Reach Heaven Via Feng Shui Engineering, Drug Trade And Tax Evasion

---

Within every cultivator flowed a river of spiritual energy. It surged through the twelve ordinary meridians of their body, suffusing every corner of their existence, filling their seven dantians to the point of bursting. It purified, refined, strengthened and healed, washing away impurities and pulling wounds closed with but a single thought. The faster this river flowed, the greater its power - and so every brave cultivator drove it further, on and on, the current just barely too weak to crack its confines, pushing themselves up against the very edge of destruction in their search of immortality.

This was the truth of all spiritual energy recirculation laws.

Myriad were the ways for a cultivator to bring doom upon themselves. Their dantians could overload and explode. Their meridians might shatter. Their body, too weak to withstand the might of spiritual energy, could tear itself apart. But every careless corpse was a lesson to others - every mistake, a guiding stone.

But as the saying went, the universal dao was truly universal - and just like the truth of Heaven's malice could be found in the shape of every leaf, the principles of cultivation could be extended far beyond the meek human body. The Thirteenth Lotus Empire was no exception. Just like every cultivator within its borders, it strove, and it pushed, and it evolved. It learned, and with every decade, it grew stronger. And where a cultivator's body had twelve meridians, the empire's enormous, sprawling organism was permeated through by the tendrils of its eleven ministries.

For all that the names of the ministries may have seemed innocuous, their histories were anything but. Each one had been forged in the fires of what had come before, hardened by the failures and tragedies that threatened to tear the empire apart at the seams, and quenched in the blood shed to keep it together. Each had to be stronger than steel, to survive one imperial succession after another.

There was a reason why every postal office was still built like a fortress.

Such thoughts passed through Qian Shanyi's mind as she pushed open the doors to one of the parlors of the Ministry of Cooperation.

The fragrance of incense hit her as the warm air rushed through the opening - rich and heavy, of smoke, sea and salt. It was as if she was sent back home, with her mother having brought some smoked fish home from the market. There was a comfortable depth to it, wrapping all around her like a blanket. Even without her realising it, some tension had leaked out of Qian Shanyi's shoulders as she stepped inside.

The doors opened onto a small, cozy room, six identical doors dotting the walls. Qian Shanyi expected to be greeted - but after a minute passed with no sign of any living being, she shrugged, then picked one of the doors at random and headed deeper into the parlor.

The door led into a labyrinth of wood and paper screens, hallways curling in on themselves, passing through hedge mazes grown in between small buildings, everything drizzled by the light morning rain. There was no pattern to it - at least, none that Qian Shanyi could discern. As she walked through it, she ran into one dead end after another, little comfortable nooks full of pillows and artwork, each inviting her to sit down and take a quiet nap - or pick up a game of mahjong with a couple close friends.

It was, no doubt, an incredible place for relaxation. Many parlors were - the ones she visited in Golden Rabbit Bay were all built as luxurious houses of tea and entertainment, with music playing at all times of day and night, cultivators coming and going, though they tended towards a much more open design. But Qian Shanyi didn't come here to get drunk and play games. She came here for business, and on quite a tight timeline.

The Ministry of Cooperation was nothing like the Ministry of Public Works, with their standard building plans and indexed request forms. Its job was to keep peace with the sects - and since every sect was individual, few things about the diplomatic process could be standardized. It was the work of building and maintaining relationships, of dissolving old grudges in even older wine, all so that the local sects could rely on one of the imperators to serve as a reliable middleman should a conflict arise.

In other words, it was a system built to be enjoyable far more than it was built to be fast.

Most of the time, this was fine. Sects had little reason to move from one place to another without warning. Even taking a couple months to establish a good working relationship was perfectly acceptable. But Qian Shanyi needed to make sect seals - and unlike the ordinary seals, that, too, was the ministry's domain.

She needed to talk to an imperator. An imperator that she could never hope to find within this maze.

The least they could have done was leave a hostess at the entrance.

Perhaps she simply came at the wrong time of day. It was early morning, and so she doubted very many cultivators would be willing to brave the miserable drizzle outside to come to the parlor. It was only natural that the place would be so empty.

