Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”What’s wrong, little one?” The grandpa glanced at the little Fox and smirked.

”Nothing.” Aiko looked away, not meeting his eye.

”Nothing? Then she can leave, right?” The grandpa teased.

”Well...” Aiko was flustered as she just couldn’t say the mission out loud.

”Do you have any business with her?” He asked, amused at her reaction.

”Yes...” Aiko confessed, but not completely, as that was too embarrassing.

”Then go with her and finish it.” The grandpa shooed the little Fox away. He also winked at Chen Jing that everything was alright.

Aiko left with Chen Jing, leaving the two behind.

”Will my daughter be alright?” Chen Hai asked the Immortal.

”She doesn’t have any malicious intent.” The grandpa simply said.

”I see...” Even if that Assassin didn’t have malicious intent towards her daughter, he still felt uneasy.

”Now, let’s talk about the incoming Sect recruitment.” The grandpa said, narrowing his eyes.

...

They walked into another guest room. Chen Jing felt uneasy as the little Assassin’s eyes pierced her body.

”What do you need from me?” Chen Jing turned, she wanted to run away as soon as possible as she was too scared to be alone with her.

Aiko couldn’t say it out loud as she was too embarrassed, but it had to be done.

”My mission is to get the colour of your underwear or the underwear itself.” Aiko said with a straight face, but her Soul was still dyed red from shame.

Chen Jing blushed and glared at this hateful Assassin.

”It’s the truth!” Aiko cried out, she now realised that that mission should be done in secret and not be asked aloud, but she still wanted to see those alluring clothes again if she ever wanted them later down the line.

Chen Jing was blushing, but seeing the blushing little Assassin, she suddenly didn’t feel as embarrassed.

”Usually a person would first invite me for dinner and build positive rapport before asking for ’favours’.” Chen Jing teased the little Assassin as revenge for embarrassing her.

”W-well, I’m n-not really interested in those kinds of things. It was just a mission, but the previous clothing would be the favour...” Aiko’s mind spun as she said incoherent sentences.

Chen Jing at this point felt much better, as it was fun seeing her reactions. ”So now you even want my clothing, huh?” Chen Jing smirked, teasing her more.

”W-well... I thought they were pretty nice...” Aiko murmured.

”Indeed they are nice to wear for your partners, but it’s embarrassing when others see you...” She stared at the little Assassin fidgeting, but she couldn’t bring herself to hate this little oddie.

”I’m sorry.” Aiko’s head dropped, she felt like she was reprimanded by Mei.

Chen Jing stared at her strangely. ’Why is someone so timid an Assassin?’ She couldn’t understand the thought of her employer.

”Why do you need that underwear?” Chen Jing asked again.

”For the mission, but colours are enough, as I wouldn’t feel good if I were to give someone else your underwear.” Aiko said slowly, but still couldn’t meet her eye.

Chen Jing felt some likeness towards her honesty. ”Just pick some colours.” She shrugged.

”That’s fine, since I know they were white.” Aiko blurted out.

”What?” Chen Jing narrowed her eyes, wondering if she heard correctly.

”What?” Aiko played innocent as she realised she said something wrong again.

Chen Jing stared at the sweating little Assassin. ”Let’s go back.”

They returned to the main hall.

””Finished?”” The duo asked in sync.

”Yes, Father, we are finished.” Chen Jing gently bowed.

”What did she need?” The grandpa asked.

Aiko and Chen Jing sat down and both of them sipped tea.

”She wanted my underwear.” Chen Jing said expressionlessly, this was her revenge for that little Assassin playing innocent at that time.

*PFFFT* *Cough**Cough**Cough*

Aiko choked on the tea when she heard her say that.

Chen Hai’s face darkened, but he couldn’t act as this little Assassin was just too terrific, meanwhile, Grandpa was laughing his guts out.

”And here I thought that the Fox Village improved.” He wiped the tears that were forming in the corner of his eyes.

Aiko finished coughing and stared blankly. ”That’s just wishful thinking.” She shook her head as that Village was full of degenerates.

”Hmmm...” He caressed his short beard.

Chen Jing at this time had her ears perked up. ”Fox?” She stared at the little Assassin, but couldn’t find anything about her that resembled a Fox.

Her father likewise paused. He pieced the pieces of information together and it clicked. That dead guest was abusing his position to incite others to attack the Fox Village, he just didn’t expect that the Fox Village would retaliate so strongly.

Chen Jing kept staring at Aiko trying to find the tail or anything that would make her into Fox.

Aiko felt burdened by that gaze and tried to ignore it to the best of her abilities, but she still felt awkward.

”I mean, I did chastise some, but it doesn’t seem to be helping all that much...” Aiko frowned as some tea was still stuck in her throat.

The grandpa didn’t say anything about that and watched Chen Jing’s burning gaze.

”How about you remove your trinket so she can see your features?” The grandpa gestured.

”No.” Aiko immediately denied it. She is still being protected and her identity is shrouded for the time being, which keeps her safe.

