“Big Sister is worried about something,” Gui accused. They stood on the much abused hilltop where their gardening efforts had taken place. The earth was dark and rich, tilled and fertilized with the shredded remains of their previous efforts.
“It’s nothing serious, Zhengui,” Ling ...
2022-01-27 23:57:18 +0000 UTC View PostLing Qi glanced from the grinning nightmare to Xuan Shi.
“It feels nice to be believed in,” Kongyou drawled, clasping their hands. They glanced at Ling Qi and Sixiang with a smirk. “Isn’t friendship grand?”
“What do you think you’re up to?” Sixiang demanded, glaring at...
2022-01-25 01:16:59 +0000 UTC View Post“It seems you are getting along well,” Ling Qi said as they left Li Suyin’s workshop.
“Mere collaboration of work, although Miss Li is most hospitable,” Xuan Shi replied, his staff tapping the ground in time with his footsteps. “This one gives much gratitude for the introduction...
2022-01-23 03:55:25 +0000 UTC View Post“I’d thought of trying to convince you to come, but I never thought you’d seek it out.” Ling Qi’s voice rang out sourcelessly from the churning mist in the ruined cavern
“And why not? I have every right to attend the gatherings of my peers,” Meizhen said imperiously. She stood...
2022-01-21 01:38:04 +0000 UTC View Post… And you would not believe how unbearably crass the man is! I understand that the Zheng have different ways, but there should be a limit. But leaving that uncouth cad aside, the rest of the journey through the borderlands and into the Golden Fields proper went well. I must admit, seeing th...
2022-01-17 23:24:58 +0000 UTC View PostNear the ceiling of the archive, the quintet of silvery wisps danced, orbiting and circling one another in a complex pattern. As the strains of her music rose to a crescendo, their movements sped up until the flashing lights seemed like one strobing sphere, then in time with the descending tone, ...
2022-01-15 20:20:29 +0000 UTC View PostPoints of light winked and sparkled, circling above the garden pond and over the low walls that surrounded their property. The dampness remaining in the air and the qi exhaled from her lungs left a thin mist crawling along the muddy ground of the storm-wracked garden. The gravel paths were still ...
2022-01-14 00:52:06 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m home,” Ling Qi said.
“Welcome back,” said her mother, bowing her head.
Ling Qi itched to embrace her, but that could come later when they weren’t standing in the front garden. Somehow, every time she saw the Duchess, she found her appreciation for her own mother growi...
2022-01-11 01:02:28 +0000 UTC View PostThe magnificence of the court of Xiangmen had not changed. The faces in the crowd had. The great stone platform held in the curled branches of the great tree was more crowded than it had been the last time Ling Qi had seen this place through the projection array. She could make out the distinctio...
2022-01-08 23:47:32 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Ling Qi found Cai Renxiang in her office, she stood in front of a mirror. It stood out in the perfectly ordered room, a foreign thing disrupting the geometric perfection of her liege’s decor. Full length and plain as such things went, it sat against the far wall of the study. Cai Renxiang ...
2022-01-07 02:28:52 +0000 UTC View PostThe rain had not stopped for a week now.
The garden had been churned to muck by the pounding rain, and the unpaved paths and roads in the town had become impassable. All industry had shut down as people huddled inside. The immortals were going to war against the barbarians, it was said. The...
2022-01-04 02:25:22 +0000 UTC View PostLing Qi quietly shut the door to her room behind her, leaving Hanyi and Zhengui to their rest and cultivation. They wouldn’t be participating in the talks today.
“Join us, Ling Qi.” She looked up at the sound of her liege’s voice. Cai Renxiang and Gan Guangli were already seated at ...
2022-01-01 23:44:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Once, there was a girl and her mother. They lived in a sad and dying city where purpose had long been lost. The girl and mother loved one another, but her mother had a hard and ugly job, respected by no one, least of all herself.”
Storytelling was not really a skill she practiced, but ...
2021-12-31 02:05:14 +0000 UTC View PostNo matter how their Alaniar hosts seemed at this first meeting, Ling Qi could not countenance leaving her sister behind. She could feel Hanyi tensing up under her hands, and the young spirit looked like she was going to say something
Ling Qi kept her mouth shut, sealing back her instinctive...
2021-12-28 02:26:18 +0000 UTC View PostHanyi materialized before her, and Ling Qi immediately put her hands on her sister’s shoulders for comfort. Beside her, Jaromila’s expression twitched in discomfort. It was a small thing, and Ling Qi nearly missed it, focused as she was on the Voice. Something else she needed to figure out. 2021-12-26 01:23:18 +0000 UTC View Post
Ling Qi’s eyebrows rose in surprise as she faced her escort in the hall outside of their suite. Ilsur looked back at her impassively, arms crossed over his chest.
