Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Aiko kept staring at Umbra and Shadow Passion in suspicion.

"They had sex." The Blood Fox suddenly said. Umbra glared at her with wet eyes.

"Huh?" Above Aiko's head appeared a big question mark.

"They liked each other, so they had sex." The Blood Fox repeated.

"But they knew each other for very little time." Aiko pointed at her biggest issue right away.

The Blood Fox kept her lips pursed, now it was time for Umbra to keep the conversation going.

But only silence spread through the area.

Aiko's ears twitched as she looked between her teammates and then toward the Shadow Passion.

"So when will you have babies?" Aiko suddenly spat, making everyone choke; the Shadow Passion was not an exception to this…

The Blood Fox was the first one to calm down, but she had no intention of answering that as her face burned red from her imagination.

Umbra and Shadow Passion were no different, since they never did it and will never do it with that thought in mind.

They were of the same sex, so it would be difficult to have babies.

Aiko observed the absurd expression and continued. "And here I thought you were a male for a second." Aiko narrowed her eyes at Shadow Passion.

Wanshu was completely speechless. "I'm not!" She suddenly spat out. She never felt so embarrassed about something so simple in her entire life!

"Hmmm..." Aiko munched on another piece of meat, while enjoying others' discomfort.

"You were gentle with her right?" Aiko asked Umbra.

"Why are you asking me, Mistress?!" Umbra felt wronged. "I'm not a Demonic Fox!" She cried out.

Wanshu enjoyed Umbra's expression even more and wanted to praise Aiko, but if she did, she would probably get reprimanded by Umbra...

"You are in a team where asses are regularly skewered, it's only natural you take an interest in that." Aiko shook her head.

She gently bowed towards Shadow Passion. "I apologise if she was rough with your butt."

"Mistress!" Umbra cried out even more, her face was burning deep red from embarrassment.

Wanshu laughed at this; she was the one who bullied Umbra, but the situation that Aiko portrayed was the complete opposite.

She gently swayed towards Umbra, so that she could give her a peck on her embarrassed cheeks. The more she knew about this team, the less inclined she was to get back, but at the same time, she knew that it was impossible to join this team.

In the history of the Shadow Peak, there was no team with 4 members. There were joint teams, but not a single team with more than 3 members.

Most teams only consist of two. This helps with reproduction and finding partners in such an oversized Fox Village.

Some have two partners in a team, but that's rare as even teams consisting of 3 members are extremely rare.

Aiko rolled her eyes. "Since you are so lovey-dovey, we will be speeding things up. I don't like spending my time inside a Forest." Aiko snorted unhappily; everyone had some kind of toy that entertained them, but Aiko's toys required a lot of mental capacity and focus, which was not ideal in a hostile Forest.

The Blood Fox did not mind. Umbra was slightly sad, but she understood Aiko's whims...

...

The next day the group sped up. Aiko was adamant about their pace and Umbra did not have time to explain Wanshu's situation.

What was a good thing, was the fact that they could not see the Mirage Fox anywhere. He did not even arrive at the previous campfire.

As strange as it was, they did not have time to think about it too much as Aiko's pace was quite difficult for them and they had to focus hard in order to keep up.

...

They settled around a campfire a few more times, but the last Capital was in sight.

"I wonder where Mirage Fox is..." Aiko stroked her chin, while looking at Shadow Passion.

"I can't sense him through the contract." Wanshu shook her head, unlike others she was not able to feel them.

"Huh..." Aiko kept stroking her chin, wondering about where they went. "How about you two?"

But her team likewise shook their heads, they had no idea where that cursed duo disappeared.

The Blood Fox kept close to Umbra, so that those lovebirds wouldn't just sneak away somewhere for some private time. It would be hard to catch up to Aiko if they did, so this was a kind of assurance for all of them.

But at the same time she got to know Shadow Passion more and her troubles along the way.

While Aiko's antics caused her team numerous troubles, it was not as painful as what Wanshu described. The Blood Fox agreed to convince Aiko about castrating that spineless bastard.

Aiko munched on her meat. "The Capital is oddly shiny."

The last Capital was illuminated brightly even in the darkest night. This was a great change compared to the previous Capitals, as they had very little to no light during the night.

"This is Luminous Capital." Wanshu said gently. "It was previously called Heavenly Luminous Palace, but they had to change it once a Cultivator carved half of the city into the shape of a butt." She sipped the tea that the Blood Fox had made.

