Contract With The Great Sage [Bound By Blood And Bracelet]

Why do I have to be the one to save the world when my own is already falling apart? I was just a child when I first encountered the Sage God—not directly, but it all began on an ordinary morning. My grandmother bathed me and dressed me up and handed me my lunchbox. “ My little puppy, make sure to always take this umbrella with you.” So she said, I was that girl nobody wanted to talk to. Even at school, the other kids would whisper and laugh behind my back. They wrote ugly words on my desk — “ghost girl”, “don’t come near”, “this is a school for humans, not monsters”. I just kept quiet and sat there every day, pretending I didn’t hear them. That morning was like any other. I walked into the classroom and the usual stares followed me, so I lowered my head and went straight to my seat. But today felt different. The air, and everything just seems off. The other kids were busy playing while I was so buried in my book. When the teacher walked in, The other kids were still playing, but I stood up to greet her. but the moment I looked at her smiling face… I knew she wasn’t human. Her eyes were too dark, and there was this cold shadow moving around her body like smoke. She was a ghost wearing a teacher’s skin. ”You can see me,can't you?” I was so scared that my heart started beating very fast. I quickly looked down at my desk, trying to act normal but she noticed. So I quickly grab my umbrella with the tailman and cover myself with it, yelling and telling her to leave me alone. The kids saw me and started whispering. " She's crazy, she's going nuts again." I was still busy yelling at the ghost to leave me alone when the closing bell rang. After class, I ran out of the school gate as fast as my small legs could carry me. After some time I couldn't keep up. I stopped running because I was so out of breath, so I kept walking instead. But as I was walking the ghost followed me saying. "I know you can see me. Do you want me to teach you a lesson? You this stubborn little girl." I stopped and faced her. “Stop following me.” The ghost was a stubborn, kind and revengeful one so she didn't, so I started screaming at the top of my voice, swinging my umbrella to chase her away. All of a sudden a breeze blew the leaves from nowhere and she disappeared. And then I saw this tall, handsome man with an expensive-looking coat standing by the road. He had this strange, powerful feeling around him. His name was **Niu Zhen**. It was later I learned that he was a great demon, the kind that even other demons feared. He sent the ghost away by just hitting his umbrella on the ground and that looks interesting to me. He looked at me with curious eyes and smiled gently. “You can see them, can’t you?” he asked softly. “Yes.” I answered looking down, I was so scared. But I looked up and asked that we exchange our umbrellas. “Mr can I have your umbrella? It's so cool.” Then he bent down a little so his face was closer to mine. “Poor little thing all alone with that heavy, mighty gift. How about we make a deal? If you help me get something, I will give you my umbrella.” His own umbrella was big and dark, not the ordinary kind. But his own was kind of designed and made specially for him and I could feel the strong protection spells over it. Something that can actually destroy and keep the ghost away. “What do you want me to do? So I can get the umbrella?” I asked with my face lighten up cheerfully. “I need you to go into an old marble house in the mountains and bring me a fan. But you must not speak to anyone you see inside. Do not even look at them. Can you do that for me, little one?” I was only a child and all I could think of was how I can't wait to have Niu Zhen umbrella as mine. So yes I didn't even think of what I was about to face in the marble house. So I nodded. Niu Zhen took me to the mountains where a big fire had been burning. The air smelled of smoke and something much darker. He pointed at an old, marble house hidden between the trees. “Go in there, get the fan and come straight out. Remember ”ignore whatever you see.” I held my yellow umbrella tight and stepped inside the dark marble house. The inside was so beautiful, glowing with light and incense. It was too quiet at first. I searched the tables and found the fan floating strangely in the middle of the two lighted candles and quickly grabbed it. But as I turned to leave, I felt an eyes on me. Someone was watching me. A deep voice suddenly spoke from the shadows. “Hey, little girl… how did a human child like you get in here?” I froze. My body started shaking. Then I remembered Niu Zhen’s warning and tried to pretend I heard nothing. I kept walking towards the door. But then a long golden staff slammed down on the table in front of me, blocking my way. I slowly looked up, and there he was. A young man with sharp, mischievous eyes and a lazy smile that didn’t reach half of his face. His hair was a little messy, and he carried this wild, dangerous energy. He looked like a god who had been locked away for a very long time. He stared at me carefully, then smirked. “You can see me… can’t you?” I froze. My small hands gripped the fan so tight that my knuckles almost turned white. The golden staff in front of me was shining with a strange light, and I knew I couldn’t run past it. The man standing there looked at me with sharp, playful eyes. Even though he was smiling, something about him felt dangerous… like a storm that was pretending to be gentle. “You can see me… can’t you?” he asked again, his voice low and teasing. I didn’t answer. My heart was beating so loud I was scared he could hear it. I remembered