Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior’s Path

by Johnson, M. H.

  Chun An’s incredulous gaze met his own, while Elder Ru’s tension instantly faded, replaced by a soft chuckle. “At ease, granddaughter. I think perhaps this foolish fox is just a bit wiser than he looks.”

  She snorted. “He almost has to be. Certainly, he is bolder than any mortal still in the throes of Bronze has any right to be.”

  Elder Ru snorted his agreement. “Alright, aspirant, I must confess, you have my interest piqued.” His weathered jaw tightened. “Yet we are expected to tend to the headmaster at once, as is every other scholar and revered elder who is normally able to avoid the unwanted weight of his presence in the bowels of the library. Because the unexpected anomaly in the heart of our academy is all the pretext our ‘beloved’ headmaster needs to tighten the reins upon what precedent had always demanded be the lightest of touches upon the fate of this school.”

  The cultivator gave an angry shake of his head. “Whatever fool or nightmare act of blasphemy caused such a rift to form, it is serving as the perfect precedent for that… bureaucrat to bind us all to the wiles of the crimson snake that would strangle us all in its coils.”

  Alex felt a cold chill. To think, even his desperate act of defiance to save his friends and destroy at least one of his foes would be used by his enemies to further secure their mastery over this school.

  He had to swallow the bile in his throat, all too well able to imagine the bloated General Shalu having yet another laugh at his expense.

  “You do understand what Grandfather is saying, do you not, Alex?”

  Alex’s gaze didn’t waver.

  Finally he compelled himself to do what he knew he should have done a long time ago, once again forced to expend treasured assets in ways he hadn’t originally intended. Every move forward potentially weakened him, forcing him to choose between sacrificing precious resources or even more precious people.

  He clenched his fist at the thought of General Shalu’s smirk, his sole bitter consolation being the look of genuine fear mixed with loathing that had twisted the foul deity’s scarred features when he was finally forced to glimpse Alex in the flesh, lounging at the gaming table that Shalu had no doubt thought of as his own divine province.

  Alex flashed a bleak smile of his own, refusing to the memory of his enemy’s mocking grin keep him from doing what he needed to do.

  You have accessed your World Seed interface sheet!

  Your currently possess one Rank 1 Silver world with a circumference of 32 miles. (Spiritual Aura: Silver. Resilience: Basic.)

  You currently possess one Rank 7 Silver Eternal Palace with a Divine-ranked Library (normal limits superseded) in addition to Silver-ranked guest chambers and dining facilities sufficient to host 100 of your closest friends and allies in perpetuity!

  You have one Rank 3 basic laboratory allowing for limited absorption, manipulation, and storage of: Fire Qi.

  You currently possess one Rank 1 Gold Chamber of Doors.

  All doors can link to any area you have ever seen. You may anchor any one door to you that will move with you and that you may step through at will. You may channel specific elements of your Qi or soul through any of your doors. Time to open your doors has been cut in half.

  Your doors may pierce any spiritual or physical barrier of Gold rank or lower. You may transport any object (individual or transport vehicle) voluntarily seeking passage, or any sized territory you own, if all requirements are met. Doors may be seen and used by anyone you wish at any time you desire. You may reassign any door you own at will. You may have a maximum of ten gates open at any one time.

  You are now accessing your Chamber of Doors interface sheet.

  Two doors are designated as Emergency Exit Points for Allies currently in Baidushi Palace.

  Six doors are currently anchoring one Divine tier Artifact of Destruction within Netherrealms.

  One door is designated as Exit Point leading from World Seed Palace to trade road within sight of Yizhen city. (Door is one-way. Door is only visible within World Seed. Any guest who chooses to leave your World Seed will be shown the exit by your seneschal and may not return.)

  One out of ten doors is free to assign.

  Do you wish to expend Tier 2 Gold Soul Stone upon Chamber of Doors? – You have chosen YES! Chamber of Doors is now Gold Rank 3! You may choose two additional Gold Tier Virtues for this World Seed nexus point.

  You have chosen the Path of Oathbinding!

