Threads 358-Cornerstone 1
Cao Chun disapproved of her initiative. "I believe you have made an error, baroness."
The rest of the meeting had gone well. There were a hundred, hundred details on which imperial and polar law differed from inheritance to property to the way civic disputes were resolved. But a framework was grudgingly being hashed out, and precedents to fill the gaps were being produced.
With the day’s session ending, she had headed to the ministry’s operations center. Down in Cao Chun's office, she stood beside Zheng Fu, and behind Cao Chun was Jin Tae.
"And I believe it is the correct course. Nothing will be gained by our investigations tripping over one another," Ling Qi rebutted.
"We would not be 'tripped' by barbarian efforts," Cao Chun grumbled. "But it is done. I will simply have to take this into account."
"Thank you for your understanding, inspector." She was glad he was not pushing back too hard on this. The relative successfulness of the operation must have put him in a good mood. "But getting to business, may I ask if you have found anything useful with the parasite I have procured?"
"It is both an immensely complex construct and as ephemeral as dew." Cao Chun clasped his hands together, his brows furrowed deeply. "I would know how you managed to acquire it."
Thinking of Shu Yue briefly, she met his eyes. Perhaps he could dig it out of her head. He would not.
"On that, I must invoke the right to my personal methods," Ling Qi demurred.
"And here I thought you were the one encouraging everyone to share," Jin Tae snipped at her.
"Eh, what's that? You wanna let me have a look at your pretty formations for a bit?" Zheng Fu laughed. "Come off it."
Jin Tae said hotly, "I merely..."
Cao Chun held up his hands. "Enough. The privacy of one's clan techniques will not be infringed. Knowing you have the capability of retrieving such deeply planted objects is enough. The parasite is not constructed to last. Even with your method, it will not remain stable for more than a few days. However, there are signs of its maker to be gleaned."
"Still Waters Deeping, Archivist of the Reviled," Ling Qi repeated, letting qi enter the words, echoing the feeling of slime and acrid stagnant water that made them more than mere syllables.
Zheng Fu glanced at her, his eyebrows visibly climbing even under his headscarf.
Cao Chun was more reserved, but he did observe her in silence for a long moment. Jin Tae looked at his mentor and back to her, frowning.
"Those words are part of it. There is more as well, including the time of manufacture, location, and some deeper traces of its maker," Cao Chun said.
"And what about what you dealt with here, some kinda curse on the soldiers?" Zheng Fu wondered.
"It was a form of artificial disease spirit, deeply implanted," Cao Chun said. "It would have begun inducing paralysis and causing transformation of flesh into wood. It seems designed to cause panic and suspicion based on a layman's observation of the polar barbarians' cultivation methods."
It still lent a pall to the discussions even as the negotiations proceeded at a good pace and as smoothly as she could have hoped. She wished she could have enjoyed the seeming success of the first leg of negotiations more without this unpleasant business hanging over her thoughts.
"The enemy is a slippery one indeed," Shu Yue's voice rasped from just behind her.
She sat in a darkened office in the imperial embassy surrounded by privacy wards and security. Shue Yue had appeared behind her nonetheless, unremarked by any of the agents or functionaries in the hall outside. She wasn't surprised, of course; she had been expecting this meeting.
"So even you were not able to track and catch them." Ling Qi bit down on her lower lip. She had hoped.
"Like certain beasts shedding a limb to save the whole when the predator comes." Shu Yue laid their hands on her shoulders. "I grasped something akin to a simulacra after a merry chase, and it crumpled in my grasp. A lure, bait, and a trap all in one."
A high realm could spin off additional bodies, investing cultivation to being in more than one place at a time. If they could do that and still fool Shu Yue... She was glad that they had been with her, when she'd caught the parasite.
"Are you well?"
"I am. There was some damage, but it was minor. Enough to force me from the trail and no more. The power put into such a thing means their harm is more."
"And you weren't able to discern any more?"
"No more than I had from the parasite. They are a cunning foe. What more I found cannot be easily confirmed. I will inform you when it can be."
"Thank you, teacher. I would ask, do you think I can call this first iteration of my art complete?"
Shu Yue paused, their hands still resting lightly on her shoulders as Ling Qi looked down at the letters or on her desk. She could see a few strands of their hair dangling down in the corners of her vision like strands of dripping ink on the verge of breaking.
"Difficult. Difficult to say. I did not develop my arts in the orthodox way."
Ling Qi continued to read her correspondence, reaching over only to take her brush and make a note that this one would require a reply.
"It was successful in the field. Your... heist. It places a sharp constraint on your time still. It is a risky technique to enter another's mind as one would a palace or fortress. What did you intend to call it?"
"Mind's Palace Heist, maybe? Or Seeking the Name?"
“Such names are for your understanding alone. It is functional. It will require development, but I will not counsel you against its use now, if you judge it valuable."
Ling Qi nodded. "I was always going to have to be careful with it."
"Yes. It is good that you understand that." Shu Yue’s presence withdrew from her along with their hands. "I will echo the inspector. Focus upon your task now. I will come if there is more you can do to aid me."
Ling Qi gave a short, sharp nod. Shu Yue was gone.
Today would finish the first week of negotiations. Just a little more, and the first proper stone of the foundation would be set.