Yun Ren Interlude different Path (Patreon)

Okay, after some sleep, and reading through the feedback, I got to work again. There were some parts that I read again, after I woke up, that did seem to be quite rushed, and some parts of the scene that did not read how I intended them.

This is the second version of the chapter. While the beginning part does not have changes to it, The ending is massively re-vamped, to better get across what I wanted to get across. So if you don't feel like re-reading the entire thing, that's where you'll find the meat.

Thank you everyone, for bearing with me, and hopefully this fixes some of the issues! 

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The walls of the tomb were covered in multi-coloured splotches, like somebody had taken entire buckets of paint and thrown them against grey stone.

Yun Ren’s eyes were unfocused, distorted colours and bands of mist swirling around his hands.

His Qi churned and twisted. There was a brief flash of light.

The Guardian’s tail slapped against the back of Yun Ren’s head, nearly bowling him over.

“None of that, boy,” the fox scolded. “Distraction while training is a sin, it leads to injury or death. Especially when mixing pure light with the shadowed illusions of the foxes, as you were so foolishly doing.”

The boy flushed, scuffing his feet like a much younger lad at the scolding.

“Why were you trying to add such light to the illusion, anyway?” the fox asked.

Yun Ren frowned at his hands. “Well… Jin showed me this cool thing a while ago. You poke a hole in a box, and it’s a bit like a recording crystal. But upside down, backwards, and reversed. It showed an image of whatever the hole was pointing at. He kept saying how light could be captured that way, but he didn’t know how to catch it, other than that it involved specially treated paper.”

His Qi welled up again. Flashes of light. Sparks of the cold fire of the foxes. Dregs of mist.

They were working together. Shifting, and roiling uncertainty, wobbling… but not in danger of destabilizing.

The Guardian’s gaze sharpened, as the boy’s scent got stronger. His amber eyes were focused intently on Yun Ren’s work.

Light and shadow. Fire and mist. Something churned, scratching at the back of the fox’s mind.

“... you never did tell me your mother’s name, boy,” the fox mentioned.

“Hm? Oh, Hu Li. Nezin Hu Li.”

The pieces clicked. No wonder the boy smelled so familiar, he was kin.

From the scent, and the light… of the line of his Great Aunt, Su Nezin.

The fox considered the boy further. His blood was weak and diluted. Barely present,  but still, there. The fox had one memory of his aunt, the great, nine-tailed beast. A smell. An artifact of their kin, one of the few that had survived the fall of The Shrouded Mountain.

Her blood. For some reason, the guardian thought it should be stronger. Such degradation could happen, It had been thousands of years after all.

The fox was startled out of his introspection by a whoop of joy.

“Yeah! See, I thought the light would help out!” he shouted. “It makes things… less wobbly? A bit more solid and firm, yeah?”

Instead of a splotch of colour, this one was much more defined. There were shapes now. Something long and sinuous, with bright blue scales.

The Guardian took back his ill thoughts of the boy’s poor comprehension. He  learned quite quickly, when he wasn’t tasked with reading.

And the illusion was different. Brighter, somehow. Not the illusion of a trickster. But something more honest. Something that would stand proudly in the light, not trying to hide or confuse.

The fox chuckled at the joy sparking in all too familiar amber eyes.

It was something beautiful.

Ah, how his dear companion would have loved to see something like this.

“...Yun Ren.” The young man perked up.

“This one is Su Nezan. And the one who rests here is my companion, Zang Wen, she who was known as the “Summer Sky Thunder”.”

The boy nodded politely, but did not seem to know her name.

The sword rattled again.

===============================

“Hey, what do you want to do, when all this is over?” the fox asked, as the commotion behind them intensified. The entire village was packing up, and leaving, while the defenders stayed.

Hopefully, they could buy enough time.

The woman with blonde hair considered the question, as if she had never thought to think about it before.

She frowned heavily.

“I don’t know,” she stated, her eyes unfocused. “But… those illusions you showed me, that night. The one of the dance… I liked it. Do you think lots of places have festivals like that?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it. There are more festivals and events than can be counted!”

