"Thank you Big Sister," Zhengui said to her.
"I wasn't going to refuse something so simple after spending most of the morning with Hanyi," Ling Qi said aloud. She walked along a wide and brightly lit boulevard. It was quieter than other parts of the district, no blaringly bright signs or hawking merchants in sight. It was quiet and serene.
As one would expect from a temple grounds.
"That was silly," Gui's voice came to the fore and she could imagine his expression of confusion in her minds eye.
Hanyi had definitely gone overboard a little, but she was spending her own money. Ling Qi thought it was fine to let her splurge a little, she could give her junior sister talk about responsibility later.
She absolutely wasn't going to regret putting her foot down about the last shop though. Dream scapes and reflecting light aside, dresses were not to be made of bubbles.
Well, her tirade had made Renxiang smile, just a little, so silver linings. Hanyi was still pouting though.
"Though I wonder about your interest," Ling Qi said, looking to the side. "Weren't you with Lady Cai for much longer than I?"
"Her residence was in the surrounding townships at the time. This is my first time in the Cloudspires as well," Gan Guangli said brightly. Marching along in his enameled armor, the light glinted off the gold filigree most resplendently.
Ling Qi frowned thoughtfully."What was it like, before the Sect?"
It was a vague question, but she trusted Gan Guangli to understand her.
"It was a time of harsh training, lessons and preparation. I do miss those days, in that empty place. It is better left behind," Gan Guangli said solemnly. "It is far too small for our Lady now."
Ling Qi nodded shallowly, taking his meaning in both forms. It was something Renxiang had moved past, and no longer needed addressing. "It has been a hard year, but I think we are better for it."
Gan Guangli's ever present smile faded a touch."Yes. I must thank you again for doing what I could not."
"It was only luck, our places could have been swapped," Ling Qi replied.
Gan Guangli didn't look like he agreed, but left it there.
The Temple of the Heavenly pillar was a tall narrow thing, with six tiered rooves, whose shingles were a rich red brown. Around it, there was a sprawling garden, seemingly wild and disordered as the wilderness,but with her experience working on Zhengui's garden, Ling Qi could see the subtle order of it. Though bushes and small trees grew in naturalistic forms, she could feel the gentle curving lines that underlaid the layout.
But other than the subtle redirection of energies, there was no indication that this was a place of power. It was as unassuming as a building its size could be. but,Ling Qi supposed of all the institutions of Xiangmen, the priest of the Heavenly Pillar needed no airs. In a city where any new construction at all was in their hands, if only for the laying of foundations, they could not really be undermined.
"He's close to the surface here," Gui said guilelessly.
"I, Zhen, give respect to the Elder," his other half whispered, feeling very subdued.
Ling Qi did not need to ask what he was referring too. She could feel it here. Not the way that she had felt the presence of other great powers, like the Duchess, or the Moon's avatars or the watching thing in the caverns. No it was simply there, in the same way that the earth was there, or the sky was there.
Xiangmen was.
"How aware is the Heavenly Pillar, I wonder, of all upon it," Ling Qi said idly
"Impossible to answer. Only those on the edge of true ascension may begin to comprehend the enormity of the Ancient."
Ling Qi turned her head toward the source of the voice, an unassuming little man in dark green robes, he had a round face and a bald head, seeming to sit directly on his shoulders, with little neck between. He was very short, barely taller than her friend Suyin. His face was lightly lined and he held his eyes half shut. Upon the chest of his robe was embroidered a a great golden tree, with branches and roots alike splitting fractally to form patterns across the rest of the robe.
"Sir," Ling Qi said, bowing her head. "I apologize for the intrusion."
"As I do I," Gan Guangli echoed politely bowing as well.
"The temple is open to visitors," the priest replied pleasantly, his attention buzzing over them both, a gentle brush of wind. "I am Hou Wen, do you have a purpose here today, young lord, young lady?"
"My spirit wishes to immerse himself in the Heavenly Pillars presence while we are in the city. I would like permission to release him physically," Ling Qi said.
"I had hoped to observe the shrine, meditate and make an offering," Gan Guangli said, keeping his usual tone to a polite boom. "We are soon to found a new settlement, you see."
"Is that so?" said the priest, one eye cracking open a little further. "Neither is unreasonable, though your spirit will need to limit his bulk. The gardens are not to be disturbed."
