Second Time

Chapter 22 - Escape

Mimi sat completely still, waiting for her heart rate to calm down. She carefully regulated her breathing. She didn't know the consequence of failure, but knew it couldn't be good.

With her eyes closed, the arrays in her body appeared drawn in purple. One at her throat, two in her torso. In terms of importance, the one that could cause her pain came first, followed by the one that would prevent her from talking, then the one restricting her movements.

In truth, the pain array was linked with the distance array. If she went outside of the distance, it would trigger the pain array. So, she didn't actually need to break the distance array. It would simply attempt to trigger an array that didn't exist and be harmless.

Still, she wanted it out of her body.

Mimi had spent the last month setting up various arrays, then breaking them. Although the arrays in her body were grade four and she couldn't create them personally, she had enough skill to break them, especially since they were within her own body. She could control her qi easier inside than out.

Every array had a flaw that allowed it to be broken. No array was perfect. Mimi could already be considered a grade three array master and had studied the three arrays so much that they appeared in her dreams from time to time to torment her. She had long since found some flaws to assault.

Mimi guided a small portion of her qi along her meridians and held it near her throat. Fortunately, the flaw of the muteness array didn't sit near any arteries or veins. She took a mental clarity pill and waited for her thoughts to completely clear.

Mimi slowly took three breaths with an empty mind before shooting her qi out of her meridians and into the array's flaw.

Blood spurted from her neck as the attack tore through her body. The blast of qi ripped through a critical point in the array, completely ruining the setup. The array could no longer maintain itself, the foreign energy dissipating out of the tiny wound and into the air.

Mimi opened her eyes with a flash of determined light.

"I can do this."

She patched the small wound on her neck with a bit of sticky silk. She took off her top and set it aside before closing her eyes and focusing on the two remaining arrays.

A few minutes later, she blasted a small hole through her torso under her left breast. Another few minutes and a similar event happened near her the back of her right shoulder. Blood trickled down her body from the wounds.

Mimi let out a turbid breath, then grinned and clenched her fists. "I'm free."

She cleaned and patched her wounds before dressing herself.

"Now, we'll see if her words are true," Mimi muttered, her expression darkening. "But, how should I leave?"

After some consideration, Mimi decided to wait until dinner. She delivered the food to Shao Yue and said, "I'll be going out to do some shopping."

Shao Yue nodded. "Safe travels."

Mimi turned to leave, then froze. In the past years of servitude, Shao Yue had never said 'safe travels' when Mimi went out. Did she already know?

Mimi looked back at Shao Yue. The girl returned the gaze. Her expression held some expectation and curiosity as she quietly munched on a dumpling.

Mimi left and closed the door behind her. A twinge of pain tugged at her heart as she left behind the one she'd lived with for years.

She walked into town unhurriedly, checking over her shoulder regularly. Nobody appeared to be following her.

"Is she really not going to stop me?"