what Niu Zhen told me — don’t speak to anyone, don’t even look at them. So I kept my mouth shut and tried to move around the staff but he moved faster. In one smooth step, he was standing right in front of me, blocking the door completely. “Hey, little one,” he said softly, tilting his head. “Did someone ask you to come get him a fan? Keeping your mouth shut won't do you any good. I already saw you when you put that fan in your clothes. Aren’t you going to at least say something?” He caught me…” I thought, my throat tightening. My voice came out small and shaky. “I… I can’t talk to you. I have to go.” He laughed. It wasn’t a mean laugh though, but it still made me nervous. He looked me up and down like I was the most interesting thing he had seen in a long time. “So that monster sent you here, right? Let me guess… that sneaky bull demon, Niu Zhen?” My eyes widened. How did he know? He smirked. “That fool thinks he can use a little girl to steal from me. Cute.” He leaned closer, his face now only a few inches from mine. His eyes suddenly became serious. “Listen carefully, little girl. My name is…..”. The words reached me, but something about them felt… strange. Like they didn’t want to stay. If you help me get out of this prison, I will protect you forever. Just call my name and I will run over to protect you.” He stretched out his hand toward me. On his wrist was a drawing that looked like a tattoo, golden color both on his two wrists and ankles that looked like it was burning with fire. Okay let's go. Foolish me I thought that was all it takes but he asked me to put off the candles. “Hey don't go yet, can you put off the candle light before we go?” I was surprised because I never would have imagined that candles were some kind of chain. But he insisted I should put them off and in that moment I knew it wasn't something ordinary. “Mr why do you keep asking me to put out the candle lights. Is it because I'm special? you can turn them off if it is not something special right? He looked at me with that look that says: I surrender you caught me now. He coughs just a little bit…”Yea you are right. I can't put the candles off myself. So can you do that for me? Little special being.” I stood there, shaking. I was just a little girl. I didn’t understand half of what was happening. ”Hmmm…that means I'm the only person that can put out the candles.” He kept looking at me patiently, waiting for my answer. I swallowed, my fingers tightening around the fan. “If I help you… you willl really protect me?” His lips curved into a small smile, softer this time. “I give you my word.” I hesitated. Grandma always told me not to trust strangers. Not to talk to spirits. Not to go anywhere alone. But no one had ever offered to protect me before. Slowly, I nodded. He watched me walk to the candles. The flames flickered the moment I got close, like they were alive… like they knew what I was about to do. My hand trembled. It’s just a candle, I told myself. I blew the first one out, the room shifted. A low sound echoed through the walls, deep and heavy, like something ancient had just been disturbed. I froze, my heart racing. Behind me, I heard him laugh softly. “Good girl.” I turned back to the second candle. This time, my chest felt tight, like something was warning me to stop. But I didn’t, I blew it out. For a second, everything went completely silent. Then— A burst of wind slammed through the room, the lights went out and just like that… the air changed. I turned around slowly. He was standing differently now. Not relaxed or lazy but free. The pressure in the room became overwhelming, like the space itself couldn’t hold him anymore. He stretched his arm slightly, like someone waking up after a long sleep, and let out a quiet breath. And I watched the golden drawing on his wrist and ankles disappeared. “…Finally.” Something about him felt bigger now. Dangerous in a way I couldn’t understand. I stepped back, suddenly unsure. “You said…” my voice came out small, “you’ll protect me, right?” He looked down at me. For a moment, he didn’t say anything. Then he smiled. “Of course.” He stepped closer and reached out, placing his fingers lightly against my forehead. “Don’t forget,” he murmured. “When you’re in danger… call my name.” “I will,” I said quickly. “Your name is—” The word slipped. I blinked. “…your name is…” My head started to hurt. It felt like trying to hold water in my hands. The harder I tried to remember, the faster it disappeared. “I just heard it…” I whispered, panic rising in my chest. “You just told me…” He watched me quietly, that same unreadable smile on his face. “Did I?” he said lightly. My thoughts became foggy, the name was gone completely. I looked at him, confused, my heart beating fast. Something felt wrong… but I couldn’t explain what. He stepped back, adjusting his sleeve like nothing had happened. “Humans,” he muttered, almost amused. “So fragile.” I grabbed his sleeve quickly. “Wait! The deal—” He glanced at my hand, then back at my face. “A deal?” he repeated. “You said you’d protect me!” I insisted. He tilted his head slightly, like he was thinking about it. Then he smiled again. “Ah… right.” For a second, his eyes softened, then the moment passed. “Well,” he said casually, pulling his sleeve from my grip, “try not to die before you figure it out.” My chest tightened. “What…?” But before I could say anything else, he was gone. Like he had never been there at all. I stood alone in the dark room, my hands still shaking. There was something important I was supposed to remember. Something he told me that could protect me. But no matter how hard I tried… I couldn’t remember a single word.