So Li Suyin is picking up some acupuncture needle-type attacks, eh? Disabler, a reasonable path to follow for her. She's got as many dots in Formations as Ling Qi though - that'll never do, Ling Qi, you must try harder! Embrace the formations!
Also, with her both of the remaining tokens are cracked. The three have a theme, I see - +5 to physical/meridians/qi, trigger a single bonus physical/physical/spiritual roll at +3. The meridians ones will be useful - I could see Ling Qi getting meridians up to her 'unpilled' limit (well, only the basic purchaseable pill), then using one of the Highsun pills and doing another meridian batch, then a Highsun and a Sable pill for yet another.
Speaking of pills, the ones Meizhen gave Ling Qi are quite useful. Best used when cultivating two combat arts, of course. Hmm... might be useful in combination with the Darkmoon pill, as it'll be two boosted qi rolls and a boosted spirit roll as free actions.
And Ling Qi is starting to think forward beyond 'means' to 'ends'. Good girl ^_^
Now, her cultivation rolls. The SCS attempt made it *almost* to halfway; it might take two more actions to hit it (or one pill-boosted and at a higher cultivation level, perhaps). Argent Soul 5 get, of course. Physical gets a *massive* boost, giving a total of 65 this turn (given AS overflow hits physical again, a roll like the first one on the second could've gotten even more ridiculous...). Studying Argent Mirror with Meizhen gives +5 dice... and it was actually *completed* first action, wow. Unfortunately, Eight-Phase Cycle didn't have anywhere near the synergies and boosts, so it's still a good few actions away ;_;
Skills and attributes - archery dot, some good progress on assorted characteristics. A pity politics won't be upgraded before the Cai meeting is scheduled, but thems the breaks.
Argent Soul 5. A bit more of a boost and an extension through Late Yellow, as expected. Successes for Qi rolls through 40 base - so I'm guessing that that's close to where the breakthrough bonus would be. Spirit binding doesn't upgrade, but upkeep drops. And the breakthrough effect, ease of meridians and qi bonus is permanent. Now, the bonuses to qi cultivation aren't permanent, nor are the cultivation bonus dice, spirit upkeep or re-roll - a bit of a pity, but it might be a bit much to expect that everything except the general bonus dice becomes permanent upon mastery. Still, Ling Qi now has a solid cultivation base for sure.
Argent Mirror's levels are "reflections" - nice that they have a non-generic name. It adds a new mastery - very intriguing. A bonus to all composure and resolve tests, very nice. And it looks like the art offers those cultivation-senses people have been asking about - *very* nice indeed. Oh, and help bypassing illusions, somewhat expected. The two techniques are a generic dispel of negative effects - useful against, say, Huang Da - and a perception boost/illusion breaker. Both are middling-expensive, but have good utility. I'd note that Serene Reflection probably can lift the effect of Ling Qi's mist... although the mist works on multiple targets and is cheaper to cast.
Now, egg research. First of all, I'd note that Xuan Shi seems to like to linger around the archives at night - might be an opportunity to talk with him, see what kind of person he is. Also, Ling Qi has a hatching method and a few ideas on what she'll need to do.
Han Jian definitely seems resentful - and given the information on Imperial Writs, I can see why he's kinda jealous. It looks like they weathered some combat since the end of the truce, which partially explains their wariness of Ling Qi; it's generic to anyone not part of their band.
And the tokens are the right way to patch things up, I see. Now, if the others who had them didn't figure it out... how can Ling Qi get ahold of them? Because those drugs are very very nice... unfortunately, they're probably the kind of thing people would just keep around their domicile rather than on their person, so while she *might* have a shot at the other girls' tokens, the guys' are a different story. I suppose she could try and buy them - but then, they'd want to know *why* and probably refuse. Tricky... I wonder if Ling Qi could simply cut a deal - she knows their secret and can reveal it (ie, unlock them - hiding the method, of course), but gets some portion of the rewards for doing so (say, one of each of the drugs). That could actually be a way to gain some additional grudging respect from some of the rest of the top-flight talents. Even the ones that are at the peak may not have thought of trying it, actually...
Ling Qi is starting to get a decent amount of respect, it seems, as word travels and her being a commoner seem less unusual. I suspect her dressing as a noble helps, along with often being in the company of nobles. Also, as Han Jian said, she's got a decent shot at a Writ - so the smarter ones are probably considering that she might well be a noble in the future. Xiulan's nervous about Ling Qi; again, like Han Jian, the expectation that she'll be able to become a noble on her own recognizance probably plays a part. On the flip side, she's definitely seen Ling Qi's more "human" qualities and foibles, so we'll see where that sentiment goes. And Ling Qi herself gets an Elsa-braid, I see. It's a nice modest "lady-like" style, I admit, and keeps the hair out of the way.
The invitation... this will be thorny. I'm kind of expecting that Cai is attempting to pull Ling Qi into her orbit, and possibly away from Bai. Meanwhile, Meizhen is worried that it'll succeed, while Xiulan is a touch anxious as well, I expect. Turning it down would be... probably unwise and would be a declaration of some hostility. Accepting will put Ling Qi on the spot in terms of her social graces (which aren't *too* bad any more) and will probably lead to "you seem talented, join me".
I feel like Ling Qi could navigate such an offer reasonably well - if Bai Meizhen comes up, Ling Qi declares that she's her friend. If an offer is made, Ling Qi can demur, saying some mixture of wanting to avoid politics, fulfill her service commitment before deciding on an alignment or the like. If it's a kind of half-offer along the lines of sounding Ling Qi out on performing her service in the right territory and seeing how amenable she'd be down the road, then that'd be easier. It'll be a bit tense though, I expect. Ling Qi should make sure to show gratitude for Guangli's intervention and Cai's actions afterwards, along with Cai enforcing some measure of discipline on the living quarters.
Actions... well, working on the egg is probably necessary; the sooner it hatches, the sooner it can be fed and grow and the sooner it'll be in a less-vulnerable state. Hunting with Han Jian is a reasonable training activity for, say, Sable Crescent Step. Eight-Phase Cycle at the vent for a third action. Moonfill for a fourth. That leaves a fifth action open... I'm partial to archives for formations, but opening an arm meridian is another choice I'd like.
Minor... Han Jian for politics update, Su Ling for some hunting coop or tips, Suyin for studying (attached to vent cultivation) and accept the invitation to tea, I think.
