Chang Xiuying immediately brandished her sword and struck the mysterious man. The man, however, stopped Chang Xiuying's attack with his own two hands.
"Impressive..."
"Who are you? How did you know my name?"
"That's something for you to find out on your own."
"In that case, do you accept to be tortured by me?"
"Tortured? In the first place, you won't be able to defeat me."
"Let's see about... that!" Chang Xiuying said as she used a feint with her sword, then kicked the man with all her might. She released her breath then immediately approached the man who was still unguarded.
"Haha… hahaha… HAHAHAHAHA. IMPRESSIVE, XIUYING! You grew stronger in just a few years! As I thought, it's better to kill you right now than to kill your other bodies. However, you will just transfer to another place unknown to us. We would lose track of you again. How unfortunate for me."
"What do you mean?" Chang Xiuying tried probing but it resulted in nothing.
The man grinned at her then quickly escaped.
"Oh frick!" Deducing that he will go to her other body, Chang Xiuying took off to chase the man. However, there were countless growls erupting from everywhere. She laid low from the huge monsters that were in high alert.
"That bastard!" She quietly cursed.
Suddenly, she heard a cry to the east from where she was. Torn between saving her body and saving an unknown creature, she was suddenly in a dilemma.
Concluding that she didn't need another body, she turned east and then ran.
[Host! Are you letting that guy go?!]
"I don't need another body!"
[You idiot!]
"Ha?!"
[That is a missing part of yours! If you just let it go, who knows what might happen to you!]
"Ugh…"
[Besides, you kill monsters. What's the point of saving one in distress?]
"It's a cry for help. I can't possibly ignore it!"
[Are you saying that that monster is more important than your life?]
"Shut it," she said as she stopped running and glanced at the injured monster getting attacked by a huge purple panther. Its wings were broken and it had big wounds all over his body. Also, the panther was having fun teasing the monster in its claws.
Chang Xiuying summoned a spear and then threw it at the panther's head, decapitating it. The bird-like creature turned its head over to Chang Xiuying, and then released a cry.
However, she heard clashing sounds coming from somewhere. It must be that the guy found an opponent. Chang Xiuying immediately crouched near the collapsed monster, then tried her best to apply first aid.
"I'm sorry, but you have to go with me if you want to live."
The monster nodded its head then slowly followed Chang Xiuying. A few moments, the bird-like monster gave a cry to her and then flapped its healed wings.
"You want to fly? Just go and escape."
The creature shook its head then pointed at its back with its beak.
"Oh. You want me to ride you?"
The creature released a happy cry.
"Alright. Go to where the fighting is happening."
"!"
Then they took off. The trees became tinier and the temperature rose, winds clashed on their bodies. Then, they spotted a hut with a glacier behind it. Inside the glacier, there was a female youth frozen in it.
"Xue… is that my other body?"
[Affirmative.]
"Why do monsters circle around like they're protecting it?"
However, Xue never gave a reply. Chang Xiuying could only sigh. "Mr. Monster, can you land near that ice?"
"Kuu!"
When the altitude was low, she decided to jump. Just as she landed, she felt overwhelming bloodlust and suddenly ducked and rolled away. Her eyes trained towards the fighting monster and man that she met earlier.
From where she was standing earlier, there was a huge chunk of ice that got separated from the main body. Then, a lot of huge monsters came and then battled the man.
"Fck this shit!" He exclaimed.
Chang Xiuying could only watch. Since the monsters were ignoring her, she started to approach the glacier and touched the frostbiting surface.
"I won't let you!" The man screamed.
"Won't let me what?"
[Host, get that body out of the ice.]
"Roger that."
The instant she got the body out of the ice, a powerful arrow came and then killed the girl. Chang Xiuying was dumbfounded and looked at where the arrow came from. She released an energy ball and immediately attacked that certain location. Then, a scream was heard and a thud came next. But the man she met earlier was still fighting a lot of monsters.
She looked at the youth in her arms and tried to give life energy to resurrect her. However, she suddenly felt that a part of her existence gone missing.
"So… this is how it felt..."
She suddenly felt empty.
"Xue..." she called.
[That piece of spirit is gone now.]
"What's going to happen to me now?"
[You will live as a broken piece in your lifetime. Your memories will be fragmented and it will never return. From my findings, that body will give us a clue about your next body.]
"That's bad."
[Won't you feel bad?]
"I don't know, honestly. Well then… time to catch that man," she said as she pointed her chin towards the man.
She retrieved a bow from her storage then pulled the string. An arrow suddenly materialised and she quickly released it.
The man dodged as he fought and then jumped so high to escape the clutches of Chang Xiuying. Therefore, she quickly pulled the string and released it simultaneously. However, the man was even agile in the air. She stopped and decided to memorise the build of the man. After all, she might meet him again in this world.
The question is… how will she find him?
"I have left a gift for you!" With that, he disappeared into the thick white forest.
Chang Xiuying went to the location where she killed a man and found the body lying there. This must be the gift, she thought. She ransacked the whole body of the corpse and found a single emblem. On the emblem, there was a sword and a staff clashing, and a glowing ball behind. Then, there was a word "Blanche" written at the bottom.
"Blanche..." she murmured.
[It is a powerful organization spread in different worlds with high civilization. They mainly kill and protect the world from harm.]
"Does that mean… they'll always go after me..."
[Precisely.]
"But then… if they found me on earth, as the same thing happened here, why did that guy kill me if he knew I am just going to transfer from one place to another?"
[That would be like a beginner's mistake. He might have a huge sense of justice and decided to kill you on the spot.]
"I see..."
'After all, I am… the daughter of criminals…' she mused.
-----
When morning came, Chang Xiuying opened her eyes and then looked around the tattered hut. She got up, then went home.
However, there was this bird-like creature waiting in front of the hut.
"Excuse me?" Chang Xiuying tilted her head while staring at the creature. Its eagle like head tilted and its body like lion sat on the snowy ground.
"Uh… why are you still here?"
"Gruu!" It cried.
"Eh? Do you want… something to eat?"
It shook its head no.
"Are you going with me?"
It shook its head.
"Then… what?"
The creature pointed at its back and then spread out its wings.
"Ah. I am going to follow you?"
Then it released a happy cry.
"Alright… alright. Here I come," she said as she mounted the creature. It flapped its wings and took off to the sky. After a few moments, a barrier greeted their sight and the creature accelerated then broke through. However, the instance they left the Cold Plains, the barrier shattered.
"Eh?" Chang Xiuying looked, puzzled.
The cold temperature spread out from where they were. Despite the sunny morning, the snow was not even melting. With a quizzical look, they left and headed towards somewhere.
Four hours passed, as they go through towns to cities, they finally arrived in front of a huge castle. When the creature landed, Chang Xiuying unmounted.
"Welcome to Caer Cori," a voice came from behind her.
"Eh?" When she turned around, there stood a man towering over her. His long auburn hair danced with the wind and his caramel eyes shone with the sun.
"You are?" Chang Xiuying asked as she looked around for that creature who brought her here.
"I'm Oscar Huen, the Griffon you saved back in the Cold Plains."
"... Chang Xiuying..."
"May I call you Chang?"
"That sounds weird, so… just Ying."
"I'm grateful that you saved me from that Primordial Amethyst Panther. I owe you my life. Please come inside my home. My father would be delighted to meet you. Besides, we have to report what happened in the Cold Plains to father."
"Sure..."
Oscar smiled widely, as bright as the sun, and Chang Xiuying was blinded. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she looked away from this sunshine.