Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Redeemed: A LitRPG/Wuxian Novel - Book 5

by M. H. Johnson

  “Alex! What’s wrong with you? You know better,” scolded Yan some minutes later when the herds were properly separated, Ehuang now glaring daggers at Alex, because of course it was somehow all his fault.

  Alex sighed, rubbing his temples, gazing at the soothing canopy of rustling branches overhead, right palm turning upwards to catch the perfectly ripe spirit apple a sympathetic tree dropped in his hand, not even minding the odd look Yan gave him. “Sorry about that. I just... never mind.”

  Fangsu was glaring daggers at Alex, hands on her hips. “He broke Ehuang’s heart, leading her on so much that she actually tied her scarf by her sleeping spot, a brave move no girl would make unless she really liked a boy, and this idiot totally ignored her. He didn’t even leave her a flower! And now he’s terrifying her livestock out of spite.”

  Alex smirked. “Really? That’s your interpretation of things?”

  Fangsu scowled. “Yes, Alex, because that’s exactly what happened! You clearly enjoy talking to her during the day, and even my kung fu brother knows better than to actually speak to her as casually as a husband would. He’s just starting out in life, and could hardly take care of anyone right now. It takes years for a cultivator to blossom to the point that they feel stable enough in their chosen path to take on a parent’s responsibilities.”

  She flashed a sympathetic smile Ehuang’s way. “And beautiful as that overly-endowed girl is, I don’t have to be my mentor to know she can’t cultivate worth spit, and no cultivator wants to marry someone without at least a few open meridian channels. Otherwise, you’re dooming all your future generations to mortality.”

  Alex arched a bemused eyebrow. “Really.”

  The girl scowled. “Okay, you’re an exception. Obviously, if enough royal soldiers take on Ruidian concubines over enough generations, they will pop out some gifted babies. But this isn’t about me. It’s about you being terrible to Ehuang!”

  “Fangsu, there is no need to be rude to our Ruidian friend,” Yan gently reprimanded. “And perhaps the customs are different where he is from, though I must admit I too am surprised Alex didn’t take her on as a lover, at least for the length of this trip. And he wouldn’t have had to worry about anything untoward, either. Ehuang’s a worldly enough woman to purchase packets from the herb woman heading to Baidushi with us.” He flashed a knowing smile. “I saw her doing just that myself, just last night.”

  “But master, you can see it in her eyes! She didn’t want a fling, she wanted his heart! And Alex totally rejected her.”

  Master Yan gave a philosophical nod. “That he did.” He gave Alex a sympathetic clap of his shoulder. “Next time you’re going to turn down a girl’s interest, at least bring her a bouquet of flowers. At least she can then show them off as proof of her appeal.”

  Alex blinked. “Wait, why am I picking flowers?”

  Not that he couldn’t see plenty of wildflowers just feet away, growing profusely in the lush span of grass demarcating the space between the ley line serving as the perfect hardpacked trade road and the thickly growing forest to either side. Of course, the grass was pretty much downtrodden, with a fair number of heaps of dung one instinctively dodged at the back of the caravan. But still.

  Fangsu scowled. “Are you an idiot? You give a girl flowers to let her know you like her. Especially before you and she... you know. And if you and your chosen are planning to... maybe... but it doesn’t happen, you make sure she has a bundle of flowers next to her when she wakes up, so she at least knows you care. Those are the rules of the road, Alex. Everyone knows that much!”

  Alex gave her a pointed look. “I didn’t know anything about that. It’s not like anyone bothered telling me anything about flowers, or chatting with a coworker like a friend meant that you were seriously interested. I mean, you and I talk all the time, don’t we?”

  Fangsu flushed and averted her gaze, especially when Yan chuckled.

  “He has you there, disciple.”

  “Well that’s because you’re practically my kung fu brother, Alex, so that’s fine!” the girl quickly said. “It’s not the same thing when you’re already friends, or part of the same guild or sect.”

  Alex sighed, shaking his head. “Alright, I’ve clearly failed my social charisma check. Let me see if I can repair that.”

