Kou miscalculated. Initially, she thought it would take only a few days to fill her inner space with energy here. However, that was not true. The energy would be more challenging to absorb the further she got. It frustrated her immensely. Luckily she had ample distraction from her plight as the old monkey lord and the lord of the mountain continued to stay around.

Legends about immortals and ancient treasures began to be told to Kou by the former. Apparently, he was a circus monkey! Until he ran away he had heard many stories and could recite them expertly. Kou was very absorbed in these stories.

"And then he slapped the big rich money pants right in the face, while everyone watched! Nobody could do anything as he was too strong, his aura filling the heavens! And so he took the beautiful maiden and the magical coral and left the underwater city, fleeing the power of an ancient cultivator while laughing loudly!" The story ended and Kou who was currently sitting on top of the submerged tiger's head clapped loudly. This was so fun and silly! "Those people are stupid!"

With her small fingers buried in the fluffy fur, she relaxed on the massive feline head. Kneading through the fur idly she gave a faint huff. She was never fond of people. She liked Mimi well enough but being around her constantly would be draining for her. However, these animals did not give her this feeling at all. She was relaxed and she could talk to them and she wasn't at all scared or wary. It was something about them that she felt was purer than humans. Simple.

Everyone here had simple goals. The Lord wanted to be strong and the monkeys wanted to relax and have fun. There was a simple pecking order. The strong were on top and nothing else mattered. She was very fond of it.

She spent an entire day simply procrastinating and interacting with the two speaking animals. She even gave them names! The tiger's name was Li and the monkeys were Lu. Simple but they seemed to be okay with it.

The tiger's large head had become her place of comfort and she had even taken a nap there! It was rather pleasant. "I should go back down now." Sliding down she fell into the water, the large feline looking at her with narrowed eyes. "You will try again? I don't know how your kind cultivates properly, but you might fail a couple of times. I'm not sure. I did."

In response to that, Kou took a deep breath, sank onto the hot spring's floor, and picked up a rock. Anchored down like that she closed her eyes and concentrated on taking in that energy. Usually, she does that while breathing. But the energy coming out of the spring was so thick she could take it in just like that!

She had decided not to leave the spring again until she had finished and so she stayed under the water and closed her eyes. She could see the space inside her that was once vast and empty. However, it was now filled with faint golden glowing energy there was a small amount of blueish energy as well that seemed to mix with the golden energy here and there.

In contrast, the energy she took in was mostly fiery red. She had to slowly strip it of the red energy, allowing in the golden energy and the faint blue energy which was very sparse. As she continued she felt her body cool down inside the hot spring. It was a bizarre feeling! As she continued to take in the energy slowly ice crystals seemed to form around her, before she finally felt it.

It was done! Taking a deep breath she could feel the energy inside of her condense into a far more dense form, still a liquid but a rather dense one with a chilly feel to it. It had also mostly lost its golden shine now giving an icy blue shimmer.

Then she passed out.

When she regained consciousness, she was in pain, she felt like her insides were being pulled apart and she felt grimy and icky. A thick crust stuck to her eyes and sealed them shut, preventing her from opening them at all. However, someone was throwing hot water at her. It was Lu!

The monkey was excited seemingly its voice shrill "I told you she is a spirit! Look!" Kou waved her arms which felt very heavy right now and started to push herself up. there was something crusty everywhere and she grabbed something around her.. it was soft and she used it to rub her face and hands clean.

Much to the dismay of Li! The Lord of the Mountain had his tail used in such a way to use that nasty stuff! For Kou was covered head to toe in grimy icky black goo that came out of her pores. Giving a light huff as she finally managed to open her eyes she looked around.

"Look! Her eyes changed too, clear and like amber, they are now!" Lu was excitedly clapping the tiger on the shoulder, the large cat being less excited still lamenting his now dirty tail.

Kou's eyes shifted around.. the Hotspring was ruined! Somehow the whole thing froze solid! The ice was dark and dirty and seemed to contain the same stuff that was covering her. She slowly got onto her feet, still feeling heavy, the stinky crust on her creaking and cracking.. then she ... simply moved over to a nearby spring. Luckily Hot-springs rarely come on their own so it was not a far trek.

She did not say anything or do anything, she did not want to talk until she had washed this off. She had been dirty a lot in her life, and never much minded it too much. But this? THIS was too much, way too much! Kou wanted to be clean.

