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

by M. H. Johnson

  For the first time that day, Alex felt a shiver of fear resonate through his righteous fury, wondering if there was a price to be paid, wading these waters so casually, tearing free souls repeatedly, after channeling a portion of this very river through his own soul with that forbidden technique.

  “The abomination dares much. And soon the he shall drown in the waters he is so eager to claim!” hissed the voice of Shui Jun, the serpentine water deity steadily undulating through ever closer waters as Alex felt his feet sink ever further into the river...

  There!

  Alex flashed a fierce smile as repeated failed skill checks and ever greater penalties transformed to a resounding success, tearing free yet another Eternal Soul Stone from a thoroughly-blackened soul.

  You have failed to claim Soul Stone. You have sunk 1 foot below the surface.

  You have failed to claim Soul Stone. You have sunk 2 feet below the surface.

  Critical success! You have successfully claimed Rank 1 Silver Soul Stone!

  Spirit Crane Strike is now Rank 4!

  A magnificent prize, for all that it was only Rank 1, Alex finding his legs sunk knee deep into the thankfully loamy ground as the massive bear of a cultivator shriveled to ash and dust at his feet. He shuddered to think what would have happened if his hunger had gotten the best of him and he had failed to claim the Soul Stone before sinking into the earth completely, dreadfully certain that, had the soil flowed above his head, it would not be earth that he was trapped in. Rather, he would have fallen endlessly into the stygian river he so casually dared to manipulate for his own ends.

  Alex immediately hissed and raised his dao and Dark Qi-covered left arm to parry and strike in the heartbeats he suddenly realized his vulnerability while tearing his legs free of the earth with a single Strength check. But all he met were a few terrified stares as panicking raiders finally broke and fled. And not just because of Alex’s blasphemous acts alone.

  For even with only one functioning arm, the berserk and fully-armored captain was presently cutting a swath of death and destruction through their ranks with his axe, each Qi-enhanced swing sending a dozen whirling axes of razor sharp steel tearing effortlessly through armor of linen, leather, or rawhide, resulting in bone-shattering dents or cutting right through the back plates of even those few fortunate enough to be kitted in bronze, Dui Zhang leaving a swath of carnage as dozens of raiders fell to his terrible attacks. And he didn’t stop even when Alex sensed his reserves depleting, hooking men off their mounts, lopping off limbs and skulls, for all that he was armed with only a single axe, his left arm flopping uselessly by his side.

  After endless moments of brutal slaughter, the remaining bandit’s morale broke utterly, the sound of their hoofbeats racing away an odd end to the song of steel against bronze and panicked cries that had rung so constantly that Alex was oddly startled by its absence.

  The captain took deep gasping breaths, eyeing the scene of carnage with a berserker’s wild gaze, his own men now gazing fearfully at him.

  Before abruptly raising his axe and shouting his victory, his men now roaring and cheering as they raced to his side while their enemies fled, all of them hooting and hollering, Captain Dui Zhang now laughing with sweet triumph as loudly as his men, a teary-eyed smile showcasing the fierce ebullition they all felt at surviving the fiery gauntlet that had almost doomed them all.

  But Alex paid them no mind, not even when the Captain gave a miraculously healed Yan a half-bear hug, the air filled with jubilation that so many of them had survived, the crossbowmen hidden in the trees now joining them as they headed back to the caravan, quickly shouted commands making it clear that the once more sane and clear-headed captain was eager to get everyone together and put as much distance between them and the ambush site as possible.

  But Alex was already leaping through the trees, utterly ignoring both the captain and Yan Song as he chased after the fleeing bandits like a wolf determined to run down his prey.

  At least he had the presence of mine to sheathe his bloody blade, though cleaning out the sheath was a worry for another day.

  All that mattered was keeping pace with his prey, arms free of weaponry, feet now free of abandoned boots as he leaped effortlessly from tree to tree, feeling the ebb and flow of the woods once more, sensing the bandits racing along a ley line cutting through the heart of the forest, slowly gaining distance.

