Temporary Soul Contract

Lu Chenzhou led her to an abandoned storage room in the castle's wing.

A sign reading "Equipment Under Maintenance" hung on the door. Inside were several dusty prop boxes and rolled-up old scenery panels. The windows were boarded up, with only a sliver of light seeping through the crack beneath the door, casting a thin, knife-like line on the floor.

Shen Zhixia drifted in behind him, but before she could steady herself, she heard the door quietly click shut behind her.

She instinctively stepped back half a pace.

"Don't be nervous." Lu Chenzhou turned around, his gaze resting on her face for a moment. "I won't let you be torn apart again."

Shen Zhixia opened her mouth, wanting to say "I'm not nervous," but the words got stuck in her throat. She was actually very nervous—not afraid of him, but afraid of becoming what she was just moments ago, her soul body caught between the yang energy and the black mist, barely able to hold her shape together.

She didn't want him to see her so pitiful again.

Lu Chenzhou said nothing more. Instead, he pulled a neatly folded yellow talisman from his pocket, pinching the edge between his fingertips as he unfolded it in the dim light. The cinnabar lines on the talisman were very fine, as if drawn stroke by stroke with an extremely delicate brush tip, each turn so precise it seemed impossible for human hands to produce.

"A temporary soul contract." He was concise, as if knowing she wouldn't understand too complicated an explanation, and directly used a metaphor. "Simply put, it temporarily 'hooks' you onto me, making the castle's rules mistakenly think you're a part of me, so they won't actively attack you anymore."

Shen Zhixia froze for a moment, a picture forming in her mind—herself dangling from him like some kind of pendant.

Her face felt a little warm.

"Not literally hanging." Lu Chenzhou seemed to see right through her thoughts, a trace of imperceptible helplessness in his voice. "It's an attachment of aura. You're still you, just temporarily borrowing my yang energy as cover."

Shen Zhixia let out a soft "oh," then asked, "Then... will it have any effect on you?"

Lu Chenzhou looked down at the talisman in his hand, slowly rubbing his thumb across its edge, as if confirming something.

"Yes." He was straightforward. "A portion of my yang energy will be borrowed by you. If you get too far from me, or if your emotions fluctuate too much, I'll feel uncomfortable."

Shen Zhixia's heart tightened. "Then... then let's forget it. I don't want to burden you—"

"It's not a burden." Lu Chenzhou cut her off, his eyes falling on her clear yet uneasy soul body, his tone as flat as if stating a fact. "You're not an evil ghost. Helping you is within the rules. Besides, in your current state, without forming the contract, the next time you encounter black mist or concentrated yang energy, you won't be able to hold on."

Shen Zhixia bit her lower lip and said nothing.

She knew he was right. The feeling of being torn apart just now—she never wanted to experience it again in this life—no, in this decade.

But...

"I'll be very careful." She looked up at him earnestly. "I promise I won't run around, won't lose my temper, and absolutely won't make you uncomfortable."

Lu Chenzhou stared at her for a few seconds, then softly hummed in acknowledgment.

He raised the talisman to his lips and quietly recited a chant she couldn't understand. His voice was low, each word striking like a drumbeat on an invisible drumhead, making the air tremble faintly.

Shen Zhixia watched as the cinnabar lines on the talisman began to glow—first a dark red, then slowly turning gold, until finally the entire talisman lit up like a thin sheet of gold foil suspended at his fingertips.

Lu Chenzhou finished the last syllable, raised his left hand, and pressed the talisman against his wrist bone.

The moment the talisman touched his skin, it melted like it had dissolved, turning into an extremely fine golden pattern that slowly traveled along his wrist bone, finally stopping on the inner side and condensing into a small seal mark.

The seal mark was only the size of a fingernail, its lines simple—like a drastically simplified character for "contract," hidden in the shadow of his wrist bone, barely noticeable unless one looked closely.

Shen Zhixia stared at that seal mark, her heart beating a little fast.

She didn't know why—even though she had no heartbeat now—she still felt like her heart was pounding hard, one beat after another, as if trying to leap out of her chest.

"Come here." Lu Chenzhou raised his hand, palm facing up, as if waiting for her to place her hand on it.

Shen Zhixia hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out, her fingertips gently touching his palm.

She thought it would pass right through him, like before.

But this time it didn't.

The moment her fingertips touched his palm, she felt a surge of warm energy flow from his hand, spreading from her fingertips to her wrist, her arm, and finally enveloping her entire soul body.

That energy was very gentle—not like the scorching, prickling yang energy of the living, but more like sunlight on a winter day, warm and cozy, making one want to burrow into it.

Shen Zhixia stood there dumbfounded, feeling as if her soul body was being gently supported by something, no longer as unsteady and liable to be scattered by the wind as before.

"The contract is in effect." Lu Chenzhou withdrew his hand, glancing down at the seal mark on his wrist. "From now on, you can move around beside me. The castle's rules won't actively attack you for now."

Shen Zhixia looked down at her own hand, then at him, and asked softly, "Then... does this mean I've been 'picked up' by you now?"

Lu Chenzhou looked up at her, a barely noticeable glint of amusement flickering in his eyes.

"Yeah," he said.

Shen Zhixia's face felt warm again.

She didn't know what to say, so she just lowered her head and drew circles on the floor with her toe—even though she was a ghost now and her toes couldn't reach the ground at all, she still habitually made the motion.

Lu Chenzhou said nothing more. He simply turned and walked to the door, his hand resting on the doorknob for a moment.

