Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

[Chaoswilldevour]

Omake number two, pompous scholar bogaloo!

A Most All-Encompassing Treatise Regarding The Cultivation Of Certain Immortal Arts Of Varied Efficacy Not Wholly Conforming To The Imperial Standard, by Scholar Imang

Chapter 2; On Esoteric Meridians

"Among the more common questions asked of sect elders by their aspiring commoner discipulae is that of meridians disparity with the wholesome symmetry present in the elements. They ask of how many types of meridians there are, and so forth. The intellectual among them attempt to align the meridians with specific elements symbolically, and from these wayward scholars the more worldly, aware of the theoretically arbitrary ways of aligning meridians, posit that if the meridians and elements relate to one another, that there should be eight meridians that occur far more naturally within the individual, ones not requiring intensive rethreading efforts to produce. It is noted that in some individuals there are meridians that natively pierce the appendix, and in others there is not - the appendix is unique in this fashion, the only true organ that entirely lacks any contingent meridians within a sizeable portion of cultivators. The debates as to wether this evidences the appendix as a false organ are irrelevant to this treatise, and for the sake of consistency with referenced sources, will treated as an organ henceforth.

Rethreading being the practice of actually altering the path of a meridian through the body, and is rarely practical. In the typical individual there are a large enough number of meridians within a bodily region so as to make opening them beyond the efforts of a cultivator, though sometimes this does not hold true, as noted with the appendix. An Appendectal meridian is, the reader will note, not a common meridian, and is only the requirement of arts that, to this scholar's wisdom, were created to test the theoretical properties of the meridian. Thus, rethreading is typically only practiced by those attempting to create meridians unique in nature, and this form of rethreading is often quite dangerous compared to the small shifts of a normal opening, as the diverted Qi flows of the new meridian can result in stunted growth or hideous deformity even when the clearing is executed with technical perfection, and the gory results of some failure in this respect are beyond this scholar's artistic ability to convey.

The attempts to assign the elements to meridians are, this ones research suggests, utterly pointless. Unlike other fundamental aspects of Cultivation, meridians are present in mortals and cultivators alone (other entities may display superficially similar but spiritually distinct traits however), and are a fashioned phenomenon. While the symmetry of eight is present elsewhere in nature, this is because they are an omnipresent and pervasive part of the universal substrata - the symmetry of eight appears frequently elsewhere in the world because they compose the world, or are interrelated in whatsoever philosophical fashion the reader is accustomed to. It does not appear among meridians because they are fashioned by cultivators' bodies, minds and souls - it is roughly akin to associating eight methods of folding metal in the smithing process with different elements - there is no fundamental connection, and if one seems apparent then that is merely the result of fancy. The meridians are focuses of the cultivator's aim and drive, not their characteristic traits - if Fire cultivators favour Arm meridian arts, then that is merely a reflection of how the aggression resulting from the Fire elemental influence drives them to strike out. The correlation between elements and meridians must be explored through investigation of the Immortal Psyche, not theoretical discussion of symbolic association.

Most common among the "exotic" meridians that certain persons attempt to complete the symmetry of eight with are Viscera Meridians - those that specifically thread through certain organs, rather than bodily regions (limbs, spine, etc.), and this classification of meridians varies between scholars on encompassing heart meridians (being among the four most common) and head meridians (the debate regarding wether the emphasis is upon the cranial region or the brain contained within). This contention is not particularly relevant to this treatise, to the degree this scholar will make no especial assumption at this point. Viscera meridians, specifically those which would be considered "exotic", that being ones involving organs from the intestinal or excretory systems, have a varied span of associations, and their relative scarcity has lead to a lack of research on their associations. Interestingly, certain cases have found significant overlap between certain visceral meridians and more common meridians, and the current suppositions involves mirrored suitability of jin, with the premise that the visceral counterpart of another meridian is focused on either yin or yang, either in mirror to its counterpart or as part of a trio or quartet, with each member favouring one of yin, yang, their combination, absence or both, as the school posits.

As an example, pancreatic meridians share many apparent associations with arm meridians, and, according to certain ascetic researchers, possess an affinity for yin arts. This claim is unverifiable as it is technically posible for their to be simple overlap with arm meridians with motive influence, and a heretofore undiscovered aspect unshared. Nevertheless, though some Viscera meridians appear to have counterparts, some have absolutely no such meridian - liver meridians, for example emphasise degenerative and restorative arts, both internal and external, yet seem incapable of harmonising with progenetive applications not involving poison or degeneration in some way. They are equally suitable for repairing wounds and objects as the inverse, yet cannot seem to enhance the flesh healed or inflict wounds where ones do not yet exist. This recent discovery has sparked an investigation of posible meridians regarding the extremities not yet explored - "foot", "palm" or "hip" meridians, though the risks of Meridial Warping mean the practical side of the field is scarcely populated, and in need of fresh blood."

Edit: just realised that I never tagged @yrsillar for these, and I'd rather not make his work harder by having have to backtrack. Edited in tags still send alerts on SV, right?

 

[Hangwind]

MOONLIT WINGS

Ling Qi walked quickly along the path. Today was the last day of her instruction by Elder Jiao, and he had called her to a different place than they normally met. Today, she was to meet him at the top of a hill a distance from the normal haunts of the sect.

The path that she followed was small and winding, clearly little used. Ling wondered why Elder Jiao wanted to meet her in such a remote location, but speculation was useless. She would know soon enough she supposed.

She was annoyed by the time she reached the top of the hill though. It had taken her most of the day to get there, and the sun had begun to dip behind the horizon at this point.

"Ah, student Ling, you have arrived," Elder Jiao commented from where he lazily reclined. His seat was one of four small stone benches placed at the cardinal directions around an unnaturally round pool set into the top of the hill.

Ling bowed her head, "I have." She looked around the area, noting the lack of anything but the pool. "May I ask why we are in such a...remote...area?"

Elder Jiao nodded calmly, "Yes, you may. With this being the last day of your tutelage under me, I have decided to give you one last benefit." He gestured broadly, encompassing the entire top of the hill. "This is something of an ideal site for an augury I have in mind."

Ling looked around the pool, scowling a bit. "Is it? I can sense no natural qi around here, and I thought that that was necessary for divining things."

The elder hummed as he watched the sunset reflected in the pool. "That's something of a misconception actually. The truth is, while using the power of environmental qi is 'necessary', that doesn't make it 'good'. The world does not give up the secrets of the future easily, and every bit of qi you draw from a source outside yourself clouds your vision more. Really, the 'best' divination area would be one completely free of qi. But no mere cultivator can pierce the veil of the future in such a way. Thus is every diviner forever compromising between the 'good' and the 'necessary'. That's why all fortune telling is suspect-it's not so much about what they have seen, but what they have missed and what has changed since that is the issue."

Suddenly the Elder clapped and Ling Qi started, realizing that the moon was not only out, but high in the sky now. How-"That's not what we're doing today. Instead of trying to predict your future, I want to reveal your present. For that, I needed an area dead of any qi but my own. That's why I placed you in the trance you just noticed-you radiate qi and that would make my augury more work than it has to be. Not much more, but why put in more effort than you have to, right?"

Ling nodded her head, but glared at the Elder. "I understand," your laziness she very pointedly did not say. Jiao simply brushed the glare off though, and gave no sign that he had even noticed the hidden barb. The fact that Ling Qi knew he did and was just perfectly ignoring it honestly infuriated her a bit.

"Well, to business then! Ling Qi," here his voice took on a cast of uncustomary seriousness, "approach the Reflected Reflection, and reflect in turn."

Ling nodded, realizing what he wanted. Carefully, she stepped up to the very edge of the pool and looked down at the mirror like shine of the full moon above. For a few breaths, it seemed like nothing happened. Then she noticed a strange change coming over the pool. The water, though still as always, seemed to be warping the reflection of the sky. The darkness between the stars seemed to be writhing, with undefinable changes stretching across the pool's image.

Ling Qi finally couldn't handle it, and blinked. The second she did, the odd changes seemed to have stopped. Now, though, the pool's image was different. Instead of just the night sky, the pool seemed to be reflecting the ground as well, as though the pool had been stood on end.

