Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Moon Aiko ran towards the Muscle Foxes.

She would choose a few of them, since she knew that they were well-behaved and polite to weaker Foxes.

Sure, they might be a bit intimidating when they compare muscles with others, but as long as there are not too many Muscle Foxes at the judges seat, everything should be alright!

Moon Aiko nodded her head when she saw a familiar Muscle Fox.

It was the Guard Fox, who was always at the entrance of the Fox Village.

Moon Aiko was familiar with him and he was always nice and attentive, so he would make a nice judge.

”Hello~” Moon Aiko changed her form to that of an adult so that she could explain the situation to him.

He was momentarily startled, but then he paid attention to the vice-owner of the Fox Village.

”What can I do for you?” The Guard Fox smiled at her.

”I would like you to come with me and be a judge for food. I need one or two more Muscle Foxes.” Moon Aiko briefly explained, but then she also went into detail.

”Thoughtful and not intimidating...” The Guard Fox rubbed his chin. ”You are asking for the impossible. Our muscles are naturally intimidating, so it’s not possible to find someone like that.” He shook his head, it was impossible to find someone like that, since every Muscle Fox liked to flex their muscles.

”Hmmmm...” Moon Aiko frowned, the next picking would be the Demonic Foxes, but that should be avoided for the time being.

The Muscle Foxes have only rumours about their muscles and flexing. Their obsession with weights and training.

However, Demonic Foxes also have rumours about being very hostile to anyone who would approach them and very vicious, so she couldn’t use them.

The other Foxes were fine, but the problem with them was that they might be familiar with the Foxes in the rehabilitation zone, which would make things awkward.

”Oh well...” Moon Aiko sighed. ”Then at least you come with me.”

”But I’m also intimidating...” The Guard Fox rubbed his head. He might not be a true Muscle Fox, but he was not too far either.

”It’s fine, it’s fine.” Moon Aiko waved her hand. ”You are very polite and kind, so there is no problem.” She nodded her head seriously.

The Guard Fox blushed. It was fine if other Foxes told him that, but if a gorgeous Fox told him, it was hard to not be shy.

”Anyway, you know what’s up now, so just play the part please.” Moon Aiko turned into her small form again and trotted away.

”Should I carry you?” The Guard Fox felt awkward walking next to such a tiny Fox.

”...” Moon Aiko paused, looking down. She was indeed small, and the clothes were less than ideal.

”Please.” Moon Aiko looked up at the hulking mass of muscles. ”And try to smile more, okay?”

The Guard Fox stiffened. In order to be the guard of the entrance to the Fox Village, he had to appear stern and intimidating. Naturally, a smile was not really part of his repertoire, so it might be difficult...

”Whoa, alright, don’t smile jeez...” Moon Aiko shuddered at his smile. She never saw anyone smile so bad as he did!

The Guard Fox sniffled, he was hurt by her words, but he also knew that his smile was not the best, okay?

...

The Guard Fox carried Aiko to the rehabilitation zone where he saw other Foxes.

As expected, most of them immediately dived into their homes, but seeing that the tiny Fox was on his shoulders, they still attempted to peek at them.

The judges were already seated, and the tables were set.

There were in total 5 long tables made out of bright brown wood.

The 4 tables were for the Foxes undergoing rehabilitation, while the last one was for the judges.

The judges were seated as following:

Twins, Wanshu and Yuxi, the horny. Feifei, the munchkin. Mei, the paper-filler. Aiko, the chaser. And lastly, Bin the guard.

”Were the nicknames necessary?” Bin scratched his head.

”Well, we are trying to lighten the mood, so just play along.” Moon Aiko pursed her lips. Why was she the chaser?!

”Okay.” Bin sat down at his spot and looked around. It was weird seeing the Foxes immediately hide from him, but he understood that it was normal over here.

These Foxes were recovering from the worst there was, so it was obvious they wouldn’t immediately try to talk with him or even approach him.

Moon Aiko sat down, which prompted more Foxes to peek at them.

However, that curious peeking didn’t last long as doors to one home opened.

It was the Blazing Fox with her fiery hair. It seemed slightly shinier than before, but it was minute differences.

”Alright!” She slammed the pot on the table. ”Extra spicy~” She hummed happily, but it was obvious it was more than just ’extra’.

The mere scent from the pot allowed you to feel that this loud be a rough and burning ride!

”Do we have milk?” Moon Aiko immediately asked.

”It won’t save you.” Mei shook her head.

”I have digestion.” Moon Aiko immediately came up with an excuse.

”You don’t have one, stay put.” Mei wouldn’t allow Aiko to book it, since she also had to suffer here, she wouldn’t suffer alone!

Moon Aiko groaned unhappily. There was no escape for her which pained her greatly.

The Blazing Fox gave everyone a bowl with the thick soup. Shockingly, the visuals were not too bad, a bit too red, but that couldn’t be helped, considering it was supposed to be spicy.

Feifei was the first one to taste it.

