Sable Crescent Step. It was one of her first arts, among the three gifted to her by the Grinning Moon at the beginning of the year. With it, she learned to move through shadows, how to move through spaces she could never have fit through, and how to glide between blows with the grace of a dancer.

  After she got her dress from Cai Renxiang, she had thought about the art less. The flight granted by her robe made the mobility of Sable Crescent Step less important. But the Sable Crescent Step remained one of the foundations of her combat style.

  And she had not yet mastered it.

  Like all of the arts granted by the Moon, it was a little odd; it contained more techniques, more lessons. Looking back, the early parts of the art she had cultivated in the first realm seemed incredibly simple. Meditating on those old, crude techniques, Ling Qi felt like she had been a child being propped up by the parent while taking their first steps.

  But now, in the third realm, she was nearing mastery. She could finally comprehend the final lessons of the art.

  It was hard.

  It was so hard not to let her dress pick up the slack of her movements as she ran through the upper mountains, bounding between cliffs and over icy gorges, but slowly, she was refining her mastery.

  Darkness was absence, and she was learning to truly become it. Once, she had to make an active effort to avoid leaving footprints in the snow; now her steps left no trace, even when she ceased circulating qi entirely. A hair, separated from her body, would dissolve into inky smoke and be gone in moments.

  She was truly traceless to anyone without more esoteric senses. But the technique that would coalesce the Crescent’s Grace and Formless Shade into a single Sable Crescent Step technique remained beyond her. She would soon be able to step and cross space as if the intervening distance did not exist, regardless of barriers, formations, or terrain or lack of shadows. It was the culmination of moving without moving, if at a hefty cost to her qi.

  She wasn’t there yet, but she would be soon.

  ***

  Sixiang whispered.

  Ling Qi rolled her eyes at the chiding as she peered down at the chattering band of black furred monkeys, the silver crescents on the fur below their eyes marking them as the culprits who had stolen the products she was to retrieve. She searched among the beasts as they chittered and hooted softly, eating, grooming, and otherwise showing no indication that they were aware of her presence.

  She had elected to do this without violence. Grinning Crescent Monkeys were not particularly dangerous. They liked to trick, humiliate, and steal, but it was rare for them to do any permanent harm to humans. She might be biased though given her leanings toward moon spirits.

  She wondered if she would have sought to bind one of the monkeys if she had not the good fortune of finding Zhengui.

  Sixiang mused.

  She didn’t dignify the spirit’s complaint with a response as her eyes fell on a dark lacquered wooden box that despite some chips and scratches, remained sealed and held the mark of the local clan which sold the fruits in question. At the moment, the biggest of the monkeys, which was perhaps the size of Biyu, with a greying tinge to its fur was seated on top of the box, picking bugs out of the fur of a smaller female at his feet. That would make snatching the box a bit trickier.

  She could just wait. The monkey would move eventually and give her an opening. She could even use brute force; the monkey was only Mid Yellow. But that seemed a little boring. Ling Qi began to circle through the trees, getting closer to her target. In preparation for her heist, she had pocketed a few pebbles on the trail, and she scanned the rest of the troop.

  Picking one with an aura that had a hair more fire than the others, she cast the pebble at the back of the monkey’s head and imitated the beasts’ high, mocking cries, throwing her voice so that it seemed to emanate from within the troop. It only took a few repetitions before the monkeys were worked up into a dander, screeching and chittering at each other.

  It was as simple as waiting for the bigger monkey to wade into the developing brawl to crack a couple heads at that point. The box was gone before a single one of them noticed……

  If only the gala Cai was hosting tomorrow could be conquered so effortlessly.

  The planning stages hadn’t been so bad. Investigating the guests and subtly poking around for potential ill intentions or troublemaking was even kind of fun. Sun Liling had snubbed Cai’s invitation, but that was the extent of her hostility as far as Ling Qi was able to find. Kang Zihao was going to attend, but to all indications, he seemed to be trying to repair his own social position.

  No, it seemed that this gathering was going to go off without violence, which left Ling Qi in the position of having to prepare herself for it. She knew that she was being unreasonable and that she had been rude at the last gathering but it was still hard for her to care. Despite her efforts to psyche herself up and Sixiang’s chatter, she couldn’t say she was looking forward to the gala.

  Taking place around one of the pavilions dotting the mountainside, the party started off well enough. She stayed near Cai Renxiang, offering greetings and pleasantries to guests as they arrived. With the occasional whispered aid from Sixiang, Ling Qi thought she did an adequate job. The spirit, for all of their lack of knowledge regarding human etiquette, was very good at picking up what sort of comments people would take as compliments.

