That old bastard Ji might have been a cocky fool but his wife and the little ones hadn't deserved that. A right mess that was, but at least the Sect had sent someone to hunt down the beast that did it. Damn things got too smart when they tasted human blood.
So that's where Ji Rong and the vampire thing comes from. First update. I never noticed it before.
... I see Ji Rong is a chip off the old block, eh? So, if this is Ji Rong's family - first, poor dude, his whole family is dead - but the timeline would have been -
Someone, presumably a Huang, kills Papa Ji, Mama Ji, and bunch of little ones on the downlow and Ji Rong survives / was out of the house that day / somehow escapes notice
Others find the corpses and call the Sect, which sends someone to go track down whatever is killing mortals
Ji Rong tracks down and kills the Huang
Sect cultivator is on the trail and happens on the scene either at the tail-end of the fight or just after the fight is done
Ji Rong sentenced to the mines
But if the farmer thinks it's a beast, then the Sect or someone must have done some clean-up / sanitation of the story for the mortal public (and possibly, even the other nobles). I guess it is embarrassing (and an erosion of the social stability) to have it be known that a cultivator went nuts and killed mortals - and then, salt in the wounds, killed by a mortal.
This would make Ji Rong an Emerald Sea native then.
One thing that's been curious to me is how soon it is between the 2nd Realm Meeting and Ji Rong's statue impression. That's barely the weekend and a few days or less. It makes me wonder if Cai approached Ji Rong first - and that'd make sense; he's seemingly more talented and less tied to other nobles in comparison to Ling Qi - and then, of course, Ji Rong did something insulting.
... I see Ji Rong is a chip off the old block, eh? So, if this is Ji Rong's family - first, poor dude, his whole family is dead - but the timeline would have been -
Someone, presumably a Huang, kills Papa Ji, Mama Ji, and bunch of little ones on the downlow and Ji Rong survives / was out of the house that day / somehow escapes notice
Others find the corpses and call the Sect, which sends someone to go track down whatever is killing mortals
Ji Rong tracks down and kills the Huang
Sect cultivator is on the trail and happens on the scene either at the tail-end of the fight or just after the fight is done
Ji Rong sentenced to the mines
But if the farmer thinks it's a beast, then the Sect or someone must have done some clean-up / sanitation of the story for the mortal public (and possibly, even the other nobles). I guess it is embarrassing (and an erosion of the social stability) to have it be known that a cultivator went nuts and killed mortals - and then, salt in the wounds, killed by a mortal.
This would make Ji Rong an Emerald Sea native then.
One thing that's been curious to me is how soon it is between the 2nd Realm Meeting and Ji Rong's statue impression. That's barely the weekend and a few days or less. It makes me wonder if Cai approached Ji Rong first - and that'd make sense; he's seemingly more talented and less tied to other nobles in comparison to Ling Qi - and then, of course, Ji Rong did something insulting.
While that may be true there may be a lot of Ji families. I also don't think that the timeline works out. Since it was a few years ago that it had happened,
(He could still remember that incident a few years back when he'd lost a neighbor to that kind of carelessness. That old bastard Ji might have been a cocky fool but his wife and the little ones hadn't deserved that. A right mess that was, but at least the Sect had sent someone to hunt down the beast that did it. Damn things got too smart when they tasted human blood.)
i don't think that the timeline works out well enough.
... I see Ji Rong is a chip off the old block, eh? So, if this is Ji Rong's family - first, poor dude, his whole family is dead - but the timeline would have been -
Someone, presumably a Huang, kills Papa Ji, Mama Ji, and bunch of little ones on the downlow and Ji Rong survives / was out of the house that day / somehow escapes notice
Others find the corpses and call the Sect, which sends someone to go track down whatever is killing mortals
Ji Rong tracks down and kills the Huang
Sect cultivator is on the trail and happens on the scene either at the tail-end of the fight or just after the fight is done
Ji Rong sentenced to the mines
But if the farmer thinks it's a beast, then the Sect or someone must have done some clean-up / sanitation of the story for the mortal public (and possibly, even the other nobles). I guess it is embarrassing (and an erosion of the social stability) to have it be known that a cultivator went nuts and killed mortals - and then, salt in the wounds, killed by a mortal.
This would make Ji Rong an Emerald Sea native then.
One thing that's been curious to me is how soon it is between the 2nd Realm Meeting and Ji Rong's statue impression. That's barely the weekend and a few days or less. It makes me wonder if Cai approached Ji Rong first - and that'd make sense; he's seemingly more talented and less tied to other nobles in comparison to Ling Qi - and then, of course, Ji Rong did something insulting.
Ji Rong has no support. Saying 'no' to being in Lady Cai's camp could be insulting. After all, she lowered herself enough to offer patronage, or how he said no could be insulting. Or he could have stood up for some lower realm cultivators getting bullied/rolled in the residental area, and the bullies were staying within the letter of the law, or any number of other things.
If he's a classic Xianxia protagonist, he'll actually do good things reasonably often. He'll just do them in boneheaded ways that makes enemies he doesn't need. He'll be proud to the point of suicide, not bending his neck enough to give a polite nod to his social superiors, and his response to conflicts will be disproportional in the extreme.
Mmm... it is true that Ling Qi progressing absurdly fast in the 'obvious to tell' ways might lead to worrisome attention and plotting. Lessee...
1. Spiritual cultivation. Almost certainly the easiest to sense - in fact, Ling Qi can now do so.
2. Physical cultivation. Uncertain whether it's almost as easy to detect as spiritual or is harder due to it being more inherent to the flesh.
3. Qi amount. Probably the next most easiest thing to sense, although the granularity is probably somewhat vague ("a little", "a lot", "higher or lower than mine" - that kind of thing).
4. Meridians. Probably a bit harder than qi amounts, might require a slightly different way of looking at people. Amount and elemental nature - although unused meridians might be harder to sense.
Note that Meizhen seems to have a grasp of the above four; it's possible that her peers (Cai and Sun) can do the same... or she might simply have the best senses of the three. The second-tier individuals probably can do as Ling Qi can or a bit further. Xuan Shi might have particularly strong senses.
5. Cultivation arts. Probably requires better senses and is probably not very useful without familiarity with said cultivation art (ie, Sect members can probably 'sense' the traces of Argent Soul, but might only be able to guess Ling Qi also has a second cultivation art and a hint to its general nature).
6. Combat arts. Detecting these probably requires far better senses (Elder-level), and those that are unequipped are probably completely undetectable.
