“How… how do you have so many biscuits? Do you bake them?”

“Yes.”

“With what?”

“My planar energy, mainly. There is also a kitchen in the main temple, and plenty of food supplies at that. Is it the number or variety of biscuits that has you so… confused?”

“No, never mind, I was just…” Bianca shook her head, though she was still fascinated by seeing a large table covered in at least two dozen types of biscuits, especially when none of them had the typical modern features, such as a layer of chocolate or random jam or the like. They were all simple, yet incredibly varied in size, shape and smell.

There was one basket of checkboard biscuits, some sort of butter finger biscuits that looked to be the freshest of them all based on their strong scent, a round biscuit that appeared to be covered in coconut flakes – it certainly looked like it, at least – and more that she would rather eat than describe.

Of course, there was also a large pot of tea amidst this sea of delicious baked goods, and a tea cup in front of Bianca and Xue Yaling. The kitsune had already lifted her cup and was taking a sip from it, even while steam emanated from it, but Bianca let it sit a little longer, not wanting to burn her tongue before she had the chance to taste all of the biscuits. Even after that, she would rather bring the tea to a comfortable temperature first.

“Well? I would rather talk while we still have something to eat, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Bianca quickly took one of the checkerboard biscuits, bit off a large chunk, quickly chewed and swallowed it and finally decided to ask something simple to start off with, “Do you have normal ears as well?”

“Of course. See?” Xue Yaling brushed some of her hair aside and showcased her human ear, “I would say that this is common knowledge, but considering the things you say…”

She put down the teacup, grabbed a small biscuit and bit off half of it, briefly flashing her pearly teeth and her sharp, pronounced canines, akin to fangs. They didn’t seem to be getting in the way of her eating, and even across the relatively narrow dining table they weren’t especially obvious, but it was another reminder of her apparent non-human nature.

‘How does that work, I wonder… Is she another species, or is just some genetic thing… or is it just magic?’ Bianca considered asking the kitsune about it, but she lacked the confidence to explain the concept of genetics to her.

“I’ve just had a thought. I’ve opened myself up to any of your questions, and yet I have asked so few in return,” Xue Yaling’s tail weaved in and out of view, almost seeming excited, “How about an exchange of sorts? You ask, I answer, and then I will ask, and you may answer. It only seems fair, no?”

On one hand, it did seem sensible, but on the other, the more she revealed to the sly fox, the more Bianca would potentially reveal about her true origins and her true nature, which would be… risky. She was already being called a demon for no good reason – or, rather, she had been called that for no reason – and if she let it slip that she had come from another world, she may be seen as even more of a monster. Needless to say, she would rather not have that happen, so she knew that she had to be careful.

‘The tea doesn’t seem to have any alcohol in it, neither do the biscuits, so I should be fine… I can be careful with my words,’ Bianca thought, though she struggled to find the confidence she wanted to believe she had, “Well, alright. Do I have to answer everything?”

“No… but then I wouldn’t, either. Only fair, after all.”

“… Okay, I guess,” Bianca shrugged, reaffirming her own desire to be careful and not spill anything she didn’t need to, “What is the question, then?”

“Hm… Pray tell, how much do you recall? You seem to remember all of the words I’ve spoken, you don’t appear confused by the food, and you have a cultivation technique that was able to progress during our dual cultivation, so…” she frowned, looking up from her teacup and straight into Bianca’s eyes, “How fortunate were you?”

“Um…” although Bianca felt herself sweating already, she grabbed onto the one thing she could, “That was two questions, technically.”

That only got the kitsune to smile, “Sure. Answer whichever one you like.”

“In that case, I guess… I’m not too sure how much I remember, since, you know, I can’t remember what I’ve forgotten,” Bianca shrugged, “I’ve been learning about the world, cultivation and the like since I woke up, but the language and things like that just comes naturally to me.”

“Truly? Very fortunate that you haven’t lost your language skills along with your recollection of history,” Xue Yaling said, placing the other half of the biscuit into her mouth, “Mhm… go on.”

