With a tired groan, Nie Ruyi dropped out of the forced, rigid posture she'd been sitting in, and laid back on the ground. She was getting the clothes she'd bought from Auntie Teng dirty, of course, but who cared! This was driving her nuts. Song Fengling was driving her nuts, and this whole cultivation thing was a pain in her rear end.
Between the three to five hours of sword practice (HOURS!), and the meditation, during which she has to sit there and try not to think, which meant she spent the time thinking about thinking instead and wondering if she was thinking. Song Fengling swore it became easier as you practice, but Nie Ruyi was pretty sure the boy had been brainwashed.
"You can take a small break, but then we're going right back to the sutras." Song Fengling warned, from his place on the ground beside her. He was sitting in perfect lotus position, hands resting in his lap, thumbs to ring finger. His eyes were closed and his breathing gentle.
"Sutras, sutras, sutras." Nie Ruyi mocked, turning over and standing up. She brushed the dust from the floor off of her russet-red hanfu's carefully stitched hems and headed for the table, where a set of teacups and a steaming teapot sat. The maid she'd hired, with Song Fengling's help, had just refreshed it a few hours ago.
"The Sutras are meant to clear your mind, to guide you through the rote process of falling into a meditative state, and then continuing the proper thought processes while there." Song Fengling explained, for the however-many-eth time. He didn't open his eyes or so much as move a muscle. She knew, from his explanation at the beginning of their training, that he'd been doing this since he was eleven years old which was actually a little late for most beginners. "It will help immensely with being able to circulate your qi later when you're trying to get into qi condensation stage."
"I'm tired, I'm sore, and I'm having trouble concentrating. Can't we do something else? Reading? Hell, writing! I'll practice my calligraphy if I have to." She begged.
When she'd come here, she'd figured out pretty quick that while she could read the writing these people used, she couldn't write in the characters these people used. So, along with her endless hours of training and meditation, she'd also been assigned to copy old texts, to learn how to write properly. It was both humiliating and interesting because the texts were cultivation manuals and beastiaries. She'd learned quite a bit about this world, including some of the ways monsters fit into it. Which is to say, they didn't.
"You've barely done ten minutes of your meditation practice." It seemed she'd at least gotten Song Fengling annoyed enough to break him out of his own meditation. He narrowed a glare at her as she grinned over at him with no remorse.
"And that's ten minutes more than I was able to do yesterday!" She replied cheerfully. Just as she was about to continue her pleas, there was a careful rap at the door, and the maid poked her head in.
"Nie-xiaojie, you have a visitor. Sect Heir Liang Lanlan has requested to see you." A-Rong, whose real name was Sun Xirong, gave a soft, crooked smile. Her eyes darted behind her though, as if she was afraid the other woman would just burst through without waiting.
"Oh! Thank you, A-Rong, just let her in, please." Nie Ruyi answered, "Ah, I think tea is required for when people visit me, yes?" She turned to look at Song Fengling who, with a long-suffering eyeroll, nodded. A-Rong confirmed by nodding softly. She'd been such a help, ever since she'd been hired. "Then tea, please, A-Rong. And if you could get some sort of snacks, that would be fantastic."
The fifteen-year-old nodded and then stepped aside so that Liang Lanlan could pass her. The sect heir stepped into the room, and when Song Fengling stood to salute her, Nie Ruyi moved to do the same. Then, Liang Lanlan gently sat at the table. Nie Ruyi settled across the table from her, as A-Rong came in and poured them fresh tea.
"I see you're settling in quite well." Liang Lanlan said, and Nie Ruyi wondered if it was just a nicety. How could one even tell? By the qi set sitting on the wooden couch, bought when the five of them were going through town? By Missy, who was sitting lazily in the sun and glowing gently?
"Thank you," Nie Ruyi said, in lieu of asking. "The Severing Firefly sect has done everything they can to make me comfortable."
"I can see that. It makes me curious, you see. Few would treat a traveling scholar to such... closeness. Certainly, one wouldn't be housed in the disciple quarters." Liang Lanlan picked up the tea, taking a soft sip, and then held the cup just in front of her chest. Nie Ruyi recognized the body language from any number of the harem dramas she'd watched. Was she trying to project an air of grace?
"Well... You see, I can't go back home, so they feel a bit... responsible." Nie Ruyi answered, letting her sad smile linger on her lips as she rubbed her index finger along the lip of her teacup. "They've offered me a position as a disciple, to replace the home I've lost to help them."
This seemed to be the wrong answer because Liang Lanlan set the teacup down so hard it actually sloshed a little tea onto the table. A-Rong scrambled forward, pressing a handkerchief to the liquid to sop it up, before bowing and sliding back into her corner.
"How strange, then, that they would leave you so... limited. Well, either way, as you aided them, you have also aided Furtive Jade Sect, and so it is my duty to reward you." Liang Lanlan flicked her hand out, which caused her sleeve to ripple like the waves, while also being an elegant way of saying 'putting that aside'.
Nie Ruyi was in awe. She hadn't expected a reward beyond being allowed to live a decent life here. "You don't have to-"
"Do you intend to refuse my sect's goodwill? What face do you leave us, if that's the case?" Liang Lanlan snapped, staring down her nose at Nie Ruyi. Part of Nie Ruyi was surprised at the vehement response, but then again the Chinese 'face' was in play. How someone was perceived by those around them was of great importance, their face, their reputation, was invaluable.
Nie Ruyi had seen many a duel fought over someone losing face and seen many a horrible thing done in the name of keeping face, if only in novels and on tv shows. She swallowed, "Not at all. I simply do not know what to do with such generosity."
"You accept it, of course." Liang Lanlan huffed. "I'll escort you to a special training ground nearby that the Furtive Jade sect knows of. It will be beneficial for your foundation building to work in especially qi-rich areas."
