Path of the Lilies

87. Running Away

Ye Jiao ran swiftly inside the forest as she thought of her first mission. After this, it was inevitable that she would have to accept more missions. Even though she could delay the time by practicing a lot, there will come a day when she would have to take other people's life with her own hand.

'Eon Energy Master didn't have it easy.'

If she just wanted to use her Eon Energy to help with an ordinary job, it was not impossible. However, Ye Jiao knew better than anyone how she wanted to reach the peak and how her talent would make people go after her. Her mother had taught her the difference in talent.

She didn't know what her talent was since the stone didn't light up, but it shouldn't lose even if she compared with her father.

Roar!

Ye Jiao snapped back from her daydream when she felt thick bloodlust coming from behind her along with the large roar.

'It can't be.'

Turning her head around, Ye Jiao could see a large tiger coming from behind her. From the massive pressure she could feel, she knew that this tiger must be rank 2.

Ye Jiao paid no heed to other things as she stomped on the ground and ran as fast as possible. She pumped her Eon Energy to her feet in order to be able to run faster. Thanks to her own experience, she had gotten used to having a beast running after her.

But this was a bit different.

The tiger that ran after her was rank 2, which meant it was much faster than her.

Roar!

'Why in the world are you chasing after me?'

Ye Jiao wanted to cry. She had just finished a battle against a thief a few hours ago. Granted, the thief was not skilled, but the shock of having killed a person for the first time was not small. Now, she had to face a tiger far stronger than her.

The pressure behind her came closer as Ye Jiao forced herself to run.

'He's going to catch up.'

'What should I do?'

Her mind spun hard as she looked around in despair. She didn't know why the tiger chased after her so wildly. All she knew was she had to run as fast as possible before the tiger caught up to her.

Should she run back to the lake?

It was still several hours' journey, so she doubted that she could last that long. She had already run at the highest speed possible for herself. The distance between her and the tiger had lessened considerably.

Any longer and she would die.

Ye Jiao quickly scanned her surrounding, trying to find something that would help her.

Roar!

The pressure from behind her pushed her to the brink as she thought of every possible thing to do. Her mind recalled how there were no other beasts around here. Well, she didn't really pay close attention because she was forcing herself to run at the highest speed possible.

However, seeing how there were no beasts nearby, Ye Jiao could conclude that there should be another rank 2 or 3 beast. Her eyes scanned the surrounding, trying to find any mark that could lead her to the beast. From the corner of her eyes, she managed to see a trail on the grass.

'Let's go.'

It would be a gamble because she didn't know whether this tactic could succeed or not. As the pressure behind her intensified, Ye Jiao also felt pressure coming from her front. Her eyes locked to a goat shaped beast several meters in front of her.

Ye Jiao smiled.

She initiated her Eon Energy and dashed madly straight to the goat's direction. The goat turned to look at her direction and tried to push her away with its horn. At that moment, Ye Jiao dashed to the side and evaded the attack.

The goat wanted to chase after Ye Jiao, but the tiger had arrived before him. The two beasts clashed with one another.

Roar!

*pant* *pant*

Ye Jiao stopped after she had run several meters. She didn't want to get caught in the battle between the two beasts. Leaning on the tree, Ye Jiao focused her attention to the surroundings while absorbing Eon Energy. Her core was empty thanks to her struggle to escape the tiger.

Warm Eon Energy flowed into her body. Ye Jiao stayed still on her place and ignored the massive battle that occurred between the two beasts. When the ruckus died down, her eyelids fluttered open.

"It's successful," Ye Jiao heaved a sigh when she looked at the bloody field not far from her. There was some bone remains, which she guessed must be from the goat. After the tiger ate his fill, he left the bone there.

Ye Jiao strode to the pile of bones and picked up some of them. She could sell the horn for a decent price since this was part of rank 2 beast. There was barely any meat left, so she should be satisfied with only the bone remains.

'Time to go back.'

After she secured them all inside her space bracelet, Ye Jiao dashed towards the dock's direction. She wanted to submit her mission and returned back to the capital to meet with Lu Wan again. It was already the time for her to start learning more things.

Hours passed swiftly.

By the time Ye Jiao arrived by the dock, it was already night. Despite that, she didn't have any problem seeing her surroundings. The time she spent in the forest before has a time period where it was extremely dark because the mountain range caused the night to come earlier.

Tep.

"Excuse me," Ye Jiao called out to the house. She didn't dare to come inside without permission.

From the hut, the old man walked out lazily. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Ye Jiao. From what he remembered, he had just given the task for this young girl a few days ago. Did she want to give up?

It was still early.

"What do you want?"

"I come to submit my mission," Ye Jiao replied. With a wave of her hand, she took out the head of the thief and handed it to the old man. Despite feeling the urge to throw the head out as fast as possible, she kept herself calm and composed.

The old man took the head and inspected it. He didn't give any picture for Ye Jiao because they had to learn how to identify some enemies. This degree was still rather easy, but it was already good for a young girl.

"Good. What's your name?"

"Ai Jiao."

"Here," the old man threw a badge in Ye Jiao's direction. "That's the badge that shows that you have passed the entrance examination. In the future, you can head to the base to accept a mission."

"Thank you."

The old man watched the young girl for a moment before adding a few words. "It'll be wiser for you to wait until you reach rank 2 before accepting any mission because it's dangerous. If you want to hurry and accept a mission, you can form a team."

"I can work together?" Ye Jiao was astonished. This was the first time she learned that she could work with other people to do her mission.

"Yes. It's fairly normal to work with other people if the mission is hard. I'll notify your teacher. You can choose to wait here or return back alone."

"I'll go back. Thank you for your teaching," Ye Jiao decided to return back. Before she returned to the capital, she wanted to visit her mother's grave and paid her respect.

The old man nodded. "Stay here for tonight and depart tomorrow. It's already late. I have a spare room at the back."

Ye Jiao smiled as she followed the old man's finger. It was pointed to the right side of the hut. "I understand. Thank you very much."

"Go to sleep."

"Yes."