After the lecture ended, she walked back to the residential area with Li Suyin. Ling Qi brought up the idea of trying for the pills when they became available, but so far, she was having trouble convincing the other girl that it was even a real possibility.

  “I don’t see what the problem is,” Ling Qi said with a frown as they entered the narrow valley where the first year disciples lived.

  “I’m just saying we should at least try to find a better cultivation spot. Your notes were pretty helpful, and I’m pretty sure your cultivation speed has gotten better too. You have a second meridian open now, don’t you?”


  Ling Qi kept her voice down and an eye on their fellow disciples. She still didn’t trust them not to try anything, and the relative peace of her first month here was only feeding her paranoia.

  “If we can actually find a a qi locus……”


  Li Suyin fidgeted with the hems of her sleeves, hunching her shoulders nervously.

  “It is not too difficult to open another once you manage your first,” Li Suyin mumbled evasively.

  “I do not compare to the other disciples though. You…… um- might manage it. I think.” She offered Ling Qi a weak smile.

  “I…… I am going to put my full effort into cultivation, but I am not sure going out looking for something potentially dangerous is a good idea.”


  Ling Qi held back on rolling her eyes at the other girl’s self-deprecation as they turned into the ‘street’ leading to the scholarly girl’s home. From what she had observed Li Suyin was actually a pretty hard worker, and her talent wasn’t awful. Li Suyin just got hung up on the details of…… everything and tended to second guess herself too much.

  Well, Li Suyin was apparently awful at physical cultivation, and Instructor Zhou had scared her off in a matter of days. Ling Qi supposed everyone had their weak points.

  Ling Qi paused as she noticed that Li Suyin’s door was open already. “Is your housemate home today?” she asked carefully.

  Li Suyin glanced at her house and paled slightly, clutching her writing case to her chest.

  “Oh! I…… Maybe? She doesn’t come back very often, but……” Li Suyin seemed nervous.

  “I…… Will you give me a moment please? I haven’t actually told her that I’ve been bringing someone over. I haven’t seen her since last week……”


  Ling Qi was about to respond when a voice from just behind her nearly made her jump.

  “Damn right you didn’t. I was wondering why the house smelled like a stranger.”


  Ling Qi instinctively spun on her heel to face the speaker, her hands balling into loose fists. She found herself face to face with another disciple. It was alarming that someone had managed to get so close without her notice.

  The girl’s features were narrow and a bit gaunt with a slight feral cast to them. The impression was not helped by the way her her lips were drawn back, exposing sharp teeth. Sticking out of of her bushy, tangled mass of shoulder length dark brown hair were a pair of large vulpine ears, fuzzy and twitching in agitation. Even more bizarrely, the girl appeared to have a tail the same color as her hair with a white tip wrapped loosely around her waist. Ling Qi would have thought it a weird accessory if it hadn’t been moving.

  “You better not have touched any of my shit,” the girl added threateningly, poking Ling Qi in the chest with one bony, sharp nailed finger.

  Ling Qi barely noticed Li Suyin wringing her hands and stammering out an apology out of the corner of her eyes as she met the new girl’s intense green eyes unflinchingly. She wasn’t going to back down from this girl.

  Ling Qi could see what she was dealing with, inhuman features or no. The other girl was skinny to the point of unhealthiness and more than a bit dirty besides. The girl also had twigs in her hair and dirt smudged on her gown. Given the way she held herself…… Ling Qi wasn’t dealing with some noble girl trying to throw her weight around but a fellow citizen of the gutter. She was sure of it.

  Ling Qi brushed the feral girl’s finger away from her chest.

  “If you’re that worried about it, then don’t leave things you care about lying around, but I’m not that poor a guest,” Ling Qi responded coldly.

  “It’s Li Suyin’s place too. If she wants to invite me over, she can. It’s not her fault that you apparently sleep outside.”


  The other girl scowled at Ling Qi, holding her gaze, but at least the girl wasn’t exposing her weirdly sharp teeth anymore.

