Ling Qi hummed a soft tune as she leaned against Zhengui's side. After returning and reporting, Guan Zhi had ordered them to retreat a short distance, to a more spacious cavern to set up camp. They were to rest and collect themselves, she had said. It was hard not to feel like those words had been directed at her, even if she knew they weren't. The atmosphere down here had everyone on edge.
Ling Qi could not bring herself to mingle though. She retired to a far corner of the cavern and expressed her spirits. She had wanted to talk, but somehow words didn't come to her. She had defaulted to music instead, spinning a melody from whole cloth. It was a jumbled thing, she wasn't sure what she wanted it to say. At her side, Hanyi perched on Zhengui's shell, kicking her bare feet. Her dissatisfaction was obvious.
It was only when Zhengui shifted behind her and Zhen arced his serpentine body down to look in her in the eye that she was startled from her musing.
I, Zhen helped. Even foolish Gui helped, so why is everyone so sad?" Sparks sizzled on his forked tongue as Zhen spoke. "Zhen and Gui were hurt, but Big Sister is hurt all of the time and gets better, so why?"
Ling Qi blinked, startled by the almost accusatory tone of his words. "Of course I'm not going to be happy you were hurt!" she replied. "I'm glad you helped but…"
She fell silent as Zhen's eyes bored into hers, and gritted her teeth as she realized the hypocrisy in what she had been about to say.
"...I shoulda offered too," Hanyi mumbled. "You just had to upstage me huh, you big idiot."
Gui spoke up in a low rumble. "No, Hanyi didn't need too. Gui is tough, he should be the one who gets hurt."
"Are you saying I'm weak or something?" Hanyi said, turning a furious look to him.
"If Hanyi was hurt, it would hurt Gui too!" her little brother complained.
"It's the same for me you dummy!" Hanyi shouted, throwing up her hands.
"Quite the little gaggle you have here," Sixiang said wryly in her thoughts.
It hit a little hard, watching them argue like this. They were just following her example. Zhen still stared down at her, waiting for her answer. "...I'm proud of you Zhengui. I really am. Thank you," she said, reaching up to stroke the ridges above his eyes. Her voice cut off the bickering. "I'm sorry if I didn't show it."
It was funny, even seeing it from the other side, feeling the distress of watching someone she cared about taking on pain for her sake… She didn't regret doing it herself. It hurt, but it was right. She couldn't scold someone, especially a part of her family for doing the same.
What was it Meizhen had said? We hurt and we are hurt. By choosing to care, she opened herself to pain. When others chose to connect themselves to her, they were accepting pain. It was true that you should try not to hurt those you cared about with your actions, it was also true that doing so was inevitable as long as you were two separate people, with individual drives.
She could not stop being herself. She should not stop trying to be herself.
And neither should Zhengui or Hanyi or anyone else. They had to work together, to compromise their interests at times, because that was what family was. It could not always be one person who compromised though. If you were going to support each other, then everyone had to offer support.
"So why is Big Sister so sad?" Zhen hissed in frustration.
"You know the answer to that," she replied. "You're not slow, Zhen."
"Gui is the slow one," he agreed sulkily. "We will get better, we will be fine."
Ling Qi rubbed her hand against her collarbone, where she knew a thin white line lay beneath layers of cloth. "And so did I. I promised to let you help. I didn't promise not to be sad when you get hurt. I'm proud of you Zhengui. And you didn't do anything wrong Hanyi."
"Sis is unfair sometimes," Hanyi huffed, turning away.
"I know I am," Ling Qi said quietly. "That's the kind of girl your Big Sister is though. Do you think you can forgive me?"
"...Gui wants to rest by himself for awhile," her little brother said tiredly. "Gui will be ready to help Big Sister tomorrow. Even if it makes Big Sister sad."
That hurt a little but, hadn't she just had the same realization? She just couldn't make herself hide her feelings from Zhengui, not over this. She stood up, resting a hand on his shell as he withdrew into it and settled to the floor. "How about you Hanyi?"
