“... and that is all we have time for today.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister Li.”
Ling gracefully dismisses the disciple with a nod. Qiu pushes off from a tree, heading back to her liege alongside Shun.
“Wow, he was really hanging on to her every word, huh.”
“Lady Li’s lessons are highly sought after. Her insights tend to be comprehensive yet to the point, moreover it is rare for our lady to accept mentorship duties. Were it not for our suddenly depleted contribution points it is unlikely she would have wasted her time on this.”
Qiu cringes at the thinly veiled reminder. She mutters a quick apology under her breath while the trio head back to their accommodations. Approaching the corridor leading to their rooms they spot a regal man awaiting their approach. Long black hair tied into a high ponytail atop his head flows down over a long sleeved dark blue shirt with artistic depictions in white thread across its length and breadth. Lower yet his belt buckle gleams with a cold radiance, light reflecting off each masterfully sculpted petal of a rose carved out of white jade. Straight white slacks conform to his muscular legs bringing to mind the image of frost covered oaks. Black silk flats adorned with golden filigree finish his outfit, completing his look of dignified practicality. A chill runs through the three when his head turns to face them, ice blue eyes freezing them with the mere presence of their gaze. The man exudes a sharp aura, like the first breath into the chill of winter after leaving a the warmth of one's home.
Qiu bows low, sweat dripping down her brow. Shun matches her while Ling clasps her fist in her palm and bows her head in greeting.
“Greetings, father. What brings the Venerable Li Hong to my doorstep this day.”
“You have caused quite a bit of trouble, young miss. To claim the heir to the Shen as your own, how greedy. Where did I go wrong in raising you?”
“You did not, father. You were too busy with your conquests. Are you perhaps dissatisfied it was not the Shen patriarch’s new betrothed that intruded upon our sect? It truly is a shame you could not claim another wife, how many is it now, four?”
“...Five. You ungrateful cur, you dare take such a tone with your elders, you ought to be flogged.”
Qiu shakily looks back and forth between the two, their feet to be more precise as she does not dare to raise her head. Her breath turns erratic and her hands shake in fear. The Sect Master casually waves his hand at Shun, the latter grabbing Qiu by the arm and leading her into their room. Ling and Hong stare intently at each other, sparks flying between their eyes. The halls lay silent, as if the calm before the storm. Then all at once in perfect sync they both grin while suppressing laughter.
“Hah, daughter of mine. We are far too similar, you and I...”
Ling gulps at his meaningful smile, could he know? No, she rationalises. The sect would not allow her relationship with Shun. Had he known they would already have been broken apart.
“...I too was quite the troublemaker in my youth. Still, with our status such things cannot go unpunished, you stepped on quite a few toes.”
“It appears you’re going somewhere with this, dad. I doubt you came by here for a leisurely visit.”
“Can a father not come see his daughter without reason?”
“Certainly. It would be a first for you however.”
“Gah, you wound me, dearest daughter of mine. Well, dearest presently within this corridor anyway. But I digress, I’m indeed here for a reason. An important mission has come up, Ling. It would be wise for you to take it. Our sect is in discussion with the Hu clan for their departure from the Steadfast Rock’s rule. Grand Elder Lai shall personally be leading the negotiations to bring them into our fold, you are to join as part of her entourage.”
Ling’s expression turns cold, she glares at him with a clenched jaw.
“I see, you intend to have me parade the beaten heir of the Shen in front of them. My, how bold of you to do this outside of the bounds of our sect's authority. It is almost as if you wish to use me as bait to draw our enemies out of hiding. It is purely coincidence that the Cai will be sending someone too, no?”
“Watch your tongue, Ling. I am being very tolerant with you, do not push me. That said, it is true there are several forces at work here. It is likely the Shen will be aware of her presence there as well so stay on your guard. I know I am asking much of you but I ask you to understand. It would be best for you to leave the sect for a while to let tempers cool. Your contribution to our sect’s further rise will not go unrewarded either, name what you wish and I shall see it handed to you. Within reason, of course.”
Clenching her fists she channels a mote of ice qi through her veins before replying. Once more she has to dance along like a puppet to the schemes of old foxes. She swears to remember this, adding it to the long lists of slights to repay.
