Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Aiko only blankly stared ahead, was it truly that easy to grow things?

Her mind hurt from this, this could not be explained in her mind, no matter how much she thought about it.

Aiko moved inside. She felt dizzy from the overly cheerful Mei. She never saw her like that before. Did Mei like plants? Maybe flowers?

Aiko pondered upon it as she sat down lazily on the somewhat nice fur carpet. Her mind drifted around until someone hugged her.

”We can open this place soon.” Mei was really happy that she got to play with flora. She always felt at home whenever she did that.

”What about the Alchemy classes?” Aiko asked. She was missing things to do...

”You will help me in here a bit and we can do it once things calm down every day.” Mei nudged Aiko gently.

”Okay.” Aiko didn’t know how things would turn out or how she should behave.

Would it be fun watching the business grow around? Possibly, but also unlikely. Aiko still didn’t like crowds, they were bothersome; they felt stupid.

The crowd would move as one, Aiko didn’t like that for some reason...

This night for some reason Mei nuzzled Aiko to sleep.

...

The next day, they opened the business. Aiko expected it to be a slow day, but unfortunately for her. A line of people immediately gathered.

Most of them were muscular Foxes that didn’t really look like Foxes. They were huge, towering, and overpowering in Aiko’s eyes. Their muscles moved and wiggled like they had minds of their own. It felt creepy and oppressive for the small Aiko.

The opening time was when Aiko turned small, so that she wouldn’t attract as much attention.

Yet her small body still attracted the attention of the bodybuilders.

They swarmed Aiko like flies.

”You should drink a lot of milk, it’s good for growing the body.”

”Meat is also good, don’t turn vegetarian like those madmen from the Alchemy Peak.”

”You should also exercise a lot, it’s good for the body.”

Aiko was overwhelmed until Mei kicked their butt. She immediately hid behind Mei as this was the exact reason why she hated crowds.

””””Our apologies.”””” They all bowed respectfully and returned to the waiting line.

Aiko sneaked inside and Mei sighed. She would have to help her little, cute servant overcome this thing, but at the same time, she didn’t blame Aiko. She was likewise astonished at their enthusiasm...

”Jade Fox.” Muscular Fox nodded. ”I heard that this time there are more ’Massage Chairs’.” He nodded towards the Jade Fox, while at the same time suplexing those that bothered the small Vicious Cub.

He was the main gate guard for a reason. None of them were able to stand against him...

”That is true, but don’t expect the same prices.” Mei chuckled.

”Why? Those are just Massage Chairs!” There was an outcry from the back, but when everyone turned around, they could not find out who said it.

”Come inside first.” Mei chuckled. She knew that there would be some complications, but the allure of the Massage Chair was much greater than what the opposition could create.

The overly muscular Foxes went inside politely and carefully. The door was of normal size, so some Foxes had to go sideways in order to go inside.

Everyone was curiously looking around. They spotted the small, Vicious Cub that was glaring at them behind the counter.

They found it cute and wanted to swarm her again, but seeing the Jade Fox hug the tiny Fox they stopped in their tracks.

Likewise, they already realised that the Jade Fox had much more knowledge about the body, otherwise, she would not be able to come up with this kind of ingenious idea.

The Jade Fox knew better than all of them on how to help small Foxes grow properly so they restrained their urges.

Mei gently smiled seeing them back away, with this Aiko should be able to move around without being bothered which allows her to get used to crowds.

”I would like the best room.” The Muscular Fox said gently. He was familiar with the Vicious Cub and found her antics very nice, but he could not understand why the Vicious Cub was so... big. Or at least at the time that he met her in front of the main gate.

Was there some kind of secret? His curiosity peaked, but he would not share it. This was a Treasure hunt just for him and him alone!

”Senior Brother, you shouldn’t! Just because it’s expensive-” The nearby Fox was headbutted by other muscular Foxes. They were bothered that this cunt kept telling them that.

All of them spared no expense on their bodies!

One muscular Fox gasped. Everyone looked towards him.

”I know this guy. He is the one who was selling us the expensive incense!”

Every muscular Fox immediately turned hostile towards this person. They didn’t mind the fact he was ripping them off, since it worked on their muscles, but now he was trying to prevent them from soothing their muscles? Unacceptable! Despicable! Garbage-like behaviour!

They immediately restrained his head with their wiggling muscles and they threw him outside with full power.

*Boom*

There was a booming sound and they felt proud.

”Nice!” Aiko was giving a thumbs up with her small hands.

They noticed her and smiled, but Aiko scurried away like she was being chased.

Their bodies stiffened. Were they really that unlikeable?

