Chapter 180 - Please, Answer My Question...

"Excuse me?"

"Did Oli have dark essence?" Puula repeated, still speaking slowly and softly.

Ania shook her head, "Puula, what could ever--" 

"We both know that Netra has perfect dark affinity, allowing her to sense essence on the same level as veteran perennials and kings. I hate to admit it, but her senses for dark essence are even stronger than mine. But I didn't fully understand how precise her affinity was until long after she had mentioned something," Puula explained.

"I'm sure you remember the night when Netra had suddenly shared her scent with Oli without any warning or reason. I spoke with her afterward and I distinctly remember her claims that Oli possessed dark essence."

"But why would he? How would he?" Ania questioned. "I've never met an Iron-body Gorilla with dark essence, let only married one."

"I know, but please hear me out." Puula continued without wasting any breath, "Netra had claimed that Oli was suppressing his essence and she didn't know why. Now, I never believed her and had long thrown her claims to the back of my mind due to how many coincidences would be necessary for such a claim to be true. Such as how Oli could ever be born with such an affinity, or why he's able to hide it from me and the others?

"But, right now, I'm not looking for any reasoning or logic or circ.u.mstances. All I'm asking is if Oli genuinely had dark essence with no need for an explanation. If that was somehow true, it would be perfectly clear why you would hide it. A massive gorilla with earth prowess and natural strength would be terrifying with added dark essence for stealth, and would make for one of the most promising underlings to any powerful cultivator.

"So…" Puula paused, sensing Ania's still-lingering hesitation to ask. 

"Ania, can you please answer me that? Not only do I ask as the Vanishing-night Fox chief in charge of Iron Territory's intelligence gathering and security, but as a mother trying her best to understand her daughter's abstract obsession with your son. Please, Ania. Answer me that, and I'm willing to forget the debt of the Ever-life Sap."

"Now you're sounding crazy…" Ania replied gradually. "Trading Ever-life Sap for such a small question, that's insane!"

"But that's what matters most to me…" 

Stunned speechless, Ania blinked upon looking back up at Puula. The fox chief fully prostrated in wait for a reply. She could see Puula's head trembling as she sniffed and held back tears. It wasn't anything that Ania had expected from the proud and calculating fox chief.

"I'm willing to more fully dedicate my clan to serving Iron Territory and even becoming a permanent subordinate clan of the Iron-body Gorilla clan."

"Puula, stop before--"

"Ania, if what Netra has claimed all this time is true, it changes everything," stated Puula. "It would prove how ignorant I've been as a parent and how much I've hurt my daughter. It would prove how close-minded I've been concerning her feelings. It would prove how Oli overcame adept bandits as a novice and why he became Netra's obsession.

"It would also prove that submitting to your clan would be the best course of action for my Vanishing-night Foxes."

"Please, Puula--"

"Ania, if Oli has dark essence with affinity strong enough to keep me from sensing it, that would mean he's most definitely the greatest suitor I would be able to find. And his character along with the honor of your clan only make him better as a son-in-law. It would only be natural for us to become a subordinate and ally clan to the Iron-body Gorillas. Because we already know how well you care for your subordinates, so I can only imagine how well you treat a clan linked through marriage.

"..."

"That is my reasoning for asking you a question that would otherwise be absolutely ridiculous. So please, considering everything that I've just said, please answer my question, regardless of whether you want to explain how or why that case may be.

"Does Oli have dark essence?"

"..."

They sat in silence for another few minutes. Puula eventually lifted her head and saw the internal struggle taking place within Ania's mind, being evident from her hesitant expression. But Puula kept quiet, determined to wait for a proper reply.

Ania opened her mouth but soon closed it. She started to open it again but then bit her lip. Blinking, Ania's header bobbed from side to side, as if her brain was wrestling itself.

"I swear on my cultivation that I won't tell a soul," Puula soon commented, catching Ania further off guard. "For you to struggle so much with a simple reply, it makes me want to believe in my daughter. And her being right would allow for the best-case scenario, for all of us. I'll even commit more foxes to seek out information as Vloz did not too long ago.

"Please… Ania."

Trying to sigh but failing to get the breath out of her throat, Ania's mouth hung open for a moment. "I… This… I think my silence… has all but admitted it…"

"Then… Netra was right?

"... She was."

"She was right all along… No wonder she began pushing me further away…" Puula stammered in a blend of happiness and disbelief. "He actually has it… Oli actually has twice the potential he's already shown… Ania, you're son is something else, someone I'm proud to have my daughter fawning over."

"I guess I'm glad to hear that…" sighed Ania, astounded that she had admitted such a thing. "Please, Puula, never--"

"This is something that will not be relayed to the rest of my clan, not until you give explicit orders to inform them," stated Puula. "However, that doesn't mean my clan won't be more fully committing to serving your clan, Ania."

"Rather than serve us, why not be our permanent ally?"

"That may be the case, but we'll be your subordinates in name at least. As the weaker clan with fewer benefits to offer, I'm merely excited and overwhelmed to know that my daughter not only found someone suitable for her cultivation but someone who has proven to care for her," Puula admitted with a soft smile on her face and an overwhelming burden off her back.