Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Moon Aiko walked around the abode, a certain ’hidden’ tail was following her, but she had a lot of work to do, so she couldn’t engage with her.

Her first order of business was to visit the Foxes that were in the rehabilitation zone. They were still getting used to their time here and they would be moving soon

So as to ensure that nothing went wrong, Moon Aiko wanted to visit them and make sure that everything was alright.

Their part of the abode was more colourful than the others, maybe because they were trying to finally live normally, or maybe they were trying to escape something. Either way, this place felt very ’cheerful’.

Looking around as she walked, the Foxes would pause for a brief moment, but once they noticed it was just ’that’ Fox, they kept chatting and doing their stuff.

This pleased Moon Aiko as it meant they were used to her presence now. It was still not perfect, but they felt and looked much better than before.

More cheerful? Probably not, but their skins had nicer shade, their bodies were plumper. They were a bit shy? Timid? But other than that, it didn’t feel like they were overly fearful.

Their abodes were... simple in nature, but very elaborate when looking closely. They liked to engrave things onto furniture, not just to make it gather Qi, but for simple amusement and art.

The Foxes in this place were quite talented, or maybe they were oppressed for such a long time that they didn’t have time to bloom. But that was fine. Nothing will happen to them here, and they can do whatever they want, as long as it doesn’t hurt or endanger others.

However, looking at them now, they seemed harmless, maybe a bit too much.

’Should I bring them some weapons? Poles? Talismans?’ Moon Aiko was not sure if they would even prefer weapons.

’How about making paintings come to life? That was a technique, right?’ Moon Aiko pondered, walking through this place.

It didn’t seem like they lacked anything. Food, materials, entertainment. Especially with a certain ’guard’ around making a fool of himself.

’Speaking of, he fits right in, huh?’ Moon Aiko saw that Guard Fox talking with the other Foxes. It kind of seemed like he was building a harem, but not at the same time. Some Foxes were territorial, some weren’t, it all depended on the individual... unless you were a Demonic Fox.

The Foxes seemed to like the guard. As foolish and clumsy as he was, he was very gentle and caring, so maybe these Foxes gravitated towards him because of that? Honestly, at this point, anything was possible.

Going deeper and the Foxes seemed more depressed, but their bodies and shades didn’t change much. They ate well, but were more ’withdrawn’ than the Foxes before.

Maybe the happier Foxes lived on the ’outer edge’ since they wished to socialise more, while the more depressed Foxes lived deeper in, where they knew they wouldn’t be disturbed?

’It’s still an issue, how will they cope in the Beast Sect?’ Moon Aiko was worried about them, maybe that’s also why the Foxes around her didn’t immediately go inside and hide.

’Should I bring them some gifts? Weapons are a no-go, but some plushies?’ Moon Aiko mulled over it, but since she couldn’t figure out the state of their mind, she would just bring some plushies later, or have someone bring it over. The guard should be fine with them too, right?

’Speaking of, what is that Clothier doing?’ Moon Aiko was curious, since she didn’t see him for a long time.

...

”Wawaawaawawawawwaaa.”

A grown up man was currently crying right in front of Moon Aiko, making her speechless.

”I thought that Master abandoned meeeee!” He kept crying like a child, putting Moon Aiko into a difficult position.

”There, there.” Moon Aiko didn’t know what to do, so she just patted his back...

...

It took a while for him to calm down, but he seemed much better than before.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

”So, Master, what do you wish to do this time? Some spunky clothes? More revealing? Concealed?” The Clothier sniffled, his nose still full.

”I need plushies.” Moon Aiko nodded her head seriously.

”?” While the Clothier wondered what he just heard, he still moved his legs around.

”What kind of material do you wish to use?” He was, after all, a professional.

”Something soft, that you can cuddle, erm... something that won’t cause rash and that kind of stuff?” Moon Aiko was not sure if something like that existed, but she had to mention it.

”Okay, I think we can find something.” The Clothier nodded his head.

”It’s fine even if you don’t have all the materials, as long as we can make at least some of them, then all is good.” Moon Aiko slowly nodded her head, appreciating his efforts.

”Stuffing?” The Clothier raised his eyebrow.

”I’m not sure. If it could be soft and elastic, while also able to maintain the shape, that would be great.” Moon Aiko sighed. ”But that sounds too difficult, doesn’t it?”

”Hm...” The Clothier went through his materials, but unfortunately couldn’t find anything that would fit the bill.

”Then just make something soft, that somewhat retains its shape.” Moon Aiko gestured.

