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- E
[X] Plucking the Pursestrings
Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
- Location
- Third planet from the star named Sol
- Pronouns
- He/They
[X] Plucking the Pursestrings
[X] Riches Unremembered and Unused
[X] Riches Unremembered and Unused
Wow! WoW pulled it out right there at the end.
- Location
- the internet
Whew okay I'm relieved.
I'm sorry but Plucking the Pursestrings is not really a good name IMO and also doesn't fit the experience LQ just had at all. I can't imagine she would be in a joking mood right now, to name this art something fun. She certainly didn't enjoy the training.
I'm sorry but Plucking the Pursestrings is not really a good name IMO and also doesn't fit the experience LQ just had at all. I can't imagine she would be in a joking mood right now, to name this art something fun. She certainly didn't enjoy the training.
- Location
- the internet
Look not to be a downer but at that time, she hadn't just finished experimenting and dissecting souls who had already been suffering, and then watching those souls crumble and die.
She had just gotten her dress back, she was in a really good mood and other times she's come up with punny names, she was perfectly fine. When she came up with Zhengui's name, her precious baby just hatched! There's probably few memories that are more special to her than that.
Anyway, its more in character with LQ to not want to forget what she's doing in this art. No matter what, she's violating someone's mind and messing with them. Crossing a boundary. I don't think she would take it lightly.
Year 46: Month 1 Arc 6-5
New
She often came up with whimsical names. Puns, playful things. Even with something as serious as the Summit location…. Well, a little wordplay was just good sport. Ling Qi closed her eyes for a long moment, feeling Sixiang coming up beside her. She didn't really feel like being playful with this one.
"The Weight of Want."
Simple and without flourish. She'd considered something, a reference to thievery like the other techniques in this art of hers, but no, the simple weighty syllables were fitting.
Diao Linqin hummed, and Ling Qi was made uncomfortably aware of something under the pressure of the Sovereign's presence. It was not something she felt often; she was most familiar with it as the aftereffects of some of Sixiang's techniques, but she had drunk a good bit of wine tonight, too.
The curling vines and razor thorns and vibrant petals wavered and hazed across the surface of her perceptions. Diao Linqin was drunk, as much as a high cultivator could be when it was a state that could be dismissed with a bit of concentration.
But that didn't make the examination of her eyes any less piercing. It merely rendered the crushing, suffocating pressure a little softer.
"Mn, that conviction, you will find loopholes in it. You will have to. Neighborliness… not the first time I have seen that conception of enemy and ally. What will you do, I wonder, the first time one you deigned 'protected' turns against your will. You rest on easy platitudes about choice, but that is a fragile foundation. You will infringe on the 'choices' of those you value, best to maintain a frame of justification that will not break you," Diao Linqin said idly, rising to her feet.
"It is nothing such," Ling Qi said, firmly. "If you love someone, then you will respect their decisions, even if you believe them wrong."
"Love…" the elder cultivator mused. "I love my daughter, even as my thorns splintered her organs. But then, I love too the three hundred and seventeen mortals and low cultivators who lived in her accursed gallery of flesh and bone and the hundreds who did not as well. I love the forty-seven soldiers and rebels who died aiding me in her destruction. Just as I love still each of the others I have slain, each was a complete being, a thing of thoughts, wishes, hopes, and dreams, each cruelly broken. Do not speak to me of love, child. You are a cultivator. The day that one you love comes to oppose you in a way you cannot tolerate is inevitable if you dare climb these steps. As you are, that moment will break you, and that girl can ill afford you to crumble."
"I do not like you," Ling Qi said quietly, though it stung her that she had no other rebuttal. It was true she was not exactly ignorant of the idea, and to treasure choice did not mean letting others do as they wished. But… neither could she deny that she had never let her mind dwell on that exact scenario.
Diao Linqin let out an inelegant snort of laughter. "Regardless. I am certain you will not make the same mistakes that were enacted here.
And she was gone, as if she had never been, leaving only the trickling of the dingy fountain behind.
The dawn of the next day came rather late the next day, all things told. Of course, the sun still rose on its mark, but there were very few in Xiangmen to rise with him. The whole of the city lay in the throes of the recovery from the riotous celebration of the wedding day, from the lowest fieldhand out on the root hills to the highest nobles up in the Cloud District.
And she did mean the highest. She did not think there was any person in the Emerald Seas who would dare intrude on the Duchess' chambers before the new brides were ready to leave of their own accord. The planners for the day had known this and so had gone with something of a 'flex schedule', as Cai Renxiang had explained to her with just a little disgruntlement.
