Chapter 20: 53-57
Chapter 53-Serpent's Treasure 5
After their argument, Ling Qi followed Bai Meizhen silently up the steep path that lead to the top of the ridge, stewing on her thoughts. She had a feeling that she had poked something raw with her words, something that had been dredged up by the ambush the other girl had suffered and whatever words her mimic had spoken.
"Mountainroot Bats are known for their resilience and their habit of nesting in large broods." Bai Meizhen's calm and even voice reached her as they climbed the ridge. "They lack many of the more esoteric abilities that many species of bat spirits possess, but instead, they have very high physical power and durability for grade one beasts in addition to the agility and perceptive capability. The more powerful second grade specimens are capable of shattering stone with directed bursts of thunder qi."
Ling Qi allowed her worries over the other girl's state of mind to fade for now to focus on the upcoming fight.
"That sounds dangerous," Ling Qi said. "Do you know how many are ahead?"
"At least a dozen lesser beasts," Bai Meizhen replied as they reached the top of the waterfall. A wide gallery lay ahead, stretching hundreds of meters into the distance. "I am uncertain, however, if we are meant to simply bypass the creatures and find an exit or slay them all. I do not know the minds of the elders in this, but I imagine some hidden prize lies in the cavern ahead given the previous tests."
Ling Qi eyed the cavern thoughtfully. There were many pillars and stalactites in the gallery ahead, and she could see a few fluttering shapes among them. There was also an eye-watering scent arising from the thick layer of whitish gray gunk splattered in patches on the floor. She could not see the far wall or any exits from where they stood.
"Let's just head in then. It shouldn't be any trouble for the two of us, right?" Ling Qi said with confidence she didn't fully feel. Her flute was still in her hand, and she found herself toying with it as she observed the fluttering shapes in the distance. "Do we even know if they'll attack us?"
"It is likely. Look at the droppings on the ground," Meizhen replied with some distaste. "This is their lair, and they are territorial beasts." She flicked her wrist and her weapon, that odd collection of metal ribbons attached to a hilt, appeared in her hand. She still sounded stiff to Ling Qi, but the other girl was focused on the task ahead now.
'Disgusting things,' Cui grumbled. 'Leaving stinking messes everywhere. Sister Meizhen had better repay Cui for this.' Despite the serpent's irritable words, Cui didn't hesitate to follow Bai Meizhen into the cave alongside Ling Qi.
"I'll catch you a rabbit or something myself if we get through this alright," Ling Qi muttered, drawing an approving hiss from the serpent. "Should I start playing? No reason to make it easy for them to target us."
Bai Meizhen paused then nodded sharply. "You can include me in the effect if I recall so please do so - unless your mist dissipates with time?"
"Not unless I stop playing," Ling Qi replied before raising her flute to her lips. "Do we have a plan?"
"We comb the chamber for exits and potential points of interest," Bai Meizhen said simply. "I will counter attacks upon us while you conceal our exact location. Grade one beasts are not particularly intelligent. Be wary if you spy the approach of a larger bat with lighter markings."
Bai Meizhen wasn't one for complicated plans, it seemed. It was interesting that for all of her friend's apparently high rank… Meizhen was a pretty blunt girl. Ling Qi began to play as they walked, the haunting melody rolling out along with the mist and echoing from the distant walls.
Beside her, streamers of moisture began to condense out of her mist, shaping the beginnings of Meizhen's mantle of dark water. Above and ahead, Ling Qi heard high, angry screeches that made her ears ring uncomfortably. She tensed, readying her qi to activate her defensive shadow technique at a moment's notice.
They began with a simple crisscross search of the cavern, and at first, they found themselves unmolested as they investigated. The peace was broken when a shadow dived toward them from the ceiling, encased in a faint glow of gray qi.
Ling Qi quickly stepped aside, dancing away from Meizhen's side. The other girl did the same, seemingly flowing to the side on a carpet of shadow. The bat completely missed her, and Meizhen's coiling weapon rose, carving through the creature's shell of qi and drawing a spray of blood. The diving bat let out a pained shriek as it beat its wings, trying to regain altitude, but the sound was cut off near instantly as Cui struck, fangs digging deeply into its side.
The flying beast spasmed violently and dropped to the ground with a meaty thump, no longer able to stay airborne with the serpent's venom pumped into its veins. Ling Qi shared a brief look with her companion before turning her eyes skyward where dark shapes were gathering. There were more than the dozen Meizhen had predicted, although how many more, Ling Qi could not say.
Ling Qi switched tunes as more bats began to dive, drawing on the darker song of Dissonance to cause the mist to roil with dark constructs. She was loath to hide and allow Meizhen to suffer all of the attacks so she would focus on evading and continuing to play her song.
The next few seconds were chaotic. High-pitched squeaks that made her ears ring blasted away any other sound, and her mist was full of black furred bodies and flapping wings. She twisted her body, spinning out of the way of one clawing, biting creature after another, the wind of their passage ruffling her gown. She barely managed to avoid all the attacks and even felt several strands of her hair violently yanked out when her trailing locks were caught by the claws of one of the beasts.
Ling Qi didn't falter though, keeping up her tune as her constructs manifested as misty twins to her attackers, clawing and biting at the bats as they worked their wings to ascend back up for another dive. Some ten meters away, Bai Meizhen made her dodges look clumsy, seeming to barely move to avoid the enraged spirit beasts' attacks and punishing their failure to hit her with counterattacks from the coiling metal ribbons of her weapon. Another bat fell, screaming as Cui's caustic venom burned through the webbing of its wing.
Ling Qi felt the vibrations in the air and immediately leapt backward, trailing streamers of mist and shadow as she felt her body vanish between one place and the next. The stone she had been standing on exploded, shards of stone blasting outward as the stone spiderwebbed under the force of the attack; she felt pebbles pelt her and a few sharper ones ripped the sleeves of her gown, but she had escaped unharmed.
"There is a second elder enhancing the other beasts!" Meizhen's words cut through the noise and music like the crack of a whip, and Ling Qi found that there were indeed two, much larger shadows circling the ceiling, well above her mist. She looked back down in time to see Meizhen's mantle of water drop away, and for a moment, she wondered if the girl had been hit, disrupting her technique.
That proved wrong, of course, as the water seemed to merge with Meizhen's shadow and flow up her legs and gown, turning her lower body inky black. She saw her friend's legs flex, bending as if preparing for a leap… and then the gathered inky liquid exploded, launching Meizhen upward and trailing the suddenly ascending girl like the tail of a serpent.
Lesser bats scattered in her wake. Bai Meizhen's glittering silver weapon snapped out, glowing with sickly green qi to rake across the face of one of the Elder Bats. Ling Qi had no time to further focus on that fight because an agitated swarm of bats were still flying through her mist, their tough hides ignoring the claws of her shadowy constructs. Still, the mist seemed to be making them slower, and she managed to avoid their claws and teeth for the most part, suffering only a single bloody scratch along her arm that she felt loath to expend the qi to deflect.
Honestly, Ling Qi was reluctant to expend any further qi at all. She caught the second of the elder bats chasing Meizhen down into her mist as the girl fell back to earth though so she used the opportunity to strike, binding its senses with confusion to prevent it from flying out of range again.
One bat after another was falling to Cui, whether from suffering a fatal bite or from their flesh running like wax from her caustic spit. Ling Qi began to lose track of individual actions after that, acting on instinct to continue her song and dodge attacks. She could recall flashes of the battle - Meizhen's hair flying out in a fan behind her as an elder bat's screech erupted point blank in her face and the way blood had erupted from the beast's mouth moments later as Cui's jaw clamped on its throat. She remembered suffering a half-dozen close calls from snapping teeth and grasping claws and crushing the skull of a wounded bat under her heel when the bat had snapped at her foot in passing.
Eventually, the scrum ended; the bats which still lived scattered to the far reaches of the cavern. Around Ling Qi, over a dozen dead spirit bats lay on the ground, bleeding sluggishly from many wounds. They had won, and it hadn't even been that hard.
Bai Meizhen looked regal and untouched, save for the blood staining her sleeves, as she peered into the air for further targets.
'They flee us. Sister, shall we feast in victory?' Cui crowed, wound into a tight coil to the Meizhen's left, her mental voice smug and arrogant.
Meizhen glanced at Ling Qi, relaxing from her combat stance, and then back to Cui. "You may snack later, Cui. We are not done yet," she said evenly, even as she gestured with her free hand. A handful of the corpses vanished, dissolving into mist and draining into a narrow platinum band that adorned the pale girl's finger. "Ling Qi, are you prepared to continue?"
Ling Qi looked around. Reasonably satisfied that the bats would not return, she allowed her melody to cease and lowered her flute.
"I'm fine. Nothing more than a scratch," she answered. Ling Qi grimaced at the feeling of something warm and sticky coating her bare foot and the sweat matting her hair to her neck. "Well, I'll need a bath, but that can come later. Do you have room to store all of these? My ring is full, and I don't think we want to stand here and harvest cores." Particularly since she wasn't much good at it. She was lucky the worm's core had been obvious.
"The mouse presumes too much, thinking to steal the best bites of Cui's feast," the serpent grumbled at her, giving her a reproachful flick of the tongue. Meizhen, on the other hand, regarded her with pursed lips but nodded.
