NOVEL SIMPLE Ch-15- Guests
(Lou Xia POV)
In the clearing in front of me were these amalgamations of metal that seemed to constantly move on their own and produce this strange huffing sound on the bank of a stream that went through this place. I did not know what they were for, but they did not give off any Qi fluctuations, meaning that some very high-grade formations must have been powering them, as there was no way metal could move like that without formations.
Ignoring this like it was nothing, the kitsune just kept on walking towards a larger building not that much farther from the strange metal contraptions.
Besides that, there was another thing a little ways away from the stream near a large shed. On the outside was a circle made of various work tables with tools belonging to different professions laid out on each of them.
Walking past this, we came to the house I saw from the entrance of the clearing, and it was unlike any other one I had ever seen before. The house looked to be an L-shaped building, with the corner part having a second floor and the long arm having an addition sticking out of the back.
From the outside, the building looked to be made of logs, with stones supporting the base. Almost like some forest or frontier cabin, If they had a solid wall of stone and mortar as the base instead of a few cornerstones. There were also many windows lining the exterior without any shutters, leaving one a clear view of the inside.
The door seemed to be made of sawn and sanded lumber without any form of paint, and there was a side-facing handle with a lock in it like you would find in the capitol, even if those kinds of locks could easily be opened with Qi.
Just in front of the door was a landing made of stone crossing over the stream, forming a small bridge with stone steps leading up to it. The door was also sunk into the stone, showing that the stone on the outside is not just a support for the logs like I thought but actually a half wall.
The kitsune then used her foot to turn the handle on the door, causing it to click as her foot pushed slightly, and the door swung open. This was because she had her hands full with a certain princess.
I should have helped her open the door, if I am to be honest, but I was not thinking that far as I may have been distracted by a certain swaying red fluffy thing.
Regardless of that, I continued to follow the kitsune as she opened the door and entered. Once inside, I was greeted by a table set with six chairs, two on either side and one at the head and end of the table, with a kitchen and stairwell on the other side.
The kitchen was placed along the left wall, and the stairwell started on the one wall before taking a sharp turn and leading upstairs to that weird second floor. Just before the stairs was a doorway leading down the side of the house where the windows I saw earlier were placed.
The kitsune then walks past the table and through that doorway.
Following her once more, I entered the hallway with two doors on the right and windows on the left. Looking through the windows, I saw the stream just below it, as well as the shed and collection of work tables just beyond.
Hearing a door open, I look back at the kitsune to see her enter the far door on the other side of the hallway.
Entering just behind her, I am greeted by a bedroom that seems to be well-furnished but unused till now, almost like she had expected guests to come at some point. The Kitsune then set down Zhuan Jiahao on the bed before turning to me and asking, "Do you have any medical supplies? All I have is unrefined herbs."
Hearing her question, I shook my head and answered, "I have a couple of lower-grade healing pills, nothing that would help this."
The Kitsune tilted her head at this and seemed to be considering something when Zhuan Jiahao spoke up, saying, "I have a golden core Healing pill in my bag."
When Zhuan Jiahao said this, I was momentarily stunned, as those pills were fairly hard to get at our level due to the cost of the ingredients. Thankfully, I did not need them, but they were nonetheless expensive.
However, since he had one and offered to use it himself, I walked over to him and reached to his side to retrieve the space bag.
Opening it, I took the pill bottle marked with a symbol for healing from inside and pulled out the pill, feeding it to him. Zhuan Jiahao gave me a weird look after that, but I ignored it and grabbed a spare robe from my space bag.
Tearing up the robe, I use the strips of cloth as a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding as the pill does its work.
Finishing that, I see that he wants to say something, but before he can, I tell the kitsune that we should let him rest and grab her hand, pulling her out of the room.
Outside the room, I continue pulling her out into the kitchen/dining area. There, I stop before taking a seat on one of the sides of the table.
The kitsune then shrugged when she saw that before taking a seat at the head of the table.
Once seated, she asked me, "So why did we have to leave the room? Aren't those pills supposed to heal him?"
This question seemed a bit off to me, as she should have been a high-level cultivator. However, this could also be a test from her, so I answered truthfully, "They are, but they take a lot of the body's energy to do so, leaving a person fairly tired, especially if it is a pill at your own realm or higher."
That seemed to surprise her for some reason before she responded by asking another basic question. "Oh, wouldn't that be dangerous then? I mean, with the pill needing your own body's energy, if you take one that is too high of a realm, then it could even kill you if that's the case."
This was starting to get even stranger as this was either a very thorough test or she genuinely did not know, which would be impossible if she were a cultivator. Still, I answered her question as truthfully as I could, saying, "Most pills aren't that way, and that one is also a healing pill. They have their own stores of energy, but use your body's energy to make the healing process more efficient and prevent your body from rejecting the healing done. This also means that if your body does not have the energy that the pill needs, it will use only the energy in the pill to do the work, but it won't be as good as it usually is."