"Forgive the intrusion, Sect Heir Liang." Song Fengling interjected. This drew Liang Lanlan's sharp eyes to him, "She is not ready to intake the sort of qi you're discussing. She has not yet begun Qi Circulation techniques at this time."
"Hm... I see." By the twitch of her upper lip, Nie Ruyi figured Liang Lanlan was annoyed by the lack of progress Nie Ruyi had made, which she felt a little wronged by. She'd only been here a few days! Surely, they could cut her a break?
"Also, she is still recovering from a severe head wound. The doctor has said she isn't allowed to leave sect grounds for another five days." Song Fengling continued.
"Enough." Liang Lanlan cut him off, waving an imperious hand, "Then I will fetch a Spiritual Treasure from the sect that will allow the qi to easily integrate with her pre-foundation spirit. There is no need to worry. I will also be present to ensure no qi deviations occur. I will return in a week."
As if that ended the conversation, Liang Lanlan stood, teacup still half full, and swept out the door. Her sleeves fluttered behind her like flower petals on the wind, and Nie Ruyi had to wonder if that was a spell that cultivators learned. She hadn't managed to get hers to do that yet.
"How strange." Song Fengling murmured, brow furrowed. But when she asked, he simply shook his head in refusal.
As promised, a week later Liang Lanlan arrived. Dressed in close-fitting sleeves and pants beneath the flowing skirt of her robes, she also carried a bow on her back and a haughty expression on her heart-shaped face. Nie Ruyi, who had dressed in the only type of clothing she had, felt deeply over-dressed. Her own Hanfu was long and flowy, like something a Chinese noblewoman might wear. She looked at herself and let out a sigh.
"If you give me but a moment, I can change into something more suitable." She'd have to wear the training uniform she'd been given, which was still sort of flowy.
"It doesn't matter what you wear." Liang Lanlan dismissed, "What matters more is, what is he doing here?"
Her manicured finger pointed to Lao Xiaojun, who was standing next to the door Nie Ruyi had just exited. He raised an eyebrow at her, and Nie Ruyi could see how unimpressed he was with the little mistress.
"Ah, Lao-shixiong acts as my bodyguard until I'm able to defend myself. Lao-zongzhu has ordered it for my safety." Nie Ruyi turned her head to smile at Lao Xioajun, the brush of her curled hair along her shoulders. A-Rong had made strange intricate loops with her hair, and placed flowers in a sort of -half crown over the back mound of it. It had looked positively ethereal when she'd seen it in the brass mirror this morning.
He ignored her, "Sect Heir Liang." Another stiff bow, before he lifted his head, "Where are we going?"
"...Seifeng Forest. There's a hidden grotto within that the Furtive Jade Sect has laid claim to." Liang Lanlan lifted her head as if to make herself taller than Lao Xiaojun. This was not the case, as he literally looked down his nose at her.
"Those are contested lands." He murmured, his own voice frosty. Nie Ruyi carefully didn't look at either of them, feeling her shoulders tense. She felt really aggrieved here, standing between two titans fighting, without even Song Fengling to cast glances at. (The boy had been putting off some duties outside the sect compound while taking care of her, so she'd told him to go since she'd be with Lao Xiaojun anyway.)
"We are not here to argue geographical lines." Liang Lanlan stated, and wow, Nie Ruyi was almost impressed at that political maneuvring. "We are here to reward Nie Ruyi for her assistance in the Dragon Mess."
"Then get on with it." Lao Xiaojun declared. His sword was, once again, tossed carelessly towards the ground, where it hovered over it. He held out a hand to Nie Ruyi, who upon realizing he meant her to stick her hand there, did so. He used it to pull her up into his arms, which sent a little Pavlovian thrill through her, as she remembered what it was like to fly last time.
Giddiness took over as their swords rose into the air. Nie Ruyi clung to where Lao Xiaojun's hands crossed over her middle, gripping his wrists tight, as she leaned forward into the wind. He held her strong and safe, and she laughed. The ground slipped beneath them the same way silk would slide off a bed, fast and faster.
Finally, they lowered through a canopy of trees, and into a clearing. Nie Ruyi considered pouting when Lao Xioajun moved to set her on the ground but decided against it. She wasn't sure she could stand the idea of them thinking she was childish. She turned to Liang Lanlan as she dismounted her own sword, sheathing it in a careful flourish around her wrist.
"It's just a quarter-shichen's hike from here." Liang Lanlan declared and began walking. Nie Ruyi felt phantom pain sent to her by future-Ruyi who was suffering because her outfit had included silk-slippers. These were not shoes meant for hiking, ah!
She was ever so grateful that Lao Xiaojun stayed close. During the hike, she tripped no less than four times. Each time, he caught her by the shoulder and pulled her up.
"Ah, thanks." She'd say, and he'd grunt in reply. This continued until they finally arrived where Liang Lanlan was leading them. Nie Ruyi sucked in a gasp as the trees parted to reveal a deep, clear lake. It reminded her of a picture she'd seen on the internet, of a lake so clear that everything at the bottom looked super close, despite it being miles below.
"It's beautiful..." She breathed, and then took a deep breath. The flowers here tinged the air in a sweet scent, and Nie Ruyi felt suddenly as if she were at peace. "Thank you for bringing me here, Liang-guniang."
"We're not there yet." Liang Lanlan declared, raising an eyebrow. "Here's where Lao-qianbei stays. We have to swim after this, and there is no way I'm allowing Lao-qianbei to see me all wet and disheveled. Don't you think it's better he stays here, Nie-wanbei?"
Lao Xiaojun's thunderous expression made Nie Ruyi feel a little like she'd just been put in the crossfire as a human shield. "Ahhhh, I don't... I mean... I'm not too worried about it? It's not as if I need to protect my virtue or anything?"
That got a startled look from both of the feuding cultivators. "What does Nie-wanbei mean?" Liang Lanlan asked, confusion clear on her pretty face.
