Linq Qi awoke the next morning feeling full of energy despite her exhaustion the night before. She did need a change of clothing as she had fallen asleep in her uniform. She had a few additional sets so she didn’t have to worry about laundry just yet. She would have to find a place to bathe soon though……

  Was it strange to be concerned about something so mundane when she had just taken her first step into the world of Immortals? Ling Qi thought so, but hadn’t Elder Su said yesterday that neglecting mortal concerns entirely was a bad idea? Ling Qi finished changing and left her room. Bai Meizhen was awake and already seated cross-legged by the hearth, sipping from a cup of water again. There was no sign of a breakfast tray or any other food.

  In retrospect, Ling Qi had never actually seen Bai Meizhen eat. Perhaps the other girl was using her qi to suppress her appetite? Elder Su had explained that it was possible to expend qi to suppress or even satisfy the body’s need for food and water. Ling Qi didn’t think she could manage to do so for very long yet. She didn’t want to stand there staring so she stepped out and nodded to the girl.

  “Good morning,” she greeted cautiously.

  Both Meizhen and her pet looked up in unison, and the pale girl dipped her head in response. “Good morning, and congratulations on your awakening. I take it your lesson was fruitful?”


  Ling Qi seated herself across from the other girl. “It was. I guess you didn’t need the lesson? I didn’t see you there,” Ling Qi responded, idly smoothing the fabric of her uniform as she got comfortable.

  “I attended Instructor Zhou’s lesson,” Bai Meizhen said calmly. “It was…… intense, but I feel I benefited from it.” The little snake coiled loosely around Meizhen’s neck twisted its head to look up at its owner, flicking its tongue out several times. Bai Meizhen glanced at it with a slight frown.

  Zhou…… that was the name of the instructor for physical cultivation, Ling Qi recalled.

  “I don’t know if it’s rude to ask but…… what stage are you at?” Ling Qi asked after a few moments of companionable silence. The question had occurred to her later in Elder Su’s lesson, and it hadn’t quite left her mind.

  “Second Sin Shedding,” Bai Meizhen immediately answered. She must have noticed Ling Qi’s confusion because an expression of chagrin crossed her face. “.…… Middle Yellow stage spirit cultivation,” she amended. “I am not yet used to using the…… standardized terms.”


  Bai Meizhen was very far ahead then. Ling Qi was a little discouraged to know she was so far behind.

  “Are most of the other disciples that advanced?” Ling Qi asked, somewhat dreading the answer. “And what do you mean by standardized?”


  “No. Those in the Yellow stage can be counted on the fingers of one hand,” the pale girl responded dismissively. “Most of our peers are no higher than the middle of the Red Soul Stage.

  “Old families such as mine have their own traditions and terms for cultivation. The terms disciples are taught to use here are only a handful of millenia old. The standard terms were coined during the establishment of the current imperial dynasty.”


  Ling Qi nodded, feeling relieved that she wasn’t trailing quite as far behind as she had feared. Her roommate was simply…… unusual. It seemed strange that someone as strong as her would be ostracized. She would think that everyone would want to be friends with the most powerful people. She didn’t want to press the other girl for information on something that might be personal though.

  “Is that why you came here with a spirit beast already?” Ling Qi asked, searching for a thread to keep the conversation going. She could sense the qi in the little snake now. “I’ve seen a couple others who have them too. Do your families give them out?”


  Bai Meizhen frowned harshly at her, and the snake’s head twitched toward her as well, leaving Ling Qi subject to two baleful and unblinking stares. What did she say? After a moment, the other girl sighed, glanced at her pet, and made a brief, soft hissing sound, reaching up to stroke the serpent’s bright green scales.

  “I will forgive the insinuation since you are not aware. It is partially my fault as well for not introducing her properly.” Bai Meizhen fixed Ling Qi with a serious look.

  “This is my cousin, Bai Cui. Please do not refer to her as if she was a pet.”


  Ling Qi stared blankly at her.

  “How does that even -t – She’s a .

  How is she your

  ?” Ling Qi asked incredulously.

  The snake – Cui, Ling Qi reminded herself – hissed softly in what could almost be mistaken for laughter.

  “I know it is not an approved practice anymore, but really, how can you not know such things?” Bai Meizhen huffed in annoyance. “She is my cousin because our Sublime Ancestor is the White Serpent of Lake Hei. We are from two branches of the same family.”


  Ling Qi closed her eyes, trying very hard not to picture the…… mechanics of such an arrangement. Did that mean that Han Jian too…… she couldn’t help but picture the tall boy with a pair of fuzzy cat ears atop his head.

  “I…… right, sorry?” Ling Qi eventually managed. “You just don’t really hear about that kind of thing in the little city I came from,” she finished a touch lamely.

  Bai Meizhen simply nodded, not appearing to hold it against her.

  “I think,” Bai Meizhen began slowly, “I should attempt to educate you on a few matters if only to ensure you do not offend someone unintentionally in the future.”


