(Lou Xia POV)
I was finally able to leave the mansion after quite a few hours of my father lecturing me about destroying the garden and using some choice words against my mother.
I did not regret what I had said, especially since my mother was clearly trying to hold back laughter the entire time, but I will still try to keep my mouth in check the next time.
Besides that, I was now on my flying sword, heading for Vales Peak to try and apologize to her for anything that my parents could have done. After all, I was the one person who knew just how many screws they had lose or even, in some cases, completely missing.
However, I was not one to talk about that, considering what I did to Silica after finding Vale in the basement. Thankfully, Cynthea stepped in and stopped me before I went too far and had a high-level healing pill ready, or else I would have had to live with that weighing on my conscience. I even wonder what would happen if Vale ever found out about what I did.
She was very forgiving at that time. It even felt like she did not even feel anything after almost being killed, but she was also having her emotions suppressed at that time, so that could also be a reason.
There was also that month that Vale spent with Silica after the incident, which could have changed things as well. However, the few weeks I just spent in mediation has also allowed me to get a different look at things.
The greatest part of that is how long she has been in this world for.
I mean, she has only been here for a few months at most, given that she said it had barely been a week when I first met her. Then there was the craziness with Raina, followed by the situation with my parents, and then aparently something that happened after she went to her mountain. That is all piled on top of whatever else might be happening to her because of her becoming a kitsune, which, according to the teachings of the sect, the changing of someone's race will cause some things about them to be altered over time.
Now, depending on the nature of the transformation's origin, it could be only some small things, or it could be something that completely rewrites a person's identity and potentially even their soul.
This means that Vale's changes should be relatively small as it was a gift and not something done for some sort of malicious purpose, but it was also not done through a technique, spell, or formation. So I have no idea what could happen, and all I can do is pray that it will not be anything major that changes.
All of this thinking apparently left me a little too distracted, as I almost ended up flying right past Vale's house and only barely managed to stop while hovering above the place.
Looking down, I saw a barrier covering most of what had been built, which struck me as a little weird. However, that thought quickly left my mind, and I saw something that made my heart stop for a moment.
Laying on the ground next to the shrine was what looked to be Vale's lifeless body, surrounded by a massive amount of water.
I did not even try to think for a second longer and immediately dove down towards the shrine while keeping my eyes on Vale.
The moment I passed through the barrier I felt something lock on to me, but I ignored it as I kept diving towards the ground at the fastest speed I could go.
Right as I was about to land, I saw a slight movement from Vale, which calmed down my fears slightly, but it was not enough for me to stop my descent.
Getting close to the ground, I jumped off my sword and ran over to Vale, checking her for any injuries before placing my hands on her so I could use my Qi to check her body's condition. Thankfully, there did not appear to be anything wrong with her besides a small amount of water in her lungs, which I quickly dealt with using some of the Qi I was already pushing into her body.
With that finished and her body fine, I picked her up and turned around, only to see a twin-tailed silver-haired kitsune staring at me with wide eyes. It would actually be more accurate to say that she was staring at the person I was holding instead.
I would have normally been confused about who this was if I met them in town because of her twin tails, but since she was here and there was a small amount of blood-red fur at the tips of her ears and tails, I was able to safely assume this was Raina.
She then looked up from Vale, who was in my arms, and locked eyes with me. I could tell that there was something in them that was practically saying that she did not want me to be there. Contrary to that look, however, she instead opened her mouth and said, "Thank you for helping Vale."
She was about to continue when I said, "It was something I would have done whether you asked me to or not. Now, if you don't mind, I will be taking her to her room, and it would be best if you didn't come near her."
She did not seem happy when I interrupted her, but when she heard my last few words, she blew up and said, while releasing some of her cultivation aura, "And who are you to tell me when I can be around my Kit or not!?"
That shocked me for a second as, apparently, Vale was not the only one being affected by the alteration of her race being changed.
Raina also seemed to notice as she froze up for a second before acting like nothing happened and asking, "What even gave you the audacity to say that!?"
I did not hold back when she asked this and responded in turn, "How about the fact that she has only been in this world for a few months with almost no one guiding her? Or maybe the fact that she has barely had a moment's rest since she came out of the forest? There is also the accidental and later forceful adoption by someone she hardly knew who is constantly doing the kitsune equivalent of sexually assaulting her? Don't forget the part about her almost dying because of something my parents did and then have the same person who almost killed her be her maid for a few months."
That seemed to get some form of reaction out of her, but I could not fully see what it was as her face immediately returned to her earlier anger as she said, "A kitsune's parent are allowed to touch their child's ears or tail, so there is nothing wrong with that."
I was not having any of that, though, and quickly retorted, "And aren't you the person who almost started a war with a neighboring kingdom because of how they treated your friend in a similar manner?"
That finally seemed to get the message through to her.