"Old madam, this is bad."

"Yes I know."

A relatively young girl who looked to be the age of 23 at the youngest, yet 45, sat on a window sill. She had long white silver hair, pinned with a single wooden chopstick and lips pink as harvested peaches. A white robe, embroidered with the same colour thread adorned her uncovetous body, slightly touching the wooden floor beneath her. It was a simple attire, strangely fitting. You would suppose her lavish face and porcelain skin suited precious gems of deep, ambiguous tones and threads from uncommon sources. Or otherwise, her face would be undermined by a common mistake like this one. Whether a choice of aesthetic or not, she just seemed to be the type who looked good in anything; even if it was a gaudy dress. Because: She looked ethereal and welcoming, even though most would feel intimidated by unparalleled beauty. That could be attributed to the warm sunlight above her, and perhaps the clothes themselves. Those who are humbled tend to be easier to get along after all, unlike gals who flaunt shiny gems. There was just one thing that took away that last key of friendliness; her eyes. Unlike the plain hanfu, so clean and pure, those red eyes of hers were not clear. Through those crimson pupils, she seemed much older and far more complex than what those clothes offered. It made a smile look sinister, and a laugh look murderous. It could have been the redness itself that made it look this way, but truly, she did not look entirely "innocent."

But that could be our bias. Ever since their reputation had been ruined by debauching youngsters, openly hopping in the human world, we misunderstand their position. Sometimes, we don't even give time for them to explain themselves. Imagine that; accusing little maidens who had gotten bored of the handsome foxes in their own dens, and had gone out to see some human beauty. Not exactly the most rare of occasions. A lot of foxes still do that every month.

She impatiently tapped the wooden sill, one of many in her bedroom.

Her current mood was sour--but more accurately, terrible. To explain, one of her family members have gone missing after a family trip to the outside world. They had gone with long planning as well as with some "warriors" in case something went wrong. At least, they went in preparation for this sort of situation. Who knew they would prove to be no help when an emergency finally did happen?

"Old madam, Lulu, what should we do?" Another fox spirit, distressingly circled around the room with tears at the rims of her eyes. She had the same red eyes, but less tails--She only had 7 while Lulu had 9. It was still an impressive amount regardless. Most only had 3 and even then, those 3-tail-ers were considered gods in human cultivation. If they knew a 7 tail was serving as a maid, they would bleed from every pore. But, if they knew there was a fox with 9 tails, they would probably die from shock; her existence was a folklore.

The old madam, the most elderly of her clan was indeed a rare being. That's not just talking about her cultivation.

"Nothing. I don't think my kids are stupid enough to fall into a human trap." The madam snorted, looking outside with a drunken position. One leg was propped on the window and the other dangled into the room. While one arm was used for security, the other hand held a basin of wine. Inside it held liters of clear, aromatic liquid, enough for bathing a baby 2 times over.

"B-But madam... This is the first time someone's gone missing since Jiu He went missing 2 centuries ago!" She looked at her master, with semi-squeezed eyes and a pained expression. She was dumbfounded by the lack of urgency.

She just wanted her master to be a bit clumsy and lose that nonchalant face of hers; something that never happened. If it did, it would probably mean an unavoidable calamity had befallen them. That would indicate the end of something; and maybe she didn't want that.

She still wanted her master to get flustered though; the kids misunderstand the madam as cruel and disliking. Since she usually opposingly concerns herself, most worried she didn't like any of them at all. They would swarm her and practice their arts everyday, hoping to get a compliment from their great grandma, great great great great grandma, or great great great great great great great great great great grandma (Lulu is all of these grandmas). Sometimes she would pat someone's head, but mostly restrained her actions. It gave off a deceptive feeling, one that painted her differently. It was not true to her inner thoughts and the things she revealed by herself. As one of her oldest friends, the maid wanted to help that change.

"Oh, I definitely remember that." The madam started to chuckle. She was steering the wrong direction that her maid wanted to talk about.

"He kept boasting about how smart he was, how mature he was. Aiyo, and that's only because he was a little bit talented than the others. In the end, he got stuck in the emperor's bed while that human was served by a concubine." The woman smirked, remembering the terrified face of the kid when he was fetched back home.

"..." The maid stared with a blank face.

"Maybe it would be better if the kids did misunderstand her." She mumbled

"What?"

"Huh? O-Oh, nothing... Anyways, you gotta go get your kid Lulu."

"..."

"Lulu."

"..."

Lulu gulped a bit of wine down, then stared outside in spite of her maid's constant glare.

"..."

"LULU."

"... Zhi Xi, you can go save his butt if you want to. You're more than capable... You know?" The madam finally said, looking at her maid like she was crazy.

Her maid sighed, went on her knees, then formed a ketou (N/A: "ketou" is a gesture like in deep prayer, with knees, hands and forehead on the floor. It's used before authority).

"Madam, oh can you please, please, please go get Jiu Yan?" The maid sighed, saying in monotone. The more half-assed the effort was, the more her madam became interested in it. She was odd; but that is exactly what she monopolized.

Like her maid, Zhi Xi had expected, her madam finally looked her way.