Serpent's Eyes 4

The rest of her first day in Zhenjian had passed dreamlike, sailing upon lake Hei’s calm surface, fishing with her new family, she spoke more with her Aunt than she had in the last five years combined. She childishly accepted her new Father’s efforts to let her win their contest, she luxuriated in the solid humid heat of her home, instead of the dry and icy air she had grown acclimated too.

And the return to the citadel was no less dreamlike in its way. The good cheer of the day falling away for the solemnity of the adoption ceremony, both the public -pledges and oaths and the silent private ceremony where her aunt-mother had taken her down into the depths of the clan vaults, to the shadowed and cavernous chamber of whispering voices and hissing echoes of their ancestors, where countless tablets carved into pure white rock held the names of all of their kin, going back to Yao and the White Serpent herself.

Though that tablet, naturally lay in a forbidding and unapproachable shrine which her mind's eye could not even recall.

But she had no mind for great relics that night, only the careful transference of her name on their own families tablet. Going back five generations, and holding enough room for at least three more. It made her heart ache to see the glow leave the characters of her own name, below the darkened line of her mothers as Bai Suzhen carefully carved it anew beneath hers.

But she knew in her heart that their joined prayers reached her Mother’s spirit and they had her approval.

…As if the Bai would ever cut one of their own from the rolls which mattered,  for a mere palace intrigue.

All those memories of the day before flashed by in her head as she set her hand against the thin and light door to the feast hall, where her peers waited. With it came the torrent of youthful memories. Anxiety and isolation, the child she had been wanted to curl up in terror.

The woman she had become merely smiled and swept inside with light steps, trailed a step behind by her loyal shadow.

She was met by a staid sea of white and black, and the sound of trickling waters. The walls of the hall were sheathed in glittering waters, falling into the broad grates that circled the room, which flowed along the through intricate piping to return to the openings near the ceiling and fall again. Pale, soft white fronds grew from pots of soil around the bases of the rooms supporting columns carved in the likeness of rising winding serpents whose gemstone eyes gazed balefully down on the floor below. A floor filled by stone tables laden with light refreshments.

But it was all distant compared to the clashing pressure of aura, domain and ego which filled every inch of hall from floor to ceiling.

She looked upon the gathered white serpents of her generation, and did not allow her own gaze to waver as she felt a dozen sets of eyes studying her, the prickling sensation of attention, the pressure of domain’s and the subtle pressures of perception arts.

All within the bounds of politeness of course.

“Announcing Bai Meizhen, daughter of Clan Heiress Bai Suzhen,” the cold voice of the attendant rang out over the whispers and soft conversation. The door attendant was a young white Bai man, though older by some years and a realm than the guests here.

It was not the most prestigious duty, but it paid to have one with the actual authority to break up any excessive squabbles on hand. She felt more pity for the gray caste servants moving refreshments and trays scurrying too and fro from the kitchens.

She lowered her head fractionally in thanks and strolled in, sharing murmured greetings with those she passed, taking their measure as she took theirs. There was a range of some five years here, with her own age placing her dead in the middle. Most were third realm with only a scattering few of the youngest lingering on at the peak of the second realm.

She wondered idly how many of those had been included in this more as punishment than anything else. Of the guests, she was the only one of her age who had their Xiao, it was the year beyond hers where they were typically assigned.

“Bai Meizhen, sister, it is good to see you back in the lakes, you do truly have a talent for finding fortune among muck, don’t you?”

“One who refuses to dirty their hands will find few accomplishments, Bai Shifeng,” she said easily, turning to see the first of her peers.”I see you have been diligent in remaining on the expected path.”

Bai Shifeng was a woman a few centimeters taller than her, with her hair bound up in elaborate braids. Her face was narrow even for a Bai. She was, as Bai Meizhen recalled, the granddaughter of the Minister of Spiritual Affairs, and a friend of another from her youth she remembered quite clearly.

“There is nothing shameful in properly following the path of our ancestors,” Bai Shifeng replied mildly. Her eyes flashed in reproach for the underlying insult. Bai Shifeng did not have the least cultivation progress in their year, but she was now firmly behind, firmly… average. “But I suppose I must congratulate you, no matter how lacking your manners have become.”

“Oh, my deepest apologies sister,” Bai Meizhen replied insincerely. “And I thank you for your congratulations. The blood of the Sun is bitter, but eminently satisfying.”

She saw the flicker of dislike, umbrage…. And grudging respect flickers through her cousin's mind. 

“Fortune among the muck indeed. I suppose I do regret being held back from the Sect’s. I might have enjoyed the taste as well,” Bai Shifeng replied.

If she could do it, so could they? She supposed that was a fair rationalization. They were enemies still. As much from childhood escapades as the alignment of their mothers.

“No, I do not think you would have,” Bai Meizhen replied softly.

