A Deal (Arc 3)

"Actually... I'm not very strong," Feng Yongrui admitted.

"I came here by accident. I mean, it is true that I came here because I was following He Yi, but that wasn't my original plan," Feng Yongrui said wryly.

"Uhm... Who locked you up here? It was Lilith, right?" Feng Yongrui asked, looking at the boy intently.

"...Yeah, it was Lilith."

"And she's the one who used her magic prowess to tie you up here?" Feng Yongrui asked.

The boy nodded his head. "That's right."

Feng Yongrui fell silent. No wonder he couldn't break the seal on this boy or untie him... how could Feng Yongrui's magical prowess be enough to break a seal made by the Vampire Clan's Head, Lilith?

"How long have you been trapped here?" Feng Yongrui asked the boy.

"It's none of your business, right?" the boy grumbled.

"You're quite a complainer, aren't you?" Feng Yongrui retorted.

"Well, after you've been trapped here for your entire life, do you think you would be able to be a goody-goody two shoes?"

"Oh, so you've been trapped here all your life?" Feng Yongrui raised an eyebrow.

"...Yeah. What's it to you, hm? Never met someone like me?" the boy crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"I can't get you out of here," Feng Yongrui changed the subject. "But I can offer you a deal."

"Tell me about it," the boy raised an eyebrow.

"You tell me how to get out of this place, and I'll find a way to free you," Feng Yongrui said, straight to the point.

"Of course, I know you won't believe me," Feng Yongrui said before the boy could say anything.

"I won't believe what you say either," Feng Yongrui added. "After all, we both don't know each other. We just need something from each other. Since that's the case, why don't we make a contract of some sort?"

"...Alright. I guess that is pretty reasonable. What kind of contract will we make? Like... a binding oath between us? I think I remember a spell that can do that..." the boy looked up and scratched his head.

Meanwhile, Feng Yongrui was asking the System about any kind of spell that would be able to bind two people in a contract, making them unable to hurt each other. However, the System did not know of any spells either.

"Hey, I remember this spell," the boy suddenly said. "It's a Promise Spell. We'll both make a promise, and if we don't fulfill the promise within a set time, there will be a punishment. What do you think?" the boy asked.

"That will do," Feng Yongrui nodded.

Following the boy's instructions, Feng Yongrui and the boy completed the Promise Spell successfully. This spell wasn't a high-level spell that required a lot of magical prowess, so Feng Yongrui was able to use it without any worry.

Feng Yongrui promised that he would wholeheartedly help the boy get out of this place (within 3 months) and make sure that Lilith did not hurt, attack, or kill the boy.

In return, the boy promised to help Feng Yongrui get out of this place and not expose Feng Yongrui's presence to Lilith.

Once the spell was done, the boy was visibly relieved and he didn't seem as wary as before. Feng Yongrui also sighed quietly.

"Alright... So tell me, what's your name?" Feng Yongrui asked.

Before the boy could say anything, Feng Yongrui rolled his eyes. "Look, it's not like I'm asking who you are or why you're here, right? I'm just asking for you name. After all, I can't keep calling you 'boy' or 'you' forever..."

"Fine. My name is Stanislav. What's yours?" the boy, no, Stanislav, asked.

"I'm Feng Yongrui, nice to meet you," Feng Yongrui nodded at the boy.

"...He can't see you," the System scoffed.

"...I forgot," Feng Yongrui shrugged carelessly.

"Alright, Stanislav. I'll call you Stan for short, is that okay?" Feng Yongrui asked.

Stanislav nodded his head. "It's up to you. Anyway, you shouldn't be staying here any longer. I'll tell you the way to leave this place," Stan said.

Feng Yongrui nodded eagerly. "Go ahead," Feng Yongrui leaned closer and listened as Stan told him how to get away from the mysterious place.

Previously, Stan had explained the way to get out of this place, but Stan had stopped abruptly because he didn't trust Feng Yongrui. Now, Stan told Feng Yongrui everything.