"Do not be greedy, cousin. If I let you eat all of this, you would grow fat and sluggish for months," she teased. The serpent whipped around to stare at her relative with affronted outrage. Meizhen extended her hand, and soon, the ground was clear of all but streaks of blood and cracked stone. "Come. We may count our spoils later. I tire of this place."
Ling Qi sighed and hurried to follow her. Meizhen seemed less tense now, but her tone was still cold and distant. She kept her thoughts to herself, ignoring the slight stinging of the cut on her arm as they resumed searching the cavern. Frustratingly, they found nothing but bat droppings and other refuse despite scouring the cavern from end to end. No formations, no doors, not even a stray red stone.
They had only one portion of the cave remaining to explore. At the far end, it narrowed considerably, the ceiling rapidly sloping down until it was barely fifteen meters above the ground. The path ahead split around a massive outcropping of black stone, blocking sight of whatever lay beyond. Ling Qi glanced from one path to the other, but neither appeared to have any prize. It looked like both paths lead to the same place, but…
"Stop," Bai Meizhen said from beside her, halting as she narrowed her eyes at the path ahead. "It seems I was in error. The bats were merely a distraction. Show yourself."
Ling Qi spared a look at the serious expression on her friend's face before she turned her full attention to the path ahead, clutching her flute tightly. What did Meizhen mean? Ling Qi squinted, trying to see what had alerted Meizhen… and then, she saw. The great mass of rock in the middle of the path was not completely still, and its edges not perfectly lined up with the floor. The movement was almost imperceptible, but it rose and fell slightly as she watched.
'The meals will not deliver themselves this year.' Ling Qi startled as a deep rumbling voice that reminded her of fires churning deep under the earth sounded in her thoughts. The entire rock formation, some fifteen meters across, shifted, rising upward to scrape the low ceiling. A blunt, reptilian head emerged from the darkness, pushing out of a recess in the stone. Veins of dull red pulsed between black scales, and eyes that were little more than balls of white hot fire peered out from deeply recessed sockets. On each of its four trunk-like legs, Ling Qi could see gleaming shackles of red hot steel, rooted into the stone below by metal spikes covered from end to end in fiercely glowing formation characters.
It was a massive tortoise with a shell of volcanic stone. Steam puffed steadily from its beaked mouth with each breath. Ling Qi only grew more worried when saw a flicker of hesitation on Meizhen's features.
As the silence stretched on, the massive beast let out a rumbling snort that sent their gowns and hair fluttering out behind them. 'This damned binding…' it growled. 'You have a choice, children. One may pass, and the other may return to the entrance. Choose.'
Bai Meizhen's expression tightened, but it was Ling Qi who spoke up first. "How do we know this isn't just another test? Or a trick to split us up?"
The massive tortoise exhaled, and Ling Qi's hair billowed backward, her eyes watering as she was engulfed in a cloud of steam. 'If I could kill you, you would be dead, child. The child of deep waters understands.'
"That is a fifth grade beast," Meizhen said quietly. "A Volcanic Tyrant Tortoise. I am surprised that such a thing would be left in this place. Yet its Qi feels far too weak." Meizhen directed her next words at the tortoise, "You are the source of energy for the mountain's formations, are you not?"
'If you think me weak, you may both try to pass.' The tortoise's veins of fire flared brightly. 'I have no patience to prattle. Make your choice.'
Ling Qi eyed the monstrous beast warily. This didn't seem right. "I don't trust it. Why would the elders set up a test that requires two people working together just to turn them against each other at the end?"
'I know not why you apes do what you do. Know that I will eat you both should you both attempt to pass or attack. I am bound to return the remaining disciple safely otherwise.'
"...I do not believe he is lying," Meizhen said slowly. "You see, those arrays? They bind against treachery?"
Ling Qi squinted at the white hot characters her friend was pointing too... she couldn't decipher them. Though she didn't trust it, if Meizhen believed its words, then the decision was easy. She had come to this place for Meizhen after all.
"If you think this isn't a trap, I'll go back then, Bai Meizhen," Ling Qi said easily, turning slightly to face her friend while keeping a wary eye on the shackled spirit.
Bai Meizhen blinked, shaken from her thoughts. "As quickly and simply as that?" Meizhen asked, a little bemused. "You give up advantage far too easily, Ling Qi." The pale girl gave Ling Qi a look tinged with frustration.
Ling Qi rolled her eyes. "Don't start with that. I came here for you. You're the only reason I'm here, and you've helped me out since day one. What sort of worthless friend would I be if I didn't help you now that I can?" The kind of 'friend' she was when she lived in the gutter, scrabbling for scraps. She didn't want to be that kind of person anymore. There was no real freedom in that, just mindless survival.
"I am sorry for upsetting you earlier," Ling Qi added in a quieter voice. "But I don't want that to change anything between us."
Meizhen stared silently at her before pulling her eyes away. "...Your gratitude is noted," she said with a hint of awkwardness. "I should not have reacted in such a vulgar fashion either. Thank you, Ling Qi."
'How wonderful,' the massive tortoise rumbled dryly. "How touching. Get on with it, will you? I have no desire to watch you apes act out a drama before my eyes.'
Ling Qi shot the beast a dirty look but huffed in agreement. "He's got a point. We can talk over tea later if you would like. I picked up an art earlier in the cave that I can show you." The jade slip hadn't had the fragile, temporary feel that the archive ones had.
Meizhen made a quiet sound that might have been mistaken for a laugh if she hadn't covered her mouth with her sleeve. "Of course. I retrieved some rather potent medicines. We can work out the details of exchange after the task is finished." She turned to face the tortoise. "I will proceed then, Spirit, with your permission. What need I do?"
The glowing reptile let out another burst of steam from its maw and made a gesture remarkably like a shrug with its limited mobility. "Walk past me, child. I will send the other one back when you have passed the formation line at the back of the cave."
Bai Meizhen nodded sharply and stepped forward, Cui slithering along in her wake. Ling Qi only now noticed the silent awe the serpent was regarding the larger beast with. Ling Qi tensed as she watched her friend walk closer to the spirit, ready to fling a knife and at least distract the thing if she needed to, but her worry was for naught. Meizhen disappeared around the thing's shell, pausing only to give her one final look.
Some time later, Ling Qi was shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, waiting for the tortoise to stop staring at her. She was beginning to feel unnerved under its unblinking, fiery gaze. "So… when do I go back?" she finally asked, screwing up her courage to speak.
'When I feel like it,' the tortoise grumbled. 'Ape, what reason did you really have for coming here? I have been chained in this pit for a hundred years, since you lot trapped us. I've seen plenty of you Empire apes pass me by. You're not that serpent child's lackey.'
Ling Qi blinked, surprised at the thing's questioning. She crossed her arms, frowning at it. "You heard me. She's my friend; I'm repaying her earlier kindness." She hunched her shoulders at the pressure of the thing's attention, its clear dissatisfaction with her response forcing her next words past her lips. "... I'm not lying. I came here for her. I'm glad I benefited as well, but I want to be a little less selfish. What's wrong with that?"
'Naive,' the tortoise scoffed. 'The Empire will crush that out of you if it doesn't crush you. You'll die forgotten with that kind of attitude.'
"Everyone dies, and I'm not sure if I care about being forgotten," Ling Qi responded quietly. "I'd rather not die for a long time… but I won't let fear chain me down anymore either." She knew what it was like to be on the edge of death; she had spent half of her admittedly short life making decisions solely based on survival. She didn't want to do that anymore.
'Fool,' the tortoise repeated. 'Ape, show me the fragments of Kohatu's core.'
"Who?" Ling Qi asked carefully. She didn't recognize the word it had impressed on her mind, but it had the feel of a name. She didn't want to admit to anything, although she could guess what the beast was referring to. "Please send me back now."
The tortoise blasted her with uncomfortably hot steam. 'Do not try my patience. You know what I speak of. Show them to me!'
Ling Qi shuddered under the weight of its ire. Hastily, she pulled the core fragments from her ring even as the shackles around the tortoise's legs flared with icy light, sending frost crawling over its scales. It hurt to think of losing some of her gains, but her life was more valuable.
"H-here!" Ling Qi held out the faintly pulsing lumps of organic crystal, still wet with the fluids of the corpse she had wrenched it from.
The crushing weight on her shoulders lessened, and the tortoise eyed her with irritation. 'Impudent child,' it grumbled. "This is as much for your benefit as mine.'
The tortoise's fiery gaze turned to the fragments in her hand. Its eyes dimmed, the light from between its scales almost fading entirely. The creature pushed its head further out of its shell, closing the distance even as Ling Qi found herself unable to move, legs locked in place. She distantly heard a sound like stone shattering and saw ice begin to crawl up over the tortoise's shell and cracks appear in its frozen legs, seeping sluggish black blood. Unfathomable heat from its breath bathed her face before the point of its beak touched the fragments in her hands. A bright flash burned away her sight.
When her vision returned, watery and full of spots, she saw the tortoise settling back into its pit, the frost on its body slowly retreating. In her hands lay a stretched oval shape, pitch black like a lump of obsidian shot through with veins of dark green. Its surface felt like tough old leather, and its size equal to both of her fists held together. She looked back up from the egg to the now wounded spirit beast, still blinking the spots from her vision.
'Something of us will leave this damned place,' the tortoise rumbled tiredly. 'Begone, child.'
Ling Qi had no time to respond before characters flared brightly into existence around her, and the cave vanished.
