Chapter 52: The Transaction Complete

The old village chief replied, "Very well, but once the anomalous spirits within your cave are freed, they must not attack the people of Gutan Village."

"Heh-heh, no problem..."

Shortly after, the old village chief produced a blank sheepskin ancient scroll and, under the watchful gaze of the anomalous spirits shrouded in black mist, inscribed the terms of their agreed-upon transaction.

Lin Yi leaned in to take a look, only to find the scroll covered in strange, incomprehensible anomalous runes, mysterious as celestial scriptures.

However, Lin Yi's approach slightly disrupted the old village chief's train of thought. After a moment of reflection, he deliberately omitted the "born ones" of Gutan Village from the contract.

In other words, while the people of Gutan Village could not harm these anomalous spirits, the born ones of Gutan Village were not bound by this restriction.

This clause was not written particularly covertly; anyone reading carefully would spot the anomaly.

Yet the anomalous spirits in the black mist seemed so consumed by the prospect of impending freedom that they were utterly ecstatic, completely failing to notice the old village chief's subtle trap.

After signing his name on the contract scroll, the old village chief tossed it back to the anomalous spirits in the black mist.

"Your turn!"

"Rest assured, when it comes to credibility, we are always far more trustworthy than you humans!"

The anomalous spirits within the black mist retreated back into the cave behind the temple. When they emerged once more, the contract scroll bore the signatures of numerous other anomalous spirits.

Immediately afterward, a ring was tossed out from the black mist.

"Old man, the heritage you requested is all in here. Due to the terms of the Ghost-Controller's contract, I was unable to check its contents, but I guarantee that everything plundered back then is inside."

"Good."

The old village chief caught the spatial ring and sent a wisp of consciousness inside. He felt as though the ring was packed to the brim, containing not only ancient scrolls, books, and spiritual treasures, but also a surprising amount of food and water.

"Alright, stop dawdling. It is time for you to fulfill your part of the contract: quickly annul our contract with those Ghost-Controllers."

Seeing this, Lin Yi could not help but ask in a low voice, "Village Chief, is it over?"

The old village chief nodded. "The negotiation is concluded. Next, you need to cooperate with me. I will channel divine power into the anomalous stone on your chest to wash away the old contract."

"Understood."

Having come this far, Lin Yi had no choice but to trust the old village chief unconditionally.

The old village chief moved swiftly. With a single touch to Lin Yi's chest, Lin Yi felt the anomalous stone tremble slightly, and the contract within was instantly erased.

As the contract vanished, not only did the anomalous spirits in the black mist burst into unbridled laughter, but eerie chuckles echoed from the depths of the cave behind the divine temple as well.

"Heh-heh..."

"Hahaha..."

"Damn Ghost-Controllers, even in death you trapped us for three hundred years. We are finally free..."

Though the laughter of these anomalous spirits carried no direct offensive power, it left Lin Yi feeling restless and deeply unsettled, as if his mind was drifting away from reality.

If expressed in game terms, Lin Yi's San (sanity and mental state) value was plummeting wildly.

It seemed his endurance attribute was simply too low, making him exceptionally vulnerable to the negative emotions induced by the eerie laughter of the anomalous spirits.

Noticing Lin Yi's abnormal state, the old village chief realized that Lin Yi's baseline attributes were still far too weak. If he listened to such anomalous laughter for too long, he risked losing his mind entirely.

"Let's go. The transaction is complete; we must leave this place as quickly as possible."

By this time, many of the anomalous spirits within the cave had begun to manifest inside the temple. Some took the form of faint white human figures, while others appeared as towering demons with massive ram horns...

They gazed at the departing figures of Lin Yi and the old village chief and began to whisper among themselves.

"Are we really letting that old man take the ring back? Inside are treasures specifically meant to counter us. I was hoping to go cause trouble for Gutan Village after breaking free."