7. Attributes and skills. Detectable with mundane observation when used, but likely disregarded.
8. Sect points. Probably completely hidden from the other disciples beyond seeing Ling Qi doing missions and keeping track.
So if you're concerned about Ling Qi seeming to advance *too* fast, then you might want to cut back on Ling Qi's Spirit and Physique cultivation in favor of arts, attributes and skills - or simply hit qi and meridians. Racking up sect points is a fairly invisible way to make progress, actually - Ling Qi will often be somewhat out of sight, her improvements will be in the form of useful locations, resources, attributes and abilities, and sect points can be cashed in during a sprint for tutoring, high-level arts and stones for drugs.
On "who would plot against her"... well, she's already had conflict. Hong Lin, the Dhu twins, Kang Zihao and his passel of minions who ambushed Qi and Meizhen. However, she's unlikely to face animosity beyond those unless she gets in future conflicts with others. Her current outer sect status means that she's seen as a not-easy target, and her advancement has leaped ahead to the point where few of the chaff are going to be willing to make personal enemies of her. A group attempting to gang up on her is going to gain little at best, and even if they beat and cripple her (and a deliberate group attack with the intention to do so is going to come with concern over the sect's reaction), she's got clear allies of her own strength or higher who'll fight beside her - and are liable to avenge her.
Sun Liling, I wager, is unlikely to care much about Ling Qi until the latter approaches her level - or takes the initiative to confront her (or if there's a conflict over some location or the like). Cai Renxiang, unless the tea meeting goes really badly, is unlikely to turn hostile - Ling Qi, while undeniably talented, is still very far from her level and so far seems to be quite polite and well-behaved. While her closeness to Bai Meizhen is of concern, Ling Qi could probably be won over either now or later... and even if she's "lost" to the Bais' corner of the empire for her service, being actually malicious is making an enemy for little cause. Even if initial offers are rebuffed (with respect, of course), there's plenty of time yet in the year (or future years) to win the girl over, after all.
And with the Cai out, Guangli and Shi aren't likely to make a move on her either - or even be all that unhappy with her becoming stronger. Again, she's been respectful and friendly, along with a touch of being charmingly naive at times. With Han Jian and Gu Xiulan the two most prominent of the Golden Fields quartet, there's virtually no way that group would plot against her - and Han Fang would probably be a bit unhappy and even Fan Yu probably wouldn't be all that much in favor. Sun Liling's second is a bit of a mystery.
Which leaves Kang Zihao. As others have said, he's actually more aimed at Bai Meizhen - and even that seems to be as much about building his reputation as eliminating/humiliating a rival. Ling Qi's on his radar for being 'disrespectful' (and allying with Bai Meizhen), so he might well plot against her. But he'd probably be a bit caution - after all, he was scolded pretty harshly for trying to take her out before, and now that she's got Cai Renxiang's approval as one of the 'council' group, he'd need to do a better job next time.
Ling Qi should probably be wary of him working through others - such as Hong Lin. He might be the type to try and ambush her in the wilderness, but I'd put him trying to pull the same thing he did last time - have a weak underling or two attack her and then come in himself to "rescue" them, "punish" Ling Qi for being cruel or perhaps trying to claim that she's breaking the rules. An attack in the residential area might be in the offing... of course, that's if he's after Ling Qi first. Ji Rong's punishment offers an example - and clearly Cai Renxiang can be quite aware of plotters and is willing to blame them for their plots.
I'd argue that people like Kang Zihao, who have a lot of minions, can trivially make sure to learn how many sect points are awarded every days so that he can keep an eye on 'rivals'. Given that Kang Zihao seemed unable to tell cultivation level at all, it's actually 'more visible' than the rest.
OTOH, I am also strongly for advancing instead of being paralysed by standing out too much. We are somewhere where not standing out is less safe than actually standing out, after all.
No, I literally need to stay up, it's 4:46 PM local time, if I fall asleep now at any point earlier than 8 PM I am going to wake up at some ungodly hour like 2 in the morning and the whole thing will repeat tomorrow. I'm going MAX EFFORT right now to stay awake and get the stupid jetlag over with as fast as possible.
That old bastard Ji might have been a cocky fool but his wife and the little ones hadn't deserved that. A right mess that was, but at least the Sect had sent someone to hunt down the beast that did it. Damn things got too smart when they tasted human blood.
So that's where Ji Rong and the vampire thing comes from. First update. I never noticed it before.
Now you people better realize yrsillar has got you better than crack cocaine, you've managed to especulate and argue in circles for 45 pages now. That's over 1100 comments.
You could watch all those uncensored vídeos we enjoy here in the ocident. Like Netflix, and YouTube.
Man, that's a phenomenal catch.
Now you people better realize yrsillar has got you better than crack cocaine, you've managed to especulate and argue in circles for 45 pages now. That's over 1100 comments.
Well I like my pet theory that it's not so much a vampire but bat heritage. I mean why not? We have a Snake already. So it'd be one of the 'cousins' that is a bat that did it. Or something.
Ling Qi's week began with a paper crane fluttering through her window to deposit a letter on the desk in the corner of the room, startling her from her early morning meditation. For a moment, she stared after the paper construct as it darted back out of the window, what had that been? It hit her a moment later, and she immediately felt terrible for forgetting.
She had sent a letter to mother hadn't she? Between the egg, the upcoming meeting with Cai Renxiang, and all of her training she hadn't even really given it any thought. She eyed the neatly folded paper resting on her desk with trepidation. She wasn't even sure how to feel about the fact that her mother had responded.
Well, she assumed that was what it was. Who else would be sending her a letter? She stood up and padded over, scanning the characters neatly written on the coarse paper of the envelope. It was just her name and location though. She supposed it was possible this was something else entirely. She hesitated for another moment before plucking the letter from her desk and breaking the plain wax seal. She wouldn't get anywhere from staring at it all day. She felt a twinge of melancholy as she carefully unfolded the cheap paper, revealing meticulously neat handwriting.
Ling Qi,
I too am somewhat at a loss. What does one say to a daughter they thought long dead or worse? What does one say to a daughter who found me so poor a parent that they preferred the gutter to my hearth? How many months did I search, and seek, hoping to find you again, hoping you had not met some awful fate.
Yet you remained like the wind, ever beyond my reach, and in the end, I had no choice but to give up… as I always have. It is perhaps fitting, in a way. It seems you have achieved a better opportunity than I could have hoped to give you in any case. I am glad you are alive. I know little of the doings of Immortals, but I can only hope you are healthy and happy.
