I don't get a say in this, do I?

Part 3

Ningjing pov

"Aww, poor little thing." I picked up the baby fox, being extra careful with its paw. I wanted to heal it, but I didn't know the effects my herbs could have on it. "Bǎo, would it be okay for me to use the herbs in my satchel on this little guy?"

[Yes, host. You can heal the fox with those herbs. They're not harmful to him.] Bǎo, ever the helpful one, told me. "That's good to know. Thank you, Bǎo." I immediately started to work on the little fox. I first got the splinter out. Afterwards, I carefully washed the wound clean by the river. I then wrapped it up with the herbs I had previously collected.

By the time I finished, the little fox felt save enough to fall asleep on my lap. As he laid there, I was slowly caressing his head. "It's really adorable... Bǎo, what's the species of this guy exactly?"

[He's a snow fox. Not to be confused with the snow foxes in your world, these foxes have really big qi reserves and they have the ability to trap others in a really strong illusion where it's almost impossible to get out. They get their name from their fur colour.]

"And does that mean that everything that happened since my arrival in the river is just an illusion?" I hoped not. [No, host. I, as an otherworldly being, don't usually get affected by such things, unless it's a really powerful being. Like a demon lord. In turn you don't, either.]

"You somehow manage to amaze me, every time. How do you do it?" My words were genuine. Rarely have I ever read stories with such useful systems. Mostly they're more like a nuisance rather than a helping hand. 'I REALLY lucked out.'

[You praise me too much. I'm just doing my job...] Liar. I could hear that he was touched. "By the way, little Bǎo, I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to give you your own body. I imagine that being mostly invisible would be annoying."

[...... well, it's possible once you get to a certain level, or complete a mission and get a wish as your reward.]
"I see... when will you start giving me missions, though?" I hadn't gotten a single mission yet.

[Once you get to a civilization. It's about two weeks away with the pace we're going at.]
I was really relieved after hearing that. Don't get me wrong, Bǎo is great company, but I haven't talked to anyone else for a week. 'Back in my world, I could go a month without speaking out a single word, but I had my phone and books back then.'

Then, I realized something. 'I forgot to check my status after that burst.'

"Bǎo, show me my status, please." [Of course.]:

Name: Zhang Minju; Courtesy name - Ningjing
Level: 5
Age: 21 (mentally); 16 (physically)
Aliases: none
Relatives: unknown mother (dead)
unknown father (dead)
no other known family
Marital status: single
IQ: 150 (improvement through points possible)
EQ: 120 (improvement through point possible)
Health (mental): 6/10 (it is what it is)
Health (physical): 8/10 (improvements possible)
Cultivation potential: 10/10
Talents: drawing; cooking; problem solving; remembering
Skills: embroidery; polyglot; extensive knowledge (due to good memory and curiosity); basic survival skills; hunting; gathering
Relationships: Friends: Derya Akkaya (dead); Lucia Monroe; Thomas Morton; Bǎo (system)
Lover: none
Martial talents: mostly in theory
Hearing: 10/10
Eyesight: 8/10
Awareness of surroundings:8/10 (improveable)
Artifacts: ancient sword technique scroll
Exp: 7k
System points: 100

"It's quite the change for such a small amount of time." I was really happy with the results. My physical health skyrocketed! Not to mention, I SKIPPED 4 LEVELS?! This is heaven! Wait.

"Bǎo, to what level do beginner cultivators correspond to?" [15]
"And what class does my level correspond to?" [A hunter.]
"I'll take it. It could have been much worse."

...

"I'm feeling sleepy, could you please warn me when someone or something comes near?" The adrenaline I felt before was now completely gone, and the aftermath of hours of walking was starting to sink in. 'I'll start training tomorrow.' I fell asleep with the little fox on my lap.
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9 hours later
Ningjing pov

I woke up with a weight on my lap. When I looked down, I made eye contact with the little fox I healed yesterday.

'I wanna keep him.'
"Bǎo, good morning." 'Even if I have questions, it's rude to skip the morning greetings.'
[Good morning host! Do you have any questions first thing in the morning?] I repeat, my favorite system. "Two, actually. First, do you know why this little guy hasn't left yet? The wound seems almost healed completely."
[He probably hasn't left yet, because he felt safe next to you. Foxes in this world have naturally good intuition.]

That made me happy. "Then onto my next and last question. Can we keep him?" I started giving Bǎo puppy eyes (granted I didn't really know in which direction he was). After staying silent, he finally answered:
[Fine. But you have to take good care of him.]

"Of course!" I beamed. I've always wanted to have a pet, but could never afford it. 'What a good way to start the day.' "So, what to name you, little guy?" He nuzzled into my hand, 'My heart 💘'

"Jūn. He looks quite majestic, after all." [No fair, host! Why does he get such a nice name, when I'm stuck with a cutesy name?! I call favoritism!]

"Hahaha, but you ARE really adorable, little Bǎo! And now you're just proving my point." [Hmp.]
'Why can I picture a little boy with round cheeks pouting at me? I really need to make him my baby brother soon ☺️'

After I fed little Jūn some fruits and had breakfast myself, I took a quick bath in the river and made my way towards the town Bǎo mentioned yesterday, with Jūn laying on my shoulders.
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It's been three weeks, and I'll be arriving at the town tomorrow. 'Why did it take me an extra week?', you may ask. That's because I've been stopping for a day every third day to practice my combat abilities, along with the sword (with a stick). I'm now on level 8, with 28k exp. I got to such higher level, because I started hunting more frequently, because Bǎo told me that Jūn would need to eat a lot of meat to grow properly. 'If I'm going to take him under my wing, the least I could do is to make sure he eats properly.'

It was now sunset and both me and Jūn were tired from walking. I decided to stay here for the night. As usual, Jūn came up to my lap and got comfortable as I fed him some rabbit meat. I preferred to stick to the fruits I found for now. After our meal, I leant back to a tree, dozing off quickly after bidding my two little companions good night.