Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior’s Path

by Johnson, M. H.

  But a stunned Alex had eyes only for the oversized student presently scowling at the floor. “Dineng, what the hell are you talking about?”

  But all his sometime training partner did was snort. “Why do you think so many of us were so willing to challenge you? Repeatedly? Spoon-fed too many childhood tales involving righteous gods everyone should revere, and foolish deities proper citizens should never truck with. And of course, everyone loves stories where obnoxious Ruidians too big for their britches are eventually put in their place, their schemes always doomed to fail. And that makes us the fools, forgetting how clever the fox and his friends are in the campfire tales told along the trade roads, or in any small town or farming community whose roofs your family might take shelter under while making trade deals or sheltering from a bad storm.”

  Yingpei nodded in agreement while Dineng began scouring the floorboards in earnest.

  Bibi frowned at her beau. “Dineng, what are you doing?”

  “I’ve heard things. I’ve picked up rumors that these pagodas have secret passages leading right to the servant’s tunnels!” His eyes lit with fervent hope. “If that’s true, we just might have a chance.” His scowl turned imploring as Duo Ku continued pounding on his door. “Is that the real reason why you had Zhu Bi lead us here? A secret exit?”

  Alex answered with a sympathetic smile, doing his best to ignore the monstrous Silver doing all he could to force open the door. “You know, that really is a good idea, but I’m pretty sure Liqin would have led me right to my pagoda, had there truly been such a secret entrance.” He chuckled softly. “And probably snuck herself into my bed at least half a dozen times by now.”

  One of the boy’s eyes widened. “You know Liqin?” he said with an anxious hitch to his voice.

  “Now’s not the time for you to be mooning over that girl!” hissed another student. “That damned Spirit Wolf is going to break in here and kill us all, and Bang Jiao will let him!”

  Alex winced, feeling the weight of several dozen desperate, accusing stares pinning him where he stood. “Actually, I’m pretty sure he won’t,” he said, brandishing his pearlescent talisman. “More than thrice, I have fought for every possession I owned since claiming this pagoda.” He flashed a fierce smile. “And I managed to win every time.”

  Dineng scowled. “I know. I was the one challenging you for everything you were worth, and all I really wanted was this damned Silver-ranked sanctuary. What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

  “’Thrice won is sacred.’”

  “What does that even mean?”

  But Zhu Bi was gazing at Alex with a certain amount of awe, trembling hands now daring to touch the talisman that flashed and glittered in light that streamed from none of the shuttered windows. “It means… I think… I think it means that they can’t break through.”

  “What the hell do you mean, they can’t break through? Even if that monster can’t smash open the pagoda, all they need is someone of higher rank to place their talisman in the slot!”

  Zhu Bi’s flashed a sublime smile as she turned to face her peers. “I… I don’t think it matters, Dineng. Not even if the headmaster himself tried to force open this door.”

  Dineng did not look pleased by this answer. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Alright, enough with the door,” said a thin, agitated student, whose name Alex had never caught. “Even if you’re somehow right, what does it matter? We’re all still trapped in here! You don’t think those bastards now in the Red Prince’s pocket—an invading force, I might add—aren’t going to have a dozen smiling men armed with spears and fangtian ji, ready to chop our heads off if we don’t surrender and sign whatever damned soul-binding contracts they want us to?”

  His gaze was both desperate and imploring when he turned back to Alex. “You going to tell me you have a barrel of water and some way we can slip off the roof and make our way out of here in the dead of night, Ruidian?”

  Alex took a deep breath and forced himself to take that irrevocable step he knew he could never take back.

  But over a score of lives were now on the line. He doubted any of Bang Jiao’s students would be allowed to live after all they had witnessed.

  Alex let their words wash over him as he silently gazed at the far wall, which, after several seconds, transformed into a shimmering door of liquid gold.

  Gold he turned translucent with a single act of will, now revealing the magnificent central corridor of the palace he dared to call his own.