When Stan finished speaking, Feng Yongrui thanked him.

"Don't forget what you promised," Stan said. "You have to find a way to get me out of here within 3 months. If not, then the Promise Spell will act out and hurt you."

"I know," Feng Yongrui said.

"But..." Feng Yongrui trailed off.

"What is it? Don't tell me you want to back out of this deal," Stan glared at the air in front of him.

"No, I just wanted to say... If I'm going to help you, you also have to be cooperative. For example, you'll have to tell me of any methods you know that can help me free you. After all, my magical prowess isn't enough to help you," Feng Yongrui said.

Stan nodded his head meekly. "I know."

Feng Yongrui nodded his head and was about to leave when he stopped and turned around.

"Right, when does Lilith usually come here? I mean, you should tell me so that I avoid her when I come back here," Feng Yongrui said.

"She usually comes... every third and last day of the week. But I can't guarantee that she won't come on other days," Stan told him.

"Alright, thanks." Feng Yongrui said.

This time, he turned around and left for real. Feng Yongrui obeyed Stan's instructions as best as he could. As what Stan had said, Feng Yongrui went out of the room and found himself in pitch darkness.

He turned to the right and walked forward for 200 steps. He walked down the flight of stairs, moved to the left, and walked for another 200 steps. As he walked, Feng Yongrui gulped slowly and thought of what Stan had said.

Lilith kept her pets here...

"What was it again?" Feng Yongrui whispered to the System. "Lamas? Harps?"

"H-host... Be quiet! How am I supposed to know? I-I'm also scared, you know," the System whimpered, its voice sounding like a child's.

Feng Yongrui was speechless.

"Shouldn't a good System protect the Host?" Feng Yongrui grumbled under his breath.

"H-host, do you think I'm a good System?" the System fired back.

Feng Yongrui wanted to laugh. "Are you saying you're not? You finally understand yourself," Feng Yongrui chuckled.

"T-that's not what I meant, Host," the System protested weakly.

"Then what do you mean?" Feng Yongrui cocked an eyebrow.

"I-I was just touched that you finally found out how good I was," the System said.

Feng Yongrui was about to reply, when he heard a high-pitched scream on his right side.

Feng Yongrui almost jumped out of fright. What kind of dreadful creature was making those sounds??

"AAaAaAAAaaaHhHHhhHhH!" Feng Yongrui heard another scream. This time, it was louder than before, ringing inside his head.

Who else could it be? It was obviously the System!

"Hey, stop screaming inside my head!" Feng Yongrui muttered. However, for some reason, Feng Yongrui felt more relieved when he heard the System screaming. Perhaps it was because the System's screams were better than the creatures' screams that came from his right side...

Well, of course Feng Yongrui would never say this to the System.

Feng Yongrui walked for 200 steps and stopped. The screaming on his right side was getting less and less. Feng Yongrui touched the walls on the left side and looked for a small, circle groove.

When he found it, Feng Yongrui pressed the groove and watched as a small door was opened. Light spilled through the cracks and Feng Yongrui's eyes stung with pain.

Ignoring the blinding lights that made his eyes water, Feng Yongrui entered through the door and hurriedly closed it. When that was done, Feng Yongrui blinked his eyes a few times and looked at his surroundings.

He was in a dimly lit corridor. According to Stan's explanation, this was a secret passage that Lilith used to get in and out of this place -- this secret passage was immune to the Illusion Spell and the various arrays that Lilith had set up here.

Feng Yongrui walked through the corridor for some time and finally reached the end of the corridor. He spotted a stone door and pushed it open. When Feng Yongrui stepped out, he realized that there was water underneath him.

He was... on the edge of the lake?! Feng Yongrui instinctively flew to dry land, getting as far as he could from the lake. He was afraid that he would fall into the lake and encounter Lilith again...

Feng Yongrui flew away from the lake, his heart beating wildly against his chest. When he finally stopped, Feng Yongrui realized that he was back inside his own bedroom.

He had actually flown back here without realizing it!

***

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