Aiko’s head peeked from behind the counter, but she was not glaring, just observing them closely.

They kept their smiles as they talked with the Jade Fox. Their Senior Brother sacrificed his body to test the most expensive option and they would pray for his good health.

”But she is kind of cute...” The muscular Foxes murmured to each other. The Jade Fox was definitely a fine Fox, but...

’There are not enough muscles on her...’ Was their shared consensus.

Meanwhile, the small Fox would still grow, she might turn into a hulking berserker that could whip their asses! Just that thought alone made them shiver happily.

Aiko suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She immediately ran into the backroom to hide.

””””Ah...”””” Those muscular Foxes were saddened that Aiko ran away.

Mei’s eyebrow twitched. She didn’t expect them to be like this, but fortunately, it would soon turn into a waiting room instead of a ’watching’ room.

The place quietened down and Aiko sneaked back. She wanted to know how her Massage Chair turned out.

She didn’t care previously, but this time she did. Aiko was almost at her peak condition, almost, which meant that this Massage Chair would be able to make a mess out of their muscles!

The doors opened, but no Fox went outside.

Aiko peeked from below the separator. The same one that was used to separate the waiting room and the counter place.

A Fox didn’t walk out of the room...

”A worm?” Aiko stared strangely when she saw the Muscular Fox make a motion like he was a worm moving on the ground.

The muscular Foxes were startled and so was Mei.

Before they could shout at their Senior Brother, a calm and cheerful voice sounded.

”You guys won’t believe how amazing that thing is, but first help me out! My muscles completely melted!” The Muscular Fox commanded and a few of his Seniors helped him stand up.

Aiko sneaked next to them. ”You can place the wor-” *Cough* ”Him over there, it’s a resting zone.” She almost made a slip of the tongue, but it didn’t seem like anyone minded it.

’He was like a worm...’ They had to agree with the small Fox.

They moved him to the waiting area and he immediately started talking.

”You guys. You won’t believe me if I say that it’s even better than our Peak Elder’s ’special’ pond.” The Muscular Fox smirked.

””””What?!”””” He was right, they did not believe him at all, but it still did leave them speechless.

”I will sacrifice myself for my Senior Brothers!” One muscular Fox couldn’t bear it any more and went ahead buying the most expensive options, which was still very cheap in his eyes.

An incense stick of time later, another worm was born. This one was even stranger than the previous one since he kept giggling to himself...

The muscular Foxes looked at each other. They were a bit fearful that they would end up like that themselves, but the thought of having their muscles massaged...

A lot of Foxes were ’sacrificed’ that day and a new breed of Fox was born. The Worm Fox...

...

The day was over and they were in the backroom racking the profits.

Aiko stared at Mei in amazement. She could not believe that she was able to talk for so long and with so many people present!

She would not be able to do that at all! Those guys were too scary! Their muscles moved like snakes! It felt like she would be bitten if she got too close!

Aiko gazed at Mei.

Mei shifted her body. ”You are making me blush...”

”Who are you and what did you do to my reclusive Mei?!” Aiko suddenly yelped, stunning Mei.

Mei blankly stared at Aiko who was pouting.

”I’m still myself?” Mei tilted her head. She didn’t quite understand what was the issue.

Aiko didn’t elaborate and changed the topic. She would have to deal with this imposter later!

”So how much did we make?” Aiko snorted unhappily.

”12,450 Spirit Stones.” Mei answered briefly.

*Pfft*

”What?” Aiko didn’t expect that Mei would be able to make 1-6th of Aiko’s Spirit Stone wealth in a day...

”It was a good day and it will probably continue until all the Foxes from Muscle Peak take their turns.” Mei smiled like a devil.

Aiko shivered. ’How much wealth will we make from them...?’

Little did they know that this would be just the beginning...

...

The next day the amount of Foxes doubled. Mei was busier than ever and all the rooms were packed from dawn to dusk.

It was truly exhausting for Mei, but thankfully the muscular Foxes were kind enough to wait in line and never caused trouble.

Mei also turned a blind eye to the fact that the muscular Foxes would drive other Foxes away. This would keep the bad actors in check without her having to do anything.

Aiko was still scared to walk around, so she also made a plan. She would make a special discount if the muscular Foxes ignored Aiko. That way Aiko would be able to walk around without being bothered and maybe it would solve her issue.

Of course, this was only a limited-time discount to pressure the muscular Foxes to obey it properly!

Mei giggled at her plan and Aiko shivered.

Aiko didn’t understand why she was shivering so often these days... was it getting colder? But there was no true cold season on this continent...