“Ah, well…” Bianca opened her mouth, but froze when her mind provided her with nothing, ‘Shit, what exactly did I want to speak to her about? The most I can think of is her boobs, and that’s only because her ass isn’t on display… Never felt quite so horny, but I guess this foxy woman has lit up something in me… Let’s see…’

To occupy herself for a while – and fill her mouth while she was at it – she grabbed another one of the biscuits, and then a few more for good measure. After that, she obviously had to drink some tea to make up for this, and in that time, she finally came up with something.

Just before she could speak, though, Xue Yaling finished a sip of tea and smiled, “I must say, if you wished to avoid answering questions, this is a most effective tactic. A shame it costs me so many biscuits.”

‘… Fuck, I lost it again,’ she sighed, “I’m just struggling. Honestly, yesterday was much easier…”

“I don’t mind going back to the bedroom. You have room to grow in many respects, but I enjoyed myself,” the kitsune smiled in a lewd manner, “Though it will take some time for you to learn the dual cultivation technique, so the greatest improvements are unlikely to come any time soon. Alas, you seem interested in more than my body. Come now, have you no other things to ask?”

“Uh… Alright, what about your cultivation?”

“What about it? Do you wish to be so vague? It’s not even a proper question, more of an invitation to speak… but I’ll indulge you, darling,” Xue Yaling finished the tea in her cup, took the teapot and began refilling it, “What are archetypes?”

“I- I beg your pardon?”

“What, I thought we’d agreed to this? I can hardly explain things to you without knowing what you recall,” as she returned the teapot to the table, she shrugged and took another biscuit, “Go on.”

“They are… um… I recall hearing about them once. Something to do with the element a cultivator uses?”

Xue Yaling looked to be moments away from rolling her eyes before she stopped herself, “Honey, you should be lucky that you’ve survived as long as you have without your memories. It’s all rather simple, in truth, so elucidating this matter will take but a moment. Since you mentioned the elements, I shall begin here. Over in the Western Continent, I hear that the elements are their archetypes, to an extent. They will have water, fire, wood, earth and metal cultivators, and they will use techniques specific to the element. Here, there are similar people, focusing on a single element and its aspects.

“An archetype is a full set of cultivation technique, combat skills, movement skills and crafting methods, forming a complete foundation and eventual pinnacle for a cultivator. A Flame archetype contains all of those, but in our eyes, one needs not practise it with the element of flame.”

“How would that work? Wouldn’t you have a… did you say wood? Wood is an element?”

“Yes, one of the base five. I would ask why you do not know that, but… alas, I still have much to say,” she leaned back into her chair, her ears twitching, “The elements have a relation with one another, and thus each can, in a manner, produce the other. Ideally, one would use flame to produce earth, earth to produce metal, metal to produce water, water to produce wood, and wood to produce… Go on, I’m sure you can guess.”

“… F-Fire?”

“Yes, fire, obviously… Anyway, there are plenty of archetypes that are practised within the sects, and without. Elemental variants, such as Wind and Ice, more abstract ones, such as Information and Wisdom, and even things like Dark and Weapon.”

“What about your archetype?”

“Well, my technique is named Ghost Flame Spirit, hence the many ghostflames you’ve seen me use. What could it be?”

“It is… ghost?”

“Close enough, I suppose. It is the Soul archetype, and as you should understand by now, it has a cultivation technique, combat skills, movement skills, crafting methods and more, though I do not know all of them yet. Attempting to learn too much without sufficient time to practise it would only cause my strength to decline, not to mention the effects it would have on my meridians…” she picked up one of the last checkerboard biscuits – Bianca had been munching on them all along – and ate the whole thing, washing it down with some tea, “Since you didn’t know this, do you also lack awareness of your archetype?”

“I… More or less,” Bianca ended up nodding, ‘I guess it might be something along the lines of ‘Demonic’, ‘Tyrannical’ or something like that, and I’m not fond of either one.’

“A shame. Knowing the archetype would make it easier for me to comprehend the specific nature of your technique, and find various skills and methods for you to use…” the kitsune trailed off, though her gaze remained firmly on Bianca.

Even with all the struggles she had today in figuring things out, she could tell that Xue Yaling wanted to convince her to reveal some of her secrets. To a certain extent, Bianca almost wanted to, as she wanted to have some way to handle the Demonic Tyrant’s behaviour, but she truly didn’t know what this world would call her technique’s archetype, nor what the reaction to it would be, so she could only remain quiet.