She might be an Assassin, but others will have to think twice about attacking her, even when they know she is a Fox. Because they would not know what kind of Fox she is and how important she is for the Fox Village.

If she was unimportant it was fine, but if she was indispensable then those attackers would suffer greatly, and that’s where the Beast Palace comes in. They record most Beast that reaches Magical Beast Rank, or are mutated so that the Kingdoms and other superpowers don’t offend someone they shouldn’t offend.

Unfortunately for them, Aiko is shrouded in mystery and the Beast Palace isn’t able to gauge her completely just yet, making Aiko safe from most sane Cultivators.

”How about you stay here for a week and get familiar with Chen Jing?” The grandpa stroked his beard. ”If you find her nice enough, you can allow her to see you.” He proposed.

Aiko thought about it a bit, there was something odd about those swords, maybe she could check them out if she fixed a few Paper Lamps?

”Hmmm...” Aiko pretended to think, which fooled the father-daughter duo, but not the grandpa. ”Sure. I can fix a few Paper Lamps in the meantime... of course for a price.” She stared at Chen Hai.

”Please name it, if I can meet your demands I will be more than happy.” He smiled with a business smile.

”I spotted a warehouse with strange swords, I would like to inspect them and if I like any I would like to take them.” Aiko stated her demand straightforwardly, since he was also straightforward.

”Warehouse?” Chen Hai was unsure about which one she meant. ”Can you locate that warehouse again?” He couldn’t promise anything, since it would be bad if it was the main warehouse where their wares were stored.

”Sure.” Aiko sipped her tea, waiting for them to get ready and follow her.

...

”Here it is.” Aiko pointed at the abandoned warehouse.

Chen Hai frowned, he felt quite bad if she wanted rubbish as payment. ”Are you sure? Those swords were abandoned by craftsmen since they didn’t fulfil the requirements or broke during the process.” He explained slowly, while he did want this little one to fix the Paper Lamps as it was consuming 20% of his overall expenses, at the same time, he would feel bad for ripping her off.

”It’s fine, I won’t be staying here to fix everything, so this payment is just right.” Aiko didn’t mind, even when they stared at her like she was pitiful and chose the wrong reward.

”Interesting.” The grandpa said, slowly smiling at the little Fox.

Chen Hai still had some misgivings when she wanted his daughter’s underwear, but seeing her come forward to fix his issues without burdening him further... the previous misgiving was slowly erased and gratitude replaced it.

Chen Jing had her eyes sparkle. ”Can you really fix the Paper Lamps?!” She was excited as she tried to help her father by fixing some, but she just broke them and they no longer worked. Her father didn’t mind this, as he loved his filial child and would give her anything that was within his power.

”Can.” Aiko affirmed. ”Can I look inside, while you get Inscription Tools?” Aiko asked Chen Hai.

Chen Hai nodded. ”I will get them for you, but the quality might be low.” The quality was low, but he couldn’t say it out loud as it would question his wealth, which he didn’t like.

”No problem.” Aiko didn’t mind, as she didn’t want to expose what looked like pricey equipment in her rings.

”Can I watch, please?” Chen Jing pleads with puppy eyes. Her father wanted to stop her, but he was a step late.

”I don’t mind.” Aiko didn’t mind, as others liked to watch her Inscribe... now she wondered how her Teachers were doing. Maybe she should visit them later?

Aiko sighed in her mind, but since she was allowed to go inside, she opened the warehouse doors.

”Are you looking for something specific?” The grandpa asked as this little Fox piqued his curiosity.

”I don’t know.” Aiko said honestly, as that feeling of familiarity was very, very weak.

She walked around the warehouse, picking swords that felt like they were talking to her.

Others were watching this with strange expressions. They didn’t understand why she picked up the most haggard and broken swords.

’This one too~.’

’Don’t forget this one.’

Aiko was incredibly happy as those voices returned and guided her more precisely around the broken swords. She was easily able to pick up the swords she wanted without much time wasted.

She stored them in her Storage Ring and there was no longer a sense of familiarity in this warehouse.

Aiko felt satisfied and returned to the Guest Hall for another tea, while servants rushed around her to get her the tools.

”How many Inscriptions do you know?” Chen Jing was more curious than apprehensive towards the little Assassin, of course, it would be a different matter if the little Assassin didn’t know Inscriptions.

”Not many.” Aiko shook her head. She didn’t know many Inscriptions, but she knew a lot of Runes, which offset her lack of knowledge about Inscriptions.

’Well, I still know a few dozen more complicated Inscriptions, as I don’t need to know the simple ones.’ Aiko didn’t need to know the simple ones, as they were mostly pieced by one or two Runes with a single connection. This was much easier than Inscriptions with multiple Runes with multiple connections.

The Tools were in front of her. They were pretty shabby and she would have to work hard to use them, but it wouldn’t expose her wealth, which was the most important thing, As she didn’t feel like she was powerful enough to protect it in the event that it was exposed.

She picked up the Inscription Pen to familiarise herself and start the work.