It was a different scene than the Sect grounds though. The trees were of an unfamiliar profile, though she couldn't see much in the shadows cast by the moonlight. The sky had changed as well-the moon was unchanged, but the stars were cut across by occasional streaks as some fell. More, a roiling mist covered everything at ground level, seemingly strong winds tossing it to and fro, and occasionally revealing dark and grasping figures within. Bathed in the moonlight, the tableau gave an air of mystery and danger.

Still, Ling Qi felt that she was missing something. Even with all the motion involved, it still felt like this Contemplative World was holding its breath.

Then, out of the dark night skies, a ripple emerged. This grand distortion blew the branches and mist into chaos, shaking them like a child with a rattle. So powerful was the ripple of illusionary wind that even the otherwise flat pool gained a few small waves itself.

And following the wind came a shadow, one greater than any Ling Qi had seen before. Even Zhengui's progenitor would be considered small next to this. It blocked out the stars, and plunged the trees below into absolute darkness. When it finally got close, it pulled into a steep climb, showing that it was a great eagle, the moon backlighting it into pitch darkness. All but its glowing golden eyes. At the top of its climb, the great eagle seemed to stop, its torso outlined by moonlight and its wings stretching across the entire sky, and let out a great soundless cry. The Contemplative world disappeared into a maelstrom of wind and debris, and then disappeared entirely as the technique was broken by the Reflected Reflection frothing with the power it couldn't contain.

And Ling Qi collapsed, having not breathed since the first appearance of the eagle.

XXX

Ling Qi jerked into wakefulness, sitting straight up on the stone floor. Looking around, she quickly realized that she was in the grotto where Elder Jiao normally taught her.

This realization was helped by the fact that the elder was standing directly above her.

Jiao chuckled at her squawk and ungraceful scramble to reattain some personal space. "Ah, awake again I see. Falling asleep twice in one night, maybe you need a bit more rest?"

"What was that?!?" Ling ignored his little jab, instead focusing on her experience with the pool.

Elder Jiao chuckled, "That was what we were looking for. Your spirit apparently most closely matches that of the Garuda. In your case, it manifested as the Moon-Shadowed Roc. It says very interesting things about you. The Garuda is a symbol of both hope and disaster. It touches light, but was born of darkness. In your case, your desire for freedom and hunger for companionship are what is defining you right now. I must admit, I have never seen an augury turn out quite like that!"

Rubbing her temples Ling looked up at the elder with interest. "What does that mean? Can I summon the Roc or the Garuda or something?"

Jiao snorted, whipping out a fan to cool himself with. "Hardly. As I said, this merely reflects who you are right now. Seeing the Roc merely means that you are similar in some ways to it. If the Roc were an oak, you would be a mere acorn, not yet even planted. And who would say that just because an acorn exists it will become a mighty oak?"

"Oh," Ling dropped her eyes, a bit dejected.

Jiao was having none of it though and tapped her forehead with his fan. "We did exactly what we set out to do though. You have seen who you are now. What you do from here is up to you. Your essence is that of freedom and hunger. You may choose to follow that path, or you may choose to change it. But at least now you know which direction you are going."

With that, he shooed her out of the grotto with a small package in her hands, and an admonishment not to open it until she got back to her house. When she did, an emblem and a note fell out. The emblem had the scene of the eagle flying in front of the moon from last night. She read the note carefully, then smiled.

Take this, as a reminder of the great wings you carry.

 

[Klaus]

Forge of Destiny (CKII)

Year 43, Month 8

You are Cai Renxiang.

Your attempts to bring order to the Outer Sect have not been as successful as you had hoped. While you control most of the disciples, the barbarian princess Sun Liling and her ally, that skulking worm Yan Renshu, remain at large. It is only a matter of time until they strike again.

You would hope that Sun Liling and her savage followers would allow their bloodlust to goad them into attacking before they are ready but you know better than to hope that the granddaughter of Sun Shao is untutored in the arts of war.

Conversely, your efforts on the political front have been more successful than you dared hope. You have encountered a surprising number of promising young cultivators, and even managed to make a connection with Bai Meizhen.

The Bai are famously as unfriendly as they are powerful; that power is why, despite the loss of their greatest cultivator, the desertion of their vassals, and the hostility of the Imperial throne the Bai still stand as one of the greatest houses of the empire. Even in their weakness their lessers dare not bare their fangs against them to devour them, as happens to many noble houses who stumble. Your mother has few words of kindness to say for anyone but she has never called the Bai weak.

Slowly but surely, you are acquiring the advisers and allies that will serve as the core of your future government.


Military: Gan Guangli is your strong right arm in the sect. There are several ways he can assist you (Choose 1):

Recruit more enforcers : Expand the ranks of your enforcers. This will both solidify your control over your areas of the Outer Sect as well as prepare you for the next assault by Sun Liling.

War games : Cultivators are trained to fight, yes, but only as individuals. Even Elder Zhou offered only minimal instructions on cooperation, despite his emphasis on it. While it may be presumptuous of you to judge an elder you cannot help but feel he made a mistake. If you want someone to do something you should provide them with as detailed an instruction as possible. Training your forces to work together will make them vastly more effective.

Starve the Beast : Sun Liling and her rebels need supplies from the mountain to be able to continue their cultivation. Dispatch forces to interdict their hunting and gathering parties and deny them the resources they need.

Assault: The wheels of justice grind slow but incredibly fine, and it is time to grind Sun Liling and her rebels into dust. Launch an assault on her mountain fortress and bring her to justice.(Begins event turns)


Diplomacy : None of your followers have yet shown a gift for diplomacy, so it rests entirely upon your shoulders.(Choose 1) (Action penalty until adviser acquired):

Fields of Dreams : Han Jian has supported your council and performed well, perhaps he'd make a suitable ally in the broader world of imperial politics as well? Many of the best mines of the Emerald Sea were played out long ago and the exotic minerals from the Golden Fields would be a boon.

Shadow, Shadow, On the Wall: The Huang family has been having some trouble recently. Your mother did earmark some resources for you to make alliances with. Perhaps you should make Huang Da an offer he shouldn't refuse?

Snake Charmer: Your alliance with Bai Meizhen has yielded fruit so far but if you want it to persist beyond your time in the Outer Sect you should spend some more time with her.


Stewardship : Fatty Chen retains an astonishing figure in defiance of her name and her appetite. She oversees your followers on the production track. Her family connections give her a good feel for the markets in the sect. (Choose 1)

One Lump or Two?: Ling Qi wants to speak with you about something. Perhaps you can fit her in for tea?

Finders Keepers: The way your followers are currently gathering raw materials is unacceptably sloppy. Organize teams of hunters and assign them specific areas and times to rationalize production.


Research: LOCKED FOR TUTORIAL


Piety: Xuan Shi admits he is no expert on dealing with spirits but he is both patient and intelligent. He will do until a real expert comes along.(Choose 1)

Night on Argent Mountain: Between all the construction and upheaval caused by Sun Liling and Yan Renshu they must have displaced or angered some spirits. Find these disgruntled spirits and assist them in taking their bloody revenge.

Sacred and Profane: There are many spirits on the mountain. If some of them could be convinced to look more favorably upon your forces it would be a great boon.


Intrigue: None of your followers have yet shown a gift for intrigue, so it rests entirely upon your shoulders.(Choose 1) (Action penalty until adviser acquired):

What You Don't Know Can Hurt You: Send someone to scout out Sun Liling's fortress and the surrounding area.

Choose Spymaster: Fu Xiang : An older student, he approached you when you began planning to spread your influence beyond the first year of the Outer Sect. He possesses a mind of such labyrinthine complexity his plots might evade even your mother's all-seeing gaze.
-Pros: not!Kabuto serves you as Spymaster
-Cons: not!Kabuto serves you as Spymaster

Choose Spymaster: Ling Qi: A prodigy from a peasant background, she exemplifies the kind of new blood your mother has been infusing her court with. A combination of innate talent and a rare gift for time-management has seen her rise from nothing to become one of most powerful cultivators of her year while simultaneously making important political connections.
-Pros: Extremely talented cultivator, intensely loyal...
-Cons: ...to Bai Meizhen. Prone to Acting independently of orders


Choose Spymaster: Huang Da: An adequate cultivator with an emphasis on the Darkness element. While eccentric, he obeys orders with the discipline you would expect from a scion of a noble house.
-Pros: As a member of a noble house he has connections around the empire that the other potential Spymasters do not.
-Cons: While skilled at field operations he lacks...elegance (penalty to political relations if Intrigue actions discovered.)