  Ling Qi blinked in surprise, even as she felt a hint of dread at having to learn a bunch of information not even related to her cultivation. Still, she had been intending to spend time with the other girl this week. Despite her unsettling presence, Bai Meizhen had already helped Ling Qi once.

  “That could be useful,” Ling Qi hedged. “What did you have in mind?” Ling Qi did not have the luxury of being choosy when it came to friendly contacts.

  “Nothing complex,” the other girl assured her. “Just a bit of history and some knowledge about the nobility. Enough to prevent you from making a fool of yourself.” Ling Qi did not trust the way Cui appeared to be doing the serpentine equivalent of laughing aloud.

  “That sounds fine……” she responded despite her better judgement.

  Really, how bad could it be?

  Quite bad, she thought gloomily as she trudged across the plaza to her first lesson on physical cultivation. Bai Meizhen was not a gifted teacher. Her diction was dry, and her dispassionate tone made it all too easy to nod off. Still, she couldn’t say the information was useless. Despite the dryness of the lessons, Ling Qi found herself remembering most of it, which was strange. She had never been particularly great at academic learning before.

  Maybe it was a side effect of her awakening? Her thoughts had felt clearer since she had broken through, and it felt much easier to recall information. She could ask Elder Su tomorrow. For now, she had a lesson to get to and she had no intention of being late.

  Once again, she was walking alone. Bai Meizhen had declined to come along, citing the need to perform some kind of personal meditation. Ling Qi slipped through the crowds with practiced ease and soon found herself on a new path. It spiralled up the east side of the mountain and ended on a smaller plateau with a number of wide fields divided by posts and rope barriers. Each field was equipped with racks full of practice weapons, weights, and other equipment reminiscent of the guardsmen’s drilling yard back home writ large.

  She saw various older disciples scattered about, performing exercises, running, and other slightly incomprehensible things. Was that boy balancing himself on the point of one finger? Why? Shaking her head, she hurried past to the field at the end where a crowd of disciples her age were waiting. There, she saw the boy with the burn scar she had noticed the first day, as well as that loathsome ‘Yu’ fellow.

  Peering into the morning fog as she got closer, she searched for the instructor. She saw the silhouette of a taller figure standing beyond the crowd. She stopped dead as she got a good look at him. The first thought and indeed the only thought that came to Ling Qi was…… muscles. The man standing with his arms clasped behind his back was shirtless and looked like he had been carved from a block of solid bronze. His biceps were easily as thick as another man’s thighs, and she had no idea that it was even possible to have that many clearly defined abdominal muscles.

  Ling Qi flushed scarlet and averted her eyes when she noticed that she had been staring in a rather undignified manner at her instructor. Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed her losing her composure. When she looked back, she focused on his face. He looked as she would expect: stern expression, a wide square jaw, and short, evenly cropped hair tied back in a top knot. Still feeling slightly ashamed of her initial break in composure, Ling Qi did her best to fade into the crowd and not draw attention to herself until the lesson started.

  She did not have to wait too long. Only a few other students filtered in to join the murmuring crowd standing before the utterly silent instructor. She might have thought the man a statue were it not for the rise and fall of his chest. She wasn’t staring. She wasn’t.

  Then he spoke, and the disciples quieted immediately.

  “Those who were here yesterday. Begin running.” His voice held an authoritative tone that brooked no argument and set Ling Qi’s instincts on edge. A good two thirds of the students immediately began to move away, toward the well beaten dirt track around the edge of the field.

  “Those of you who remain,” he continued without once looking their way. “I expect your full effort for the length of every session. Disciples consistently giving less than that in tasks I assign will be expelled from the lesson. I will not provide second chances.”


  Ling Qi was feeling a bit of deja vu at the similarity to the other Elder’s speech.

  “I will not mince words. I am only here at the direct request of Master Yuan, the Sect Head. Most of you will never serve in my unit on the border. Most of you do not have the resolve to be a part of the Empire’s Bulwark. I train those who act as the wall which keeps the Cloud Tribes from our towns and cities. A single failure of attention can bring ruin to entire settlements.

  “I am not in the habit of training those who only intend to be here long enough to gain some piddling strength to establish themselves in court or clan.”


  Several disciples shifted on their feet, and Ling Qi saw some angry and indignant expressions, as well as worry and other emotions. The Instructor pushed on, as implacable as a glacier.

  “I am Zhou the Indomitable, commander of the Sect military, and for some reason, the Sect Head thinks you have the potential to be taught by me,” he barked, voice carrying over the field. “I expect most of you will disappoint him.”


  One or two of the crowd were looking rather mutinous, but Ling Qi noticed that those who had been here the day before had their eyes firmly fixed ahead, not reacting to his words as they ran. She caught a mutter from one of the boys in front of her, one of a handful of young men standing in a loose group near that bastard Yu.

  Of course, if she heard it, she was not surprised that the Elder heard it as well.

  “Repeat what you just said, boy,” the instructor commanded, moving for the first time to point an accusing finger at the speaker. The boy immediately went pale, looking around for support only to find his companions conspicuously turning their faces away. He swallowed, but seemed to find his spine a moment later.

