Today, the mood was much better for both me and Mei Wu than it was yesterday. The Queen Bee was also amused when she had called us to talk about our continued existence in her domain.

Clearly, the complaint of the Protector Bee that accompanied us last night was taken as seriously as one does in response to a child's ambition of saving the princess. AKA, not taken seriously at all.

I noticed Mei Wu was still twitching her eyes and trying not to scowl as the Queen Bee looked at the two of us, no doubt the qi of honey and poison oozing from the golden king beast reeking with mirth.

"Hi, Queen Bee." I saluted at the relatively gentle and prideful beast that could still eviscerate us in an instant if she wasn't so patient and lenient.

'Hi. Good to see your attitude is just as as charming.' no words were said from her, but the intent was clear as day. Even Mei Wu was easily capable of understanding it as she bowed for a second, though she clearly wasn't as amused as the queen bee was. 'Honestly, I was only planning to just let you on your own, as long as you follow my request. Unfortunately, my little minions started to notice a group of humans waltzing around, you see...'

Immediately, my amusement vanished as I looked intently at her. Mei Wu was also looking just as serious.

The implications of what that meant were clear. The Worker Bees were still going outside for much longer than I and Mei Wu after all, and they were the ones who had the job to watch out for any thing huge happening in the forest.

They spread rather far away from the hive's entrance, but they were still numerous, and the moment danger appears and it was noticed by a good amount of them, they would tell each other either while distracting the enemy and/or go to tell the Queen Bee as fast as possible.

"So, some of them died, I presume." Mei Wu stated.

'Indeed.' the Queen Bee buzzed at that, agreeing. 'Do you think they are of your... former clan, was it? These people that started appearing?'

I noticed when Wu-chan stiffened just for a moment at that. I too, wasn't pleased about it. Then again, anyone from the humans and other sapient and cultivating races who could find us could be a threat to us.

"Maybe." Mei Wu admitted, "It won't be surprising if that was the case, but they could also be someone from another clan, or even a mercenary. Even if one of them was an old warrior, presumably a clan elder, unless I saw them for myself, I won't be able to know for certain if they were from the Xie clan or not."

That was honestly the truth, really. While many rankers don't look alike, and some can be rather unique in their looks, their descriptions don't always really help identifying them unless an image is clear and visible. It doesn't help that many of the clans have different body types and builds, so you can't even use that as a perfect method to know who a person is, unless there was literally only a single person with these specific descriptions in the whole continent.

Even if the Worker Bees gave us words to describe them... the best thing Mei Wu could do to identify the forest investigators (since I saw no humans other than her and her currently dead 'companions') is to see if their outfits are familiar or if the hair color is or something. Maybe their weapons if possible.

'I see. Shame.' I could feel the blatant disappointment at that even if the Queen Bee did not bother shaking her head like I almost thought she would.

'But, before you leave, I wanted to ask you a question...' And with that, her eyes looked at us...

And the world seemed to darken as poisonous and honey-like qi crashed onto both of us, becoming almost a taste in my mouth.

I felt as if ice was jammed into my insides at her look, and Mei Wu followed my reaction as the mood changed from a serious talk to how I felt when I first met her.

The presence, the aura... the intent. I instinctually understood that this pressure that almost made me want to kneel, as Mei Wu actually fell on her legs, was just as heavy as what I felt when I first met her. Even with me growing stronger, the gap between us was just the same as always. My increase in level was as pointless as the same.

I froze, for the first time since I was alive having my instincts of fight or flight causing me to freeze in place from sheer terror. Any rational thought was already vanishing as it was a dream.

... I'm terrified. I don't want this. I don't don't don-!

'Next time you think my hive would be harmed with you under my protection and command, you would immediately tell me about your suspicions, correct? It would be rather bothersome if we all got harmed because you forgot that simple thing, right?' I almost tasted the sweetness of how the tone of her question was declared. No, it was not even a question.

This was a threat, the small part of my mind still capable of thinking told me.

We really should have told her about any possibility of any enemy that could have harmed her right away.

My mouth tries to open, but I just can't. I'm too clammed up. I feel my throat drying at her gaze, and Mei Wu was shaking badly, I almost wondered if she would be fainting at any moment.

If I couldn't handle this amount of killing intent... then how horrible must it be for her, who was still weaker than me and far more sensitive to the Qi of others?

"... Y-yes! We will not fo-forget it!" I barely managed to choke the answer from my mouth with difficulty. The qi oozing from the Golden King Beast in the air felt almost like a literal physical thing that was trying to crush any muscle that was moving in my body, as I was visibly terrified of the monster that was looking at both of us.