  “I have too much to do to coop myself up in some tiny hut.” The other girl huffed irritably, but she did take a step back, her fuzzy ears still twitching on either side of her head.

  ”Whatever. I guess it doesn’t really matter. If I find something missing, I’ll take it out of your hide.”


  “You can try,” Ling Qi responded with a snort, crossing her arms. It was almost a relief to deal with someone simple again. She could never tell what Bai Meizhen was thinking and even Han Jian and Li Suyin could be more complicated than she liked. This girl’s actions were pretty clear…… if overly confrontational.

  Ling Qi glanced over at Li Suyin, who was looking back and forth between Ling Qi and the other girl as if half expecting them to come to blows.

  “Anyway, we going to study or what?”


  Li Suyin glanced at her housemate nervously. “Ah, yes. If you don’t need the meditation room, Su Ling?”


  The other girl shook her head.

  “Go ahead. I only came back because I needed my tools. My skinning knife broke.” Su Ling bared a bit of fang in irritation. “Fucking rabbits shouldn’t have hides that tough, spirit or no,” she added with a grumble.

  Li Suyin smiled in a slightly strained manner. “Oh…… you were hunting again. I…… You didn’t leave it out again, did you?”


  “No, it’s bagged, you big baby,” the vulpine girl said, rolling her eyes as she brushed past Ling Qi with one last suspicious glance.

  Ling Qi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Suyin, who flushed and mumbled an apology before ushering her into the house for their study session.

  By the time the two had finished dissecting the day’s spiritual cultivation lesson and putting it into practice, Su Ling had disappeared again. She left behind some recently cleaned processing tools and a silver furred rabbit hide being stretched and dried on a makeshift rack.

  Li Suyin had begun to come around to the idea of searching out a better cultivation spot with Ling Qi. Li Suyin’s sensitivity to qi would likely make finding such a place much easier than Ling Qi searching on her own. Hopefully, they could start searching after Elder Zhou’s test.

  After returning home, Ling Qi set about beginning the last major preparation for Elder Zhou’s test: mastering the first level of Zephyr’s Breath. Sitting down in the meditation room, she held the jade slip encoded with the art in her hands. Channeling a trickle of qi into the carved jade, words and diagrams bloomed in her thoughts, laying out the exercises needed to use the art’s first two techniques. Taking a deep breath, she began the difficult process of refining her energy into pure wind-natured qi.

  Over the course of the next few days, Ling Qi refined her first faltering steps into something approaching mastery. With her stamina reinforced by the Argent Soul Art, she could practice for hours instead of minutes, and she found herself progressing quickly through the theory and preparatory exercises.

  When it came to practice, however, Ling Qi found herself stymied. The simplest application of the art was the Guiding Zephyr technique, but it required either an arrow from a bow or a thrown projectile to enhance. She tried using pebbles at first, but that didn’t seem to work well.

  While the training fields were full of weapons, Ling Qi was nervous about doing her practice out in the open. Bai Meizhen had assured her that the Sect wouldn’t begrudge a disciple for taking a few ‘training toys’, but Ling Qi could not help but feel dubious of her housemate’s words as she examined the fine steel throwing knives plucked from a training rack.

  Even she could see the masterful quality of the knives’ forging and balance. At home, any one of these knives would likely be sold for two or maybe three silver coins, enough to buy quality food for a week. Then again, her disciple’s gown was spun from silk fine enough to clothe a wealthy merchant’s wife. She supposed cultivators valued things differently.

  With real weapons, Ling Qi found herself advancing more quickly despite her lack of prior experience in handling knives. In the past, if a situation escalated to the use of weapons, Ling Qi would have already escaped; fighting had never been an option. It surprised her when using throwing knives felt natural.

  After only a single night, she found her knives striking the straw targets more often than not. By the end of the next, she could reliably hit within the first two rings. When she channeled her qi, guiding the sliver of steel after it left her hands, she struck the bull’s eye almost every time.

