"So... I presume you entered your inner world?"

In response to Kasumi Ai's question, Mei Wu's hands only halted for a second before she nodded, continuing the usual tasks given to the duo by the Queen Bee.

She was silent for a moment before she spoke.

"Yes, I did see it. It was... not exactly finished in its creation though, from what I saw." she admitted with a sigh, but there was a feeling of contentment around her.

Her inner world was honestly as she stated, not being fully formed yet since her sense of self was slowly getting imprinted on her own qi and she still had no cultivation technique of her own yet.

She felt curiosity leaking from the alraune, and frankly, despite how Mei Wu would say she couldn't comprehend the seemingly walking talking and ironically, inconsistent, mess of emotions that was Kasumi Ai, the human woman found it easy to know the alraune's questions before they even left that mouth.

"Really? How was it?" ah, just like Mei Wu expected. The beast woman was clearly interested in whatever that picked her fancy at the moment. Well, at least 'her fancy' wasn't something absurd.

Moving her eye to look up at the human part of the alraune, seeing the head tilting, clearly showing interest that was reflected on her face and green eyes.

"Hahh! You're always so curious, aren't you?" Mei Wu huffed, crossing her arms. "Fine. Despite it being none of your business, I will tell you. It was an irritating gray void of nothingness, with only the slightest hints of black and white appearing here and there. I have a lot to do to even make it feel right to me."

And wasn't that a strangely baffling surprise? When she entered her inner world and realized what it was, she genuinely thought that her senses were wrong!

How can her inner world be gray when her qi is colorless, and when only recently did she even decide what her style would even be? The answer to that came as easily as it was frustrating yet logical.

While her qi is indeed still colorless, her inner world was also reflecting her own view on life, whether it was due to her own style or technique not being made or for another reason, she still didn't know. The pessimistic and defeatist view that she had about herself was what made her inner world a massive world of empty gray void that expanded endlessly.

Thankfully, the alraune's nonsensical words that somehow helped her get an epiphany allowed her to understand just a bit more what her path would be, which is why these small spots of white and black existed.

Their ratios and the places they were in were completely wrong to Mei Wu's senses though. They just didn't feel right and she clearly needed to know what to do about that and how to shape it along with her sense of self and goals into ones that feel just right to her.

"Huh..." Kasumi Ai kept looking at her with interest and understanding before she smirked at her. "So my random words gave you a huge boost in your comprehension skills to your own self? Truly, my knowledge is beyond compare! Maybe if we ever become a part of a city or something, I will set up a shop and sell some random lines that might or might not actually help warriors get enlightened!" she rubbed her hands in a manner that reminded the human woman of greedy merchants, though the intent wasn't that serious and felt like the alraune was just fantasizing about being rich.

"Yes. That can do. Clearly giving actual advices to any possibly hostile entity would greatly help us and totally not screw us over." Mei Wu answered with a sarcastic tone.

Kasumi Ai though waved her hand dismissively.

"Bah! You and your worries about that. If I wanted to set up shop in a city, then I have to be strong enough first! Let's say, when I have the power of an Innate goddess or something? Anything else below, I would be happy joining that small assassin guild you told me about and kill some poor criminals." she shrugged.

"So..." the pink-haired woman looked frankly unimpressed yet incredulous, which was exactly how she felt about that so-called 'ambition' of her not-exactly-teammate, "when you're basically a deity and practically all-mighty in power, you'll swindle poor guys with some flowery poems and phrases, possibly stealing billions of whatever currency they have, but anything lower you'll go kill petty thieves that even random beggars on the Sixth Floor of the Tong Tian Tower and above could kill with just a glare?"

Oh, yeah. Mei Wu still made sure to tell Kasumi Ai about the world beyond the forest and the politics and all that. The alraune wanted to know, and the human lady was glad to oblige.

And even though Mei Wu did not even enter the tower in question, she certainly knew and heard of the legends of the many scary entities living in it, especially the upper floors. She knew that in the upper floors, the sight of Innates would become the norm, and from the Sixth Floor and above, anyone below at least a Level 6 [Elder] is basically a trash.

"Pretty much~!" the alraune chirped with an almost-genuine smile.

