Chapter 5 Contract
"A talking, mutated fish?" Shi Yuan's fingers tightened instantly.
"Damn it!" the little fish muttered, cursing. "I'm not a mutant fish!"
Shi Yuan looked fierce. With her strength, even a mutated fish would have been crushed long ago. She continued to exert force, using all her might!
Why didn't she bring a knife?!
Suddenly, her palm felt empty, and a seven-colored mist appeared before Shi Yuan's eyes. In front of her was the large piece of gold she had been longing for, emitting a dazzling golden light!
Shi Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted; gold equaled superpowers, equaled power!
Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own, taking a big step toward the gold.
From an outsider's perspective: Shi Yuan's eyes were vacant, his arms outstretched, as he walked step by step into the river.
The little fish, hidden in the colorful mist, swished its tail happily, excitedly watching Shi Yuan as she was about to step into the water.
Greedy and wicked humans, may you be more discerning in your next life!
Hmm? Why does my neck feel so cold?
"Gotcha! Mutant fish!" Shi Yuanqingling's voice sounded like a demon's whisper to the little fish!
"You weren't bewitched? How is that possible?" The little fish struggled desperately, but couldn't break free. It wanted to transform into colorful mist and escape again, but it was out of energy!
How do I solve this? Urgent!
"Sister, please don't kill me! I'm really not a mutated fish!" Since force wasn't working, she tried a softer approach: "Sister, you're beautiful and kind, please let me go! I'm not a fish!"
Shi Yuan remained silent, only clenching her fingers tightly.
The little fish started to suffocate—that damn physical attack! If you're so tough, fight her for real! You damn woman!
Shi Yuan was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and felt a sense of desolation, like a tiger fallen into a plain. If she still had her superpowers, she would consider it a loss if she could make this mutated fish utter even one more word!
Clenching your teeth and straining!
"Sister, I'm really not a mutated fish! I'm not a fish at all, I'm a mirage beast! A mirage beast!"
Shi Yuan: ...I won't listen, I won't listen, I'll just strangle you!
"Sister, I confess!"
"I am truly a mirage beast!"
"I often stay by the reeds; I was the one who blocked your way last time!"
"Don't you want to know why Widow Wu has never been caught in the act of adultery despite sleeping with so many men?"
Don't you want to know why your former stepfather has refused to get a divorce?
"Only I know the truth, sis!"
Shi Yuan was so annoyed that she held the little fish tightly in her hand without letting go: "Save your saliva!" she said, looking around as she prepared to find a sharp stone to give the little fish a physical send-off.
"No! Sister!" The mirage beast was truly anxious now. "Sister, I am an ancient divine beast who knows everything from astronomy to geography, and I even know all the gossip in the area. Please don't do this, sister. Give me a chance and I'll explain everything to you in detail, sister!"
Shi Yuan ignored it, gripping the small fish tightly with one hand to prevent it from escaping, and picked up a sharp stone with the other, ready to smash it down on the fish's head.
"I'll be your contracted beast! I'll do whatever you say!"
At this moment, the tip of the rock was only one millimeter away from the little fish's eyeball!
The stone stopped, and his life was temporarily saved, but a sense of desolation welled up in Xiaoyu's heart. A tiger fallen into the plains!
Back then, many powerful figures longed to make a contract with her, but she ignored them all. Who would have thought that one day she would be begging to make a contract with someone!
It's also her fault for being unwilling to give up the vibrant life of the world; otherwise, if this woman had given her a good beating, it would have been a relief!
Anyone who has survived the apocalypse knows that anyone who, through a series of coincidences, forms a contract with a mutated plant or animal will eventually become a powerful figure in their own right.
Shi Yuan had no intention of becoming a kingpin in the 1970s, and of course, the national conditions and laws did not allow it, but that did not stop her from wanting to become powerful, so she was naturally tempted.
That said, she's considered a powerful figure in the apocalypse, but she's never actually contracted with any mutated plants or animals!
However, this mutated fish in my hand is a bit useless.
It's okay, it's okay, Shi Yuan comforted himself. Maybe it's a growth type, and at least this fish is good at defense, it can create illusions or something.
"Sign the contract now, or die!" The last syllable of her voice rose slightly, the murderous tone lessened, clearly indicating that Shi Yuan was quite pleased with the idea of a contract.
The mirage beast hesitated, its desire to escape still alive.
Shi Yuan has never been lenient with mutated plants and animals. Seeing the little fish rubbing its eyes, it narrowed its eyes and its hand tended to retract again.
"Contract! Contract!" "Contract now!" The mirage beast bit down hard on Shi Yuan's left index finger. Shi Yuan didn't even flinch, squeezing out a bead of blood and placing it between the little fish's eyes. In an instant, the blood bead transformed into strange patterns and seeped into the little fish's forehead.
Satisfaction flashed in both Shi Yuan's and Xiao Yu's eyes.
A sudden change has occurred!
"Ah!" Little Fish felt a sharp pain in her head and couldn't help but scream in agony.
Shi Yuan looked at the little fish with a half-smile: "A counter-contract? A cunning mutant fish!" Her fingers began to close again.
"Who exactly are you?" "Why do you possess such a vast and boundless sea of consciousness?" "Could you be the reincarnation of some powerful being?" "That's impossible!"
"What are you chattering about!" Shi Yuan squeezed the little fish's head tightly. "Are you still going to form a contract? If not, you die!"
Little Fish immediately knelt down: "Thumbs up! Thumbs up!" She smiled obsequiously, "I'll take it!"
Shi Yuan squeezed out another drop of blood. This time, the mirage beast didn't dare to cause any more trouble and obediently became Shi Yuan's contracted beast.