Finally, after a good ten minutes of being turned around and walking in circles, she rounded a corner, and came across a trio of cultivators - young men, the lot of them - playing mahjong, and splitting a bottle of wine in between them. She sensed them through the walls long ago, just like she sensed another two groups elsewhere in the parlor - but finding a path to reach them was another matter entirely.

"Ah, fellow cultivators!" Qian Shanyi smiled, the peeved expression washed off her face like so much dust by the rain. "I have just been passing by - is there any good entertainment to be found here?"

She innocuously glanced over the three men, but none of them seemed to recognise her - which was good. Fang Jiugui's acquaintances could have been hiding anywhere. She colored her hair, put on makeup, wore clothes that changed her silhouette - but there was nothing she could do to hide the flow of her spiritual energy.

The man sitting opposite her nodded, smiled, and motioned towards a free pillow. He was wearing black robes, tied off with a sky-blue sash. Moon symbols running down his sleeves marked him as a low rank imperial official - and their blue color, as a member of the Ministry of Cooperation.

A host, in other words. Not an imperator, but perhaps meeting one directly was too much to be expected.

"Of course there is, honorable cultivator!" the host said, "As long as you would grace us with your name?"

"You may call me Han Yalin," Qian Shanyi lied, sitting down on the offered pillow. "But now I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage."

"I am Liu Zhihang", the host said, and then gestured to the other two players. "This one is Chen Yangfeng, and this is postmaster Xu Mingzhi."

Qian Shanyi bowed slightly to the others, and settled in, prepared to wait for the game to end.

In the back of her mind, that ever-present paranoia still tingled. Even if none of the others recognised her at first glance, that was no guarantee they would remain ignorant.

It was, of course, incredibly unlikely for a refinement stage cultivator to recognise her spiritual energy flow based on a loose description alone, from some letter Fang Jiugui might have sent. Even if they did - and even if they sent a letter back to Fang Jiugui - the post office would struggle to deliver it to someone constantly on the move, chasing after Wang Yonghao.

But it was possible. It was a hidden danger she could not entirely dismiss. Even a single letter would already draw him to the region.

"I admit, the design of your peculiar parlor had confounded me, honorable Liu," she said, keeping her thoughts to herself. "I was hoping to meet an imperator, but within these halls, finding my path seems almost impossible."

"Oh, imperator Gong is here somewhere," Liu Zhihang said, easily dodging the obvious question. "You needn't worry - I am sure he will appear, sooner or later."

So much for hoping this would go quick.

Some imperators preferred to meet petitioners right away. Others, let their hosts and hostesses scout out the situation first. It seemed imperator Gong was one of the latter.

Qian Shanyi sighed deep within her heart, and focused on the game in front of her. If she was to play, she might as well do it properly.

A true cultivator could even make the suns rush through the sky - but there was no rushing the Ministry of Cooperation.

---

It took four hours for Liu Zhihang to get around to introducing her to imperator Gong Yuxuan. It took another hour of talking to the man himself before Qian Shanyi could slowly twist the conversation closer and closer to the business at hand. Even by the standards of the Ministry of Cooperation, this was a bit much.

The local imperators had an enormous amount of leeway in how they did things - and some chose to lean more in one direction or another. The parlour back in Glaze Ridge chose the road of directness - she'd managed to apply for her sect recognition certificate within only twenty minutes - but it seemed imperator Gong walked the exact opposite path. Perhaps it shouldn't have been surprising, given how he built out his parlour.

Ordinarily, Qian Shanyi wouldn't have minded at all. All members of the Ministry of Cooperation were trained to be excellent conversationalists, and a little verbal sparring with them was always a delight. They were unfailingly polite throughout, too, which was a disappointing rarity.

On top of that, the Ministry of Cooperation was one of the key supporters of emperor Cho in the last imperial succession, and the first to start hiring women during the reformation - so much so, that nowadays hostesses outnumbered the hosts by a good margin. If Qian Shanyi knew more about it back when she became a cultivator, she might have tried to join the ministry instead of her sect simply based on those facts alone. Giving them a little face, spending a bit more time than necessary, was a small sacrifice.

But there was no turning back the inexorable flow of time - and that went doubly for the hours she spent here. They only had one month to make their seals, after all. Now was not the time for relaxation - and so every minute of jokes and shared stories felt like the claws of some sadistic beast scraping Qian Shanyi's shins down to the bone.

