Threads 144-Tome 1

Although they didn’t have a proper spar, Ling Qi was glad to see her little brother was continuing to grow more adept with his terrain manipulation. His reactions were improving a great deal, as was his ability to coordinate multiple vectors of his ramparts and barriers.

Beyond that, Ling Qi also got her first good look at Xia Lin’s abilities. The girl was very fast, fast enough that Ling Qi was unsure of whether she was faster. Ling Qi could feel the masterful flows of the wind in her steps and every twisting movement of her body and spear. Xia Lin was wind and metal, and her halberd pierced through whatever its blade touched, leaving gaping wounds in the underlying qi constructs of Zhengui’s structures that left them struggling to regrow.

That they did regrow at all seemed to impress Xia Lin all the more.

They parted ways a short time after, and Ling Qi thought that the initial meeting had gone well. If they encountered difficulty on the road, she was more confident than ever that their group would be able to handle it quickly and without trouble.

***​

For the second time in as many days, Ling Qi found herself waiting outside the sect town beside the large inn that marked the town’s outskirts and where she had previously met Xiao Fen the first time. This time, there was no great entourage. Leaning against the wall, she kept half an eye on the road and watched the foot traffic as vendors and market stalls began to creep back into the open space where the White Plumes had arrived yesterday.

<I’m surprised Renxiang had you come out here alone,> Sixiang thought.

<I get it,> Ling Qi thought. <The offer came through me. She’s letting me build on the appearance of doing a favor.>

<I feel like it could be taken as an insult, but I figure she knows what she’s doing,> Sixiang admitted grudgingly.

<There is a chance of that, but I think she knows the importance of seeming like she’s willing to play the same games as everyone else. If people think they can influence her decision through her retainers, then there is more reason to take us seriously,> Ling Qi thought as a laborer passed by her, balancing a long wooden beam on his shoulder. He never even glanced her way. She didn’t want to disturb anyone after all.

<Are you saying that you can’t influence her?> Sixiang asked, giving the impression of a raised eyebrow.

Ling Qi didn’t reply at first. <Not in the way that people will probably think.>

In this one instance, she might have been able to convince Renxiang to reject the offer because of the stakes and her prominent role in the upcoming events. Outside of this, she considered most of her influence on Renxiang to lie in matters outside of politics.

<Self-care, you mean,> Sixiang corrected. <That girl is gonna put herself in an early grave or an ugly path left on her lonesome.>

Sixiang was being uncharitable, but Renxiang was too hard on herself.

<Anyway, I feel something coming up the road. Probably your guest, going by the feeling,> Sixiang whispered.

Ling Qi tilted her head toward the northern road and felt the whisper of wind through marsh weeds in the air and the faint ripples on a pond reflecting a starry sky. A moment later, a carriage came around the bend. It was a plain thing as noble carriages went, polished black wood with a flash of silver about the wheels. It was pulled by a pair of stout horses with silver gray fur and long untrimmed manes.

She watched as it rolled past, other traffic on the road clearing out of its way as the driver guided the horses toward the inn’s stabling grounds. The driver was, despite his hidden face and mysterious form-covering robes, just a second realm cultivator. He was probably from a servant clan of the Meng. She watched as the man parked the carriage and stepped down to confer with the owner of the building.

One short conversation later, the driver was knocking politely at the carriage door. From where she stood, she could hear him murmur. “We have arrived, Young Master.”

The driver stepped back, and the door slid soundlessly open. The young man who stepped out was tall, perhaps even a centimeter or two taller than her. He wore robes of dark blue and black, heavy layered things that shrouded his figure as well as any woman’s gown. Despite that, from his proportions and movements, she could see he was whipcord thin.

He had a handsome if somewhat effeminate face, and his shoulder length hair was chestnut brown. As he reached the bottom of the carriage steps, he reached up with one gloved hand to adjust the narrow half spectacles that rested on his nose. Ling Qi caught the glimmer of qi that flashed in the silvery lenses. They were a pretty potent talisman.

He glanced toward her and met her eyes directly.

Ling Qi smiled without shame. It wasn’t like she was actually trying to hide. It would have been disappointing if he had missed her. She waited until he had dismissed his manservant to stable the horses before she approached.

“Sir Meng, welcome to the Argent Peak Sect,” Ling Qi said politely, clasping her hands and bowing her head.

Meng Dan bowed in return. “Baroness Ling, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

He had a pretty soft and feminine voice. If his grandmother hadn’t specifically used male pronouns, Ling Qi might have been unsure of his gender.

“The pleasure is mine, Sir Meng,” Ling Qi said. “Did your journey go well?”

“It passed without troubles,” he replied, smiling pleasantly. “Bandits are hardly a common problem these days.”

Ling Qi cocked her head a little. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to imply something. “Her Grace’s rule has been most beneficial, hasn’t it?”

“It has,” he agreed easily. “I hope to see matters continue improving. The Emerald Seas has long been at a nadir, historically speaking.”

“I suppose you would know,” Ling Qi said. “Do other scholars of Blue Mountain Sect agree?”

“Heavens, no,” he replied with a chuckle. “We spend near as much time shouting at each other as we do keeping the Library tame.”

Ling Qi blinked.

“It is a common misconception that history is a simple recounting of events,” Meng Dan elaborated easily, removing his spectacles to polish them on a corner of his robes. “In truth, it is a war of perceptions.”

“One which I would hope is grounded in facts,” Ling Qi replied, finding her rhythm again.

“Of course, but facts are funny things,” he said. “I naturally believe my interpretations are correct, but so do my peers, and a skilled orator can make facts mean anything they like. Ask that muse that I can feel behind your eyes.”

She got a feeling of a helpless shrug from Sixiang. Ling Qi narrowed her eyes. Meng Dan was communicating with someone…

Ah, she understood. Ling Qi was not the only one with the voice of a moon phase in their head. “It seems we have both neglected to introduce everyone involved in the conversation,” she said lightly.

“I am sure that you are aware that most people do not bother,” Meng Dan said. His small smile never faded as he replaced his glasses.

It was easy, Ling Qi thought, to arrive at the conclusion that he was amused by her, but she didn’t think that was right. No, the impression she got was that Meng Dan was a little amused at everything.

<Probably not far off,> Sixiang concurred.

“Well, as peers, let us not be rude,” Ling Qi said. “Sixiang, introduce yourself.”

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The air at her side shimmered, and Sixiang faded into view wearing an androgynous face. “Hello there! I gotta say, it’s nice to meet a cousin again.”

“The feeling is mutual.” The soft spoken voice that whispered over Meng Dan’s shoulder was barely audible. A face shimmered in the air there like the reflection of the moon on water. Long black hair in two braids bound by silver ribbons framed a soft, ghostly pale female face. Distinctively, her eyes were hidden behind a tightly bound strip of black silk. “This Yinhui greets cousin Sixiang and Scholar Ling alike.”

“I don’t think anyone has ever called me a scholar,” Ling Qi mused.

“I doubt one with no interest in the past would have spoken as you did at court,” Meng Dan said.

“The Keeper cares not for the orthodoxy of methods,” Yinhui murmured, fading away. “Scholar Ling is one of hers in the end.”

“I think she’s more Grandmother’s type, but you Hidden gals are always the possessive type.” Sixiang faded away in turn.

“Interactions between the phases are always fascinating.” Meng Dan chuckled. “But enough. Would you care to come inside, Miss Ling? I presume we are to bandy words longer still, but I would rather do so with a cup of fresh tea to soothe my throat.”

“Of course,” Ling Qi said, falling in a step behind him.