Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior’s Path

by Johnson, M. H.

  Zhu Bi smiled at that. “To have such bold friends and be so fair-featured yourself, yet still follow a forbidden path? You’re braver than I, Alex.” She flushed prettily. “I… don’t think I’d have the discipline for that.” She bit her lip. “Not when I really like someone, at least.”

  Alex grinned. “Yingpei Lin’s lucky to have won your interest. I hope with time, he proves worthy of your heart as well.”

  His friend positively beamed. “He actually called me his beloved last night! I mean, on the one hand, I know it’s absurd; we’ve only known each other for… well, so short a time, even my mother would blush. But when he holds me in his arms and I ride the heavens, gazing into his eyes, I sense so much more than the beautiful man before me. I can nearly taste his soul, how sweet and gentle it is. And yes, I know he might come across as a bit arrogant sometimes, but he’s really very caring and thoughtful and never mistreats anyone, and he’s everything I could possibly want in a man. Best of all, he seems to really care for me and doesn’t care that I’m …”

  Alex smiled. “I understand.”

  She chuckled ruefully. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. It’s just that sometimes your presence is just so comforting. The way you smile so fondly at me, it’s like I have my grandfather’s blessing.”

  Alex laughed in return. “I don’t know about that. I think I’m a bit young to be anyone’s grandfather, but I really am happy for your happiness, Zhu Bi. For you and Yingpei both.”

  She beamed at that. “Alex?”

  “Yes, Zhu Bi?”

  The young kitsune lowered her head and swallowed, as if forcing herself to ask a very difficult question. “Do you think he would be proud of me?”

  Alex blinked. “I’m not sure I understand…”

  Her sudden intent gaze sent shivers down his spine.

  When she finally broke the silence, all she said was, “Get some sleep, Alex. And I do hope you’ll show Lin and I whatever wonderful breakthrough you made that allowed you to destroy so many training dummies.”

  With a final impish smile, she was out the door in a flash of bright color and gentlest shadow, and before Alex could do more than shake his head and chuckle softly, he was already sinking into exhaustion’s soothing embrace.

  Before finding himself drowning in nightmares once more.

  Tormented by the cries of victims in desperate need, and the mocking laughter of enemies he had thought long dead. And he, trapped in darkness, was unable to do anything at all.

  25

  “Ah, so the Ruidian has chosen to join us today after all,” Bang Jiao declared as Alex slipped out of his pagoda and resolutely made his way to the cluster of students still grouped around the training area, many wielding quarterstaffs, dao, or jian. Most of those wielding dao had additionally opted to arm themselves with shields or secondary blades in their off hand.

  Half the class gazed his way with utter indifference, while a handful of cultivators, including his friends and Jing Le welcomed him with cheerful grins. Yet Alex couldn’t help but hone in on the glowering remainder who seemed to resent his very existence, more than a few muttering curses, at least half of them gazing from their blades to Alex before revealing predatory smiles.

  “My apologies for the late arrival, Master,” Alex said, solemnly kowtowing before the dignified elder, yet ready to leap up in a heartbeat, should his Qi Perception sense anyone trying to rush him. “But I had achieved something of an epiphany last night, so I appreciate being allowed to rest and make the most of that breakthrough.” Alex met the cultivator’s eyes respectfully, both of them acting as if their meeting last night had never happened.

  “As if your breakthroughs were worth anything, Ruidian trash,” snorted Dineng.

  Alex turned to face the sneering cultivator, a shield of spinning rock and spiritual energy forming in his left hand, his right shimmering with Earthern Qi.

  “Care to put that declaration to the test?”

  Dineng chuckled coldly. “I’d be glad to, scum. Only you’ve already stolen everything I own!”

  Bang Jiao chuckled softly. “What an opportune time for you to emerge! We’ve just finished our basic weapons sparring class, which fortunately even our most novice cultivators can benefit from. So why not a demonstration from two of our newest Aspirants, both having enjoyed significant breakthroughs, now butting against each other like the stubborn rocks that they are?”

  “Earth-types. Either the fastest of friends or the surliest of enemies. Nothing in between for them,” said one student knowingly.