"Ah, but forgive this old man for his prattling!" Gong Yuxuan laughed, finishing up another humorous anecdote about one of the local sects. He was an almost identical copy of Liu Zhihang, only a decade older, and with symbols of little gates decorating the sleeves of his robes - seventh rank, appropriate for an imperator. The two were almost certainly related - but even if Qian Shanyi was a little curious about the different family names, she didn't ask. The last thing she needed was another story. "I am sure honorable cultivator Han has her own troubles to share."

Finally, sweet mercy.

Qian Shanyi smiled, letting none of her thoughts show on her face. At least all this wasted time made her certain nobody here had heard of her before. "It is no trouble at all. In truth, I represent a small sect."

"Indeed?"

"Indeed. We prefer not to brag about it. My Elder says it is unvirtuous."

Gong Yuxuan scratched his chin. "You are not the first one. Little Zhihang brought you to me, hm? Was he playing with Chen again?"

Qian Shanyi inclined her head slightly. "Fellow cultivator Chen Yangfeng? I believe he was."

"Did he tell you about his sect, or is he still hiding it?"

"Honorable cultivator Chen? No, he hasn't mentioned it," Qian Shanyi said, forcing her face to remain impassive even as the older man threatened to go on yet another sidetrack.

"Of course he hasn't!" Gong Yuxuan laughed again. "My, my. He comes from the Purpuric Flying Snakes sect. Used to be he would bring it up every day - but after that incident where their young master was found passed out drunk in a ditch, having pissed his own pants, young Chen had been strangely silent about it." Gong Yuxuan clapped his hands together. "But I've spoken long enough - please do go on."

Qian Shanyi sighed in her heart. What an utter waste of her time.

"I am afraid our sect has no such salacious rumors," she said instead with an easy smile. "I will make sure to avoid bringing up such a painful subject with honorable cultivator Chen. But for now - my sect is looking to find a good place to build our compound. If honorable cultivator Gong would be so kind as to tell me a bit about the city and its trade, then this here cultivator would be most grateful."

She didn't want to know about trade. She wanted to make their damn seals. But if this old man was so willing to gossip about what the other sects were doing - he'd gossip about her as well. Best not to give him anything true to talk about.

This wasn't the first such rumor she heard from his lips, either. Just the last drop that spilled over the edge of her mind.

He didn't even notice her hesitation, for why would he? He hadn't done anything wrong. The rumors he spoke of were not secret by any measure. The sect would hardly lose any face from him talking of it behind closed doors. She was even sure that if she told him to keep her business private, he would have agreed without hesitation, and done so unfailingly.

But that would attract a different form of attention - from the Ministry of Cooperation itself. A new sect asking for all their business to be kept quiet, even about seemingly innocuous questions - it would surely seem a little strange. If Gong Yuxuan were to write to his colleagues, ask if anyone knew something - the chances that it would reach the ear of one of Fang Jiugui's old colleagues rose dramatically.

She needed an imperator who wouldn't talk, even when she didn't ask them to keep quiet.

It took Qian Shanyi another half an hour to extricate herself from Gong Yuxuan without arousing further suspicion, and she hated every second of it. She couldn't keep her lips from pressing together into a thin line once she left the parlor. An entire morning, wasted. Even if she expected something like this to happen eventually - it was still infuriating.

Linghui Mei met her two streets away from the parlor, falling into step just behind her. "I was starting to worry you got caught, master," she whispered, "how did it go?"

"How do you think?" Qian Shanyi said curtly. "About as well as shaving pubes with a sword."

They walked in silence for a minute. Linghui Mei didn't tell her to stop, so Qian Shanyi simply headed back to the tea house where they stopped for drinks. Linghui Mei was supposed to stay there and keep watch over their bags - Qian Shanyi hoped she at least stashed them somewhere safe, if she was out here on the street, looking for her.

"I am sorry for snapping at you," Qian Shanyi finally said, once she got control over herself again. "I am just in a terrible mood for having wasted all morning. Let's just get our things and head onto the next town."

"It is alright, master," Linghui Mei said. "Perhaps a good plate of ramen would help your mood? I made sure to ask around while you were gone, and reserved us a place."