  Forest Flight is now Rank 3!

  But not for long, their exhausted mounts in a lather from being pushed so hard, finally slowing down just as Alex’s understanding of the swaying trees and how best to launch from one to another grew by leaps and bounds, truly communing with the arboreal life all around as the panicked bandits called out to each other in desperate guttural voices in the distance.

  “It’s over. Stop, you fools. They’re long gone! Curse those damned cultivators for being in our way,” said the loudest among them.

  “Did you see that Ruidian? I swear he wore death on his shoulder. The way he laughed when he tore Crong’s heart out, I thought my soul would freeze right there!” declared an anxious voice.

  “Shut up, you fool. No one tore out any hearts. It’s just battle madness and poppy that’s got you thinking that!” snapped the first man.

  “Crong shriveled like a grape in the sun. You saw him!”

  “None of that matters, fools!” roared a third smoke-roughened voice. “The master spent every last gold we earned on his black sacrament, and all his promises of wealth, wine, women, and enough poppy to forge our own damned purple paths mean nothing with him dead! That fool even sacrificed all our slaves! I say we head for one of the other camps, and forget this whole sordid mess.”

  “That’s the last time I ever ride under a wujen’s banner,” said a fourth bandit. “Strength means little if our leader claims all the wealth and women, leaving us with nothing in the end.”

  The forest carried their anxious voices as Alex closed in on them, learning far more than he wanted to about their nasty, brutish lives as they argued about whether they dared make their way to their neglected camp with their master dead, or flee for the mountains.

  They had already sold off everything of value, the corrupt wujen having used so much of their coin on dark sacrifices they would only speak about in hushed whispers even now.

  And none of that mattered to Alex as he leaped down upon them like an avatar of death, his fearsome dao cleaving through their flesh, lopping off desperately struggling hands, slicing open smoke-roughened throats before they could so much as scream, Alex deftly parrying wild swings with Qi Perception sensing the ebb and flow of the mortals all around him a heartbeat before he tore out yet another bandit’s throat, Alex embracing the Dance of Three Forms like never before; Golden Realms, White Crane, and Silver Swan synergizing with absolute perfection in the ultimate test, the only one that mattered. The crucible of battle.

  And not one bandit found mercy in those terrible blue eyes, no matter how they shrieked or pled or promised treasures long since spent on vice.

  For the only sound Alex wanted to hear were their final choking gasps and the dying whistles of their sliced-open throats, leaving the scene of carnage only when the last quivering corpse had played out the final notes of its dirge, Ehuang avenged at last.

  12

  For a brief time, Alex was one with the forest all around him as the trees swayed and the branches rustled in the evening breeze, a dark purple mangosteen falling from a tree into ready hands, Alex peeling the bottom and devouring the pearly white slivers of delectable fruit surrounding the seed, eager for its nourishment and the sweet spiritual energy locked inside.

  He could sense hundreds of other perfectly-ripe mangosteens as well as countless other fruits in the rustling branches nearby, but took no more than he needed as he meditated from dusk until dawn, well away from the lapping memory of a certain stygian river he could all but imagine crashing against the roots of the tree he roosted upon, eager to carry him away, did he dare
slip into anything resembling true sleep before the bright morning sun dispelled all remnants of not one but multiple forbidden acts he had embraced the previous day.

  He enjoyed the brief respite, feeling one with the natural world and at peace with the present. To him, the endless forests and jungles of this world represented a realm with no troubling past, no foreboding future, only a constant, ever-changing now. Each day could be a brand-new adventure to be savored to its utmost, any and all lingering worries fading like a soon to be forgotten dream when night transformed to day once more.

  By the time first light caressed the treetops with the crimson gold rays of dawn, Alex felt almost as refreshed as if he had slept a full eight hours. The memories of the day before, the horror of seeing people he cared for butchered before his eyes, the shrieks and wails of dying men, the black fury that had transformed him from aspiring idealistic cultivator to savage berserker draped in blood and death... all of that felt mercifully distant, as if it happened years before, not just a single day ago.

