Interlude Yun Ren Final: Back Under the Summer Sky (Patreon)

Just a bit of a prescript.

The Fox is now going to be referred to as male, for that POV, and is going to be changed in the previous chapter. Sorry to anybody who enjoyed this aspect, but it made things a bit more clear that the fox was screwing with Yun Ren, and  made things flow just a bit better.

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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 defocused, 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, and 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 its 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 his 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 was so familiar smelling, 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 there. But still, there. The fox had one memory of 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. But 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 sinuou, with bright blue scales..

The Guardian took back his ill thoughts of poor comprehension. The boy 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 at all.

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 mine companion, Zang Wen, she who was known as the “Summer Sky Thunder.””

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

The sword rattled again.

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“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. Packing up, and going to leave, while the defenders stayed.

Hopefully, they could buy enough time.

The woman with blonde hair considered the question, like 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 was 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.

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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 his corpse. Or at least, his 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.

He glared at the positioning.

So close to the Azure Hills, that cursed place.

But.. necessary.

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Yun Ren’s illusions improved. 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 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 ruining 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.

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 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.

The Qi around him twisted slightly, and he saw.

His hands raised.

And the stone room changed.

Light. Clouds. A horizon with mountains...

And a woman with blonde hair, grinning like a loon.

He 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.

A crystal, and a flower, some bottles full of pills, 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.

“...damn 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.

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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, and 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 strike.

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.

Nezan rose, and marched forward.

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Tendrils slashed with razor precision. The best suddenly disappeared, and a man died.

Its body warped and twisted unnaturally, half smoke, half solid, and a whirling dervish of fangs and teeth.

Yet the best could not keep it up.

Lightning rained down upon it. Swords cut in, when it was solid for brief instants.

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.

Lu Ban was quite glad for their sacrifice. It was good, to have such resources at his disposal.

The creatures was surprisingly well equipped. Had Lu Ban a lesser force, the creature’s talismans and illusions may have turned the tide.

But lightning was superior to the fox’s shadow. He could already see the desperation in its eyes. Desperation that turned to a calculating gleam.

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 of their techniques.

More Disciples of the Shrouded Mountain screamed, as the fox set upon them.

But not Lu Ban.

Enough of this.

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.

Lu Ban struck again. His fists shattered bone, and threw the fox against the wall, where it slid down, whimpering in agony.

“The Young Master has struck the beast down!” one of the disciples shouted.

A great cheer went up, as Lu Ban smirked.

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

The fox glared. Blood pooled out of its mouth, as it staggered to its feet. Some of the disciples  got back into their stances, but Lu Ban remained, standing there, with his arms crossed, staring down at his foe.

The fox rose it’s one good paw it grimaced, asit shoved it inside it’s chest. Its face twisted in agony, as it pulled out the gem. Its core.

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

The fox laughed too, a disgusting, wheezing thing.

The core cracked, burning lines of orange spreading through it.

The same burning lines of orange that spread through the rest of the cave.

The men of the shrouded Mountain began screaming.

“Good Bye~” The fox chuckled. Its eyes raised to the painting of a woman on the wall. “I’ll be seeing you soon, my dear. A shame I could not keep my promise.”

The cracks pulsed once.

The fox laughed, its maddened mockery filling the cavern.

Detonation.

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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. Good on the two fools who had thrown themselves in front of him.

They had accomplished their mission. Lu Ban would have liked to examine the cave more, but he had what he came here for.

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

A blade of light, serving the darkness.

How apt.

The first rays of sunrise crested the hill, and Lu Ban raised the sword up high, plunging his intent into the blade, as to subdue its spirit.

……..

…...There was nothing.

Lu Ban stared at the blade, shock and rage churning in his gut.

The pure white, as 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 echoed through his mind.

The iron blade shattered, filled with lightning and fire.

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Sorry for the lateness. This one was a hard chapter to write. I considered at great length if this was the way things should go, and decided to take things in this direction.

Hopefully, its not too jarring, and still enjoyable.