“Very well, I accept. This is what I will need...”
-----
While the ice princess and the sect master are having their talk Shun leads a shaken Qiu through Ling’s chambers and into a smaller side room. Within the chamber stands a single bed, finely made but clearly old and well used. Near the wall and close to the bed's headboard sits a bookshelf filled with dog-eared books and manuals, easily accessable without standing up. Taking up most of the remaining space in the humble abode is a small table with two chairs. A far more recent addition to all these is a pile of blankets with a pillow on top near the corner, their mere presence turning the room from cozy to cramped. It is to the table that Shun leads her colleague. She sits the wide-eyed girl down and calmly starts to prepare a pot of tea using her heat arts. Upon hearing her erratic breathing intensify she turns around to see Qiu shaking with her hands tightly clutching her head.
“Are you alright, miss Qiu?”
“A- am I alright? What about Ling, why aren’t you worried about Ling? She just offended the Sect Master, what if she dies!”
“I believe you are misunderstanding, miss Qiu.”
“Misunderstanding? She insulted him! If I were to speak to Honourable Father like that he would kill me. Oh ancestors, what are we going to do?”
Shun calmly sits down, adjusting her robe as she does. She takes a sip of her tea before replying.
“Sect Master Li and Lady Li get along well, there is no need for concern.”
“Huh?”
“Please do keep what I am about to say private, it would be quite troubling if it becomes known I spoke of it. Sect Master Li and Lady Ling’s words tend to be quite harsh but there is little venom underneath. They often fight yet always seem to reconcile. Do not misunderstand me, Ling greatly despises her father’s actions, yet her heart cannot seem to hate him for it.”
“They.. You’re saying they’re always like this?”
“No, Sect Master Li happened to catch my lady in a bad mood. Their interactions are usually friendlier. They still bicker like cats and dogs however, those two. Once more, please do not divulge me speaking of the Sect Master this way.”
“Of- of course… Are you sure you should be telling this though?”
“It is a gamble to be sure. Given that you are one of the few people my lady looked up to, I am willing to take that risk.”
Qiu points a finger to herself with raised eyebrows, mouth hanging open in surprise.
“Me? She looked up to me?”
“You were the one that was always one step ahead of her. I dare not speak for her but I believe it hurt her deeply when even you fell to schemes.”
“Fell to schemes? What do you mean?”
“This one is of the opinion that Ling believes it likely the Sect Master anticipated your reaction to your brother’s situation and asked for one of Shen Ganglei’s children to be enrolled here for that very reason, expecting him to send his son instead of the sect’s foremost genius and allowing him to attain you both in doing so.”
Running a hand through her hair the redhead chuckles hollowly.
“I’m afraid she was wrong, Honourable Father would never put me before his son. The only reason he didn’t drop me here without a second thought is that he couldn’t. I wasn’t in the sect. I couldn’t take the pressure anymore so I robbed part of the treasury and ran. Had to sell most of it off to even get out of our sect’s territory. Went to the one place he couldn’t send people after me without consequences, the area surrounding the White Rose Sect. Turned out well, didn’t it. Lady Li looked up to me? Me? Hah, what a joke. You think it’s safe to trust me with your secrets, ancestors you’re naive. Hells, you even share a room with me, are you really not considering I can just kill you in your sleep?”
“I am confident I will be able to alert Lady Li to your betrayal prior to perishing.”
Shun feels the hairs on the back of her neck raise as the door slides open like nails on a chalkboard. The pair could have sworn the temperature dropped like a cold wind had billowed in as fingers clench tightly enough around the doorframe to whiten their nails. The gradually widening opening reveals a face bearing a serene smile that does not quite reach her eyes.
“Shun~”
“Yes, milady.”
“Arrange private chambers for Qiu the moment we return.”
“Return, my lady?”
“We shall be leaving the sect for a while. We are to join a diplomatic mission to the Hu clan as part of Grand Elder Lai’s entourage.”
“I shall make arrangements for our trip right away, my lady.”
A hand grabs her shoulder as she attempts to flee the room. Shivers runs down her spine at Ling’s look.
