Combing over his cart again, Lucas found that there was absolutely no more soup left. It seemed the craftsmen were really starved and had all but licked the pots clean, so he had to head to the kitchen if he wanted to get more food.
Upon arriving, though, he naturally ran into Helen and Grace, the former of whom asked, "Lucas, what took you so long? You've been gone for over an hour and a half."
It was only then that Lucas realized just how late it had gotten, with various torches, candles, and even a few Spirit Lamps now being used to illuminate the Manor as the sun had long set.
Clearly, he had been so focused on searching the wagon, then getting close to the fox cub, that he had completely lost track of time.
Shaking off his surprise, Lucas smiled back and replied, "I ran into something interesting and got distracted."
Helen and Grace exchanged a glance before smiling wryly. Lucas was incredibly responsible and mature for his age, but he was also quite easily drawn into things and often became lost in his own thoughts, so they didn't think much of this little episode.
What's more, Lucas had been running around madly, helping with everything going on in Redwood Town, so despite how competent they knew he was, it was good to see the boy taking some time for himself.
"Aunt Helen, can I get another big bowl of soup?" Lucas then asked, getting back to his original purpose.
"Hmmm?" Helen glared at the boy, who quickly corrected himself, "I mean, can I have another bowl of soup, Elder Sister?"
Grace laughed, while Helen snorted and snapped back, "You already had a big helping of soup, and you must have eaten even more with your father. You're turning into quite the glutton, aren't you?"
Lucas felt his face twitch as the quip he had just made to the little fox had now circled around to hit him. Of course, he couldn't bite Helen's finger like the kit had done to him, so he just hung his head and accepted the teasing.
"Now now, Big Sis," Grace finally decided to step in and moderate, "Lucas is a growing boy, it's not a bad thing for him to have a healthy appetite."
Saying so, she swiftly moved over to a big iron pot and ladled another serving of hot soup for the boy.
Handing over the bowl, she reminded Lucas, "Don't eat too much though, you don't want to get an upset stomach."
Lucas desperately wanted to explain that this food wasn't for him, but he didn't know how others would react if they knew he was feeding a beast pup, especially seeing how the town was still under siege from ravenous Wild Beasts.
Resigning himself to being misunderstood, Lucas thanks the two kitchen helpers before dashing out the door.
From behind, he could hear Helen's call, "Remember to bring over the dirty pots when you're done!"
"Ah…" Lucas froze, an awkward look appearing on his face.
The boy hesitated for a moment before turning around and bowing slightly, "Sorry, but could you send some people to empty the cart please? I have something I need to take care of…"
Helen and Grace were both a bit surprised by this request, but given how responsible Lucas was normally, they trusted that he was telling the truth and really had something to do, so they just nodded, "Alright, we'll handle it."
"Thanks! Big Sisters!" Lucas said with relief and dashed off.
"What do you think that was about?" Grace muttered.
"Maybe Lady Balfour assigned him some task?" Helen guessed.
"Which Lady Balfour?" Grace asked back.
"Ah… one of them?" Helen replied, shaking her head, "How confusing."
…..
Arriving back at the wagon, Lucas climbed back up and made his way over to the crate again, but when he peeked inside, he was flabbergasted to discover that the fox pup had actually curled back up and now seemed to be asleep.
Not sure whether to laugh or cry, Lucas shook his head and set down the bowl of soup before muttering aloud, "Now, what am I going to do with you?"
"Do with who?" A voice suddenly called out from behind him, causing Lucas to jump up in surprise.
Whipping his head around, Lucas saw a familiar head of fiery-red hair and quickly bowed, "Master!"
Waving her hand, Celestina Balfour dismissed the formalities, as usual, and gently leapt up into the wagon, making her way over to her Disciple while asking, "What are you up to, Lucas?"
The boy was nervous, and didn't immediately know how to react, though he did think to himself that he should try to remain more aware of his surroundings as this was the second time tonight someone had snuck up behind him.
If he mentioned the little kit, he was worried his Master might want to throw it out, or even kill it to prevent future problems, but he also knew that trying to hide anything from Celestina at this point was impossible.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Lucas sighed and decided to just tell the truth, "I found an odd beast cub and was trying to feed it, Master."
