Letting go of her hand Qing smiles at Ling. “Well then, let’s not delay.” Turning on her heels she skips away. Ling shares a glance with Shun before following with Qiu in tow.
“Be sure to hold on to that token, you won’t be able to get back inside the barrier without it.”
“The barrier, Miss Qing?”
“The Misty Blossom can’t be grown in a garden, we will need to venture out into the Misty Woods to harvest them.” Tossing two more wooden tokens to Shun and Qiu she holds up a silver one. “Make sure none of you lose it. So long as you’re with me I'll be able to open a hole in the barrier for us to pass either way. Should we get separated however you’ll need the token to signal a barrier operator to enter again. Token only allows you to return by the way, no one without a silver mark is permitted to leave unannounced.”
Tossing her token up she catches it between her two hands. Spinning around she opens them once more to reveal two empty palms. With a chuckle she crosses her arms behind her back and continues onwards. Ling is grateful Hu Qing is walking ahead of them, subtly she prods Qiu to stop gawking at every shop they see. Making their way through the city without hurry they eventually arrive at the city’s edge. A wide open arch serves as entrance and exit both, the barrier formation making a physical gate pointless.
“Silver marks and below only have the ability to open a hole within one of the four arches, be sure to follow the barriers edge until you find one before pressing your token to it. While you can in theory alert someone anywhere along the barrier it’ll be pointless since it can’t be opened there.” She winks. “Unless a token exists that could open it anywhere, this lowly one sure wouldn’t know.”
With a cheeky smile she pushes the silver token against the opening, gesturing towards the dissipating barrier like an announcer at an auction.
“Please step through, madames.”
“Madames?” Ling asks.
“I’ve heard it used at a peculiar auction house once, sounds quite mysterious does it not?”
“As you say, Miss Qing”
Once they enter the forest Hu Qing draws both of her blades and turns to look over her shoulder with a wink. “You’re in luck, normally you’d need either artifacts or special techniques to ward off the illusions within these woods.” She points at herself with her thumb. “I however am capable of controlling the mists through which they manifest, stay close and you’ll be completely unaffected.”
Waving the twin blades in intricate patterns the mist swirls around them. Slowly a bubble free of fog forms granting them vision several meters around.
“Wow, it looks just like one of Song Huan’s adventures.” Qiu says while looking at the dense layer of white surrounding them.
“Are you referring to the tale of the Silver Sea’s pearl?”
“Oh! You’ve read it too, Qing? This is just like when they traversed the ocean floor within Deva Pavana’s bubble! Uhm, I mean, Thou hast read thou this tale, Lady Hu?”
“Drop the formality, it annoys me.” She spits without turning around, hiding the hurt look on her face. “Honestly I'm amazed. You’re surprisingly happy despite losing so much.”
“Hmm, well, it’s almost like a break, you know? I mean, I know it’s because I'm not worth the resources anymore but it’s nice to not take those meridian refinement pills that leave me howling in pain. I’m not looking forward to that again”
Qing stops abruptly. Looking back with a concerned expression she sees Qiu looking back and forth between the three of them with confusion marring her features. “Is something wrong?” “N- no, we’ve arrived.”
A single bush adorned with white flowers stands at the center of a wide open clearing. Thin streams of mist flow towards it as if drawn in, feeding and nurturing the blossoms.
“Come with me Miss Dai. I’ll show you how to harvest them.”
Crouching by the bush she meticulously instructs Shun on the correct methods. Qiu turns towards Ling, unsure whether it would be appropriate to talk freely in public. Given Qing’s disregard for formality she assumes it wouldn’t be a problem yet she is aware that nonetheless, some standards must be upheld. Before she can ask Ling her liege offhandedly addresses her.
“Qiu, go help out Shun. Tell her to mind the brambles.”
Moving to join them she takes a glance back at Ling. Seeing the young lady fiddle with the pommel of her Jian while scanning the surroundings she awkwardly crouches next to Shun. Closely observing the way the servant is making a precise cut she prepares to mimic it. Once Shun finishes separating the blossom from its branch she carefully places it within a small wooden container before turning towards her.
“Yes, Miss Shen?”
“Uhm, Ling, I mean, Lady Li told me to come help. Ah yeah she also said I should tell you to mind the brambles.”
Shun stiffens slightly before going back to harvesting another blossom with mechanical motions. “Lady Hu, Miss Shen. Don’t look around. Pretend to be unaware. We are surrounded, stay on your guard.” “Wha-” Shun flashes a meaningful look at Qiu, her gaze quickly flicking back to the shrub in front of her while the girl presses her lips shut.
“Miss Dai, please elaborate.” Qing asks, alarm rife in her voice.
“Lady Li has prepared a set of phrases to inform of danger without attracting attention.” Her head drops. She cuts off another flower, picks up the container and fits it within one of the slots of her portable medicinal cabinet. “Sadly we did not have the opportunity to inform either of you about them.”
Ling takes several steps back to join up with the rest of the group as several cloaked and hooded figure emerge from the mists around them. Qing draws her blades as she stands. With fury in her eyes she shouts at the ambushers.
