If only he could so easily affect the cursed slave collar now fused so tightly to him, thanks to his fumbling use of Qi, for all that the lessons subsequently learned had at least neutralized it, and allowed him to free every other surviving slave.
Then he hissed, seeing the faint lines of crimson Qi anchoring the ribbon to the scroll.
Artificer skill check made!
The simplest of traps, really, nothing like the complex weave of ribbon and scroll, talisman and contractual arts. It was basically a tripwire that would cause the scroll to burst into flame if the ribbon were tampered with in the way he was attempting.
He effortlessly snipped the tiny crimson strand after shorting it out with a tiny surge of Dark Qi, the trap so similar in form to those that bind slave collars while being far simpler in design that it didn’t even require a skill check for him to neutralize.
And now to examine the prize before him.
Utterly still, his naked fingertips were a hair’s-breadth away from scrolls he only now sensed radiating the faintest traces of Wood, Fire, and Fate Qi.
The latter was barely detectable from the rolled-up documents, but after carefully slipping one of the crimson-ribboned scrolls, now with his hands covered in a thin filament of Dark Qi once more, did the Fate Qi suddenly blaze to life, and he suddenly understood why.
He understood a great many new things by the time he had perused all the scrolls.
He dashed back to all the carts and crates and sacks of supplies he had pilfered from slavers and liberated from discards, intuitively sensing at least the general nature of everything within his divine artifact, though he didn’t dare let his hopes rise until he actually plucked free the fine vellum paper and ink blocks from the merchant’s abandoned supplies, as well as an exquisite pen Alex almost thought was enchanted, so well did it draw up the ink Alex quickly prepared just as Liu Li had done when scribing her own cultivation notes.
And knowing how late the hour was getting and how perilous a game he was truly playing, he quickly got to work, before despairing of ever getting the penmanship right.
Alex then laughed at himself for being a fool, thinking back to notes he had himself transcribed from his divine tomes, done with a single act of will.
He had forged a miraculous garden, even now filled with a miracle of blossoms and young apple trees as much by will as technique. He had shaped a library out of his imagination, and even now could summon forth everything he had transcribed from the Dual Path cultivation tomes his mentor had left him.
Of course, they could never leave this ring, because they were made of the ring.
First, an experiment.
He gazed intently at the contract entwined so deeply with Wood, Fire, and Fate Qi, visualizing making a perfect copy of the treasure.
Of course he failed, getting nothing but a headache for his efforts, as if he were shoving his mind against an immovable barrier.
He glared down at the pen, before understanding what was wrong.
He focused his will once more, visualizing his understanding of the contract, but this time he focused only on the carefully scripted words, the indentations upon the fine vellum paper, the exquisite blue-black color of the ink.
Allowing himself a single tight smile when the contract duplicated itself perfectly.
Knowing the real test was still before him.
Alex gazed at the priceless vellum and block of ink before him, gazing intently at the parchment before closing his eyes, visualizing so clearly the dark ink flowing into the fine paper, the words taking perfect, exquisite shape once more.
For endless moments he only breathed, knowing everything rode on his vision being more than delusion, before finally opening his eyes, glancing at the parchment, afraid he would see nothing but a perfectly blank canvas.
Alex laughed with a heady sense of triumph, giddy with success and perhaps a bit of exhaustion, impressed despite himself with how perfectly the copy mirrored the original in everything save the faintest of magical sheens.
Then an emboldened Alex embraced the next part of his plan, flashing a furious little smile when it all worked exactly as he had hoped. And it was only because of the horrid acts of betrayal that time alone kept from completion that allowed him to master the names he needed to know so very well that to shift one to another took no more effort than a flick of his eye.
And before another hour had passed, he was done with that crucial step of his plan.
He had one red-ribboned and two black-ribboned scrolls perfectly copied, and so many others he was denied any chance from doing more than giving the briefest of glances, thanks to the limited time he had.
