Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior’s Path

by Johnson, M. H.

“Because it probably was nothing,” Cheng Lei said, intent gaze replaced with a gentle smile as he punched Alex lightly in the shoulder. “Because you have a good heart, saddened to sense even a servant’s reprimand, when a truly cold employer would have just fired him on the spot.” His friend’s warm gaze hardened. “Because if it was anything more than that… it would have been the height of folly for you to dare to invade a nest of cultivators powerful enough to carve their own fiefdom within the underbelly of this school, being but a mid-ranked Bronze whose potential is unlimited, and you are far too wise to let yourself perish to impulse and miscalculation. Do you understand what I’m saying, Alex?”

  A flushing Alex did indeed understand. He hated feeling like his older brother was giving him a lecture and pep talk, yet took comfort from it all the same.

  He forced himself to bow, “This one thanks you for his counsel,” before being jerked straight by his friend.

  “None of that between us, Alex. Not when we are alone or with our closest companions, at least.”

  Alex swallowed, jerking a quick nod. “Alright. What’s our next step?”

  His friend just smiled. “Our next step is for you to draw a map of those passages as best you can. Because, though I doubt you heard more than a servant’s brusque reprimand, having an understanding of the tunnels of this institution can only be of benefit, however things might play out in the weeks and months to come.”

  Alex suppressed a chill, suddenly certain that there were indeed depths that his friend was doing his best to shield him from. Not that Alex blamed him. After all, if a basic cultivator who had earned his friendship wanted to handle Duo Ku by his side… he’d do anything and everything in his power to avoid that tragedy. Not that Alex thought himself quite so helpless, but if his friend were to worry to the point of distraction, Alex’s presence truly would do more harm than good.

  Yet even knowing that… Alex frowned and shook his head as Cheng Lei gently placed parchment and charcoal stick in his hands, pulled from what Alex could only surmise was a golden storage ring upon one of his fingers.

  “Alex? If art isn’t your forte, no need to worry. Just grant me a few brush strokes for the noble cultivators who got lost with a bit too much spirits in their blood, and who are too high rank for others to do anything but escort back to the surface with nothing more than concerned words.”

  “Whereas if a Ruidian were to join you…”

  Cheng Lei chuckled softly. “You’d stick out like a sore thumb, and the game would be up before it even began. And should we actually find, say, a back entrance out of this place… it can only be to our benefit.”

  Alex smirked. “I’d ask why you’re really here at this academy, but I’m not so foolish as to assume it’s anything less than earning access to the legendary library holding so many priceless Gold tomes.”

  Cheng Lei winked. “Precisely. Would that everyone else assumed the same.”

  Alex frowned down at the parchment.

  “Alex? If your memory isn’t clear, it’s quite alright…”

  Before the prince could say another word, Alex’s hand was in motion, sketching detail superimposed upon his mind’s eye faster than he ever had in the world he had once called home, his mid-ranked Bronze Finesse and Quickness coming to the fore in ways no mortal could hope to match.

  Map Interface successfully superimposed upon designated target. Outline at will!

  From the moment he first tentatively touched the pad to the moment he had finished drawing the myriad corridors he had walked along and sensed to either side, only a handful of minutes had passed, at most. He was just amazed that he had been able to cram in so much detail, more than pleased to find his interface had made scale and accuracy as easy as tracing over the lines in his mind’s eye.

  When he sat up and cracked his back, his friend was giving him the oddest stare before chuckling merrily. “Well done, Alex! With a map like this at our disposal…”

  Alex dipped his head. “I deserve less credit than you might think. Believe me. But my internal clock is more than decent, and in the quarter-glass that we walked the hallways, we detected only a small handful of servitors along the main path, and almost no one within the warren of less well-kept tunnels. And as for the parts walled off…” He just shrugged. “Save for sensing a moment’s shock and pain and a surge of malice that might have all been in my head… I sensed nothing. Nothing at all.” He shook his head. “Still, are you sure…”

  His friend bowed his head in gratitude, quickly rolling up the map of the servant’s tunnels, rendered in as much detail as Alex could provide. He was both surprised and pleased to find that his interface had effortlessly connected the basin entrance from the Path of Perseverance, as well as the exit leading to the school proper.

