Aoki predicted that by now, the medical records of the hallucinogenic potion inside his body had probably fallen into the hands of Tsukikage’s political enemies.
As a result, the selection process for the next Hero would temporarily come to a halt, and those enemies would cause Tsukikage a series of troubles.
In this way, Tsukikage’s plans to harm the new Hero could be delayed for the time being.
Later on, Tsukikage’s enemies would investigate in the black market and gradually uncover evidence of her violating the church’s doctrines.
But Aoki believed that even if things played out that way, he couldn’t put his hope in outsiders—especially those who had offended him before.
A long time ago, when Tsukikage first ascended to the position of Saintess, Aoki had even helped her come up with various strategies to deal with those political rivals.
Looking back, it was fortunate those people hadn’t been eliminated by him back then; otherwise, he truly wouldn’t know how to handle Tsukikage now.
But then again, who could have imagined that the sharp-browed, bright-eyed Tsukikage would become such a rare case?
Sunlight squeezed in through the window’s crack. Aoki stood up and saw that Nonri had already gotten out of bed before him.
Nonri hunched over, swaying as she walked, went to the table, took the teapot, and carefully poured herself a cup of tea. She even reached in to pick out the tea leaves before drinking.
It had been over a month since Aoki first met Nonri. After obtaining that book about the fox girl in the real world, Nonri gradually stopped being so wary. She went from transforming into a fox and hiding in a pile of clothes to sleep, to taking human form and now even leaning against him at night, sleeping without any guard.
Everything she did now was molded by Aoki’s own habits.
When Aoki got up, he also hunched over to drink tea, then proceeded with his daily routine—
“Phewah!”
Nonri rubbed her cheeks vigorously with both hands, stretching and making strange noises that made no sense.
“Uh!”
Seeing Aoki staring at her, Nonri trembled all over, put her hands down beneath her, and stretched out her feet.
“Uh!”
Aoki responded with the same sound and stretched lazily as well, the human and fox mirroring each other’s movements.
“I’m hungry.”
Nonri frowned, pointing at her mouth. Only then did Aoki understand—she was hungry.
“Strange, why don’t you usually complain about being hungry first thing in the morning?”
Aoki muttered and went outside to the courtyard to fetch water and wash up, while Nonri stayed inside, watching him.
After washing, it was Nonri’s turn. Aoki filled a basin with water and went inside to wipe her face. Nonri obediently stood still and stretched out her face.
In just over a month, they had grown this close—truly thanks to that book. Nonri’s initial wariness and cunning were no act; at first, Aoki was completely fooled.
He thought she was the type to be dull and cautious, but after discovering she was stalking him, he realized Nonri was far more clever than she let on.
Moreover, the more crowded and busy a place like Rokumito Hall was, the more Aoki had to control Nonri, preventing her from causing trouble.
But he had already decided to leave here with Nonri soon, since the Youjian Immortal was coming.
The Youjian Sect disciples couldn’t find Nonri—not sure if it was laziness or incompetence—but the Youjian Immortal himself was neither lazy nor incapable.
What did the Youjian Immortal want to do to Nonri?
From what Nonri had expressed, the Youjian Immortal harbored great malice toward her. Aoki didn’t care much about the source of that malice, and Nonri the fox herself couldn’t quite explain it.
In any case, it was clear—if anything happened to Nonri, the simulation would definitely fail. That much was certain.
After leaving Rokumito Hall, the alchemy furnace, prescriptions, and materials would clearly become difficult to come by. He needed to figure out how to obtain these essentials before departing.
He first went to the kitchen to get some food. After eating with Nonri, Aoki began his alchemy work for the morning.
Leaving Rokumito Hall had to be done quietly; he couldn’t show any sign of laxity to others.
Two hours later, the alchemy was complete. As usual, he slipped a few pills into Nonri’s stomach. After making her promise not to run off, he took the finished pills and headed to the delivery office.
He had to inquire about some matters.
After Aoki left, Nonri muttered inside the alchemy room, “Didn’t sneak out yesterday to steal pills… so hungry.”
Rokumito Hall, temporary residence of the Youjian Sect disciples.
Qin Feng finished his morning training and returned to his room, only to find his fellow disciples playing mahjong at the table and teasing a bird—among them was the junior disciple who had recently suffered uncontrollable diarrhea after taking alchemy pills.
“Aren’t you coming to practice swordsmanship?”
Ignoring the senior brothers, Qin Feng walked behind the disciple playing mahjong.
“Uh… Senior Brother Qin…”
The disciple picked a tile, stammering nervously without daring to meet Qin Feng’s gaze.
“Junior Brother Qin! Remember to balance work and rest. You’re so busy training at Youjian Sect, yet you look exhausted even when you go out.”
The eldest senior brother approached from behind with hands behind his back, patting Qin Feng’s shoulder.
“Adversity breeds strength, comfort brings death.”
Qin Feng closed his eyes, full of frustration toward the eldest senior brother’s lax leadership.
The Youjian Immortal was his mother’s sister. Since childhood, he understood the Immortal’s difficulties. Thus, the attitude of these disciples made him angry for the Immortal’s sake.
“What, do you think practicing diligently is living, and playing or resting means dying?”
The eldest senior brother smiled and asked, while the other disciples watched Qin Feng meaningfully.
“No.”
Qin Feng shook his head, unable to meet their eyes.
“Think about it. Rokumito Hall has a fox demon at work in the shadows while we’re out in the open. Can you guarantee it isn’t constantly watching us? After all, it’s the Youjian Immortal—the sect leader’s greatest headache. Do you think it’s just a weak little fox?”
“If everyone were as unguarded as you, focusing only on practicing, strengthening, and exhausting themselves daily—if the fox demon really made a move, we’d all end up like the previous Rokumito Hall leader, bitten to death in bed.”
“The eldest senior brother makes a good point.”
“Listen up, Junior Brother Qin.”
“Blaming us now, huh?”
The eldest senior brother’s words earned nods from the others. Qin Feng frowned, struggling to respond.
“Come here.”
Pulling Qin Feng aside, the eldest senior brother whispered, “I know you’re anxious about this matter, and don’t think I’m lazy. Recently, I’ve tracked the fox demon’s trail—it often goes to a certain place…”
After sharing this information, Qin Feng immediately bowed apologetically to the eldest senior brother and rushed out.
“Eldest senior brother, what’s this about? Didn’t the elders say to drag out the fox demon situation and lure the Youjian Immortal over to execute a decoy plan? Why did you tell him directly?”
Another Youjian Sect disciple approached quietly, asking the eldest senior brother.
“Relax. I gave him a fake location.”
“This kid doesn’t know about his mother’s relationship with the Youjian Immortal. I gave him false info. When the time comes, he’ll have to go talk with the Youjian Immortal.”
With that, the eldest senior brother stretched and called out, “Hey, anyone want to play chess?”