"Well, I just mean, I only intend to marry if I find someone who doesn't care that I've had partners before. I can't help that I have, because where I come from it's fine for young men and women to experiment and find pleasure. But, I know that isn't the case here. So, I'm not too worried about protecting my virtue, since I don't really have any, to begin with." Nie Ruyi shrugged. She wasn't going to play the game of "has she been soiled" or not. Since, after all, if she was going to marry, it had to be someone she loved, and someone she loved wouldn't care about that.
Liang Lanlan looked scandalized, her face pink and a hand coming up to cover her lips. Nie Ruyi snuck a glance at Lao Xiaojun's face as well, and while she could see his brow drawn in, she couldn't be sure if it was frustration because they were still lollygagging, or if it was because of what she said.
"Really, I don't mind. But I can't swim in something this flowy. I'll drown." Nie Ruyi explained further. "So, I do need to strip down quite a bit, to swim. Is that going to be an issue?"
"S-See!" Liang Lanlan latched onto that as if it proved her point. "We'll be indecent! Lao-qianbei, if you'll stay here, we'll be back soon."
Nie Ruyi stumbled as Liang Lanlan grabbed her hand and dragged her behind some bushes. The older woman sighed a little, as Liang Lanlan stripped off her bow and arrows, setting them behind the bush as well. Getting to work dismantling the dress she'd been put in, Nie Ruyi stripped down to the strange bib-like bra of this time, and the odd shorts that counted as underwear in this world.
"You'll have to help me put my hanfu back on when we get done." She warned Liang Lanlan. "I don't know how to do so by myself."
"You don-" Liang Lanlan blinked, an incredulous note to her voice. "What have you been wearing all your life?"
"Clothes in my wo-homeland are very different than they are here." She almost slipped, correcting herself before she said the wrong thing. "I'm still learning. Are you ready?"
Liang Lanlan was much more dressed, and Nie Ruyi had to wonder if she was going to drown, or if she was just that strong a swimmer. The water, once they stepped into it, was cold, colder than the air, and Nie Ruyi just knew she was going to get a cold from this. "A-Are we sure th-this is n-necessary?" She asked, just to be certain.
"Yes." Liang Lanlan snapped back, snatching Nie Ruyi's hand and yanking her into the freezing cold. Nie Ruyi shrieked from how cold it was, but let Liang Lanlan lead her deeper into the clear, rippling water. sure enough, after a certain point, the floor of the lake fell out from under her and seemed to only stop miles below. Liang Lanlan tread water there and gentled her breathing.
"You'll need to take a deep breath. I'll tow you down and get you to the grotto. But you need to hold your breath the entire time. There are a lot of twists and turns."
"Wha-" Water snapped her face, getting in her mouth. She spit it out and tried again, "How deep down?"
"Quite a ways." Liang Lanlan was looking at the swim, and Nie Ruyi guessed she might be lining up the route she was going to take. "Take a breath."
Nie Ruyi didn't ask why, the girl was abrupt as it was, and she had no doubt she'd pull her under with no breath held. So she took as deep a breath as she could and held it.
Sure enough, without a second warning, she was pulled under the surface of the water. Soon, the two of them were diving. Nie Ruyi had no practice keeping her eyes open underwater, and it stung badly when she tried, but eventually, she got them open.
The deeper down they went, the darker everything got. However, she could see where they were headed because of the glow emanating from the cave mouth that Liang Lanlan had them angled towards. She kicked alongside her co-swimmer and eventually, the two entered the cave.
Liang Lanlan fumbled with a pouch on her belt, opening it and pulling forth a ball the size of her palm. Nie Ruyi did a doubletake since the opening of the pouch wasn't big enough to yield such a thing. Then she remembered Cultivators had those ridiculous qiankun pouches, the ones that were bigger on the inside.
Liang Lanlan's little ball lit up the entire cave as they passed through, and sure enough, there were twists and turns all throughout the path. Luckily she had Liang Lanlan's guidance. They made it through the maze in a few moments, which was great because Nie Ruyi's lungs hurt and she was having trouble holding her breath at this point.
They broke the surface just as she had been scratching at Liang Lanlan's hand to try and get to some air. She gulped it down fast, panting and searching the area for any sign of where they were. All that greeted her were rocks. The light of Liang Lanlan's ball sparkled off of the minerals embedded in the walls and dripping stalagmites around them. The water near-glowed a beautiful aquamarine color, deeper than a Caribbean ocean but just as entrancing.
"Is this-" She had to stop, catch her breath and start again, "Is this it?"
"Mn, yes, but what I want to show you is a little deeper in the caves. Come." Liang Lanlan put away the orb, which did nothing to dim the cave (and how did that work, Nie Ruyi wondered), and pulled herself from the water. Water sluiced off her robes, and when she stood, she was dry. Jealousy ran rampant through Nie Ruyi as she pulled herself from the water, gasping and huffing the whole time. She scraped her arm in her graceless exit from the water, and she was still dripping wet when she was on land.
The air was frigid and Nie Ruyi wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the cold, but goosebumps were running along her skin. She shuddered and hunched over. She couldn't walk any further, not in this cold.
"H-Hey, d-does me f-f-freezing to d-death have any af-f-fect on how th-this works?" She managed to ask, sarcasm thick in her voice. "B-Because I was-s-s hoping th-that you h-ha-have a c-coat in th-that qiank-k-kun p-pouch."
A click came from Liang Lanlan's general direction, meaning she clicked her tongue in annoyance, and Nie Ruyi had a brief flash of homicidal rage. Then, the sect heir pulled a thick robe from the same pouch she'd pulled the glowing ball. She held it out for Nie Ruyi to take.
Nie Ruyi's fingers felt stiff as she reached out to take the robe, and the shaking of her limbs made it difficult to wrap the warm, thick cloth around herself. She shoved her aching limbs through the sleeves and cuddled it close to her skin. It wasn't perfect, and her feet were still freezing in their silk slippers, but it was better than dying of cold.
