“Are you sure you’re ready for this then?” Ling Qi asked Li Suyin as the two of them and Su Ling walked the path down toward the main courtyard. Li Suyin still wore her disciple’s garb, but she had replaced the sash with a light green one patterned with leaves and formation characters.

  “I am,” the one-eyed girl responded. Ling Qi thought her stance was stiff and tense, but there wasn’t any hesitation in Li Suyin’s words. The partial breakthrough into the second realm, seemed to have given her confidence.

  “I don’t like the idea of being a spectacle,” Su Ling grumbled, arms crossed and pointed ears twitching agitatedly. She had replaced her disciple’s gown with a rather mannish outfit of thick cloth and leather with sturdy woodsman’s boots and sleeves bound by steel-studded bracers.

  “It needs to be a spectacle or Xu Jia can just ignore the challenge,” Li Suyin replied firmly, fingering the needles holstered in the pouch at her belt.

  “What are you going to do if she ignores it anyway?” Ling Qi asked. She tugged uncomfortably at the gold-lined armband she wore over her gown; although she still wasn’t used to it, the Cai armband would make the chances of something shady happening less likely. Cai Renxiang had started to move fast in the aftermath of the intra-council fight, probably to head off possible rumors of her lacking strength.

  “Then I will return here every day this week to repeat it,” Li Suyin said with determination. “If Xu Jia has so little honor that she can ignore that, then I will think of something else.”


  Su Ling snorted, and Ling Qi hummed thoughtfully. She still didn’t know the exact details of her friend’s plan, but Li Suyin seemed confident in whatever it was.

  Ling Qi grew uncomfortable as they entered the main plaza. There were several pairs of Cai Renxiang’s enforcers about, and there was a noticeable wariness toward them. She saw several older disciples eyeing the enforcers with rebellious or irritated looks.

  The enforcers themselves made her feel uncomfortable for an entirely different reason. The way they lowered their heads in deference and respect when she passed by threw her off.

  It seemed Cai Renxiang had been spinning tales about the council split – and those involved too, if the murmuring she heard in her wake was accurate. The actions and feats of those who had supported Cai was getting played up. Su Ling gave her a sidelong look as they passed through the crowd. Ling Qi shrugged her shoulders helplessly, which the girl seemed to accept.

  The three of them soon reached an open space in front of one of the little gardens that dotted the plaza. Li Suyin brought them to a halt, taking deep breaths to steady herself as she paced along the edges of the meditation space and pausing to place down wooden tokens painted with formations characters. It drew her some curious looks, but nothing more.

  Ling Qi, too, watched curiously, standing beside Su Ling as she watched her friend set up and then return to the center of the little square after placing the last token. She felt her friend’s qi surge upward a tiny bit, and the wooden tokens lit up with faint blue light.

  “XU JIA!”


  Ling Qi almost flinched as her normally quiet and meek companion’s voice thundered in her ears. The volume was as loud as Elder Jiao’s had been at the end of the truce. Beside her, Su Ling grimaced, ears lying flat against her head.

  “I, LI SUYIN, NAME YOU COWARD AND BANDIT! RECEIVE MY CHALLENGE AND FACE ME IN THE GREAT PLAZA BY NOON THIS DAY OR BE RECOGNIZED AS THE HONORLESS CRAVEN YOU ARE!”


  Ling Qi’s eye twitched as the echoes faded and she felt scores of eyes fall upon them. She would never have thought Li Suyin would have the guts to do something like this. On the other hand, she now knew why Li Suyin was so confident the other girl would show up. It was as good as slapping Xu Jia across the face in public.

  Ling Qi could see the minute tremble in Li Suyin’s hands though. The other girl was a lot more nervous than she was letting on. Ling Qi reached out to pat her on the shoulder. “You have this as long as you keep your head. I have no doubt that you’re better than this girl.”


  “What she said,” Su Ling grumbled, rubbing an ear with one hand. “Still, weren’t you going to fix that to not blow our own ears up as well?”