  “I said…… I said that fighting nomads was not so impressive,” he said miserably. “They are just…… just barbarians, you know. Any decent imperial soldier should be able to crush them.”


  “Is that so,” Zhou responded blandly. Pivoting on one foot, he reached over to a nearby weapon rack and tossed one of the blunted practice spears on it at the boy. To his credit, the boy caught it with barely a fumble.

  “You have a mid-gold rank physique. As I understand it, that is roughly average for most interior cities’ guard officers. Correct?”


  The boy nodded with a hint of pride.

  “Very well. Strike me.”


  The boy blinked. “Sir……?”


  “Did I stutter, boy?” Zhou asked coldly, taking a step forward. “I said: strike me. Strike as if you were trying to kill.” The boy continued to hesitate and Elder Zhou took another step forward.

  “Strike. Now. Or I will have you expelled from the sect.”


  That seemed to break the boy’s hesitation, and he stabbed forward toward the instructor’s throat. It appeared like a skilled strike to Ling Qi’s inexperienced eye. Zhou made no effort to dodge, stepping forward to meet it. The iron tip of the spear struck against Instructor Zhou’s neck and bent for an instant before the pressure snapped the wood haft, and the instructor’s hand swept out in a blur.

  The next thing she knew, the boy was rolling across the field a half dozen feet away, whimpering and clutching a rapidly swelling cheek. Zhou looked as impassive as ever as he withdrew his extended hand.

  “I did not use my qi in any active way,” he explained clinically. “Nor did I strike with even a fraction of my strength.” He fixed a glare on each of them in turn as he continued.

  “I have met several nomad Khans who could match me in combat. I have met more still who could at least put up a fight. To underestimate the Empire’s enemies is to invite death to our people. Am I understood?”


  Ling Qi found herself nodding, along with the other disciples present. Not a single one hesitated when he commanded them to run and to not stop until he commanded it. What followed were the most miserable and grueling hours of exertion that Ling Qi could recall. Instructor Zhou was utterly without pity for any of them, but at the same time, he seemed to have a preternatural sense for when they genuinely couldn’t be pushed any further.

  Those that had reached their limits with more conventional exercise were set to meditating under his watch, while being instructed to…… ‘diffuse’ their qi throughout their bodies. This would allow the qi to soak into their flesh and bones rather than gathering in their dantian. They were to practice the qi exercises until the instructor decided they had recovered enough to resume the more physical exercises.

  Unlike her earlier efforts at cultivation, Ling Qi felt that her progress was quite slow. She could definitely feel something happening, but it was frustrating feeling most of the qi she attempted to diffuse simply wasting away into the air. Her mood wasn’t helped by the soreness of her muscles as she trudged back home for the evening. Yet despite her exhaustion, Ling Qi found herself feeling a bit of wonder.

  By cycling her qi according to the freshly mastered first stage of the Argent Soul Art, she had been able to run faster and longer than she could have managed even just days ago. When she stumbled and fell, her qi flared instinctively to shield her palms against the scrapes she would have normally received. If she was already capable of this after only two days of cultivation, just what wonders would the future hold?

  Smelting 3

  The glittering red stones were almost entrancing to look at, Ling Qi thought. Each one was the size of her thumb and had an odd warmth that was very pleasant. She stowed them away almost immediately.

  Having what felt like such valuable precious stones on her person made her nervous. She really wished the gown she had been given had hidden pockets to it. Still, the Elder had forbidden all violence for the next three months, and while that normally wouldn’t be enough to make her relax, in this case, she had a feeling that it would actually be enforced.

  Filing outside, their group was quickly joined by the disciples from the other two lecture halls. The disciples moved toward the two mountain paths that lay behind the main hall. Each path was flanked by a pair of large stone pillars carved with many symbols centered around a single large character. The right hand set had the character for man; the left hand set had the character for woman. The meaning was rather obvious, and it seemed that no one had a desire to test the elders’ words today.

  Walking between the pillars gave Ling Qi an odd tingling sensation, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It was unpleasantly like being watched, but thankfully faded as they moved further from the pillars. For now, she walked silently somewhere in the middle of the crowd of quietly chattering girls, clutching the strap of her satchel tightly and feeling terribly out of place. There were a bit over a hundred people in the group here. That meant that she had quite a few people to compete with if the implications of Elder Jiao’s statements were true.

  She recognized a handful of the girls from her own lecture hall, mostly the two she had considered sitting with. The red haired girl strolled along at the head of the group, hands behind her head and looking for all the world like she was leading them despite simply walking in the same direction. The white haired girl was noticeable simply because of the ‘bubble’ of clear space around her as she walked with her head down toward the rear of the group. Many of the other girls had grouped into little chattering cliques already.

  Reaching the crest of the hill, Ling Qi caught her first glimpse of the residences. Built at the bottom of a small ravine in the mountainside, the homes were set out in a neat grid with wide clean streets between them. At the far end was a veritable mansion, like something she would glimpse over the wall that separated the inner city from the outer back home. Smaller, but still nearly palatial homes with flowering gardens came next. Then came the stone homes that lacked gardens but looked like something a successful craftsman might own. Past that, there were tiny round hovels with straw roofs, barely big enough for two people.

