Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Reborn: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 1

by M. H. Johnson

  He turned to catch her curious smile. He couldn’t help thinking how adorable she looked with her red hat on, hair knotted in an exotic weave that both accentuated the beauty of her exposed neck, while hiding away that which she was most shy about showing off to the world. “I saw how intently you were looking at me compounding yesterday, and, well, father and I decided to give you a chance helping out here in back.”

  She laughed at his expression. “Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through everything. I just wanted to show you what we will be working with...”

  Her eyes widened as Alex quickly got to work, not saying a word as he methodically replicated everything she had done. Though he was far slower than she was, he felt almost as if his gift was allowing him to replay the memory of her actions in his mind until he got them right. That, and his near perfect memory of the exact quantities she had used, allowed him to mix the right ingredients in the right proportions at the right time.

  She only frowned once. “You put in too much Chamomile and Lavender,” she said.

  Alex frowned, slowly shaking his head. “No. These plants are less potent than the ones you had out last night.”

  She arched her brow. “Really.”

  He had nodded intently, too lost in his work to realize that he might be speaking a bit too frankly with her. “Yes. By about 15 and 20 percent respectively.” He blinked and grimaced. “I hope you don’t mind me accounting for differences in ingredient potency.”

  Far from being offended, she seemed amused. “Alright, Alex. I’ll let you play apothecary. I’ll judge you when you’re finished.

  Basic Potion of Bliss successfully compounded with 100% median market potency.

  Basic Potion of Calm successfully compounded with 115% median market potency.

  The pill press was trickier and required the precise application of technique and strength, a bemused Liu Li helping him with this as well, though he insisted in completing a second batch from scratch, earning a soft chuckle and what he thought was an admiring nod for his work ethic.

  Two Batches of Basic Rejuvenation Pills successfully created at 95% Median Market Potency.

  He frowned, bowing his head to his mentor. “I apologize. The pills are only 95% of what they should be. I’ll have to practice a bit more and see what I got wrong.”

  However, a frowning Liu Li was delicately sniffing all his pills and tinctures, giving him the oddest look. "They all smell and taste, well, perfect. And I was watching you the whole time. Save for a couple of steps you missed with the Potion of Calm, you did everything right. And even that potion tastes as it should."

  Alex carefully kept a straight face, having eliminated two unnecessary steps that were actually hindering the efficacy of that potion, hence why he got the tiny boost when creating it.

  She continued peering intently at him all through an awkward lunch, her father having darted off when a man who radiated danger, for all that he had been dressed in the most innocuous-looking scholar's robes, had come by, apparently to fetch his services for his master.

  She had caught his wide-eyed regard when the man had entered the store, slipping past other customers who seemed not even to register him, Liu Li giving Alex such a kick to his shin that his leg throbbed even now, despite his oddly quick recuperative abilities, her hot glare having made it clear that he should immediately look away, and he did.

  “Don’t worry about Father,” she softly said. “He’ll be fine.”

  Alex swallowed and nodded, glad the family closed their store for the midday meal as he was given to understand most people did, though a knock if matters were urgent was something he was told to be ready for with a polite smile, should it happen. “He definitely seemed… intense, the guy he went with.”

  For some reason, Liu Li paled. "You can sense it?"

  Alex was going to play dumb, but the look in her eyes… he nodded. “He didn’t seem like a student or scholar, but like a very dangerous man pretending to be something he was not, to better blend in.”

  “You’re correct,” she said. “And if you can sense that, it’s best you never let them know.”

  “Who are ‘they?’”

  She tilted her head. “Do you remember when we spoke of the Jianghu sect, the other day?”

  Alex winced, immediately thinking of Broken Fang and his ribs, which were feeling remarkably better, for all that Liu Jian had refused to remove the compress for at least a few more days. “All too well.”

  She smirked at that. “Good. Then I don’t really need to say anything else, do I?”