  You have accessed: Chamber of Doors. You have five out of fifteen Rank 3 Gold-tier Portals available.

  You have chosen to summon one Door. Your door’s egress point is now visible to all targets designated as friendly. Your door will be inaccessible to all parties designated as neutral or hostile.

  You have designated all pawns of Dongfang Hong as Hostile.

  Only subjects who swear an Oath of Binding will be permitted to access your door.

  Alex quickly looked up from his interface, glad that only a few seconds had passed.

  Even so, he couldn’t help smiling at the angry, frantic glares being sent his way, his classmates having no idea how close salvation was.

  Just a single oath away.

  “Look behind you,” was all he said.

  And it said something for how well-trained, or perhaps just desperate they all were, the entire class spinning about as one.

  He couldn’t help grinning at the gasps and cries of relief he heard by everyone present at the sight of a magnificent palace of golden domes, soaring pagodas, and pristine marble halls. A dozen architectural styles somehow blending seamlessly together, all of it shimmering like a mirage against a backdrop of lush green forests, fields full of flowers, and clear blue skies overhead.

  “Is that real? It can’t be!” whispered one girl.

  “Silverbells! That’s an entire field full of Silverbell blossoms!” squealed another.

  “Salvation. I knew the stories were true!” another student choking back sobs declared.

  Even Qiang could be heard murmuring a fervent prayer.

  Though Alex hadn’t been expecting Zhu Bi’s sob of gratitude as she hugged his legs. “This unworthy child thanks you, Grandfather!”

  The pronouncement earned only a couple of confused stares before everyone’s focus snapped right back to their hoped-for salvation.

  “Thank the gods,” Dineng muttered, grabbing Bibi’s hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here while we can!”

  “There’s just one thing,” Alex quickly said as the racing cultivator seemed to melt right through the shimmering gate like a mirage before banging against the far wall.

  “What trick is this, you bastard?” Dineng’s angry demand filled the room’s silence, his girl holding a bruised elbow as her glare became one of bitter disappointment and growing despair.

  Before the mood could darken any further, Alex explained.

  “You will be permitted to pass through the gate only after you have given your cultivator’s oath to cause no deliberate hindrance or harm, directly or indirectly, to the lord of this land, his guests, or his property.”

  Alex offered a placating smile, quickly clarifying. “Of course, no one is going to give you a hard time for accidentally jostling someone in the hallway or having an agreed-upon sparring match. And if you actually choose to live there, you won’t be considered breaking your oath if you’re chopping wood or otherwise altering the land in setting up your own farm or pagoda. But acts like, say, torching the library, stealing cultivation manuals, or deliberately destroying anything in the palace outside of the designated training areas, are a definite no-no. Fair enough?”

  Zhu Bi frowned. “That’s kind of a sloppy verbal contract but…” Her eyes twinkled with amusement and reverence. “But I have absolute faith in the noble intentions and kind heart of the man or god who calls this palace his home. I, Zhu Bi, do swear to this binding oath.”

  “And I, Yingpei Li
n, also swear to this binding oath,” the beaming merchant beside her declared, clasping Zhu Bi’s hand and giving her a passionate kiss before the entire class. The kitsune girl moaned in his arms, her tail entwining about her lover’s leg, before breaking it off with an embarrassed cough when it was clear that absolutely everyone was staring at them.

  “Shall we?” Zhu Bi whispered to Yingpei, who gave an enthusiastic nod.

  Not hesitating another heartbeat, they both jumped through.

  And to everyone’s wide-eyed wonder, their friends immediately appeared on the other side, becoming strangely luminescent and somehow both larger than life and hardly real at all, as if being viewed from a 4-D movie screen.

  Their eyes widened all the more when Alex’s seneschal, Dong Xiao, immediately appeared before them. Alex gave a big thumbs up from behind the cluster of students gazing in awe at their friends who had actually used the gate, earning an over-exaggerated wink and nod before Dong Xiao led Zhu Bi and Yingpei away.

