Crack!
And before Alex could say another word, a razor-sharp blade was plunged in his belly, Alex gazing at the hate-filled glare of Agent Yuci, who could so easily have disemboweled him before slicing Alex’s head clean off... had he not also been refrozen in place.
Crown Princess Cui Zhe’s brows furrowed as her daughter whispered frantically into her ear, her son nodding by her side.
“What do you know of Qin Jian’s disappearance?”
Alex stepped back and hissed as blood spurted from his wound... before fading to a trickle and stopping, his injury quickly sealing itself back up with a single jolt of Power Healing. Yet he knew it was only a stopgap measure with Nemesis card still in play.
“I know that a young noble who declared himself the Blue Prince’s man was thrown into the barrier you’re using to protect the royal quarter by none other than Agent Yuci himself, after goading five of your night watchmen to strike him from behind, overwhelming his protective wrist amulet, before throttling the boy with his own shadow and sending him over the rails and into the moat below.”
Alex forced himself to stand tall, despite the fading throb in his abdomen. “A barrier tied directly to the River of Souls.”
If the animated whispers and looks of awe and dismay sent his way were anything to go by, they were amazed he was still standing after four inches of steel had just ripped through his belly.
And the Red Prince? Alex could sense the death promised in the man’s gaze.
Yet despite his agony, he also felt a certain measure of relief, the terrible crackling drain to his Qi reserves fading away at last, mobility now fully restored, for all that he was down a good forty points. More than enough to leave any typical Bronze body cultivator drained dry, he knew.
Alex grit his teeth, knowing how careful a path he had to walk. Knowing as well that the loss of face could be more devastating than the most heinous of crimes, and if he gave into his anger and pride now, he might catalyze something even worse than a failed coup, and the death of his friends.
He might trigger the very slaughter he sought to avoid.
He forced himself to bow to the Red Prince himself.
“I regret to inform you that your agent was working at cross purposes to you, revered and honorable Prince Dongfang Hong. Whereas your only goal may have been to assure your safety and that of your hosts, your treacherous servant sought to butcher your niece and her servants, including myself. Even as we tried to pass over the Silver Bridge, before we could say a word in our own defense, he whipped the day watch into a murderous frenzy, effectively declaring us agents of your enemies, disguised as guests. At that point, we had no choice but to do our best to slip past them, even if it meant fighting for our lives. And what happened after that, you know as well as anyone.”
He glared at the snarling kitsune, fighting futilely against the renewed paralysis and glaring at Alex with a loathing that transcended mere hate. “This monster would have prevented the happy reunion of Princess Xian Hong with her uncle after being forced to flee her home when assassins took her family by surprise, ten years ago. All to further his own twisted aims that would see both our kingdoms in chaos!”
Alex bowed solemnly and low before the entire royal audience.
“This kitsune is a sadistic murderer who wishes for nothing so much as my death, by his own hands, if he can pull it off. And on that I give my own Cultivator’s Oath!”
And Alex felt no odd pull or compromise, as the last part of what he had said had been utterly and completely the truth. Though Alex was able to bend oaths just as well as the kitsune, thanks to his patron god.
Everyone on the balcony was now gazing and pointing and whispering frantically, most seeking the Crown Princess’s ear.
Prince Dongfang Hong’s own look had turned from cold fury to thoughtful consideration. Perhaps he understood the truce being offered. His icy gaze was still cold, but no longer filled with homicidal wrath.
And a quick glance a grateful Xian Hong’s way made it clear that she was also willing to go along with the face-saving pretext. Dongfang Hong would be treated as an estranged uncle, no worse, and all blame for attempts at their capture and possibly even their execution would rest on the treacherous Agent Yuci’s shoulders alone.
Several heavily-robed administrators behind the queen began whispering their urgent council as Alex laid down his trump card.