“You are prepared for the meeting?” the barbarian asked.
“I am,” Ling Qi replied, squaring her shoulders and mee...
2021-12-23 21:38:40 +0000 UTC View Post“Big Sister, Zhen and Gui are going to go back now, okay?” Gui spoke up, surprising her. She looked down at him to find Zhen coiled atop their shell, looking pensive, and Gui looking up at her.
“Alright.” Ling Qi reached down to pat each of his heads once. He seemed really deep in t...
2021-12-21 01:47:42 +0000 UTC View PostShe wasn’t sure what she had expected. Something more like the sun shrine, perhaps? But this place was empty save for her and her spirits, and the silence in it hung heavy like a thick cloak. Overhead, the ceiling twinkled with a thousand points of light like a clear night sky, and frost dusted...
2021-12-18 16:38:57 +0000 UTC View PostIt had been good to get a proper bath. Cultivation could keep the body clean, cycling qi preventing the build up of sweat and other impurities, but it simply could not compare with a good, hot soak. That it was an opportunity to change out of her traveling clothes for an evening was merely a welc...
2021-12-08 21:47:23 +0000 UTC View PostAt least Gan Guangli seemed to be getting along with them.
“While I stand by my word. I will not deny your dedication to excellence,” the foreign man rumbled as he stood up, flexing his hand.
“I apologize for my earlier words, Sir Ostrik. They were spoken in ignorance,” Gan Gu...
2021-12-06 23:16:53 +0000 UTC View Post“This is unfortunate.” Cai Renxiang pinched the bridge of her nose.
They stood in the central room of the small guest suite Jaromila’s servants had guided them to. It was somewhat cramped, but it was warmed by a roaring fire in the gated hearth on the north wall. A low table carved fr...
2021-12-04 18:52:37 +0000 UTC View PostLing Qi’s thoughts raced. She didn’t want to undermine Cai Renxiang, but neither did she want to leave a potentially insulting misunderstanding.
“On that note,” Ling Qi said, “we were given some small gifts to present as part of our suite.”
Reviewing what she had placed in...
2021-12-03 04:14:09 +0000 UTC View PostHey folks, its been a great year, and I'm glad for all of your support. For those of you following the quest you know we're coming up on the end of the next current big arc and soon we'll be planning to votes for the next one. It does mean I'll be taking a one week break from posting content to p...
2021-12-01 22:15:33 +0000 UTC View PostAN: SO no double chapter, but Part 6 will be out next week.
The oasis bustled with activity. The geometrically perfect roads paved with marble and gemstone were lined with the stalls of merchants and craftsman, they called out the nature of their wares, everythin...
2021-12-01 22:11:56 +0000 UTC View PostLing Qi saw no reason to give away their own flight capabilities so the group travelled along the ground. The young cloud tribesman took off ahead to carry word back to the redoubt, and the women in the chariot remained to lead them.
She learned the vehicle was called a “sani.” The word...
2021-11-29 22:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostOnce, there was a child who lived in the roots of the great World Tree. In the wondrous city of dreams, ruled by the Lord of Heavenly Lies, they lived in base reality, in dirt and muck and blood. They lived in the dark in chains of coin and paper. Owned, they were. Used, they were. In the lowest ...
2021-11-27 23:39:37 +0000 UTC View PostHello everyone. Things have been a little hectic lately. I already made a note of no update tomorrow, but I did not mention the Journey to the East Chapter today. Since this week is a bit jam packed for me the chapter will be coming out next Wednesday on the first of December. I may end up just c...
2021-11-24 23:23:30 +0000 UTC View PostLing Qi opened her eyes with those words still echoing in her ears, brought out of her meditation by a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she met Cai Renxiang’s eyes.
“We must begin planning our approach,” the other girl said. Her expression was stoic again, no sign of unpleasant emoti...
2021-11-22 22:50:25 +0000 UTC View PostThere will be no update on royal road or patreon on the 25th, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Thank you for your understanding! Updates will resume normally on Saturday.
2021-11-22 02:38:16 +0000 UTC View PostSilence, heavy and cloying, fell in the wake of the spirit’s words. Even the shriek of the wind seemed dampened, and the cold less biting. Ling Qi turned to face her companions, and clasping her hands together, she bowed low.
“I apologize sincerely for the trouble my choice has caused,...
2021-11-20 22:53:40 +0000 UTC View Post