  Of course, the easy times didn’t last, and soon enough, she was left to her own devices to mingle. Her first task was to soothe the feathers she had rustled in her last outing.

  “Let me first apologize for my previous distraction at your gathering,” Ling Qi said smoothly, offering a short bow to Wen Ai. The older girl was just as fancily dressed as the last time she had seen her. “At the time, I was deeply involved with convincing the spirit that had been accompanying me to allow themself to be bound.”


  Wen Ai smiled pleasantly, but the expression didn’t feel genuine. “Of course. I can understand,” she replied, gesturing dismissively with the closed silk fan in her hand. “I am not so ungenerous that I cannot forgive a little irregularity for one new to such things.”


  Ling Qi smiled through the condescension in the other girl’s words, helped by a guiding prod from Sixiang. In this situation, the dream spirit did not speak distracting words but merely offered flashes of thought and insight. “Thank you for your kindness,” she said politely. “And allow me to offer my late compliments to your abilities as a hostess. I hope this gathering meets your expectations?”


  “Lady Cai’s organizational skills are without match,” Wen Ai complimented easily. “I would be pleased to offer my own skills as a decorator the next time,” she added, glancing at the colorful banners strung from the arches and pavilion pillars. “I understand the preference for more plain accoutrements here on the borders, but still……”


  “I will convey your offer,” Ling Qi said. “I am afraid there may not be time for another gathering with the tournament upcoming,” she said, keeping the cheer in her voice perfectly bland and not vindictive at all.

  Wen Ai smiled, her expression a touch brittle. “My, there is so very little time left until then, isn’t there?” she asked, and it didn’t take Sixiang to read the underlying bitterness to the words. Wen Ai knew well that as a second year, she would have a more difficult path to getting in through the combat tournament this year compared to the first year third realms like Lady Cai or Ling Qi herself. “Ah, might I offer my compliments on the change you have made to your hair?”


  Ling Qi blinked, restraining the urge to reach up and touch the silver petaled lily flower helping to pin her braided hair back. Ling Qi had taken the time to update her gear and purchased a couple talismans, one of which was a hairpin with a stylized flower which had replaced her old pin.

  “Thank you very much. Ah,” She hesitated before continuing, “Your new necklace brings together that dress very well too.” Thank you, Sixiang, for noticing that new bit of jewelry.

  “Thank you,” Wen Ai replied. “I am glad to see you put those rumors to rest.”


  “What rumors?” Ling Qi asked with a frown.

  The other girl regarded her with wide eyes and a touch of a smile before raising her hand, cupping her mouth as if to hide a secret. “Why, that terrible rumor you might be a barbarian foundling unable to dress or groom yourself properly without Lady Cai’s or Lady Bai’s help.”


  Ling Qi felt her eye twitch. “What a rude rumor. Well, I suppose given my cultivation schedule, it can’t be helped that the less dedicated might say foolish things like that.”


  “Success does often bring its own troubles,” Wen Ai agreed, perfectly pleasant once more. Neither her nor Sixiang were quite certain if the girl had made that rumor up on the spot.

  “Miss Wen, might I have your attention?” a smooth male voice asked, causing them both to turn toward its source. Ling Qi felt her smile become even more strained as she saw Kang Zihao standing there in immaculate white robes, looking none the worse for the wear despite the trouble they had given him.

  “I would be happy to speak with you, Sir Kang,” Wen Ai said before glancing back at her. “Miss Ling, might I be excused?”


  “You may,” Ling Qi replied. “I hope you have a pleasant evening, Miss Wen, Sir Kang.”


  Kang Zihao glanced at her, his disdain obvious in his eyes, if not his expression. “Certainly, Miss Ling. I am glad that our previous encounters have not engendered bad feelings between us.”


  LIng Qi smiled, remembering the spear speeding toward her that weekend after the truce had ended. “I would never hold a grudge over something so minor,” she said sweetly. She would leave that to Meizhen.

  After the two of them walked away, she let herself take a steadying breath. She had known what she was getting into, joining the Cai. It didn’t mean she enjoyed the reality. She glanced across the field, her eyes landing on Han Jian and Fan Yu. There was her chance to take a breather before forcing herself back into socializing.

  She was looking forward to going to the village to spend time with her family after this though.

  ***

  To an outside observer, Ling Qi would appear the very picture of poise and calm. Indeed, to any of the mortals respectfully stepping out of her path as she proceeded up the road toward her mother’s house, there was not even the slightest indication of turmoil.

