Chapter – 137 - Fluffy Is Back To His Fluff-Ball Self!!

Rihanna turned to look at the noise of sharp steps coming their way, and hooked an eyebrow at the gleaming red face of Artreya who was following Ye Luo. Ye Luo's anxious eyes turned a bit cold on seeing the group of girls surrounding Rihanna. Even without clarifying the matter, he was certain that this lazy girl would not go asking for trouble on her own. Except for him, everyone else around him were already clear about the highly biased and protective aura he gave off whenever she was concerned.

The lead of the group looked flustered as she saw Ye Luo walking up to them. And she could barely hide her shock as she saw the two men stand behind this commoner in a protective stance. She too was a member of the Ye Family Branch. And as such, how could she be not clear about the relation and position of this first young man in the family.

Though Ye Luo belonged to a branch family of the Clan, he was one of the most promising talents in sword cultivation in the newer generation. And if he continued in the same path without any deviation, it was highly likely that in another two hundred years, he too would be a candidate for the Glockial Arena Conquest. She was definitely not that good as to be able to stand up against one of the younger prodigies!

Ye Maihiya was not as clear about the young man's identity, but even a glance could tell her that this man was not someone to be messed with. Having spent a large amount of time creating contacts and searching for the best opportunities for herself and her clan, she had developed a fair understanding of people's aura and their cultivation potential.

However.....how come Su Matsao was still just as languid and laid back before these two strong auras which almost unnerved her as well! Was this the person backing her? But why did it look like instead of backing.....they were more like her subordinates....or friends?!

Su Maihiya stared at Su Matsao again, trying hard to discern something from those exceptionally calm eyes. It was like she didn't even put Su Maihiya in her eyes. She didn't even think of her as a worthy opponent! Su Maihiya felt her anger bristling again at this outright derision.

Indeed Rihanna was feeling bored by now. There didn't seem to be anything worth reading in the minds of the group of girls around her. And unfortunately, she couldn't even warm up her muscles by having a good bashing competition! What could be more boring than this predicament? She turned towards her two friends and almost rolled her eyes at their 'Protective-Mama' Mode! Did they see her as a kid who could be bullied! Shouldn't they be caring if she had bullied these girls instead?!

"Ahem! Back off you two. Can't you see you are scaring the little girls with your tough aura? This is not an arena for fighting, you know!"

Ye Luo glanced towards Rihanna before pursing his lips. He was clearly fighting against the desire to diss her in public. Artreya simply rolled his eyes before leaning against the balustrade next to her.

The girls on the other hand were staring at the trio in shock. Especially Ye Zanasui. Though she had never met Ye Luo, she had heard a lot about the other boy, both from her family, and also from her brother who happened to be Ye Luo's classmate. So she had an especially good idea about the character of this boy.

Cold, detached, temperamental...not the kind who got along with others easily. How in the world was he listening to a young commoner girl? Why?! Could it be love?! She glanced at them, her eyes shifting between the two like a pendulum, as if wanting to tear open their minds and read their thoughts and relations! Rihanna was scared that her eyes would pop out of their sockets if they kept standing there for any longer!

Moreover, it seemed the two had something on their mind, and they weren't going to speak as long as these girls were around. Thinking this, Rihanna finally straightened her posture, smoothed out the creases on her clothes before gesturing towards Artreya to lead the way. Even as the three left the group of girls still looking at their receding backs with complicated expressions, she could feel one single pair of eyes staring at her with open animosity.

She didn't need to turn back to confirm the pair of eyes belonged to Su Maihiya. Nor could she gather up enough interest. She was not Su Matsao. And she had no emotional connections or feelings for Su Maihiya, whether good or bad. If she wanted to live in her own delusional world, believing her to be an enemy, then she was free to do so. She didn't have enough energy and brain-cells to spare for her childish grudges.

Just as she was free to reciprocate every action and scheme tenfold times. She was too lazy to care. But then, she didn't like being provoked needlessly either.

As they stepped out of the large and spread-out residence of the Main Family of the Clan, Rihanna finally opened her mouth. She had to, since both of them were diligent in keeping their mouths shut!

"You can either tell me what is wrong.....or you can keep it in your stomach and let it rot. If you are expecting me to keep asking you till you are feeling good enough to appease me with an answer...well, I doubt you'll be able to live that long."

"Did you just curse me to death?"

Artreya almost stumbled over his feet, and turned to stare at this heartless master of his in bewilderment. Rihanna directly rolled her eyes at this 'Servant's' ever progressing dramatic scene-building. He didn't need others as a supporting cast....he was a one-man show!

"Speak! Stop trying to divert the topic."

Artreya glanced at Ye Luo, then sneaked a peak at Rihanna before looking away quickly. He scratched his head, and finally opened his mouth just when Rihanna was running out of patience.