"Keep up. If you get lost, it's your own fault." Liang Lanlan warned, and it echoed through the spires in the cave, which was quite tall. She could barely see the stone of the ceiling as she followed Liang Lanlan through the forest of stalagmites. They passed several pathways and caves, took some paths and ignored others, and Nie Ruyi was quite lost by the time they came to what they were (apparently) looking for.
"Sit upon the stone." Liang Lanlan gestured to a long, flat stone that honestly looked like a sacrificial altar to Nie Ruyi.
"...There aren't any blood sacrifices involved here, are there?" She asked, nervously approaching the stone slab. A giant, glowing crystal hung suspended in the ceiling above the slab and turned her skin a beautiful blueish tinge when she went under it. Sitting beneath the crystal, she found herself scrambling to put the robe she'd been given between her and the frigid stone.
"No." Liang Lanlan scoffed. "This is the best place to cultivate in these caves. We're going to spend the next few days down here-"
"Days?!" Nie Ruyi shrieked, completely confused, "I thought this was just an afternoon outing!"
"Your Sect Leader okayed this. You'll be fine." As if as an afterthought, Liang Lanlan reached into her qiankun pouch again, pulling out a small pouch. "This is full of food and water if you get hungry. Don't drink the cave water. I'm going to go hunting while you're cultivating."
She turned and walked out of the cave as fast as her legs would take her, leaving Nie Ruyi with the pouch in hand, and the sound of dripping, ebbing water filling the silence. Did... did she just get put in time out in a cave? She shivered, pulling the robe tighter around her as she glowered at the floor.
She let her eyes close, but the shivers distracted her. She couldn't sink into herself, the way Song Fengling had told her to. She tried to clear her mind, to call to mind instead the little phrases he had given her to memorize. When that didn't work, she laid down on her side and sighed.
"This is stupid." She muttered, her voice just barely louder than the water. "I can't meditate... so what is the point of this!?" She smacked the hard stone, reveling in the sharp sting it left on her palm.
Another sharp slapping sound filled the air, however, and sent her sitting up so fast her head reeled. She wasn't the source of this one, and that alone was terrifying.
"Liang-qianbei?" She called, hoping she had the right honorific. Hoping the other woman would answer, she slid off the slab and stood on the cold floor. When no answer came, and another slapping sound rang through the frigid air, she straightened up, muttered, "Nope." and began fast-walking out of the room as quick as she could.
But upon exiting the little cave, she was confronted with three different paths, none of which looked familiar. Fear bubbled in the back of her throat like stomach acid and she clawed at the fabric of her robe, holding it tighter to her, the pouch hanging by three fingers. She looked first down the right tunnel, then the left. Then, down the middle.
There was no difference. She saw no footsteps, no light brighter in one than the other, no moss growing in the hollows of one that might show her the way back.
"L-Liang-Qianbei!" She cried, louder now, and it echoed. "This isn't funny! Please come back!"
A low growl emanated from behind her, and Nie Ruyi choked on a yelp. She turned, slowly, to look over her shoulder. Standing in the cave she'd just been in, the empty cave she'd just been in, were two creatures each the size of a large wolfhound.
That was the only doglike thing about them, however. Their four legs were tipped with claws as long as her forearm, and the bodies were amorphous cylinders filled with spines like a porcupine. What must be the head was more just a rough shovel-shape surrounding a maw of rippling teeth, with too-many eyes above that. She didn't have time to count those eyes, as one of them pounced towards her, claw extended.
She was saved only by her natural instinct to drop back away from the swipe. Her shriek reverberated through the caves, and the creatures rippled like water, before solidifying with a snarl. She scrambled, clawing her way over the sharp rocks of the cave to get her feet under her and to run. She didn't care if she got more lost, she needed to get away from these monsters right now.
Her careening escape managed to get her into a hiding place as the monsters passed by. Not very smart, she supposed, as she covered her panicked breathing with a sleeve to muffle it. She swallowed hard, waiting until she heard nothing of the claws or the splat-sound, before she shifted, and tried to find a more secure hiding spot.
Part of her wanted to take the slippers off, to make her steps even more silent, but honestly, the stone was freezing, and she wasn't about to get frostbite from carelessness. She finally found a small room off the side, deep enough to be hard to see in, but not deep enough for there to be anything but her in it. She sat down, pulling open the qiankun pouch she'd been given and dumping everything out.
Water in little vials, as she'd said, along with wrapped rice-biscuits and jerky. Not enough for a full day, if she ate to be full. She sighed, taking a sip of water, and a bite of the jerky. She'd have to ration. Who knew when (if) Liang Lanlan would come back. Or when Lao Xiaojun would realize she was in trouble.
Would he realize? Would he come for her? Would he think she ran away, or would Liang Lanlan lie to him and tell him she'd joined her sect, or... She shook her head. Now was not the time to let those thoughts run through her head, now was not the time to panic and let anxiety coax her into freezing up.
There were a few other things in her pouch, a blanket, a book, and a small marble. When she picked up the marble, a light glowed into existence, coming from the pearl itself. She set it down and it stopped glowing. "...Ah, must be magic."
It was helpful, certainly, though. She held it in her lips, and let its light shine on the book. It seemed to be a treatise on absorbing local spiritual energy. Well, that was about as helpful as a warthog's backside, but it was better than nothing, and reading settled the panic sliding through her.
And so began a terrifying cycle. After a while of reading, the sound of claws on stone, or the unidentifiable splat of something hitting stone heralded the creature's return, and her desperate bid to hide or run from them, entirely. Once she had hidden enough, she dug out the food, took a bite, took a sip, read until it happened again, or her eyes began to hurt. She didn't dare sleep, although she dozed numerous times only to wake to the creature's claws on her skin.
Once, she attempted to fight back in her need to flee, to push the monsters away. One of their weight pushed against her, and she shrieked as pain split her open. One of the quills on the back of the beast came out, lodged through her arm fully. A frantic escape and a quiet moment panting against the pain in a hidden corner of a cave and she realized she might die here.