  When her throw buried a blade halfway to the hilt in a solid wooden fencepost, she felt she had mastered the Guiding Zephyr technique.

  Threads 8

  Ling Qi’s thoughts raced. Neither of these people were real; that much was obvious. So what mattered more here was what she wanted from the dream. She couldn’t be sure, but the brooding moon overhead made this seem like some kind of test. What would the Bloody Moon be looking for?

  It was frustrating, so frustrating that she had so little information to base her decision on. Her first instinct was just to retreat and seek some context, but that didn’t feel right. Hadn’t she learned the need to be decisive?

  Ling Qi couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about the prince set her on edge. There was a certain desperation and anger in the prince’s demeanor. Going by his swift movements, he wasn’t being held here against his will. He obviously wanted this fight, or he could have escaped by now. That wasn’t really enough for her to side against him; it wasn’t as if she weren’t aware of the stubborn pride cultivators could have.

  It was enough to make her hesitate though, and in that moment of hesitation, she saw the prince’s back as he spun to avoid a swing of the tree spirit’s fist. There, embroidered upon the back of his robe, was an image she recognized from the history books. It was the sigil of the Weilu clan, a yin and yang symbol with a sun and moon replacing the usual dots. However, the sigil was defaced with the stitching depicting the moon hurriedly torn out and stitched over with some archaic character that she couldn’t read.

  Well, she thought, glancing up at the sullen red crescent in the sky, that made things a little easier. Even if this wasn’t really about the Bloody Moon, she could hardly be expected to side against her patron, right?

  Ling Qi sank into the shadow of the tree she was perched on. Becoming a shadow always felt strange. The sense of formlessness and dislocation and her senses fading to a sharp monochrome had been disorienting at first, but she was well used to the technique now. Of course, she was only distracting herself from her next action; there was only one way to signal Shen Hu without sacrificing the advantage of her stealth.

  Despite knowing that this scene before her was essentially a historical play told through illusion, albeit one that she and Shen Hu could participate in, Ling Qi couldn’t help but feel uneasy at her plan to actually attack another human – a potential forefather of Imperial citizens…… Hopefully, he would be sensible enough to retreat once it became clear he was outnumbered. There was no way someone of such apparent high status would lack an escape talisman.

  Yes, Ling Qi thought as she sank into the prince’s shadow, no more substantial than a wraith, they would drive him off, and then she could interrogate the tree spirit to find out what was going on. To that end, she would have to do enough damage to spook him. Ling Qi felt the chill of a frozen winter spread through her insubstantial form.

  A chill wind blew, and a circle of frost spread from the shadow where Ling Qi hid. The young man’s eyes widened, but it was too late. The frozen notes of the Hoarfrost Caress rang out as Ling Qi resolved back into her physical form, flute raised. The icy qi crashed down over him. IThe horned prince was immediately sheathed in viridian light, qi like the bark of a millenial tree absorbing the baleful frost of her technique before shattering into shards of dissolving light.

  He spun in a blur, the head of his spear blazing like a comet, and struck. Ling Qi barely recognized the attack before the point struck her dead in the center of the chest with a muffled boom of displaced air……

  Only to skitter harmlessly to the side with a shriek like a thousand axe blades digging into the core of an ancient tree. The prince’s eyes widened, first in confusion and then in building outrage, but as Ling Qi began to ghost backward, light steps carrying her back out of the range of his spear, a fist the size of his torso slammed into his side and sent him flying to crash against one of the massive trees that lined the clearing.

  To his credit, the prince landed on his feet as he fell from the crater in the ancient bark. The right side of his robe was wet with blood where the thorny spikes on the tree spirit’s fist had dug into his side.

  “Miserable assassin,” he hissed. “Did your elders pluck that art from the corpses of my brothers?”