  “Thank you, Alex. I am more than grateful. Right now, the greatest kindness you can gift my companions and I is to just continue on as you were, so the one unique Ruidian presently attending the school is acting just as expected, giving no third party any cause for alarm. And if a few mildly inebriated nobles are caught looking for romance in the servant’s wing… my understanding is that such rendezvous are not only common, but eagerly embraced by beautiful servants who possess everything a future husband could want, save perhaps the strongest of cultivation bases. Such hopeful attendants would love nothing more than a mate who could whisk them away from their unexpectedly long tenure here at the academy and into a life of decadence and splendor.”

  Cheng Lei flashed a roguish smile. “Or, such will be the story we will drunkenly adhere to, seen as nothing more than a pair of cads, though I fear there’s more truth to my gambit than I care to admit. We might just find ourselves with better cover than we could have hoped for, as the night wears on.”

  He winked at Alex’s flustered expression. “And if you think I will do anything more than share wine and laughter with anyone other than the woman who has already claimed my heart…”

  Alex flushed and turned away, his friend giving his shoulder a final squeeze, which Alex now interpreted as the equivalent of a brotherly hug in this time and place.

  “Thank you, Alex. And thank you for your discretion as well. This helps more than you know.”

  His friend clasped his wrist. Alex instinctively did the same, feeling a surge of something beyond a simple farewell with his gesture and smile. “Be safe, my brother. We will speak again when time permits.”

  Alex couldn’t help smiling at that, ignoring the unexpected sting in his eyes. “Be well… brother. Happy hunting, and keep safe.”

  His friend laughed and winked, for a heartbeat looking so much like a true-blood version of WiFu, for all that the entire encounter seemed to fade in memory and significance the moment his friend wrapped himself in his cloak and tilted his hat, slipping out the door so fast, it was like he had never been there at all.

  Alex just shook his head, mind reeling with the unexpected encounter, determined to record the entire remarkable event until he yawned and lost his train of thought, shaking his head and adjusting his pillow before drifting off to the first dreamless sleep he had had all week, blessedly free of nightmares of any sort.

  28

  “Alex, wake up. Morning meditation’s about to start!”

  Alex groaned, preparing for a major headache, and felt both surprised and grateful to find himself feeling stronger than ever. Nonetheless, he promised himself that he would focus at least a portion of all the deadly potency locked in the core of his soul—or what a part of him still liked to think of as his massive boon of unspent experience points—into mastering the forms he would practice this day, in the hopes of learning them even faster and reducing some of the strain he knew could lay him low with dizziness any time he pushed himself too hard.

  His morning cultivation practice went as smoothly as could be expected, leaving him feeling refreshed and recharged, just as it had the day before. Then he sensed the killing glare focused on the back of his head.

  Alex didn’
t hesitate to turn around, focusing on the source of that target who thought him utterly distracted. He caught sight of a pockmarked, glaring Baichi in his threadbare robes, who abruptly paled and flinched under his questioning gaze. The bitter aspirant lowered his head and stumbled back with a hissed curse before abruptly turning about on his heel and stalking off, to the smirks of at least a couple of the students nearby.

  “That fool looked so puffed up and ready to give challenge. Then one look at the Ruidian’s eyes, and he ran off like a coward,” whispered a slender shaven-headed aspirant wearing a dark grey cultivator’s robe.

  “I don’t blame him,” said another student wearing similar attire. “I, for one, do not want to be on the receiving end of whatever mad insights had blue-eyes over there smashing the pels in the dead of night. I’m surprised he’s not still abed.”

  Alex just smiled at anyone who looked his way, but he couldn’t get to weapons practice fast enough. He was happy to be paired up with his friends Zhu Bi and Yingpei Lin once more, kitsune and merchant the only ones who now seemed comfortable sparring with him. Both of them were skilled enough that they could actually slip past his feints, sometimes, and force him to work for every point gained, even while his White Crane techniques assured he’d almost always win in the bind.

