The return to the cabin was silent.

  Carried by the wind along with the few birds capable enough to go such a distance, Noah and Ting saw the clear circle amidst the forest after a few moments.

  With her feet on the ground, she stretched her arms upwards, loosening up. The fresh air and the sense of safety that place conveyed was priceless, very different from the beautiful environment they had been in moments earlier, where each step had to be taken with caution, watched by various curious and hungry eyes lurking in the shadows.

  With a deep sigh, Ting sat down on the steps. Her shoulders hunched forward and her head bowed. Noah thought she might have been more shaken than he'd expected — That was... incredible! — the sparkle in her eyes made him realize he was wrong — Show me again?!

  He sat beside her, still catching his breath — Are you sure? I thought you were scared.

  — Yes, I... — she reconsidered, and an image of the terrifying creature flashed through her mind. As if struck by lightning, her limbs froze. She sighed. — Not now, later... I’ll want to see it again later.

  When she could stand in front of him alone..., and not want to run away.

  Ting clenched her fist tightly and seemed to reach a decision, but Noah couldn’t tell what. She saw the scars stretching along her arm as her sleeve slid, and on her feet. Her lips curled in a quick smile. Maybe after a few more applications, she’d be free of them. She looked over at Noah. Pulling a bottle from her spatial bag, she handed it to him. She knew, as on the night before, that he’d want to do it himself.

  — Aren't you going to remove clothes from the areas where I need to apply the ointment?

  Yielding to his smile, she shook her head — You know where the scars are, so why would you need to? Unless, of course, you just want to look.

  — Actually, that’s exactly why.

  Ting squinted at him.

  Far too honest...

  She sighed — That takes the fun out of it, — she muttered.

  — Huh? So you wanted me to pretend I didn’t want that? I can do that, if you want.

  — You’d have to be able to take your eyes off me while talking for that.

  Sliding his hand into her clothes, he admitted — That I can’t promise.

  After applying the ointment to her front, she fixed her clothes — Alright, wait a second. — then pulled Noah into the bedroom. She had bathed there the previous night, yes. But that didn’t mean she could be naked anytime and anywhere. That would be too much for her right now. If she did, how would she be any different from those "shameless" women?

  Turning her back to him, she pulled her hair over her shoulder and removed the clothing covering her scars — Either way, you ended up getting what you wanted. Happy?

  — You have no idea. Oh wait... Was I supposed to pretend right now?

  Ting smiled — You already did your part up front and I’m sure there are no scars in that area.

  — ...Just to be sure.

  — Apparently, you can lie when you want to, — she laughed, looking at him.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Smiling, Noah capped the bottle as Ting put her clothes back in place.

  — I think I’ll head to the city today. I want to see if anything happened there. — she said, recalling the strange scene she’d witnessed when they were waiting for Xiao Yun to appear. — And you, what are you going to do?

  — Not sure... First, I’ll check on He Rui, to see if she’ll keep training or if she’s decided to use the pill. Then, I need to go see what those people's response will be.

  — Response? — Ting narrowed her eyes — Whose response?

  His gaze shifted and passing the bottle to her, Noah pulled her back onto the bed — I just made them an offer. — rising over her, he considered kissing her, but Ting’s expression wasn’t very receptive at the moment — Helping them is one thing, but I don’t think giving them techniques and resources is so simple. Or am I wrong? If you think so, I’ll change my approach.

  Turning her face to expose her neck, Ting stayed silent for a moment — What exactly was the 'offer' you made? — she asked, stopping the kisses, though not the hands disrupting her clothes.

  — I just proposed that they follow us.

  — Nothing else? No contract or anything like that?

  — A contract...? — Noah looked into her eyes, confused — What could a piece of paper do against cultivators?

  — A piece of— Oh, right... — she looked away.

  Of course, he doesn’t know...

  Noah saw her clench her fist tightly and touched her, unable to understand why. Was it his fault? If so, he couldn't understand the reason.

  Ting looked at him as he touched her. She relaxed her grip and calmed her trembling under his searching gaze. She sighed — There are agreements that can be used to create 'bonds' with pre-defined rules between beings, — she explained, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. She didn’t want him to take her reaction the wrong way, this had been due to her own thoughts and aversions, not anything Noah had done.

  Despite his doubts, he just hugged her and let her caress him, saying — Hm, I see, like a pact. But to do something like that you’d need some kind of skill, right? A spell, maybe? And I don’t know any.

  — Me neither... Which means we’d have to rely only on their word. Are you okay with that?

  — Okay? Not really, since I don’t know them. But since we don’t have a choice... — reconsidering, Noah shut his eyes, falling silent for a moment and leaving Ting in the dark. He blinked — I think I’ve managed to solve the contract situation now. — he said.

  The question crossed her mind, but it didn’t take long for Ting to guess — The souls of your lineages? — he nodded, which left her a bit uneasy — And what did they ask in return for that?

  — Nothing. The phoenix said it was a good idea, actually, that more people meant more people to protect the chicks. She suggested we might want to create a sect, or maybe join one so we’d have some support.

  — Create a sect...?

  — Yes, what do you think of 'Sea of Clouds'?

  Raising an eyebrow, Ting smiled — I thought you went to talk about the agreement, but you had time to think of a name too?

  — Well, I don’t dislike the idea. I actually think it could be interesting.

  — Yes, but now is not the time. You may have a lot of money saved and, most importantly, the ability to provide the required techniques, but creating a sect takes more than that. We also need a place — she leapt on top of him — Is that why you helped that old man?! The phoenix gave you the idea, no, this is your plan. I thought you did it for me!

  — And I did. I don’t like the way they look at you. Makes me think that, if I’m not around, just one careless moment and they'd try to jump on you. But a simple token wouldn’t solve that. — Noah sat up, holding her by the waist so she wouldn't fall or move away — So I wondered how I could give you the city, since you care about its people.

  — Give me the city...? Was this kind of thing common in your world?

  — No, but in this world, strength is what matters, so I thought it might be possible. And besides, I didn’t really do anything. He was the one who promised to give me whatever I wanted, and I don’t have to be modest, right? After all, it’s the price of a life.

  — No, you don’t. — pushing him back onto the bed, Ting wiped the smile from his face. The blankets stretched out beneath them and her clothes finished coming undone thanks to the wind, making him smile again instantly. She sighed — Alright, forget it for now. Let’s decide the rules of the agreement.

  She didn’t stop him from touching her during the discussion, but always halted his caresses exactly when Noah made some exaggerated suggestion — No. Instead of killing them, say they’ll lose everything they gained if they betray us, — she proposed at one point.

  In the end, it wasn’t too hard to agree on the rules. Of course, that was mainly because Ting decided on most of them. To her, Noah’s opinions were too "extreme" to be used in such a situation, so much so that she couldn’t really consider them most of the time.

  After he closed her clothes with exaggerated slowness, always pausing to kiss her again, she stood up — Come on, I’ll go check if the girl is okay too.