New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live-Chapter 1090: Celestial Fox

Alexander looked at the dirt-covered Liu Yan, a mix of confusion and happiness welling inside him.

Confusion about why he was here since he hadn’t met them at the bottom of the mountain like he had asked him to, and also at his method of arrival.

If he had access to a spell like this when they were fighting the Dragonborn protecting the inner sanctum of the red dragon, why hadn’t he used it?

But he was glad that the man was here. Even if he was late, he had shown up, and that is all he could really ask of him, for now.

A chance to prove to him that they were worth his trust.

"That was an entrance, alright," Alex chuckled.

He turned to look at Gu Fang’s doppelgänger, who was looking at the young man strangely.

"He’s with me. Will that be a problem?" he asked, his tone icy.

The fox looked at him and turned without answering.

Alex shrugged, taking his silence as a no, and walked over to Liu Yan.

"You’ll need practice on that landing, Yan. But welcome to the shit show," he chuckled.

Liu Yan snorted, dusting off his clothes.

"You try sticking the landing to a spell you didn’t know you had until you used it. I was scared I would die on impact with how fast the ground came at me," he muttered, shivering at the memory.

"Follow me, mortals," the fox called to them over his shoulder.

"Yes, Master!" the disciples all yelled out in sync.

The fox clicked his tongue in disdain.

"Not you, pawns. You are years away before you can lock step with me. Consider meeting me alone the greatest honour of your lives. Go back to training," he spat, not even looking at his disciples.

Elder Bai sighed at the roughness of his master, but it was all in character to the fox. Seeing the disciples pause at the words, Elder Bai snapped at them.

"You heard the master! Back to training, the lot of you! You are already late for Elder Zhang’s lesson! GO!"

The disciples hurriedly bowed before running away toward the top of the mountain.

After a few steps, the fox stopped walking, turning his head toward Alex and the others.

"I will not wait for you. If you rather take your chances in the formation, be my guest. But I’m heading out."

Alex looked around, noticing the formation was rapidly encroaching on them, almost as if his stepping away was letting it return to their position.

He didn’t want to divert his attention to this more than he needed to, so he looked at Kary, who nodded back at him.

"Alright! Pack it up, guys. We get a free pass; might as well enjoy it," he called out, looking at his group.

Everyone was still in shock over the last few minutes, and it took them a moment to react.

Between Rì-Chū snapping and almost killing a man; the master of the sect showing up out of nowhere, and for some, looking like someone they knew; and Liu Yan dropping from the sky in a lightning bolt, this entire situation was a mess for one’s brain.

Alex had to clap his hands to force them out of their stupor, but the group finally got into motion.

Following the man they came here to confront was weird for everyone involved, aside from Liu Yan, who was still confused about the situation. However, it was worse for some, since the master had Gu Fang’s body.

As they trudged upward, Alex tried as he might to listen in on Gu Fang’s body, trying hard to hear anything from it. Breathing, heartbeat, footsteps: nothing made a sliver of noise.

It was like following a ghost.

Alexander could see his robes move, as if he was taking steps. He could even see the occasional bottom of a sole.

But not a cracking of dirt, screech of a pebble, or squeaking of sand could be heard from under his feet. It was like he was weightless.

Alex started walking faster, trying to reach the man’s side, but Elder Bai quickly lifted his arm to block him.

"Don’t walk next to the master, young man. You’ll anger him!" he whisper-growled.

But the fox raised a hand and waved dismissively behind him.

"Don’t bother, Bai Feng. He probably won’t listen to you. I’ll overlook their actions for now, as long as they behave. After all, they did show the restraint to keep our disciples alive. Fighting with that holding you back is a show of strength. Maybe there is hope for the humans after all," he said, his voice serene.

Elder Bai looked at the master’s back in disbelief. Even the elders in the Zhong Kui had never been allowed to stand directly at his side.

"As you wish, Master," Elder Bai said, lowering his head.

Alex smirked at him a bit, before resuming his pace to reach next to the man.

The resemblance to Gu Fang once again took him aback, but he pushed his shock away, hellbent on sating his curiosity.

"So! What are you... exactly?" he asked, looking at his friend’s face, as the golden eyes reflected the sun like a golden mirror.

A smirk appeared on the fox’s face as he side-eyed the human.

"You would think that, for someone storming into my domain, you would have taken the time to study your potential enemy. Not that it would have given you the chance to defeat me. You are centuries too young for that," he said, a grin on his lips.

"Nonetheless, I will entertain your questions. I am a celestial fox. My kind is practically extinct on this godforsaken rock, but a few of us still tread its dirty surface."

Alex tried imagining how someone with golden eyes could go unnoticed in today’s society, but it didn’t add up. And, seeing the confusion in his gaze, the fox left out a soft chuckle.

"Most of the ones left don’t let their celestial nature show like I do. But, were you to ever cross paths with one of us, you would know. Even if I doubt our passive charms would bewitch you, if one were to take notice of you and actively pursue you, you would fall to our charm immediately. Only then would you notice our nature, and it would be too late."

Alex scoffed a bit at his words. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"Yeah, I doubt I would fall for anyone’s charms against my will. I’m not so weak-minded as to get bewitched by just anything," he said, pumping his chest out a bit with pride.

The celestial fox turned his head toward him, giving him a warm smile, locking his gaze into Alexander’s.

"Is that so?" he asked, his voice smooth as silk.

Alex instantly felt his cautiousness lower, feeling as if he was back to talking with Gu Fang. He was about to smile back and answer to his old friend when a pebble hit the back of his head, snapping him back to reality.

"Oww. What the..." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

The fox laughed, knowing his power had worked as quickly as it always did, and that if the one smelling of death hadn’t intervened, this issue would have been over easily. He turned his head a bit further back, winking at the one called David.

David replied with a raised middle finger, which Elder Bai did not miss, and turned red with anger.

"You impolite little!" he started saying, but the master once again waved his hand dismissively.

"Don’t, Bai Feng. I deserved that one. If I were so easily offended, I wouldn’t have lasted so long on this planet," he said, turning back to face forward.

He knew David had his eyes on him since he had appeared, and he could feel the mix of wariness and killing intent oozing off him in waves.

The only reason the human hadn’t acted on those impulses was because his friends were not yet in danger, and he hadn’t acted in a threatening manner. But he could tell the human was ready to lunge at him at a moment’s notice.

Of course, he had no intention of doing so here. They were almost at the top of the mountain, and if he genuinely wanted to fight them, luring them into his pagoda would make things so much easier for him.

For now, the passive approach was best until he had a good read about what would happen if they broke into an all-out fight.

"We are reaching the foot of the sect. Elder Bai," the fox called out, stopping his silent gait.

"Yes, master!" the elder chanted, kneeling behind him.

"Make sure no one gets in our way or tries anything stupid. If these guests are attacked without my say so, the perpetrators will be devoured. Understood?"

"Yes, master!" Elder Bai said, before leaving ahead of them.

"Devoured? That’s ominous. Some kind of torture you do?" Alexander asked, wondering if he was talking figuratively.

But the fox only smiled in response, keeping his mouth closed.

’Holy shit... I think he was serious...’