  Things were more challenging when he let them fight him in concert, and Zhu Bi’s tactics of going soft in the bind before slipping out and lunging low as her beau simultaneously thrust for Alex’s midsection made the dance all the more exciting when he swept their spears completely off course before striking like he would with a fangtian ji, or, in this case, a quarterstaff, with blows more than powerful enough to stun a cultivator or kill a lesser man in combat, no matter that he wielded a bladeless shaft. Of course, he always pulled his blows as much as he possibly could. But whenever they forced him to combine Silver Swan with his other techniques, even if only defensively, he counted it a win at their end.

  And for some strange reason, the morning’s fights made his fellow aspirants even more leery of taking him on, in spite of all the hours they were able to study his techniques.

  “Did you see the way his spear snaked out as he struck? The fox-girl’s spear went flying!”

  “That merchant’s brat was taught by someone skilled. He’s beaten me inside a minute before, and he only scored a single blow against that Ruidian’s leg!”

  Alex winced in memory. He had been overconfident, believing he had taken Yingpei’s measure, and had not been expecting that leaping lunge the very instant he was countering Zhu Bi and mock-smacking her chin with the butt of his spear after knocking her shaft aside and closing.

  “Nice shot,” Alex happily conceded. “You aren’t bad at this dance at all, Yingpei,” he said, earning a wry snort in turn.

  “Both Zhu Bi and I are Bronze, like you, Alex. And both of us have benefited from masters few will admit to.” Zhu Bi blushed at those words. “And yet still you’re happily taking us on, two versus one!” His merchant friend chuckled softly. “If we’re skilled warriors destined for Silver, you’re a genius in comparison.”

  “More like a monster,” declared Zhang, the victor of his own fights half a dozen times over. “But if I was going to lose to anyone… better a monster than a lesser man.”

  Alex smirked. “Thanks, I think.”

  Zhu Bi laughed cheerfully. “Come on, Alex. We’re having sweet and sour pork and crackling duck today, with fresh spirit fruit, steamed rice, and kimchi as well! The one elegant meal our master allows us, and only if we don’t embarrass him!”

  Alex grinned. “Then enjoy it to the fullest. I think I want to do a bit of reading before our next class.”

  Yingpei’s eyes widened. “Alex, are you serious? Even I heard about the furious Ruidian pounding the training dummies to submission with living flame yesterday. Our master of fire will no doubt want to work with you personally, since you’re the only one to break through who didn’t know the discipline already. I hardly think you need to review that material.”

  “Well, good. Because I have no intention of cracking open that tome again. At least not today,” said Alex, stretching his shoulders, Eternal Fox assuring he felt only invigorated after their workout.

  Zhu Bi frowned. “Then what…” Her eyes widened. “Oh, you’re not serious.”

  Alex laughed. “Afraid so. Today, it’s Wood that I’ll be delving into. It can’t hurt to get a sense of the basics before absorbing our instructor’s lesson in Qi strikes.”

  Yingpei considered Alex for long moments before shaking his head with a bemused smile. “Zhang is right. You are a monster. In the best possible sense of the word.”

  Zhu Bi grinned. “I’ll knock on your door after lunch, Alex, but it’s up to you to respond.”

  Alex nodded. “Deal. And thank you.” And within what seemed like moments, after a quick Qi Perception scan made it clear that no student or other cultivator was waiting nearby to ambush him with challenges or worse, he ducked into his private Pagoda and began his explorations into the realm of Wood.

  29

  Congratulations! You have gained basic familiarity with Thorn Shield. 100% Comprehension Achieved!

  You have gained basic familiarity with Oak Fist. 100% Comprehension Achieved!

  When Zhu Bi knocked several hours later, Alex was quick to answer the door. Not that he could have helped but respond, the very vibrations through wooden door and pagoda calling out to him like never before as he drank in the mysteries of Wood in all its wonder and majesty.