"Stay close to me," he said. "Don't stray too far, and don't suddenly lose control of your emotions. Remember, you're now attached to my aura. Your state will directly affect me."

Shen Zhixia nodded vigorously. "Got it!"

Lu Chenzhou pushed open the door, and the light from outside flooded in, illuminating his profile and sharply outlining his features.

Shen Zhixia followed him out of the storage room. She had only taken a few steps when she felt a familiar tugging sensation.

Her heart tightened, thinking it was the castle's rules tearing at her again, but she quickly realized something was different—this time, the pull wasn't painful. Instead, it felt like an invisible thread gently guiding her, making her unconsciously follow behind Lu Chenzhou.

She tried drifting to the side, and the thread immediately pulled taut, the tug becoming more noticeable.

She quickly floated back to his side, and the tension eased again.

Shen Zhixia finally understood—this was what he meant by "attachment."

She was now like a kite tethered by an invisible string, with the other end in his hand. She could move freely around him, but she couldn't go too far, or the string would snap, and she'd be torn apart by the castle's rules again.

She stole a glance at Lu Chenzhou walking ahead.

He still wore that indifferent expression, his steps steady, his back straight, as if nothing had happened.

But Shen Zhixia knew that right now, he was using his yang energy to protect her.

A feeling welled up in her heart—something indescribable. It was like gratitude, but also something else.

She didn't know how to describe it, only that following behind him felt more reassuring than anything she'd felt in the past ten years.

Lu Chenzhou led her through the castle's side corridors toward the crew's activity area.

The hallway was very quiet, with only the sound of footsteps—or rather, only his footsteps. Shen Zhixia floated behind him, making no sound at all.

Suddenly, a question occurred to her.

"Um..." she asked quietly. "If I keep following you, won't people think it's strange?"

Lu Chenzhou didn't stop walking, his voice coming from ahead. "No. They can't see you."

Shen Zhixia breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little disappointed.

Can't see me, then. At least he can see me.

Thinking this, she drifted a little closer to him.

Lu Chenzhou seemed to sense something and glanced sideways at her.

"Don't get too close," he said. "People might notice something's off about the way I walk."

Shen Zhixia froze, then quickly backed off half a step.

She realized she had been floating so close that she was almost touching his shoulder.

Her face grew warm again.

Lu Chenzhou averted his gaze and kept walking.

At the end of the corridor came the sound of the crew talking and equipment being moved.

Shen Zhixia heard someone calling "Teacher Lu," followed by hurried footsteps running in their direction.

Instinctively, she ducked behind Lu Chenzhou, even though she knew the person couldn't see her.

Lu Chenzhou stopped, and his expression instantly shifted into that warm, polite actor-mode.

"Teacher Lu, where did you go?" A young set worker came running up, panting. "The director is looking for you. He wants to shoot the afternoon scene earlier."

"Got it." Lu Chenzhou nodded, his voice gentle. "I'll go change."

The set worker acknowledged and ran back.

Lu Chenzhou stood still, waiting until the worker was far away before quietly saying, "Let's go."

Shen Zhixia knew he was talking to her and quickly caught up.

She followed him into the crew's activity area, where everyone was busy—some adjusting lights, some moving props, and a few actors sitting in the rest area going over their lines.

None of them could see her.

She floated behind Lu Chenzhou like a transparent shadow, following him through the crowd toward the dressing room.

Shen Zhixia suddenly felt that this wasn't so bad.

At least she wasn't alone anymore.

She felt nervous, but also a little hopeful.

She didn't know what would happen next, but she knew that as long as she stayed with him, she'd probably be fine.

Lu Chenzhou pushed open the dressing room door and stepped aside to let her enter first.

Shen Zhixia floated in and turned to look at him.

He stood at the door, his hand still on the handle, his eyes fixed on her as if confirming something.

"Remember," he said. "Don't run around. Don't stray too far from me. Tell me immediately if anything feels wrong."

Shen Zhixia nodded firmly. "Got it!"

Lu Chenzhou hummed in response, walked in, and closed the door.

They were the only ones in the dressing room—or rather, only one living person, and one little ghost tethered to him by a soul contract.

Shen Zhixia floated to a corner and watched as he walked to the wardrobe rack to change into his costume.

Then a thought struck her.

Should she... look away?

She was hesitating, wondering if she should drift out, when Lu Chenzhou's voice came from ahead.

"Don't bother going out," he said. "You can't see anything anyway."

Shen Zhixia paused, then realized—what he meant by "can't see" was that he had his back to her, so she could only see his back.

She breathed a sigh of relief and found it a little amusing.

She lingered in the corner, watching him change into his costume, then walk to the mirror and adjust his collar.

Only his reflection appeared in the mirror.

Shen Zhixia looked at the mirror showing only his image and suddenly asked softly, "Do all celestial masters... help ghosts like you do?"

Lu Chenzhou's hand, adjusting his collar, paused. He glanced at her through the mirror, his expression unreadable, his voice very faint.

"I only take care of what I see."

The answer was somewhat vague, but it inexplicably set Shen Zhixia at ease. She let out a low "oh" and didn't press further, quietly floating in the corner as she watched him finish preparing.

Lu Chenzhou said nothing, simply walked to the door and placed his hand on the handle.

"Let's go," he said. "Time to shoot."

Shen Zhixia looked up at his back and nodded firmly.

She followed him out of the dressing room, into the crowd, into the world she had watched from the sidelines for ten years but never truly been a part of.

This time, she was no longer a spectator.

She was the little ghost he had "picked up," the existence tethered to him by a soul contract.

She was nervous, but also at peace.