Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”You are becoming more and more thick-skinned.” Mei clicked her tongue.

”You think so?” Moon Aiko tilted her head, she was still groping Mei.

”You should save it for later.” Mei moved Aiko’s hand on her back.

”I will be too tired by then.” Moon Aiko rejected that idea as she had energy right now, and not later.

Mei rolled her eyes, but they were in public, so she wouldn’t indulge Moon Aiko as much.

”It’s honestly impressive.” Mei smiled gently.

”What is?” Moon Aiko tilted her head again.

”It has been such a long time since I saw any Fox this happy.” Mei felt quite peaceful at this moment.

”Was it? I feel like they were always a bit out of it.” Moon Aiko pondered, but it was true that these ’expressions’ were rare in the Fox Village.

”It was honestly an oppressive system, but changing it would be difficult and would require the support of the Fox Sect.” Mei shook her head.

”And that would be difficult as they seem to have a hand in this, or they don’t care at all about what is happening.” Moon Aiko yawned briefly, rubbing her eyes.

”We shouldn’t assume the worst.” Mei still held some hope for the Fox Sect, even with ’those’ rumours going around.

However, that also didn’t mean she just wanted to blindly join the Fox Sect, and the other Sects were also no-go since they were robbed.

’The South is still a possibility.’ Mei narrowed her eyes, but if possible, she wanted Aiko to grow in an environment with other Beasts.

”Anyway, I will go to sleep, see you in two days.” Moon Aiko hummed as she turned her soles around and started to walk.

”You will sleep for two days?” Mei was startled.

”If you visit hell, you should rest more.” Moon Aiko waved her hand before quickly moving into her room for sleep. She didn’t want to encounter more work, now that they could leave soon.

Mei chuckled. While Aiko was tired, her help was indispensable for their current shattered ranks.

There were not enough Elders to go around, so soon she would have to pick younger Foxes to make do. The Demonic Foxes were also a possible pick, but as they were highly territorial when it comes to certain things, that might cause the Peaks to fight one another for the dumbest reasons.

Mei would leave it for now, but if she joined the Beast Sect, a proper chain of command was necessary for maintaining not just appearance, but also education capabilities.

...

A few days later, Moon Aiko finally woke up, somewhat refreshed.

”Paperwork is dreadful...” Moon Aiko’s body shuddered. She would do her best so that she didn’t need to touch paperwork in her life!

’I have to train my eye for talent.’ Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes. She was fortunate that Mei was around, if she wasn’t, it would be a lot more difficult to manage.

Mei would be able to cover things for the time being, she might even have plans to establish everything, but that didn’t mean Moon Aiko would give up!

Humming to herself, she sat on the edge of the bed. Her room was very simple, not much furniture of decoration as this was just a temporary base.

However, that was enough for her and she was even happy about it~!

Moon Aiko left her room, her team was down in the living room, sitting around the table.

”Morning~” Yuxi was the first one to spot Aiko and greet her.

”Morning.” Moon Aiko still yawned as she was still not completely awake.

”You slept a lot.” Mei smiled playfully.

”I will make sure we have enough skilled managers.” Moon Aiko’s overly serious face made everyone laugh.

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”I’m being serious...” Moon Aiko pouted at them.

”Yes, yes.” Mei laughed again, but still tapped the place next to her.

It seemed like Danji and Mei still didn’t go along, but it was fortunate that Mei arranged the seats so that she sat between them.

If Mei placed Aiko on the other side, Danji would definitely try to fight her...

Danji was a bit shy. It seemed like the previous ’experience’ left some impression on her. Fortunately, this was Moon Aiko, so she didn’t feel the need to tease her, but if it was Witch Aiko, she might do something under the table...

”Everything was finished, and we were even able to load everything in. We will be testing a few things with the continental flying ship along the way, but the defence and offence was already established.” Mei gestured outside.

”Now we need to test speed, altitude and so on, but we should be safe even without escort.” The plans had changed a lot, but Aiko was able to get powerful Beasts under her Contract, which was both convenient and terrifying.

Those old monsters would never willingly give up their positions, yet Aiko made them do it so effortlessly.

Well, there was also the situation about wiping those two Clans, so...

”How did you conduct the tests?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”The offence test was conducted towards the Holy Deer’s Clan. The destruction was palpable, but we couldn’t clear the ’miasma’ so we will have to give up on those Treasures.” Mei sighed.

”Not even pounding helped?” Moon Aiko was startled.

”No, it did help, until it didn’t.” Mei sighed.

