Savage Webs, page 24
part #2 of Apocalypse Cultivation Series
“But how the challenge takes place matters too. The challenge is that name I give the actual act of the prisoner attempting to escape. A prisoner who makes a big fuss about it and announces their future attempt to escape, or who the rest of the prisoners know is going to make the challenge is held to a higher standard. They must be well-known and feared among the other prisoners, generally known as outstanding, or they will be automatically rejected even if they meet the normal requirements. Those who challenge quietly and secretly must only meet one of the requirements I’ve already mentioned. But I can make exceptions for anyone I feel deserves, them, of course.”
She smiled. “Jake, you meet almost every requirement. It is unclear whether your challenge is secret or public, but that does not matter. You have left an outstanding trail of stories behind you, even including the first enlightenment of a great Dao.
“Luo Chong, you have done the same. And you have protected other prisoners from demons beasts from the shadows. They didn’t even know.”
Jake frowned. “I thought you couldn’t fight.”
“Not like you, I can’t, boss,” the ugly man mumbled. “But there are other ways of fighting.” Slim turned and faced Lady Brima directly. He was still visibly afraid, but he asked, “Lady, you intend to let us pass, but we will have to become members of your old sect?”
“That is what I said.” The spider woman didn’t try to hide her amusement.
“What kind of sect is it?” Despite his trembling, Slim’s eyes were steady and Jake was reminded of what Brima just said about the man protecting others. “You mentioned a number of ways that someone can escape, or be chosen, I guess, but some are noble. Some are terrible. What kind of sect are you recruiting for?”
“Now that is an excellent question!” Brima picked up her cigarette again thoughtfully. “There are only a few truly neutral sects in the entire world. The Skull of Secrets sect is one of them. Neither light nor dark, conventional or unconventional. The Skull of Secrets Sect can interact with all other sects–Demonic, Orthodox, and Unorthodox. Each approach to cultivation is represented and taught in the Skull of Secrets sect.”
Jake crossed his arms. “That seems unlikely that all the other sects would tolerate the Skull of Secrets. If the sect really does have aspects of every cultivation approach, that means all the other sects would be enemies, not allies. So why would the rest of the Murim world tolerate a neutral approach sect?”
“Usefulness,” said Lady Brima. She took a draw off of her cigarette. “The Skull of Secrets sect has some of the best array smiths and other crafters on this side of the world. We have been doing trade with all other sects for thousands of years.”
Jake slowly nodded. “So what now?” He could see how this was going. Lady Brima was going to send them to her old sect. He couldn’t wait to get the hell out of here. It had already been ten years, but he hadn’t forgotten about Master Zi’s granddaughter. Now that he actually knew where she might be, and maybe how to get there, all he had to do was get his freedom. “Are you going to teleport us to your sect?”
The powerful spider woman chuckled. “Of course not. Do you know how expensive that is? No, you’re walking. I’m going to give you both a letter of introduction that should speed you right into the inner sect.”
Jake got his hopes up. This was even better. The moment he got into the outside world, he was going to go far enough away to leave Lady Brima’s area of influence and then run away. The Murim world was still dangerous as hell, but Jake wasn’t trapped on Mater Zi’s hellacious mountain range anymore.
“I have another question,” said Slim.
Jake carefully kept his face calm and tried to keep a relaxed vibe. He could have strangled the idiot, though. They were so close to freedom. Just shut the fuck up so she’ll let us go! he wanted to yell so badly, it was all he could do to keep from glaring.
Lady Brima blew out a cloud of smoke that turned into two stick figures having an animated duel with swords. “Go ahead. It is not often I get two prisoners succeeding in their challenge at the same time like this, much less two interesting young cultivators with such rare titles. Two at once, both on their second lives. Fascinating.”
Jake blinked and filed that one away for later. Slim was turning into a fountain of surprises.
“I understand that we are going to join your sect, but we–I–was in the Web Burrows for a long time. Is there any reward or compensation for getting this far?”
Lady Brima’s eyes grew dark. Her sclera, what little of it there was, disappeared. “I will admit, my first instinct just now was to destroy you for impertinence. However, actually, I might have something that would be appropriate and would serve as… hmm–” Her voice trailed off and she lifted a finger.
A moment later, two coins drifted through the air from another part of the house and one hovered before Jake and Slim. “Go ahead. Take them. Both are tokens to choose a treasure from the sublime treasure storage in the Skull of Secrets sect. This should keep the Treasure Guard on his toes!” She chuckled.
Slim quickly pocketed his. Jake was slower. He couldn’t wait to leave and escape, but he was starting to get a bad feeling. A really bad feeling.
“So now! I think it is time to say goodbye. The two of you have been very interesting to watch. Jake, you in particular are extremely unpredictable, capable of great righteousness but also extreme ruthlessness.”
Is she finally going to let us go? thought Jake. His stomach was flipping like an Olympic gymnast doing tumbles.
“Now then, it’s time for the last bit of a formality before I let you go!”
