Ling Qi allowed her eyes to drift closed, and accepted the pulling sensation tugging at her meridians. Staying behind while injured would likely just distract Meizhen anyway. Her friend did always get so agitated when she was hurt after all. By the time she had completed that thought, she could feel the pain fading, and her awareness growing fuzzy. Vaguely, she felt Zhengui returning to her, his warmth offering comfort as she drifted off.
She had won, and she could allow herself a little pride for that.
With that thought, her consciousness faded.
"Hmph, so she is not entirely a fool then," Ling Qi's eyes snapped open as the familiar irritable and harried voice of an old man reached her ears. Blinking, she quickly tried to reorient herself, old instincts almost making her leap back up in a crouch. However, she found her limbs heavy and her muscles slow to obey. She was lying down in a soft bed, under the light of a paper lantern shining with a soft gray light. As she watched, the light pulsed briefly, sending the shadows cast by the characters painted on its sides dancing across the room.
...Elder Jiao?" she asked fuzzily peering at the shadowed figure standing at the foot of her bed. She felt a cool touch on her hand then, and looked to her left to see Xin, seated comfortably on a chair beside her bed. The moon spirit smiled at her attention.
"Sturdy enough not to go into shock without her qi holding the damaged area together, the Lantern will be enough," the old man said in a clipped tone, not looking at her, but instead scribbling a note in the folio in his hands. "The rest is disciple work then." Xin shot him a sour look as he turned away.
She grimaced, glancing p at the moon spirits face, and then Elder Jiao's back, which was already beginning to lose corporeality. "Elder Jiao, sir. I want to thank you for your offer, even if I couldn't take it," she had not had a chance to speak with Xin, let alone the the Elder, since she had made her choice, she could not let this opportunity to settle things pass.
His shimmering outline paused in its fading, and grew solid once more as he turned to look at her over his shoulder. "I have not the slightest idea what you are talking about girl. Perhaps that boy knocked something loose with his fisticuffs?" he said with a sneer. "But… perhaps as your esteemed Elder, I might offer some advice on your chosen career."
Ling Qi blinked, taken back by the bitterness in the Elder's expression. "...I would be most thankful, sir?" She half asked, glancing at Xin, whose smile had faded.
"I know much of reformers, and you have chosen a miserable path," he replied blandly. "There is neither happiness nor satisfaction to be found as a shadow. Be mindful in choosing what you are forced to discard on the roadside of the Way." He had faded away by the time his last words echoed in the small stone room.
"...He wasn't angry at me," Ling Qi said, half to herself, looking at Xin, who remained at her bedside, holding her hand.
"He was not," the spirit said sadly. "Excuse him, these past weeks have been stressful. When the things we retired to leave behind come to our doorstep, it is a most vexing experience."
With her thoughts as fuzzy as they were, she wasn't quite sure what Xin was talking about. Did she just mean all the nobles? "I understand," she replied.
"Does she, niece?" Xin asked lightly, glancing at a point about two centimeters above her eyes.
"She's still a little concussed, Auntie, and Uncle's toy isn't helping," Sixiang replied helpfully. "Sorry I wasn't more help back there," she added apologetically. "That flashy guys tricks weren't something I could do much about."
"S'fine," Ling Qi mumbled, looking up at the ceiling. "Where's Zhengui?"
"Sleeping," Xin replied. "Letting excitable children romp around a patient is not the best idea," she said with a slight smile."
Ling Qi blinked drowsily. That was right, she could feel him, a little napping ball of warmth. It was just hard to concentrate. "I really am sorry," Ling Qi said after a moment, looking up to meet Xin's eyes. "No one would tell me anything about the Inner Sect though, and I wanted to be able to meet Meizhen still, and...and Cai Renxiang's not a bad person you know? She really means what she says, and the… the opportunity..." she was babbling, she knew, but it was hard to stop.
Xin looked sad, but not reproachful. "Hush, dear. You need not explain things to me," she sighed. "This has been a most unusual year, and not wholly in a good way. Our treatment of the Outer Sect has been more… hands off in recent years than we might like," Her silver eyes gleamed oddly in the dull light of the lantern. "In exchange for certain favours."
Her blurry thoughts couldn't help but turn to a certain terrifying woman. "Is that why Elder Jiao is so angry?"
"He has had his fill of scheming, that husband of mine," Xin replied with a musical laugh. "But no more of such things. You've done very well, you know."
Even in her state, Ling Qi could tell when a subject was being gently closed. "Thank you, I couldn't have come so far without you and your sisters."
"Perhaps, or maybe another spirit might have snatched you up," Xin said lightly. "Might I add that I found it adorable when you chose to take my greater self as a patron for my sake?"
"I didn't…" Ling Qi denied, color rising on her cheeks. "Not just for that," she mumbled.
"Even if you do not fit us very well just yet, it is never wrong to cultivate curiosity," Xin said gently. "And, the seeds are there, did your pulse not quicken, at least a little, when you reached the bottom of the tomb?"
Ling Qi nodded slightly, thinking back to that day. She had never really been able to afford curiosity before, in Tonghou, she couldn't afford much of anything beyond immediate gain.
"There you go then," Xin said with satisfaction. "Nurture the wonder of discovery, and you might grow to be a scholar yet," she grimaced then, looking up. "Ah… and I need to go. The next patient is arriving soon."
"Goodbye Xin," Ling Qi said quietly.
"Farewell for now Ling Qi," the spirit replied. "You are not leaving the Argent Sect just yet."
She vanished in a glimmer of starlight, and Ling Qi was left to drift off, under the drowsy light of the lantern.
Slowly, Ling Qi found consciousness returning to her, the foggy logic of dreams seaguing into the solidity of waking. She didn't have long to contemplate it though.
