All Things Are Contracts

“Try not to start a conflict. The Mountain Goblin race is a very low-profile species. There are no records of them harming humans. Most of the time, they hide from humans,” the illumination Goddess reminded.

Knowing he had been discovered, Zhanyue no longer hid, but gracefully crawled out.

Under the blood moon and dark forest, the two creatures each held a lantern, emitting a dim yellow light. By this light, Zhanyue could clearly see the two. They looked very similar, only differing slightly in build – one tall and one short, one thin and one fat, much smaller than humans, like larger monkeys. The creatures were bare-chested, covered in hair, with the lower half of their bodies covered by animal skin skirts. Their skin was the color of withered grass. Even the taller Mountain Goblin only reached Zhanyue’s chest.

Their round faces had large eyes, and their ears were elongated. Their noses were very prominent, much larger than humans’, looking quite comical. If described in one word, it would be “ugly-cute”. More importantly, they had no tails and stood upright, so compared to monkeys, they were closer to humans.

“Greetings… great mountain gods,” Zhanyue acted very reverent.

“Huh? What’s with this human? I haven’t even thought of how to trick him yet, and he’s already fallen for it,” the fat Mountain Goblin named Dingding said, puzzled.

“Never mind that, maybe he’s just stupid. Perhaps our appearance scared him,” the thin Mountain Goblin named Dangdang looked at Zhanyue and asked, “How did you know we’re mountain gods?”

“Uh,” Zhanyue’s mind raced, then he smiled flatteringly, “Ordinary humans wouldn’t dare to go out in the middle of the night. Even if they climbed the mountain, they’d hide somewhere like me. You two walk around at night so openly, and your appearance is so magnificent and awe-inspiring, just like the legendary mountain gods. So I guessed you must be mountain gods.”

“Dangdang, what does ‘magnificent and awe-inspiring’ mean?” the fat Mountain Goblin asked.

“It means… it means we’re like the king. The king often says he’s magnificent and awe-inspiring,” the thin Mountain Goblin Dangdang explained.

The fat Mountain Goblin Dingding was very pleased to hear this, even his bearing became more imposing, as if he had really become the king.

“Human, do you have any wine?” Dingding asked.

“Uh, I got lost in the forest and was forced to spend the night here. I don’t have any wine on me, but there’s plenty of good wine in the village,” Zhanyue answered.

“Since you’ve met mountain gods, how can you not offer tribute? Quickly go back and bring wine…” the thin Mountain Goblin Dangdang hurriedly said.

“No, no, what if he runs away after going down the mountain?” Dingding asked.

“That’s true. Should we go with him? But the king doesn’t allow us to go near human villages. Last time, a few fools went to steal chickens from humans, and they were severely punished by the king when they came back.”

Seeing these two creatures in a dilemma, Zhanyue thought this wasn’t good, so he said, “Great gods, don’t worry. After I go down the mountain, I’ll definitely prepare good wine and bring it to you. If you give me some benefits when I bring the wine, how could I not come?”

Dingding slapped his thigh, “Good idea! Humans are all very greedy. I’ll trick him by saying, when he brings us wine, we’ll give him lots and lots of money.”

So Dingding turned his head and said to Zhanyue, “You go and bring wine, the more the better. As mountain gods, we’ll definitely reward you. We’ll give you as much purple crystal coins as a mountain. It’s called purple crystal coins, right?”

Zhanyue rolled his eyes. They were planning out loud again, and was there such an outrageous lie? It’s a good thing their intelligence isn’t very high.

“It’s settled then. You can’t not come, okay?” Dangdang also agreed to this plan.

Zhanyue was speechless. How did a species with such low intelligence survive until today?

“Well, if I come back, how will I find you? This mountain is so big,” Zhanyue asked again. He found this Mountain Goblin race very interesting and thought he might come back to meet them when he’s strong enough in the future.

“Oh right, you’re a good person for reminding me. Take this token. Tomorrow night, just hang it on a tree here, and we’ll naturally be able to find you. Remember to act at night,” Saying this, Dingding took out a wooden token and handed it to Zhanyue.

Zhanyue looked at the wooden token with surprise. There were two characters carved on it, but they weren’t in the script of the Myriad Spirits Realm. Instead, they looked like a mysterious script he had researched with his teacher in his original world.

“Roasted meat?” Zhanyue unconsciously said out loud as he recalled the research from years ago. It seemed these two strange characters meant this.

“You recognize the characters on this token?” The two Mountain Goblins’ eyes lit up.

“No… I don’t,” Zhanyue thought this wasn’t good.

“Don’t try to fool us. We all saw it. You clearly recognized the characters on this token! Dangdang, we’ve struck it rich!” The Mountain Goblin named Dingding looked at Zhanyue as if looking at a priceless treasure.

“Not good…” Zhanyue didn’t expect his knowledge would actually harm him. He immediately turned to run.

But the Mountain Goblin named Dingding instantly burrowed into the ground, then caught up with Zhanyue and reached out a pair of hands from the ground, directly tripping Zhanyue. Then a burlap sack was used to pack Zhanyue up. This was originally prepared by the two to hold wine.

“Earth Burrowing Technique?” Zhanyue didn’t expect this Mountain Goblin to have such a skill.

“Carry him away, carry him away! We’ve done a great deed!” The two carried the burlap sack and quickly headed into the mountains.

“What should I do?” He knew nothing about Mountain Goblins and feared he would be at a great disadvantage if it came to a real fight.

“Don’t be afraid. Let’s see what they want to do. If there’s real danger, I’ll intervene,” the illumination Goddess’s voice reassured Zhanyue. She seemed to have become interested in this race too. This was the best opportunity to understand them.

“You can help me from so far away?” Zhanyue asked in surprise.

“Don’t worry, I have backup plans. I’ll keep an eye on your side until you’re safe,” the illumination Goddess said. She was meticulous. She didn’t fully disclose to Zhanyue before, fearing that if he knew he had her protection, he might become reckless and act wildly. Now there was no need to keep it secret.

The two Mountain Goblin Clan members jogged along, happily singing a song.

“Yi ya ya, our luck is so good today; Yi ya ya, we two have done a great deed; Yi ya ya, we’ll sit in the front row for meals from now on~~~~”

Zhanyue felt his body bouncing all the way. He had been caught while wearing his backpack, which was very uncomfortable now. Based on the feeling, they seemed to be going lower and lower, apparently going down the mountain. Although he had a spatial ring, Zhanyue still wore a backpack to avoid suspicion. Only very important items were kept in the ring, with other items in the backpack.

After a long time, Zhanyue finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally stopped.

“You two, what good stuff have you brought back?” a voice sounded.

“Little Woodhead, it’s none of your business. We’re going back to rest.”

“Little Woodhead? You used to call me Brother Woodhead. Getting bold today, are you?”

“You’re just a stinky gatekeeper. In a couple of days, you’ll have to call me Brother Dingding and him Brother Dangdang.”

“Pah! You two useless things, worthy of me calling you brothers? Get in quickly. I’m about to close the gate.”

Listening to these conversations, Zhanyue realized he seemed to have been carried into the Mountain Goblin Clan’s lair.

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