Yes, yes, let us go! thought Jake. He was looking forward to being free so strongly, his fingertips tickled.
“Now you will both swear a Cultivation Oath that you will find the Skull of Secrets sect and become inner sect disciples.”
“God dammit,” whispered Jake.
“What was that?” asked Lady Brima. Her tone was clueless, but her eyes twinkled. Jake wondered how old she was. She must get her ancient rocks off dangling hope in front of innocent people like this.
Asshole old spider lady, he thought.
Chapter 32
“Is this far enough away to talk?” asked Jake.
“I have no idea, boss. But we’ve been walking for two days straight, so if not, I doubt another day will matter.”
“Good point.”
The two of them had suddenly found themselves in an empty, arid place after making their Cultivation Oaths to become inner sect, Skull of Secrets disciples. One moment, they’d been in an opulent mansion in the Web Burrows, and the next, they were outside. There’d barely even been any feeling of transition. Jake had found it…interesting and scary at the same time. If cultivators as strong as Lady Brima could just teleport people like that at will, could they do it with themselves too?
After that, through unspoken mutual agreement, Jake and Slim had made tracks, trying to make as much distance as possible before even speaking.
On one hand, they’d been lucky not to encounter any demon beasts along the way, but it likely hadn’t been a coincidence either. Between all the largest outcroppings of rocks hung massive spiderwebs. Whether they were functional or a warning, Jake didn’t know and didn’t really care.
They’d emerged into the world again at night, which had been helpful. Even as cultivators, it’d taken some time to get used to the light of day again. Their eyes had adapted quickly, though. Being cultivators helped with moving day and night without rest.
They could move pretty fast too. Slim wasn’t anywhere near as strong as Jake, at least as far as he could tell, but the gaunt, bizarre-looking man had still been able to keep a breakneck pace moving faster than an Olympic runner could ever dream of without rest.
Now that they were a full two days away, Jake removed a tent and other camping gear from his storage ring. The last thing to come out were a couple of camping chairs. “Sit, please. We need to have a chat.”
Slim nodded and examined the folding camping chair from earth with curiosity before sitting.
The entire time they’d been running, Jake had been thinking. He liked lists, and he preferred to write them down, but given enough time, motivation, and a simple enough subject, he could just create a mental list.
Making the list had helped him get his emotional shit together too. At first, when they’d just gotten out of the Web Burrows, he’d been really angry at Slim. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that was just misplaced frustration. Even if Slim hadn’t said anything, hadn’t asked any questions, it was unlikely that Lady Brima would let them go without a Cultivation Oath.
That realization had led to a few others, including the fact that the situation had changed, so his relationship with Slim probably needed to as well.
“Alright, Slim,” said Jake. “Let’s lay our cards on the table.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means let’s be straightforward without hiding anything that is relevant to our situation. But there’s no need to pry into unnecessary things. Like for instance, I’m not going to ask you about your Dao enlightenment.”
Slim leaned back and folded his arms. “Okay, boss. I’m listening.”
Now that they were stopped, Jake was finally able to pull a pad of paper and pen out of his storage ring. It felt good to have a pad in his hand again. “Back in the Web Burrows, the situation was much different than now. We worked together because of necessity and convenience. But now we are in a much larger world, going into the unknown, and you are the only person I know and can trust.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Jake scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I guess, after everything that’s happened, I’m saying that you are my friend. The loyalty should be deeper than just a working relationship now.”
Slim was quiet before saying, “I don’t really need to change anything, at least not in here.” He pointed to his head, and then his heart. “I have considered you my friend for years now.”
Ouch, thought Jake. He suddenly felt like shit and was glad he was sitting down. He was getting hungry too. He needed to kill something with some spiritual energy soon, but that could still wait a bit.
“Sorry about that,” he said lamely.
“You forgot another reason we might need to stick together,” said Slim.
“I did?”
“Yes. We look like this.” He gestured at the two of them. “We don’t know what kind of sect we are going to, and Lady Brima isn’t exactly an average-looking cultivator.” He glanced around meaningfully, and Jake got the message. They still didn’t know if they were outside Brima’s hearing range or not, so Slim wasn’t going to say she looked like a freak. The gaunt man continued, “For Lady Brima to have come from the Skull of Secrets sect, they must have some inhuman cultivators or hybrid body cultivators, but we still don’t know if they will accept us well.”
Jake nodded. He was reminded of his recent trip back to Earth. Prior to that, he’d just become used to the fact that everyone already knew what he looked like and took it for granted that there were plenty of others as monstrous-looking as him.
Slim plucked at his sleeve and said, “I know you said that we shouldn’t pry into things that don’t matter, but maybe it does. Either way, I have to ask you something or I won’t be able to stop thinking about it.”
“What?”
“She said we have both reincarnated. That must mean you also have memories of a past life. I don’t know how she knows so many secrets, but Lady Brima has never been wrong when she’s made observations like that.”
“You met her before?”
“More than once.” The man shrugged. “I tried escaping a few times. This was the first time it worked.”
