Chapter 178 – Banquet

Chapter 178 – Banquet

Aiko sneaked back into the Blood Fox's tails and Lady Liu pouted.

Why did she pout? Was it because Aiko left her? No. Aiko sneaked into the Blood Fox's tails and kept holding Lady Liu's hand!

Whenever Lady Liu tried to pull her hand away, Aiko would try to grasp it with her paws.

This was cute but angered Chen Shi. He wanted to spend more time with Lady Liu, but Lady Liu was so engrossed in playing with Aiko that she once again ignored him...

...

Days passed and the time of the banquet came.

Aiko was returned to her normal pseudo-human form. She yawned a few times. She was sleepy, since she slept a bit too much these days, which made her even more sleepy.

Aiko would have to exercise once this whole ordeal was over and not look for trouble least she might really become a salted fish! Salted fish: is a Chinese (Cantonese) idiom to describe a corpse or people who lay around all day and do nothing.

Aiko didn't want that. She wanted to be influenced again and finish this mission. Visit the markers, find some nice things for Mei before going back to her.

'I can restart Massage Chair business, since I have the special Inscription Carving Pen.' Aiko smiled slightly and yawned again.

They were in their Assassination Uniforms, so they looked more like Chen Shin's attendants than normal guests, but they didn't really care. The fewer eyes on them, the better.

They were escorted to the main Palace, where the Emperor would hold his banquet. He had already assigned dancers and everything, so it was better to use the larger halls to 'demonstrate' his kindness towards the male Cultivators.

He softened gently as he welcomed the quests from his seat.

Aiko stared around, there was too much open space, so it was difficult to defend.

She didn't like this place at all, since it was too shiny and overbearing.

There was gold and precious stones everywhere, which were jarring to the eyes, unlike the side palace where everything was in harmony.

Aiko sighed. She didn't like this type of decoration at all, noting down the differences in her mind o that she wouldn't forget it once she decides to flau- Ahem. display her wealth.

It was inevitable, since she heard the Blood Fox and the Umbra Fox talking about a base of operation.

They needed some kind of place like that to smoothen out future team activities. Though, they couldn't make it in the Grandmaster's abode, since it was already crowded enough, but that also meant that the responsibility of designing the base completely befell Aiko. As such, she would have to design something...

She refused to have a base of operation in a cave! No way would she allow that!

It has to be some kind of cosy place, it didn't need to be a house per se, but the wood in this place was really nice. It didn't seem so weak that the building would collapse from a strong gust of wind.

She could in theory use a cave and then place wood everywhere, but there were a few issues.

The moisture would be a large issue for the wood, the wood might twist and distort as it expands from absorbing more moisture.

Aiko did not know how to treat the wood so it wouldn't happen, she would need to find someone to do it for her.

Moreover, there was also an issue with furs. She wanted a fur carpet here and there, so there is some softness and fluff to sleep on when her team is doing their stuff.

But the moisture would make it not very appealing.

Aiko would ignore him for the time being, not only did she not want to drink this kind of tea again, but she was also hungry, very hungry!

She pouted and supported her chin, she didn't care about etiquette if they didn't feed her!

Aiko would not be starved for nothing, she demands food now!

Her pout only inflated more and more. She could hear a few kyas from the maids, but she ignored them. She was looking around for a bite of something, anything meaty.

Then finally, her prayers were heard.

"Let's continue the banquet!" The Emperor said cheerfully, his ego was completely inflated like a balloon by those Human Cultivators.

Naturally, this meant that Beasts were left to their own doings, which meant that most of them were bored, since unlike that turtle which had a companion... they had none.

A small number of pretty royal maids served the food in front of them. Beasts were served with mostly simple meats, while Humans had well-decorated and elaborate food.

Naturally, Beasts didn't mind this, as long as they didn't blatantly serve veggies none of them would mind!

They munched on it without regards to any etiquette. The Humans stared at them disdainfully.

Aiko's team ate with grace, greatly shocking the Human Cultivators, but they thought it was natural.

Foxes were masters of seduction and sex, it was only natural for them to learn etiquette that would cater to the Humans.

Of course, if they said it out loud they would get stoned to death by Aiko's team, but fortunately, they were not narcissistic enough to voice their thoughts.

Aiko on the other hand was completely devouring the meat without any class. She would keep glaring at the blatantly staring elders until they looked away.

In between each of Aiko's fingers was a chicken leg. As this was simply the most efficient way of consuming meat!

Aiko happily munched when the Emperor introduced the dancers.

While they weren't blatantly nude, the Emperor also didn't skimp on the service as certain parts of their dresses were all but see through. Of course, the most important parts were covered and hidden from sight.

He didn't want to be seen as the lustful emperor, but at the same time, he allowed them to show some calves, a bit of thighs and slender arms with somewhat jade shoulders.

"Bleh." Aiko almost vomited when she saw them.

"What's wrong?" Lady Liu smiled, but everyone's attention was attracted to them, as they were supposed to enjoy the show.

"No good." Aiko shook her head.

"No good?" Lady Liu giggled, petting Aiko's head, since she was sitting next to her.

On her left side was Chen Shi, who was also closest to the Emperor, and then there was Lady Liu, Aiko, The Blood Fox and Umbra Fox.

The Great Roc Mother was nowhere to be seen for quite some time, or rather right after the revelation of the Berserker Powder.

And that was for a good reason. Bird Beasts were among the most susceptible to the Berserker Powder, but that was not the worst part. They would lose the ability to coordinate their wings properly, whilst under the effects of the powder, rendering them incapable of flight.

This meant that they would crash into the ground and there was a high likelihood they would get badly injured and unable to fly any more.

Of course, it was different for the two teams that were coming to the rescue, but they were a very small minority that could resist the effects of the Berserker Powder...