When her senses returned, Ling Qi found herself standing before the great bronze doors in the cavern, holding an uncomfortably hot egg in her hands. She stared blankly down at it. Why had it…? She didn't really understand everything that had just transpired, but she thought that this was probably a good thing. She had been thinking about binding a spirit for some time now.
Well. Assuming that whatever came out of this egg was within her ability to bind anyway or that the egg hatched in any kind of reasonable time frame. For all she knew, it would stay an egg for the next decade.
Given that the doors were still firmly shut though and there was no sign of Meizhen, it seemed that she was going to be waiting here for awhile. Ling Qi carefully held the egg against her chest. She didn't want to risk dropping it after all. Cradling the egg, Ling Qi found a dry place to sit down and meditate while she waited.
She spent the better part of an hour in quiet contemplation of her experiences down in the bowels of the mountain until the sound of the doors behind her slowly opening roused her from her reverie. She turned her head to see Meizhen walking out, a thoughtful expression on her face. Cui was back in her smaller form, coiled around the girl's neck like an emerald choker.
"How did it go?" Ling Qi asked, drawing her friend's attention. "No trouble I hope?"
"It was… thought provoking," Bai Meizhen responded quietly, sounding a little drained and looking it too with the way her gaze rested on the floor. "It would seem that I have acquired one month of personal lessons from Elder Ying."
Ling Qi furrowed her brows. "Who?"
Bai Meizhen's expression grew faintly exasperated as she continued to contemplate the floor. "... Of course. How foolish of me." Meizhen sighed, shaking her head, but she didn't seem particularly put out. "There are other elders beyond the three who have interacted with us this year, Ling Qi. Elder Ying is charged with overseeing the defenses of the Outer Sect and the mortal region below. She is an… interesting woman," Meizhen explained, sounding a little unsure at the end.
Ling Qi hummed thoughtfully. Lessons with an Elder were a real prize. She supposed it also made sense that there were more than three elders in a sect. "Well, remind me to ask about the rest of them later. Ready to go home then?" she asked cheerfully, standing up carefully with the egg cradled under one arm.
"Yes, I think-" Bai Meizhen finally turned to actually look at her. "... Ling Qi, is that what I think it is?" she asked, her eyebrows rising, a note of bewilderment in her voice.
Ling Qi rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Look. I don't understand why the turtle got chatty and gave me an egg," she said defensively.
"The…" Bai Meizhen rubbed her forehead, a pained expression crossing her face. "I am glad you did not call it that to its face," she said faintly. "But still, only you, Ling Qi. Your fortune is inexplicable."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Ling Qi murmured uncomfortably.
"Let us… simply go home." Meizhen sighed, shaking her head again. Ling Qi was glad to see the coldness the girl had been showing earlier had faded - at least for the moment. She followed her friend out of the cave, ready to face a new day.
Chapter 54-Cooperation 1
"Let's take a break, Li Suyin," Ling Qi said, releasing her friend from the hold she had pulled her into when Suyin overextended. The two of them had been training for a couple hours at this point, and even Ling Qi had begun to sweat a bit.
Li Suyin panted for breath, red-faced from exertion as she rubbed her throat, likely sore from Ling Qi's grab. "I'm sorry. I should be better by now," she said as she tried to catch her breath.
"You're doing fine." Ling Qi sighed. It was just the two of them at the vent. Bai Meizhen was at her new lessons with Elder Ying, and Su Ling was off gathering materials for some project of hers. "You surprised me with that wood art. When did you get that?"
"I-I did a few missions for the sect last week." Li Suyin stumbled over her words as she caught her breath, dropping to the ground to begin meditating and recovering her qi. "I thought if I could take an attack, I could counter afterward."
Ling Qi rubbed the knuckles on her right hand; she had scraped them pretty raw against the ridges of bark that the wood art's technique had formed over her friend's forearm. That had been the only time that Suyin had any success in jabbing her with those steel needles she had begun playing with too.
"That's not a bad idea. Are you planning to use poison with those little things? I don't really see them being much use otherwise." Ling Qi left unsaid that in a real fight, Suyin only needed to land a touch to do some real damage with her family's art.
The blue-haired girl cast a frustrated look at the gleaming needles in the new pouch at her belt. "No, not poison." She narrowed her single eye at the implements. "I just… need to improve my precision."
Ling Qi furrowed her brow as she sat down in the grass across from the other girl. She had to be careful not to have her dress ride up, but she was getting good at that. She still needed new shoes though.
"Like acupuncture or something?" Ling Qi asked, suddenly remembering why the needles had looked familiar. She had stolen a set to fence when she was ten.
"In a way," Li Suyin said uncomfortably. "If I use my qi correctly and hit the right place, I can disrupt your qi flow. It would have caused minor muscle spasms in your arm for half a minute or so if it had worked." She let out a tired breath. "I'm still not good enough though."
"You're doing fine," Ling Qi replied firmly. "Don't give yourself unreasonable expectations." She winced as Li Suyin's shoulders slumped. Ling Qi supposed that was a pretty rude thing for her to say.
"Anyway," Ling Qi bulled forward, coughing into her hand. "Do you know anything about formations? Beyond what Elder Su taught us in class, I mean."
Li Suyin's expression grew briefly bewildered at the sudden change in subject. "Um, a little. I have not really had the time to study them beyond a few basic alarm and spirit wards for home."
"I might have to ask you about those," Ling Qi mused, briefly diverted at the idea. "I was hoping you could help me study some formations I have on hand. I thought working on them together would be a good use of our downtime. You're better at this kind of thing than I am."
"Oh! Of course. I will be happy to help you with anything you need, Ling Qi," Li Suyin said brightly. Ling Qi silently congratulated herself; Suyin hadn't looked so happy in weeks. "I mean - I hope I can help you… I have not had time to study much of late." And just like that, her friend had started to beat herself up again.
"No time like the present," Ling Qi hurried to add, drawing the tokens out of her storage ring where she had placed them in preparation. "So. The tokens are kind of like puzzles so I need your help in figuring out the solution."
The two of them ended up heading back to Su Ling and Li Suyin's hidey hole to study the tokens; Li Suyin apparently had a couple of basic primers on formations among her now somewhat tattered library. Ling Qi wondered how much the primers had cost her mortal family or if Suyin had purchased them herself since coming to the Sect.
Ling Qi probably could have gotten better primers by going to the archive, but that wasn't the point. It was nice to just sit down at Su Ling and Li Suyin's makeshift table in their cave home and study with Li Suyin again, working out the surprisingly complex puzzle on the formation tokens and trading questions with the academic. The fact that between the two of them, they managed to open both remaining tokens and receive the medicinal prizes within was just a bonus really.
Ling Qi was glad to see Li Suyin smiling again by the time they were done. "Thanks for the help, Li Suyin," she said, feeling pretty pleased with herself. "I was worried that was going to take another few weeks to crack open."
"It was no trouble," the blue-haired girl replied happily, sliding the pill bottle she had unlocked over to Ling Qi. "I am glad to have been able to help you with something."
"I'm glad I asked," Ling Qi said, glancing around the little cave. It was still pretty rough, but it looked like the two were beginning to make it comfortable. "How long are you two going to stay out here anyway?" Ling Qi asked. "This place is starting to look nicer, but wouldn't a real house be better?"
Li Suyin's smile faded, and she reached up to toy nervously with her eyepatch. "I… do not know. I think Su Ling might actually prefer staying out here, and I am not certain I disagree," she admitted. "At the very least, I want to challenge that girl before I even consider moving back. Just a few more weeks and I will break through to Yellow Soul. I know it."
"I'll look forward to celebrating your success," Ling Qi said confidently, gathering up her new resources. She might just take the time to ensure Li Suyin got herself a fair fight too. It couldn't hurt to keep an eye on the girl's challenge to make sure no one pulled anything untoward.
With the tokens taken care of, Ling Qi began to focus on cultivation and training; she had broken through to the second realm, but it wasn't enough. If she slowed down, she knew it would make her a target and drag Meizhen down too.
Ling Qi spent much of her mornings with the pale girl, sharing the slip for the Argent Mirror art and practicing the art herself. She enjoyed cultivating it, if only because her stresses and worries seemed less urgent while she was cultivating the tranquil qi of lake and mountain. It put things a little more in perspective. As the days passed and she continued to practice, she felt more sure of herself, more confident in her growing abilities. Constant self-reflection was not entirely positive though as she found herself thinking more and more about her goals… or lack thereof.
Strength and freedom were something to strive toward, but the more she thought about it, the more they seemed empty to her when considered alone. What did she want to achieve with the strength she was gaining? Protecting the handful of people she had become close to, of course, as well as surviving, but these goals were short-term and reactionary. What did she want to do with her life?
LIng Qi couldn't answer that question yet, but somehow, she thought that was fine. She had time now to think and decide for herself. She would train hard at the Sect, fulfill her service to the Empire, and figure things out along the way. She wasn't a mortal anymore, doomed to die after a mere few decades. She had time.
The thought and qi exercises that made up the first level of the art she had found, Argent Mirror, were simple and intuitive. The techniques bolstered spiritual defenses and defended against illusions. Yet when she felt the serene qi of mountain and lake flow through the channels she had opened in her head and spine, Ling Qi was amazed. Her senses were clearer, and the world around her more vibrant than ever. It was as if she had worn a dirty veil over her eyes for all her life, only to finally remove it. With her new senses came a sense for qi and the capability to see the cultivation stage of living things within her range.