And just like that, as soon as the pressure came, it vanished. My upper body immediately dropped, hitting my petals with a soft thud, while my lower monsterous body was drooling, eyes almost rolling. Was this how my current body reacts to a terror so intense it feels like I lost control of my bowels?

Not that I had any time to ponder at all, as Mei Wu almost threw up, barely holding her breakfast inside of her.

'Good.' I heard the Queen Bee's intent telling us, clearly still not amused. 'Luckily, your negligence did not cause a disaster and it was not too late. But I would warn you not to repeat this again. I am allowing you so much freedom because of the benefits we both can give to each other, but unless you suddenly become my equal or above me in power, I still expect you to be responsible and tell me what could be dangerous as soon as possible. Is that clear?'

There were no words for me to speak. Not that I nor Mei Wu had a chance, as the buzzing continued.

'Your choice of not telling me directly, or at least telling the Protector Bee that was with you to send that message to me, is a serious mistake. But since it thankfully had no immediate or clear negative impact on me and my hive, I shall forgive this. Do not disappoint me any further. Even I have limits to my generosity.'

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Shakily, we both nodded, and we got ourselves excused.

----------------------------------------

"You know... we were hilariously, ridiculously lucky today, weren't we?"

It had been hours ago since the queen's demands and authority were hammered against us, and we were allowed (practically ordered) to stay away from her for the time being. Not that I and Mei Wu minded that at all. If anything, we were frankly way too happy to leave the Queen Bee's area.

The whole experience was, bluntly, horrifying for both of us. Mei Wu took the whole thing way worse due to the sheer sensitivity to qi that she has. If I felt death practically ripping me from my body, she definitely felt that a dozen times worse, and even now she was still shaking badly.

I honestly have no idea how we both managed to get our quota of containing my nectar when we weren't all there in our heads. It was probably just our bodies doing it instinctually both out of habit and because we really did not want to piss the mother of bees off, anymore than we did anyways. If that wasn't enough, we were practically grounded by our currently not-so-gentle boss. Partly because of our mistake, and partly due to the very real danger the humans could pose.

How I hate how much this makes sense and feels like a completely logical and arguably fair punishment.

"Yeah..." in response to my near-rhetoric question, Mei Wu didn't even pretend to look irritated. She just let her body stay on the floor as she gazed at the ceiling, looking almost as defeated as she was when I first met her and she thought that I was planning to torture and kill her.

I couldn't muster any effort to give her a joking smile. Instead, mine looked brittle. Today, the reality of the world I was in, and my current place in it were hammered at me once more in my admittedly short life in this world.

I was still too weak, and Mei Wu too. Gold-ranked beasts are monsters beyond the norm, and I was very certain that even a warrior with the power of a Level 6 [Elder] would be able to defeat me.

If I wanted to live unbothered, I need to get stronger, Wu-chan as well. Of course, saying that and trying to go for it are completely different things.

For me to grow stronger, I would need to feed on the corpses of my enemies, and ones that are tough as well. This would require that I feed on a huge amount of silver and gold-ranked beasts and high-level warriors if possible.

Demon Generals and demonic beasts would be highly helpful, since I was practically their predator, and I was certain that at my level, I would not lose to any of them at my level or below... But I would not be able to find them under the Queen Bee's rule, so unless I wanted to GTFO of the hive, which I believe even an idiot should know is basically a death wish especially with what happened today... I would just have to pray that they enter the forest and attack the hive...

Yeah... I'll just keep hoping for that, just in case.

Mei Wu... is admittedly having it harder than me, honestly. At least I need to just eat my prey's body to evolve my level and rank. She though needs to kill her opponents or fight them for real and survive. She basically has to act like a player in an RPG where killing the enemy will reward her with XP thus leveling up.

...

I can't let this continue.

My fist clenched, a feeling of grim determination surging through my veins. It definitely did not alleviate all my fears, but I was prepared to state something that I felt Mei Wu would take as insane, but I didn't care about that.

I was feeling mad at myself too. Both for forgetting about this idea, and for how even a part of me is telling me it is stupid, but I don't give a damn.

Mei Wu's tired eyes met mine, and I almost felt her shudder from the intensity I was looking at her.

"Wu-chan, how well is your cultivation going?"

I was serious about that. I wanted to know what level she reached. She was currently the equivalent to a Level 2 [Braveman], but whether she was at the intermediate or advanced 'sub-rank' of it, is out of my ability to see.

Comparing the quantity of the qi inside of her, she seemed to be rather close to Xie Li's amount, but I might be wrong though.

