The Devil's Contract Lover - Chapter 52

“Is that so? Does your first layer also include the symbiotic relationship between you and a certain faceless puppet?” Xing Kong (Starry Sky) remained unmoved, continuing to consume the incoming energy waves. The Pseudo-God’s power was still putting up a fierce resistance.

“Correct. It’s surprising you could see the second layer, but what about this?” The artifact spirit’s voice suddenly rose sharply, as her trump card was finally revealed.

A magnificent scroll of parchment, spitting flames in reverse, unfolded freshly in mid-air. Unknown runes covered it. Yao Yuan couldn’t understand what was written, but she felt a very familiar sensation.

She immediately looked at Xing Kong’s face. The devil was genuinely… shocked!

“How is it? Does it feel very familiar?” The artifact spirit’s pride filled the space: “You didn’t expect it, did you? The Pseudo-God’s power is indeed enveloping me, but I am a genuine Divine Artifact!”

The four words “genuine Divine Artifact” were spat out almost through gritted teeth. She lacked her initial spiritual vitality and was full of resentment: “It’s always like this, one after the other. The true God is willful, and the Pseudo-God is twisted. I’m done!”

The atmosphere in the space changed abruptly. Streams of strange energy surged. Yao Yuan inexplicably felt that it was somewhat similar to the energy in her own heart. Even though she didn’t understand what the artifact spirit was doing, she could vaguely guess: the other party was likely using Xing Kong to consume the power attached by the Pseudo-God.

“And you, little girl. Come here!” A tremor like an electric shock instantly ensued. This was the Divine Domain controlled by the other party, and the command was immediately effective.

Their tightly clasped hands separated instantly. Yao Yuan appeared next to the artifact spirit. An invisible barrier, seemingly without any thickness, completely isolated Xing Kong.

“You no longer need that thing. This is not some crude imitation of time and space; this is the true 【Past】.” The artifact spirit laid the contract flat in front of Yao Yuan. The blood-colored runes previously signed on the original document gradually faded and peeled away, replaced by another contract slowly forming on the same plane.

“What do you want to do?!” An unsettling feeling rose and fell in her heart.

“It’s very simple. Sign a contract with me. From now on, you will replace Chu Yan as my component, something like an assistant.” The artifact spirit smiled coldly, analyzing the pros and cons for her in the most straightforward way: “You will get everything you desire. Even if you want this devil to be your slave, I can make it happen once I am completely free from control!”

If the devil had said similar words to her, she would have responded cheekily with: “Then, what is the price?”

However, now she didn’t want to say anything. Yao Yuan stared intently at the two different contracts before her. The signature on the original document had become very faint, while the text on the duplicated attachment became clearer and clearer, but the signature section was still blank.

【She still needs me to sign the contract.】

“Come on, make your choice.” The arrogant tone of newfound freedom rang out overhead: “Of course, you can choose not to sign. I can freeze, accelerate, or reverse your time, making you stand here for a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years. Ultimately, you’ll still have to sign.”

A quill pen appeared by her hand. Yao Yuan tentatively reached out and grasped the pen. She had always been concerned that the other party seemed unable to directly touch her. Was this a personality trait or was she temporarily unable to do so?

It was the same when the artifact spirit impersonated Xing Kong earlier—not only were there verbal flaws, but all physical contact was completely avoided. She couldn’t help but recall the reaction speed of the witnessing will when she signed the contract… So, there was still a chance!

Although she didn’t understand how the artifact spirit obtained that contract, she remained calm.

“Alright, I promise you.”

The quill pen moved toward the contract duplicate, then shifted toward the original with the fastest speed possible—it didn’t move an inch.

“I knew humans were good at lying.” The artifact spirit smiled cruelly: “The pen can, of course, only sign mine. As for you… this is your punishment!”

【Will my time be frozen for a hundred years?!】 Fear suddenly eroded her heart, but she was somewhat “lucky.”

A sharp edge sliced through Yao Yuan’s left pinky finger, and intense pain instantly erupted!

“You’re very lucky. I don’t have time to wait ten thousand years for you. You can endure a little pain, right? Anyway, reversing time will be very easy once we merge. By the way, humans seem to have twenty fingers?”

A mist of blood burst before Yao Yuan’s eyes, and the severed surface was blurry. There was no time for tears. The adrenaline, peaking at its limit, suddenly overruled her reason, giving a higher priority command to her brain.

【Instinct】 was dominating. Her single, wholehearted thought was: Now the “ink” is ready.

Touching was forbidden, so what about scattering? Even the artifact spirit completely failed to realize that Yao Yuan, isolated from the true contract, had gained the possibility of approaching it due to the spirit’s own recklessness—by using her blood!

The distant Witness did not disappoint Yao Yuan. The moment her blood re-soaked into the paper, she could feel a gaze floating on that plane.

The gaze did not interfere with her or the contract, but the artifact spirit above suddenly let out a short, sharp scream.

She couldn’t spare a glance backward. She scrambled toward the contract, looked at the blood-red characters, and cried out, filling her chest with air: “Hurry and fulfill the contract, Xing Kong—!”

The devil responded with action. As the original contract was engulfed in flames, the ground where the artifact spirit stood completely disintegrated. The mixed energy thoroughly swept through the space, silencing everything in a white-hot blaze.

Finally, the teaching building’s original colors began to emerge, and the space completely returned to normal. A fragment of a glazed vessel, too broken to discern its original shape, lay not far away.

