Over the next few weeks, BaiXue was told to follow the foxes as they showed her the ropes before she could start doing things on her own. She was shown the location of various villages and the fastest routes to take. She was also put through minimal self-defense training.

BaiXue found that they covered a really wide area. They knew of villages in the whole forest to the coast. Some took days for them to reach, some took less than a day. Upon reaching, they would spend a few days there to observe the village. However, none was the female lead's village. She wondered if it was just beyond the mountain that was at the edge of this forest.

They had never crossed the mountains before even though it was only a half day away from where FenFang lives. The mountain was treacherous to cross and had stronger people living on it. The foxes did not want to take the risk for FenFang. BaiXue realised that the original soul was likely the one who first crossed the mountain and found a safe passage that the others could take.

Today was the last day when she would follow the foxes. They were travelling to the last village they would have to gather information on for the time being. They left it for last because it was one of the easiest and they wanted to let BaiXue try and take the lead in gathering information there.

It's likely my village.

How do you know? BaoBao asked.

BaoBao, have you not realised that they have covered every village in this area close to FenFang's dwelling yet only mine has not appeared even though it is one of the closest? I don't believe that it is because they have hidden themselves that well.

True enough, they took a little more than a day and arrived at the final village. It was BaiXue's village.

BaoBao was confused. The original soul has been wandering around for a week yet did not arrive at FenFang's cave.

BaiXue made her guesses. Either the original soul was really bad in directions and was going in circles or there is some enchantment in the forest put in place by FenFang.

With the way they had been gathering information, she was not surprised that they did not know of her despite keeping tabs on her village. No one ever spoke of her and she always either stayed around her home or followed her oldest brother when hunting for food.

BaiXue had to showcase her stealthiness for the three foxes now.

She took roads less travelled by people and naturally blended in the background while keeping herself within earshot of conversations that went on around her. Anyone who saw her would think that she was just another person going about their day. The three foxes who saw all these from the sidelines got really excited for her. She was a decent addition to their team!

Nobody recognised BaiXue as the one who caused the death of one of their strongest people in the village. They remembered her as small, timid, and weak. The way BaiXue carried herself now was confident and she looked healthier and stronger than the original soul ever had looked before. Her skin had a healthy glow to it now.

This was made possible due to the hard work BaiXue has been putting in. She made full use of the constant cultivation she learnt in the first world and has been constantly drawing in energy from her surroundings for the past few weeks.

BaiXue went back to them at the end of day. They came out form the foliage they were hiding among.

"There was talk about some recovery from a bandit's raid, the losses they incurred from it, and about changing the location of the village."

"Oh! That's really valuable information! If they change their location, we would have to look for them again from scratch."

"Yes, that would be a bother."

"Good job, BaiXue!"

The three of them each gave their input before making their way back to FenFang's dwelling. 

On the way back to the rock formation where FenFang's dwelling was at, BaiXue was talking to BaoBao while the foxes talked among themselves. They never talked with her because she was very quiet and only spoke when spoken to. It was no fun for them to converse with her.

There is so much for me to discover here in this world.

What else is there now?

Remember your question from before? I'm leaning towards the guess that FenFang has some control over the forest.

Why?

We haven't ran into any troubles thus far, have we? Do you think that is normal in a forest?

Now that you mention it... We only met wild animals far away from FenFang's dwelling.

It also seems like the further the foxes are from FenFang's dwelling, the higher their guards are raised.

We were given only the minimal self-defense training as if she was sure that was all we needed. It may really be just for show. A weak individual would not have realised it but-

But you're far from weak! BaoBao ended her sentence for her in a huff.

 

The four of them reported their findings to FenFang once they were back at the cave.

"Oh? They're planning to move? Where are they planning to go to?"

"They have not decided on a location yet. Things are still being discussed. They may not even move in the end." BaiXue replied.

"Looks like we need to keep a close eye on that village for now."

BaiXue nodded to show her agreement with FenFang. She truly did not care what would happen to the village that the original soul grew up in. BaiXue did not feel any form of attachment to the people or the place even though she knew that the original soul had some lingering feelings for her birth place. She was not the original soul. She did develop some familial feelings for the strong and kind hearted brother.

Seeing that the sky was still dark, they retired for the night. There would be a few hours left before sunrise. BaiXue laid on the pile of hay covered with a soft animal pelt. The foxes and her shared the same cave that is a little smaller and was beside FenFang's cave.

FenFang did not react to the news of bandits raiding the village...

Did she know about it before?

Perhaps...

 

The next day, FenFang assigned new tasks to the four of them. One of the foxes were tasked with monitoring BaiXue's village while BaiXue got assigned to a coastal village that was one of the first villages they visited early on.