  “Hogwash,” said another. “Dineng’s a solid sort. It’s that trouble-making Ruidian, acting like he’s better than the rest of us, that gets under everyone’s skin.”

  “Agreed,” said a third. “That fool somehow claimed a Silver hut! He has no right! He’s the lowest of the low!”

  “So low, his broken talisman must have fooled whatever enchantment refuses to let us enter,” opined yet another student, also glaring at Alex. as if offended by his very existence.

  “Maybe he’s able to get in because he’s actually a lot more skilled than you thought,” sneered Jing Le, her normally cheerful features turning into a hard glare for Dineng and his friends, suddenly radiating all the cold imperiousness of a noblewoman. “Certainly he didn’t run off like a coward after honeyed wine and words during the celebrations when those wolves were chasing us, while you scampered away like a dog with his tail between his legs, Qiang!”

  One of the youths bearing the stamp of Yidushian nobility with his aquiline features and arrogant sneer, actually flinched and lowered his head, though Dineng merely stood up straighter.

  “We didn’t all flee when we were needed,” Dineng said, frowning back at Jing Le, the girl by his side clenching his hand fiercely and glaring at Jing Le as well.

  Jing Le regarded him solemnly, nodding her head. “That’s right, you didn’t, and you saved BiBi. You and Alex are the only pair of boys that didn’t leave us like cowards. Which is why you making an enemy out of one of the very few men here who are actually worthy of your respect, unlike the sycophants toadying up to you, is absolutely stupid.”

  Qiang’s features blotched with rage. “Why, you little bitch!” he snarled, suddenly doubling over and groaning when Dineng offhandedly punched him.

  “Shut up, Qiang,” Dineng commanded, turning to face Jing Le. “Even the Fox has been known to play the hero in the stories, Jing Le, when not laughing at the mischief he was always causing.” He shot a glare at Alex. “But this Ruidian is nothing but trouble. You know the chaos he caused our master at the library, the priceless training dummies he damaged, the way he goaded so many of us into losing our fortunes.”

  He gave an angry shake of his head. “I don’t even hate that bastard,” he said, earning a smirk from Alex. “Hell, if I were watching him in a play making a buffoon of somebody, I’d probably be laughing right along with everyone else. But not when that buffoon is me!”

  “Well then, the solution is quite simple!” declared Bang Jiao. “Challenge Alex to matches focused on the sparring techniques you both are presently learning. Anything goes, of course, but no blows to the head,” he said, with a stern glance at Alex. “Not until I declare you fully healed, Dineng. In return for Alex making this concession, you will owe him two credits for every fight you do not win.”

  Dineng and Alex both frowned at the beaming elder.

  “And I see neither of you particularly favor those terms. Wonderful! You two finally have something in common.”

  “But Master…”

  “Silence, Dineng. Should you best Alex five times, he will return the Granite Mountain Body Cultivation manual which was only loaned to you, and will not be put up for wager ever again!”

  Dineng paled. “Yes, Master.”

  Bang Jiao’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I assume those terms are also amicable to you, Alex, all things considered?”

  Alex winced, fully aware that the man’s p
atience for his own antics rode on him saying the words he’d be a fool not to utter immediately. “Yes, of course, Master.”

  “Excellent! Well, don’t keep us waiting. Give us a show, boys. Fight!”

  You have successfully dodged Stone Fist!

  You have successfully dodged Body Slam!

  Earthern Shield attempts to block Stone Fist. Contest of skills failed! Rank 1 Earthern Shield collapses! You have taken 1 Light Wound.

  No sooner had their mentor declared the terms than a hot-eyed Dineng charged Alex, Qi surrounding his body and fist as he attempted to both knock Alex over and pound him to broken splinters, the cultivator’s furious countenance making his intentions utterly clear.

  As did the hot flow of Qi blazing through his meridians, their previous struggles and Alex’s Soul Sight allowing him to predict what Dineng’s next move would be almost before his opponent did, which meant that Alex could move in perfect concert with the hot-eyed young cultivator, weaving and sliding past blows so easily that it seemed more a carefully choreographed dance than an actual fight.