"You're going to change your plans on a whim if you ever reach that level, aren't you?" came Mei Wu's flat question as she ignored the way the Qi of nature was seemingly trying to poke on her face as her Qi-sense made her feel as the green-haired woman just smiled innocently.

'I'm really getting too used to her rapid changes in mood.' she mused to herself, 'but is that even a good thing? I mean, it certainly is helpful to me, less headaches from trying to understand her moodswings, on the other hand... moodswings!'

Giving a sigh, she dropped to the ground, feeling a strange feeling of tiredness. One that felt surprisingly familiar, yet not.

"Is everything alright? Are you tired?"

Well, even the alraune realized that it wasn't something physically wrong, since only the feeling of curiosity appeared both on her face and in how her Qi felt, even as a vine moved, leaking healing nectar.

Even as she took it with gratitude, Mei Wu felt like she was really getting too used to this healing nectar, or any nectar from this plant beast. Damn it, this shouldn't be a normal thing, especially since healing pills or items are rather expensive, but ever since she met Kasumi Ai, every shred of common sense was being shattered with an almost-beautiful and sweet cruelty.

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"Not... really. I mean, everything is fine, at least physically, I suppose. I'm just still having trouble imagining this happening, when I look back to how my life was before." the words weren't something new, and she was certain that she had told the alraune that basically shattered her world these same words many times before, and she was even more certain that she thought about them a hundred times more in her head.

"Too good to be true, huh?" Kasumi Ai mused, but there was a hint of pity and concern in it, something easy for Mei Wu to notice.

"Yeah... It can be rather discomforting. Thinking that this is all nothing but a dream, and that in reality, I am just knocked unconscious after he or they had defiled me again." she shuddered as her eyes looked unfocused at the ceiling. "Yeah, just the mere thought of it just fills me with disgust. To even think of that..."

"..." she felt the alraune's eyes looking at her seriously, no sight of or feel of the previous teasing attitude as she the vines stopped moving as if the plant-beast woman was a statue.

"He was planning to enter that tower, you know... Xie Li wanted wanted to grow even stronger there after he finished the investigation we were tasked to do in the forest, to find what was causing distruptions, which was most likely you and the Queen Bee." Mei Wu spoke, an odd tone mixing both relief and pain clear in her voice. "Had we not met you, or had the two guys listened to my warnings and Xie Li attacked you without restraint before you can mount a proper defense, and managed to capture or kill you, then I..."

'Then I wouldn't have changed at all, still stuck as that scum's slave, unlike the current me that is at least trying to find her path...' despite not saying it, she felt that Ai understood the unsaid words and the pain she felt.

Not Kasumi Ai in her mind at the moment, but simply Ai.

The idea honestly felt so foreign even right now, but a part of her was not even bothering with caring about giving face or caring about titles or formalities. After all, wasn't this alraune, who liked switching moods and teasing her, treat her better than anyone practically ever did in her entire life?

Healing her, training with her, giving her advice even accidentally, and just... practically treating her like family! It might've been an exaggeration, but compared to how she lived before, it felt like a strange 'found' family.

Actually, wasn't that how people act when becoming comrades due to facing perilous situations together, or just because? Like what she saw some of the warriors do and act before even if she couldn't comprehend it at that time and hated being jealous towards them?

Oh, how that realisation felt like her heart is tightening both from shock and confusingly painful happiness, and her sight seemed to blur. Why was it blurring?

"Mei Wu? You're- you're crying." concern and a strange feeling of panic invaded her, and it took her a moment to notice that Ai (not Kasumi Ai, damn it! She can't think of this annoyingly pleasant alraune in such a formal way) was the one feeling these feelings.

She blinked at that. Oh... she was crying. Why is she crying? She has nothing to worry about or be scared of!

"I- I'm fine!" she denied with a glare that she felt was more like a hurt expression than anything remotely close to what she wanted to show on her face,, wiping her tears, yet they continued to pour stubbornly. "Just something in my eyes!"

"Mei Wu..." she stilled at that tone. It was just reeking sadness and understanding, something that only made her even more incapable of dealing with this. "We both know that you're not alright at all right now."