”Soft and retention... I think I will be able to manage that.” The Clothier couldn’t make something out of nothing and knowing this Fox... ’I need to create a crazy number of plushies...’

Her last clothes were a huge hit with the Harem Kings, even when he refused to make them, someone else would. However, that just proved how attentive she was, coming up with something that so many liked.

’This plushy business might become another turning point of our former Fox Village.’ He nodded his head attentively.

”How about this? It’s similar to latex. Soft and squishy, but it tries its best to retain shape.” The Clothier brought it over.

”Oh?” Moon Aiko was impressed by the softness. The retention was a bit poor, taking a while to get back to normal shape, but that should be fine.

”I don’t think it’s too bad, so we can use it.” Moon Aiko approved of this. ”This isn’t expensive material, right?”

”No, far from it. When we were... cutting the forest down. We have obtained a lot of useless material like this. So it’s good we can process this into something better.” The Clothier smiled. He didn’t like to waste resources, so this was a perfect situation.

”How about further processing it in a Cauldron?” Moon Aiko suggested, but seeing him shook his head, she just shrugged like she didn’t mind if it wouldn’t be further processed.

”I will get to work. I will bring over the first finished product so you can approve it, Master.” The Clothier bowed and focused on his work.

...

With that out of the way, Moon Aiko went to look at the continental flying ship.

’There doesn’t seem much for me to do.’ Moon Aiko murmured inside her mind. Chen Shi was doing a great job, being encouraged by the bird lady. It seemed like they were more stable than before, and it even seemed like he was enjoying himself, which was definitely good.

’All things considered. I should also make something about the rooms.’ Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes.

She couldn’t use that ’latex-alternative’, but maybe there was something that they could use to make the beds ’nicer’, without throwing away ingredients?

’Too much work.’ Moon Aiko groaned. She would have to check too many things, so that was not possible.

”Mistress?” A certain Fox greeted her.

”Yu? What are you doing here?” Moon Aiko didn’t expect her to be here. She still thought she was inside her tails.

”There is an ’all hands on deck’ situation to expedite the process of finishing this ship.” Yu shrugged.

”Oh, okay.” Moon Aiko nodded her head. ”I was thinking about making the beds ’nicer’.” There was no better person that Yu, when it came to this. Or maybe there was, but since she was within hands reach, Moon Aiko would use her to fulfil her desire!

Yu kept nodding, thinking about it and even offering some advice in return.

”I never considered that Foxes might not want softer beds. So then how about we make several ’testing’ beds, and they will test which bed they like the most?” Moon Aiko suggested.

”There is not enough time, but we can just make the beds softer and harder with...” Yu nodded his head. This was plausible and while there was not enough time for proper testing, this was worth considering.

”Thank you for indulging me.” Moon Aiko bowed towards her.

”Ah, it’s nothing like that. We are all happy to help finish this thing. Even the oldest Foxes have no idea how this thing can fly, so everyone is very excited.” Yu giggled about this whole affair.

”Wait, you did make sure it can fly, right?” Moon Aiko suddenly gulped nervously.

”Obviously, you silly.” Yu laughed. ”That was the first thing we were testing while making the hull. To make sure that the hull itself can bear the weight.”

”Phew, you scared me for a second.” Moon Aiko breathed a sigh of relief. It was fortunate that they actually tested this thing, it would be bad if it would break in half when they tried to take off.

”Don’t worry, nothing like that will happen.” As if reading her mind Yu smiled at her.

”That’s good.” Moon Aiko smiled back.

”Oh, I also heard you are making plushies?” Yu said that and a few pairs of ears suddenly popped out of a few side rooms.

”Stop advertising it. It’s not for normal Foxes.” Moon Aiko scolded her.

”Ah? Then why is the Clothing Fox so excited?” Yu felt like Aiko was not telling the whole story.

”Well, I told him I need those plushies, but I have no idea why he is so excited.” Moon Aiko shook her head. She really didn’t know why everyone was so excited to help her. It was not like she was making anything revolutionary.

”For whom are they?” Yu smiled, but she was probing Aiko.

”For the Foxes that were ’harmed’ and are currently rehabilitating. I visited them moments ago and the Foxes closer to the middle were not looking too good.” Moon Aiko sighed.

”But plushies?” Yu tilted her head.

”It’s soft, you can hug it, place it around your bed and keep you company. Better than trying to engage with others.” Moon Aiko shrugged. ”And while there is a possibility that they will become more reliant on it. The Foxes that will heal should be able to help with that.”

”I didn’t think that would work, but this might actually be a good idea.” Yu nodded her head slowly. It was impressive that Aiko could come up with so many ideas for these kinds of situations...