  “I did not quite manage that part,” Li Suyin said under her breath, glancing back with a nervous smile. “Sorry,” she added apologetically while attempting to keep her shoulders straight and her chin up under the attention of the other disciples.

  After a few minutes, people began to move again, although a not insignificant portion remained nearby, keeping a curious eye on Ling Qi and her friends. Ling Qi found herself making eye contact with a pair of Cai’s enforcers. She didn’t miss the way they adjusted their patrol route in response.

  Ling Qi began to grow impatient as the minutes ticked by. Was the girl Li Suyin challenged really just going to accept an insult like that? She couldn’t imagine any noble-born disciple actually would. More likely, Xu Jia had simply been far away. Even with Li Suyin’s amplifying formation, Ling Qi doubted that Li Suyin’s voice had reached the entire mountain.

  So although it was annoying, Ling Qi simply stood quietly at her friend’s back for the next quarter hour. At last, she saw a group approaching their position with purpose. There were five girls in total, but none of them were particularly impressive to her eyes. Three were entirely in the first realm still, one was partially in the second realm, and the fifth was solidly in the second. The last and strongest one looked a bit older than the others.

  It was interesting to watch the way their expressions and approach changed once they got a clear look at Li Suyin and the two girls behind her. Their approach briefly slowed down, and a flicker of worry broke through the anger and indignation on their faces. Ling Qi’s gaze flickered between Li Suyin and the girls. As Li Suyin was glaring at the one partially in the second realm, that girl was likely Xu Jia.

  “At least you have some shame,” Li Suyin said, doing her best to look confident and threatening as she stared down the girl. “I was worried that you would not dare to come for a fight that was not an ambush, Xu Jia.”


  “That you dare to spew such slander merely shows what a low class drudge you are,” Xu Jia sniffed. A brief glance at the older girl to her right seemed to restore her confidence. Xu Jia was a fairly average looking girl, a bit taller than normal and classically pretty in the way just about every female on the mountain was. “Do not think that I will forgive you. I -”


  “You broke into my home, smashed my things, and had your thugs hold down and beat my friend,” Li Suyin interrupted. Ling Qi gave her friend a worried look. Li Suyin was getting worked up, which might affect her discipline in the upcoming fight. “If that is not a bandit, I do not know what is. I do not wish to talk to a thug like you. Step forward and fight, or leave and admit your shame.”


  “Hold your tongue, girl,” the older girl spoke up. She had a similar face to the younger girl at her side, likely making her an older sibling. “I do not know who you think you are, but -”


  “Are you Xu Jia?” Ling Qi said clearly, raising her voice over the other girl’s and meeting her gaze with steady eyes. The other girl narrowed her eyes angrily, but Ling Qi saw her eyes flick down to the armband she wore and then back to her face. She liked to think she was able to spot the moment recognition dawned. “Then be silent. You can observe, but you have no right to interfere.”


  She fingered the smooth curve of the replacement flute Bai Meizhen had given her to use this morning until she had a new one made. It wasn’t as good as her own flute, but it would be enough. Besides, although the girl might edge her out in raw cultivation, she knew well that the simple appearance of absolute confidence was a major deterrent, particularly if Cai Renxiang had spread tales about her council’s battle prowess.

  The older girl’s lips thinned in anger, but in the end, she was the one who looked away first. She flicked her sleeve toward the younger girl at her side. “Xu Jia, crush this peasant and be done with it,” she said before looking back up to glare at Ling Qi. “Unless, of course, you do not intend to fight fairly.”


  Ling Qi held back the incredulous snort that almost escaped her, but Su Ling was not quite so controlled, drawing disdain from the girls across from them.

  “If you do not intend to continue delaying, please step forward,” Li Suyin said quietly.

  “Who was delaying? I was merely awestruck at your audacity,” Xu Jia retorted, stepping forward from her group as they backed off. Ling Qi and Su Ling moved back as well, giving the two duelists room to fight. A pair of clawed gloves appeared on the girl’s hands, four lengths of sharp curved metal protruding from each of Xu Jia’s wrists. She supposed that was where the scars on Li Suyin’s cheek had come from.