Sinking into the hot water she started to rub and scrub herself, dissolving the dirty stuff into the water, then she remembered the soap, looking over to Li the monkey did not even need to be asked as he threw the bar in her direction.

Thankful the girl started to clean up.. it was a pain, to be honest. Especially her hair was horribly tangled.

And so was her tail. Wait what? Tail? Why?! She jumped and tried to run away from her own tail, which obviously did not work at all! It took a solid 5 minutes for her to recover and try to assess the situation. "Tail...why!" She looked at the two animals and they looked at her... there was an awkward silence for a little moment before both of them gave a shrug.

"No idea!" said Li, "We told you, you are some kinda spirit so this is just you raising up in rank, apparently it comes with a free tail and ears, lucky you!" The monkey said with a sly tone, as the girl touched the big fluffy bumps on her head, she totally had not noticed them! Like her tail felt very natural to her, only when she saw the tail did she freak out.

Her tail was vividly swaying back and forth as she was panicking but she found that she could control it very well, once she had calmed down a bit she started to concentrate and test things out! Her tail was very long.. and currently very wet. However Li the tiger waved one of its paws, a puff of smoke suddenly coming from Kou as she was dried off in an instant making her tail very puffy and fluffy! It was almost like touching a cloud.

It was actually rather comforting and after her initial panic, she felt like this tail was ...actually supposed to be there! The next thing she noticed was that her bad leg was now completely healed, it was not just that, all the wounds and scars she had gotten in her short life seemed to have vanished, and her skin was soft and smooth now.

Cupping some water in her hands she waited for it to become still to look at herself. Her hair was now almost as white as snow, gone was the dirty gray, and her eyes were golden and had a faint icy blue glow deep inside of them. Even her broken nose was fixed! Her hair was still messy in style but looked far more healthy and thick now, and on top of her head rested two large ears like a wolf or foxes, perking up into the sky.

She concentrated on them and was once more surprised, she could hear far and wide, when one of her ears turned slightly to the side she could hear different things, like little animals digging in the ground or birds ruffling their feathers far away.

Shaking her head a few times she looked a little lost. This would take some time to get used to but she did not mind it. Another thing she noticed was that her sight was super sharp now, she could see far and wide clearly.

Letting out a yawn she stretched lightly and turned to the two animals "Sleeping.." She mumbled before wandering to her little hut. Curling up inside she wrapped the tail around herself, it was soft and fluffy, better than any blanket or cover. At this moment she vowed to always take good care of this tail so she could do this every night.

The next day.

Wiggling her way into her "nice" robes she let out a faint sigh, it was still very comfortable inside, however, now she found herself with a tail-shaped problem that would not quite fit, so as a workaround she borrowed the tiger's claw to poke a hole into the robe so her tail could fit through, wagging it back and forth a little she looked content and started to mumble.

"Mh...Getting home is easy... just go at night... Mimi will be shocked.. but she won't mind. Others will... I need a cloak to hide ears and tail." She had a fair bit of money so she didn't really want to steal one even if it was easier. Maybe break in and take it but leave money behind? That would be a good idea.

Looking at the two animals she felt a little pained leaving them there. She had already added them to her friends. And as weary as she was of others, once Kou reached that point she wanted to be around and with her friends if possible. But for now, she should return to the city

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Take care... you two." One of her newly acquired ears tilted down as she looked over. Lu and Li were also somewhat unhappy to see Kou depart. For once she was the source of their own improvement. And for seconds they kinda liked the scruffy little creature. She wasn't talking a lot but she always listened to what they had to say and generally acted in a sensible manner. Especially the monkey Lord was quite sad as he was always treated like a knowledgeable elder!

"Take care little spirit!"

The city was still the same, but Kou was different now. She had only been absent for at most two weeks, which didn't really count. She underwent a tremendous amount of change. Her movements were now smooth and she was even faster than before. So it was no problem for her to jump past the guards and up onto a roof.

She barely produced any noise now. She felt like a feather in the wind almost weightless as she moved with quick steps. What would have taken her minutes is accomplished in seconds now. Like a dark ghost, she returned to her secret hideout. Nothing had changed and nobody had touched anything.

Letting out a faint sigh she sat down inside her box. While she liked her time outside she was overcome by the sensation of home.

She curled up inside her box and closed her eyes for a short while. Not to sleep, but simply to soak in the feeling of home. Then she set out again. "Cloak... probably wise to get a good one..further inside it is." She picked up a few of the random gold coins she had no use for before leaving.