"The seal remains, we cannot leave. Besides, we signed with our true names on the contract; there is no way to renege."

"Without the constraints of the Ghost-Controller's contract, I say we pool our strength and smash the seal open! I am sick to death of being trapped here for three hundred years!"

"I've had enough of it too. I hear the born ones have appeared; I want to go play in their world, heh-heh-heh..."

Hundreds of meters away from the temple cavern, Lin Yi took another sip of the strange tea handed to him by the old village chief before finally feeling somewhat back to normal.

"Village Chief, will those anomalous spirits really abide by the contract?"

"Generally speaking, yes—unless they know how to play petty tricks within the contract's wording and exploit its loopholes to violate it. However, the contract terms were written by my own hand, so I left no room for them to maneuver."

Curious, Lin Yi asked again, "If someone learns the runes and language of the anomalous spirits, can they also forge contracts with them?"

The old village chief glanced at Lin Yi, accurately guessing his thoughts, and replied, "Yes. But ever since the civil strife in Gutan Village, anyone who is not the chieftain of Gutan Village is no longer qualified to learn the anomalous script and language."

"If you are willing to become the true chieftain of Gutan Village, I can pass this method on to you, but you must not abuse it..."

Hearing this, Lin Yi shook his head repeatedly. "Never mind then, Village Chief. I was just curious."

Terrified that Lin Yi might still harbor wild ideas, the old village chief earnestly warned, "Everyone feels curiosity, but sometimes it must be reined in to keep from straying down dark paths. To be honest, had the heritage inside the cave not been so crucial, I would never have initiated a trade with the anomalous spirits."

Choosing not to dwell on the topic, Lin Yi quickly shifted questions. "By the way, Village Chief, earlier when you were talking to that anomalous spirit in the black mist, it sounded furious. How on earth did you get it to agree in the end?"

The old village chief answered, "At first, it was unwilling to trade with me. After all, the contract those Ghost-Controllers signed with them back then was only for three hundred years, and that time limit was fast approaching anyway. Without the Ghost-Controller's contract holding them back, it wouldn't be long before they shattered the cave seal on their own."

"However, when it learned that the born ones had appeared once more, it became impatient to leave and venture into the outside world in search of resources for anomalous spirit evolution."

"What are the resources for anomalous spirit evolution?"

The old village chief gave Lin Yi a profound look and said, "Humans. A vast number of humans. Some anomalous spirits require the various negative emotions generated by humans to ascend, while others need to devour human life force. That is why we humans and anomalous spirits are natural enemies; peaceful coexistence is impossible."

Hearing this, Lin Yi was deeply shocked. "Can they reach our world of the born ones at this stage?"

One had to remember just how many people lived across the entire Blue Star—over seven billion! If invincible anomalous spirits descended upon Blue Star, how could humanity possibly defend itself?

After all, anomalous spirits were practically immune to physical damage; no matter how advanced human nuclear weapons were, they would be useless against anomalous spirits.

At that moment, Lin Yi recalled seeing a post on a foreign website not long ago about Tokyo being invaded by anomalous spirits.

The website claimed that even the Tokyo government had been utterly helpless at the time, and he had no idea whether that anomalous spirit had been dealt with yet.

Fearing that Lin Yi might harbor lingering misgivings, the old village chief pondered for a moment and said, "They probably can, though I am not certain of the exact method. Ever since the convergence of the two realms, certain changes have become irreversible. Do not blame me for releasing a large number of sealed anomalous spirits for the sake of the village's interests; the truth is, even if I hadn't struck a deal with them, they would have broken free before long."

"I understand the logic. You don't need to explain further."

Lin Yi had already realized that whether it was the old village chief Gu Tianci, or elders like Gu Laohu and Gu Chenghu, they always placed the interests of Gutan Village above all else. As for what happened outside Gutan Village, they generally did not care.

And yet, this was only natural; human nature was such that people usually only swept the snow from their own front steps.