  Only the murmured buzz of conversation from more distant watchers disturbed the silence. The stillness was broken as Li Suyin flung a trio of her combat needles in a wide spread, forcing the other girl to duck under them. Xu Jia’s claws lit up with sickly green qi, extending the blades by several centimeters, and as she came up from under the throw, she darted forward, sped up by the way the stone under her feet seemed to briefly flow, launching her forward all the faster.

  Li Suyin sidestepped the initial outstretched claw strike and ducked under the follow up from the girl’s other hand, responding with a feint of flung needles from her off hand while jabbing toward the girl’s shoulder with the ones clutched in her main hand. Xu Jia avoided the stab fairly easily.

  Ling Qi narrowed her eyes. What was Li Suyin doing? Li Suyin had never done much throwing with her weapons before when they practiced, and the lack of practice showed with how ill aimed the needles were. It was almost physically painful for her to watch half of the flung needles tumble off course before even getting near the target.

  The duel continued with Li Suyin leading the other girl on a circular chase, failing to do much damage to Xu Jia and taking a scratch herself now and then. The scrapes left behind were ugly and bled freely by Li Suyin’s grimace, but her concentration didn’t change. Ling Qi found herself glowering at the older girl’s increasingly smug expression and irritated by the jeers of Xu Jia’s companions.

  Just as Ling Qi was beginning to worry that Li Suyin didn’t have a plan though, the two girls clashed again, Xu Jia’s qi enhanced claws screeching off the needles in Li Suyin’s hands while Li Suyin caught the girl’s other set of claws in a gnarled and bark-textured hand. Ling Qi caught Su Ling’s smirk at her side as a tiny click reached her ears. A flash of metal from under the hem of Suyin’s gown drew a cry of pain as the little boot knife slashed across Xu Jia’s shin, drawing a painful looking but ultimately superficial cut.

  Such an attack only drew more jeers, particularly since it looked to have mostly just made the other girl angry. Xu Jia pulled out of Li Suyin’s grip and slammed a kick into her midriff, making the blue-haired girl stumble back.

  “I hope such a pathetic trick was not what you were counting on,” Xu Jia said haughtily as she fell back into her stance.

  “No,” Li Suyin wheezed as she forced herself straighten. “It was a good distraction though,” she added, smiling in a distinctly unfriendly manner. “Mark. Set. Seek.”


  As she spoke, Li Suyin formed a symbol with her empty hand, two fingers and her thumb extended upward with the others curled down. Ling Qi felt a pulse of qi, and the needles on the ground rattled briefly and then shot toward Xu Jia on an unerring course.

  Xu Jia’s eyes widened as she flung herself away from the closest needles, but there had been nearly two dozen of them on the ground. It was inevitable that at least one needle would manage to strike her, particularly with the way the needles would reverse direction upon missing, honing in like iron filings to a lodestone. The first needle struck…… and then exploded. It was no grand blast, more firecracker than rocket, but it still knocked Xu Jia off balance, resulting in more needles striking home.

  Ling Qi suppressed a flinch at the sudden chain of explosions around Xu Jia but restrained herself to only smirking at the other side’s suddenly unhappy observers. Li Suyin wasn’t idle either while Xu Jia was stumbling and dodging the needles. In fact, the intact needles were already slowing down as Xu Jia coughed and emerged from the smoke, but Xu Jia’s distraction prevented her from being able to avoid Li Suyin jabbing a trio of needles into Xu Jia’s right thigh with well-practiced precision.

  Li Suyin skipped back out of range from the retaliatory slash, leaving her needles behind. Her opponent’s leg buckled underneath her, dropping the girl to one knee and allowing the remaining needles to drive into her back and explode.

  The plaza was silent as the echoes of Li Suyin’s explosions faded away, and when the smoke cleared, Xu Jia was lying face down on the ground, gown shredded and her back raw with burns. Ling Qi smiled as Li Suyin approached and then crouched down, reaching for the dull grey ring on the girl’s finger.

