Chapter 124 – Deals and Training
"No." Mei rejected him upfront. She would not trade these materials for some shitty Cauldrons. Not to mention, this 'Forging' prodigy was just a shitty 4th Grade Forging Cultivator, not worth her time or resources.
"But you go through so many Cauldrons..." The Bronze Fox tried to negotiate.
"Maybe if you forged it properly I wouldn't need to come here so often!" At this point Mei was very upset, but this jerk always said that it was not his issue.
Mei stole those swords from his hands and stored them. She will figure out what her sweetie likes about those swords first before doing anything. It was also important to get a good deal, but she was not a Forging Cultivator, so she didn't quite get the uniqueness of this material.
'There are plenty of Herbs that can be used as bases, but there is no universal Herb...' Mei thought. If this material could be used universally, it would upset her even more since Herbs didn't have that kind of property, at least according to her current knowledge.
Mei stood up, leaving the Bronze Fox sobbing, that he let this opportunity go. Naturally, he couldn't stop her, as even those specially forged doors couldn't stop her.
Mei left for the Shadows Peak. She would extort a few things from the Elder Punisher.
"J-Jade Fox!" The Guard shivered.
"Yes, that's me. Is Elder Punisher inside?" Mei had a very unkind smile.
"N-no, he is on a mission!" The Guard replied immediately, worrying about his life. He had already heard that the Vicious Cub was poisoned and the Jade Fox was definitely here because of that!
"Tsk." Mei clicked her tongue and left. The Guard breathed a sigh of relief that he got to live another day.
...
Aiko finished reading through all of those Herbs, but she could only remember a few.
'Butstalk Grass, Tittieling Flower, Iron Ball Bells.' Aiko giggled, these were some of the easiest to memorize.
Mei returned. Seeing Aiko giggling, she got close to her and caressed her head. "How many did you remember?" Mei asked gently.
Aiko stiffened. She couldn't tell Mei that she remembered those naughty names.
"It's too hard to remember." Aiko lied without batting an eye.
"Hmmmm..." Mei continued to caress Aiko's head as she saw her slowly turn redder and redder.
"Are you sure you have not found anything funny?" Mei gently stroked Aiko's silky hair.
*Cough*
Aiko awkwardly coughed. "Of course not!" She lied again, but her completely red face gave her away.
"As long as you can remember over time, it doesn't matter if they are funny or not, okay?" Mei smiled gently, she was much gentler than before.
Aiko nodded slowly, but there were just too many of them.
"I also obtained a sla- Forging Cultivator when I strolled around, so we could create that 'Massage Chair'." Mei smirked.
Aiko's eyes lit up, ignoring Mei's strange state. "Really?! Hehe~" Aiko giggled happily, her motivation increased and she would work slightly harder on remembering those Herbs!
...
The Blood Fox visited her brother.
"Brother." The Blood Fox interrupted them. The team frowned, but her brother beamed happily.
"Sis." He immediately hugged her. "I didn't know you could walk around now." He looked her up and down. She was as lovely as he remembered when they were kids.
The team were eyeing her up and down, but from the moment he called her 'Sis' they curbed all their emotions. They would not lust nor glare. Their emotions were like water. They couldn't afford to anger this Siscon, ever!
"Peak Elder said that if I can keep my Bloodlust in check, I would be allowed to walk around temporarily." The Blood Fox confessed.
"Good, good!" It pained him greatly that his Sis would be locked in that unsightly place, but now that she could walk around, his likeness towards that strange little ruffian increased. "She doesn't abuse you, right?" He was talking about the little Vicious Cub.
"She is good." The Blood Fox smiled. She couldn't afford her brother going after Aiko, since she was currently injured.
"So, what would you like me to do?" He smiled like the sun, blinding everyone present.
"I'm looking for these Herbs." The Blood Fox said gently and gave him a very small Jade Slip.
"A Jade Slip? How rare." Zhi was surprised. He put his mind into it and browsed the Herbs.
*Hiss*
"Those are all rare Herbs!" Zhi looked at her in disbelief. "Did something happen to you?"
The Blood Fox shook her head. "Not to me, but to my Leader."
Zhi's face distorted. "You should forget about these Herbs." He didn't want her to look for them, since those Herbs were the possession of those bastards.
The Blood Fox smiled. "Pretty please, brother? I want to explore the outside world..." The Blood Fox gave with puppy eyes, which she observed from Aiko.
Zhi staggered like he was badly injured. "T-this is cheating!" He blushed, but he was really weak against that attack. "Fine! I will look for them, but promise me you won't look for them!" While he was soft, his main goal was to protect his Sis from any danger or unsavoury practices.
The Blood Fox nodded gently. Meanwhile, the whole team were left with their mouths agape, unable to comprehend what they had seen. Their leader, with a heart of steel and an indomitable will, had yielded like a thin branch to the wind?! Who would believe them?!
...
The Blood Fox returned humming.
"Did you find those Herbs?" Mei's eyebrow lifted when she saw the Passion Fox humming.
"Something like that." She was sure that her brother would assist her in this ordeal.