  An awe-struck Dineng was staring intently at Alex. “Is it true?”

  Alex winked. “I prefer stories told around caravan campfires myself, but you’re free to believe whatever you like.”

  Dineng opened his mouth, momentarily speechless, before giving an abrupt jerk of his head. “Alright, I swear to the same damned oath those lovebirds did.” His gaze was strangely imploring. “Can we go through?”

  “I swear the oath as well!” whispered the girl pressed tightly to Dineng, shivering as the roaring Duo Ku continued to hammer the door.

  “I will break the bones of everyone inside just as surely as I will break down this door! You will all scream for my blade before I’m through with you!”

  The threat carried the weight of a dark Silver’s hate, earning more than one whimper from faces filling with naked terror.

  None of them were stupid. All of them knew what would happen if that monster actually broke through.

  “Please?”

  Alex answered the desperation in Bibi’s eyes with a gentle smile. “The path is open before you.”

  Within minutes, nearly every single one of Alex’s classmates had sworn that oath, leaving with strange lingering glances or deep solemn bows sent his way, until it was only him, Qiang, and whatever lay hidden in shadows and gloom. The pagoda windows remained shuttered, strangely resilient to a madman’s furious attempts to wrench them open, despite Qiang’s every flinch with the sound of tortured wood.

  The young man chuckled bitterly. “I really can’t stand you, you know.”

  Alex smirked. “I know.”

  The youth glared at the door. “But I really have no interest in being the Red Prince’s lapdog, especially when the Emperor eventually comes along to put that asshole back in his place.”

  “Unless Dongfang’s gambit actually works,” Alex noted.

  Qiang shuddered. “Still…”

  “I agree.”

  “You’re not going to lord it over us like a complete asshole, are you, Alex?”

  Alex regarded him thoughtfully. “Between you and me? I doubt you guys will see much of me at all in the upcoming weeks. The seneschal will take care of all your needs and ensure that you have access to a massive library with a wing that’s nearly identical to the first floor of the library here, with a good handful of Gold tomes besides, for those who are truly worthy of them. And that’s in addition to a massive garden with practically every Qi-infused herb a budding alchemist could hope for, endless forests and fields to explore, and training grounds that put the Aspirant’s Quarters here to absolute shame. And for those of you willing to train your hearts out, you just might get a chance to sample some of the best food and sleeping arrangements you’ll find anywhere. Worthy of royalty, if not the Emperor himself.”

  Qiang shook his head, chuckling softly. “Sounds like bloody paradise.”

  Alex grinned. “One could certainly do a lot worse.”

  “Your time is up, Ruidian!” came the harsh declaration from Bang Jiao, his cold voice promising inescapable doom.

  Alex’s gaze turned solemn. “It’s time to decide your future, Qiang.”

  But Qiang was staring at the door in wide-eyed horror. “He’s going to kill us, Alex. I can feel the weight of his aura from here!”

  “So what will you do?”

  “Fine! I swear the oath, you bastard! Now please let me through!”

  Alex nodded, waving his hand. “Then go through.”

  Qiang swallowed. “I…thank you, Alex.”

  “Shut up and move. I’m closing the gate now.”

  The desperate young cultivator dashed through with a cry, and a heartbeat later the gate was sealed. Alex remained seated in the gloom as the howling Spirit Wolf roared and pounded on the pagoda that shook with every blow, and he counted it a minor miracle that the monster had yet to break through.

  Still, sacred covenants or no, he feared it was only a matter of time before he was forced to face the furious giant so eager for his head.

  Haunted eyes gazed into his own as the shadows formed into a frail kitsune girl whose vivid red scars, only now beginning to heal, broke Alex’s heart to see.

  “We still can’t cross through the gate, can we?”

  Alex gave a sad shake of his head. “Not yet.”

  “So, what do we do now, hero?”

  Alex took a deep breath and told her his plan.

  48

  “This is insane; you know that, right, Alex?”