  “Stop.” Ling Qi’s smile faded as the older girl stepped forward, an ugly look on her face. “I think that is quite enough. If you think to bully my younger sister so, you will have to face me.”


  “It’s pretty appropriate for the victor to take a token,” Ling Qi rebutted. “Are you really that poor?”


  “And who do you think you are?” the sister sneered. “I am Xu Qiao, eldest daughter of Xu Wen, and I have accepted enough of your rudeness. That little scrap of cloth does not put you above me. Do not imagine yourself above your station!”


  “I am Ling Qi, and although I cannot say I have a clan to back me, I have made a friend or two,” she said dryly. Ling Qi didn’t miss that the original enforcer pair from before now stepped forward nor that two other pairs of enforcers did the same. “I will not say that I am above you, but don’t you think you’re being too much of a sore loser here?”


  Xu Qiao’s face reddened, and she scowled out at the crowd. “Is this what the Sect is reduced to? Kowtowing to the whims and authority of an unblooded heiress? Are we to allow ourselves to be cowed by our juniors so?”


  Ling Qi maintained her confident mien despite the grumbling from the crowd, but she was a bit worried. It was Li Suyin who spoke up next as she carefully removed the ring from Xu Jia’s fingers.

  “My apologies if you mistook my intentions, Miss Xu. I intend to only take a reasonable token of victory.” A small waterfall of spirit stones and pills fell from the ring, piling in front of the unconscious girl. “I am no bandit after all.”


  Ling Qi wished she could clap Li Suyin on the back, because that did the trick. Although she could still see some older disciples giving the enforcers unhappy looks, it seemed that Li Suyin’s actions had pushed Xu Qiao’s actions even further into ‘sore loser’ territory. It still hurt her a little to see her friend sacrificing so much loot.

  Ling Qi raised an eyebrow at Xu Qiao, silently giving her the opportunity to back down. The look she got in return was venomous, but after a moment, the color faded from the girl’s cheeks and her expression smoothed.

  “I see,” Xu Qiao said coldly as Li Suyin stood up and returned to Ling Qi’s side. “You two, collect my sister and her things. It seems I have been remiss in my sister’s training. This waste of time has at least had some value in showing me that.”


  As they moved away, the unconscious girl in tow, Su Ling’s lips curled. “Bitch,” she spat. “Hope they drop her a couple times on the way.”


  “Why didn’t you use your family art there?” Ling Qi asked Li Suyin. “Once you touched her, it would have been over, right?”


  “I do not wish to use my family arts that way if it is not necessary,” Li Suyin said quietly. Her expression turned sheepish then. “Ah, Su Ling, could you help me with my shoes? I think the blade is stuck.”


  Ling Qi shook her head as Su Ling acquiesced with a grumble. She didn’t quite understand Li Suyin’s reluctance, but she was glad that her friend had found her own kind of resolve.

  Threads 65-Foreshock 2

  “I believe I could serve best in the defense of the river valley,” Ling Qi said as her turn to speak came around. “Given the wide area of effect which my arts have and my mobility, I will be able to effectively screen the outskirts of the valley for threats, and my spirits are more effective on the defense.”


  She spoke as confidently as she could manage and felt a twinge of relief as Guan Zhi nodded once in agreement. “I find your assessment sound enough. Your post will be the southmost village then, Officer Ling. You will have a squad of six under your command in the region.”


  Ling Qi stepped back, bowing in acceptance as others stepped up to make their cases. She did not know the other two commanders assigned to the village region, a pair of young men at the appraisal stage of the third realm. They were both older than her, but not excessively so. Her acquaintances from the Luo party ended up in different roles. Alingge was assigned as one of the two disciples serving directly under Guan Zhi while Sha Feng was assigned to the messenger cadre.

  Once everyone had their assignments, they were dismissed to receive their dossiers on their subordinates and assigned regions from the Sect office. From there, they were off, separating into their regional groups. With a bit of quiet urging from Sixiang, Ling Qi made an effort to be sociable and learned the names of the two who would be in charge of the other villages. Wei Ping and Song Li were both sons of baronial families in their early twenties. They seemed confident and professional enough at first impression.