  Without another word, he darted into the nearby forest, Qi Perception and Forest Sense immediately sensing what he was looking for, just as if he were plucking choice woodland treasures within his favorite game, the most beautiful and aromatic flowers he could hope to find anywhere immediately popping into focus, and with the silent dip of nearby branches and an encouraging rustle from the leaves overhead, he sensed he was perfectly welcome to pluck free as many as he wanted, so he did.

  When he emerged sometime later, exactly where the caravan was, sensing its location with the arboreal sense of the woods he felt reconnected to, he did so with a serene smile on his face, feeling completely refreshed, the pack on his back now filled with choice spirit fruit as well.

  Fangsu gave him the strangest look when he returned, Yan’s scowl immediately fading into a thoughtful gaze.

  “He looks totally different, master,” Fangsu noted.

  Yan said nothing, merely dipping his head in greeting. “It’s not normal protocol to go darting off like that during your shift, Alex, but we’ll chalk it up to you taking care of your necessities. Though I must ask, what’s that you have in your hands?”

  Alex smirked, the clean serenity of the forest trickling away as the noise, bustle, and scent of the caravan quickly brought him back to himself. “Seeing if I can get a reroll,” was all he said, before tossing both his friends some delectable fruit they bit into with gusto.

  “Master! These grapes are ginormous! As big as apples, and the fruit itself is so sweet and delicious!” Fangsu gazed at Alex with awe. “Spirit grapes are almost impossible to find! How did you get these?”

  “Apology accepted,” Yan grinned. “You’re forgiven for darting from your post, especially if you feel like gathering fresh spirit fruit you normally only find deeper in the woods on a regular basis.”

  Alex just grinned, putting his pack back on the wagon hooks allotted to them before making his way to Ehuang, bundle of exotic blooms in hand.

  Only to be stopped when a rapidly-approaching guard, fully armored with spear in hand, caught his eye. “Captain wants you on the double, Ruidian.”

  Alex furrowed his brow but didn’t hesitate to change direction, quickly making his way to the back of the wagon hosting the giant-sized supervisor of their expedition, sitting at his desk and peering at his ledgers once more, sipping rice wine with a thoughtful frown, just like before.

  He looked up from his ledger, pinning Alex with his gaze.

  A slow smile spread across his face when he caught the bundle of flowers Alex was still holding.

  “Courting doves, are we?”

  Alex smirked. “Something like that.”

  “I spoke to Sha Shou before he turned in this morning. He says you’re not entirely incompetent, and would enjoy putting you through your paces again tonight.” Dui Zhang’s smile grew positively wicked. “I don’t know whether to congratulate you, or offer my condolences. Either way, I’m granting your wish. You’re now officially part of the night watch.”

  Alex blinked, feeling both excited and apprehensive all at once.

  It was exactly what he most wanted and feared.

  He dreaded the thought of having Sha Shou torment him with pressure points and chokeholds every night for a month, but he couldn’t hope for a better way to train up his Find Weakness skill, especially considering there were no other teachers of any sort on the road, for all that Yan was happy to give the occasional tip while sparring with him. Just as importantly, Alex doubted anyone else would ever be willing to show him what the night watchman so enjoyed tormenting him with. Not without a fortune in coin or favors, or affiliating himself with some killing sect or some such.

  Al
ex forced his grimace into a genuine smile. He was looking forward to the nightly training. Just as much as he had Master Panheu’s lessons, for all that he felt like he was being forged in fire more often than not.

  The captain frowned. “What’s the matter, boy? I thought this was exactly what you wanted?”

  Alex bowed low from the waist. “It is indeed, sir. This lowly guard is extremely grateful for the consideration shown.”

  The giant’s furrowed brow smoothed. “Very good. You can sleep in the quarters behind me where the night watchmen normally rest during the day, and you sure as hell better wash up whenever we camp by a stream and keep your space clean. Or you can sleep in one of the hammock slings under the wagons or right on top of the produce, for all I care. Just so long as you’re awake and alert for the night.” He flashed a knowing grin. “And since you like wandering off and training yourself to exhaustion every night like a sage or a fool, this should suit you fine.”