  Ling Qi peered over the residences with a determined look. To be frank, having a home at all was a luxury beyond her means so the quality didn’t necessarily concern her. However, given Elder Jiao’s words that she would likely end up rooming with someone, it meant there simply weren’t enough free homes.

  Ling Qi took a calming breath as they began to make their way down the steep path that led to the residences. She was going to be in danger here once the brief period of enforced nonviolence ended. She would need to make an effort to keep herself safe.

  One way was to gain strength herself, which was strange to think of as it had never really been an option before. A second method was following her driver’s advice and finding ‘someone to watch her back’. Han Jian…… well, while she hoped he would turn out to be genuine, even if he was only pitying her, he couldn’t help her here on the girl’s side.

  She really wasn’t good at this sort of thing. She had never joined any of the street gangs at home; she had no illusions about what her ‘role’ in such a group would have been. If she wanted that, she would have just stayed with Mother and at least made a living out of it.

  At the same time, she didn’t really have anything to offer at the moment though. Casting a surreptitious glance around at the other girls, she found it doubtful that she would be able to involve herself in any of their cliques. There were a few who seemed like they came from less wealthy backgrounds, including a strange girl with dirty smudges on her and wearing some kind of odd fluffy belt of fur around her waist. They wouldn’t be able to help keep her safe though because they had the same problem of having nothing to offer yet.

  So her gaze went back to the two girls she had shared a lecture hall with. The white haired girl was a better choice to approach first she thought. A look around at the others showed that she was ostracized for some reason whereas the distance kept by the others around the red headed girl seemed more…… respectful? Fearful might be a better word.

  Another glance at the white haired girl solidified her resolve to approach. She had no real position so any approach was a gamble. She may as well try for someone who clearly had some kind of power but who wouldn’t have other options……

  And honestly she felt a little bad watching the girl trudge along with her head down. She could recognize the defensiveness in the set of her shoulders.

  Ling Qi began to drift closer to the girl, sidling through the gaps until she reached the empty space around the other girl. As she ‘broke’ the bubble, she noticed several of the girls nearby go quiet and one or two look her way.

  Ignoring the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach, she pressed on until the girl she was approaching noticed her presence and looked up. She got a better look at the other girl’s face then.

  She was unnaturally pale and had the fine features of a porcelain doll framed by silky white hair that fell down to the middle of her back. However, her thin lips were unpainted and bloodless, barely standing out from the rest of her skin, nor did she appear to be wearing any other cosmetics.

  Mostly, it was her eyes that drew Ling Qi’s attention. The slit pupils and wide golden irises were unnerving, but despite the thrill of terror when their eyes met, Ling Qi did not look away or retreat as the fear made her want to do. It helped that the top of the girl’s head didn’t even reach Ling’s Qi’s shoulder. Instead, she nodded to the other girl and fell in beside her a few polite steps away.

  “Hello, I am Ling Qi.” Her voice was stiffer than she would have liked. Several beats of awkward silence followed as the white-haired girl stared at her expressionlessly without blinking. It was very off putting.

  When the girl didn’t respond, she asked, “May I have your name?”


  That seemed to prompt the other girl to blink thankfully, though her expression was unchanged. It was difficult to read her, but she didn’t think the other girl was wary of her so much as…… nonplussed at her presence.

  “Bai Meizhen of the Thousand Lakes province,” the girl responded by rotely. “Why did you not finish introducing yourself?”


  Ling Qi glanced to the side, aware that she and the other girl were being surreptitiously watched. “I did,” she responded awkwardly. “I mean, I suppose I am from the Emerald Seas province,” she added hastily.

  It seemed like trying to maintain formal speech patterns really was a lost cause. She doubted she could deceive the girl for any length of time anyway given her lack of knowledge about noble families. Was there a noble Ling clan?

  Her response ended in another painfully awkward silence, and Ling Qi shifted from foot to foot as the other girl stared at her. She really wished the other girl would blink more often.

  Finally, Bai Meizhen spoke again, a hint of confusion coloring her mostly toneless voice. “I…… see. What is it you require then? I am afraid I have not been granted allowance to hire a maidservant.”


  Ling Qi could not help but grit her teeth at the dismissal and the soft titter she caught from one of the closer girls…… but she managed to calm herself. She had been insulted before and after the initial wave of irritation, she could see that there was no malice in the other girl’s words. It was more like she was just…… completely lost on why else Ling Qi would be talking to her. So she pushed down her anger and put on a smile. She would just be blunt then.

  “I was actually thinking we could be friends. We’re both cultivators, right?” Cultivation was supposed to supersede bloodline and such, even if it seemed that might not be how it worked in practice. “You seem like you could use a friend, and we have to pair off for housing anyway.”