Instead, something else came to mind.

“This may be a little rude, but… how old are you?”

“I would say that it is rather impolite,” she responded, “However, I’ll tell you. I should be around… 280? 282? Why do you seem so surprised?”

‘Goodness, that is… so old! How… she looks like she’s twenty, twenty-five at most!’ Bianca knew she couldn’t hide the amazement on her face, so she wasn’t even trying, “It just… the difference between your appearance and age is… wow.”

“It seems completely ordinary to me… Kitsune do live longer than humans, though, so perhaps that’s what surprises you,” Xue Yaling said with clear, lingering uncertainty.

The pause offered Bianca the time to think back to the previous topics they’d discussed, and forced her to ponder whether it might be a decent idea to show the kitsune her ability to essentially absorb a technique or skill from a manual, and obtain something entirely new. It was something that would come out the moment she tried learning something new, and she did want to learn a few more skills even with the risk that the Demonic Tyrant would twist it into something completely unpleasant and undesirable.

After all, it was still magic – or something akin to it, even if Song Ming disagreed with the term itself.

‘Well, I’m not pretending to be completely ordinary, only that I’ve lost my memories, and I’ve already been quite open with her the day before, so…’ Bianca increased her confidence with another biscuit, then looked up into Xue Yaling’s eyes, “Actually, there’s something weird about my cultivation. If you let me study the dual cultivation technique you mentioned, I can show you.”

That was enough to raise the kitsune’s eyebrow, though her attention returned to the biscuits on the table.

“I would love to see it, but with so many fresh treats and so much tea readied, I would hate to let it go to waste… You wouldn’t want it second-hand, would you?”

“What?”

“Don’t mind me, just a jest,” Xue Yaling grinned, though her expression soon dimmed into a somewhat disappointed pout, one that disappeared the moment she looked back up at Bianca, “Anyway, since serious matters are clearly too much for us right now, let me ask you something simpler instead. Tell me, which part of me did you like the most?”

“I- uh, excuse me?” she had almost answered, but then she realised what she was being asked.

“Come now, we’ve seen one another’s bodies, we’ve touched one another, and we’ve brought one another ecstasy, if only for a brief while,” the kitsune said, her tone suddenly gaining a note of seductiveness, “I can tell you all that I liked about you. I loved your soft lips and the way they kissed me. I loved your big, youthful breasts, and how lovely they felt… I’ll make sure to suck on those nipples of your later, by the way. Your ass, too, was shaped just right… Mhm, you are one delicious woman.”

Bianca could feel her cheeks burning up, and knew that if Song Ming was around, she’d sue her for plagiarism. Her cheeks were far, far too hot for comfort, and even though she could have said something similar about Xue Yaling, she would have needed to work up her courage quite a bit.

It was clear that Song Ming had led her to somewhat misunderstand the general view on sex in the world, as this kitsune seemed to be unaware of the very concept of shyness.

“So, I’m just curious what you liked about me. After all, you want to stick around for a while, so I would like to know what kinds of things we could explore. Your memories might be gone, but your ideas clearly haven’t vanished completely,” she said, “Come now, won’t you reward my honesty with a bit of your own?”

“… Well, your ass was… uhm…”

“Oh, is that what catches your eye? Very good, very good… I’ll be sure to exaggerate the sway of my hips a little more whenever you’re behind me,” Xue Yaling had an almost predatory look, but Bianca could hardly disapprove of the offer, “I can think of a number of kinky things to do…”

The kitsune sighed and stood up, slamming her hands onto the table.

“Alright, I’ll get that dual cultivation manual for you. The sooner you can begin learning it, the better for the both of us.”

Before Bianca could say a single thing, she rushed off, fleeing the primary shrine and heading over to one of the smaller buildings, sliding the door open and heading inside. Although the Antanian woman didn’t want to make too many assumptions, she could almost smell something in the air pointing to Xue Yaling getting rather aroused. If nothing else, it was good to know that she wasn’t in complete control over herself, or else Bianca would be afraid to ever believe her.

