Threads Chapter 454-Shell 2

“I was hoping that we could go for a walk on the lakefront, out toward the falls.”

Xuan Shi froze, hand in the midst of tracing the connecting line which bound the entry arrays to those embedded in the inner walls. “Miss Ling…”

“I’ve said Ling Qi is fine many times. I meant what I said back in the hospital.”

“Too forward! You dare!” squawked the chicken.

“Peace, Xuanji,” Xuan Shi said. “This one would be pleased to accompany thee.”

“I am glad. There are some insights that have been on my mind, and I can think of no one better to debate them with.”

He tilted his head. “A practical matter?”

“Between the two of us, can you think of a better method for bettering our understanding of each other?”

He returned to his examination. “Miss Ling is not a woman who cherishes frippery and ceremony.”

“I would have invited you to the library, if ours had anything but Lady Cai’s legal texts and copies of the great classics in it.”

He snorted. “Indeed.”

“Father, you cannot be entertaining this.”

“This one has no hounds upon his tail. Neither do thee. Child, thy wishes were to see the lord of the garden as well, no?”

Xuanji puffed out her feathers but did not argue.

Sixiang put their hands on their hips. “I can’t decide if you dorks are cute or awkward, dancing around like there’s spiders on the floor.”

Ling Qi glowered at them. She was seriously trying here. Sixiang smirked back.

“Zhengui should be walking his route through the farms today,” Ling Qi offered.

“This one is warmed by the rays of thy concern, but limits of propriety lie but a claw’s breadth from thy feet,” Xuan Shi chided.

The hen fixed a gimlet eye on Ling Qi. “I apologize for my rude words.” To the spirit’s credit, she kept most of the reluctance out of her voice.

“I’m gonna bully that Kongyou for messing around,” Sixiang whispered to her.

“Be nice, Sixiang, or at least be civil about it.”

“Hah! I’ve been learning. Definitely gonna be reaaaaaal civil.”

Ling Qi should probably be concerned about Sixiang’s plan, but Kongyou was literally a manifestation of joy found in the tragedy of others. It was hard to feel sympathetic.

“Well, that’s settled then. I accept the apology. What are your initial thoughts on the installation, Xuan Shi?”

“Primary inefficiencies lie deep within qi recycling arrays, siphoning moving air over thrumming stone. For this…”

Ling Qi settled in to listen and watch him work.

***​

“She’s certainly turned out interesting, hasn’t she?”

Ling Qi smiled as they walked through the developing streets of Shenglu. The scent of fish in the air by the docks was a smell that had taken some getting used to, but now, it was just part of the background tapestry. She kept their path from the main work areas, because their presence would disrupt others. They strolled along a street frequented mainly by messengers to and from the manor.

“This one attempted to instill the virtues of cultivation in his charge. The roots have taken, but the spread is more virulent than the gardener might hope,” Xuan Shi acknowledged.

“She’s a good girl,” Ling Qi praised, as they passed by the last of the completed buildings.

Out here, there were mainly the foundations for further construction of the drainage and the canals. The sound dampening arrays had not yet been fully placed, and were they not cultivators, the thunder of the falls would have rendered this conversation difficult to hear.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“This one’s curiosity spreads as the rising reflection upon the shore. What cultivation would be so well suited to mine ears?”