NHWSG chapter 70

After returning from Longhu Mountain, life became much more leisurely.

After resigning from her job, Diao Leyu hadn’t found a new one yet. Now she spent her days at home, rearranging the soft furnishings in her room. She moved the bed to three different places. Xiong Xiangsong and Lu Xing were tormented by her, watching her almost become an interior designer.

Hu Huanyang had returned to work, but because he owed too much in terms of livestreaming hours, he was busy catching up. He was almost glued to his computer every day, making up for lost time day and night. Sheng Zhao occasionally saw him in the corridor and felt that he looked pale and ghostly, as if he had crawled out of the ground.

The thunder and fire scars on Xing Yingzhu’s legs had completely healed after ten days, leaving no scars behind. It was also a relief for Sheng Zhao.

But Xing Yingzhuo had gotten used to Sheng Zhao applying medicine to him every night, so after his injuries healed, he developed another subtle quirk. He often grabbed Sheng Zhao and forced him to apply essential oils on him.

For this, Sheng Zhao had muttered curses at him in his heart. He thought an immortal monster like him actually cared about maintenance.

It had been almost a month since they returned home, and Sheng Zhao initially felt that things outside were only halfway resolved, fearing that Zhang Jian might show up at any time. However, after spending over a month at home, everything outside remained quiet, as if it had indeed been left to “figure out on its own” according to Xing Yingzhuo’s wishes.

Moreover, in just one month, Zhang Jian had climbed up to the top ten of Hu Huanyang’s livestream donation leaderboard, and there was even a trend of him climbing higher, indicating that he was even more free than Sheng Zhao had imagined.

The thrilling adventures from before felt like a dream, once done, they were gone. When he opened his eyes, life was still the same, passing by with the usual chores and routines.

However, if one were to say that there was any difference in how life was passing compared to before, there was indeed one thing… Foremost among them, Xing Yingzhu did indeed, as he had said, change Sheng Zhao’s job from a contract worker to a long-term one.

The weather was nice that day, with the warm sun shining down. Xing Yingzhuo, rarely not slouching on the sofa like a corpse, rose up with dignity.

Sheng Zhao sat in a corner of the sofa, straight-backed like a primary school student waiting for class, his head turned in a twisted posture, sneakily glancing at Xing Yingzhuo’s figure.

Xing Yingzhuo held a cup of milk tea in his hand, biting the straw, his expression focused as he rummaged through something in the bedroom.

After about ten minutes, he finally dug out what he was looking for from some obscure corner.

Sheng Zhao had originally thought that the so-called “long-term employment” would simply involve taking back his three-year labor contract and signing a new one for three to five decades, just going through the motions.

Little did he know that Xing Yingzhuo’s idea of long-term employment was somewhat peculiar. What he signed wasn’t a labor contract… but some strange contract ritual.

“Human and monsters shouldn’t be together for long,” Xing Yingzhu said. “Your earthly bodies are too fragile. Over time, they are easily contaminated by negative energy. If I don’t give you a ‘Buff,’ you won’t last three years living in this building.”

What Xing Yingzhu brought out was a cloth bundle made of animal hide, wrapped with a tattered thin rope, about the length of a forearm, looking loose and saggy.

“So, is this the long-term contract?” Sheng Zhao asked curiously.

Xing Yingzhu just made a sound of agreement.

Actually, the blood-drop pendant Xing Yingzhu had given Sheng Zhao was enough to ward off negative energy. But who knew Sheng Zhao was different from others? He had no sense of danger at all. Not only did he not avoid it, but he also actively approached him, living together day and night. If the formalities weren’t completed, this little guy would really be in trouble.

It was the first time Sheng Zhao had seen Xing Yingzhu take out such strange objects. He was extremely curious, but didn’t dare to urge him. He could only move aside on the sofa, making room for Xing Yingzhu, expressing in a subtle way the complex meaning of “stop wandering around and come over quickly.”

His little trick couldn’t escape Xing Yingzhuo’s scrutiny. Xing Yingzhu glanced at him lightly, then circled around the room, gathering everything before finally sitting down beside him.

Xing Yingzhu pushed aside the scattered items on the coffee table and placed the animal-hide bundle he was holding on top, untying the rope.

It wasn’t until this moment that Sheng Zhao noticed what was wrapped inside, a very strange irregularly shaped object, about the size of a palm, pitch-black in color, and of unknown material.

There were some strange patterns carved on the surface of the object. Sheng Zhao tilted his head, feeling that the patterns resembled ancient totems he had seen in ancient texts.

“What is this?” Sheng Zhao asked.

Xing Yingzhu didn’t speak. He reached for a small box nearby, opened it, poured out its contents, and handed them to Sheng Zhao.

Sheng Zhao clumsily caught it and realized that it was a small medical blood collection needle.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

I have a bad feeling about this, Sheng Zhao thought.

Sure enough, Xing Yingzhu’s next words were, “Poke yourself.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Sheng Zhao looked at the blood collection needle in his hand with a difficult expression, imagining the scene of poking his finger with the shiny needle. He felt goosebumps all over his body, and his sanity seemed to scatter.

“Must it be done in such a bloody way?” Sheng Zhao tried to persuade Xing Yingzhu. “Can’t we use a gentler method, like changing the three-year term on my labor contract to sixty years?”

