But he knew as well, just from what the Silver he had killed had said, that his enemies thought he was a deadly enemy piece on the board they danced upon. The last thing they expected, Alex bet, was for him to enter an academy in the humble robes of an acolyte still in need of basic training in so many areas.
And for that reason alone, the ability to hide in plain sight against enemy agents who might otherwise recognize him and seek his death, had made it clear what the next stage in his life story would be.
He would give academy life one more shot, hoping his burning questions could all be answered while giving nothing of his true potential away, hiding from deadly kitsune assassins who might or might not hold grudges while slowly but surely forging himself into a Silver strong enough to put him heads and shoulders over all those who sought to kill him.
As to whether it would all go according to plan, he had no answer.
All he could do was dart through the forest once more, hoping that with no magical beacon in the form of cursed contractual letters slowing him down, he might actually live long enough to find out.
20
Brilliant daylight slowly turned to crimson sunset, then encroaching darkness swept over the land.
And for all that he still feared the appearance of shadow-cloaked death around every corner before he swung through the air via Qi Perception and Forest Sense alone, feeling the forest around him like the back of his own hand, Alex dared allow himself a tentative smile of relief.
It had been hours since he had last felt the killing weight of Shadow coalesce, and the Red Prince’s elite company was still heading away from Baidushi, following the stream Alex had tossed the deadly correspondence in.
Which meant that either the kitsune had been fooled by the cursed letters, or that he hadn’t gotten back to his fellow soldiers but was on his way, which seemed strange considering how fast he had moved while chasing Alex. Or, worst of all, the killer had judged Alex enough of a threat or an annoyance that he was determined to take him out at all costs.
So grim his thoughts had become that when he actually received a jolt of impossibly good news, he was too stunned to react, and smacked his forehead against yet another tree branch.
Congratulations! You have successfully rescued Princess Xian Hong from not one but two dire threats, potentially impacting the fates of multiple kingdoms! Experience earned!
You have claimed the lives of 1 Silver and 5 Bronze cultivators! Experience earned!
You have claimed double the experience value of 3 Deep Bronze kitsune cultivators. Experience earned!
Congratulations! You now have sufficient experience to transcend to Rank 5!
Alex flashed a fierce grin, terror and triumph swirling together into a sense of exhilaration beyond anything he had ever felt before. It was all Alex could do not to laugh aloud, reveling in the surge of exultation he felt.
Despite all the obstacles thrust before him, despite and perhaps because of multiple enemies out to kill him, he had not crumpled, he had not fallen. No matter the fear gnawing in his heart even now, he had grown ever stronger in the crucible of his enemies’ hate. A fine steel blade whetted by the bitter stone wheel of deadly peril he dared sharpen the essence of his being against, no matter that a single poorly-angled swipe of blade against the whetstone of fate, a single hammer blow smacking down at just the wrong angle, and his soul would shatter.
Forevermore.
And had he never dared the crucible before him, he would never have achieved Bronze Rank 5 with a foundation as strong as his now was, in less than a year and a half.
Perhaps not in a hundred years.
Alex took a deep breath of rich forest air perfumed by a thousand wildflowers and the rich loamy soil nurturing an entire world.
An entire reality.
Captivated for just a moment by the gentle twinkle of the brilliant midnight sky shining through the madly-rustling canopy overhead, feeling, for the first time since he had first woken up in this world so filled with beauty and peril, that he was finally being embraced by the gentlest fates all around him. As if he was now, truly, the beloved hero of the story of his life.
Before his veins filled with ice-cold dread.
Heart hammering with terror.
He had awoken to a cold, cruel world indifferent to his presence.
There was no way a realm ruled by vicious gods hungry for his death would welcome his ascension.
And the madly rustling leaves.
In midnight air free of any breeze.
His mind could freeze, unwilling to believe.
But his gut knew better.
Bullrush! Bullrush! Bullrush!
