Early morning mist dampened Shen Xia's hair as she stood with Quan Xinya and the rest waiting for Quan He and Mr. Huang to arrive. "Xinya, your grandfather is slow. He said to be here by six, and it is now six-fifteen."
"Xia girl, you have to give us old people a little more time. We are old, you know." Quan He's voice came from behind the girls. They turned to see him walking out from the gates. "I was making sure all the reservations were settled. Sorry for the wait. Hmm?" Quan He looked around. When he did not see Mr. Huang, his brow furrowed. "Humph! How can he be late when I am already here!?"
Shen Xia did not know whether to laugh or cry at the seemingly senile old man who was already late himself. Luckily their wait was not long, and Mr. Huang drove up in a large van. "Sorry I am late. There was a mix-up at the rental. But they upgraded the van to one that tv stars use, so it will be a more comfortable ride. Which is nice since we won't make it to the capital until late at night."
Shen Xia looked at the van that had tinted windows and a sleek design and nodded her head. It did indeed seem like an expensive van. The side door slid open at a push of a button revealing the wide comfortable seats inside. Quan He sat up front with Mr. Huang, and the girls got into the back and sat down. For some reason, Quan Xinya, Lilith, and Lingxin were playing rock paper scissors to see who got to sit next to Shen Xia. But when they turned around after deciding a winner, She Xia was curled up on the bench seat in the back, hugging Spot, who was snuggling itself up into her embrace.
"Well, she did stay up late last night. It seems she has been having a hard time breaking through." Lilith walked over and took a blanket from her bag, and laid it on top of Shen Xia.
"Breaking through?" Lingxin and Dai Na both asked at the same time.
"Xiaxia has been trying to break through to evolve into a two-tailed fox so that she can finally hide her tail and ears. It will also give her more control of her own powers as well." Lilith explained. The two girls really did not understand it all too well, so they could only nod their heads. They did understand the fact that Shen Xia was having an issue evolving, but they did not understand what it all meant.
They traveled for about four hours at a time before stopping for breaks. The long drive was not easy for Mr. Huang or Quan He. But as they were nearing the capital, they were in a stretch of a wooded area where not much was around. The sun had already set, and the stars were starting to come out. They pulled into their final rest stop to stretch their legs before taking on the last stretch to their hotel.
Shen Xia was sipping a drink sitting out at a picnic table, looking up at the night sky. The other girls were still inside, waiting for their food. As Shen Xia finished her drink and got up to throw it away, her nose twitched as a strange scent entered her nose. She felt something was not right and quickly jumped back. Only to see the spot she was standing suddenly explode. "Tch! Fast for a human!"
Shen Xia narrowed her eyes to see a man wearing purple robes float down from the sky on a sword. "And here, I wanted to test my new technique out."
" So you attacked me to test some kind of skill?" Shen Xia asked coldly, her eyes never leaving the man in front of her for a second.
"What's wrong with using my skills on an ant. You may be beautiful, but as a mortal, you're nothing more than a fuck toy to us cultivators. But I guess I can be nice and let you go, but only if you strip naked and beg me to do you right here and now. Hahaha!" The man who looked to be around thirty years was by no means ugly, but the words coming from his mouth were disgusting.
"You want me to do what?" Shen Xia's eyes suddenly turned cold. Her whole body began to heat up. The instinctual rage welling up inside her was starting to take over.
As things were beginning to heat up on Shen Xia's side, Lilith was holding back the other three girls, keeping them from being able to run over to Shen Xia. "Lilth, why!?"
"Xiaxia has been having issues breaking through. A battle may just be what she needs to do so. As we are only to be her guards, we should not interfere unless her life is on the line. Don't worry. I will never let Xiaxia come to harm. Plus, that cultivator has only just entered the qi gathering realm. He has a hard time controlling his qi. I watched him standing on his flying sword. He was very shaky. Between the two of them, the outcome is clear if Xiaxia follows her natural instincts. She will begin to learn how a fox really fights. So do not underestimate her just yet." Lilith explained calmly. She had learned everything about the nine-tailed foxes and knew that foxes have innate abilities that only come out when they are provoked. Shen Xia needed to learn these abilities to survive from now on, especially if she is to go to the capital for college. Because many races have been gathering there. If she can learn just a single fox art during this battle, she will be at least a step closer to protecting herself, and it may allow her to evolve as well.
Shen Xia's fangs began to grow out, and her eyes began to slant. The fingers on her hands began to extend to become more claw-like as well. She reached up and took off her hat and even unfastened her tail harness to allow herself more mobility. Once she revealed her true form, the cultivator's eyes went wide, and the look in them turned even more lustful as he licked his lips. "Hehe… not every day I get to dominate a demi! And a cute one at that!"
Shen Xia snorted as she said coldly: "Sorry to tell you but this miss is not on the menu. "
[Summoning Pen's Bonus Chapter will be up tomorrow!]