“And I have no doubt that treacherous serpent really did overhear a conversation involving plots to assassinate the prince and princesses, involving exactly three conspirators. Probably because he was among their number, planning the coup right along with them!” Alex gave a mocking clap to a silently seething Yuci as Princess Cui Zhe’s eyes widened at that possibility. “Oh, how they would all have laughed with delight, had Yuci actually goaded you into butchering three righteous souls because their agent on the inside right here told a half-truth so cleverly as to manipulate you all in ways that would have seen royal blood spilled in an act of war!”
“It’s true!” Xian Hong sobbed. “That monster tried to cut us all down on sight! The uncle I knew as a young girl would never have countenanced such a monstrous act. Agent Yuci is a murderous monster, and I will swear my own Cultivator’s Oath to that!” Hot amber eyes glared the kitsune’s way.
Cui Zhe frowned. “Three Cultivator’s Oath’s given, and I sense no strain beyond that caused by my own ward, no discord in the strings of fate.”
“It is a dilemma,” the Red Prince agreed, enigmatic gaze locking with Alex’s own. “I, of course, am delighted to see my niece hale and healthy and very much among the living. Should she give her Cultivator’s Oath that she intends me no harm, that she had absolutely nothing to do with the death of her grandfather, then I would be pleased, no, overjoyed to welcome her into the family fold once more.”
Xian Hong bowed her head. “I, of course, had absolutely nothing to do with the death of my grandfather, a man who had once doted on me, a man I had loved so dearly as a little girl, my Cultivator’s Oath upon it. And I have absolutely no intention of striking out at anyone while enjoying the benefits of guest hospitality, most especially not my uncle, save in training, sparring, or self-defense. My Cultivator’s Oath upon that as well.”
Prince Dongfang Hong flashed Xian Hong an almost-fatherly smile before his features turned grave once more. “Wonderful. It is good to see you alive and well, niece. You don’t know how badly we missed you and your mother in the royal palace these past ten years.”
He then turned to the Crown Princess. “Still, my man has given his oath as well, and even if my beloved niece is naught but an innocent patsy to the machinations of twisted agents pulling so many strings from the shadows, who is to say this Ruidian isn’t somehow behind it all?” He raised a conciliatory finger as the murmurs behind him increased in pitch. “Still, I will concede that it is possible that he and her giant guardian are both innocent pawns. Perhaps the best thing we can do, to assure justice and safety for all, is to show the world entire we are righteous and fair. We could allow Xian Hong’s loyal servants, and my own, free passage out of Cuijing province, with rich purses of gold and jewels, or the equivalent gifted to any trade account they may have, for all previous loyalty and service given.”
Cui Zhe frowned thoughtfully. “So, a king’s bounty and exile for the three below who might be heroes or the most duplicitous of saboteurs, then?”
“That is my thought, Your Grace, with binding tattoos assuring they never again can enter your principality, as well as generous letters of reference to go along with their rich purses, should they seek honorable employment elsewhere.”
Alex’s eyes widened, his gut twisting with dread, realizing how expertly the Red Prince was playing them all. If he had his way, he’d have his niece oathbound not to lash out at him first, even if she was smart enough not to bind herself to words that would completely impede even her ability to defend herself, while cutting her off from all other resources and support.<
br />
And Alex would be exiled, also without resources, and squarely in the sights of the kitsune who was so good at hunting down and shredding his prey with both Shadow and explosive Wood Qi, with Alex’s purse no doubt a final enticement to do just that.
Worst of all, he’d be exiled before he could lay a single foot within Rising Phoenix Academy, which would not only mean he’d be forever denied a certain divine tome, but would also be struck dead before the month was over.
Plans within plans.
Schemes within schemes.
Countless overlapping strategies to stop Alex at every turn, to make every victory Pyrrhic, and to capitalize upon his every defeat.
Alex seethed with mounting fury even as Princess Xian Hong’s eyes widened with horror.
Alex glared into the kitsune’s smirking countenance and said the only thing he could think of, desperately grasping at scraps of remembered conversations he had had with Liu Jian and WiFu both, about what it really meant to be a cultivator, and just how far they would go to protect their honor.