Darting through the air at blinding speeds just above the treetops, three rapid skips upward and no less than forty zigzagging just above the forest canopy in a desperate pattern as the forest behind him erupted with the sound of a hundred massive oaks exploding into shrapnel, kindling, and flame.
Death, avoided by just a whisker as his heart hammered with a madman’s desperate panic.
Racing through the trees faster than he ever had before in his life.
Having the presence of mind only to loop around for Yidushi, knowing death tracked him still.
It was madness. He knew it! But it didn’t matter. His enemies hate had transformed into an ugly, profound thing. The most elite of kitsune killers, not caring to even warn his fellows about Alex’s subterfuge, willing to let them follow soggy forsaken letters brimming with dark curses made out to the ruling clan’s heirs by enemies eager for their damnation, even had Fangsu, or Princess Xian Hong, made it to the provincial capital alive.
All Alex’s latest enemy craved was Alex’s death, refusing to let the slippery Ruidian escape yet again.
It was all he could do not to laugh with bitterness, not even howling at the injustice of it all. All he had to do was think of a bloodhound, tracking the faintest scent, and his blood had indeed dripped multiple times in the battles scarcely survived, let alone won. Daggers piercing his limbs, an abdomen torn open, his clothes and armaments dripping with sweat and blood. It was only his Divine-ranked cultivation technique that allowed him to fight on, healing grievous wounds and what should have been crushing exhaustion.
Enhanced Forest Flight might have muted his presence in the forest, somehow commingling with Forest Sense, so that even his Qi signature muted to near nothing, and his footsteps silent as a shadow as he leaped from tree to tree, but his spore was as blatant as that of any shadow puma or spirit boar. More so, he was like a wounded elk leaving markers everywhere, easy enough for a hunter with a fox’s sense of smell to detect.
And he lacked any ability to cloak his appearance, save ducking behind cover. The minute his deadly foe scoped out his general proximity…
A thought which caused his heart to pound as he immediately sprung straight up, piercing the verdant canopy before blink skipping forward another four hundred yards, racing through the trees once more. Constantly blinking forward, crossing rivers whenever he could, doing everything he could to break his scent trail.
And when cloud cover buried the moon and stars in the heavens above, he didn’t hesitate to leap for the heavens entirely, Bullrushing for added height before allowing himself to be carried by the winds above, buoyed by the sea of trees all around him as much as by the brooding weight of the storm above, bitter gods furious that their deceptive promise of peace and succor hadn’t lulled Alex into a false sense of security as they had no doubt hoped.
And what a terrible thing it was that his panic had only spiked when he sensed the lie that was the illusion of divine providence come to bless him. Because Fog of War card or no, even if they had no idea where he was exactly, or what he was doing, Alex could all too easily imagine the bloated general’s lugubrious laughter, smacking a golden card upon the table, atop a silver knight.
“It matters not, Silver Fox! I don’t need to know where your fool of a piece is to boost all the mercenaries on the board with Fatal St
rike!”
The god’s coal black eyes glimmered with icy satisfaction when WiFu glared at the board. “As I thought. No deliberate strike may we inflict upon that bastard of a Ruidian. But we can still influence the board as a whole!”
WiFu, sipping from a golden chalice as he crossed his legs upon the impossibly intricate hardwood chair he had claimed as his own, tilted his tricorn cap and frowned at the board. “You would waste yet another card for a single moment’s advantage, just for a chance at striking at a piece you’ll never see?”
“Hardly!” snorted Long Wang, powerful arms crossed as he glared at the world-sized gameboard. “At least a dozen assassins have unleashed their daggers and crossbows for the hearts of our enemies. And I sense no less than three of your own pieces have just met an untimely end.”
He smirked as WiFu paled, three of his pawns collapsing in blood.
“It’s been a merry chase, Fox, but eventually we will beat you, as we always have before!”
Long Wang’s powerful fist smashed the board. Alex stumbled as the earth shook from the blow.
“Baidushi will fall, WiFu! There is nothing you can do about it, so accept Fate’s decree!”
