"S-Shave my hair?" Re'Kha stuttered, unconsciously placing her hand on her head, ruffling her hair as she retreated a step. The Pakou's tail blocked her from retreating further. It stared at her as its toe moved through the water.

[You can dye it blue once you enter the city. But, the colours would damage your hair one way or other, since you have to apply it daily, there are risks involved. Instead of going through all the hassle, shaving your hair is easier. Once they are removed, you can burn them and get rid of all evidence.]

"But…" Re'Kha twirled the ends of her locks as she hesitated. Whether it was a man or a woman, everyone preferred to have hair, for it symbolised their bountiful life force. Re'Kha only maintained shoulder-length hair, for if it was any longer, it would hinder her in battles and other aspects of life.

And, it was a length that still made her look feminine. So, she maintained her hair with a lot of care. Their race did have an obsession with maintaining the quality of hair. When they interacted in society, if someone's hair wasn't well-maintained, he/she was immediately judged and scorned upon.

It wasn't the case for soldiers in war, for surviving is all that mattered to them. In their society, the men waged wars against the other races in the battle for territory while the women managed internal affairs and threats that cropped up from time to time, like the Sha.

So, most of the time, women didn't proceed beyond their country border; hence, they had enough safety net to care for their hair. Over time, it became a symbol of their culture. As someone who was born and grew up in such a culture, Re'Kha placed a lot of value on her hair.

[It would be difficult, but once this situation tides away, you can regrow your hair. Considering the intensity of your lifeforce, your hair would regrow to its normal length within three months.]

"Fine, let's shave it off." Re'Kha moved towards the bag, intending to pick up a knife when the Pakou stopped her, motioning for her to sit. When she sat on the ground, the water collecting on the ground submerged her legs.

With a plop, the Pakou sat behind her, adjusting itself until its right foreleg was comfortably within the reach of her head. The claw on its toe flashed, its edges sharp like a blade. It also possessed a curvy slope, thankfully for this situation.

Her eyelids shut tighter as Re'Kha flinched the moment she felt the sharp claw touch her head. With a swishing sound, a lock of hair fell off. Her eyes instinctively shed tears, watching the claw cut off her hair one part after another.

She felt a feeling of freedom, her neck felt less strained while her head felt lighter. But overall, she hated it, having to part way with her hair. 'This is nothing, this is nothing. It will grow back.'

Re'Kha mentally cheered herself, putting up with the process as she felt something that belonged to her getting severed. She didn't have such a feeling when she trimmed her hair to adjust the length every month before. But now, when it was cut at the roots, she felt a flurry of emotions, emotions she didn't even know she could feel just for the loss of hair.

The hair washed over her clothes before falling to the ground, floating on the water surface. The Pakou had coiled its tail around them, preventing the hair from floating out of the boundary. This way, it would be easy to collect it and not leave any traces behind.

Though, the Pakou had already thought of a method to eradicate the traces of her emerald hair. As time passed, Re'Kha felt a lot of sensations on her head now that she was bald. The rainwater washed all the hair, making it bundle up along the boundaries set using the Pakou's tail.

The Pakou used the toe to write on the water, making Re'Kha sigh in relief.

[It's done. Do note that your eyebrows and the hair on your eyelids are emerald too. Do you want me to remove the eyebrows?]

"We are already this far; just get it done now." Re'Kha sighed, watching the Pakou make two swipes as it removed her eyebrows.

[The hair on your eyelids isn't apparent unless one looks at them up close or in daylight. Since it's Early Water Month now, there would barely be enough sunlight, so you don't have to worry about it for the time being. Or just cover your eyes with a piece of cloth.]

"Let's get going now," Re'Kha spoke with a sullen tone, suddenly lacking the energy to speak with the same liveliness as before. She then saw the Pakou scribble at a rapid pace, forming a sentence that she was barely able to keep up with.

[What about the hair in other areas? If you head to a public bath…]

"I'll remove them once I get a safe room and burn it easily." Re'Kha snapped, punching to the back using her elbow, regretting it immediately when the impact felt like she had hit the Pakou's bone. She winced in pain and watched the Pakou motion for her to slowly get up.