Aiko lifted her eyebrow. "Why would they do that?"

"Because they were affiliated with the Heavenly Luminous Palace, but tried to use their fame for their own benefit." Wanshu explained slowly. She did not get to interact with the Vicious Cub all that much, but she found her very likeable.

"Hmmmmm." Aiko munched on another piece of meat. "So the Capital is still in the shape of a butt?"

"Yes, the Cultivator filled that space with water so it was very difficult to move." Wanshu said. "They changed their names to appease the Cultivator, but he did not care and kept it like that."

Wanshu sipped tea before continuing. "There is also a rumour that the water no longer replenishes so they are trying to make a connection to a nearby river to drain it, but we don't know if that rumour is true."

Aiko munched slowly. "What would happen if they drained it quickly?"

"It would flood their Villages and cities, so they have to drain it slowly." Wanshu was patient with the small Fox. Her Umbra explained that if she is liked, there is no way she would be returning to the Mirage Bastard.

So Wanshu naturally did her best to make herself as appealing as possible.

Another thing that she also noticed was the fact that she 'raged' far less than before, which was considered weird as she had ran out of drugs.

The Blood Fox explained that it's the effect of spending enough time with Aiko, but even then, she also could not explain the reason nor theory of why it was happening.

Wanshu didn't really care about the reason; all that mattered to her was the fact that she didn't need those drugs to keep calm, which made her libido much more manageable.

She also got 'bouncier' like her Umbra, she felt more energetic and less sleepy, which was a nice bonus.

Umbra... did not appreciate it as much, since she worried that their time alone would drain her too much...

Aiko lifted her head and stared at the duo. "I will approach the city in the coming days to scout." She had a strange feeling inside her heart.

"We can come with you." The Blood Fox gently nudged Aiko.

"No, I will explore alone. Something feels off." Aiko didn't believe that they could afford to keep the whole city lit up all the time. That light also caused shadows to retreat, and the few that remained would be too weak for their abilities, which meant there would be fewer places where they could hide...

"As you wish, Mistress." Umbra sighed. She might be tormented by Wanshu when Aiko is not around. She did not mind it, but there is a time and place for everything!

Aiko nodded happily, it was a good thing that her team listened to her.

"Why don't you just order them?" Wanshu questioned, she couldn't understand why the little fox never used the order function like the average team leader.

"Why would I need to order them?" Aiko tilted her head, not understanding Wanshu.

"By ordering them you will know that they will stay here?" Wanshu gave it as a question since she noticed others looking at her strangely.

"If they say that they will stay here, they will stay here." Aiko shook her head. "Moreover, I'm not making them do anything they dislike, so I believe they will listen to me." Aiko pointed at her team, which was happily chatting.

"Did you never use the command or order or even any functions of the contract?" Wanshu asked, her tone brimming with confusion and curiosity.

"I think I might have tested those functions once or twice...?" Aiko didn't remember if there were any instances where she used those functions or not. "But I do know that I use the locating functions sometimes, since it's handy, but my team members are mostly close by... so even that is rarely used." She shook her head, it was mostly useless contract for her...

"Aren't you worried that they won't listen to you?" Wanshu asked this before, but she changed the meaning a bit.

"Will you listen to me?" Aiko turned towards her team, since these questions started to bother her.

""Of course, Mistress."" The duo was in sync and they also giggled in sync.

Wanshu pursed her lips. She did not understand this kind of relationship inside this team. They were too carefree and happy. There was no tension or anything that would be out of place.

They helped each other readily and they also had plenty of free time to pursue their hobbies or just rest.

Wanshu never got that amount of rest before. But... she also never felt that her body ached as much as before from mere exertion...

The little Fox was truly ruthless when it came to travelling and what was supposed to take almost a year, took only a few months.

Wanshu's body ached, but at the same time, she was happy about this. Why? Because now she would complete a lot more missions and get more rewards from them!

This would allow her to purchase the much-needed equipment and other things for her day-to-day life.

She could also purchase something nice for herself, which she previously couldn't.

"Anyway. I will be scouting the city and see if we can even enter." Aiko munched on the last piece of meat. "It will be more difficult for all of us to hide, so it's better if we do it like this as I'm much faster alone."

"You are indeed smaller than us." Wanshu nodded.

Aiko pouted and pinched Shadow Passion's thigh.

Wanshu pursed her lips, smiling happily. It seemed like the little Fox was starting to warm up to her.