Chapter 3: Chapter 3

The qi folded and swirled like a rippling tide melding with the shadows around it. For a moment Qiaolian found she could only watch the plate as its qi inscription flowed about her dim hovel. A sense of caution forced her hand to move, clutching a pestel as if it were some great and terrible weapon. Yet as time weaned past Qiaolian was shocked by the surmounting nothing that occurred. Whispers, shadowy yaoguai, savage spirits all these and more were said to be linked to cursed arts, drawn like moths to a flame but within the silence of the late hours, nothing dared to stir. Qiaolian braced for a moment, nudging the dark jade waiting for its unspeakable evil to be unleashed yet no such thing came. The plates that remained sat quietly off to the side, shattered and now holding a new air of dark mystique.

 

‘Do all of these hold dark arts, at least half of them right'

 

Curiosity piqued Qiaolian resumed her task with a renewed vigor as each piece fell into place. Slowly each piece blackened and in the end what remained were three dark plates that bled the midnight sky.

 

Qiaolian gingerly passed the few plates around their qi inscriptions etched deep into the abyssal form and for but a moment she held the plate close.

 

‘I'll have to turn these into the great lord so they can be sent to the cursed vault, I won't even get a chance to read them I-’

 

Suddenly Qaolian froze as an idea wormed into her mind. The notion wasn't exceptional as she wondered about reading the plates yet a twinge of fear kept her heart unsteady. Qiaolian carefully let the plate back onto her table leaving it to stare in anticipation. The risk was considerable; some curses only needed to be seen to take hold yet the mysterious root had grown too deep to be removed.

 

Thus with tentative hands, Qiaolian traced her finger across the plate releasing all that was stored within. Its writing was hasty and crude yet Qiaolian read with ravenous haste as the text revealed itself to be a profane guide of gore. Its words detailing the cunning practice of stripping skin from flesh and flesh from bone. Its words warped the notion of slaughter into sacrament with Qiaolian reading in close fascination.

 

The text was engrossing in its design scrawled with wood grain intricacy though as the text finally ended Qiaolian jumped for a moment. A glance about her space reminded her she was alone but as she looked back to the jade plate a feeling far too familiar seemed to roil to the surface.

 

A mix of confusion and mirth was etched on her face as deafening silence overtook her. ‘Was that it? Was that all there was to cursed arts, mutilation, and madness... that's all it took?’

 

Qiaolian was tempted to laugh at the absurdity before her as her fears fell to the wayside. Little consideration carried her hands as she reached for the next plate bemused curiosity fresh on her mind. The plate recounted similar strokes of demented vigor as speaks of power and prosperity layered the piece until a pattern emerged. Its presence snatched Qioalians attention as the words became lucid and meticulous. Qioalian watched as the process came to fruition culminating in a mysterious substance called gu.

 

Qiaolian read fervently as gu appeared more and more its toxic nature reacting to qi birthing malignant plagues and turning disciples into puppets. Its strength, its versatility, its use was undeniable. It was only the creak of her table that broke her focus revealing her huddled composure, immediately Qiaolian adjusted herself her keen eye dispelling the haze of eager intrigue but the visage was quick to return as the words on the page sunk through her heart.

 

“It may be possible that if neutralized before it fully takes effect the gu poisons, reactive nature may increase one's overall capacity for qi”.

 

For but a moment Qiaolian watched her diminutive quarters blur before her very eyes as tears threatened to slide down her cheek.

 

‘Finally, no more shack, no tending to wounds, and Cai’

 

A weak smile graced Qiaolian’s face and with that, she found the remaining plates couldn't be farther from her mind. Time ebbed away as night became day yet the joy of her revelation remained ever set. Once more the medicine hall was empty as the Qiaolian cleaned what little had been disturbed until they appeared. Their creeping legs snaked along the cracks of the aging wall while their crunchy carapace quietly clicked in time with their mandibles. Hundreds of limbs skittering back and forth and yet Qiaolian knew they would never be fast enough. Carefully she collected her jar, its crystalline glass sliding from her pouch, and before recognition grace their compound eyes the centipedes lay trapped. Scrambling, their legs and bodies twisted together in a dance of feral panic yet as the seal fell over their salvation Qiaolian grinned at her newest ingredients. The work was slow and careful but as joy graced her a voice chimed from behind.

 

“Wow I didn't know you had a fondness for pests but who else would be attracted to a meager arcanist”

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Biting back a bitter sigh, Qiaolian slipped the jar back into its pouch before facing the gaggle of hostesses filling her door. Dai Qi stood poised with a cruel sneer lining her cheeks “guess you're preparing for your future cleaning the imperial palace but before that, we'll need some more reed oil for our ailing feet”.

 

Qiaolian slumped as she watched the hostesses feign fatigue though her eyes were keen to spot the awkward stances each of them took. As insufferable as they were her position called for action.

 

“I'll lay out the cots and we can begin the treatment, now how which part of your feet seem to be -

 

“Aha, sorry we won't be laying on those filthy things they're probably filled with you little pests.” dai qi mused. Light steps carried her forth to tower over Qiaolins form “now the oil if you'd please I wouldn't want to waste any more of your precious time cleaning”

 

Biting her inner cheek, Qiaolian felt her heart quicken as blood crashed through her veins like a rolling river. She could sense her qi racing through her form yet just as it formed it ebbed away. Fading from her blood ever so carefully that even her annoyance faded into reluctance. Though as she sorted through vials and jars a loud shriek rose behind her as dai qi’s soft features formed a mask of terror.

 

Along her arm crawled a creature its arachnid form bulbous and fat while pallid legs crept along her form. Twilight eyes and vicious fangs traced along Dai Qi's flesh leaving her to flail in a panic.

 

“Don't move” Qiaolian screamed, immediately the room froze as the arachnid continued to pace about dai qi’s arm.

 

“That's a moon dancer, a yaoguai. Its venom could ruin your arm forever.”

 

“How do you know that” one of the hostesses chimed

 

Biting her tongue Qiaolain kept her eyes locked on the massive arachnid ‘Cause I read some cursed arts’

 

“Who cares, just get it off,” dai qi screamed.

 

“Okay, okay” Qiaolian shouted. Snatching a broom from the ground, Qiaolian gingerly held the wooden beam out to the creature. Easing like thread through a needle the handle slid below the dancer's swollen thorax. Qiaolian shook as she began to lift the handle immediately feeling the grand weight of the creature before her.

 

“Kiriik” the dancer turned with an almost curious gaze forcing Qiaolian to pause for a moment. Its abyssal eyes seemed to consider her for a moment, its fangs curling close with Qiaolian’s inquisitive gaze. For a moment Qiaolian felt at ease ‘where did you even come from?’ as the question laid on her mind the dancer flew from its resting spot speeding toward Qiaolians face.

 

“Ahhh!” With a deft swipe, the broom's bristles came from behind launching the arachnid into the side wall. As a fresh new hole sat minted in the wall the hostesses seemed to flee with dai qi following close behind.

 

With the room quieted once more, Qiaolian stumbled to the now porous wall spying for signs of the dancer's return yet all she found was a small metal piece keen and sharp in its construction. Though before confusion could set in her eyes locked on an infantile toad, and thus she grabbed her jar ready to capture a new ingredient.

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