Wen smiled, staring up at the sky. “Then I shall see them all! And bring something back. I’ll tell everybody of the things I’ve seen, and you can make illusions, so it will be like they were right there with us!”

The sword on her back rattled.

The woman chuckled at the action.

“Seriously? Why do you even like tea getting poured on you? You’re going to rust! Strange thing.” The woman sighed fondly. “We’ll find you tea, at least one from each different province!”

It rattled again, pleased, as the fox laughed.

They made so many promises that night.

And kept not a single one.

======================

There was once a woman.

A powerful hunter of beasts. A slayer of the wicked. With her blade of light, she cast down their illusions. With her blade of light, she ended the lives of the demonic spirit beasts.

She was the Pride of the Shrouded Mountain. Until one day… she betrayed the sect. The Blade of Light slew all who approached. Her lightning scorched and ruined all who dared appear before her.

And with her, fought one of the monsters. One of the wicked creatures, that twisted and shifted, normally cowering from the light.

Befuddled by a fox, a most humiliating end.

She slew many, as befitting of the rising Star of the Shrouded Mountain. She crushed all who opposed her.

And yet, the brave Disciples of the Honoured Founders had their own strength. One managed a lethal blow, and the Blue Sky Thunder was driven from the field, disappearing forever.

Many would wish to find her corpse. Or at least, her wondrous blade, and return such a treasure to the hands of the righteous.

“Young Master.”

“Yes?”

“The information you requested.”

The Young Master smiled.

“Good work.” The man saluted, and left.

The Young Master opened the map, and placed another mark. Bits and pieces. Strange sightings. Now, judging by where these had been last seen...

He glared at the positioning.

So close to the Azure Hills, that cursed place.

Lu Ban considered the positioning, and the number of the missing. Many powerful members of the Shrouded Mountain’s Younger generation had gone to find the blade.

Of those who had gone, few had returned.

Luckily, Zang Li was a Young Master of the Shrouded Mountain.

And that came with an abundance of resources.

“Senior Brother Kang.” He called to the shadows.

His minder, one of this body’s cousins, appeared in the space between heartbeats. It was a boring task, to look after a young man, and make sure he didn’t get into trouble.

Lu Ban showed him his findings. Kang’s eyes widened.

“You are sure of this, little brother?” he questioned, his eyes upon the page.

“Absolutely.”

The Elder Disciple’s smile became feral.

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Yun Ren’s illusions improved with time. They got sharper, their colours clearer.

Until finally, there stood an image on the wall. A direct duplication of the one in his crystal. It was still fuzzy at the edges, and still imperfect… but it was clear.

Yun Ren exhaled, his eyes slightly unfocused.

“Thank you,” he said earnestly. Yun Ren bowed, his eyes to the floor.

The fox smiled at him.

“You know, there are many more techniques here, if you wish to learn. Many secrets my companion found.”

A leading question, yet the boy shook his head.

“Sorry. I gotta get back to gramps soon,” he declined. “Let him know I’m alright.”

There was a brief, violent surge of possessiveness. Another one was leaving. More kin, gone, more friends disappeared.

The fox crushed down the feeling.

“Hey, you wanna come too? Meet everybody?” Yun Ren asked, suddenly struck with an idea.

Nezan considered the offer. He was not bound here. Not really. But… he was loathe to leave his dear friend’s resting place.

“...perhaps I shall visit them,” the fox mused. “After I finish repairing everything, perhaps.”

“I’ll tell everybody about you. And… I’ll come visit again, if you want? Before I return south?”

“...no, I shall come to you. I don’t want to ruin all my hard work. Making illusions like that is tough, I’ll have you know! But enough of this. We shall celebrate your accomplishment!”

Nezan retrieved a special vintage. One of the last ones remaining.

“Oh, honoured sir~!” a female voice singsonged, as the fox returned. Yun Ren’s face made that delightful twitching motion, as he beheld the female form, clad in a beautiful, if revealing dress.

Ah, to be able to tease somebody else, again. No wonder he was so annoyed. ZNezan did look quite like his mother. How amusing.

The woman shifted back into a fox, after the drinks were poured.

Yun Ren took a sip from the vessel, and his eyes bulged out.

“The hells is this?!” he asked, staring at the vessel in wonder..