"...I wanna be back home, making songs with you, or talking to that Bao guy about performing," Hanyi said, grimacing as she reached up to touch her mask. "I don't like this place, I don't like these spirits. They're nasty, smelly jerks."
"You won't get any argument from me there," Ling Qi said with a laugh. She cast a brief look at Zhengui, feeling regretful as she stepped away. But Zhengui clearly wanted some time to himself.
Hanyi hopped down from Zhengui's shell to follow after her. "But I'm gonna fight anyone Sis says to fight. I'll help Sis kill as many as she needs to kill. I can do that at least."
How morbid, Ling Qi mused, ruffling her hair.
"It's a pretty morbid situation." Sixiang drawled.
It was, though it made her wonder what Sixiang thought of things, they were being very quiet.
"I think there's not much I can do but play supporter right now. I'll chat with Zhengui when I can, but I think he needs to work through the same stuff you just did," Sixiang replied.
"I have your back though."
Whatever she had intended to say next was lost as she noticed someone approaching her. Not that they were trying to be subtle. Their presence was loud, a beacon almost as obvious as Cai Renxiang.
Ling Qi's expression smoothed into neutrality as she turned to face Ji Rong. Hanyi almost bumped into her at the sudden stop, but it only took her a moment to recover, peering around Ling Qi's skirts to see what had drawn her attention.
Ji Rong studied her warily as he came to a stop a few strides away. He really hadn't changed his manner much. He still stood with hunched shoulders, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Only the golden loops of scales hung about his shoulders and the peering lizard like head of his companion resting on his shoulder were any different. "...Yo, your boy going to be good for this?"
Ling Qi regarded him silently, trying to pick out just what he wanted, why he could possibly be approaching her. So it was that Hanyi beat her to responding.
"Zhengui is fine, obviously," Hanyi sniffed. "Don't look down on him or my Sis!"
Sixiang snorted out a laugh in her thoughts, Ling Qi tried to keep her eyebrow from twitching. That girl… she really could change gears quickly.
Ji Rong glanced down at her. "That so?"
She huffed, but Ling Qi held up a hand to quiet her before she could respond again. "Zhengui is just tired. Why are you asking?"
He met her eyes and rolled his shoulders, drawing a grumble from his own spirit. "Look, I'm not tryin to start a fight. It's obvious he's hurt though. I just wanna know if we're down a fighter."
"And why is that? Does he look wounded to you?" Ling Qi shot back.
He snorted. "Don't give me that. I saw your face back there, parents don't get that face when their kids ain't hurt. You looked like you were gonna gut someone."
Ling Qi's eyes widened, and internally, Sixiang sighed. "He will be fine, it's nothing that will impair him in a fight," she replied tightly. She didn't bother responding to his provocation regarding their relationship. "How about you, huh? Isn't it pretty reckless to bring a spirit just on the edge of green down here as a combatant?"
The shrunken dragon gave her an outraged look, his gleaming golden scales puffing out around his neck in a way that made him seem bigger. "You! Don't imply that I can't fight, you dare…!"
"Chill, Relong, she's just tryin to get a rise out of ya," Ji Rong snapped, giving her a glare. "I put down my conditions, he fulfilled 'em. If he gets his fool self killed that's his own business. He's my sworn brother, not my kid or my servant."
Ling Qi stared at him. How could he be so unconcerned? Well no, she knew how. Somehow she had just expected…
"Ling Qi chill out, you're stressed out and it's making you judge-y. Other people do stuff in other ways," Sixiang chided in her thoughts.
"I wonder how useful he'll be though. Has he even had time to practice like that?" Hanyi asked snootily. Why… Ling Qi understood a moment later, feeling the flows of qi carrying her words back the way they'd came. "Zhengui is definitely way better."
Ling Qi almost winced, even with the small amount she knew about dragons…
She had already stepped in front of Hanyi before the young dragon had even finished coiling to spring, but Ji Rong caught him by the scruff of the neck before Relong could make it off of his shoulder. "We can't afford to fight right now Re," he barked. "But I'd appreciate it if you quit needling him."
Ling Qi breathed out, Sixiang was right, she was letting things get to her. She gave a short nod, and glanced back to Hanyi. "Less teasing alright? If you want to pick a fight do it when we get back."