Even with spending time on the cultivation of other arts, she soon felt her Argent Foundation settle fully into place as well. Mastery of the last exercise in the Argent Soul scroll opened her further to cultivation, qi seeping into her flesh and bones like a strengthening elixir and thickening the layer of pure energy around her dantian. She had taken the art as far as she could given the information she had.
This, of course, simply meant that it was time to begin working on Eight Phase Ceremony, which proved difficult. The initial exercises required that she practice at night and find a high, isolated place to meditate. Even with the clarity granted by Argent Soul, she found herself unable to even sense the qi of the stars and moon, let alone draw it in and absorb it. She was going to need more time to figure it out.
Luckily, Ling Qi had grown better at managing her time; she now knew just how much time she actually needed to sleep over the course of a week and how much she should cultivate before doing so grew inefficient. She spent a significant amount of her freed-up time to browse the archives for information on Spirit Beasts and how to take care of the young ones.
She had a bit of frustration at first due to her failure to figure out the archive's organization system. Ling Qi ended up poking through all sorts of only tangentially related texts before noticing the helpful - if tiny - signs indicating sections plated to the shelves. Thankfully, the archive was not busy in the dead of night so the only ones who witnessed her awkward wanderings were the bored older disciple reshelving and cleaning and Xuan Shi.
Ling Qi wasn't sure Xuan Shi even noticed. The boy had a table in the corner stacked with dozens of books and scrolls and barely looked up from his manuscripts even when she passed through the nearby shelves. It was weird; the pile wasn't even comprised of formation texts or technique scrolls. She saw a couple of history texts and scholarly treatises, but some of the titles looked like fiction.
She supposed Xuan Shi could do whatever he wanted with Ji Rong's pass so she didn't pay the odd boy any further attention, finding her own table to sit at with a stack of bestiaries and other such texts she had pulled down from the shelves. It was a daunting task, particularly since she wasn't a speed reader, but she wanted to make sure she knew what she was doing before she attempted to hatch the egg.
She spent a few nights like that, studying up on animal care and tortoise species in particular. The Volcanic Tyrant Tortoise was apparently native to the fiery islands of the northern ocean. It only rarely appeared on the mainland so the Sect's information was limited. They were classified as spirits of fire and mountain under the imperial system and were noted as a temperamental and destructive species, prone to a great deal of collateral damage when angered. There was even less information on the care for their young as the creatures rarely bred outside of their home islands, but she did find out that they usually made their nests in lava fields and calderas.
Ling Qi had never imagined that the earth could bleed fire, but apparently, that was possible in those distant lands. She didn't think she could acquire a volcanic vent anywhere though. Thankfully, one particularly musty tome suggested that its writer had found some success with placing an egg in a firing kiln for incubation. A large bonfire was also a possible solution, although this method was slower.
Ling Qi considered using the kilns in the production halls, but she had a feeling that would cost far too many sect points in the long run. Plus, it might not be safe to broadcast her fortune in public yet. A quick run to a different part of the archive revealed some simple methods for constructing crude kilns and forges in the treatises on historical engineering. It might take a few tries, but she thought she could rig together something that would work.
On actual care, there wasn't much of anything specific to tortoises so she would have to wing it there. In general, the cores of other beasts and heavily qi-infused materials seemed to be the best food for young spirit beasts. She would probably have to hunt more once the egg hatched.
For now, although she had a few ideas for hatching the egg, it would take time to set up, and she still had many things to do this week. She settled for leaving it in the hearth of their home for now The first was to try to patch things up with Han Jian. Hopefully, revealing the tokens' prizes would be a good way to get herself involved with them on a level past the superficial. Ling Qi waited until the day's session was winding down before approaching Han Jian, who had sat down to clean and sharpen his blade in the wake of the sparring.
"Han Jian, do you mind if I ask you something?" she asked, stopping at a respectful distance away. The others were all doing their own various cool down activities.
Han Jian looked up from his blade, his usual friendly expression in place. "Sure. Did you want to ask about a different weapon? You seem to be getting the hang of a bow pretty quickly," he said, tactfully not pointing out the number of times she had overbalanced and fell over while learning to swing around the heavy guandao she had taken to practicing with.
She wouldn't have been able to lift such a thing as a mortal, but as a cultivator, the weight wasn't an issue. It was just hard to keep her balance when swinging the weapon around. She wasn't really sure why she had chosen it beyond a whim and a brief imagining of standing atop the shell of her tortoise companion, laughing and crushing all comers like a warrior queen of old. ... Well, okay, she did know the reason. It was a little childish, but it wasn't like she was doing any harm.
"No, it's not that," she answered. "Thank you for the instruction though."
"It's no trouble," Han Jian said, laying his sword across his knees. "It's good to have a varied base of weapon skills. I'm pretty good with a spear and saber too, even if I prefer the sword. I'd suggest taking the time to learn at least a little bit of the sword or spear at some point. It's expected that a noble have some grounding with the four noble weapons."
"Bai Meizhen has said some stuff like that too, but what do you mean? I'm not a noble. I know not all cultivators can be a noble else every city guard would be one too."
Han Jian gave a strained smile, but it was Fan Yu who answered from where he had sat down to meditate. "Don't play the fool," he said sourly, giving her an unfriendly look. "At your rate of growth, you will end up with an imperial writ."
Ling Qi stared at him blankly before turning back to Han Jian with a questioning look. He, in turn, scrubbed a hand through his hair and explained, "If you do not already have a clan affiliation, achieving Green Soul or Bronze Physique before the age of seventeen will earn you a writ granting the right to own a manor and start a clan once your service is over. It's essentially the lowest title. You'll have to negotiate with the province governor of wherever you settle to finalize the status. I don't think you're going to have any trouble with the requirements."
"Oh," Ling Qi said awkwardly. She hadn't even considered that there were already rules for determining how a common cultivator became a noble.
"Really, Ling Qi. You may want to sit down and study such things for a time," Gu Xiulan chipped in from her own seated position across the field. "Especially if you are going to be so stubborn about staying unwed," she added teasingly.
Ling Qi flushed and shot the girl a glare. "Anyway, I was just wondering if you guys still had your tokens from Elder Zhou's test."
It was Han Jian's turn to look bewildered. "I… suppose?" he replied questioningly. "I saw no reason to throw them away."
Ling Qi grinned. It was probably a little bad to be glad that they hadn't gained the benefits of the tokens already, but it did mean that she could help. "Well, you should all bring them along next time. Li Suyin and I managed to unlock the formation puzzles on them. They have some pretty good elixirs and pills hidden inside."
Han Fang looked up at that, and Han Jian blinked once, then twice, before slapping his forehead. "... Of course they would do something like that. I've been so busy I didn't even think of that."
"Oh, do not trouble yourself, Jian," Gu Xiulan piped up. "None of us have exactly been studious in regards to that kind of thing."
"I can unlock them for you," Ling Qi cut back in. "I owe you all that much. I know I've been absent lately, but I was hoping to make sure you know how grateful I am for your help."
Han Jian shook his head, a slightly bitter chuckle escaping his lips. "I'll thankfully accept your assistance then," he said, looking back up with renewed confidence. "Sorry if I've been a little short myself. Things have been stressful since the end of the truce."
She didn't miss the way Fan Yu's shoulders hunched at those words or the slight tightness in Han Fang's expression. "It's no trouble," she assured them. She might not know the exact reasons for their stress, but she had an inkling. She was just glad her offer had been well received.
"I suppose not," Han Jian mused. "In any case, thank you."
Ling Qi unlocked their tokens at the next day's training, feeling quite pleased at the gratitude from Han Jian and the others. Even Fan Yu simply remained silent and sullen rather than snappish. She felt like the atmosphere in the training field had somewhat normalized, despite the remaining undercurrent of tension. She didn't really make any progress in regards to trying to insinuate herself into the group outside of training, but Han Jian did mention inviting her along if they went hunting in the forest. Apparently, he wanted to give everyone more actual combat experience.
For now, she would have to be satisfied with that and Gu Xiulan's slightly nervous agreement to accompany her and Meizhen to the market at the end of the week.
Chapter 55-Cooperation 2
"Thank you for agreeing to come along," Ling Qi said to Meizhen as they left the house, heading for Xiulan's home.
"It is no trouble," Bai Meizhen replied, briefly glancing up and down the street before turning to follow Ling Qi, her hands hidden by the voluminous sleeves of the white and blue gown she was wearing today. "I require a number of items from the market myself. I do not mind advising you on appropriate footwear along the way."
Ling Qi grimaced. Even if she could stamp her foot on a sharp stone and not feel much more than a bit of pressure, she could admit that she looked a little silly walking around barefoot. "I'm more worried about all this hair," she grumbled, blowing a few stray strands of her curly hair out of her eyes. "It's always a pain to deal with, but I'm not sure I want to cut it short again."
"You should not," Meizhen agreed, sending a few girls scurrying out of their way as they continued up the street. "It is inappropriate for a lady. I am afraid I cannot offer much advice however. I have never cut or altered my hairstyle. It is against tradition to do so before marriage or achieving the Green Soul realm."
Ling Qi gave Meizhen a surprised look, eyeing Meizhen's snowy white locks. Meizhen's hair was long, almost to the middle of her back, but that still didn't make sense. "You have to have had it cut at some point. Your hair would be down at your feet otherwise."