  But that was not the goal here, as Bang Jiao’s increasingly hardening expression made clear.

  So Alex did what he knew he had to in any case, flooding his Rank 1 Earthern shield with all the spiritual energy he could, feeling it hum with added intensity and using it to intercept his opponent’s spinning backhand. Dineng’s Stone Fist whipped around like a skull-crushing mace with such force that Alex’s shield erupted with the impact, sending him lurching back as he instinctively tried to roll with the blow, minimizing the damage, for all that his hand stung so fiercely that he feared at least a few cracked fingerbones, before he snapped his focus back to his opponent’s low, ugly laughter.

  “Finally got tired of running like a squirrel, did you, Ruidian? Actually daring to meet be blow for blow? Ha! Your shield collapsed with a single punch!”

  Alex grimaced, but didn’t hesitate to dip his head for the few seconds grace it brought him, if nothing else. “How does it feel, to taste my fist, Ruidian? Is that fear I see in your eyes?”

  Healing complete.

  You have resummoned Earthern Shield. 1 Qi Point reserved. 1 Qi point per 30 minutes to maintain.

  Alex forced a smile. “Who can say? Another round?”

  His opponent smirked. “Damn right, another round. I want that book back!”

  “So earn it,” Alex said, before darting forth and taking the offensive, pouring more spiritual energy into his shield than ever before.

  You have struck your opponent with Stone Fist! Unknown body cultivation technique absorbs the blow!

  You have struck your opponent with Stone Fist! Damage fully absorbed!

  Dineng laughed. “Is that the best you can do, fool?” His fists whipped through the air with sufficient force to burst through thick oak planks and certainly crack a normal man’s skull, if not shatter it outright. Even so, Alex effortlessly weaved past the blows, lashing out with a couple quick kidney punches as he spun behind his lumbering opponent, who grunted only once.

  Yet his Soul Sight made it clear that there was a cost to Dineng’s impressive defenses.

  “You hit like a mortal. Your blows are pathetic!” Dineng roared, whipping around to deliver a powerful overhand blow.

  Alex could sense it coming a mile away, though his enemy’s Qi-less snap kick actually caught him off guard, showing him that even he could stumble and play the fool, despite his skills, if he focused only on the most violent surges of Qi, and not on his opponent as a whole.

  You have failed to dodge foot stomp. Your ankle is broken!

  Alex felt a cold chill in his gut as his leg blazed with fearsome pain, instinctively rolling like mad and forcing himself to say the words that needed to be said.

  “I concede; the match is yours, Dineng!”

  For a second, he felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation, catching cold gazes and sneers alongside Dineng’s triumphant roar.

  Before choking it down with a smile. “Good match, Dineng,” he said, and it had been. It didn’t matter that Alex was holding back on so many levels while under the watchful eyes of Master Bang Jiao, knowing the point wasn’t victory, so much as learning to master his newly forged skills. He had lost focus for just a crucial second, thinking he had his opponent fully mapped out in his mind, only for an unexpected snap kick to near crack his knee, followed by a footstomp that crushed his ankle.

  The overcharged Stone Fist had just been a feint.

  He forced himself to bow his head. “This foolish one thanks you for the lesson in overconfidence, reminding me that no matter how good I think I am, if I’m too stupid to spot your feint and trap, then I deserve all the pain you can give me,” he admitted to a couple derisive hoots and strangely, a few commending nods.

  Alex then gave a stiff smile, though it was more an agonized grimace, choking back the horrible pain he felt as bones ground themselves back together. “And I promise you, it won’t happen again.”

  Dineng’s hard grin met his own. “You’re not half-bad, Ruidian. Let’s do this again, when your cracked and broken bones have had a chance to mend.”

  Power Healing has successfully mended one cracked Patella, two torn ligaments, & one fractured tibia.

  Alex took a deep breath, savoring the chilly rush of rejuvenating Qi flooding through limbs which his interface now declared fully healed, though he made sure for himself before slowly, cautiously, getting back to his feet.

  Bang Jiao laughed. “You have the humility of a cultivator who might actually survive his challenges, and the foolish arrogance of the Fox who would dare madness. I’ve heard enough about Dragon Academy to know they’re sadists, but you gain nothing fighting on crippled limbs here, boy.”