  The odd girl tilted her head to the side slightly, her pace slowing as she observed Ling Qi with an odd intensity. Then her eyes shifted to the side as she frowned, pursing her lips as if listening to something. No one was talking to them as far as Ling Qi could tell.

  “I suppose that is acceptable,” Bai Meizhen responded after a moment longer. She didn’t seem particularly pleased or displeased with Ling Qi’s assertion of friendship, but that might have been the unsettling lack of emotional cues the girl gave.

  “I will warn you however. Do not approach me while I sleep. It is likely that you would die.” The white haired girl delivered that line in the same cold, even tone as the rest of her speech.

  Ling Qi stared at Bai Meizhen trying to work out if that was meant as a threat, a warning, both or something else entirely. After a moment’s consideration, she forced herself to laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind. That would be pretty unfortunate, wouldn’t it?”


  The other girl just dipped her head very slightly in acknowledgement. “It would be unpleasant to lose my first friend to something so avoidable,” she responded agreeably.

  Ling Qi narrowed her eyes at the other girl, trying to work out if she was mocking her, but quickly gave up. Turning her eyes ahead as they resumed walking, she saw that they were a bit over halfway down the path.

  “I was thinking we might talk someone else into joining us. Safety in numbers, you know? Would you have a problem with that?”


  Bai Meizhen seemed to consider that before briefly glancing down at her left arm. “It would likely be difficult to convince another to share a space with me. I do not object in principle though. Did you have someone in mind?”


  Ling Qi glanced at the nearby girls, noting with a somewhat heavy heart, the disdainful looks she received in return. Cozying up to Bai Meizhen had earned her some residual dislike. Keeping her voice low so as not to carry, she nodded toward the front of the group. “That girl, the one with red hair, She’s alone too.”


  For the first time, she saw something like actual emotion surface on Bai Meizhen’s face as her perfect eyebrows drew together in a look of bafflement. “You…… wish to share a roof with her?” she asked, sounding somewhat incredulous.

  She looked back and forth between Ling Qi and the redhead before something seemed to occur to her and make her consternation disappear. “That is the eldest great-granddaughter of Sun Shao, Sun Liling” she explained patiently, as if to a child.

  Ling Qi bristled at the condescension, but she was fairly certain that Bai Meizhen meant well by it. She was hardly going to jeopardize her success at this juncture.

  “.……Who?” she asked as politely as she could.

  The other girl frowned at her, irritation flashing in her eyes. “The Butcher of the West.” Her frown only deepened at Ling Qi’s lack of recognition. “The Scarlet General. King of the Western Territories.”


  Well, that wasn’t ominous at all. She was at least aware of the Western Territories. It was a swathe of land on the western border of the Celestial Empire that had been conquered under the reign of the previous Emperor. As far as she knew, it was barely civilized and constantly under siege by barbarians.

  “What is someone like that doing here?” Ling Qi asked cautiously. Han Jian was from a far flung province as well, but he wasn’t a direct relation of the province’s ruler either……

  He wasn’t, right? She might have to start learning more about this kind of thing.

  “I do not know. Her presence here is bizarre,” Meizhen replied simply.

  Ling Qi felt oddly gratified to know her first thought on the matter was not entirely off base. “Still, is there a particular reason not to approach her?” If she were to approach her, she would need to do so soon as the group was nearing the entrance to the residential area.

  Bai Meizhen shook her head. “Yes,” she replied flatly. “However, I will not stop you if you wish to go to her.” The pale girl gave her a measuring look, and something she couldn’t quite manage to read flashed through Bai Meizhen’s eyes. “You may have a chance, I suppose,” Bai Meizhen added impassively before turning her attention back to the path ahead.

  “Well, I’m at least going to try and talk her into it,” Ling Qi said stubbornly. She stole another look at her companion, but the girl just nodded, her expression blank again. Ling Qi dipped her head to the other girl and strode forward, picking up her pace to move through the crowd.

  It was a bit harder than before as she found herself blocked by seemingly oblivious girls, even jostled once or twice ‘accidentally’. She refused to rise to such bait for the moment. More uncomfortable was the way she could feel Bai Meizhen’s unwavering gaze on her back. Still, they weren’t walking particularly fast so even with such distractions, it didn’t take more than a minute to get up to the front of the group. She soon broke through the crowd, and after a moment’s hesitation, she continued forward toward the red haired girl.

  “You can stop right there.” Sun Liling’s voice brought her up short several steps away. The tanned girl had a pronounced rough accent, though thankfully, it didn’t make her words too difficult to understand.

  “Whaddaya want?” The other girl hadn’t even looked at her yet.

  Up close, Ling Qi could see the corded muscle in the other girl’s bare arms and the torn cloth where the redhead had ripped off the sleeves of her uniform. The girl was taller than most, only a few centimeters shorter than Ling Qi.

  More importantly, Ling Qi got a better look at the way the girl moved, and it reminded her of the most dangerous people on the streets back home, the murderers and gang enforcers. Sun Liling had a grace that even they lacked however.

  “I was going to ask if you had decided who you were pairing up with for housing,” Ling Qi responded tentatively.