I do not know what else can be said. I thank you for your gift, and will accept it. I do not deserve it, poor parent that I am, yet, given circumstances as they are, I cannot in good conscience allow myself to refuse. I can offer you nothing in return save my well wishes.
You owe me nothing, my daughter. Please do not feel any obligation toward me. Stay safe and live well.
Ling Qingge
Ling Qi stared down at the paper for several minutes, different feelings warring in her mind. Guilt and sadness at the melancholy that seemed to have infected her mother in the intervening years, and even a bit of happiness at the simple fact that her mother was alive, and able to write her back. Carefully folding the letter, she replaced it on her desk and sat back down on her bed to meditate. Breathing in and out, she returned to her meditation, turning over what had been written in her mind. What were the circumstances her mother had spoken of that lead to her accepting the silver? Had she simply lost her… job? What had she meant about being unable to find Ling Qi being fitting? Her mother's habit of being indirect hadn't changed at least it seemed.
Was it purposeful though? Her memories of the woman were a little faded at this point… but she recalled that her mother had not been unskilled at wordplay. She didn't like to think it of her… but was she being vague and leading to encourage Ling Qi to continue writing and sending silver? Would Ling Qi really be upset if she was? She thought the depression exuded in the letter was genuine at least.
Ling Qi continued to cycle her qi and breath in time with the pulsations of her internal energies. She would think on things. She would continue sending the silver regardless, but she needed to think of what she wanted to say before sending another letter. She had too many things to focus on already this week.
She left her house a few hours later, Han Jian and the others were going to make their first attempt at hunting today, and she wanted to get to the training field early so that she could ask Han Jian some questions. Of all her friends and friendly acquaintances she felt that he would be able to give her the most unbiased view of her situation in regards to Cai Renxiang. She had no doubt Meizhen would answer her questions… but the other girl had some rather badly skewed views in some cases.
Thankfully she had recalled things correctly, and Han Jian was present at the field early as well, as was his wont. He seemed to be engaged in a silent debate with Heijin, staring down at the gold furred tiger cub with a frustrated look as she entered the field.
"...do you think I am doing? What more do you want from me?" She caught the tail end of his words as she passed through the barrier around the field, and paused as she noticed the uncharacteristic heat in them.
He stiffened as he looked up and met Ling Qi's eyes, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but Heijin interrupted him, turning up his feline nose and turning away from the boy to pad toward Ling Qi. "The slacker should cease shaming the Han and show his decisiveness," the cubs arrogant little boy voice chimed in her head. "I will say no more. Songstress! I require head scratches."
Ling Qi gave the cub a consternated look as he flopped down at her feet, but nonetheless crouched down to scratch him behind the ears. It was simpler just to acquiesce in this case, lest the kitten turn the full force of his sad kitty face upon her, or decide to side with Gu Xiulan when the inevitable teasing began. "So… good morning Han Jian," she said carefully, looking up from Heijin.
"Good Morning Ling Qi," he replied tiredly, the frustration stress that she had momentarily seen on his face smoothed away. "You're here early today," he added, she could sense the slight undercurrent of gratitude in his tone that she chose not to pursue whatever Heijin and he had been talking about.
"I was hoping to talk to you and get some advice and information," Ling Qi admitted as Heijin butted his head up against her hand, prompting her to get back to pampering the little feline. His fur was very soft, and pleasant to touch, so she didn't mind much. "I hope you don't mind. Bai Meizhen… has a different view, and Gu Xiulan is," she paused pursing her lips as she actually tried to find a nice way to say things. "She's a little aggressive about things," she managed after a moment. "You seem like you have a more balanced view."
She flushed a bit as he chuckled, giving her an amused look as he crossed his arms. She was trying to be diplomatic, damnit. "Well, I can't speak on the first, but I can understand the rest," he said, the weariness fading from his tone. "What's troubling you Ling Qi?"
She considered how best to phrase it. "...Everything really. It seems like I'm stumbling blindly through a fog some days," she admitted. "I ended up at that meeting with Cai Renxiang, and I keep noticing little cues from Bai Meizhen or Gu Xiulan that go over my head, and I just feel lost," he feelings burst out, frustration and concern about her ignorance flooding out in her words. "Bai Meizhen taught me a bit of etiquette, but I feel like I just don't know anything! Now Lady Cai has invited me to tea and Bai Meizhen seemed unhappy about it but I don't know why! I don't even know why everyone seems to dislike Bai Meizhen so much," she finished with a huff, and immediately felt a little embarrassed for exclaiming like that.
Han Jian's expression grew a little more serious and contemplative as he regarded her sympathetically. "You know, it can be a little easy to forget that you're totally in the dark on a lot of things," he mused. "Let me ask you bluntly. What IS your relationship with Bai Meizhen?"
"She's my friend," Ling Qi replied simply, idly stroking the purring kitten at her feet as she looked up at Han Jian. "She's helped me alot, and had my back. I want to be able to do the same for her."
He nodded, looking bemused. "Its really that simple, huh?" He asked, seemingly rhetorically. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, as far as I know there's no particular enmity between the Bai family and Cai family. I can't speak for anything personal between them, but I don't believe there's any more pressure there than Lady Cai's insistence on being at the top brings."
That was a little relieving, but it cast Bai Meizhen's reaction to the letter in a more confusing light. Did Meizhen think she was going to leave her behind for Cai or something? "Alright. So why is Bai Meizhen so disliked? Her aura is a little unnerving, and I know they're not in favor right now, but is it really that bad?" One way or another her own situation was tied to Bai's unless she wanted to break away from the other girl.
Han Jian's expression tightened at her question, and he remained silent for several seconds. "It… kind of is," he responded carefully. "I feel like you need a little history for context if you're asking that question though. You fine with listening to me ramble a bit?" He glanced toward the entrance. "We should still have some time before the others arrive."
Ling Qi nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's fine," she really needed to become more knowledgeable, her ignorance wasn't doing her any favors.
"Alright," he said, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "You're familiar with Sun Liling and her status?" He asked, continuing at her nod. "Well, her grandfather Sun Shao is kinda at the root of it," he said. "This was, oh... around four hundred years ago. Several decades after Ogodei's invasion and the formation of the Ministry of Integrity. Things were still pretty chaotic back then, at the tail end of Emperor Si's reign," Han Jian paused here, as if considering his words carefully. "I won't go into the sort of details my tutors did but Emperor Si was a very… generous and permissive man. He allowed the noble families a lot of leeway in how they handled things."
Ling Qi was fairly certain there was more to that than what he was saying, but she simply gestured for him to continue while placating Heijin, who had rolled over for belly rubs. She wasn't sure what this had to do with Bai Meizhen yet though.
