Or any other.
Alex looked up from the broken shell of a princess, catching his friend’s gaze.
“Sudong was there. That damned headmaster was there!”
“Alex?”
“I sense him. Smirking in the back of her mind as Hao Zei cast his infernal curses.” Alex shook his head. “He’s a worse monster than even that psychopath Bingwen. And Princess Cui Chan is the lynchpin. The lynchpin to all of this!”
Chen Lei furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“And who’s this Bingwen?” asked Caojin.
“Never mind Bingwen. I think what they did to the princess is what’s allowing the infernalists, or maybe even the Red Prince himself, to bend their oaths in the awful ways that they are.” His gaze hardened. “This is how the headmaster managed to twist the oaths between master and student, allowing him and Dongfang Hong to enslave so many disciples and servants. The weight of his transgressions, and that damned merchant Hao Zei’s iniquities, is crushing Cui Chan’s soul. And for all we know, others as well.”
Caojin blanched, his gaze one of revulsion. “What you’re saying... it’s an utter perversion of karma!”
Alex nodded. “It is.”
“What can we do?”
Frowning, Alex ignored the startled gasps as he summoned forth a glossy blackness that first covered his arm, then half his torso as he focused on his Dark Qi, concentrating on the princess as he placed a single finger upon her brow.
Much to his fierce satisfaction, it actually began to flow from his fingertips to her forehead.
Dark Qi skill check: Success! You have successfully managed to cover 6 inches of external matter with Dark Qi!
Contest of Powers: Rank 12 Eternal Fox vs Greater Infernal Curse. Success! You have reclaimed a portion of your target’s soul!
It filled Alex with a fierce sense of vindication to see her forehead now utterly free of the massive jungle of tainted cords of spiritual energy, sensing his gift burning away a portion of the curse, even as his Dark Qi severed the connections of black karma, cutting down the flood of corruption tainting Cui Chan’s soul.
“Alex? Cui Chan’s scars… at least those on her forehead, they no longer look so inflamed. And her thrashing has eased. What did you do?” whispered an awed-sounding Chen Lei.
It was true. The restless princess had stopped thrashing, at least for the moment. But before Alex could report his success, he saw, to his horror, that the cords of blackness so densely packed all over her body had begun migrating back over her face, the one area that Alex had freed of taint, as inert sigils burned into her flesh flared to brooding life once more. And if their flames were a tiny bit dimmer, it was clear that Alex had only disrupted the tiniest portion of the whole.
Cheng Lei’s sigh was one of sympathy, the voice of a man wise beyond his years, who understood that the struggle against insurmountable obstacles rarely went according to plan.
But all Alex felt was growing fury.
Even as he sensed the far-off mocking laughter of his greatest mortal enemy, Hao Zei.
“Ah. I sense the stench of Ruidian filth intruding upon my destiny once more. So, my nemesis dares to interfere yet again! This is good. Good! It shall be sweetest pleasure when I make you mine, Ruidian. You and my wayward daughter both!”
The words of a man who sensed Alex, but had no idea he was listening in. “I will kill you, Hao Zei!” he roared. “Do you understand? I will rip out your heart and tear free your soul!” Fierce retribution swelled within him when the monstrous form of the merchant hissed in furious alarm.
“What? You are here? You dare to enter my mind, worm? I will destroy you here and now!”
Alex laughed, caring not that his companions exchanged looks of alarm. “Have you noticed that you’re missing one of your lackeys, you bloated bastard?”
And this, more than anything else, caused the merchant to lurch up from his carpet of slaves. All sobbing, some crushed to death under his weight. “The job center that nearly blew our cover… That was you? Impossible! You’re nothing. Nothing! Just an insignificant speck of dung that even the gods despise! I will tear your heart out and place it at their feet, and be raised above all men, no matter how appalling my glorious crimes! I was promised this. I was!”
Alex’s laughter was as chill as death. “I tore out your lackey’s core, you bastard. And I destroyed his soul. For all time. And I will do the same to you.” His smile grew as he sensed the abomination’s sudden horror. “His soul screamed when I held him under Death’s waters. Screamed as I squeezed it so tight that he began to discorporate into a thousand fragments that knew only terror, before succumbing utterly to the River of Souls, for all eternity.”
