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

by M. H. Johnson

  Liu Li gave a sad shake of her head. “He almost killed you, Alex. It’s best if you never see him again.”

  "So what am I supposed to do, hide here for the rest of my life?" Alex regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth. "I'm sorry. That was unfair of me. You and your father have done so much for me already, and here I am, sounding ungrateful. It's just… I hate feeling like a helpless burden."

  Her offended glare turned to a sad shake of her head. “Basically, you are, Alex.” He winced at that. “As are all people who lack the cultivator’s gifts. If you’re not strong in this world, you will have nothing. You are nothing. Even the richest of mundane merchants and craftsmen depend upon their guards and the goodwill of their sponsors just to keep from losing everything.”

  Alex blinked. “But what about the rule of law?”

  Liu Li gave a bitter chuckle. “The rule of law is made for those with influence, power, or status. A well-to-do merchant? He will receive justice if something happens to his manor. Even people like my father, who served the Royal Legions honorably and well, have allies at their back. And it’s why the school doesn’t dare strike at us directly, despite the corrupt Lai Leng and his cronies, eager for father’s wealth and knowledge. It is only because our city would collapse if shop owners and merchants lost faith in the city’s ability to defend its own that so much is spent hiring cultivators to serve as the lord’s eyes and ears, and if need be, fists, within the city.

  “But this is a city of ten million, Alex. And for most people without wealth or status, the laws mean nothing. The strong take what they will, and the weak pay the price. It is only because the Jianghu sect brings order to that chaos, keeping the predation in check, that the lower castes can find any justice at all. Why do you think no move has every truly been made to purge them? Besides nobles having to worry about poison daggers in their backs, should they dare the attempt, even they know that without the Jianghu sect, a city this size would be in perpetual chaos, and things would be far worse than they already are.”

  Alex squeezed his eyes tightly shut, burning with intensity of purpose. “I was a fool being so lax, but I will play the fool no longer.”

  Liu Li snorted. "As if there was anything you could do. Stop blaming yourself, Alex. The bottom line is Lai Leng is a half-step away from the Bronze Path, and you have yet to open a single meridian gate. There was nothing you could do."

  Alex shook his head, thinking of all the things he could have done differently. Preparations he could have made, just in case. But he had grown lax, savoring the gentle life that had been his for a few precious weeks, unknowingly falling into the trap of assuming the future would be as benign as the recent past, that just because most people treated him kindly meant that there weren’t others who would crush him for daring to stand out.

  No, he had played the fool. And he should have known better, considering the vicious circumstances of his birth. Or rebirth, as it were.

  The steps he had taken, just to survive those first few precious hours of life.

  He gazed at the plain little ring on his finger, smiling grimly. “One way or another, I’m never letting that bastard break me again.”

  Liu Li could only gaze sadly at him before slipping away, shutting the door behind him.

  Alex wasted no time, flipping open his mental image of a character sheet, smiling grimly as he reviewed the fine print underneath his unique abilities, and took the first steps to make sure he’d always have a joker to play, no matter how viciously his enemies stacked the deck against him.

  Ring accessed. Storage vessels successfully visualized.

  And now, for the first step, he thought to himself, stumbling over to the clay pitcher of water that had been left for him, carefully pouring tepid water into a small cup, before splashing it on the ring, frowning as he gazed at his soaked hand.

  He took a deep breath, wincing at the throbbing ache he still felt all over his head as his movements shifted various bandages, before repeating the same procedure over and over again.

  And as much as he felt like a fool by the time he had a big puddle on the ground, it widened into a feral smile when he slunk out of bed on trembling hands and knees, placed the ring upon the shallow puddle, and visualized the ring actively drinking it down.

  Only to watch the puddle completely disappear.

  The next time he carefully poured water directly on his ring, he imagined it a tiny mouth, devouring all the fluid willingly given.

  And not a drop hit the floor.

