Jing Wei's words resounded in the entire hall and even beyond it. In fact, they continued to resonate and echo long enough that they extended beyond the reaches of the War Castle Jing and throughout the entire ancestral land.
It seemed to have caused some strange phenomenon where the skies of the ancestral land started to tremble.
The glowing drop of blood on the tip of the needle like dagger flew up and shot into Lin Mu's forehead before he could react. And when that happened, Lin Mu felt an inexplicable link forming between Jing Wei, Jing Luo, Duan Ke and him.
It wasn't like the link he had between Little Shrubby and him, nor was it like the ordainment of the world's will. It was entirely different from it. It was as if the three of them could never harm him and if he said so, the three of them would die.
'What even is this?' Lin Mu found it to be a bit terrifying.
"Now I didn't expect this to happen… A Vow of servitude taken upon an entire clan's bloodline." Xukong suddenly spoke, his voice containing hints of surprise as well.
"What is this, senior?" Lin Mu questioned, feeling lost.
"You can basically consider it as an oath. Similar to the one you took with others for the alliance. Except this one is far stronger… this basically turns the Jing Clan into your servants… if you want to of course." Xukong answered.
"WHAT!? Why would he do something like this?" Lin Mu was utterly shocked.
"Well, I don't know either. But it seems your help has deemed it important enough for Jing Wei to do this. I'm more surprised he even knew how to do this." Xukong replied.
And just as he said that, Lin Mu saw something happening to the needle like dagger.
~KACHA~
The dagger shattered into three fragments before shooting towards Jing Wei, Jing Luo and Duan Ke. But just like before, it turned ethereal before entering either hearts.
"The vow has been made…" Jing Wei said, opening his eyes.
Jing Luo and Duan Ke were stunned at the whole situation, not knowing what it was at all.
"What… what was that, grandfather?" Duan Ke asked.
"It was repayment… or at least an attempt." Jing Wei replied.
"Did you really need to go that far?" Lin Mu questioned, having learned about the whole thing from Xukong.
"I'm afraid even that is not enough. You may not know the significance of what you have done for us. What I've done is perhaps only the beginning for the repayment of debt. I only hope that our latter generations will be able to complete it." Jing Wei stated.
"Stop that!" Lin Mu protested. "You do not owe me a debt. I only did what I thought was right." He replied.
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Jing Wei's face.
"This is exactly why I made the decision. You are worthy of our vow. The Jing clan will be at your command from this moment onwards." Jing Wei answered.
"But—" Lin Mu wanted to say more but was interrupted.
"Don't try anymore. This is actually good." Xukong spoke. "Besides, as long as you don't take unfair advantage of them, there won't actually be any difference from before, will there?" he asked.
"That…" Lin Mu found senior Xukong's words to be rather understandable.
"Just because he took a vow of servitude for his clan doesn't mean you really have to treat them as servants. In fact, it will be better if you treat them as you have all along." Xukong continued.
Hearing Senior Xukong's words, Lin Mu understood that perhaps this was the best way to approach this. He could only accept it and take the gratitude of Jing Wei.
~Sigh~
"Fine… but please don't do anything more like this. I don't think I'll be able to handle more." Lin Mu said.
"Alright." Jing Wei chuckled.
"Now then… we should probably get to the more important things…" Lin Mu said.
"Of course…" Jing Wei said, as his expression darkened.
"I had never expected the sects would not learn the lessons after all these years." Jing Wei spoke. "At least some of them are wise though… the Long Cloud Alliance was a good decision." He added.
Lin Mu nodded his head before explaining more things to Jing Luo. He told them about everything that had happened; the invader, Gu Yao, the Northern Tribes, the immortal ascension realm cultivators, the mutated beasts as well as the reborn.
The more they heard, the stiffer Duan Ke and Jing Wei's expressions got.
"Can't believe the world would change this much in just a decade…" Duan Ke muttered, finding it all absurd.
~Sigh~
"I wish all I said was a lie. Things would be so much better that way." Lin Mu replied.
"Indeed. I've wracked my head thinking about how things could go this bad this quickly after a long time of peace." Jing Luo added.
"The fates have a fickle reputation of flipping the odds when we get the most comfortable. Seems like it is just a repeat of that again." Jing Wei said in melancholic tone.
"Can you help us about this then, old man Jing?" Lin Mu asked.
"Of course! It is our duty! Not only due to the vow, but the old duty that the Jing clan took several thousand years ago!" Jing Wei stated.
Lin Mu's eyes lit up upon hearing this and he nodded his head extendedly. Duan Ke too, let out a smile while Little Shrubby simply curled up more in her embrace. The beast had been taking a nap without a care in the world.
"When can we start?" Lin Mu asked.
"Right away. With the issue of tracking down the Invader's traces, Duan Ke can help you. I believe her breakthrough has given her some new abilities. As for the issue of the communication jade slips being jammed, I can help make something that'll revert that." Jing Wei replied.
