Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Moon Aiko had a nice rest, but going outside she met a familiar figure.

”What are you doing here?” Moon Aiko observed him suspiciously.

”The Owls lost the bet with us, so we are next in the line for your technique.” The familiar Holy Deer chuckled.

”I will think about it.” Moon Aiko didn’t outright reject him, but she also didn’t accept either.

”...” The Holy Deer didn’t say anything about that. He knew that she might be upset over the fact that the other Beasts didn’t want to welcome her when she came because of that deal.

Moon Aiko sat on her chair and munched on the food that Foxes brought her over.

Moon Aiko was not in a hurry or pressured. The main reason being the bird lady. She was the best advertisement to her technique there was and considering the attitude of the Holy Deer...

’He probably was tasked to bring me over without harming us, since the benefits of what they can get is much better.’ Moon Aiko also felt that there was something more about this, but she was unable to guess what. She was missing too much information for that.

”You can take your time.” Seeing that the Fox didn’t budge, the Holy Deer changed the approach. Since their Ancestral Beast didn’t want to end up like the Earthen Elephant, they would have to wait and appease this Fox.

Threatening was out of the questions since it’s possible they could be harmed by the same technique that would be used to save them. Bringing her over with Treasures would be acceptable, but the problem was that it was hard to estimate what kind of Treasures she would like.

”You will escort us to the sea.” Moon Aiko suddenly voiced her opinion.

”Pardon?” The Holy Deer only heard part of that sentence because he was thinking too hard.

”You are thinking about how to bring me over. Then just delegate some powerful Beasts and ensure our safety until we reach the sea.” Moon Aiko shrugged. One good thing about this guy was that his face was easy to read.

”That’s...” The Holy Deer paused. ”Negotiable, yes.” He was not against it, so it would be easy to convince his father.

His father was also trying to get rid of him, so he could use this opportunity to disappear.

”That’s non-negotiable if you want me to come over sooner.” Moon Aiko munched on her lunch, since she realised it was quite late in the day.

”Other Clans should prepare too?” The Holy Deer wanted to know a bit more, since it would be easier to explain to his father later on.

”Sure.” Moon Aiko was not against it, since the more they brought over the easier it would be to defend.

However, the bird lady already provided quite a bit, so Moon Aiko was not against excluding them from this.

”I will see what I can do.” The Holy Deer stood up and left, it was obvious he was troubled, but Moon Aiko didn’t care.

She was just happy that they had even more protection than before.

And about fulfilling their part of the deal... a vow exists for a reason!

...

Moon Aiko finished her food and walked around. She really wanted to see the construction of the new continental flying boat, but she also didn’t want to rush it.

There was a lot of work in front of her, so it was better to take it easy for the time being. She also had to recover her Essence if she wanted to keep Witch Aiko up for longer.

Moon Aiko strolled through this temporary village. It was nice to see so many different structures and strange tents. What was more, there were even some pieces of furniture, clearly from the time when the Foxes built them.

The ambient Qi harmony was a bit shattered because of it, but it was looking like the Foxes were trying their best to adjust everything, so Moon Aiko wouldn’t voice her opinion just yet.

Other than the Demonic Foxes, most Foxes were troubled by the ambient Qi, but due to their lack of knowledge they were unable to figure out what was wrong with it.

On the other hand, the Demonic Foxes had a very relaxing time since they didn’t need to do as much as other Foxes.

Moon Aiko liked that the division was very clear. The Demonic Foxes were great at everything and now that their mind mostly recovered they were also willing to learn and engage with others.

The Muscle Foxes would do everything muscle related. The rehabilitation Foxes are the cooks and the normal Foxes would pretty much pick everything. From starting fires to helping around to adjust things.

Moon Aiko wanted the Demonic Foxes to get along a bit more with the other Foxes, but it was clear that their culture and behaviour was very different to other Foxes.

They were the ’insane’ Foxes, so other Foxes were hesitant to approach them.

Like this, Moon Aiko spent a few days walking around and getting familiar with their work and attitude.

...

A week later the Holy Deer returned.

”How are you doing?” He started with pleasantries to set up the mood.

”I’m recovering well, but I don’t have enough Essence to fulfil my part of the bargain.” Moon Aiko didn’t beat around the bush, since it would be bad if they misunderstood anything.

