Overtime, Xinyi and BaoBao also got busy making weapons like a bow and arrow and a spear. She still did not have a sword in the end. Another thing they worked on was of course the house they would be living in. They made it a tree house up high among the leaves of the tree. They stuck vines and leaves on the exterior of the house to camouflage it further. She did not make a stove and survived on campfires. When she was done with all these necessities, she took her time to make more but smaller and simpler houses among the leaves of the surrounding trees so that they looked equally 'dense' to the one that held her house. Besides camouflage, it could be used to hunt animals for food as well.

5 years passed. 

Xinyi was now a full-grown young woman. Due to growing up in the wild and her diligent nature, her body was very toned and shapely. They lived a very carefree and enjoyable life. She never stopped training and cultivating, but now she spent some time entertaining and playing with BaoBao too. Even during those times, Xinyi did not slack off. The games she played with BaoBao were ones that requires thinking and intelligence to win. Sometimes it was an existing game like chess, sometimes it was an original game that she came up with on the spot, other times they would bet on something. The betting started when she found a third purpose for the extra hiding platforms - hunting bandits. They would place bets on things like who would be the first to run or die.

They realised that most of the rare people who did pass by the area were bandits who thought of making this area their hideout. Unfortunately for them, the area was already occupied by Xinyi. She would freak them out by toying with them then silently killing them off one at a time. The last ones dead would always blame their bad luck for choosing a haunyed ground as their resting spot, only to have their lives forfeited. BaoBao would then move the bodies far away from their camp for animals to feed on their bodies while she would go through the bandits' loot. If there were anything useful such as weapons, knowledge, medicine, and clothes. She would take it for herself. Thanks to this, her collection of weapons and traps grew. She would get BaoBao to place everything else on the patrol route of the soldiers for soldiers to pick up. 

BaoBao always wished that he could take part in her fun of killing the bandits off too but there was a rule that systems could not overstep their boundaries and affect anyone else besides their host, otherwise the system would be destroyed.

Meanwhile, the soldiers who would pick up the lost goods and find the dead bodies of the bandits found that their jobs have recently became easier. They were confident in tracking the reported bandits doen eventually as they usually do but this really sped up the whole process.

Zhang Yong believed that the mysterious person who would place the lost goods on patrol grounds was Xinyi. Reports of such incidences only started ever since her disappearance. He was doubly sure when lost male articles would always be returned but lost female items were not always returned. He never paid any thought to the articles not returned. His mind was only filled with finding her. There was no one left who talked about her or even remembered her. He had felt that it was weird and it even made him feel lonely at times. But he never doubted Xinyi's existence. After all, it was precisely her fight and desire to live and become stronger that caught his attention.

After years of searching for her, he still could not find her. He has scoured every inch of his territory and even began scouring the lands under other's protection. This dealt a blow to his confidence and would constantly remind him how he was not strong enough nor smart enough yet. There must be something or somewhere that he was overlooking. Otherwise, how could he have not found her?

Actually, he had came across Xinyi's hideout twice before but BaoBao had always detected him before he could sense Xinyi's presence. This helped Xinyi hide her presence and avoid Zhang Yong effectively.

Just as Zhang Yong was looking at the map on his table yet again, a report came from the Wang Wei to capture the bodyguard of the crown prince who was actually a spy from the country that tried to wage a war not too long ago. There was caution given about his high cultivation level which was how he managed to steal some national treasures too. Zhang Yong guessed that the spy would be passing through his territory since the country that tried to wage a war was across the border he was in charge of protecting. 

He returned to the map to study it for a different purpose. He was now identifying places a daring bandit would try to hide at. He marked a few treacherous areas that are slightly out of patrol routes and places that are far off from the patrol route, then assigned his troops accordingly.

Late that night, just as Xinyi was preparing to sleep, BaoBao warned her of the presence of a group of people. Xinyi, these people seem more dangerous than all the previous bandits. Be careful. 

Xinyi nodded and got ready to activate all the traps if the group posed as a danger to her. She has already killed the fire and hid traces of a campfire being started anywhere. Not long later, a group of men appeared over the cliff. One of them seemed to be scaling the mountain with far greater ease than the rest of them. That must be the leader. She continued to observe their interactions and formation then identified the filler people and the core people of the group.

The group was very careful as they explored the grounds and slowly got closer to where she was. Although the leader seemed to be the most at ease, she knew that he was on full alert. He was walking with lightness in his steps, ready to take off at any time should anything happen. You're right BaoBao. This group is too well-organised and well-behaved unlike the typical bandits we've met. Let's just let them pass. She remained in the tree house and laid low, while continuing to hide her presence. 

The leader eventually chose to settle down right below her tree house. This was because her spot really was the best area to rest. The draft was not too strong and it was difficult to get attacked but easy to defend.

No one has noticed her. However, Xinyi remained alert so that she could react at the soonest moment should anything happen. 

