Yin Kai looked the seductress squarely in the eye. 'I know what she's thinking, but I'm not that easy.'
"Sure." He replied quickly. "I'm up for a bet. But first swear against your dao heart, and I'll swear against mine."
She looked at him, unsure.
"What? Planning on cheating?" Yin Kai taunted.
She blew her top. "I, Rang Bang, swear on my dao heart to commit to having a duel with Yin Kai, right here, right now. I also swear on my dao heart that I will abide by whatever equal weapons, conditions, and battle stage he chooses. I swear on my dao heart that if he wins, I will become his eternal slave and follow his whims."
"If I break this vow, may my dao heart be broken and my cultivation shatter."
Yin Kai looked at her steadily.
"I, Yin Kai, vow on my dao heart to compete, right now, with Rang Bang. If I lose, I vow on my dao heart that I will annul my marriage to Rang Bang."
Turning to look into her face, he smiled. "Let's go to the battle stage. I don't have a flying mount. Would you mind if I join you on sword? It looks big enough for the both of us."
The steely woman looked him up and down. "Sure. It's not like you'll get the chance again."
Flipping her sword with a kick, she stepped on the front half. "Come, jump on already."
With a friendly kick, Yin Kai sent Ba Wang stumbling back towards the female elephants.
With a giant leap, he landed on the black great sword. This caused it to shift a little. As Rang Bang lost her balance momentarily, he reached out his hand to steady her.
She gave him a steely look. "Hands off."
Putting his hands behind his back, Yin Kai returned her with a cheeky smile. "As you wish!"
As she flew up above the sect, she looked back. Yin Kai looked steady, confident…. But no! He was destined to lose.
Stopping, she hovered high above the sects. Yin Kai looked at her calmly, then asked, "Which peak to you belong to?"
"Sky Bear Peak." She said proudly.
"Do you still live there?"
"Yes. Although I am treated as an elder, my heart still belongs there."
"Okay."
She looked at him, askance in her eyes. "Where's the battleground?"
He stared off towards the distance, then added, "Sky Bear Peak."
Rushing down, she split the sky in half as she raced towards the ground. Looking behind her, Yin Kai was… Steady? Calm? Collected?
Breaking the dive into a sweet hovering motion, she stopped above Sky Bear Peak.
"You want to fight here?" She asked.
"No."
"Well just WHERE do you want to fight, then?"
"Your room on Sky Bear Peak. As your fiancée, I should see what your room looks like at least once before we're married, right?"
She looked at the muscular male figure before her. "Right… As if!"
But, sticking to her vow, she brought him to her window.
Jumping off her sword, Yin Kai fell into a room filled with slats made out of red bamboo. A mahogany dresser fit a mirror above it. To the left on the wall lay a short bed for one.
In the middle of the room lay a great, super soft coffee-colored bear rug.
"What's with the bear rug?" Yin Kai asked. "I thought all members of Sky Bear Peak had a bear as their first Beast Companion."
"The pelt," Rang Bang began, "belonged to my mother's beast companion, a Golden-Eyed Warbear named Mi."
"It died from its wounds protecting her from the 100 men who sought to assassinate her. Entering a frenzy, not one man made it through."
"By doing so, it protected both my mother, and myself, who was in her belly."
"By laying next to her, I comfort myself in the fact that she was willing to protect me when I needed it the most."
Yin Kai's smooth tongue braced the air around them. "I, Yin Kai, want to be able to protect you in your moment of direst need."
She spent a few seconds in thought before responding. "You'll have to beat me first, else- how can you beat my enemies?"
"That's a fair point." Yin Kai conceded.
Shutting the door, his voice commanded fhe room. "I've decided on the conditions and weapons."
She responded imperiously. "Then tell me. Else, what are we doing here?"