  Ling Qi hesitated at the look in his eyes, a mix of pain and hate in his gaze even as she let the chill of her Grinning Crescent Dancer technique spread through her meridians. His attention was forced from her as the tree spirit let out a bellow and the ground upon which he stood was engulfed in a gout ofashy flames.

  “You!” the prince shouted as he bounded from the branch he had leapt to to avoid the flames. Lanhua’s heavy stride made it clear who he was speaking to. “Hold the assassin-!”


  Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by a volley of jagged black crystals that tore through his robe and drew flares of green qi where they sliced across skin. The prince crashed to the ground heavily, driven back by the barrage, once again thrown off-balance. “Why?!” he cried.

  The prince rolled to the side to avoid spearing roots that rose from beneath his feet, but Ling Qi was already waiting for him. Bad feeling or not, they were committed now. She flickered into existence behind the prince, leaving him encircled by the three of them, and the fires burning nearby died as she played her song once again, forcing the prince to expend the power of his own Deepwood Vitality technique.

  The roaring tree spirit closed to melee range, Shen Hu joining the assault as he charged from Lanhua, who was sinking into the earth. The prince parried the attacks with unearthly speed, the whole of his spear aglow and leaving afterimages in its wake as he was driven back by pounding fists and flashing claws.

  Even against two opponents though, the prince wasn’t helpless. With skill that Ling Qi suspected even Sun Liling would envy, spinning parries became strikes that hit with the force of a heavenly bolt, ripping wide furrows in the tree spirit’s bark and sending up clouds of ashen sawdust. The wounds wept boiling sap, and more than once, Ling Qi had to avoid their spray as she danced around the perimeter of the battle, striking with cold and frost wherever there was an opening.

  Why wasn’t he escaping? Ling Qi restrained herself from unleashing her mist; she didn’t want to trap him. But the prince continued to fight, striking out against the tree spirit almost exclusively, despite the venomous glances she caught thrown her way when the tides of battle allowed their eyes to meet.

  As the battle dragged on and the ground beneath their feet turned into a slurry of sucking mud, slowing the prince still further, Ling Qi considered whether she should use her mist anyway. Using Hoarfrost Caress so many times was a drain on her qi reserves, and no doubt she would still be required to use more.

  However, as she considered changing melodies, she felt something on the edge of her senses approaching at an unhurried pace. It was a presence that had a terrible weight to it, a thing of baying hounds and bloodied silver spears borne under the moon. But for all that the qi she felt was incredibly potent, comparable to Zeqing at least, it still felt truncated, as if the greater part of it were missing somehow.

  It was obvious that the others felt it too. The tree spirit let out a guffaw of delight, and the prince went pale under the ash now streaking his face. “No……” he breathed out.

  the burning tree gloated.

  “That murderer is no king!” the prince snarled, slamming the butt of his spear into Shen Hu’s chest, splattering mud in every direction as he skidded back. A patch of burning brambles erupted from the fertile mud beneath his feet, and his blurring spear carved them to pieces. She saw the prince tense, wind qi gathering in his legs, and their eyes met. She could have hit him then, perhaps interrupted his escape technique, but she did not. A windstorm erupted, and Ling Qi shielded her eyes as the gale that burst forth extinguished fires all around them and drove them all back.

  When she next opened her eyes, the prince was gone.

  the tree spirit rumbled before turning his attention to them.

  The tree seemed unbothered by the massive wounds scouring its limbs and torso.

  Shen Hu gave her a sidelong look, indicating that he had questions for her, but he bowed respectfully to the tree spirit. “I’m just a humble guard, your lordship,” he said. “Just following Miss Ling’s lead.”


  Her eyebrow twitched. That was true, but also, it was kind of unfair to dump all the responsibility on her, wasn’t it?

  Ling Qi pasted on a smile as the tree spirit turned to her with a look of thoughtful examination. “I had been on a journey through the southern mountains and returned to find this battle. Sir Vengeance, I could not aid one who would deface his clan’s sigil so. Please tell me what is happening.”