Qian Shanyi stopped in her tracks, and turned around, looking Linghui Mei in the eyes. "Ramen?"

Her stomach rumbled. Liu Zhihang offered her a meal back at the parlor - but she refused, or else she'd have met with the imperator another hour later. She would be lying if she said that it didn't contribute to her foul mood.

"The best in the city, I was told," Linghui Mei confirmed, with a small bow.

Qian Shanyi breathed out, forcing the tension to leak out of her shoulders. "You are the best disciple. Forget the bags - lead the way."

---

Twenty-seven towns. That was how many Qian Shanyi declared acceptable for making their seals - but those towns were not created equal. It was impossible to determine if a town might have some hidden dangers from the outside, and she fully expected to run into issues, just like she had today. In fact, picking a perfect town right away was quite unlikely.

This was what brought them to the Five Sealed Hills region.

The eponymous Five Sealed Hills were a series of ancient burial mounds, ones that, due to a quirk of local conditions, were a perfect breeding ground of ravenous spirits. For centuries, the locations of the mounds were unknown, and the region remained entirely unsettled but for a few daring demonic sects - until the empire swept the land and cleared out the ghosts.

What remained was one of the most fertile lands in the entire province, hundreds of rivers and streams soaking the earth, one that grew much of the rice, wheat and barley consumed downstream.

Out of their twenty seven acceptable towns, twelve were spread throughout this exact region. Grouped up fairly close together - easy to move from one to the next, if need be. Linghui Mei knew the region well, too - the many rivers, marshes and rice farms made it easy to break up jiuweihu scent trails, and lose any spirit hunters on her tails.

A fertile region, and a guide who knew it well. The stage was set for their success.

And yet, the time was ticking. They agreed Wang Yonghao would circle around after a month - and making the seals themselves would take no less than two weeks. If they dawdled too much, all their planning would be for naught.

It was a race against time - and they were already falling behind.

---

Qian Shanyi and Linghui Mei did not even bother stopping in the next town on their list. As soon as they arrived, they heard of a new school for spirit hunters being constructed on the outskirts, the town crawling with their men - construction so recent that it was yet to be added to any maps.

Best to seek their fortunes elsewhere.

The town after that, the hostesses at the parlor told Qian Shanyi their imperator was away on business, set to return in a week. Neither she nor Linghui Mei felt like staying around to wait.

The failures were frustrating. Infuriating, even. There was nothing either of them could do but hope the next one would fare better, all the while the constant paranoia ate away at Qian Shanyi's composure.

When she complained of it to Linghui Mei, the jiuweihu absently suggested praying to the Heavens - before realising what she said and clapping a hand over her mouth. Qian Shanyi glared at her so hard Linghui Mei stayed completely silent for a full day afterwards.

---

Qian Shanyi hurried back to Linghui Mei at a brisk pace. Fifth town on the list, and still non-viable - though in some sense, she could consider herself lucky. While she was talking to the hosts, she learned that their imperator had spent several years working in Golden Rabbit Bay - if there was anyone who would know Fang Jiugui, he would be the one. Talking to him in person was absolutely outside the question, and so she left as soon as she could find an excuse.

As she turned around the corner, she glanced back - and felt her blood freeze in her veins. One of the cultivators she met in the parlor, Zhang Jun, was following after, hurrying through the crowd to catch up to her.

What did he want?

She spoke to him only briefly - she didn't even know if he was a loose cultivator or one from a sect. He didn't arouse any of her suspicions, back then.

Did he recognise me?

Surely he was too young to be one of Fang Jiugui's old colleagues. By all rights, the old spirit hunter must have retired more than a decade ago, long before she even joined her sect - or else she would have heard of him before. Zhang Jun was twenty years old at best.

Qian Shanyi bit her lip, glancing around her, looking for a place to hide - but the street was so open there was simply nothing of use, not with Zhang Jun so close on her tail. Her only exit was the tavern where Linghui Mei was holed up, so with no better plan, she dipped inside, and stepped far away from the entrance, quickly making her way through the crowd of wining and dining guests, skirting around the tables to get deeper into the room.

She hoped the mass of people would help hide her better. It didn't work.

"Ah, fellow cultivator Yang!" Zhang Jun's voice called out from behind her.

