Ning found himself somewhat curious about what sort of treasure it could be to make Jasmine call it one of the strongest.

“Do you know what it is?” Ning asked her. Tim got closer to hear as well. He was quite curious as well.

“I don’t know what the treasure is called,” Jasmine spoke. “It’s… some sort of cup. If you drink from it, you become able to make an oath to the owner that you are forced to follow no matter what.”

“Chalice of Oaths,” Tim said suddenly. He quickly pulled out a book and flipped through it until he came across a page where a mediocre image of a chalice was drawn, with an attempt to depict the intricate designs in it.

“Chalice of Oath,” Tim started reading. “It is a Zurin treasure capable of forging life oaths, where one speaks an oath where if they don’t stand by it, they will be forced to die.”

“Ah,” Ning’s eyebrows went up. “I see. Oaths huh? There are worlds where oaths are sacred. This treasure allows something like this.”

“I think that is it,” she said. “It has been about 4 years since I drank from it, but I do remember it looking something similar.”

“It’s only been 4 years?” Ning asked.

“Well, that was the second time. The first time was over 10 years ago when I was just a little street urchin, who would do anything to survive.”

“I ended up agreeing to pay this man back 100 fold long ago and failed to do so. I hadn’t realized that earning 400 gold coins would take such a long time as a child. Although, I would’ve probably taken him up on the offer if I knew what would happen to me.”

“Coldness and hunger are terrible things.”

Tim stayed silent, not saying anything. He had no right to judge the woman for anything she did, not that he wanted to anyway. He was certain she had done the right thing, even though the outcome wasn’t as good.

“Why didn’t you return to the orphanage?” Ning asked.

Jasmine chuckled. “And who would pay my 400 gold coins back? Remember, I was bound by an oath,” she said.

“Tell me, what was the oath? The exact wording and all,” Ning asked.

“For the second one, which I still have on me. I promised that I would pay back the 600 gold coins 100 fold and that I would never try to run away with my debt,” Jasmine answered.

“Would you have died had I forced you to come along with me?” Ning asked.

“I’m… not sure,” Jasmine said. “It wouldn’t be my choice, so there is the possibility that nothing would happen to me. I don’t know.”

Ning took in all the information and started thinking about what his choices here were. He didn’t want to be too extravagant with what he did, but he did want to help her help the children.

“I think the best choice of action we have is to open an orphanage of your own,” Ning said. “I can buy you one in the near future. Since we need to hurry to Airan, it can’t be right now.”

Jasmine shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting you to help me right away,” she said. “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting any help from you at all, given that I tried to steal from you and everything.”

“That you did,” Ning said with a chuckle. “Tell me, how much would the Zurin treasure sell for?” “Bonded ones sell for about 1 gold brick, and unbounded ones sell for 10,” Jasmine said. “If you can find specific people who want to buy it, it can sell for more, but I only just exchange it to reduce my debt.”

“How many have you found until now?” Ning asked.

“2,” Jasmine said. “One was this ring, which I decided to keep. Another one was a bonded hairpin. I gave the hairpin in exchange for reducing 1 gold brick from my debt.”

“I see,” Ning said. “I’ll help you gather some Zurin treasures. Sell them and be free of this debt.”

Jasmine’s eyes narrowed with confusion. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’m going on a journey all over the world, so I’m sure I’ll come across a bunch of Zurin treasure. If you want to, you can come with me and get those treasures. I’ve promised Tim here 3 good treasures. You should be fine with uhh… whatever other 5 I get?”

“How are you so confident that you can get any?” she asked.

“Because I’m me,” Ning said. “Now, the choice is up to you. If you come with me, you can easily get rid of the debt and open your own orphanage.”

Jasmine looked around, speechless. She tried to make decisions, but she was in a big enough dilemma that she couldn’t come to a decision immediately.

“Your proposition is tempting,” she said softly after a while. “But I’m not sure I can do that. I… I need to stay here and care for the kids.”

“Hmm, what if I had someone else take care of the kids?” Ning asked.

“Someone else?” Jasmine looked at Tim, wondering if that was who he meant.

Tim spun his head quickly to ask Ning the same question that burned in Jasmine’s mind.

“No, not him,” Ning answered. With a simple flourish of Ning’s hands, a young man with bright blue eyes and thick raven-black hair appeared inside the room. The young man wore a soft blue robe made with the silk created by a heavenly silkworm.

The young man was very confused at the sudden shift in his location and looked around to see where he was. When he finally noticed Ning, his eyes widened and he got on one knee immediately.

“Great Uncle, why have you summoned me?” the young man, who looked no older than 18, asked.

“Fabian, are you busy at the moment?” Ning asked the young man.

“My time is forever free for Great Uncle,” the young man named Fabian answered. “Please tell me why you have summoned me.”