Threads Chapter 2

Ling Qi carefully blotted the ink on the last string of characters describing the qi circulation exercises they were to practice before the next lecture. Elder Hua’s form was already dissipating into mist, and the low buzz of conversation among the disciples was resuming, even among those nearby. It seemed that the initial reaction to Meizhen’s presence had been one of surprise for the most part.

“Ling Qi,” Bai Meizhen spoke, catching her attention. “What are your plans for this week?”

Ling Qi blew on the drying ink one last time and looked up. “I’m not sure. I’ll be cultivating at night and in the evenings, but I don’t really have my days planned out yet. I was going to be discussing that with Lady Cai later, I think.”

“I see,” Meizhen replied, pursing her lips as she stood, her white gown shimmering like water under the pale light in the grotto. “Will you be visiting the town in the foothills?”

Ling Qi nodded, beginning to pack up her utensils and notes. “I’ll want to visit my mother sometime, sure.”

“Inform me when you intend to do so, and make plans for a further stay before or after your visit,” Meizhen said crisply. “There is someone I should be introducing you to.”

Ling Qi blinked, pausing in her clean-up. Looking up at her friend, she felt a thread of concern. “… This isn’t a marriage thing, right?”

She saw a flicker of horror in Bai Meizhen’s eyes. “No, of course not. It is only one of my lesser branch cousins. Certain things need to be made clear,” she replied hurriedly.

Ling Qi let out a breath of relief. She had thought maybe something had been arranged for Meizhen, but that was fine. Since she knew Meizhen wouldn’t specify any more about this meeting in public, she replied, “I’ll let you know tomorrow then.”

Bai Meizhen gave her a small nod, and they parted ways as Ling Qi finished packing. Weaving through the crowd, Ling Qi soon caught up to Li Suyin in the paved plaza outside the grotto.

“Wait up, Li Suyin,” she called to catch the blue-haired girl’s attention.

“Ling Qi?” Li Suyin replied, sounding befuddled as she stopped and turned around. “Is there something wrong?”

Ling Qi felt a pang at the response. Did they not get together after almost every lesson in the Outer Sect? She supposed they had drifted apart a little in the second half of the past year.

“Nothing, nothing,” she reassured Li Suyin, falling into step beside the shorter girl. “I just thought it might be fun to catch up a little, and you could show me what you’ve been working on. I’m curious, you know?”

“Oh? I don’t mind at all,” Li Suyin said with a smile. “We’ve both been so busy, so…”

“Right?” Ling Qi agreed with relief. “Besides the horror project, we haven’t had much time to talk.”

“It really was a fascinating project, wasn’t it?” Li Suyin replied wistfully. “I’ve managed to repurpose the scout formation a bit since then as well. If you would like, I could show you.”

“Sure,” Ling Qi said as they took one of the paths leading up the mountain, filling the air with chatter about Li Suyin’s work on developing the Ossuary formations away from their roots.

Like Ling Qi, Li Suyin ranked above eight hundred and fifty, and so she too had a single home set into the side of the mountain without immediate neighbors. Their abodes were identical in layout and design, though the scattered notes and formation designs that littered the place gave it a much more lived-in feel than hers.

As the smaller girl led her back toward the workshop, Ling Qi decided to fill the silence. “How did things go at the tournament anyway?”

For a moment, Li Suyin looked puzzled, but then understanding dawned. “Father was distraught and angry at my injury,” she answered with a sad smile. “Mother and I talked him down from attempting to file a legal suit against the girls involved. It would not help given our relative positions.”

Ling Qi grimaced. She wasn’t a legal expert at all, but that was obvious to her. Even if Imperial law technically gave mortals the right to do that kind of thing, it was useless for even a wealthy mortal family to go against a noble clan without an equally ranked backer. “They weren’t too mad at you though?”

Li Suyin shook her head, turning to open the workshop door. “Mother was put out with me for deceiving them, but… she understood, I think. We spoke of it.”

Ling Qi nodded and didn’t press further. Anything further would be private. She moved to follow Li Suyin into the workshop, only to pause on the threshold. The interior had already been much changed compared to her own home. Hammocks of spider silk hung from the web-coated ceiling, and even the walls had been buried under a layer of silken threads. On the unwebbed surfaces, dozens of tiny rodent skeletons scurried about, small objects grasped in their bony jaws, while others stood completely still in neat rows around the room’s perimeter.

“You’ve really spruced the place up,” Ling Qi said dryly, carefully stepping inside to avoid crushing the tiny assistants.

“It is all thanks to Zhenli,” Li Suyin replied cheerfully. “Zhenli, I am back, and we have a guest!”

Ling Qi looked up at the sound of chitin scraping against chitin. In the far left corner of the room, the webbing grew into a bulbous nest as large as a full grown man. From it emerged her friend’s spirit. The last time they had met, the spider had been small enough to fit in her palm. Now, the arachnid was the size of a small cat, and pale pink chitin and the thick fuzz that grew from it shimmered with a rainbow of hues. Li Suyin’s spirit beast had reached the peak of the first realm now.

“

Zhenli greets Sister Suyin,

” the spider’s voice whispered in the back of Ling Qi’s skull. Her jaws worked and her frontmost limbs wriggled warily as her attention turned to Ling Qi. “

Zhenli greets the Ling Qi and the moonchild too.

”

“

Don’t pay me any mind,

” Sixiang said, seemingly awakened from the bored quasi-sleep they had sunk into during the lecture. “

Grandmother doesn’t stand on ceremony, and neither do I. Just tell your kin to keep the good stuff coming for the next party!

”

“

Zhenli will pass the message.

” The spider let out a high-pitched physical chitter, turning her attention to a bemused Li Suyin, who was looking curiously at Ling Qi. “

Does Sister need Zhenli for anything?

”

“No, it’s fine. You can return to your preparations. I wish you luck,” Li Suyin answered, earning another chitter in response as the spider practically dove back into her nest. “Zhenli is going to be breaking through soon,” she said, answering Ling Qi’s unasked question.

“You better watch out, or she’s going to surpass you,” Ling Qi teased.

Li Suyin grimaced. “I have neglected my base cultivation recently, haven’t I?” she lamented. “I intend to fix that soon. I cannot afford to idle away in the second realm now that I have ended up here somehow.”

“Somehow, nothing,” Ling Qi scoffed, taking a seat on one of the benches and scattering the skeletal servitors in her wake. “You earned your place.”

“Perhaps,” Li Suyin replied with a self-deprecating smile as she moved further into the room to examine a tray of familiar, carved bone wands. “Anyway, who was Zhenli speaking to there?”

“Ah, I guess I’ve never introduced you,” Ling Qi said self-consciously. “My second spirit, Sixiang, is a bodiless moon muse. Speak up, will you, Sixiang?”

“

Well, if I have permission,

” Sixiang huffed. “

Hello there! Your little friend’s