Threads 53-Downtime 4

“Xiao Fen? Is that you up there?” a wary voice called out from the woods. “I don’t really have the hang of this art yet…”

“Your senses do not fool you, Liu Xin,” Xiao Fen said stiffly.

The boy that stepped out of the woods was an average looking sort. He wore the Sect’s silver robes, which had been made or modified into a talisman. He had short black hair tied into a topknot and a somewhat handsome face, but he was rather skinny and gangly in build. His grey eyes widened when they landed on Ling Qi, and he hastily bowed. “Oh, uh, that’s what that was,” he muttered to himself. “That is, my apologies for interrupting, Senior Sister.”

“It’s no trouble,” Ling Qi said in amusement, running an assessing eye over him. Fire and earth were his choice of elements from the look of it. Early second realm too, so he was talented, but not too talented or at least not too lucky.

“Why are you here, Liu Xin?” Xiao Fen asked.

“Ah, I just figured you shouldn’t walk back alone,” Liu Xin replied, his eyes darting from Ling Qi to Xiao Fen’s irate expression. “Lu’s guys are out in force.” Xiao Fen’s eyebrow twitched.

“How dutiful of you, Junior Brother,” Ling Qi said with an ill-concealed grin. “Xiao Fen has spoken of how dutiful you are.”

The younger girl shot her a look that could have melted steel, if her cultivation were higher. “Your concern is appreciated,” she said. “But you have only risked yourself pointlessly.”

“I’d have gotten away if it came down to it. I’d rather be around to watch your back.” He glanced at Ling Qi in worry. “You… tend to start fights when you come back from these.”

Ling Qi’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “It never hurts to have another set of eyes open,” she said with faux wisdom. “Why don’t we all walk together a ways then?”

Xiao Fen briefly looked as if she bitten into something sour. “Very well, Senior Sister.”

Ling Qi did not waste time as they began to return to the Sect. “So, Xiao Fen is a little reticent when it comes to talking about you, Liu Xin. You came to the Sect on a military scholarship?”

The young man inched away from her inspection. “Yes. I was probably going to enlist anyway.”

“Why is that?” Ling Qi asked. In Tonghou, few people wanted to join the army, even with its benefits, because the death rates for new recruits were so high.

“Dad disowned me a year before the Ministry guys came,” he answered. “Seemed like the best deal.”

His response gave her some pause. Although she was sure that she could pressure him into answering, she did not want to intrude that far into his private affairs. She glanced at Xiao Fen, who seemed unsurprised by this, and shrugged. “That’s fair,” she said. “You are from the capital, right? What is it like living there? I have not had the chance to visit yet.”

“Well, I’m from the root districts. So I’ve never seen the upper or even middle city up close,” he said. “It’s… peaceful, I guess. Normal. Or at least I thought it was.” The last was muttered under his breath, too low for a normal person to hear. Xiao Fen gave the sky a long-suffering look.

Ling Qi hummed thoughtfully. “I admit, I have only met Her Grace once, but it left an impression. What’s it like living under her?”

<Smooth,> Sixiang said drolly as Liu Xin shot her an alarmed look and glanced to Xiao Fen.

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“Miss Ling is a direct subordinate of Cai Renxiang, Duchess Cai’s heir,” the Bai handmaiden said. “She is merely being blunt. Just answer honestly. Lying will only make you look foolish.”

Ling Qi looked at Xiao Fen, who looked back blankly. On Xio Fen’s other side, Liu Xin still looked uncomfortable. “It’s good, I think, as good as it can be.”

Ling Qi considered his answer and his body language. Strangely, he seemed less afraid than conflicted. “I’m glad, but you didn’t precisely answer my question.”