For he needed to not just recreate the now-edited scrolls, but to devise a way to mirror the arcane shimmer as well.
And that was an hour spent in fruitless folly before he quit struggling against that which was utterly beyond him.
The Qi of destiny was utterly outside his purview. The very unlikelihood of his own existence meant he could never truly know what was fated in his own life, let alone alter the fate strings of any object. All he could ever do was embrace free will and the raw chaos of existence, and hope for the best.
But a carefully applied shimmer of Fire Qi alone, knowing it more thoroughly than any other, that he could accomplish, thanks to his Qi Absorption discipline and how many slave collars he had diffused. Fire was the one element he could, paradoxically, safely apply to the ribboned scrolls he had manufactured, and only here in his divine treasure could he manage even that.
The Wood Qi had been faint to begin with, and the Fate Qi nearly undetectable until one unrolled the document. A mortal would be utterly fooled by the writing alone. And a lazy or overconfident cultivator wouldn’t even think to check for the ratios of Qi poured into potions or contracts just before he traded them. Or so Alex hoped.
Last of all, Alex focused on the deadly metal box holding so very many vile secrets, fixing it firmly in his mind, flashing a cold little smile when iron and hardwood claimed over the last week were repurposed once more, visualizing the chest down to the tiniest detail, feeling a second surge of triumph when his efforts were rewarded.
He was gambling everything on his unique abilities to manipulate his environment within the ring, and a certain facility with emulating a crimson sheen. He could only hope it would be enough.
Heart racing, one hand on his reclaimed gladius, for all that he stretched himself out to the most vulnerable of positions once more, Alex popped back into the wagon, hoping he wasn’t about to get run through.
Only to see the ugly bloated countenance of Hao Zei just inches from his face…
Eyes closed, snoring like a baby.
Alex eased a shuddering sigh of relief, amazed that he had positioned himself so perfectly he only left a pair of wooden grooves in one of the crates with his return, knowing there would be just a few odd balls of wood flipped back into his own pocket dimension.
He wasted no time willing the return of Hao Zei’s treasure exactly where it had been taken from, just inches away from the bloated merchant before slowly, carefully, turning around and oozing his way back to the slit in the wagon, freezing the instant a crate began to creak under his weight.
But the merchant snored unabated, and Alex breathed a great sigh of relief as he finally made his way back to the rent in the cloth, preparing himself to slip free once more.
And every silver, gold, and platinum was returned, exactly as it had been before.
Though it wasn’t karma that had assured the merchant’s renewed fortune.
For the dark secrets revealed made it strikingly clear to Alex that, whatever choice he made, so long as he remained true to the youths, who needed him far more than even they realized, he would receive absolutely no karmic penalties at all.
But he was no fool.
Dare he liberate even a single silver, he had absolutely no doubt that the merchant would know.
And know exactly who to blame.
&n
bsp; He paused before touching the slit in the cloth, pushing out with his Qi Perception as intently as he could, making sure he was truly alone. Truly unobserved.
There!
Eyes widening as his heart skipped a beat, Alex froze just an instant before slipping free.
He had sensed Sun Sun just below, peering intently at the wagon.
A flurry of thoughts suddenly raced through his mind.
What if Alex wasn’t the only one that could sense the Qi of other cultivators? Did Sun Sun suspect Alex was responsible for the crushing exhaustion that had struck everyone just as soon as they had eaten? How long had the man been onto him?
And then Sun Sun cracked a yawn even Alex could hear before stumbling back to the fire, slumped over in what Alex might have mistaken for a cultivation pose, if it weren’t for the soft snores Alex heard clearly the moment he slipped free of the wagon, careful hands and a bit of thread and needle claimed from the slaver’s crates hopefully assuring the tear wouldn’t be noticeable unless someone were deliberately looking for it, though he spent no more than a minute covering his tracks before a single leap sent him racing through the night sky to a tree branch some forty feet away, and never did he love Bullrush so much as during those moments he could race through the sky.
