Facing the bright light, even though he was in spirit state, Ye Qi habitually raised his arms to shield his eyes.
When he put down his arms, the thing that appeared before him made him widen his eyes. An amalgamation with wolf body and snake tail that was almost two meters tall sat before him with its legs crossed. The creature smiled at him. Do not question why Ye Qi felt the creature was smiling at him even though the creature did not have a mouth per se. Ye Qi did not understand it himself, but when the creature looked at him, Ye Qi knew within his heart, it was smiling at him.
Of course, these were not the most important detail, that would have to be the creature's form! Even though it had been enlarged multiple times, Ye Qi was dead certain this creature looked completely similar to the two magical statuettes he carried within his jacket.
But why would that be? Unless…
Ye Qi was suddenly reminded of something and a bad omen started to settle at the pit of his stomach.
"Kid, you sure are troublesome! I have to jump through so many hoops just to sign a contract with you?! However, it is truly surprising that someone has already signed a soul contract with you before me… Hmm… but that doesn't seem to be true. I've been watching your every move and if one of them approach you, I would have noticed! Could it be that you're the reincarnation or the descendent for one of them people? Then again, I have not heard about an unfortunate downfall for any of those jerks recently… This is weird indeed…"
The weird wolf crawled to sit on the floor and started grumbling like an old dude, he even glanced at Ye Qi who stood in front of it occasionally.
"Those were all your doing just now? All sorts tricks and ruse were all you?"
Listening to this weird wolf mumbling to himself, Ye Qi who had already guessed half of the situation started to feel a ball of fury burning inside him.
"Why did you have to put it that way? After all, we're best buddies who have already signed a soul contract! We should be kind to each other to foster a good relationship!" The weird wolf thing rolled on the floor and yawned after rewarding Ye Qi with a side-eye.
"You put me through all that just so you can get me to help you find those statuettes? You even had me signed a soul contract for that?!" The mention of the soul contract made Ye Qi's blood boil even more. He was reminded of how his soul almost shattered and he roared at the weird wolf as rage coursed through his body.
For one, the similarity between the weird wolf and the statuettes; for two, the appearance of the second similar-looking statuette at Marley's place; for three, the first clause of the contract was about locating items. Ye Qi connected the dots and could guess the truth of the situation—the weird wolf before him was probably sealed in the magical statuettes and only by having all them gathered in one place that it would be able to escape. The fact that he already owned two of the statuettes meant that he was the most perfect candidate for "cheap manual labour"! And the soul contract he just signed was merely a labour contract! The threat earlier where his soul was almost shattered was quite possibly a ruse to get him to sign the bloody contract!
Even though Ye Qi did not see himself as someone particularly clever, being swindled multiple times in row did arouse his anger. Furthermore, Ye Qi was full of anticipation for possible great potential of power when he signed those contracts. However, now looking at this wimpy weird wolf thing that rolled about on the floor like a common pet dog, his anticipation was extinguished like someone had poured cold water over it—Just what kind of power a sealed weird wolf could award him? Even if this weird wolf was some kind of powerful spirit, it was practically powerless in its sealed state!
Thus, Ye Qi's anger exploded like a volcano.
"Why do you have to see it that way? It's as you said it yourself, this is a trade, and you believe firmly in the fair principle of equal exchange right? You help me find the rest of the statuettes and I will reward you accordingly, we take what we need! Didn't you always say, trade is exchanging what both parties need. As long as both parties are satisfied then the trade is successful. So, we merely traded, there was no lying or cheating no matter how you wish to see it!" The weird wolf creature argued.
"The problem is I am not satisfied! A trade built upon lies is not a fair trade but a lie!" Ye Qi hissed through gritted teeth, "Furthermore, in you current state, you can only trick an amateur like myself! Award me power… My arse…"
Ye Qi did not finish his sentence but his low amount of trust could be heard from the derision and condescension lacing his words. This was because in Ye Qi's knowledge, there was no divinity or demon that looked like a wolf with a snake tail, so he believed this thing before him, no matter it was a divinity or demon, it was an unpopular and thus not a powerful one.
"A lie? Trust me, that is not my intention! Even though I may appear weak now, dealing with that little bat outside is still a non-issue! Enough, let's carry out the first clause of our contract! Even though the passage of time in this realm is slower than usual, your physical body is still dying! I do not wish to stay here for another thousands of years because of that!"
Ignoring the derision on Ye Qi's face, the weird wolf lifted its head to glance at Ye Qi. Before Ye Qi said anything, the nine pillars of fire in the hall burst into bigger flames and the flames flowed to submerge the hall like a sea of fire. When Ye Qi came to, he realized he had already returned to his physical body and he was still struggling in the air, choked by the Noble Vampire.
"Kid, I will now commit to the first clause of the contract!"
The voice of the weird wolf appeared in Ye Qi's mind. Then Ye Qi realized he had entered yet another curious state. This was a state in between his normal state and spirit state. His soul was still in his body but he was looking at himself from a third person view, like he was watching a movie, with him starring in it.
Ye Qi looked on as his body raised his relatively intact right hand to swipe at the Noble Vampire's hand that had a chokehold over his neck—This action made the Noble Vampire laugh. However, this laugh soon turned into screams. The originally handsome Noble Vampire started to gentrify at an impossible rate, or rather he started to desiccate might be a more fitting description. In contrast, the wounds all over Ye Qi's body started to heal, even his left arm returned to normal after a resounding click at the shoulder.
The powerful Noble Vampire suddenly became pale and weak, in the end, even his screams sounded low and ashy. When the screams completely disappeared, the Noble Vampire's body which was taller than a normal human beings had shrunk to the size of a young child of five to six years old.
The time from the moment the weird wolf said it would start fulfilling the first clause of the contract until the complete drainage of the Noble Vampire was only a few seconds. Ye Qi who remained in a "bystander" state watched this unfold with a gaping jaw. It was until the system audio rang in his mind that he recovered.
"Completion of C Quest: The Statuette's Secret. Reward: 3000 experience…"
"Initiating C+ Quest: Collection of the Statuettes. Quest progress: 2/9."
"Congratulation, your character has levelled up to level 5. Your wounds, and mana have been fully recovered. You have been rewarded with seven Skill Mastery Points."
"Congratulation for reaching the requirement for a profession change. You can now select one of the profession provided by the system!"
"Completion of C+ Quest: Curious Expansion. Please fetch your reward from the relevant quest giver."
"Item, Magical Statuette lost. Strength +2."
"Item, Magical Statuette lost. Agility +2."
"Absorbing special energy. Gain Specialization, Vampire's Touch."