“Are you sure?” Xing Yingzhu asked with a smile that wasn’t a smile. “With a labor contract, I can revoke and dismiss you at any time.”

Sheng Zhao keenly extracted a key point from this statement. His eyes lit up and he asked eagerly, “What do you mean, by doing this… you can’t change your mind?”

Sheng Zhao exaggeratedly gestured, almost knocking the tissue box on the table to the ground.

Xing Yingzhu, afraid that Sheng Zhao’s excitement would cause him to accidentally hit him in the face, instinctively stepped back and leaned against the soft cushion.

He reached out and laid it on the back of the sofa, casually pinching Sheng Zhao’s neck, softly humming.

Although Xing Yingzhuo was usually ruthless with his words, he had one advantage — he never lied. Whatever he promised, he would never fail to deliver.

Sheng Zhao suddenly became excited. Even the blood collection needle in his hand didn’t seem so repulsive anymore.

Xing Yingzhu promised with a single spit that it was for a lifetime. From the perspective of a wage slave, this job was simply better than a golden rice bowl. Although the monthly salary wasn’t high, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about food and accommodation.

From Sheng Zhao’s perspective — truth be told, “cannot revoke” really tempted him. It meant that no matter what, for the remaining decades of his life, he would be tied to Xing Yingzhu.

Even if we set aside the question of love, this kind of relationship was close and solid. Unless Xing Yingzhu took back what he had said, there was almost nothing that could break this bond.

Bond…

The word suddenly and inexplicably popped into Sheng Zhao’s mind. He blinked slightly, subconsciously clutching the blood collection needle tightly in his hand.

This word was too beautiful for him. Firm, unbreakable, and unique. He didn’t have to worry about being displaced again, living a life of his own; nor did he have to worry about one day suddenly becoming an outsider in this family.

This realization made him come alive. His heart was pounding in his chest, and in a moment, he inexplicably experienced the sensation of his soul trembling.

“Well…” Sheng Zhao tried to appear less eager, forcefully suppressing the upward curve of his lips, and said earnestly, “Alright then.”

However, Xing Yingzhu, with his keen eyes, could easily see that this seemingly incompetent fellow was almost jumping for joy.

Xing Yingzhu had never thought that Sheng Zhao would refuse him. After Sheng Zhao told him about his family background, Xing Yingzhu knew that this little fellow should belong to him alone.

Whether it was his biological father serving a life sentence or his biological mother who had already formed a new family, at this moment, in Sheng Zhao’s eyes, perhaps neither was as important as Xing Yingzhu.

As he expected, Sheng Zhao didn’t even ask the foolish question of “What if I regret it later?” His chest heaved violently twice, and his hands trembled slightly.

Xing Yingzhu gave a slight tug at the corner of his lips and smiled gently.

However, Sheng Zhao was still a bit hesitant to pierce himself. He turned his head, glanced at Xing Yingzhu, and said softly, “I can’t do it myself. Why don’t you do it instead?”

“Really?” Xing Yingzhu raised an eyebrow. “I can’t control my strength, so don’t be afraid of pain.”

“It’s… it’s okay…” Sheng Zhao, with the courage of a hero, handed the blood collection needle and his right hand to Xing Yingzhu. Then, he turned his face away, closed his eyes tightly, and shivered, “Just be a little careful—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt Xing Yingzhu moving his fingers aside and removing the blood collection needle.

Sheng Zhao’s muscles tensed subconsciously, preparing to endure the pain of being pricked. But then he felt something soft and cool touch his right index finger.

Sheng Zhao was slightly stunned. When he turned his head, he saw that Xing Yingzhu had thrown the blood collection needle onto the coffee table and was already gently holding his fingertip in his mouth.

This unexpected move from Xing Yingzhu was something Sheng Zhao had never anticipated. His whole body seemed to be ignited by this action, and from his fingertips to his forearm, he felt a tingling sensation.

Xing Yingzhu lightly grazed Sheng Zhao’s fingertip with his teeth. Suddenly, Sheng Zhao only felt a slight tingling sensation, barely registering what had happened before Xing Yingzhu released him.

Immediately after, Xing Yingzhu moved his finger onto the black material and exerted a slight pressure, squeezing a few drops of blood into it.

Then, Xing Yingzhu also pricked his own fingertip, letting a drop of blood fall. The two drops of blood merged in the groove of the block, slowly flowing into the surrounding patterns.

“Is that it?” Sheng Zhao asked, looking somewhat puzzled.

Xing Yingzhu licked the bit of blood at the corner of his lips and snorted lightly.

Sheng Zhao didn’t know if that snort was an affirmation or a mockery of his ignorance, so wisely, he didn’t ask further.

The blood traces in the block gradually filled all the patterns. After a moment, the object suddenly inexplicably heated up, and Sheng Zhao could feel it even from over a meter away.

“What…” Sheng Zhao was about to ask what was happening when suddenly, without warning, two dark golden lines extended from the block, one on the left and one on the right, wrapping around both Sheng Zhao and Xing Yingzhu’s wrists almost simultaneously.

“What is this?” Sheng Zhao was stunned. He tentatively touched it and realized the thing had no substance. It disappeared between their wrists in an instant.

“This is what you’re tied with,” Xing Yingzhu squinted, teasing him, “to make yourself my servant from now on.”