All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 33

“Please, sir, take a seat.” The Mountain Goblin King Hulu raised his hand, and suddenly the ground changed shape. A stone table and chair appeared out of thin air next to Hulu’s seat. This terrain-altering technique left Zhanyue dumbfounded.

Zhanyue sat down graciously. Soon after, servants brought over a plate of roasted meat, a pot of soup, fruit platters, and wine.

“You two are each rewarded with two Earth Spirit Fruits. You’re promoted to the King’s close guards,” Hulu said to Dingding and Dangdang, who were still standing below.

“Thank you, Great King! Thank you, Great King!” The two hurriedly knelt down in gratitude. Those around them cast extremely envious glances. To be promoted from patrol guards directly to the King’s close guards was a great honor and benefit. Although serving the king was like accompanying a tiger, the benefits were considerable. Moreover, although the Great King was verbally fierce, he had never severely punished any Clan members.

“Sir, please eat. I don’t know if our Clan’s delicacies suit your taste,” Hulu said very politely.

Seeing Hulu’s fawning smile, Zhanyue knew Hulu must have a favor to ask of him.

He put a bright red fruit in his mouth. The fruit was only about the size of a pigeon egg, with a texture similar to a fairy fruit, but as sweet as honey. Then he took a sip of fruit wine. Although it was full of alcohol flavor, it was also sickeningly sweet. The roasted meat was also smeared with plenty of honey, presumably also sweet. This place was a paradise for sweet lovers and a hell for savory fans.

“Do you have any plain water? The food is quite delicious, but it’s a bit too sweet for me,” Zhanyue said generously, showing no nervousness or fear. This made Hulu even more impressed. A human of such low strength probably couldn’t even beat the weakest member of their Clan, yet he was calm and relaxed, enjoying the food and drink without worry. He was indeed no ordinary person.

“Yes, yes, yes. Someone, bring the best spring water for the sir,” Hulu ordered, then suggested, “If sir doesn’t like sweet food, you can try the soup. It’s savory and the taste is unparalleled.”

Zhanyue looked at the black, thick soup in the bowl with furrowed brows. Could this really be drunk? But looking around, he saw some Clan members drinking the soup in big gulps, their faces showing expressions of happiness. He first took a small sip, and an electric-like sensation made his whole body tingle.

Zhanyue felt as if he had arrived in heaven, floating on clouds with countless little fairies massaging his tongue.

“Delicious!” He then drank it all in one go. After finishing the bowl of soup, he even felt his realm loosening slightly, with a vague sense of breakthrough.

“Another bowl, please,” Zhanyue said, holding up the empty bowl. It would be foolish not to take advantage of such a good thing. This soup was definitely something special.

Seeing Zhanyue’s satisfaction, Hulu also relaxed. He looked at Zhanyue with burning eyes, never imagining he would find someone who could understand that kind of writing in his lifetime.

After the feast, Hulu dismissed everyone, keeping only Dingding, Dangdang, and Zhanyue.

“Great King, if you have something to say, just say it directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush. I can see you’re much smarter than them,” Zhanyue said, pointing at Dingding and Dangdang. These two rascals had actually been promoted because of him.

Hulu laughed heartily, “I’m certainly quite a bit smarter than them. They forcibly brought you here, which was very offensive. I won’t hide it from you, I do indeed have some matters to ask of you, sir.”

Zhanyue thought to himself, sure enough. That recipe was just an appetizer; this King couldn’t possibly just want him to translate a single recipe.

Then Hulu took out a jade box from his spatial treasure, and carefully removed an animal skin booklet from inside, handing it to Zhanyue. “The writing in this booklet is the same as on that paper earlier. I hope sir can help me translate it.”

Zhanyue opened the booklet with text and diagrams, his expression changing dramatically. He quickly realized this was definitely a cultivation method. But soon he was disappointed again, seeing that the diagrams all depicted Mountain Goblins. It should be a cultivation method unique to their race.

“Great King, this is a cultivation method, isn’t it?” Zhanyue asked.

Hulu chuckled, his face unable to hide his excitement, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, a cultivation method belonging to our Mountain Goblin Clan.”

Zhanyue gave a wry smile and said, “Great King, you’re really honest. How can you show such an important cultivation method so easily? You should have scrambled the order before letting me translate, so I wouldn’t know the secrets inside.”

Hearing this, Hulu suddenly realized, “Oh, right! What a good idea. As expected, humans are clever. But I trust you, just go ahead and translate.”

Zhanyue looked at Hulu’s sly expression and said, “Great King, aren’t you thinking of killing me after I finish translating this cultivation method? To eliminate any future troubles?”

Hearing this, Hulu’s old face turned red. His thoughts had been seen through. “No… no such thing, absolutely not.”

Zhanyue handed the booklet back, “I don’t want to die unjustly after rendering service. If you want to kill me, do as you please.”

Seeing Zhanyue refuse to translate the cultivation method, preferring death, Hulu instantly became anxious. Although he was much smarter than Dingding and Dangdang, his racial talent was limited. How could he compare to a shrewd person like Zhanyue? He was instantly outmaneuvered.

“I swear, I promise I won’t harm you, sir. Please help me translate,” Hulu said hurriedly.