“Spiritual wine,” the fox replied, taking his own sip.

The boy took another drink, and giggled, his face already turning red. The wine was quite potent. Nezan’s Qi slunk around him.

“Tell me, Yun Ren… What is your goal? Your dream, your reason for being?” Nezan asked.

The boy’s bleary eyes focused for a brief moment, under alcohol and suggestion.

The fox chuckled, as the boy got out his recording crystal again.

He regaled Nezan with stories, stories of where he came from.

He told a tale of a farm. Of a magnificent chicken. Of a carp that became a dragon.

He told of a wicked fiend that had tried to take a friend.

The story of a tribe. A tribe that honored and venerated a fox, who called her the great guardian, who delivered them from a calamity.

Each tale was accompanied by an illusion.

The image of a mountain. The image of a lake. The image of a woman with freckles, grinning, and a large man sticking his tongue out. Even as sweat beaded on his brow. Even as his cultivation enhanced voice grew hoarse, he spoke.

“That’s my dream. To travel far and wide. To see it. To record it… and then come back home, and share it with everyone. Moments in time, captured in light.”

Yun Ren’s eyes sparkled with light and conviction. The conviction he once saw in his dear companion’s eyes.

Nezan smiled into his cup.

But for all the boy’s conviction...

“The world is not kind enough for conviction alone,” Nezan whispered.

The boy’s drunken mind churned, and he sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, I know that some people are assholes. Or I could screw up, and offend somebody, on account of me bein a country hick and all. But… well, I’d still like to do it anyway, yanno?”

“Yes... yes, I know,” the fox whispered. “Yun Ren... could you do one last thing for me?”

The boy nodded guilessly.

Nezan brought out his own secret treasure, and placed his hands against it. Yun Ren’s eyes went blank, as he beheld a moment in time.

His hands raised.

And the stone room changed.

Light. Clouds. A horizon with mountains...

And a woman with blonde hair, smiling softly at the rising dawn.

The boy staggered from the strain, thumping to his knees, and slumping against the fox.

Nezan smiled fondly at the boy. Truly, he was blessed by the heavens to have such a fortunate encounter.

“G’nnight….” he slurred, utterly spent.

The fond smile on the guardian’s face turned wicked.

But really, now, falling asleep on a fox? On a known trickster? The boy was asking for it.

And he did say he needed to get back to his grandfather…

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The first thing that Yun Ren realised when he woke up was that he was naked.

The second thing was that he was tied, upside down, to a tree.

Yun Ren groaned.

Bastard fox. Really, he said he’d let the thing visit, and then it ties him up naked after he got drunk?!

He glared out at the forest, his headache swiftly subsiding, and saw the clothes folded neatly, along with his pack.

...some of the anger dissipated.

He flailed about for a moment, kicking his legs, before he managed to get a good grip on the tree.

The ropes snapped, and he thumped headfirst into the ground.

A bit of the anger came back.

He grumbled, as he pulled on his clothes. He had half a mind to go storming back—

His pack was slightly too heavy.

He frowned, and opened it.

His eyes widened, and he closed it again.

He counted to three, and opened the pack. Yup. still there.

Several crystals pressed preserved flower, some bottles full of pills and a strange, shimmering gem, along with a note.

“A gift for you, and your lover. We may meet again,” it said, with what looked like a lipstick kiss on the corner of it.

“...damned fox,” he grumbled.

He finished collecting everything, and strapped his sword to his belt.

It sat a little bit awkwardly, so he adjusted it. He was so totally going to come back and ruin the Fox’s illusions later.

==========================

Two weeks had gone by, and not a day passed that Nezan did not stare at the mural of his dearest friend, before he began his work.

Nezan hummed, as he worked on the talismans. Really, they were degrading far too quickly. Probably the lack of Qi in the Azure Hills, causing strange eddies in the ley lines.

A few months of work, and they would be finished and refreshed, and then Nezan would go visit his Aunt’s kin. How should he arrive? Bedecked in gold? Should he tease them? Beguile them? Ohohoho, how fun to think of what to do—

A sensor tripped. Lightning, coming from the mountains.

The fox sighed in resignation. No wonder the heavens had been so kind.