"You are all looking very spry today," Ling Qi said lightly, entering the dining room where her fellow retainers were gathered. It wasn't even that much of a jab. Gan Guangli was holding his head, rubbing his temple a little, and Cai Renxiang's eyes were a touch narrower than usual.
Xia Lin was impeccable, of course, and she was pretty sure that Meng Dan had probably purposely disheveled his hair like that. Her suspicion, she felt, was confirmed when he caught her looking and smiled like that.
"Indulging like this is sometimes necessary to fulfill expectations," Cai Renxiang sighed, rubbing her temple. "Though, I see you had your own less conventional indulgences."
Ling Qi's smile faded a touch as she swept her way to the last open seat at the table, sliding in between Meng Dan and Xia Lin. "Well, training can be a little rough sometimes, but the lesson took," she shrugged.
"As expected of lady ling, to cultivate through the night and not show a spot of exhaustion in the morning," Gan Guangli laughed.
Cai Renxiang glanced over her one more time, clearly noting the slightly strained nature of her smile, and simply nodded.
The scent of the simple breakfast fare was rich and tempting to her nose, the various buns and pastries set out for early refreshment each tantalizing in their own way. She plucked a plum dumpling from the plate, dusted in some light brown seasoning, and bit in, humming happily.
"Oh, what is this?" Ling Qi wondered, blinking after swallowing the first bite.
Meng Dan glanced over to the bun in her hand. "Hm? The seasoning? Cinnamon, I believe, there are a few places it grows in the Meng Lands, though it mostly comes from the Thousand Lakes."
"Ish good," Ling Qi said. Xia Lin leaned forward in her seat and took one of the dumplings as well.
"So we're on call for the temple tour today?" She asked after a moment, polishing off the snack. She considered her slightly sticky fingers but used the provided cloth to wipe them off. They could be informal here, but not that informal.
"Correct," Xia Lin said, around a mouthful of her own dumpling.
"The diviners estimate we will begin in no more than four hours," meng Dan said.
"There are diviners at work on that?" Gan Guangli asked, chuckling.
"Of course there are," Meng Dan said lightly.
"As Baroness Ling is now here, I do have some business to discuss. While it was not high priority in the lead up to the ceremony, now that we are merely waiting for the second day's tour to begin, I should share the reports from Shenglu regarding progress of projects there."
They all made sounds to the affirmative, though Gan Guangli poured himself a cup of fresh water, and Xia Lin and Meng Dan idly filled their plates.
"Temple construction, as I recall," Xia Lin said.
"The structures for Snowblossom Lake and the geyser… 'Boiling Deep, '" Cai Renxiang agreed. "The latter is mostly in improving accessibility to the site. Your spirit's regular route has driven away most hostile spirits along the route… The priests tell me that his authority is strong where he walks with such regularity, but paving a path, installing stairs along the steeper slopes, and providing some outbuildings at the site for ritual supplies is going well."
"That is good to hear. I am glad Zhengui is finding things to help with we are all away. I take it there were no unexpected problems with the Lake shrine?"
"Nothing of note. Some minor exoricisms needed to be done, corrections in some rites for the priests being trained, but nothing which has altered the schedule, it will all be ready by the time we return," Cai Renxiang said.
"The last item was refilling our local supply of construction materials, I believe?" Meng Dan said. "There's not yet enough local production of wood and stone to keep up with all of the projects being enacted, or so I understand."
"The workers are doing their utmost, but a properly built wall is material hungry, let alone everything else. There are not really enough people yet, despite the enthusiasm of those who have arrived," Xia Lin agreed.
"My allowance as an heir does allow us to skip many steps and achieve efficiences that a more normally funded settlement could not," Cai Renxiang said. "The bottleneck is the supply lines and roads in the south. But going by my clerks reports, we should have enough to see through several more projects.
"What of Meng Duyi?" Ling Qi asked. "I don't think we heard back from him last time."
"Yes, how is my kinsman doing?" Meng Dan asked. "I recall hearing good things in correspondence."
"Meng Duyi has continued to monitor the situation at our quarry location and the special methods being used… the workmen have adjusted well to the requirements, and several have been identified as minor cultivation potentials," Cai Renxiang replied, shuffling through the documents in front of her. "It seems he was able to aid in an initiative by our subordinates as well. Some additional time and material was found and a reliable method for harvesting the cold-aspected clay from the lakeside found. Little can be done with it yet, but the raw material is being dug, cut and stored now."