  Prospective guests may now enter select gates without necessitating your prior awareness or consent, so long as their Spiritual Qi resonates with a predetermined oath given out loud (or said silently with a concentration check!) – Note: These guests will face automatic expulsion should they violate said oath, with or without your knowledge. Must save versus Tier 3 Gold Potency to resist. – Additional Note: World Seed Sovereign has access to Dark Qi spiritual energy. Dark Qi may not be used to severe the Cords of Fate binding any Oathgiver within Sovereign’s realm!

  You have chosen the Virtue of Multiplicity!

  You now have 5 additional doors.

  You have summoned 1 door. (You have 5 additional doors you may summon at will before maximum count is reached.) This golden gate is open to anyone you consent to crossing, or anyone who makes the required oath, regardless of your presence, and is invisible to all mortals or cultivators unable to pierce Gold Rank 4 Obfuscation.

  Alex didn’t break his gaze or focus, enduring the increasingly intense gazes of the pair of Silvers peering up at him before addressing them once more. “What would you give to the fox or aspirant who could offer you shelter from the storms to come?”

  Elder Ru and Chun An both paled, cavalier demeanors cracking momentarily, and for just a heartbeat, he sensed the cold fear they held in check so well.

  But Elder Ru simply said, “Do you truly know such a lucky fox, dear aspirant?”

  “Such a fortunate scoundrel could earn any number of lifelong friends, should he truly know the path that has eluded so many, now forced to accept that not even the most sacred of all sanctuaries is immune to the wiles of the crimson monster soon to be in our midst,” Chun An added.

  Alex smirked at that. “This library was never any haven. I’m pretty sure that compromising the warrior maidens guarding the library’s inner sanctuary was Dongfang Hong’s first move when he established a foothold here. If you two haven’t figured that out already…”

  “Alex!” Xun Hu hissed.

  Alex winced under their glares, which was when Elder Ru gave a soft chuckle, beaming at Alex in odd approval. “How refreshing it is for us to be put in our places by what I fear is a rather apt summation of what did in fact happen. And yet for all that, those sacred guardians with personal ties to the true hierarchy within the library have remained fiercely loyal and steadfast, in spite of making no complaint and giving no warning.” He sighed and shook his head. “Which forces one to wonder just how badly we were infiltrated and compromised, even before our crimson nemesis moved his first piece forward in earnest, for our enemies to know just who to entice and corrupt, and who to leave be without the faintest eddies of troubled waters giving us any hints until it was far too late.”

  He tilted his head thoughtfully. “It begs the question, dear Alex, how is it that you know what you know, unless it’s thanks to…”

  Alex flashed a rueful smile. “It’s only thanks to me playing the idiot, pressing a certain librarian who perhaps understood these troubled currents far better than I did, so desperate I was to track down certain tomes that she literally begged me to avoid. And before you know it, I’m facing powerful Silvers sparkling with brilliant rubies upon throats, ears, and noses, piercing me with their killing glares. Guardians who came so close to running me through, it gives me chills just thinking about it now.”

  Elder Ru chuckled softly. “To callously ignore a librarian’s warnings, and I do think I know exactly who you are referring to, is indeed the mark of a fool.”

  Alex flushed at that, but he couldn’t help nodding
in complete agreement. There were so many things he could and should have done differently that day, but he had made the best of it, and promised himself once more that he would learn from his folly. Which was all anyone could do.

  “Still, one has to wonder, what tomes had so piqued your interest that you were willing to charge headlong into folly, despite Lady Peng Jin desperately cajoling you to choose any other path than the one you so stubbornly clung to?”

  Alex paused briefly in discomfort. “Tomes on Dark Qi,” he admitted at last.

  Chun An blinked. “Tomes on how to best process and eliminated Waste Qi?”

  Alex slowly shook his head. “No, Lady Chun An. The tomes I was after were manuals with insights on how to actually make use of Dark Qi.”