"Like I'm afraid," Hanyi sniffed.
"Hmph, say those words again when I am not restrained by duty," the dragon grumbled, dangling from Ji Rong's fist in a way that reminded her of a kitten being carried off by its mother.
Ling Qi closed her eyes for a moment. "...What did you need Ji Rong?" She asked after counting to three.
He released his spirit, leaving Relong to coil back around his shoulders and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I seriously wasn't trying to start a fight," he grumbled. "You know things are gonna go to the hells down there, right? We might have a fancy escape route, but we're still being used as bait."
Ling Qi frowned, she wouldn;t exactly put it that way, but he… wasn't entirely wrong. Sixiang's phantom finger prodded her in the side and she nodded again. "I get it. My little brother," she emphasized. "Isn't going to be a weak link."
He snorted, and her eyebrow twitched. "Good, but there was something else I was gonna ask you."
Ling Qi lifted an eyebrow and gestured for him to get on with it.
"I want to fight you," he said bluntly. She gave him a blank look. "Not here obviously," he grumbled.
"Why?" she asked, giving him a wary look.
"Cause you're the only one whose beat me without being years ahead or a damned ducal," he spat.
"And you think you're going to win now?" she replied dryly.
"I think I'm going to get my ass kicked, but I don't know how hard," he said bluntly, making her blink.
"Brother…" Relong mumbled uncomfortably, squirming around the boy's neck.
Ling Qi shot a look at Hanyi to wipe away the smirk that she knew would be forming.
"I'll be blunt, I don't know what you're getting at, and why now? You could have challenged me any time," Ling Qi said.
He grimaced in frustration. "Because I need to know if you're just keeping pace or if you're pulling ahead. And I've been putting it off, but I can't anymore."
"And why is that?" Ling Qi asked, feeling the first thread of real curiosity.
He glanced away grumbling. "...She's gonna kick my ass for this," he huffed. "End of next month, Sun Liling and me are leaving. She's got family business back home, and I gotta do some formal crap myself. We'll be back for the New Year Tourney, but I wanna do this before that."
"...I'll think about it." Ling Qi replied neutrally, giving him a dubious look.
"Hmph," he looked unsatisfied, but didn't press her further.
They parted ways and Ling Qi shook her head. Just one one more thing to ponder the implications of.
***
When 'Morning' came Ling Qi and Liao Zhu descended into the cavern. The air here was foul and humid, leaving oily sweat to congeal on her skin as they carefully scouted out the abyssal plain at the edge of the cavern. Beneath their feet the earth and grass had an unpleasant texture and malleability, an unwholesome spongey springiness that made her flesh crawl every time feathery grass fronds brushed her ankles.
She knew on some level that it was irrational, that she had seen and experienced worse, but everything about this place seemed to trigger an instinctive loathing that was hard to dismiss. Even Liao Zhu, unflappable as he was, had a certain tension in his shoulders and tightness around his eyes as they charted the immediate area.
As unpleasant as it was, the tall feathery grass was something of a boon, giving them cover to move through the rolling hills. At the edge of the twisted fungal forest, they found the first signs of real activity, a muddy track winding between the swaying trunks. Carefully following the path at a good distance revealed none of their enemy, but it did take them to the other side of the forest. The path itself terminated around a partially excavated boulder topped hill, which looked much like a quarry on the surface.
However, it revealed exactly why the shape of the boulders Ling Qi had seen bothered her. Those oddly shaped protrusions emerging from the tops of the hills were not mre boulders. As Ling Qi looked down into a quarry, where an immense ribcage lay partially exposed, she realized what they were. The scattered spinal bones of titanic beasts. The sheer scale of what she was looking at was difficult to accept. She had heard stories of the immenseness of certain beasts, even seen something similar at a distance in the form of the Sect Head's companion, but never before had she seen a ribcage that could have contained all of Tonghou from only a few dozen meters away.