"It is good that the ones we left behind were wise enough to seek the advice of such an expert… and more fortunate that Sir Meng was willing to indulge outside the bounds of his contract," Xia Lin said, cupping her chin thoughtfully. "It is… generous."
"Uncle has been enjoying his time, or so I hear," Meng Dan said. "I admit, I am more surprised by the note on cultivation talents, how was that discovered? What is this 'special method?'"
"Weaving work songs into rites for the spirits of earth and water active at the quarry site and the small channel dug to allow the stone to be floated down to the lakeside for use," Ling Qi said. "Its very beneficial… as long as everyone can perform their part correctly."
"A small number among the foreman, who showed the most aptitude for the work-rite have attracted some minor spiritual attention," Cai Renxiang said. "That is the indication of talent spoken of."
"Interesting. It will lose some effect once the spirits settle into the new routine, but quite a useful little side effect," Meng Dan mused.
"Indeed! It would do us well to be able to bolster our home grown cultivation pool," Gan Guangli agreed. "How have our soldiers been doing?"
"With the sect forces guarding the borders, they have been focused on spirit management.. Nothing like the fires has occurred, there have been some minor injuries… and one major injury in an altercation with a second realm bear, but nothing irrecoverable," Cai Renxiang said, scanning the last of the letter in her hands. "The question then, is what instruction we are to give as the current projects finish."
[ ] Select a plan with two projects to complete alongside the second month of boiling deeps shrine
"The Weight of Want."
Simple and without flourish. She'd considered something, a reference to thievery like the other techniques in this art of hers, but no, the simple weighty syllables were fitting.
Diao Linqin hummed, and Ling Qi was made uncomfortably aware of something under the pressure of the Sovereign's presence. It was not something she felt often; she was most familiar with it as the aftereffects of some of Sixiang's techniques, but she had drunk a good bit of wine tonight, too.
The curling vines and razor thorns and vibrant petals wavered and hazed across the surface of her perceptions. Diao Linqin was drunk, as much as a high cultivator could be when it was a state that could be dismissed with a bit of concentration.
But that didn't make the examination of her eyes any less piercing. It merely rendered the crushing, suffocating pressure a little softer.
"Mn, that conviction, you will find loopholes in it. You will have to. Neighborliness… not the first time I have seen that conception of enemy and ally. What will you do, I wonder, the first time one you deigned 'protected' turns against your will. You rest on easy platitudes about choice, but that is a fragile foundation. You will infringe on the 'choices' of those you value, best to maintain a frame of justification that will not break you," Diao Linqin said idly, rising to her feet.
"It is nothing such," Ling Qi said, firmly. "If you love someone, then you will respect their decisions, even if you believe them wrong."
"Love…" the elder cultivator mused. "I love my daughter, even as my thorns splintered her organs. But then, I love too the three hundred and seventeen mortals and low cultivators who lived in her accursed gallery of flesh and bone and the hundreds who did not as well. I love the forty-seven soldiers and rebels who died aiding me in her destruction. Just as I love still each of the others I have slain, each was a complete being, a thing of thoughts, wishes, hopes, and dreams, each cruelly broken. Do not speak to me of love, child. You are a cultivator. The day that one you love comes to oppose you in a way you cannot tolerate is inevitable if you dare climb these steps. As you are, that moment will break you, and that girl can ill afford you to crumble."
"I do not like you," Ling Qi said quietly, though it stung her that she had no other rebuttal. It was true she was not exactly ignorant of the idea, and to treasure choice did not mean letting others do as they wished. But… neither could she deny that she had never let her mind dwell on that exact scenario.
Diao Linqin let out an inelegant snort of laughter. "Regardless. I am certain you will not make the same mistakes that were enacted here.
And she was gone, as if she had never been, leaving only the trickling of the dingy fountain behind.
***
The dawn of the next day came rather late the next day, all things told. Of course, the sun still rose on its mark, but there were very few in Xiangmen to rise with him. The whole of the city lay in the throes of the recovery from the riotous celebration of the wedding day, from the lowest fieldhand out on the root hills to the highest nobles up in the Cloud District.
And she did mean the highest. She did not think there was any person in the Emerald Seas who would dare intrude on the Duchess' chambers before the new brides were ready to leave of their own accord. The planners for the day had known this and so had gone with something of a 'flex schedule', as Cai Renxiang had explained to her with just a little disgruntlement.
