Chapter 2: The Wild Goose Contract  

The physical body faintly rejected the Divine Soul.  

Su Han Sheng’s spirit rose and fell, at times as if granted Rebirth, only to plummet back into Avici Hell the next moment. His consciousness remained clear for mere instants before descending into delirium, as though trapped in an absurd dream.  

The same had happened in his past life.  

Before his seventeenth birthday, the ten great academies had sent their rankings to the Echoing Warmth Sect, allowing the young lord to choose which academy to cultivate the Dao.  

No one knew what bewitching words Qi Jian Yi had whispered to him, but Su Han Sheng had decided to abandon Enlightenment Academy—ranked first on the Tide Watching Board—and follow Qi Jian Yi to Cold Mountain Academy, which barely scraped into the top three.  

For cultivators, even the slightest difference in Realm could form an insurmountable gap.  

Moreover, Enlightenment Academy and Cold Mountain Academy were separated by two ranks—the superiority of one over the other was obvious at a glance.  

When Xu Nan Xian heard the news, he stormed back to the Echoing Warmth Sect in a fury to stop it.  

Su Han Sheng was stubborn, and Xu Nan Xian was notorious for his explosive temper. The two argued relentlessly, their dispute escalating into an uproar.  

Xu Nan Xian’s roar nearly shook the heavens: “Do you have any idea how many people are laughing behind your back for throwing away jade to pick up gravel?! That shabby Cold Mountain Academy has nothing to offer—how can it even compare to Enlightenment Academy? Before our master passed, he entrusted me to take care of you. Don’t push your luck!”  

Su Han Sheng replied coldly, “…Master, master—all you ever talk about is your precious master. He only showed kindness to his disciples, but in secret, he was a hypocrite who wished nothing more than to strangle his own flesh and blood.”  

Xu Nan Xian bellowed, “Who fed you such nonsense?!”  

“No one,” Su Han Sheng said. “I remember it myself.”  

Xu Nan Xian froze. “You remember? You were the size of a chick when you were born—what could you possibly remember?!”  

Su Han Sheng muttered sullenly, “Even a turtle’s spawn would remember.”  

Xu Nan Xian was so infuriated by his obstinacy that he snapped out a final ultimatum.  

“Fine! Go wherever you want. From now on, I won’t interfere with your affairs ever again!”  

Back then, Su Han Sheng was still young. His eyes reddened, but he refused to yield. “I never wanted you to interfere anyway.”  

Xu Nan Xian left in a rage, sleeves flung wide.  

In the end, Su Han Sheng still chose Cold Mountain Academy.  

During the September Enlightenment Rite, disciples from the ten great academies ventured into the Forbidden Land for training. For reasons unknown, members of the Demon Race had infiltrated their ranks in disguise, slaughtering many Righteous Path cultivators.  

—Among them was Xu Nan Xian.  

According to the survivors, Xu Nan Xian had ventured alone into the depths of the Forbidden Land in search of a spirit herb capable of suppressing the Bone Affliction toxin—which was why no one had been there to save him when danger struck.  

Xu Nan Xian had died without a whole corpse, his Divine Soul scattered.  

True to his word, he never interfered with Su Han Sheng again.  

The Echoing Warmth Sect gathered Xu Nan Xian’s remains and hastily buried him.  

In the pouring rain, Su Han Sheng stumbled dazedly to see Xu Nan Xian one last time. The sect’s disciples, faces streaked with tears, tried to block him from approaching the coffin.  

The lush Lifebound Tree brushed them aside, and Su Han Sheng slowly stepped forward to peer inside.  

—A single glance was all it took to forge a Heart Demon Su Han Sheng could never escape for the rest of his life.  

The corpse was so mangled…  

It was impossible to recognize it as Xu Nan Xian.  

The verdant Lifebound Tree withered into dead branches and fallen leaves in an instant.  

In the nightmare of terror, the black-and-crimson mist of Yin Fiend Energy twisted into headless ghosts, their limbs like malevolent spirits entwined around Su Han Sheng’s soul. Malicious whispers echoed from all directions.  

“Fourth Senior Brother died so miserably—how can you live on without remorse? Come, join him in death.”  

“A cursed star who brought death to his mother and his senior brother.”  

“You deserve to die.”

