It was the belief of the pursuers that Ki was moving as fast as she possible could so that she could escape.
Those that ran full speed or beyond their capabilities often tired out much earlier especially when they were running away from others.
The survival instinct would kick in from the fear of dying then they would run faster than ever before but that came at the cost of tiring out much sooner.
Those that did not manage their body well enough were usually the ones to fall victim to others due to their bodies not being able to continue moving at such speeds.
Due to the danger they were in, some would choose to be even more cautious with their movements and look around themselves before they moved in a certain direction but others would just run wildly into whatever danger could be lurking ahead.
Those chasing behind had believed that Ki was among those that had been overcome with fear so much that she had recklessly ran ahead without worrying about the dangers ahead.
They were very wrong in their assumptions and if viewed cleared, there was no fear shown on the face of Ki as she had ran forward.
Her eyes moved alertly from side to side as she checked for signs of tracks or other signs of life in her surroundings.
Her breathing pattern was very steady as if she had not put in her greatest efforts into running away.
The group far behind her was already far enough behind her that it was possible for her to lose them if she found a place that was less out in the open to allow her to be out of their range of sight.
The mountain area further that was ahead if her had many paths leading in between openings or caves in the mountain while some slopes led further up the mountain.
Ahead of Ki was the opening that she needed but her eyes suddenly became serious as they looked ahead. 'So they are not working alone. I should have known but I cannot stop now.'
There was danger behind but there was danger ahead too, if she suddenly stopped then she would be caught in between both sides or would have to find a way to break through one side.
Ki did not slow down or retreat once she became away of the impending threat that was drawing closer.
Her hand reached towards her tied up hair and removed several metallic needles that had kept her hair tied up and neat.
Once removed from her hair, the needles had been held on one hand while her brown hair fell down to her shoulders before being blown around by the cold wind.
Her hair had been kept up neatly to avoid blowing around but the needles had been placed there to conceal her hidden weapons.
There would not be weapons allowed but not everyone considered a hair accessory as a weapon so the needles were able to be overlooked.
Once Ki had stepped closer towards the entrance where there was a split leading down a path in the mountain, she had held two needles in between her fingers on one hand. 'Three.. two.. one.'
She made sure to time her movements and predicted everything well enough for what had came next.
Some other figures jumped out from each side in an attempt to ambush her while she entered, their bodies came down from higher up so they were in the air. "Huaa!"
"Get her!"
Some had sickle type of weapons while others had simpler pointed blades that had been thrust or swung down towards Ki. "Kukuku."
A strange looking white flame had travelled towards Ki from another angle which meant that there were more of the same people from the previous group among them.
Ki could not be completely certain about their affiliation but from the information she had available to her, she had made a guess. 'Netherflame Sect! It must be them.'
The flame landed before the others had made it close to her or had landed on the ground, Ki had changed her movements all of a sudden in response to their ambush.
It was like a switch had been flipped and she was no longer in a state where she was just running away, her fighting instincts were fully intact and her body had moved unpredictably to those around her.
Her sluggish steps and movements had allowed her to step back all of a sudden like she had been shocked by the cold flame.
It seemed like her movements were very natural and like she was genuinely shocked and scared about almost dying.
There was then a casual flick of her wrist in between that which others that were not paying attention would miss.
The theatrics of her performance had only served to distract them and to let their guard down.
"Gu.."
"Ah.."
"What is.."
More sluggish movements had been well controlled as more needles had been thrown out towards each of those that had missed their first attack on her.
It was like Ki who had been moving normally like a sober person had suddenly become drunk in the next moment.
The sudden change of movements had allowed them to be unable to predict her movements so their overhead attacks had missed her body.
Once they tried to make adjustments to their fighting stance and charged forward, there were already two of them that had a needle that had pierced into a part of their body.
One more needle was in the hand of Ki as another figure had got close to her, they pointed their blade forward to thrust at her. "Haa!"
The person that was busy conjuring another flame had stood above and grot their teeth. 'What are they doing? They should not be struggling like this! Damn! They are in the way!'
They found it ridiculous that even one of them had been injured already and that Ki had not been defeated yet.
Due to them being so close to Ki, he could not fire off another cold fire towards her without getting the others caught up in it.
He continued to look frustrated as he gathered more power and condensed it so that it would be more effective once it hit its target.
All he needed was an opportunity but it did not come to him so soon.
Ki was seen below as she performed a drunken dance within the snow and ice beneath her feet, her every move had looked like she had barely avoided harm and was just lucky enough to survive.
She dodged the sword thrust and covered the distance with a clumsy fall to the ground.
Once she was close enough, the needle in her hand had stabbed into the side of their leg then she climbed up to stabilise herself.
Ki seemed to stumble in another direction and kept doing so as she made her way through the gaps in the people ahead of her.
Every time that Ki passed by someone, they let out a scream and fell to their knees clutching the area or areas that had been stabbed.
It was like Ki was dancing among the crowd and was making her way through them without exerting much effort.