Aiko returned to the cave, only to get welcomed by the lazy Fox still lying in the nest.

'She has not moved from that place since I left.' Aiko stared at her speechlessly. 'Well, I'm a bit sleepy so let's rest too...'

She was still tired from the Village and information, the best way to advance now would be to rest and settle her mind so that tomorrow she would be able to think about it.

...

The Queen woke up. 'Another day alone...' She sighed trying to stand up, but feeling heavier. 'I have not gained any weight have I?' She frowned, she couldn't mess up her status just because that bear meat was slightly more delicious than she expected.

She looked at her body only to spot something unnaturally small and fluffy. '... is this nest not big enough...?' She stared at the furball that was slowly breathing, seemingly asleep. 'Couldn't you sleep somewhere else?! I'm really hungry!' Her face scrunched up, but she didn't growl or move. '5 more minutes shouldn't hurt...'

...5 hours later...

"..." The Queen stared speechlessly at the little furball that was just waking up.

Aiko spotted the Fox only to freeze up. She wasn't cold, but the nest wasn't all that comfortable after sleeping on Buddy's couch, so she wondered if this fox was any softer. It was incredibly soft and Aiko immediately fell asleep!

She awkwardly moved down from her ears low, but her tail was wagging. Obviously happy about the night's rest.

"At least decide to be guilty or happy! Not both!" The Queen reprimanded her, but couldn't stay angry with her when she saw her crestfallen expression.

She tsked away, upset at herself for falling for this furball traps. From here on out she would steel her resolve and not give her an inch!

...Incense stick of time...

"Is it that tasty?" The Queen asked as she saw the furball devour the food like her life depended on it.

'Do you have to ask?!' Aiko stared back at her, while...
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'This is some good shit!' Aiko praised.

Queen pouted, she was unhappy that this little Beast didn't know the delicacies of the Upper Realm and thus she was able to enjoy this average meat. "Eat slowly, there is more to come." Queen reaffirmed Aiko but cursed in her mind as she realized something important.

"This will be the last piece of meat for today." She said seriously, startling Aiko. 'I can't let her pollute her Beast Core too much.' Little did she know, that it was already too late...

Aiko looked like someone had stolen her soul and Queen flinched. "Okay, you can have this small piece, but no more!" She caved in immediately.

...

"Listen well! Just because you have slightly better intelligence than others doesn't mean you are that special! You need to learn the basic Techniques to get by when you are low on Qi!" The Queen explained, relishing in the fact that this incredibly smart Beast was listening to her and paying attention to her. She also liked how this little Beast didn't know any better and explained its emotions so clearly.

"The first thing you need to learn is [Lightness Technique]. Follow me." Queen almost immediately ran away, but Aiko was able to follow her with a bit of difficulty.

"This is normal running speed, but if you apply [Lightness Technique]." Queen circulated her inner energy, not letting leak anything and she more than doubled her speed, startling Aiko.

Aiko immediately applied [Sprint], since [Shadow Walk] was already used to just keep up with her normal speed.

"Not bad." Queen praised. "But you are burning too much Stamina." She could tell that Aiko's muscles were getting more tired with each passing second.

"I can run much further because I'm merely circulating Qi, while you have to burn a vast amount of stamina just to keep up with me!" She reprimanded Aiko as she saw her already panting.

"Let's stop here." The Queen paused inside a nice meadow. "You will learn [Meditation], so you can replenish your lost stamina. This also allows you to replenish your consumed Qi. It is a very important skill that you need to master as soon as possible as cultivation is about enlightenment and meditation!" She explained.

Aiko finally was able to catch her breath and felt like dying as she pushed her limits a bit too hard trying to be competitive with this Fox. That was a bad idea as this Queen was vastly more powerful than Aiko.

"After you learn [Meditation] I will give you a few pieces of meat." The Queen already knew how to appease this little Beast so that it would listen to her. She practised this often as she had to soothe her boy toy. She would often comb his hair or cuddle with him so that he would be happy.

*Sigh*

'Nothing, but memories. This Beast will be nothing like that bastard and will serve me well!' She laughed in her mind.

"First thing first you should get comfortable," Queen commanded and waited. It didn't take all that long for Aiko to lifelessly plop on the floor looking like an Animal carpet. Queen had a hard time holding her breath as the only indicator of life from this Beast was the tongue that would roll outside when breathing out and inside when breathing in.

"Now relax your mind," Queen commanded, but has not realised how gently she said it.

Aiko relaxed, a bit too much as she almost immediately fell asleep.

"Wake up! There won't be any meat if you don't succeed with [Meditation]!" She warned Aiko.