Ghosts swarmed, dragging Su Han Sheng’s body inch by inch downward, as if pulling him back into the sunless depths of Avici Hell once more.

“Shixiong!”

Su Han Sheng jolted awake.

Layer upon layer of dark bed curtains blocked the sunlight, making it seem as if he were still in that lightless Avici Hell.

His heart pounded like a drum, his mind still reeling with terror, his consciousness a chaotic blur unable to distinguish dream from reality.

“Shixiong… Shixiong is dead.”

Su Han Sheng’s black hair and robes were disheveled as he curled up in the corner, knees drawn to his chest, biting down on the knuckle of his bent index finger with unfocused eyes. “I killed Shixiong…”

Blood seeped from his bitten finger, the metallic taste flooding his mouth.

The black-and-red Yin Fiend Energy from his dream clung to him like a shadow, transforming into countless headless ghosts wreathed in bone-fire that crowded the narrow, gloomy bed.

“Have you found Xu Nan Xian’s missing corpse?”

“He gave his life to suppress your Bone Affliction, yet you weren’t even afflicted by it to begin with.”

“Pitiful, laughable Xu Nan Xian.”

Tear-streaked, Su Han Sheng covered his ears, nearly driven to mental collapse by the malicious whispers, screaming hoarsely: “Shut up! Shut up—!”

The headless ghosts laughed wildly.

In his dazed state, Su Han Sheng tumbled off the bed, his knee striking the footboard painfully, the sharp pain bringing sudden clarity to his unfocused eyes.

A whooshing sound pierced his ears, instantly shattering the headless ghosts surrounding him.

Su Han Sheng sat frozen for a long moment before lifting his head in bewilderment.

Someone was practicing spear forms outside?

The strange yet familiar sound was like a faint thread, drawing Su Han Sheng to push aside the layered bed curtains and stumble out of the inner chamber.

Having only recently been reborn in this body, his Divine Soul was still unstable. He moved clumsily, nearly falling headfirst after a few steps.

Outside, the morning sun was rising.

It was already the fifteenth day of the eighth month—the day before Su Han Sheng’s seventeenth birthday.

The confusion had faded from Su Han Sheng’s face as he pushed open the door in a daze.

In Frosty Expanse Garden, the Lifebound Tree was half-dead, its once lush, slender leaves now half-yellowed, rustling and falling in the wind.

Xu Nan Xian, clad in black robes, was practicing spear forms in the courtyard.

The heavy black spear, lacking its tassel, seemed weightless in Xu Nan Xian’s hands. The spear tip glinted like starlight with each movement, sweeping the fallen leaves into swirling eddies.

Su Han Sheng stared blankly.

Xu Nan Xian had been practicing for half a shichen when he noticed Su Han Sheng emerge from the house. Raising an eyebrow, he didn’t retract his spear but instead advanced, his figure darting forward like the wind to stop right before Su Han Sheng.

With a sharp “clang,” Xu Nan Xian’s spear pointed directly at Su Han Sheng’s forehead.

Su Han Sheng stared at him unblinkingly, not moving a muscle.

The handsome, spirited youth’s features were brimming with arrogance. Xu Nan Xian stood spear in hand, posture straight as a pine.

“Why aren’t you dodging? Stunned stupid?”

Su Han Sheng gazed at him blankly for a long moment. “Shixiong?”

“Hmm?” Finding this dull, Xu Nan Xian smoothly retracted his spear. Having vented his energy, his mood wasn’t as irritable as the day before, and he drawled lazily, “Finally done reflecting and ready to apologize to your shixiong?”

He said this half-heartedly, knowing full well that getting Su Han Sheng—this stubborn little mule—to apologize would be like expecting the sun to rise in the west or rain to fall upward: pure nonsense.

Xu Nan Xian braced for another argument, but instead saw Su Han Sheng suddenly come to his senses, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath, his voice trembling with barely suppressed emotion.

He lowered his eyes, unusually docile as he spoke softly, his voice trembling slightly if one listened closely.  

“Senior Brother is right to scold me. Han Sheng knows his mistake.”  

Xu Nan Xian: “…”  

The spear Xu Nan Xian had been idly twirling nearly slipped from his grip. After a long pause, he bluntly asked, “Have you been possessed?”  