“NO! Impossible!” roared the voice is his head. “You don’t have that power! No creature in heaven or hell has the power to destroy a soul! Only reward or torment. That is all!”
Alex imagined his laughter filling the entire cavern of darkest debauchery, dozens of terrified souls staring up at the cavern walls in sudden panic. “You don’t sense your pawn at all, do you? Not one trace. Despite all the souls he linked to his own, thinking to make himself immortal as he sucked away the life force of countless hundreds… he has been destroyed so utterly, it’s as if he never existed at all!”
Hao Zei snarled, foot furiously stomping on one of the slaves sobbing at his feet. “No! Impossible! There is no way you could have bested my disciple. He could rise from any injury. Any! His power will soon be my own!”
“I’m coming for you, Hao Zei. You remember that when you look into the eyes of all your victims. Because one day, it will be me glaring back at you. And by the time you turn around, my fist will already be jammed down your throat, tearing free your soul!”
“I will destroy you, Ruidian filth! I will squeeze your heart in my fist and send you straight to hell!”
Alex broke off the connection when a desperate sob filtered through his growing fury, coming back to himself to see Cui Chan sobbing at his feet, Caojin glaring at him with fists filled with flame, and Cheng Lei was giving him the strangest look.
“Back away, Ruidian! Or… whatever you are,” warned Caojin. “Just step back. Step back!”
“Alex? What… who, exactly, were you talking to?” asked a concerned Cheng Lei.
Alex ignored them both, peering tenderly into Cui Chan’s terrified eyes.
“You… you know him. The monsters… the monsters who did this to me, you know them!” she sobbed.
Alex dipped his head, denying nothing. “The headmaster I only recognized, having outfoxed him just hours ago, with what he most feared to be true. But the orchestrator of your grief, your misery…” He sighed heavily. “Yes. I do.”
“How do you know him, Ruidian?” Caojin roared, the flames coating his hands becoming white-hot, the Fire cultivator holding back only because of Cheng Lei’s desperate grip upon his arm, whispering furiously into his ears.
“Don’t be a fool, cousin! He’s our only hope out of here!”
But the Gold’s eyes were glittering with outrage, and it was all Alex could do not to tremble before even a newly-minted Gold’s killing aura. “Are you his pawn, then? Is this part of an elaborate trap?”
Alex slowly shook his head. “I met Hao Zei shortly after escaping a band of slavers, when his caravan was in trouble, and I intervened, doing my best to help. And far from feeling any sense of gratitude, that corrupt excuse for a merchant did everything he could to enslave me to the most vile of contracts.” He then gave them all a brief account of his adventures, all the way to reaching Dragon Academy.
“And then, by the time that bastard realized I had altered those infernally tainted documents in such a way that, instead of my friends being forced into lives of absolute degradation and despair, he was the one who would be bound to covering the costs of their all-expense-paid enrollment at the academy, he wanted nothing more than to kill me. And he nearly did so, too. But my friends were free of his vile designs, so I t
hought a few broken bones were more than worth the trade.”
“And you fell in love with the girl you rescued. A perfect fairytale ending!” Cui Chan sighed, her rapt gaze filled with something other than horror for the few brief minutes Alex spent telling his tale.
He grinned, denying nothing. “I did. And we have certainly had our fair share of challenges since that day. Including running into that monster again.” His gaze hardened. “A monster who should be dead.”
He then went on to describe his final two encounters with Hao Zei, sharing as much as he could without revealing that he was both a pawn and an enemy of various gods.
“And now that monster is here. In Baidushi,” Cui Chan said at last, once Alex had finished.
Yet Cheng Lei was gazing at the princess with something close to awe. “Cui Chan! You’re yourself!”
She furrowed her scarred brow. “I’m sorry, Cheng, I’m not sure I understand.”
He blinked, then flushed. “I… perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Out with it. What do you mean, I’m now myself?”
