Threads Chapter 404-Standing 2

“Holy shit, what did you do?”

“Hello to you, too,” Ling Qi said over the rim of her wine cup. The guestroom of the traveler’s inn had not changed much from when she had been here last. Last time, Meizhen had invited her out here to meet Xiao Fen. The furnishings were plain but well put together, and the privacy wards were acceptable for light chat. “Now, stop standing there gaping. You look silly.”

Su Ling snorted, pulling her eyes back up to Ling Qi’s face and stepped inside. Her tails thrashed in agitation behind her before settling back down.

Su Ling had changed. Ling Qi could see the black lines burned into her hands where her meridians had burst through her skin in the Liminal adventure where they had encountered her mother, Madam Grey. Her wrists and forearms were wrapped under a layer of padded bandages and polished wooden bracers carved with angular, geometric shapes, and crescents. She’d gotten a new vest as well, dark brown and worked through with crimson and silver threads.

“No, but seriously, are you telling me that nutty rumor about you and the General is true?”

“It is very true. I’m hurt, Su Ling. I wouldn’t think that you would doubt me.”

The other girl stared blankly at her and shook her head. “Guess I thought there was still a limit to your craziness. Silly me.”

“Baroness Ling is dedicated to her duties. The Cai are fortunate to have such an exemplar of duty.”

Ling Qi looked at the door where the other voice had emerged from. “Lady Diao, you are welcome as well.”

“Thank you, baroness,” Diao Hualing said. The door drifted shut behind the train of her pale pink gown, closing with a soft click. “I am pleased to accept your invitation and speak in person again. I hope your recovery is proceeding well.”

“Oh, it is. My condition was much worse immediately after the incident,” Ling Qi said, smiling at Su Ling.

Unfortunately, the other girl seemed to have had enough of humoring her and merely huffed as she took a seat beside the table in front of Ling Qi.

“But please, Madam Diao, Su Ling, help yourself to the wine and tea. I hope everything is well in the north?”

“It is. There is nothing urgent, so please go ahead and speak of personal matters before we come to my small requests.” Diao Hualing elegantly took her seat and accepted one of the cups of wine on the tray atop the table.

“That does raise a question. I did expect you both, but until your last letter, I was not expecting you to come south together.”

“Just made sense. No point in taking separate trips,” Su Ling grumbled.

“It was efficient. I have been working with Miss Su on some subjects,” Diao Hualing followed up. “She is quite the spirit hunter.”

“You got a lotta towns and villages infected with nasty shit,” Su Ling muttered. “… At least you’re doing something about it, I guess. Anyway, how is Gan Guangli doing?”

“Quite well, last I heard,” Ling Qi replied. “Why, with the palisade going up at Snowblossom, he might even be on his way.”

She glanced between the two of them as she spoke, and Su Ling sputtered. Despite that, Su Ling was satisfied ; her spirit was serene, a sheathed blade, embers burning low. Diao Hualing was more reserved, but she showed no sign of upset with how casual Su Ling was being.

Prime Minister Diao Linqin had described the woman as an opportunist, Ling Qi remembered. What was she truly gaining here? Cultivating an asset, her instincts whispered. More than one asset, she considered, meeting Diao Hualing’s pleasant expression with a smile.

It was too often assumed that self-interested intent could not bend in a virtuous direction. It was all about aligning incentives correctly, as Cai Renxiang had once said.

“Well, let me ask then, how was the meeting with your half-sibling, Su Ling?”

Su Ling’s ears twitched violently. “He’s doing okay.”

Ling Qi observed Su Ling in silence, giving her the time to speak as she wished.

Su Ling glanced at Diao Hualing, who had suddenly manifested a folder of paperwork into her hand to peruse, and snorted.

“Not like I could just walk in and go, ‘Heya, Bro!’ We talked. It wasn’t great. They found him in a fucking basement. Kid flinches every time someone raises their voice. He’s only been let outside before for chores.”

Su Ling’s tails thrashed loose of the tight bundle gathered at her waist. The shadow she cast on the far wall flickered as if cast from a dancing flame, out of time with her movements.

“First time we met, he looked at me like I was gonna eat him.”

“I see,” Ling Qi acknowledged quietly.

“But he’s being taken care of. Can see it and smell it. He’s healthier than he was. He’s got some fancy tutor teaching him to read outta picture books. He’s got clothes and healthy food and medicine for his fucked up leg.”

Su Ling’s eyes wandered back to Diao Hualing. The woman didn’t look up from her paperwork. Nor did she dispel the web of qi insulating her from their words. Even if it was largely for show, Ling Qi appreciated it.

Su Ling toyed with her cup, turning the vessel around and around in her hands.

“And that is good. He wouldn’t have those things without you,” Ling Qi reassured her. “Was he still afraid of you by the end of the visit?”

Su Ling hunched her shoulders. “I read him one of the books, showed him how to make sparks dance, ‘n told him it was okay to do it. Didn’t flinch when I hugged him on the last day.”

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Ling Qi reached over and patted Su Ling’s hand. That situation wasn’t one she could help with, but she was glad Su Ling was finding her feet. It wasn’t hers to dig into and clear up. There was only so deep the light of clarity should shine.

“He’s not the only one. They picked up another… just a baby this time, though. Not even a few months old,” Su Ling continued gruffly. “Guess we can call that a sign the eyes are keeping watch.”

Su Ling rapped her knuckles on the table, looking directly at Diao Hualing.

Diao Hualing looked up smoothly as her shrouding qi dispersed. “My people ensure I am not made a liar, and valuable talents will not be ill treated. As I have told you, your own skills would be welcome in the Ministry of Law or in Spiritual Affairs… Even Integrity, perhaps.”

Su Ling looked deeply sour. “I heard ya, and I’m sticking with the sect for now.”

This was certainly part of a larger conversation she was not fully privy to.