Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”So this Talisman contacts the Rune Guy...” Mei nodded her head before looking at Aiko.

”I’m sorry.” Moon Aiko looked away with a mouth that formed an ’x’.

Mei only sighed softly. Her back was liberated, and even her Qi flow inside her body improved, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to get angry so soon.

Mei lit the Talisman.

”Contacting so soon?” A voice on the other side sounded surprised.

”Not so soon.” Mei pursed her lips.

”Ugh...” Chen Shi already felt a bad premonition. ”Just when I finished my work, you will enslave me for more work, right?”

”Perceptive.” Mei licked her lips. ”I would like you to ’adjust the Fox Village’s Protective Array, and make it so that everyone inside is trapped inside, and everyone outside is not allowed to go inside.”

”That’s quite the request.” Chen Shi rubbed his head.

”What did Aiko do this time that you wanted to trap her inside?” Chen Shi immediately thought of Aiko when thinking of trapping.

”Nothing this time.” Mei suddenly felt kinship with this person, since it seemed like they suffered too.

”This time, huh...” Chen Shi nodded his head slowly. Well, the talisman only carried his voice, but it felt like Mei could actually see him nodding.

”When?” Chen Shi narrowed his eyes. He wanted to enjoy some free time with Yanqi.

”As soon as possible?” Mei licked her lips.

”You are seriously dragging me around like a rag...” Chen Shi sighed. ”The rewards?”

”Part of the riches of the Fox Village.” Mei could give out this much, since they would tear this Fox Village down.

”You are not raiding the Fox Village, right?” Chen Shi couldn’t help but shudder when he thought about Aiko raiding something.

The other side was silent.

”Seriously?!” Chen Shi almost fell down when nobody answered him for a while.

”You are robbing the Fox Village?” Chen Shi knew where it was located, since he was partly responsible for erecting the Array.

”Well, ’tearing down’ would be a more proper term.” Mei nodded her head.

”...” Now it was Chen Shi’s turn to be silent.

”What about the wild Foxes?” Chen Shi narrowed his eyes.

”Clans will take turns and do tournaments to get the wild Foxes. There is no need for the Fox Sect to interfere.” Mei pondered, but realistically, it was impossible to stop them from getting here.

”Then what about getting the Ancestral Beasts to block the Fox Sect?” Moon Aiko voiced her opinion.

Chen Shi shuddered at that voice. It was almost on an instinctive level.

”You think they will agree?” Mei raised her eyebrow.

”Aren’t you coming with me to negotiate?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

Mei felt like Aiko was giving her even more work than she already had.

”I’m not sure if I should be coming with you.” Mei sighed.

”But Mei is more skilled in negotiations, you can do it~” Moon Aiko cheered on her, but Mei grabbed her cheeks and kneaded them.

”Don’t. Give. Me. More. Work.” Mei’s face twitched from the shamelessness that Aiko learned while she was gone.

”Yes, ma’am!” Moon Aiko saluted on instinct.

”I’m not ma’am!” Mei ’glared’ at her.

”But you are also not a Miss.” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

Mei felt like she was stabbed. ”You are not supposed to say that, you little rascal!” She immediately kneaded Aiko’s cheeks even more until her face and hair were completely messy.

”The usual stuff, huh?” Chen Shi felt liberated that he was not the only one who had a tough time with Aiko.

”Shut it.” Mei was on a rampage, so she would snap at anyone.

Chen Shi didn’t mind, since he felt great kinship with her.

...

”So what’s the real plan?” Chen Shi asked once things calmed down.

”Nothing much, just war.” Moon Aiko was the one to reply.

”So, a stampede was not enough for you, huh?” Chen Shi sighed.

”Well, this one was orchestrated by me.” Mei defended Aiko this time.

”Birds of a feather flock together, huh?” Chen Shi felt like this was a milder version of Aiko.

”Hey! I’m not causing widespread disasters!” Mei immediately got angry, because it was true that she was mostly silent on most issues and did not do anything about them.

”Eh.” Chen Shi shrugged, but it was obvious he was comparing them.

”I will get you one day.” Mei snorted at him.

”Sure, sure. So just change the characteristics of the Protective Array, huh?” Chen Shi slowly nodded his head, but his voice was still amused by this situation.

”Yeah, that’s enough, you can just sit outside and protect it so that it doesn’t get changed back.” Mei nodded her head.

”Alright...” Chen Shi would just bring a small flying ship with him and rest there while they did the plan they set out to do.

”Good.” Mei was surprised how smoothly this went.

”You can get in touch with Yue later.” Moon Aiko hummed happily.

’Whom?’ Mei tilted her head.

”I feel like I’m being blackmailed...” Chen Shi frowned, but it was true he was looking forward to that.

