Ki did what she could to maintain the lives of those living before setting some other dogs free.
Since their owners were either dead or too injured to care for them, it was the best option to let them go free rather than being kept chained up.
The dog whistle blew right away after releasing her own dogs so that they would have some freedom of movement once again.
They heard the noise right away and responded by sitting down obediently which caused Ki to smile a little.
It seemed like the dogs had long recognised her from using the whistle before and from her scent they detected.
She did not want them to rush up to her to be overly familiar since it could result in her identity being exposed.
Seeing that the dogs remained where they were, Ki stepped away leaving the camp behind a bloodied mess.
It was not until a little later that she blew the whistle again which caused the dogs to begin to leave the camp.
Ki had already circled around in another direction so once she blew it, the dogs moved towards a different direction leaving the camp making it look less like they were following behind her.
Her footsteps were more cautious as she moved along the terrain of the mountain taking in each slight sound or sight before her.
It may have been unfamiliar to her but she remembered the directions she had passed through previously which made it easier to navigate through the mountain.
Blowing the whistle again had resulted in the dogs pausing in their steps as they lowered their bodies into the snow making them less likely to be seen.
Before the eyes of Ki was the location where it had been full of the people that came from the capital.
Instead of them being there, she found that there were a couple of people lurking around in the area that belonged to the enemy group.
Ki stepped out into the open not bothering to conceal herself any further since there were less enemies around then her body quickened its pace towards them.
The moment that they turned to notice her, it was already much too late for them to do much about it.
A small sharp object pierced the throat of one figure causing them to clutch at their throat in pain before dropping down to their knees. "Kuh.."
Another died in a similar manner as several small sharp weapons were flung out towards them very accurately and quickly.
It was not long before the area had been cleaned up of the enemies presence but Ki could still feel that there were some others nearby.
She kept moving further until away from the location where the northern nobles would have stayed then began searching the area carefully towards each possible vantage point or hidden location.
It was easier to follow the tracks once she noticed them so she followed until she finally came across two white foxes that had slowly approached her.
The snow foxes were both vigilant at first prepared to run away or attack until they picked up on her scent.
They let out small excited squeaks before pouncing into her arms.
Ki smiled beneath her disguise as she asked. "Where are your masters hiding?"
As if the small snow foxes understood her, they pointed their noses towards another direction.
Ki nodded as she said. "It seems that your control and connections with your companions has deepened a lot."
She could tell that both foxes had a change in behaviour all of a sudden and became smarter so it meant that the two owners had established a connection to their companions to be able to know what Ki had asked before giving their companion guidance to respond.
Ki put them back on the ground as they led her forward towards where they pointed their noses until two figures could be seen in emerging from where they were huddled together as they found a decent place to hide. "Rayleigh, Lumi… how have you two been?"
Two young girls in their mid to late teens emerged which were Lumi and Rayleigh who did not look that unkempt even though they had been huddled up together and hiding in such a cold environment together.
The snow and cold had no effect on their bodies as if they were wrapped in what was comfortable to them.
All it served to do was to deepen their connection to the ice and snow as they experienced it more further increasing their understanding that would only further enhance their martial arts insights.
They were still very far from discovering the true meaning of extreme ice but they were gradually increasing their insights with each small experience in the Northern Lands that they had to face.
If the talent of Rayleigh was allowed to grow in a better environment with better resources than what she had in her previous life then it was likely that she would make great strides towards pursuing the power she held when she faced against Ki.
It was very likely that Rayleigh wandered around the continent just like Ki did in the previous life until she grew strong enough to gain some kind of support.
It was unlikely that she would have often returned to the Northern Lands where it was better for her to train in since there were many influences searching for her.
Such things could have impeded her growth a lot along with her insights so what she had experienced during the time Ki had taken her in along with Lumi would only help to increase her speed in grasping certain areas of her techniques.
It was the same for Lumi who had the Divine Ice Sect's best Qi technique and had similar talents to Rayleigh.
Rayleigh was the first and only one to speak up while Lumi stood there silently. "So you have returned huh? What took you so long?"