She tried to ignore that Meizhen wasn't the only one receiving looks of wary respect, concern, and other not entirely negative expressions as they walked down the street. It still made her feel awkward.
Bai Meizhen offered a tiny shrug. "Our hair grows very slowly. That's why it is traditional to refrain from making hasty changes before one can be considered an adult."
Ling Qi hummed thoughtfully as they approached Gu Xiulan's door. She supposed that made sense; she'd be kind of reluctant to do anything to her hair either if it would take years to grow back.
Ling Qi knocked twice on the door and then stepped back to wait beside Meizhen. Gu Xiulan answered the door quickly, opening the door to reveal herself dressed in the gown she had picked out when she had last gone shopping with Ling Qi.
"Ling Qi, good morning," Gu Xiulan said brightly. Ling Qi thought there was a hint of something nervous in Xiulan's tone and expression though. The other girl turned to Bai Meizhen and clasped her hands together, bowing her head. Ling Qi vaguely recognized the posture as one of deference to a social superior, although the precise degree of deference eluded her. It looked weird coming from Gu Xiulan. "Miss Bai, it is a pleasure to meet you."
Bai Meizhen dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Gu Xiulan, I am pleased to make your acquaintance as well," Bai Meizhen replied formally before glancing at Ling Qi. "But please, refer to me by name. This is an informal gathering for the benefit of our mutual friend."
Gu Xiulan looked pleased, a slight smile curving her painted lips as she straightened up. "Of course. Thank you for the courtesy, Bai Meizhen," she said just as formally, but some tension had drained out of her. "Ling Qi can be somewhat of a handful, can she not?" Gu Xiulan asked, a bit of her normal teasing entering her tone. Despite that, Ling Qi thought she still sounded wary. "She can be so stubborn about such basic things at times. I cannot believe it has taken her this long to stop wearing those ratty sandals."
Bai Meizhen pursed her lips. "Quite. I suppose I have you to thank for her no longer dressing like a vagrant," she said, allowing her tone to grow less stiff as well.
"I'm standing right here," Ling Qi grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning at the two of them. "And there was nothing wrong with my needlework. Those disciple uniforms needed more pockets."
The two of them paused and looked at her, Gu Xiulan's smile regaining its sharp edge while Bai Meizhen simply regarded Ling Qi with her usual coolness.
"She is rather stubborn, isn't she?" Gu Xiulan said conversationally, seeming to ignore Ling Qi's interjection. "I cannot tell you how much of a fight it was to get her to clean up a little in the first place."
"Willfulness is hardly a negative trait," Bai Meizhen conceded. "But in this case, I find it misplaced. I believe her capable of learning."
"Oh, I'm going to regret introducing you two, aren't I?" Ling Qi sighed. "Can we just get going?"
Despite the teasing, this was going better than she had feared given the last time she had attempted to introduce her friends. She suspected Bai Meizhen was making an earnest attempt to be friendly by her measure, and Gu Xiulan was afraid of offending Meizhen. The three of them set off toward the market, quietly chatting as they went. Ling Qi mostly listened to the two of them as the two made polite inquiries about the wellbeing of each other's family.
Most of it went over her head beyond a vague understanding that Gu Xiulan's father was overseeing a major expansion into 'lost lands'. Bai Meizhen only spoke a little of her own home. There was something about pearl exports and new island outposts and a need for good steel…
By the time they had left the residential area, their chatter had turned to more immediate things, both of them seemingly coming to an unspoken agreement to let more serious matters lie. Ling Qi was glad. She had been feeling lost so even if the new topic wasn't her preferred subject, debating about needlework and embroidery with Xiulan or cuts of clothing with Meizhen was still better than the odd back and forth they had begun with.
Their shopping trip took up a fair portion of the afternoon, but Ling Qi didn't mind the time spent. She was able to pick up a few comfortable pairs of shoes, mostly the soft-soled slippers that both of her friends insisted were proper wear for a young lady. She could admit that she liked them, particularly the pair with the silver flower embroidery, but she still insisted on picking up a nice pair of hardier boots too.
Her hair was more difficult, as it always was, frustrating the hair stylist with its unmanageable nature. In the end, she settled for simply having it gathered and pulled back, pinned with a few understated ornaments, including a silver crescent moon that she had taken a liking to, with the main length into a neat braid that hung down to the middle of her back. It would be somewhat of a pain to redo it herself later on, but she was growing used to the idea that presenting herself well was important.
Ling Qi idly toyed with the loose hair at the end of her new braid, which was currently hanging over her shoulder and down across her chest. "Does it really look alright?" she asked for what was probably the fifth time, still feeling self-conscious. For all that she knew it was important, it still felt frivolous and a little silly. It had taken nearly an hour for the braiding to be finished, mostly because her hair kept trying to escape it, so the stylist had to use some kind of straightening oil on her hair to stop the incessant flyaway strands from springing free.
"It is significantly more elegant. Be at ease, Ling Qi," Bai Meizhen said with just a touch of exasperation.
"Indeed. Do you doubt my judgement so?" Gu Xiulan sniffed dramatically, a small bag of purchases swinging from one hand. "Really, if I did not know you better, I would be offended. I am sure with a bit of effort, you will begin catching eyes everywhere."
"Who says I want to?" Ling Qi replied with a playful snap. She knew the other girl wasn't being serious so it was easier to keep down her offense at the implication.
"There is obviously no need to consider courting at this age," Bai Meizhen added coolly. "Your prospects will only grow with your cultivation." Gu Xiulan's smile faltered at that.
Ling Qi rolled her eyes, choosing not to comment on Xiulan's reaction. "Yeah, I think I can stand to wait for a good, long…"
"Miss Ling?" A male voice, sounding slightly out of breath, called from her right. She blinked in surprise, looking over to where a rather plain-faced boy of middling height was approaching nervously. He ended up standing in front of them, a letter clasped in his hand. No. There was no way.
"What is the meaning of this?" Bai Meizhen asked, disdain on her features. The boy was only a red soul so it was unsurprising that he shuddered, paling under her regard.
"I am sorry to interrupt your conversation," he said quickly, bowing low, far lower than Xiulan had to Meizhen. "I am only a lowly messenger with a letter of invitation for Miss Ling from Lady Cai."
Meizhen's expression darkened while Xiulan looked thoughtful, but they both ceded the next response to Ling Qi. She felt awkward under her friends' stares, even if she also felt relieved that it wasn't a courting letter. Straightening her shoulders, she stepped forward and held out her hand.
"Give me the letter and be on your way," Ling Qi said, doing her best to sound dignified.
The boy nodded hastily, looking more than a little relieved himself as he pressed the clean, white paper into her hand and backed away, bowing several more times. He did not quite run away once he had gained some distance.
"Well, what does it say?" Gu Xiulan said impatiently, peering over her shoulder. Bai Meizhen stood with arms crossed, waiting with apparent patience.
Ling Qi flipped open the letter and scanned the contents, feeling nonplussed. "Cai's inviting me to join her for tea at the pavilion on the west side of the mountain in two days. It doesn't say for what though, and the invitation is just for me," she answered. She would suspect a trap, but Cai Renxiang really didn't seem the type.
Gu Xiulan's eyebrows climbed high on her forehead. "Well, I wouldn't refuse such an invitation unless…" She trailed off, glancing at Bai Meizhen.
"Ling Qi has no obligation to me. Who she chooses to associate with is her own choice," Meizhen said precisely.
Ling Qi frowned. Meizhen sounded unhappy. She felt like she might be missing something, but she didn't want to sound foolish by asking. "… I'll think about it," she decided. "Let's go home for now. I want to put away my things." She raised the bag full of shoes hanging off her arm.
The walk back was quieter but pleasant enough. Even with the surprise at the end, the afternoon had gone well. Maybe she could make a habit of bringing the two girls together? They could invite Meizhen along the next time they used the springs?
Chapter 56: Cooperation 3
Ling Qi's next week began with a paper crane fluttering through her window to deposit a letter on the desk in the corner of the room, startling her from her early morning meditation. She stared blankly after the paper construct as it darted back out of the window. It hit her a moment later, and she immediately felt terrible for forgetting.
She had sent a letter to Mother, hadn't she? Between the egg, the upcoming meeting with Cai Renxiang, and all of her training, she hadn't even really given it any thought since then. She eyed the neatly folded paper resting on her desk with trepidation. She wasn't even sure how to feel about the fact that her mother had responded.
She assumed that was what the letter was anyway. Who else would be sending her a letter? Ling Qi padded over, scanning the characters neatly written on the coarse paper of the envelope, but it was just her name and location. She supposed it was possible this was something else entirely.
She hesitated again before plucking the letter from her desk and breaking the plain wax seal. She wouldn't get anywhere from staring at it all day. Ling Qi felt a twinge of melancholy as she carefully unfolded the cheap paper, revealing meticulously neat handwriting.
Ling Qi,
I too am somewhat at a loss. What does one say to a daughter I thought long dead or worse? What does one say to a daughter who found me so poor a parent that she preferred the gutter to my hearth? How many months did I search and seek, hoping to find you again, hoping you had not met some awful fate?
Yet you remained like the wind, ever beyond my reach, and in the end, I had no choice but to give up… as I always have. In a way, it is perhaps fitting that you ran away. It seems you have achieved a far better opportunity than I could have ever hoped to give you. I am glad you are alive. I know little of the doings of Immortals, but I can only hope that you are healthy and happy.