  Finally, Sun Liling deigned to turn her head slightly, not lowering the arms held behind her head. The pose made it difficult to ignore the fabric strained to near breaking across across her chest. Ling Qi managed it with only a minor spike of irritation, returning her attention to the other girl’s face.

  It was disturbing to note that the other girl’s eyes were the color of freshly spilt blood. The most attention grabbing feature was the three, thin white lines that traced down across her nose and lips. It looked like something had raked it’s claws down her face.

  “The snake blow you off then?” She asked abruptly.

  The other girl was making no effort to keep her voice down, and Ling Qi just managed not to squirm at the silence from the girls closest to them.

  “I…… no.” She still stumbled over the words though. “How did you……”


  “I wanted to see what had the geese back there squawking,” Sun Liling drawled lazily. “I guess I gotta give you points for ambition if nothing else.” Ling Qi felt uncomfortable at the other girl’s intent study of her.

  “You don’t look completely soft. You might be worth something if you work at it.”


  Indignant, Ling Qi’s next words slipped out before she could think about it. “Don’t say that as if it’s praise,” she snapped.

  “I was……” Ling Qi’s eyes flew wide open wide as a scar nicked fist suddenly stopped a hair’s breadth from her nose, the blowback enough to make Ling Qi’s flyaway strands flutter from her face. The others behind them stopped dead in their tracks as well. She hadn’t even seen Sun Liling move into position. Sun Liling’s crimson eyes were hard and cold.

  Then, Sun Liling withdrew her fist and chuckled. “Made ya flinch,” she said in a voice laced with amusement. “But seriously, if you survive the inevitable backstab from the snake, I’ll still be around.”


  As the girl turned away and kept walking, Ling Qi glared at her back, hating the flush of embarrassment that she knew was rising on her face. This time, she managed to control herself. Her heart was still pounding in her ears from the fear she had felt in that bare second when she had thought the other girl was going to strike her. She wasn’t an experienced fighter, but…… she was quite certain she would be in no condition to walk anywhere if the girl had followed through.

  Ling Qi fell back through the crowd, ignoring the looks she was getting and returned to Bai Meizhen’s side. There was a trace of…… concern, maybe, on the pale girl’s face before vanishing.

  “Are you well?” the other girl asked evenly.

  “Fine,” Ling Qi responded tersely. With an effort, she fought down the indignation and anger she felt and let out a long breath. There was no point in it right now.

  “So,” she began with false cheer, “what kind of residence do you want to take?”


  Bai Meizhen stared at her unblinking before dipping her head slightly, apparently acknowledging Ling Qi’s desire not to talk about it.

  “I do not feel the need to enter conflict over the more luxurious housing. However, the outer hovels are unacceptable.”


  At least that was one thing she didn’t have to worry about. Ling Qi would have been happy enough to take one of the smallest homes if she were alone, but given the other girl’s words regarding the consequences of disturbing her rest, Ling Qi wouldn’t want to risk being in such close proximity when sleeping.

  “Somewhere in the second block then? That’s more than enough for me,” she replied, keeping her voice cheerful.

  Ling Qi had suffered far worse than a threatened fist, and she had been foolish to let her emotions get the better of her. She couldn’t allow herself to forget the caution that had kept her alive for the past four years, no matter where she was now.

  Threads 3

  It was about a half hour later that she found herself seated across from Cai Renxiang at the little table in her home’s kitchen with a steaming cup of dark brown tea being placed in front of her. It had an invigorating, earthy scent with a hint of sweetness.

  “You added honey?” Ling Qi asked, for once recognizing a scent. She had stolen jars of the stuff once or twice. It was expensive and kept well, and easy to hide until it could be fenced.

  “The Primeval Root blend is incomplete without a small spoonful of Cloud Blossom honey,” Cai Renxiang replied from her seat. Seeing her with her eyes closed, inhaling the scent of the tea, Ling Qi could almost mistake her for being a normal, relaxed girl.

  “Throwing out names like that,” Ling Qi said slyly. “You should have told me it was a cultivation aid.”


  Cai Renxiang cracked one eye open to give her a disapproving look. “It is not. The medicinal blend has a terrible flavor and uses a different subspecies of the plant.”


  Ling Qi huffed in disappointment but took a tiny sip anyway. It had a very rich flavor, which she had to admit was tasty. It still seemed a bit of a waste. “What is with those names then?”


  “The tea leaves only grow upon the hills formed by the capital city’s root network, and the honey arises from the bees kept in the fourth stratum cloud gardens,” Cai Renxiang explained, taking a sip of her own.

  “I definitely want to see that place one day,” Ling Qi said, struggling to picture a tree big enough to be a mountain. She had always been aware of the dark shadow on the northern horizon when she lived in Tonghou, but she had never really considered what it was. “Why is tea so important in Emerald Seas, anyway?”


  “It is, in truth, a holdover from the days of Weilu rule. Their founder, Tsu the Diviner, mastered the secrets of weather and seasons, allowing his people to grow their food from the earth. Tea plants were among the first domesticated this way. Those early blends were of practical use. They fortified the drinker’s health and warded off sickness.”


