Threads 245-Journey 2

Ling Qi frowned at the little golden statue hovering over the labyrinth gate of her hub in the dream. It bothered her. Despite the fact that it was something the old Weilu had followed, that the Hui had claimed as their own, and that the Meng still claimed to follow a form of, books did not directly reference it, referring to it only in oblique metaphor.

“I feel like I need to say it again now that we’re out of there, but you know not to trust that guy right?”” Sixiang stepped into the dream beside her. The muse put a hand on Ling Qi’s shoulder. “Cause that cultivation game you just played?”

“Was incredibly dangerous.” Ling Qi swayed a little on her feet. Exhaustion fuzzed her mind, and her knees wobbled. “But I couldn’t refuse the contest.”

“Course you couldn’t.” Sixiang sighed, wrapping an arm around her, supporting her under the shoulder.

Sixiang was the only one tall enough to do so without hovering, Ling Qi thought absently. It was enough to get a tired laugh.

Sixiang shot her a grin, guiding her over to a flat stone where she could sit and meditate and sort out her qi. “So what’s the plan for that?”

Ling Qi considered the potent drops of qi she had taken in the early parts of the contest. The skeleton called himself a thief in words, and being a thief herself, she knew that a thief was untrustworthy. She didn’t care for the idea of having her body stolen or her personality shifted or whatever else a potent spirit could theoretically do.

“For now? I’m going to ask Shu Yue to check my cultivation when we reach the first stop on the trip north. It won’t be out of place with what Su Ling and I faced.”

Sixiang crouched in an undignified squat before her, eyebrows rising into their hair. “That spook? When are you going to get the chance?”

“They’ll be watching over us on our trip north to Xiangmen. They said they were there to help me at the tournament. I suppose I’ll be testing that.”

“Mmm, someone like that probably would notice any weird presents left behind,” Sixiang considered. “You gonna try and get their backing for your talk with Diao Hualing?”

“I’d really like to not start my negotiation with Diao Hualing with such a threat.” Ling Qi slowly circulated her qi. There were deviations like drops of blood staining a cloth, and she breathed out, working to purify her energy. “I’ll speak with her first and work with the ministry. I’d prefer if the relationship didn’t have to be antagonistic.”

“But you will if you have to, huh?” Sixiang tilted their head to the side. “Why?”

“Because I want to hurt that monster,” Ling Qi said darkly. She reached up, touching her cheek where one of the shards of her flute had been embedded. “Because she took something from me, and she tried to take more.”

The fox had tried to hurt Su Ling, to break someone her friend clearly found precious, and to taint and poison one of the few happy memories the stoic girl held close. She also didn’t want more children to suffer. She would be happy if they didn’t. Only Su Ling herself would be happier with the news that a fox-blooded child or two were plucked away from suffering and brought somewhere to live well.

But the truth was, she wanted the old monster to hurt.

It made her feel a little unworthy that that was her real overriding motivation, above any altruistic impulse, but she hadn’t lied to the fox. Su Ling was righteous. Cai Renxiang was righteous. She was just a girl who was beginning to be convinced that life could be better than the cold nightmare that a creature like the fox represented.

But she knew one person’s hands wouldn’t and couldn’t be enough to change that.

One person couldn’t carry the world on their back, no matter how mighty they were. On that, at least, she agreed with Diao Linqin.

But right now, she just didn’t know enough. Every day, she discovered some new shadowed corner of history or inexplicable relation, and she found herself wondering just how much larger the world could get.

She was beginning to find her ignorance frustrating. There was so much she didn’t know, and it bothered her almost as much as the weakness that still dogged her. Maybe it didn’t gleam like stones or jewels, but knowledge could be a treasure too.

Once she felt settled from her meditation, Ling Qi left the liminal behind, stepping back home. With the labyrinth gate, it was as easy as stepping between rooms, smooth and controlled with barely any effort at all.

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When she emerged back into reality, she found herself face-to-face with Hanyi and Zhengui, who had clearly been pacing the clearing.

“Big Sis!”

She almost took a step back as they all cried out at once, blinking in shock. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” she asked worriedly.

“Yeah, you’re late!” Hanyi said, crossing her arms. She stood on top of Gui’s head. “Lady Cai sent us to look for you since you didn’t show up at the carriage!”

Ling Qi frowned. “But I didn’t spend—” She swallowed as she looked up at the sky, seeing how close the sun was to its zenith. Just how long did she spend in the gaol?