Ending my cultivation, at least until I could see how Li Kai would react, I soon gathered my dirtied pajamas and pillow and shoved them into Juniper's hands to dispose of just as she came into the room for her shift, yawning mightily. As expected her face crinkled in disgust giving me my morning entertainment. Juniper always had the best expressions. If I ever introduced emojis into Eternia, I'd base them on Juniper's expressions. They were top-notch. I quickly escaped the range of Juniper's incoming tantrum and jumped into the bath. I had the other maids prepare it just as they too were coming in for their shift. This was close to the normal arrangement, so it was only poor Juniper who was inconvenienced.
I kind of wish I had some of Fred's fire and heating techniques right now. It took a few minutes for the hot water to be prepared, so I had to wait in the buff shivering with the wintery drafts that were coming inside. If I had Fred's techniques I could just heat the cold bathwater myself and hop right in. I wonder if Fred would give or sell me his techniques. He did still owe me several favors. I did employ him in a few of my pranks and shenanigans over the years, but every solstice he would gamble again and accumulate more debt. He learned to stop wearing the shiny armor, but that didn't save him. By the time he figured out I could see his cards, I already knew all his tells. The tips of his ears would turn red when he was trying to hide a good hand, it was adorable. Of course, there was always the chance that Fred's technique would be useless to me. If the heating techniques I desired came from yang qi or a combination of yang and fire, I wouldn't be able to use them at all. I would need something strictly derived from fire. May limit my ability to understand the Dao of Heat, but it wasn't like I was going to be heating a cauldron for alchemy, I just wanted hot bath water!
Speaking of Fred, I was curious about something. I was getting really suspicious of all this qi that was surrounding me. Even now that I wasn't cultivating, it was still dense around me. Further away though I could see that it was extremely sparse. It wasn't as if I had just happened to choose a spot with high qi density. As I moved from the balcony to the bath. The density near the balcony decreased, while the density near the bath increased. I've heard of being heaven's favorite, but this seemed a little bit ridiculous. There was approximately 85% less qi farther away from me. I knew Fred was talented, even if his luck was poor. I wanted to see what the qi density was like around him while he cultivated. If it was similar to mine then what was happening was normal. If it was similar to mine or at least more than the background qi, then what was happening was normal. If it wasn't similar, then something suspicious was happening.
Fred should still be in his quarters, and he'd likely be cultivating. His shift didn't start for another hour. I didn't want to be followed by the other guards though. How would I bypass them today? Balcony? No, they barred it in like a birdcage after I left through there a few dozen times, it was so garish. Bribe the guards? No, they put the no-nonsense ones on patrol after I got the last set drunk while on duty. They even boarded up the secret passage I had constructed in the wall space one summer to escape Li Kai. So much effort just to make sure I didn't ditch my guards. Sorry, Vivi, I wasn't exactly good at keeping my promise over the years. I had things to do and places to see and I didn't need guards or my instructor breathing down my neck.
The system has been rather useful lately, I had asked it simple questions, maybe it was time to try something more complex. System, do you know a way I can ditch my guards?
[Query received. Answer, your physique has a new effect that should aid you in subterfuge.]
My physique! How could I forget? It was supposed to gain new effects as I cultivated. The current effect would've been useful if my sister weren't so tall and bodacious. But somehow I didn't think a pint-sized Vivi was going to sneak past the guards. Maybe the new effect would be better. I pulled up the Lunar 9 Forms description in my system.
Effect 4*: Form of the Hominid: Can change your appearance to that of another human. The size of the target must be no more than 25%* different than the user. Forcibly changing to a target outside this range will result in the features being copied and scaled to the user's size. Change can be partial.*
Cost to activate: 10 Qi (1 Qi under moonlight)
Effect 5*: Form of the Terra Bound: Can change your appearance to that of a land-bound beast. The size of the target must be no more than 25% different than the user. Forcibly changing to a target outside this range will result in the features being copied and scaled to the user's size. Change can be partial.
Cost to activate: 50 Qi (5 Qi under moonlight)
Exactly what I needed. Maybe I was a little larger than Rosie, but she had become a big girl in the last few years. She could easily put her front paws on my shoulders from the ground and lick my face. She had certainly grown more than me, I sulked. I glanced at the still-sleeping Rosie hogging the bed with Vivian. I couldn't catch a wink of sleep if I wanted to. There was no space. As I looked at Rosie, I activated my ability, and soon my vision dropped. It felt a little weird standing on all four paws and having fur everywhere, but I adapted. I had to struggle out of the robes I had put on though. Note to self: don't change back to human in public.
I walked to the door, pushed it open, and walked right past the guards. They were on the lookout for a naughty Zoey. A naughty Rosie could go wherever she liked. This time I couldn't let Vivi see me change shape, or the guards would be posted inside the room next. I trotted down the hall. I could get used to walking on four legs, it was so much easier. Soon I arrived near the guards' quarters and spread my qi-sense out. Fred was indeed cultivating, I could sense his red and orange qi. And around him, it was exactly the same as everywhere else. There was hardly any qi. I could see that he was bottlenecked not by his gathering technique, but by the lack of qi in the surroundings. So there was something wrong with qi being attracted to me as it was. Attracted was the wrong word though it was more like it simply existed in larger quantities near me. I couldn't figure out what would cause it, none of my abilities had such an effect. Even the esoteric wrath-related ability didn't seem like it would cause this sort of phenomenon. Well, I guess I'd just have to set it aside for now, maybe I'd learn more at the sect.
I started to back up and felt a sharp pain in my tailbone. Then tripped and rolled backward in a heap. Whoops, I had stepped on one of my own tails. I guess there was more to this whole being a fox thing. I could already imagine Rosie giving me one of her classic bark chuckles upon seeing my state. After a few false starts, I figured out which foot was which, and got back on my paws.
Further down the hall, I saw one of the chef-attendants walking. I made to pass him, but then he suddenly leered at me. What purpose did he have with this young miss?! I almost jumped back, before I remembered I was a fox! Surely Rosie has gotten lots of pets around the villa. I resisted the urge to go on the attack, and soon enough he was petting my soft head as expected. He even gave me a treat, bacon! It had been so long since I had tasted bacon. My tails wagged happily. He seemed happy that I was happy and continued to the kitchen, while I continued to the bedroom.
The guards opened the door as I approached, I trotted in with bacon still on my brain, then turned around and ensured the door was fully shut before resuming my human form. As I turned back to face the bed I could see Vivian sitting there glaring right at me. As the reality of my situation began to override my bacon fantasies, my smile quickly turned to a guilty frown. I covered my non-existent assets as my face burned red. I was going to get in so much trouble for this!