Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Chapter 119 – Poisoned

Aiko walked away and hid in nearby bushes as she slid down, leaning against a tree.

Aiko breathed slowly and explored the ring from Mei. There were many bottles with detailed descriptions, so Aiko went through one and another, finally finding the Universal Antidote Pill.

This was a 3rd Grade Pill from precious materials that could detoxify many poisons.

Aiko licked it, to taste test it, as she didn't like bitter things.

Surprisingly it was not bitter at all and it had a gentle smell of Mei still on it.

Aiko munched it, but before she could bite into it for proper taste, it melted in her mouth.

The feeling of exhaustion and her body numbing was suppressed by the mellow taste.

Aiko felt much better, but also sleepy, so she found herself in a small hole, transforming into a Fox and sleeping there.

...

Aiko woke up. Her injured paw was numb, but she felt better.

Transforming back into her Human form, she noticed that her hand was still green and small veins travelled up her forearm, stopping in the middle of the upper limb.

Aiko sighed, while those veins didn't look all that bad, it still would be troublesome if Mei saw her like this.

'It's better to return later...' Aiko thought, she was more scared about Mei than Blood Fox running amok.

Aiko picked up the contact Talisman. For some reason, it was already shining.

"Sect Leader?" Aiko asked slowly.

"Where are you?" The Sect Leader asked with a barely noticeable tinge of concern in her voice.

Only the Sect Leader knew how scary the Jade Fox was when upset and that demon was currently sitting in front of her with a terrifying expression...

"In a forest near the Town." Aiko said slowly, as she still felt somewhat tired.

"You were supposed to be back already..." The Sect Leader frowned, seeing the Jade Fox's face darkening as they continued.

"I should still have time?" Aiko asked, not understanding what they wanted. Didn't she just take a small nap?

"It's been a month since the last time you contacted me." The Sect Leader said with some fear in her voice.

"Huh?!" Aiko was shocked speechless, didn't she spend a day in the mansion and then run away to fight? A nap wouldn't last a full month... right?

[Age: 3.08/2,000]

Aiko choked.

[Happy Birthday!]
[You are now 3 years old!]
[Please choose a gift:]
[1. Meat - 300]
[2. Beast Core Formation]
[3. Stat and Skill Points - 300]
[4. Surprise - Surprise]

'Fuck you, system!' Aiko cried out, if she didn't look over, she wouldn't get her gift?!

"Well..." Aiko was embarrassed by this situation. A moment of carelessness caused her to fall asleep for a month? How could she know?

"I was poisoned by an Assassin and took a nap..." Aiko's voice was barely audible as she was too shy to recount the story.

*Bang*

Aiko jumped from the sharp and scary sound of the talisman.

'Scary! Scary! Scary!' The Sect Leader was crying inwardly, seeing the livid expression that Mei had.

"H-how are you now?" The Sect leader stuttered from seeing the demon staring at her.

"I don't know." Aiko was not worried that Mei could hear her, since she mostly spent her time refining Herbs. "I was poisoned, so I took the 3rd Grade Antidote Pill, but then I was too sleepy and I fell asleep..." Aiko recounted it.

"Now it's just green veins and I feel slightly tired, but that's about it." Aiko finished waiting for the response.

"Can you extend the time I can stay outside? Since it would be impossible to reach the Fox Village in a matter of days." Aiko tried to bargain, since she did finish the missions, but just didn't return in time.

"That can be arranged." Mei said through the talisman, shocking Aiko.

"Um..." Aiko didn't know what to say.

"Return once you finish the business in the town. Take your time, but return to me immediately after coming back." Mei said in a neutral voice, but little did Aiko know, she had a very scary expression.

The Sect Leader was now crying, shaking like a small rabbit caught by a beast.

"It shouldn't be a problem, right? Sect Leader~" Mei smiled at the Sect Leader.

The poor Sect Leader, who thought she would be able to invite Jade Fox for a nice tea, but ended up at the tip of Mei's wrath, was shaking her head. She didn't mind, no. She couldn't mind, how could she? Not when the scary demon in front of her was staring at her as if she was about to be devoured.

"Okay..." Aiko felt guilty for some reason.

"Stay safe. If there are more Assassins... just run away." Mei said. She was still upset that Aiko was injured.

"Okay." Aiko nodded obediently, Mei was too scary to go against.

The Talisman hummed again and lost its glow. It seemed like it could be used one more time before it's unusable. Aiko didn't mind this as this was not hers but borrowed goods.

Aiko sighed, how is she going to clothe herself without her right hand?

...

A day later, she was clothed, panting from the amount of work she had to do to wear those clothes.

She slowly walked towards the town, her Stealth Abilities at its peak. She also wore gloves to conceal the fact she was injured.

The Town was like how she previously remembered, nothing much changed.

She sneaked into the mansion. It was quiet, so Aiko just went into the Inscription room to finish a couple dozen more lamps before completely leaving. She also wanted to pick a few more colours of Chen Jing's underwear and extort a bigger reward for that mission.