Though pale and shaken, WiFu did his best to hide it under a mocking smile and a long sip of heavenly nectar. “Three insignificant pawns as my rook advances upon the board, and you down yet another card. The way I see it, this turn is shaping up quite handsomely for me.”
“Fool! Your pawn will never make it to Baidushi alive. Never! We’re using your own kind against him!” Long Wang flashed a cruel smile. “Properly enslaved and collared, they make the finest bloodhounds in all the Golden Realms.”
WiFu’s gaze hardened. “Confident, are you, brother? Shall we put a wager on it?”
Long Wang glared down at his brother. “Name your terms.”
“If my piece runs like a coward and fails to make it to Baidushi by month’s end, I will remove him from the board myself.”
The room filled with guttural laughter. “Finally, a wager that intrigues me! And what are you seeking to entice for wagering your favorite piece?”
WiFu’s face was carefully void of all expression as he nodded at the Dragon God’s hammer. “Your divine tome ‘The Eight Elements’ will be buried and long-forgotten in the bookstacks of Royal Phoenix Academy.”
Long Wang glared at WiFu with unspeakable hate, gripping his hammer that crackled with his fury. “You expect me to place my own divine tome where your maggot of a pawn might find it?”
WiFu chuckled. “I do, at that. Free of traps, trickery, and containing all the pristine techniques you taught your own son. Who knows? Perhaps it’s the very same cultivation manual he brought with him when chasing his heart’s desire down to the mortal realms and founding that very academy with the woman he married, what, seven hundred years ago, was it? An eyeblink in time, for you and I, and your son has long since left the city he spent so many years forging to greatness as a god-king, that you are now so eager to destroy.”
Silver Fox’s grin widened with his brother’s snarl. “You would do well never to speak of my son again, WiFu!”
“What, because he fell in love with a member of a race you consider unclean? Much as I told you he would, centuries ago? Or is it because I speak the truth, and am already well aware of the tome that’s been lost amongst tales and legends, quietly gathering dust for centuries, that you’re about to ask your agents to recover and dispose of at all costs? Really, what do you have to fear, brother? Do you so lack confidence in the hundreds of cultivators you now have surrounding Baidushi, waiting to pincer any Ruidian who dares approach the city by any trade route or forest trail? Like the dozens of travelers your pawns have been cutting down like savages for the past week?”
WiFu shook his head and sighed. “We all know who is holding the advantage with this wager. I just want to make things a bit livelier before I’m forced to retire from this fascinating game. Even now, your pet kitsune assassin, the match of my own Jidihu, hounds my exhausted piece who knows he dare not stop until he’s found shelter at one academy or another, bound by sacred oaths that even enslaved assassins know better than to break.”
Long Wang glared at the smiling fox god for long moments before finally dipping his head. “So be it, little brother. I accept your wager.”
He held out his hand. WiFu solemnly put down his chalice and shook it.
The Dragon God’s smile grew fierce. “Just so you know, WiFu, your damn cards won’t protect your pawn from your own folly! You have announced your pawn’s inevitable fate! So I will flood the gates with agents eager for sweet piles of gold, should they arrange for the deaths of any Ruidian who dares to enter the city! And rest assured, WiFu, the Jianghu sect will find themselves with a magnificent bounty, should they manage to cut down any Ruidian who dares the steps to Royal Phoenix Academy itself!”
General Shalu’s guttural laughter washed over a pale-faced WiFu. “Foolish Fox. Your card might protect your individual piece, but it will do nothing to counter declarations of genocide against any group or collective your piece is a member of!” The bloated deity threw down a golden disk upon the board. “A hundred spirit pearls and a hundred thousand gold will find itself in that Jianghu branch’s coffers! Prizes enough for any assassin who would dare strike in the academy itself, if needed!”
WiFu flashed a curious smile. “A bloody sect ruled by a madman who enslaves the kitsune forced to work for him, and you think such a bound slave could possibly make it into the academy proper?”
