Chapter 20

Lady Yasaka is not only the leader of the West Youkai faction but also their most powerful expert, which is to be expected from an ascended mystical beast who managed to acquire human form after cultivating for nine hundred years. Although the master of the West Youkai faction could not hold a candle to the Red Emperor of the Devil Empire, she is not weak by any means. Lady Yasaka is said to be a match for the two weakest devil emperors thanks to the multiple formations protecting her sect. 

She also happens to be extremely hot according to most people, including my Dao Companion. 

That said, I should not forget that she is a highly influential political figure stronger than me. 

...

Rule 45: 

A Young Master should always stand proud, unless it is more beneficial for him to kneel and beg like a dog. Pride and dignity are extremely important for a cultivator, but living is still your priority. 

Don't worry, you can always plot to kill those that saw you in that pathetic state at a later date. 

...

I need to be careful in my approach, but also daring. 

It doesn't take too long before we reach the ancient looking temple where Yasaka usually spends her free time according to Kuroka. Tall red wooden arches welcome us as we confidently make our way toward the entrance. While I do not intend to disrespect the West Youkai sect's leader, she is not my master nor my benefactor. A Young Master like me have no reason to act weak and meek in front of her...unless I suspect that she may throw hordes of assassins my way for displeasing her too much. 

"I…smell bats." An ancient and deep voice rumbles like an unnatural tremblor. "Who dares to invade this land of mine?!" 

A dense fog soon covers our surroundings, making it hard to see. Only my expertise on the senjutsu arts allows me to sense the life signature of the creature approaching us. 

"This sacred temple is a place of life and peace; your kind have no right to put a foot here." 

Even with my vision partially impaired, I can clearly see the creature. A fifteen-meter-tall nine tailed fox with yellow fur that reminds me of the midday sun is staring down on me with badly veiled malice gleaming in its golden eyes. Its gaze appears to be burning with wrath. 

"Turn around and leave." Its deep voice thunders across the surroundings temple. 

...I am not impressed. 

To be fair, I probably am the one at fault here. I have stood before the most violent dragon in all history and the violence allowed by God when they were in a wrathful mood, so my expectations for others have admittedly become skewed. I am sure this giant fox glaring at me is doing its best to appear threatening. 

Now that I am giving it a closer look, I wonder what kind of shampoo this ancient mythical beast uses. Its golden fur makes for a very impressive sight. While Valerie's silky-smooth hair is definitely more beautiful, the fluffiness of those tails is something else. 

"Is this a common occurrence?" My eyes dart at Kuroka who is looking at her nails. 

"I guess so." She replies, stifling a yawn. 

This poor guard is just doing its job and keeping intruders out of the temple, but everyone knows that cannon fodders like it don't stand a chance against the might of a single fatty, much less against a supreme Young Master such as myself. 

The giant kitsune stomps its paw in front of me as an intimidation tactic. It does not work. 

It is quite a sad sight really, so I make sure to pat its leg in a comforting manner as Kuroka and I walk past the poor non-threatening thing. In most other circumstances, I would simply slap it away, but I'm trying to make a good first impression with Yasaka. 

"Stop right ther- HEY, HEY don't ignore my wrath or you will suffer my curse and-" 

 The pitiful overgrown guard keeps yelling, yet there is nothing it could do to stop us. In an act of pity and generosity, I show this lesser fellow cultivator the immensity of heaven and earth. For a moment, I share my Qi with the world, infusing my essence into the land. As soon as my feet touch the cold ground, a magnificent bed of colorful flowers covers the surroundings in less than a blink. The world, overjoyed by this gift, makes sure that my steps leave a trail of flowers behind them. 

"How are you doing that? You are supposed to be a devil. They can't use senjutsu!" The kitsune tries to deny reality. 

Now it is Kuroka's turn to look at the kitsune with pity. 

"That is not fair. I can't do that yet." It complains. "HEY, HEY, answer me or…or…. I will tell mom." 

At that moment, the giant kitsune disappears, leaving a pouting young mistress that couldn't be older than twelve or thirteen in its place. Her sun kissed hair tied in a ponytail shared its colors with her big eyes; this and the fact she has nine fluffy-looking fox tails is all I need to know to connect the dots and realize that she must be Yasaka's daughter. 

It is also important to remark that her ears look even fluffier than Kuroka's. Nobody could blame me for unconsciously move toward the little fox mistress and pet her ears. 

