All that could be seen was an elderly woman in her seventies kneeling at the height of a peak, glancing towards the vast bounds of the earth and the almighty presence of the skies as she pleaded and screamed in grief. Though quiet the human voice became when it attained such great years, Mei Yue’s voice attenuated by her spiritual essence plowed through the unprepared defenses of the entire Mourning Peak, the forest behind it, and trailed down towards the main quarters of the Morning Star Temple itself. Every ear within the sect received the ghastly whisper of an elderly woman; a murmur that could be witnessed from thousands of kilometers away, as long as they were part of the sect – mortal or cultivator.
The scroll tenderly grasped in Mei Yue’s hands was gently released to be consumed by the heavens.
The binding tore itself into shreds and was scattered about by a gust of wind, and the scroll was hurled into the eternal skies, upon which the great oceans of blue burst with a brilliant flare of gold, crimson, and violet. As An Fei crouched behind the cabin windowsill and glanced towards the luminous heavens, she witnessed the plumes of gold, crimson, and violet surge and violently grapple with one another as they fought to converge.
The violet plume was viciously consumed by the scarlet and golden flares, which were then ruthlessly flanked by the former in a rough attempt to strike at one’s back. Gold tore apart violet and was disintegrated by crimson; crimson erupted and was consumed by gold and violet, forming auroras to sweep through the skies with great force. The dazzling glory abovehead culminated into a loud shriek as the plumes of light surged into a single region with great vigor and speed, and hurled the scroll to the earth below. The delicate object fell, and as it passed by the fringes of the Mourning Peak, the elderly woman swooped from her feet and leapt into the skies, her wrinkled fingers closing into fierce claws to swipe at the scroll and lock it into place.
“The Soul-Binding Contract has acknowledged my decision. Xu Lingxin, now the choice falls onto your shoulders.”
Mei Yue tossed the scroll towards the frowning celestial maiden, and gracefully walked down the winding path leading towards the main quarters of the sect. As her hunched and worn figure vanished from sight, the vivacious whisper lingered forth, trickling behind He Xin’s ears to swat at An Fei’s figure behind.
“The Young Highness from the Violet Jade Pavilion will arrive within a week. Do not let the sect down.”
The elderly woman had arrived with the tempestuous might and fury of a fledging tornado, and had departed with similar gusto and impatience. Xu Lingxin sighed and tossed the scroll in her hand into the air to appease her mind. The bindings that had been once torn and reduced to dust by the skies had now been renewed, except it had now become stained by two colors – a strain of violet, and another of gold.
“Little Sister, why not come out? Surely you’re curious as well?”
The celestial maiden shook her head in exasperation, and called towards the wooden cabin with a flick of her finger wrenching the door open from afar. Since the elderly woman was nowhere to be found, An Fei trudged out wearing an old nightgown hanging over her shoulders. The young girl walked past the busily cleaning He Xin and glanced at the animal scroll clenched in Xu Lingxin’s hands, and released a disdainful snort.
“You’re going to approve of that Soul-Binding Contract, are you not?”
“You are familiar with it?”
The celestial maiden raised an eyebrow and closed her arms to support the weight on her chest. She gazed deeply into the pair of crimson irises adorned with a myriad of black and white cracks, and ultimately released a light sigh. Xu Lingxin threw an inquisitive gaze towards the back silhouette of the young maiden He Xin who had preoccupied herself with gathering and storing the cracked pieces of the cauldron.
“In a week, I will eventually approve of this contract, and sell you as a concubine to the Heaven’s Childe from the Violet Jade Pavilion,” the celestial maiden pursed her lips and avoided the young girl’s wide eyes.
“The winter rain this year has decimated over a hundred thousand mortal citizens living under the protection of our Morning Star Temple. As both someone who has both been born and raised in such region and Elder of the sect, I must prioritize the lives of those protected by the sect, even at the cost of compromising my sentiments.”
“And to achieve that, you plan to sell my life to some unknown man? Without my, the individual in question’s, consent?”
An Fei blinked, and closed her arms across her chest. The young girl reached for the hidden maze of strings clenched taut near her left shoulder under the loose nightgown, where the deadly qama prepared to sing for a fresh splatter of blood. Alas, her alert posture caused Xu Lingxin to flutter her fingers and begin walking towards the still pond near the cabin.
“My dear, Little Sister, one must remember at all times, never to seek refuge under a strong cultivator. Should they overpower you, they can constrict your soul and bind it under the will of the Heavens through the use of a Soul-Binding Contract, and you will never be able to defy its commands.”
The celestial maiden traced around the edge of the pond with her dainty feet. Using deft, lighthearted steps, Xu Lingxin circled around the pond whilst gazing at her reflection, her eyes shadowed in thought.
“Heaven only regards the wills of the strong. Mortals and cultivators alike can force and project their wills onto others who are weaker in strength or capabilities through the Soul-Binding Contract. In essence, it is an edict from Heaven, much similar to that of an emperor,” the celestial maiden drawled and blithely chuckled.
“An emperor can bind the wills and souls of his subjects, and scholars command the souls of all who dare listen to and attempt to understand his teachings. A parent may force their will upon their children, and a strong cultivator may enslave the will of someone who is weaker – yes, even if it were to involve selling them as a concubine to another person.”
Therefore, don’t blame me. Furthermore, the situation you are in now could be much, much, worse.
“…withdraw that bloodthirst. Although I do not know how a mortal possesses the capability to come into possession of a cultivation foundation, but you will not be able to either defeat me, He Xin, or the Morning Star Temple.”
Nor will you be able to escape.
The young girl glanced at the ladle raised towards her direction, and the sword lazily trembling across the sides of Xu Lingxin’s leisure chair. An Fei hurled a glance towards the depths of the forest upon which the Immortal Being lay, but threw that option from her mind almost immediately.
That damned, accursed Immortal Being could throw himself into hell and she wouldn’t care!
However…
“If you are going to approve of that Soul-Binding Contract in a week’s time, why not complete the deed now? What holds you back so much from being able to dust your hands from the matter?”
Her cultivation was in effect a complete falsehood, given how the slightest effort to move the spiritual essence stored within her body consumed a tenth of the golden radiance suffused in the rhombic crystal nested in her chest. Nor was it a favourable idea to draw the qama and challenge Xu Lingxin to a duel – not when He Xin was three steps away with both dagger and ladle in hand, and there was the occasional Xu Meilian shepherding the sect’s cultivators arriving for another training session within the pale depths of the forest. Or she could fling herself off this peak and hope for the best…
“Why? Hm… your Elder Sister is not a completely heartless person. Without ensuring that this Heaven’s Childe agrees to give you his favor and is sincere in his treatment, how could I possibly approve this Soul-Binding Contract?”
Xu Lingxin turned around to face the young girl trapped in her thoughts, and displayed a wan smile. The celestial maiden crouched to draw indescribable shapes and figures along the pond’s surface with the tip of her graceful finger.
“On one hand, I have a cute Little Sister whom I plucked from the mortal world. On the other are the hundreds of thousands of mortals dependent on the Morning Star Temple for protection of their livelihood. Now – should I satisfy the whims of someone whom I have taken liking to, or shall I appease the hundred thousand who have lost their souls forever in the accursed nation of Bei Tang?”
Once the words left the celestial maiden’s lips and settled into her ears, An Fei immediately realized what option to choose. The young girl closed her eyes and withdrew her murderous thoughts, withdrawing into the cabin with a light sigh. Once the skies plunged into darkness and the solemn moon began its slow ascent into the skies, the young girl quietly slipped through and entered the forest’s depths.