"Go, catch me a few big fish in the river," Shi Yuan casually ordered, tossing the small fish back into the river with a "whoosh."
Mirage Beast: ...It's an ancient divine beast, a divine beast!
But she dared not speak out against her anger. She didn't know what Shi Yuan's intentions were. Her attempt to reverse the contract failed. When she first signed the contract, she wanted to make an equal contract, but that also failed.
She has now become Shi Yuan's contracted beast, and is in a subordinate position in the relationship, only able to obey orders.
The mirage beast muttered to itself and cursed under its breath. After flipping over into the water, it swung its tail and spun around, creating a large whirlpool just like Shi Yuan had done.
Shi Yuan crossed her arms and watched the mirage beast reluctantly help her catch fish. She thought to herself: How can this not be considered the forced love that Ji Ying talked about!
Before long, fish jumped from the whirlpool to the shore.
Shi Yuan pulled a handful of grass, threaded it through the fish's gills, and lifted the fish up in his hand.
"That's fine."
Upon hearing this, the mirage beast eagerly emerged from the water.
"Should I bring you a basin of water and take you home, or do you want to stay here?"
"Sister, I stay in the water mainly to conceal myself," the mirage fish grinned. "Since I've made a contract with you, I'll naturally follow you."
"Amphibious?"
The mirage beast chuckled and boasted, "I can find a place anywhere, in the sky or on the ground!"
"Sister, give me your hand."
Shi Yuan did as instructed and stretched out her hand. The mirage beast's form etherealized into mist, transforming into a small, golden snake that coiled around Shi Yuan's wrist, head to tail.
Shi Yuan: ...is my favorite color!
She cleared her throat: "Let's find someone more low-key."
The gold color gradually faded, and the snake's body turned blue.
Shi Yuan lowered his sleeves to conceal the mirage beast, then carried the fish home.
"Why did you cover for Wu Xinghe before?" she asked casually.
"It's fun." The mirage beast flicked its tail nonchalantly. "You have no idea how stupid those men are, rushing to give them money and gifts, thinking they're the only one for them."
"For a while, watching them do stupid things was my motivation to keep living."
Shi Yuan: ...
Is the child in Wu Xinghe's belly Yang Fuguo's?
"Who knows? But is Yang Fuguo smarter or more capable than anyone else? That woman isn't stupid, so why would she have his child?"
"Then whose child is it?"
"According to your logic, who in Qinglinwan Brigade could she possibly fancy?"
"Isn't there someone from town?" the mirage beast asked. "Do you want to know?"
"I'll follow her for you!"
"Not for now." She'll definitely teach the Yang family a lesson, but there's no rush.
"Go and find out where I can buy yellow talisman paper and cinnabar."
What do you need this for?
"Let me tell you, the authorities are cracking down on this very strictly. Can you cover it up?"
"You can draw talismans? You're a talisman master? What rank are you?"
"With such a vast sea of consciousness, you must be at the grandmaster level!"
"That's alright, I'm not exactly throwing my pearls before swine."
Shi Yuan ignored Xiao Yu's nagging and continued walking home without stopping.
Little Fish continued, "Don't worry, with me here, even if you draw the talisman in front of those people, or even stick it on their foreheads, I'll keep you safe!"
"Seriously, you're asking me to inquire about talisman paper and cinnabar? Isn't that a huge waste of my talents?"
"Let me formally introduce myself. I am the ancient divine beast, the Mirage Beast, possessing power that reaches to the heavens and the earth. I may be the only remaining ancient divine beast in this world." The last sentence was tinged with melancholy.
Then he emphasized, "I'm not some mutant fish you're talking about!"
"Do you know where there's gold buried nearby?" Shi Yuan asked casually, not taking the mirage beast's words to heart at all.
If it were really that powerful, how could it have been contracted by someone as weak as her?
And she almost crushed it just now.
When you're out and about, you have to choose your own identity; she understands that!
This time, the mirage beast fell silent.
Why would she care where the gold is buried? She's not a dragon, she doesn't care about such mundane things!
"I'll help you find yellow talisman paper and cinnabar."
"Just find out where it is, don't just take it directly. Otherwise, the accounts won't match up and we'll be in trouble," Shi Yuan cautioned. This isn't the apocalypse; taking things without asking is unacceptable.
"Understood." Before she could finish speaking, Shi Yuan's wrist was already empty.
Shi Ling looked at the arm-length black fish and exclaimed in amazement, "I knew there were fish in the river, but I didn't know there were fish this big!"
“It’s hot now, so we can’t eat that much at once. I’ll dry some fish so we can eat it slowly.”
"You can arrange it," Shi Yuan said with a smile. "I'm really good at grilling fish, would you like to try my cooking?"
Shi Ling glanced at the high-hanging sun, wiped her sweat, and pushed Shi Yuan to the room to rest: "Let's wait until autumn, then we'll eat grilled fish."
"good."
Shi Ling stewed fish soup with tofu and stir-fried fish pieces with pickled vegetables. Shi Yuan was so engrossed in the pure and natural food that she ate three bowls of rice with the fish soup.
Shi Ling smiled as she watched, and before she knew it, she had another bowl of rice. She hadn't had such a good appetite in a very long time.
At night, Shi Yuan would climb onto the roof as usual to observe the surrounding activity.
She was no longer as wary as before. She lay on the roof, the sky filled with stars, with occasional stars trailing their tails as they flashed by.
A warm evening breeze brushed against my cheeks, causing a slight tickle, while the sounds of insects chirping and birds singing filled the air.
Before sleepiness arrived, the mirage beast brought news of yellow talismans and cinnabar, oh, and also news of Wu Xinghe's lover in town.
A note from the author:
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