Threads 331-Springs 1

Something about the way his voice dropped gave her shivers. The brash thug of a cultivator she knew Ji Rong to be should not whisper like that.

“I won’t risk her anger, trying to get inside her head, even if I could. Honestly, I probably can’t get in.”

“That’s fine. We ain’t friends. I know that. I think you’re a prissy faerie high on the station you’ve clawed yourself into. You think I’m a meatheaded thug, dragging the street around like a prison weight, right?”

“Your words, Baron Ji,” Ling Qi said flatly.

“Well, this is what all this noble garbage is supposed to be for, right? ‘Aligning interests.’ I’ll help you. You help me,” Ji Rong demanded.

His pacing had finally taken him to directly in front of her. He was agitated, but the dam that broke earlier seemed to have been sealed. His expression had smoothed out.

Ling Qi considered him. She wouldn’t risk anything deep in dream with the summit coming, but a light skim, reading the echoes Sun Liling left behind her without crossing over was… doable. Possibly. Combined with the visions she had begun to have since her tribulation, they might offer him a hint. A place to get started.

And he was being sincere. Ji Rong was not hard to read. The politicking, the high realms, war and diplomacy, and all of that… It was above his head. Or, at least, it was currently. His interests in this matter were entirely personal. And she couldn’t bring herself to begrudge him that, no matter how much she disliked Sun Liling. If he said there was something wrong about her, she believed him.

“And you keep this shit between us,” he continued. “I want your word on that.”

Ling Qi paused. She was going to do this. The chance to defang the obstruction of the Sun was too good.

“You have my word, Baron Ji. I hope our talks can be productive.”

***​

Cai Renxiang rested her chin in her palm, looking at Ling Qi steadily. “This is a first for you, Ling Qi.”

“If you feel I have overstepped, merely say the word.”

“I did not say that.” Cai Renxiang glanced to the side where the open window of the carriage showed the hills and mountains blurring by. “I trust your judgment. Reducing the impact of the princess’ obstinance is a strong boon, even if I dislike being left in darkness on any of the factors involved.”

“I swear to you that I would not have and have not bargained to complete any service which could harm you or our interests,” Ling Qi promised.

Cai Renxiang hummed in agreement as the carriage gave the faintest shudder, a testament to the roughness of the terrain here where the roads were still incomplete. “Very well. Regardless, we will need to keep our time at Snowblossom efficient. We cannot be away from the summit for too long, especially if your suspicions are correct.”

“I am confident that Xia Lin and Meng Dan will be watching well, though it troubles me that any sabotage could occur with so many sharp eyes available.”

“It does indicate either troubling incompetence or inside work,” Cai Renxiang said unhappily. “The general’s eyes are for troops and greater plots, roads and formations and foes with drawn blades. The work and summit relations, she regards as our responsibility, I think. The ministry however…”

“Should very much be watching,” Ling Qi finished. “Well, I won’t discount our enemies’ competence. The plots of the ith-ia were only uncovered by my good fortune.”

“A good point. It does not do us well to be too arrogant and assume our enemies lack capability. So, I will ask that you oversee the completion of the earth veins project. Gan Guangli should be completing his review of the soldiers and warding stones. I will be ensuring that there are no irregularities in records, missing supplies, or any large scale disruptions. Take some time to speak with your brother, but remain focused on the project.”

“I understand.” Ling Qi bowed her head.

It felt strange to be apart from Zhengui for so long, but she had to admit he was much more useful at Snowblossom. She knew he would just be feeling stir crazy if she had kept him at the summit these weeks, rather than letting him wander the fief and map the veins in the earth.

She felt the faint pulse of qi as the carriage slowed to a more normal pace, coming over the last ridge to look over Snowblossom Lake. It hadn’t changed much yet. The thunder of the water falling from the high cliff across the valley rang distantly in the air, and the lake itself was a placid mirror reflecting the clear blue sky. But little lines of smoke rose from the shore, wispy trails twisting into the sky, and the dense woods carved back for a huddled series of temporary buildings surrounding a gathering square. Further out, she could see lands cleared of stone and stumps, little squares of tilled earth, each with their own homestead. Tiny dots moved along the trails of packed dirt that wound between the buildings. The great stone-paved road that they were on, winding down from the north to the south where they had come from, seemed terribly out of place still.

The sight stirred a strange feeling in Ling Qi. This place was theirs, wasn’t it? She knew this would likely be the seat of Renxiang’s fief, but that didn’t change the fact that this was something she had a hand in building. She might not have been the sole owner, but breathing in the cool air, reaching out in spirit to touch on the diffuse qi of the lake spirit and the many other smaller ones…

This was hers.

“I should wonder if this pride is right, or is it only a seed of arrogance?” Cai Renxiang mused. “That in making something, you are its master, and you may do with it what you please.”

Ling Qi looked over at her friend. It was a comment that only partially referred to their little outpost. It was only common sense for most that a parent had such a right over their children, after all. “Well, I’ll make sure you don’t become too rigid. Meanwhile, you’ll make sure I remain on task, hm, Lady Ren?”

“I do not accept your diminutive,” Renxiang said flatly. “Do so again, and I shall redirect all correspondence from the Celestial Peaks to your desk for sorting.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author’s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Ling Qi swallowed, her face scrunching up in disgust. “That’s too cruel.”

“There is a limit to my indulgence.”

Ling Qi raised her hands in surrender. “Alright, I give up. For now, Lady Renxiang.”

“We will watch each other though, as you said.”

Ling Qi gave a nod as the carriage rounded the bend, bumping gently as it left the stone road and rolled along the dirt path toward the outpost center where a tall, broad figure in gleaming armor was emerging from the administrative building.

Gan Guangli was coming out to greet them.

***​

“Welcome, Lady Cai! Miss Ling! As you can see, everything is in good order! Our brave fellows have ensured that not a single man or woman has been harmed in the clearing of fields or raising of homes. The first group of hardy folk from the foothills has arrived and are settling in well!” Gan Guangli’s booming voice echoed through the huddled buildings in the dirt square, surely audible to everyone on the shore.