Sixiang wanted to attend a human party. Among the older years, there was a bi-weekly gathering of various semi-important disciples. This was the group that she and Fu Xiang had helped Lady Cai pacify in a time that seemed very long ago. Sixiang had attempted to attend previously, but they had been rebuffed at the door.

  Much to her regret, getting an invitation was as simple as speaking with Cai Renxiang. Lady Cai was on the invite list, but she was too busy to attend for the most part. She suspected that her liege was a little too pleased to pass off the invitation to her.

  At the party, Ling Qi ended up standing at the edge of a banquet hall, feeling incredibly awkward as she held a conversation with Wen Ai, the girl whose bedroom she had broken into during her first mission from Fu Xiang.

  “It is regrettable that Lady Cai herself could not afford to attend,” said the perfumed, impractically dressed count scion, seemingly perfectly sincere and polite. “Not that I am displeased by your presence, Miss Ling. It is a delight to have a rising star such as yourself attend in her place.”


  Ling Qi kept her expression pleasant, doing her best to keep her eyes on the girl’s face and not the ridiculously elaborate arrangement of flowers and ornaments in the girl’s hair. It was hard to look at Wen Ai and not feel a pang of old jealousy. The girl was more than a head shorter than her, dainty and pale, the very picture of a traditional beauty.

  “Lady Cai expresses her great regrets in being unable to attend,” she replied. “And I thank you for accepting my humble presence in her stead,” she added with an appropriate bow.

  The hall was full of a score or so of late second realm disciples. Wen Ai herself was the only one who had pierced the barrier to reach the third realm, a full breakthrough at that although her aura had the slightly wobbly feel of a recent breakthrough. Wen Ai’s smile had an indulgent cast, Ling Qi thought, but perhaps she was just being unkind because she didn’t want to be here.

  “I do not mind at all. It is a shame that you have not had a chance to attend more of these little gatherings given your talent,” the girl continued on, her voice sweet, melodious, a touch empty. “And your companion! Where did you find such a rare spirit?”


  Sixiang, standing beside her, glanced over, their head cocked slightly in curiosity as they examined the little clumps of people quietly conversing throughout the hall. The spirit’s expression was bemused and somewhat disbelieving.

  “Just a bit of good fortune. I am afraid I might find myself in some trouble if I were more exact,” she replied.

  “Of course,” Wen Ai allowed, seeming to accept her answer. “We all must keep our little secrets.” There was an edge there; Ling Qi wasn’t just imagining it. Wen Ai knew or had suspicions as to Ling Qi’s involvement in Cai Renxiang’s leverage over her during the faction war with Sun Liling. “In any case, please enjoy the party, Miss Ling. I am afraid I must greet the next guest. I do hope we can speak later though. I am honored to finally be receiving some further attention from Lady Cai.”


  Ling Qi murmured an agreement as they were allowed to get out of the entranceway and proceed into the banquet hall.

  “Why isn’t anyone dancing?” Sixiang asked, nonplussed.

  “I do not believe it is that kind of party,” Ling Qi replied quietly, tweaking the flows of air around them so that their words remained audible only to them.

  “How can you have a party without dancing?” Sixiang gasped.

  “You did say that you wanted to see a human party,” Ling Qi shot back. At least she wouldn’t suffer alone. “This is how human’s do it,” she said. “We stand around and talk while pretending we like each other.”


  She flushed as a young man nearby shot her an amused look over his cup. Even if people couldn’t hear her, they could probably read her lips or even hear through more esoteric means. Thankfully, he waved off her budding apology with a gesture of his hand. She had been lucky there. No one else seemed to be paying attention.

  “The wine is even watered,” Sixiang muttered, part of the right side of their face briefly dissolving into multihued mist. They stopped near the refreshment table.

  “I am sure there will be music later,” Ling Qi offered in consolation. There was a small stage for that off at the other end of the hall.

