Everything in Qingqiu Nine Calamities' room looked normal.

Mulan almost started doubting whether her intuition was off.

Qingqiu Zili looked just as dejected. Her tail had long since lost its usual energy, and she didn't even feel like wagging it happily anymore.

"May, do you think we're going to fail?"

"Emmm..."

Mulan lowered her head and thought. Hearing the fox girl's dispirited tone beside her, she unconsciously flicked her tail in front of her.

That silent gesture had become a habitual form of comfort.

Whenever Qingqiu Zili started feeling down, Mulan would do this.

She couldn't even be bothered to care whether this counted as actively showing affection anymore.

"Mmm."

Qingqiu Zili quickly threw off the gloom filling her head. She hugged Mulan's fluffy big tail and started kneading it, and her bad mood vanished in an instant.

Mulan kept thinking about how to expose Qingqiu Nine Calamities' disguise.

Since the longer this dragged on, the more uneasy she felt, then the best option was to shorten that time however she could. That was better than waiting for an unknown crisis to creep closer bit by bit.

Mulan had been in this world for less than two months. She lacked all kinds of important knowledge and experience. Playing chess with an old scheming bastard was basically asking to suffer.

She didn't have time to become a master chess player.

But maybe she could become the rogue who flipped the board.

A loli who loved slacking off always preferred the simplest and roughest methods.

Mulan had no intention of wasting too much time on this troublesome matter.

"Zili, didn't you want to eat Violet Crystal Grapes? Go eat Qingqiu Nine Calamities' share."

Mulan pulled back the tail that had been kneaded into a mess and used her hand to smooth it back into its sleek shape.

Qingqiu Zili hesitated instead.

"But won't that annoying guy notice?"

"Hmph. So what if he notices? He might've already realized it."

"Then this princess won't hold back!"

With that said—

Qingqiu Zili sprang into action. Her tail swayed happily as she rushed to the wooden table and started going all out.

"Hmph. That annoying guy doesn't deserve to enjoy Violet Crystal Grapes that belong to this princess."

Fresh Violet Crystal Grapes were delivered to Qingqiu Nine Calamities every day.

After all, Qingqiu Nine Calamities was a noble male green fox. Naturally, he was qualified to enjoy the Azure Fox Realm's rare specialty.

"Mine, mine, all mine!"

The gluttonous princess absolutely wouldn't allow that annoying guy to enjoy her favorite fruit.

At some point, Mulan came back to Qingqiu Zili's side with a pile of pebbles she had picked up.

Crystal-clear grape juice clung to Qingqiu Zili's lips, and obvious curiosity rose in her eyes.

"What's this?"

A subtle curve lifted at Mulan's lips as she shot Qingqiu Zili a mysterious look.

"These are magical little tools we'll use in a bit."

"Oh."

Qingqiu Zili didn't keep asking. Instead, she sped up and continued sweeping through the Violet Crystal Grapes in front of her.

Only then did Mulan finally react.

"Hey! You greedy fox, leave some for me!"

...

Qingqiu Nine Calamities returned to the Qingqiu palace with lazy, unhurried steps.

Mature and steady. Gentle and refined. Virtuous and talented.

That was the image he held in the eyes of the foxes.

Along the way—

The fox servants doing odd jobs in the palace all offered Qingqiu Nine Calamities their highest respect.

Even the black fox elders looked at him with clear admiration.

Even without the powerful affinity a green fox should have, he could still win the fox clan's approval.

It was really nothing difficult at all.

With things already tilted so heavily to one side, how could one or two rebellious little foxes possibly turn the tide?

Qingqiu Nine Calamities returned to his room and quickly sensed a trace of something off.

"Heh."

The changes in the room were extremely subtle in the details, but they still couldn't escape his careful observation.

Someone had definitely searched through his room.

And the only ones who would do something like that were those two pampered green foxes.

Those two had been making quite a few little moves lately.

But so what?

Such insignificant tricks were nothing more than a light itch to him.

Qingqiu Nine Calamities walked to the wooden table and sat down, his gaze settling on the Violet Crystal Grapes placed on it.

Their crystal-clear appearance looked extremely enticing. Even as fruit, they made for excellent decoration.

Qingqiu Nine Calamities had to admit the Azurehill Fox Clan had taste.

Even he had grown somewhat fond of that premium texture after trying Violet Crystal Grapes.

They didn't have some heaven-defying buff effect, but for satisfying one's appetite, they could still be called top-grade food.

At this time every day, Qingqiu Nine Calamities would also relax a little. At the very least, he wouldn't stay quite so guarded.

"Time to reel in the net."

Qingqiu Nine Calamities plucked a Violet Crystal Grape and tossed it into his mouth.

The next second, his expression froze.

"Puh."

Qingqiu Nine Calamities spat out the hard object in his mouth. His cold gaze fixed on the pebble on the ground, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Those two little brats..."

...

...

The scene shifted.

Inside the Qingqiu Black Spire—

Mulan and Qingqiu Zili leaned against the wall, eating Violet Crystal Grapes.

"Mmm~ That guy probably ate the fake grape by now. I wonder what kind of face he made."

Qingqiu Zili laughed as she ate, feeling thoroughly vindicated inside.

"Why didn't this princess think of such a satisfying method before? May, you're seriously a genius fox!"

Back then, Qingqiu Zili had felt extremely annoyed whenever she looked at Qingqiu Nine Calamities, but she had no idea what to do to ease the pressure in her heart.

Now it seemed a highly targeted prank was actually a pretty good method.

Her past self had just been too well-behaved.

"May, just do it for this princess, okay? Keep using pranks on that annoying guy!"

"Hah~ The first time has the best chance of working. The second time might not work at all."

Mulan muttered softly.

The reason this prank had succeeded was thanks to the Third Elder.

After the transformation art of the First Tail became more and more practiced, it could be used on external objects too. Turning pebbles into Violet Crystal Grapes was one example.

Mulan had originally wanted to try it herself, but once she thought about how her mere three-tail strength might be seen through by Qingqiu Nine Calamities at a glance, she went to ask the Third Elder for help instead.

For that, she had even acted spoiled with the Third Elder for quite a while.

"Anyway, once the prank succeeds, it's basically the same as laying our cards on the table. Qingqiu Nine Calamities might be planning to turn hostile soon, so you should be mentally prepared."

"Hmph~ This princess isn't scared at all. The elders are very strong. As long as he reveals his true face, the elders will defeat him very quickly."

Qingqiu Zili didn't have the slightest sense of crisis. She still carefree enjoyed the delicious taste of the Violet Crystal Grapes.

Mulan let out a soft sigh. She had no idea when this whole objective would finally be completed.

"Right, does the Azurehill Fox Clan have any natural enemies?"

"Natural enemies? No. The Azurehill Fox Clan is a noble and powerful race. How could we have something like natural enemies? But..."

Qingqiu Zili paused, as if she had thought of something.

"But what?"

Mulan pressed at once. Clearly, this answer was very important to her.

"Mmm, if I really had to name one, then in ancient times there was a kind of being—the Greedwolf Cursefiend. It was the true culprit behind the curse that made the Azurehill Fox Clan suffer so much."