Shalu snorted. “Plenty of opportunity to kill him while he gazes like a country fool at the magnificent architecture of the grandest city he’s ever seen; pagodas soaring to the heavens, towers that glitter like jewels in the light of the setting sun, coliseums for those who dare more savage entertainments, and grand domed temples that fill the rubes with such a foolish sense of awe. And how eager I am to find his mouth, opened wide with wonder, growing all the wider when a blackened dirk is slammed into the back of his skull!”
Long Wang nodded. “And not even cultivators are immune to the lure of the Purple Path or the simple hunger to ascend. I have no doubt any number can be corrupted by Jianghu serpents with the simple order of killing any Ruidian who dares enter the academies from this day forward.”
Even as Alex’s stomach plummeted with dread, it was nothing compared to the horror he felt at WiFu’s grin of pleased satisfaction. “Wonderful, brothers. I most heartily approve! My pawn has prospered considerably under the crucible of delicious hate inflicted upon him at Dragon Academy. I had feared, with Fog of War in play, that his stay in Baidushi would be too sweet a lull in the storms he must face, if he is to ascend. And the last thing I want is for him to spend a cautious century breaking through to pristine Silver. With any luck, your unmitigated hate will serve as the fuel to the fires that will see him ascend before he sees the end of his second year of life!”
WiFu’s mocking laughter washed over the pair of glaring gods and then Alex was flying through the trees once more, vision faded, still having the presence of mind to leap for the heavens when he felt death’s shadow whispering for his soul.
Congratulations! Qi Perception is now Rank 7! Feel your enemy’s storm of Qi clearer than ever!
Not even the notification flashing in the corner of his internal matrix could assuage the mounting terror he felt as yet another ancient sentinel exploded into wooden shrapnel behind him.
For the very fires that allowed him to accrue experience and skill ranks at an insane pace promised death eternal with a single misstep, a single mistake.
A mathematical inevitability that filled him with dread.
A dread quickly suppressed, knowing fear truly was the mind killer that would destroy him faster than anything else if he allowed it to rule him.
If there was a single tiny silver lining to the horror he felt that night, death inevitably closing in, no matter how much he tried to break his trail, it was the sense of the forest’s o
wn growing ire.
Not for him, but for the creature that dared to desecrate ground his kind had once communed so deeply with.
And then Alex was struck by an idea closer to madness than inspiration. He knew that already. Knew that, even while slowing down for the seconds he needed to shed his blood upon the rich, loamy forest floor by way of apology and offering. Risking instant obliteration, should his shadowy foe catch him in the heartbeats Alex risked his life, before springing for the trees and darting through the trees once more.
It had been a shot in the dark.
A Hail Mary pass.
And no one would have been more surprised than he, when he actually got an answer, dashing through the foliage at a wild pace as the tree he had dared take a moment’s respite upon exploded in wood and fire, Alex now racing for an encounter even the scraping of branches warned might very well result in his death.
Alex could feel it, exultation mixing with the terror he felt as the miles flew by. His massive Qi reserves, long since restored before the latest attempted ambush, had already plummeted in half in his desperate attempts just to keep a half step ahead of the hunter so eager to kill him.
Then Alex spied the wonder he had been so desperately racing for, even as his Qi Perception and Forest Sense lit up with the brilliant flare of both silverbells and shadow blossoms hidden amongst the towering conifers springing up so high from the surrounding forest as to make the stately trees Alex flew through no more significant than knee high shrubs in comparison, the air alight with the golden lights of what might have been will o wisps or, perhaps, tiny faerie maidens dressed in exotic qipaos with silken locks of hair done up with tiny jade pins dancing about in the air.
An eyeblink later, and they were but tiny motes of light.
Alex shivered with wonder, even as he was awed by the fortune in spiritual herbs glowing so brightly in his mind’s eye, silverbell blossoms being the most priceless and valued of all spiritual herbs, able to refine what most cultivators thought of as waste Qi into pristine Wood, Water, and Earth Qi, radiating golden light as nurturing to any plant as the sun itself.
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Redeemed: A LitRPG/Wuxian Novel - Book 5 Page 37