  Alex bowed his head once more. “Are there any specific protocols I should follow at night, sir?” he said, finally beginning to appreciate the fact that he knew so little about life here that sometimes he didn’t even know the right questions to ask.

  Captain Dui Zhang shrugged. “Do whatever Sha Shou tells you. Frankly, I don’t care if you’re sparring or cultivating the whole night away, so long as your eyes are open, your ears are sharp, and you never fall asleep during your watch. Understood?”

  Alex mimed the salutes he had seen several guards perform, fist to heart. “As you command, Captain.”

  “Good. Give your flowers to whichever girl will put up with your sorry self, and get some sleep. Your watch starts a half hour after we make camp. Dismissed!”

  Alex saluted the captain a final time and made his way back to his assigned wagon, happy enough to make use of the clever hammock swings under the carriage, the wheels massive enough and the road smooth enough that he didn’t think he had anything to worry about. He took a center hammock after explaining his change in status to a mildly disappointed Yan, but not before changing out of his armor and securing his bouquet of flowers to put beside a certain woman’s bed.

  “Alright, rest well, Alex,” Master Yan said. “I won’t say I’m not disappointed. You’re good company during the long walks.”

  Alex grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ll still wake up in time to kick your ass, sparring at night.”

  The man chuckled good-naturedly while Fangsu scowled. “I can’t believe you’re abandoning us,” she said

  Alex smirked. “Hardly. I’m just being tactical. I’ll happily spar with you when I wake up, just like before. But now I have the whole night to spar or cultivate, instead of spending twelve hours walking by the crap puddles left by countless herds of livestock.”

  Yan laughed. “There is that, I suppose. Rest well, Alex.”

  And much to his own surprise, Alex did just that, dropping off like a light, for all that he felt a curious sense of both being asleep and connected to the forest all around him. A bright fuzzy beacon of crimson life slowly making its way through a vast ponderous sea of green, all of it interconnected as if it were some vast colonial organism.

  It filled Alex with a certain amount of awe to think of the unspeakably large collection of forests covering the surface of a planet perhaps the size of Jupiter as all being interconnected, all part of one unspeakably grand arboreal sentience.

  But whether it was a flight of fantasy or profound insight, the revelation soon faded into the wild flow of dreams followed by deepest sleep, not minding the gentle sway of the wagon in the least.

  “Get up, Alex! You’re going to be late for your first night shift, and that scary looking Sha Shou is looking for you!”

  A bleary-eyed Alex jolted out of sleep upon hearing Fangsu’s urgent hiss, only to crack his skull against the floor of the wagon his hammock was suspended from. More startling than painful with a 26 Vitality, it was still enough to make him wince. Strong as he was, the entire wagon had jolted, earning a muffled curse from someone up above.

  Alex quickly rolled out from under the wagon, blinking in the dimming light, touched with crimson like the fiery sunset just visible through the rustling canopy of branches overhead.

  “Ah, you’re awake. Excellent, Alex,” said Master Yan, giving him a friendly clap on his shoulder. “Now how about you kit yourself up, your shift starts just about... now.”

  Alex winced and nodded. “I’ll get right on that,” he said, before darting for the rustling trees a good twenty yards from edge of the road, the caravan master prudent enough to set up camp around a particularly inviting spot with plenty of room to stretch and let the animals graze.

  Alex didn’t think he had taken more than a handful of minutes by the time he was finished taking care of necessary business by a welcoming tree trunk happy for the nutrients and the softest leaves he could hope for all but falling in his hands, his Biochemical Mastery allowing him to sanitize himself as well as he could back on Earth. But he felt his heart lurch in his chest the second he got back to camp, catching sight of a brooding Sha Shou leaning against the side of his group’s designated wagon, looking more imposing than ever with his suit of ebony lamellar armor, open-faced helm assuring full use of all the man’s senses, nothing escaping those cold black eyes.

  And the look he gave Alex felt like death himself was judging him, before he finally released Alex from his chilly aura with a single miniscule nod.

  “Kit up and take your post on the coachman’s seat. Let everyone see you watching all directions in your pretty armor and fangtian ji. When true darkness arrives, come find me at the front of the caravan.”