  Zhu Bi’s gaze widened. “Alex? Are you sure you’re…”

  Alex just smiled with the same ease as the gentle breeze playing through the rustling leaves nearby. “All is well, my friend. Come. I’m eager to see what insights the Adepts can share,” he said, not bothering with footware when he left the pagoda, and paying no attention to Zhu Bi’s muttered comments about foolish Ruidians pushing themselves too hard. For he was enjoying the gentle caress of the grass under his feet, soothing the last flickers of worry he had as he made his way to the training area. He found himself wondering why everyone seemed to be a few inches shorter than they had been the other day, before understanding with Zha Shi’s disbelieving gaze, then his rough laughter.

  “This Ruidian fool’s actually one with the grass at our feet! Lucky bastard’s enjoyed multiple breakthroughs, and only two of you fools can summon forth a single elemental strike, one time out of five? I expect better!” the man roared, which of course earned Alex no end of angry glares, as if it was somehow his fault, their failings.

  But Alex paid them no mind, instinctively sensing the lush greenery around him, though it was grass far more than forest that covered these lands. The lessons of the tome he had delved into had been those of a Wild Druid, of all things; his sharp, tangible memories resonating with Alex’s own so strongly that he felt more in tune with that tome than any other treatise he had read so far.

  Even now, he felt at peace, easily communing with the memory of the forest that had once covered these lands, countless millennia ago.

  And when the Wood Adept gave the slightest of nods before going through his motions as slowly and as overtly as he could, Alex couldn’t help but smile, realizing he understood the form perfectly. He mimicked the Adept’s every movement, seeking added insight as he mirrored the moves on display before him, before the man abruptly turned to face Alex, measuring him with enigmatic grey eyes before speaking.

  “Care to spar?”

  Alex smiled and nodded, not saying a word, still lost in his arboreal reverie. The instructor was at least gracious enough to pick up the pace as subtly as a sprout blossoming into a mighty oak; gentle, slow touches gradually becoming pounding strikes. And how odd and delightful it was when Soul Sight blazed in Alex’s mind’s eye like never before, allowing him to read each of the Adept’s movements as if he were but one of the many elder trees swaying in an ancient grove. Alex’s shield, first no stronger than the echo of thorns and vines, good for de
flecting mortal blows and arrows and little else, was soon infused with the awesome might of the sacred forest itself, his opponent’s strikes doing no more damage than if he were hitting the trunk of a Redwood.

  Alex was gentle with his return strikes, however, having no desire to hurt a cultivator who loved his sacred woodlands as much as Alex did.

  Friend of the Forest, Golden Apple of Wisdom, Forest Flight & Wild Druid modifiers are now in effect!

  You have had a transcendent breakthrough!

  Oak Fist is now Rank 4!

  Thorn Shield is now Rank 5! You are one with this discipline!

  Thorn Shield has blossomed into Shield of the Grove! This Silver-ranked defense has all the strengths of Elemental Wood! Shield of the Grove is now Rank 1. Cost to use is nine Qi points per ten minutes, plus risk of mild meridian strain. (Meridian strain and cost are significantly decreased with increasing Rank or ascending to Silver Giant cultivation status.)

  In an eyeblink, the knowledge flashed across his interface, but Alex paid it no mind, already understanding his breakthrough on an instinctive level that transcended mere words. And when his hard-eyed opponent blanched before smashing into Alex full-force, no longer holding back his blows, Alex was ready, meeting superhuman speed and power with the whipping swiftness of weeping willows and the indomitable resilience of the mighty oak. His Shield of the Grove was always where it needed to be to resist the blindingly fast onslaught of Wood-aligned punches, spinning backhand blows, and snapping kicks. His opponent’s Wood Qi blazed so brightly that Alex couldn’t help but counter, no matter that he was in constant retreat. The entire class gazed on in stupefied awe, and Alex had absolutely no chance to strike back without being torn to shreds.

  Yet his eyes understood the swaying of the branches before him, and his ward could counter their gentle caresses. And so long as he embraced that transcendent insight, at one with his lush green environment and the cultivator before him, it was nothing to slide past wayward roots, or the tripping feet of spiteful aspirants who crashed to the ground, shrieking when they fell before the might of an enraged Adept, before Bang Jiao’s own voice cut through the air.