  Both elders froze, inspecting Alex for long moments that sent his heart racing, but all Elder Ru said was, “Do you truly have any idea of just how perilous such techniques would be, Disciple? I can promise you this… even if we do have such techniques, they would be beyond merely risky. Not even the masters of those tomes managed to escape their daring unscathed. That particular endeavor is far more perilous than any so-called forbidden art. Why, I’m more than halfway certain that, had the prince’s pawns in the inner sanctum actually taken the time to consider your request, they would have gladly allowed you to take those tomes, knowing they would only lead to your destruction. And this is the path you would pursue?”

  Alex nodded. “It is.”

  Chun An snorted. “Truly a fool. Yet just look at him with his adorable bright blue eyes, brimming with sincerity and the absolute conviction that he is anything but a silly cub daring the most treacherous of paths.”

  Alex winked. “And just how foolish is the fox you would follow to your own salvation?”

  Only then did he point to the boughs connecting his present shelter to the equally large cherry tree just beside it. He smiled, detecting the faint sparkling of otherworldly light between the entwined branches, curious flashes of golden sunlight flickering between the leaves. “Any man or woman who swears to never deliberately cause hindrance or harm to, or steal or destroy the property of the master of the realm just a few steps away, may enter and find peace from the chaotic storms of this world, enjoying luxuries and wonders unlike anything they have ever experienced before.”

  Chun An studied Alex for long moments, her brilliant eyes, flashing like obsidian, seeming to peer into his very soul. “A binding oath only the most desperate would risk, so easily used against the oath-maker if one isn’t very, very careful.”

  Alex shrugged, looking at the gate which none of them could see, but he was increasingly certain that the pair of master Silvers could at least sense its existence, despite his interface’s bold declaration. “No one’s trying to screw you over. No one cares if you accidentally bump into someone in the halls or kick up dirt, or even plow the ground to grow crops or the like, and you can use the training areas to your heart’s content. That being said, the lord of the realm beyond that gate has absolutely no interest in getting repeatedly challenged, robbed, or killed by the very people he’s risking his life to save.”

  Chun An blinked, for the first time a look of desperate longing slipping through her façade of sangfroid passivity. “If you or any patron of yours actually had access to such a marvelous treasure…” she shivered.

  Alex smirked. “I’m as good as dead if the wrong people find out. I know.” He met her gaze with his own. “Which is why I’m going out on a limb, as I have no doubt that you two are some of the best, most honorable people still left in this school.”

  He turned to a troubled Elder Ru. “And of course, you can use whatever resources you like, within reason, including the library, dining hall, and alchemy hall, which admittedly still needs a lot of work, and whatever quarters you fancy, if they’re not already spoken for.”

  The ancient cultivator eyed Alex silently for long moments, seeming to take the measure of his very soul. “May I enter and return?” he said at last, Chun An’s eyes suddenly going wide.

  “Grandfather…”

  Alex closed his eyes, concentrated, giving a few silent commands, before smiling and nodding his head. You have modified 1 Gold door. Door will now allow free access both ways. Golden door is visible within your realm. No oath is needed to leave your realm.

  “You may,” he said.

  And without another word, the ancient cultivator stepped between the tree boughs and, just as the eyes were distracted by rays of sunlight and the brilliant show of cherry blossoms, he was gone.

  Chun An gaped for long moments in shocked disbelief, before slowly turning to Alex, death in her gaze. “If anything happens to my grandfather…”

  Alex could sense the sudden panic of the kitsune girl beside him, seeming to disappear in truth within the sudden thick gloom.

  Alex said nothing, forcing himself to calmly meet the Deep Silver’s killing glare and endure, ignoring the messages flashing across his mind’s eye.

  And how the soul-burning gaze turned to awed disbelief when Elder Ru emerged in a shower of cherry petals and sparkling light, with a look of wonder upon his features.

  “Grandfather! What did you see?”

  But all Elder Ru did was turn to Alex, bowing solemnly and low. Below 90 degrees, even, an act that seemed to shake Chun An’s composure more than anything else.

  “Grandfather?”

  Her eyes widened when Elder Ru grabbed her palm and pulled her downward, the surprised Chun An falling into a graceful genuflection somewhere between a curtsy and a bow.