  Alex did his best to put Xun Hu’s anxious words out of mind, pouring all of his focus into grasping ahold of memories he’d normally try to push away, forcing himself to embrace the recollection of the awful feeling of dizzying exhaustion and a chest so heavy he could barely breathe as the roaring Duo Ku continued to pound on the walls.

  “Your time is up, Ruidian! Prepare to pay the price for your insolence!”

  Alex smirked, knowing what a fool he was being, yet knowing he had to bait his foe and wind him up as tightly as he could, if his plan was going to work.

  A plan that just might allow them to get out of here alive.

  Alive and free to move about in the heart of his enemies’ lair as he so chose.

  Because after all he had been through, all he had endured, he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Long Wang get the last laugh now.

  Faithful despite her fear, the girl beside him shook with terror every time their pagoda was rocked on its foundations by superhuman strength.

  Strength that could quite literally tear Alex limb from limb, a recently experienced horror he did his absolute best not to think about.

  It was that same strength he would have to face down before the day was done.

  “Alex, please…”

  He closed his eyes and shouted loud enough that his enemies were sure to hear. “What was that, Duo Ku? My time is up, you said? Then how is it that I’m still quite comfortably ensconced in here, and you’re howling like a mad wolf out there? Perhaps my time isn’t quite up. You think? Or maybe you’re just a lot weaker than you’d like everyone else to believe?” Alex tsked. “Surely a sign of massive insecurities. One could only wonder what a person like you has to be insecure about, Little Ku?”

  The sudden silence was deafening, Alex’s insult unmistakable. Undeniable. A slight that could never be taken back.

  “You will die for those words, Ruidian filth!” roared the madman, pounding on Alex’s thin-walled pagoda with such mad frenzy that the walls couldn’t help but crack and shake. Yet somehow, the structure remained secure, not one wall caving in under the monstrous blows.

  You have summoned four portals. Unorthodox configuration mirroring pagoda walls chosen. Your doors are invisible to everyone but you and your allies. These doors may not be accessed by anyone save you and your allies.

  Biochemical Mastery skill check failed!

  Alex winced as the message scrolled across his mind’s eye for the fourth time, surprised to find that out of all the alchemical and biochemical formulas tha
t had come so easily to him, this one alone was causing him no end of trouble.

  Of course, this formula, unlike so many others, depended on the careful insertion of spiritual energy into every step of the process, generating that which was as much Qi discipline as alchemical concoction.

  And it didn’t help that the frail kitsune girl he had somehow found himself caring for was now sobbing uncontrollably, curled up in a ball of shadow as the walls trembled before the force of a howling madman who, if he only thought to jump upon the pagoda roof, could smash through and kill Alex almost instantly.

  Alex could only be grateful that he hadn’t yet.

  But that could change any second.

  He took a deep breath, forced to accept the fact that he just might have to flee for all he was worth and hope that he could survive against an entire school set against him, perhaps the headmaster as well.

  Alex smirked bitterly at the thought, his mind flickering back to Bang Jiao’s incensed countenance. Knowing his enemies as he did, he was absolutely certain that they would have manipulated events to assure the worst possible outcome if Alex misstepped even once in that regard, Fog of War card or no.

  He shook his head, forcing himself to focus, despite the howling madman still pounding against the pagoda door.

  One way or another, he had to see this through.

  He took a deep breath, doing his best to push all extraneous thoughts aside. This time, he compelled himself to endure the most anxious of memories, recalling all too well the look on Hao Chan’s face when she had been just seconds away from surrendering herself to the ruthless Proprietress of the Purple Pavilion, Lao Bao, who had affected Alex so profoundly with her serpentine touch. That deadly seduction of exhaustion and euphoria he had fought with everything he had to endure, having to master everything in his body before he could master himself.

  And then he finally understood.

  Spirit, Wood, and Water Qi sheathed in Dark Qi and infused into that which could serve as the most exquisite of balms, or the deadliest of traps.