The Shrouded Mountain sect never was one for subtlety. Brute force and overpowering lightning was their standard strategy.

They expected illusions, and a mere beast, but his dear friend had taught him well. Though most were degraded, or taken down for repair, the Lightning Taboo Cursed Formation was still functional.

It activated. Some of the lives were snuffed out, their lightning turned back against them.

But the intruders were here in force. Again and again, the lightning struck, until, with a piteous whine the remaining talismans burst into flame.

No wonder the heavens had been so kind.

As always, they were kind, only to tear everything away.

But assaulting a fox in his den was folly.

Nezan rose, and marched forward.

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“Shrouded Mountain! To me! To ME!” The Senior Brother roared. He was alight with lightning, burning streamers that singed the air, and made Lu Ban’s technique quaver.

The fox shifted, between smoke and fire to razor and blades. Another Disciple screamed.

Everything had started out well. The blinding assault. The lightning shattering every illusion arrayed against them.

Then that same lightning turned back against them. When the men stopped their shrouds, they were assaulted by horrific visions or befuddling mist.

Even now, Lu Ban slammed his fist into one of his “fellows” , the boy's eyes wide and blank, seeing enemies that were not there. Lu Ban shattered his arm, and both his legs. The boy  may have died, yet Lu Ban  turned away without another thought.

A peal of lightning shattered the sky. The senior disciple had risen into the air, striking down with the fulmination of the heavens. The fox weaved like smoke, sticky fire struck another disciple, clinging to his skin, and igniting his face.

This… this was all wrong. The legends had put the fox at the same level as a core disciple. That had been hundreds of years ago, true, but it had been asleep all this time, hadn’t it?

There was another, earth-shattering strike.

It was a vision of Hell.

Old instincts told him to flee. To slink back out of the cavern, and leave these men to their fates.

But he could not. He would claim the blade. He would not falter!

For the beast was tiring.

Its strikes were slowing down slightly, as it had to deal with the many disciples. It’s attention was pulled into too many directions, but the fact that it had lasted this long against what was it’s bane was impressive and terrifying in equal measure.

The Shrouded Mountain, whose techniques had all been designed and refined against beings such as this… were barely enough.

“You Damn Beast! No wonder this place was so easy to breach! You designed this trap!” Senior Brother Kang roared. His eyes sparked with burning light. Glyphs formed around his arms and legs.

[True Form Revelation]

The air screamed in protest, as the fox’s form was forced into solidity.

The men of the Shrouded Mountain struck the fox with the fury of fanatics. The wicked fox was before them, and there could be no retreat.

It grimaced in pain as bades bit into the creature’s leg.

“Die, Monster!” Kang howled. The air was charged with fury

Desperation flashed, as it was pinned down by the furious disciples. Lightning gathered between Kang’s hands, like the worst storm imaginable. The desperation turned to cold, calculated gleaming.

Something was coming. Inky blackness welled up, covering Lu Ban’s eyes—

There was a flash of light. Not some fox illusion, but a sudden burst of light so intense it hurt Lu Ban’s eyes even through the protective covering. It hurt the eyes of men who gazed upon the flashes of lightning from their techniques.

The elder disciple screamed, as fangs found their mark.

Yet Lu Ban’s senior was not so easy to kill. His hands clamped down on the fox’s maw, even blinded.

Lu Ban saw his opening.

His strike was perfectly timed, as befitting his abilities.

[Heaven Piercing Lance]

There was a slight twinge in the back of his mind, as he used his favoured technique. A memory of it bouncing off flesh.

The technique penetrated. The fox howled in agony.

Lightning charged the air around his senior.

The fox moaned, as it was struck from the heavens. His Senior Brother staggered, as he slumped gracelessly from the air.

“Excellent strike, Junior Brother.” The man wheezed. His beard was tinged with flecks of blood. He turned to the broken form of the fox, as it struggled to rise.

“I shall commend you beast, for the challenge you posed,” he stated mockingly. “Now, tear out your core, present it to me, and your death will be swift.”

The fox let out a sigh, and blood splattered onto the ground. It staggered to its feet. Some of the disciples  wary of it’s tricks got back into their stances, but Senior Brother Kang stood unmoved.

