Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”I have it.” Witch Aiko repeated that sentence for the last time.

”...” Mei’s body stiffened. ”...?”

Witch Aiko pulled the book out of her Tails, but for some reason, the original was still in her Tails.

Mei’s eyes rolled backwards, and she fainted on the spot, muttering something about ’unbelievable’ this and that.

Witch Aiko was, of course, skilled enough to catch Mei before she fell.

Witch Aiko sighed gently. If Mei had listened sooner, she would not be as shocked as she was right now...

...

Some time later, Mei woke up, still inside a dream.

”Crazy... I thought Aiko really had that book.” Mei ruffled her hair roughly.

”I do have it.” Witch Aiko’s lips twitched. She was starting to get annoyed by anything and everything.

”...” Mei stared at Aiko like she was staring at an absurd world wonder.

”Don’t stare at me like that...” Witch Aiko covered her body.

”How did you get that book?” Mei blinked at Aiko blankly.

”I ran into it.” Witch Aiko confessed, but Mei had the expression saying ’yeah, that’s bullshit’.

”Don’t believe me if you don’t want to, but this is the book you are looking for, right?” Witch Aiko stared at Mei, trying to figure out if this was the real deal.

”It’s the book we are looking for...” Mei breathed out. She was trying to process this absurd luck.

Who would’ve thought that out of all the directions that Fox could escape, she just had to stumble into Aiko?

”So, what’s next?” Witch Aiko placed her hands on her hips.

”Oh...” Mei blinked again, still trying to process this absurd situation. ”You can just return to your original form, since they don’t have any kind of leverage any more.” She shrugged gently.

”Just like that?” Witch Aiko speechlessly stared at Mei.

”The book was the only way they would be able to negotiate with anyone, so the only option left for them is a desperate struggle since they are all in one place.” Mei licked her lips. It was obvious she was looking forward to what would happen next.

”...” Witch Aiko’s lips twitched. ”How am I supposed to go through that barri-”

”Just shatter it.” Mei giggled. ”You are good at wreaking havoc, so just go for it.”

”Won’t that be an issue?” Witch Aiko took a step back. She didn’t think that Mei was thinking straight right now.

”It was created by Delegation, so we don’t have to worry about resources.” Mei cackled sinisterly. ”Not to mention, once they see that you survived, there will be hell to see~” She hummed happily.

”???” Witch Aiko didn’t believe this was her Mei, but it definitely felt like her.

”Can you stop touching me?” Mei pouted her lips. ”If you want to touch me, you should come in person.” She snorted unhappily.

”I will, I will.” Witch Aiko nodded her head. ”But I believe you like Moon Aiko more, no?”

”I was obviously inviting my light, Aiko.” Mei rolled her eyes.

”I feel neglected...” Witch Aiko laughed awkwardly.

”You obviously have Danji already.” Mei narrowed her eyes, a sharp piercing light appraised Aiko. ”Which means you will get an earful from me!”

”... You are taking this better than Danji thought you would.” Witch Aiko tilted her head.

Mei harshly pinched Aiko’s cheeks. ”I’m only nice since you have solved 90% of my issues. Otherwise, I would bite our head off.”

Aiko shuddered, since it felt like Mei really meant it.

”What?” Mei chuckled darkly. ”I told you I won’t share you, and that still stands.” She let go of Aiko as she licked her fingers.

”I already claimed you, so a small hiccup won’t change anything. And don’t even think about turning into a light, Aiko, or I will bully her.” Mei snorted unhappily.

It was enough that she shared a Karmic Bond with Danji, but what upset her the most was that she had higher protection than before, and most things turned out better than before.

What that meant was that Aiko was lowering her chances for success, while Danji was boosting hers.

Even if Aiko would make her chances into negatives, she wouldn’t know until a third party appeared, and thus she would strive for the best outcome.

Yet now she knew why she was so unlucky at times, and her mind didn’t want to accept it.

Light Aiko was cute and lovable, but the demerits were clear.

”Maybe I should chew up Danji...” Mei narrowed her eyes as she murmured those sinister words.

”I’m sorry...” Witch Aiko was really scared of this Mei, so she apologised profusely.

”Don’t say something you don’t mean.” Mei was even more upset now.

”But Moon Aiko still likes you the best?” Witch Aiko tried to defend herself, that only turned Mei more and more upset.

”I understand this is your first relationship and that you have never learned from others.” Mei nodded her head in acknowledgement, but her eyes were still cold. ”But you should not say anything if you don’t have anything nice to say.”

Witch Aiko nodded her head weakly.

”Good.” Mei smiled. ”You don’t have to return, since I would kick you out anyway.”

