Chapter 27 - Negotiations

"You... H-How do you know that?" asks the fox, its voice stammering from the fear that was starting to grip him from within.

The man's lips twitch slightly, seemingly finding the fox's reaction hilarious.

"Well, I don't. Or rather, I didn't," he says while shaking his head.

'Fuck.'

The fox instantly regrets how impulsive he was in his response. He had just given away the information the man wanted for free. How could he have been so stupid? After everything he had gone through, he was still the same naive foolish boy that left the sect running away from his problems.

He hadn't grown at all.

Well, saying that Lao (the fox) hadn't grown at all would be a lie. After dealing with what the world had to offer for so long, he certainly couldn't be called naive anymore. He wouldn't have survived as long as he did if he was.

However, unfortunately for him, he wasn't dealing with an ordinary man. Anyone else would have fared just as poorly if confronted with him; that's just how dangerous he was.

Unfortunately, this sort of silver lining did nothing to improve the fox's mood.

The young man remains silent for a while after his initial response. Maybe it was to give the fox time to compose himself, maybe it was to enjoy watching the fox squirm in regret from its mistake.

Regardless of his intent, he only continued speaking after a full minute had elapsed.

"Even if it was one of the possible theories I had in my mind, to see it actually come to fruition is quite the experience. Such a convenient resolution... It seems like we're connected by a strange strand of fate, you and me."

A shiver runs through the fox's spine. It wasn't a pleasant thought in the slightest.

"So, what do you suppose we should take from this, my friend? I have to say that, while curious, this situation does frustrate me quite a bit. You see, I don't find it to my liking whenever my path is predetermined. Whenever my choices are irrelevant and my life is rigged from the start.

It leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Be it someone using me as an unknowing pawn in some sort of scheme, or fate pulling my strings along to fulfill some sort of destiny.

I decide my fate with my own actions, and I won't allow anything or anyone to decide my destiny for me.

So, imagine my feelings right now when confronted with this situation. You can probably relate, right? That feeling of wanting to ruin whatever plan fate had laid out for you out of spite. To just throw a massive wrench in the middle of whatever plan was prepared for you."

A sharp killing intent starts flowing from the man's body.

'Throw a wrench in fate? He doesn't mean killing me, right?'

Looking at the bloodlust emanating from his eyes, though, any wishful thinking regarding the issue evaporated instantly.

'He's definitely threatening to kill me.'

Was this the end? Was he going to die, permanently this time?

Wait, why was he giving up already?

'Calm down and analyze the situation in front of you. If he simply wanted to kill me, he would have done it already. He doesn't need more than a finger to end my life; there would be no point in entertaining me this long.

Even after he threatened to kill me, he hasn't moved an inch. He simply stood his ground, releasing his bloodlust.

That means he's looking for something else. I don't doubt that his threat to kill me is sincere. I understand his predicament quite well, in fact. Leaving me alive would certainly cause him troubles later on. If I ever got strong enough, I would certainly chase him down and try to get my body back.

So, for him to not have killed me thus far means he's actually trying to weigh the pros and cons between killing me or leaving me alive.

He's giving me a chance to prove my worth to him. To prove that whatever danger I might pose to him in the future would be more than compensated by the potential value I could provide him with.'

A long sigh escapes the fox's lips. He now understood exactly what he needed to do.

'Still, what a needlessly long-winded way of doing things. Does he really expect anyone to arrive at his intentions in the situation he put me in? Anyone else would be completely overwhelmed by the fear of death to even be able to think properly.

At that point, it would simply be better to kill them outright and just waste less time with this game of his.

The fox might have had a point when he perceived the whole situation as pointless. However, for Lao (Arthur), this little game he prepared allowed him to learn two very important details. The first one was to find out what sort of personality the person behind the fox mask had. How it reacted under pressure.

The second objective came as a consequence of the first. And that was, based on his assessment of the fox's personality, he would confirm whether or not the fox was actually Lao (former) or someone else.

Indeed, he was still not 100% convinced that the fox was Lao (former). After all, the chances of that were astronomically low. With this test, however, he would be almost entirely convinced of the fact.

He obviously couldn't outright ask the fox about things only Lao would know. There were several factors that might lead to the fox either lying or not speaking. And if the fox wasn't Lao, but someone close to him? He might know the questions he asked it by chance and answer them correctly.

