the blood contract wouldn't synchronize her current senses and emotions over to him, would it?