  With those words the man walked off, cutting a path through busily scurrying people who nonetheless cleared out of his way almost by instinct, as if his aura was the bow wave of a ship no soul dared to cross. A few people scowled, glaring at the ground, but none dared lock gazes with the man ignoring them utterly.

  Master Yan raised a curious brow. “I know you and Ehuang broke up, but you really wanted to replace our company with... that?”

  Fangsu frowned. “He doesn’t really seem like a nice person, Alex, are you sure about this?”

  Alex winced. “First off, Ehuang and I were never actually a thing. We just had a misunderstanding I should really see about...” He then blinked, realizing he had absolutely no idea where his bundle of flowers had gone.

  Fangsu flashed an evil grin. “Don’t worry, Alex. As my kung fu brother, I felt it my duty to make amends on your behalf. Even if you are being an idiot and leaving us.”

  Alex blinked, at a loss for words. “You what?”

  Her mischievous smile grew. “I explained the tormented conflict of your heart, how you secretly yearned to sweep me up in your arms, but you knew it was a sin to dare declare two wives before you had truly achieved greatness. So the oversized bundle of precious spirit herbs and blossoms that any normal girl would consider a promise of betrothal was really a heartfelt apology to both of the women you hoped one day to claim as your own.”

  Alex just stood there, staring at the impishly grinning girl who burst out in laughter. “Relax, Alex. I’m kidding.” She winked. “Maybe. No time to worry about that, though. I believe you’re on guard duty!” And with that she scampered off, chortling merrily, leaving Alex shaking his head in disbelief.

  “She is right, you know. Some of those spirit herbs in your bouquet are worth good silver,” said Yan, helping Alex kit up and securing his straps. “I see you’ve practiced kitting up in full armor before. Good man! Fast armed is safest first, as the say. And about the herbs. Fangsu was prudent enough to sell all the truly valuable specimens to Lady TungMei who was more than happy to pay in silver, and you should thank her, her joke aside. Because had you given that to Ehuang, the confusion would have only grown, just as if you were both hapless fools trapped in one of those badly-written plays so utterly adored by the fairer sex in the capital. As it stands, Fangsu took it upon herself to explain to Ehuan
g that your cultivation path demanded absolute chastity. Being as she is a mortal, the poor girl has no way of knowing that’s utter claptrap, and my understanding is she did accept the flowers, so all is well on that front, my friend.”

  Master Yan’s playful grin was belied by the concern in his eyes. “Are you sure about taking night shift, Alex? Sha Shou does not seem like the gentlest of would-be companions, and I fear he would be far harsher on you, should you make any perceived mistakes than, say, spending your days strolling beside your friends, where the hardest thing you have to do besides endure Fangsu’s sense of humor is herd a couple of friendly sheep.”

  Yan gave Alex’s shoulder a reassuring clap. “There’s no shame in letting the captain know you’re too exhausted to fight at your best, after giving it a good faith go for a night or two.”

  But Alex only smiled and shook his head, filled with sudden ebullience for all the possibilities that a full night to himself promised, knowing he could sleep the days away, rocked to a gentle doze in the undercarriage hammocks almost as peacefully as if he were in a ship. A thought that immediately sent shivers down his spine, Alex doing his best to push away all thoughts of a certain raiding vessel, and instead remember what it was like being lulled to gentle sleep in the arms of a girl he had once adored in her family’s yacht, a lifetime ago.

  He gazed out at the stars upon taking his position in the driver’s seat, breathing in the scents of wood smoke, livestock, and simmering stew, as well as the crisp fragrance of pine and citrus from the forest all around them, taking delight in the absolute freedom of the moment, feeling at peace, half-tempted to simply leap for the trees some distance away and just lose himself in the woods for endless weeks, becoming one with the great forest once more, leaving all cares and worry behind.

  And he could do that at any time, he knew, finding great comfort in the thought, for all that he was content that night to spend a few hours quietly cultivating, Qi Perception and Forest Sense assuring him that neither man nor spirit beast dared approach their massive caravan.