Qian Shanyi swore in her heart. Just her luck, that he would notice where she went. "Yes?" she said, turning around with a disinterested mask on her face.

The eyes of the excited young cultivator met her own. She tried to find some recognition there - but once again, came up short. There was nervousness, excitement, lust - a mix she was more than used to. But not a hint of cunning, of wariness, of avarice - anything she would have expected from an agent of Fang Jiugui.

Was he simply such a good actor?

"What is it?" she prompted, when no explanation seemed to be forthcoming.

She felt Linghui Mei's presence but a few paces away, still sitting down at her table - but for now, Qian Shanyi didn't give any indication they knew each other. Best to keep that card in her pocket until it was needed. Mei was wearing the face of a young man herself, at Qian Shanyi's prompting - they changed up their appearance regularly, to make it a little harder to track them.

"Ah, that is -" Zhang Jun said, swallowing nervously. He grabbed the collar of his pale green robes with one hand, ruffling his hair with his other. "The honorable fairy left the parlor so quickly, I had no time to - that is to say, I -" He swallowed again, and chuckled. "I was wondering wherever the honorable fairy was going to stay in town for long?"

Qian Shanyi blinked. Where was he going with this? "Not long," she said. "Why?"

"Well -," Zhang Jun said, gazing at her with trepidation. "I was wondering if the honorable jade beauty would be interested in a tour of the city?"

Qian Shanyi blinked a second time, and then pinched her nose, chuckling slightly. With all this business of luck and Heavens and Fang Jiugui, she was really losing her touch with reality, where things tended to be far simpler. To think she had actually wondered if he was one of Fang Jiugui's agents.

"Honorable cultivator, I am afraid not," she said, finally opening up her eyes.

"Oh," Zhang Jun said, visibly deflating, "Why not?"

Now why would you put me on the spot like that?

"Most honorable cultivator, I am afraid I am already married," Qian Shanyi lied, deciding to go for the easiest excuse, lest he ask more inconvenient questions. "Do you believe my husband would appreciate such a… 'tour'?"

"Oh.. I see," Zhang Jun said, deflating further. "No, I don't suppose so."

"I am sure you will find an excellent partner in time," Qian Shanyi said, patting Zhang Jun on the shoulder. It was the truth - he was reasonably attractive, and a little amusing, which boded well for his chances. Far too boring for her taste, but that was only her personal taste. And even though he was still in the low refinement stage - he was still young, so that was hardly unexpected. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Yeah. Thank you," Zhang Jun said, bowing to her. "I am sure your husband is very happy to have such a beautiful pair cultivation partner."

All of Qian Shanyi's cheer turned sour in an instant. She even briefly considered slapping the idiot across the face. It really was extremely tempting. "I am afraid we do not practice," she said in a clipped tone instead, glaring at Zhang Jun. "And now I am afraid it really would be best for you to get going, cultivator Zhang."

The man stepped back from her glare - but wisely chose not to contradict her. Qian Shanyi's eyes followed him through the crowd as he left, before she shook her head slightly, and headed over to Linghui Mei's table, settling down right next to her.

"Did you order food for me yet?" she said by means of an introduction.

"No, master," Linghui Mei said quietly, leaning a bit closer to speak over the noise of the tavern. She was munching on a juicy pear from a bowl set in the middle of the table. "Only fruit."

"Very well. This town is a bust too," Qian Shanyi said in frustration. "Let's eat, and then we are heading out again."

Qian Shanyi would be the only one eating a proper meal, of course. Linghui Mei mostly fed herself in between towns, where they could safely butcher a rabbit or chicken for her to eat raw without anyone noticing.

As they waited for a waitress to come - and then for food to be prepared - Linghui Mei started to fidget more and more at her side, playing with a second pear without actually eating it. She glanced at Qian Shanyi out of the corner of her eye, seemingly trying to be innocuous - and failing miserably at it.

Qian Shanyi sighed once she couldn't take it anymore, and poked Linghui Mei in the side. "Speak," she said quietly, leaning over to keep their conversation private. "Did I not tell you to do so freely? I can tell you are itching to ask me something."

Linghui Mei winced slightly. "Well…" she began. "I was wondering what it is that man said, in the end. You glared at him so hard I thought you were going to kill him."