”What does that mean?” Moon Aiko was confused.

”It worked on the outskirts, but the deeper you went, the more ’miasma’ spilled out, so we couldn’t pound it faster than it recovered.” Danji explained to Aiko, since it seemed like she was unaware about that situation.

”That’s too bad.” Moon Aiko sighed, but she was still happy that they at least tried while she was not around.

”It’s unfortunate, but that doesn’t mean we can’t return later and have a go at it then.” Mei smiled gently, patting Aiko’s back.

”Will there be anything left by then?” Moon Aiko didn’t believe that others wouldn’t try to get to the centre of that place.

”Very likely, yeah.” Mei chuckled.

Danji chimed in. ”You are underestimating how powerful that ’miasma’ is. It can devour Human Cultivator within seconds and weaken Beasts within a few breaths. The deeper you go, the more powerful that effect, especially now that it completely pushed out the most basic Qi.”

”I didn’t think it was such a big issue.” Moon Aiko was startled. ”Is it still expanding?” She was a bit iffy about the situation.

”No, it fortunately stopped, but this place might also be swallowed as some of the Holy Deer died here.” However, Mei didn’t want to stay around to find out.

”So it progresses at irregular times?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”It’s more like we are keeping it at bay from finishing the expansion, since we are working on the continental flying ship.” They couldn’t move that huge-ass thing by hand, so they had to finish it and make sure the site was not disturbed.

”Ah...” Moon Aiko didn’t think it would become such a big issue. ”When do we start packing?”

”Most Foxes are already going inside, setting up their rooms and exchanging things. I think we should give it a bit more time so that everyone can settle down.” Mei gestured. ”I also set up some Foxes to cook many meals, since the Demonic Foxes will be in your care.” It was for the best, since the Demonic Foxes were most fond of Aiko.

”Oh, thank you~” Moon Aiko hummed happily. She was happy that she didn’t need to worry about the food.

”You should also talk with ’her’ later, since she seems fond of you and the Demonic Foxes.” Mei chuckled. ”Rather, the Demonic Foxes find her behaviour adorable.”

”They do?” Moon Aiko was startled, but also happy, maybe that being ’Nero’ would open up thanks to them.

”She was lurking around, sometimes getting some food and stuff. But she would always keep a greater distance when you are not around.” Mei described the situation, making Aiko giggle.

”I will talk with her later.” Moon Aiko smiled gently.

”How are your Contracted Beasts, do they need anything?” Mei still couldn’t believe that Aiko had Ancestral Beasts as ’pets’.

”I’m not sure.” Moon Aiko shook her head. It was a bit different with them since they were spending their time inside her tails, but she would need different kinds of transportation later.

”I will leave some Beast Cores and other materials for you, just in case you might need them.” Mei smiled at her, reassuring her that Aiko was doing well.

”I don’t think I will need it for the time being, but will you be fine?” Moon Aiko didn’t want to mess up Mei’s plans.

”I already made the calculations, it wouldn’t make a dent in our resources, mostly because those Beast Cores are not hard to obtain.” Mei shrugged like it was not a big deal, but Aiko still felt sorry about it.

”Oh, and about the weapons and other things you have obtained, we will solve it before crossing the sea, so that the Foxes have something they can play around with and not become bored.” Mei gestured. That was the best plan she could come up with to keep them occupied and happy.

”I don’t have THAT many of them.” Moon Aiko suddenly felt the pressure from them.

”Don’t worry. There are still some leftovers from the Fox Village, so we will also use those. The Foxes from the rehabilitation zone do not need anything other than the plushies.” Mei chuckled, seeing Aiko visibly distressed.

”You don’t like them?” Mei teased Aiko.

”No, I’m happy they are better, but having plushies like that...” Moon Aiko still couldn’t get over it.

”You will get used to it.” Mei laughed at her.

”No, I will make the Clothier make plushies for you too, and we will see how you will act.” Moon Aiko clicked her tongue at them.

”We already have them.” Wanshu suddenly joined the conversation.

”... What...?” It felt like Moon Aiko heard incorrectly. She definitely did, right?

”We all have at least one variant of plushy.” Yuxi joined her partner in telling Aiko.

Moon Aiko felt like her soul was leaving her body. She didn’t expect this outcome at all!

”Of course, the majority is about you and Danji, but the rest is not that far behind.” Mei gestured, clearly displeased that it was not Mei and Aiko’s plushies.

Moon Aiko raised her eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. ’To think they would compete over something so trivial as this...’ She couldn’t wrap her head around it...