No. If he wanted to make sure of Lao's identity, he had to make it less conspicuous. He had to make sure the fox didn't catch on to his plan.

Based on his expectations, if the fox was indeed Lao (former), he would be able to overcome his nerves and immediately try to list the number of ways he could be useful to him if his life was spared. Lao (former) had gone through many life-and-death encounters where he only managed to keep his life due to his sharp wit and quick tongue.

And so, this time should be no different. Even if this situation was slightly more unusual than his other experiences, his cockroach instinct should still activate to guide him out of danger. It was something ingrained in him and would materialize, whether he was aware of it or not.

The fox had no idea of the plan that had been laid out before him, simply running his brain at max capacity to try and find a way to get out of the current predicament.

Once he reaches a satisfying conclusion, he looks up, staring back at the man. He was still in the same place he had been after he finished his speech, not having moved an inch.

The fox jumps up. It lands on a branch of a nearby tree. For the first time, he was the one looking down on the man, not the other way around.

He puffs up his chest as much as possible and makes the most convincing grin he can muster.

"I understand your feelings very well, my friend. The feeling of having your every decision controlled by factors you have no control over is something I have experienced before myself and vowed to never experience again," says the fox in response.

"Oh really? And how do you suppose we solve this situation?" asks the man in return, his bloodlust lowering slightly.

"That's what I've been thinking about all this time.

One way I'm sure you've already considered would be to end the life of one of us. I wouldn't even begin to think that, based on our circumstances, the one who would take the fall would be none other than me.

With nothing more than a flick of a finger, you'd be more than capable of ending my life and freeing yourself from these fateful ties.

However, I wouldn't be so sure that would be the correct option."

"Oh really, and why is that?" questions the man.

"Well, what if you killing me was exactly what had been decided by fate? What if our paths crossed specifically for you to end my life? Have you considered that? Wouldn't you be playing right into fate's hands?" the fox questions in return.

"Hmm, so that's the angle you're going for," he laughs.

"But there's a very severe problem with that theory of yours, isn't there? How can you be sure of fate's intentions? Yes, fate could have intended for me to kill you. But it could also very well have intended for me to spare you. Why is one option more worthy of consideration?

As far as we know, aren't the chances of either option being true the same?" the man continues his interrogation.

The fox tries its hardest not to let out a smile.

'Good, so far this has been going smoothly. Just a little more and I'll be able to convince him.'

"Indeed, what you say is correct. But if you think about it logically, if your intent is to defy fate, your best bet is to leave me alive.

Let's weigh both your options right now.

If you kill me right now, that decision is final. You will never be able to overturn it. And so, if that's what fate had planned for you, you will have followed all of fate's whims.

Sure, it's also possible that you killing me was not what fate decided, thus, making your action of killing me defying fate. But how can you be sure about it? Can you, with the information you have right now, say for certain that killing me is the correct option here?

At best, you'll have a 50% chance of getting your gamble correct. And if you miss that gamble, you'll never be able to undo your mistake.

However, by letting me live, this problem doesn't occur. Because if you ever find out that the correct choice for you, who is intent on defying fate, is killing me, then you can simply follow through with that when you have that information.

However, if the correct choice was leaving me alive, you will still be able to defy fate because you didn't kill me.

Basically, you have no chance of failing," smugly replies the fox.

The man laughs once again.

"Indeed, a most interesting proposal. There's just a tiny issue.

If I let you go right now, I probably will never be able to find you again. So how do you suppose I should go about correcting my mistake then?

Not only that, but I'm sure you're aware of how dangerous you are to me, right? The former owner of this body. Leaving you to your own devices and allowing you to roam free is just asking to get my back stabbed as soon as you get the chance.

You're not going to pretend that you won't ever try to get your body back, right? You're probably thinking of ways to do so right now.

So, what do I gain exactly from letting you live? Let me tell you that, following fate's whims does infuriate me, I would gladly follow them if it meant preserving my life. So why should I allow you to run free?"

A soft sigh escapes the fox's lips.

'In the end, it's come to this after all. It's not ideal, but at this point I don't have much of a choice.'

It jumps down from the tree.