I do not know what else can be said. I thank you for your gift and will accept it. I do not deserve it - poor parent that I am - yet given circumstances as they are, I cannot in good conscience allow myself to refuse it either. I can offer you nothing in return save my well wishes.
You owe me nothing, my daughter. Please do not feel any obligation toward me. Stay safe and live well.
Ling Qingge
Ling Qi stared down at the paper with warring feelings. She felt guilt and sadness at the melancholy that seemed to have infected her mother in the intervening years, but at the same time, she felt happiness at the simple fact that her mother was still alive and able to write back to her.
Carefully folding the letter, she placed it back on her desk and sat down on her bed. Breathing in and out, she returned to her meditation, turning over what had been written in her mind. What were the circumstances that lead her mother to accept the silver? Had she simply lost her 'job'? What had she meant about it being fitting that Ling Qi ran away? Her mother's habit of making indirect statements hadn't changed since last they talked.
Was the indirectness purposeful? Her memories of the woman had somewhat faded at this point, but she recalled that her mother had not been unskilled at wordplay. She didn't like to think badly of Mother, but was she being vague to encourage Ling Qi to continue writing and sending silver? Would Ling Qi be upset if she was? Ling Qi thought the depression exuded in the letter was genuine at least.
Ling Qi continued to cycle her qi and breath in time with the pulsations of her internal energies. She would continue sending the silver regardless, but she needed to think of what she wanted to say before sending another letter.
She left her house a few hours later. Han Jian and the others were going to make their first attempt at hunting today, and she wanted to get to the training field early so that she could ask Han Jian some questions. Of all her friends and friendly acquaintances, she felt that Han Jian would be able to give her the most unbiased view of her situation in regards to Cai Renxiang. She had no doubt Meizhen would answer her questions, but the other girl had some rather skewed views in certain areas.
Thankfully, Han Jian was present at the field early as was his wont. He seemed to be engaged in a silent debate with Heijin, staring down at the gold-furred tiger cub with a frustrated look as she entered the field.
"- do you think I am doing? What more do you want from me?" Ling Qi caught the tail end of his words as she passed through the barrier around the field and paused as she heard the uncharacteristic heat in them.
Han Jian stiffened as he met Ling Qi's eyes, but before he could say something, Heijin turned away from the boy to pad toward Ling Qi.
'The slacker should cease shaming the Han and show his decisiveness,' the cub's arrogant little boy voice chimed in her head. 'I will say no more. Songstress! I require head scratches.'
Ling Qi gave the cub a consternated look as he flopped down at her feet, but nonetheless, she crouched down to scratch him behind the ears. It was simpler just to acquiesce in this case lest the cub turn the full force of his sad kitty face upon her or decide to side with Gu Xiulan when the inevitable sparring began.
"Good morning, Han Jian," she said carefully, looking up from Heijin.
"Good morning, Ling Qi," Han Jian replied tiredly, the frustration and stress that she had seen on his face smoothed away. "You're here early today." Ling Qi could sense the slight undercurrent of gratitude in his tone that she chose not to pursue whatever he and Heijin had been talking about.
"I was hoping to talk to you and get some advice and information," Ling Qi admitted as Heijin butted his head up against her hand, prompting her to get back to pampering the little feline. "I hope you don't mind. Bai Meizhen has a 'unique' view, and Gu Xiulan is … a little aggressive. You seem like you have a more balanced view."
She flushed a bit as Han Jian chuckled, giving her an amused look as he crossed his arms. She was trying to be diplomatic, damnit. "Well, I can't speak on the first, but I can understand the second," he said. "What's troubling you, Ling Qi?"
"Everything really. It seems like I'm stumbling blindly through a fog some days," she admitted. "At that meeting with Cai Renxiang, I kept noticing little cues from Bai Meizhen or Gu Xiulan, but I didn't understand what they meant and I just feel lost!" Her feelings - frustration, concern about her ignorance - burst out in her words like a flood from a dam. "Bai Meizhen taught me a bit of etiquette, but I feel like I still don't know anything. Now, Lady Cai has invited me to tea, Bai Meizhen seems unhappy about it, and I don't even know why she's unhappy or why everyone seems to dislike Bai Meizhen so much!"
Han Jian's expression grew more serious and contemplative as he regarded her sympathetically. "You know, sometimes, it's easy to forget that you're totally in the dark on a lot of things," he mused. "Let me ask you bluntly. What IS your relationship with Bai Meizhen?"
"She's my friend," Ling Qi said simply, idly stroking the purring kitten at her feet as she looked up at Han Jian. "She's helped me a lot, and she's had my back against others. I want to be able to do the same for her."
He nodded, bemused. "It's really that simple, huh?" he asked, seemingly rhetorically. "If it makes you feel any better, as far as I know, there's no particular enmity between the Bai family and Cai family. I can't speak for anything personal between the two of them, but I don't believe there's any more pressure there than Lady Cai's insistence on being the leader of the council."
That was relieving, but it cast Bai Meizhen's reaction to the letter in a more confusing light. Did Meizhen think she was going to leave her behind for Cai or something?
"Alright. So why is Bai Meizhen so disliked? I know her aura is a little unnerving and that her family is not in favor right now, but is it really that bad?" One way or another, her own situation was tied to Meizhen, unless she wanted to break away from the other girl.
Han Jian's expression tightened at her question. "It… kind of is," he responded slowly. "I feel like you need some history for context if you're asking that question though. Are you fine with listening to me ramble on this? We should have some time before the others arrive."
"Yeah. That's fine." Ling Qi really needed to become more knowledgeable; her ignorance wasn't doing her any favors.
"Alright," Han Jian said, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "You're familiar with Sun Liling and her status? Well, her great-grandfather, Sun Shao, is at the root of the Bai's disfavor. This was around four hundred years ago, several decades after Ogodei's invasion and the formation of the Ministry of Integrity. Things were pretty chaotic at the tail end of Emperor Si's reign." Han Jian paused to consider his next words. "I won't go into the details, but Emperor Si was a very… generous and permissive man. He allowed the noble families a lot of leeway in how they handled things."
Ling Qi gestured for him to continue while placating Heijin, who had rolled over for belly rubs. She wasn't sure what this had to do with Bai Meizhen yet.
"Right," Han Jian said, gaining confidence. "So. At that time, Sun Shao was a highly ranked vassal of the Bai clan with lands at the border between Thousand Lakes and the Garden of the Red Sun. The Garden was a nasty place. The barbarians of the jungles were vicious and cruel, and the great spirit they venerated demanded constant blood sacrifice. Sun Shao was - and still is - a peerless general though so he kept their raids and invasions from touching the province interior for over a century in that role. But one day, he returned from putting down an incursion to find his castle aflame." Han Jian grimaced. "The people of the Red Sun weren't kind to captives. Sun Shao lost his wife and all of his children save the two adult sons that had been with him on campaign."
"That sounds awful," Ling Qi replied. "But what does that have to do with Bai Meizhen?"
"I'm getting there," Han Jian reassured her. "Sun Shao was understandably furious. He went to his liege, the patriarch of the Bai clan and the great-grandfather of Bai Meizhen. He asked leave to raise an army to punish the barbarians. Now, Bai Fuxi wasn't unsympathetic. He granted leave to raise a hundred thousand men and burn every Red Sun settlement east of the River Tiesha."
Ling Qi blinked. Han Jian said that as if a hundred thousand men wasn't a ridiculous number of people. That was more than the population of her hometown. Han Jian wasn't finished speaking though.
"Sun Shao wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted to push into the interior and raze their temple city of Ramu… Rammad... Ramadh…?" Han Jian shook his head after stumbling over the word several times. "Eh, I can never get those names right," he grumbled, ignoring the disdainful look from the cub at Ling Qi's feet. "Point is, he wanted to invade further than the River Tiesha and hold the territory too."
"I'm guessing Meizhen's great-grandfather refused?" Ling Qi could see how that would play into the enmity between her and Liling, but she wasn't sure how it tied into the general disdain for the Bai family.
Han Jian gave her a searching look, and Ling Qi's eyes widened. She'd slipped and referred to Meizhen with more familiarity than was appropriate. She might have done that once or twice before too, now that she thought about it.
"He wasn't a fan. The Bai had always refused to send anyone over the river at all, let alone try to hold it," Han Jian continued after an awkward pause. "Long story short, Sun Shao acted like he accepted the refusal, but he was a charismatic and popular man. After he gathered up the army he was allowed to and went on campaign… he just didn't come back. In fact, he drew on a lot of the Bai's more dissatisfied vassals - which was most of them - and increased the army he had fivefold by the time he crossed the river. You have to understand, people of the West really, really hated the people of the Red Sun."
"That's basically open rebellion, isn't it?" Ling Qi asked, confused. She didn't know much about politics, but she was pretty sure that was some kind of treason. "How does that lead to everyone disliking the Bai?"
"They were never all that popular to begin with," Han Jian said. "But suffice to say, while the casualties of that campaign were pretty ruinous, when the dust settled, Sun Shao had won and come out of the campaign with a stronger army than any individual province in the Empire could easily muster. His weakest soldiers were third realm at that time. Emperor Si had passed away in the ten years or so that the campaign had gone on. When Bai Fuxi went to Emperor An to have Sun Shao punished in the aftermath, the new Emperor declared that Sun Shao's actions were just and that it was the Bai who had failed in their stewardship by allowing the Red Suns to do as they pleased for so long, instead of punishing the barbarian scum properly."