“Well, you don’t seem to be hallucinating or lost in nightmare visions, anymore. And, well, you haven’t gone absolutely mad after Alex removed your collar.”
Cui Chan’s gaze widened in absolute shock. Hands immediately sprang to her throat.
The look upon her features was something Alex couldn’t put into words as she howled, laughed, and sobbed all at once. “I’m free! Somehow, you freed me, hero. You freed me!”
Then she paled and stumbled to the floor.
“Cui Chan!”
She raised her hand, a bitter smile flashing across her features. “I still feel like my soul is tearing in two. But my mind… yes. For the first time since this nightmare began, it is clear. For all that I wish I could forget, anything is better than being lost in those eternal nightmares.”
“But how?” asked Cheng Lei.
Alex frowned thoughtfully. “I think it’s because I was able to break the original connections on her skull. Even though other cords are migrating from her body… perhaps that was enough to break whatever additional Spirit Qi torments they had instilled.”
Caojin just shook his head. “Spirit Qi. An affinity for which there are only whispers and rumors, nothing concrete, not even in my family library. And you act as if you’re a master.”
Alex shrugged. “Honestly, I’m just going by my gut, mostly. But this feels right, and, well… I’m still here. So I have to be doing something right, right?”
The look Caojin gave him spoke volumes.
Alex smirked at the Gold cultivator before gazing down at the fallen princess. “Cui Chan? I have an idea. I’m not sure it will work, but at this point…”
She looked up at him with a bleak smile, reminding him so much of Liu Li for that heartbeat in time. “At this point, I have absolutely nothing to lose. What is it you’d like to try, hero?”
Alex swallowed, surprised to find himself suddenly anxious, with all of them now watching him so intently. “Cui Chan, would you be willing to form a party with me?”
Cui Chan has accepted Party Invite!
You have successfully formed party with: Cui Chan.
You are attempting to share experience with party member: Cui Chan.
Cui Chan has shared no prior adventures with you.
Cui Chan has no detectible nodes.
Cui Chan has no Psion (Spirit Qi) potential.
Cui Chan has no traces of Terran, Jordian, or Neanderthal lineage.
Cui Chan is not a direct descendant of: Alex Hammer.
You are unable to share experience pool with party member: Cui Chan at this time.
You are unable to share Karmic Resonance with party member: Cui Chan at this time.
The princess’s initial awe at hearing Alex’s interface in her head faded into despair. “There is a voice… a spirit between us.”
Alex nodded. “You could say that. Though really, it’s just my interface.”
Cui Chan swallowed. “I could almost make out what it was saying, strange as its words were. You were trying to coax it to help me, weren’t you?”
Alex sighed. “I… well, I had hoped…”
She graced him with a wan smile. “Thank you for trying, hero. That’s all I could ever ask of you, or anyone else.”
She gazed down at her scarred arms and trembled.
That was when Alex realized he was being a fool.
He had once manipulated an entire field of force that had obliterated a Deep Silver in an instant.
Why the hell couldn’t he do the same right here?
He shook his head, realizing that, for all his diligent training, there were still some paths to power at his disposal that he had all but ignored since the day he had discovered them.
Well, that ends right here and now, he thought, at least for the path that just might be Cui Chan’s salvation.
Assuming she wasn’t utterly appalled by the idea.
“Cui Chan? I have one other idea that just… well… I think it might work. More than that, I’m almost positive. But you might find it… a little bit gross.”
She blinked at that. “Gross?”
He nodded. “And perhaps it will seem like a horrific breach of etiquette, and even if you agree to it, best we make sure Caojin and Cheng Lei feel the same.”
This earned a curious glance from his friend and a hard glare from Caojin. “Had you not actually managed to free her of that collar…” Caojin exchanged a glance with his cousin, finally giving a resigned shrug. “But you did.”
The princess regarded Alex with a weak smile. “I’m hardly in any position to reject your help, Alex, though I am curious about the nature of this madness.”
In answer to her question, Alex slowly drew the tip of his spear, instantly summoned, against his arm, drawing blood.
It immediately turned black as midnight, before moving to his will.