  Alex bowed solemnly before his master. “This one assures his master that he is quite fit to continue, despite happily conceding the first match to my worthy opponent.”

  Bang Jiao frowned suspiciously. “Well, by all means, then, carry on.”

  Dineng furrowed his brow. “You’ve got true granite in your spine, Ruidian. But I felt bones crack. You’re going to tell me your body cultivation techniques let you transcend broken bones?”

  Alex shrugged and smiled. “All I’m saying is I’m willing to fight on, if you are.”

  Dineng flashed a fierce smile. “By Zheng Yi’s lightning I am! Prepare to fall again!”

  This time, when his opponent charged, Alex focused on the shift of his opponent’s shoulders and hips every bit as much as he did the flow of Qi roaring through the cultivator’s meridians. Fluidly stepping aside as Dineng raced past with the same opening charge and a sweeping ridge-hand strike that was almost a clothesline, Alex smoothly ducked under the blow before slamming fist against kidneys as his opponent twisted around.

  When Dineng’s Qi-saturated fist slammed down in a vicious overhand punch, it was no feint, as his hips and balance and Alex’s own ability to read him made clear. Alex used his Earthern Shield, not to block head on, but to deflect and push the deadly blow aside, succeeding in the maneuver only because of his superior finesse and ability to read his foe.

  Earthern shield skill check modified by unified martial arts skill check & Soul Sight.

  You have successfully parried your opponent’s blow!

  Earthern Shield is now Rank 2.

  You have struck your opponent with Stone Fist.

  There were many things Alex could have done, many ways he could have brought Silver Swan techniques to bear, even without channeling Black Swan.

  But that wasn’t the point of this exercise.

  His goal wasn’t to crush his opponent by any and all means available. It wasn’t even necessarily victory at all. His goal was to truly attune himself to the Earth-aligned Qi ward and weapons he had just learned to grasp, to infuse his Earthern Shield with as much power as he possibly could while using timing, angular deflection, and the environment to counter blows that should be shattering his bones.

  Alex did nothing b
ut laugh the handful of times his opponent’s powerful strikes blasted through his imperfect Earthern Shield, conceding several more matches and giving broken bones a chance to power-heal as his understanding and mastery of his newest tool solidified to true comprehension.

  By the time he finally mastered the art of weaving and dodging and using his shield to angle aside multiple roundhouse punches, ridge hand strikes, and Stone Fist uppercuts from his opponent, Dineng was already so exhausted and drained that when Alex finally cut loose with a furious series of Stone Fists to the kidneys and floating ribs that he had been pounding on whenever he had the chance for the entirety of their bouts, the young man crashed to his knees with a wheeze, before crumpling completely to the ground.

  “Dineng!” screamed none other than BiBi, racing to his side with a sob and glaring at Alex.

  But Alex had already stepped back and solemnly bowed to his opponent. “Thank you for the matches, Dineng. They were most instructive,” he said as he made his way to the eating pagoda, ignoring the oddly intent gazes and whispers behind him, happily focusing on the messages he most wanted to see.

  Earthern Shield is now Rank 4!

  Congratulations! Stone Fist is now Rank 5! You are an Adept in Stone Fist! Specialization may now be chosen! You have deferred the perks of Added Damage and Reduced Qi Expenditure and have chosen Heightened Synergism! You have increased your ability to synergize Stone Fist with all other elements and martial forms!

  Alex couldn’t help breaking into an elated smile. Whether it was actually the result of channeling more Qi successfully into it, a greater understanding of the flow of spiritual energy through the ward, or simply learning how counter so much of the force behind his enemy’s blows by deflecting it away, he felt fiercely vindicated by his growth, even though he had no doubt that it was only because of his incredible Qi Pool and unexpected insights into a Silver-ranked Stone Striker technique that had allowed him to come so far, so fast. But then again, he was finally benefiting both from tomes infused with the spiritual energies of their creators, however faint, and the opportunity to immediately put those insights into practical use, sparring in the crucible of conflict against an opponent eager to cause him harm.