Threads 192-Liminal 1

“What were the dream cults anyway?” Ling Qi asked, considering the idol. “I keep hearing about them in passing but never any mention of what they actually did.”

“My own education on the subject isn’t exactly extensive. They first appeared a short time after the disappearance of the Horned Lord as a sort of mystery cult among the Weilu.”

“They didn’t directly worship Grandmother or the greater Dreaming Moon, so I dunno what they actually did,” Sixiang said. “Well… I kinda remember them seeking some specific point in the Dream? That’s a really old fragment of experience though.”

“I do know that the original cult was ascetic in nature, but this was corrupted through the ages.” Bao Qian eyed the idol himself. “If my tutors are to be believed in any case.”

Ling Qi stepped into the room, feeling the hum of dream qi on her skin. “If Sixiang thinks they can do something with it, I’ll take it. If someone notices I have it, I’ll just have to talk my way around the accusations they come up with.”

“As you say,” Bao Qian allowed, following after her. “I think you may be underestimating how troublesome such rumors can be, but that is your choice.”

“It—” Ling Qi began as she reached down and picked up the idol. Her words cut off as she spun around, feeling the attention of something on her back.

An ancient, moldering skull shifts, and black petals rain to the ground

But there was no one there, and the feeling was gone, so swiftly that she could have imagined it.

“Miss Ling?” Bao Qian asked, giving her a concerned look.

“We may have the attention of a spirit,” Ling Qi said slowly, extending her senses. She couldn’t feel anything. She glanced down at the idol sitting innocently in her hands, sluggish flows of dream qi still being drawn into a point at its center. She was, if nothing else, certain that the source of the attention had not been a person, a human, that is. The qi was… wrong for that.

“It wouldn’t be unusual to pick up attention from local spirits when moving the core of a site,” Bao Qian said. She felt his own, much heavier qi rippling around as he peered about cautiously. “I wasn’t informed of any fourth realm or higher spirits with territory here, so we will likely be fine.”

“I suppose so.” Ling Qi felt a bit unsettled. She brushed her thumb over the golden features of the carved figure.

“Mighta been somebody on my side,” Sixiang said. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

Ling Qi nodded. Looking back up, she blinked as she saw Bao Qian gathering candelabra from the altar. “… Really?”

“Waste not, want not,” Bao Qian quoted. “I’ve been running short on gold threading lately. So melting these down will serve nicely.”

Ling Qi could hardly say anything against that. She sent the idol into her storage ring, wincing as she felt the conceptual free “space” in the ring drop massively. The dream idol was quite hefty. “Why do you need gold threading anyway? I’ve heard that gold is terrible for conducting qi.”

“In broad terms certainly, but in modern talisman craft, it has niche applications where being mostly inert to external qi is helpful. More importantly, gold is pretty, and people like its look. That does not merely go for mortals,” Bao Qian said.

Ling Qi made a sound of acknowledgment. She had never noticed a lack of gold filigree and other decorations, even if she saw less of it in larger quantities among cultivators. “Let’s finish up here, shall we? Just keep an eye out.”

Once the room had been looted and the sealing stake pounded into the altar, they set out to finish their work. In the rest of the manor’s second story, there was little else of interest. With the scorch marks and open rifts in the roofing, it was clear that most things of value had already been looted or long since rotted away.

Still, there was some fun simply in the search, and Ling Qi did find a few more trinkets, pieces of jewelry forgotten in the cracks under floorboards and such. Once they were cleaned and cleansed, she’d give them to her mother to dispose of how she pleased.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Soon enough, she found herself back outside, walking through the overgrown garden beside Bao Qian, Zhengui, and Hanyi.

“This has been a relaxing outing. Thank you for your invitation, Bao Qian,” Ling Qi said as they exited through the gates. She knew she was odd, feeling less intimidated by the prospect of work than a more traditional outing. But that was where she stood at the moment.

“It was certainly an experience. I can’t say I mind being able to pontificate at length about my interests.”

“I really do need to expand my horizons, so I didn’t mind listening,” Ling Qi replied.

“If you like, I would not mind taking you to see some local theater or concerts in the future,” Bao Qian offered.

“Ah,” Ling Qi said for lack of a better response.