Personal Action

Cultivation : Naturally, you cannot permit your cultivation to lag, despite the demands of bringing order to the Outer Sect. In addition to your usual cultivation you will devote extra effort to:
-[] Spiritual
-[] Physical
-[] Arts
-[] Qi


(If anyone wants to be added as a commenter, just tag me and I'll quote you in this post.)

On the one hand, Ling Qi is the obvious choice. On the other hand, we're growing worryingly dependent on Bai Meizhen. I know the politics really don't work for her to be setting us up, but it's almost tempting to go for creepy Not!Kabuto just so all our eggs aren't in one basket. The problem is, he'd be almost useless in the Inner Sect, so we don't really have much choice in terms of action economy. For Diplomacy, Field of Dreams is the obvious choice, it's a win-win. Not sure about spirits, but it's probably better to keep being the 'good girl' as far as the Elders are concerned and play it safe.

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So I'm thinking we maybe pick Snake Charmer, and then Choose Ling Qi for Spymaster? Absolutely anything is better than picking Not!Kabuto. Seriously, you just know that guy is waiting to stab us in the back. I will even pick Mr Creepy "Your-hair-smells-nice" over freaking Not!Kabuto.

Also, maybe War Games? I think we have enough minions now, so it's about time we got them learning to fight effectively together.

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I'm not convinced Ling Qi is a good choice for our spymaster.

Whilst she's certainly someone we would like to recruit she isn't necessarily a good choice for spymaster.

First off. Of all our choices she will be the most focused on her own cultivation. Fu Xiang is an older, production track student with an established base in strength and skill. Huang Da is arrogant, but fairly unlikely to win a spot in this years tournament. He is also from an established family, with less of a burning need to prove himself than Ling Qi.
By contrast Ling Qi is a nobody who has already made a fair nmber of enemies and is, by all accounts, obsessively dedicated to cultivation. She also has a serious chance of advancing by the tournament this year if she can pull herself to green.

Whilst this is a good thing from the point of view of having her follow along with us when we move to the inner sect it will mean she will have much less time to devote to her role as our spymaster than the others. Given that Yan Renshu is still out there, and Sun Liling has proven decently adept at pulling off intrigues and ambushes (the ambush, retrieving Kang Zihao), this diversion may be something we can ill afford.

The independence is also being underrated as a con. Whilst her suprises have been effective thus far, she could easily wreck our planning of weeks, potentially derailing things badly. Or act against people that we need to keep placated for now without informing us before it's too late.

Selecting her would also risk alienating Fu Xiang. He chose to come down and ally with us and has been a staunch ally. As well as our go to guy for intrigue. Pissing off not Kabuto the master of blackmail is not to be done lightly. Especially since he also stands a good chance of making it to the inner sect with us.

Huang Da is a dark horse, but he's probably the one with the most time to devote to the position. We also have an in with him: Ji Rong. He is unlikely to defeat his rival by strength, but might by cunning. He also brings political connections that the others do not, which is important. We don't have Mom's sheer strength to cow everyone. He's least likely to make it to the inner sect with us this year, but having someone to keep our powerbase in the outer sect once we're gone is no bad thing.

Above all we shouldn't make the mistake of looking at the long term advatages too much and forgetting that we must achieve short term success lest we disappoint dear mother.

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Personally, i believe we should bring in Huang Da as our spymaster. Now, hear me out. Its not a role that requires power, but subtly and the ability to manage an intelligence network. While obviously wary of Fu Xiang (because anyone who can be considered dealing a xanatos gambit to mother, even hypothetically, is a terrifying being) i'm rather wary of picking Ling Qi. If we gained her loyalty, then i wouldn't mind giving latitude to a very useful retainer, but till then she would be a possible agent of the Bai till proven otherwise. The inability to completely trust your spymaster is never a good thing. Meanwhile if we pick the stewardship option, Huang Da owes us and possibly would give us leverage over other members of his family, or at least a chance to gain influence with them.

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I agree that Huang Da is probably the best spymaster candidate.
The only reason to keep Not!Kabuto around is because "keep your friend close, and your enemies closer." The only thing more dangerous than having him around is having him lurk in the shadows away from our eyes.
Ling Qi would be best used as a free agent rather than trying to fit her in a box.
Point her at a problem ? see sparks fly.
But try to have her give weekly reports on the up and downs, on the potential issues, and finding whatever blackmail she can ? Not sure we can trust her on that. Not only is her own morality an issue, she doesn't have a clue of what she should be doing in the first place.
Besides, assuming we can earn her loyalty *cough*friendship*cough*, then vassal-hood is not even required, she'll come to us naturally whenever we need.

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[ex] Huang Da

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Alright, folks, it is time to produce some plans! I think I'm seeing two options in terms of a grand strategy for this turn-we can either go all in on Bai-related actions now for synergy, or pick none of them and try to diversify. Personally, I'm leaning more towards the second option at the moment, though I could be persuaded otherwise.

[-] Starve the Beast

Seems like this can work well with organising our hunters, and is in general a better idea than assaulting right off the bat. Training is all well and good as, but I don't feel our hold on the Outer Sect is strong enough to make a bunch of teenagers drop whatever they'd rather be doing. The same argument goes against instituting a draft, as well. I mean, do we want them to desert to the 'No Rules/Law of the Jungle/FREEDOM FOREVER' people?

[-] Field of Dreams

This one is more of a 'by default' choice. I think it's either all or nothing on the Bai options, even though that one might be a better choice in this instance. Additionally, Huang Da is kind of a scrub. His option even says his family is failing, for crying out loud! I feel like it's a resource sink for insufficient return. Loyal subjects are good and all, but we already have some and Darkness cultivators are... Shady (I'm not sorry)... at the best of times.

[-] Finders Keepers

Again, synergy with Starvation. Some may argue that this goes against my 'don't impose rules on teenagers' guidelines, but in this case it's something they'd already be doing anyways, and they'll probably profit more in the end with our input.

[-] Sacred and Profane

Yeah, I don't really feel like associating with spirits of the 'BLOOD AND DEATH' variety.

[-] Choose Spymaster: Fu Xiang

We all know how good Kabuto is at espionage, and I think we can trust him to be loyal so long as we are clearly the stronger party. As for the other options? I feel I've already made my feelings on Huang Da perfectly clear, and if we're not doing the other Bai/Ling options we're not doing this one either. We want to recruit a spymaster who will stick with us, and Ling Qi won't if we don't social her (Does it really count as Social if it's a Stewardship action rather than a Diplomacy one?) or solidify our alliance with Bai.

[-] Spiritual

Our largest weakness in the Thunderdome Redux was being at a lower level than Princess Murderhobo, so we should work to further close that gap. Wizarding is more important than Face Punching in my opinion, so I've selected this rather than Physical.

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We have two goals in attending the Sect: to gain experience with authority and to build our own powerbase. With that in mind we need to be thinking longterm here as well as just wanting to do well in the present. So, I want to double down on the terrible twosome who I think could be endgame connections. As well as always wanting more snake waifu, her shadow's a talent from our hometown. Whether we end up with Meizhen or not I'd like to bring Ling Qi into the fold, though. She'd be so cute with Gan Guangli.

Military:
[x] War games
Diplomacy :
[x] Snake Charmer
Stewardship :
[x] One Lump or Two?
Piety:
[x] Night on Argent Mountain
Intrigue:
[x] Choose Spymaster: Ling Qi
Cultivation :
[x] Qi

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Cultivation :
[x] Qi

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Cultivating Qi? That's like, for plebs.

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Whether we end up with Meizhen or not I'd like to bring Ling Qi into the fold, though.

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Cultivation :
[x] Qi

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You realize a cultivation vote for training Qi doesn't actually help us recruit Ling Qi, despite the name?
Seriously, though; consider switching that to one of the other options. Qi cultivation is really underwhelming.

