"Have you located the Demonic Foxes?" A figure wrapped in shadows asked another.
"No, we can't even locate the Fox that has our Divine Technique." Another figure shook his head.
"What about the Delegation?" The third figure asked.
"They are still on the fence about everything." The first figure frowned.
"..." They looked at each other, wondering who was ssing with them...
-----
"This room slls like you." Moon Aiko nodded her head.
"Why do I feel you are insulting ?" i pinched her cheeks.
"You sll like Herbs, so isn't it only natural that this room would sll the sa?" Moon Aiko tilted her head. She was slowly getting used to having her cheeks pinched like this.
"I an, look around, there are just Herbs all around us." Moon Aiko shrugged gently.
i sighed softly. "Do you dislike it that much?"
"No?" Moon Aiko was confused. "When did I say that I dislike it?" She couldn't understand why everyone was so strange today.
"Then why do you keep looking around and at the sa ti sniffing?" i 'glared' at Aiko.
"Howork." Moon Aiko nodded her head.
It was a turn for i to be confused, and confused she was.
"What do you an by that?" i leaned against a nearby non-occupied wall.
There were Herbs pretty much all around them and especially against the walls, since they were treated to enhance the Herbs' effects.
"You gave the Jade Slips, so I'm just doing my howork." Moon Aiko shrugged. "Although I still don't know a few of them for so reason." She sighed softly.
"Which ones?" i was quite... no, very happy like this.
Pill Refining is what she had left after the sudden departure of the now-alive sister.
One could say it was her bread and butter, her bird's nest, her soul and so on.
Aiko 'playing' with her like that made her happy.
"This one?" Moon Aiko pointed at the first Herb.
"Butthorn Herb?" i tilted her head.
"Nononono, that's impossible, that one is brown, while this one is red." Moon Aiko vehently denied that na, since it didn't fit the description.
"It's what happens when the Herb consus too much Yin." i laughed heartily.
"Seriously?" Moon Aiko felt a bad premonition.
"Every Herb changes depending on the Qi and affinity they have, so it's only natural that you will have to get used to that." i laughed, seeing Aiko's vacant expression.
"Why didn't you ntion them in the Jade Slip?" Moon Aiko imdiately turned towards her.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." i imdiately looked away, as if she were guilty of sothing.
"eeei!" Moon Aiko cried out softly. "But why?!"
"Do you know how much work it takes to gather all that information?!" i unhappily glared at Aiko. "You should be happy you get at least the basics right!"
Moon Aiko pouted unhappily. "It's easy to just copy information!"
"Oh? Shall we make a bet then?" i licked her lips.
"Sure!" Moon Aiko was confident that she wouldn't lose.
"Very well, you will spend a lot of ti with , and we need to have a talk!" i smiled happily.
"I will be sleeping in your tails whenever I'm around!" Moon Aiko proclaid her wish.
"This is kind of unfair, don't you think?" i stared blankly at Aiko, who was suddenly bold.
"Then you should've made a proper reward for yourself." Moon Aiko pouted at her.
"Here." i was reconsidering her kind nature and changing it to more cunning since she was surrounded by too many cunning Foxes.
Moon Aiko took it and tried to insert information into the Jade Slip. It was not like writing, but changing the Qi pathways inside to represent words.
She soon frowned due to the difficulty and because she cracked the Jade Slip.
"Hehe~" i giggled mischievously. "If you are too forceful, then it will crack~" She handed another Jade Slip to Aiko.
She would splurge money until Aiko admitted her defeat!
...
A few Jade Slips later, Moon Aiko was frustrated. It still didn't work. The Qi inside the Jade Slip was either too lazy or too scattered to form any aningful words.
"Just so you know, you are currently holding the more expensive and easier Jade Slips." i was greatly enjoying this situation, since she was able to spend ti with Aiko.
Moon Aiko frowned even more and even glared at i.
'System, help out!' Moon Aiko would use everything at her disposal!
[Cheating your wife is not a good idea.]
'I will deal with it later!' Moon Aiko was too frustrated at both the loss and the inability to do this properly.
She understood there was so kind of gimmick that she couldn't figure out, like the last piece of the puzzle that you lost when you tried to complete it.
[...]
The system gave up, since it was obvious that Aiko would bug it until it caved in.
The Jade Slip shone slightly, startling i.
'N-no way!' i was flustered since this could an that she lost the bet!
"Here." Moon Aiko handed over the Jade Slip happily. She was never so frustrated in her life, and the amount of Spirit Stones they burned during this bet was not a small number.