She knew better than to pull out the quill. Its thickness was two of her fingers beside each other and she was sure it was the only thing keeping her from bleeding to death from where it was lodged in her upper bicep. She endured the agony of moving the horrifically severed muscles to rip her borrowed robe. Two strips of cloth. One wrapped tight as she could get it above the wound. Another wrapped tight around just below it. Cutting off the circulation, so she wouldn't bleed to death. She used the strips to stabilize the quill as well.
The quill was as long as her leg, and she sobbed viciously into a wad of ripped up cloth as she sawed at it with the knife, cutting the excess down so it wouldn't catch on anything. When the quill only showed two or three inches on either side of her arm, she fought against dizziness and sleep. She knew it was shock, coming to take her away despite her best efforts. She drank, emptying an entire vial, and then ate a full length of jerky, because she had lost too much blood. She lamented her dominant arm, lamented the feeling she was losing in the fingers of that hand.
She did not know how long she ran for her life, but eventually, she began trying the things she read in the book, to feel the heaviness in the air around her, to compare it to the heaviness inside her, and to imagine drawing it into herself. It was easier than meditation, to pretend that this heavy energy was swirling through her veins and pushing all the sludge from her veins and pathways.
In between bouts of terror-filled running, panicked hiding, and silent snacking, she found that she was starting to be able to feel it. The places where the heaviness was thinner and thicker. She was starting to be able to tell when the monsters were coming because the heaviness around them was different from her own. Closer to the heaviness of the caves, they were, and that told her they belonged here.
They belonged here, the way she didn't.
She honestly doesn't remember how it happened, exactly. She'd taken a moment to think after one of the chases came too close. She was slower than before, one of those wicked claws having sliced a line through her calf, and she'd had to limp away. She was pretty sure the creatures were tracking her blood scent now, and she'd decided to try and use the new sense she had gained to track them in return.
She'd opened herself to the heaviness in the air, the feeling the book called spiritual power. She felt around, but this time, when she found the special heaviness that signified it was the monster, she pushed just a little harder, trying to cement where they were. And then, like the click of a door closing (or maybe opening?), she felt it.
The creature connected to her. She could feel it, there was a line between them, now. It... wanted something. So, she shoved some of the qi she'd gathered at it. And sure enough, she could feel a thrumming, almost like a purr, at the other end of the feeling.
She tried it again, this time with the second creature, and sure enough, the click happened when she pushed just a little too hard. And feeding it the energy had the same result. She should have been paying attention because they'd gotten closer, drawn to her by the connection, but it wasn't a fatal mistake.
In fact... The strange creatures came to her and laid down at her feet. Her terror at seeing them faded slowly, as they stared at her with those innumerable eyes. She could feel that link, that line between them and the thrumming contentment in it. There was a small undercurrent of hunger, and she took a leap of faith.
Pulling out two pieces of jerky, she tossed them to the creatures. They ate quickly, gnawing them to bits in those sharp jaws, and then, as one, they crawled closer, nuzzling their spiney bodies up against her sides. They were... warm. And oddly, not prickly as she thought they'd be. In fact, as she tested her finger against one of the spines, she realized that they were... oddly like gelatine. They certainly hadn't felt as shaky-soft as this when one had speared through her upper arm (it was still there, she didn't trust herself to remove it).
She pushed a feeling of insecurity at them, through that tentative thread connecting them, and their response was immediate. Pushing themselves away from her, they turned away from her, growling lowly and staring into the dark. She had the hysterical thought that they were guarding her. She laughed, exhaustion overcoming her, and without a thought, she sent thanks to them, and closed her eyes.
She wouldn't have been able to go on anyway. So if they ate her, well. That was that.
But she woke, and they were not eating her alive. One, in fact, was laying next to her, warming her with its gel-like body, as the other paced the edge of their little hollow. She gave a stretch and took out a bite of jerky for herself and one each for her new pets. She held them out, and as if they had been raised from birth by her, they ate from her hand. She was awed by how gently they took the jerky.
"Nie Ruyi!" An unfamiliar voice called into the silence of the caves, echoing and loud. She flinched, but then recognized her own name in the echoes, and stood, shakily. One of the beasts pushed against her side to help her get upright, and she leaned against it as she walked.
"Here! I'm here!" She called, limping towards the voice. They kept calling for her, and she realized it was Lao Xiaojun just before he reached her. To her new sense, he felt like a boulder, thick and dense. As soon as he was in sight, she laughed, which turned into a choked sob as she fell into his hold. The tears came harder at the fresh jolt of pain through her peirced arm.
One of her beasts let out a yelp of alarm, and she straightened like a shot, watching him try to skewer one of them with his sword. "No!" She cried, too loud and echoing in the cave. "They're mine! They're my friends! Stop!"
"Friends?" His voice was laced with confusion. But, he didn't attack them again. "Fine. I need to get you out of here. Come with me."
He didn't give her a choice, locking one arm behind her back and the other under her legs, lifting her into a princess carry that would have had her blushing before she came into this cave. But now, she just wanted to be warm again. He had been careful to put the uninjured arm against his chest, which meant she could cradle her injury properly, blackened fingers curled against her breast.
His steps were sure and fast and she was pretty sure he was bouncing off of the stalagmites to hurry them along. She closed her eyes, focusing on the sounds instead. Her eyes were so heavy, and she was so tired. She could hear the click-slllsss of her slime-puppies, so she knew they were following without having to dive into that heaviness, to feel for the connections they had.
When she felt the freezing gale of open sky above her, she slit open her eyes, trying to adjust them to the sheer brightness of the world outside. Even shaded by the trees as they were, it was still far brighter than it had been in the caves. "Where-" She croaked.
"...Liang Lanlan is missing. I was unable to locate any sign of her within the caves." Lao Xiaojun answered the unfinished question, even as he threw his sword down, stepping up onto it. His voice rumbled through her skull like drums. "I'll be returning you to the sect, and then returning to search for her again."
