Chapter 19: A Peculiar Stillness

With the last vestiges of sunlight fading beneath the horizon, a profound darkness finally descended upon the city.

Bai Zhi soared through the sky with an air of effortless grace.

Shrouded by the night, her movements were no longer constrained as they had been in daylight; she could now more freely unleash a fraction of her power.

In this regard, Bai Zhi found herself quite fond of the night.

As for how Bai Zhi managed to take to the skies in such a manner…

This particular feat was something Bai Zhi had mastered after extensive practice, stemming from the simple, almost naive, conviction that ‘mages, after all, ought to soar through the heavens.’

The process mirrored her earlier development of ‘Magic Entanglement’: Bai Zhi first conceptualized the desired outcome, then meticulously reverse-engineered the method to achieve it.

Thus, Bai Zhi achieved her objective through a method both rare and utterly unique.

Unsurprisingly, the principle of flight Bai Zhi employed differed entirely from the ‘Flight Spell’ commonly utilized by the mages of Granzenias.

The traditional ‘Flight Spell’ was, in essence, a variant of wind magic, harnessing the power of wind elements to manifest both ‘levitation’ and ‘acceleration’.

One might simply envision wind elements as invisible sprites that, at a mage’s command, would lift their body and propel them forward, thereby accomplishing the act of flight.

While this process might sound straightforward, in practice, these ‘invisible sprites’ of wind elements were far from obedient, frequently prone to fits of petulance.

Even after taming these wind elements, ensuring they accurately interpreted a mage’s precise commands remained a persistent vexation.

Consequently, to achieve truly unhindered flight, one not only required a sufficient affinity for wind elements but also extensive personal training to ensure a safe journey.

After all, within the fantasy realm of Granzenias, countless magic apprentices annually met tragic ends, having been too exhilarated by their inaugural ‘Flight Spell’ to avoid fatal operational errors, often smashing themselves against sheer rock faces.

To attempt to fly and engage in combat simultaneously was an endeavor of even greater difficulty.

Hence, even those mages of Granzenias capable of flight largely opted to return to solid ground when battle commenced.

In stark contrast, Bai Zhi’s method for achieving flight was considerably more straightforward.

She continuously expelled the magic within her, generating a propulsive force that thrust her in the opposing direction.

By merely adjusting the vector of this expelled magic, she could effortlessly maneuver herself in any desired direction.

Indeed, such an extravagant, almost profligate, expenditure of precious magic, treating it as mere refuse, was a luxury not every mage could afford, let alone master.

Of course, Bai Zhi remained blissfully unaware of these distinctions.

At this moment, she savored the tranquil embrace of the evening breeze against her skin, even as she unerringly soared towards the region where she had earlier detected the presence of a Transmigrator.

Yet, with each passing moment that brought her closer to her destination, Bai Zhi’s expression grew increasingly grim.

Before her lay a densely populated residential district; with night having only just fallen, nearly every home glowed with light, and from a distance, the comforting aroma of cooking wafted, painting a picture of warmth and harmony.

Yet, an insistent ‘alarm’ within Bai Zhi’s mind continuously warned her that the otherworlder, having just transmigrated from Granzenias, was presently concealed within this seemingly tranquil neighborhood.

“This bodes ill,” she murmured.

She descended onto the rooftop of a residential building, her gaze sweeping across the entire district below.

Bai Zhi was, of course, not concerned that the Transmigrator’s power might prove overwhelming, leading to her own defeat.

In fact, to date, no individual had ever managed to withstand a serious attack from Bai Zhi without succumbing to unconsciousness.

Rather than contemplating how to vanquish her opponent, Bai Zhi’s primary concern revolved around how to appropriately restrain her strength, lest she inadvertently eliminate them.

The true dilemma plaguing Bai Zhi at this moment lay in the alarming density of the population inhabiting the residential zone below.

While the prospect of a cornered Transmigrator randomly seizing a resident as a hostage was a secondary concern—for she was confident in her ability to incapacitate any foe the very instant they harbored such an intent—

Bai Zhi’s true worry lay in the potential for a confrontation with the Transmigrator to create a commotion, drawing the attention of countless nearby residents.

Should that occur, the colossal task of individually altering the memories of every single resident would be truly overwhelming.

She might well find the entire night slipping away before she realized it, and Bai Zhi had yet to even eat dinner!

Moreover, in Bai Zhi’s past experience, the dreamlike scenario of avoiding conflict entirely, peacefully negotiating a consensus with a Transmigrator, and then amiably sending them back to their original world had, to this day, never once materialized.

After all, even Rena, upon their initial encounter, had engaged Bai Zhi in a fierce battle, only to become amenable once she realized the futility of resistance.

However, the circumstances of this particular evening struck her as somewhat peculiar.

Bai Zhi silently swept her gaze across the neighborhood, now cloaked in the deep embrace of night.

It felt… unnervingly quiet.

A stillness so profound it suggested that no otherworld Transmigrator had ever materialized here at all.

‘This was not normal,’ Bai Zhi mused.

Previous Transmigrators typically either reacted with panicked chaos, overwhelmed by the suddenness of their transmigration, or, in their boundless excitement at discovering a new world, proceeded to cause an uproar.

Alternatively, some, like the lizardman Jaggnuba before them, simply created a commotion out of sheer chuunibyou tendencies.

Regardless of the motivation, the appearance of a Transmigrator invariably brought with it some disturbance, thus allowing Bai Zhi to pinpoint their exact location each time without arduous searching.

Yet, this particular individual seemed exceptionally composed; even now, no sign of abnormality had surfaced.

Perhaps this explained why Transmigrators like Lin could remain undetected within San City.

Their inherent caution, preventing any disturbance that might alert Bai Zhi, was likely the reason she had failed to discover them.

Bai Zhi pondered these thoughts, but swiftly dismissed her own conjecture.

After all, despite the current absence of a visible presence, Bai Zhi had unequivocally sensed that a transmigration event had indeed transpired.

However, during Lin’s incident, she had detected nothing whatsoever, indicating a clear divergence between the two situations.

Regardless, it was evident that remaining stationary would not lead her to the Transmigrator.

With a nimble leap, Bai Zhi descended from the rooftop, gracefully returning to the ground without a sound.

She intended to conduct an exhaustive search of the entire area, hoping to uncover any trace of the Transmigrator.

It would be best to resolve this swiftly, then return home for dinner.

Moments later, Bai Zhi reappeared at her initial vantage point, a profound expression of doubt marring her features.

Only moments ago, she had meticulously scoured every corner of the entire district, yet her efforts had yielded not a single anomaly.

No peculiar individuals, no unusual creatures; everything was utterly still, as if nothing untoward had ever occurred.

Yet, she had unequivocally sensed a transmigration event explicitly occurring here earlier; such an inexplicable tranquility should not have prevailed.

As Bai Zhi wrestled with her solitary frustration, her gaze suddenly snagged on something crouching in a distant corner.

It was a cat.