  “This student of the natural world and all its mysteries is grateful for the lesson in humility and wonder you have bestowed upon me, Ancient Disciple.”

  Alex winced at those words, kitsune and noblewoman alike now fixing him with the most intent of stares. “Anyone of sound moral character who would rather avoid being a disposable piece upon the crimson board which this school has become, you are welcome to invite. Though I’d counsel you to speak very softly indeed before revealing the words that will let them through… and preferably only before they will be going themselves.”

  Perception check made!

  It was then that Alex felt the deadly aura slowly approaching. And by the sudden stiff expressions of Elder Ru and his granddaughter, it was clear that the pair of Silver instructors before him did as well.

  “What is the meaning of this blasphemy? All Elders are to attend me at once!”

  The dread words seemed to echo through the school entire, like the clap and roar of thunder in the heavens above.

  Ancient eyes locked with Alex’s own. “You know who calls, and why.” The elder’s words were the faintest of whispers.

  Alex quickly nodded. “An anomaly that would strike fear even in the most corrupt of Headmasters.”

  “An anomaly that could spell our doom, if foolish avatars truly dare what our Headmaster fears,” Chun An snapped.

  Alex winced, having already sensed the fear and outrage beneath her calm demeanor before, for all that she was wise enough to feel him out before striking with sharp words or worse…but they were out of time, and the Gold Headmaster’s pressure increased as he slowly, inevitably approached.

  Alex could only wonder how many Deep Silvers took refuge in the library. And failure to comply now would put them in the worst possible position. He knew the pair before him had to move, and quickly.

  “I can promise you this. What he fears will lead to the school’s destruction will instead fade to nothing by the first light of dawn.” Alex could feel the truth of this statement even as he said it, and the relieved look on Elder Ru’s face meant he could sense the truth of it as well.

  What horrified him was how tangibly Death’s Waters had manifested. And how foolish it had been to embrace that mad flash of insight that didn’t have him stepping into the River of Souls so much as pulling it right into the realm of the living, the only thing that had allowed him to destroy his enemy so utterly. And had his soul not been s
o utterly hidden by the Fog of War fate card, he had no doubt that the gods above would have instantly struck him dead for his reckless daring.

  And how relieved he was that it would completely fade away, or at least it should fade away, by the first light of dawn.

  So long as he didn’t let exhaustion claim him this night.

  No matter what it took, he knew he didn’t dare leap through his own portals or sleep a wink until a new day’s sun caressed his frame. The cost, should he fail in that…

  He shivered and looked away, praying the pair of elders hadn’t caught his expression, or they would instantly know he had embraced foolishness beyond even WiFu’s greatest acts of mad folly, according to stories countless centuries old.

  Xun Hu gasped in surprise, and when Alex reflexively glanced her way, he saw no trace of Elder Ru or Chun An. The fox girl let loose a soft chuckle. “They disappeared so fast, they could have passed for kitsune.”

  Alex flashed a bleak smile, swallowing back the heart-stopping dread he felt before the crushing spiritual weight of a furious Gold.

  Who, thankfully, no longer seemed intent on approaching the library.

  Alex’s smile shifted to a wry grin, and he knocked the branch he sat upon with his knuckle, as if for luck. “What say we get out of here?”

  “Sounds lovely,” Xun Hu said. “Just tell me where the hell we can go that’s safe and…”

  Her eyes widened when Alex pulled out not one but two of the thin but skillfully made linen robes that might just be his greatest prizes at the moment, as far as he was concerned.

  “Servant’s robes?”

  He nodded. “Servants are practically invisible here. Of course, most cultivators would never accept the insult to their pride, demeaning themselves with a servant’s attire, but I, for one, have no problem at all wearing robes as comfortable as these. Do you?”

  She chuckled softly. “A significant step up from being an infernalist’s slave, thank you very much. Whatever helps us to blend in, I’m all for. So, what now?”

  He frowned, furrowing his brow as he scanned the ground nearby, hoping he could find some clue as to where another secret entrance to a possible sanctuary might be, before realizing that the answer was right under his palms. Literally.