Threads 429-Snowblossom 1

Cai Renxiang laid out the positions. “There are arguments for both foci. If relations between the Celestial Empire and the White Sky develop as we hope, the river route may become very important, but currently, all goods are flowing in and against the stream rather than out, so trade benefits are not urgent. Particularly upriver.”

Gan Guangli rubbed his chin. “Yes. Even in the best case, we are some years from making use of it.”

“There is also the effect on Snowblossom lake’s personality, especially if she takes those wild rivers into her being,” Ling Qi analyzed.

Meng Duyi grunted in approval. Had he left that out to test her?

“Mmm. Gui thinks it would be okay if Miss Snowblossom was more energetic. Sister or Gui could calm her down.”

“Her serene elegance is fine as it is! So says I, Zhen.”

They stared each other down in her arms. An actual spark landed on Qiyi, earning them each the sharp slap of a sprouting ribbon.

Zhen glared at her dress. “Rude!”

“Silk Sister is feisty enough for everyone,” Gui grumbled.

Bad. No yell. Be good brother.

“It might not be a huge effect, but I prefer the curiosity and friendliness at the center of the town to a colder and more distant regard, let alone any wildness that may emerge from the river’s inclusion.” Ling Qi opined. “And even with our fast rate of expansion, Shenglu will be the center of activity for our fief for a long time. Even when it begins to find its own feet, it will be sending resources to the newer and smaller outlying settlements we build.”

“A fair point,” Gan Guangli said. “It would be more work later perhaps, but said work will have a better foundation behind it.”

“Agreed,” Cai Renxiang decided. “What are our next steps then?”

Meng Duyi passed his hands over the table. Some papers fluttered away, folding or rolling up on their own, while others were tugged free of piles or laid out without any hand’s touch. Clearing his throat, he began, “If we are to follow the tutelary route, then I would begin thus…”

***​

The lights on the shore of Shenglu glittered in the dusktime mist like a swarm of fireflies, and their reflection danced on the serene surface of the lake. The mist billowed out from the waterfall and the city center alike, shrouding the shore and extending its fingers out over the lake. The sun rested on the horizon, dull and red, and the moon hung in the sky, full and heavy. Its silvery surface was twinned out in the lake’s center.

The waters whispered as the barge Ling Qi stood on slid out from the docks, cutting through the clean blue waters with only a slight ripple. The boat was, naturally, qi-powered, pushed forward from the strength of her spirit alone.

In the end, they had decided to blend the plans. The temple would be a series of docks leading into a shrine surrounding an artificial inlet, but for great ceremonies, there would be a shrine ship, a humble, flat-bottomed barge for now, but something more splendid later.

It was fine. She could add decor and elegance on her own until their crafters had time to catch up. Ice bloomed along the sides of the barge in patterns like rippling water and darting fish.

Behind her, under a pavilion covering, was a pair of altars. One was carved from qi-rich wood, and the other was cut from stone. The wooden altar would remain on the boat, and the other would be sunk to the lake bottom, a mirror on the surface and on the lake bed for great ceremonies such as this.