After a bit of teasing, the two departed the camp. Xie Lian insisted on carrying the bag, so Su Yan let her be. As the sun shone overhead, they made their way through the tall trees, with grass covering the land. Su Yan would've liked going through another of the wisps, but he was in much too much of a hurry to arrive at some place to rest and take a bath.
"You wouldn't happen to have some money, would you?" He asked offhandedly.
Xie Lian narrowed her eyes at him. "No," she frowned. "Aren't you supposed to take care of the money problem?"
"Oh yeah, I got it; don't worry." He nodded with a smile. "That said, aren't you a little too comfortable beside me? I'm a cultivator, you know."
"I didn't take you for a guy who would be offended because someone forgot to pay their respects."
"You guessed right." He offered.
"So about earlier, did you mean it?" She probed after they had walked for quite some time. "About me becoming a cultivator."
Su Yan released a soft sigh. "Listen, Lian—I can call you Lian, right?" She nodded. "Alright, Lian, listen. I need a partner to help me cultivate a very specific cultivation method. It has the benefit of speeding up my progress and that of my partner's, but it requires us to dual cultivate."
"What's that?" She asked.
Su Yan smiled at her. "In simple terms: intercourse while cultivating. You double your pathways, vastly enhance your speed of circulation, and increase room for absorption. It helps speed up your cultivation without any side effects whatsoever."
"And you want me to be your partner?"
"As you can infer." He spoke. "But let me make something clear: I haven't had a serious relationship ever. However, if you agree to be my partner, you will be my partner for life." Then recalling the term he had read in the Yin-Yang Unification Art, he added, "My Dao Companion, if you will. This is a very serious bond, and I don't want you to take my consideration lightly."
"Is it like marriage?" She narrowed her eyes.
Su Yan thought for a second and then nodded. "Yeah. But more sacred. It's not just an oath to ourselves, but to Heaven and Earth, and the Dao of Creation." By now he was just ranting off the lines he had read from the book without any understanding as to what he was saying.
"Cool." She nodded. "So, you won't teach me anything if I don't become your partner?"
"I believe in the principle of equal exchange." He stated. "But don't feel conflicted. If you do not wish to come under such an agreement, you don't have to. There's still a chance that you might just get lucky in the future and become a cultivator on your own."
"Yeah, get lucky." She scoffed.
The talk ceased, and the duo walked on in silence. This continued until, in the afternoon, Xie Lian announced she was feeling hungry and needed a break. Su Yan nodded, and the two took shelter under a tree.
"Can't believe they survive eating this." She grumbled as she bit into the bread. "Can you imagine all the money they earn and yet still living in such a way? It's worse than savage."
Su Yan laughed a little but chose not to reply.
"So," Xie Lian drawled. "If I agree to be your partner, your eh... Dao Companion, what should I expect? Like how will you treat me? Will there be other partners in the future? And what do you expect from me?"
Su Yan paused mid-drink and took a moment to consider. Yin-Yang Unification Art was a serious cultivation method. That said, he didn't just wish to leave it at that. If he was going to have a relationship, then he wanted to have a perfectly healthy one. He had always longed for a family, and he wasn't about to bet on a single cultivation manual to provide one for him, no matter how great it seemed.
"Well," he spoke, "you don't have to worry about being treated as a slave. I will respect you and will always consider you as my companion. As for whether there will be others in the future, then yes. I am not going to deny and then force it upon you, so I will be blunt and say that yes, there will be others. And I only expect one thing from you: trust. Rest is your choice."
Xie Lian sat silently. Even when they resumed their journey, she didn't speak. Su Yan gave her room to think and didn't push. He wanted more than a sex doll in his life and wasn't willing to coerce her into becoming his partner. No matter how much he desired her Yin, he didn't want to build a relationship that would last him for his life on a foundation of lies. He was selfish, but not stupid. Especially when it came to his future.
"I will think about it." Xie Lian spoke. "I will give you my answer after we arrive at the city."
Su Yan nodded, but a frown marred his face. He had rummaged through his pockets earlier and barely found a few pieces of Qi Stones. These were low quality to the extreme and would probably not last long for two people. It was unfortunate that the bandits carried no wealth with them, and he couldn't help but wonder whether that was due to fear of getting robbed. 'Heh, bandits worried about getting robbed,' he snickered at the thought.
Evening arrived, and the sun moved to the horizon. They were still ways away from the city, but Su Yan could see the end of the forest as trees started to grow sparse. It was quite a small stretch of forest that bordered the Yang and Yu clan, considering it had only taken him a little over two days to travel across.
"We are about to see the walls." Xie Lian mentioned, and sure enough, about ten minutes later he could make out the hazy outline of the walls from the distance. She wasn't able to see anything due to her mortal status, but even she got a look after another ten minutes.
"Guess we can finally take some rest." Su Yan smiled.