  “Maybe I should go up there,” the spirit said thoughtfully, narrowing their eyes.

  “Sixiang, do not use any weird techniques to liven things up,” she said flatly. “You wanted the proper experience after all.”


  “Hmph. You’re surprisingly mean-spirited,” Sixiang huffed, giving her a mock glare.

  “I don’t want to have to explain a sudden riot to Lady Cai,” Ling Qi riposted smoothly.

  “Fair.” Sixiang crossed their arms as they observed the people around them. “I wasn’t expecting it to be like home, but still……”


  “There are parties, and there are

  ,” she replied with a shrug. She was going to have to mingle at some point. It would look bad for Lady Cai if she didn’t. “It’s a context thing.”


  “Well, how was I to know that?” Sixiang pouted.

  “I’m sure you’ll learn,” Ling Qi consoled. “Well…… I don’t know how things will be, after you…… dissolve?” She wasn’t sure of the correct terminology.

  “I think I might like a human binder, at least for a time,” they mused. “Of course, I wouldn’t really be all that useful in combat, so who knows if someone will be interested?”


  “What do you mean?” Ling Qi asked. Sixiang had the highest cultivation she had seen among disciples and their spirits.

  “I am just into the third realm myself. The additional cultivation was Grandmother making sure I could handle trouble on my vacation,” they explained. “Plus, you know, I am a muse. I don’t like fighting much.”


  Sixiang had a point. Many disciples would want a more combat oriented spirit, especially with the upcoming tournament. Ling Qi glanced at them in consideration. “Wish me luck. I need to go have a chat with some of these fine ladies and gentlemen,” she said a touch dryly.

  Sixiang chuckled. “I can give you some advice if you’d like.”


  She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”


  Sixiang waved a hand. “No one will hear. Besides, even if it’s not as much fun, sweet-talking is in my realm, gloomy girl.”


  “Don’t call me that,” Ling Qi retorted. “I’m not making any promises about following your advice, especially if it’s weird.”


  “Of course,” Sixiang replied, lips curling up into a too confident smirk.

  Ling Qi wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or disgruntled by the end of the party. Finding out that an inhuman fairy was better at small talk with other people than she was stung.

  ***

  “I am disappointed,” Cai Renxiang said as Ling Qi closed the door to the girl’s office behind her. The heiress was seated behind her desk with a slightly larger than normal amount of papers and forms stacked in front of her.

  Ling Qi furrowed her brows. She hadn’t even said anything yet, so what did……? She winced as the answer came to her. “I admit that I didn’t give my best showing there. I had my mind on other things.”


  “I had thought that you wished to begin building your own connections, not merely entertaining the whims of a spirit.” Her liege’s tone was displeased but not angry. “Did you at least accomplish your actual goal?”


  “I would say so?” Ling Qi offered tentatively, taking a seat across from Lady Cai. Now she understood why Cai had been so pleased to pass her the invitation. It seemed Ling Qi had projected her own dislike on Cai’s motivation. “Let me apologize for my poor conduct.”


  “Your apology is accepted.” The heiress’ lips remained set in a frown, but the disappointment in her tone lightened. “Thankfully, while your disinterest was obvious, it did not veer too far into insult. I will expect better in the future.” She gestured, and a slip of paper fluttered from one of the little shelves atop her desk to land in Ling Qi’s hands. “I will be holding a gathering two weeks from now, one month before the tournament. You will have an opportunity to repair your image there.”


  Ling Qi dipped her head and banished the invitation into her storage ring. She wasn’t looking forward to it, but this was part of the path she had chosen. She had been too flippant before. “Thank you, Lady Cai, for your understanding.”


  “It is best to get these misunderstandings out of the way now while the stakes are low. I will think nothing more of it,” Cai replied, leaving unsaid that this was conditional on Ling Qi handling things better in the future. “Now, what is it you wished to see me about?”