"Right," Han Jian said, gaining a bit of confidence. "So, thing was Sun Shao was a highly placed vassal of the Bai clan, with lands at the border between Thousand Lakes and the Garden of the Red Sun. That was always a nasty place. The barbarians of the jungles are vicious and cruel, and the great spirit they venerate demands constant blood sacrifice. Sun Shao was and is a peerless general though, and he kept their raids and invasions from touching the province interior for decades. One day though, he returned from putting down an incursion to find his castle aflame," Han Jian grimaced looking away. "The people of the Red Sun aren't kind to captives. Sun Shao lost his wife, and all of his children save the two adult sons that had been with him on campaign."
"That sounds awful," Ling Qi replied slowly. "But what does that have to do with Bai Meizhen?" She asked.
"I'm getting there," Han Jian reassured her. "So, Sun Shao is understandably furious, beyond that really. So he goes to his liege, the patriarch of the Bai clan, and the great grandfather of your friend," he continues. "He asks leave to raise an army to punish the barbarians. Now Bai Fuxi isn't unsympathetic at this point. He gives him leave to raise a hundred thousand men and burn every Red Sun settlement east of the River Tiesha," Ling Qi blinked, Han Jian said that as if a hundred thousand men wasn't a ridiculous number of people. That was more than the population of her home town. Han Jian wasn't finished speaking though. "Sun Shao wasn't satisfied with that though, he wanted to push into the interior and raze their temple city of Ramu… Rammad Ramadh…" Han Jian shook his head after a few moments of stumbling over a word. "Eh, I can never get those names right," he grumbled, ignoring the disdainful look from the cub at Ling Qi's feet. "Point is, he wanted to invade further than the River Tiesha, and hold the territory too," he finished.
"I'm guessing Meizhen's great grandfather refused?" Ling Qi replied, she could see how that would play into the enmity between her and Liling but she wasn't sure how it tied into the rest yet.
Han Jian paused, giving her a searching look, and Ling Qi's eyes widened. She'd slipped and referred to Meizhen with more familiarity than was appropriate. She might have done that once or twice before now that she thought about it. "...Yeah, he wasn't a fan. The Bai had always refused to send anyone over the river at all, let alone actually trying to hold it," Han Jian continued after an awkward moment. "Long story short, Sun Shao acted like he accepted the refusal, but he was a pretty charismatic and popular guy, so after he gathered up the army he was allowed and gone on campaign… he just didn't come back. In fact, he drew on a whole bunch of the Bai's more dissatisfied vassals, which was most of them, and increased the army he had fivefold by the time he crossed the river. You have to understand, people in the west really, really hated the people of the Red Sun."
"That's… basically open rebellion, isn't it?" Ling Qi asked, feeling confused. She didn't know much about politics but she was pretty sure that was some kind of treason. "How does that lead to everyone disliking the Bai?"
"They were never all that popular to begin with," Han Jian admitted. "But… suffice to say, while the casualties of that campaign were pretty ruinous, when the dust settled, Sun Shao had won, and come out of it with an a stronger army than any province in the empire could muster, his weakest soldiers were at the third realm at that point. Emperor Si had passed away in the ten years or so that the campaign had gone on, and when Bai Fuxi went to Emperor An to have Sun Shao punished in the aftermath… the new Emperor declared that Sun Shao's actions were just, and that it was the Bai that had failed in their stewardship by allowing the Red Sun's do as they wanted for so long, while failing to punish the the barbarian scum properly."
"That didn't go well, did it?" Ling Qi replied, starting to see the shape of things.
"Yeah, he was furious and humiliated," Han Jian confirmed. "He defied the imperial decree declaring Sun Shao's pardon and new rank and went after the man himself along with the clans best warriors… but Sun Shao had ascended into White during the campaign, and despite being at the same level himself, Bai Fuxi was killed," Han Jian shook his head. "That was the start of a lot of Emperor An's crackdowns on noble power and the expansion of the Ministry and the Sects. There's been more modern incidents too, but going any further would take us all day. So yeah, there's a lot of resentment there, and the Bai have been pretty cold with the throne and the west, on top of losing a lot of influence and power."
Ling Qi shook her head, it sounded like a real mess, and Han Jian had obviously skipped a lot of details especially at the end, but she thought she understood a little better now. "Alright," she responded after a moment, slowly scratching Heijin's ears. "So what about Cai Renxiang? Why would she invite me to have tea with her, and how should I handle that?"
"At a guess, the same thing she wanted from me," Han Jian said dryly. "That girl is ambitious, and she wants a solid hold on authority in the outer sect. So she'll likely be probing you to see where you stand in that regard," Han Jian replied. "I made sure she understood that I wasn't interested in contesting her, but you… she's pretty likely to try and draw you into her own group I think," he added after a moments thought. "You're a native of her province, and showing a lot of talent. She and her Mother are pretty big on snapping up new talents. Rumor says that Guanli guy was a commoner too for example, and Duchess Cai has been pretty… proactive in changing the face of her court with new clans beholden to her."
The two of the continued chatting until the others arrived, mostly about appropriate behavior and etiquette, filling in the gaps in Ling Qi's knowledge about how to behave properly in formal situations. Han Jian still seemed a bit distracted and stressed, but she was glad to see some of the tension that had been rising between them seemed to be fading.
It was a good thing too, because their first attempt at hunting didn't go great. There was a fair amount of unfamiliarity with the terrain of the forest among them, and they ended up getting turned around several times, losing track of the trails they did pick up. Ling Qi wasn't a great help in that regard either, having relied on Su Ling for her previous forays into the wilderness. The first day ended without any real success, and a fair amount of bickering, but they still all agreed to try again the day after tomorrow.
Even her cultivation seemed to have slowed down a bit, and Ling Qi found herself struggling to push through to the next plateau of physical ability, she had gone rather light on medicines this week though, which she suspected might be a part of it. Her dwindling supply of red stones was beginning to limit what she could do though, and the pittance of an allowance hardly helped in that regard, only barely covering her expenses for this week alone.
She did not let it bother her too much though, she wasn't entirely sure how to resolve the issue, but she wouldn't let herself fall behind. Her early morning training with Li Suyin continued apace, and the other girl continued to slowly improve, pushing herself toward late gold and improving her skill with the needles she had picked up as a weapon.
After a bit of thought Ling Qi had offered the two of them a chance to learn Argent Mirror as well. She was a little unsure about it, but Bai Meizhen didn't seem to disapprove, despite being present at the vent during her offer. Given her conversation with Han Jian, and a bit of self reflection, she suspected that her friend thought of Li Suyin and Su Ling as people Ling Qi was cultivating as subordinates.