She must have lost consciousness because the next thing she remembered was opening her eyes to the bleary sight of mountains and trees beneath them. She closed her eyes, and then when she opened them, it was too loud to sleep well. Voices crowded all around her, and someone jostled her in Lao Xiaojun's arms, shaking a pained cry from her.
"Over here. Set her down here." A strong voice called, and it seemed a little familiar, but her mind skittered away from a name.
"A-Jun, did you see any signs of-" A very familiar voice, Lao Minghui, was asking her brother something, but someone else's voice was closer and she lost the sound of hers.
"Nie-shijie... Nie-shijie, can you hear me?" Tearful and croaking like her own, she still recognized the voice of Song Fengling and wondered what they were thinking, letting a kid in an emergency room.
"What?!" The raised, growling timbre of Lao Xiaojun's voice cut through the noise going on around her, and she opened her eyes (so heavy), to look for him. "She was here? How long!?"
"She arrived back the same day you three left. Did you really not see her leave?" Lao Minghui questioned, confusion making Nie Ruyi whine with fear.
"Shhh, shh, it's alright." That first voice cooed to her, before turning harsh and angry, "If you all are going to upset my patient you can LEAVE."
She saw flurries of colorful flowers flowing around her, and then they were gone, leaving just the little face of Song Fengling looking at her with watery dark eyes. She forced herself to smile for him, "It's oka-" she tried to manage, only for the words to turn into a shriek.
Someone in a white set of robes, someone she felt like she'd seen before, ripped the quill from her arm. Part of her realized she had missed entirely the part where the would-be-medic had removed the tourniquets she'd tied. Pain swarmed through her arm and up her shoulder and into her neck and chest. She couldn't help it, little punched out sobs and squeals of pain were leaking from her.
A hand, warm and large, slipped into her good hand, and she squeezed it tight, against the pain. She turned her head to face that side, leaving Song Fengling looking at the back of her head. She was surprised to see Lao Xiaojun on his knees next to her, her hand in his. His face was scrunched like he was suffering the same pain she was, and she knew he wasn't because she wasn't strong enough to squeeze that hard.
The unfamiliar voice was back. "Keep her awake. I can't have her soul slip away while I repair the damage left behind. Song-shidi, make yourself useful. There is a jar labeled "Silver Needle Nettle" in the cabinet there. Get it, and brew a tea with what is inside. it must be a deep, deep brown, so add a full fistful of leaves, do not skimp."
Something was pushed into the wound and her shoulder was twisted, ripping another scream from her throat. More of that something was pushed in, even as Nie Ruyi tried to pull her hand from Lao Xiaojun's grasp to push the doctor away. She was mumbling nonsense pleas, panting desperately.
"The tea." Song Fengling's voice called her attention, and Nie Ruyi's head rolled to look at him again. "It's done."
"Good, now, get her to drink as much as she can. Lao-shixiong, if you could lift her up to sitting so she doesn't choke." The medic's voice was so calm, it actually felt like something she could hold on to. She was being taken care of, now. It knocked something loose in her chest, and she sobbed softly.
Between Lao Xiaojun and Song Fengling, she drank the disgusting, bitter concoction down, only choking once or twice. As she did, her head swirled, but the pain... it seemed to almost instantly ease, and she sobbed in thankfulness. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She repeated, tiny helpless noises leaving along with the praise.
"What were you thinking, leaving a tourniquet on this long?!" The medic griped, and Nie Ruyi had the presence of mind to reply.
"Wasn't sure... how long it had to stay. Didn't want to die of bloodloss."
"...We are going to have a very serious talk when you are capable of cognition again." The medic mumbled. "Song-shidi, go get me the bandages from that shelf, and the jar labelled 'Blood Fern Leaves'."
"What are you doing?" Nie Ruyi asked, leaning heavily against Lao Xiaojun, who still hasn't set her down. His chest was firm against her back, and she felt the warmth off of him like it was a furnace.
"The Blood Fern leaves will melt into your own flesh inside the wound, helping to repair the missing and damaged flesh. We'll bandage it after rubbing some of this 'Sun and Dew moonflower ointment' on your limb. That should heal the dead flesh and hopefully bring it back to life."
"Oh." Nie Ruyi answered, overwhelmed by the information. "Could... you write all this down for me, so I can read it later?" She asked, hoping that she'll understand it later.
"...Maybe." The medic mumbled, and then came the unfortunate and strange sensation of something being shoved beneath her skin. Nie Ruyi watched as the medic (He Qina, a little memory supplied for her) packed the open hole in her arm with little herbs that looked like plump rosemary leaves. It felt strange, ticklish and not unlike the sensation one gets stuffing a pillow into a pillowcase.
Then, He Qina took a scoop of some strange golden-colored ointment and started smearing it all over Nie Ruyi's arm. Everywhere the ointment touched an uncomfortable almost-stinging took up, and she yelped, "H-hey-hey! Is it supposed to-"
"Sting? Yes. It's literally bringing your dead flesh back to life. That's going to sting a little. Endure. The tea will help." The medic rubbed it up and down her arm, and feeling anything in her fingertips was an awful sort of relief, even if it hurt now. Once that was done, bandages were wound from her shoulder down over the leaf-packed wound, and all the way down her arm.
Another cloth was used to bind that to her belly and shoulder, so she couldn't move the arm at all. "How... am I going to bathe?" Nie Ruyi had no idea why that came to mind, but she did know it would make it difficult.
"You won't. Not until I say you can. Now, Nie-shimei, if you could drink this." He Qina offered her a smaller vial, this time. This one had a viscous green fluid inside. Nie Ruyi swallowed it, and the moment it hit the back of her tongue, it seared down into her belly like alcohol. And then, she knew nothing.
