“This…. I do not know myself. To be honest, when I first saw Yuki, I pitied her. She, at the time, was covered in dirt and looked worse for wear. But at the same time, I couldn't help but observe her. She has a kind of aura that made me want to know her. It's hard to describe.” Ai replied honestly. She really did not know the true reason why she was so hung up on Yuki. She just knew that Yuki was someone she wished to be friends with.

“I can see that. While she does not speak much, her actions in how she does things do show that she is a good person. Maybe it's because she doesn’t speak much that it draws us in. You know the mysterious factor.” Ami sighed as she looked out into the darkness in front of her. “The rain is still really coming down.”

“That it is….” Ai nodded.

The girls changed shifts, and a half asleep Yuki and Nana moved to switch spots with Ami and Ai. Yuki noticed that both girls looked really tired. Taking a deep breath, Yuki opened her mouth: “Sleep in a bit tomorrow. This cave suits us perfectly for our needs for the next three months. We only need to leave to go to the bathroom and to secure more food.”

After saying much more than she had planned, Yuki turned and sat down. Ai and Ami both looked at each other in shock. It was Ami who spoke first: “Yuki, has anyone told you that you have a very cute voice? I could listen to it all day long!”

Yuki turned and looked at Ami with pursed lips. She didn’t want to speak, but she had to convey her message. Seeing Yuki’s expression, Ami smiled. She found Yuki to be quite cute.

“More!” Ai yelled out as she ran over to Yuki and hugged her arm. “Let me hear your voice more. It is so soothing to the ear!”

“Alright, leave her alone. She will hate you if you keep this up.” Ami walked over and pulled Ai away. She sat Ai between her legs and leaned against the cave wall while hugging the girl's waist to make sure she did not run off again.

Ai pouted as she leaned back against Ami. But as soon as she did, her eyes really began to grow heavy as she fell into a deep sleep. Ami looked at the girl in her arms and sighed. “She really needs more training….”

After Ami fell asleep, Nana, who was sitting next to Yuki, asked: “What should we be doing besides camping out here?”

“The entire purpose of this training is to survive for three months. So we will do just that. We have protection from the elements and can easily secure food at any time. With the way this cave curves, unless someone sees us entering the cave, I doubt anyone will actually show up. So we can safely stay here for the time being.” Yuki did not know why designated the training to be three months.

Besides fighting demonic beasts, you could learn to survive in as little as a week. The only thing she could think of was that this training was to change the attitude of new disciples who came from rich cultivation clans and had been pampered all their lives. If that was the case, then she could understand why it was three months. The rich young masters and young ladies would have their pride and ego ripped to shreds when facing a situation where they had to fend for themselves, unable to bathe or eat properly. Once she thought of this, Yuki couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “Never mind, I think I understand the meaning of this training. It is not geared towards us but those who are pampered.”

“That is true….” Nana agreed with Yuki's assumption. She also felt this was probably the case. Changing the subject, Nana asked: “When we return do you want to take a look around the sect?”

“Mmm… We didn’t even get much of a chance to check things out. So I am okay with that.” Yuki replied. “I want to check out the treasure pavilion. They have techniques there.”

“But your sword….” Nana looked at Yuki’s broken sword and frowned. She did not know how Yuki could learn techniques if her sword was broken.

“It’s fine. I will get a new one tomorrow. I just so happened to remember Kenji's scent, and I needed to dish out a bit of punishment. Things should be fine as long as I do not kill him.” Yuki was sick of Kenji. Since he had made such plans, she decided to head out in the early morning to deal with him. She remembered his scent, so she could easily find him since he probably had not gone too far.

“I will watch camp then and continue roasting snake meat.” Nana was not worried about Yuki. She felt slightly jealous that she could not be there to watch Kenji being beaten half to death.

“Please do. What we can’t use up will need to be moved far away from the cave entrance.” Yuki had snuck the rank three core out of the snake using her space. She could have stored the entire thing, but she still did not want to reveal it to anyone she did not trust fully.

What Yuki did not seem to notice was her comfort with Nana was slowly getting better. She was talking normally with her without issue or feeling it was too troublesome. This was a good sign for her as she could not keep staying closed off forever if she wished to save her people.

When first light came, Yuki had left the cave and stood outside sniffing the air slightly before dashing off in a certain direction. The morning fog was thicker than normal, but for a foxkin, this was no issue as her nose was quite good. After about twenty minutes, she stood on top of a tree branch that was swaying back and forth in the wind. Below her was a group of boys, one of which was stripped naked and tied to a tree. The other four were all packing up, seemingly getting ready to leave. Looking at the young man who was gagged and tied to the tree, she frowned. “I guess I will do a bonus service then….”