"He suggested that I practice pair cultivation," Qian Shanyi replied tersely, and grimaced. "To think someone would actually say that to my face. A fool has eyes yet cannot see his own death standing but a few steps ahead of him."

Linghui Mei nodded, then shook her head. "I am afraid I still do not understand, master."

"Pair cultivation involves two cultivators exchanging spiritual energy, typically through sex," Qian Shanyi explained. "Usually for the purpose of pulling impurities out of one of them and into the other. As a result one cultivator advances at twice the speed for half the effort while the other is left to stagnate."

It couldn't actually be twice the speed, not even close. Before impurities could be purged, they had to be dislodged - and once that was done, expelling them through the skin was only marginally harder. Yet the benefit was significant nonetheless.

"Would this not be to your benefit?" Linghui Mei asked curiously. "I do not believe my master is, ah -" She blushed slightly. "Averse to that part of the practice."

"For mysterious reasons the woman seems to always be left holding the worst end of the deal in this little arrangement," Qian Shanyi said, picking up a pear herself, and tossing it up in the air. "A little strange, you would think, since in theory it could be either of the paired partners."

Of course, there was an even more effective method for purging impurities than pair cultivation. But at least that one was now outlawed by edict, and would get you branded as a demonic cultivator for participating. Baby steps.

"But enough about such tragic topics," Qian Shanyi said, biting into her pear. She gestured with it towards Linghui Mei. "Tell me what question was actually on your mind, before this little diversion. Did you think I didn't notice you fidgeting ever since this morning?"

Linghui Mei winced again, biting the edge of her lip.

"Where did you even learn to dodge questions like that?" Qian Shanyi asked rhetorically while she waited for her answer. "It's unusually tricksy of you. You used to simply deadwall me."

"Well, master," Linghui Mei said, picking at her pear, before she looked directly into Qian Shanyi's eyes. "I learned it from you."

Qian Shanyi gave Linghui Mei a scandalised look. "I do not dodge questions from my friends."

"If you say so, master."

"Bah. What a petulant disciple I have." Qian Shanyi snorted. "Very well, good job on picking up some of my teachings. Only you are a thousand years too young to use them against me - so answer."

Linghui Mei sighed, looking away. She fidgeted some more, but stayed quiet. Qian Shanyi's food arrived long before she started to speak.

"It is about my children," Linghui Mei whispered. "We aren't far from one of my daughters, and - well, I -"

"You were thinking of visiting her?" Qian Shanyi concluded, when Linghui Mei's voice failed her entirely.

Linghui Mei nodded mutely. "Flowering Azalea Springs is next on our list, and it's one and a half days of travel away," she said, suddenly burying her gaze in the surface of the table as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "If we were to take a detour - we would add another day to our travel. A day and a half, at worst. But… I can hardly ask this of my master, with her life still on the line."

Qian Shanyi tapped her cheek. It only took her a moment to decide, and another ten seconds to make sure the decision wasn't entirely insane. "It's not a problem. We'll do it."

Pleading eyes of disbelief met her own. "Truly?"

"Yes." Qian Shanyi sighed. "Frankly, with this entire scheme, I need something to feel good about myself. I think we can afford to spend one day on it. So let's go visit this daughter of yours."

---

It took them only a day to get to the small town where Linghui Mei's daughter lived - and the jiuweihu seemed to get more and more anxious by the hour as they approached. Qian Shanyi doubted she even slept through the night on the way there.

"You go ahead," Qian Shanyi said, once they came out of the forest overlooking the little town in question. "I'll wait for you here - I have some thinking to do, in any case."

"Wait for me?" Linghui Mei said, looking at her in worry. "I couldn't - it is not safe for master to stay alone. You should come with me."

"I do not think it is a good idea, Mei."

The look turned to one of betrayal. "Why not?" Linghui Mei gasped.

Qian Shanyi arched one eyebrow at her reaction. "Setting aside the fact that you would be far more conspicuous alongside a cultivator - do you really think it would be good for your daughter to meet me?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Linghui Mei said, clutching her hands into fists. "I have brought other jiuweihu along before. It is good to -" her voice caught, before she managed to steady it again. "If I ever get caught, it is good for her to know the others. You promised you could help my children before, yet now you refuse to even meet my daughter?"

