[X] Take the lead in conversation, ask Cai Renxiang what she was reading. You are trying to be more outgoing. What could go wrong with asking about her literary interests?
Ling Qi cut off the flow of qi to her mist as well, and the training field began to clear, a wide circle of packed earth encircled by sturdy qi enhanced stone, pools of sizzling poison pitted the field and deep gauges and shattered stones marked the walls. "Really though," Ling Qi huffed. "Who gave you the idea to cultivate such an unfair art."
Meizhen gave her a bland look as she alighted on the surface of the largest pool, the one that formed beneath her. Her friend swiftly glided across the surface, and stepped soundlessly onto the muddy earth. "I could not imagine," she replied serenely. "An idle whim I suppose."
Note Meizhen's apparent abstention of counter art use during the match. If she had, our mists would have invited reprisal, for example, making them worse than useless. Putting aside her most polished and paradigm-defining skillset, she manhandled Ling Qi handily, with as small a cultivation gap between them as there's ever been.I have to say, we've really improved if we are now able to leave some ice burns on Meizhen. She has some crazy defenses going on here, but we were still able to punch through it for a score.
It brings me back to the time when we sparred with Meizhen in FoD and weren't really capable of doing any damage to her, even with FSS. Now though... now we are keeping pace with her which is fantastic.
Yeah, but all you really need to to do to fix that is swap "eyes" to "ears". Maybe "eyes and ears" if we're being greedy, but still.Having eyes everywhere is adding another element that isn't really connected.
"Really though," Ling Qi huffed. "Who gave you the idea to cultivate such an unfair art."
Meizhen gave her a bland look as she alighted on the surface of the largest pool, the one that formed beneath her. Her friend swiftly glided across the surface, and stepped soundlessly onto the muddy earth. "I could not imagine," she replied serenely. "An idle whim I suppose."
Ling Qi cracked a grin and laughed. "Seriously though, it seems like I really can't catch up, no matter what I do."
Bai Meizhen raised her eyebrow. "Ling Qi, fishing for praise does not become you. That you are keeping pace is absurd enough, given the resources that have been made available to me."
Ling Qi stretched her arms overhead, she was fine physically, but her whole spirit felt sore after that last hit. "Hah, sorry," she breathed out.
"Right, that reminds me, why'd you decide to change your hair?" Ling Qi asked curiously as she turned to follow her friend out. Meizhen's hair had always been very long, reaching down to her hips after the girls third realm breakthrough, but she had always worn it loose. Now, starting at her shoulders, the girls white locks were bound by a pale blue ribbon of silk. Hardly the most fanciful hairstyle she had seen, but it was a change all the same from her conservative friend.
Bai Meizhen glanced back at her as she caught up. "The ribbon was a gift, it seemed wasteful not to make use of it."
"Oh, something from your family?" Ling Qi said. She had noticed the faint white stitching picking out formations characters, so it was obviously a talisman.
The other girl paused, but it was so brief that Ling Qi barely noticed it. "No, it was from Bao Qingling, she wished to express gratitude for my collaboration with her projects."
"I don't doubt it," Ling Qi said. "I'm a little surprised you got her talking to you in the first place though, how did that happen?"
Meizhen gave her a small frown, as they left the training field, even as she air shimmered under the cloak of qi that kept their conversation private. " I found her rather similar to you if I am to be honest. She is not unwilling to speak on technical topics, but she does not bother hiding her disinterest in less material subjects."
Ling Qi winced, not sure how she should take that. Was she really that bad?
"You're more subtle, and better at being nice about it," Sixiang chuckled.
"As the muse said," Bai Meizhen said, with a faint twinkle of amusement in her eyes.
"Yeah, go ahead and laugh it up. I'll be the life of the party before you know it," Ling Qi replied with an affronted sniff.
"How horrifying the prospect must be for you," Bai Meizhen replied blandly. Ling Qi poked her irritably in the side, and had her hand swatted away for her trouble.
Ling Qi grumbled good naturedly as they made their way up the mountain toward Cai Renxiang's current residence. However, she wasn't done. "So are you going to keep finding reasons to meet with her?"
Her friend's graceful stride paused almost imperceptibly again. "If time allows I suppose. I believe we find each others company agreeable. Why do you ask?"
Ling Qi paused, trying to choose her words carefully. "I know you pretty well, I think, and I'm glad you're making more friends. I guess…" she trailed off, not sure how to say it. Initial incident aside, she had not really handled Meizhen's interest well last year. "I'm just not sure what you're looking for I suppose."
"I do not precisely know myself," Meizhen answered lowly. "It is not exactly a subject on which I can seek help."
"So Bao Qingling? Why her?"
"We share a certain interest in the less medicinal branches of alchemy, and I find her acerbic nature somewhat endearing, and well…" Meizhen trailed off awkwardly, glancing at Ling Qi.
Right, well apparently tall and gangly was a type someone could have, Ling Qi thought wryly. "Well, I wish you good luck, that's for sure." She just really hoped Meizhen didn't get hurt again. Still, it struck her then that Bai Meizhen was swiftly becoming better at dealing with such feelings than she was. She wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"Thank you, though I think one has to know the outcome they desire, before one can know whether a turn of fortune is good or bad," Bai Meizhen replied dryly.
[] Take the lead in conversation, ask Cai Renxiang what she was reading. You are trying to be more outgoing. What could go wrong with asking about her literary interests?
[] Focus on your needlework and watch your friend and liege, you've never actually seen much of their interactions, and you aren't sure you want to blunder into another difficult conversation.
Note Meizhen's apparent abstention of counter art use during the match. If she had, our mists would have invited reprisal, for example, making them worse than useless. Putting aside her most polished and paradigm-defining skillset, she manhandled Ling Qi handily, with as small a cultivation gap between them as there's ever been.
She did use either dissonance though, it's right there in the text.[X] Take the lead in conversation, ask Cai Renxiang what she was reading. You are trying to be more outgoing. What could go wrong with asking about her literary interests?
I'm interested to see what Renxiang reads for liesure.
Alternatively, Ling Qi learned to abstain from using dissonance and instead just set up MotV + Elegy (of which only elegy should provoke a counter and only a single one at that) before transitioning to other arts.
Only other thing it could have been is BKSD's first technique, which it couldn't have been since she hasn't cultivated the art yet.Despite the rain, her mist hung stubbornly in the air, thick and dark, swirling in eddies kicked up by the roaring rain, the black phantasms within howled and circled her enemy, ready to descend at her mark
It must be noted, however, that they haven't attacked Meizhen. They are waiting for Ling Qi's mark to descend. Unless Meizhen's counters have suddenly changed, then the counters would begin when the phantoms actually attacked, not when they had formed. After all, Meizhen counters attacks not things waiting to attack.Only other thing it could have been is BKSD's first technique, which it couldn't have been since she hasn't cultivated the art yet.