"You are all looking very spry today," Ling Qi said lightly, entering the dining room where her fellow retainers were gathered. It wasn't even that much of a jab. Gan Guangli was holding his head, rubbing his temple a little, and Cai Renxiang's eyes were a touch narrower than usual.
Xia Lin was impeccable, of course, and she was pretty sure that Meng Dan had probably purposely disheveled his hair like that. Her suspicion, she felt, was confirmed when he caught her looking and smiled like that.
"Indulging like this is sometimes necessary to fulfill expectations," Cai Renxiang sighed, rubbing her temple. "Though, I see you had your own less conventional indulgences."
Ling Qi's smile faded a touch as she swept her way to the last open seat at the table, sliding in between Meng Dan and Xia Lin. "Well, training can be a little rough sometimes, but the lesson took," she shrugged.
"As expected of lady ling, to cultivate through the night and not show a spot of exhaustion in the morning," Gan Guangli laughed.
Cai Renxiang glanced over her one more time, clearly noting the slightly strained nature of her smile, and simply nodded.
The scent of the simple breakfast fare was rich and tempting to her nose, the various buns and pastries set out for early refreshment each tantalizing in their own way. She plucked a plum dumpling from the plate, dusted in some light brown seasoning, and bit in, humming happily.
"Oh, what is this?" Ling Qi wondered, blinking after swallowing the first bite.
Meng Dan glanced over to the bun in her hand. "Hm? The seasoning? Cinnamon, I believe, there are a few places it grows in the Meng Lands, though it mostly comes from the Thousand Lakes."
"Ish good," Ling Qi said. Xia Lin leaned forward in her seat and took one of the dumplings as well.
"So we're on call for the temple tour today?" She asked after a moment, polishing off the snack. She considered her slightly sticky fingers but used the provided cloth to wipe them off. They could be informal here, but not that informal.
"Correct," Xia Lin said, around a mouthful of her own dumpling.
"The diviners estimate we will begin in no more than four hours," meng Dan said.
"There are diviners at work on that?" Gan Guangli asked, chuckling.
"Of course there are," Meng Dan said lightly.
"As Baroness Ling is now here, I do have some business to discuss. While it was not high priority in the lead up to the ceremony, now that we are merely waiting for the second day's tour to begin, I should share the reports from Shenglu regarding progress of projects there."
They all made sounds to the affirmative, though Gan Guangli poured himself a cup of fresh water, and Xia Lin and Meng Dan idly filled their plates.
"Temple construction, as I recall," Xia Lin said.
"The structures for Snowblossom Lake and the geyser… 'Boiling Deep, '" Cai Renxiang agreed. "The latter is mostly in improving accessibility to the site. Your spirit's regular route has driven away most hostile spirits along the route… The priests tell me that his authority is strong where he walks with such regularity, but paving a path, installing stairs along the steeper slopes, and providing some outbuildings at the site for ritual supplies is going well."
"That is good to hear. I am glad Zhengui is finding things to help with we are all away. I take it there were no unexpected problems with the Lake shrine?"
"Nothing of note. Some minor exoricisms needed to be done, corrections in some rites for the priests being trained, but nothing which has altered the schedule, it will all be ready by the time we return," Cai Renxiang said.
"The last item was refilling our local supply of construction materials, I believe?" Meng Dan said. "There's not yet enough local production of wood and stone to keep up with all of the projects being enacted, or so I understand."
"The workers are doing their utmost, but a properly built wall is material hungry, let alone everything else. There are not really enough people yet, despite the enthusiasm of those who have arrived," Xia Lin agreed.
"My allowance as an heir does allow us to skip many steps and achieve efficiences that a more normally funded settlement could not," Cai Renxiang said. "The bottleneck is the supply lines and roads in the south. But going by my clerks reports, we should have enough to see through several more projects.
"What of Meng Duyi?" Ling Qi asked. "I don't think we heard back from him last time."
"Yes, how is my kinsman doing?" Meng Dan asked. "I recall hearing good things in correspondence."
"Meng Duyi has continued to monitor the situation at our quarry location and the special methods being used… the workmen have adjusted well to the requirements, and several have been identified as minor cultivation potentials," Cai Renxiang replied, shuffling through the documents in front of her. "It seems he was able to aid in an initiative by our subordinates as well. Some additional time and material was found and a reliable method for harvesting the cold-aspected clay from the lakeside found. Little can be done with it yet, but the raw material is being dug, cut and stored now."
