Chapter 116 - 113: The Sun Family Has No Cowards
Scroll in hand, Sun Tian rushed back to Shen City without stopping.
This heavy Contract Scroll had likely been hidden away by the Sun Family for three hundred years.
And just last night, he had met the other party to this agreement.
Sun Tian’s feelings were a complicated mess.
All signs pointed to the fact that the other party to the Sun Family’s contract was likely no ordinary person.
Strictly speaking, a man of Sun Tian’s current status wasn’t exactly ordinary himself. But this "unordinary" didn’t refer to social standing; it meant those who had truly transcended the mortal realm.
The words on his computer could perhaps be explained away as the work of a hacker. But the enigmatic, black-robed figure and the miraculous Scroll at his side defied all conventional logic.
Judging from the words the black-robed figure had left behind, they didn’t seem to be some evil entity.
The sentence that had appeared on his computer suggested that the Sun Family had incurred some kind of debt three hundred years ago.
To be fair, Sun Tian wasn’t a villain. But if anyone dared to welsh on a debt owed to him... well, they would soon learn just how terrifying a major capitalist could be when it came to revenge.
And yet, the leader of those mysterious figures had dismissed a centuries-old debt with a single, casual sentence.
He remembered the other mysterious person calling their leader "Mentor."
Sun Tian could only think of two possibilities for that title. One was the ordinary academic kind, for students and their advisors. The other...
All sorts of mysterious scenarios flashed through his mind.
’Who on earth are they? What kind of contract did my ancestor sign with them three hundred years ago? Why show up now? And why turn and leave the moment they realized my family had forgotten the Oath?’
His mind was flooded with unanswerable questions.
He had no idea where to find the mysterious figures who held the answers. Judging from what happened last night, if they didn’t want to be found, finding them would be next to impossible.
Perhaps his late great-grandfather and great-grandmother, or even his grandparents, could have answered his questions, but the elders were gone, and there was no one left to ask.
He didn’t go to the office. Instead, he drove home and found a clean bench in his lush, green residential complex to sit on.
Setting aside the question of who the mysterious figures were, their sudden appearance meant one of two things: either the term of the contract was up, or some event related to it had been triggered.
As for why they left upon discovering his family had forgotten... perhaps they didn’t want to reveal themselves. Or maybe it meant the Sun Family, having forgotten the Oath, was no longer worthy of a conversation?
Why hadn’t they gone to his old man? Was it because he himself was the current head of the Sun Family? Or had they already approached his father, who, like everyone else, had remained completely oblivious?
"Sigh..."
Sun Tian sighed, pulling a cigar from his pocket and lighting it.
He’d already earned more than enough money in this lifetime. As long as he didn’t do something monumentally stupid, the family fortune was impossible to squander.
While he wasn’t some celebrity tycoon, famous like an internet personality, it was no exaggeration for Sun Tian to say, "Money is just a number to me."
Last night might have been a turning point in his life. Dangerous or not, it was the kind of opportunity billions of ordinary people would never encounter.
But there he was, standing at a crossroads, and he had completely and utterly missed it!
’Yeah, just fucking perfect. I hadn’t even figured out what was going on, and the opportunity just slipped away!’
Frustrated, he slammed the expensive cigar onto the ground, sending a shower of sparks flying.
Normally, he would never be so wasteful, but right now, he was thoroughly vexed.
Sun Tian didn’t even realize that he was no longer seeking the truth, but was instead lamenting his missed opportunity.
As he was stewing in his regret, he was startled to find the cigar was suddenly back in his lowered hand.
He looked down.
An emerald-green vine was wrapped around the end of the cigar, placing it back between his fingers.
’What the—?!’
"Mr. Sun, if my senses don’t deceive me, are you carrying the Oath Scroll?"
The voice was calm and measured, like a casual greeting.
But to Sun Tian’s ears, it was like a clap of thunder.
He shot up from the bench and looked toward the source of the voice.
The same two mysterious figures from last night were standing not far away.
"Have you been following me this whole time?"
The question slipped out reflexively.
"Tch!"
The girl let out a crisp laugh, laced with obvious disdain.
"Don’t think so highly of yourself, Sun Tian. If our Mentor hadn’t sensed the Oath Scroll being activated and had me use Magic Divination to find you, you never would have seen us again!"
Su Su’s tone was haughty, but it also held a hint of excitement.
’Just a young girl.’
That was Sun Tian’s immediate assessment of Su Su, though certain words she used were particularly attention-grabbing.
Moreover!
He raised his hand to look at the cigar. ’Where did that vine go?’
Looking down, he saw the emerald-green vine slowly retracting into the ground and disappearing from sight.
’Magic? Was this... Magic?’
