The forest blurred past her.
Branches snapped beneath her steps, leaves scattering in her wake as the young veiled girl shot through the woods like a streak of wind. Her figure flickered between the trees, barely touching the ground, her speed so great that even the air behind her lagged a heartbeat too slow.
Her breathing was steady, but her thoughts were not.
'That damn beast…' she thought, thinking of Xiao Hei.
Her expression darkened beneath the veil as she recalled the moment Xiao Hei's technique had taken hold of her senses, distorting her perception and forcing her into a retreat she hadn't planned.
"If I see you again," she muttered under her breath, her voice low and cold, "I'll tear you apart!"
Eventually, she reached a clearing, her momentum carrying her to the edge of a quiet pond. The sudden openness contrasted sharply with the dense forest behind her, and standing there, as if he had been waiting all along, was a man.
