The links in his consciousness appeared to be incomplete. Still, they allowed him to sense the two [Mist Cat] sisters' direction, and Bai Qi rushed towards it while fuming.

Even he could not say what had angered him more. The actions of the sisters? Or his lack of ability to comprehend it before?

Bai Qi gave himself a mental slap as he recalled the questions that had occurred to him and found that he had everything to solve them before.

Indeed, the hints were easy to follow, but it was as if he never thought of them correctly.

Waking up in their tent bathed and naked was already something to think about, but he had not.

A qi that was his own but wasn't so entirely. Bai Qi decided that the Beastmen infused it during treatment. But he ignored that neither his meridians nor pathways showed signs of being forced from outside. Beastmen could not control their qi outside their body, so it was simply impossible for them to infuse it gently. Thus, it would have raised an alarm flag for any cultivator, at least if one thought about it for longer than a few moments. But Bai Qi did not.

Bai Ze's sudden change towards him and how she tried to avoid interacting with him was also something that should have made Bai Qi connect the dots, but again, he had not.

And even yesterday, he ignored all but his condition. Neither Bai Ze nor Bai Rui were present or came to see him after, and he had been staying in their tent!

"It seems that the three of us can be considered idiots. Heh." Bai Qi wryly chuckled as he murmured.

***

He passed near the transportation formation he had arrived by, continuing south. The connection was not explicit in the distance, but he felt that he was growing closer.

Bai Qi had expanded his senses to the utmost to avoid encountering any hostile being. He had just made a breakthrough and spent all of his qi and aura. And while the pill he consumed had allowed him to recover some of the former, he still could not consider himself combat-ready.

Bai Qi thought while checking on his behind as well. When he had left the camp, even though he was fuming and concentrated on his thoughts, he did notice that a few presences followed after him. Only to be stopped by a stronger one and break off just a couple of minutes later.

Now that he had calmed himself a bit, he wondered about the identities of both parties. He had only caught on the pursuers with the fringe of his senses, and he did not slow down as to check on them.

There was no need either, as the followers from the pack did not release even the slightest amount of hostility.

As for the one to stop them, Bai Qi suspected that it probably was Elder Xiaoshan. Only she could know where and why Bai Qi would be running.

___________________________________________________________________

Two hundred and fifty miles from the camp, a small river entered Bai Qi's field of vision. Hardly enough to serve as an obstacle or a source of anything but water. The river did have a breathtaking quality. Myriads of small white flowers covered the entire river, from shore to shore and not allowing even an inch of water to show.

The river came from the east. And it made a sharp turn near Bai Qi's current location, changing its flow towards the south.

Bai Qi inwardly wondered if the river had relation to the spot he was going to, as he felt he wasn't far from the two sisters by now.

***

"A spread aura? 1st level Saint Beast, no, a beastman and a familiar one as well." Bai Qi's senses caught on someone on his path, and he slightly slowed down to confirm the Beastman's identity before they met.

It was an aura he had sensed closely several times, as it came from one of the Beastmen he had been training in aura control. Bai Qi did answer himself, but he immediately ditched the thought. The Beastman had caught on to his presence and began moving to intercept. Thus, whatever reasons it had to be here, Bai Qi would find out shortly.

***

"Stop!" The male [Mist Cat] Beastmen shouted while placing himself in Bai Qi's path.

His name was Bowu, and he had assisted the training along with the Bai sisters. Not from the same clan or even place as them, he was still of their race and so always accompanied the girls. From what Bai Qi could recall, Bowu was picked by Xiaoshan Mao somewhere a year ago and was considered akin to a brother to the two girls under her protection. Bai Qi thought as a glum smile crossed his face. If he was right, and it looked as he was from Bowu's actions, then there would be no way to avoid a fight.

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"Sorry, I am in a hurry." Bai Qi did not want to antagonize the Beastman and excused himself while taking to the side, intending to avoid the standing Bowu.

*Swoosh*

Reacting to Bai Qi's course change Bowu launched with claws extended. An easy to avoid pounce, and one that Bai Qi did avoid with ease. Still, it did reach its objective, making him break his run and stop.

"I will not allow you to go there." Bowu growled while placing himself in Bai Qi's path again, leaving no option but to pass over him.

"If you know what and why they did, you should also know why I am going. And if you don't, then you should scram as well." Bai Qi spoke up while examining his overall condition. Only a tenth of his qi pool was refilled by the pill, and he could sustain his 6th level Sage aura for no longer than a few minutes.