”Oh, shush, nobody is blackmailing you.” Moon Aiko rolled her eyes. ”So just get over here and do your work~”

”Seriously...” Chen Shi felt absurd at being ordered by a lowly Fox.

The Talisman shook gently, and some of it returned to its former self.

”This is quite the precious Talisman...” Mei didn’t like that this Talisman was better than what she could make.

”How so?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”Some of this Talisman gets renewed each time you use it, so you can, in theory, use it more times without degrading the effects.” Mei nodded her head.

”Yeah, it’s pretty precious.” Mai popped her head in.

”What are you doing?” Mei stared at her sister with a blank expression.

”Just making sure you are not bullying Aiko.” Mai narrowed her eyes before returning to her room.

”She is quite the free spirit, huh?” Moon Aiko was impressed by how often Mai would pop in.

”She was always like that, sticking her head where it didn’t belong.” Mei sighed.

”But she is your sister.” The implication that Aiko was making was obvious.

”I’m not like her!” Mei pouted.

”Yeah, you can’t speak your mind.” Moon Aiko ruthlessly assessed the situation.

”Aiko!” Mei glared at her.

”Mei~” Mai smirked at her.

”Ugh! This is bullying!” Mei cried out before disappearing.

”Hmmmmm... maybe I overdid it?” Mai tilted her head.

”Don’t ask me, I don’t understand women.” Moon Aiko shook her head.

”And what are you?” Mai shook her head while laughing.

”Do I resemble one? I believe you call me either odd or chaotic.” Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes.

”Well...” Mai scratched her cheek. ”I will excuse myself.” She nodded her head and disappeared before having to confront this reality.

”Seriously.” Moon Aiko placed her hands on her hips. ”Maybe it’s time for Mei to get to that prepared place?” She tilted her head a few times, but it definitely could be nice.

”I will ask Mai for some nice tea that Mei will like.” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

...

”Why are you here?” Mai was cautious about Aiko because of that conversation.

”What tea does Mei like?” Moon Aiko asked her softly.

”...” Mai didn’t expect that kind of question. ”Mei usually likes more fruity teas than green tea.” She pondered about it. ”But I’m not sure if anything changed over such a long time.” She shook her head slowly.

”That is fine, this is more than enough to think of something.” Moon Aiko also had that precious coffee stuff that she could make, just in case Mei didn’t like it.

”Well, here you have it. It might be nostalgic for her.” Mai handed over a small pouch with some dried fruits.

”Thank you~” Moon Aiko didn’t really like the smell of the blend, but since Mai was saying that, it should be good.

”It’s been a long time since she had it, so she might no longer like it.” Mai once again warned Aiko about it.

”Don’t worry about it, I will pay close attention.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. She would use coffee if anything went wrong.

’I wonder how that strange Foxy, Luna, is doing...’ Moon Aiko was curious, but she was more curious about what Mei might like.

...

”So the Tree is still hanging on, but after a few days those poisonous lea-” Moon Aiko adjusted everything when a sudden realisation struck her.

”System, can I use that to advance my physique?” Moon Aiko suddenly smiled like a devil.

[It’s possible, but you would have to sort every leaf by its toxicity before using them, so you wouldn’t overwhelm the other poisons and also use them more effectively.]

”So I can use them~” Moon Aiko smiled even more, making the system feel bad about what was about to happen.

”Well, not yet~” Moon Aiko hummed, stopping her grubby hands. This place still looked fabulous, and a tree without leaves would look more than just strange.

[...]

The system couldn’t believe that she actually stopped herself from taking it, but this was definitely good development for everyone!

”So, let’s go over this.” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

”The lake around the tree is mostly clean. The few leaves give it quite a nice ambience, so let’s leave those alone. The table is a low one where we can sit leisurely instead of the normal table.” Moon Aiko checked the cushions, which acted as ’chairs’.

”The cushions could use some work, but I don’t have enough time or material to do it, so maybe in the future?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

Nodding her head slowly, she moved around. ”Here is a hidden bed, so Mei can rest properly. It’s also enclosed with a Treasure to keep others from watching and disturbing with noises.” Mei worked hard, so Aiko wanted to let her rest properly.

”There is another Treasure that is shite, but it’s perfect for keeping the table and surrounding clean from leaves.” That Treasure was pretty much useless since even a sneeze would break it, but since Aiko didn’t need robust defence, it was enough.

”Now we will set up the tea set that I borrowed from Mei back and some snac-” Moon Aiko realised that most of her snacks were gone and only a few of them were still intact.

”I will have to have a word with them.” Even Moon Aiko could manifest a beautiful vein on her forehead, make no mistake!

”I think this should be everything?” Moon Aiko tilted her head. It was time to find Mei and drag- walk her here!