  Internally……

  Zhengui complained, his mental voice an odd mix of his two voices.

  Ling Qi thought soothingly.

  She felt a whiff of dissatisfaction from him, but Zhengui was mature enough not to complain further. he said determinedly instead, tone bleeding over closer to Zhen.

  Ling Qi almost shook her head. His last statement wasn’t directed at her, and the haughty way he said it…… She might have given the wrong impression.

  Sixiang chirped cheerfully inside of her head.

  She felt Zhengui doing the telepathic equivalent of spluttering.

  Ling Qi had seen and felt this scenario play out several times over the past week, ever since the first time she had dematerialized Zhengui and introduced him to Sixiang. Whenever the young snake-tortoise started winding himself up over the new spirit’s presence, Sixiang would deflect and deflate him with playful compliments or simply by agreeing with him in a flattering way.

  Her little brother was really weak to flattery, or at least unprepared for it.

  The latest rub had been her decision to avoid introducing Sixiang to her family for now, namely because she didn’t want to try to explain to her mother that the voice in her head was a separate person. Zhengui had thus been disgruntled about being the only one who had to clean up and prepare himself to meet the family.

  Paying only a bit of mind to the mostly good-natured back and forth between the spirits, Ling Qi turned down the street where her mother’s house was. Soon, she passed by the two men standing guard at the street entrance and the servant attending the door. It was amazing the sort of changes one could get used to in only a year.

  “Sis!” She found her mother and sister in the sitting room where the little girl had been seated on her mother’s lap. The older woman let out a mild sigh as she closed the book she was holding and lifted her arm to allow Biyu to wiggle out of her grasp.

  “Hello, little sister,” Ling Qi said, falling into a crouch as the little girl crossed the room to stand before her. “Have you been behaving for Mother?”


  “Mhm!” the little girl responded, bouncing on her feet. “Sis fly now?” she asked excitedly.

  “I had been getting her ready for her nap,” Ling Qi’s mother said, her tone faintly chiding as she approached Ling Qi as well, the storybook that had been in her hands now tucked under her arm.

  “I forgot the time, I guess,” Ling Qi said with an apologetic smile. “Maybe we can fly later, little sister. I wanted to show you and Mother someone very important today,” she continued more seriously.

  Biyu puffed out her cheeks in disappointment, but her mother only frowned slightly. Ling Qi caught the older woman peering into the hall behind her searchingly. “Ling Qi, you should have given us time to prepare for guests,” Ling Qingge fretted. “Please tell me that we have time.”


  “It’s nothing so formal,” Ling Qi reassured her. “It’s only family after all.”


  As she spoke, she gave Zhengui a mental prod, and the young spirit’s essence flowed from her dantian. The air at her feet shimmered, the temperature rising slightly as the solid form of the little snake-tortoise coalesced from thin air. In this shrunken form, Zhengui was the size of an adult tortoise and Zhen, coiled atop his shell, was no larger than a small garden snake.

  “
” Gui chirped cheerfully, breaking the surprised silence.

  “
” Zhen hissed lazily, examining Mother and Biyu as he did.

  Ling Qi smiled. Her little sister’s eyes were wide, and she was emitting a wordless excited sound. “Magic turtle!” she exclaimed, crouching down to peer at the shrunken snake-tortoise.

  On the other hand, Mother’s brow was creased in both concern and wonder as her gaze traced the length of Zhen’s coils to their point of termination. “I recall you mentioned such, but……” She shook her head in disbelief, taking a step closer as Biyu began to reach out to pet the “magic turtle.” “Are you certain it is safe?”


  “Zhengui is as intelligent as you or I,” Ling Qi replied, sending a silent message to Zhengui to be patient with Biyu. “Biyu, remember he isn’t a toy. Petting is fine, but don’t grab.”


  Sixiang mused.

  “
” Zhen hissed, pleased at the little girl’s attention. “
”


  “
” his other half chirped, leaning into Biyu’s petting. “
”


  “I will trust your word,” Ling Qingge said, oblivious to the conversation going on as she leaned down herself to peer over Biyu’s shoulder. “Greetings, Honored Spirit. Please be welcome in our home.”


  “No need to be so formal,” Ling Qi said, standing up. “Zhengui is a little brother to me. Please treat him as family,” she continued even as she saw Zhen preen at the treatment. Between Sixiang and Mother, a little ego deflation might be necessary.

  “
” Gui chirped. Ling Qi twitched a little at the implication.

