Chapter 107 - 3.3

[No, no, no! No teleportation! You can't! The mystical energy here is barely there, and is only present to support the flow of things, not to be used for magic!]

"But there is enough energy for me to teleport~" Xu Jiaqi whined.

Biting her lips harshly, she leapt off into the crowd, shocking everyone in her presence. Shouts and screams started rising in volume as she kept running through the masses with ease.

"System, can you map out this entire place for me? Find a place that I can hide in, and lead me there." Xu Jiaqi instructed.

[On it, Host! I already started to map it out before you even asked! Err... It's in the second right turn you will encounter from this path. I will transfer the map to your mind, Host. Please follow the glowing path!]

Xu Jiaqi received the directions and smiled. She followed the System's instructions, pushing her body to go as fast as she could for this final spurt. She dashed towards the right turn the System mentioned.

Behind her, there was already a guard that caught up with Xu Jiaqi. He stretched his arm out to attack her, but she narrowly dodged the strike by a split second.

With her agility and small stature, she made a quick dash and entered an alley narrower from the previous one she was in. The process of dodging the attacks by a slim chance, running forward in a misleading motion, and escaping made Xu Jiaqi exhausted. Her legs almost gave out as she ran towards a box that was awfully unsettling.

"What is this? A cage?" Xu Jiaqi entered the place. She had spent her last bits of energy getting inside the box. Hearing a string of angry curses from far away, she leaned against the cramped cage's walls as there was no strength left in her. Her feet had blisters from running on such a rough surface while not wearing any foot apparel.

She felt like her heart was about to burst from the amount of strenuous activity she did.

Adrenaline was the key. In truth, her body wouldn't be able to handle it without the pumping adrenaline, so it immediately collapsed upon reaching what System regarded as a 'safe' place.

Trembling, she felt her vision weaken as she finally lost her consciousness.

Back in the building Xu Jiaqi crashed into, a man sitting with leisure behind sheer curtains was in the middle of receiving a report from his subordinate.

"We weren't able to catch the girl. We are willing to shoulder the blame and take on the punishments!" The guards were the ones employed by the building they were in, not ones working under the man.

He did not spare a single gaze at the guards, who were grovelling down on the ground along with the building's owner.

"All is fine. It is just a stray kitten..." The man smirked as he reminisced about the girl who jumped down, bringing shattered wood pieces along with her petite body.

When she fell, her gaze landed straight on the place he was sitting by, but the curtains prevented any eye contact being made. His trained eyes, however, was enough to take a good look at the young girl.

She looked visibly shocked as well. So shocked that it looked quite cute, creating a smile on his face. He didn't believe that the girl was a spy. More like a frightened cat who got in trouble.

He whispered in a low voice. "...Should I hunt her down?"

The voice was heard by one of his elite guards, who looked at him and asked if he wanted the girl to be disposed. It would be as easy as throwing a trash bag into the can for them.

"No. I'll be going out for a moment. The meeting is adjourned. The damages.. I will pay for it. Charge the bill to my attendant, he will take care of the reparations." The man stood up from his chair and looked towards the huge mess made by the window.

Unconsciously, a smile appeared on his face. An interesting subject had just appeared, how could he not be entertained? Somehow, he felt like he had to chase down this little prey no matter what. Secure her and make sure that she wasn't out of his eyes.

What kind of strange attraction was this? It was his first time having to harbor such a feeling.

"W-we thank the Esteemed Lord for his grace!" Their bodies trembled as they heaved a sigh of relief, hearing that the matter would be let go and forgiven. They were not foreign to the Lord's notorious personality, as it was the very cause of his widespread infamy. If he wanted for a life to be gone, then that person could only silently accept their fate.

"You are all dismissed. Get out of this room, and train harder. What use are you guys if you can't even catch a frail girl like that?" With a stern voice, he announced.

"Yes, Lord!" They simultaneously answered, scurrying far away from the room, their minds filled with fear and terror. They didn't want to be inside the room for a second longer, scared that the lord would change his mind and offer a punishment up for them.

After they left, the man got out of the building, jumping out and showing his expertise at moving around. Then, a frown appeared on his forehead.

"She didn't wear any shoes, if I recall correctly." He felt that the ground was tough and rocky. The guards that chased her all wore protective clothing, and wouldn't be affected in the slightest.

But the girl's feet, being forced to run across this type of surface, wouldn't it be painful? He cast his eyes over the path that he saw the girl take and saw that there were indeed faint traces of blood.

"Adding to my lord's information, this subordinate also saw that the girl did not wear any protective layer other than the tattered cloth. Perhaps she is a slum girl, judging from her characteristics." One of his most trusted elite guards offered up his observation.

The man agreed with him.

"....I must remind her to wear more later on, then."