She did not want to end up alone again.
Yeah, ok, I'm not voting for any plan that doesn't include reconnecting with Han Jian. That's just not ok.
Also, I'm sad that Ling Qi probably can't really bond with Zeqing vis a vis Hanyi/Zhengui.
The elements just clash so much, I can't see how e.g. lullabies Zeqing can teach Ling Qi would be useful for raising Zhengui. But I like the idea of Zeqing teaching Ling Qi how to raise a child via her own experiences with Hanyi.
"Well, it looks like the script of the hill tribes in this region before they accepted imperial rule," Li Suyin explained, interest lighting up her eye as she paged through the book. "Father had a handful of fragments in his collection, but nothing so complete."
Yes, Suyin, be happy! Actually, since Ling Qi isn't interested in formations, should we just straight up give the book to Suyin? She likes this sort of history, and she's good with formations. If she can link the puppets' senses to her's, then she can team up with Ling Qi as the other half-spymistress with her murder of spy-crows!
Ceiling crow is watching you?
Also, bone puppets are just creepy enough to be in theme for the spider spirit she wants to bind. You know, dissolve the prey's skin and flesh as they're trapped in the webs, and then use their bones as her servants.
"I am from Jizhou," she replied easily, only to grow sheepish at Ling Qi's lack of recognition. "Um… it is the northernmost city in the province, and primary hub of trade for goods going to and from the central provinces, it is second only to the capital seat of the Emerald Seas in splendor and size," she doesn't seem displeased to talk about her home though.
...
Li Suyin chewed her on her lower lip for a moment, appearing deep in thought. "...Well, there isn't anything wrong with that. Tonghou city is still an important stop on the central north-south routes, even if the mines in the region are played out."
In other words, Jizhou is either a hotbed of Imperial authority or thoroughly under the sway of Cai Shenhua, and Tonghou is only a few steps up from podunk nowhere. Furthermore, it's amazing Suyin could bear to have lived in a hovel, if her family's so highly placed. Her family might only be nobility by mortal standards, but they're still nobility!
Ling Qi felt a cool hand fall on shoulder and jerked in surprise, instinctively pushing herself up and out of her seat to turn and face the person who had touched her. Unfortunately, she put too much force in the motion, practically launching herself out of her chair… only to crack her head against the low ceiling of the cavern.
She still managed to land on her feet, wincing as she rubbed the top of her head, which throbbed with the force of the impact. She peered warily through the gloomy room to see who had startled her so. It took only a moment to recognize the person in question, her portrait had been staring at her all week after all.
Xin stood beside her seat with a bemused expression, and one hand on her hip. She wore a gown of dark blue and black which glittered with starry light at her every movement. Her white hair was put up in an elaborate updo though pinned in place with glittering onyx pins and jewelry. "Feeling a little wound up dear?" She asked compassionately, though Ling Qi could see the twinkle of humor in her red eyes.
And here we see why Xin and Jiao are married: they are both complete trolls -- Xin, as the fragment of the Great Spirit of hidden mystery, absolutely knows Ling Qi's issues and what she was thinking (and what Ling Qi
was not paying attention to). This whole introduction was set up for just that reaction.
"XIN," Ling Qi flinched as Elder Jiao's voice boomed through the cavern, rattling the furniture, the shadows in the room roiled and swelled, tendrils of absolute darkness, opaque even to her vision writhing across every surface as the light of the lantern flickered wildly. Worse still were the eyes, wide and glaring, gleaming like kaleidoscopes, that opened by the dozen across the shadows in the room.
Oooh, are these the Moon-aligned attack and perception arts? They were mentioned in Jiao's interlude, but we didn't see them. We know Jiao has an advanced version of probably-Xin's-variant-of SCS, and I guess the eyes-thing is Xin's variant of an perception art. So, which Moon does Ling Qi have to curry favor with to get the shadow attack art?
The grey skinned man gave her a flat look. "You are asking me to tutor you in the arts of thievery. Is that truly what you want to ask?"