“Surrender to you, oh butchers of my kin, thieves of the mountain…” it hissed, eyes narrow. Lightning sparked and crackled. The Fox hung its head. “This is my beloved’s tomb. It shames me that I am unable to defend it.”

It staggered, nearly falling over, beaten and broken. Lu Ban snorted in contempt.

“Alas, I do not have a choice. Anything, to make this wretched pain end.”

The fox raised it’s one good paw. It grimaced, as it shoved it inside its chest. Its face twisted in agony, as it pulled out a gem. Its core.

The rest of the disciples laughed at the display of cowardice.

The fox laughed too, a disgusting, wheezing thing.

The core shimmered, and cracked, already missing a piece.

Burning lines of orange spread through it.

The same burning lines of orange spread through the rest of the cave, suddenly bathing them all in fel light.

The fox's smile twisted to the corners of its mouth.

“Oops. Did I do that?” it asked, as if shocked.

The men of the shrouded Mountain began screaming. Lu Ban’s eyes shifted to the grave. To the white sword there.

“Good Bye~” The fox chuckled. “I do hope all of you lovely, virile men have enjoyed my company~”

The cracks pulsed once.

The fox laughed, its maddened mockery filling the cavern.

The Senior Disciple ripped a talisman from around his neck, a bubble of pure light surrounding the survivors.

Lu Ban’s hands clasped around the sword.

Detonation.

The World Broke. Lu Ban screamed along with the rest of his fellows.

==================

Lu Ban opened his eyes, as the rocks stopped falling, and the world stopped shaking. The rocks were held up, in a perfect half hemisphere.

The Senior Disciple stood, unmoving. To still be upright after taking such a blow—!

The older man toppled backwards, blood pooling out of his mouth.

“Senior Brother Kang!” Lu Ban shouted, the words coming unbidden.

“Do you have it? Do you have the Blade?” The man choked out.

“Yes, Yes, I have it.” He confirmed. Bandages? Would bandages help? Had he a healing artifact—?!

The man smiled. “Excellent. Lead the rest of them to safety, Junior Brother. We have done a great deed today. For the Glory of the Shrouded Mountain!”

His eyes went blank. His body went still.

‘...fool’ Lu Ban thought. His hands dropped from where he was pressing on the wound. How foolish, to get oneself killed, protecting these worthless people!

Lu Ban would never be so stupid.

He stood from the other man’s side, and glared at the surviving Disciples. They were battered, and broken, but still alive.

Good.

Good, he had use for them.

He stalked up to one of the ones sobbing and wailing how they were all going to die, and struck him across the face.

“We are not dead yet.” Lu Ban ground out. “Now, we must dig. We must escape from this place!”

The man stared, stupefied.

“The wretched beast has not slain us yet, has it?! Dig!” He howled, and suiting command to action, he tore at one part of the ceiling, travelling at an angle. The rock pulped, shattering under his blows.

One of the other disciples came beside him, lending his strength.

It took them a week to dig their way out. A week of agony, where their numbers were reduced to two.

An acceptable loss, as far as Lu Ban was concerned. He was still alive. He gasped, as they came out into the night air, his hand clutched around the comforting warmth of Summer’s Sky.

The blade had been silent, the entire week. Likely asleep, after so long used as a tomb ornament.

The other remaining disciples wept with joy, as the sky began to brighten.

Lu Ban raised the blade up high.

He smiled at the white glow of Summer’s Sky.

A blade of light, soon to serve him.

How apt.

The first rays of sunrise crested the hill, and Lu Ban plunged his intent into the blade, to subdue its spirit.

……..

…...There was nothing.

Lu Ban’s eyes opened, as the first rays of sunlight danced along its edges.

The pure white, as if water stained with ink, began to muddy. White bled to dull grey.

A normal, low-quality iron sword was gripped in Lu Ban’s hand.

The Fox’s mocking laughter carried on the wind.

“I hope it was worth the trouble~” The whisper slithered through Lu Ban's mind. The mist, seeming to flow from the hole they had dug out of, dissipated, burning away in the morning light.

The iron blade shattered, filled with lightning and fire and rage.