Jakes story 2, ch 9

“Don’t mind Han Wan, Jake,” said Han Ten.  “And Han Wan, you should be kinder to our friend Jake here, who will eventually be one of our close brothers.”

Jake narrowed his eyes.  Han Ten had been harassing him to join their gang for the last five years.  They’d tried bullying, bribery, pretty much everything but open threats.  It seemed now threats were on the table.  Prior to this, one reason Jake had tried to play it safe while dealing with these people was the inescapable nature of Jailtown.  They knew where he lived, and he didn’t have a gang to protect him…which of course was the point of the threats right now.

He wished he could have just avoided Jailtown entirely but the easy access to more monster cores by trading with Nag Geru had been too convenient.  The fact Jake could just eat the demon beasts roaming around the darkness meant he had much less dependence on Jailtown than most other prisoners.

“So you’re still trying to get me to join your little group of misfits, huh?” Jake gave Han Ten a cool look and glanced at the bestial man’s lackeys.  Han Wan, the one who’d supposedly hit him with a ki shove, was a demonic cultivator with sharp teeth, red eyes, and open sores all over his body that faintly glowed in the dark.  He was not a Reforged Body cultivator, he did this to himself with his cultivation methods.

The other immortal went by the name Six Shadows.  He was an unorthodox cultivator.  As close as Jake could tell, orthodox cultivators were the folks with clean robes who preached justice and peace but could be absolutely bastards in reality.  Unorthodox cultivators were more similar to orthodox cultivators than the demonic sects, but had looser structure, little regard for morality, and even less regard for appearances.  Six Shadows always wore a dark, shapeless cape with a hood and green energy trailed his feet like dust.

Han Ten crossed his arms.  “Let us speak plainly, you and I.  You know that this is a fight you can’t win, Jake.  Nobody knows what kind of cultivation you practice, but you are definitely not orthodox, not looking like that.  Even if you were, the Enlightened Jail Army doesn’t want you.  So far you have proven your competency and capability, but will that always be enough?  Perhaps your safety is not a concern.  What about that weakling creature you let near you, ‘Slim?’ Or others?”

Jake genuinely wasn’t sure whether the big man was trying to provoke him or not.  Others might assume that Jake cared much more about Slim than he really did, which was cold, but true.  Before coming to the murim world, Jake would definitely never have questioned the intent of Han Ten’s remarks. But now that he’d acclimated, he understood that the Han Ten Group leader might actually be trying to be friendly and serious in his own, assholish way.

As all of this flashed through his mind, he was actually surprised to discover he was wrong about something, though.  The threat against Slim actually had started to piss him off.

Irritation and pure southern American mule headed stubbornness started to bubble up in Jake, all riding on a wave of senioritis.  He was going to be gone in a day or two, one way or another.  What did he give a shit about inter-gang politics in this shithole prison town?

He didn’t have much longer to wait but Jake was tired of laying low.  Maybe he could afford to burn some bridges.  Internally, he winced.  Deep down, he knew jumping the gun was dumb, but he could already tell he’d made up his mind and he just couldn’t seem to help himself for some reason.  Not only that, as he glared at Han Ten with his outward feline appearance, probably from Reforged Body changes, he finally realized something important.

Holy shit, that’s right!  I look like a fucking monster, just like this guy!  They probably all think I’m some sort of wigged out Reforged Body cultivator!

Jake matched Han Ten’s toothy grin with one of his own.  “Look here, asshole.  I’m sick of your shit.  Tired of you harassing me all the time.  Maybe you think you’re hot shit in this podunk prison, but you’re just, what, a First Foundation Pillar, barely even a Reforged Body?

“Let me make this super, super fucking clear to you, you frog in a well piece of garbage.  I don’t want to join your merry band of retards, and I will destroy anyone who fucks with me.  That means directly or indirectly.  I’m in a bad mood and if you keep pushing this shit I’ll rip off your dick and a shove it down your throat.”

By this point, the little confrontation had gathered an audience.  Prisoners stood around in strategic shadows, or looking around corners.  Even the Enlightened Jail Army people were hanging back.

Han Ten had a reputation but so did Jake.  His appearance was unsettling to a lot of them, too, he knew.  He didn’t blame them.

Jake’s words still rang as nobody moved.  Nobody had challenged Han Ten this openly in a long time and Jake knew his insults were a bit…spicier than the locals were probably used ot.

Finally, Han Ten quietly asked, “Do you have a death wish, Jake?”

“I don’t know, do you?  You keep making it clear you know where I live, but the same goes for you, you furry fuck.”  Jake made an obscene hand and arm gesture.  “I’m sick of your shit.  From now on, every time you threaten me or harass me, I’m going to kill one of your little drones that follow you around.”

Living in the Murim world had changed Jake the same way his time in Ahriman’s domain had.