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You realize a cultivation vote for training Qi doesn't actually help us recruit Ling Qi, despite the name?
Seriously, though; consider switching that to one of the other options. Qi cultivation is really underwhelming.

Click to shrink...

Huh? I figured it was like Bloody Mary, you say her name three times in a plan and she'll join your faction

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Well people, i have already said it time and again but i don't buy the Bai act. It's just too convenient to be genuine.

Anyway:

[X] War games.

This is essential. We have enough troops, but our coordination is shaky. Hell, we have hints than many of our officials don't even now the names of our soldiers!

[X] Shadow, Shadow, On the Wall

Let's be honest, Huang Da is garbage, but useful garbage. Out of our options he is the easier the control. Han Jian is too independent and Bai is a snake.

[X] One Lump or Two?

[X] Sacred and Profane

We have spent a lot of effort to cultivate our honorable image, let's not ruin it please?

[X] Choose spymaster: Huang Da.

A spymaster we can't trust is worse than no spymaster at all.

[X] Arts

This should be obvious, but now that we broke into the third fully we have to upgrade our arts to match.

Click to shrink...

That seems like a plan
[X]Broken25

Still needs to add the pill setup though.

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[X]Broken25

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Turn 8 Results>>​

 

[ArcaneKnight]

The Bet

A pale, lanky boy with black hair and eyes, Shouzu Tian was distraught, as the news that reached him made himself reconsider all actions that he had done until now. At least, there was still time to change course, if he ran, so that he would not become fragilized. No, he will change things and as such, his position will remain untouched. But first, he had a friend, nay, a rat, to find, though such should not be truly difficult, what with the way Ladies Cai and Ling offered a communal pill furnace with price competitive with the ones the sect provided.

After some prodding, and showing his patrolman armband, he finally found the rat, Maopi Heise, with his dark skin and bald head, and spirits be damned, the way his face was smirking, Tian knew he would not escape extreme gloating. "Ah, how the mighty have fallen. It was yesterday only, that a certain man was saying how we were all fools, idiots even, to not amend our bets, and now here he is, more ghost than man, but to what purpose?". Tian could feel the smugness from his voice not dripping, but falling like a veritable waterfall.

"Yes, I was wrong, I'm very sorry and all that, but I must emphasize that I may still correct my bets for the tournament. So, let us do like this, Heise - I will change my eight chosen with you completely silent, and then you can gloat and do all those things you so like as much as you want. Deal?", Tian said, extending his hand for the other boy, whose smirk seemed to get bigger to Tian despair, though in the end Heise squeezed his hand, offering him a piece of paper shortly after. Now this, this would entail some heavy considerations. Obviously, the Monster Trio of Bai, Cai and Sun was a certain bet, all fully in the third realm and boasting impressive arts and talismans, with resources that could rival ten of the common outer disciples. Now, the rest was a little harder to place, he had first gone with Chu Song from the seniors, as she was the only one he knew before, due to his, ahem, not exactly amicable nor unfriendly with Ji Rong before all those things happening in the sect - but Tian had made his choice in the Cai group, as his acquaintance, for lack of a better term, had made his, and as such they would fight if they met, even if Tian had the certainty he would lost easily.

Either way, Tian thought, there would be little chance for Chu Song this tournament, and her name was erased from his little listing, replaced with the freaking boogeywoman that was Lady Ling, and he wouldn't think of her any way besides as a respectful lady anymore, no matter what he dreamt of before. The next was Kang Zihao, and after some consideration, he thought the son of the Shield of the Empress would still be able to pass to the inner sect. Ji Rong was still in, as Tian knew the boy somewhat, and his fearful talent will see him through the battles. He had heard some things about Sir Xuan trying the production test, so out the guy was, and in came Sir Han, Tian having nothing but the highest esteem for the man after all the training. Sir Gan was almost out too, but in the end, Tian thought he had a great chance. Sure, he wouldn't ace the bet, due to all the seniors he didn't know about, but it was better than almost all of his friends, who put Huang Da on the list - sure, he was good, even got the prize from Elder Su way back then, but he wasn't good enough, and besides, he also didn't like the guy. After changing his bets though, he passed the paper to Heise, only to find himself being stared not only by him, but also by the Lu Twins, Ziyou and Yun, both with tan skin, blond hair and green eyes, and he groaned, already thinking on all he would heard. "See, twins, remember the face of this ghost, or if you can, record it for posterity, for that is the face of a man who made an error and is now dreading the consequences", Heise said while grinning larger than the Grinning Moon, with the twins in tow. But he wouldn't face this, oh no.

"Okay, let laid down some rules right now. I only gave Heise the right to gloat and be smug and all those things, so, if I hear any kind of comment from you twins, I will haunt you with my ghosts for an entire month" and that shut their opening mouths, the way they sometimes talked the same things at the same time freaking him and Heise out, though it got better. Still, even the threat of his Despairing Ghost Art wasn't enough to make them stop grinning with all of those feelings of superiority, after all, the bet they made about who would reach the mid tier in both realms was won by him a few days ago, even counting the head start the twins had in entering the Silver realm, so yeah, he would let them grin and hurt their faces, for he was sure they would still be radiating smugness during their mission to hunt beasts today. At least Heise wouldn't go with them today, to busy making pills and all that. Tian was sure he would need the reprieve, for the night would be long and full of jabs at his face.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, I had this idea when our relationship with the Outer Sect changed, and really, I believe many of the disciples from our year, and even the seniors, have betting pools about who will pass the tournament for entrance in the Inner Sect. Sorry for bad writing and english and all that, haven't practiced lately.

[X] Plan: Surprise! I'm secretly invincible!

And now, I return to lurking.

 

[FixerUpper]

<== Part 1

Alternate Roomiverse: Sun Liling Part 2

"Huh, you're more talented than I thought."

Her meditation broken, Ling Qi opened her eyes - then blinked, pain piercing through them and into her brain like dull knives: she'd forgot. Sun Liling chuckled as Ling wiped her face with a sleeve. Ling knew it looked like she had a really bad case of pinkeye, and sudden changes in lighting hurt a lot, but arguably the worst part of the elixir-induced changes were the sudden… urges.

She kept wanting to fight.

For a girl who'd always run, it felt wrong, unnatural. Her mind and body kept butting heads. She'd frozen several times when some asshole nobles sneered at her, caught between the urge to melt away and the impulse to cave some faces inwards.

"How many meridians did you open?" Sun Liling asked.

"Two," Ling Qi said, trying to get her heart to stop racing the rest of her body.

"And it looks like you made notable progress with the sect's Baby's-First-Cultivation technique and that wind art you picked up." A pause. "Damn, I chose well," she said, looking pleased with herself. "I wasn't going to push, but you look like you're about to explode. C'mon, time you met the troops."

"Troops?" said Ling Qi.

----

'Troops' turned out to be 'troop.'

The Sect was big: Ling Qi had mostly kept to the dorms and the areas the Elders had designated as classrooms (even if Elder Zhou persisted in believing that the best sort of classroom had no walls and involved putting all cultivators through a physical routine so rigorous that Ling Qi had thrown up after every single one of his classes), but Ling knew she'd yet to cover so much as a tenth of the area that was theoretically open to her. She was, therefore, unsurprised when Sun Liling dragged her to somewhere new: a picturesque field bordered by the mountain's deep, gloomy forests.

Someone was waiting for them when they got there.

Someone very, very pretty.

"Whatdya think?" asked Sun Liling. Her accent, Ling Qi noticed, thickened and lightened seemingly at will.

The two strangers being introduced regarded each other for a second.

A neuron flickered in Ling Qi's head.

"How on earth - he's prettier than you," said Ling Qi even as the boy opened his mouth to say, appalled: "Liling, tell me you didn't-"

"He is pretty," Sun Liling said smugly. And this was true: his hair was - there was no other way to put it - it was luxuriant, easily the best hair that Ling Qi had seen not on an Elder, and that took some doing, there was a lot of competition for the title of Prettiest On The Mountain. Pale skin, fine, noble features - a true classical beauty.

"Liling," the boy repeated.

Sun Liling smiled one of her canine-baring smiles. "Dude, c'mon, lighten up."

"You could have killed her," the boy said, stressing the verb. "I think that requires a little attention, don't you?"