If something about her was honest, then it would be something reliable, at least… Even if it was rather odd to be trusting her nose to perceive the scent of someone getting aroused. That made her feel a bit like a dog, and for all of her subby tendencies, being treated like an animal wasn’t quite her thing.

It took Xue Yaling a while to return, so she naturally worked on reducing the amount of snacks on the dining table. Normally, such a large number of biscuits might be a threat to her figure, but with all the exercise and cultivation she’d been getting – and would inevitably get in the future, whether she stayed here or not – she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be much of issue to indulge for once. Of course, if Xue Yaling had the ability to produce this many biscuits every single day, or perhaps even for every single meal, then she’d certainly need to hold back.

“Damn books… so many of them just end up in the wrong place for some reason,” the kitsune’s mutterings were clearly audible the moment she emerged, “Apologies for the wait, Bianca… though you seem to have made yourself at home even without me. You should be careful to not overeat, darling.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

The kitsune brought her a small manual, not unlike all of the other ones she’d seen so far. It was quite interesting how homogenous all of the manuals were, at least in overall thickness, but with the amount of information that most of the manuals contained, they didn’t need that much paper anyway.

‘If only that meant that I was able to learn this stuff myself… Oh well,’ Bianca shrugged, accepting the book and examining the cover, “Yin Circulation? What does that mean?”

“It’s a… hold on, are you aware of yin and yang? Oh, ancients…” Xue Yaling’s voice was almost dripping with frustration, “Yin and yang are fundamental aspects of the world. Yin is cold, stillness, femininity. Yang is heat, action, and masculinity. All things contain some amount of yin and yang, and despite what I just said, men and women have both, just in a different ratio. That is exactly why dual cultivation typically occurs between men and women.”

“It’s something to do with the balance of yin and yang?”

“Exactly. Men have a greater quantity of yang, women have a greater quantity of yin, and together, they can nourish one another’s aspects and absorb and refine planar energy in the process. Thus, to attempt the same between two women would either require one with a yang-aspected physique – don’t ask yet – or some particular tricks. I happened to find an example of the latter,” the kitsune was able to calm down a little more, sitting back down and lifting her tea cup once more, “It isn’t too complex, so you should be able to get a basic grasp on it even without reading up on certain concepts.”

Xue Yaling seemed to forget the mention of a certain uniqueness, and Bianca felt no need to remind her. It would be obvious soon enough, and getting her surprised might mean that the kitsune spends less time thinking about the origin of the Demonic Tyrant.

Hence, she opened up the manual, and immediately sensed the same thing as every previous time. A vast darkness surged forth from the book and flooded into her, and as the panel manifested before her, she got to see the new technique she’d acquired. There were only two more spaces left, making her rather concerned as to whether she would ever have the ability to either replace the things in there, or at least get a skill or two she wanted.

‘Now, what is this… Demon’s Commanding Rod? What?’ Bianca’s narrowed as she stared at the technique, ‘Dual cultivation technique, so, it seems correct, but… What an odd name.’

“What in the heavens was that? Is this the oddity you mentioned?”

“Um, yeah, so…” Bianca swallowed, not sure whether it would even be safe to try out the technique, “It’s like something suddenly came to mind. Um… so, none of my techniques have come from reading the manuals themselves. Instead, when I open a manual, something appears in my head, and it’s usually not the same as the manual. That’s where my cultivation technique came from, and a few other things, too…”

“Interesting…” as the kitsune frowned, her tail swished back and forth at a rapid pace, “So, do you have the name for these techniques – and, more importantly, the one that you’ve just obtained? What did my Yin Circulation turn into?”

“It… it turned into… Demon’s C-Commanding Rod.”

Xue Yaling’s eyebrow shot up, “Excuse me? Well, I have to see that… Tell me, are you able to employ it without a partner? I am very, very curious to see what the ‘rod’ might refer to… though why it specifies a demon is another matter to be taken into account. Is that the case for all of your techniques, Bianca? Please be honest.”

“Not… all of them. Two don’t.”

“Out of…”

“Four.”

“It certainly explains the aura you’ve got. Anyway, if you’ve been able to get something from the manual instantly, please do showcase it. I’m getting more and more curious with every moment that goes on.”