"Something is wrong with Fluffy."

Rihanna's foot paused in mid-air, and her mind started going around in circles, trying to come up with all kind of scenarios regarding Fluffy. Thinking of them, she hastened her pace towards the cottage where they were staying. Even she didn't realize how anxious she looked on the outside. Artreya felt a little glum. Truly, the beasts held a much higher position in her heart than he did. That was so unfair....considering that they were all contracted to her!

If Rihanna knew what he was thinking, then she probably would have graced him with the exact same treatment as she had dealt Fluffy in the early years - spanked his bottom. Perhaps that would make him feel he held the exact same position in her heart?!

But Artreya recovered quickly, and his eyes started gleaming in excitement. Even Ye Luo was puzzled at this sudden change in his expressions.

"You.....you never said that Fluffy is a Divine Nine-Tailed Fox cub!!"

Rihanna blinked as her feet halted again, and she stared at Artreya in confusion. Something gradually dawned in her mind, and she let out a gasp.

"Don't tell me.....Fluffy changed back to his real self?!"

Ye Luo had only met Artreya outside as the latter was hastily walking towards the Main Residence to meet with Rihanna. So he had no idea what had really happened, except that it all had something to with Fluffy. Now he looked at the two, his confusion and curiosity growing stronger.

"Well....he was feeling very listless after you left, and wouldn't move from the quilt no matter how much I tried to push him or provoke him. And then he didn't want to eat any lunch. He even turned down his favorite snacks. And then...then he fainted. I had rushed out to search for any good Beast Doctors in the vicinity, or anyone staying in the surrounding cottages who might have good understanding about beasts. That's when Phantasm raced over and caught hold of my clothes, refusing to let go till I followed him back. And then I saw him.....in place of a black hairless pig.....a beautiful and chubby, white furred fox was laying unconscious."

Rihanna zapped through the entire conversation, her mind getting stuck on only one point.

"You mean he is still unconscious?"

"Well....he was when I left to search for you."

Rihanna nodded, then rushed on again. Ye Luo and Artreya stared at the quickly fading back speechlessly, then hastened to catch up with her.

'Little Purple. I had completely forgotten that his father had set the time-period of the appearance change for five years. But how come it is acting up now? Combining my stay in this world since I met Fluffy, as well as our stay in the Dimension, more than six years have passed. Shouldn't this have happened when we were still inside the dimension?'

'A space time dimension has its own laws and principles, similar to a space lock. Maybe due to changes in these laws, the time period got extended when we entered the dimension. And today is the day, that the five year period came to an end.'

'Fluffy has been a bit listless and lethargic ever since we came out of the space time dimension. Now that I think about it, it might have had something to do with this change and that the time period was coming to an end. Tsk! I should have thought of this issue earlier!'

'Don't beat yourself up uselessly. There is a lot of things you might have done or you might not have. But you can't really change any of it. We need to figure out how to solve this problem for the time being.'

'But in the outside world, only around one and a half years have passed. Which means that Musakat, Fluffy's father, will still be in seclusion. So there would be no point going there I guess.'

'No. But the good thing is that the previous Appearance Changing spell has been completely lifted. So now we can try on some other spell or method to change his appearance once more.'

'Hmmm.....do you know of any method?'

'I do....but Fluffy is a little special, so those methods will not work on him.'

Rihanna felt like she was growing blank. If this ancestor did not have any methods, where could she come up with a way from?

'Don't be so anxious all the time. You have a lot of scrolls which you have gathered from the dimension. I remember there are some good books on both, Beast Taming Art as well as a variety of inscriptions which can be used on live creatures and humans. We should go through them for now. Who knows, we might find just what we are looking for in these books.'

Rihanna breathed heavily as she reached the door of the cottage. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside, then opened the door to her room.

A milky white bundle of glossy hair jumped at her the moment the door swung open, clawing all the way to the top of her head. It stared down at her with large, pitiful eyes. Wait a moment.....why did he look so aggrieved?!

'Stupid girl! I have changed back to my own fur again! Which means that five years have already passed!'

Rihanna nodded slowly, trying to figure out where this conversation was heading towards. Ye Luo and Artreya finally managed to catch up with her, and came over, still panting hard from running so fast. This girl's enhanced body was no joke. When she started running, she could leave everyone in the dust!

'It means that I haven't seen my father for more than five years! And you had promised to take me to see him once the five year mark was up! Boo-Hoo! I miss my Daddy! I want you to take me back to my Daddy right now!'

Rihanna felt her forehead creasing into a frown, as a headache started throbbing within her mind. Wordlessly she picked up the little fluff ball from the top of her head, brought him down, turned him around - and then, to the shock and disbelief of all the others, she spanked his buttocks till the white turned a bright red. And then she threw the screaming and crying little ball onto the quilt once more.