Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”They don’t need to know about the cannon.” Moon Aiko nodded her head seriously.

”Hmmm~” Danji playfully hummed.

”No.” Moon Aiko immediately crossed her arms.

”Mmmmmm~” Danji licked her lips.

”God damn horny Fox!” Moon Aiko slapped Danji’s ass as a warning.

”Ah, Mistress~” Danji softly moaned before Moon Aiko ran outside.

Pouting gently, Danji couldn’t help but sigh. ”This Aiko is too shy.”

Danji shook her head gently. She still preferred her Dark Aiko more.

Moon Aiko went around, but this time she didn’t enter any buildings, just in-

”Ah~”

”Motherf-” Moon Aiko immediately snapped her head only to see the bird momma sitting on Chen Shi’s lap, being smooched by him.

Both of them heard that voice and stiffened.

Moon Aiko’s disgusted expression was plastered on her face from behind the trees.

Moon Aiko slid behind the tree before returning to her temporary workshop.

”You are quick?” Danji noticed Aiko’s expression, so she stopped her teasing.

”Don’t tell me about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they fucked a few moments after.” Moon Aiko shook her head.

Danji... didn’t understand why this side of Aiko didn’t like sex.

”Don’t look at me like that.” Moon Aiko snorted unhappily. ”I can see you judge me for my expression, but they should do those things behind closed, locked, sealed doors!” She proclaimed righteously, making Danji clap in admiration.

”Ugh...” Moon Aiko felt like Danji was mocking her, but she couldn’t really say if that was true or not.

”So what’s next?” Danji cupped her chin with her palms.

”I still want to finish the Demonic Foxes.” Moon Aiko sighed.

”Ahem.” Chen Shi coughed when entering the room.

*Swish*

Aiko moved swiftly with a nearby bamboo stick and hit-

”AGH!” Chen Shi screamed as he collapsed on the ground.

That’s right, Aiko couldn’t stand his boner, so she de-boned him!

”Hmpf.” Moon Aiko snorted.

Chen Yanqi peeked inside, only to see Chen Shi on the ground. ”Was that necessary-”

*Clank*

Chen Yanqi barely dodged the bamboo stick, since she didn’t expect Aiko to be so against them.

”Why?!” Chen Yanqi cried out.

”You really ask that?!” Moon Aiko was flabbergasted. ”If I came just a moment later, I would see you fuck!”

”That’s not true!” Chen Yanqi snorted unhappily as she hid behind the open window.

”Right! As if!” Moon Aiko folded her arms.

”That’s called affection!” Chen Yanqi pouted.

”So his hand between your legs is also called affection?” Moon Aiko glared at the talking window.

”Ahem...” Chen Yanqi didn’t expect Aiko to see that.

”Tsk.” Moon Aiko snorted, leaving the place for some bed rest.

...

The next day, Moon Aiko returned, only to see Chen Shi sitting around the room.

Moon Aiko’s first reaction was to grab a nearby bamboo stick and for Chen Shi to jump out of the window.

”Tsk.” Moon Aiko clicked her tongue since there were no bamboo sticks around.

Chen Shi climbed back like nothing happened.

”I heard you needed something from me?” Chen Shi tried to speak with dignity, but he was visibly uncomfortable.

”I’m thinking of twisting your dick if you can’t help me.” Moon Aiko was really not in the mood for such jokes.

”Alright, alright.” Chen Shi ruffled his hair. He thought Aiko would be occupied and that he could spend some time with Yanqi, but... ’She has insane timing...’ Shaking his head, he waited for his ’assignment’.

”I need to cure someone who escaped the Sacred Realm.” Moon Aiko declared her intention.

”That is impossible. They would die soon after leaving.” Chen Shi immediately denied it, since there would not be enough time to prepare anything.

”They are safe, so get to work before I get more bamboo sticks.” Moon Aiko threatened him, since her opinion about their debauchery was the worst ever.

”They are safe, but how long can they last?” Chen Shi narrowed his eyes.

”You should figure out how to help them.” Moon Aiko scoffed at him.

”The problem with their body is that this Mortal World’s Qi is being rejected.” Chen Shi proclaimed.

”The Sacred Realm is almost borderline Mortal World. So it has its own rules, Qi and Treasures.” Chen Shi described the issue.

”We need a slow method that would replace the Sacred Realm Qi with a new one.” Chen Shi proposed a solution, but also shook his head.

”It’s about the ’slow’ part and ’isolation’, right?” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

”Yeah.” Chen Shi nodded his head.

”How about these?” Moon Aiko presented the Treasures she took from the Ghost Palace.

”I wondered where those things disappeared to.” Chen Shi shook his head. ”This one could be useful since it isolates and filters, but...”

”We need to replicate it with more functions and tweaks.” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

”Don’t even try it.” Chen Shi shook his head.

”Why not?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”For some reason, you struggle with space-related Runes, and we need a high-quality ’isolation’ Rune, so that’s a no-go for you- Why are you looking at me like that?” Chen Shi shuddered when he saw that playful smirk.

