They decided to dispose of the bodies first before finding a spot to settle down. Some of the women choose to leave early, thinking their savior might change his mind. Some decided to wait until dawn broke, while others simply sat closer to the man himself. The reason for their behavior became apparent when he was accidentally greeted by the view of their cleavages or supple thighs. Surprisingly, most of those who decided to stay were all virgins. He wondered what exactly that meant but chose not to give it much thought.
In comparison, Xie Lian acted more normal. She used a small blanket to lay down on and was already asleep in a few minutes. He guessed the reason as exhaustion, but it could also be her trying to avoid him. Not that he was really interested in her. Okay, maybe a little.
Su Yan himself chose a more secure corner to sleep in, if just to avoid being ambushed. Despite that he didn't fall into deep sleep, keeping a silent vigil.
Dawn arrived and more women left. As it became apparent to some that he wasn't going to be giving them any attention, more women left soon after. Some persisted but only until the sun had fully made its appearance in the sky; by then, too, they chose to leave.
Su Yan stifled a yawn and stretched his limbs. It felt good to take a good night's rest, and now he was ready for further journeys. Before that, though, he decided to check on his dantian and was surprised to find it fully recovered. He had expected since the Qi was so thick and potent, it would take time to recover. Apparently he was worried for nothing.
'Still, what a surprise that a mote so small could pack so much Qi,' he wondered incredulously. Truly he was surprised by how much Qi his single mote had supplied. It was almost equal to ten of his previous motes, and they were nowhere near equal in quality. That was another factor; his single mote held so much Qi and was significantly more pure and potent. What would happen at a higher number of motes, Su Yan was dying to find out.
"I can't start on my cultivation for now..." He shook his head and sighed. He had already spent almost two days in this forest, and any more would be pushing his luck. He needed to find a safer place before he could go into a closed-door cultivation session.
Deciding on resuming his journey, he rolled down and moved into the camp to find it empty. There was the lone figure of Xie Lian tying a sack. He drew near and smiled. "Good morning. I see that you didn't run away."
Xie Lian looked back at him with a brow raised. "Oh well, I thought you might get lost in these woods and decided to stay. Besides, you did help me, so it's only fair that I help you too."
He nodded and pointed at her sack. "What's in there?"
"These," she said, "are our rations. It's still going to take us a day's journey to arrive at the city. And while you might not need much sustenance, I do require food."
"Do you have any food and water?"
"You need some?" She inquired.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Sure." She pulled on the strings of the burlap sack and pulled out a piece of bread alongside a waterskin. Su Yan took both and hurried to wolf it down. The bread was hard, but after wetting it with water, it slid down his throat easily.
"Say, you're a cultivator, right?" Xie Lian broached.
"Mm-hmm." He nodded.
"Do you think I could become like you?" Su Yan stopped the bite he was about to take and looked at the girl who was staring at him nervously. Smiling, he leaned forward.
"Do you want to?" he asked.
She shrugged. "The reason I'm coming with you is because I can't go back home. But a big city like that is going to be tough to survive in, so I was wondering if a person like me can also become a cultivator?"
Su Yan adopted a thoughtful posture and rubbed his chin. "I mean, you can." He paused. "But a cultivator without any backing is hardly better than a mortal; worse in some cases. If you're willing to endure hardships like that, then sure, you can become one if you want."
Xie Lian stared at him with an open mouth, then shook her head. "I thought so; cultivation isn't for me."
"What are you afraid of?" Su Yan prompted.
"They are probably going to ask for my body, right?" She asked rhetorically. "Better to live with dignity than die in slavery."
Su Yan quivered a brow as he heard her words, then shook his head. Dignity. Pride. Morality. Nothing truly mattered in the world of cultivation, even if some would keep up the illusion. It was the harshness of the reality they lived in, but Xie Lian was wrong to believe that keeping away from things like that would keep her safe.
"It's not like that." He explained. "Even if you chose to avoid the fate, that doesn't mean the fate would avoid you. In the end, strength is the only thing that gives you free will."
"So you're telling me to sell my body?"
"I didn't say anything like that."
"But, you're implying so."
Shaking his head, Su Yan sighed. "What I meant is that, in this world, nothing is going overboard if you're trying to survive. Unless, of course, you really do go overboard, then..." He trailed off, but the meaning of his words was clear.
Live by whatever means necessary. Fight for that single chance wholeheartedly. But never forsake your inner self. Never forget who you truly are. Cultivate as a human and reach the top as a human. If somewhere along the way you lost yourself, understand that you never made it to the top. You died before fulfilling your dreams.
"Then, would you help me?"
"Only if you give me your body." He replied with an evil smirk.