When Re'Kha did so, the rain drenched her, washing away all the hair fallen on her clothes to the bottom. She also adjusted its position a couple of times to see that all the hair had fallen. Through her Water Qi perception, it was easy to see if she had missed any.

Thankfully, all the hair was collected within the set boundary, so half of her worries disappeared at this point. Without the hair, any scouts sent to trail after her wouldn't be able to use it to directly pinpoint her location.

The Pakou brandished its claws, scratching the ground to pull up the dirt that it poured within the barricade. Soon, it filled it up with mud, burying the hairs within. It then dumped all the mud within the parts of the earth it had dug, filling it in reverse.

When it was done, it patted the area before planting the layer of grass atop, writing its thoughts as it let out a low grunt. It then leaned over it, opening its mouth to condense a sphere of sand-like matter within it.

It possessed metallic properties of lustre, sonority, malleability, ductility, and conductor of heat. The metallic sand formed into a cluster before falling out as loose soil; the Pakou opened its mouth even wider to make it fall evenly.

The metallic sand fell on the ground it had tampered with. It was full of Metal Qi. The Metal Qi seeped into the ground while the metallic sand formed a layer above it, sedimenting at the bottom of the water layer.

Soon, a rock began to grow in place, having appeared out of nowhere. It was full of Metal Qi, producing a ringing sound as the raindrops fell on it. The Pakou kept its mouth open as a water sphere formed within it, slowly moving forward as it landed on the rock, cracking and shattering it. The shards resultant from the impact were pressed towards the ground due to the angle it was launched with.

Now, only soil remained in the place of the rock; the Pakou expertly covered it up with the nearby grass, showing deft actions. Once it was done, it probed the ground using its senses, nodding in satisfaction.

[Not a single trace of your hair remains here now. Sometime later, this place would also lose all signs of my tampering with it.]

The Pakou bent lower, allowing Re'Kha to board its back. It used its tail to support her climb, for she was still injured. Holding the bag right behind her, Re'Kha spoke, "Let's go, to Burfuna City."

…

The rainfall was heavy around Burfuna City, forming a large but shallow river that flowed without end over the meadow. Unlike before, the rainfall had turned warm, a sudden change in the temperature.

A lot of mist was generated because of the abrupt variation in temperature. The mist blocked the eyes of the soldiers stationed on guard at the city's entrance. Four soldiers were ready behind them, keeping their mental states calm, for they had to swiftly close the exit the moment a threat of any form showed up.

Wearing a dress that only showed the skin on her hand and face, Re'Kha tied a piece of cloth around her eyes, ensuring to not make it too thick. For, that would cause suspicion in the guards. Anyone would be blind after wearing a thick piece of cloth around their eyes. So, she took precaution in this factor, making it resemble a quirk people loved to dress up into.

A fair distance away from the city's south-western entrance, the Pakou used the mist as a cover to land. Re'Kha jumped from its back and placed the bag on the ground near her feet. She then leaped, wrapping her arms around the Pakou's head, "Come soon, Re'Shi. I miss you already."

[Don't worry; I'll be there before you know it.]

The Pakou let out faint whimpers as Re'Kha remained in the hugging position for quite a while before planting a kiss on its forehead. "I'll be okay. I'll lay low and just collect basic information for the time being."

[Don't use your real name, there is a chance every individual with your last name in and around these three cities would be looked into. Do you have a name in your head you would like to use? I'll use that to locate you once I recover.]

"Hmm," Re'Kha thought for a moment before nodding, "I'll use the name Re'Luk from now on. This name is rarely used these days, so there won't be many with this name here. It would be easier to find me through it."

[Take Care]

The Pakou broke down into fragments of light that disappeared soon after. Re'Kha gazed at the ground it had stood on, muttering, "Re'Shi…"

Firming herself, Re'Kha controlled her facial expression, using the rain to make a mental note of her appearance, finding that nothing stood out of the ordinary in her. With a slow but steady gait, she marched towards Burfuna City's south-western city gate.

Volume 1: Mist Banyan—The End!