The book was secured, but Mei was too upset with dark Aiko, so she didn’t want her to return.

That was because she needed to calm down, cool down, and collect her thoughts.

She didn’t want to share, but she would have shared, since they had the Karmic Bond, so it was unavoidable.

But it just had to be Danji out of all of Aiko’s pursuers.

’I would be fine even with Twins, since they pose no threat to my supremacy.’ Mei clicked her tongue, observing Aiko’s scared reactions.

Witch Aiko kept opening and closing her mouth, but she eventually gave up on trying to say anything.

Soon, the dream melted away...

-----

”...” Witch Aiko woke up in a cold sweat. ’Mei is really upset...’ She shook her head several times, but she kept her concealment.

’What do I do...?’ Witch Aiko was trying to figure out what to do, but it was quite difficult.

’Should I find something that would make Mei happy?’ Witch Aiko’s brain was malfunctioning, and she was unable to figure out what she should do to make Mei happy.

This journey didn’t reward her all that much.

’If Mei notices this Treasure, would she flip out...?’ Witch Aiko turned into a river of sweat. This form was not supposed to do that, yet there she was...

’Something precious enough that she would forgive...’ Witch Aiko narrowed her eyes. ’It’s time to raid the library!’

She moved her body slowly towards the familiar Peaks...

-----

”Hmpf, what a troublemaker.” Mei snorted unhappily, but deep inside, she was quite happy that Aiko was unharmed and doing well.

She would solve the issue with Danji, since she believed that Aiko wouldn’t be the one to initiate it, thus Danji was guilty of the whole crime!

’Aiko should arrive any minute, so I can scold her a bit more and then beat Danji up!’ Mei smiled happily and waited.

And waited.

And waited...

’What’s taking Aiko so long? The barrier is not strong enough to stop her...’ Mei pursed her lips. ’Don’t tell me that she ran away...?’

Feeling the Karmic Bond, Aiko was indeed running away from her.

Mei was stunned and didn’t know what to do. Confusion overtook her.

’Was it too much...?’ Mei was left alone with her thoughts...

-----

Witch Aiko arrived at the first Peak that she knew, but most books consisted of Inscriptions.

Not only were those Inscriptions complete shite, but they were also highly ineffective and wrong!

Witch Aiko threw those books on the side. There were no Jade Slips, so she couldn’t go through those and had to leave this Peak.

The other Peaks weren’t any better.

’I really have to go that way, huh...?’ Witch Aiko pursed her lips. She would have to go towards the Peak, where she felt that powerful shadow Fox.

’If I’m found, what will I do...?’ Witch Aiko thought about it, but at worst, she would just run to Mei!

’No wait...’ Witch Aiko groaned. ’Mei hates me, so it’s impossible to seek her protection.’

Quickly shaking her head, she turned into a tiny Fox and blended into her surroundings.

’Slow and steady.’ Witch Aiko nodded her head as she slowly walked towards the main Peak.

Well, Peak was an understatement, since there were no mountains around. That’s just how those things were called.

But fortunately, there were many lush forests and plains with tall grass, so Witch Aiko was able to stealthily sneak around.

’This is not too bad.’ Witch Aiko nodded her head. The main road was filled with Foxes, but all of them had weaker Bloodlines, especially shadow ones, so Aiko was able to pass by them easily.

-----

A gorgeous girl was sitting on a rock leading towards the main Peak.

’So boring...’ She sighed softly, her jet-black hair streaming down her slim body.

However, compared to her hair, her eyes burned brightly as if melting everything around her.

’The Delegation picked me to experience the small islands, so I would be more grateful for all the resources they poured into me, but...’ The girl sighed. ’I honestly don’t care. They are trying to marry me off to some kind of Cultivator just because they want to have a more solid foundation and more allies.’

The girl shook her head. Fortunately, her mental state was well-adjusted and protected, so they were unable to manipulate her directly.

”?” The girl suddenly noticed a tiny black Fox, but she didn’t try to move so as not to startle her. ’Why is she sneaking around?’

-----

Witch Aiko passed by the gorgeous girl. ’She is like me?’

The feeling she got from that girl was similar to what Aiko exuded, which was strange, but also not completely unexpected.

’Hell, maybe there are even more doppelgängers that feel the same as I do?’ Considering that the girl didn’t even twitch when Aiko passed around and her [Intention Perception] also didn’t pick anything up, that meant she was not noticed.

’But I can’t be sure, since she is powerful enough to make me feel uneasy.’ Witch Aiko silently groaned.

’But I’m almost to where my goal is. There should be some kind of library, and I can figure something out!’ Witch Aiko nodded her head like this was a perfect plan, completely unaware that the gorgeous girl was tailing her...