v4c2: Qi Shock

Deep, deep beneath the earth a little spirit sat in the center of a web of gold. Eyes closed, her breathing slow and even. Energy moved amongst the lines of golden energy, pulsing like the beat of a heart—her heart, and the hearts of all those it was connected to. Some beat slow and steady, others faster from excitement. All entwined into a golden core that the little Earth Spirit sat upon. Thin golden cracks, scars, ran throughout her body. Legacies from a calamity that had left her broken.

As she breathed deep, the energy entered her. And as she breathed out, it slowly went back up through her connections, a cycle that connected them all together. slow pulses of energy entered her through a golden thread. The cracks pulsed and shuddered in time with her breath.

Slowly, Tianlan reached her hand out, and tugged on a golden thread. It was the thickest of them, the most connected to her. She opened her eyes, as the thread brightened, and with an expenditure of her energy, suddenly she was there, standing beside the person whose thread it was. Three figures stood about a giant porcelain bowl, Jin, her connected one, Bowu and Miantiao. Her Jin was grinning and gesticulating as the young man and the snake nodded seriously. Tianlan wondered what they were doing with such a big bowl, but Jin always had interesting ideas. She supposed she would find out soon enough. He kept going on about “indoor plumbing.”

Another tug, and she was somewhere else, with Meiling and Wa Shi. She listened to the pair as Wa Shi compiled a list of foods that the baby in Meiling’s arms should try first. Tianlan’s lips quirked into a smile at how seriously the dragon was taking this. His eyes were intense as he spoke of flavours and textures, Meiling nodded along, amused. Tianlan’s ghostly fingers touched the bae in Meiling’s arms, and she pressed a kiss to his forehead, before she selected the next closest strand.

Another tug, and Pi Pa sat with Chun Ke on top of a hill, both leaning into each other. Satisfied with them she moved on. Place to place. Babe practised with his plow. Gou Ren sketched on a pad of paper house designs… and a rather cute rendition of Xianghua winking.

This… this was her home. Her people, where they belonged. Safe, happy. Near to her. Her eyes turned next to the other threads. The ones of those who were farther away. This time, when she pressed her hand to the thread, instead of appearing there, an image formed.

Tianlan was surprised to see two cultivators, front heir robes and their distinct flavour stood before Xiulan and Tigu, looking thoroughly cowed. Tianlan chuckled at the two men’s expressions, as they submitted their grievances to Xiulan for judgment.

Ruolan’s descendant was truly something else, taking on this mission of hers. Tianlan watched for a moment, as the rage on both cultivator’s faces simmered to a low boil, and the men went their separate ways instead of engaging in more bloodshed. Satisfied for now, Xiulan turned, and walked into a noodle bar. Food was ordered, and their little party began to eat. Tianlan snorted as Yin got her food. The rest of the bar looked on with horror as the “pretty fairy” ripped great chunks of spiced meat off the bone with not an ounce of decorum.

Tianlan felt their oath resonating in her soul. A promise. A promise to the people, and to her.

Tianlan couldn’t help but trust them. She let the images fade, a feeling of peace overcoming her.

And then… then she turned her attention to those three at the barest edge of her vision. At the border of what was “her” slowly climbing out of the edges of her awareness.

She felt their own promise and conviction. That though they would leave her… they were going to come back, guaranteed.

The Earth Spirit slowly closed her eyes again. Concentrating on the little lights, as they got dimmer and dimmer. Bi De, Ri Zu, and Yun Ren ventured off into the unknown.

“Safe travels.” Tianlan whispered.

And a small, golden pulse of energy echoed in the wake of her words.

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Bi De expected the journey up into the Howling Fang Mountains to be uneventful. And indeed it was. Nobody attempted to bar their path. They had some lovely tea at a rest stop half way up the pass. It was a nice, relaxing hike. Even mortals made the journey without a care in the world.

And yet… all of them were panting like they had just finished a grueling spar. Disciple Yun Ren had lopped off a branch to use as a walking stick, and the man was grimacing with every step. Ri Zu’s breath was coming out in squeaks. Bi De himself struggled to maintain his composure.

“What the hells is this shit?!” Yun Ren managed to gasp out.

The air had swiftly grown thick with Qi as they ascended the pass. At first, it was interesting. The world outside the Azure Hills had much more Qi, an amount that put it nearly equal to Fa Ram.

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Bi De had taken in the air, tasting it. The Qi had a nature of frost and stone, so different to the feeling of life and growth that pervaded Fa Ram.

But aside from what could be called the flavour of the energy, it had another quality that Bi De was fast coming to dislike.

It was heavy. The Qi settled in their lungs. It coated their throats and stuck to their bodies like thick mud, the kind Chun Ke loved to wallow in.

It was like all of their bodies were struggling to process it. So it simply sat there within them, inert. Unmoving, yet still taking up space and making their actions more laborious. Compared to Fa Ram, where breathing was easy and mild? Where the energy almost seemed helpful?

This Qi was cold and indifferent to them. It simply was.

Shen Yu and Nezan were looking on curiously at them. Both the fox’s and the old man’s gazes were intense.

“Interesting,” was all the old man said, while Nezan scratched his chin, still in the guise of a woman.

“They were fine in my home, but it is rather insulated. Still, this is quite the unexpected reaction. Qi shock from leaving the province. I suppose it’s to be expected, living in that desert down there.” Nezan looked closely at Yun Ren before poking him in the side, while Shen Yi plucked Bi De up by his ankles to examine him more closely. The position was rather humiliating, but Bi De endured the master’s intense scrutiny, his Qi touching Bi De’s own.

“Qi Shock?” Ri Zu asked, her medical Qi flaring as she tried to figure out what was wrong with them.

Nezan smiled. “There is such a thing as too much Qi. Like consuming a pill too powerful for your current level, some places have ambient Qi levels so high that they start to damage the body from the outside. It settles in your lungs and ruptures the meridians… but well, those places are rare and dangerous. One shouldn’t feel Qi shock from simply leaving the province.”