"A beast cub? Where?" Celestina asked with some confusion on her face.
"Huh? Right here," Lucas replied as he pointed to the open crate behind him with equal confusion.
It was one thing for Lucas to have missed this fox kit with his Soul Sense, but surely his Master, with her High-Rank Soul Adept cultivation, couldn't possibly have not noticed the pup when it was literally right in front of her.
Knitting her brow, Celestina stepped past Lucas and glanced into the crate, her eyes soon widening in surprise as she spotted the tiny fox cub which, at some point, must have woken up and was now staring up at her warily.
While Celestina had perfectly controlled her aura and wasn't releasing any kind of hostility, beasts were far more sensitive to danger than humans were. Laying eyes on Celestina, the fox cub seemed to instinctually understand that she was a dangerous being; at the very least, this new two-legged creature was far, far more threatening than the one that had fed it before.
What the kit didn't know, was that as it was warily studying Celestina, Celestina was doing the same to it.
Celestina had been meditating to recover her Spirit Qi since the evacuation planning meeting ended, but she still occasionally released her Soul Sense to sweep Redwood Town for threats.
Half an hour ago, Celestina had noticed Lucas in the yard, but she hadn't thought much about it; however, when she swept the area again just a minute ago, she discovered that her First Disciple was still lingering in the same wagon and became curious about what he was doing.
Even moving at a leisurely pace, it took Celestina less than a minute to arrive in the 'parking lot' as Lucas called it, but when she walked up to the wagon in question, she heard Lucas seemingly talking to someone, which aroused her suspicions as she didn't sense anyone else nearby.
In fact, it wasn't until Lucas pointed out the fox cub that Celestina even realized there was a beast inside this wagon.
This came as an enormous surprise to Celestina, who wondered if her senses were failing her due to fatigue; however, when she tried to examine the pup, utter astonishment filled her heart as she realized that even when fully focusing her Soul Sense, she could barely detect the little beast's presence.
This pup isn't normal! Celestina immediately concluded. Whatever this fox was, it was surely extraordinary seeing how it could conceal itself from her so completely.
Hoping to get some more information, Celestina turned to her Disciple and asked, "Lucas, where did you find this little girl?"
"It's a girl?" Lucas tilted his head in surprise. Up until now, given how aggressive this little pup had been, he had assumed it was a boy; but if his Master said it was female, then it must be.
Quickly adjusting himself, Lucas answered the original question, "When I was walking through the lot, I noticed there were icicles on this particular wagon and thought it was odd..."
Arriving at this point, Lucas couldn't help veering off on a tangent, "Speaking of which, the icicles I found are strange in-and-of-themselves. When I tried to touch one, it almost froze my hand off! Do you have any idea why that might be, Master?"
"Icicles? Here? Now? And ones' that nearly froze your hand?" Celestina was taken aback and swiftly shifted the focus of her Soul Sense from the fox cub to the wagon itself. A moment later, another look of surprise flashed across her face as her figure flickered.
Reappearing outside the wagon, Celestina reached out and snapped off one of the icicles Lucas had spoken about.
Scrutinizing it up close, she soon muttered to herself, "How is that possible?"
"How is what possible, Master?" Lucas asked, having scrambled after her when she suddenly dashed off.
Turning to look at Lucas, Celestina wore a pensive expression as she explained, "This isn't ordinary ice, but rather ice formed by water infused with incredibly rich Ice Attribute World Qi."
"Next time you come across something which is extremely out of place, you need to act more carefully, Lucas," Celestina warned solemnly, "Forget your hand, if you had held onto this piece of ice for more than a few seconds, all the blood in your veins would have frozen and you'd be dead or dying right now."
Hearing this, Lucas' eyes focused completely on the small icicle which his Master was gripping not just with her hand, but also with a layer of Spirit Qi.
Obviously, even Celestina didn't want to let this piece of ice touch her bare skin.
Thinking about how cavalier he had been before, and learning just what the consequences of his actions might have been, Lucas shivered noticeably.
Nodding in approval, Celestina warned, "Remember this, Lucas. Your curiosity and desire to learn are admirable traits, and the world indeed has many wonders to explore, but it also has innumerable dangers. When investigating the unknown, you need to always exercise caution as even something as small and unimposing as this icicle can be deadly."