When she said "further inside", she meant the area that was further away from the massive wall facing north. The city was surrounded by a tall, normal-looking wall, and about a mile out to the north was a massive wall that made it impossible for sunlight to get to the city for a long period of time. It was the wall that kept the Barbarians of the north out, giant men and women that, as she had been told were primitive and wild wanting nothing more than to eat children like her!

Not that she believed in that of course.

However, the rich people and the city Lord's castle were far away from the Northern wall in its own quaint district surrounded by an auxiliary wall. This district was also surrounded by strict entrance checks. While the normal city had everything you could need if you wanted something of very high quality you would need to go to the Rich district.

Of course, the wall was no problem for her anymore. She simply hopped over it from the nearest roof, barely noticeable to anyone as she entered. The roofs here had actual shingles and such, and some houses had small towers. It was a fun run, and Kou enjoyed hopping around and running on the sturdy "ground." It was much more fun than the slums where you might step in nails.

She wasn't quite sure where to turn, and since she could not read the signs, it would not help her either. Therefore she hopped down to have a closer look. Spying through windows and such. There were so many shops here selling obscure and weird things, most of them sold useless stuff like cosmetics and similar things. But after some moving around and avoiding some guards she found a store that sold clothes for high-ranking soldiers and noble people in the army. This was it.

Now how to get in? The building had 4 stories and was shaped like a pagoda with solid walls. It had a large main entrance facing the main street, as well as 2 side entrances facing the side streets. She had not broken into any places with actual locks before, so this was going to be an experience. First, she stepped to one of the side entrances wiggling around the doorknob. OF course, it was locked. So she tried out the other one with the same outcome.

If the side entrances were locked the main door would be too. "Mh.Climb up.." She mumbled and so she did. Like a squirrel, she climbed the building. In no time at all, she reached the top of the building. Looking around, she found a way to get inside, quickly. A small window was open here leading to the upper floor. Slipping in through the small entry was easy for her given her size. Therefore, she quickly found herself in an area that seemed to be some sort of residential area. At least she could hear some snoring behind some of the doors that lined the hallway. Silently she snuck down the hallway. Spotting some stairs she quickly made her way down.

But before she could rush down she stood eye-to-eye with an old man. She wasn't sure how she had not heard him! This man was as quiet as a cat and did not produce any noise! In actuality, while the man was rather quiet and had soft shoes that did not make any noise, the reason Kou did not hear him was that she was not yet very used to her new ears. She was focused on the snoring and her ears were tilted backward making it more difficult for her to notice the man.

Kou is not aware of this and was completely shocked about it. Not to speak of the old man who suddenly saw this young girl in ragged robes in front of him. Kou currently wore the robes she had stolen from that boy and intentionally ruined a little to keep up appearances. However, the old man was a tailor by trade he could immediately recognize the value of these robes even if they might be haggard looking!

Being an old-timer and businessman who had dealt with many things in his long career, he could keep a calm head and immediately fell to his knees. "Great Immortal, welcome to my humble establishment! This insignificant one is called Bai. What else could this creature be but an Immortal, she wore the Robes and those ears, that pure white hair and the piercing golden eyes, Bai was very certain. He had served immortals two times in his life and both times they had given him the same feeling.

Kou, on the other hand, was none of these things, her ears flicked back but due to her lack of expressions she just remained very neutral looking, while she was eternally completely lost on what was going on. She was halfway ready to jump out and dash away but then this old man suddenly started in a submissive tone and fell to his knees. Did he have something wrong with his eyes?

Rubbing her own eyes for a moment she could not comprehend this situation so she simply chose to not think too deeply about it instead she pulled out the bag with the money she had brought. "I want a cloak..." She simply said leaning forward to push the money bag into the oldtimer trembling hands. Her eyes had lost any light at this point as she simply went along with what was happening while her body was as stiff as a board.

The old man quickly got up from his position, adjusting his robes before bowing again. "Please Senior, wait downstairs for me while I wake up someone! I shall deliver tea in a moment!" Tea? Why tea? Why did he need to wake someone up? Kou was overwhelmed by the situation and the obvious submissive attitude. She was used to being looked down upon and treated badly, so this was confusing.

Still, she felt no malice from this person, so she stepped down into a large area holding fabrication and sewing equipment. There was also a large removed space surrounded by see-through walls that held a large sofa and table and lavish-looking plants and decorations. Of course, she did not attempt to walk to that area instead she just stood awkwardly while glancing at the equipment looms, and such! She had no idea how many of them were called.