Mei slowly nodded and looked over at the agonizing Aiko.
She was frowning and thrashing around with the Jade Slip. It didn't seem like she enjoyed cramming things.
The Blood Fox also looked over and found it funny.
"What is she doing?" She asked gently.
"Learning Herbs." Mei replied passively.
"She should do it slowly, otherwise she won't remember much..." The Blood Fox proposed.
"Oho?" Mei glared at the Passion Fox. "How many should she remember each day then?" She was both amused and infuriated by that statement.
"10 or 20?" The Blood Fox nodded slowly.
"So it would take between 10,000 and 5,000 days for her to learn it?" Mei chuckled devilishly.
The Blood Fox was shocked. "How many Herbs did you make her learn?!"
"Just a couple." Mei dismissed the Passion Fox's glare.
"You will overwork her." The Blood Fox pressed the issue. "She is still poisoned and weak."
"Cultivators need to have knowledge about those things." Mei once again dismissed the Passion Fox.
"Or are you just projecting your own miserable life onto her?" The Blood Fox scoffed at her.
Mei glared at the Passion Fox. "I'm doing what is best for her!" She would have none of that. This kind of knowledge can save her life when it comes to it.
"Suuuuure~" The Blood Fox mocked the Jade Fox.
Mei was completely livid and she just wanted to rip this Fox apart!
"Ugh! Would you two just shut up! I can't hear my own fucking thoughts!" Aiko yelled at them.
The Blood Fox and Mei who were ready to fight it out paused. They looked over at the small and cute little Fox who was stomping her feet.
They glanced at each other. There was a silent consensus that they would fight this one out somewhere without Aiko.
...
A month passed. Aiko was still slowly learning the Herbs.
Today the Grandmaster came over.
She saw the bigger Aiko and thought about training her in her human form, but once she knew about the poison, she dropped that idea.
She then noticed 2 more Foxes in her 'small' abode.
'What is the Passion Fox doing in here? And there is one more?' She looked up and down while observing the 'little' Black Fox.
She was a beauty, hidden under those clothes. She was around 165cm in height, but her legs were considerably longer than her peers.
She had Black hair and a tail, with white insides and a tail tip. Furthermore, she had a gentle, yet alluring expression. Her mouth was small, as was her nose. Her ears were of average size.
Not only that, but her bosom and other proportions were those of an hourglass figure, yet she could feel that the Fox in front of her had perfect control over her body. This meant that even when she transformed into a proper Human form, she would still have that kind of body.
The Grandmaster took interest in this 'little' Black Fox.
"I will be taking her with me." The Grandmaster came next to the 'little' Black Fox, startling her.
Aiko looked up. "Grandma." She smiled from ear to ear.
The Grandmaster staggered this time. "I'm not that old!" She glared at the little mischievous Fox.
"Okay, Grandma." Aiko nodded obediently, but her words were completely different.
The Grandmaster held her head. "What's with the Passion Fox?" She asked. She could not hear any kind of disturbance in the Passion Fox's mind. It was strange and puzzling.
"She is part of my team." Aiko replied flatly. She thought that Grandmaster already knew about it.
The Grandmaster shook her head. "Rare that there is a team consisting of 3."
Aiko shrugged. "You can't take Umbra Fox." Aiko refused to give her up.
"I'm not 'taking' her, I'm training her." The Grandmaster smirked. "On that note, we have not fought in a while." The Grandmaster smiled like a devil.
"I-I'm injured!" Aiko cried out.
"That is alright." The Grandmaster smiled kindly and Aiko breathed a sigh of relief, but froze soon after. "It's only natural that you train for the instances that you injure yourself." The Grandmaster nodded.
"Your enemies won't wait until you heal up, so it's better to learn how to fight while you are injured-" The Grandmaster looked at the little Vicious Cub with amusement.
Aiko hid behind Mei, looking upset and glaring at the Grandmaster.
Mei's lips twitched. "You can train the Umbra Fox." Mei said, likewise with amusement. "She needs to get stronger if she wishes to keep up with these two monsters." Mei sighed helplessly.
The Umbra Fox was quivering, not because of fear, but because she knew what kind of valiant person the Grandmaster was. She was truly blessed! Not in a million years would she expect to learn from the legend herself!
The Umbra Fox smiled, but didn't miss a single beat. "Disciple greets Master." She prostrated herself.
The Grandmaster was nicely surprised by the Umbra Fox's thoughts. "I won't go easy on you just because of some flowery words." The Grandmaster chuckled.
"That is fine!" The Umbra Fox had firm eyes, surprising Grandmaster again.
"In that case, I won't hold back." The Grandmaster turned into a complete devil as she dragged the Umbra Fox away for 'training'.
Aiko was looking towards them and she was waving a white napkin with teary eyes.
Meanwhile, Mei was holding in her laughter. This kind of sight was too funny for her. It looked like Aiko was saying her last goodbye to a dear friend.
The Blood Fox didn't understand why Aiko was doing that, but it wouldn't take long before she understood the Grandmaster's terror, as she would be yet another subject to the Grandmaster's 'soft' regimen.