Threads 507-Ith 1

It was early, the lower edge of the sun still touching the horizon when she met with the Minister. She came to him at the nondescript but well-appointed office of the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs in the administration district. One might think the Ministry’s headquarters in the capital would be less austere, but Ling Qi could see the logic to it.

The Ministry of Spiritual Affairs oversaw a vast web of spirit pacts and served as a congregating place for many varied priesthoods. Anything truly grand could easily offend some spirit or court. So, the headquarters was instead simple lines, dun roof tiles, a clean layout, and just a hint of draconic imagery woven into the scrolling of the rails and painted into wallpaper, quietly asserting the Celestial Dragon’s spiritual supremacy.

They met in a simple office, lit brightly by a formation lamp on the ceiling.

“Minister, thank you for granting me the honor of a conversation, even before the time of the meeting with Law,” Ling Qi said, paying respect to the cultivator’s position, bowing low.

“As the young heiress’ closest spiritual advisor, it seems only sensible that I speak with you, considering the influence you have already shown in the south.” Zhu Fan stroked his beard. Although he wore the horned band of his order on his head, his robes were much less intricate than last she met him. They were clean, soft earth tones with some geometric embroidery.

“It is a role I’ve found came naturally, but not one I received any classical training for,” Ling Qi admitted, choosing her words carefully. “I, of course, do not mean to cause disruption, merely to aid where I see it is needed.”

“Understandable. When one is young, it is easy to see only numerous problems and easy solutions,” Zhu Fan said agreeably, gesturing for her to rise and moving to take a seat himself. “And those youthful eyes are not always wrong. There are many lingering problems left behind from Ogodei’s wake.”

Ling Qi nodded cautiously. That was a relatively good start to their conversation. It certainly hadn’t been the polite rebuke she had feared would be coming her way.

“Pretty conciliatory, but I wouldn’t expect him to just pat ya on the head and tell you good job, either. There’s gonna be a lot of buts to those words, I’d bet,” Sixiang murmured.

Ling Qi ventured, “The calamity of that invasion has left many deep scars. I do not fully understand the hows of it all.”

“The cloud tribes do not interact with spirit courts as we do, and so, they have no respect for the rituals and rites and pacts they do not make. When the people of the south were slaughtered and driven from their homes, the spirits they had cultivated as their neighbors were merely collateral, uprooted and replaced by wilder spirits born from the torrential floods.”

There was a heavy beat of silence.

Zhu Fan continued, “Great Tsu became the Bountiful Earth and ordered the seasons, which were themselves but expressions of yin and yang energies in the world. Rising heat, highest heat, falling heat, lowest heat. This, he made a cycle, rather than a chaotic jumble, and man’s wars cannot disrupt this. But the smaller details…”

Ling Qi filled in the answer to the unspoken question. “When do the rains come? How often, in what quantity? Which rivers flood and where? When does the first crop-killing cold come? These answers are the work of much smaller spirits. This is one of the matters I have sought to stabilize in our fief, or at least, regulate the coming of the snows.”

“It is a unique method,” Zhu Fan allowed, dragging his fingers slowly through his beard. “Unstable. Your spirit does not have the potency to be such a far-reaching lord.”

“She may grow to be so. Her mother was much more potent than she.”

“And yet, that spirit was only the cold of the mountaintop, not a matriarch of winters to stretch across the province,” Zhu Fan replied. “Caution. Be wary of what you change. However, I know you act with the blessing of certain interests among the Meng, so there is clearly a plan. I hope you will convey that I would like to hear it.”

That was rather pointed, as far as requests went.

“Hanyi’s tour seems to be working out, but yeah, it’s starting to get kinda serious, too. That’s probably a talk we need to have with Granny Meng,” Sixiang advised.

“I will raise the matter where I can. If I may, we have some plans to expand to more of a troupe model to spread the authority involved. Hanyi has also been learning to cultivate lesser spirits into local agents who can act in her absence,” Ling Qi answered frankly.

“That is somewhat reassuring. A roving court is not a new concept, among man or spirit, but it has its own complications,” Zhu Fan said after a moment’s consideration. “Primarily, I would like to speak with you about your thoughts on spiritual organization. You are a rising star of the south, and your actions will influence the likely new wave of settlement that will be arriving.”

“The Minister thinks so highly of me?”

“I recognize youthful ambition and the success which has granted you influence,” Zhu Fan replied neutrally. “The heiress has taken the first steps of solidifying a position. It behooves a wise man to observe the new growth that survives its first winter.”

“I cannot say I have no intentions of ordering things toward my own vision of harmony, in the regions that come under my purview,” Ling Qi said. “Nor holding myself back from advising my neighbors.”

“Who would be influenced by the extensive spiritual infrastructure being raised before they have done much more than break ground, regardless,” Zhu Fan observed in a voice as dry as dust.

“I don’t know if it could be called extensive.”

“It is.”

She ducked her head, and Sixiang chuckled. “I will defer to the Minister’s judgement.”

He did not quite sigh aloud or do anything so crass, but the flicker of irritability in his aura told her he did not believe she would. “There are several strains of thought in the purpose of spirit pacts.”

Ling Qi nodded. “Meng Duyi has taught me about this. The Weilu method prioritizes minimizing natural disruption.”

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“That is how they would put it. I would say, rather, they prioritize taking advantage of and then shaping already present phenomena in the long term. The imperial method prioritizes constructing optimal environments for human safety and health. I will not ask which of these methods you favor, as it is obvious. Instead, I would ask what you believe the priority of a lord and their priests should be in arranging their environment.”

Zhu Fan posed hypotheticals. “Is it the ease, health, and happiness of their citizens? Is it the long-term harmony and stability of one’s fief, past any mortal man’s lifetime, forgoing growth? Is it the productivity of the land, bolstering the wealth it produces? I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter.”