"It is good that the ones we left behind were wise enough to seek the advice of such an expert… and more fortunate that Sir Meng was willing to indulge outside the bounds of his contract," Xia Lin said, cupping her chin thoughtfully. "It is… generous."
"Uncle has been enjoying his time, or so I hear," Meng Dan said. "I admit, I am more surprised by the note on cultivation talents, how was that discovered? What is this 'special method?'"
"Weaving work songs into rites for the spirits of earth and water active at the quarry site and the small channel dug to allow the stone to be floated down to the lakeside for use," Ling Qi said. "Its very beneficial… as long as everyone can perform their part correctly."
"A small number among the foreman, who showed the most aptitude for the work-rite have attracted some minor spiritual attention," Cai Renxiang said. "That is the indication of talent spoken of."
"Interesting. It will lose some effect once the spirits settle into the new routine, but quite a useful little side effect," Meng Dan mused.
"Indeed! It would do us well to be able to bolster our home grown cultivation pool," Gan Guangli agreed. "How have our soldiers been doing?"
"With the sect forces guarding the borders, they have been focused on spirit management.. Nothing like the fires has occurred, there have been some minor injuries… and one major injury in an altercation with a second realm bear, but nothing irrecoverable," Cai Renxiang said, scanning the last of the letter in her hands. "The question then, is what instruction we are to give as the current projects finish."
[ ] Select a plan with two projects to complete alongside the second month of boiling deeps shrine
Chillgrasp Harvesting Building added for free. +20 bonus to cultivation pop generation until the next successful roll.
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Diao Linqin drunkenly stopping by to dunk on Ling Qi since it's her wedding day and she can be as petty as she wants is some funny shit.
Oooh. Is the Tiny Alchemical Lab new? I don't remember that one.
But +5% to our chances of gaining a Cultivator Pop is useful. Also some wealth. The wealth is "per accessible cultivation reagent," which I assume means we need to actually do the projects to start harvesting Chillgrasp Clay and/or the Jadehelm before we'll start getting that; I'm not sure if the same is true for the Cultivator Pop chance.
Edit: Wait, unless we've got at least 10+ special materials and reagents, the +wealth is just discounting the lab's upkeep costs. Probably still important, though, we need the cultivator pops.
But +5% to our chances of gaining a Cultivator Pop is useful. Also
Edit: Wait, unless we've got at least 10+ special materials and reagents, the +wealth is just discounting the lab's upkeep costs. Probably still important, though, we need the cultivator pops.
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Nice, nice, that's good to have, not much worry then in not having our Cultpop in the walls by War Time then.
I'm thinking in light of that, Boats, Field Infrastructure, and starting on the Iron Mine--We should be able to afford one hit to Defense and still eliminate random bad events, and Iron Mine opens up a lot of stuff.
Tiny Alchemy Lab is very nice too, but it's also very hungry for Wealth, a third of our current surplus. It'll pay for itself eventually when we've fully developed the region, but it's still a bit spicy.
I'm thinking in light of that, Boats, Field Infrastructure, and starting on the Iron Mine--We should be able to afford one hit to Defense and still eliminate random bad events, and Iron Mine opens up a lot of stuff.
Tiny Alchemy Lab is very nice too, but it's also very hungry for Wealth, a third of our current surplus. It'll pay for itself eventually when we've fully developed the region, but it's still a bit spicy.
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Lord_Nib-Knob
Destroyer Of Worlds
- Location
- Linix Galaxy
- Pronouns
- He/Him/Me/You
You know, I just realized, what this clay probably is. Hilariously enough, if we can 'fire' the clay right, I'm pretty sure we can make portable cold pots. Which, for immortals is worthless overall (excepting Xia Lin of course), but for mortals and lower cultivators could be great for more stable, low-cost food storage. Xianxia refrigerators! Imagine merchants in Shenglu later selling it off for ludicrous prices across the ascendant Southern Emerald Seas. Winter Pots, get your Winter Pots, Here!
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
But yeah, starting the Iron Mine feels like an important step, I think. Doubly so since he's still working on that project and there's still a chance of getting good results there.
EDIT: Pop Drive would also be useful, we don't have enough jobs to fill all our projects yet.
EDIT: Pop Drive would also be useful, we don't have enough jobs to fill all our projects yet.
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