  “.…… Sis, turtle makes whispers.” Ling Qi blinked as her attention was drawn back to Biyu. The little girl had fallen back on her bottom and was peering at Zhengui with wide eyes.

  “Can you understand him, Biyu?” Ling Qi asked, sharing a surprised look with her mother.

  “Nuh-uh.” The little girl shook her head. “Too quiet,” she added as she climbed back to her feet, pouting at Zhengui. “Turtle, speak up!”


  “
” Gui asked, confused. “
”


  “No, yelling won’t help, Zhengui,” Ling Qi replied. “You’ll have to wait until you’re older to hear him clearly, little sister.”


  Biyu continued to pout but then glanced up at her mother, or rather, the book under her mother’s arm. “Like the princess!” she said, clapping her hands as if that explained everything.

  Ling Qi shared another look with Mother, who seemed rather off-balance. “.…… Why don’t I see to having tea and refreshments prepared?” The older woman needed a moment to collect herself.

  “Sure,” Ling Qi replied agreeably. “I can watch Biyu. Please don’t worry about Zhengui. I have his food with me.”


  “Of course,” her mother said faintly, turning away.

  Ling Qi supposed that the question of whether her little sister would be able to cultivate was answered.

  Thankfully, there weren’t any more surprises that day. Biyu enjoyed playing in the garden with Zhengui, and Mother’s nerves just needed a cup of tea. Her family was settling into the Sect village well, which almost made her regret that she would have to move them again in a fairly short time.

  Ling Qi was sure that she could make a home just as comfortable wherever the Duchess assigned them though, so she didn’t worry over it too much.

  Threads 181-Dawn 4

  Points of light winked and sparkled, circling above the garden pond and over the low walls that surrounded their property. The dampness remaining in the air and the qi exhaled from her lungs left a thin mist crawling along the muddy ground of the storm-wracked garden. The gravel paths were still visible though, and the decorative boulders remained in their places, giving Ling Qi a place to sit as she channeled the energies of the Roaming Moon’s Eye art.

  Of her arts, it was one which she focused on often. It was useful and not particularly flashy, but she used it whenever she needed to search for something, channeling qi to her eyes and ears in the patterns she had learned from its lessons. The wisps gave her the ability to analyze her surroundings more quickly and effectively, and now and again, when she needed to look for something far away, the Viewing Pool was available wherever she could find a pool of water.

  Now, of course, she had a talisman to assist with that. It was one of many reasons she had to further study the art now that she had time.

  Sixiang thought.

  They did, and Ling Qi was looking forward to it, if only because it would make a fun project to work on with Sixiang.

  the muse jested.

  Ling Qi breathed out scattering sparks of silver qi across the ruined garden as she cleared her mind and returned to her cultivation. In truth, she had already mastered most of the secrets of this art. What remained were refinements, learning to achieve a higher clarity in her scrying, letting the wisps zip faster and further through air and shadow. With the insights she had gleaned from watching Meng Dan at his work, those things came to her easily enough. She thought it likely that she would complete the art very soon, and then, she could start on modifying the art.

  But, that was something to think about later. Ling Qi opened her eyes, pushing the views sent to her mind by the whirling wisps to the back of her mind. Her mother sat on the iron bench below, a warmed mat between her and the cold metal, eyes were closed in concentration.

  Over the past year, her mother had persevered with her exercise, helped greatly by the movements taught by the cultivation art she had picked from the archive of lower realm arts gifted to Ling Qi by the Cai. The rough exercises Guan Zhou had designed for young and vigorous mortals was less effective for her mother than the gentler movements that the art had taught.

  Her mother’s condition had improved greatly since she had started practicing it in the garden. Now though, she had just one final step to fully awaken, having already awakened spiritually, and that was to begin weaving and layering qi into bone and muscle. Ling Qi remembered finishing this exercise in a short time, swiftly locking into place the foundations which would allow her to continue improving her body beyond mortal limits.

  Ling Qingge was far slower. According to her mother, she had been at this for most of the month, and still, Ling Qi could see how slowly and haltingly her mother wove the strands of spiritual energy which irregularly emerged from her tarnished dantian. There was a wavering uncertainty to the efforts even after Ling Qi had tried to give her instruction.

  Despite that though, she could tell that her mother was soon to reach the threshold. One wisp and then another drew back in lazily circling the bench where her mother sat, sharpening Ling Qi’s focus on the tentative movement of her mother’s qi. This was the first time she had watched someone else achieve the gold physique. She had thought when she first began to make regular use of her spiritual senses that mortals resembled phantoms. Their spirits were pale shades, and they seemed almost unreal in that sense compared to cultivators who burned so brightly.