There is a chance that doing this to holy maiden of the West Youkai sect is a terrible idea, but years of dealing with Ravel conditioned me to immediately follow this course of action whenever a young teen is getting angry at me. 

"What are you doi ~ Kyon." Her complains died as she melts under my expert touch. 

It is not wrong to say that I have mastered the art of headpatting to the point where If I were to call myself the second greatest, nobody would dare to call themself the greatest. 

I can only hope this doesn't backfire in a horrible and unexpected way. Earning the enmity of an adorable holy maiden from a famous sect is a sure way to get myself killed by any MC who have their toad eyes on her (MCs are really into cute young girls for some reason). Given that a tournament is about to take place in this city, I am sure that there is at least a pair of MCs waiting for a Young Master like me to offend this Young Mistress so they could swear revenge in her stead because they are horny assholes. 

Worse comes to worst, I can always use the lesser Young Masters in this city as scapegoats to throw at any pesky MC I see. 

"Don't worry, Junior Sister." I offer the young girl a winning smile. "This Senior Brother will not bully you. In fact, I will protect you from those bullies if that's what you want." 

The kitsune looks slightly disappointed when my hand leaves her head, but she soon recover and goes back to glare at me. 

Cute. 

"What are two devils doing in this temple? And how did you manage to learn senjutsu? Answer me." As expected from a Young Mistress, she demanded answers rather than asking for them. 

"I just happen to be a peerless genius, so it is natural for me to know at least this much." I state the obvious. "And I'm here to participate in the tournament. Also, my dear Dao Companion needs to talk with your mother for a moment." 

I pointed a finger at Kuroka, who quickly dismisses her Kaguya disguise. 

"Kunou-chan." The black cat winks at the little fox in amusement, A predatory glint shining in her yellow eyes. "Did you miss me?" 

Kunou's gaze flickers between Kuroka and I for a few seconds before she decides that the safest course of action is to hide behind my back. 

"Please, don't let her bully me." She meekly requests, not daring to make eyes contact with the nekoshou. 

I will count this as a win for me. 

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lady Yasaka is exactly how I imagined an immortal fairy to look like, a young woman with a voluptuous figure and golden eyes that shine with intelligence and cunning. She is basically an older and more stacked version of her daughter if I am being honest, at least appearance-wise. The woman is even more stacked than Kuroka and they both seems to share the same fashion sense as the loose yellow kimono open at the shoulders she is wearing offers a spectacular view of her large breasts. 

The only thing bigger than her melons are those golden furry tails behind her. What wouldn't a Young Master do for the opportunity of using them as a pillow? 

"Why am I not surprised that this happened?" The leader of the West Youkai faction sighs with fond exasperation at the antics of her daughter, a sight that I have grown used to witness in the Phenex mansion. "Kunou, dear, come here." 

The moment those words are uttered, Kunou hops out the security of my back and sprints toward her MILF of a mother. The way she adopted a cold and arrogant demeanor the instant she stood beside her mother spoke wonders of her talent for acting as a proper Young Mistress when the situation requires it. It was almost believable…if one were to forget that she had used me as a meat shield in our way here. 

"It is my pleasure to meet you once again, Lady Yasaka." Kuroka greets the transcended fox with courtesy. 

"This isn't an official meeting, Kuroka. You can relax a little." Her casual giggling manages to calm my Dao Companion a little. "My apologies for my daughter's little prank." 

"From my point of view, they were two unknown individuals, from a faction we barely tolerate, sneaking into our current location, mother." Kunou defends her own actions in a somewhat polite tone. "I deemed it necessary to test them in case they held malice toward our faction." 

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that disguising yourself as a fifteen-meter tall kitsune was absolutely necessary for that." Kuroka rolls her eyes, crossing her arms under her breasts to show off her cleavage. "Really Kunou-chan, if you wanted to feel bigger, I know some massages techniques that would help with that." 

To the holy maiden's credit, she didn't flinch until Kuroka blew her a kiss. 

If those knockers are hereditary, I highly doubt Kunou will hold the title of maiden after a decade or so. Not that little Konou doesn't have some charms of her own right now. Even without touching them, I can tell that the fluffiness of her tails surpasses her mother's by a significant margin. The amount of time she spend grooming them must be impressive. They must be both a chore and a delight to comb. 

Truly, this Young Mistress is a grooming expert. 

"…companion." Yasaka is looking at me expectantly for some reason. "Would that be fine with you?" 

Did I really get so distracted by fluffiness that I forgot to pay attention to the powerful expert in front of me? 