"That didn't go over well, did it?" Ling Qi asked, starting to see the shape of things.
"Yeah, Bai Fuxi was furious and humiliated," Han Jian confirmed. "He defied the imperial decree declaring Sun Shao's pardon and new rank and went after the man himself, along with the clan's best warriors. But Sun Shao had ascended into White during the campaign, and despite being at the same level himself, Bai Fuxi was killed. That was the start of a lot of Emperor An's crackdowns on noble power and the expansion of the Ministry and the Sects. There's been more modern incidents involving the Bai too, but going any further would take us all day. The Bai didn't have many friends in the first place, and a lot of people who would have been afraid to be their enemies weren't anymore after the loss of a lot of their top warriors. It doesn't help that since then, the Bai have been pretty cold with the Throne and the West, on top of losing a lot of influence and power."
Ling Qi shook her head. It sounded like a real mess already, even with Han Jian skipping a lot of details, but she thought she understood better now.
"Alright," she said. "What about Cai Renxiang then? Why would she invite me to have tea with her, and how should I handle that?"
"At a guess, the same thing she wanted from me," Han Jian said dryly. "That girl is ambitious, and she wants a solid hold on authority in the Outer Sect. She'll likely be probing you to see where you stand in that regard. I made sure she understood that I wasn't interested in contesting her, but you…"
After a pause for thought, Han Jian continued, "Lady Cai's pretty likely to try and draw you into her own group, I think. You're a native of her province and show a lot of talent. She and her Mother are pretty big on snapping up new talents. For example, rumor says that Gan Guangli was a commoner too before Cai Renxiang picked him up, and Duchess Cai has been pretty 'proactive' in changing the face of her court with new clans beholden to her."
The two of them continued chatting until the others arrived, mostly about appropriate behavior and etiquette, filling in the gaps in Ling Qi's knowledge about how to behave properly in formal situations. Han Jian still seemed distracted and stressed, but she was glad to see some of the tension that had been rising between them fading.
However, the hunting trip that afternoon didn't go well. No one was particularly familiar with the terrain of the forest, and they ended up getting turned around several times, losing track of the trails they did pick up. Ling Qi wasn't a great help in that regard, having relied on Su Ling for her previous forays into the wilderness. Without any real success and the bickering that followed, Ling Qi could not help but feel that things weren't really improving.
Chapter 57-Cooperation 4
Ling Qi found herself struggling to push through to the next plateau of physical ability. She had gone rather light on medicines this week, which she suspected might be part of the reason for her struggle. Her dwindling supply of red stones was beginning to limit what she could do, and the pittance of an allowance from the Sect hardly helped in that regard, only barely covering her expenses for this week alone.
She did not let it bother her too much. She wasn't entirely sure how to resolve the issue, but she wouldn't let herself fall behind. Her early morning training with Li Suyin continued apace, and the other girl continued to slowly improve, pushing toward late gold and improving her skill with the needles she had picked up as a weapon.
After a bit of thought, Ling Qi offered Li Suyin and Su Ling a chance to learn Argent Mirror as well. She was unsure about the implications of doing so, but Bai Meizhen didn't seem to disapprove, despite being present at the vent during her offer. Given her conversation with Han Jian, she suspected that Meizhen thought of those two as people Ling Qi was cultivating as subordinates.
It made sense, considering the aloof but not impolite way Bai Meizhen treated the two of them as compared to Meizhen's slightly more casual and respectful manner around Gu Xiulan. The idea also wasn't really correct, but she wasn't sure how to go about changing the pale girl's mind on the subject. She supposed the misconception wasn't harming anything for the moment.
It had been a little difficult getting them to accept though. Well, it had been difficult getting Su Ling to accept; Li Suyin had simply thanked her with her head down, which was a little concerning… but hopefully, the art itself would help with that. Ling Qi had managed to smooth over Su Ling's suspicions by asking for help and advice with a few things in return. Bai Meizhen had left some time ago, and Li Suyin was currently meditating, working to clear the channels for Argent Mirror.
"The hells do you want with a kiln?" Su Ling asked in confusion, slouched against a tree at the edge of the clearing. "I never took you for a potter." The fox tailed girl had filled out a bit over the past months, no longer seeming as gaunt as she had when Ling Qi had first met her, although she remained rather untidy with dirty robe hems and unkempt hair.
"It's weird, I know, but I need it for a… project," she answered. "I copied down some notes from the archive. The archive texts mentioned some special materials, and I can't use the ones in the production hall for my project." Ling Qi spread her hands helplessly. That was the real problem. She didn't want to bring the egg to the production hall, and she wasn't sure the mortal town at the mountain's base would be able to sell her something that could handle the heat she needed.
Su Ling narrowed her eyes, giving Ling Qi a searching look. "Well, it's none of my business," she decided bluntly. "But sure, I can help." She scowled. "Fatty owes me a couple favors anyway," she grumbled under her breath.
Ling Qi considered this. She didn't necessarily know Su Ling very well; ultimately, their only real connection was mutual friendship with Li Suyin. Still, the other girl knew a lot more about beasts than she did; it was the whole reason she had approached her after all.
"It's an egg," Ling Qi said, drawing a blank look from the beastial girl. "My project. I got my hands on a spirit beast egg, and the books in the archive say it needs really high, sustained heat to hatch."
Su Ling blinked, straightening. "Huh, is that so? Yeah, I can see why you can't use the production hall, even if you had the stones."
Ling Qi watched Su Ling's reaction carefully but didn't notice any signs of greed or envy. Of course, Ling Qi hadn't mentioned how rare a beast it likely was.
"Speaking of, what can you tell me about beast cores?" Ling Qi asked. "You seem to know what you're doing with them." She had seen the other girl grinding cores down into pastes and powders before when she stopped by their cave to walk with the two of them to the vent.
Su Ling shrugged. "I have to be. If you're looking into beast rearing, you should know that cores are the best food for young spirit beasts, right?" She paused a beat for Ling Qi to give an acknowledging nod. "Same goes for people like me. I can get by on mortal food, but only barely. Least I'm lucky enough that I can handle greens if they have a bit of qi in 'em," she said with a tinge of bitterness.
"That makes sense," Ling Qi said. Was that why Meizhen never ate anything she made? "So, for you, preparing cores was pretty much learning to cook?"
"Kinda," the other girl replied. "Beast Cores are full of energy, but unless you're like me or the snake princess, the energy is toxic to humans."
"Please don't call her that if she's around," Ling Qi said, glancing to the side and half-expecting Bai Meizhen to be standing there looking displeased. She didn't think Meizhen would approve of an epithet that sounded similar to Sun Liling's.
Su Ling snorted but didn't disagree. "Right. Anyway, I can eat the cores and get some benefit, but the main thing you use beast cores for is as the primary ingredient in elixirs. You can't make an elixir without a beast core, and all the preparation and side ingredients pretty much exist to refine the energy and let a human body take in the beast qi safely," she explained. "That was my big problem: learnin' to make elixirs that won't leave other people throwing up blood."
Ling Qi grimaced, glad that she hadn't tried to use any of her beast cores like pills. "How do you know what each core is good for though?" Ling Qi asked. She had several, and she wanted to know what she could do with them.
"Take 'em to get appraised," the other girl replied bluntly. "Unless you wanna invest the time in memorizing bestiaries, leave it to the hall staff. I can generally pick stuff out by smell, but that's not really an option for you. You have something you want me to take a look at?"
Ling Qi flicked her wrist, drawing the core of the mimic worm out of her storage ring. It had lost some luster, and once she had cleaned it off, she had come to see that in ripping it out of the corpse, she had cracked it a little.
"How about this?" Ling Qi asked, holding out the small orb.
Su Ling leaned forward to get a better look and sniffed before wrinkling her nose and gagging.
"Ugh, what the hells," Su Ling gagged, shoving Ling Qi's hand away, and scrubbed her nose with the back of her hand. "Fucking gross," she grumbled, giving Ling Qi a dirty look, which quickly faded into simple irritation. "Wood and water. Reeks like a carcass full of maggots though. I wouldn't touch the thing, but it's grade two so even if it's damaged, you could probably sell it for maybe thirty or forty stones."
Ling Qi gave her an apologetic look as she placed the core back in storage. "Sorry about that. I should have known that thing's core would be gross too. Do you think you can give me some tips on harvesting cores better?"
Su Ling shrugged. "Yeah, sure. You're the one handing out arts. I can take the time to give you a few tips."
Between taking the time to learn from Su Ling, her continued training with Li Suyin, and the slowly improving hunting practice with Han Jian and his group, time passed quickly. Ling Qi soon found herself heading out to the pavilion that Cai Renxiang had requested she come to. Being cautious, she didn't immediately approach, but as far as she could tell, no one was present except the heiress herself, who sat out in the open on a chair in the center of the stone pavilion, facing the entrance of the area. Cai Renxiang showed no sign of concern or notice as Ling Qi lingered behind one of the stone pillars that marked the edge of the field.
Recalling Han Jian's words, she doubted that Cai Renxiang would begrudge her a bit of wary scouting before she approached since Cai's mother was said to favor practicality, but that didn't mean she wanted to push her luck by being late. So after checking the surroundings, Ling Qi slipped away and came back, this time taking the actual path toward the pavilion.