“My word and honor have been impugned by the man before me, at a time and place where oaths have become so twisted they can prove neither guilt nor innocence! So, allow the purity of our causes to show forth in the vigor of our assertions, the sanctity of our defenses!”
Alex flowed into the humblest dogeza before the assembled royal onlookers. “It is this lowly one’s hope that you will allow me the chance to prove my innocence and the merit of my accusations in the crucible that excises all that which is impure!”
A single perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose as the crown princess’s sonorous voice washed over them all. “Ruidian, you face before you a Silver ranked assassin. Do you truly know what you are requesting?”
Alex solemnly nodded. “I request trial by combat!” He glared at the fiercely grinning kitsune. “If this coward will accept.”
The Red Prince frowned. “My man doesn’t have to...”
“I accept!” the suddenly gleeful kitsune hissed. “To the death!”
Alex flashed a cold smile. “Agreed. But this duel will be beyond death, you murdering piece of filth. The loser won’t just die, the winner will throw the loser right into the River of Souls!”
The entire crowd went still with those words, oppressive stunned silence washing over the courtyard entire.
Save for the madly cackling kitsune.
“I accept! It will be good to tear you soul completely free of your body, Ruidian!”
Alex flashed a smile equally filled with hate. “Not if I claim yours first, kitsune.” He then closed his lips tight, tapping into a beast core while concentrating on his foe as he never had before, doing all he could to read his wild-eyed foe’s shifts in posture and stance, already knowing what was coming next.
Cui Zhe gave a thoughtful nod. “Very well. The terms of the duel are acceptable. The winner will—”
And before she could even finish her sentence, a roaring Yuci was forcing a desperately retreating Alex back with his deadly blade, corralling him past the lush grass of the courtyard and back toward the deadly barrier between royal quarter and the rest of Baidushi, The styxian river now groaning with the weight of countless fallen souls.
Yuci’s razor-sharp saber-like dao slashed through the air in a deadly series of cross-cuts, his face lit up with a vicious taunting smile. “Fool! Daring to challenge me unarmed, your meridian channels seared to ash by Gold lightning? Did you really think I’d allow you even a moment to recover, you disgusting piece of filth? You let your passions get ahold of you like the base savage you are. Now pay the price for ever daring to raise your gaze before me, as if you were my equal. As if you were my better!”
Soul Sight skill check made! Your enemy’s hate serves as a window into his soul!
Alex sensed it, then. Patter designed not just to intimidate and infuriate, but also to force him off balance, off guard, shifting his body to a false rhythm.
So the moment his enemy lashed out, off-hand lunging forth with not one but three poison coated throwing blades, Alex would be the farthest thing from ready.
The monster before him was expecting wide-eyed surprise as his left wrist snapped out.
He was not expecting the spray of liquid from Alex’s mouth. It was only Bronze-ranked reflexes that allowed the wujen master of shadow to dart out of the way of certain death, almost as fast as a specialized Bronze body cultivator, and fast enough to avoid the loss of his one good eye a second time.
“Fool! Did you really think that trick would work twice?” The kitsune spat his contempt. Before his eyes widened, realizing Alex was now behind him, racing for his fangtian ji.
“No!” Yuci grabbed two more throwing blades as he charged forth, and then it was Alex spinning around with his weapon at the ready and a cold smile on his face.
“You think your stick will avail you anything?” The kitsune sneered, his hand reflexively wiping away the tiny drops that had still touched his cheek from Alex’s deliberately scattered spray, his exquisitely sensitive nose sniffing his glove.
Yuci’s eyes widened. He flashed a surprised smile. “Water. It’s just water! It was a bluff. Just a pathetic mortal’s bluff.”
His grin turned hard and cold as steel as he strode implacably forward, dao flashing through the air in a dizzying series of moulinets as a frowning Alex slowly stepped back.
“And now I know all your secrets, Ruidian peasant! You ran past because your channels are too charred to blink! You spit water because your twisted gifts no longer allow you to spit poison brew!”