  “I wanted to ask you if something had gone wrong with my pill furnace,” Ling Qi started. “The take has been declining. Has there been trouble with it?”


  “Not of the sort you speak of,” Cai answered. She glanced down at her desk and the papers there shuffled themselves, a document from near the bottom rising to the top for perusal. “The end of the year means disciples have less use for such a public option. We cannot provide the privacy and security of the Sect’s furnaces without exorbitant expense.”


  Ling Qi, frowned. She understood and wished that had occurred to her. Of course a furnace in a public place wouldn’t be much good for major projects, and people’s care packages from home were probably ramping up in preparation for the tournament, lowering the demand for common pills.

  “I see. I will just need to plan my spending carefully then,” she said, a bit blue. She had gotten used to that income though, and she would have major expenses coming up in upgrading her equipment before the tournament. Thankfully, Cai Renxiang had agreed to pay for an artisan to create a domain weapon from the umbral shard she had found during the Hidden Moon quest. “Is the domain weapon complete?”


  “Yes,” Cai Renxiang said. A long thin box of dark wood appeared in her hands. Laying it on the desk between them, she gestured for Ling Qi to take it.

  Ling Qi did so, only to pause with her fingers centimeters from the lid. Even from there, she could feel the frisson of cold, dark qi across her skin. Lifting the lid, she peered inside.

  The blade that lay on the cushion inside of the box was of normal length, but it was exotically constructed. The blade was not solid, it was a hollow helix, and from within the gaps, faint fingers of dark mist drifted. As she took up the simple and unwrapped hilt, she felt the blade hum, whispering a song of hunger and envy.

  She released the hilt and raised her eyes. “It’s perfect. Thank you, Lady Cai.”


  Threads 178-Dawn 1

  When Ling Qi found Cai Renxiang in her office, she stood in front of a mirror. It stood out in the perfectly ordered room, a foreign thing disrupting the geometric perfection of her liege’s decor. Full length and plain as such things went, it sat against the far wall of the study. Cai Renxiang stood in front of the mirror, arms behind her back as Ling Qi quietly closed the door behind herself.

  “I didn’t even know you owned a mirror,” Ling Qi said, breaking the silence.

  “How did you imagine that I arranged my appearance?” Cai Renxiang asked absently, not turning toward her.

  “I don’t know. Maybe you used the flat of your saber?” Ling Qi joked lightly, crossing the room to stand behind her. Looking over Renxiang’s shoulder, she studied the contrast between them, white and gold to blue and black. She could almost be mistaken for a shadow. The way her reflection blurred at the edges didn’t help.

  “Amusing,” Cai Renxiang said, though she didn’t really sound amused, even in the subtle way that she sometimes showed. “You know why I asked you here.”


  Her smile faded. They had only just arrived back at the Sect; Ling Qi had not even greeted her mother again yet. Now, she wouldn’t have time until after the report to the Duchess. She didn’t hold the delay against Renxiang though. “I understand. What I saw…”


  “I trust that you will not speak of such things to others,” Renxiang uncharacteristically interrupted. Her voice was stiff, and there was something unpleasantly fragile about it.

  Sixiang scoffed, but there was no heat in the thought.

  “Of course not, Lady Renxiang,” Ling Qi said. “I’ll swear it, if you like.”


  “That is not necessary,” Cai Renxiang said, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. “You have questions.”


  “I do not want to pry where I am not wanted,” Ling Qi demurred.

  “I would rather answer than leave you to imagine answers,” Cai Renxiang insisted.

  Ling Qi bit her lower lip, remembering what she had seen in Renxiang’s dream. Sixiang hissed in discomfort as the memory of searing light and a doll with bloody hands surfaced. “Liming’s appearance is…”


  “It has always looked like that,” Renxiang said.

  “.…… She,” Ling Qi corrected without thinking.

  In the mirror, her liege’s eyes flicked toward her. “Rather, it has always mirrored my current appearance. I do not believe any others have perceived that before however.”