"Of course I am willing to help her. But I am a cultivator, not a jiuweihu," Qian Shanyi kindly reminded her. "What if your daughter starts to think all cultivators are safe for her to speak to, merely because I am? You said she is nine years old. Do you trust her to understand all the implications of such a thing?"

Linghui Mei looked away, hugging herself. Qian Shanyi stepped closer, and patted her on the head.

"I am really glad you already trust me this much," Qian Shanyi said. Back when they first met, Linghui Mei said she would rather die than reveal where her children lived - such rapid change was, frankly, astounding. "I simply do not think it is a good idea."

"She is a smart kid," Linghui Mei muttered, leaning into her a little bit. "But my master is right. Unusually so."

Qian Shanyi frowned. "I am right far more often than not."

"If my master says so, then it must be true," Linghui Mei said with a mischievous giggle. She sighed, stepping away. "Still. What if master gets caught while I am gone? I would be a terrible disciple to leave you alone."

Qian Shanyi crossed her arms. She could tell it wasn't a real question - Linghui Mei was simply fishing for justifications to do what she wanted. "We've discussed this, Mei," she reminded her. "If I get caught, you have to stay hidden. Whether you are here or not, you can't do anything to stop it."

Linghui Mei nodded mutely.

"Tell you what," Qian Shanyi said, setting her bags on the ground, and getting out her writing set. "Why don't I write a little recommendation letter for your daughter? If she ever needs help, she could find my parents in Golden Rabbit Bay. They run a small store in the port, Qian's General Trading Goods."

"That is not - um," Linghui Mei stuttered as Qian Shanyi quickly sketched a letter. Just a couple lines - no names, nothing identifying, but enough secret signs her father would know it was from her.

"Not what?" Qian Shanyi asked, handing the letter over. The ink hadn't even finished drying.

Linghui Mei sighed, rubbing her face. "It's not that kind of trouble I am worried about, master," she said. "She works for a good family, she is… fine. But I still do not know if she is human or jiuweihu…" she trailed off.

"...ah. I see."

Cultivators generally unlocked their spiritual root between the ages of ten and eighteen. If jiuweihu were remotely similar - it would be something of a crisis. Perhaps even a reason behind those switchling rumors that Linghui Mei always insisted were a lie.

"You should still give her the letter," Qian Shanyi finally decided. "My parents couldn't help her with that issue - but you never know what will happen. Besides, they would probably be the best way to reach me, if she ever needed it."

Linghui Mei nodded, accepting the letter - and then suddenly hugged Qian Shanyi, so tightly it almost hurt.

"Thank you, really," Linghui Mei said with a sniffle, turned around, and fled.

Qian Shanyi sighed, settling down to wait. She had much to think of herself.

Linghui Mei returned six hours later, her eyes glistening with tears - but her lips were spread in a smile the likes of which Qian Shanyi hadn't seen in years.

---

Qian Shanyi approached the next parlor of the Ministry of Cooperation with a sense of resignation. At least it made it a little less disappointing when she found the doors chained closed, with a sign hanging off the handles.

"Closed for repairs," she said, reading the sign.

Of course it would be closed.

She sighed. Her original theory was that Wang Yonghao's luck could not affect them from this far away. She was starting to wonder if that idea was built on sand after all. Their run of bad luck was not unbelievable yet, and admittedly, she crossed out half of the parlors they visited simply due to her own assumptions and paranoia. And yet, she couldn't help but wonder.

There was a second address lower down on the sign - temporary offices, said to be open for more ordinary requests, ones that did not require anything more than the imperator's own discretion. With little else to do with her time, Qian Shanyi headed there, already anticipating having to turn back.

It took her a good twenty minutes of searching to simply find the place. The temporary offices - for they no longer deserved to be called a parlor - were moved into the same building as the local Censorate, through a nondescript door hidden in a little nook off the side of the building, framed by a pair of flower planter boxes. Judging by its size and shape, perhaps this was merely a repurposed supply entrance. There was a little painted sign, but one that could be barely seen off the street.

When she stepped inside, she was greeted by dim lamps and hanging charms, a sweet aroma of flowers and incense - and a cheerful hostess, who all but jumped out of her seat, excited to greet a newcomer. "Ah, fellow cultivator, welcome!" she said, bowing deeply. "This one is Xia Mengshan. How may our humble parlor serve you?"