  Lying on the spot like this was a skill she had grown rusty in, unneeded as it had been for most of the last year, but thankfully, the tree seemed to believe her. She couldn’t ask Sixiang for help since Sixiang’s voice was now a muffled buzz; it sounded like they were arguing with someone. Also, that presence was still approaching, although at a strangely slow speed as if its source were merely on a casual stroll.

  the tree rumbled.

  Ling Qi shared a look with Shen Hu as the faint sound of baying hounds reached her ears. “What caused their betrayal?” she asked delicately.

  the tree answered shortly.

  “Right,” Ling Qi said uncomfortably. That seemed simple enough, but……

  Vengeance-of-Burning-Grove said, not unkindly.

  “Thank you for your kind advice,” Ling Qi replied, looking to Shen Hu and gesturing for him to follow her. They retreated a fair distance, and the tree spirit turned away, looking toward the source of the unsettling aura.

  “Why were you holding back?” Shen Hu asked once they were out of easy earshot. A thought from Ling Qi kicked up the wind in such a way that their voices would not carry far.

  “I was second-guessing myself,” Ling Qi admitted. “I sided with the tree because I saw the defaced sigil and figured we should side against traitors, right?”


  “Sounds right,” Shen Hu agreed.

  “It’s just – I don’t know

  we are, so I don’t know who is right. Maybe the traitors win, and we’re actually fighting the people we should be siding with.” Ling Qi didn’t voice her more emotive concerns, but going by the uneasy look Shen Hu gave to the north where the “King’s” continued approach was snuffing out flames in a widening circle of inky darkness, she didn’t need to.

  “This is confusing,” Shen Hu complained, glancing down as the mud at his feet began to bubble. “It’s just a dream, right? Like those illusion formations the elders use for tests.”


  “Yeah,” Ling Qi answered. “Problem is, we don’t know what the test wants.”


  Shen Hu was silent. “I don’t know if you were wrong to make the choice you did, and I don’t know how to figure it out. Maybe it’s like you said, and we have it backwards. But I think there’s something we can do to keep it simple.”


  “Oh? What’s that?” Ling Qi asked.

  “We see if there are any settlements around,” Shen Hu replied, gesturing to the battle-torn forest. “All of this fighting – if there are people around, they gotta be scared out of their minds. And besides, anyone attacking civilians is obviously the bad guy, right?”


  “.…… and if there aren’t?” Ling Qi asked, dubious. “No one lives here in the future.”


  He frowned. “Then I guess we just ask that King guy what he wants us to do. We already sided with him by helping the tree.”


  Ling Qi sighed. They did have pretty limited options. Dropping her screen of wind, she called out to the tree spirit. “Vengeance-of-Burning-Grove! Are there any human settlements nearby?”


  Creaking and crackling, the tree spirit turned to look at her.

  She glanced at Shen Hu, who shrugged. “You know where I’m going then. Guys like me don’t have any business with this high up stuff.”


  “I’m going to stay here,” Ling Qi decided.

  She felt uneasy about her choice, separating from Shen Hu in this dream and staying to meet the frightening presence that approached.

  “You sure?” Shen Hu asked without judgement.

  “I am. I might not be there yet…… but dealing with the ‘high up stuff’ is going to be part of my job some day,” Ling Qi said dryly. “Can I talk you into staying?”


  “No,” he replied, shaking his head. “It’d be pointless. I can’t do anything here.”


  Ling Qi huffed, feeling put out. “Some bodyguard you are.”


  Shen Hu looked at her in confusion. “That was a lie though,” he said, befuddled. “You’re probably stronger than me anyway, and if this meeting turns violent, neither of us can do anything against that.” He gestured in the direction of the advancing darkness.

  “That’s fair,” Ling Qi acknowledged. “Good luck.”


  “You, too,” Shen Hu said before turning away to begin heading south, quickly sinking into the bubbling mud pool at his feet.