  The journey south took them through thickly wooded hills, following a winding gravel road that threaded between the verdant hills. Though the distance would probably take a day or two for lower realms or mortals, for third realm cultivators, it was a matter of hours.

  Soon, the river valley opened up before their eyes. The river wound like an azure ribbon down from the sky-blocking mountains of the Wall, and in the great cleft that it had carved in the land, people thrived. All along the length of the valley were fields and rice paddies, ordered shapes standing in contrast to the wilder regions around. Little houses and structures were scattered throughout the valley with humble homes of wood and rough quarried stone standing beside great carven totems that radiated qi, keeping the dangers of the woods at bay.

  The villages themselves were tiny things, gatherings of a few dozen structures set on relative high ground to protect them from the river’s flooding. Each was home to no more than a couple hundred people with half again that number scattered through the farm houses and fields in their surroundings. Ling Qi bid farewell to her fellow disciples as they passed first village, and then the next, until she was alone, proceeding toward the final, most southerly of trio.

  The last village was nestled along the river, straddling a stony ford where the river ran shallow. In the distance, she could see the faint silhouette of Icebreaker Peak, named for the way it broke the cold winds blowing north on its flank. The slopes of the valley were wide and gentle as the river bent east. Here, she met the scouts who would be under her command, a pair of second realm veterans and four first realm recruits drawn from the region. If she were honest with herself, she still felt uncomfortable with the overawed deference of the first realms; the professional manner of the veterans was much more agreeable.

  Once the pleasantries were out of the way, she spent a short time listening to reports on recent issues that had cropped up at the outskirts of the village: a few hungry wolves, some blockages in the river, and a minor disease spirit found festering in a marshy stretch of river. All of the issues had been taken care of in the last day or two, save for the disease spirit, but such a thing would be easily dealt with by a cultivator of her calibre.

  Once she had confirmed their patrol routes, a formality considering that the routes were set by the regional commander, Ling Qi set off to do just that, in the brief window of time before she was due to meet with the main force officer, who had not yet arrived. As she suspected, handling the disease spirit was not a difficult task. Between Zhengui’s vital presence flushing the creature out and Ling Qi’s own Hoarfrost Refrain technique, the minor spirit was quickly destroyed. Upon returning to the village, Ling Qi found herself surprised once more.

  “So diligent,” Gu Xiulan said with a smirk as she greeted her on the path outside the village. “Going out to perform your duties before I even had a chance to arrive.”


  “There is no point in wasting time,” Ling Qi retorted. “I admit, I was not expecting to see you assigned here. I thought you would want a more forward position.”


  Xiulan’s smirk faded at Ling Qi’s observation, and she let out a frustrated huff. “Yes, well, it was determined that my qi would be too disruptive to the spirits of Icebreaker Peak, and I was hardly going to accept a soft assignment at the other mountain. At least I will see some action here.”


  While Ling Qi didn’t disagree with her conclusion, she did give her friend a worried look. While she would not have thought to question it before, her recent experience with that Bai and the bandits had changed her view on just how difficult real battle could be in comparison to the structured duels in the Sect. “I am glad to have you. Do you think you’re prepared for a real battle though?” Ling Qi asked in a low voice, relying on Sixiang to keep their conversation discreet.

  “Of course I am.” Her friend gave her a genuinely hurt look, and Ling Qi regretted her question. “Hmph, I will forgive you, if only because I know your sincerity.”


  Ling Qi smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry, I guess I was just thinking of how things were for me.”


  “I said I forgave you,” Xiulan sniffed. “In any case, I suppose I will see you around. I will ensure that there is tea out when you come to give me your reports.”


  “I’ll look forward to it,” Ling Qi replied. “I am glad to have someone reliable at my back.”


  “Obviously,” her friend smirked. “Now, off with you. I must make sure the rabble I have been assigned is in good discipline.”


