Chaoter 91

Tian Heng stared at Feng Jiao Xue, his expression unreadable. Though he had agreed to follow her, there was still a lingering hesitance, an instinct not to trust too easily.

Feng Jiao Xue, ever perceptive, did not miss the flicker of doubt in his violet eyes. That was fine. Trust was not something given freely; it was earned. But before anything else, a proper agreement had to be made.

She reached into her robes and pulled out a small, aged book. The cover was deep blue, nearly black, with silver etchings of swirling patterns,runes woven into the very material of its binding. It was thin but when she flipped it open, the pages gleamed as though the ink were still wet, shimmering under the morning light.

"This" she said, her voice steady, "is a contract ritual from the Feng Library. It binds a master and a servant together."

Tian Heng stiffened at the word servant, but she lifted a hand before he could protest.