  She didn’t acknowledge the interruption at all.

  Sixiang advised.

  Ling Qi was surprised too. Perhaps it was just that conversation with Lin Hai surfacing. Perhaps it was her musing on what a person was. Somehow, depersonalizing Liming just didn’t seem right. “Is the resemblance because of what Her Grace did?”


  “I can only assume. I am not privy to her methods,” Cai Renxiang said. “I do know that I am unable to form normal spirit bonds and that Liming cannot be attuned to any other person. I cannot even be very far from it for long periods of time.”


  In the mirror, bloody light gleamed along the threads of the crimson butterfly splayed across her chest.

  Ling Qi knew that Cai Renxiang had never had other spirits, but knowing that she was unable… She swallowed, storing the implications away. “Cifeng then…”


  “A custom work. Mother made it work,” Cai Renxiang said, quietly stroking the hilt of the blade at her hip. Ling Qi felt the unhappy rumble in the room's spiritual qi contrasted against the metallic purr. “Presumably, she believed a control instrument was necessary. I would not be surprised if Cifeng was a planned portion of the project to begin with, however.”


  Ling Qi wondered about that, Liming hadn’t seemed terribly inconvenienced when she stepped into the blade in the dream. Perhaps because it was not the actual blade spirit? “I am sorry for breaking the dream as I did,” Ling Qi apologized.

  “That foolish thing? Do not apologize.”


  “It wasn’t foolish,” Ling Qi argued.

  “It was a shallow and childish recreation of what I sought,” Cai Renxiang said harshly. “Perhaps because I am still a foolish child who even now cannot properly envision the world I wish to usher in.”


  “Or perhaps because it was an illusion crafted by a mountain hag who had never experienced the existence of a hamlet, let alone a city,” Ling Qi shot back. “You are placing too much on your own shoulders again, Lady Renxiang.”


  Their eyes met in the mirror, and to Ling Qi’s surprise, it was her liege’s eyes who flicked downward first. “Perhaps.”


  “Regardless, it was my method that I regret,” Ling Qi continued. “But in the end, I knew you would not want me to risk our mission with something less certain.”


  “You know me then,” Renxiang said. “Through our actions, we might yet spare many lives, now and in the future. I would not sacrifice that for my own comfort.”


  “All the same, please remember to think of yourself too, Lady Renxiang,” Ling Qi said softly. “Once we have reported to your mother, you deserve rest.”


  Renxiang didn’t answer her for quite a while, instead looking toward the mirror. Just as Ling Qi was thinking to speak up again, the heiress moved. Still staring into the mirror, Renxiang traced her fingers along the red pattern on her chest. “I wonder sometimes if I am the craftwork, and Liming, the girl.”


  “Why would you…”


  “I am aware that my rigidity and the justice I seek are not natural. My… focus and drive are not normal. Rather, is not an unending well of anger the far more human thing to feel in the face of what was done?” Cai Renxiang spoke over her, not really seeming to notice her words.

  The light in Liming’s threads burned, and Ling Qi swore she could see the eyespots in the pattern narrowing in the mirror. The air thrummed with bloodlust even as Cai Renxiang’s grip on the hilt of her saber turned white-knuckled. She could almost hear the scream of rage locked behind the blade.

  Ling Qi moved forward and laid her hand on Renxiang’s shoulder. “Lady Renxiang, leaving aside philosophy, you’re the one I swore myself to, not Liming. Whatever your mother did, you are Cai Renxiang.”


  The girl’s shoulder was stiff under her grip. After a long moment, Renxiang put her hand over Ling Qi’s and squeezed her eyes shut again. “We should prepare to meet the others.”


  In the mirror, Liming glowered at them both, but the screaming had stopped.

  ***

  All traces of uncertainty were gone from Cai Renxiang’s expression and body language by the time the others had arrived. The farspeaking talisman array had been set up already and was now beginning the hours-long cycle of powering its formation properly. Their appearance in court was scheduled for ten minutes after it would be finished to account for any variance.

