The Teasing Fox Spirit. Old Rover Is Covered in Trackers.

Xu Qing thought of a very important problem.

He had no cultivation method.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been thinking of getting a meditation method from an academy.

The Douluo Continent's meditation methods were crude, but without learning one, he couldn't absorb Soul Rings or cultivate day to day.

"Yes, yes, Rover."

Hsin nodded and took a book from her robes.

"Golden-Eyed Stranger Sword Art?"

Xu Qing wore an odd expression.

Wasn't this the sword manual Qingxiao had stumbled upon while tending livestock, back when she was still a village girl hundreds of years ago?

She had taught herself and practiced with a tree branch until she mastered it, surviving the Tacet Discord Tide in her hometown.

Later, Qingxiao met Rover in person and discovered that the moves in the manual differed from Rover's own sword techniques. Only then did she realize Rover hadn't written the manual herself.

Two hundred years later, Rover lost her memory and ended up becoming Qingxiao's disciple instead.

Each was both the other's master and disciple.

"Where did this come from?" Xu Qing looked at the fox spirit before him.

By rights, the sword manual should have been in Qingxiao's hands.

How had it ended up in this fox spirit's hands?

He was the one who had changed the plot, so how could he not know?

"Oh my..."

Hsin blinked, her tail swaying lazily behind her.

"Rover, I got it from Little Qingxiao. Oh, no, from Master."

Xu Qing's mouth twitched.

He had already changed the plot when he made the private server.

The Xinyue Fox's Resonator, Xuanqing, hadn't died, and she hadn't been assassinated either.

But Hsin, her emotional clone, had still split off and become the city lord of Xuanfang City.

Qingxiao still held the post of cavalier in Xuanfang City, and the two remained close friends who trusted each other despite their vastly different personalities.

But this wicked fox loved nothing more than teasing that aloof sword immortal.

After he maxed out Hsin's affection, the fox spirit had started calling Qingxiao "Master" outright, making the normally even-tempered Qingxiao stamp her feet in anger on more than one occasion.

"Rover, Rover, what are you thinking about?"

Noticing Xu Qing had drifted off, Hsin brushed a finger against his lower lip and curled her tail around him.

"Could you be thinking about Master?"

"That won't do."

"Sister Yuehu and Suhsin are both longing for your affection, Rover. Little Qingxiao will just have to suffer a little."

Xu Qing swatted her hand away, then pinched her cheek. "You really are a good friend to her."

"Mmph, it's three against one. What's wrong with making Little Qingxiao suffer a little?"

Hsin wasn't annoyed even with him pinching her cheek. She caught his wrist, lightly traced a circle on his palm with her fingertip, and swished her tail leisurely from side to side, smiling like a fox that had stolen a chicken.

"Besides, Master might not say it, but she really likes you, Rover. I'm helping her."

"Helping her with what?"

"Helping her recognize her own feelings, of course."

Hsin tilted her head as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I'm her good friend, after all. Of course I have to look after matters like this for her, and then have you look after Hsin a little more, Rover."

Xu Qing rolled his eyes.

Of course he knew this fox spirit loved nothing more than setting her good friend up for trouble.

In his private server, a certain master who was cold on the outside but cloyingly sweet within had it even worse.

After all, he had turned it into a galgame, so its plot was bound to be different from anything playable in the normal version.

"Rover, you and Qingxiao-chan revised this sword manual together. It's much better than the one she found before."

Hsin swayed her tail and pulled out another book.

She deliberately held the book a little higher, then pulled it back when Xu Qing reached for it. Only after teasing him into glaring at her did she grin and slip it into his hand.

"I also have a Myriad Forms Return to the Heart Art here."

"The powers Sister possesses as a Sovereign, Myriad Forms Fractal, mechanism manipulation, and other abilities all require immense computational power, formidable mental strength, and the ability to simulate and reconstruct."

"This cultivation method focuses on cultivating mental strength and computational power for simulation. It has five levels: the first is focused spirit and divided thoughts; the second, illusory forms and simulated images; the third, simultaneous analysis with divided thoughts; the fourth, myriad forms in one mind; and the fifth, myriad forms return to the heart."

Xu Qing listened carefully.

This cultivation method hadn't appeared in the game, nor had it appeared in the plot he had changed.

It seemed that after the virtual became reality, quite a few things had changed as they evolved.

Having a cultivation method was enough.

He had no expectations for this world's meditation methods.

Even Tang San had said meditation methods were merely the rudiments of cultivation methods, and that guy could use Hidden Weapons to slaughter people well above his level.