"Big Sister is awake!" Zhengui's excited thoughts blasted away the remnants of sleep. "Did you see it Big Sister! I caught him! I did! Even after he kicked me!"
'I saw,' Ling Qi thought groggily. A silent, immaterial nudge from Sixiang brought her to awareness of the other presence in her room. 'You did great little brother, just give me a moment.'
Opening her eyes, she looked to the side, her eyes drawn by the light shining down on her face. Cai Renxiang looked back at her, expression neutral. The girl was seated at her bedside, hands folded neatly in her lap. "I see the medical apprentices estimates were correct," she said without feeling.
"My apologies for not offering the proper respect," Ling Qi responded, peering up at the other girl, searching her expression. That unsettling emptiness remained, but… it seemed lesser, perhaps that was merely wishful thinking though. "Your own match went well then?"
"You are excused," Cai Renxiang replied absently. "My duel with the Gu daughter was completed honorably, with my victory."
Ling Qi paused an awkward silence forming between them. "Lady Cai," she began carefully glancing around the empty room. "Are you well?"
The girl's gaze sharpened, her brows drawing together as she frowned. After a moment, she looked away. "Is it so obvious?"
"Perhaps not to everyone," Ling Qi replied carefully. "You seem troubled."
Her liege's expression twisted into a grimace. "No doubt Mother has already planned for my showing of distress," she muttered, more to herself than Ling Qi. "I can only hope that she does not see it as meriting punishment regardless."
Ling Qi looked away, feeling a twisting in her stomach. That helpless feeling… she hated it, but there was nothing she could do for the other girl in this situation. "I do not think you were lacking in composure," she posited, looking back. "You said your match went well?"
"I granted Gu Xiulan the appropriate mercy for a lower ranked potential ally, and she understood the situation," Cai replied, her expression evening out. "As I had been instructed."
Ling Qi could admit she felt a bit of her worry drop away. "I believe you should be fine. It was only my familiarity and proximity which allowed me to see your mood."
The other girl nodded stiffly. "I see, I suppose there is no purpose in fretting now," she mused. "In any case, I wished to ensure you were well. You have done honor to my name and yours today."
Ling Qi's lips twitched upward in the ghost of a smile. "You are too kind Lady Cai. I only performed as expected."
To her relief, the corner of the heiress' lips quirked up as well. "Quite so, a mere ruffian could hardly be expected to keep up with your dance."
Despite the cheer, in her expression Ling Qi could not feel very happy though. Clear of distractions, she had finally understood why the look in the girls eyes had unsettled her. It was look she remembered well, from her earlier life, looking back from bruised and downcast faces, and one she had feared that she would wear one day. It was wrong for someone like Cai Renxiang to look like that.
Pushing those dismal thoughts away for the moment, Ling Qi continued smiling, though she could tell that Cai had noticed her troubled thoughts. "I am glad I did not fail to live up to your expectations, Lady Cai."
"Yes," the heiress replied, giving her a searching look. "My expectations," she said her frown returning, and with it that unsettling hurt. "On the morrow, you should know that it is acceptable for you to surrender once the princess has struck you a solid blow."
Ling Qi blinked surprised at the almost unnoticeable edge of concern in her voice. When she smiled, it was more genuine this time. "Thank you Lady Cai. But I intend to continue until I am unable."
Cai Renxiang closed her eyes for a moment. "You must wish to see Bai Meizhen savage me," she said dryly.
"I am a big girl," Ling Qi replied with an almost petulant huff. "Bai Meizhen will understand my resolve."
"I suppose she might, at that," Cai Renxiang mused, shaking her head. "Very well, I will not gainsay you on this."
"I don't want her to win," Ling Qi admitted quietly. "Even if I can't beat her. Every trick she uses on me is one that she cannot surprise either of you with."
"I see," the other girl replied. "Then I commend you on your resolve. You have no obligations to me tonight, so feel free to rest as you need."
"I am still feeling a little sluggish," Ling Qi sighed. Her arm, which had been broken still felt kind of numb, and her whole midsection felt tingly. "Are any of my other friends here?" She asked, only to wince at her slip.
Cai Renxiang did not respond to it though, her expression not changing a bit, though the light radiating from her did shift, sending the shadows in the room dancing. "Gu Xiulan is recovering as you are. The other two girls went to attend the ceremony for the winners of the production tournament."
Of course Meizhen couldn't openly visit her, Ling Qi thought a touch bitterly. Her dark thoughts were swiftly banished by the feeling of Zhengui's warmth in her thoughts, her little brother snuggling close at the feel of her discomfort. "Are there any events I should know about tonight?"
"You are free of obligation, as I said," Cai Renxiang replied. "If you wish it however, there will be an event allowing our seniors in the Inner Sect to meet and mingle with us, there will be another after the post tournament rankings have been announced however."
Ling Qi hummed thoughtfully. In truth she wasn't exactly looking forward to another social event, and she had not gotten to cultivate in days. There was not enough time for a proper session… but perhaps in meditating on her matches thus far, she could refine her techniques, if only a little. Her match with Sun Liling loomed after all.
"I will leave you to your choice," her liege said, standing up with a rustle of cloth. Smoothing her gown, she began to move toward the door. "Be well Ling Qi."
"You as well my lady," Ling Qi replied, turning to watch the girl go. "...And, hang in there. The tournament is coming to an end soon."
She paused at the door, looking back. "As you say," she replied, her voice stiff and perhaps a touch awkward.
Then she was gone, and Ling Qi was left to her thoughts.
[] Remain at rest and meditate on your victories thus far, seeking insights
[] You have made a good run at being sociable, best continue, perhaps some of your tutors will be there?