  That made sense. Even she knew that boiling water helped remove some of the impurities that could make a person sick. If someone could make it have medicinal value and taste good at the same time, why not? “So it’s a habit that stuck around since then?”


  “In simple terms, yes,” Cai Renxiang replied. “It became a mark of status to grow especially flavorful and desirable plants on one’s land, and remains so to this day.”


  Ling Qi hummed to herself, taking a deeper drink from her cup. It did have a certain relaxing effect. “So it’s another thing like swords then…… “ she mused aloud. “You seem more passionate about it than a mere obligation would imply though.”


  Cai Renxiang did not answer, and as the moment stretched, Ling Qi looked up to find the girl wearing a troubled expression.

  “.…… Mother does not care for tea making,” the other girl. Her ever-present corona of light died down to a bare flicker as she toyed with the handle of her teacup. “She recognizes its value. So she does not reprimand me for the practice, but it also holds no interest to her. It is something I enjoyed, even as a small child.”


  Ling Qi nodded in understanding but didn’t say a word. She could read between the lines of what had been said well enough. As the silence began to get heavy, Ling Qi put on a smile. “You’ve certainly gotten good at it. Are there any other interesting blends from the capital?” she asked.

  Cai Renxiang gave her a wry look that said that she knew exactly what Ling Qi was doing. “Of course. Some of them may even interest you. In the fifth and sixth stratum, there are……”


  Ling Qi leaned forward and took the pot, pouring herself another cup. She’d have to ask Cai Renxiang to put up the death-aspected mirror she had found in the Weilu tomb for auction later, but this wasn’t such a bad way to spend the afternoon.

  ***

  “You know, I don’t think I ever congratulated you on winning the production tournament,” Ling Qi thought aloud, swaying back and forth with the motion of her ride.

  Gui trundled along cheerfully beneath her while Zhen’s warm coils rested comfortably around her shoulders like a heavy scarf. Keeping her balance on his shell might have been tricky, once, but as she was now it was no more difficult than tying her boots in the morning.

  Beside her, Xuan Shi strolled, the rings on his staff jangling with every step. He had gotten a new one with rings of carved white jade hanging around a decoratively forged head of gleaming bronze. The body of the staff looked to be carved from stone. “Are not sweet words meant to come before the call for aid?” he asked, looking at her over the high collar over his robe.

  Ling Qi felt embarrassed. “I didn’t mean it that way.”


  “
” Zhen hissed from above her shoulder, turning his burning gaze on her companion.

  “This one is aware of Baroness Ling’s foibles,” Xuan Shi said dismissively. He seemed more confident and at ease than the last time she had met him, his speech a touch less impenetrably flowery. “This one meant no offense.”


  “You can just call me Ling Qi. Thank you again for your help,” Ling Qi said. “If you need help with something yourself, please ask.”


  “This one will consider the use of thy favor carefully, O herald of the riptide,” he replied, amused.

  “I will choose to take that as a compliment,” Ling Qi said with faux haughtiness.

  Sixiang mused teasingly.

  Ling Qi replied, giving Zhen a quelling look as he began to rear up to glare at the young man beside her. If Xuan Shi wanted to banter, she wasn’t inclined to stop him.

  “Thy mercy is as boundless as the heavens,” he replied, unruffled. “Then, might this one inquire as to the status of thy lady’s other hand?”


  Ling Qi frowned, adjusting her balance as they started down a hill. “Gan Guangli has his own task, and the rules of the Sect mean that what can be done to aid him is limited. I have left him my pill furnace for his use, and Lady Cai will fund his cultivation. Were you friends?” she asked curiously. She hadn’t spent much time with either boy.

  “The right hand is a man of honor whom this one respects. He has been a friendly ear, at times,” Xuan Shi said, a touch of regret entering his voice.

  “The big man was nice,” Gui agreed guilelessly, with all the earnestness of a child.

  “I suppose he was,” Ling Qi said. She would just have to hope her fellow retainer was able to tough it out. She was leery of the idea of a replacement for him chosen by the Duchess in Cai Renxiang’s circle.

  “If it’s not rude,” she continued carefully, “might I ask why you grew more distant from us?”


  Xuan Shi reached up, tilting his shell patterned hat downward and shadowing his face further. “This one grew busy with his projects and…… realized the foolishness of certain childish impulses. Let it rest at that.”


  Sixiang muttered.

  Ling Qi frowned, quickly working out what Sixiang was talking about; there was only one person the usually jovial Sixiang referred to in such a manner. She didn’t think Sixiang was messing around. Had Xuan Shi really been interested in Cai Renxiang like that? Nevertheless, she nodded, dropping the subject as he requested.

  “In any case,” she continued after the silence stretched on, “how big should I expect my little brother to grow by the time he’s done?”


