Chapter 4: The Heartbinding Covenant

The crowd dispersed, leaving the courtyard in disarray.

Jiang Yeqiu spoke softly, “Ningning, you shouldn’t have offended Ye Yueqing for my sake. Her sister isn’t someone you or I can afford to provoke.”

Ji Ning paused in her movements, remaining silent.

Indeed, from what she had seen in her two lives, Ye Yueqing’s sister, Ye Xingyan, had always been an insurmountable mountain blocking her path, capable of ending her life at any moment.

As the sect leader’s personally trained disciple, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and a prodigy in alchemy, the titles attached to Ye Xingyan were far beyond Ji Ning’s reach at this stage.

“If we keep enduring and yielding, they’ll only see us as easy targets and continue to oppress us, leaving us no chance to turn the tables.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yeqiu’s eyes trembled, her expression complicated.

She understood the reasoning—those who had been oppressed understood it too—but without backing or talent, resisting would only lead to death and ruin.

“Not everyone has the courage you do…”

Most would choose silent endurance.

Whether cultivating immortality or living as ordinary people, absolute equality did not exist; the path of cultivation was supposedly all-encompassing, but it sounded like a cruel joke.

“Creak! Creak!”

Suddenly, faint sounds came from behind the door. Ji Ning’s expression changed; she quickly gathered her things and hurried back to her room.

The door was only opened slightly, just enough for one person to slip through, then quickly shut again, the movement somewhat furtive.

Jiang Yeqiu, standing in the courtyard, shook her head helplessly.

Once inside, Ji Ning immediately saw the culprit behind the noise—a soft, adorable little fox standing on its hind legs, scratching the door panel with its front paws.

The faint scratching echoed sharply in the empty room, like chalk scraping a blackboard, unnerving to the nerves.

She pulled a face and mercilessly grabbed the little fox by its fur collar. “What are you doing? If you ruin the door, do you think I’ll pay for it?”

The scratches left by the fox's claws were numerous, varying in depth.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak~”

“Do you want to go out and play?” Having witnessed the strange compass, Ji Ning increasingly suspected that this deceptively innocent-looking little fox was no ordinary creature. She couldn’t let it run off easily and had to study it carefully.

“Squeak, squeak!” The little fox seemed a bit anxious at her lack of understanding.

In the next moment, it stretched out its left front paw, patting just above its belly, its bright, round eyes full of sorrow.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak?” I’m hungry. Didn’t you say you’d feed me?

“Are you hungry?” Ji Ning guessed.

The little fox nodded eagerly. Last night, it had sniffed the entire room in disappointment—there was nothing edible. It had been hungry all night.

Ji Ning patted her pocket; all that remained was the leftover pancake from last night, which she had deliberately saved for herself.

She looked at the little creature lying on the ground, weak and waiting to be fed, suspiciously.

Would a fox eat pancakes?

That was a good question!

If it was a carnivore, she’d have to consider giving it up, since buying meat would cost money.

Ji Ning tossed half a pancake in front of it. As expected, the little fox sniffed the pancake but didn’t eat a bite, turning to look at her with some dissatisfaction in its eyes.

Indeed, foxes don’t eat pancakes. Ji Ning sighed.

But the next moment, the little fox, somewhat reluctantly, swallowed a few bites of the pancake, licking its paws afterward as if still craving more. Then it gently tapped the ground with its front paws, looking up at Ji Ning with bright, sparkling eyes, even showing a hint of hope.

“Well… I don’t have any more for now. I’ll buy you something at night.”

Eating pancakes could fill its stomach, saving money, so it could be kept!

“Squeak, squeak~ Come back early.”

Stretching and yawning, the little one curled its fluffy tail and nestled at the foot of the bed, slowly closing its eyes.

Ji Ning, who had watched the whole scene, twitched the corner of her mouth. Eat first, then sleep—this fox was so lazy.

No, even spiritual pigs have to exercise to keep their meat firm! Don’t slander spiritual pigs.

Ji Ning ignored the fox on the ground and took out the storage pouch from under her pillow. She had a feeling that the wordless book held great mysteries.

But when she opened it, she was stunned. The book remained completely blank from beginning to end.

Ji Ning then took out the compass, trying to find any clue linking the two, even using spiritual energy.

But all attempts failed.

The compass still looked ordinary, with only the short vertical line in the center representing “1,” unchanged from the day before.

Ji Ning felt discouraged, looking gloomily at the two items.

She had only a partial understanding of the compass, and the wordless book was utterly baffling.

Suddenly, something soft climbed onto her shoulder. She turned to see the little fox, who should have been asleep, staring intently at the book beside her right hand.

“Squeak~” The little fox called softly, but Ji Ning didn’t understand its meaning.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck her—she seemed to understand.

Perhaps this little creature could see something different.

Ji Ning pointed at the book’s cover and asked, “Are there words on here?”

“Squeak~”

“If there are, nod your head.”

The little fox nodded its head.

Though progress was made, Ji Ning still worried.

The little creature spoke a language she couldn’t understand, and even if it could see something, it was useless to her.

After a moment’s thought, taking a “try anything once” attitude, she asked, “Can you help me see the words? If you succeed, I’ll buy you food tastier than pancakes tonight.”

The little fox tilted its head, seemingly weighing whether the deal was worthwhile.

After a moment, it leapt onto the bed, leisurely turning around, tail raised, staring directly at Ji Ning with wide eyes.

Its golden eyes gradually lost color; spiritual energy flowed from its eyes in threads, seeping into Ji Ning’s body.

She saw clearly that beneath those pale golden eyes flickered a red formation.

Within the time it took to burn half an incense stick, Ji Ning distinctly felt a faint new aura arise in her spiritual sea, like a contract forming a link between them.

“Squeak, squeak~” Success.

“What do you mean success?” Ji Ning suddenly froze. She had just understood the little fox’s words—the formation was indeed a contract.

“Squeak~ It’s a Heart-Binding Contract!” The little fox looked proud, wagging the tip of its tail coquettishly, as if asking for a reward.

A Heart-Binding Contract? Ji Ning had never heard of such a pact.

Seeing her confused look, the little fox continued to explain.

“A Heart-Binding Contract can only be formed by a spiritual beast. Both parties can communicate their thoughts. The cultivator can temporarily borrow the spiritual beast’s abilities, and if either side dies, it won’t affect the other.”

So that was why there was only an aura in her spiritual sea but no beast essence forming.

But why would it bond with her...

At that moment, Ji Ning caught sight of something from the corner of her eye and suddenly understood.

The wordless book was no longer blank. The cover now bore the words “Heavenly Scripture,” and the pair of black pupils had transformed into dazzling gold.

Ji Ning’s heart leapt with joy. This borrowed ability was simply perfect!

She calmed her mind and steadied her breathing.

Opening the first page, she saw yellowish-white paper with a meticulously detailed drawing of the compass, identical to the real one, as if printed.

On the second page was a black-and-white illustration.

At first glance, it was a picture of death, but the longer Ji Ning stared, the more vivid it became.

Outside the forest on the outskirts, many people in outer disciple robes lay sprawled on the ground, some missing limbs, blood everywhere—a scene straight out of hell. Among them were several wearing coarse linen clothes, resembling those worn by menial disciples.

In the distance loomed the shadow of a massive beast, its form indistinct.

Ji Ning inhaled sharply. Could this have been drawn by someone who bore a deep grudge against the Xuanyin Sect?