Even Titled Douluo merely used Soul Power to hold themselves aloft. It didn't count as true flight.

That showed just how crude the Douluo cultivation system was.

He was about to speak when his stomach growled first.

"Rover, your little tummy is growling."

Hsin lifted him a little and pressed herself against his belly, her fox ears twitching as though she were listening carefully for something.

"Mm, you sound really hungry. It's growled several times already."

"Ahem, let's get something to eat first."

"Mm-hm, leave it to me."

Hsin held Xu Qing still, cupped his face, and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Just be good and wait for your delicious meal, Rover. Sister's cooking is much better than you imagine."

"Hmm? The house you live in, Rover..."

Hsin had just stepped out of the bedroom into the cramped outer room when the smile froze on her face.

She turned to look at the simple wooden house, her tail drooping without her realizing it.

The house wasn't so dilapidated that the wind and rain got in, but it was still just a very ordinary little house, barely enough to keep them out.

"This... I built it over the past few years." Xu Qing glanced at the little house, somewhat moved.

He had been thrown into this world three years ago, and his body had turned into that of a child.

Back then, he had fought wild dogs for scraps just to survive, with barely enough clothes to cover himself. Only he knew how much he had suffered.

When it was cold in winter, he would curl up in a corner and wrap himself in every rag he had, yet still be too cold to sleep.

Later, when things got a little better, he put together a little house in this remote spot.

He had been a child, with neither strength nor height. Being able to build a shelter at all was already an achievement.

"Rover, I'm here now."

Hsin came back, bent down, and gathered him into her arms. She rested her chin on his head, her tail curling around them both without her realizing it.

Just what kind of life had her Rover been living these past few years?

She remembered how spirited he had once been, how calmly he had stood atop Xuanfang City's walls and directed everything.

Then she looked at the shabby house again, and her chest felt so tight she could barely breathe.

"All right, let's not talk about the past." Xu Qing patted her arm.

"Mm." Hsin gave a subdued reply, released him, and stepped back, looking up to survey the house.

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

The crisp sound echoed through the quiet house.

Red energy cubes appeared around her and merged into the wooden house.

In an instant, the entire house was reconstructed by her hand, becoming incomparably luxurious, like a palace.

It was a world apart from the place that had barely kept out the wind and rain.

"Mechanism Construction Art?"

Xu Qing looked at the completely transformed house, then at the silver-haired, fox-eared woman by the door, whose tail had perked up again and was swaying gently.

"That's right. Something like this is very simple for me."

Hsin reached out and ruffled his hair, then bent down to meet his eyes.

"With me here, all you need to do is enjoy yourself, Rover."

Then she straightened up, flicked her tail, and turned toward the kitchen.

After taking two steps, she remembered something.

She then pulled a palm-sized, fluffy fox doll from her chest and slipped it into Xu Qing's hand.

"Rover, Rover, I made this myself, so you must take good care of it."

She certainly wasn't going to tell him she had cast a spell on it that could track her Rover's location.

Looking at the all-too-familiar little fox doll, Xu Qing's mouth twitched.

"Another tracker."

In the game, old Rover's backpack had long since been stuffed full of all sorts of trackers.

"Oh my, what tracker?" Hsin crouched down, looked at him, and blinked.

"It's woven from the fur over my heart in my fox form. It's clearly a token of love between you and me, Rover."

Hsin refused to admit she'd tampered with it, no matter what.

In any case, this was another world, and a certain butterfly wouldn't be watching at all times.

Strike first and gain the advantage; strike later and suffer.

This time, Rover had to look after Hsin first.

She couldn't let transplanting seedlings and grafting cuttings, or picking locks all night, come before her.

Most importantly, cuckolding a certain Jinhsi was the best.

Jinhsi: "A cuckoo! There's a cuckoo!"

"Don't cuckold me and take my Rover away."

"You damned fox!"

"Aaaah!!!"

"Got it."

Xu Qing pinched her smooth, tender cheek.

"A token of love, all right?"

"I'm hungry now."

"Yes, Rover. I'll prepare the most delicious food for you right away."

"Wait for me, all right?"

Hsin grinned and kissed him on the cheek several more times, the pair of fox ears atop her head twitching merrily. Only then did she turn and head for the kitchen, humming a little tune.

Xu Qing watched her tail swish happily and rolled his eyes.

This fox spirit really knew how to tease people.

Xu Qing was about to have a look around the new house when something in the corner caught his eye: a yellow-green wooden chest had appeared there.

"This thing... why does it look a little like a Basic Supply Chest?"

[Ding. Basic Supply Chest discovered. Exploration module activated.]