“Where is he? Where did that damned Ruidian get off to? This is pure sloth! We need to leave immediately! Any delays in our arrival are coming out of his hide!”
“But Father, I need to train.”
Her father snorted. “You need to wear the hat I gave you is what you need to do. I will not have my precious flower wilting in value under the hot sun!”
Only then did a yawning Alex make an appearance, rubbing reddened eyes, looking every bit as exhausted and bedraggled as everyone else did, though it was thanks to a drop or two of citrus as opposed to a deftly slipped Potion of Somnolence at 155% median market potency that was responsible for his appearance.
“My apologies, master merchant,” Alex yawned. “I wasn’t feeling well last night, and I found it impossible to wake up.”
Hao Zei’s beady little eyes immediately fastened upon him. “You failed to train my daughter, Ruidian, and now you admit that it was your illness tainting our food which you had the gall to expose me to directly that’s responsible for our illness, and our delay! You may rest assured this is coming out of your wages, as are any unforeseen market aberrations that timeliness could have rectified, and I will need a physician’s checkup as soon as we arrive at our destination, just to make sure I’m suffering no lasting damage thanks to your willful disregard for our well-being and safety!”
He flashed a cold smile. “I pray your family has coin sufficient to cover all your trespasses, Ruidian. After all your misdeeds this trip, they will need very deep pockets indeed.”
It was everything he could do to hold back the flood of simmering fury pounding through his veins. Alex wanted so badly to blast his fangtian ji right through the smirking, conniving merchant’s face.
Instead, he settled for a look of befuddled outrage. “What are you talking about? I have a stuffy head, so I slept late. It’s no more than that!” He looked around him, as if taking everything in for the first time. “Did anyone else get a good night’s sleep?”
Hao Chan flashed wan smile. “I’m sorry, elder brother, but can we have a light practice today, just this once?” She swallowed, looking decidedly green around the gills. “I know how important training is, but I fear I would only be a disappointment this day if we practiced more than the gentlest of forms.”
Alex winced, flushed with sudden guilt. “Yes, of course. Please, just rest and maybe cultivate? Doesn’t that help you cultivators heal from illness? And how are the others?”
Hao Chan flashed a grateful smile. “They’re so groggy they can barely walk, but I think they’ll be alright with water and a chance to rest in the caravan.”
“Nonsense!” Hao Zei snapped. “I’ve never felt better. This is pure idiocy and clearly your fault, Ruidian!” He turned to glare at his daughter. “And you may tell your cousins that they will not be permitted to slow down our caravan. They can walk, same as I! Movement’s good for the blood, and if they can’t keep up, we’re leaving them behind, and they can enjoy their last day as spirit beast fodder!”
Hao Chan’s eyes widened. “You’re not serious!”
Her father flashed a cold smile. “As a matter of fact, daughter, I’m...”
“Joking, of course!” Alex flashed a brilliant smile. “After all, worrying about your cousins’ expiring on the road would interfere with your cultivation, nullifying our agreement.” He held out his hand to the incensed-looking merchant. “Unless you want to pay me now, and admit that you lost?”
The furious Hao Zei smacked his hand away. “You wish to challenge my authority again, boy? Fine! Let those silly fools take their ease in my carriage! But I will beat you in the end, Ruidian, and you will rue the day you dared to cross me!”
Eyes flashing unmitigated hate, Hao Zei stomped off to the rear wagon, not hesitating for a heartbeat to get in, Alex noted, the horses forced to plod along at a more sedate pace than normal if they were going to make it through the trip without breaking down to hacks worthy only of the glue factories, as Li put it.
Hao Chan gave Alex the strangest look. “It’s like he doesn’t even care that you’re helping me.” She swallowed. “I almost think...” She gave a desperate shake of her head. “No. It’s just his pride. I know he loves me, but somehow, he feels challenged by you. Threatened by you, after having put so much faith in my former master, only to find out how bitterly he failed me, failed us both… and to be rescued by a Ruidian, it’s more than he can stomach.”