It kind of made sense she supposed, considering the aloof but not impolite way Bai Meizhen treated the two of them, as compared to her slightly more casual and respectful manner around Gu Xiulan. It also wasn't really right, but she wasn't sure how to go about changing the pale girl's mind on the subject. It didn't harm anything for the moment she supposed.
It had been a little difficult getting them to accept though. Well, it had been difficult getting Su Ling to accept, Li Suyin had simply thanked her with her head down, which was a little concerning… but hopefully the technique itself would help with that. She had managed to smooth over Su Ling's suspicions by asking for help and advice with a few things in return, which brought her to where she was now, having finished her training with Suyin a short time ago. Bai Meizhen had left some time ago, and Li Suyin was currently meditating, working to clear the channels for Argent Mirror.
"The hells do you want with a kiln?" Su Ling asked in confusion, her pointed ears twitching under her bushy hair, while leaning against a tree trunk at the edge of the clearing. "I never took you for a potter." The fox tailed girl had filled out a bit over the past months, no longer seeming as gaunt as she had when Ling Qi had first met her, though she remained rather untidy, her robes hems were dirty and her hair unkempt.
Ling Qi rubbed the back of her neck a little sheepishly. "It's weird, I know, but I need it for a… project," she responded. "I copied down some notes from the archive, but it mentioned some special materials, and I can't just use the ones in the production hall," Ling Qi continued spreading her hands helplessly. That was the real problem, she didn't want to bring the egg to the production hall, and she wasn't sure the mortal town at the mountain's base would sell her something that could handle the heat she needed.
Su Ling narrowed her eyes a little, giving Ling Qi a searching look. "Well, it's none of my business," she decided bluntly. "But sure, I can help," she scowled a bit, shifting on her feet uncomfortably. "Fatty owes me a couple favors anyway," she grumbled under her breath.
Ling Qi considered for a moment, she didn't necessarily know Su Ling very well, ultimately their only real connection was mutual friendship with Li Suyin. Still, the other girl knew a lot more about beasts than she did, it was the whole reason she had approached her after all. "It's an egg," Ling Qi said, drawing a blank look from the beastial girl. "My project, I got my hands on a spirit beast egg, and the books in the archive say it needs really high sustained heat to hatch."
Su Ling blinked, pushing herself up to stand up straighter. "Huh, is that so?" She mused. "Yeah, I can see why you couldn't use the production hall, even if you had the stones," Ling Qi watched her carefully, but didn't notice any signs of greed or envy. Of course Ling Qi hadn't mentioned how rare a beast it was.
"Speaking of, what can you tell me about beast cores?" LIng Qi asked, relaxing a little as she allowed herself to slump back against another tree to continue chatting with the other girl. "You seem to know what you're doing with them." She had seen the other girl grinding cores down into pastes and powders before when she stopped by their cave to walk with them to the vent.
Su Ling shrugged a little. "I have to be. If you're lookin into beast rearing, you should know cores are the best food for young spirit beasts, right?" She said simply, pausing a beat for Ling Qi to give an acknowledging nod. "Well same goes for people like me. I can get by on mortal food, but only barely. Least I'm lucky enough that I can handle greens if they have a bit of qi in 'em," she continued with a bit of bitterness.
"That makes some sense," Ling Qi replied. Was that why Meizhen never ate anything she made? "So, I guess preparing cores was pretty much learning to cook for you?"
"Kinda," the other girl replied with a shrug. "Beast Cores are full of energy, but unless you're like me, or the snake princess, the energy is toxic to humans."
"Please don't call her that if she's around," Ling Qi said, glancing to the side as if expecting Bai Meizhen to be standing there looking displeased. She didn't think the other girl would approve of a name that compared her to Sun Liling.
Su Ling snorted, but didn't disagree. "Right, anyway. I can eat them straight and get some benefit, but the main thing you beast cores for is the primary ingredient in elixirs. You can't make an elixir without a beast core, and all the preparation and side ingredients pretty much exist to let a human body take in the beast qi safely," she explained. "That was my big problem, learnin to make elixirs that won't leave other people throwing up blood."
Ling Qi grimaced, suddenly glad that she hadn't tried to use any of her beast cores like pills. "How do you know what each core is good for though?" Ling Qi asked. She had several, and she wanted to know what she could do with them.
"Take 'em to get appraised," the other girl replied bluntly, recrossing her arms. "Unless you wanna invest the time in memorizing bestiaries, leave it to the hall staff. I can generally pick stuff out by smell, but that's not really an option for you. You have something you want me to take a look at?"
Ling Qi considered, but then shrugged and flicked her wrist, drawing the core of the worm out of her storage ring, it had lost a bit of luster and once she had cleaned it off, she had come to see that in ripping it out she had cracked it a little. "How about this?" She asked, holding out the small orb.
Su Ling leaned forward to get a better look and then sniffed, before wrinkling her nose and gagging. "Ugh, what the hell," she snapped, waving Ling Qi's hand away. She quickly returned the core, eyeing the other girl with worry as she scrubbed her nose with the back of her hand. "Fucking gross," she grumbled, giving Ling Qi a dirty look, which quickly faded into simple irritation. "Wood and water, reeks like a carcass full of maggots though," she grumped. "I wouldn't touch thing, but it's grade two, so even if it's damaged you could probably sell it for maybe thirty or forty stones."
Ling Qi gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. I should have known that thing's core would be gross too," she replied, thinking back to the worm. "Do you think you can give some tips on harvesting cores better though?"
Su Ling shrugged. "Yeah, sure. You're the one handing out techniques. I can take the time to give you a few tips."
Between taking the time to learn from Su Ling, her continued training with Li Suyin and the slowly improving hunting practice with Han Jian and his group, time passed quickly, and she soon found herself heading out to the pavilion that Cai Renxiang had requested she come too. Being cautious, she didn't immediately approach, but as far as she could tell no one was present except the heiress herself, who sat out in the open at a chair in the center of the stone pavilion, facing the entrance of the area. Showing no sign of concern or notice as Ling Qi lingered behind one of the stone pillars that marked the edge of the field.
Recalling Han Jian's words, she doubted that Cai Renxiang would begrudge her a bit of wary scouting before she approached, since her mother was said to favor practicality, but that didn't mean she wanted to push her luck by being late. So after a few more moments she slipped away and came back, this time taking the actual path toward the pavilion.