Her eyes lit up in understanding as I talked, but when I finished, she said something that made me confused again."Oh, so it's like organ or implant rejection then, I see. So, you guys get around that by using your body's own energy to help make the new body parts? That is quite interesting."
I tried to take the bits that I understood from what she said and infer the rest. However, it did not work as well as I would have liked, so I simply settled for not knowing and replied, "I don't entirely understand what you just said, but sure, we will go with that."
The Kitsune smiled a little self-deprecatingly at my words, saying, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Anyway, the room we didn't go into is yours, and the door on the other side of the room goes to the bathroom. But it isn't fully finished yet, so I will complete it tomorrow after breakfast."
I was once again left even more confused by this fox who now seemed to want to call it a day, yet I also just remembered that I did not know her name. "Oh, thanks. By the way, you know my name, but I don't know yours. Isn't that quite rude?"
She paused at this, and I even thought that I saw a look of panic flash across her face before she said, "Sorry. My name is, um... Vale, short for Valaria. By the way, you can find me upstairs if you need me."
With that, Vale got up and went upstairs, leaving me alone with my thoughts. It also seemed that Vale was not her real name because of the way that she acted, but I will go with it for now, as I do not want to tick off the person wielding a weapon like hers.
I then got up and went to my room.
When I opened the door, I saw that it had the same furniture as Zhuan Jiahao's room, only it was placed mirrored to his.
Walking over to the bed, I flopped down on it, feeling how soft and comfortable it was, before ripping myself away from the almost heavenly mattress and sitting on top of the bed in the lotus position as I began to cultivate to pass the night.
(Valaria's POV)
Walking upstairs, I make my way over to the bed and lay down on top of it, facing the ceiling.
Soon, the window that I had been waiting half the day for appeared in my vision.
[Congratulations [Quest: Mainline 2: First Contact] Completed! You have received the reward of one limit break skill point.]
This notification was quite late, but it seems that the system either has some major changes or Elinaria was watching and prevented it from appearing.
Regardless, this gives me some things to think about as I now had twelve skill points to spend.
Before that, though, I got up off the bed, walked over to the window, and looked up at the sky.
There, hanging above me, were four moons suspended in the void. The first and largest one was white and looked like Earth's moon, if Luna was around two and a half times her size.
I am honestly surprised that I missed it, though that feeling of surprise was feeling a little muted now that I was paying attention to it.
Anyways, around the largest moon were three others that looked to orbit it. The first of those three was around the size of Earth's moon and was a burnished bronze in color. The second one was half the size of the previous one and was a light bluish-green in color. The last of the moons was, again, half the size of the previous one and was deep green in color, almost like it was covered in verdant plant life.
After seeing that and starting at the moons for a while, I walked back to my bed and laid down on it while opening my skill panel.
Pondering for a moment on my previous question, I then decided to first put a point into medicine, which I then added the one-limit break-skill point to. After that, I put three points into marksmanship, swordsmanship, and blacksmithing each.
Stepping back and looking at the skill screen, I see one more skill that I want to get, so I pull out the captain's cultivation core against my better judgment, and convert it into experience.
[You have leveled up] X3
[You have received the level-up rewards of +1 skill points and +2 tech points.]
[You have received the level-up rewards of +1 skill points and +3 tech points.]
[You have received the level-up rewards of +2 skill points and +1 tech points.]
With the new skill points, I place three into chemistry and one into cooking.
Soon, the information came flooding in, but this time, I did something different and cleared my mind, entering a meditative state and trying to learn as much as possible. I even went so far as to draw connections between some of the information I was learning and trying to take it a step further.
While doing this, I did not even notice that I was constantly acquiring new information related to what I was trying to learn.
In this state, I can not even feel the passage of time until I stop receiving information, and a window appears in my vision.
[Congratulations. While receiving the information, you took an active part and received more information than normal as a result. You are now a master in Chemistry and Blacksmithing and a Revolutionary in all fields of medicine. You have also discovered restorative meditation and no longer need to sleep.]
Looking outside the window, I watched as the sky was brightening and the atmosphere was gaining color.
Getting up, I feel that my clothes are stiff, so I look down and check them, only to see they are soaked in blood.
When I checked the bed to see if any blood had gotten on it, I was relieved to see that it was free of blood.
It must have dried on my clothes before I even laid down on the bed, which also raised the question of how I did not feel it.
Anyway, I ignored that train of thought and took off my clothes, revealing that my undergarments were also blood-free.
This was a relief, as I did not have any replacement set on hand, and I did not want to go without them for today as from what I remember about my mother telling my sister, it was fairly obvious when someone was not wearing one.
Counting my blessings in that regard, I put on the dress my body was born(?) created in(?) and put it on. This dress honestly felt wonderful to wear if it was not for the constant weird feeling I got from not being used to wearing such a thing.
Now that I was ready for the day I walked over to the stairs and was ready to head down. Before I did that though, I opened and checked the tech menu after the steam electric generator.
There, I found what I was looking for an electric pump as well as water and waste systems techs. Purchasing them both gave me some knowledge related to the two.
After finishing what I wanted to do, I headed downstairs to prepare breakfast as normal.