Threads 75-Normalcy 3

Ling Qi was in a good mood by the next morning. After her friends had left, she had spent more time with her mother and sister and discussed what they were going to do.

The offer to fund a trip back to a settlement of their choice had been extended to the staff, and to Ling Qi’s mild surprise, no one had taken it. Given what the women had been doing before, Ling Qi wasn’t too surprised. Ling Qi reminded herself to budget for extra space when it came time to design a proper “panic room” for the house. They weren’t family, not to her, but to mother…

Well, she would work out the details with Li Suyin tomorrow. She had already sent a message to the other girl and received a reply; Suyin would be happy to help. Ling Qi had even haggled her up to accepting two green stones, more than cost for her work. Ling Qi chuckled to herself as she remembered the fierce battle of words against her friend’s generosity.

Ling Qi paused along the mountain path, peering out toward the province interior for a moment. She was still worried, still anxious, and still angry, but she had done what she could.

She rolled her shoulders, grimacing at the twinge of pain from her still healing wound. It was going to linger for another day or two, the medics said. Ling Qi would be glad to see it gone, but for now, she had to head up the Inner Sect mountain to meet her liege. Cai Renxiang would undoubtedly have marching orders for her. She just wondered what exactly the Duchess had in mind.

However, as she reached the top of the cliffside path, Ling Qi paused, feeling a familiar qi. It emerged from the blank space that represented Cai Renxiang’s home in her spiritual senses. She was not terribly surprised to feel Meizhen’s aura, but she was not alone. A moment later, as she reached the top of the path, she saw them.

Bai Meizhen was immaculate in her usual way, gliding down the path, unmarked by the recent violence. At her side was a tall and gangly figure, Li Suyin’s mentor, Bao Qingling. She could not hear their words of course, obscured as they were by a dense web of qi filaments and the pressure of the deep, but the sight still seemed strange.

Each time she had met Bao Qingling, the girl had been stiff, taciturn, and irritable. She was like Su Ling except condescending and arrogant, and yet there was something more animated about her as she spoke with Bai Meizhen, gesticulating with her hands. The sharp, jerky movements reminded her of a spider plucking at its web.

Meizhen was as sedate as ever, only responding periodically, nodding or smiling faintly in response. She was also, Ling Qi noted clinically, walking a bit closer to Bao Qingling’s side than was strictly appropriate, and the prickly Bao did not seem to find this objectionable. It made her feel odd, and the dark qi in her channels stirred sluggishly. She clamped down on it. It was unfair of her to feel that way, and she had grown past that. She was happy that her friend was making more connections.

Meizhen met her eyes then, and the girl blinked in surprise. Suddenly, the pressure that surrounded the pair faded. “Ling Qi? I did not recognize you. Are you well?” she asked, a touch of concern in her voice.

Ling Qi smiled wanly, stopping at the top of the path. “My ‘treatment’ just unsettled my qi. I should be fine in a day or two. Sorry I haven’t been in contact. I spent yesterday taking care of some things.”

“You’re lucky you’re as sturdy as you are,” Bao Qingling said, her animated expression fading back into her usual disgruntlement now that the two had been interrupted. She folded her arms under her chest, going eerily still. “And that the Sect broke out the good medicines.”

Ling Qi glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow. Why was she even commenting? “Oh? I’m glad that they did, but…”

“Bao Qingling has been quite busy with medical duties in the wake of events,” Meizhen cut in smoothly. “She was the one who informed me of your status.”

“It was a mess,” Bao Qingling said sourly. “It might have saved you, but your body reacted to the sun qi about as well as it did to the poison. I had to do a lot of cutting.”

Ling Qi couldn’t help but pull a face, imagining the pallid girl looming over her with a surgeon’s knife. Unconsciously, she reached up to rub her bandaged shoulder. “I’m glad it went well.”

The other girl cocked her head to the side, and Ling Qi noticed, not for the first time, the way the girl didn’t seem to fully look anywhere with her eyes. Bao Qingling wasn’t blind, but it was clear that she relied far more heavily on other senses than most. Despite not turning her head, she seemed to notice Meizhen’s slightly sour expression. “I destroyed the tissue once the toxin traces had been strained out of course.”

“Of course. How did it compare to the other toxins collected?” Meizhen asked, changing the subject.

“Manufactured for certain,” Bao Qingling said. “Similar enough compositional traces that I suspect a master alchemist somewhere in the enemy’s supply chain.”

“You think someone in the Empire is supplying them?” Ling Qi asked with alarm.

“No,” Bao Qingling replied bluntly.

“An unpopular opinion, to ascribe such sophistication to mere barbarians,” Meizhen mused.

“And I already told you where they can stuff their popular opinions. I’m not going to underestimate my enemies.” Bao Qingling’s lip curled in disgust. “Regardless, I need to get back to my workshop. The antidote projects won’t finish themselves. I’ll leave you to your friend, Bai Meizhen.”

“I will be happy to assist you later, but farewell for now, Bao Qingling,” Meizhen said, briefly dipping her head.

“Thank you for your work,” Ling Qi added with a slightly deeper bow. She received a terse nod in return as the other girl strode past her, heading down the mountain path. A few moments of silence passed between them.

“I am glad you are well, Qi,” Meizhen said quietly. “Please endeavor not to get so badly injured in the future.”

“I’ll work on it, Meizhen,” Ling Qi chuckled. “I’m glad you came out unscathed as well. Were you involved in the fighting?”

“Only peripherally,” her friend replied. “My situation is complicated enough that none chose to command me. I suspect that will change in the future. I have a duty to show solidarity with our allies.”

So she would not be leaving the Sect then. That was good. Ling Qi had already heard rumors of disciples preparing to leave. Going by what Su Ling and Xiao Fen had said, it was worse in the Outer Sect. “Ah, I saw Xiao Fen. She says she will break through soon and be prepared to serve you.” It felt weird to say, but teasing the younger girl aside, she had agreed to pass the message.

“Reassuring,” Meizhen said with a faint smile. Ling Qi followed her gaze down the mountain path.

“Are you sure of what you’re doing?” Ling Qi asked.

“As sure as I can be without broaching the matter directly with her,” Bai Meizhen said. Despite the swirl of events, her friend seemed content. “Which is… soon, perhaps. War does not leave time for regrets, as they say.”

“I can’t say that I understand,” Ling Qi sighed. She wanted nothing to do with that sort of thing. “But I wish you luck all the same.”

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“And I cannot fully understand your reticence,” Meizhen said sadly. “Perhaps life in the Emerald Seas has made me soft, but I find myself looking forward to a little youthful indiscretion. Life is to be lived, after all.”

“Meizhen!” Ling Qi hissed, scandalized.

Bai Meizhen let out a soft laugh, covering her mouth with her sleeve. “My apologies, Qi.”

“You’ve changed, Meizhen,” Ling Qi said after a moment. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“Haven’t we all?” her friend asked airily. “Will you be free for tea this evening?”

“I was intending to spend it with Zhengui,” Ling Qi replied apologetically. “If you do not mind the setting, you’re welcome to join me. I’m sure he would appreciate a visit from Cui.”