“Now, now. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce Qiu to her duties. Come sit with me, Dai Shun~”
Woodenly she follows Ling as she sits down on the bed, taking a seat beside her whilst Qiu demurely trails behind them.
“I did not say next to me, Dai Shun~”
She lovingly pats her legs. Shun blushes as she stands back up and sits down sideways on her lap. She hesitantly starts to instruct Qiu on what to pack. Shen Qiu desperately ignores the scene behind her, cursing her reddening ears for picking up the sounds they make. Shun squirms under her mistress's roaming hands. She feels the tips of her fingers trace her contours. Her voice shakes when hands unrepentantly grope her large melons. Unconsciously she spreads her thighs just the tiniest bit when trembling fingers work their way under her robe. She feels a hot breath on the side of her face as Ling whispers into her ear softly enough Qiu wouldn’t hear.
“Don’t even joke about dying, Shun. You’re not allowed to leave me. Don’t you dare.”
“Yes, mistress. I promise.”
She wraps her arms tight around Ling, masking her liege’s soft sobs.
-----
“Heavens this is high up. Whoa what’s that over there?”
Qiu asks while leaning over the railings of their airship. She points at a vast stretch of blackened earth. Husks of ancient trees turned entirely to coal stand amidst charred fields, the barrow plains stretching far beyond view all the way past the very horizon. Ling and Shun exchange a glance.
“You have not heard of it? These are the Scorched Lands. The battlefield of the Great Void War three millennia past. Were you not taught about them, Miss Qiu?”
Qiu whirls around with sparkly eyes, practically bouncing in place with a gleeful smile.
“No way! These are the scorched lands? The very place where the legendary Infernal Blade annihilated the void invaders? That all happened right here?”
“Not quite, this is merely the edge. The Scorched Lands stretch thousands of miles, Qiu. Our sect territory merely borders it, as does yours for that matter.”
Qiu’s eyes widen. She peers into the distance trying to see if she can recognise any landmarks.
Scrunching her brow to focus harder she smiles widely as she turns back around.
“Is that the Halved Peak over there? The very place where Song Huan first struck back against the void reducing half a mountain to rubble with a single swing of her sword?”
“You have good eyes, the Halved Peak is indeed in that direction albeit I myself cannot see it from here, Miss Qiu.”
“Did you know she’s the first one to ever reach the Transcendent Realm? I heard our entire realm was about to fall completely to the void before she joined the fight. My mother used to tell me stories about her all the time when I was younger, I wanted to be just like Immortal Soulfire. ”
Her smile slowly grows rigid as she speaks. As her words spill out her eyes glaze over and tears beginning to form in their corners. Ling and Shun pretend not to notice when she turns around and wipes them with the back of her hand. Her shoulders sag and she rests her elbows on the rails, her chin resting firmly on her palm as if it weighs a ton. Like it would fall down if she did not prop it up.
“I used to love those stories. I remember she’d sit in front of the hearth and tell me bedtime stories even when I got too old for such things. It got me through all the pain, you know? Come to think of it, everything got far worse after she…”
Ling takes a step closer. She places a palm on her shoulder and looks off in the distance alongside her.
“What happened?”
“She died giving birth to little Lei. I was only fourteen back then, it devastated me.”
“Do you blame him?”
“No, I could never. He’s such a sweet boy. Besides, I’m sure he suffered under Honourable Father too. Honourable Father always wanted a male heir to take over the clan, he never cared for me. I feel so sorry for little Lei, the expectations must be crushing. I can’t believe he was just sent to your sect like that, I hope he’s doing well.”
“If you behave during the mission I shall permit you to see him. I believe Shun has some books about Venerable Song, perform your duties well and we shall allow you to read them in your free time.”
Her expression lightens. She pushes herself upright and nods demurely.
“Thank you, Lady Li. I’ll go finish preparations for our arrival at once.”
Ling leans back against the rails as she watches Qiu leave with a spring in her step. Tilting her head back to look up at the sky she smiles warmly, glad to have discovered an unexpected side to her. She cannot blame Qiu for her enthusiasm, sharing her opinion of the legendary cultivator. After all, her very own flame arts are derived from the legacy of one of her descendants. The Immortal Blazingblade, Song Jian.
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