  When he popped into his ring space once more, he found an indestructible jade pitcher in this miniature world where reality could be shaped by the power of the mind alone, took a sip of the water inside, and found it pure and delicious.

  Then he filled his mouth, twisted back out of his ring, and spat a stream at the wall.

  He nodded in satisfaction.

  He might not be able to forge new artifacts of dream within his ring that he could transport out, but he could indeed change the state of what was in his ring, such as transferring water into his belly or his mouth, and take it out without issue.

  He then put his ring to his lips and imagined that pitcher alone gently pouring into the cavern of his mouth.

  Before choking back the unexpected stream, chuckling softly, and realizing that things might not be quite so easy as that. He spent some time learning how to fine-tune his summons, so no more water left than he intended, practicing the technique until he could brush his lips against the ring and gulp his fill as easily as he could mime pouring it down his throat with his ring overhead.

  He forced himself to look at the polished copper plate serving as his mirror in that room, wincing at the sight of his sunken cheeks and bandaged head, foregoing certain activities that would cost him macronutrients he could ill afford to lose, and instead focused exclusively on his Dual Path purification technique, feeling his body grow stronger as his cleansed Qi saturated his physical body, for all that he had yet to form his own meridian channels.

  It was still more than enough to heal his body, and he delighted in the tingle he could feel on ribs and scalp, sensing healing almost as potent as Liu Jian’s tinctures and liniments. And because he was using both in tandem, he was healing at a rate that astounded even the older alchemist.

  “Remarkable. Beyond remarkable!” the worried-looking man declared the next morning, his anxious face breaking into a smile for the first time in days. “I was grateful just to find you alive after that first day of fever. It broke and never came back. I was afraid you might have suffered some brain damage regardless, but no. Your ribs and head are both in remarkable condition, all things considered. And as much as I feared you’d have to deal with life-long disfigurement, here I behold the greatest miracle of all!”

  With that, he waved in Liu Li, who had been hovering just outside Alex’s sick room, now formally his quarters, and it was some moments before Liu Li, with anticipatory tears in her eyes no less, forced herself to enter the room and gazed calmly at the tragedy of Alex’s maimed skull.

  Only to shudder with awed disbelief at the miracle before her.

  “Father, what does this mean?”

  Alex’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you two going on about?”

  “I’m not sure,” said her father, completely ignoring Alex’s words. “Perhaps there’s an element of truth to the boy’s wild insinuations after all.”

  “Guys, what are you talking about?”

  Liu Li's tears had been replaced by a smile. "The most remarkable thing imaginable, Alex. But hold on a minute, and I'll show you." With that, she darted out of the room only to pop back in moments later with her own far finer mirror, and Alex gasped at the sight before him.

  He did not gaze upon a man looking surprisingly well despite the maimed scarring of his forehead. He did not gaze upon a sick, diseased monster with ruined flesh dripping pus and the promise of a painful death.

  No.

  He gazed upon the surpris
ed countenance of a young man who had never been injured, who’s body had never felt the cruel caress of fracture, abrasion, or killing blow.

  There was no sign of Lai Wei’s scalping at all.

  But there was one significant change. All of Alex’s golden blond hair that had been hacked off when he had been scalped had been replaced by a thick mane of silver-white hair, the exact same color as WiFu’s own luxurious head of hair, and fur, when he changed forms.

  “Father, what does this mean?”

  The alchemist gaze Alex a slow appraising glance before finally shrugging. "That our Alex is a pawn of Fate just like everyone else, even if WiFu's paws are tapping his piece more than most others." He chuckled softly. "And this can be a double-edged blade, as are most of the Silver Fox's gifts."

  Liu Li smiled sadly. “He gave me life, descended as I am from Qing Bai herself.”