Bianca was feeling rather apprehensive about trying it now, as her mind had caught on to one particular possibility, but with a stronger cultivator than her nearby, she figured it couldn’t hurt.

Just like every other technique and skill from the Demonic Tyrant, she had no way of knowing what any of them would do, nor what their strange twists would be. One didn’t seem to work, one needed her to will her target’s death, and her primary cultivation technique released the damned aura that had started most of her problems. Thus, even if the Demon’s Commanding Rod was something different to what she was now imagining – thanks mostly to North Antanian stuff – it could still be suspicious.

She focused on the label in the Demonic Tyrant display and willed it to activate. A strange heat rushed throughout her body, not unlike the sensation of arousal, though it eventually concentrated on her groin, feeling as if it was growing somehow. It felt odd, for a moment, as it seemed to be a purely phantom sensation, though that changed the moment she felt her panties growing tight.

‘Oh, I wasn’t actually right, was I?’ Bianca suddenly felt rather lightheaded, as if all of the blood in her body had rushed away to one particular spot.

Xue Yaling must have noticed the activation of the technique, if nothing else, as she tilted her head and looked at Bianca with a strange expression. No, it would be more precise to say that she stared, and stared for long enough that she became rather concerned about what was going through the kitsune’s head. It felt as if she could jump onto the table at any moment with a knife in hand, going straight in for the kill, though Bianca had no clue why that might ever happen.

Luckily, it didn’t happen. It felt almost as if she had read her mind and did the opposite, practically leaping under the table much to her shock.

“Oh, what have we here?” her voice drew closer, until she appeared beneath the table, her face nearly touching Bianca’s knee, “I certainly don’t remember that being there. I suppose that explains the name, doesn’t it?”

Before Bianca could say anything, Xue Yaling moved her panties aside and allowed the stiffening length within to pop out, completely stunning her. It was already strange enough to simply imagine something like this appearing on her groin, and now that she saw it, it was even stranger. It looked… weird, and worst of all, she could clearly feel it as it grew hard, as the kitsune’s breath hit the tip, as the foreskin receded and let more air come in contact with the head.

She may have avoided the misfortune of ever being intimate with a guy, but with all the porn – real, drawn and animated – that she’d seen, she clearly knew that she had somehow obtained a technique that caused her to grow a dick, hopefully temporarily. Bianca was also able to feel something below, likely her balls, though her pussy also seemed to remain… somehow.

Knowing all of this didn’t mean she had any idea of what to do with it, and it didn’t seem like Xue Yaling would let her sit around and think it through.

The kitsune leaned her head onto her other leg, then reached out and grabbed her dick, her soft hands making Bianca grasp and her newly grown appendage twitch and jump. It felt incredible, as if the whole length was as sensitive as her clit, and yet the mere sight of a cock repulsed her to a certain extent. Worse yet, even as her shock attempted to wear off, she felt something else overwhelming her mind. Something familiar, yet different from anything she’d experienced before.

Xue Yaling cautiously gripped her hard dick, easily wrapping her fingers around the length, and moved her hand down, pulling back the foreskin and exposing the tip. That sensation was already overwhelming, but then the kitsune brought her hand the other way, sliding it up, it felt even better, as if she was thrown into a bliss she could never have previously imagined.

In that moment, she felt her dick grow harder, her balls tense up, the energy within her whole body gather and rush out, her vision – her whole mind, even – turning white.

A rope of white shot out from the tip of her length, spraying onto Xue Yaling’s shoulder and onto the floor behind her. Another rope, smaller and flying with less force, joined the first on the kitsune’s clothing, staining it with a thick white. It had an awfully strong smell, instantly filling Bianca’s nose, but at least it didn’t continue building up. After her orgasm ended, the length faded into a dark mist and vanished, leaving only her own, familiar genitals to deal with.

Bianca slumped back into her chair, lacking the strength to move beyond just breathing.

“Well… If we’re to use this, you will need to get a lot more practise. Tch… I’ll go change my clothes…” Xue Yaling looked up at her and frowned, “Don’t tell me that exhausted you to such an extent? Ah well, whatever…”