The last time I blindly agreed to something, I ended up challenging the strongest evil dragon to a duel for Valerie's hand...kinda. I probably should be honest with the powerful cultivator in charge of the tournament instead of tempting fate. 

"This young master needs to apologize to honorable Lady Yasaka, for your words had fallen in deaf ears." I slightly bow to Yasaka, just enough to show my fake sincerity. "My admiration for your daughter's splendid furry tails have gotten the better of me. Even my untrained eyes can appreciate the love and dedication that Junior Sister Konou put into grooming them." 

Since I'm already apologizing, I may as well butter them up a little. 

Kunou almost immediatedly puffed her chest with pride as she started to show off those fluffy national treasures by moving them in an elegant manner worthy of her title of holy maiden. 

"I have underestimated you, devil." The smugness on her face was almost as evident as the one that painted her voice. "Not only have you shown proper respect and etiquette, you also were able to admit your failings right now. That said, it's hard to blame you for that since my tails are indeed worthy of admiration." 

I can't help but worry about her future if she is this easy. 

"Do you use some special kind of shampoo or comb?" I am honestly curious about that. I did promise to get some souvenirs for Ravel after all. 

"Yeah, I do. I have three different high-quality combs that I use every morning and night." She replies enthusiastically. "I am willing to share the names of some nice brands of shampoo and hair conditioners as your hair is blond like mine." 

"That's indeed a generous offer, especially coming from someone with a fur as impressive as yours." I should get a few bottles for my family. They will likely appreciate the gesture. "You have my gratitude, holy maiden of the West Youkai faction. " 

Lady Yasaka throws a questioning glance at Kuroka. 

"Ninety percent sure this isn't him flirting." She shrugs. 

Or course I am not, my name isn't Hikaru Genji. I am not trying to seduce this little mistress. Maybe I will try in a few years if she isn't taken by an MC by then. 

"With that out of the way," The older kitsune grabs an iPhone from between her breasts, making me wonder about what other treasures can be found there. "I asked for your parents' contact information, as I wish to look into the possibility of establishing some trade agreements with them." 

I will never get used to the sight of a cultivator close to Nascent Soul realm using an iPhone of all things, but maybe this is a sign that the times are changing. The age of people sending messages via flying swords is far gone. 

Maybe I should try to create a cultivation chat room in the future...nah, that sounds stupid. 

"I will also have to ask you to leave me alone with Kuroka for a moment?" She smirks playfully. "With kids these days being this straightforward, I fear that I will need to teach her a lot about contraceptive methods." 

I don't find it surprising that Kuroka seems almost offended by the idea. 

After exchanging contact information numbers with Yasaka, I leave the temple without making a fuss. I trust Kuroka enough to believe that she won't share any of my secrets with Yasaka. Even if she did it by accident, there is little that the sexy fox could do with that information…blackmailing my mother never ends well for anyone. 

The hotel room where we are staying is nothing to boast about, but it was the best that money could buy in short notice since the whole city is overflowing with people due to the tournament. It is at least big enough for me to comfortably cultivate...not that I am planning to do so.

Cultivating in this city is somewhat annoying. There is plenty of Qi in the surroundings, but having a literal stream of natural Qi in the form of ley lines that only Yasaka can interact with nearby is quite vexing. 

 Kuroka is back a few hours later, whistling a tune from a movie we had seen at one of those weekly movie nights. 

"Did you miss me?" She blows a kiss at me seductively. 

"I only stop missing you when I am holding you." 

Kuroka snorts in a good-natured fashion at my corniness. 

"Right, I spoke with Yasaka and it was unanimously decided that I won't participate in the tournament because there will be too many people watching the whole thing...not that I planned to do so in the first place." 

That's a shame, she is this generation's second most talent cultivator. 

"Want to go on a date tomorrow?" I ask out of the blue. 

Since I can't cultivate here, I may as well take advantage of the festival to make some progress on my relationship with Kuroka...No, that's likely an excuse. I think that I just want to spend time with her. 

The dark-haired nekoshou takes her time to answer this question, meaning that she is considering it. 

"Will you keep pestering me if I say no?"

 I grin at that. "I will stop before it becomes creepy, but I'll certainly be annoying, yes." 

"Then, sure." Kuroka agrees with a shrug, not looking particularly thrilled with the idea. "Maybe this time I will finally manage to drag you to a love hotel." 

She accepted it way more easily than I initially expected. I do not know what does necessarily mean for us, but I will make sure to enjoy this. I have missed her after all.