And it was not alone, at the bottom of the quarry, the spongey earth had been removed, revealing not stone bedrock, but an endless, uncountable number of smaller bones, smashed and fused and petrified together. On one side of the quarry sat a single meters wide block of the stuff, sat upon an unmanned sledge. Skulls and ribs and other bones from too many creatures to identify visible in it's contours.
She recalled what the fungous had called this place, and understood. She wondered where the worms were though.
They did not linger long at the quarry though. For whatever reason, it was abandoned. Of more immediate interest was the road they found, and the structures visible now that they had traveled beyond the fungal forest. This road was not merely a packed dirt path, but was made of regular bricks of off white 'stone'.
"Hoh, not exactly the work of savages," Liao Zhu murmured to himself as they crouched in the underbrush, watching the empty road.
"They're just bricks," Ling Qi replied.
He shook his head slightly. "No, I only dabble in such things, but the design is advanced, look at the drainage along the sides, the regularity of the stones, and the even mix of the mortar. These are not unsettled creatures."
Ling Qi was silent. She recalled Bao Qingling's words. "It just means we need to be more careful," she murmured.
"Indeed," Liao Zhu said peering into the dark. "We will need to split here to cover more ground,"
Ling Qi breathed out, reaching inward for support from her spirits. "Yes Senior Brother. Should I take the outward path?" She asked gesturing toward the road, where it went toward the wall.
"Yes," he agreed. "But first…" he flicked his wrist, and a small silver ring appeared in his palm. He held it out to her.
Ling Qi blinked, momentarily put off center. She took the ring out of instinct. "Senior Brother, what is…?"
"It contains a technique of mine. So long as you wear it, you should understand the creatures tongue," he said with an amused twinkle in his eye. "Please keep it safe, I shall have to return it to it's original owner when we return."
"O-of course," Ling Qi said, slipping the ring onto her finger. Now was not the time to be feeling awkward and uncertain.
He looked at her a moment longer, and then shook his head with a quiet chuckle. "Do watch yourself. A hero I might be, but this is no time nor place for damsels and daring rescues. Good hunting, Junior Sister."
"...Good hunting, Senior Brother," she murmured. A moment later, he was gone.
Ling Qi turned her eyes to the bone brick path, stretching off into darkness.
Skulking through the undergrowth, flitting from shadow to shadow, keeping close to the ground to avoid expending qi or revealing herself, Ling Qi made her way further toward the curving edge of the cavern.
The fields caught her eye first. They were bright and colorful things, full of strange plants she did not recognize, odd things with big ripe flowering growths like puffy gourds. Wandering the fields were low slung loping shapes. With grey rubbery skin and canine faces, she recognized her foes. They were all nearly naked, their only clothing belts or bandoliers hung with tools. They were… performing what seemed to be mostly mundane farm labor, They weren't mortal though, it was hard to judge but they seemed to be roughly first realm.
The laborers didn't keep her attention as she moved around the edge of the field though. Soon a large structure, a dome of black metal and pale stone came into sight, and here she saw a familiar sight. Scampering, rushing, crawling through ripened fields were swarms of the ugly human-rat things that had erupted into the cavern on Li Suyin's expedition, only… they seemed much smaller, and less ravenous. The ones she saw in the fields were only the size of a small human child and they seemed mostly interested in gorging themselves on the gourd fruits and tussling in a way reminiscent of other young animals, even if they were utterly hideous.
Here and there around the field, loping around, occasionally prodding particularly violent scufflers apart with long sticks of bone were more of the Shishigui. These were more familiar, low third realm, like the herders she had fought before. As she watched, one led another pack of the rat things out of the dome, while another took a pack inside.
Circling further toward the wall of the cavern, the sound of flowing water reached her ears as the silhouettes of buildings came into view, they were tall, semi-conical things like artificial stalagmites. The… village had no wall, and sat astride a rushing river of tarlike liquid. The river flowed from the interior out to the wall, and then disappeared under the stone. Many bridges crossed the river, and the bridges teemed with shishigui, who were hauling… something out of the water and throwing other things back in. She was too far away to make out what precisely they were doing.
She had to decide what to investigate first.
[] Infiltrate the dome building
[] Infiltrate the bridge village
