“Teacher Xuewei, are we going to a meeting or just out to play…?” I sighed at the endless forest ahead, a green sea rippling to the horizon.

Ever since we stepped past the city gate, she changed like shedding an old cloak; her steady, mature air blown away like dust. She poked and prodded me on the road, even snatched my snacks like a sparrow darting.

“Of course we’re here to have fun. Staying in the city feels like stagnant water.” Xuewei grabbed a handful of chips and tossed them in like dry leaves.

Panic thumped like a drum in my chest. “But, Xuewei… Teacher, we’re supposed to attend the meeting, right? We’re almost late!”

“Seaweed.”

“…”

“Then, Teacher… could you unlock this chain for me?” My voice tiptoed like mist; I lifted my wrist.

“Nope. I’m afraid you’ll bolt like a rabbit.”

“Why would I run…?” My heart tugged like a tethered kite.

“You expect me to believe smoke and mirrors?”

“…” What is she even saying? Confusion pooled like fog.

“But I… I need the bathroom… ugh.” Shame flushed up like sunset; her stare pinned me like a hawk.

“What’s the big deal? We’re both girls. Just do it in front of me.” She shrugged, willow-light.

“How is that possible! Some boundaries are stone walls, even between girls!”

“Then we wait.” Her tone was sand running through an hourglass.

“Please, Teacher Xuewei, we’re really about to be late! Didn’t you say we had to arrive before noon? It’s already 11:55!”

“…”

“Five minutes. That’s enough.” She pulled out a thin, soft cord, snake-supple. She tied one end to her Iceflame Spear, knotting it tight like a sailor.

Dread rolled in like a stormcloud. I watched, throat dry.

“You know what this is?” Her smile flashed cold, a blade under moonlight.

“W… what?”

“An old friend gave me this cord. It’s made from a special material—soft as silk, springy as fresh bamboo. If you tie someone, it won’t leave marks like frostbite. Use the right method, and it traces the body’s curves like a calligrapher’s brush. Problem is, I don’t really have anyone I want to tie up. So why give me this thing…”

“…” This is a hint, right? It has to be. Alarm bells clanged like bronze.

My knees quivered like reeds; I edged back, tide pulling me from her shore.

She only giggled, clear as silver bells. “Relax. For now, I don’t need the rope.”

“Right…” Relief drizzled in, cool as rain.

“Actually, after a little testing, I found the rope’s proper use is—this!” Xuewei hurled the spear like a comet. Whoosh.

“Xue—aaahhh!”

As the spear flew, she grabbed the cord. Inertia took us like a river’s surge. We shot forward, and she dipped to wrap an arm around my waist like a quick sash.

…

“Phew. Right on time.” Her breath misted like winter air.

We had jumped straight down from several hundred meters, like stones from a cliff. My lower half was wet, shame clinging like a rain-soaked skirt.

“…” Only ghosts know what I just went through! One minute—one minute—and we crossed half the Elven Dominion like an arrow. The yawning sky made my stomach drop; maybe I’ve got a touch of vertigo now…

“Quit spacing out. Let’s move. See? No one’s around anymore. Location’s about the eighteenth floor.”

“The eighteenth floor!?” The number loomed like a mountain stair.

“Yeah. That’s what my Imperial Sister said. The meeting’s in the capital of the Elf Clan, and this building is the venue.”

“We’re doomed. We still have to climb, so why did we jump down!?” The stairwell gaped like a canyon.

“I see.” Xuewei tapped her chin, sparks of thought flickering. “Got it. We’ll use the old method to go up.”

“The… old method?” Shadowy dread crept in like dusk.

“Ahhh, don’t send us skyward like that again!”

When we reached the place, the great conference hall lay empty, a lake at dawn with no ripples.

“Teacher Xuewei… did you… get the time wrong?”

“No!” She bristled like a cat. “My Imperial Sister told me: be here before one!”

“But you literally said noon…”

“You must’ve misheard.” Her words puffed away like dust.