  Or so he told himself as he opened his eyes, slipping free of his meditative trance as he felt the last lingering traces of the River of Souls trickle free of his spirit with those first golden rays of dawn, wondering if he really would go back to the caravan, or simply head off and embrace a bright new day, carefree and happy, savoring whatever adventures the forest had in store for him, caring not a fig for the foibles and follies of men.

  In the end, however, he found himself slipping free of woodland cover, earning wide-eyed stares that quickly turned to relieved smiles from the handful of caravanners seeing him emerge from the trees, and not a few flinches from the hyper-alert guardsmen as Alex strode upon their midday camp.

  Save for the acrid musk of fear in the air, the caravan seemed much as it had just the day before, all the dead properly buried by the side of the road, as was custom, before the caravan made its way ever onward, harried farmhands now almost too few to handle the livestock, and lucky they were to only lose a half dozen souls between them.

  If only Ehuang hadn’t been among their number.

  “Alex, right?” asked one officious-looking guard, giving him a formal bow despite the nervous look about his eyes. “It’s good to see you’re still among the living. If you and the other Bronze hadn’t been there to back up our captain...” He gave an angry shake of his head. “Only member of the night watch to do any good, no matter what those bastards claim!”

  Alex raised a curious brow. “What’s this about the night watch?”

  The guard swallowed, his gaze turning furtive. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Please forget whatever foolishness slips past these lips. Anyway, the captain will surely want to see you. Truth is, we had already given you up for dead.” He swallowed. “You did go chasing after that entire company, after all.”

  “The captain, you said?”

  “Yes. And Alex?”

  “Yes?”

  “No matter what anyone says, thanks for having our back.” The man flashed a nervous smile before turning around, and Alex, more curious than ever, made his way to Captain Dui Zhang’s carriage.

  But not before hunting down Yan Song, Tung, and Fangsu, the latter squealing and hugging Alex in a surprisingly strong grip, sobbing as if she had truly been worried for him.

  “Alex, you’re alive! Heavens above, you’re alive!”

  Alex grinned. “Let’s keep that on the hush hush. You never know what the gods would do if they found out I’m still kicking!”

  She chuckled softly through her tears. “Yeah, you have to wonder, sometimes, don’t you? If the gods were really in control, or really cared, or whatever, why would there be so much struggle and strife? Why wouldn’t we all live in paradise?”

  But Alex already knew the answer to that. “Because, like it or not, our souls are forged in the daily struggles we are forced to endure. Forging ourselves in the fires of our own aspirations, overcoming obstacles, and facing down our fears. All of that, as well as the choices we make, define who we are in this life and help prepare our soul for its eventual ascension or damnation, who knows how many lifetimes from now.”

  Fangsu frowned thoughtfully. “You’re right, of course. I’m sorry I was disparaging of the very powers that probably kept us alive, even in jest.”

  “Don’t be. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve got plenty of rotten apples alongside whatever epitomes of goodness that dare to pass judgement on us from above.” He softened his words with a smile she mirrored before his gaze turned serious once more. “Fangsu?”

  “Yes, Alex?”

  He gently clasped her hand. “Are you and Tung alright? Truly?”

  She paled and trembled, lowering her gaze. “Honestly, Alex, if I had known what was going to happen, I would have chosen differently. I would have chosen to do a hell of a lot of things differently.” She chuckled at his confused expression. “It was pure madness for me to think posing as a guard in a merchant caravan would be a safe way for me to get where I need to go. And for all that I pray we’ve avoided the worst of threats, dangers, and intrigues within this realm that could destroy us in an eyeblink, our very insignificance is what keeps us safe. But threats that to a stronger cultivator may seem like less than nothing, a band of foolish bandits led by a pair of deep Bronze, are absolutely devastating when you’re no stronger than an aspiring student yourself.”