Shifeng would have been isolated, lashing out with envenomed pride. The Sun witch would have circled and pinned her in ignominy like a hunting mongoose.

“As you wish to tell yourself, I see your time away has gone to your head,” Bai Shifeng replied, a hint of a sneer on her lips.

She took half a step forward, as she used to in their younger days. She had been the stronger of them then. Most likely it was simply habit.

Silk whispered, Bai Shifeng stilled. Xiao Fen, who nearly matched her alone, had slid a step closer. And Bai Meizhen herself let slip a focused pulse of her domain, resonating off her viper.

“How rude sister. It seems I am not the only one who has forgotten their manners,” she said lightly as the girl froze in place. “It’s overly familiar to step so close.”

She shook her head and her qi was gone, she tilted her head to step past her recovering cousin.

One slap across the face delivered. It was a rude thing, not uncouth, but a little arrogant, for her to respond this way.

But no one would respect the daughter of Bai Suzhen if she was not a little arrogant. And she was not making any enemies she did not already have. Her Mother fully intended to lever Bai Shifeng’s out of her position in the coming decade after all.

She ignored the look of outrage thrown at her back, and the looks of seniors and juniors alike. At the sixth step of the green realm, she was amongst the most advanced here, only a scattering of those in the two older years were at their seventh and eighth step, and a handful more who matched her.

Raw cultivation was not everything, but it did have a certain direct and undeniable weight.

She traded polite smiles and greetings with a few of her more distant cousins. Conversational skirmishes with only light feints and parries testing each other's limits and intent for now as she made her way across the hall, in search of her first objective.

She had been given a few names by her Aunt, points of interest. What she saw as she approached this one did not leave her feeling too put upon for the fulfillment of her duties.

Two younger girls and one boy froze under her mild glare as she stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the gardens where the three of them had been half hidden. “The air is more crisp and fresh here amongst the flowers, but you do not appear to be appreciating the art of our gardeners,” Bai Meizhen said.

Not one of them was past the initial stage of green.

“We apologize for interrupting senior sisters' viewing,” spoke one of the girls tentatively. She knew the name of course, but it was not too relevant. Slight relation to her aunt’s enemies but not within her targets. No, only relevant because of the other figure behind them.

“I forgive it. You may go.” Bai Meizhen said flippantly.

They bowed, murmuring further apologies. They began to-well- not flee but swiftly vacate her presence, heading back inside.

“Not you,” Bai Meizhen said standing at the rail of the balcony. The fourth figure froze. He was small, even for a Bai man, only barely her own height. His hair tied back in a loose ponytail, and his seafoam green accented robes looking rather rumbled. Streaked with dirt. There was a twig in his hair.

The other’s paused only to scurry off under Xiao Fen’s baleful glare.

“You should take a moment to clean yourself up, Bai Zixin,” she said mildly.

The thin young man looked at her warily. It was a familiar expression. One she had worn in her youth. He was only a little older than she had been on entering the Sect, among the youngest here, he wasn’t yet third realm, only sitting at the peak of second.

“I apologize deeply for showing Senior Sister such a shameful face,” he said, bowing stiffly, a bit too quick and jerky.

“I am unbothered,” Bai Meizhen. “I see you are building a solid foundation indeed.”

He was the child of a sub minister of commerce in the north, one aligned with her mother's ideals. Bai Suzhen wished to elevate the father. It was only natural for her to give some shade to the son.

And she did need to build her own support.

“Thank you very much Bai Meizhen, this junior is glad to be recognized.” He was suspicious. That was good, she didn’t need a sycophant.

“It is obvious to anyone with eyes to see,” Bai Meizhen replied with a shrug. She could feel the medicinal energies in his meridians and dantian as well as… The traces of toxins on his skin and hair...

“The Nine Venom’s Entombment cultivation art? A rare selection. I considered it, but my interest in alchemy is only a hobby, and at the Sect I could not guarantee supplies,” she said.”Yes, I understand why you need to take your time.”

“Senior Sister is wise,” Bai Zixin said. Whatever he was thinking he had smoothed his robes out and plucked the leaves from his hair, dabbing now at the stains on his skin and robes with a cloth. “It is a complex art to practice but I feel this gives it many benefits.”

She inclined her head without speaking. “I have grown used to a certain amount of diligence in my time away. A trait my Mother values as well, if you would like, I will allow you to walk with me today. I have been away for so long, I am afraid I have a limited number of acquaintances these days.”

She saw his calculation, the way his eyes darted inside, flicking among the attendees. He understood the offer, the costs and its benefits.The implication that most of their cousins were lacking in said diligence.

“This junior would be pleased to accompany Senior Sister, if she believes I might be of interest,” he said slowly.

“Announcing Bai Nuying, daughter of General Bai Zhilan.”

Her head rose and her eyes narrowed. Oh? How like her favorite cousin to be fashionably late.