Nie Ruyi blinked into wakefulness sometime later, strange fever dreams haunting her even in her waking moments. Snippets of fleeing, terrified, through tunnels filled with sand interspersed with scenes of people talking, their mouths hidden by their hands but their whispers too loud.
Above her was the fabric canopy of the huge bed she'd been given when she first got to this strange world. The mattress beneath her was cozy and warm, which told her someone had lit the kang beneath it. She tried to twist, to roll over onto her side. A soft twinge of pain went through her, shoving a whimper out of her throat and into the frigid morning air. The shuffle of fabric drew her eyes to someone standing next to her bed, reaching out to help her.
The heat coming off their hands made her look up, and Lao Xiaojun peered back at her, even as he helped her sit up, bundling the quilts around her hips, to ward off the cold. He took a robe from the back of the chair, and slipped it around her shoulders, and she was grateful for the ward from the cold. He sat back down with little fanfare, letting Nie Ruyi look around the room. Song Fengling was there as well, sitting at a table, with paper spread out in front of him, ink brush in hand.
"How... How long was I asleep?" She asked, her throat aching and her voice gravelly. As if realizing she might need a drink, Lao Xiaojun stood and went to the table. Picking up the teapot in front of Song Fengling, he poured a cup and brought it back to her. She sipped the luke-warm tea gratefully, before setting the cup gently in her lap, holding it still.
"You've been asleep for close to six hours. It is now early evening. The Evening Meal has already taken place, but Song-Shidi has saved you some food." He gestured to the table, but she couldn't see the food. Probably hidden behind his bulk. "How do you feel?"
"...Like I got run over by a truck." Before he could ask what a truck was, she sighed, "Thank you, for finding me in there. I... I can't believe I fell for that..."
"Then, she did trick you?" He asked, "How?"
"...She said that I was supposed to sit down and meditate and it'd help my cultivation. That she was going to go hunting while I did so. And then she just... walked away." She snorted, realizing how stupid she'd been. "I never should have followed her down there. Clearly, she was trying to haze me."
"...haze?"
"Trick. She clearly wanted to show me who was boss." Nie Ruyi rubbed at the bandages on her upper arm. Oddly, the entire area felt numb. She tried to move her fingers on that hand, only to find that it wasn't possible. "...Am I never going to be able to use this arm again?" She asked, fear bubbling up.
"You will. It is only numbed for now. He-shimei said that moving it right now would cause irreparable nerve damage. So she has temporarily frozen the limb." Lao Xiaojun explained.
"Oh. Thank goodness." She sighed, leaning her head back against the wooden wall of the bed. "I must have scared you. I'm sorry."
The thick brows on Lao Xiaojun's face twitched lower, and his mouth set into a stubborn frown. "You have nothing to apologize for. It was my duty to guard you from harm, and I failed in that duty. I should be the one apologizing."
"You couldn't have known she'd do something like that. Whereas, I should have been on the lookout for this kind of childish gambit." Nie Ruyi sighed, running a hand through her loose hair. "How are my puppies?"
"The... creatures you brought wi-" A crash interrupted Lao Xiaojun's report, drawing the attention of all three of the people in the room. Well, four now, as Cai Bingtian fell through the window frame and to the floor, scrolls scattering from his arms onto the floor.
"Ouch..." He mumbled, rubbing his shoulder as he sat up.
"Ah!" Song Fengling cried, jumping up from his seat and over towards the older disciple. "Are you insane?! Why would you sneak through the window into a lady's room!"
"Ara, ara, calm down..." Cai Bingtian groaned, and Nie Ruyi couldn't help snorting out a laugh as he picked himself up and began picking up the scrolls. "I just thought Nie-shimei could use some reading material! I was on this side of the building anyway, and didn't want to go all the way around to go through the door. So, here we are!"
He stood, then, shoulders squared and scrolls thrust out in Nie Ruyi's direction. "I brought Nie-shimei some of the best novels I've read so far. And a few basic cultivation scrolls too." His footsteps echoed as they brought him to stand at the still-sitting Lao Xiaojun's shoulder. He gently laid the scrolls and manuscripts down on the blanket next to where Nie Ruyi was sitting.
"Thank you, Cai-shixiong." She supplied, picking one of the manuscripts up. Flowers of a Broken King, huh. It sounded like the title of a torrid harem romance. Well, she'd give it a shot. "I don't suppose you'd know why your old friend would dump me in a frozen cave filled with monsters, would you?"
Cai Bingtian looked as if she'd just punched him in the gut. "I-"
"Please don't worry. I'm not blaming you. I just hoped to get an idea of her motive." Nie Ruyi corrected. She didn't want Cai Bingtian to become an enemy, after all.
"...I... It's probably my fault." He admitted, "She's always been jealous of other girls who I show attention to. This isn't the first time she's played a trick on my friends. But it... it is the first time that trick hurt someone. I'm so sorry."
"You-!" Lao Xiaojun surprised all of them by growling out the word and snatching at the shoulder of Cai Bingtian's robes. He jerked the man upright, and Nie Ruyi had the momentary thought that she should get up and stop them. "You knew she might do this?!"
"I wasn't sure! I tried to mitigate it. I was very careful!" Cai Bingtian's face didn't look afraid... it looked sad, and a little confused. "I don't think she realized how... well, weak, Nie-shimei was."
"I told her." Song Fengling growled, over the din of the two bigger men. "I told her that Nie-shijie wasn't able to cultivate yet. I told her that it would be a waste of time. She said she'd bring an item to make it useful. Did she even give you an item, Nie-shijie?"
Nie Ruyi startled, having the attention on her suddenly. "...She gave me a robe? And... and a qiankun pouch with food and water. But... that was it."
"See! She knew what she was doing!" Song Fengling cried, and Nie Ruyi felt a stab of sympathy in her heart. Poor thing must have been terrified for her.
She reached out a hand to the teen, who rushed forward to take it. She used it to draw him onto the bed, and let him lean against her side. "It's okay. I survived, that's... that's all that matters. Plus, I have new pets." She smiled down at him, "Isn't that cool?"
