Chapter 7: Love Mark

During the day, Zhang Yuge woke up.

He felt exhausted all over, terribly uncomfortable.

“Zhang Yuge, you finally decided to wake up, it’s almost noon.”

“Master, what’s wrong with me?”

Zhang Yuge rubbed his temples, trying hard to recall what had happened last night.

“Huh? Why are my clothes torn?”

“You tore them yourself,”

Yun Lan said.

“I tore them?”

“Otherwise? You’re not going to tell me you forgot what you did last night, right?”

Yun Lan gave a sly smile, and Zhang Yuge had a bad feeling.

He noticed the girl lying unconscious beside him and only then slowly remembered what had happened last night.

That’s right.

Just last night, under the dark and windy moonless sky, he had wildly dominated Zhang Qingyao.

Zhang Yuge’s face went pale, disbelief washing over him.

He had always considered himself a restrained and reserved person, capable of rationally thinking and solving problems no matter the situation.

Why had he lost control just last night?

At that moment, the girl also woke up.

She opened her eyes and immediately saw Zhang Yuge staring at her.

Although Zhang Yuge was actually lost in thought, she assumed he was about to do something sinister to her again.

“Ahhh! Don’t come near me! Don’t come, ugh…………”

The panicked girl sat on the ground, retreating desperately to get away from the beast in human clothes, her voice trembling with tears.

The events of last night had left an indelible shadow on Zhang Qingyao.

Compared to yesterday, she was a completely different person.

Zhang Yuge was like a raging beast, brutally trampling on her, the memories replaying relentlessly in her mind.

Faced with Zhang Qingyao’s rejection and resistance, Zhang Yuge said nothing, only feeling a surge of guilt deep within.

“Disciple, first of all, congratulations. From now on, you are a formal cultivator.”

Yun Lan had stayed by their side all night, afraid that if he fell asleep, he wouldn’t know when he would wake again.

So he arranged everything properly before finally feeling at ease.

“Master, I’m a cultivator now?”

Though Yun Lan said so, Zhang Yuge himself didn’t quite feel it and was half doubtful.

“Of course. Your entire body’s Neili has now transformed into Qi. If you don’t believe me, try circulating it.”

Zhang Yuge sat cross-legged and began to activate his Qi.

Just as Yun Lan had said, a never-before-felt sensation flooded his entire body.

This feeling was completely different from the Neili gained through martial arts training.

If there was a difference, it was that Qi flowed much faster than Neili.

“Heh, all thanks to this girl’s Dingluo constitution. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have entered the Dao overnight.”

Perhaps out of guilt toward Zhang Qingyao, Zhang Yuge asked,

“Master, will she be affected by this?”

“Oh, you’re worried about others now? It was just one night, and you’ve already fallen for her?”

Yun Lan teased.

“Master, you misunderstand. I just think since Zhang Qingyao’s constitution is so rare, she should be treated properly to maximize the benefits.”

Not wanting to admit his feelings, Zhang Yuge came up with an excuse to brush it off.

“Haha, so that’s what you think. I guess my perspective is too narrow. Remember, to achieve great things, sentimental weakness is useless. If you pity her today, you’ll be the one suffering in the future.”

Zhang Yuge cupped his fist and bowed to Yun Lan.

“Disciple takes your teaching.”

At the same time, he noticed Yun Lan’s tone hardened slightly and his teeth clenched when saying the last sentence.

Zhang Yuge guessed that this Master who fell into his life out of nowhere might have been betrayed by others before.

Combined with Yun Lan’s attempts to coax him into becoming his disciple and his eagerness to teach techniques, could it be that he wanted Zhang Yuge to help him take revenge?

Zhang Yuge had always been calm and rational.

Since arriving in this world, he had been restrained and had never done anything to give others leverage.

Yet last night he lost control, and even his memory was somewhat blurred.

It was hard not to suspect Yun Lan of scheming behind the scenes.

Though suspicious, Zhang Yuge dared not voice his doubts, fearing Yun Lan might turn hostile and silence him.

Next was the transmission of the Yuling Technique.

Under Yun Lan’s guidance, Zhang Yuge tied Zhang Qingyao’s hands behind her back and pressed her down.

He bit his finger and drew a Contract Mark with his blood below her navel.

However, after finishing, Zhang Yuge felt something was off.

The Contract Mark took the shape of a heart but was adorned with several extra flourishes, giving it a strangely seductive look.

Zhang Qingyao, spoiled and unused to such humiliation, shed tears of disgrace and cursed loudly.

“Ugh… Zhang Yuge, I’m going to kill you, ugh…………”

After drawing the Contract Mark, Zhang Yuge followed Yun Lan, chanting the incantation word by word, officially signing the contract with the Dingluo girl.

“Zhang Yuge, from this moment on, you are this girl’s Master. Whatever you command her to do, she must obey,”

Yun Lan said with satisfaction.

“You’re dreaming! I will never submit to you, die!”

Right after cursing, the girl convulsed violently, letting out pained howls:

“Eee-ya-ya-ya…”

“Master, what’s wrong with her?”

“The contracted spirit vessel will suffer backlash from the Contract Mark if it acts against the Master’s will. It’s like being struck by lightning, causing full-body spasms and unbearable pain.”

Zhang Yuge sighed,

“I didn’t expect such a technique to exist.”

“Heh, of course. This is a secret technique passed down in the Hehuan Sect. Only successive sect leaders have the right to inherit it,”

Yun Lan boasted.

Hearing the name Hehuan Sect, Zhang Yuge became interested and asked,

“Master, do most Hehuan Sect disciples rely on the practice of ‘caibu’ for cultivation?”

The girl.

“Since you have already learned the Yuling Technique, I should go back and rest. After all, it’s been a long time out, and I’m quite tired.”

Yun Lan seemed to deliberately avoid Zhang Yuge’s question and withdrew into the ring, leaving a bewildered Zhang Yuge behind with the moaning girl.

Evening, Ning Prefecture, Zhang Residence.

“Mistress! Mistress! The Second Young Master is back!”

Mistress Lin Yi was sitting in the hall drinking tea.

She frowned when the butler rushed in looking flustered.

“Why such a fuss? Don’t you know proper decorum?”

“Reporting, Mistress, the Second Young Master has returned.”

“Returned is returned, what’s so urgent?”

Lin Yi set down her teacup, knowing her son had gone to propose marriage, though he returned a day earlier than expected.

“He did come back, but only the Young Master and Miss Zhong from the Zhong family returned. And the Young Master… is covered in blood.”