She kept her gait even and her head held high as she approached, doing her best to appear confident despite the jittery feeling in her stomach. She took a deep breath as the girls dark eyes fell on her, but didn't flinch or pause. Instead, she came to a stop at the base of short stairs leading up into the pavillion and bowed low, as her quick refresher with Han Jian had reminded her to do. "Lady Cai, I was honored to receive your invitation," she had been getting more practice with speaking formally lately so it came easier than she expected.
Cai Renxiang, for her part, remained seated, looking imperiously down at Ling Qi from her seat. She sat with one leg crossed over the other, which lead to her shimmering white gown riding up slightly to expose the gold jewel studded golden shoes she wore. The small wooden table beside her held a fine porcelain tea set, with faint wisps of steam escaping the pot. "I am glad you chose to accept. I trust you found nothing untoward in your inspection, Ling Qi?" She asked, a hint of reproval in her commanding voice.
Ling Qi straightened up a little, not raising her head fully. She was reasonably confident the other girl was just testing her reaction and making sure that she knew Cai Renxiang had not been fooled by her sneaking. "I have no objections," she responded carefully. "I thought it reasonable to make sure that the invitation was not a trap by one abusing your name though, Lady Cai."
"A reasonable concern," the long haired girl allowed, one hand resting on her knee. "The chaos of the outer sect has not yet settled after all. I would not put such foolishness past the petty, small minded grudges of your lesser peers." She gestured for Ling Qi to stand. "Seat yourself, you are my guest, and I would not leave you standing. I am afraid you will have to pour your own tea however, Guangli has more pressing tasks than to play manservant today."
Ling Qi straightened up the rest of the way and inclined her head gratefully, carefully ascending the steps to sit down at the seat prepared for her. "It is no trouble," Ling Qi responded, moving to do so, knowing that refusing the other girls refreshments would be an insult. Besides, if someone like her wanted to do something untoward she would hardly have any need to resort to something like poisoned tea. "Would you like me to pour your cup, Lady Cai?" She asked after a moment. It seemed like the polite thing to do, and it didn't cost her anything.
"It would be appreciated," Cai Renxiang replied, studying Ling Qi intensely, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "I am glad to see that you have some knowledge of how to conduct yourself," she added in what Ling Qi took to be a complimentary tone.
"It's best not to offend others unnecessarily," Ling Qi replied carefully in turn, lifting the tea pot gingerly to pour the steaming liquid within into the two cups set out. She blinked as Cai Renxiang leaned forward to take her cup, and her eyes were drawn down to the bright red butterfly wings splashed across the bosom of the other girls gown. Had the embroidery just moved on its own?
"My honored Mother's work is impeccable, is it not?" Cai Renxiang's voice shook her out of her contemplation, and Ling Qi flushed slightly as she realized that she had been staring. The gown's pattern had definitely shifted just then too.
Ling Qi brought her eyes back to the other girls face and took a brief sip from her cup to cover her embarassment. "It is a very fine gown," she replied hastily. "I did not know your Mother did such work. I would think her too busy."
"You would be correct for the most part," Cai Renxiang admitted. "Her work is largely reserved for Empress Xiang and a handful of other clients in these days. I am honored beyond words that she would bestow such a gift upon me," she explained calmly. "But we are not here to speak of such things," she continued, meeting Ling Qi's eyes unwaveringly. "Tell me Ling Qi, what do you see when you look upon the outer sect? Do not mind your words, and speak from your heart."
Ling Qi had a hard time not hunching her shoulders a bit at the sudden inflection of absolute command in the other girl's voice. She considered the resplendent girl silently for a moment, noting the faint corona of light shining around her head even now. She thought the heiress was speaking earnestly about her desire for plain words. "For the most part, a bunch of desperate opportunists," she found herself saying bluntly. "I can't really criticize, but I can't say it's very admirable either. It's not really what people think of when they imagine cultivators, that's for sure," she added, thinking of Li Suyin's shattered expectations.
She was pretty sure she caught a slight upward quirk of the severe girls lips for a moment, quickly hidden behind her tea cup. "An interesting statement. You are right that you cannot criticize, your background hardly allows for that, bereft of virtue as it is."
Ling Qi frowned at the other girl, who responded simply by raising an eyebrow. "Lady Cai, I do not think you would invite me here just to insult me," Ling Qi replied, doing her best to keep the irritation out of her voice and not entirely succeeding. "I won't apologize for my background. I survived as I could and made the best of the situation I had. Virtue is a luxury for those not living on the edge of starvation or worse."
She winced a little, feeling like she might have gone a little too far there, letting her temper get the better of her. When she raised her eyes from the tabletop though, she found the girl across from her regarding her without disapproval. "Virtue cannot exist without order, and there is little of that to be found in a cities gutters," Cai Renxiang replied cooly. "I will not dispute that. Do you resent those who rule then? For leaving mortals to suffer in squalor?"
Ling Qi stared down the heiress for several seconds, thinking hard on her answer. She could just reply with some platitude, but somehow she felt like she was doing better for being honest. "Maybe a little," she admitted. "But in the end, that's childish," she continued, not giving the other girl time to respond. "There will never be enough resources for everyone. That's just the way the world is. Complaining about it is useless," Ling Qi had thought of such things before of course, but in the end, she didn't really feel much resentment toward nobles as a group. Why would she? It's not like mortals and commoners were any more generous or virtuous as a whole. "I'll keep my grudges to individuals."
"Interesting, and rather different than Ji Rong's answer," Cai Renxiang replied after a few moments of thoughtful silence.
"Is that why you had him punished?" Ling Qi asked warily.
The heiress shook her head slightly, sending her long black hair swaying. "No. I asked Xuan Shi to punish him for keeping the proceeds of his enforcement efforts for himself," she replied flatly. "It is unacceptable for a government officer to profit directly from the fines he assigns, as such encourages untoward behavior."
Ling Qi thought that sounded a little off. "So... what do you do with the funds then?" She asked dubiously. "I mean, no offense, but not many people on this... council, even need red stones," she said questioningly.
"At the moment, they are being placed into a fund to take care of expenses that may be incurred in the course of our business," Cai Renxiang replied without pause. "Such as medical care for those injured while enforcing our rules, or equipment and personnel needed as we expand the scope of our duties. I can supplement such things with my own income of course, but it is only sensible to use the punitive funds for some purpose."
Ling Qi still wasn't sure she was satisfied with that, but decided to let it pass for now. "May I ask, what is it you wished to ask me here for Lady Cai?" She could feel her patience wearing a little, because so far it seemed like the girl was just needling her to get her to answer largely pointless questions.
