Ye Ci flew at a very high speed, as if something terrible was catching up with her.
Her mind was filled with Dong Yin’s twisted expression, but she found it funny.
She finally understood Bai Mo’s words, that nobody in this world could accompany her forever. She was her own best companion. Many would enter her life in her journey from her birth to death, she might like them, and she might dislike them, but they were simply guests in her journey.
Hatred might be what she felt for Dong Yin in her last life, but the girl meant nothing to her in her current one. She understood that everyone had their own goals, and she did not have the right to judge.
She might not agree with Dong Yin, but she was able to put herself in the girl’s shoes. Besides, the girl was the source of many good memories in her childhood.
Thanks right. I should be thankful for her.
I should thank her for being part of my life.
Ye Ci realised that she had grown stronger in her current life. She no longer blamed others for her own choices, and instead accepted them wholly with a smile on her face.
Fleeting Time was eventually able to catch up with Ye Ci on his Phoenix. “That person. Does she really hate you that much?” he asked in the Party Channel.
“Why are you asking me this?” Ye Ci turned around to look at him.
“If she doesn’t hate you, why would she keep trying to fight you even after dying so many times? It feels like she wants you dead there and then. That feeling she has, it’s probably hate.” Fleeting Time stared off into the space ahead. The golden sun was piercing through the clouds with its magnificent ray, enveloping the duo with his golden glow.
“Hate?” Ye Ci found herself looking at the sun as well. She had to narrow her eyes due to its golden light. She thought carefully about Fleeting Time’s words, and gave her response, “Hate? I’m afraid not. Hate is a strong feeling. How is there hate, when there was never love? I think she simply dislikes me. She does not hate me.”
“That’s something new. Is there really someone out there who dislikes you?” Fleeting Time was someone who was very protective of the people he liked, even when it came to their flaws.
“There’s no shortage of them.” Ye Ci laughed, “Have you been to the forums?”
Fleeting Time cast a glance at Ye Ci. He had never seen such a beautiful smile on her face before. It took a lot for a person to be able to make fun of herself. And this gave him some newfound respect for Ye Ci.
“Is Gongzi You with your right now?” Fleeting Time received a private message from Absalom after a long silence between the two. He immediately studied his surroundings, but found no one else other than Ye Ci and himself. How did Absalom know? “Did you place some sort of tracking device on me?”
“Of course not!” Absalom immediately denied the accusation. Even if something like this existed in the game, he would employ such an underhanded trick on one of his own.
“Then how do you know Gongzi You is with me?” Fleeting Time was curious. He was very certain that his location was known to none. How did Absalom find out?
“Aiya! I’m actually correct!” he could hear the excitement in Absalom’s voice.
“Oh, so you were trying to trick me?” Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes. It’s been awhile since I’ve beaten him up. Perhaps he has forgotten about that.
“Nooooo.. I heard from one of our members that your Phoenix was spotted near the Ruined Cathedral with a Dragon, so I simply made a guess. You really are with Gongzi You right now!”
Absalom would of course never tell Fleeting Time that he had a member trailing the Hunter at all times so that he would not disappear all of a sudden.
Fleeting Time’s eyes narrowed even further. He refused to believe in such a coincidence, but he did not wish to waste the energy to figure out what the gossipy man was thinking, “What do you want?”
“Can you inform Gongzi You that we’ll begin construction of our fort in two days? Tell her to get ready.” and Absalom ended the call right there and then. It was apparent that the leader of Genesis was busy.
Fleeting Time then relayed the message to Ye Ci after a brief moment of thought, “You can’t return to the Eastern Continent right now through teleportation. So how do you plan to get to the Western Continent?” he asked, “Do you plan to fly there?”
“Yup. That’s the only way. But where in the Western Continent should I head to? Where does Absalom need me? I can’t just stay in a random map and get attacked by your players now can I?”
“This seems to be a problem” replied Fleeting Time. But Absalom had already ended the call and it was very obvious that the man was busy at the moment, “I can accompany you on the way there. You’ll have someone looking out for you this way.”
“Very well. Thank you.” Ye Ci replied after a brief moment of consideration.
A faint smile appeared on Fleeting Time’s lips. He did not respect the response from Ye Ci, but he was quick to forget the fact when the joy of being able to accompany Ye Ci on her trip to the Western Continent washed over him.