Alex flashed a grim smile, fangtian ji held in a wide two-handed grip, taking full advantage of his longer reach to lunge forward with the razor-sharp spearhead, crescent blades twisting as he thrust, as if to catch and entangle the kitsune’s dao, should his foe attempt to parry.
The kitsune flashed a mocking smile, effortlessly weaving under Alex’s admittedly slow blow, and Alex quickly leaped back, his fangtian ji always between himself and his opponent, taking advantage of his far superior reach and the massive leverage advantage his weapon gave him.
But the kitsune’s mocking gaze was fearless. “Yet again you prove your foolishness! How slow you move with a shaft of spirit wood! Stronger than steel, and just as heavy! And that oversized ji head? Sheer idiocy! It will be effortless to flow past all your blows and savor your desperate cries when you struggle to move that weapon with your arms and legs sliced to bloody ribbons!”
And Alex could all but sense the crowd’s disbelieving stares, as if his enemy’s words had registered upon all their ears, just like in the final scenes of a dramatic play. And perhaps, for them, that’s exactly what this was.
Certainly Alex caught the quickest glimpse of more than one overeager smile from the crowd, though the Crown Princess’s enigmatic gaze showed no emotion at all, and the Red Prince was gazing at them both with the strangest look upon his features.
But what struck Alex to the quick and caused him to lurch, off balance, for a single heartbeat, was the briefest flash of Liu Li’s horrified gaze as she peered down upon him, her hand gripped tightly by Cui Chan’s own. It was a mistake that almost killed him when a triumphantly-grinning Yuci abruptly dove in, seeking to disembowel Alex with a master swordsman’s’ deadly grace.
“Alex!”
Her silky dark hair was piled high with pins of ruby and jade so artfully hiding her kitsune ears, beautiful silver-green eyes lined with kohl, rouge upon her cheeks and lips dyed deepest crimson. Liu Li, or Cui Li, Alex supposed, had forsaken an apothecary’s robes for the exquisite silken attire of a princess. She had blossomed into a near perfect mirror image of her cousin, in appearance and horrified countenance both.
So many eyes staring on him as he fumbled back.
A damaged Bronze in way over his head, who couldn’t possibly have any Qi reserves after Golden Lightning had seared the meridian channels of everyone in the courtyard below.
Including the bloodthirsty kitsune he faced, f
or all that he was Silver.
And most especially anyone who had no intention of walking a wujen’s crooked path.
Yuci’s feral snarl bespoke his savage hunger like nothing else, a pair of daggers darting forth from his hand as he attempted to dodge under an off-balance Alex’s too-heavy ji head.
You have successfully dodged 1 Poison Blade!
1 Poison Blade has struck you for 1 Light Wound and Death Venom Poison! Death Venom Poison has been boosted by Nemesis card for triple normal damage!
You currently benefit from 100% immunity to Death Venom Poison!
White Crane and Silver Swan have been successfully synergized!
A mistake that nearly cost him everything, the deadly dao crackling with dark enchantments cleaving through the air where Alex’s belly had been, just moments before.
Cutting only air as Alex pivoted and blinked through the air, his fangtian ji now a blur of flashing color and death, whipping it around as fast as his Rank 3 Bronze strength would allow, with all the force and fury of the crackling storm and the roaring sea.
For a heartbeat, Qi echoed with the very real boom of thunder overhead and a blinding flash of light, the very elements catalyzed by the Lightning Qi all around them.
The kitsune’s eyes widened in momentary surprise, realizing he had been completely taken in by Alex’s deliberately slow, lazy feint of a slash before, Alex seeking to draw his opponent in, just as Yuci had.
And how desperately fast the kitsune dove to the ground, barely dodging a blow that would have easily cleaved even a heavily armored man in half, no Qi-boosted attack even necessary. And, save for leathers dyed a crimson so deep they were almost black, Alex’s nemesis wore no armor at all.
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Redeemed: A LitRPG/Wuxian Novel - Book 5 Page 57