Ling Qi kept her gait even and her head held high as she approached, doing her best to appear confident despite the jittery feeling in her stomach. She took a deep breath as the girl's dark eyes fell on her but didn't flinch or pause. Instead, she came to a stop at the base of the short stairs leading up into the pavillion and bowed low as her quick refresher with Han Jian had reminded her to do.
"Lady Cai, I was honored to receive your invitation." Ling Qi had been getting more practice with speaking formally lately so the words came easier than she expected.
Cai Renxiang, for her part, remained seated, looking imperiously down at Ling Qi. She sat with one leg crossed over the other, which lead to her shimmering white gown riding up slightly to expose the jewel-studded golden shoes she wore. The small wooden table beside her held a fine porcelain tea set with faint wisps of steam escaping the pot.
"I am glad you chose to accept. I trust you found nothing untoward in your inspection, Ling Qi?" Cai Renxiang asked, a hint of reproval in her commanding voice.
Ling Qi raised her head slightly but didn't otherwise react. She was reasonably confident the other girl was just testing her reaction and making sure that she knew Cai Renxiang had not been fooled by her sneaking.
"I have no objections," Ling Qi responded carefully. "I thought it appropriate to make sure that the invitation was not a trap by one abusing your name, Lady Cai."
"A reasonable concern," the long-haired girl allowed, one hand resting on her knee. "The chaos of the Outer Sect has not yet settled after all. I would not put such foolishness past the petty, small-minded grudges of your lesser peers. Seat yourself. You are my guest, and I would not leave you standing. I am afraid you will have to pour your own tea; Guangli has more pressing tasks than to play manservant today."
Ling Qi straightened up and inclined her head gratefully, carefully ascending the steps to sit down at the seat prepared for her.
"It is no trouble," Ling Qi said, knowing that refusing the other girl's refreshments would be an insult. Besides, if someone like Cai Renxiang wanted to do something untoward, she would hardly need to resort to something like poisoned tea.
"Would you like me to pour your cup as well, Lady Cai?" Ling Qi asked. It seemed like the polite thing to do, and it didn't cost her anything to offer.
"It would be appreciated," Cai Renxiang replied, studying Ling Qi intensely. "I am glad to see that you have some knowledge of how to conduct yourself," she added in what Ling Qi took as an attempt at a complimentary tone.
"It's best not to offend others unnecessarily," Ling Qi said in turn, lifting the teapot gingerly to pour the steaming liquid within into the two cups set out. She blinked as Cai Renxiang leaned forward to take a cup, her eyes drawn down to the bright red butterfly wings splashed across the bosom of the other girl's gown. Had the embroidery just moved on its own?
"My honored Mother's work is impeccable, is it not?" Cai Renxiang's voice shook her out of her contemplation, and Ling Qi flushed as she realized that she had been staring at Cai Renxiang's chest. The gown's pattern had definitely shifted just then too.
Ling Qi brought her eyes back to the other girl's face and took a brief sip from her cup to cover her embarrassment. "It is a very fine gown," she said hastily. "I did not know your Mother did such work. I would think her too busy."
"You would be correct for the most part," Cai Renxiang admitted. "Her work is largely reserved for Empress Xiang and a handful of other clients these days. I am honored beyond words that she would bestow such a gift upon me. But we are not here to speak of such things," she continued, meeting Ling Qi's eyes unwaveringly. "Tell me, Ling Qi. What do you see when you look upon the Outer Sect? Do not mind your words, and speak from your heart."
Ling Qi had a hard time not hunching her shoulders at the sudden inflection of absolute command in the other girl's voice. She regarded the resplendent girl silently, noting the faint corona of light shining around Cai Renxiang's head even now. Despite their disparity in status, Ling Qi thought the heiress was speaking earnestly about her desire for plain words.
"For the most part, a bunch of desperate opportunists," Ling Qi found herself saying bluntly. She thought of Li Suyin's shattered expectations. "I can't really criticize, but I can't say it's very admirable either. It's not what people think of when they imagine cultivators, that's for sure." . Ling Qi was pretty sure she had caught a slight upward quirk of the severe girl's lips before it was quickly hidden behind a tea cup.
"An interesting statement. You are right that you cannot criticize. Your background hardly allows for that, bereft of virtue as it is."
Ling Qi frowned at the other girl, who simply raised an eyebrow.
"Lady Cai, I do not think you would invite me here just to insult me," Ling Qi said, doing her best to keep the irritation out of her voice but not entirely succeeding. "I won't apologize for my background. I survived as I could and made the best of the situation. Virtue is a luxury for those not living on the edge of starvation or worse."
She winced, fearing she might have gone too far there, letting her temper get the better of her. When she raised her eyes from the tabletop though, she found the girl across from her regarding her without disapproval.
"Virtue cannot exist without order, and there is little of that to be found in a city's gutters," Cai Renxiang agreed coolly. "I will not dispute that. Do you resent those who rule then? For leaving mortals to suffer in squalor?"
Ling Qi stared down the heiress. She could just reply with some platitude, but she felt like she was doing better for being honest with Cai Renxiang.
"Maybe a little," Ling Qi admitted. "But in the end, that's childish. There will never be enough resources for everyone. That's just the way the world is. Complaining about it is useless." Ling Qi had thought of such things before, but in the end, she didn't really feel much resentment toward nobles as a group. Why would she? It was like blaming water for being wet. That was just the nature of power. "I'll keep my grudges to individuals."
"Interesting - and rather different from Ji Rong's answer," Cai Renxiang said thoughtfully.
"Is that why you had him punished?" Ling Qi asked warily.
The heiress shook her head, sending her long black hair swaying. "No. I asked Xuan Shi to punish him for seizing additional funds on top of his enforcement efforts," she said flatly. "It is unacceptable for a government officer to profit directly from the fines he assigns. Tolerance of such behavior encourages untoward behavior."
Ling Qi thought that sounded off. "So... what do you do with the funds then?" she asked dubiously. "I mean, no offense, but not many people on this... council even need red stones."
"At the moment, they are being placed into a fund to take care of expenses that may be incurred in the course of our business," Cai Renxiang replied without pause. "This includes expenses like medical care for those injured while enforcing our rules or the cost of purchasing equipment and hiring other personnel as we expand the scope of our duties. I can supplement such things with my own income, but it is only sensible to use the punitive funds for this purpose."
Ling Qi still wasn't sure she was satisfied with that but decided to let it pass for now. "May I ask, what is it you wished to ask me here for, Lady Cai?" She could feel her patience wearing thin because so far it seemed like the girl was just needling her to get her to answer largely pointless questions.
Cai Renxiang took another small sip of her tea before answering. "I desire order. As you have noted, most cultivators are, without a well enforced structure of expectation and punishment, little more than savages and opportunists, hardly better than the beasts we bind."
Ling Qi found herself fixed under the other girl's intense gaze as a bit of passion began to make its way into her stern voice.
"If I cannot even command the obedience and respect of such a small number of cultivators, I have no doubt that Mother will remove me as her heir, and I would not blame her. I wish to bring the remaining dissidents and malcontents among us to heel, and I require your aid in doing so."
Ling Qi blinked. She couldn't imagine what she could do that the heiress could not. "I'd like to know what exactly you have in mind and why you would choose me to do it," Ling Qi replied, choosing her words with care. "And I'd like to note that I won't do anything against Bai Meizhen. She is my friend, and I owe her too much." Ling Qi wanted to make her limits clear.
"I have no ill intentions toward Miss Bai," Cai Renxiang said, inclining her head slightly. "Things are not as they were in past centuries. Change is coming, and grudges are washed away with the tides of time." Ling Qi narrowed her eyes at the vague wording. "Rather, there have been a number of incidents involving attacks upon female disciples in the outer sections of the residential area. The disciples have been beaten and humiliated, robbed down to their smallclothes."
Ling Qi thought ruefully that she really needed to pay more attention to things going on outside her immediate sphere. Understanding quickly dawned as she considered the other female cultivators that had attended the council meeting. If someone was attacking from ambush at night, they probably weren't going to come out if Cai Renxiang was around, glowing like a lamp. Ling Qi doubted Sun Liling or Bai Meizhen would be interested in trying to deal with it either.
"Do you know anything about the attacker?" Ling Qi asked.
"They seem to have an art which allows them to avoid my sight," Cai Renxiang said a touch sourly. "But I will admit, I have little use for subtlety in my personal doings. Other than that, the only confirmed information is that they inflict paralysis with their attacks. They have not struck at any capable of fighting back beyond their initial blow as of yet." She paused to study Ling Qi. "I am aware that cultivation time is valuable. Should you bring this person to me, I am willing to offer you recompense for your time, as well as my gratitude. Ten yellow spirit stones seems an appropriate compensation."
"Thank you for the offer," Ling Qi said. "I hope you will not be offended if I need to consider it for a time?" Ten yellow stones would go quite a long way, especially once she broke through to Mid Silver. But if she could not find and capture this ambusher, she'd waste time she could have been cultivating for no gain.
"Of course not," Cai Renxiang answered, setting her teacup down. "Know that if you do not undertake and complete the job by the end of next week, I will be forced to entertain other measures. Defiance such as this cannot be brooked."
Ling Qi nodded absently. This might just be a real opportunity for her.
Weekly Power Status
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