“Foolish! To willingly become a devil’s food!”

The fragment’s ceaseless voice echoed in the night-time teaching building: “The wound I inflicted is absolutely irreparable. Your existence, your soul, everything—” Several shadow-state chains bound the fragment, forming a liquid sphere that completely encased it. It seemed this time, neither the Divine Artifact nor the Pseudo-Artifact would be able to continue its noise.

After dealing with the artifact fragment, Xing Kong cupped Yao Yuan’s finger, looking intently at the severed surface.

Yao Yuan nestled into her arms: “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Don’t worry too much.” The first half of the sentence was not a casual lie meant to comfort. It was genuinely not hurting.

It had hurt tremendously when the artifact spirit chopped it off, but the current wound was different; the severed surface was pure black, with no bones or flesh visible.

Was this pain relief Xing Kong’s doing? When she saw the devil’s solemn expression, Yao Yuan suddenly felt a little scared. The artifact spirit wouldn’t be kind enough to relieve her pain, so what exactly…

While she was worrying, the teaching building was completely submerged in the lightless void. A golden-red outline, whether it was originally there or left by the artifact spirit, was completely obscured by shadows, making the surging lines appear eerie and restless against the black backdrop.

“Xing Kong?” She gently touched the devil in front of her with her other intact hand. Xing Kong’s current form seemed very unstable. Was this a disclosure of something resembling her true body?

In the darkness, her incomplete hand was suddenly enveloped in shadow. The shadow rose and fell, then solidified into a tangible palm, cupping the severed surface and her ring finger.

It was icy cold, yet very soft.

The gloom obscured the artificial light source, but a faint, blurry halo of light diffused between her and Xing Kong.

“I will reclaim everything for you.” The arrogant devil knelt on one knee before her: “My Master.” The last word dropped slowly, solemnly and devoutly.

Today felt like a dream. Emerging from the dream, she was dragged into a lighter “illusion.” This illusion persisted even after a “click” sound.

The switch clicked lightly, and the indoor lights turned on simultaneously.

Yao Yuan was bathed in the ordinary, pure white light. She couldn’t help but look at the devil who was still holding her wrist beside her.

Xing Kong’s pace matched hers, and she lowered her head at the same moment: “What would you like for a late-night snack?”

The attitude was completely different… Should she call it distant? Yet, it still carried that usual sense of arrogance. Yes, that was the feeling: considerate yet arrogant.

Realizing this, she was relieved and smiled genuinely: “No, I’ve been scared full today. I just want to go to sleep quickly.”

“Alright.”

Four arcs of light enclosed a rectangular area. Yao Yuan’s feet slipped, and she plunged straight into warm, comforting water. Upon closer inspection, the surroundings had changed from the living room to the bathroom.

To call it a bathroom was no longer quite accurate—a bathtub? A bathhouse? The space, roughly the size of two living rooms, was filled with mist. The surroundings were enclosed by marble-textured walls, and even the backrest was a recessed step rather than a wooden tub. Her clothes were completely gone, and a change of clothes was folded on a stone stool far away.

“You don’t need such a huge display, do you…” Yao Yuan was a little confused. Seeing the fully-dressed Xing Kong behind her, she immediately submerged herself completely in the water: “You, you are being strange again!”

Darn it, why am I the only one naked… although you certainly can’t wear clothes when bathing. No, that’s not the point. She floated in the water, her face flushed red, her two hands covering her chest.

“Come, give me your hand.” Xing Kong’s tone was calm. When she mentioned 【hand】, Yao Yuan also realized. Looking down, the severed surface of her pinky finger was still pure black.

Such a completely unnatural phenomenon certainly needed to be resolved quickly. She couldn’t imagine startling people if she went out to buy a snack looking like that.

She obediently placed her finger in Xing Kong’s palm. Once the shyness faded, doubt slowly crept in: if this wound was easy to fix, Xing Kong would have helped her resolve it immediately, not dragged it out until now.

“Xing Kong, can the finger not be reattached?” Her voice trembled slightly, but it wasn’t weak: “If it really can’t be reattached, it’s okay to have one less finger.”

“…” After a moment of silence, a blood-red light enveloped the severed part of the finger, quickly molding a new pinky finger that looked exactly like the original.

“That was easy.” Yao Yuan immediately cheered up, hooking her new pinky in Xing Kong’s palm. It felt tingly and numb, and her sense of touch was perfectly normal.

For some reason, the devil’s expression did not ease. Yao Yuan pretended not to notice and placed her other hand on Xing Kong’s wrist: “This is good. We’ve solved the bad person now, so…”

So, let’s date and fall in love like you said. Her eyes were full of trust: winning or losing no longer mattered; her heart understood what she truly wanted.

However, the devil, who had always claimed to fulfill the contract, gave a different answer this time.

“No, I said I would reclaim everything for you. Before that, even the contract must yield to this promise.”

“Is there, is there no difference?” The blush on her face refused to fade. Yao Yuan was a little afraid to look directly at the devil right now.

Xing Kong unfolded a bath towel and draped it over her shoulders: “There is a difference. One is the contract’s restraint on me; the other is my vow to you.”

How arrogant, a devil whose self-will always overrides the contract—is my favorite person. Tears evaporated in the steam-filled bathroom.

“Okay. I, too… most want to keep the promise between Xing Kong and me. It’s a deal.”

The girl raised her hand, and the devil’s lips gently kissed the newly formed pinky finger.