Threads 65-Foreshock 2

“I believe I could serve best in the defense of the river valley,” Ling Qi said as her turn to speak came around. “Given the wide area of effect which my arts have and my mobility, I will be able to effectively screen the outskirts of the valley for threats, and my spirits are more effective on the defense.”

She spoke as confidently as she could manage and felt a twinge of relief as Guan Zhi nodded once in agreement. “I find your assessment sound enough. Your post will be the southmost village then, Officer Ling. You will have a squad of six under your command in the region.”

Ling Qi stepped back, bowing in acceptance as others stepped up to make their cases. She did not know the other two commanders assigned to the village region, a pair of young men at the appraisal stage of the third realm. They were both older than her, but not excessively so. Her acquaintances from the Luo party ended up in different roles. Alingge was assigned as one of the two disciples serving directly under Guan Zhi while Sha Feng was assigned to the messenger cadre.

Once everyone had their assignments, they were dismissed to receive their dossiers on their subordinates and assigned regions from the Sect office. From there, they were off, separating into their regional groups. With a bit of quiet urging from Sixiang, Ling Qi made an effort to be sociable and learned the names of the two who would be in charge of the other villages. Wei Ping and Song Li were both sons of baronial families in their early twenties. They seemed confident and professional enough at first impression.

The journey south took them through thickly wooded hills, following a winding gravel road that threaded between the verdant hills. Though the distance would probably take a day or two for lower realms or mortals, for third realm cultivators, it was a matter of hours.

Soon, the river valley opened up before their eyes. The river wound like an azure ribbon down from the sky-blocking mountains of the Wall, and in the great cleft that it had carved in the land, people thrived. All along the length of the valley were fields and rice paddies, ordered shapes standing in contrast to the wilder regions around. Little houses and structures were scattered throughout the valley with humble homes of wood and rough quarried stone standing beside great carven totems that radiated qi, keeping the dangers of the woods at bay.

The villages themselves were tiny things, gatherings of a few dozen structures set on relative high ground to protect them from the river’s flooding. Each was home to no more than a couple hundred people with half again that number scattered through the farm houses and fields in their surroundings. Ling Qi bid farewell to her fellow disciples as they passed first village, and then the next, until she was alone, proceeding toward the final, most southerly of trio.

The last village was nestled along the river, straddling a stony ford where the river ran shallow. In the distance, she could see the faint silhouette of Icebreaker Peak, named for the way it broke the cold winds blowing north on its flank. The slopes of the valley were wide and gentle as the river bent east. Here, she met the scouts who would be under her command, a pair of second realm veterans and four first realm recruits drawn from the region. If she were honest with herself, she still felt uncomfortable with the overawed deference of the first realms; the professional manner of the veterans was much more agreeable.

Once the pleasantries were out of the way, she spent a short time listening to reports on recent issues that had cropped up at the outskirts of the village: a few hungry wolves, some blockages in the river, and a minor disease spirit found festering in a marshy stretch of river. All of the issues had been taken care of in the last day or two, save for the disease spirit, but such a thing would be easily dealt with by a cultivator of her calibre.

Once she had confirmed their patrol routes, a formality considering that the routes were set by the regional commander, Ling Qi set off to do just that, in the brief window of time before she was due to meet with the main force officer, who had not yet arrived. As she suspected, handling the disease spirit was not a difficult task. Between Zhengui’s vital presence flushing the creature out and Ling Qi’s own Hoarfrost Refrain technique, the minor spirit was quickly destroyed. Upon returning to the village, Ling Qi found herself surprised once more.

“So diligent,” Gu Xiulan said with a smirk as she greeted her on the path outside the village. “Going out to perform your duties before I even had a chance to arrive.”

“There is no point in wasting time,” Ling Qi retorted. “I admit, I was not expecting to see you assigned here. I thought you would want a more forward position.”

Xiulan’s smirk faded at Ling Qi’s observation, and she let out a frustrated huff. “Yes, well, it was determined that my qi would be too disruptive to the spirits of Icebreaker Peak, and I was hardly going to accept a soft assignment at the other mountain. At least I will see some action here.”

While Ling Qi didn’t disagree with her conclusion, she did give her friend a worried look. While she would not have thought to question it before, her recent experience with that Bai and the bandits had changed her view on just how difficult real battle could be in comparison to the structured duels in the Sect. “I am glad to have you. Do you think you’re prepared for a real battle though?” Ling Qi asked in a low voice, relying on Sixiang to keep their conversation discreet.

“Of course I am.” Her friend gave her a genuinely hurt look, and Ling Qi regretted her question. “Hmph, I will forgive you, if only because I know your sincerity.”

Ling Qi smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry, I guess I was just thinking of how things were for me.”

“I said I forgave you,” Xiulan sniffed. “In any case, I suppose I will see you around. I will ensure that there is tea out when you come to give me your reports.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Ling Qi replied. “I am glad to have someone reliable at my back.”

“Obviously,” her friend smirked. “Now, off with you. I must make sure the rabble I have been assigned is in good discipline.”

Ling Qi nodded to her friend as they parted ways, turning back to head for the scouting outpost that served as her command center. However, before she arrived and began to plan how she would handle things in the coming days, she had something more personal to attend to. Finding a lightly wooded and unsettled copse along the rim of the valley, Ling Qi let her spirits out of her dantian.

“Ugh, finally,” Hanyi said, stretching her arms overhead. “Riding around all day is so boring.”

“Hanyi should complain less,” Gui said sleepily as he got his legs under him, rising to tower over the rest of them.

“Easy for you to say,” the young ice spirit sniffed. “You just sleep, you big lummox. Well, we did get to have some fun and get a little snack.”

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“Mph, bad taste,” Zhen grumbled with none of his usual affected pomp or dignity.

Ling Qi thought back to the thoroughly churned up marsh and Hanyi happily consuming the qi and heat of diseased animals until they were no more than inert lumps of frozen meat. At least Hanyi’s method was less messy than Zhengui’s. “I’m sure we can find you something good in the future,” she said, reaching up to rest her hand on Zhengui’s shell. “For now, is everyone feeling alright?”

“Worrywort,” Sixiang laughed on the wind. “Like any of us are going to get sick from a little baby spirit like that.”

“Yeah, auntie is right for once,” Hanyi said. “Big Sis worries too much.”

“Brat,” Sixiang grumbled, though Ling Qi could tell that the spirit was only pretending to be annoyed by the new nickname Hanyi had started to use for them.

“Gui definitely feels good,” her little brother rumbled cheerfully.

“Yes, weak little sick demon cannot infect I, Zhen,” his other half agreed.