Su Han Sheng: “…”  

Su Han Sheng stood under the sunlight, tilting his head to look up at Xu Nan Xian. His face, long deprived of light, bore a sickly pallor, his snow-white cheeks like a sheet of scorched rice paper, the center burned away to reveal grotesque flesh.  

The Phoenix Bone seemed to fear the light—exposure to sunlight always left him injured.  

Xu Nan Xian was long accustomed to this. With practiced ease, he guided Su Han Sheng under the covered walkway and used spiritual energy to heal his wounds.  

Su Han Sheng remained motionless, letting Xu Nan Xian tend to him. The burns from the sunlight throbbed faintly, yet filled him with unprecedented joy.  

Pain was good.  

Pain meant this wasn’t a dream.  

Xu Nan Xian had never seen Su Han Sheng so obedient. Once the wounds were healed and his porcelain skin restored, he flicked Su Han Sheng’s forehead with a finger and raised a brow. “Will you listen to Senior Brother from now on?”  

Su Han Sheng’s forehead reddened, but he beamed. “Yes!”  

Xu Nan Xian scoffed. “What if I told you to go to Enlightenment Academy?”  

He regretted it the moment the words left his mouth.  

Xu Nan Xian was stubborn and hot-tempered. After injuring Qi Jian Yi the day before and seeing how furious Su Han Sheng had become, he’d felt guilty—but asking for forgiveness outright was beyond him. He’d been sulking ever since.  

Still, Su Han Sheng’s affectionate demeanor had secretly eased his mind.  

Not wanting to push further, Xu Nan Xian was about to backtrack when Su Han Sheng, without a trace of reluctance, cheerfully replied, “Of course! Wherever Senior Brother says to go, I’ll go!”  

Xu Nan Xian stared at him in shock for a long moment.  

Strange. Had he really been possessed?  

Just then, a messenger magpie flew in from outside Frosty Expanse Garden, landing familiarly on Xu Nan Xian’s forearm and speaking in a human voice.  

“Elder Xie requests your presence at the front hall to greet the honored guest.”  

“Who’s arrived?”  

“It seems to be a Buddhist cultivator from Mount Sumeru. I heard chanting.”  

Xu Nan Xian nodded, flicking his wrist to send the magpie off. Turning back, he instructed, “I’m heading to the front hall. Your Lifebound Tree is acting up—don’t use spiritual energy for now. I’ll find a physician to examine you later.”  

Su Han Sheng replied sweetly, “Alright, I’ll listen to Senior Brother.”  

Xu Nan Xian absentmindedly ruffled Su Han Sheng’s hair before turning to leave.  

But after a few steps, he spun back around and snapped, “Don’t decide anything about the academy yet. If I find out you secretly accepted Cold Mountain Academy’s admission notice behind my back, I’ll beat you eight times when I return.”  

Immediately, he inwardly cursed himself for being too harsh.  

Yet Su Han Sheng didn’t seem to mind at all. If anything, he relished Xu Nan Xian’s threats, leaning eagerly at the boundary between sunlight and shadow to watch him go. “Okay, I’ll wait for Senior Brother to come back.”  

Xu Nan Xian paused before striding off, muttering to himself about how oddly well-behaved the brat was today.  

Was he faking it?  

Su Han Sheng watched until Xu Nan Xian disappeared from Frosty Expanse Garden, his obedient expression fading quietly.  

The tragedy of the September Enlightenment Rite in his past life remained vivid in his memory. Having been reborn, he would never let Xu Nan Xian fall into danger again.  

A rustling of leaves reached his ears. Annoyed, Su Han Sheng’s amber eyes turned cold as they settled on the trembling Lifebound Tree in the courtyard.  

Overnight, the towering tree had uprooted its tangled roots and replanted itself in a corner of Frosty Expanse Garden, its slender, golden-veined leaves shimmering faintly with blood-red light.  

As if terrified of Su Han Sheng.

Su Han Sheng chuckled and muttered under his breath, “Idiot.”

The Lifebound Tree trembled even more violently.

Su Han Sheng raised his umbrella and stepped forward, pressing his palm against the trunk as he channeled spiritual energy into it. The once lush and towering tree seemed to have its vitality drained in an instant, its slender leaves abruptly turning withered and yellow.  