  Ling Qi nodded to her friend as they parted ways, turning back to head for the scouting outpost that served as her command center. However, before she arrived and began to plan how she would handle things in the coming days, she had something more personal to attend to. Finding a lightly wooded and unsettled copse along the rim of the valley, Ling Qi let her spirits out of her dantian.

  “Ugh, finally,” Hanyi said, stretching her arms overhead. “Riding around all day is so boring.”


  “Hanyi should complain less,” Gui said sleepily as he got his legs under him, rising to tower over the rest of them.

  “Easy for you to say,” the young ice spirit sniffed. “You just sleep, you big lummox. Well, we did get to have some fun and get a little snack.”


  “Mph, bad taste,” Zhen grumbled with none of his usual affected pomp or dignity.

  Ling Qi thought back to the thoroughly churned up marsh and Hanyi happily consuming the qi and heat of diseased animals until they were no more than inert lumps of frozen meat. At least Hanyi’s method was less messy than Zhengui’s. “I’m sure we can find you something good in the future,” she said, reaching up to rest her hand on Zhengui’s shell. “For now, is everyone feeling alright?”


  “Worrywort,” Sixiang laughed on the wind. “Like any of us are going to get sick from a little baby spirit like that.”


  “Yeah, auntie is right for once,” Hanyi said. “Big Sis worries too much.”


  “Brat,” Sixiang grumbled, though Ling Qi could tell that the spirit was only pretending to be annoyed by the new nickname Hanyi had started to use for them.

  “Gui definitely feels good,” her little brother rumbled cheerfully.

  “Yes, weak little sick demon cannot infect I, Zhen,” his other half agreed.

  “Right,” Ling Qi shook her head. “Anyway, we need to talk. I am going to need everyone’s help to make sure this goes well. That means certain people need to behave.” She added the last with a sharp look to Hanyi. The young ice spirit returned her gaze with the most innocent expression that she could muster. If Ling Qi had not known her, she might even have bought it.

  “Yes! I will keep all the bad people and beasts away from the nice humans!” Gui’s emphatic declaration caused her to break her staring contest with Hanyi, who herself gave Zhengui an outraged look.

  “You weren’t asleep at all!” she complained.

  “Not the whole time,” Zhen admitted. “But we must pay attention to Big Sister.”


  Sixiang snorted in amusement, their words echoing in and with Ling Qi’s own thoughts.

  “That is the general idea, yes,” Ling Qi said, ignoring the whole aside for the moment. “But Zhengui, you will have to be careful. If you don’t watch your steps, you could damage the farms and then the people won’t have food.”


  “Gui will be careful,” her little brother agreed swiftly.

  She studied him for a moment. As with her outing with Bao Qian, Zhengui was eager, almost painfully so. She was glad that she had chosen a role that would give him something concrete to do. “Good, because I am going to trust you to do something on your own. Zhengui, while we are out here, I want you to walk around the edge of the farmland. You have to keep anything bad away.”


  “Hmph, a trivial task,” Zhen preened.

  “But don’t be afraid to signal me,” she admonished before he could brag too much. “Like we practised, alright?”


  While his accuracy with his molten missiles was still a little lacking at distance, the flare of qi was a powerful and noticeable one, especially in the cool, wet environment of the river valley. She reminded herself to discuss the signal with Xiulan when they took tea this evening.

  “What’ll I be doing?” Hanyi asked curiously. “Am I gonna go with the big doof to keep him out of trouble?”


  Ling Qi gave Hanyi a look. While she trusted Hanyi when it counted, she did not trust that the young spirit would not get distracted and end up playing tricks and pranks if left to her own devices. “You are going to stay with me. You’re going to be my messenger,” she said sweetly. She knew Hanyi well enough that locating the spirit with her divination technique was easy. Using Hanyi, she could quickly pass messages over a pretty wide area.

  Though she knew it was not a new concept given the Ministry of Communications’ existence, she was rather proud of having found a good use for something as simple as the Initiate’s Viewing Pool technique. She would have to adjust the relay points for her subordinates to take it into account.