She did not have to wait for long. A moment later the elder came back dragging a teenaged young lady with him. The girl was clearly sleepy but was trying very valiantly to look awake. "Quick Quick.. prepare some tea for our guest. Honored guest please.. please have a seat." quickly the elder tried to guide Kou to the seated area.

She felt weak right now. There were only so many that she could ignore and this entire treatment was slowly approaching the edge of it. Maybe she should try another shop? Her current situation was bizarre! Still, she felt nothing wrong with these people. In fact, both of them seemed scared of her. But not how you are scared of a wild animal! It's more like how a child is scared of an adult. Very weird!

So without a word, Kou sat down. The sofa was too high for her so she jumped up and bounced a little on the very soft couch. She almost sat down on her own tail but avoided it just fine unsure where to put it, after a moment she had it hug around her waist and fall into her lap where she dug her fingers into it, it was rather calming and the situation became better as her narrowed eyes followed the old men.

After a little time, he sat down himself, bringing with him a few fabrics and tape. Then tea arrived, and a very fancy and expensive-looking cup was handed to her. This made Kou nervous again, so she grabbed it with both hands just to be sure. While she did so one of her ears tilted down somewhat, and the young woman stared at her in wonder. As their eyes met she stiffened and quickly ran over to hide behind the old man.

Giving a faint cough the elder looked over to Kou "Forgive our humble reception. We did not anticipate your arrival at this time. He spoke as if it was his fault for her breaking in in the middle of the night. A fact that left Kou bewildered. She also had trouble understanding what he was saying since her language skills were abysmal. So instead she nodded lightly, her head tilting a little to the side.

From the view of Jill.

This was the cultivator? This tiny girl? She looked no older than maybe 6? Still, her skin was so pale and radiant, her eyes large and with a faint glow to them. Her hair was wild looking but looked very soft and fluffy, and with the large fluffy ears, she had a very cute appearance. In fact, she looked like a clueless little animal, fidgeting lightly while holding her cup with two hands!

Jill had the desire to rub those fluffy ears a little. But her Master was very stern when he told her that there was a cultivator here that wanted service. This was a dire situation. Immortals as normal people called them were willful and powerful. They had no qualms about punishing normal folk for the smallest of things, and even the Lord of the City would need to be careful around more powerful cultivators.

So even when she felt like this "Child" was harmless at best and actually looked kind of scared she did not do anything out of line now, still, she started to gnaw lightly at her lower lips as her Master started to talk.

"Oh Grand Immortal, I have brought all we need to decide on your wished-for attire, the mortal money you have brought is more than sufficient, this old servant thanks you." Jill blinked while watching the girl. She had leaned forward a little bit while staring at Master, she had seen things like this before from people that spoke different languages, maybe she didn't quite understand.

The child's brows sank down a little as she seemed perturbed about something, still not speaking at all. Quickly Jill took the initiative. "Master means the money is enough, and we wanna see how big you are to make your clothes fit." When she spoke the Master became red-faced but calmed right down when the little girl looked at Jill and nodded.

"Thanks.. do that then...I want a cloak.. with pockets..."

The Master looked back and forth between the girl and jill obviously bewildered but then just stroked his beard, he was clearly wise to have brought Jill! She was a sensible girl so he could leave the measuring to her. "If you could please stand up so we can take your measurements."

Kou did not exactly know what any of that meant but she had a faint idea of what was going to happen, therefore she slowly got up and looked at the curious teenager in front of her. Jill was indeed a sensible girl and quickly walked forward with her head lowered, she knelt down next to Kou and very quickly took her measurements.

Kou stiffened, this was far too close for comfort, and she had to control her breathing strongly, to not start trembling. This was actually scary. However her inaction and stiffness made Jill nervous. Making both of them nervous about the other for very extremely different reasons.

It did however not take long and soon Kou was released, remaining standing she stared at the old man. He was noting down the sizes and nodded lightly while looking into the bag of gold he has been given.

It was not a small amount, that was for sure. But it was certainly not a large amount of riches, he had sold dresses and such for far more to rich ladies. However, this person was an Immortal. These people often had no use for mortal money, so her paying him like this was already strong consideration for a mortal like him. Therefore he did not complain about it at all.

Kou having no idea what an Immortal was or .. to be honest really care, simply listened to the old man rattled on for about 5 minutes before he quickly went off together with Jill telling Kou to wait here for a bit.