A gentle breeze swept through, and thousands upon thousands of withered leaves cascaded from the branches, swirling like a strange snowfall.  

Amid the flurry of falling leaves, the Lifebound Tree silently transformed into a grotesque tangle of pitch-black vines and withered branches. One of the gnarled limbs draped protectively over Su Han Sheng’s shoulder, exuding an overwhelming sense of guardianship.  

Standing beneath the umbrella amidst the storm of dead leaves, Su Han Sheng’s face was pale, his lips a striking crimson—like a bloodthirsty Spirit Monster.  

“Go search the World Map Records in the Echoing Warmth Sect’s library. See if there’s any record of a man named ‘Chong Jue’ among the Demon Race.”  

The roots of the Lifebound Tree stirred at his command, stretching eagerly in all directions, burrowing into the soft soil and even the hard mountain rocks, swiftly spreading throughout the entire Echoing Warmth Sect.  

The roots dispersed like silent undercurrents in a tranquil sea.  

Su Han Sheng walked back inside.  

The withered branches hung the umbrella upside down beneath the eaves, the slanting sunlight casting the bamboo shadows from the umbrella onto the window, as if painting an elegant paper-cut design.  

On the low table by the couch sat an ornate vine-patterned glass lamp, alongside an unfinished game of chess.  

It took Su Han Sheng a while to recall—this glass lamp was a birthday gift Qi Jian Yi had given him the day before.  

Qi Jian Yi…  

The moment the name surfaced in his mind, an uncontrollable surge of scorching heat flared in Su Han Sheng’s chest.  

Not hatred, but an inexplicable, desperate dependence.  

Su Han Sheng pushed up his wide sleeve and brushed his fingertip over his wrist, where a vivid crimson mark silently appeared—the Wild Goose Contract, a marriage pact his father, Su Xuan Lin, had established with the Cold Mountain Sect during his childhood.  

Before turning seventeen, Su Han Sheng had never left the Frosty Expanse Garden. Mistaking the bond of the marriage contract for affection, he had allowed Qi Jian Yi to lead him down a path of no return.  

In his past life, Qi Jian Yi had seized the Mount Sumeru Mustard—his father’s relic—from his hands, attempting to dissolve the Wild Goose Contract. But the pact was too ruthless; it could only be broken if one of them perished.  

…That was why Qi Jian Yi had been so eager to cast Su Han Sheng into Avici Hell.  

Falling into Avici Hell and being forsaken by the Heavenly Dao would naturally dissolve the Wild Goose Contract.  

As Su Han Sheng traced the Swan Desk Mark on his wrist, the Lifebound Tree withdrew its roots, coiling its vines around his waist.  

“Well?”  

Threads of white, like dragon beard candy, condensed into words on the chessboard:  

**”No records of Chong Jue among the Demon Race.”**  

The World Map Records documented countless lives across the world—even the lowliest mortal peddlers were accounted for. If Chong Jue were truly of the Demon Race, it would be impossible to find no trace of him.  

Su Han Sheng raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Not a demon?”  

How could Chong Jue—that natural-born fiend who defied heaven and destroyed the Buddha—not be of the Demon Race?  

Just as Su Han Sheng was about to order the Lifebound Tree to check the Yao Race’s records, Chang Kong entered with medicine, frowning. “Young Lord, outside—ah! Why is your Lifebound Tree bare?!”  

Su Han Sheng ignored the question. “What is it?”  

Assuming it was due to last night’s disturbances, Chang Kong didn’t press further and pouted. “Young Master Qi from the Cold Mountain Sect has arrived.”  

The Cold Mountain Sect had long coveted the Immortal Lord’s relics in Su Han Sheng’s possession. Luring him into their territory would make their schemes far easier to execute.

Yesterday, Su Han Sheng was on the verge of securing Cold Mountain Academy, but Xu Nan Xian disrupted the plan. Qi Jian Yi, unwilling to let such a golden opportunity slip away, refused to give up easily.

Su Han Sheng paused for a moment before finally breaking into a smile. Resting his chin on his hand, he casually picked up a black chess piece with his left hand and tossed it onto the board.

The black piece spun several times before landing firmly, instantly breaking the deadlock on the chessboard.

“Very well,” Su Han Sheng said with a grin. “Invite Young Master Qi in for a chat.”