Chapter 111: Guo Qin's Indenture

The night was as dark as ink, hung with scattered stars.

Zhuge Qianxing sat before the window, gripping a fountain pen tightly in his hand. The nib danced lightly over the parchment letterhead; his handwriting was as fluid as flowing water, every character brimming with vitality, as if leaping and breathing upon the page.

"To be opened by Ye Lin."

"Ye Lin, before you read this letter, I must first offer you an apology. I am sorry."

"From the moment I first saw you, I had already begun to lay my plans. I am the planner, you are the one within the game; I am the one holding the chess piece, you are the piece, and the opponent I am playing against is the Heavens."

"I want to defeat the Heavens, I want to change the future. I do not want the human race to be annihilated, I do not want the Great Xia to perish, and I especially do not want to see my daughter die as miserably as I saw in my divination."

"I dare not divine the future of the human race; the karma involved is too great, more than I can bear."

"Therefore, I only divined for two people: one is you, and the other is Nini."

"I have already told you the result for Nini, but as for your result, I cannot see it clearly; I can only vaguely glimpse some disjointed, incomplete images."

"I had intended to write down everything I saw to tell you, but I was afraid. If you knew what the future held, you would subconsciously begin to avoid certain dangers or events you deemed unfavorable. In doing so, you would trigger a butterfly effect, which might lead to a change in the final outcome."

"So, I thought it over and left you seven brocade pouches. At the important turning points in your life's trajectory, these pouches will open automatically. If you do not wish to follow my advice, you may simply discard them."

"As for this man Guo Qin, aside from being too lecherous and prone to ruining things, he has no major issues. You can trust him. If you can 'cut to ensure eternal peace' for him, he will become your right-hand man."

"Finally... please bury me with my wife."

"Signed, Zhuge Qianxing."

The wind outside the window blew softly, drying the ink on the paper and scattering Zhuge Qianxing's thoughts.

He put down the pen, gently rubbed his temples, and looked at the starry sky with a calm, profound, and resolute gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

And this letter, three days later, appeared in Ye Lin's hands.

After finishing the letter, Ye Lin took a deep breath, calming his surging emotions.

He took out the small pouch that had fallen from the large one; it seemed the seven pouches Zhuge Qianxing spoke of were like nesting dolls, one inside the other.

He could only obtain the next pouch by opening the first one.

Now that he had opened the first, was this the important turning point Zhuge Qianxing mentioned? Then this turning point... should refer to Guo Qin?

"How is it? I didn't lie to you, did I? What did Mr. Zhuge say?" Seeing that the killing intent had vanished from Ye Lin, Guo Qin finally dared to ask.

Ye Lin gave him a strange look.

"Mr. Zhuge said I should castrate you."

Guo Qin: "......"

"Then... then, what do you think?"

Guo Qin's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he cautiously retreated a few steps, a look of obvious terror appearing on his face.

He was truly terrified!

There were still so many young wives, mature women, lolis, married women, and amateurs in Qingcheng waiting for him to "pick chrysanthemums by the eastern fence."

As a man, and an extremely lecherous one at that, if that "tool" were gone, what would be the point of living?

Ye Lin frowned, feeling a headache coming on. To "cut to ensure eternal peace" for a guy like Guo Qin, who valued lust more than life, would probably be even more agonizing for him than killing him, right?

If he castrated him, it would be a miracle if Guo Qin didn't fight him to the death, let alone serve as his right-hand man.

But Zhuge Qianxing had no reason to deceive him. Could there be some secret he didn't know about?

Ye Lin put away the Scarlet Flame Staff and silently took out the Starfall Heaven Scar.

Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.

"Don't come over here!"

Seeing the half-man-tall great saber in Ye Lin's hand, Guo Qin went completely insane with fear.

It was only a matter of an inch or two, why use such a huge blade?

"Don't be afraid, my blade will be very fast."

Ye Lin walked toward Guo Qin with the blade. Zhuge Qianxing had always been infallible in his calculations; he figured this time would be no exception.

It was currently the dead of night, and the power bonus of the Starfall Heaven Scar had changed from 300 to 600. Added to Ye Lin's own strength attribute, it totaled 965 points.

One strike from this, let alone an ordinary Kun, even a deep-sea giant Kun wouldn't be able to withstand it.

"I'd be a ghost if I weren't afraid! Damn it! You're for real?"

Seeing that Ye Lin truly intended to strike, every hair on Guo Qin's body stood on end.

"This is the Master's wish, Mr. Guo Qin. You wouldn't want to go against Mr. Zhuge's last words, would you?"

Ye Lin raised the Starfall Heaven Scar and began to aim.

Guo Qin instantly felt himself locked on by a terrifying aura.

*Swish!*

A flash of starlight streaked past, and with a *clang*, it struck the ground, sparks flying everywhere.

"An afterimage?!"

Ye Lin was astonished. He saw the Guo Qin before him beginning to slowly dissipate, while the real Guo Qin had already appeared dozens of meters away.

Although he had known Guo Qin for a while, Ye Lin had never seen him fight at full strength.

Judging by this speed, Guo Qin's strength was likely even more terrifying than he had imagined.

"You actually swung! Damn you!" Guo Qin cursed, grabbing his hair in a breakdown. "I knew it! I knew things wouldn't be that simple!"

Ye Lin raised an eyebrow. He knew it couldn't be that simple. He didn't pursue him further, but instead listened quietly as Guo Qin continued.

"Ye Lin, some mistakes really cannot be made. Some mistakes really require a lifetime to repay."

When Guo Qin looked up again, his face was already covered in tears.

"At the time, Mr. Zhuge told me that as long as I accompanied him on a trip to the Gate of Apocalypse, he would set me free and let bygones be bygones. I thought I was going to be liberated early, but I never expected it to end up like this!"

As Guo Qin spoke, he spread out a yellowed piece of paper. On it was drawn a very complex magic array, and in the center of the array were several ancient seal-script characters, faintly emitting the luster of stars.

"Here, sign your name." Guo Qin's face was ashen.

"What is this?" Ye Lin asked, curious.

"This is my indenture. Mr. Zhuge made it himself. According to the rules on it, I have to work for Mr. Zhuge for free for thirty years to regain my freedom."

"During this period, I must not betray my boss. If the boss dies, I will die too."

Guo Qin's voice choked. He took out a cigarette, lit it with a *snap*, his eyes filled with an inseparable sorrow, and then continued.

"This year is the tenth year. Before coming here, Mr. Zhuge suddenly voided the indenture and returned it to me. I originally thought it was my ten years of diligent work that had moved Mr. Zhuge, but I never expected! He wanted to gift the remaining twenty years to you!"

Guo Qin indignantly stubbed out his cigarette.

"Damn it, evil capitalist!"

"Huh?"

Ye Lin was stunned for a moment. So that's what Zhuge Qianxing meant—that as long as he castrated Guo Qin, Guo Qin would become his right-hand man?

"Then why did you sell yourself to Mr. Zhuge for thirty years?" Ye Lin asked curiously.

Guo Qin glanced at Ye Lin, his expression very complex—containing three parts regret, three parts lingering fear, and four parts resentment—before he spoke.

"At the time... I set my sights on Mr. Zhuge's wife."