Looking at the severed hand on the ground and the blood spilling from it, I felt a wave of nausea. My last fight had been against a monster; killing it was no different from killing a fish or a chicken. But this time, I'd chopped off the hand of a human being just like me. With the injuries he'd already suffered, it was enough to kill him. It was no different from killing him outright!
I stood there in a daze, while Si Nan Ying looked on in astonishment. She'd thought I was just a weak woman who'd been tricked, but she'd never imagined I was this strong—I'd shattered Baldy's iron-hard body with a single strike! With strength like that, I'd be among the best of the younger generation in the Si Nan Family. Could I be from another powerful family? But when it came to the great families of the Tianyuan Kingdom, the only one with more influence than the Si Nan Family was the Corleon Family... At the thought, Si Nan Ying stuck out her tongue. If I really was from the Corleon Family, it'd be best not to get too close to me... Then again, she didn't even know my name...
With that thought, Si Nan Ying smiled again and said in what she considered a hundred-percent-friendly voice, "I'm Si Nan Ying, the second young lady of that family, more or less... But that's not important! Anyway, thank you for saving me... even though I was the one who wanted to save you at first... Things didn't go as planned..."
As she spoke, Si Nan Ying's spirits sank. But I was still reeling from the fact that I'd killed someone, and hadn't paid the slightest attention to what she was saying.
"Hey—hey—are you listening?"
"..."
When I still didn't respond, Si Nan Ying got angry. She'd come to save someone, after all. What was the point of ignoring her? And I kept wearing my hood, hiding most of my face. So mysterious and annoying! She'd show me what I really looked like!
The hood was suddenly pulled back. I snapped out of my daze, startled, and found Si Nan Ying's delicate little face inches from mine. I'd never been this close, face-to-face, with a pretty girl in my life! I cried out and stumbled back several steps. Then I wondered if I'd been rude. She was a pretty girl, after all; my reaction made it seem like I thought she was hideous. I hurriedly looked at her, only to see her staring at me, dumbstruck.
"Um, are you all right?"
"Ah!" Si Nan Ying realized how stunned she'd been, and her little face turned red.
"Do... do I have something dirty on my face?"
"No, no, of course not! It's just..."
"Just what?"
"You're... so pretty."
"Huh!?"
"I-I'm sorry! I just got caught staring without meaning to! Please forget I said that!"
Watching the cute girl flail her hands in embarrassment, I couldn't help sighing. This handsome face of mine really did work on both men and women...
"Thank you for coming to save me. My name is Liu Ye. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier." Sitting in the car the girl had driven—I'd put my hood back on—I spoke to her.
Liu Ye... So she wasn't from the Corleon Family. Thank goodness! But... Liu Ye sounded like a man's name. Si Nan Ying thought, then replied, "You're so strong. Why didn't you take out those scumbags sooner?"
Because you barged in just as I was about to fight back... I grumbled inwardly, then changed the subject. "By the way, is it all right to leave those people lying there?"
"What are you worried about? I've already called the peacekeepers."
"That's not what I mean... Someone's dead, isn't he? And if we leave the others alone, they'll probably die too..."
"So what? They were scumbags. So what if they die? Are you worried about their safety?" Si Nan Ying looked at me as if she couldn't believe what I'd said.
I was speechless. It was hard to imagine a pretty girl of sixteen or seventeen saying something so ruthless. I looked into her purple eyes: clear and pure, without a trace of darkness. She meant every word. It seemed people in this world really were fierce, quick to kill without hesitation. I'd have to get used to it...
"By the way, I'm curious. How did you find me? Did you really follow me all the way by car?" I asked, bringing up the question that had been on my mind.
"You don't know? I even told you my surname."
"Sorry... I'm actually a traveler from far away. I really don't know much about this place." I was a little puzzled. How did knowing her surname tell me how she'd found me?