  Her father sighed. “And yet you’re cursed with the burden of mortality, for all that both Silver Fox and Qing Bai are immortal. He gifted your race with incredible beauty, perfect jade green eyes, and extra features as well that assure you can never blend in completely with others. Every member of your ultimate mother's tribe can cultivate, but only from a specific handful of elements, at least one of which the academies still don't formally recognize. And there are absolutely no formally recognized cycling manuals ideally suited to Fox-Women. You have to make do and cobble together a ramshackle collection of a haphazard cycling technique in a college renowned for providing its students with meridian fortresses. All of which makes it almost impossible for you to develop your gifts properly and one day advance to Silver. As WiFu’s numerous enemies had no doubt intended. And for all that some will find your race an exotic prize to capture and claim, others would seek only to enslave or kill you. Very few will love you for the wonderful woman you are, my child.”

  Liu Li sighed. “I know. Silver Fox’s gifts are bitter-sharp indeed. It is up to me to forge them into a weapon worthy of this world’s respect. Just one reason why I will join the Royal Army. The legion will have my back, and I will have the rights of anyone who has served, and show the city how useful my kind is.”

  Liu Jian nodded. “Exactly.” He flashed a bemused smile. “And if this boy could only open his meridian gates, I’d advise he follow in those exact same footsteps. Goodness knows that old fox has touched his life almost as significantly as he has yours.”

  Liu Li tilted her head. “Maybe it’s not impossible for me to learn whatever Cycling techniques I’ll need to prosper with my elements, considering that Alex, with no significant cultivation study at all, has somehow forged a technique that kept his body from the brink of death. And if I didn’t know better, I think he’s already lost some weight in terms of burdens to his soul.”

  Her father’s eyes widened. He gave a solemn nod of approval. “You’re right, Daughter,” He said, gently touching Alex’s forehead and closing his eyes. “He has chipped away at least five percent of his topmost gate. At this rate, he’ll have one gateway opened in less than a year!”

  Alex couldn’t help grinning at this, knowing that once he achieved his cultivation goal, he would astound them with just how fast he broke through his first gate.

  Alex solemnly bowed towards father and daughter. “For the kindness you have both shown me, I am grateful beyond words. One day I will find a way to pay you back. Just know you can always count me a friend.”

  Liu Jian snorted. “Just continue working on your breakthrough cultivation technique. Whatever you’re doing, it seems to be working.”

  Liu Li nodded. “Every day, Alex, cultivate as much as you can. It will speed your healing and serve as your first step along a path that will one day grant you power sufficient to stop anyone from bullying you.”

  “Sounds good,” Alex said, already looking forward to focusing his purification technique to ever greater efficiency, and he didn’t waste a moment once the Lius left, spending every hour harvesting strands of Qi from the massive pearl in the middle of his upper meridian gateway, savoring the steady growth in skill level, not to mention his slow unwinding of Dark Qi, already thinking of uses for it beyond using it for meridian channels down the road.

  Congratulations! Dual-Path Purification Technique is now at 80% efficiency.

  Dual-Path Purification Technique is now at 85% efficiency!

  You are now Rank 3 at Liquid Projection.

  Alex smiled grimly at the latest notices. He had done little for the past 2 weeks save cultivate, meditate, stretch, and practice spitting streams of water from between his teeth, using chalk to draw a target dummy on his door.

  After days of practice, he was finally able to hit the eyes and nose 90% of the time, even from across the room.

  Putting hours of practice into a skill most would consider absurd had allowed him to develop a degree of accuracy people would also find absurd, much like a spitting toad or snake.

  He just barely had time to put ring to sopping wet floor and imagine sucking away all the water off the now bone-dry floor when his boss knocked on the door, giving him only seconds before opening it, measuring Alex with a professional eye, before giving a final nod.

  “I think it’s time to take off the last of the bandages, Alex. Your skull and ribs, miracle of miracles, have healed so well from their injuries that were it not for most of your hair now being silver white, I would find it hard to believe you had suffered any injury at all.”