Silence fell again.  Reality returned and Jake gritted his teeth.  Maybe this had been boiling under the skin for years.  Probably.  This was terrible timing to throw down the gauntlet, though.  At least he wasn’t entirely unprepared.  Even though they were untested, he did have Veil Piercing Pheonix Eyes and Phoenix Piercing Talon.  But he had one more trump card, too.

Han Ten must have sensed something about that.  He tensed a few times like he was going to give an order or even do something violent himself, but then visibly relaxed.  “Fine, have it your way, Jake.  I was willing to accept you despite your visage, mysterious past, and bad personality.  But know this, entry to the Han Ten Group is forever closed to you!  We will all consider you an enemy from this day forth!”

“Yeah, go fuck yourself.  You’re already enemies with the other gangs anyway.  I have stuff to do, so we need to end on this happy note.  Nice chat.  See you around.”  Jake turned and waved, sauntering off to the exit he’d been heading to before.  Despite his outwardly carefree actions, he had all his senses dialed up all the way, ready on a moment’s notice to use his trump card.

He was almost surprised when nothing happened.  Han Ten continued to stare.  Jake didn’t relax, though.  As soon as he was completely out of sight he picked up the pace.  The odds of Han Ten sending someone after him or even coming himself were probably pretty high now.  Jake had openly challenged him, made him lose face, and even done it in a way he’d lose even more face by immediately reacting.

“That was dumb, Jake,” he whispered to himself, but he couldn’t help smiling.  He really hated bullies.  His time in the Murim world so far had just made the feeling stronger, too.

Now his time concerns had become a lot more pressing.

“Oh well, I don’t regret it,” he said to himself.

The confrontation had served to reboot his mind after his enlightenment experience.  Now he was using thinking of ways to apply his new abilities in practical ways.  After extending his senses to make sure he wasn’t being followed, at least not right now, he exhaled, centered himself, closed his eyes and reopened them while applying Veil Piercing Phoenix Eyes.

His steps faltered and he stopped.  Even with his extremely low level of mastery, and even though he was barely touching the new Dao, he felt overwhelmed with information. It took a few minutes of slowly centering himself before he could truly see again.  After he finally achieved a new, augmented form of sight, he turned it off.  He was pretty sure he could get the sight back much more quickly if he tried again, and he’d seen enough.

Power was subtly laced through the rocky walls and ceilings like capillaries.  This was truly Lady Brima’s domain.  Now Jake was even more sure the Web Burrows were more than just a prison.  The warden never showed herself, but she must know almost everything that happened in her domain.

Jake started moving again and thought about the Phoenix Piercing Talon.  In some ways, the Phoenix Piercing Talon was even more mysterious than the Veil Piercing Phoenix eyes.  Even with the surface level enlightenment he’d achieved, he knew there was more than one way to use it.  One way was fairly straightforward, though.

He curled up his fingers, laying his single, long claw on each pinky finger against the inside of his wrist.  Then he extended his pointer finger and concentrated.

Unlike Mercurial Lunar Dao Polishing, Phoenix Piercing Talon was not truly a technique, and Jake was not blocked from using it in the Web  Burrows.  Phoenix Piercing Talon should also be able to replicate some of the same effects as Lunar Dao Polishing. Should.

Jake focused in a new way, spinning his cultivation base as fast as he could through the suppression of the Web Burrows.  He moved energy from his dantian to the top of his head, then let it descend down to his chest before moving it through his arm.  His focus moved to his finger as he jabbed forward, stabbing it into the stone wall like it was made of foam.  Resistance kicked in right before his finger stopped.  A small cloud of dust and burning smell surrounded Jake.

He blinked and smiled.  “Not bad for a first try,” he said.

Then after one more check to make sure he was alone, he decided to use a little bit of his precious energy to move faster. It was worth the risk since there was a good chance he would be followed.

This was his greatest trump card, the ace he’d kept secret and had saved his bacon several times over the last few years.  Three years into his imprisonment, he’d…found a new, deeper understanding for flash step.  It wasn’t at the same level as the enlightenment of two pieces of a Great Phoenix dao he’d just achieved, not even close.  Flash step was just a technique, and a simple one at that.

But now, flash step was something more for Jake.  He could flash step as naturally as breathing, like it was part of him.  And for some reason, his access to this technique, even though it was a movement technique, was not blocked for him anymore.

Jake flash stepped down a straight section of tunnel, trying to make back lost time.  His usage of the ability barely burned any chi at all.

He wasn’t sure if his next gamble was going to pay off, but he’d been honest with himself a while ago.  He needed to satisfy his curiosity of what he might find at his next destination.  Also, if he didn’t try to take advantage of every oddity he’d discovered deep in the mines before leaving this place, he had a feeling he’d regret it.