Threads 56-Nobility 3

Ling Qi felt as if she were on the cusp of a realization. Meizhen used her mannerisms as a nigh invulnerable armor to deflect unwanted social advances, and for a time, emulating her had been helpful. But just as she had found her own combat style, Meizhen’s social style was not hers, and continuing to cling to that false face was only doing her harm in her interactions with others. She would have to figure out her own approach in the future, an approach that was more honest to herself. For now, she had a lion to hunt.

It did not take too long to work out their plan. They would separate and begin working their way through the beast’s territory, harvesting plants and herbs. Ling Qi would take the central role so that she could easily react if either of the other two were attacked. Sha Feng and Lin Fei would also release their spirit beasts, a hawk and an owl respectively, to act as overwatch and messenger to the other groups as necessary.

Simple and elegant as a plan should be, in Ling Qi’s opinion. It did rely on the lion being hungry enough to attack, but Alingge and she had not seen any signs of recent kills, so that should be fine. If the lion did not take the bait, they would just have to flush the beast out of its lair.

The downside of this was that it was a pretty dull plan to enact. The fact that they had to separate meant that they couldn’t chat much, and Ling Qi had found that she didn’t mind her companions’ company.

By the time they separated and Ling Qi started collecting herbs, she was beginning to entertain the seed of an idea. Maybe she could set up her own little gathering in the future? It would have to be a small gathering, since she still disliked the crowding of Cai Renxiang’s parties, but she should try to slowly bring some of her disparate social groups together. She wasn’t quite the same confused commoner she had been the last time she had made the effort with the Golden Fields group and Su Ling and Li Suyin.

While she mused on such thoughts, she kept her senses alert, keeping close track of the twin beacons that were her companions’ qi. They were well out of sight, but if she poured on the effort and dropped her suppression, she could be on either of them in seconds.

<You’re such a mother hen sometimes,> Sixiang laughed.

<There’s nothing wrong with caution,> Ling Qi thought primly, reaching down to pluck a bunch of wild berries. She paused just before her fingers could touch them. She had felt something, a ripple in the wind and ambient qi, a well hidden spike of hostility and hunger. Ling Qi vanished, leaving the berry bush swaying as air rushed in to fill the space where she had been crouched.

It did indeed only take a few seconds for her to reach the clearing where Sha Feng had been gathering herbs. A snarling, two-meters-long cat with dull grey fur marked with darker spots and stripes was upon him. The beast had him pinned to the ground, and its jaws were locked around his forearm, fangs digging into the thick leather bracers worn under his armor and the flesh beneath. The beast’s claws scrabbled at his chest, cutting through cloth and leather to cut lines of red in flesh.

Ling Qi had to restrain the reflexive urge to sing a single sharp note and blast the beast off of him because Sha Feng’s expression was one of excitement rather than distress as he struggled to wrestle his way out from beneath the great cat. Remembering her words, Ling Qi instead materialized in the branches of a tree above and breathed out, a ripple of vital qi spreading through the clearing with the beat of her heart. Sha Feng’s skin shimmered with viridian light and suddenly, the beast’s claws no longer found purchase.

She watched in some bemusement as the young man used the beast’s moment of confusion to free his other arm and with a vortex of howling air gathering around his fist, punched the lion in the side of the head in three rapid jabs. The beast seemed hardly harmed by the punches, but the grip of its jaws on Sha Feng’s forearm loosened. Ling Qi felt the older boy take hold of the wind, his outline briefly wavering as he slipped free and reformed a meter away in a ready position, a saber in his left hand.

The beast let out a low snarl as it rounded on him, and she could sense the beast’s attempt to discern the source of the shimmering viridian armor. It wasn’t stupid. For a time, Ling Qi patiently observed as the lion circled and the boy feinted and slashed, not letting himself get pinned again.

Then Ling Qi spotted the fluttering of wings in the sky overhead and grinned, allowing her hold on her qi to loosen. The lion immediately began to turn toward her, the greater threat, ignoring the bellicose boy advancing on it with a saber only to yowl as an arrow carved from pale green wood punched into its flank from the other side. Immediately, the beast shimmered, the air around it shifting as light and wind bent. Ling Qi watched as it darted off to the south, but her other senses showed the trail of qi leading west.