Unconsciously, his chest began to rise and fall much more rapidly.
Sun Tian would not allow himself to make the same mistake twice.
He looked at Qin Xiaoxia and solemnly took the Scroll from his coat pocket.
"The Sun Family have been merchants for generations, and for a merchant, their word is their bond. No matter what contract my ancestors made with you, as their descendant, I have a duty to fulfill it."
He spoke with force and conviction, but the meaning was clear: ’Don’t leave. The Sun Family can still be salvaged!’
"Hahahaha... Interesting..."
Chuckling, the lead mysterious figure approached with his companion and sat down on the very bench Sun Tian had just vacated.
Though he couldn’t see the man’s face clearly, Sun Tian noticed that his jet-black hair was streaked with brilliant silver strands.
"You want to experience a different kind of life? Think you’ve stumbled upon a mysterious Door to another world?"
Qin Xiaoxia’s words left Sun Tian speechless, as they had hit the nail right on the head of his innermost desires.
But the words also made him nervous—not because he’d been seen through, but because he was terrified of losing this opportunity.
"Sit down. Don’t worry, I have no intention of turning you away."
The mysterious man seemed to sense Sun Tian’s tension. With a hint of amusement in his voice, he gestured for him to sit and relax.
"But is it wise to blindly agree to this without even knowing the contents of your ancestor’s Oath? Perhaps you’ll regret it once you learn the truth."
This again left Sun Tian at a loss for words. It was unlikely, but what if the Oath demanded the entire Sun Family commit mass suicide?
"Perhaps you haven’t heard, or perhaps you have, but paid it no mind..."
Qin Xiaoxia looked at Sun Tian, and in that moment, the man’s eyes—which seemed to draw in one’s very spirit—were seared into Sun Tian’s memory.
"The world is changing. The peace will one day be shattered."
As the calm words were spoken, Sun Tian vaguely saw twisting streams of light appear before his eyes. In a trance, the scenery around him transformed.
A foul, grotesque Nightmare Swamp roared to life within a great river, dragging people into its depths.
Twisting, terrifying shadows encroached from the darkness. Soon, hideous, faceless monsters with sharp teeth charged out, pouncing on the crowds in a scene far more horrific than any Resident Evil game.
The sky fractured with kaleidoscopic cracks, like a leaking roof, allowing strange, indistinct substances to seep through.
Things unseen and seen, terrifying and bizarre...
An endless, chaotic tide of horrors invaded!
Judging by the clothing of the people in the vision, this wasn’t the modern era.
The vision grew darker and darker, as if all light was being stripped away. The oppressive atmosphere made it hard for both Sun Tian and Su Su to breathe.
In the next instant, just as it became unbearable, a light appeared!
A hand, strong and steady, gripped a sword. The sound of incantations echoed with power. Blood and fire became sharpened blades, meeting the darkness head-on without a moment’s hesitation.
"The price for the Sun Family to uphold this Oath may be your life. Even so, will you fulfill it, Sun Tian?"
Qin Xiaoxia addressed him directly by name, no longer calling him Mr. Sun.
Sun Tian panted heavily.
He was drenched in sweat, his undershirt soaked through. The Darkest Hour he had just witnessed was utterly despairing.
He couldn’t speak. It wasn’t just the lingering fear, but also thoughts of his family and friends. All he could do was gasp, trying to catch his breath.
’Were those scenes from history? If so, why does no one know about them?’
’But that’s not the most important thing!’
Yes, this was a dangerous organization—or rather, a group of people who did dangerous things. Sun Tian could stand behind them, cheer for them, and applaud their heroic deeds!
’From what I just saw, it’s not hard to see that they deserve to be called heroes!’
’But for me to join them?’
’Being a hero isn’t so easy! The price is too brutal, which is why heroes are so rare!’
’An exciting life is alluring, but what’s the cost?’
’Can I face that kind of fear? Would my family be dragged into it?’
Sun Tian’s mind was a complete mess.
As he stood there, at a complete loss, a soft sigh came from beside him.
The mysterious man had already risen to his feet, seemingly about to leave again.
A strong premonition told Sun Tian that if they left this time, they would never return.
’What do I do? What do I do?!’
’Sun Tian, you damned coward!’
"Wait!"
Sun Tian shot to his feet and suddenly slapped himself hard across the face, twice. The sound was so sharp that even Su Su winced for him.
’If the world is really getting worse, I at least need the power to protect myself and my family!’
"Tell me the contents of the Oath. Tell me what I can do to help right now."
He lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot.
"The Sun Family has no cowards!"
...
Underground, Mumu sighed to themself.
’Intense!’
PS: Chapter 3/3. That’s all for today’s updates.