Chapter 13: A Pet Name
The touch branded itself into her skin.
The god’s fingers pressed slightly harder, slowly kneading the soft flesh there, fingertips tracing the delicate lines of her lips.
Su Cheng fell into a vast, consuming panic.
Not because of what he was doing. That no longer mattered.
What terrified her was the realization that the countdown on her life had already begun.
“Your Highness…”
The finger resting against her lips suddenly pressed down harder. His thumb forced apart her teeth and invaded the damp heat of her mouth with calm, irresistible authority.
His hand was too large. One finger pinned down her shrinking tongue while the knuckle caught against her molars, forcing her mouth to remain open.
Su Cheng tasted ink, saltpeter, and rust mingled with threads of blood.
Then something scorching poured into her, like molten gold flowing down her throat.
His long curved finger scraped lightly against the roof of her mouth. The moment her freed tongue tried to resist, he caught it, winding around it and gently stroking the tender surface.
Too hot.
It felt as though she had swallowed a ball of fire, like a horseshoe freshly pulled from a forge, like melted sealing wax dripping from a scroll.
Every protest, every question, was smothered there and then.
The unfair bargain was sealed shut.
Instinctively, Su Cheng tried to push him away. But the difference in size between them was far too great. The moment she lifted her hand, her palm struck a wall of burning, solid muscle.
“…”
Her fingertips sank into sharply defined abs. Honey-brown skin stretched smooth beneath them, like silk wrapped over steel.
As her fingers slid lower along the ridges of muscle, she could clearly feel the direction of every taut line beneath his skin, and the terrifying strength coiled inside.
The crimson-gold chains hanging around his waist swayed softly. Cold metal brushed against the trembling back of her hand.
Her fingertips touched a slender ring.
Hidden beneath the ornate waist chain was an intricately crafted navel piercing, adorned with teardrop-shaped gems like fallen tears.
“Before sunset,” the god murmured softly. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
No.
Despair crashed over Su Cheng.
In that instant, her body seemed to grow heavy, as though invisible shackles had wrapped themselves around her limbs.
The god slowly withdrew his finger and lifted his head toward the shop counter.
Then he spread his arms and performed an elegant, faintly theatrical bow, like an actor taking his final curtain call.
Su Cheng never saw it.
Because her world of perception abruptly changed.
The light vanished completely.
She staggered against the shelf, breathing hard. Sweat slid through her hair and down the side of her face. From her collar to the middle of her back, her clothes were soaked through.
She bit down hard on her lip, trying to convince herself this wasn’t real.
The lingering heat still clung to her mouth.
Then a sharp sting pierced through it.
Damn it.
This was real.
Why why why?!
The murmuring in the shop had gone silent. Both people at the counter turned to stare at her.
“Hey.” The shop owner looked utterly baffled. “Did you catch some kind of disease? Don’t die in my store.”
Kai watched her quietly. His gaze lingered briefly somewhere behind her before settling on her face again.
Concern flickered within those sharp golden eyes.
“Are you alright?”
Su Cheng gave a faint shake of her head to indicate she was fine.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead, using the motion to cover her eyes.
Inside her perception world, the fire spirits blazed with impossible clarity, like torches burning in darkness.
Their heat, their condition, their numbers, every detail etched itself vividly into her mind.
The nearby lightning and wind elements were exactly the same.
She could feel how many elemental spirits were trapped inside the magic formations. Far more than appeared visible.
Enough to fuel large-scale spells.
Su Cheng unconsciously flexed her fingers.
The restraints on the wind-element formation shattered instantly, breaking apart into countless golden motes of light. The imprisoned wind spirits shrieked as they scattered free.
Some of them rushed happily toward her.
Streams of smoky teal wind curved around her body, condensing into crescent-shaped wind blades.
Su Cheng: “…”
Behind the counter, the owner slammed her hands against the desk and shot to her feet.
“Only someone with top-tier talent can break the restraints on a spirit-binding magic array!”
As she spoke, she stared at Su Cheng with renewed intensity, cloudy eyes suddenly gleaming.
“Girl, do you have a teacher?”
Su Cheng had no energy left for conversation. She answered vaguely, “I do.”
The owner clicked her tongue and sat back down.
“Ten gold coins. Or fix my magic array yourself.”
“Alright.”
Su Cheng fished ten gold coins from her pocket and handed them over.
“Sorry.”
The owner snorted, grabbed the coins, then tossed out the other sorted materials.
“Now get out.”
With that, she disappeared behind the counter again, no longer caring what happened outside.
Heavy-hearted, Su Cheng walked over and tried lifting the crate filled with potion ingredients.
It wouldn’t budge.
“?”
It looked like it weighed twenty or thirty pounds at most.
“Some of the containers use special materials,” Kai explained as he bent down and effortlessly lifted the box one-handed. “They’re a little heavier.”
“I swear,” Su Cheng sighed, “if I survive tonight, I’m learning battle aura cultivation.”
The black-haired man lowered his gaze toward her. In the dim room, his expression was difficult to read.
After a long pause, he raised his free hand and gently rested it against her narrow shoulder.
“If you truly mean that,” he said quietly, “I can teach you before we reach the Imperial Capital.”
Su Cheng blinked in surprise.
“Huh?”
The corner of his lips curved faintly upward.
“As long as you don’t mind. I’m not some professor or elder from a prestigious academy.”
Su Cheng let out a short laugh.
“What’s so impressive about people like that…”
In a sense, she had even “killed” one before.
Though not with her own hands.
The moment the thought surfaced, her expression changed again. The deal with the God of Contracts sent cold dread crawling through her entire body.
What would happen if she failed to present him with an oathbreaker before sunset?
