Ethan listened quietly as Head Steward Theodore lectured him, offering no defense—looking every bit the chastened student.
After the lengthy reprimand, Theodore—perhaps weary of his own words—downed a cup of tepid tea before asking, "Does that fox spirit have noble lineage? Or is she merely a wild vixen who gained sentience through celestial energies?"
Ethan: "She does, Head Steward. Her name is Menglu, and she claims to have fled from the Fox Kingdom of Qingqiu."
Theodore sighed. "Troublesome. Yet another complication. Since she's of Qingqiu bloodline and a runaway, her parents will undoubtedly come searching. Now that you've granted her human form through verbal empowerment, you've severed her from the Orthodox Path of fox cultivation. Her parents' reaction remains uncertain."
Ethan