No, no no. She definitely is fine! Mei Wu denied with all her heart, even if her own qi was making it clear that she very much is not alright. Trying to ignore all the signs that are practically oozing from her own qi, signs that she would simply accept if these very same were coming from someone else. Even when her mouth opens to deny it, no words can leave from Ai's admission, and she really wants to hate this feeling she was dealing with.

She isn't hurt. She isn't injured. She isn't emotionally weak. She is definitely not crying or having her own emotions in turmoil over this feeling of being safe being hammered into her for the first time in years and finding someone she could connect to on a basis that is a lot better more than a slave and a master-

She suddenly found herself brought up to Ai's humanoid face as the alraune used her vines to hold her and bring them face-to-face. It was so sudden and unexpected her mind stopped working for a second as she gazed at that face expressing tiredness and sadness, the bindings on her torso firm yet not painful in the least.

"You're hurt." it was spoken so assuredly and filled with sorrow, that she felt like they were spoken from experience or prehaps sheer compassion, and Mei Wu would have simply thought of them as another oddity of the sorrowful alraune in front of her if she was not having this agonizing emotional tempest in her heart.

"There's no need to deny it, you know?" a small, tender yet sad smile made itself visible on Ai's face. "You didn't deny your fears and problems about me back then. Why are you afraid of admitting them now?"

"Th-that... That isn't the same..." Mei Wu argued, but even so, the words she had just spouted...

"You don't believe these words, don't you?"

Her hands clenched tightly at that, and she could feel her own qi agreeing with that, and she hates it. She hates this feeling that she was dealing with! Why? Why do her tears keep flowing!? Why is she feeling this out of nowhere!? Why!?

Oh, but of course she knows why. There is no way she would not know or understand it, which is why she wanted to deny it with all her might. Because of course, all the hurt she was dealing with and pushed deep inside wouldn't simply be released just by her ranting and expressing her fury only once.

"I... I don't... I'm not alright. I'm so mad and confused and I just don't know what to think." which is why she whispered her answer, exhaustion and hurt plain to see.

"I... I just thought... that after I blew up my fuse on you, that I had vented my rage and that I might not need to think of that way again. But it seems that even when I try to advance, I just feel that attitude looming at me... I could distract myself from it, but I guess I knew deep in my heart that I would have to deal with that again, as long as I didn't find a way to leave it behind for good. And then you gave me an advice, one that helped me find how I want myself to be..." she said with an honesty that practically made her feel vulnerable.

"And that resulted in you facing that without you even realizing it, like a part you locked away suddenly got freed." Ai finished for her, slightly amazed and baffled even as her sad tone didn't change that much.

"Yeah..." Mei Wu said hoarsely.

Silence followed for a while, and Mei Wu didn't feel the urge to break it. She was just too tired of this hour's revelations. But thankfully, or not, said silence was broken when Ai's expression became softer.

"I'm going to hug you. Is that fine?" the soft voice echoed in the room, and it took her a few seconds before her mind rebooted and she understood what that meant.

"I..." she bit her lips, her eyes tightly closing as she took a shuddering breath.

Screw it. It had been a long time since she was hugged by her own choice. If she wanted to be hugged, then Ai... she can be trusted.

"Yes, please." she almost choked, and she knew from just from their emotions that she would be probably crying heavily.

Time seemed to stretch as she was gently moved towards Ai's body, gently guided to sit on the petals that she knew should be normally sensitive, but the airaune didn't care about that, as the only thing separating them is a mere inch or two, and even that distance ceased to exist as the gentle and delicate hand of the alraune that treated her far better than anyone else wrapped around her.

More personal than she had ever felt, yet strangely more comfortable than she expected, she stopped the flinch that almost started, not used to this level of tenderness since even with her and Ai, the most intimate contact they had so far was them hitting each other during training or Ai playing with her hair out of boredom.

This was a frankly a new level of contact for Mei Wu when it comes to her interactions with Ai, and in the face of that, she found herself breaking down as tears just kept flowing.

"That's it. Just let it all out. Don't let even a shadow of your anguish or happiness locked inside of you."

And despite being unable to see Ai's face, the emotions she felt so closely, almost blanketing her body made it clear that this was a truly sweet thing to live to feel.