Threads Chapter 3

It was about a half hour later that she found herself seated across from Cai Renxiang at the little table in her home’s kitchen with a steaming cup of dark brown tea being placed in front of her. It had an invigorating, earthy scent with a hint of sweetness.

“You added honey?” Ling Qi asked, for once recognizing a scent. She had stolen jars of the stuff once or twice. It was expensive and kept well, and easy to hide until it could be fenced.

“The Primeval Root blend is incomplete without a small spoonful of Cloud Blossom honey,” Cai Renxiang replied from her seat. Seeing her with her eyes closed, inhaling the scent of the tea, Ling Qi could almost mistake her for being a normal, relaxed girl.

“Throwing out names like that,” Ling Qi said slyly. “You should have told me it was a cultivation aid.”

Cai Renxiang cracked one eye open to give her a disapproving look. “It is not. The medicinal blend has a terrible flavor and uses a different subspecies of the plant.”

Ling Qi huffed in disappointment but took a tiny sip anyway. It had a very rich flavor, which she had to admit was tasty. It still seemed a bit of a waste. “What is with those names then?”

“The tea leaves only grow upon the hills formed by the capital city’s root network, and the honey arises from the bees kept in the fourth stratum cloud gardens,” Cai Renxiang explained, taking a sip of her own.

“I definitely want to see that place one day,” Ling Qi said, struggling to picture a tree big enough to be a mountain. She had always been aware of the dark shadow on the northern horizon when she lived in Tonghou, but she had never really considered what it was. “Why is tea so important in Emerald Seas, anyway?”

“It is, in truth, a holdover from the days of Weilu rule. Their founder, Tsu the Diviner, mastered the secrets of weather and seasons, allowing his people to grow their food from the earth. Tea plants were among the first domesticated this way. Those early blends were of practical use. They fortified the drinker’s health and warded off sickness.”

That made sense. Even she knew that boiling water helped remove some of the impurities that could make a person sick. If someone could make it have medicinal value and taste good at the same time, why not? “So it’s a habit that stuck around since then?”

“In simple terms, yes,” Cai Renxiang replied. “It became a mark of status to grow especially flavorful and desirable plants on one’s land, and remains so to this day.”

Ling Qi hummed to herself, taking a deeper drink from her cup. It did have a certain relaxing effect. “So it’s another thing like swords then… “ she mused aloud. “You seem more passionate about it than a mere obligation would imply though.”

Cai Renxiang did not answer, and as the moment stretched, Ling Qi looked up to find the girl wearing a troubled expression.

“… Mother does not care for tea making,” the other girl. Her ever-present corona of light died down to a bare flicker as she toyed with the handle of her teacup. “She recognizes its value. So she does not reprimand me for the practice, but it also holds no interest to her. It is something I enjoyed, even as a small child.”

Ling Qi nodded in understanding but didn’t say a word. She could read between the lines of what had been said well enough. As the silence began to get heavy, Ling Qi put on a smile. “You’ve certainly gotten good at it. Are there any other interesting blends from the capital?” she asked.

Cai Renxiang gave her a wry look that said that she knew exactly what Ling Qi was doing. “Of course. Some of them may even interest you. In the fifth and sixth stratum, there are…”

Ling Qi leaned forward and took the pot, pouring herself another cup. She’d have to ask Cai Renxiang to put up the death-aspected mirror she had found in the Weilu tomb for auction later, but this wasn’t such a bad way to spend the afternoon.

***

“You know, I don’t think I ever congratulated you on winning the production tournament,” Ling Qi thought aloud, swaying back and forth with the motion of her ride.

Gui trundled along cheerfully beneath her while Zhen’s warm coils rested comfortably around her shoulders like a heavy scarf. Keeping her balance on his shell might have been tricky, once, but as she was now it was no more difficult than tying her boots in the morning.

Beside her, Xuan Shi strolled, the rings on his staff jangling with every step. He had gotten a new one with rings of carved white jade hanging around a decoratively forged head of gleaming bronze. The body of the staff looked to be carved from stone. “Are not sweet words meant to come before the call for aid?” he asked, looking at her over the high collar over his robe.

Ling Qi felt embarrassed. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Do not be mean to Big Sister,” Zhen hissed from above her shoulder, turning his burning gaze on her companion.

“This one is aware of Baroness Ling’s foibles,” Xuan Shi said dismissively. He seemed more confident and at ease than the last time she had met him, his speech a touch less impenetrably flowery. “This one meant no offense.”

“You can just call me Ling Qi. Thank you again for your help,” Ling Qi said. “If you need help with something yourself, please ask.”

“This one will consider the use of thy favor carefully, O herald of the riptide,” he replied, amused.

“I will choose to take that as a compliment,” Ling Qi said with faux haughtiness.

<I think you need one of those little fluttery fans to pull that off. Maybe you could ask Xiulan for one?> Sixiang mused teasingly.

<Maybe another time,> Ling Qi replied, giving Zhen a quelling look as he began to rear up to glare at the young man beside her. If Xuan Shi wanted to banter, she wasn’t inclined to stop him.

“Thy mercy is as boundless as the heavens,” he replied, unruffled. “Then, might this one inquire as to the status of thy lady’s other hand?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Ling Qi frowned, adjusting her balance as they started down a hill. “Gan Guangli has his own task, and the rules of the Sect mean that what can be done to aid him is limited. I have left him my pill furnace for his use, and Lady Cai will fund his cultivation. Were you friends?” she asked curiously. She hadn’t spent much time with either boy.

“The right hand is a man of honor whom this one respects. He has been a friendly ear, at times,” Xuan Shi said, a touch of regret entering his voice.

“The big man was nice,” Gui agreed guilelessly, with all the earnestness of a child.