The best thing she could do is finish this quickly!
That was the reasoning that Moon Aiko used to justify her actions...
"You did it..." i seed depressed, but skimming through it, she noticed sothing.
'Made by System...?' i blinked a few tis before her lips twitched.
"Aiko~" i's scary smile scared Aiko.
"Y-yes?" Moon Aiko didn't think she would have to pay for her actions imdiately.
"Would you mind explaining why there is: Made by System?" i still smiled, but she was not really upset... She was upset, but also amused.
Upset because Aiko didn't let her win, but also amused at the resourcefulness of the system.
'System! You have betrayed !' Moon Aiko felt like she was stabbed in the back.
[It's only natural to claim the work we have done.]
Moon Aiko almost coughed up blood at that answer, because she couldn't refute it at all!
'Damn you.' Moon Aiko stood in front of an upset i.
"You didn't say that I can't use everything at my disposal." Moon Aiko was obviously trying to bullshit her way out of this.
"So it's fine if I get help from soone." Her eyes were spinning all around, trying to find more reason that would allow i to accept this situation.
"You think I will let it just pass?" i was more amused by the flustered Aiko than upset at her shalessness.
Of course, she wouldn't let this go, but it was indeed an amusing situation.
Moon Aiko's gaze suddenly sharpened. "How about a draw?"
i laughed. "That ans you will be spending ti with ~"
"I don't mind." Moon Aiko nodded her head like that was the most obvious thing.
"Huh?" i was slightly speechless. "Didn't you use the system because you wanted to win and not spend ti with ?" She blinked at her blankly.
"Huh? No?" Moon Aiko was confused as to why i was looking like this. "I was frustrated that it didn't work and that we were ruining materials, so it's only obvious I should make it work and then do it properly later." She nodded her head like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"..." i stared at her, speechless.
"Not to ntion, this thing definitely requires a specific gimmick, no?" Moon Aiko 'glared' at i. "So if we are talking about cheating, didn't you rig this from the start?!" She imdiately accused i.
"Hm?" i was even more amused by this point. "But it doesn't." She said with the happiest expression ever.
It felt like a rock fell on Moon Aiko's head. "I'm not stupid..."
"You just have to use neutral Qi, you can't use Beast Core or anything like that, that's why it's so difficult." i explained the process, making Aiko almost cry.
"I'm not stupid..." Moon Aiko sniffled, like she was hurt. She couldn't figure that out.
i patted Aiko's head. "You are overthinking it too much." She smiled softly while caressing her hair.
"That's the pot calling the kettle black." Moon Aiko imdiately shot back with teary eyes.
"Right." i nodded her head seriously with closed eyes.
Soon they both burst laughing.
"So, what were you up to this whole ti? A freaking stampede?" i speechlessly shook her head.
"Hey! Danji was captured, so I thought I would let them taste a bit of their dicine." Moon Aiko shrugged.
i laughed, shaking her head. "How did you even manage to cause all of that?"
"I lured them with a maddening scent and got help from the Nightmare Forest." Moon Aiko smirked like a tiny devil.
"You were able to talk with them without being beaten down?" i was startled, since she knew from rumours how hostile that place was, especially for Foxes.
"..." Moon Aiko suddenly rembered that bird-brain that almost clawed her in half.
"Right, without a fight..." Moon Aiko whistled.
"You didn't try to fight them, right?" i was worried that Aiko might be going a bit too crazy.
"I don't have a dead wish!" Moon Aiko stared at i speechlessly. "They thought I was stealing their young." She shrugged.
"That's even worse." i shook her head. "No, wait, to begin with, where did you get them?"
"Hm? Didn't you tell to explore the Nightmare Forest so that I could find them?" Moon Aiko stared at i innocently.
"Nononono, I told you to scout for the Elders." i frowned gently.
"Oh, those guys, too, they got what they deserved." Moon Aiko nodded happily.
"What...?" i was stunned. "They captured those young?" She felt a bad premonition.
"But yeah, I have more business with them, which would allow us to get escorts." Moon Aiko smiled happily.
"Huh?" i frowned even more. "Why would they want to work with soone as weak as you?"
"Hm? The Ancestor Beasts are apparently enslaved, and they want to break it." Moon Aiko tilted her head.
"???" i widened her eyes. "How did they get contracted? They are all already past the Mahayana Stage when it cos to strength!"
"How would I know? I didn't ask them." Moon Aiko shrugged like it was not her issue.
i facepald hard. It seed like this would take a lot of ti to explain everything to Aiko...
Reviews
All reviews (0)