Chapter 29: Girl, Come Sign

They both truly did not want to do this. But under Zheng Yichen’s watchful gaze, they felt they had no choice. After all, this contract had been brought by that Ghost Maid. Zheng Yichen must have other powerful beings behind him.

If they refused, even if Zheng Yichen didn’t strike them down, they might never leave the Phantom Demon Forest unseen. This contract was too harsh—there was simply no going back.

“Could we take our teacher out first and discuss this after he wakes up? The Phantom Demon Forest is still affecting us…”

The Ghost Maid stepped forward and shook her head. She took out a milky white bead. Once the bead was out, everyone felt their minds clear. The constant negative effects from the Phantom Demon Forest were completely gone.

Zheng Yichen didn’t feel any different—he hadn’t been affected in the first place. He was just curious where the Ghost Maid had pulled that thing from.

“You want your teacher to decide? Then wait now,” Zheng Yichen said. His dragon wings spread wide as he stretched. He pointed a claw at the air, and a semi-transparent Barrier enveloped everyone.

It was a basic alarm Barrier, offering no real protection and limited warning. But it was enough to prevent anyone from running.

The Ghost Maid looked at Zheng Yichen, who was now lying on the ground with one claw under his chin and the other spread before him, drawing a 3D Magic Rune Array. She stepped into the alarm Barrier herself. Her semi-transparent hand brushed over the unconscious man’s face.

The man jolted awake. Seeing the Ghost Maid, his pupils shrank for a moment. Instinctively, he shifted into a fighting stance.

The sharp sound of rapid freezing snapped Zheng Yichen’s attention back. He looked over. The students’ teacher was encased in ice, with only his head free. Zheng Yichen blinked in surprise, then glanced at the Ghost Maid, whom Petty and the others were staring at with fear.

This soft, weak-looking maid was this powerful?

“Alright, explain what happened to him and then sign the contract,” Zheng Yichen said to Petty.

Petty quickly nodded. She told the teacher everything about the contract. Trapped in ice and unable to move, the teacher quickly grasped the situation.

Though shocked that a dragon was in the Phantom Demon Forest, many things were now beyond their control. If they didn’t sign, they would die!

He had more experience than his students. Once he understood their position, he had little resistance to signing the contract—even if it was an evil one. Surviving this was already lucky. Asking for more would be asking for death.

After checking the contract thoroughly for any hidden traps, the teacher willingly wrote his True Name on it. For a Contract to work, one had to use their True Name and sign willingly. They could be tricked, but they couldn’t be forced or manipulated by magic. If they didn’t sign willingly or knowingly, their True Name simply wouldn’t take.

Seeing their teacher do this, Petty and the others stopped hesitating. Some signed quickly, others with hesitation. Once all their names were on the contract, the dark paper turned into dark flames and burned away.

“Can we leave now?” the teacher asked cautiously, watching Zheng Yichen. He was wary of Zheng Yichen, but even more wary of the unknown power behind him.

“You may,” Zheng Yichen said with a slight wave of his claw. “Wait!”

The teacher, about to lead the students away, froze. He looked at Zheng Yichen with confusion and caution.

“I just remembered something else. She comes with me,” Zheng Yichen said, pointing at Petty. He started walking toward a place the others couldn’t see. After a moment’s hesitation, Petty followed his tracks.

This left the teacher, the other students, and the Ghost Maid staring at each other. The teacher didn’t know Zheng Yichen’s power, but he had directly experienced the Ghost Maid’s strength. As the lead teacher, he wasn’t weak.

Though the Phantom Demon Forest had been confirmed for years to have no extremely dangerous creatures, and though he wasn’t top-tier, he was very close to Reaching the Tier. Yet, facing the Ghost Maid, he had been defeated instantly—and not in some hallucination-fueled frenzy.

If this Ghost Maid could defeat him that quickly, she could take all of them out.

“What kinds of contracts do you have?” Zheng Yichen asked.

“Huh?” Petty stared blankly for a second before her heart filled with great joy. Usually, when an intelligent non-human asked a Summoner this, didn’t it mean they were interested in making a contract? Why else ask?

And the timing was so perfect—right as they were about to leave. It felt like a choice with no other option, but to her, this was already a great stroke of luck.

“There’s… the standard Magic Pet Contract Summoners use, and the forced Enslavement Contract. Ah! I don’t like that one either! Summoned creatures are partners… Then there’s the Equal Contract. Dragon sir, do you want to make a contract with me?” Petty asked carefully, watching Zheng Yichen.

“What kind of contract do you have with that rabbit?”

“A Magic Pet Contract.”

A Magic Pet Contract. Zheng Yichen raised an eyebrow slightly. Not surprising. “To do that Projection summoning, does it have to be a Magic Pet Contract?”

“No, no. Any kind of Contract connection is enough,” Petty answered quickly.

“Alright. Let’s do the Equal Contract then. Can it be broken?”

“Yes…” Petty said, dazed. “The Equal Contract is the easiest to break. It just needs both parties to agree. Or, the stronger side can force it alone.”

She didn’t really hear what Zheng Yichen said next. Her heart was too full of joy, leaping and shouting inside.

“…” Looking at Petty, who seemed to be in a daze like a lovesick fool, Zheng Yichen waved a claw in front of her face. Did he really have that much charm? Did girls in this world like scary creatures?

A wisp of icy mist formed at his claw tip and sprinkled onto Petty. The cold jolted her back to reality.