Jake didn’t try to hide his surprise. “You never said anything about that.”
Slim chuckled. “I have kept plenty of things hidden, or flat-out lied. The only thing that I never play with is loyalty…or who I want to be this time around.”
“So you really remember your past life, huh?” asked Jake.
“Yes. I was a cultivator. Not all of my decisions were the greatest. I died violently and I can’t even blame anyone but myself in the end. When I woke up in this world, I vowed to be a better person.” He chuckled and pointed at his face. “You can see where that got me.”
“So others really changed you, made you that way?” asked Jake.
“More or less. But it’s a complicated thing. I hate how I look, and it has changed my cultivation method to be much more difficult for many years, but I also have the potential to grow in power very quickly. It will just…mean I need a lot of money.”
“Why?”
“I need to eat.”
“Ah.” Several things made sense to Jake immediately, not least of which why Slim had been so eager to do things to get more rations in the Web Burrows.
“What about you?” Slim met his eyes. “If we are friends now. Official friends, you said. So what is your story, Jake?”
Jake absently scratched the back of one hand with one of his pinky claws. He really didn’t want to spill his guts and tell his whole life story, but he didn’t want to lie either.
He said, “I am from another world that functions completely differently than the Murim World. Cultivation is not a normal path to power. In fact, no magic existed at all, just technology that even had the power to destroy the world if used in certain ways.
“My world was attacked, changed, and used as a playground by evil gods. After this happened and civilization was destroyed, I worked as a…mercenary. A low level mercenary with a good team. We killed monsters…demon beasts, for money. I was taught cultivation by a powerful dragon visiting my world from this one.
“Then I was kidnapped, sent to a hell dimension by an evil god’s minions. While I was there, I existed by eating demons, and one thing after another happened… Well, I sort of destroyed that world. Accidentally. No regrets, though.
“The evil god met with me and he offered me a job, but I refused. That pissed him off. Well, he was already pissed at me, too. So he fucked me over by sending me back in time and doing it in a way that I got turned into a zombie.
“As a zombie, I learned a new style of cultivation sort of based on how I survived in the hell dimension in my first life. I learned how to transform into other monsters after meeting a goddess who helped me.
“I fought the warrior of another evil god in my home town after trying to rescue my family, and I won. Then I agreed to become the warrior of the goddess I met before in exchange for some help. She sent me here to the Murim world. Now I need to get stronger, then go back and fight the warriors of the original god I angered. I think.
“But right now, I guess I’m becoming sort of like a myth or a folk hero for the people of my world. They’re scared of me, but I keep bumping into people who need help. It probably doesn’t help my reputation that I keep biting things in the face that deserve it.” Jake realized he’d been talking faster and sharing too much. He abruptly stopped.
Slim looked at the ground, apparently processing what he’d just heard. Finally he looked up and said, “Are you serious? Like, are you messing with me, boss?”
“Yes I’m serious. No I’m not messing with you.” Jake frowned. “Why would I?”
Slim just shook his head. “A folk hero? …You know, as much as I want to say you are just spouting shit, I also have my own, silly story. And I think you are telling the truth, as unlikely as that might be.” He slapped his knees. “Fine. So be it. So what now?”
“Now we figure out a plan,” said Jake.
“Wadda you mean? We need to travel to the Skull of Secrets sect. Lady Brima said it was east, and then northeast after we found a rock that looks like a turtle.”
Jake nodded. Before he responded, he remembered Slim’s caginess earlier. Now was probably not the time to explain in detail how he planned to abuse his cultivation oath without actually breaking it. Just in case Lady Brima was listening in, he pointed to his ears as a reminder. Then he said, “Yes, but we can grow in power and maybe find some fortune on the way.”
“Ah. I think I understand. You are close to a Reforged Body, right?”
“Yes.”
“But do you have the medicinal pills or good fortune you need for that?”
Jake paused, unsure how exactly to explain it. He said, “I have what I need, but I need to find the right place to actually attempt the breakthrough.”
“What do you need?”
“It’s kind of hard to explain.”
“Try me. I know more about cultivation and about this world than you might imagine.”
“Really?”
“Yes, boss.” Slim’s tone was firm.
“Why?”
“Remember how I said I was a cultivator in my past life?”
“Uh huh,” Jake agreed.
“I was a cultivator in another world. All of my past life’s knowledge and experience was useless in this world. Where I came from, cultivation itself worked completely different, which should be impossible. So I wasn’t able to cultivate or grow in power any faster than others; in fact, I was slower, but I was able to understand all theory very fast. And I’ve been reading from a very young age, learning as much as I could.”
Jake blinked. “You’re a cultivation nerd.”
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s not important.” Jake rubbed two fingers together and said, “Okay, I will tell you what I think I need. To break through to a Reforged Body, or my best chance at it, I probably need a place that has a lot of darkness energy, or maybe even death energy. There has to be some old blood, maybe elements of the earth. Fire too. Ruins might work. That was what I was going to be looking for before. At least that was my plan.”