  Alex shook his head, immediately understanding why Broken Fang had been so deferential. Though he could tell Liu Jian was a good man, someone who both went out of his way to deliver medications to people in dire straits as well as extending Alex mercy he would one day pay him back ten-fold for, it was clear that Liu Jian provided some type of service that the Jianghu sect valued. Maybe it was something like those mystical cultivation pills Alex had read about in so many Wuxia novels. Maybe the services he provided were far darker than that. Either way, it wasn’t really his concern.

  Cultivation Pills. The very thought excited him, though he knew now was the time to be utterly diligent and impress his hosts with his grasp of the basics and completely earn their trust before he dared to broach that subject, or even ask for the most basic assistance with finding a cultivation technique that might be appropriate for him.

  For now, he just needed to earn their trust and respect as the lowliest of employees, as much pet project as errand boy.

  But with a little time and patience, he expected that to change.

  And what kept him going right now, filling him with a sense of growth and accomplishment, was his own increase in skill level after spending the rest of the week diligently working at Liu Li’s side.

  Congratulations! Biochemical Mastery is now Rank 4!

  You may now synthesize balms to any poison previously exposed or adverse reactions from any compounded formulae learned!

  You may now directly synthesize any poison or compounded formulae learned!

  (Poisons and cures may be synthesized with ingredients on hand or via saliva. Note: Limited quantities of said substances can be internally generated per day. Fatigue penalty may apply. Nutritional deficit penalty may apply.)

  You have mastered and have full immunity to all adverse effects from: 8 Ancient Poisons, 15 Basic Botanical Formulae, and 5 Apprentice Botanical Formulae. You have achieved complete immunity from adverse effects from all Standard Reagents within Apothecary. (You do not have immunity to Secured Ingredients within Apothecary.)

  Immunity to the effects of all caustic compounds or inhaled irritants is now 40%.

  Alex couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear when Liu Li declared the day done.

  “Fantastic job, Alex. You really have a knack for this,” she said over their evening meal, Liu Jian giving a like-minded nod.

  “I’ve had worse apprentices,” he grumbled at last, Alex quickly bowing his head, taking it as the golden compliment it was.

  “I’ll do my best to honor your trust with diligence and hard work,” he said, earning snorts from both of his companions.

  “No need for such deferential talk, Alex.” Liu Jian peered at him intently, giving a slow nod of approval. “I admit that I had my doubts, but you’ve proven yourself a natural herbalist. With hard work and dedication, I think you have the potential to go as far as a man can go, who isn’t actually born with the ability to commune with Heaven and Earth.”

  Alex’s gaze turned puzzled, but he quickly dipped his head. “Thank you for the high praise, Master Liu. But what’s this about communing with Heaven and Earth?”

  “He means cultivating,” Liu Li said, slurping her fish stew. “Obviously.”

  Alex felt his heart start to race as everything suddenly popped into clear focus, feeling as if he was sailing down the most peaceful of rivers, and a choice was before him. One tributary, he was somehow certain, would lead to
a life of peace and contentment, no unexpected currents and eddies, and a gentle passing into winter’s embrace as the sedate stream petered out, many years from now.

  The other fork was shrouded in mist, and he could hear the dangerous rapids just ahead. Still, he sensed the power and potency of that channel growing exponentially. Yet all those who dared that fork would have a tumultuous life filled with whirlpools and rapids, with the promise of the glorious sea spurring them ever forward.

  For a heartbeat he savored that halcyon moment of endless possibility, that snapshot in time. Then he let out his breath and made his choice.

  Catching Liu Li’s gaze, he put on his best smile. “I’m curious about this cultivating thing I hear you and Master Liu referring to. Can you tell me more about it?”

  Liu Li grinned and Alex felt fate and destiny shift around him. “You don’t know about gathering the energy of Heaven and Earth and converting it to Qi? Slowly opening your meridian gateways and unlocking the secret powers of the body and mind? And that’s just the first of many steps.”

  Alex smiled back. “I’d love to know all you’d be willing to teach me.”