Ling Qi frowned. It'd been bad, but not that bad. She'd had worse when - her mind stuttered on that memory and she carefully put it aside. When she came back she realized that she'd lost a few seconds: Sun Liling was speaking.

"-the important bit - I didn't. And now look at how much progress she's made. And this in a week. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

Maybe for Immortals. For mortals…

Pretty-boy was massaging his temples. "Please don't do this again? With a bloody cherry on top?"

"Lu," Sun Liling said sweetly. "You know me. I won't make no promises I don't plan on keeping."

"My name is Ling Qi," Ling said, after it became clear to her that Sun Liling was uninterested in doing more than needle pretty boy.

"Lu Feng," Lu said automatically. "And sorry, I don't know who the Lings are…?"

"...I'm a commoner."

"Oh thank god." There was a moment of silence wherein the Lu Feng apparently realized how bad this sounded, because he added, defensively: "It's just… if the Princess had killed a noble… well-"

Ling Qi's opinion of him, not high to begin with, started digging a hole.

"I can see the two of you are going to get along great," said Sun Liling cheerfully. "Ling, try to hit him. Lu, try not to hurt her: four days ago she didn't even know what a dantian was."

"She wha-"

Ling Qi, who had been suppressing medicinally-induced aggression for several days, finally got to kick someone in the face.

----

After that one freebie, Ling Qi was then dribbled around like a child's ball. Lu Feng might not have been Sun Liling's peer, but Ling Qi had never been in a real fight before and, even holding back, Lu Feng had been more than equal to the task of keeping her at arm's length.

At the end of it, all Ling Qi recalled was the sight of Sun Liling's knees as the girl crouched next to her.

"Ling, your talent's tops, but it's housed in an extremely disappointing container. I'm doing this for your own good, so try not to-"

Ling Qi fainted.

-----

When she woke up, she was in the mountains somewhere. Deep in the mountains somewhere.

There was a set of knives next to her. She grabbed it, looked around. To a city girl, everything looked the same. That's to say, everything looked like a dark patch of forest, made soft and blurry by the mist.

Ling Qi shrieked when something landed on her head: it turned out to be some sort of metal fly.

It dropped a folded piece of paper before whirring away. On it were five characters.

"Good luck! ~Sun Liling"

Ling Qi's cry of rage caused a few first realm birds to take fright and fly away.

 

[Kai Merah]

Probably noncanon, but here's my attempt at an omake.


She did so love to watch her children play. They shone so brightly to her, like little fireflies darting in the gloom. Pretty things. Even the infants were adorable. Such simple schemes, such clumsy subterfuge, such obvious attempts at stealth, and yet, they shone so much brighter, were so much cleverer than the slow, plodding worms they toyed with. Truly, her little children were the cutest of them all!

Sometimes, of course, they fell away. The bright, sparking embers of their spirits died away and they became just as dull and plodding as the rest of the worms. Or they burned a little too bright at exactly the wrong moment, and were snapped up by irritable frogs. Both were a pity, but it was the slow, willing deaths of their bright lights that baffled her the most. To simply accept their place in the dirt and let themselves smother… She truly had no idea how any of those who were once her children could have let themselves do such a thing.

Thankfully, it looked like her youngest child would avoid such a fate. The girl had been hers even before she was born, when she was a mere embryo in the dirt, struggling against all the other dirt particles. Many such dirt particles were hers, and sometimes, she even blessed them, but she only truly paid attention to her children once they were born. Some fell away and forgot her, going to her sisters, or one of the Others, even if they had been hers before, but this one stayed. This one remembered her and continued to honour her. This pleased her, and her little sister was kind enough to pass on to her newest child a little token of her favour. Just a little something to help her along learning to grow up.

Her youngest child had received her gifts eagerly, and eagerly made use of them, but after that, it was as if her youngest child utterly forgot her. Dulling her light to blend with the other worms out of some silly fear of rejection or something like that. Afraid to admit to being one of hers, afraid to admit to being herself. It was dreadfully disappointing. When an opportunity presented itself, she sent a tiny sliver of her essence down to chastise the wayward youngster, and this at least encouraged her to be a little more honest. But then it was back to dull, dull, dullness, with only just enough of a glow here and there to know her youngest hadn't forsaken all good sense.

Admittedly, she got sidetracked a bit there, looking in on her other children, but in the mean time, her youngest had steadily continued developing her gift, and in reward, she was shown a glimpse of herself and her sisters, and given a choice. She had nearly not given the youngster the choice of herself, but at her sisters' urging, she had relented. Infants were small and foolish and often concerned with the silliest things, but she could see into her child's heart of hearts and she knew her child still loved her. So she let her make the choice, and the child chose her. Clever little baby. No matter what silly fears and concerns she had, at least she was smart enough, bright enough, to remember and choose her.

She watched as her youngest beautifully accomplished the test she set, and felt her heart swell with pride and possessiveness. Hers. Definitely hers first and foremost. Such a hungry little thing. She gave her youngest some encouragement to indulge in her appetites, and her baby blossomed like her lilies' first opening beneath her light. Her youngest managed to snag the attention of one of her older boys, and watching from high above, she quite approved of how he put her through her paces. Such a hardworking child, and growing quicker and cleverer by the day. The earlier boredom and disappointment was all but gone now, and she enjoyed watching her youngest play.

And now this! With hardly any encouragement at all, her youngest was choosing to burn bright, choosing to play when she could have been as dull as all the worms about her. What a sweet, marvelous thing. She was glad now, she had not chosen to give up on this one. Her games, as with the games of all her children, promised to be quite interesting. Burn bright little one. Burn bright as the dull, blind worms never see you dance.

 

[Horium]

So, like so many other desperate addicts waiting for a fix, I got the bright idea to make my own supply of FoD's sweet, sweet goodness.

Hence, this omake: "Fan Yu, the Peggy Sue Chronicles"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fan Yu woke with an undignified tumble from his bed.

"What the hell?" he said with a croak, his limbs embarissingly splayed all over the hard, paved stone floor.

"Damn it, Yu, you should know better than to drink that glorified bandit Ni Weisi's 'miracle' drugs. Was it not enough that you grew canary feathers the last time? It took them six days to fall off!" muttered the stout noble angrily to himself, feeling as if his body had been left to dry in the salt flats for a month and had then been used by the carrion beast as a chew toy.

It had been a long time indeed since the cultivator had felt so drained by a single incautious... imbibement of a substance.
Not since he had been 12 at least, when he had been a complete novice in cultivation and had rather unfortunately broken into his family's alcoholic supplies of spirit-fortified baijiu.
The acidic poisoning and his family's subsequent punishment after were best not thought of.

Fan Yu allowed himself a moment longer on the cold floor to better catalogue the various pains and aches he felt, and came to an upsetting realization that his arms and legs felt like they had orichalcum chains on them and were somehow oddly ill-fitting and distorted to his perceptions, his head throbbed mightily and all of his senses, mundane and otherwise, were oddly muted.

Fan Yu cursed grumpily, even his own voice sounding more like a child's squeak than his own natural deep rumbling.

In truth, the handmade medicines of his companion and sometimes fellow comrade-in-arms Ni Weisi were potent indeed, but often came with unfortunate and unseemly side-effects. He had promised himself, and more importantly his bride to be, Pan Feifei, that he would stop disgracing himself, her and his family like that.

At 31 years of age, and only peak green, Fan Yu had long since come to the bitter realization that even with the vast resources at his family's disposal and his own willingness to work hard, his own meager talent ensured that at the very best he would only ever be an average cultivator, the cyan realm probably just barely achievable during his Immortal lifetime, and most likely with great personal sacrifice at that.

No wonder pill could change that.

Better to accept his lot in life, Fan Yu knew, as was his clan's way, and turn himself to some other, more productive purpose and continue living.

However, during his bitter introspection, a single thought penetrated through his foggy state, that made blood run cold.

'Ni Weisi was dead.'

Fan Yu jerked upright, his heart beating furiously in terror and confusion.

'His friend, Ni Weisi, had been dead for over a month, the irreppresable and smooth like silk rascal eaten alive while on a military campaign by the great scorpions that Ashwalkers had brazenly awakened during their latest onslaught on the Golden Fields.'
Fan Yu had been half a duchy away from his his late friend when he had heard the terrible news. He could not have possibly taken Ni Weisi's medicine.