*Scratch Scratch*
*Scribble Scribble*

Aiko had a hard time placing Inscriptions on the Paper Lamps, as she was missing the necessary sense of touch to make it perfect.

'This won't work...' Aiko frowned. She couldn't Inscribe it properly and that Inscription was only twice as good as the old one, which was not good considering she could make it a hundred times better if she was in a good condition.

Sighing, she stood up, leaving the room, meeting eye-to-eye with Chen Jing.

"You are back." Chen Jing suppressed her dissatisfaction when this little Assassin left without a word.

"And I'm going, once again. I can't Inscribe properly." Aiko shook her head.

"You are injured." The Grandpa said from the rooftop with a passive expression.

Aiko frowned inwardly. "I will be going for the time being." She didn't want to stay somewhere where she was watched over while being injured.

Aiko dashed away, not letting them say anything.

"Injured?" The indifferent/dissatisfied Chen Jing frowned. "Is she alright?" She asked the Shopkeeper.

"She is not in danger, but if it's not removed properly it will hinder her Inscription Attainment." The Grandpa said softly, feeling pity towards that little Fox, but he slowly lost interest in her, as it would be difficult to remove that poison since it progressed in that way...

Chen Jing felt a bit bitter. She treated that little Assassin as someone guilty, while not knowing her situation...

"Will I be able to see her again?" Chen Jing asked the Shopkeeper.

"It's possible, she has a sense of value, so she will return here for another round of Inscribing. As for how long that will take..." He shrugged, while he expected that she would return to continue Inscribing. He also didn't expect it to be any time soon, but he wouldn't say those words out loud, lest he would jinx it.

"Oh..." She felt sad, but she couldn't do anything about this. She would report this to her father and listen to him.

...

"Hmmmm..." Chen Hai frowned. He didn't expect this kind of development, but he still held some hope for that little Assassin in taking his daughter as Disciple. 'Even if she is injured, she still should have vast knowledge about Inscriptions. My daughter learns well, so she will be fine even if that little girl doesn't demonstrate her skills.'

"We won't change our attitude just because of one injury. I still wish that little one would take you as Disciple." Chen Hai said slowly.

"Thank you, father." Chen Jing bowed, feeling grateful. She kind of liked the mesmerizing way she Inscribed and she wanted to learn that.

Aiko dashed through the forest and once she was deep enough she removed the bracelet from the Sect Leader.

She felt a little stifled after wearing it unintentionally for a whole month.

Aiko didn't want to transform into her Fox form as she needed her front paws to dash around, but she couldn't do that. Her speed would be affected greatly and it was easier to run on her two legs after that Elder Punisher's training.

Aiko sighed, but she couldn't do much about it-

'What if I buy a Skill that would be able to purify poisons...'

[Poison Purification]
[Passive Ability]
[Cost: 1,000,000,000 Skill Points]

Aiko staggered and nearly spat out blood. That thing was so fucking expensive!

[Basic Poison Resistance]
[Passive Skill]
[Cost: 5,000 Skill Points][Cost reduced due to Stealth Abilities and Titles.]

'Buy!' Aiko thought that this was much better than nothing.

She had her last Ability Coupon. She didn't want to use it, just because she was careless.

[Basic Poison Resistance]
[Passive Skill]
[Allows User to reduce/resist the effects of Poisons.]

Aiko immediately felt the effect. She could somewhat feel her arm, but it was very sluggish and hard to control.

'It's a noticeable difference...' Aiko wondered if the poison in her body would allow her to level up her Skill... and she didn't need to wait for long to figure that out.

[Basic Poison Resistance: Lv.1->2]

'... Nice." Aiko nodded, she didn't feel as exhausted as before, but it would still take her significant time to arrive at the Fox Village.

She will have to be careful about other Beasts as her dominant arm was not well, so she couldn't throw rocks at them...

Aiko perked up her ears, listening to any and every little sound that was around her. Avoiding growls or huffs, so that she was not in danger.

She found a small meadow along the way, so she nestled up in the tree after collecting some kind of glowing flowers with their soil. She wouldn't be able to sleep if it glowed under her.

*Rustle**Rustle*

Aiko's ears perked. There was a rustling sound some distance away from her. She listened carefully. Footsteps... they sounded like bipedal. Possibility for Humans was high.

Aiko hid. She liked this place and she was able to rest with her eyes closed. This place also didn't trigger the distaste of [Filthy RICH Den Master]...

Now that she thought about it... How was she able to rest on those uncomfortable tree roots??

Aiko didn't understand, but that was not currently important.

"I'm not joking, Senior Brother!" One guy laughed. "I really found the Morning Bells! And they were even mutated! Glowing!" He sounded like he was trying to sell some kind of treasure to his Senior Brother, but he himself was unsure if those Herbs were of any use.

Aiko watched blankly, fortunately, they were only at the Peak of Foundation Establishment. She could ignore them, since they wouldn't be able to find her with her Stealth Abilities.