Qian Shanyi quietly glanced over the short, windowless corridor she found herself in. It was barely ten meters long, with two doors branching off to the left side - and a larger one, way at the back. Redecorated or not, her guess of a supply entrance seemed to be right on the money.

"I couldn't help but notice your parlor is a little smaller than usual, fellow cultivator Xia," Qian Shanyi said, still looking around.

"If the fellow cultivator desires more space, we host gatherings every evening at one of the restaurants in town," Xia Mengshan said, bowing a second time. "I could put you on the reservation list - if only I were to know the name of the fellow cultivator…?"

"Restaurant?" Qian Shanyi said, ignoring the question put to her. She hadn't decided yet whether to use a false name or not. "Not at the main parlor?"

Another bow. So very apologetic. "Unfortunately our main parlor has been afflicted with a nest of earth dragons, and some of the walls have collapsed. It will be some weeks until it is fully repaired," Xia Mengshan said. A little tear rolled out of the corner of her eye, and she sniffled, flicking it away with one finger. "It is a tragedy that the fellow cultivator will not see the beauty of what was there before - but we will make sure that what comes after is greater still."

Qian Shanyi nodded. "That is quite alright. I only have a small request for the imperator in the first place."

"I am sure imperator Wang would be ecstatic to meet you. Should I ask her if she is available?"

Her?

"Perhaps you could tell me a little more about imperator Wang first?" Qian Shanyi said. "I wouldn't want to come off as a rube."

Partly, she needed to know if she should cut things short. Partly, she was just being polite. She could sense imperator Wang in one of the neighboring rooms, and they did not speak very quietly - no doubt their entire conversation had already been overheard. But it was good to give her some face, and do things as they were generally expected to go.

The conversation alayed her remaining fears. Imperator Wang Tingting had become an imperator eight years ago and had served in a larger parlour down south until just short of a year back - when she had been transferred to her position here, in Flowering Azalea Springs. Reading between the lines of what Xia Mengshan had said, the position wasn't seen as very attractive, even if it meant leading an entire parlor of her own - the town was small, in the grand scheme of things, and only had a pair of sects, one of which had since moved away.

She had no obvious connection to spirit hunters. She had never been to Golden Rabbit Bay. She had preferred to keep a tight staff - especially now, with their main parlor closed.

Qian Shanyi glanced over the narrow - cozy - corridor another time. Over the spot where she could tell some cracks had been patched in the wall.

It was…

It was perfect. Or as close to perfect as she could reasonably expect.

Certainly, the temporary parlor barely deserved the name. But all it meant was that she could come and go quietly, without being seen. Perhaps her lamentations of bad luck were entirely unfounded.

Then her paranoia reared its ugly head again. Was it really such good luck, or were the Heavens making a trap for her?

Was this parlor simply too good?

She squashed that thought mercilessly. If she would doubt her every step, she would never get anywhere. If she tossed away the great opportunities as well as the mediocre - then she might as well declare this entire scheme as dead in the water, for nothing at all would suit her tastes.

She asked Xia Mengshan to be introduced to imperator Wang - and a minute later, she stood in her office.

The room was small, but at least it had a window, even if it was equally tiny. A miniscule tea table took up center stage - framed by more flowers, and a couple tasteful bookshelves against one of the walls.

"I apologise for the meager accommodations, fellow cultivator Shanyi," Wang Tingting had said, once they were both seated, with tea poured out for them. She tried to hide it, but Qian Shanyi could see it really pained her greatly. Xia Mengshan had left them alone - partly because it was proper, but partly because she would have had to bump elbows with one of them if she stayed.

"It is no trouble at all, fellow cultivator Wang," Qian Shanyi said with a smile, sipping her tea. It was floral - Wang Tingting seemed to have quite a theme. There was even a pair of lotus flowers tied into her hair bun.

Setting aside her cup, Qian Shanyi pulled their sect recognition certificate out of her bag - a beautiful sheet of thick, glistening, rainbow-colored paper. "In truth, the sect I represent is used to much worse conditions," she said, "We were looking to make some sect seals for our disciples…"