  “
”


  “
”


  Xuan Shi chuckled, giving the now bickering heads of her spirit beast a sad look. “Perhaps in time,” he spoke over their non-verbal squabbling. “For a Xuan Wu reaching the earliest stages of maturity, his shell will be between seven and ten spans of Imperial measure from front to back.”


  Between seven and ten meters, Ling Qi thought, her eyes widening. That was…… quite big. “Just how big do Xuan Wu grow?” She had read some things, but she had assumed embellishment on the author’s part.

  Xuan Shi’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “As great as mountains and more. The clans of Xuan live and work upon the backs of our cousins, more than the lonely stones of the true islands of the Savage Seas.”


  “Huh,” Ling Qi said, looking at Zhen, who looked smug. She flicked his snout playfully, and he let out a whining hiss of complaint. “You’re still a ways from that, little brother,” she chided.

  “
” Gui asserted with childish confidence.

  “He will not disappoint,” Xuan Shi said quietly, glancing at Zhengui with a look that was difficult to read.

  “
” Zhen said haughtily.

  Fishy man? Where in the world did that name come from? Xuan Shi’s aura was solidly a thing of earth and rock.

  “Be more polite, Zhengui,” she scolded. “I am sorry for his behavior, Sect Brother Xuan,” she said, bowing as politely as she could manage from her perch.

  “Think nothing of it, and if thy name is open for use, it would be rude to withhold mine,” Xuan Shi said, tilting his hat back as he peered up at the next hill. “This one believes that our destination is nigh.”


  Sixiang laughed.

  Ling Qi rolled her eyes, not bothering to respond to the moon spirit’s teasing.

  Ling Qi looked up at the wide low hill rising before them. The rocky soil was dotted by tall trees with long trunks, and steam rose from cracks in the stony earth. Thick scrub brush grew over the rest, giving it a mix of dull green and brown colors. The faint scent of smoke seemed to cling to the air and the natural qi alike. A glance to her left and right saw small formation totems lining the base of the hill marked with characters for the containment of fire.

  “
” Gui chirped, startling her as he began to trundle forward faster.

  Well, it might not be pretty like the vale Heizui lived in, but she supposed if her little brother liked it, this place was fine. “So, what should we do first?” she called back to Xuan Shi.

  The boy picked up his pace, the rings on his staff jingling. “Thy little brother shall dig his nest. It will be our task to find the choicest cuts from the wood,” he said almost cheerfully.

  “
” the other half of her little brother hissed. “
”


  Ling Qi laughed as his two heads fell to bickering again. Thankfully, her storage ring was full of quality second grade cores and even a few low grade third ones. Feeding Zhengui had been starting to strain her budget, and it was only going to grow more expensive when he made the jump to the third realm. The Cai taking on the expense was quite a boon.

  The rest of the morning and much of the afternoon was spent on that hill. Ling Qi worked together with Xuan Shi to carve and move cuts of qi-infused wood to the edges of the ever deepening pit Zhengui was digging for himself. She was rather displeased when her little brother’s digging pierced an underground valve, releasing both boiling water and the unchecked scent of sulfur into the glade. Watching him splashing around happily in the growing pool of hissing, bubbling water at the bottom of his nest did take the edge off the acrid smell, however.

  Xuan Shi showed good humor about the whole thing, for which she was grateful. She wondered just what had happened to affect his demeanor so, compared to last year. Perhaps he had earned enough praise from his family to boost his confidence? It was not her business to pry.

  There was a certain satisfaction in the simple labor of cutting supple strips of wood and brush alongside Xuan Shi and weaving them together into blanket-like mats. She wasn’t particularly good at it, but with the scholarly boy’s slow, even voice instructing her, she was able to successfully create patterns and characters which enhanced the natural flow of qi through the whole construction.

  Building up stacked logs around Zhengui’s burrow like a tower for a massive bonfire was much more difficult. Even if she could lift a whole log, moving it around was a whole other matter. It was far too ungainly to manage without Xuan Shi’s help. At least the gobbets of mud kicked up by Zhengui’s digging were useful in packing the whole thing.

  By the time the sun was fading from the sky, they were both splattered with mud, sawdust, and bits of plant matter, although Ling Qi’s gown remained unmarked, having cleaned itself meticulously. Zhengui rested invisibly at the bottom of his burrow, covered by layer upon layer of woven branches and brush from which smoke was already beginning to rise. All she could do now was wait for her little brother to finish his breakthrough.

  The days that followed quickly became routine. Elder Hua’s lessons continued, and she learned to her chagrin that she had been making things harder for herself all of last year as his lessons touched upon the proper way to read the information encoded in jade slips. She had stumbled upon it in dribs and drabs during her previous year’s cultivation, but in the future, she would not have to stumble into the workings of her arts with so much of a blind eye.

  There were physical lessons as well. Sadly, they were not taught by Elder Zhou, but Ling Qi quickly took to refining her physical cultivation, which had been left by the wayside somewhat in her rush to polish her arts for the tournament to enter the Inner Sect. Between picking up the workload of the lessons and completing the rest of the work to settle in, it was nearly a week in before she found herself with the free time to travel to the Sect village.