  She had learned better, and thus, kept herself grounded. Though mortals did not shine brightly, if one bothered to look, they still had all the complexity to their spirit that a cultivator did, just more muddled. But all the same, she couldn’t claim that it wasn’t gratifying to see her frail, mortal mother beginning to shine just a little bit brighter.

  Completion came suddenly like a hazy image snapping into focus, and the weave of qi layered into bone and flesh thrummed with what Ling Qi recognized as the satisfaction and mild euphoria that came with awakening. The power her mother had attained was small, but qi now cushioned and supported flesh. It would hold back the wear and tear of time and atrophy, and it would enhance the memory of muscle and mind alike.

  Even if mortals were still people and deserved to be thought of as such, that did not change the fact that they were so fragile and fleeting. Now, her mother was a little less so.

  Ling Qi was beside her mother in an instant, wrapping her arm around the older woman’s shoulders as Ling Qingge’s eyes shot open and she sucked in a gasping breath.

  “It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?” Ling Qi asked lightly, gazing up at the stars above.

  “It is,” her mother murmured, staring down at her own hands as if she could hardly recognize them. The lines of stress and hard days still marked her face, but Ling Qi hoped that there would be no new ones for a while now.

  Sixiang’s jab was playful but also purposeful. Ling Qi ducked her head slightly in acknowledgement. She had put things off for long enough.

  “So, now that you have the energy for it. I think I need to tell you about some things,” Ling Qi said.

  “I knew that there were more serious issues on your journey,” her mother replied, opening and closing her hands.

  “What gave me away?” Ling Qi asked.

  “Nothing.” Ling Qingge let her eyes drift shut. “But even one such as I can recognize a pattern when it is repeated often enough.”


  Ling Qi stared blankly. Had her mother just …?

  Sixiang let out an audible snort of laughter. Ling Qi grimaced. Fair enough.

  ***?

  “You do not commit yourself to half measures, do you, Ling Qi?” Her mother broke the silence that had fallen after she finished explaining the choices she had made and what the Duchess now expected of them.

  “I can’t, if I want to keep climbing,” Ling Qi replied, leaning against the back of the bench.

  “And you must keep climbing,” Ling Qingge said. Ling Qi wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a question or not.

  She chose to treat it as one. “I’m still ignorant about a lot of things, but I do know you need power before you can have anything else. You know where a person stands when they’re powerless, Mother.”


  Her mother gazed up at the unclouded stars beside her. When she did reply, it was only a single word. “Yes.”


  “None of us, not myself or you or Biyu or anyone else who comes after, should have to deal with that again,” Ling Qi said thoughtfully, entwining her fingers in her lap. Above their heads, the upward facing crescent of the moon shone pale on the town. “I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to do with that power, but Lady Renxiang, even if she stumbles sometimes, she does know. So I want to support her. And… I think less war can only be good. So until I figure out the more complicated stuff, this is what I can do.”


  In the end, she had given her support to the decision for personal, selfish reasons. She did not want war in the south of the province for any longer than necessary because she wanted to secure a place of peace and safety for her family. And although they had only spoken for a short time, she didn’t really want to fight Jaromila. Her people were just an extension of that.

  The more cynical part of her said that such feelings were probably the point of their little meeting. However, even if that might be the motive, much of it was the simple fact that it was harder to think of someone who had shared warm drinks with her in a comfortable sitting room as a faceless thing to be fought.

  “I only worry that you run ahead so quickly that you will inevitably trip,” Ling Qingge said. “But I must trust you. What does this mean for us?”


  “In the short term, little,” Ling Qi said. “In the coming year, we will have to survey the lands we are assigned and find a place to settle. I’ll be away more often, but I’ll be back often too. Once we have a site ready to move people too… That’s when things will change for you.”


  “You will bankrupt your lady on security measures, I am sure.” Her mother smiled wanly.

  “.…… Maybe not bankrupt,” Ling Qi muttered.

  Things kept changing from one day to the next, Ling Qi thought.

  “We should head inside. You’re not quite immune to catching the chills yet, Mother,” Ling Qi said. “I think we could both use some warm tea.”


  “I suppose, yet I do not feel as if I will be able to sleep either,” Ling Qingge said.

  “I will teach you how to control that later.” Ling Qi stood up and offered her mother a hand. “Perhaps we could compose until everyone wakes up.”


  She was glad to be home for now. She had so many people to catch up with still though.