”Too hot.” Feifei shook her head, but she still kept eating.

The Twins tasted it next.

Wanshu nodded her head. ”Extra spicy, not bad.”

Meanwhile, Yuxi was having an existential crisis. ”Did I become a Dragon?! Why am I breathing fire?!” Her mouth was burning so much that one could feel the heat radiating from her mouth and especially tongue.

Mei raised her eyebrow and tasted it too.

Her face immediately scrunched up. ”It feels like someone is trying to take revenge on us.” She said seriously, staring at the Fox who cooked it.

”It’s not like that, I really like this one...” The Blazing Fox pouted.

Moon Aiko was the next one to taste it and she turned into a true dragon. Her breath turned into fire and she kept running around until the spiciness vanished.

*Wheeze Wheeze*

Moon Aiko crossed her arms that this food was a no-no.

The Foxes stifled their laughter, but it was obvious they enjoyed those reactions.

The last one was Bin. He was concerned with what he saw, so he sipped a bit.

”T-t-t-” Bin kept stuttering, but then his muscles flexed. ”-This is amazing!” Her shirt got ripped since he got overly excited.

”The spiciness perfectly blends with the meat which is normally very tough and not very savoury, moreover the small dumplings swimming inside the broth lowers the overall spiciness a bit, but greatly enhances their taste!” Bin gave his scalding review while cleaning his bowl aaand everyone else’s.

The Blazing Fox blushed before she ran away. She didn’t know what to think about this, but she was definitely happy that he praised her like that.

The next with courage was the old Fox.

She came with a soup that countered the spiciness of the previous one.

”Milky mushroom soup.” The old Fox smiled as she gave everyone a bowl.

And the reviews poured in.

”I could eat it all the time...” Feifei cleaned her bowl at startling speed, already asking for seconds.

The Twins exchanged looks.

”This is very mellow, easy to eat and it also calms down the effects from the spiciness.” Wanshu liked the spicy one more, but this one was right behind it.

”Thank you so much...” Yuxi was crying, since her mouth no longer hurt.

The old Fox was startled, but then she just smiled, like a mother would.

Mei finished her bowl. ”I could see you becoming a Spirit Chef.” She said seriously, which was unlike her.

A Spirit Chef was a chef that was expert on spiritual food, or food filled to the brim with Qi and Vitality.

They were highly beneficial foods, since unlike Pills, there was no worry about lessening their effects or polluting the body.

In order to reach the state where it can be called spiritual food, then it would need almost all if not all impurities removed.

So Mei giving that praise was very unexpected.

The old Fox bowed gently, feeling conflicted, but still happy.

”Seconds.” Moon Aiko handed over 4 bowls for some reason and nobody knew where she got them.

”Please marry me.” Bin was so stunned by the food that he mixed his thoughts and accidentally said it out loud.

The old Fox’s face twitched. She seemed hurt and he realised that.

”Ah, I’m sorry. It was just so delicious... I’m sorry.” Bin was apologising while speaking softly, making her even more conflicted.

The old Fox knew that he didn’t mean it in a bad way, but she still couldn’t get used to those words.

”It’s fine...” The old Fox went back inside, while Bin sat down.

He seemed heartbroken and the other Foxes also noticed that.

The Foxes hiding inside their homes were curious, not to mention this event went without any hiccups... It wouldn’t be too bad if they joined for a bit, right?

More and more Foxes brought food and shared it with not just the judges but other Foxes that were willing to come out.

Soon everything turned into a festive mood, but a slight wariness still hung in the air.

”We will excuse ourselves now.” Moon Aiko bowed towards them, pulling everyone away from this place.

The Foxes were startled, but that uneasy and wary atmosphere improved, some even started to miss those cute Foxes...

...

”Why did you cut it short?” Mei was curious.

”The goal of this little event was to make them move around more and share joy with others. Both misery and joy can easily spread, but misery is vastly easier compared to joy.” Moon Aiko explained briefly.

”By making it so that everyone laughs and has fun, everyone is more inclined to joy, since they don’t have time to think about the negative stuff?” Mei nodded her head, impressed by this plan.

”Yeah, it was quite difficult to help them get to that point, but I think we did well.” Moon Aiko nodded her head.

”That old Fox was cute.” Feifei nodded her head and then teased Bin. ”I didn’t think you had it in you.”

”Stop...” Bin was concerned that he hurt that Fox, but it was not like he could meet her again. She was probably scared of him, so he wouldn’t be able to apologise again.

”If you want to pursue her, try to make her life easier.” Moon Aiko suggested.

”Huh?” Bin blinked at her.

”You can’t obviously approach her, since you have no idea how she feels, but you can try to make her life easier. Move heavy things around when she is not looking, but the important part is to make things easier on her. If you move things haphazardly, she will just hate you more.” Moon Aiko explained to him.

”I didn’t expect you to have so much experience...” Mei stared at Aiko suspiciously.

”I don’t, it’s just a general observation.” Moon Aiko hummed innocently, trying to get away from Mei...