You are attempting to manipulate your blood within the mortal realm in ways outside of Standard Paradigm. Qi disciplines with strongest correlations to blood are now in play: Silver Swan Rank 6 + and Eternal Fox Rank 12 + familiarity bonuses for manipulating spirit blood are now in play. – Critical success! You have discovered a new Qi discipline! (Water/Air/Metal Qi Dependent. Eternal Fox dependent.) Blood Mastery, Rank 1 Achieved!
Everyone present was gazing intently at the pool of ebony darkness cupped in Alex’s hand, blood transformed black as midnight.
Alex ignored the startled gasps and whispered curses, turning to lock gazes with the princess before him.
“With your permission… I think I can free you of the infernal cords covering you. But to do so…”
She took a deep, shuddering breath, jerking a nod. And before either Cheng Lei or Caojin could offer a word in protest, she had spun around, slipping free of her worn dress to stand naked and trembling in the cool air, and Alex had to clench his jaw as he saw firsthand just how badly she had been savaged by her enemies, her back covered in keloids and scars.
“Please, hero. If you’re going to do something…”
Alex took a deep breath, centering himself before placing his palm upon the shivering princess’s back, and letting his blood flow as he knew it must.
Blood Mastery skill check made.
Four Light Wounds Taken. Fully healed by Power Healing!
Five Qi Expended.
You have successfully covered your subject in Dark Qi-saturated blood!
Dark Qi + Eternal Fox Rank 12 trumps Infernal Taint!
Dark Qi + Eternal Fox Rank 12 trumps Dark Binding!
Congratulations! You have freed Party Member: Cui Chan of all infernal influences! Party Member has ceased absorbing external karmic demands!
Congratulations! Blood Mastery is now Rank 2.
Eternal Fox is now Rank 13!
Alex shivered under a deluge of fresh insights, understanding like never before how Eternal Fox infused with Spirit Qi could be used to heal not on
ly the body, but the soul as well. Just as remarkable, he was beginning to understand how Eternal Fox could be used in conjunction with his blood to heal others, not just himself. Normally, he would be beyond ecstatic with his unexpected breakthrough. But all he felt at that moment was awful regret for not coming to Cui Chan’s aid sooner, and a fierce surge of bitter satisfaction at the howls of frustrated fury he now heard echoing within Cui Chan’s mind, before the voices broke off completely.
“Stop the sacrifices, you fool! The taint is now our own. The taint is now our own!”
“But what about the newest batch of oath-slaves?”
“That’s Sudong’s problem. Come. We’re leaving at once!”
“But the headmaster…”
“If that fool can’t find and eliminate one damned Ruidian, then he has only himself to blame. Come!”
“Alex, is it… did it work?” Hopeful eyes bored into his own when Alex drew the blood back into himself. He felt a jolt of surprise once more to find that it was no strain at all to do so, almost as if he was storing reserves, much like he did when using biochemical mastery to store poisons.
He flushed and looked away as Xun Hu made herself known at that moment, the too-familiar vulnerability of a fellow woman in distress pulling the kitsune girl free from her seclusion when she seemed to appear out of shadows. The willowy girl gently draped the exhausted Cui Chan with an oversized fine silk jacket she had pulled from seemingly nowhere, earning a surprised hiss from Caojin and a friendly nod from Cheng Lei.
“A friend of yours, I take it?”
Alex smiled back at Cheng Lei. “Xun Hu is a very good friend. As are you. Even if the trials we endured were of a different sort.”
Alex then turned to the nervous-looking kitsune, downy ears pressed tight to her forehead. “Thank you, Xun Hu.”
The kitsune jerked a nod, not expecting the impulsive hug Cui Chan gave her, though her resulting smile was beautiful and free of pain for the first time that Alex could recall.
“Thank you, little fox. I am grateful for your thoughtful gift.”
Xun Hu shrugged dismissively. “You needed it more than the bastard I stole it from.”
The princess’s eyes suddenly widened, her gaze strangely sympathetic. “I see I wasn’t the only one who endured the bitterest of trials.”
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior’s Path Page 81