”Chen Shi~” Moon Aiko hummed happily.

”Don’t even try it!” Chen Shi’s body visibly recoiled, but he still pitched a tent.

”Don’t even try it!” Moon Aiko folded her arms.

”That’s my line!” Chen Shi glared at her.

”Now be a good boy and help me with the Treasure.” Moon Aiko proposed.

”What’s in it for me?” Chen Shi folded his arms.

”If you think I will jerk you off, then forget it and bring me a bamboo stick.” Moon Aiko glared at him.

”I wouldn’t want to get jerked off by you even if I were to die!” Chen Shi denied it, but it was obvious that he was aroused.

”Good! Scrapping Treasures it is.” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

”I will gather so many Treasures that you will vomit before you finish!” Chen Shi wanted to know how important it was, but he couldn’t stand Aiko for some reason.

”That is fine.” Moon Aiko shrugged, startling Chen Shi.

”Alright.” Chen Shi agreed, since he didn’t believe Aiko would be able to bear it.

...

Moon Aiko woke up in a dream.

Mei was silently staring at her.

”Come here...” Moon Aiko yawned and patted the place next to her, turning her surroundings into a large bed.

”Seriously...” Mei was tired, but she didn’t expect Aiko to take this kind of initiative.

But she still lay down next to Aiko.

”How is it going?” Moon Aiko rubbed her eyes tiredly.

”It’s not going all that smoothly, but at least we were able to secretly figure out a few of their hideouts.” Mei hugged her sweetheart.

”You seem tired... how are you doing?” Mei gently whispered as Aiko enjoyed her gentle embrace.

”...” Moon Aiko was silent for a moment.

[Scrapping R-3]

V

[Arts Mastery: Stage 1 (Inscription R-2; Alchemy R-1; Assassin R-1; Smithing R-2; Forging R-2; Go R-3; Heavenly Fingers R-2->3; Divine Calligraphy R-3; Painting R-1; Restoration R-3; Scrapping R-3; #### Needle Technique R-1)]

”It’s going well...” Moon Aiko nodded her head. They still didn’t have that precious Treasure that would allow them to adjust the Demonic Foxes, but that was fine.

She made quite a huge progress, which allowed her to gain enough experience in scrapping and overall dexterity.

This, in turn, improved her precision during Inscriptions, but she was still unable to deal with space-related Runes.

”When can you get back, and can you hide... Danji?” Mei could instinctively feel like there was another person in their closed connection, so Mei was quite upset.

However, at the same time, she was happy that Aiko was not alone, since she was often reckless.

”I’m working with Rune Cultivator on something. Do I have to hurry?” Moon Aiko squirmed in Mei’s embrace, trying to adjust her position, so that she felt more at home...

Of course, soft pillows were always appreciated.

”You don’t have to hurry just yet.” Mei shook her head as she almost sank into deep sleep again.

”I can hide Danji no problem.” Moon Aiko nuzzled into those pillows.

”Good, if you want to return, keep her hidden until we encounter war. At that time, you can release her to cause as much confusion as possible.” Mei nodded her head.

”How is everyone?” Moon Aiko asked gently.

”The Twins... are fooling around, but they train well. The Grandmaster had the last piece of foreign energy pulled out of her, but we still need to recover her tails if we want a powerful ally. Other Elders are mostly on our side, especially those who came in contact with you.” Mei explained the situation briefly, since she didn’t want to burden Aiko too much.

”Anything I should watch out for?” Moon Aiko said sleepily.

”Don’t fly back.” Mei warned her.

”Okay.” Moon Aiko agreed readily.

”It will take time to get back on foot, but they activated the Grand Array, so the defences are particularly tough.” Mei sighed.

”How are you?” Moon Aiko almost bit Mei’s bosom when she was yawning.

”... I miss you.” Mei said gently. There was simply too much work with those bastards, and she missed Aiko’s problem-solving ’skills’.

”I will come back soon.” Moon Aiko nuzzled her again, and they slept like that for a while.

”Okay...” Mei gently kissed Aiko as they both fell asleep.

...

Moon Aiko was still in a dream with Mei.

”Is dream time different from reality?” Moon Aiko tilted her head.

”Yes, mostly...” Mei nodded her head. ”It depends on the skills of those participating in the dream.”

”How can I call you in?” Moon Aiko tilted her head. She was unable to figure that part out.

Well, she did drag in Danji, but she was unable to drag in Mei.

”For now, it’s impossible as I’m too far. You should practice on someone closer to you, so you can get a feel for it.” Mei nodded her head slowly.

”How about contacting me every so often?” Moon Aiko wanted to spend some more time with Mei.

”That will be difficult, since if one interrupts the dream. The one invited can suffer backlash, or both of them.” Mei shook her head.

”That’s... a pity.” Moon Aiko’s ears lay flat.

”I will drag you here again later.” Mei hugged Aiko as the dream slowly melted into nothingness...