"Those Sedimentary Sludge Hounds you brought back have been hiding in the top of your canopy since you went to sleep." Lao Xiaojun explained, pointing up to where there were, in fact, slimy blobs clinging to the top of the covered bed.
"Oh! How sweet." She smiled up at them, and felt along the edges of the bond they shared. All she felt was contentment. Good. "Has someone been feeding them?"
"I did." Song Fengling said, "I bring them bits of meat every hour."
"Such a kind boy." She couldn't help tugging him tighter against her in a hug. "They're very happy about that, I can tell."
"How?" Cai Bingtian chirped, oddly excited about this. Nie Ruyi raised an eyebrow in his direction, but his enthusiasm wasn't to be curbed, it seemed.
"Well... through the bond, I suppose." She answered, which led to more questions.
"What bond?" Song Fengling asked, a faint disgust lingering on his features. Admittedly, if she couldn't feel their feelings, she was sure she'd find the slime puppies to be a bit... disturbing as well.
"While I was in the cave, I found that if I focused, as you taught me," here, she paused to poke Song Fengling on the nose. The teen scrunched it up cutely and she chuckled, "I could feel where they were. It made it much easier to dodge them and hide. Once, while I was doing that, I went a little too far, and a connection formed. It's quite interesting, actually."
"...You mean, you connected to their cores?" Cai Bingtian asked, eyes round. There was a matching frown on Lao Xioajun's face as well. When she realized all three of the men in her room were staring at her like she was a second from shattering like glass, she frowned too.
"Is that a problem?" She asked, hoping it wasn't.
"But that's..." Song Fengling started.
"Impossible." Lao Xiaojun finished, grabbing her wrist from where it sat in her lap. This pushed her a little harder into Song Fengling's shoulder, but the boy was built like a brickhouse, so he withstood it well.
"In theory, though, it can be done." Cai Bingtian murmured, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. "I read a treatise by Wei Long that mentioned something similar."
"Wei Long is a hack." Lao Xiaojun muttered under his breath, which set her to a gigglesnort, and Song Fengling to grinning.
"Yes well, even hacks can be useful sometimes." Cai Bingtian retorted, before continuing. "He suggested that the Golden Cores of cultivators were in fact, a sort of Beast Core, specialized to humankind. If that were the case, then... well, like Cultivation Partners, or mated pairs of beasts, we'd be able to form connections between our cores, and those of a Beast."
"...Wait. Am I married to them now?" That was a disturbing thought, and Nie Ruyi wasn't sure she was happy with having it.
"What?!" All three men reeled back, disgusted by what she'd said, and Nie Ruyi flinched, confused.
"No." Song Fengling declared, leaning forward to comfort her immediately. "Not at all. Nie-shijie is just as single as she was before."
Thanks, kid, Nie Ruyi couldn't help but think sarcastically.
"There are... threads." Lao Xiaojun said, drawing their attention back to where his fingertips touched her pulse. "Two stable connections. I assume to the creatures in the canopy."
"Yes." Nie Ruyi agreed, "I'll have to come up with names for them... But... is it a bad thing?"
"They... seem to be strengthening your qi, actually." Lao Xiaojun's frown was growing deeper. Behind him, she could see Cai Bingtian pulling a brush and papers from nowhere (probably a qiankun pouch, hidden somewhere) and begin writing. Probably taking notes on the situation, if she'd judged his character right.
"So... I'm getting stronger because they're helping me?" She clarified, trying to parse what was happening. As if to answer the question, a great wet plop resounded as Nie Ruyi got a lap full of slime. The heavy wet thud of it forced a little wheeze out of her lungs, but it quickly reformed itself into a too-large dog laying on her lap.
"What was that for, you big goober?" Nie Ruyi huffed, but she wasted no time in petting the (softer now, almost jello-ish) spines flat against its head and back. "Did you want pets for helping me, hm? Ah, hey, that'd be a good name for you. Goober." She smiled, feeling something click into place.
At the same time Lao Xiaojun, who was still monitoring her qi, jolted. "What did you just do? Something... changed with the thread."
"Oh? I named Goober. I think it... Well, it feels a little more solid, our connection now."
"So... naming them solidifies the bond." Cai Bingtian commented absently, still rotating. "How about her core? Any formation?"
"Yes, actually. Her meridians are roughly mid-level qi condensation stage."
"That's impossible!" Song Fengling interrupted Lao Bingtian, which earned him a glare. "She wasn't even able to open her meridians before she left!"
"Well, it's happened." Lao Xiaojun groused. "And without the muck that usually accompanies opening Meridians, too."
Nie Ruyi had a momentary flashback to waking up covered in icky black tar that smelt absolutely foul. She'd washed that off very quickly in the freezing lake water. But she wasn't about to mention that to these boys.
Cai Bingtian squeezed his way in beside Lao Xiaojun, shouldering the younger man out of the way a little bit. He took Nie Ruyi's wrist from Lao Xiaojun too, which had the Sect Leader's brother scowling at him.
"Name the other one. I want to see what sort of spike your qi gets with each naming." Cai Bingtian was clearly of a scientific mind, measuring and guessing.
She called down the second puppy, then, which landed heavily like its sibling. She petted it until it resumed a solid-ish shape. "Hmmm... what shall I name you? ...Izzy. I think. It goes well with Goober." She chuckled when this got a round of twin chatterings. She felt the second thread solidify, and watched Cai Bingtian's eyes get wider.
"Huh. That's... quite a reaction." He murmured.
"It's nice to see I'm not the only one in awe." She said. "This might be worth talking to the Sect Leader about. Although... not right now. I feel like death warmed over."
At the odd look she got, she groaned, leaning back under the weight of her slime puppies. Even Song Fengling got pushed away a little bit to make room for her. "Let me rest. I'm not going anywhere."