Ling Qi looked down, shuffling her feet a little, ignoring Xin's laugh. "...Yes," she said in a small voice.
"My, what an insightful girl," Xin said, sounding smug.
...Xin just implied Jiao used to be a thieving urchin boy. I wonder what was gambled in the bet Xin and Jiao had going on.
45/15. First level reached
30/30 Second level reached
So, Fleeting Zephyr not only replaces Zephyr's Breath, the level track along with the associated required successes gets replaced, too. The base sux costs then are 20 sux first level, 45 sux second level, and then 65 sux third level. The third level doesn't even require another meridian.
In total, getting the evolution of ZB gave us bigger passives than TRF/AM (the probably-2nd-Realm arts), as well as a total of 4 great techniques in comparison to the normal 2 techs normally given for a new art.
Shows why art chains are so desirable, and why even low level arts for the lower realms would be desirable to get and develop for the great families.
"A throne must be radiant, and solid as the mountain rock," he replied agreeably. "Theatre sways the hearts of the unworthy," he added in a much quieter tone. Going by the stillness in the air, she was quite sure only she heard that. That was useful.
Ah, so there's a hypothetical useful Earth art for Ling Qi -- enhancing stealth through stilling the air and muffling sound.
He tipped his hat marginally in her direction, definitely smiling now. "Other perspectives remain invaluable. Am I begrudged?"
You're cute, Xuan Shi. You, I like.
If he is good with Zhengui, I advocate kidnapping him for Ling Qi's clan. If we base in the Emerald Sea province, we can even do it all legal and everything, we just need to make a trade deal!
...She really would have to get a better ring of her own though. Meizhen's spare had ten times the space hers did. The thought of filling it with loot warmed her heart.
Awww, Meizhan is such a Good Friend! ...There's a joke here about Ling Qi's heart growing ten sizes because of her friendship with Meizhan.
The cramped complex was not especially large, and consisted largely of work rooms and a few housing areas, there were a bit less than ten disciples present, and so she avoided stealing anything too obvious. No matter the urge to steal the large pill furnace in one of the rearmost rooms. Su Ling had indicated that those were very valuable, right?
She would get it on the way out.
Pity that this is a thieving mission. If we brought Meizhan (using Crescent's Grace and Formless Shade via Qi cards), we could have dropped two third realm fighters and Ling Qi's mist right in the middle of their base. (It's also sad that Xiulan is not so great at stealth. She probably would have been ecstatic at the opportunity to crush the people who ambushed her.)
Also, Ling Qi has great kleptomaniac instincts! Stealing the pill furnace should have
gutted Yan Renshu's money making scheme.
She tore through the base like a sticky fingered hurricane, searching for signs of Yan Renshu. She tried to avoid distraction, but there was only so much she could do. Minor pills, talismans and stones abounded, and in one room she even found carefully organized parcels containing the required goods for several basic gathering quests, she shoveled it all into her ring, not even bothering to fight the grin stretching her lips.
Sticky fingered hurricane Ling Qi on a thieving spree is the
best.
As long as she struck before he had much chance to change things anyway. Even if he did… knocking over this base alone would starve his group of resources, since it was his primary stone farming location.
And she was certainly going to report the place to Cai Renxiang after she left.
With her new pill furnace of course.
+300 Red Stones
+23 Yellow Stones
+1 Large Pill Furnace
+15 sect points
That's ... That's a lot of money. Not even counting the pill furnace, that's
605 RSS equivalents right there. If Yan Renshu's main base is anything like this, we're set for stones for the rest of the year!
Are there any other wealthy factions we can steal from in the outer sect? There's Sun Liling and Kang Zihao, of course, who should have production track followers. Even better, they're both from important families in their home provinces, so if any have superior storage rings for Ling Qi to steal, they should.
[X] Plan Search and Destroy
Reconnects to both Han Jian and Gu Xiulan, as well as tags Xuan Shi into raising Zhengui, Yes! Also larceny
and investigation training, which are going to be used with the Moon quest. 0.8 avg sux isn't much, but it's still valuable for something as important as the quest.