He could feel goosebumbs on the back of his neck with the realization, and gulped slowly.

He, Fan Yu, had also been on a campaign. He, alongside several of his cousins and thousands of the Fan soldiers and vassals, had been sent by his clan to aid the Duke in suppressing the Ashwalker infestation, the greatest one in centuries.

Suddenly, Yu could almost feel a terrible fire in his body and dantian, a terrible phantom burning sensation that seemed to almost permeate his whole being.

Their forces had been ambushed by the Ashwalkers. Their defensive formations devastated and their resistance crushed by the overwhelming might of Ashwalkers' new and terrible allies, the Land Drake spirits.

"I should be dead, too." said Yu quietly, in horrified realization. He had been burned alive by one of the draconic monsters, its leering visage he saw the last thing before his world turned to night.

Before he could come to proper terms with his death, the burly cultivator heard a light, amused voice that he had not heard in years from the doorway to the room he woke in.

"Fan Yu, you really should have skipped those mushrooms last night. I know that you said that their age would only make them more pungent, and that your Fan robust physique is more than a match for them, but you must be more careful about food."

"Han Jian?" asked Fan Yu, confused by the image of his old sect brother, it also weirdly distorted. Since when was Han Jian so short?

"Well, who else? I thought to remind you that we have Elder classes this afternoon, and Fang heard that you were awake." answered the boy, a faint mocking undertone in his voice.

"Elder classes?" mumbled Yu to himself, still feeling overwhelmed and frankly flabbergasted by both other boy's visage and his words..

Han Jian opened his mouth, a rare expression of impatience on his face, before he seemed to think better of it and just sighed.


"I can see that you are still out of it. It is probably best that you stay here and recover, Yu, I hope that you feel better in the afternoon.
Sorry for not offering to keep you company, but I have to go out now. I promised a fellow disciple to aid her. Fang will probably be staying in the house, however, he mentioned something about catching up on his letters, in the you need something."

"Yes, of course, Jian. See you in the afternoon." replied Yu absently, still trying to wrap his head around his surroundings, with his confusion growing by the moment.

Perplexed and now a little bit worried by the strangley subdued behaviour of his normally boisterous childhood playmate, Han Jian hesitated, and then gently advised the shorter boy to try and meditate in order to cleanse the toxins from his body and then left.

Fan Yu sat on the floor of his room for an indetermined period of time, during which his mind worked feverishly, trying to come to the terms with his increasingly familiar yet impossible surroundings.

"Meditate? Yes, that sounds like a good plan." said Yu aloud finally, both his body and mind finally too wound for anything else.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fan Yu peacefully sat in the lotus position in blessed solitude, for his companions from the Golden Fields, even Xiulan, had grown increasingly concerned at his erratic behavour and had turned to badgering him about what ailed him.
They meant mostly well, but he had needed to be alone for some time, and here outside with the mountain all around him he felt his mind to finally be at peace.

It took him several long days, almost over a week thruthfully, the vast majority of which he spent either in obssessive meditating and almost stumbling around in a daze when outside of the Sect home Jian, Fang and he shared, before Fan Yu finally came to terms with his new circumstances, circumstances which filled him with something he hadn't felt in a long time. Hope.

He had somehow and for unknown reason, by the grace of some uknown Great Spirit or a force even greater, traveled through time, almost 17 years ago, just right at the beginning of his stay at the Argent Sect in the Emerald Sea Duchy.

He didn't know how that was possible. At first, he thought his surroundings a fever. Later, a grand dream illusion or a soul memory formation that some of the strongest cultivators had the ability to create and maintain.

However, as days passed, he realized that there was no purpose to it. Maintaining such an art for days would require tremendous costs and time expenditure. Costs which only a white cultivator or the most powerful of prism cultivators could field and time that none of those cultivators would idly spend.

Especially not for a low-talent such as Fan Yu. There was no point in that. No purpose.

Furthermore, there were other things that decreased the likehood of some grand plot. The memory of his death, for starters.

His young age.

The pathetic state of his soul and his body. He had reverted to his rather humble origin of a late red soul which he had been when he had first arrived to the Argent Sect.

His two spirit beasts were nowhere to be found, their absence a hole in his soul.

And yet. And yet.

He still had his extensive knowledge of the family arts, which no red soul could possibly have, as well as the miscallenious formations he had dabbled in during the lonely years in the Argent Sect, after Jian and Xiulan had already advanced.

He still possessed skills in beauracracy, diplomacy and governance he had acquired after finally returning ignomiously to his clan, his head held low, with three full years spent as an Outer Sect student with little chance of advancing into the Inner Sect.
A shameful failure.

In truth, there were two final differences that had convinced him of the truth that his senses told him.

One, he knew many people that he had no business knowing.

When Han Jian had introduced him one day to a tall, tanned girl with long, clumsy limbs, a plain face and with the furtive movements of a cornered beast, he already knew her to be Ling Qi, a terrifyingly talented commoner with a taste for esoteric and deadly Arts who would later on achieve the awesome accoplishment of becoming a green soul within a single year and who would later, rather improbably, become Xiulan's best friend.

Some other day, while in Elder Su's class, he noticed a boy with a burn mark, whom he recognized as Ji Rong, a powerful and brutal thug with a chip on his shoulder a mile wide, with fearsome potential and a talent for arts as destructive as he himself was.

There were many others, some friends, some foes, some mere acquantiances, most of whom 14 year old Fan Yu had no business knowing!
Let alone being capable of predicting their actions and having insight in their characters and futures.

The second, and final point.
His talent had changed.
Concepts of the soul and the elements that Elder Su taught, lessons of Elder Zhou in combat and physique, the absolute focus required to cultivate, all were already known to him or otherwise easily managable and achievable.

He would once progress in his cultivation almost as a worm might, crawling and passing small distances with great effort, yet now?
Now his understanding flew as a falcon, almost everything instictivelly made sense, and he felt empowered beyond any measure.

His greatest weakness, that which had convicted him to a miserable, average existance of one cultivator among the many thousands, had been obliterated.
And in its wake, remained a Fan Yu with the potential he had always dreamed of, with ability to make his ambitions reality.

Fan Yu sat up from his meditation place located on a sheer cliff side, in front of a vent in the rockside dotted with red and yellow spirit stones and let out a howl of sheer pleasure and joy which echoed along the mountainside.

He was back! And this time, things would be different. No more pity, no more grudging sufferance of those around him, no more settling for scraps and no more being left behind.

And finally! No more failure.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ps. Perhaps a bit dry because of the necessary introduction, but it may tide some people over until the @yrsillar update.

 

[FixerUpper]

Ch.1: THE OBLIGATORY PEGGY SUE FIC

Ch.1: RED MONK CENTURY

----

Ling Qi woke up.

A ceiling she had not seen for nearly four hundred years stared down at her. Even after such a span her eyes met the night-darkened details - what little qi she had flickered in exasperation: the darkness hindered her vision, how quaintly mortal - like an old friend. Those were the divots and dashes, and odd textures to the plaster that she'd fallen asleep beneath during her first steps on her road to immortality.

She remembered… she remembered thinking it had been the most wonderful room in the world, the work of immortals, and the house near enough a castle.

However, from the heights of four hundred years of experience, it was nothing more than an average room in a too-small, more-than-disappointing house.

Still, her qi buoyed itself happily, tiny bubbles fizzing in her dantian like good champagne. Her mouth did something to make her face hurt - smiling, was that how it felt to smile?

She was back again. On this Mountain that no longer existed and during a time of unparalleled peace and prosperity that had neither been prosperous nor peaceful - only they had been compared to what came after.

So, the ritual had worked. She'd gone back in time. Back to the beginning of it all.

She breathed deep, then blinked and lifted a hand to her face. Moisture stung her eyes, automatic, unusual, leaking out through the usual holes in her face. Ling didn't even know why: she'd gotten too used to bodily impositions as things that happened to other people. She barely remembered what it was like having a body that did things and thought thoughts independently of your own.

Huh.

Lying there, basking in her own mortality, her bed, her proof of success, she shook her head got down to business and combed carefully through her memories. There'd been some loss - some substantial loss, actually, unavoidable under such circumstances, but the main details remained.