  He grinned. “And I know how restless you must be feeling, for all that I can tell you enjoy cultivation almost as much as any cultivator savoring the journey to true power and enlightenment. Tomorrow morning you will join my daughter and me for morning practice, though you won't be sparring until I say so."

  Alex had readily agreed, grateful to finally have the alchemist’s permission to exercise, for all that first morning had been a nightmare of sore muscles and fatigue.

  "You were injured and are just now on the mend. Of course you won't be at your best," said Liu Li sympathetically. "The important thing is that you're not giving up on yourself."

  And that was the farthest thing from his mind, pushing himself so intently that he had claimed his own peak degree of fitness after a solid, rigorous week of morning training. And he was feinting and striking with long spear and short sword more skillfully than ever by the end of week two, post-recovery.

  Of course, he had been exercising his mind as well as refining his Qi and training his body, having taken advantage of his newfound closeness with the tiny family to coax Liu Jian into finally allowing Alex to aid him in preparation of all the dark goodies the alchemist had worked so hard to keep separate from his daughter and Alex’s notice.

  The old man sighed. “I knew you were a sharp one. With that nose of yours, there was really no fooling you. But I need you to promise me that you will be responsible with the resources before you.”

  Alex solemnly bowed his head. “I understand that these are dangerous compounds. I can tell they are what you use for your Basic Cultivation Pills, but I sense that mixed with certain other ingredients in here, the results might not be… ideal.”

  The older man smirked. "You’re damn right, it wouldn't. See the Blue Lobelle mushroom, and the Crimson Wort algae? Mix those two together, and you have a poison that, once ingested, will put one into a perilously deep sleep, sometimes resulting in death.

  “The Silver Nettle combined with Giant Hogweed forms a caustic compound that will burn through flesh like acid, depending on how rich the Spiritual Energy was where it was growing. If you mix other poisons with it, the results will be extremely painful, and in all likelihood, fatal.”

  Alex nodded. “Thank you for your trust in me. You already know how careful I am. If there are any specific preparations you need me to make, you can have faith in me.”

  Liu Jian favored Alex with a considering gaze that caused his heart to race.

  "You might never unlock the cultivation path of the alchemist, but there are so very many compounds
an apothecary forges that rely on nothing more than a plant's inherent spiritual energy. You might well have a future running a shop very much like my own. To that end… yes. There are certain poisons hunters will use to take down particularly savage spirit beasts, or to take care of house vermin. Being able to compound these formulae perfectly while I work on cultivation pill generation would be efficient use of our shared time.”

  Alex solemnly bowed, carefully hiding his smile. “Then please don’t hesitate to call on me, Master Jian.”

  And Liu Jian did just that. Before Alex knew it, he was in charge of generating all the poison compounds ostensibly used by professional spirit beast and monster hunters helping to cleanse their land of life hostile to humans.

  But Alex was no fool. He already knew what it was, in all likelihood, being used for, though the few times legitimate monster hunters really did come into the store to buy some of Liu Jian’s famous tinctures, it came as a relief. Because it wasn’t for Alex, who owed the man his life, to make the alchemist justify himself. Without Liu Jian, he would probably be long dead. So monster hunting and vermin killing was what he would politely assume it was all used for, until his mentor deemed to tell him otherwise.

  Botanical Formulae Learned: Intermediate Poisons.

  You have mastered 2 new poisons with 100% immunity: Deathnettle Brew & Crimson Death. Cause or cure may now be synthesized at will.

  You have created ten batches of Deathnettle Brew. (Median Market Potency unknown.)

  You have created twelve batches of Crimson Death. (Median Market Potency unknown.)

  Deliberately touching the finished product with his naked hands, even daring a few tiny sips as his master trusted him sufficiently to allow him to work unsupervised, had given Alex plenty of opportunities to acquire immunity, though he was no fool. He didn't dare steal any significant quantity for his own use that his master would no doubt notice in a heartbeat.

  Fortunately, he didn’t need to.

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