The Middle Continent was an equal distance away from all four continents, and this meant that the duo was able to quickly reach the Western Continent. Ye Ci logged out of the game once Fleeting Time led her to the map where the fort will be constructed.
Ye Ci did not know what might happen in the few following days, but she knew that it would be a time consuming ordeal. That was why she decided to take a good rest before going back online.
She logged back into the game on the day the fort was scheduled to be constructed. The first thing she saw was a Phoenix beside her much to her surprise. She then looked at Fleeting Time, “DId you not go offline?”
“I did. I just came online not long ago. I was afraid that you can’t find me when you come back, so I waited for you at the spot you logged out.” Fleeting Time responded to the question matter of factly. But Ye Ci could tell that she was someone who paid attention to detail in everything he did. She had also worried about not being able to contact anyone from Genesis when she came back online, for her contract with Absalom might be a secret that was kept from the rest of Genesis, and she could not send private messages to the leader of Genesis as they were players from opposing continents.
And Fleeting Time was able to notice the problem, and took the appropriate measures in solving it, “Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome.” he smiled at her, and turned his Phoenix around, “Let’s go, Absalom is waiting for you.”
She had noticed a slight change in their relationship ever since Fleeting Time’s confession. They had always been fighting whenever they met, and Fleeting Time would always make fun of her in the World Channel. But the relationship they shared now was something that was closer than strangers, but not entirely friends.
She had hoped more than once that she would never run into Fleeting Time in the past, but things seemed different to her now, and she was at a loss. She would always react to his teasing with violence, but she did not know how to react to the current Fleeting Time.
But after delving in her own thoughts for a short while, Ye Ci realised that she was being idiotic. There’s nothing much to think about! We’re enemies from opposing continents, it’s natural for us to fight! And with that thought in mind, she followed after Fleeting Time to meet Absalom.
Absalom spared no pleasantries with Ye Ci, for it was a very crucial moment for his guild that would decide Genesis’s dominance in the Western Continent. And the guild would be facing an even harsher challenge than Upwards Ho!.
Golden Era might not be the only one attempting to breach the fort, as many of Genesis’s competitors might also do it out of spite and to sabotage its growth.
Friends do not last forever, and so do one’s enemies.
Despite their fair competition between guilds, there was no guarantee that the other guilds would simply stand idly as Genesis worked its way to become the sole dominance power in the Western Continent.
And this was something that Absalom had apparently taken into consideration. Ye Ci could see a large number of Genesis players around the fort. Her job was to take care of Golden Era, which meant that she did not have to take part in any battles against the other Western Continent guilds.
She knew that Absalom was forced to employ her aid against Golden Era. But to her, be it Golden Era or the other Western Continent guilds, they were nothing but Glory Points.
Her alliance with Absalom was merely out of necessity. It was a measure to hamper Golden Era’s growth in Fate. Anything else was not a worry of hers.
She began patrolling the teleportation points at the edges of the map. She could easily detect any players attempting to enter the map from neighbouring maps as well as anybody appearing in the teleportation points. The only thing she had to do was to wait for signs of players, and they would then be quickly turned into Honor Points by Ol’ Six.
The only price she had to pay was food for Ol’ Six. To her, it was simply an idle work that was also very time consuming.
But patience was something Ye Ci had in abundance.
The first day passed quickly without any appearance of Golden Era, but Genesis was locked in vicious combat against the other Western Continent guilds.
The second day passed as well but Golden Era still did not show up as the battle raged on. Ye Ci could hear the sound of battle from afar. It was apparent that Genesis and their foes had made a lot of preparations.
Golden Era did not appear even on the third day.
Ye Ci let out a huge yawn as she sat on Ol’ Six’s back. Absalom was wrong. Golden Era would not trip on the same stone twice. And Fleeting Time’s Phoenix alone would be enough to handle any sudden developments in the situation. He was giving away his three thousand elites for free.
A chime rang out from her Private Message channel as Ye Ci waited for the battle to end.
I’ve told people from the guild about my “business trip”. They shouldn’t be looking for me. Did something happen to the guild? Ye Ci could feel unease creeping into her heart. But a quick glance showed that the message was from someone she did not know, and the identity of the sender was hidden.
She accepted the call after some moments of consideration, with the sole reason being her crushing boredom.
“Is this Gongzi You?” a very pleasant female voice entered her ears.
“Yes.” she continued after some hesitation, “Who are you?”
The woman chuckled before replying, “Gongzi You, I am Death Blossom.”