”That is good to hear, if we can help you recover the Essence quicker, please don’t hesitate to ask us.” The Holy Deer was tasked to speed things up, and he was also allowed to make it pricey.

”Then if you can prepare some nice poisons, I will be able to recover quicker.” Moon Aiko immediately took him on his offer and smiled happily.

She had several ways to restore her Essence, and night was the slowest one. She pretty much didn’t recover anything from the night, since Witch Aiko’s passive consumption was that ridiculous.

However, some nice poison would go a long way. Witch Aiko wouldn’t be able to eat too many powerful poisons, since digestion would take a while, but some nice and mellow poisons should be enough to greatly recover her Essence.

”I will see what we can arrange.” The Holy Deer immediately stood up and disappeared.

”He comes and goes as he wishes.” Mei snorted at his silhouette.

”We can whip him into shape if he joins us.” Moon Aiko shrugged like she didn’t care. Sure he was being a bit pushy, but not to a point where she was concerned.

He never clearly pressured her or tried to take her away by force, which left a good impression on Moon Aiko.

”But poisons, huh? You never get tired of those?” Mei shook her head slowly. If Aiko was allowed, she would probably stuff anything into her mouth.

”What? I need to recover my energies, but the most straightforward way is the slowest one.” Moon Aiko shrugged.

Night didn’t do much for her thanks to Sun Aiko, but it couldn’t be helped.

The balance was being barely maintained, but something more solid would have to be put up in the near future to keep everything working properly.

Moon Aiko nodded her head several times before narrowing her eyes.

”But you really want him to come with us?” Mei was concerned that Aiko might be misled by them.

”I mean, riding him would be fun.” Moon Aiko smiled playfully.

”Phrasing!” Mei scolded Aiko with a red face.

”What?” Moon Aiko pouted at her. ”It’s not like I can ride you.”

Mei facepalmed, but decided to give up for the time being because she was too busy with more paperwork. Fortunately it was coming to close so unless Aiko brought-

”Oh, and I will be getting my rewards soon after the Crows finish.” Moon Aiko mentioned this to Mei now, so she could prepare herself for it.

”...” Mei groaned unhappily, this would cause even more paperwork for her, to record everything carefully and know where it lays.

However, that also meant she would have even bigger bargaining power over the Beast Sect once they visited them!

...

Moon Aiko rested these few days, not really attempting to get any Essence.

She also glanced at the continental flying ship here and there, but the scale was too big and she was unable to make out what part meant what.

Moon Aiko would have to wait until Mei finished her work and introduced her to this flying ship. Chen Shi was also very busy, constantly grumbling about pieces not fitting together and what not.

”Everything is prepared, but since we are not that skilled in handling poison, I can only show it to you once you visit our Clan...” The Holy Deer didn’t seem quite happy about it and that was for a good reason.

2 of their Elders got badly poisoned because they mishandled the poison. As such, the pressure was on him to now bring the Fox over.

’But father can kiss his own ass.’ The Holy Deer was the only one from his Holy Deer Clan that understood what it meant to go against this Fox, so he would naturally not pressure her into anything.

”You don’t sound too happy.” Moon Aiko noticed his frowning face.

”Some stupid Elders got poisoned, so there is bigger pressure on me.” The Holy Deer understood that hiding things wouldn’t do him good, so he just tattled everything that he could.

”My condolences.” Moon Aiko didn’t think they would go that far for her.

”Don’t be. As I said, they are stupid and mishandled the poison, so there is no need to feel pity for them. They are not children.” The Holy Deer merely shook his head before turning around.

”Alright.” Moon Aiko would come and go from that place, so she didn’t need to slow things down.

Yes, she wanted to see and do many things, but let’s do work first. Mei was also not finished, so there was no need to stick around for this long.

Moon Aiko followed the Holy Deer, stepping on the prepared Movement Array.

Her vision blurred for a brief moment. It seemed like the Holy Deer Clan was not as skilled as the Crow Clan.

”Are you alright?” The Holy Deer knew that the Movement Array was not as good, but it was still good enough that it shouldn’t cause any issues.

”I was just startled at how bad this one felt.” Moon Aiko spoke openly, since she was not really into sugarcoating stuff.

In front of her spread an endless vibrant forest.

”Whoa...” Moon Aiko didn’t expect this kind of beauty, so she was very happy with what she was looking at.

The forest with flowers, mushrooms, moss and everything. Pretty much everywhere where you looked was a beautiful green colour!