“Since we’re here, let’s grab a good seat and eat lunch.” Xuewei sprawled into the most conspicuous spot, sunlight on a throne. Because of the chain, I had to sit at her side, leash-tight.

“Teacher Xuewei, could you unlock it? I… I want to change my panties…” Heat rose like a summer wave.

“Kids and their troubles…” Her mouth twitched, a ripple across calm water. This time, she didn’t invent another excuse.

“Thank you, Teacher!” The words floated out like feathers. Why am I thanking her?

Forget it—just change. The discomfort crawled like ants under my skin.

There wasn’t any private space, but I can make my own. A few walls of ice, and I had a dressing room, frost lilies blooming in a circle.

“Good… no one came.” I melted the ice, morning snow dissolving, and let out a long sigh.

“You’re so fussy about changing panties. Ice walls? There’s no outsiders here.” Xuewei shot me a sideways glance, sharp as a blade.

“…” I had no energy left to retort; my mood ebbed like a spent tide.

“Since you’re done, come here.” She smiled, crescent-calm, and flicked the chain like a lazy serpent.

“No way!”

“Oh? Planning to run again?” Her smile iced over, winter-white.

She pulled the rope out once more, ivy coiling in her palm.

“…I knew it.” Resignation drizzled down like gray rain.

Until her Imperial Sister arrived, the chain clung to my wrist like an iron vine.

Xuewei seemed to fear her Imperial Sister, the way a shadow makes fire behave. She’d never listen to her own older brother, yet she heeded her sister’s word.

Xuewei’s Imperial Sister—Bai Zhi—actually came in person. The meeting must be important, thunder rolling behind the quiet.

Next came the Priestess of the Beastkin, a foxfolk girl with long golden hair like sunlit wheat. I’ve roamed the continent but never visited the Beastkin or the elves’ lands, and even I’d heard her name.

Legend says the Priestess speaks with a true God, voice threading prayer like silk, and can even borrow that power—the ancestor of the Beastkin, root-deep as an ancient tree.

By the way, why is every Priestess a foxgirl?

That’s… fantastic!

Ahhh, those big ears and tail look fluffy as fresh snow. Hugging her would be cloud-soft. I want to bury my face in her chest and huff—haa—

“Ow ow ow!”

“Where are you looking! You’re drooling!” Xuewei’s face darkened like a brewing storm as she pinched my cheeks with crab-claw force.

“What’s wrong with looking? She’s pretty—my eyes can look, can’t they?” I glared at Xuewei, tears shimmering like dew. My cheeks still burned like coals.

The Priestess noticed and giggled, bells tinkling. “Little sister seems to like me. How about visiting the Beastkin sometime? I’ll guide you for free across our lands.”

“Shut it, you flirtatious fox!” Xuewei snapped, words flying like arrows. “I know exactly what you’re after. ‘Play,’ huh? A few days in and somehow you’re in the hot springs!”

“Aww, hot springs are heaven. I love them.” Steam curled in her voice like rising clouds.

“Heh. Don’t think I don’t know you Priestesses—”

“That’s enough, Xuewei. We’re guests. Don’t start fights on someone else’s turf.” Bai Zhi cut in, cool wind smoothing ruffled feathers.

“…” Realizing some things shouldn’t be said, Xuewei shot the Priestess a glare, sharp as a spear, then turned away like a weather vane.

The Priestess just smiled, crescent-soft, and stayed quiet.

“Um… Priestess, can I really visit later?”

“Of course. The Beastkin—no, I—welcome you anytime, little sister.” Her eyes warmed, amber pooling like honey.

This gaze felt familiar, threads of deja vu winding like silk. I’ve seen it before, more than once. Dreamsound looked at me like that too…

“Don’t push it, foxy.”

“Bleh~” The Priestess stuck out her tongue, petal-pink, and stopped teasing.

Anyway, the seed of curiosity was planted, buried like spring grain. Now she just has to wait. This little one is so cute… I’ll make sure to win her over.

I lowered my head, a stalk bowing in wind, and stopped looking at Xuewei. My thoughts scattered like leaves, already planning what to do next.