"I... know, and that's why I will not allow you to approach. You will leave the camp, and all will be back to normal!" Bowu extended his arms to the sides as his aura covered his claws and feet. But noticing that Bai Remained unmoving, Bowu roared, "Just leave. They have nothing to do with you!"

"Interesting, but it's not up to you to decide." Bai Qi shrugged, spending these moments preparing a plan of action. His opponent wasn't especially strong. He felt weaker than Bai Ze, so it should not be hard to beat him if Bai Qi was at his peak. But right now, he was far from it.

Well, a choice was always present. Bai Qi could feign ignorance of the matter and continue acting as previously. But while it was possible indeed, Bai Qi was not capable of doing so. And even he could not say if it was because of his character, previous life experience, or something else.

Both sensed that words would not work, and as Bai Qi remained passive, it was Bowu the one to attack.

*Swoosh**Swipe* *Swipe* *Slash*

Bowu's fighting manner was the same as most Beastmen's. A series of quick swipes, coupled with heavier slashes while using aura to add even more to their already impressive speed and power.

Still, it appeared as if the human was reading each of his movements. A couple of sidesteps at the start and even less for the rest of the attacks. Getting used to the rhythm, Bai Qi confirmed that Bowu fought almost in the same manner as Bai Ze, but he was both slower and weaker. Not by much, but still.

"Can you only dodge? Why don't you attack back? Weren't you supposed to have a power equal to Bai Ze's'?!" Bowu's words could be considered a taunt, but they were not. On the contrary, he was worried about why the human had not attempted anything.

___________________________________________________________________

Bowu had managed to hide it well, and no one knew the truth. The one about that he wasn't so brave and direct as others thought. He feared pain, and he disliked danger as well. Thus if he had the choice, he would never select an opponent stronger than himself, as most Beastmen would do.

And now he found himself fighting against a human that not only managed to equal Bai Ze before but also had maintained a barrier against the swarm alone for days, and then somehow managed to deal with an enemy that sent even the respected Heise Zhao on retreat.

Usually, Bowu would have done everything in his power to avoid such a situation, but he could not. The thought about what the two girls of his race, the ones he always considered meant for him, did with the human was already painful. But he could live with it, as the human did save Bai Ze, and he would leave at some point.

But that was if he left alone, but what if he did not? What if the Bai sisters choose to accompany him? No one could stop them anyway, especially as they already did the deed. Indeed, who would impede them from leaving with their man?

___________________________________________________________________

Minutes passed, and although Bai Qi remained uninjured, he had not counterattacked even once either. It wasn't as he could not, opportunities were aplenty, but he was biding his time. He could only guarantee a few attacks with his full power. And he could not wound him mortally. Thus, he had to both time and aim very well. Something that would be easier if Bowu tired himself out.

*Swoosh*

Bai Qi dodged by slightly jumping back, and by using a small amount of qi, it looked almost as if he had floated back.

"Are you not fighting back because you don't want to hurt someone from the pack? Or because I am not an opponent for you?!" Bowu roared and launched with renewed force.

Bai Qi inwardly sighed as he dropped to a low stance and called for the [Ghostflame].

***

The resulting clash was both short and savage. Bowu had only heard about Bai Qi's power, never seen it before. And during this fight, Bai Qi had not used even his aura, making it impossible to measure either.

Bai Qi limited the 'Ghostflame' to the maximum, and the flame obeyed. Otherwise, the six long and profuse marks on Bowu's chest would have been mortal. His aura had been burned without a trace, and Bai Qi's qi reinforced fingers, surrounded by the silently searing black flame, tore through skin and flesh.

*Thump* *Drip* *Drip*

Bai Qi wasn't left unwounded after the clash, allowing Bowu's claw to trace a small line on his hand. Although more a small sign that the latter had fought well, a few drops of blood still fell to the ground at the same time that Bowu did.

"Haa, and here I wanted to solve it without getting to such an extreme." Bai half lamented while dispelling his skills and willing a wisp of qi to close the shallow cut on his forearm.

He then looked at the weakly breathing Bowu and summoned a [Phoenix Fire] pill from his [Void Ring].

Using a wisp of aura, he placed the pill near him, "The best healing one that I have at the moment. Should help you, though it will be painful to combat the remnant of my flames with a flame element pill."

But as he made a few steps away, again beginning to move towards the south, he heard Bowu's voice.

"You are close, but you will not be able to see them anyway. The ancestral totems protect the [Neverending Snow Waterfall] ravine, and no one except a few chosen from the pack can enter."