Things I Can't Handle!

Lu Chi took two steps in pursuit before realizing he could not catch up. He stopped reluctantly and turned to look at Ning Xiaohe.

Ning Xiaohe had already opened her eyes and held up four fingers.

Lu Chi froze. He had only caught three clear trails just now. The fourth had been too faint for him to even be sure it existed.

The two retraced their steps through the low brush and returned to Luo Wen. Luo Wen was still leaning against the tree, not even having changed his posture.

"Go on."

Lu Chi spoke first. "Four of them. One in the crack on the left, one in the small tree on the right, one in the pond, and one on the slope behind us. The fastest—" He hesitated. "Should have been the one in the rock crack. It got inside almost instantly. The others ran for a step or two."

Ning Xiaohe waited until he finished before quietly adding, "The fastest one wasn't the one in the rock crack. It was the one in the pond. It didn't make a running motion; it just slipped straight in. From start to finish, it took less than half a breath."

Lu Chi turned to look at her.

Ning Xiaohe did not look at him and continued, "The one in the rock crack was fast, but it kicked off the stone before darting inside. There was a very brief acceleration. The one in the pond didn't even accelerate. It had already been lying by the water. It only tilted its body, and it was in."

Luo Wen looked at Lu Chi. "Why did you think the one in the rock crack was fastest?"

Lu Chi thought for a moment. "Because I saw it move first."

"The first one you see isn't necessarily