  Liu Li flashed a painfully sympathetic smile. “It’s not like alchemical formulae, Alex. You can’t just learn how to cultivate if you don’t have the innate ability to open your meridian gates.”

  Liu Jian snorted. “A Ruidian with gates instead of jewels in his head. It would be an insult if it weren’t so absurd as to be comical.”

  Alex forced a smile. “Humor me. Or better yet, humor the old fox I sometimes hear you both referring to, whenever something unexpected comes up.”

  Liu Jian furrowed his brows then shrugged. “Why not? Tomorrow is End Day, and you’re both free to do as you like.” He flashed an evil smile. “I’m warning you, however, the surge of Qi you will feel when I measure your meridians will likely knock you out for at least a full day, and you'll owe me if you're out for two, sleeping in on a workday."

  Alex blinked, caught Liu Li’s gaze, and realized he was being honored. “Thank you, Elder, I would be grateful.”

  The older man snorted. “It’s been a very long time since I was called ‘Elder’ by anyone. And even longer since I bothered teaching at that damned school.”

  Alex blinked, blood rushing to his head. “Wait… you were an instructor?”

  Liu Li bowed her head, the elder’s gaze hardening.

  Alex winced, immediately flowing into a bow. “This one apologizes for his foolish words.”

  “Not like you could know,” Liu Jian snorted. “Now come over here. Let’s see if there’s anything more to you than 90% of the wide-eyed applicants that would flood Dragon Temple every year.”

  And before long Alex found himself sitting in the center of what he thought of as the meditative garden, for all that he would catch Liu Li training with her long spear there most mornings, wrapping up her morning workout by the time he cracked open his eyes and greeted the dawn, knowing he could expect a dainty toe in his ribs if he overslept.

  He took a deep breath, his senses invigorated as always by the bracing scents of the exotic herbs and flowers lining the edges of the garden, the center of the backyard left lush with a thick carpet of wild grass that could withstand the tread of sparring feet.

  “Are you ready, Alex?”

  Alex nodded, saying nothing as Liu Jian placed his palms upon heart and temple, smiling as a curious trickle of warmth flowed into him.

  Liu Jian gasped.

  His eyes widened as he stumbled back, gazing at Alex with something uncomfortably close to wonder.

  Alex furrowed his brow, suddenly worried.

  The man was pale as a sheet, gasping for breath.

  “Father!” His daughter raced to his side, before turning to glare daggers at Alex. “What did you do to him?”

  Alex felt his heart skip a beat. If looks could kill…

  "It's alright, my child," Liu Jian hastily assured, taking a deep breath, and the odd, gasping pallor was gone as if it had never been. "I was merely… startled, that's all."

  Liu Li furrowed her brow. Alex would have thought she looked absolutely adorable, had he not been so shaken himself. “Are you sure, Father?”

  “Quite.” He smiled ruefully at Alex. “It seems both that I was wrong about you, and that WiFu will always have his little jests.”

  Alex and Liu Li both blinked at that.

  “Father, what are you talking about?”

  He sighed. “It appears that our instant dismissal of Alex was a disservice to him.”

  Liu Li paled, turning to Alex with a certain amount of incredulity in her gaze. “Wait… you’re saying he can cultivate?”

  Liu Jian sighed, and suddenly Alex’s bubbling euphoria plummeted as the man slowly shook his head.

  “It’s a complicated conundrum, and quite worthy of the Silver Fox. In summation, our new apprentice does indeed have the potential to cultivate. But his meridian gateways are massive. Far more massive than any mortal's channels have a right to be. It is as if, instead of a pearl of impurities he must cleanse, pure Light Qi coagulated with the waste products of our mortal lives, the blockages within his gates are the size of boulders."

  Alex blinked, speechless, almost imagining a trio of laughing gods putting the upstart mortal who dared to dream of walking among them in his place.

  Liu Jian blinked. “The size of boulders?”