  For now, all five of them sat around the hearth in Cai Renxiang’s front room. Renxiang was by herself in a regal seat set at the top of the half circle formed by the furniture. Ling Qi and Gan Guangli occupied the couch set to her left, and Xia Lin and Meng Dan the one on her right.

  “Firstly, allow me to thank you for all of your efforts in this expedition,” Cai Renxiang began formally. “Each of you performed your roles very well, and thanks to those efforts, we achieved success in all of our goals.”


  Everyone bowed their heads slightly, murmuring the proper thankful responses. Cai Renxiang paused a moment to let the noise die down before continuing.

  “Now, we must present our efforts to court, and that is a challenge unto itself,” she continued. “If the seeds we have sowed are to become something more, we must show that it will be worth the effort to my mother and the lords of the Emerald Seas. Xia Lin, I would like you to present the tale of bringing down the Hui remnant you and Ling Qi discovered.”


  “I will endeavor to present the achievement well,” Xia Lin said humbly, bowing her head.

  Cai Renxiang acknowledged her with a nod. “Meng Dan, you will present your findings among the treasures that reinforced our points. I give you allowance to make mention of the auction that the three of you have arranged among yourselves, but keep the focus on the new proofs you uncovered.”


  Ling Qi shared a look with Xia Lin and Meng Dan.The treasures she and Xia Lin had acquired were quite a trove, and it would take some time, a number of months at least, to set up a venue for their sale. Meng Dan had, in exchange for his clan’s first sale rights to the tapestry talisman, offered to help them arrange it.

  “You do me honor, allowing me to speak before Her Grace,” Meng Dan said. “I have already collated my reports into something presentable to non-academics, of course.”


  “Very good,” Cai Renxiang said crisply. “Gan Guangli, you will present the journey after the valley up until we made contact. On the matter of the cyan spirit, simply state that Baroness Ling was able to negotiate us safe passage.”


  “Yes, Lady Cai,” Gan Guangli rumbled. “I will ensure that the trials of our travel are known.”


  Ling Qi wished him luck. Occupied as she had been in searching the inside of the dream space with Meng Dan, she had only heard about those minor trials and troubles secondhand.

  “You and I, Baroness,” Cai Renxiang said after acknowledging Gan Guangli’s response, “will handle the narrative of the negotiations. Our reports will be interrelated. You will speak of the cultural and spiritual matters while I will discuss the material aspects of our dealings. Do you believe this is acceptable?”


  “I do,” Ling Qi agreed, turning over the events in the south in her head and considering how she would present them. She had already done some thinking in that regard, but it would be good to finalize things.

  Sixiang corrected.

  That was the same thing, Ling Qi thought. Sixiang was her muse after all.

  Ignoring the spirit's snort of laughter, Ling Qi kept her attention on Cai Renxiang.

  The heiress had paused, turning her gaze to Xia Lin and Meng Dan. “I am not unaware of the secondary purpose of your presence on this expedition. What are your thoughts on this matter? Speak plainly, please.”


  “You are all quite fun, I think,” Meng Dan said with a faint smile. “I think I should like to return to the library for a time, but perhaps when we meet again for the auction, we can speak more on the future.”


  Xia Lin hesitated before answering. “I… have some disagreements with the style of your command, my lady, but I believe your choices advance the health of the province. If you would have me, I would not object to remaining at your service.”


  “I will consider your application then,” Cai Renxiang said. “Sir Meng, I will look forward to speaking with you and your grandmother on such matters in the future.”


  Renxiang changed the subject. “However,” she continued, “there is one matter that must be resolved before we make any further plans for our presentation. “We must decide how involved we intend to be in the diplomacy with these foreigners in the future. We have already spoken of the virtues and vices of staying our current course or taking advantage of this opportunity. So let us choose.”