The Plan was intact.

She was going to betray the Empire and save it. She was going to kill a cultivator at the peak of Cultivation. She was going to spit in the face of a god.

She was going to save the lives of her best friends.

The last was, to her, more important the rest combined, but she'd never claimed to be a good person. In fact, the fact that she wasn't a good person was why she'd trusted herself to carry out this madcap plan. No one else would bother getting the finicky details right.

Time to get to work.

She stood up, yelped and immediately fell off the bed and crashed into her bedstand, having forgotten what feet were for.

-----

Feet were for walking.

Currently, they were apparently for flailing about ineffectually as she tried to, and mostly failed to, raise herself to a standing position. She was glad her breathing was automatic, because teaching herself to breathe would have probably quickly proven fatal. She had come back with many memories - so many memories, in fact, that she was pretty sure that in the process of overwriting her teenage self, they'd also overwritten bits of her that automated the other bits of her.

Had it been the ritual? She had been warned she would lose something commensurate to that which she had gained.

Her body no longer obeyed her unthinkingly. It wanted to fight and argue.

The advantage of being a living shadow clothed in light was that you were, well, a living shadow. Lots of fiddly little organs and muscles and cells and such did not figure in your self-control. From the outside it looked impressive, but from the inside it was merely an expression of qi. From her perspective, getting feet to move without prior programming was a miracle.

She'd do it though. She'd leaped through time. Her own body wasn't going to defeat her when the laws of the universe could not.

It took her nearly three hours to figure out what most infants managed in a year.

That was her. 'Fast'. Heh.

The first thing she did was hobble towards Meizhen's room. It was self-indulgent, but… her first friend, her best friend had… she'd…

Her hand, spasming weirdly, opened the door. Her feet took her beyond the threshhold. She'd never actually seen Meizhen's room. Not this one, from before their second dwelling - why had they moved again? Probably Sun Liling. Things had been exciting in the sect during their first year - and it was, perhaps unsurprisingly, nearly identical to Ling Qi's own: drab and devoid of any personal touches.

But the girl in the bed…

"You're alive," she whispered.

And then it all went wrong as Cui hissed something that didn't quite stick in her brain and Bai Meizhen, eyes closed, still asleep, casually tried to kill her. There had been cases where cultivators one realm lower had defeated cultivators one realm higher. Two realms - Ling Qi had never see it happen.

So in other words, Bai Meizhen, a cultivator at min sin shedding, eyes closed, still asleep, casually tried to kill her roommate, a mere mortal who had accessed her dantian for the first time mere hours ago.

She succeeded.

----

Ling Qi woke up, stared up at a ceiling she hadn't seen for about four hundred years, or possibly three minutes and said: "Shit."

 

[BurnNote]

A future shrouded in fog

The morning bell wakes me. The mayor has decreed that we must be ready for inspection at any moment until his exalted guest leaves, and so I've spent the last few nights in the barracks. It's not so bad, the barracks are decent enough and I can get by on three hours of sleep. Perks of being a Cultivator, even if the upper ranks consider us Reds barely better than mortal.

I make my way to the cantina, past the punishment detail. The poor bastards got lost on patrol. Rumor says the guest noticed, and made some comment. They'll be mucking out latrines till the Sage Emperor returns. Can't blame 'em for gettin lost, the fog's been so thick these past few days that you can't see the face of the man walking next to you. I count myself lucky I know these streets better than the back of my hand. The guy having a breakdown over figures in the fog is just sad.

I sit down with my squad. We're new, the sergeant made Yellow just a few months ago, and so she got her own squad. Most of them have been a group for a while, but her breakthrough made it official. I got moved in to bring up the numbers, and because I keep my mouth shut. That's something you learn on the streets, just like overhearing your boss.

I eat in silence, while the boss holds her little pretend court. It's the same pale imitation of nobility performed by crime bosses and their thugs, or rich merchants and their stooges. The language changes, but the dance is always the same. It's silly, and I have no idea how she never grows tired of the same old insincere flattery. Maybe she's got hemorrhoids and they need a lot of kissing to get better.

She makes a joke at that moment, and so I laugh along with the rest of the table. I get a look for that, maybe cause it was too genuine. There's a tense moment before she shrugs it off.

"Right boys, we have the eastside patrol today. Good luck for you, new guy."

There's something in her tone, in her grin. The rest of the squad all grin back in anticipation. At a guess, she's out to collect some bribe. I've noticed she's been carrying nicer gear recently. Well, not gonna complain if she wants to cut me in, just wish she'd waited until after the guest left. A surprise visit from the capital can mean a lot of things, but they're pretty much all bad. The Cai have a reputation.

We march through the streets. Things have been quiet, but that's no surprise when you're in constant danger of walking into a wall, or a guard walking into you. Everybody's been keeping inside, except the poor bastards like me that have to be out patrolling.

We come to a stop before a decent looking house. Nothing too fancy, certainly less than I expected given the sergeant's new swag. Maybe they just like a humble facade. Music is drifting out. Might be nice, if one of the players wasn't a rank amateur. The sergeant marches up the stairs, and shoves the door open. No lock, maybe she's expected. Or maybe they just gave up on locking, the door is just a bit newer than the rest of the house. Might have been replaced as recently as a months back.

"Ey, Ling Qingge, you old whore, I'm here for my payout."

The music stops. There's steps on the stairs, and Ling Qingge walks into the room, back straight despite the signs of a hard life on her face. You can tell she probably made a decent living in her time. She's followed by a young woman, good looking if she'd put some effort into it and yet couldn't be bothered to. She's wearing the gear of a bruiser, but the quality is not too bad.

"Oh, so this is your mighty Cultivator daughter. Mid Gold. Hah, figures with mortals. Some minor noble decides to play crime boss, and grabs a whore to get some deniable muscle. With what he's paying, he must be fucking her on the side. Or maybe that's cause he's the father too? Now pay up Qingge, before I beat the shit out of you. Might do that anyway for pulling this shit."

Something isn't right here. The daughter shows the perfect mix of fear, anger and humiliation, but the mother? It looks right, but something is setting off your alarm bells. Telling the difference between genuine fear and imitation can make the difference between getting shanked for a loaf of bread in a back alley, or running to live another day. This? This isn't right.

The daughter makes a perfect show of gathering up her courage and wrapping her tattered pride around herself. It's perfect. She's perfect. I'm good at this, wouldn't be here otherwise, but she's better. She's making me doubt my guts. Maybe I've just lost it. But if not? It means she can't be just Mid Gold. It means we're all in trouble. And now she's speaking.

"I was a thief, not a whore. And I do admit my noble patron has given me some tasks that are better not talked about. But I have my pride, I won't allow you to just walk over me and steal from my family. That gown you're wearing should be protecting my little sister, as it protected me."

I get a glimpse of the mothers face, before my face hits the ground and I kowtow. If I'm wrong, the sergeant will give me hell. But if I'm right, she's insulted the Mayor's guest, who rumor has as anything from the ducal court musician, to trouble shooter, spy mistress, head diplomat, personal assassin or childhood friend of the heir. Because the city has been sitting in unnatural fog for days. Because somebody's been fucking with the guards.

Because it wasn't fear or even concern in the mother's eyes. It was anticipation, and satisfaction.

"What the fuck are you do"- and then the sergeant is interrupted. Silence. I don't look up. Only a fool would look up. I'm not sure what to feel in this moment. I was right. But really, that might be worse.

The Cai have a reputation, and their servants strive to uphold it.

I try to keep from shaking. The silence grows. I've never been closer to death, not even after three weeks without food in the winter, not even with a knife in my guts and the Sweet Scent gang after me.

"You've rather spoiled the game. Who are you?"

Well shit. Her tone is cold with disdain now, like she's discussing a turd with funny shape. Grinning moon, preserve me now.

"I apologize, Lady Ling. I am Meng Dai."

There's a contemplative silence, and the rustle of cloth, but nothing more. I'm trying to take joy in living, but it's not working well.

