Ch-16-The Elder Arrives (First Edit)

(Lou Xia POV)

Before dawn, I exited my cultivation, grabbed my sword from my space bag, and began practicing my technique.

When the light of dawn lit the world, I stopped my practice and left the room. I entered the kitchen and dining area, expecting our host to already be up by now, only to see no one there.

Choosing to wait for her, I went over to the table and took a seat. Soon, I heard some footsteps upstairs that briefly stopped before a figure fell through the opening in the ceiling that was left for the stairs and kicked off the wall, doing a half turn and landing on her feet in the middle of the room facing me.

When she landed and looked up to see me sitting there, she looked shocked before mumbling something I could not make out and walking over to the stove.

Vale: "Breakfast will be ready in a moment. I hope you like steak because that is all I have right now."

Not wanting to refuse her, I just sat there and watched as she pulled out a piece of meat and a cast iron skillet from her spatial device and placed them on the stove.

She then takes out some wood, places it in the opening below, and lights a fire to begin cooking. I do not understand why she does not use a Qi flame, but all high-ranking cultivators have their own peculiarities.

When she came down, I also noticed she was wearing a type of dress that I had never seen before.

After a while, the smell of cooking meat spread throughout the house, and the sleepy head down the hall finally decided to join us.

Taking his seat on the other side of the table, Zhuan Jiahao and I waited for the kitsune to finish preparing the food. When she finished, she pulled out some plates and utensils and brought the meal over to the table.

Following tradition and waiting for our host to take a bit first, I watched in fascination as she put her hands together and bowed her head, muttering something under her breath before lifting her head and cutting the steak. 

When she took a bite, showing that the food was safe, Zhuan Jiahao and I followed suit.

I was shocked after the first bite to find that we were eating the meat of a foundation realm beast.

Though this did not do much for my cultivation, it was not every day you got to eat the meat of a beast like this. I was also behind in my body cultivation, so this would help with that.

No longer caring about etiquette, I practically inhaled my food. Finishing, I looked up to see that Jiahao had done the same.

Looking at the kitsune, I saw that she had just taken the last bite. Though her eating was not elegant, she was still more refined than Jaihao or me. 

Vale: "I am glad to see that someone likes my food. Now I have some things I need to finish up on the house so you can either watch me or sit here. Sorry, there's not much to do, but I didn't really plan for any guests staying for very long."

With that said, she gathered the dishes and walked back into the kitchen. Getting up and following her, I decided to help with the dishes.

Vale: "Oh, thank you."

Lou Xia: "It's the least I could do for you helping us."

After finishing the dishes, she stored them back in her spatial device and went to walk outside. Before she reached the door, we all heard the screech of an eagle from outside and the loud flapping of wings. Running out the door, I see Eldre Xei jumping down off the back of the wind strider.

(Vale POV)

Stepping outside, I am greeted by a giant bald eagle the size of a two-story house. Standing next to it is a burly middle-aged man with salt and pepper-colored bread and hair and gray-colored eyes. His beard reaches down to his chest, and his sideburns have been shaved off. The middle-aged man looks at the two guests of mine before saying, "Is this the person we are looking for?"

Lou Xia: "Sorry, Elder Xei, but we haven't checked as we almost got killed by a golden core stage white tiger when she saved us and have spent the night here recuperating."

Elder Xei: "Then what are you waiting for? Pull out the talisman and check."

Lou Xia then waved her hand, and a small slip of paper appeared in it with a beam of light above it pointing in my direction. Moving left and right, I saw the been of light follow me, so I could infer that they were the people for the Silver Moon Sect.

Looking back at them, I locked eyes with the Elder. Then, what felt like the air and gravitational pressure increased as my senses felt like they were underwater.

Taking this as a provocation, I pulled out my rifle from my inventory and chambered a round. Lou Xia shuddered off to the side, watching me pull out the rifle, but I could not care less as I felt my instincts trying to take hold. They were not as strong as they once were, but I still needed to suppress them consciously. Then the Elder spoke.

Elder Xei: "Where is the chartered ship of the Silver Moon Sect?"

Vale: "Shipwrecked on the coast not far from here."

Elder Xei: "Did you have any part in making it wreck?"

Vale: "Not exactly."

Elder Xie: "What do you mean not exactly? It's a yes or no question."

Vale: "And if I was unconscious during the whole thing, would I still be the one who caused it to crash?"

Elder Xei: "And how can I be certain that you are telling the truth?"

Vale: "How can I be certain that no matter what I say right now, you would not just kill me and be done with it?"

Elder Xei: "How dare you?! I am a righteous cultivator, not some member of a demonic sect!"

Vale: "And how can I be certain you're telling the truth when all I have to go on is your word?"

Elder Xei: "My robe and token should be enough!"

Vale: "I don't know what the robe of an elder of the Silver Moon Sect should look like, and I can't sense Qi yet, either."

With my last comment, he seemed at a loss for words. Afterward, the pressure released, and I put my rifle away. Now, back to some sense of civility, I step back and motion to the door of my house. He simply shook his head before going silent, no doubt thinking of my words.

(Elder Xei POV)

I was sitting on the outskirts of the Forgotten Forest, waiting for the chaos Qi to dissipate with the wind strider by my side.

After two days, it had lessoned enough for me and the wind strider to enter. Following the tracking talisman that I gave the disciples, I soon saw a pillar of smoke rising in the distance.

The size of the pillar suggests that it is similar to a campfire. The smoke pillar is also in the direction of the two that I sent into the forest.

Reaching there, I see an odd house surrounded by more oddities. Ignoring them, I land and step off the wind-strider only to see both disciples exit the house. Following the two was what looked to be a fox-kin girl with blood-red hair and a tail.

Little did I know that this would lead to one of the most interesting encounters I have had in a long time.

This girl, perhaps no older than sixteen or eighteen, managed to outwit me in a game of words. Now, I had to think about how to determine whether she was telling the truth. Finally, I came up with a solution I think might work.

Elder Xei: "I will give you the benefit of the doubt and decide to trust you, but I want the full story."

Vale: "That I can do. It's not like there is much use in hiding it after all, and there isn't much either of us can do to change it."

With that, she sat down on one of the steps leading up to her house and started to recount a sequence of events that I never thought I would ever hear coming from someone completely sane in my life.

The first thing that jumped out to me that made me think that she was lying was when she started to talk about a goddess. Still, soon, I was doubting whether the claim by some of my colleagues that gods and goddesses are just different names for immortals and not something else entirely.

Then she started talking about the storm and what she saw of the crew, and that was when I completely forgot about that debate and started questioning other things, not knowing this was just the start.