"I see... That makes sense, then. It's nothing special, really. It's all thanks to this." As she spoke, she pulled out a small box. It was black, decorated with ornate silver patterns, and glimmered faintly. It was beautiful. Inside the box was a dial like that of a compass—some kind of compass, like the one Jack Sparrow had in Pirates of the Caribbean.
I was startled, not by how beautiful the compass was, but by how familiar it looked! That was right—those two cannon-fodder guys I'd met in the forest had used something similar!
She seemed pleased by my surprised expression and explained, "This compass is a mark of the Si Nan Family. The family is famous throughout the world for its detection abilities, and the compasses it makes are extremely good at detecting things. Even ordinary people without special abilities can use them. I found you with it!"
"You said you were the second young lady... So the compass you use must be pretty powerful, right? But you didn't notice Baldy's sneak attack..." I couldn't help asking.
Her face instantly turned red. She turned away, as if sulking. "You're saying that too... Anyway, I have no talent for detection at all. The most I can do with a compass is find people. I can't use it in a fight... Forget it, let's not talk about that! You saw me fight. Isn't there anything else you want to ask?"
Anything else I wanted to ask... I thought for a moment. Oh, right.
"Don't you worry about flashing everyone when you fight in a short skirt?"
"What are you thinking?! It's my ability! My ability! Aren't you curious about that?"
"Your ability... So it's basically a cuter version of Killer Queen."
"What the heck is Killer Queen...? Forget it! Since you want to know, I'll tell you!"
She stuck one hand on her hip, looking awfully proud of herself... Hey, hey, you're driving! Watch the road!
"My ability, in simple terms, is to make bubbles that explode. There are two kinds: outward explosions and inward explosions. Outward explosions blow up things on the outside, and inward explosions blow up things on the inside. I'm afraid of getting buried alive, so I've kept the blast power under control. But when I let loose with everything I've got, I'm really strong! Not long ago, when I was in the Imperial City, I even blew up one of the buildings at the main family estate!"
Blowing up your own family's building... Was that something to be proud of?
"And after I blew it up, Father sent me to this remote city on a mission. He said he admired my strength and wanted to train me!"
He was obviously punishing you in disguise... But she looked so pleased with herself that I decided not to tease her.
"You said you came here on a mission? Can you tell me what it is?"
"Sure. It's not a secret or anything. A while ago, Father sensed a powerful Spiritual Energy Shockwave in the Winter Mountains, but its exact location was unclear, so he sent us to investigate. We've almost searched the whole central region and haven't found anything suspicious. I really want to go home..."
The Winter Mountains? A Spiritual Energy Shockwave? Could it have been caused by my crossing into this world? If so, I was really sorry...
"Well, if it were that simple, they wouldn't have sent several senior members of the family. They say Father sensed it, but really, it's definitely... Ah!" She abruptly covered her mouth, as if she'd nearly said something she shouldn't have.
"That's pretty much it! I don't know the details either!"
"I understand. Actually, I have one more question. You're called Si Nan, so why do you use a compass?"
"Oh, a thousand years ago, everyone did use south-pointing compasses. But after the merger, outside technology influenced us, and we switched to the more portable compasses. Only some of the old-timers in the upper ranks still use south-pointing compasses."
"I see..."
I suddenly jolted upright, as if struck by lightning.
Wait. Hold on, hold on, hold on.
A south-pointing compass?
Why hadn't I thought of it before?
The words "south-pointing compass"... Where had I heard them before?
"So, have you finally figured out the materials needed to construct the World Crossing Gate?"
"Boundary Breaking Armor, Crystal Realm Fruit, Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire, Truth Incantation, Rakshasa True Word, Gleaming Gold South-Pointing Compass... What a troublesome collection of things."
That was it! One of the materials needed to construct that so-called World Crossing Gate was called a "Gleaming Gold South-Pointing Compass."
Gleaming Gold South-Pointing Compass... the Si Nan Family... famed for their detection abilities...
If none of this was a coincidence...
Just as I was about to ask more, Si Nan Ying suddenly said, "We're at the inn. Get out. I'll help you book a room!"