"Remember the last time the foxes reported of a pregnancy in one of the coastal villages? It's already been almost 2 months since then, the baby should have been born by now. Go and get updates on that village."

BaiXue nodded and was about to take off in her animal form when FenFang continued talking. "Take this." 

BaiXue looked at the short black tube that looked like a whistle.

FenFang placed it onto BaiXue's outstretched hand and instructed her. "This is strictly for emergencies. Emergencies only include danger towards the mystical beings, not yourself. When you blow it, it signals to MengYao where his assistance is needed." 

BaiXue nodded seriously. She noticed how the other three foxes seemed especially quiet when they would usually chirp in a sentence or two each time. Feeling BaiXue's stare, one of them finally spoke up. "You should really understand that emergencies does not include your own safety..." 

Another one chirped in. "We... had a sister... who used it to save herself when she was almost beaten to death after being found spying on the village."

"So there were four of you?" BaiXue clarified.

The two who replied nodded. The yellow fox continued to hang her head low as if not wanting to be a part of this conversation. "Please don't mind her. She was the closest to our deceased sister." 

"That guy... killed her for her mistake. And let her assailants go... Don't take him lightly." 

"Now that you understand the purpose and dangers of this flute, you may go." FenFang dismissed them after she felt that BaiXue was warned enough.

BaiXue left in a jiffy. There was only the need to pack one or two change of clothes. Food and water could be taken care of along the way.

When BaoBao ensured that she could no longer be seen by anyone, she dashed ahead with her true speed. She was much faster now. But if her brother was alive, she still would have been barely able to keep up. She hid her growth from the foxes because she wanted to avoid needing to explain how she got this strong without any training. 

With her new speed, she covered more distance in a shorter amount of time. She reached the village in 3 days when the foxes would have reached it in 5 days. 

In those 3 days, she would stop travelling once the sun sets to practice her martial arts for 2 hours which is when her stamina would be completely used up. Her stamina for fighting was significantly weaker than her stamina for simply running. She felt glad that she could finally train up her body's endurance and physical fitness. Before this, the foxes were constantly around her. After her martial arts practice, she would focus on cultivating for the rest of night. She has already cultivated so much over the past 3 months but she barely felt that her body was even half filled with energy.

This was when she hypothesized that people of this world may not cultivate but their strength was still reliant on it. It was thus down to the natural talent of their bodies for absorbing the spiritual energy of this world through eating, drinking, and breathing. Her body experienced a lot of difficulty merging with the spiritual energy.

Upon reaching her destination, she found an area that is kept out of sight to set up camp there then hunted for food. Hunting for food was now no issue thanks to an improved physique, improved reflexes, and BaoBao's surveillance and herding assistance. 

Once she settled down, she continued practicing her martial arts for the rest of the day. Due to her stamina, her practice was interspersed with breaks that she would spend cultivating. 

BaoBao casually wondered if BaiXue would ever get bored of going through the same motion in every world. She always needed to restart from scratch and train so intensely because the original body was always so weak.

The next day, she planned to do the same thing and only go to the village to observe on the 5th day. However, a small commotion drew her attention. She stayed hidden among the foliage and approached the area of the commotion. 

"You have to kill her!" A man was seen shouting at a young couple. The woman was carrying an amazingly pretty baby with coral pink hair and coral blue eyes in her arms, while the man shielded the woman by standing in front of her.

"How can you be so sure that she would be evil?" The father of the child questioned sternly.

"My baby would not hurt anyone! I believe in her! I won't let her either!" The mother screamed in tears.

"That's what you say now, wait till she controls your minds then all of our minds!" The same man shouted.

"Wait, what if she's already using her ability on them? They're protecting her only because she wants to be protected!" A woman said in paranoia. 

"She's just a baby!" The father shouted. 

"A mystical one!"

"You can't underestimate a mystical being." Yet another man cautioned.

"I promise that no one will be hurt! If anyone gets hurt, then I'll let you wipe out my family!" The father promised.

"Someone was already hurt yesterday! Why else do you think we would come today to confront you?"

"Yesterday's do not count. That person attacked us. Our baby was only trying to protect her mother out of instinct." The father said through gritted teeth. 

"It proves our point that your baby's dangerous."

"All she did was cry!" The mother defended her baby.

"It only caused the attacker to go into a momentary daze. The one who dealt the finishing blow was me!" The father continued in a menacing tone. "If anyone dares to hurt us, I will kill in self-defense. I'll only accept punishment if others were hurt for no reason."

The mob took a step back collectively. The one who spoke the most humphed and turned to leave.