"Meng Dai. I believe you once stole an apple from me. And three coppers. "

Ok, what? How would that happen? Except, she's a whore's daughter. Admitted thief. Surname Ling. Don't fail me now, memory. I really wish the flashing before your eyes thing was actually true, I could really use it right now. Oh, there was the Sumaki job way back. Though that was more than just three copper. Which I will definitely not mention right now, or ever.

"Ah, Ling Qi? I apologize for any offense I caused you."

"Do you regret those actions? Stealing from me?"

"Yes, Lady Ling. Deeply."

"Did you regret them thirty minutes ago?"

Shit. I really want to say yes. But I didn't. I wasn't proud, but I survived the way any street rat did. Lying to her would be a fools errant, and my last mistake.

"No."

I try to enjoy my last few heartbeats. It doesn't work, because a quick death is honestly one of the more appealing options.

"Very well. Get up, and go gather your things. Report to the palace tomorrow morning. You talent is lacking, but I can make use of someone with a quick mind and the ability to speak uncomfortable truth to his betters."

I hurry to my feet, though I keep my eyes low, even if her tone warmed up to glacial. I walk to door, past the other members of my short-lived squat. The sergeant is nailed to the door frame with a knife, but she seems frozen by terror more than anything else. I hesitate. I have to ask, or it's going to eat me alive.

"What's going to happen to them?"

What would have happened to me?

"The sergeant will have a meeting with my patron. Lady Cai disapproves of corruption, and doesn't enjoy personal insults either. I'm sure they'll have much to discuss. The rest have a meeting with the Ministry of Integrity. Now go."

I leave, running from her unrestrained glory. It's as grand and terrible as they all are.

Spoiler: Crack omake for the omake

Then pure terror chills my spine as the door is flung open. A demon steps in. It wants to kill. It wants to devour. It -

"I have bought groceries."

It wants to deliver groceries?

"That's great Meizhen! See, I told you emptying the streets would help to ease you in. How many babies cried?"

There's a uncomfortable silence as the demon puts down the bags.

"... Two. But I believe they were unrelated."

"Uh huh. We'll discuss when the rest are back."

The window shatters, and a red blur resolves into a figure. Also carrying a bag, celery sticking out the top.

"Welcome back Liling. I see you got it. How many people did you sacrifice to the sunflowers?"

"Not a single one! I didn't even bleed anyone."

"And what did you sacrifice?"

"... just a few stray dogs. Nobody was eating them anyway."

The demon speaks up again.

"So we are now waiting on Zhengui and Xiulan?"

"Nah. Zhengui finished ages ago, and then went out to again to extinguish the shop Xiulan set on fire. She's pouting in the basement."

Why do all my writing things end up way longer than expected? Also, writing first person after so long with second person is hard.

 

[Kai Merah]

The cat was a wily, suspicious creature.

That was fine, Cai Renxiang was patient. She had first noticed the cat hanging about her friend, Meizhen, and had initially assumed it belonged to her. Meizhen fed it, petted it, and Renxiang often saw it snoozing peacefully in Meizhen's dorm room. It always showed up to wind around her legs after class, and occasionally left dead mice in her room. Cai Renxiang was honestly very surprised to learn that it was, in fact, a stray, and though it hung around their other classmates occasionally, particularly Han Jian and Gu Xiulan, more often than not, it simply wandered around the streets, doing its own thing.

Despite apparently being well able to look after itself, Meizhen had confided that she was concerned about what the cat would do when term ended and all the students had to return home to their families. Winter was coming soon, and would the cat be able to look after itself then? Meizhen would dearly have liked to take it home with her, but her grandfather was very strict in his no pets policy.

By this point, Cai Renxiang had been friends with Meizhen long enough to hear her unspoken plea to look after the stray. So long as Renxiang kept her grades up, her mother was very permissive about what she did with her time, and Meizhen knew that not only was her home nearby, but that her family had more than enough resources to look after a dozen stray cats if they wanted. Renxiang had sighed, and promised to look into the matter. At least the cat was very neat and toilet-trained, unlike Liling's ugly hound.

Some students had let it into the school, under the mistaken impression that a wild dog would be perfect as their club mascot or something, and it had proven an utter menace. It frightened the younger students with its barking, stole food the second anyone left some unattended, and it pissed and shit in the most inconvenient places. Cai had finally gotten sick of it, and called her cousin Xuanshi, who worked part time at the local pound, to get rid of it. This he had done most admirably, but then Liling just had to go rescue it. Ugh. Thank goodness the teachers had at least forbidden her to bring it anywhere within the school compound.

But back to the cat. It was a rather gangly, awkward looking creature, but still, much better than Liling's filthy dog. It was neat, quiet, and fairly unobstrusive; its dark pelt letting it blend well with the shadows. It had excellent table manners, and never stole from Meizhen, or any of their classmates whom it stayed with, but always waited politely to be offered food, unlike Liling's ill-mannered mutt. It was also fiercely loyal. Renxiang had first seen it hissing and spitting as it placed itself between Meizhen and a group of taunting boys. The one fellow who had tried to kick it away had gotten quite badly scratched up for his presumption, and then Guangli had leaped into the fray to free up Meizhen and keep another boy from kicking its ribs in.

Since then, the cat seemed to have mostly accepted Guangli and Renxiang as Meizhen's friends, enough to not run away when it saw them, and to occasionally accept a tidbit when they offered. It was still a terribly suspicious beast though. Once, Renxiang had left it a whole chicken leg, and instead of eating it then and there, it had picked up the food and run off, as if worried Renxiang would try to take it back. Another time, when Renxiang had left out a bowl of cat food for it, it had sniffed it suspiciously, and then only eaten it once Renxiang pretended to not be paying attention to it at all. It had also hunted down and left dead mice in the bowl a few nights later, as if thinking it had to repay her or something.

Renxiang found that food was more likely to be eaten if it was left outside on the street, rather than directly outside her room door. And that the cat, despite its rather distrustful nature to anyone not named "Bai Meizhen", was in fact a rather generous animal. On the second night or so of the food being left out, Renxiang witnessed it shepherding along two smaller cats towards the food, and then keeping a weather-eye out to make sure no other strays could interrupt their meal. One of the cats had a rather bushy tail, and the other had markings around its eyes that looked rather like spectacles. Both were much smaller, and clearly much weaker than Meizhen's cat, and it would clearly have been the easiest thing in the world for it to drive them off, but it seemed to be looking after them instead. How peculiar.

In any case, soon after Meizhen had made her unspoken request, Renxiang had decided she needed to up her game if she wanted to persuade the cat to come home with her. Simply leaving the occasional tidbit and bowl of food out simply wasn't going to cut it.

She started with the classic laser pointer trick. The cat seemed to enjoy running about and chasing the little red dot of light, and when the game was over, she rewarded it with a fish-flavoured cat treat. She played with it and rewarded it a few more times, and then finals happened and she quite forgot it for a while. Then there had been a great hullabaloo as the teachers discovered that Yan Renshu had been blackmailing his classmates into stealing from his fellow students, and on the same day, Renxiang returned to her room to find a rather proud-looking cat with her favourite ring in its mouth. She had thought it lost some months ago, but the cat had apparently found it for her. That was when she had decided she really needed to lure the cat home for its own sake, and not just because Meizhen had asked her to. Animals weren't supposed to be that clever, were they?

She had attempted to lure it home directly by waving a small fried fish in front of it, and dropping pieces of the fish on the way to her mansion, but just before they managed to reach her home (where Renxiang had carefully prepared much nicer food and even a comfy basket for it), it had freaked out over nothing that she could sense, and dashed away. Renxiang had seen neither hide nor hair of it for a week or so, but after that, it had started popping up around her much more frequently. Warily watching her from a distance, it appeared and vanished unpredictably, but it seemed to be stalking her. Renxiang made a point of behaving normally, and not making a big fuss the first time it perched, warily, on her windowsill, observing her with its blue, slitted eyes, and then stayed in her room for longer than five minutes at a time. The cat didn't know it yet, but soon enough, it would be hers. After all, a Cai always got what she wanted.


((So, my second omake in this thread! What can I say, I was inspired by the various alt!universes people were exploring. @yrsillar I don't know if you saw or counted my first omake, but I hope my second one counts!

P.S. Just confirming but the maximum amount of omake successes have already been dedicated to our upcoming mission right?))