Aiko snapped back as she really wanted that meat, but sleeping was... 'No! I need to stay awake so I can go to sleep after the Fox! I will claim that warm spot for myself!' Aiko almost drooled as she remembered that soft sinking feeling when she settled on this strange Fox.

...

It took her about half a day to fall into [Meditation Trance]. She only woke up after her Stamina recovered completely, but she also realized that the sun didn't settle all that much. This meant that meditation was vastly superior to waiting for her [Stamina Recovery] skill.

[Congratulations you have learned [Meditation].]
[Meditation]
[Increases Stamina Recovery to 1% of Max Stamina per second and increases Qi recovery by the same amount.]
[User needs to completely relax his body and mind to activate Meditation, as such this can't be normally used in battle since it would expose User to external danger.]

'This is some good stuff! 100 seconds to recover all my stamina!' Aiko was happy and her tail waggled like a broom.

Queen giggled but soon turned serious. "You can't use this if you are near a battlefield or danger as it will cancel any and all Abilities, including Divine ones, as you will completely let go of your thoughts and not manage your internal circulation to manage your Abilities!" She warned Aiko as her friend died because of this.

Aiko nodded slowly wagging her tail.

"This will be all for today, let's return and I will give you your meat." Queen promised and almost couldn't contain her laughter as she saw the little Beast salivating at the word 'meat'.

...

"Why are you eating like it's your last meal?!" Queen was shocked yet again by this Beast's appetite.

'Why do you think, stupid?!' She scolded this stupid Fox in her mind.
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Queen sighed. This little Beast really reminded her of her friend. She was a good friend who always got her back, but she was stabbed by her own Dao Companion just for a piece of herb... it was not even a rare herb. That thing made this Queen mad and she swore that she would never entertain the thought of male Dao Companions, only boy toys that would sate her boredom and that worked... until it didn't. She still had to agree that those times were not all bad. She had fun multiple times and it was not unpleasant, but it took her too much time just to bring him into Upper Realm, almost half of her lifespan to be exact. Did she regret it? At the time, no. However now that she has a different perspective... oh how foolish she was, she should've ditched him. That way she would be able to reach the Peak and then just come back for him so that he could entertain her for eternity!

Aiko noticed Fox's strange expression and finished her meat in a blink of an eye. She then placed her paw on the Foxes, snapping her from that strange Dream.

"Are you worried about me?" The Queen snorted, but seeing the little Beast nod... her heart melted a tiny bit. "Then be a good girl and learn well! or I will ditch you!" She stared at Aiko, who was looking at her gently.

'I know, I know, I won't be able to eat your meat.' Aiko thought about the delicious meat.

'Good, good, with this I won't need to spend half of my lifespan. What a smart Beast.' Queen praised her... for all the wrong reasons.

"Let's go to sleep." The Queen moved back into the bear's nest and settled down, circulating her Cultivation for the upcoming journey, everything was almost ready to go.

Aiko moved nearby, but into the shadow to lessen her presence. She waited until the Fox was relaxed and slowly moved towards her.

Queen snorted in her mind. 'Why is she approaching me? Is she still hungry?' She couldn't understand this Beast sometimes.

Aiko moved closer setting one of her paws on the Fox. Seeing no reaction she gently, but swiftly nestled herself on top of the Fox.

'Sh-She dares to sleep on me?!' Queen had her brain short-circuit as no beast or man was brave enough to do that. Yet this little weak Beast dared just that!

Queen's body was frozen as she saw the little Beast almost immediately fall asleep. '... just this one time.' She thought soothing her immortal soul, but this would not be the last time...

...

A week passed and the Queen made a harsh regiment for this little Beast. Not only did she dare to sleep on her each night, she would even steal her meat when she was not watching! And when she confronted her about it, Aiko just looked at her like an innocent little Fox!

She couldn't get angry at her since she would work hard and no matter in which way she made it worse... this little Beast would still listen to her advice. She had conflict in her mind. On one side it was the camp 'Spoil her until she rots.' and on the other side was the camp 'Torture her and train her! Make her strong so she is not a liability!'. She was truly torn for the second time in her life. First would be her friend getting a Dao Companion. She wanted her to be powerful so that nothing bad would happen to Aiko, but at the same time, she wanted to spoil her since... it's been such a long time since someone appreciated her cooking so much! This little Beast would not leave even a stain behind on the plate! That made this Queen incredibly happy and conflicted.

"You still have not learned the [Lightness Technique]." Queen reprimanded her. "I will be cutting your meat again!"

Aiko cried at this stupid and mean Fox! 'You have already cut my meat to 1/8 of what I was eating!' She cried and protested.