Cai Renxiang, took another small sip of her tea before answering. "I desire order. As you have noted, most cultivators are, without a well enforced structure of expectation and punishment, little more than savages and opportunists. Hardly better than the beasts we bind," Ling Qi found herself fixed under the other girls intense gaze as a bit of passion began to make its way into her stern voice. "If I cannot even command the obedience and respect of such a small number of cultivators, I have no doubt that Mother will remove me as her heir, and I would not blame her. I wish to bring the remaining dissidents and malcontents among us to heel, and I require your aid in that."
Ling Qi blinked, she couldn't imagine what she could do that the heiress could not. "I'd like to know what exactly you have in mind, and why you would choose me to do it," Ling Qi replied, choosing her words with care. "And I'd like to note that I won't do anything against Bai Meizhen, she is my friend, and I owe her too much," she wanted to make her limits clear.
"I have no ill intentions toward Miss Bai," Cai Renxiang replied, inclining her head slightly. "Things are not as they were in past centuries, change is coming, and grudges are washed away with the tides of time," she continued, making Ling Qi narrow her eyes at the vague wording. "No. Rather, there have been a number of incidents involving attacks upon female disciples in the outer sections of the residential area. They have been beaten and humiliated, robbed down to their smallclothes."
Ling Qi considered this for a moment, considering that she really needed to pay more attention to things going on outside her immediate sphere. Understanding quickly dawned though as she considered the other females among those at the meeting. If someone was attacking from ambush at night, they probably weren't going to come out if Renxiang was around, glowing like a lamp. She doubted Sun Liling or Bai Meizhen would even be interested in trying to deal with it either. "Do you know anything about the attacker?" Ling Qi asked.
"They seem to have an art which allows them to avoid my sight," Cai Renxiang replied a touch sourly. "But I will admit, I have little use for subtlety in my personal doings. Other than that, the only confirmed information is that they inflict paralysis with their attacks. They have not struck at any capable of fighting back beyond their initial blow yet." She paused for a few moments studying Ling Qi again. "I am aware that cultivation time is valuable, should you bring this person to me. I am willing to offer you recompense for your time, as well as my gratitude. Ten yellow spirit stones seems an appropriate salary."
"Thank you for the offer," Ling Qi replied carefully. "I hope you will not be offended if I need to consider it for a time?" She was really very short on stones, and ten yellow stones could go quite a long way, especially once she broke through to mid silver. This was still not something she wished to make a snap decision on.
"Of course not," Cai Renxiang answered, setting her teacup down. "However, know that if you do not undertake it during the next week, I will be forced to entertain other measures. Defiance such as this cannot be brooked.
Ling Qi nodded absently, there was a bit more polite chatter after that, but she soon parted ways with the heiress to return to her other activities. Over the course of the next few days, she continued training hard.
Her efforts pushed her through to Mid Silver physique, further strengthening and tempering her body, as well as clearing a meridian to channel qi through her arms. Between that, Su Ling's advice, and the passing of the initial awkwardness her hunts with Han Jian and his group began to bear fruit, they weren't hunting anything difficult of course, mostly just hunting down the white deer native to the surrounding forest which provided the ingredients for many basic pills and elixirs. It was still nice to profit a little, even after splitting the proceeds with everyone. She was even able to get that rabbit she had promised Cui.
+10 Red stones
Su Ling came through for her as well, delivering to her a stack of fragrant, qi infused, pre cut woods for use as fuel and earth qi infused clay to use for her hatching kiln. She chose to set up the construction in the little garden that lay in the center of the home she shared with Meizhen, lacking any safer place to do so.
In the end, she had to spend a lot of time pouring over the books in the archive about such things, but she managed to construct something approximating the illustrations she was using for reference. It took a long days labor in her old disciples robes that left her covered in mud and clay up to her forearms, but in the end it was complete, and she able to light it. She had been nervous about actually putting the egg into the flame, of course, but she had tested it with a smaller fire first, and the eggs qi did seem to react favorably to the heat.
She even managed her first real formation, a simple string of characters inscribed around the base of the kiln to keep it heated for several hours after the fire had gone out, meaning she did not need to constantly attend to it.
It was in the aftermath of setting it up that she finally got the chance to talk to Bai Meizhen again. The other girl had been incredibly busy, between her lessons with Elder Ying and preparation for breakthrough.
"You are filthy Ling Qi, and tracking mud on the carpets," Bai Meizhen's first words to her this week were hardly welcoming, nor was her expression. "You will not come any further inside until you have cleaned yourself," she added flatly, pointing back outside.
Ling Qi grinned a little sheepishly, still riding the high from seeing the egg's qi flare up, drinking in the energy from the flames and wood like a hungry whirlpool. She was pretty filthy she could admit, and her disciples gown hung heavily with the mud caking the lower hem. "I suppose I could go rinse off in the pond first," she sighed. She really wanted a good soak in the bath.
"You will not use our garden pond to wash either," Bai Meizhen replied with a frown. "There is a public well, use it."
Ling Qi raised a hand to brush through her hair, but managed to stop herself before she smeared more dirt on herself. "I'm surprised you aren't against me doing something so plebian as washing my feet in public," she replied wryly. "Haven't you and Gu Xiulan been trying to get me to act more lady-like?"
"A futile effort indeed," Bai Meizhen replied dryly, not budging an inch. "However, your current state is your own fault. No one forced you to do such peasant work yourself. I would have lent you a few stones to hire a craftsmen if you needed it."
"I wanted to do this myself," Ling Qi replied firmly. "This egg was entrusted to me, you know? I don't want to risk some random guy from the crafting hall knowing what I'm doing, and the spirit deserves my personal attention and care."
Her friends expression softened a bit, and she thought she heard an approving murmur from Cui brushing her thoughts. "You will clean everything you touch, including the bath," she replied flatly, stepping aside. "And it will not be 'later'."
"Of course not," Ling Qi said a bit nervously, remembering the one and only time she had left dirty dishes out in the kitchen. She paused as she began to move past her housemate though, recalling that she had wanted to ask Meizhen something. "Before I go though… do you want to try training together sometime? I could use the practice against mental stuff from someone friendly, now that I have Argent Mirror worked out," she asked. "Ah… well, I'm not sure how it would help you though," Ling Qi admitted sheepishly a moment later. "I guess I could demonstrate my movement art for you. I remember you mentioning that awhile back."