“You dare invade our realm! Stand down now and your deaths will be painless.”
One of the cloaked men holds up an old jadeite shard. Qing cringes when she notices it is part of a plate broken in half. He tosses it towards her. Stabbing one blade into the earth she catches the half-plate. Her face scrunches, pain in her eyes.
“We invoke the pact. Stand not in our way, scion of the forest lord. Our quarrel lies solely with the Li.” He waves his pale hand to the side motioning for her to pass. A crooked grin on his face and just the barest hint of a thick moustache are visible beneath his hood while he theatrically steps aside.
Gritting her teeth she hangs her blades at her sides, a single loop holding them in place. “I’ll return to the city at once and get help. Hold out until I return.”
Qiu turns to her wide eyed. “You can’t be serious!”
“I’m sorry. I cannot break the treaty. Stay strong, I will return as fast as I can.”
Without another word she rushes out into the mist, not one ambusher moving to stop her. The moment she crosses into the mist they rush forward. Two dozen against three the ambushers maintain their encirclement and strike from all directions simultaneously.
Qiu extends one arm in front of her. She draws on her qi to surround it in rock and stone before pulling back as if preparing to punch. The soil spreads, parts drawn from the earth below and others created from her own qi until they cover her entire form leaving naught but thin holes for her to look through. She does not even bother to block the first to strike at her, merely letting the blade bounce off her stone armor before punching back with a rocky fist.
“Occupy Lady Shen and focus your efforts on the Li scum. You two, kill the maid.”
Shun flicks her wrists, a simple dagger falling down into one hand and a paper talisman into the other. She channels her qi into the talisman to erect a simple shield and covers herself in a haze of heat. One of the ambushers snorts as he strikes through both, his sword barely parried by her dagger even as the skin on his hand sizzles. “Fool, you believe a little hot air will stop us?” “It is not meant to stop you.” Shun replies calmly.
A sheet of white covers the surroundings, every step cracking the thin layer of frost that now covers the clearing. With a wave of her fan Li Ling forces three opponents to fall back or freeze. She skates towards Shun, the tip of her sword mercilessly piercing the back of her assailant's head before another assault forces her to glide back once more.
With but the slightest motion the ice princess ducks beneath another blow. She severs the man’s heel and parries his companion’s strike, noticing she is about to get surrounded she then waves her fan. A cascade of snow bursts out from it, flicking her fan the other way she turns it into a swirl, buffeting all those around her with icy winds.
She clicks her tongue, seven assailants stand between her and the rest of her group. Isolated and burning through her Qi she knows she won’t hold out indefinitely. Gritting her teeth she considers what to do. Waiting for Qing to return is no option. With the way an entire group surrounded them despite only a single person knowing where they were heading she finds the girl highly suspect. To delay could very well give them a slow death waiting for reinforcements that will never come.
Within the snowstorm only two other than Ling are able to move without the frost sapping away their strength. Dai Shun’s heat haze leaves her free to move through the cold unhindered, her talismans blocking enough of their enemies' strength that she can parry and strike down her opponents. The second is coming right for her. Ling parries three slashes before a fourth pierces her guard, a glancing blow tearing through her robe and drawing blood. Unable to spare the time to freeze the wound shut she can do naught but continue to fend him off. Her swordplay no match for the unknown assailants she clicks her tongue and spends more qi to manifest icy vines to restrain his legs. She ignores his next strike letting it pierce her left arm in order to slash his gut open with her blade. The man tears through the vines with brute force, her strike barely grazing his cloak and revealing white cloth beneath.
The instant the man dodges back to avoid them she turns on her heel and skates towards Qiu and Shun. Scything down another assassin as she goes a hail of rocks sends her careening off to the side. The moustached man’s grin turns into a frown when she freezes herself to the floor and lashes out with her jian sending a crescent of ice out from its edge that bisect two more opponents. Shun cuts through one after the other, drained by the cold as they are only little resistance is offered as she slices arteries, severs limbs and dodges their counters with ease.
“Forget the others, kill the Li!”
More than a dozen of the masked figures converge on Ling from all directions. Qiu’s jaw clenches beneath her helmet, with a roar she crosses her arms in front of her and charges forward like a juggernaut. Battering an attacker to the side her eyes widen when she sees the mustached man hold a rapidly desiccating corpse in one hand and form a long blackened rock on his other.
“Ling! Watch out!” She screams. Time seems to slow as Ling skids to a halt scant meters away. Barely able to get back on her feet in time she raises her hand, a white rose slowly forming in front of her to block the projectile coming her way. Qiu’s vision narrows. Her legs move by themselves with every ounce of her strength. Seeing the spear pass through her shield without even slowing Ling prepares to release her full power to stop it. Before she can unleash it Qiu leaps in front of her. The ex-heiress’s stone armor thickens, she tries to cross her arms in front of her yet they move far slower than before. Taking stock of the frost creeping through her veins she realizes she won’t be able to guard herself in time. 'Ah shit.'
Thanks for the chapter! I look forward to the conclusion of the two arcs!
Thank you for reading!