  "Metaphorically." Her father sighed. "And the Qi and waste are so thoroughly intermixed it is almost as if they were one and the same, somehow." He frowned, shaking his head. "A shimmering gray, not the black and white striations I expected to sense. I fear that even the best purification technique would do little good at breaking through the blockages, and the amount of debris clogging his gates is of a density I have never seen before.”

  He flashed a sad smile. "At least no one can say you are anything less than human. Clearly, you have ancestors among the true folk, however odd your straw-colored hair and ice-blue eyes. But it is unlikely you will ever manage to cleanse even one meridian channel within this lifetime. At least, not without intense dedication and effort."

  Alex paled, doing his best to crush the feeling of despair that had tainted so much of his final year back on Earth. "Alright," he nodded. "So we've ascertained that I do have meridian gates strong enough to cycle Qi the way a cultivator does, but they are so vast and filled with so much, well, junk, that it will take a hell of a lot of effort to fully cleanse even a single gateway. But if that’s so, there should be a significant payoff, right? I mean, if I have extra-large gates, that has to mean something, right?”

  Liu Jian flashed a sympathetic smile. “Large as they are, you could expect an immediate increase to strength vitality, and overall connection to your physical environment, just with the passive Qi you are able to absorb suddenly flooding your body. But you have to understand that the time commitment involved would be… considerable.”

  Alex swallowed, jerking a nod, immediately bowing from the waist. "Then, esteemed Elder Liu, if you would be willing to teach this lowly one whatever cultivation techniques are best for cleansing meridian gateways, I would be extremely grateful."

  The old man blinked and snorted, giving a wry shake of his head even if his eyes twinkled with approval. "Stubborn one, aren't you? All the more determined to prove yourself when the Fates themselves would rather you didn't."

  He gave satisfied nod. “I like that. Alright, Alex, let me teach you the techniques most suited to purifying your Qi and opening your gate.” And for all that he made it sound like a simple thing, Alex found himself spending most of the evening learning the proper ways to sit himself, position his hands, and breathe.

  Whenever he wanted to ask a question, he would receive a rap on his forehead with curt orders just to breathe, to feel, to listen. He swallowed his questions and did his best to follow his mentor’s orders, eyes darting open when he suddenly felt it. Like wisps of fog, the aroma of a stimulating cup of coffee, the soothin
g scent of jasmine, all of that and more he sensed when he tasted the first trickle of spiritual energy from his surroundings and, it seemed, the starry night sky above, flood into his being.

  “Master! I can...”

  Crack.

  Alex winced. It was all he could do to hold to the meditative state and breathing patterns he was just beginning to grasp.

  “Silence! Think less with your tongue and more with your ears and heart, boy!”

  But Alex had already closed his eyes, embracing the cycle of breathing he was being taught, imagining it like a cleansing whirlpool washing away the incredibly hard and compact ball of blockage clogging his meridian gates.

  Purification technique: Cleansing Breath learned at Novice proficiency. Relative efficiency = 2% of baseline technique.

  Alex’s grimaced at this. Only 2%? And what was baseline?

  “But Father, you want him to try cultivating all night? He has never had even an hour-long session before, and he’ll be exhausted tomorrow.”

  “Or energize him like never before.”

  “Well, yes, Father, but I wouldn’t want him working in the back, his mind caught between wakefulness and sleep.”

  "It's a good thing tomorrow is our day off then, isn't it? And yes, Daughter, this is a test. If there is even a chance that Alex has potential, if he shows both the discipline to stick with it and the tiniest improvement to his meridians, then it is worth pushing him. Because, so far, I have treated him as a homeless lad worthy of pity and perhaps an apprenticeship. But if the path of the cultivator is to be the one he walks, he will have to be forged in fire if he is to have any hope of enduring the trials that await one such as he.”

  Even with his eyes closed, Alex could sense Liu Li’s frown.

  “You mean people like me.”

  Her father didn’t deny it. “I will never forgive Dragon Temple for their treatment of your mother, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be of tremendous benefit to our young friend here. If he can prove himself worthy. If he can actually master his own limitations and break through to student status.”