Bai Meizhen considered her silently for a few seconds. "I suppose I can consider it. Now that I think on it, I never had the chance to ask. Did your meeting go well?" Bai meizhen asked, Ling Qi's state of uncleanliness seemingly forgotten for the moment.
"It went… pretty well, I think?" LIng Qi responded uncertainly. "She asked me some weird questions, and requested that I take care of somebody breaking the rules at night," Ling Qi replied with a shrug. "She seems… fair I guess," Ling Qi added. "She even mentioned that she didn't have any enmity toward you."
"I see," Bai Meizhen replied neutrally. "Perhaps I shall have to speak with her about that spar after all," she mused. "I owe her that much, and I really should speak with her again."
"Let me know if you do. I think I'd like to see that," Ling Qi replied. "Now, I'm pretty sure I should move before I drip any more."
Bai Meizhen blinked and then glanced down, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the mud on the floor. "...Yes, quite."
Ling Qi passed her friend by, only briefly noting the thoughtful expression on her face as she headed off to clean up. She wasn't done for the day after all, even with the sun falling, she still needed to continue cultivating the Eight Phase Ceremony.
It remained slow going unfortunately, even perched on a high cliff under a clear sky it was incredibly difficult to sense stellar and lunar qi and parse it from the other energies from the environment, actually trying to absorb it was even more difficult, it was like trying to grasp a cloud. She hadn't entirely failed, as by the time the end of the week neared, she had felt a few precious, tiny drops of qi seeping into her dantian. With just a little more work she would master the first exercises.
Unfortunately, she was out of time to work on it, as she had earlier this week taken down the notice for the 'Moonfill' mission and accepted it, which meant that she would need to start working her way up to the mountain peak if she wanted to make it in good time.
According to the instructions she had been given, there were two common ways to reach the glade. The first was an artificial tunnel that started two thirds of the way up the mountain. It was the expected route for most, and Ling Qi was a little worried about using it. She had noticed a few other disciples lingering in her peripheral vision when she had taken down the notice and gotten it stamped. She was pretty sure it was one of the two who had been with Kang Zihao at the meeting.
On the other hand, she could choose to simply climb the mountain, it would be difficult and tiring, but it would be hard to track her through the winding cliffs and crevices, especially if she chose to make an effort at ensuring her tracks were covered. She would probably need to deal with spirit beasts though, and the beasts grew stronger near the top of the mountain.
Strength 11/15 training
Dexterity 15/30 training
Stamina 16/20
Intelligence 15/20 crafting
Wits 1/20 hunting
Presence 4/15 Renxiang
Manipulation 6/25 Renxiang
Craft 2/6 Crafting
Politics 5/9 Renxiang, Han Jian
Survival 7/6 New Dot gained Su Ling
Animal Ken 2/3 Su Ling
Empathy 3/12 General
Persuasion 2/12 Renxiang
Masteries
Dodge 3/15
Heavy Polearm 2/3
Archery 2/5
Unarmed 8/9
[] Take the tunnel
[] Climb the mountain.
Okay guys, here you go, I'll update the front page and add attribute and skill ups in a bit here, as I need a lil break. Enjoy.
Well... so it looks like Kang Zihao might be making a move. Or he might just be wanting to keep an eye on who takes what missions. Hmmm... take the risk of an attack, or take the risk of beast attack.
Tricky...
And ouch! Those feels from mom. Ling Qi should track her down and give her a hug when she can leave the sect.
Incidentally, did anyone catch Heisen's reaction to Han Jian mangling the 'barbarian' city name? Hmmm... and Han Jian mentioning that Cai Renxiang had sounded him out before makes the decision to go to him for advice worth it on its own (the history lesson too).
Cai's discussion gave many answers - why Ji Rong was punished (corruption, effectively), what she wanted (a mission) and some thoughts on where Ling Qi fits in in her worldview.
The physical cultivation was cut pretty close, but just managed to slide in before the mission. EPC is trucking along well, all things considered.
EDIT: I'd caution against immediately jumping to the case of "Kang Zihao's plotting an ambush". Kang Zihao's underling might be simply tracking missions.
Anyway, yeah, I'm in favor of climbing the mountain, we are really good at stuff like that thanks to SCS, and Mid Silver should also be a fine asset--and the path less taken oftentimes has greater treasures.
Also, Han Jian's info was a godsend, holy hell we actually know what the fuck's going on now. And yeah, confirmation that Ji Rong was being a bit of a prick--just not as bad as one as he could have been--taking the fines for himself was certainly something that could be intepreted as an insult.
Still, nasty business what's happening to the other girls, we should react on principle. And yeah, mountain is riskier, but we're well suited to disengage from unfavorable troubles, and it's better than getting stuck in an ambush.
I see this as probably the best way to go about it. SCS is going to be amazing here if we want to avoid leaving trails, and the other disciples won't be wanting to climb the mountain either. Spirit beasts that are at level 1 shouldn't be much of a problem for us and we should be able to avoid spirit beasts that are level 2 with our Mid silver rank up.
Speaking of mid silver rank up, that was really too close for comfort! Glad we got it though so we can have a nice heavy cultivation week this upcoming one.
As for the information bomb, well, I'm glad we didn't try to eat the spirit cores now! It would have really sucked to die from a simple mistake like that. Keeping them for our baby tortoise is probably the best way to go, that or selling them for profit. Also, the information about the Bai family and everything went very well. Glad we got that out of the way. Also, we now have a new nickname from the fluffball!
Still though, wow, the Bais really have had a rough time. This is the kind of thing that should, in any sane universe, have had the Emperor come down on the offender like a sack of bricks--because the last thing you want is a top ranked Cultivator deciding to create a nation of his own. But instead, they slapped down the Bais for failing to stop the guy in the first place?
Ouch, I guess they were just the first victims of the current policy of beating up the old entrenched noble houses, and because they weren't popular to begin with, the vultures started circling and so it started snowballing.
But yeah, Mid Silver + our escaping techniques means that our ability to disengage from an unfavorable battle against Spirit Beasts is good, barring a surprise Third Grade anyway. This route is also more likely to have untapped good fortune along it as well.
BEAST COOOOOOOOOOORESSS
We need cores for Lil' Turtle when he wakes up and I feel like doing that more than trying to fight our fellows in a tunnel anyway.
@yrsillar, first, rolls: we were at 99 physical, not 97. Also, you forgot the 2 auto-success for meridian (Silver breakthrough).
Second, well, your timeline is funky. Emperor An was over 600 when he ascended, so if he became Emperor 50 or so years ago that's weird as fuck, as it basically mean he became an Emperor when he was 550 and then left 50 years later, which just seems bizarre.
