Chapter 4 Was He Murdered?

The girl bathing in the water, Zara, was startled by the sudden commotion. She never would've imagined that a man would show up on the secluded back mountain of Cloud Peak. Completely naked, Zara sank deeper into the water to cover herself as she looked toward the source of the noise. In the moonlight, she saw a young boy in nothing but a pair of shorts, running for his life from a massive tiger. "Felix?" she muttered, instantly recognizing him. Her delicate brows knitted in confusion—she couldn't understand how Felix had ended up here. Meanwhile, Felix was rolling across the ground, barely dodging the tiger's swipes. Despite the pain, he scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the pond as fast as he could. Just then, a sharp cry echoed through the air. The massive crane by the water spread its wings and took off, flying toward the tiger at breakneck speed. It was only twenty or thirty meters away and closed the gap in an instant. With a fierce dive, the crane's talons slashed at the tiger. Though the tiger dodged, the crane still left deep gashes on its body. Roaring in fury, the tiger seemed wary of the crane. With a powerful leap, it vanished back into the dense forest. The crane flapped its wings and soared after it, determined to chase the tiger away. Seeing the tiger retreat, Felix let out a long breath of relief. "Holy crap, this world is terrifying! I almost became tiger chow!" He struggled to his feet, his body covered in scrapes from all the rolling. The wounds weren't serious, but they stung like hell. Just as he tried to catch his breath, a sound from behind caught his attention. Turning around, he saw the girl who had been swimming earlier now standing on the shore. She'd moved so quickly that she was already wrapped in her white outer robe. Felix couldn't help but feel a pang of regret—he'd missed the chance to see more. Still, he put on his best "gentleman" expression, pretending like he hadn't just been ogling her. Imitating the characters from old TV dramas, Felix clasped his hands together and bowed. "Thank you, miss, for saving my life!" Zara's cold voice rang out. "Felix! Aren't you supposed to be guarding the herb garden? What are you doing here? When did you get here?" Felix froze for a second. Then, overjoyed, he blurted, "You know me?!" Zara's gaze was icy. "I'd recognize you even if you turned to ashes. What? Don't tell me you don't recognize me." That's when it hit Felix—this breathtakingly beautiful girl knew the original owner of this body, not him. Some weird twist of fate had made it so that the guy's name was also Felix. And just like that, he realized something else—apparently, he had a job. Guarding the herb garden? That sounded suspiciously like the duties of a low-ranking disciple. Was the original Felix just some grunt? While Felix was lost in thought, Zara drifted toward him, floating through the air. Since she hadn't had time to put on any undergarments earlier, her loose robe shifted as she flew, exposing flashes of her snow-white legs. Felix's eyes widened, and a wave of heat surged through him. Zara landed a little over three meters away, seemingly unaware of the little show she'd just given him. Her expression remained cold as ice as she glared at him. Felix stared at her—this wet-haired beauty wrapped in white robes—and a dazed look crept into his eyes. "Who… are you?" he asked. Zara frowned. "You seriously don't remember me?" Felix shook his head, forcing a bitter smile. "I've lost my memory." "What? Lost your memory? Don't even try to lie to me!" she snapped. "Tell me the truth—why are you here? And did you see anything you shouldn't have?" Felix knew exactly what she meant. As a time traveler, what kind of crazy plot twist hadn't he seen? In a situation like this, no way in hell he is admitting to anything, even if it kills him. He shook his head immediately. "Nope, didn't see a thing! I only ended up here because that giant tiger chased me." Then he added, "Miss, I swear I've lost my memory! Last night, I climbed out of a grave on the northern side of a burial mound near the western peak. I don't remember anything beyond that. Since you know me, can you tell me who I am?" Right now, Felix desperately needed to figure out this world and the identity of the body's original owner. Otherwise, he might accidentally reveal he was a time traveler. Felix understood that mixing truth with lies was the best way to avoid suspicion. The part about seeing nothing? That was a lie. The part about crawling out of a grave? Every word of it was true. Zara studied the confusion in his eyes, her expression flickering with doubt. She seemed to be weighing whether he was telling the truth. Finally, after assessing his gaze and body language, she decided he wasn't lying. With a snort, she said, "You've pissed off so many people in the Void Sect, it's no surprise someone killed you and tossed your body into a burial mound. But you've got some crazy luck. Even buried, you still managed to crawl your way out." Void Sect? The original Felix had apparently offended a lot of people—was he murdered? Zara's words gave Felix some critical new information, and he wanted to dig for more. But she wasn't in any hurry. "I'm going to get dressed," she said coldly. "Stay far away. If you dare peek, I'll gouge your eyes out." Felix shook his head furiously. "No way! I won't look! I'll step aside right now!" Felix scurried into the dense forest, where thick grass and branches blocked the view. But Zara wasn't taking any chances. She picked up her clothes from the shore and moved to a large rock near the mountainside before she began dressing. A few moments later, she called out, "Felix, come on over." Hiding nervously in the trees, Felix was still worried that another tiger might jump out at any second and try to eat him. But as soon as he heard Zara's voice, he bolted out of the forest and ran over eagerly. Zara was sitting by the water's edge, gently drying her wet hair with a cloth. Her movements were smooth and practiced, and under the soft moonlight, her side profile was so stunning that Felix's heart skipped a beat. "She's the kind of beauty that only exists in heaven…" he thought to himself, lost for a moment. Without looking up, Zara asked, "So you really don't remember anything?" Felix nodded earnestly. She gave a cold snort. "Serves you right. Back when Elder Dragon was around, you could get away with your antics. But now he's been missing for over three years, and you never learned to behave. Honestly, you ending up like this isn't surprising at all." Elder Dragon? Felix mentally noted another important piece of information. It seemed like he had some sort of special connection with this Elder Dragon—was he the original Felix's master? "Miss, what's your name?" he asked. "Zara, seventh disciple under Elder Crane of the Void Sect." "Oh, so you're Miss Zara. Wait, no—shouldn't I call you Senior Sister Zara? Do I have a master?" "Your master is Elder Dragon, of course," she replied. Felix's suspicions were confirmed. "Senior Sister Zara," he said quickly, "ever since I crawled out of that grave, I've lost all my memories. Could you please give me a quick rundown of everything? I'd be really grateful." Zara studied him closely. In her memory, this kid was never this well-behaved. He used to be an unruly troublemaker, always hanging around with a bunch of scoundrels, causing harm to others for fun—and often without even benefiting himself. He was infamous within the Void Sect for his antics. She found herself wondering if maybe losing his memory was actually a blessing for Felix—a chance for a fresh start. With a sigh, she said, "Fine, I'll tell you. But first, I'm asking you one last time—are you absolutely sure you didn't see anything tonight that you shouldn't have?" "Of course not!" Felix replied with a serious expression, looking as righteous as he could manage. "I was just resting in the forest when that tiger suddenly came after me. If not for you, Senior Sister Zara, I'd already be tiger chow by now!" Seeing his solemn face and upright demeanor, Zara decided to let it go. "You better be telling the truth," she warned. "If I find out you're lying, you'll regret it." "Lying? Me? Never!" Felix raised a hand. "I swear to the heavens—if I'm lying, may lightning strike me right—" Before he could finish, the white crane that had chased off the tiger swooped back, landing gracefully beside Zara. Seizing the opportunity, Felix quickly shut his mouth and let the oath go unfinished.