Staying in that state allowed her to catch up with 5 years worth of gossip about the lead couple and second leads. 

"Damn, he is really hot on our tails." The leader conplained with a smile. 

"Is Zhang Yong really that strong?" A person in a filler role asked. 

"Of course. Didn't you hear of his achievements?" the leader raised an eyebrow while asking.

"Oh I did! The most recent one was close to 2 years ago when he led 200,000 men to defend the border against an incoming attack from the neighbouring country. I'm just not sure if it's true or if it got exaggerated like almost every other gossip does." 

"It's true. If he weren't this strong, I'd have ploughed through this remaining land and crossed the border. Instead of hiding here like this. I'm just itching to fight him." Xinyi could already predict that he raised his own death flag. He would get his wish but at the expense of his death. She doesn't feel like Zhang Yong was the kind of second male lead who would die.

"Then why not just go fight him instead of hide since you're rearing for one?"

"Idiots! He has a job to complete and cannot just fight on whim! He should not take needless risks." The right hand man said the last part pointedly at the leader.

The leader raised his hands in defense. "I'm still here."

"Anyway we have to be careful. His greatest achievements are never alone but accomplished when coupled with their Prince Wang Wei." His right-hand man continued.

"I agree. The failure of the invasion was related to that prince too. If he hadn't spotted my country's plans that early, we could have at least done some damage and turned the area into a war-zone for a while. We have been planning for years to go against that dog commander. Lucky the few of us here successfully infiltrated this land." The leader added on to the story.

"He's not all that great though. We actually almost killed the prince when he came to join the fight. His battle prowess and sense can't match up to Zhang Yong's after all." His left-hand man joined in.

"If not for some meddlesome woman." The right-hand man scowled.

"She's only a woman but she could hold her ground and was a brave warrior. She immediately dashed to cover him when she saw him being driven towards a trap. The way she took the hit for him is quite admirable I have to say." The leader said while rubbing his chin. He was showing some interest in the female lead. Xinyi guessed that this was the lead's couple final obstacle to cross before they could finally be together happily and peacefully.

"Leader, she may not be that great though. I witnessed that scene. She was simply lucky to have spotted that trap. It was thanks to another ploy against her by some woman." The right-hand man cautioned him. He really found this man too whimsical and unpredictable.

"Don't worry, I saw that too. That woman has guts. She actually tried making use of the chaos to launch the trap against the other without being noticed. Lucky for the brave woman, she sensed something wrong and dodged at the last moment. That was how she became aware of such traps lying around." There, he even knows the second female lead. They're likely to work together. Xinyi deduced for BaoBao's sake.

"But her luck is seriously great. She would have been killed for taking the hit if not for Zhang Yong. He pushed them out of the way." The left-hand man contributed.

"What really draws me is her quick resolve to sacrifice herself for that prince. I don't care about her luck. That's her fortune."

"Please don't get any ideas..." His right-hand man sighed.

"Don't worry~ I won't affect anyone else. I'll handle this job first. I need some time to plan anyway. That lovely lady got titled as a second rank princess by the emperor as a reward for saving his son after all. She is also that prince's bethrothed. It's not going to be easy stealing away such a high-profiled person."

Xinyi knew the battle they were talking about. It was the battle that she avoided by going to the far end of the forest. ZhangYong really proved his capabilities in that moment because the battle had been contained there and did not spread. However, that was all she knew. She never bothered to find out the specific details of the battle. She never bothered to get updates about the main characters' lives.

She frowned deeply. Since I'm listening to the main plot progressing, this must mean my death is imminent. The time when the original soul died was probably around now. Looks like I'm not off the hook yet. BaoBao stay alert. I don't know how but they will spot me.

BaoBao trusted in Xinyi's judgement now especially when it came to plot developments. 

Xinyi didn't plan to move and be the cause of her own demise. She would keep waiting until a sign of them discovering her presence appeared.

Everyone closed their eyes to sleep except those on watch. Unbeknownst to everyone else, the leader closed his eyes to cultivate in a meditative state and not to sleep. This heightened his senses to the flow of spiritual energy around him. This meant that he would also be sensitive to any fluctuations. 

He soon noticed two oddities. One fluctuation was happening above him and there was a stronger in front of him. He opened his eyes to investigate. The concentration of the fluctuation in front of him felt more concentrated so he went to investigate the one that held a greater threat first. 

Those that have fallen asleep did not notice his quiet and casual movements. He gestured to the two on night watch to stay natural. He approached a patch of vegetation and frowned. It felt the strongest here. However, there was nothing but wild plants. He touched the ground and realised that it was somehow teeming with spiritual energy. Is this ground special? Is this some spiritual soil that only exists in this spot? 

He then remembered sensing a fluctuation above him from before, so he checked the vegetation more closely. He quickly realised that there were many herbs hidden among even more wild plants. He put on an amused expression. A person who is not simple is hiding here. Now, now, let's bring him out.