  She shuddered and lowered her gaze. Alex frowned, sensing both how shaken she still was over what they had endured, and troubled by the undercurrents beneath her words. Hints that there was far more to Fangsu than a simple girl looking to better herself as a cultivator. But really, who was Alex to judge? He was probably keeping more cards close to his vest than anyone else in that caravan, and that was saying something.

  “So now we both know these caravans are the farthest thing from a walk in the park.”

  She chuckled ruefully, nodding her head in agreement. “You got that right.”

  “So, what do you want to do now?”

  Soft brown eyes gaze questioningly into his own.

  “I get the feeling you’re more than a humble student who lucked out with an unusually strong gift. And if you were to tell me you had relatives who would rather see you sold into slavery than prosper on your own… you wouldn’t be the first village girl with rather ruthless uncles that I met who needed to flee to the city as fast as she could.”

  Fangsu paled, giving him the strangest look.

  Alex flushed. “I’m sorry, that was probably wildly off, I know. Look, obviously you’re using this caravan as cover to get to the city. I won’t even ask if Master Yan knows whatever secrets you’re not telling me that are absolutely none of my business, or if he’s just happened to be in the right place at the right time. And right now, it doesn’t even matter. All that matters is making sure you get to wherever you need to go so that you feel safe.”

  Fangsu’s eyes widened, her gaze an odd mixture of wonder and horror. She actually trembled at his words.

  Alex grimaced, wondering just how bad he had fumbled his social skill check, if there even was such a thing. “Alright, look. Obviously, I’m way off and I said something really stupid. I apologize for that. Please don’t be offended. I lived a somewhat sheltered life and have a knack for saying just the wrong thing, sometimes. So please forget I said anything at all. Just… if you really are in trouble, if you really do need help with something. Let me know, okay? You don’t have to tell me your secrets, just what you need to do to get where you need to go.”

  For long, painful moments he just stood there awkwardly, not knowing what else to say, beginning to wish he had said nothing at all, wondering if Yan Song would be furious with him, or if Fangsu would disappear into the wilderness in a panic because he had opened his big mouth and if something happened to her and it was his fault… his guts began to twist as he silently castigated himself for a bigmouthed fool.

  “Alex?”

  “Yes?”

  She flashed a brilliant smile. �
�Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For caring. I knew you were a good person.”

  Alex smirked at that. “You can actually say that after what I did yesterday? Anyway, I’m just sorry if what I said sounded like, well…”

  “Someone who wanted to be a hero? Rescue a girl in need?”

  He flushed and lowered his gaze. “Yeah, put it like that, I did come off a little strong. I just… well, anyway, I’m sorry.”

  Her warm laughter soothed away the awkwardness I felt. “Don’t be, Alex. As excited as I am to attend Thunderbird Academy, it’s nice to know that if I really had been a girl on the run, that there was a hero by my side willing to help me escape my pursuers and arrive safely at Princess Cui Zhe’s palace.”

  Soft fingertips brushed his cheek, her gaze both wistful and sad. “I can only imagine the price you paid, hunting down those men, making sure they can never hurt any more innocent travelers, ever again. I’m glad there are still people like you in the world, Alex.”

  Alex flushed, lowering his gaze, staring at his own trembling fist. “I wasn’t thinking about protecting future travelers when I did what I… did, yesterday.”

  She swallowed, looking away. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry?”

  “About Ehuang.”

  Alex’s smile froze on his face.

  Fangsu flinched, slowly withdrawing her hand. “Alex, I...”

  “She’s dead. She was my friend, and I couldn’t even save her.”

  Fangsu paled before his gaze.

  “I’m glad you’re safe. I hope Yan and Tung are alright,” he said, before excusing himself from her presence, eager to get his visit with the captain over with. Fangsu was obviously fine and in no need of any champion, and who the hell was he to think himself any kind of hero at all? The one girl he had been desperate to protect was now dead and buried by the side of the road. A beautiful woman who had been foolish enough to fall for him. For all he knew, that alone had spelled her doom.