Alex flashed a cynical smile. “Yeah. Maybe that’s it.” He forced a gentle laugh, feeling an odd tingle when he met her gaze, hit with an odd flash of insight. “You’re just at the cusp of it,” he whispered, his Qi Perception somehow growing, expanding to take in her entire body.
In that pristine moment he could sense all seven of her perfectly-aligned meridians, two flowing with Qi and vitality, four filled with a dull sluggish mixture, and one hindered only by the last tinges of plaque, just on the cusp of flooding with pure luminescent Water and Metal Qi.
Those were her affinities, he realized, peering into her eyes, so awed by his strange insight that he hardly noted her rapid breathing, flushed cheeks, or the way she met his eyes so intently.
In those moments he thought he could even sense the swirling pattern of cultivation she used to clear her gateways, ripples of Qi swirling through her channels an echo of the graceful seductive dance she had shown to such glorious effect, capable of smiting any soul who dared to witness it.
He blinked, distracted by a faint tingle he realized was Hao Chan’s warm breath mingling with his own.
“Alex?”
“Yes?”
“I really have to go.”
Alex blinked and stumbled back, blushing furiously as he turned his stumble into a bow. “This one apologizes! I’m sorry, Hao Chan.”
She nodded solemnly, eyes filled with questions, but she said not a word as she quickly darted back to the carriage, Alex grateful that no one else had been looking their way, save for the wide-eyed Yin gazing at him intently from the carriage windows.
Alex wasted no time, quickly starting off at a hike, a grumbling Li just now adjusting his stirrups and an always silent Sun Sun soon following behind.
You have made use of the Qi-based skill Soul Sight. This skill may be used to understand the flow of Qi through any cultivator or spirit beast. Perception and skill checks needed to obtain actionable data. Current rank is zero. You do not yet fully comprehend this art.
Alex felt a warm shiver of wonder as he took advantage of the sedate pace to make use of his internal matrix, noting this new Qi Perception skill he had gained, his imagination racing with the possibilities it promised. What if it could help him better understand the cultivation techniques of others? Or understand
the flow of Qi a cultivator used while in combat? What if it allowed him to use his Find Weakness skill on more than just Qi-infused artifacts and treasures?
He couldn’t help grinning in excitement, lost in delightful contemplation of all the possibilities.
So much so that he would have missed the sudden appearance of the spirit bull charging straight for them, if it hadn’t been for Hao Chan’s scream.
17
Quickness check made!
As fast as thought, Alex had planted the butt of his fangtian ji against the hardpacked earth, bracing himself for the charge, knowing he was being a complete fool, that he should dodge out of the way.
But there could be no doubt. The creature was heading straight for the wagon, and Alex instantly understood why.
Hao Chan had just broken through.
And now the ether was awash with the musky stink of the Dark Qi so many cultivators considered waste, as well as a sweet, ripe, earthy aroma, almost like an apple blossom, of a fresh young shoot breaking free of mortal limitations and ascending that next tiny step up the endless path to immortality.
And the bovine howl echoing through the woods, sending icy shivers of dread racing down Alex’s spine as the massive bull glared at Alex with crimson orbs of hate, made it clear what an affront this challenge to the gods was in the heart of these primeval woodlands, and that such would not be tolerated.
At least not by whatever spirit beast had caught poor Hao Chan’s scent.
An eyeblink in time for Alex to embrace his gifts. An eyeblink in time when absolutely no one else had their eyes on the threat, Sun Sun totally out of sight, Li focused on a problem with his reins, head tilting upwards so slowly it was like molasses.
Alex’s lips curled in a smile, locking gazes with his foe.
An eyeblink in time, all others looking elsewhere, was all he needed.
Bullrush!
Adderstrike!
Target struck!
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Reforged: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 2 Page 23