And what exactly counted as an oathbreaker?
Someone who betrayed a vow?
A cheating spouse?
They’d made promises during their wedding ceremony, after all.
Someone who sold counterfeit goods?
That violated contractual agreements.
A corrupt official taking bribes?
Imperial officers all swore oaths upon appointment.
…No, wait.
They also needed top-tier talent.
There were many forms of magical aptitude, but generally speaking, “top-tier talent” referred to elemental resonance.
Low-tier. Mid-tier. High-tier. Top-tier.
Among resonance users, nearly ninety percent were low-tier. Mid-tier was uncommon. High-tier was already one in a thousand.
Top-tier was rarer still.
Su Cheng immediately abandoned the idea of searching brothels for married clients.
The God of Contracts had given her a nightmare of a challenge.
And if she failed before sunset, she had no doubt her fate would resemble Elder Li’s… and that junior student’s.
“Sir…”
Su Cheng rested a hand against the broad, powerful hand on her shoulder and looked up at him.
“The song Sasha sang before, The Death Knell of Tethia… the final line said, ‘The sophists and deceivers offer tribute unto you.’ Is that referring to offering the souls of oathbreakers to the God of Contracts?”
Kai slowly nodded.
According to the story told in the lyrics, the God of Contracts encouraged his followers to twist words and manipulate terms, luring more people into becoming “oathbreakers.”
Su Cheng thought quietly for a moment before suddenly patting the back of his hand.
“Right. Since this place doesn’t have it, let’s forget about the succubus blood for now. I need to go! You keep browsing, Captain.”
Kai frowned slightly in confusion. His fingers tightened against her shoulder, holding her in place.
“You seem very anxious.”
“I am.” Su Cheng nodded vigorously. “I’m planning to cast Windstep on myself so I can run faster. Maybe climb walls too.”
He paused.
“Where are you going?”
She didn’t bother hiding it.
“The Magic Association.”
The instant the words left her mouth, the man in front of her suddenly bent down and wrapped an arm around her waist.
The damp, moldy scent of the underground streets vanished beneath a violent rush of wind.
Holding her effortlessly in one arm, he darted through the alleyways.
The roaring wind stretched and distorted everything around them.
Orange candlelight from market stalls. Dark blue glow from magic crystal lamps. The shining runes on shop signs.
All of it melted into streaks of molten color across her vision.
She saw one vendor lighting a pipe. The scattering sparks dragged behind like crimson meteors.
Another was demonstrating a magical artifact. Purple-red lightning burst apart in his palm, spreading into threads of light like fireworks against the filthy yellow windows across the street.
Su Cheng couldn’t process any of it fast enough.
She clutched her sun hat tightly. Before one image could fully register in her mind, they had already shot beyond the tangled maze of underground streets.
This wasn’t the route they had taken before.
Crowded lower-city housing, gardens overflowing with fruits and vegetables, walls covered in emerald vines… everything shattered into fragments within her pupils.
She could hear startled screams carried by the wind.
The chest at her back was broad and scorching hot, though even that heat was scattered by the storm tearing around them.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the central district plaza.
Workshops and shops lined the surroundings, while two magnificent towers stood facing one another from north and south.
The Magic Association.
The Warrior’s Association.
Because both guilds possessed exceptional facilities and resources, they had rented portions of their grounds to the academies currently conducting recruitment.
The plaza was packed with carriages.
Some were gilded with silver and gold, family crests embroidered onto jeweled curtains. Young nobles stepped down in elegant clothing while attendants carried chests stuffed with magical tools and high-grade warrior weapons gleaming with enchantment.
Others were simple canvas-covered wagons coated in tung oil that shone beneath the sunlight. Young travelers from distant regions stepped down alone with luggage in hand, faces bright with anticipation as they approached the guild buildings.
Occasionally, magical beasts appeared among the crowds. Griffins beat their wings impatiently while pegasi pawed the ground.
There were simply too many people. Some beasts were visibly agitated, though strict training kept them from losing control.
“…This might’ve been faster?”
Su Cheng heard his voice beside her ear.
Her spine rested against the man’s solid chest. She could practically feel the vibration of his voice through his body.
“Faster?” she repeated, blinking. “More like infinitely faster.”
“Is that so?”
Kai fell silent for two seconds.
“I don’t know your level of magic, so I shouldn’t make assumptions.”
They stood at the edge of the bustling plaza. He bent down to set her gently on her feet, one hand still hovering behind her waist in case she lost her balance.
Su Cheng turned to look at him.
If she weren’t racing against death right now, she would’ve had far too many things to say.
“…Thank you, Captain.”
As the words left her mouth, a sudden wave of sorrow rose in her chest.
She might only have a few hours left to live.
“If…” she said softly, “if we can still meet tomorrow… can I join your mercenary group?”
Kai lowered his eyes to her.
Those cold, tranquil golden eyes fixed on her face. His gaze dropped briefly to her jaw as he lifted a hand, seemingly intending to touch the corner of her mouth.
But then he lowered it again.
“I thought you already had.”
Su Cheng stared up at him blankly.
“Huh?”
One brow lifted slightly.
“You called me Captain.”
Su Cheng froze.
“That was just… kind of a pet name…”
Kai: “?”
She smacked a hand against her forehead.
“I mean, it’s like… calling someone a friend…”
And then she turned and bolted.
She barely made it two steps before the man behind her caught her by the shoulder and pulled her back again.
Her black curls were slightly disheveled. Perhaps from fear and tension, her face had gone pale from lack of blood.
Only her lips remained vividly red.
The bitten lower lip was still faintly swollen, like an overripe berry on the verge of spilling juice.
Kai wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth.
“Good luck,” he said softly.
Then he let go.