"Wanting to see a way to train me even with our house arrest, huh. Somehow, I'm not surprised at all about this." she sighed tiredly, slowly raising her body. Despite her being practically fine physically, and even her qi being at its peak, it looked like she was mustering a lot of effort to rise.

It was obvious that she was still not fully there, mentally. Not that I was one to speak. I'm still terrified out of my mind, and I'm sure that I would lose it if things got any more impossibly difficult.

"I'm... I think I am almost reaching the peak of [Braveman]... Maybe if my qi is fully painted by my desire, or I have a cataclyst, I will break through to the [Hero] rank..." her lips thinned at that, clearly anxious about the prospect.

"But then again, this level I've reached is almost a miracle." she murmured, but I heard her just fine.

I frowned at that, looking at her quizzingly. "What do you mean? I thought you had that power in you already... you just needed to find your identity, isn't that right?"

"Yes, but I'm pretty sure one can't just grow from a mere Level 1 [Apprentice] to almost a Level 3 [Hero]. This... this power is already more than I dreamed of." she admitted, looking at her own hands. "I don't think that mere introspection would just make me grow this powerful, Ai'er. Many trained for years, even in the Xie clan and many others, and they were still stuck as [Apprentices]. This jump of power..."

I understood her point. She was basically saying that something else was needed to help her advance so fast... Something that she had only got after meeting me... could it be?

The thought that entered my head almost made me suck a breath from shock. I was certain that I know what that thing that helped her advance so fast was.

If I was correct... then my idea for training would be highly helpful for her at the very least.

With that, I took a breath, and stepped forwards, my eyes never letting contact with hers.

"Wu-chan, I think I know why you advanced so fast. I really hope this is true, and if so, this would be one hell of a discovery for the both of us." I was being completely sincere about it.

"What are you...?"

I ignored her confusion, and decided to be blunt about it. Honestly, just the thought of what I was planning was frankly awkward, and could even be stated as embarrassing, especially knowing what I know about it. I need to tell her before I had second thought about it.

"It's my qi." I stated, quickly getting my point across. "My qi is what was probably helping you. At least, I think so. You and me both... we were used to using my nectars as source of energy and nutrition. You were drinking my nectars practically five or more times per day. Nectars that were made and filled by my own Qi."

Because that made sense. Even if the propriety of the nectars I create could vary, they were still made from my own Qi. The energy of a silver-ranked plant beast who was also cultivating a technique made for people or beasts like me.

My Qi was also becoming a bit purer every time I unlock a meridian. That amount of pure qi cycling inside Mei Wu's body so frequently, I wouldn't be surprised if it did have an effect on her, especially since even then, I still liked her.

If demons could make their demonic Qi practically corrosive to other beings' Qi, and healers could make their Qi potent to fix even the most stubborn injuries, then why can't Qi be used to also expand another's limits, even within reason?

That just made too much sense.

"N-no way. That's... it's too absurd! Yet... it makes sense! How!? Even with that...!"

Shock, bafflement, then realization all made themselves known at Mei Wu's face so quickly, as she looked at me, face gaping.

I almost chuckled at the sight. Seeing her so surprised at me would never be dull, but I forced myself to ignore that amusement, as I had to declare what I was thinking of.

And thus, I took a deep, long breath. I need to make this as clear as possible.

"I'm not an idiot, Wu-chan. We both know that I'm not exactly the most normal alraune here. My qi is definitely purer than almost any beast around, and you were basically consuming drinks with that pure power into them. It's practically like a cultivation pill!"

I felt my confidence rising with every word, as deep in my heart along with the increasing weight of awkwardness as I sensed my own Qi agreeing with me. I was definitely certain that this was the truth, and I could feel that she too, understood it deep inside her heart.

Sucking a breath, her eyes almost pierced my soul as she gazed at me, an air of something resembling awe and confidence, but I could feel the glimmer of hesitance as she felt my own embarrassment.

"At least, you are making actual sense this time. I assume you have an actual idea on how to help us train under this house arrest? I hope it isn't some stupid poem that turns to be a deep metaphor now? I would be frankly irritated if it was, seeing you are clearly trying to hide your shame from me."

"He... hehe..."

I found myself chuckling at her blunt approach, my cheeks blushing.

Ah, screw it! I'll just tell her, and if she liked it, then we'll do it.

"Sure, I have an idea... let's cultivate together, sweetie~ And by that..."

And so, my voice echoed, as I gave a small teasing grin.

"Let's dual cultivate; Wu-chan. Purely a platonic practice of course!"