“No good. What use is an oath? It can be broken. Anyway, you could probably kill me with just one finger,” Zhanyue shook his head. He needed a truly safe way to ensure his safety.

Hulu looked at Zhanyue angrily. Forget killing, he didn’t even dare to hit him now.

As the atmosphere became awkward, Dingding and Dangdang suddenly stepped forward.

“Report to the Great King, we have an idea!” the two suddenly said.

“What idea?” Hulu looked at them puzzled. He had kept these two mainly because Zhanyue was brought back by them, thinking it might be convenient to ask some questions.

“Why don’t you become sworn brothers with this sir?” one said.

“Yes, yes, the first iron law of the Mountain Goblin Clan is no infighting, even the Great King must obey,” the other agreed.

The Mountain Goblin King was stunned, then burst into laughter, “Good idea! Why didn’t I think of that? Sir, why don’t we become sworn brothers of different surnames? This way, you won’t need to worry about me harming you, and you can translate the cultivation method with peace of mind.”

If others had suggested this, Zhanyue would have scoffed. Even blood brothers often played out scenes of fraternal strife, let alone sworn brothers. But these words came from Dingding and Dangdang. If these two had any schemes, it would be a miracle. They were most likely telling the truth, which was very credible.

“Hehe, don’t worry. As long as you become sworn brothers with the Great King in front of the Clan members, you’ll be considered a member of our Mountain Goblin Clan. If the Great King really harms you, other Clan members probably wouldn’t recognize him as the Great King anymore. I once heard my great-grandmother say that we Mountain Goblins are very stupid and weak, and it’s only because of our purity and unity that we’ve been able to reproduce until today. Any act of harming fellow Clansmen is not allowed, even for the Great King,” Dangdang said honestly.

“This Mountain Goblin Clan is terrifyingly simple,” Zhanyue thought to himself, then said aloud, “Alright, as long as it can guarantee that the Great King won’t harm me in the end, I’m willing to help the Great King.”

After the two agreed, the Mountain Goblin King gathered the Clan members again, totaling four to five hundred adults and children. There was no complicated ceremony, just Hulu informing the ancestral tablets of past kings, and it was over.

“Alright, from now on, he is my brother Hulu!” Hulu said, putting his arm around Zhanyue’s shoulders.

“Yes, sir!”

“Greetings to the Second Great King…” Everyone bowed in salutation.

Zhanyue felt a bit dazed. Had he suddenly changed from a prisoner to the Second Great King of the Mountain Goblin Clan? Education can indeed change one’s fate; this was truly the truth. Given this situation, it would be ungrateful not to help Hulu.

“How about it, little brother? Are you at ease now?” Hulu smiled, “Help me translate tonight, will you?”

“Tonight?” Zhanyue was at a loss, explaining, “Are you joking? This is a cultivation method. Not to mention the large amount of content, it must be translated accurately. It’s not like a recipe where the worst that can happen if mistranslated is that it tastes bad. If this cultivation method is mistranslated, it could cause problems.”

Hulu gave a simple smile, “Hehe, you’re right, little brother. I was too impatient. My realm hasn’t progressed for decades. Legend has it that the Mountain Goblin Clan was cursed, unable to break through to the True King Realm. Only this cultivation method can help me break through.” The Mountain Goblin’s True King Realm corresponded to the human Spirit God Realm, meaning Hulu was currently equivalent to a human at the peak of the ninth stage of the Sun Profound Realm, half a step into the Spirit God Realm.

“What exactly is this writing?” Zhanyue asked curiously.

“It’s the writing of our Mountain Goblin Clan. Legend has it that long ago, we Mountain Goblins had our own language and writing, but somehow we lost them and instead learned human language and writing. Since then, there’s been a break in Mountain Goblin civilization, and no Mountain Goblin at the True King Realm has appeared. This cultivation method has been passed down through generations of Mountain Goblin kings. Practicing it is said to allow breakthrough to the True King Realm, but unfortunately, no one can recognize these characters anymore,” Hulu explained.

“Hmm, but without top experts at the True King Realm, how has the Mountain Goblin Clan survived crisis after crisis?” Zhanyue asked. A race that could inherit for so long couldn’t have just been lucky.

“Hehe, well, firstly, the Nightmares don’t deal with us, and secondly, we have two innate racial divine abilities that help us avoid persecution from other races,” Hulu explained.

“Earth Burrowing?” Zhanyue recalled Dingding and Dangdang’s earlier performance.

“That’s right, the first divine ability is Earth Burrowing. Our Mountain Goblin Clanspeople can learn it from a very young age. The second divine ability is Petrification, which can resist most attacks. With these two divine abilities, if we can’t win, we can always run away.”

Flying and Earth Burrowing were abilities of the same level. All Mountain Goblin Clanspeople inherently possessed an ability equivalent to a golden-grade cultivation method, plus the Petrification ability of unknown strength. No wonder they could continue to this day. They were truly nature’s favored children.

“I might need quite some time to translate this cultivation method. Please prepare a quiet room for me. Then, gather as much material related to these characters as possible. Actually, bring all the materials with writing in the cave to my room. The more detailed the materials, the faster I can work and the more accurate the translation will be,” Zhanyue said, inwardly sighing. He never expected to complete his doctoral dissertation here. After transmigrating to this world, Zhanyue felt for the first time the benefit of having a relevant specialty.