  So, with her plans in mind, Ling Qi set about establishing her command’s deployment. After some deliberation, she assigned one of the two veterans under her command to deal with putting together the reports and such at the command center while she took over the man’s own routes. She kept in contact with headquarters via the Viewing Pool technique and used Hanyi to stay in regular contact with the other scouts.

  Every time her routes took her back near the village, she would look in on Zhengui. Her little brother seemed to be enjoying himself stomping around the edge of the valley, and Zhen in particular preened under the awed attention of the farmers who spied him. It probably didn’t help that after the first day, people were leaving out small offerings for him.

  In the evenings, she would listen to the reports of the man she had put in charge of assembling reports, read through his work, and head into the village to share information with Xiulan before beginning her night route. Things very swiftly began to fall into a routine.

  That was not to say that there were not moments of excitement. On the second day, a trio of glider-mounted tribesmen had appeared below the cloudline en route to one of the outlying farmhouses, but a molten shot fired from Zhengui had scattered them, and they fled back above the clouds. Here and there, some beast or spirit would slither through the patrols and make trouble.

  However, on the fourth day, something unusual happened. As Ling Qi flowed through the trees like a shadow, alternatively flying or springing weightlessly from branch to branch, the earth shook. It lasted only a moment, and it was not strong, only a momentary tremble that set the trees swaying and the qi of the earth stirring chaotically. It seemed to come from the south, but worrying as it was, a quick check in with the outpost showed nothing immediately amiss, and so Ling Qi continued her path.

  However, soon after, she paused when she felt a familiar presence coming from the south. Sure enough, Sha Feng, the young man she had hunted the mirage lion with, came bounding and gliding over the treetops, a pair of brightly painted silk fans in his hands. Though the fans did not let him fly, the wind gusts they made certainly made his jumps count.

  She waited as their eyes met, and he bounded down, landing atop a branch within shouting distance. “Lady Ling,” he greeted in a hurried tone. “I have been charged with informing the officers that a troublesome occurrence has happened on Icebreaker Peak. A deadly spirit has been awakened. Lieutenant Liao and the other officers are currently engaging it, but they believe it will take some time to subdue.”


  Ling Qi’s eyes widened marginally. A spirit that Senior Brother Liao could not immediately subdue must be very dangerous. “I hear you, Sect Brother,” she said formally. “Do we need to send aid?”


  He shook his head. “No, but know that reinforcements from the mountain will be unavailable, and prepare your command for the land to be stirred up in the south. Please excuse me, Miss Ling. I must continue spreading the message.”


  Ling Qi nodded sharply, and he was off again. At her side, Hanyi gave her a curious look.

  “Are you worried about the mask guy?” Hanyi asked her guilelessly.

  Ling Qi shook her head but did drop down from the branches, heading for a nearby pond. “Sect Brother Liao will be fine, but I have a bad feeling. Let’s return to the outpost and make sure everyone knows.”


  A short time later, she arrived to find the outpost quite lively. Messenger cranes fluttered in and out of the entrance at a furious pace. When she stepped inside, she arrived to see the soldier she had left at the command center looking harried as he scribbled out another message on formation paper.

  “Ma’am.” He stood up and bowed as she stepped in. There was a touch of relief on the middle-aged man’s features. “I am glad my message reached you. There is a situation. One of the outriders in the northwestern village spotted several tribesmen with bonded mounts below the cloudline to our west. Shortly thereafter, the northeastern village reported something similar. They are requesting support.”


  Bonded mounts meant that they were at least second realm, Ling Qi thought. “Unfortunately, I did not receive your message. I returned because a messenger informed me that the spirits of the land are likely to become agitated due to a battle on Icebreaker Peak,” she said.

  The veteran scout looked like he had bitten into something sour, and it was only his discipline that kept him from swearing. “Reinforcements will be out of the question then, ma’am?”


  “None from the south,” she agreed with a nod. Looking out through the south-facing window, she could see the claw-like shadow of the mountain. As she did, another tremor ran through the ground.