The hunt that followed lasted a bit under half an hour as the pursuing nobles came out of the woodwork to chase down the fleeing beast. It was not exactly what Ling Qi would call harrowing or challenging, but she somehow got caught up in it, hopping through the canopy of the trees beside Alingge as they directed the others. Some part of her had been worried about Sha Feng’s wounds, but all told, he seemed rather pleased with them, boasting to the others about his brief tussle and letting Lin Fei fuss grumpily over him.

At last, the lion fell, wounded and boxed in by disciples with spears and swords. She might have felt bad for it, but Ling Qi was not that softhearted. It was a predatory spirit beast, unbound and wild. The only reason it did not prey on humans regularly was geography. All in all, the hunt itself seemed almost anti-climactic.

She supposed that the hunting was always a sideshow given the venue. Ling Qi watched a particularly brawny boy hoist the carcass onto his shoulders as the others chatted and laughed. Through the crowd, she met Luo Zhong’s eyes, and he smiled. The time for the real challenge had come. The victory celebration.

So far, she had been prodded and herded and put on the spot. But why? She still was not sure of the Luo scion’s intentions, and that bothered her.

***

Ling Qi idly swirled the contents of her cup as she observed the ongoing celebration. From the depths of someone’s storage ring, the party had gained several barrels of a rich fruit cider, and in the center of the clearing, a great fire pit had been dug to use in roasting their catch. Ling Qi was not sure how good the meat of the mirage lion would end up tasting, but she supposed that wasn’t the point of this gathering. Besides, the disciple tending the fire did look like he knew what he was doing with those spices. The beast’s skin was stretched on a drying rack and would go to Alingge, who had landed the fatal shot. The core had been presented to Luo Zhong, of course.

She observed the scion of the Luo where he sat, leaning against the side of his hound, which gnawed lazily at the bloody haunch that had been provided to him. Luo Zhong seemed to have an air of satisfaction about him as he chatted with the Sha brothers.

“Satisfied with your success?” Ling Qi did not startle when Wu Jing spoke up from beside her. It had been easy to sense his approach.

“I am. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves,” Ling Qi replied evenly. She did not turn toward him. It was a minor snub, but no more than his rude words earlier had earned. “Except perhaps for you.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Wu Jing did not seem to take offense, merely making a noise of agreement. “No one received any serious wounds. The risk was still foolish, but I have no reason for complaint.”

She looked over at the young man out of the corner of her eye. “We are all cultivators. Without risk, how will we grow?”

He gave her an unimpressed look from underneath his bushy eyebrows. “And that, Miss Ling, is part of why I find you disagreeable. You risk easily, you offend easily, and you think nothing of us as you climb over our heads seeking higher peaks.”

“I will not apologize for growing as strong as I am able,” Ling Qi shot back. “It is others who choose to take offense when I pass them.”

“I am not criticizing your focus on growth,” Wu Jing said with a frown. “It would be foolish not to leverage your talent. I am criticizing your disregard. Even now, you hold your peers in contempt. Nay, I would say that you do not even see them as your peers. It is an attitude that bodes poorly for the future of our province.”

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It was only Sixiang’s influence that kept Ling Qi from snapping back. “As I have been reminded of many times, I have little experience in the dealings of my peers,” she rebutted coldly. “I apologize if that has caused me to give offense.”

“I would not find you so disagreeable if it were mere inexperience,” he countered. “You are not as subtle as you think, Miss Ling. I have observed you at Lady Cai’s gatherings. You think very little of us. Even today, you approached this gathering as a tiresome chore. Others might be afraid to speak their minds on the matter due to your backing, but I am not.”

Ling Qi was silent because he wasn’t wrong. Even if she had resolved to change her approach, it didn’t change how she had acted previously in social gatherings. “You are correct that I find large gatherings tiresome and treacherous, but that does not reflect on individuals,” she replied after a moment. “I find Sha Feng and Lin Fei agreeable enough, and I quite like Alingge after our conversation. So, I will apologize one final time.” Her voice grew sharp . “However, if you continue, I will take offense.”

She met his eyes, glacial blue to stony grey, and she felt the pressure of his qi against hers. A dusting of frost spread over the grass, and the faintest rumble of vibration shook the earth. Then, the moment passed. Ling Qi was faintly aware of some of the others shooting curious or concerned looks their way.

“Perhaps you speak true,” Wu Jing said as the pressure faded. “But I find your attitude troubling all the same for one who has the ear of our lady. If you are sincere, then pay a mind to the perceptions and echoes of your actions in the future. The Emerald Seas can little afford instability. The Wu remember how fragile prosperity truly is.”