"Gui will not be a bad guest," her little brother huffed.
"He promises good behavior," Ling Qi replied, and at a nod from the priest, she released Zhengui.
In materialized a faint cloud of smoke, selling of wood ash and charcoal, with his shell only being about a meter and a half long, he was only the size of a big dog with Zhen curled up on his back. He really was growing uite good at controlling his size.
Hou Wen observed him curiously for a moment, and Zhengui looked back proudly. After a long half minute, the priest gestured for them to follow.
He showed them inside the temple proper, the first floor of it, which contained an inner garden. The walls were fine clear glass set in metal frames, and the ceiling an exotic material that displayed the bright blue sky outside and the bright sunlight that was gradually growing a darker orange as the sun was setting. The garden followed a curving spiralling geometry that led to the center, where a young tree grew. It's bark was like gleaming gold leaf, and it's leaves the color of rich jade. The peaches that grew on it hung heavy and juicy on the thin branches.
The priest stopped before the tree and clapped his hands twice, bowing at the waist, and Ling Qi took it as her cue to do the same along with Gan Guangli. Zhengui merely lowered both of his heads near to the ground.
The priest maintained his posture for precisely ten seconds before straightening up. "Your presence here is not rejected. Please be free to walk and contemplate in the inner garden. When you wish to make your offering, I will guide you."
"Thank you, sir," Ling Qi said. "May I ask what this tree represents?"
Hou Wen offered a small smile. "Each temple holds a different tree in its inner garden, a paragon of that species cultivated over many centuries. Xiangmen preserves. Even if the world is brought again to ruin, the Emerald Seas may be born anew."
"It would be no good if things couldn't grow again," Gui pondered aloud. "I guess its not the little buds fault when the really bad times come."
"Just so," agreed Hou Wen, looking at her little brother out of the corner of his eye. "Preservation assures new growth."
"Things can't be preserved forever. Destruction comes," Zhen said haughtily.
"It does, and so we endure," Hou Wen said pleasantly. "Good day, young Lady, young sir."
"You should be more polite," Ling Qi whispered harshly as the man left them, frowning at her little brother.
"It isn't good to coddle," Zhen defended. "Things will get stagnant and weak."
"Preservation does not bring stagnation," Gan Guangli rumbled. "It is not weak or wrong to defend those who have not yet found their strength. Indeed, the world is most ugly when we believe that."
Ling Qi gave him a considering look.
"...Gui thinks Mr. Clean is right. Gui thinks Zhengui would be dumb if he burned the roots and the seeds too," Gui chirped. Zhen looked deeply offended, but he also didn't reply.
Ling Qi knew that Zhen and Gui were not really separate people, but different mental aspects of his singular self. So she didn't comment, knowing it was just him thinking out loud an internal argument. Instead, she smiled. "Mr. Clean?"
Gui nodded. "He is very shiny."
"His sun cleanses taint and poison, it brings health," Zhen said wisely.
Sixiang let out a snort in her head, Ling Qi struggled not to do the same, covering her mouth with her hand.
"A moniker I shall wear with honor!" Gan Guangli said, striking a fist against his chest. His expression grew more serious as he turned to look at the garden and the tree. "Preservation though… Yes, I must meditate. Please excuse me Miss Ling."
Ling Qi nodded silently, leaving him to find his own place to cultivate, she followed Zhengui as he walked the garden.
To surround and preserve without really being a part of what lay inside. That was a lonely path, wasn't it? But then again, she was a lonely girl at heart.
She felt Sixiang's phantom arms around her and lowered her head. It was a path, but not the only one. Not even the one she wanted really.
Because she was greedy as well. If she had a choice between two treasures, she would always, in her heart, desire to grasp both.
Ling Qi rested a hand on Zhen's head as they walked and he bickered with himself, stopping here and there to observe parts of the garden. Now and then he would lie down, roots wriggling from his feet down into the earth, and she would let him.
The coming months would determine a great deal about what treasures she would be able to grasp. She supposed she would have to get more hands. One way or the other.
Turn Finish
AN: Alright guys, this is turn end. I will get the front page updated tomorrow, but the vote menu will be going up after break. I am honestly feeling pretty worn out, so in order to make the most of my recovery period, I'm going to put up turn plan options after my break rather then spending part of it working on them. Thank you again everyone, for your patience and enjoyment, in letting me do this crazy story for a living.