Contract Established

Late at night in Calais Town, the White family’s study was quiet.

A night breeze swept through the window, causing the oil lamp's flame to flicker.

Edmund White sat behind a long table, several dossiers spread out before him, his expression solemn.

Steward Jesse stood by the table with his hands at his sides, waiting for orders.

“Is everything here?” Edmund asked, looking up, his voice calm.

“Has the situation at the church been confirmed?”

Jesse nodded slightly. He pulled a few letters from the dossiers, adjusted his cuffs, and presented them to Edmund with both hands.

“My Lord, these are secret letters written by Father Clement himself to the Cross family. They bear his personal seal and signature.”

“The letters state that he deliberately delayed dealing with the pollution in the mining area. They also detail how he provided cover for the Cross family’s informants in town.”

“In addition, we discovered several deposits of gold of unknown origin under his name, enough to ensure he lives comfortably for the rest of his life.”

Edmund did not take the letters. Instead, he slowly stood up.

He walked over to the wall and ran his hand over the White family banner. His fingers traced the contours of the crest before he suddenly clenched his fist.

“Does the High Church know about this?”

“We haven't reported it yet,” Jesse said, lowering his voice with a hint of concern.

“But given Clement’s connections within the Church, someone inside is likely shielding him.”

Edmund walked to the window and stared out into the deep night. The church's spire cast a long, eerie shadow under the moonlight.

He fell silent for a moment, then spoke with absolute resolve.

“We won't wait. Tomorrow is the Church's Inspection Day. I will root out this parasite in front of the entire town.”

“But My Lord, what if the Church holds us accountable—” Jesse hesitated, his eyes filled with worry.

“What must come will come,” Edmund said, turning around slowly. His gaze was like iron, his tone brooking no argument.

“Go, make the preparations.”

Jesse bowed. “I will arrange it immediately.”

With that, he quietly withdrew from the study.

...

In the morning, as the sun just began to climb the branches, the children in the cabin woke up one after another.

When they saw Bai Xuan and Phoebe guarding the cabin outside, they were all stunned.

A little girl timidly whispered.

“So pretty...”

The children were still somewhat afraid of Phoebe, but they no longer shrank away as they had at first. Instead, curiosity flickered in their eyes.

A braver girl slowly approached, looking up with her small face.

“Big sister, why is your hair silver?”

Phoebe glanced at her but did not answer.

The girl did not give up and asked again.

“Your axe is so big! Have you ever chopped monsters with it?”

Phoebe remained silent, merely nudging her axe slightly to the side to prevent the girl from touching it.

Not far away, several other girls sat quietly.

They occasionally stole glances at Bai Xuan, only to quickly look away.

At noon, the sound of galloping hooves echoed from the distance.

Bai Xuan immediately stood up, his hand instinctively resting on his staff.

Only when he clearly saw Carson riding at the front of the group did he breathe a sigh of relief, slowly removing his hand from his staff.

Carson quickly dismounted and ran over.

“I made contact! These are the White family’s scouts stationed in the wild. They came ahead to help escort the children. The carriages are behind them and will take a bit longer to arrive.”

Bai Xuan nodded. Beside them, the White family members dismounted one after another, taking out rations and water to comfort the children.

Carson walked up to Bai Xuan, giving him a deep, grateful look.

“Thank you. If not for you, these children... and me, we probably wouldn't have survived.”

Bai Xuan waved his hand. “Go on. Don't keep the children waiting too long.”

Carson nodded and turned to organize the children.

Bai Xuan stood to the side, watching the children being taken into the care of the White family members one by one. Only then did he turn to Phoebe.

“Let's go to the dungeon.”

He gently touched his Space Ring, where the Silver-Wrapped Crystal Covenant Pendant lay quietly inside.

Phoebe nodded, shifting the massive axe on her shoulder, and silently took her place behind Bai Xuan.

Just then, Carson, having finished organizing the children, walked over. Seeing that the two of them had no intention of moving, he asked in confusion,

“You're not coming with us?”

Bai Xuan shook his head. “I have other matters to attend to. You go ahead. Be careful on the road.”

Carson seemed to want to say something more, but ultimately held back and simply nodded.

He then mounted his horse and galloped away with the group toward Calais Town.

Bai Xuan stood in place, watching their figures fade into the distance. Phoebe stood quietly beside him, still holding her massive axe.

Once the group had completely vanished from sight, Bai Xuan turned around and looked at Phoebe seriously.

In fact, he had been pondering something since his night watch the previous evening.

He had possessed his Contract Card for a long time, but he had never found a suitable partner to bind it with.

Now that Phoebe was heading to the dungeon with him, the path ahead was fraught with the unknown. She was only Level 3 and had no Class.

Relying solely on her raw strength and that massive axe was still somewhat dangerous.

But the contract could bring immense benefits to both of them—provided, of course, that the contract succeeded.

“There's something I want to talk to you about.”

Bai Xuan said, his voice softer than usual. He carefully chose his words, worried that being too direct might cause her to reject the idea.

“There is an ancient contract that can bind two people closely together. Those who sign it can share each other's strength to a certain extent.”

“We would both gain rewards from the targets you defeat, growing stronger together. We could even borrow one skill or magic spell from each other.”

He looked up, gazing sincerely into Phoebe’s eyes, and said solemnly,

“But this requires you to trust me completely, without any defense in your heart. If you have even a shred of resistance, this contract cannot be completed.”

Phoebe stared at him quietly, a hint of confusion passing through her eyes.

Bai Xuan thought she was hesitating and was about to explain further when Phoebe suddenly reached out, gently spreading her palm open in front of him.

Bai Xuan froze for a moment, then quickly recovered. He retrieved the glowing, multicolored Contract Card and placed it gently in her palm.

Phoebe looked down at the card in her hand, then looked back up at Bai Xuan. Without a single moment of hesitation, she clenched her hand tightly around it.

In the next second, golden light spilled from between her fingers, growing brighter and brighter until it enveloped her entire body.

Bai Xuan could clearly feel a warm power surging from the card.

It was like a stream gently flowing over its bed, or a soft breeze brushing through leaves—without any resistance, without any barrier.

He stood dazed, not expecting it to succeed so easily.

He had assumed there would be plenty of complications, or that the contract might even fail outright.