The Essence Herb garden was on the other side of the compound from Dàilán's quarters. There was not any particular hurry so she finally had time to walk leisurely and think about the herbs she was holding.
That old man had been interesting. She wondered if he did that sort of thing to every customer or he had singled them out for some reason. Despite his claims of being retired she was fairly sure he was actually a powerful cultivator - after all, there were a lot of people out there who would not hesitate to rob an old peddler if it suited them.
That explained his caution, she supposed. But you could not survive in that line of work long without some skills. Chén'er also seemed unnerved by his knowing something about her training so the Heiress guessed that anyone trying to bully him would receive a tight face slap.
She was already looking forward to seeing what he brought back in eighteen days. More importantly, the thought of there being a possible Relic site only a few days away really excited her. Hujian was the closest large city to the wilderness of Fusou, which was why Clan Guan and the other Clans in the city were only considered low to mid rank - nothing like the Imperial City Clans or even the Clans in the major cities.
Still, in the provinces there was always more opportunities for growth and personally she preferred being out here where there was a possibility of travelling Jianghu - unlike her cousin's lines who seemed to always be focused on rising in status towards the heart of the Lotus Empire.
She wondered if she could convince her Father to let her go on a week's training trip to the place the old peddler had mentioned. She would need to plan out the route and the expedition requirements to show Father it was worthwhile before she made such a request - he would be more inclined to grant it if she framed it as a request to try and gain experience to help her break through her current cultivation bottleneck - as well as being sensible about it.
She would have to go to the library and try and find a map of the area…
Immersed in her planning, Dàilán was rudely shaken out of her thoughts as she collided with someone. Even as she issued a startled cry, her training with Chén'er took over and converted her tumble into a roll, landing her in a defensive crouch a few paces behind her previous position, her hand going to the knife she kept strapped to her leg under her dress.
"Ah, sorry!" Her conscious mind caught up with her reactions - realising that she had collided with her Second Cousin who was just entering into the corridor from the garden area, but was now performing an elaborate dance to catch a number of falling pots full of plants that had evidently been sent flying with their impact.
Dàilán darted forward and just managed to catch the last four pots that were flying out towards her before they hit the ground.
"Phew… close! I apologise, Cousin," she said hastily, awkwardly bowing with her arms full of pots.
"At least you caught them, Cousin. It is not like you to be so absent minded - you should watch where you are going," replied her cousin with ill-grace, her rounded face flushed with irritation. "I would be very annoyed if any of these got smashed. I just spent the last Shi potting these Essence plants for my courtyard. What are you doing here, anyway? I never see you doing anything as womanly as gardening…"
Dàilán blushed. As her Father's only child he treated her more like a son than a daughter, which was both a gift and a problem for her as it meant that she had a lot more freedom than her Cousins, but got resented by her Cousins for it. Never mind that she basically had to do double duty in learning to be able to perform both sets of roles well.
"I was going to plant these Essence Herbs I bought… actually." Dàilán paused and handed the pots back to the older girl. "Ying Yue? If you have a moment, we need to talk - and you could show me the best way to plant these," she pulled the bag containing her herbs of her belt to show it to her, "you are correct in saying I do not get much practice."
From the stubborn expression on her face with cheeks puffed out it looked like Yue was planning to refuse until her eyes fell on the bag and the irritation faded to be replaced with interest. "That is a high end preservation bag… where did you get that?"
"There was this… old Cultivator. He sold me these very unusual Essence herbs - he put them the bag to help keep them fresh, he said."
Her Cousin's eyebrows rose and she gracefully set all the pots on the shelves that were set just inside the entrance for exactly this purpose, holding out her hands with interest clear in her eyes. "Unusual? Give me the bag, please?"
Dàilán blinked hesitantly. "I…"
Yue rolled her eyes. "I like plants. I would not damage them to spite you."
Dàilán's eyes widened and she nodded, handing over the bag carefully, sighing in relief as Yue took the bag courteously. She had to hide a giggle behind a 'decorous' hand at the expression on her Cousin's face when she opened the bag slightly and Essence flooded out. The other girl closed the bag quickly with astonishment, then a serious expression fell over her face.
"Follow me Dài. There is no time to waste. The inner ring - maybe even the centre…" The slightly curvier girl spun on her heels and moved faster than the youngest Heiress had ever seen her move - muttering under her breath.
Dàilán matched her pace, not quite sure what to make of this side of her Cousin that she had never seen before. Her eyebrows rose as she realised she was having to circulate Essence to keep up.
"First… First!" Yue was growling at a glowing communication jade, which nearly made Dàilán trip. Communication jades were expensive and rarely given to anyone other than Clan Elders.
"Daughter of a… Míng Jiàn! Answer! It is important, I need your help with the formations in the garden!"
A cool, unimpressed drawl Dàilán recognised as First Cousin's issued out of the jade. "Did you mess up the Essence Gathering Formation again, Moon-face?"
"Dagger, Orchid got her hands on anchor rank plants. High Rank at least! I need you to let us into the centre eye…"
"Be right there." The lazy voice sharpened immediately as the jade lost its glow.
Dàilán felt her mouth drop open. What was going on? Yue noticed her shock and an uncharacteristically wicked smile crossed her face. "Surprised, Orchid? While you were off playing boy, First and I have our own plans. Just had to play proper ladies in front of the Dragon for appearances sake. Pity you never bothered to look deeper."
"Boy, is Fatty Ji going to be surprised," Dàilán muttered to herself.
"What did you say?" Yue's face was intent as they slammed to a sudden stop in front of an area that had formation markers all over it, a visible amount of Essence Mist inside it.
"Heir Ji paid for those," answered the Third Heiress as her First Cousin strode out of the mists, her expression set, "he wanted me to pass on his high regard for you, regardless of any recent… issues in communication."
"Really, Orchid?" Míng's voice was unimpressed, "Did he have anything else to say? And what is this about Anchor Rank herbs?"
Yue tossed the bag over to the First Cousin and her eyebrows rose as she snatched it out of the air and saw the formations on the bag. "This is Master level work.... where did you get this Moon-face?"
"Not me, Orchid. Says some old Cultivator gave it to her. Never mind that… inside! Orchid, follow - I want details!"
First cousin frowned and opened the bag, reeling back in shock at the Essence that poured out. Without another word, the taller young woman slammed her palm next to one of the formation markers, and an opening appeared. Dàilán stumbled as Yue pushed her through, both of the other Cousins following her in as the Formation closed.
"Where do you need them planted, Dagger?"
"It would help if I knew what is in the damn bag!" swore the Eldest uncharacteristically.
Dàilán coughed, catching her breath after the unexpected shove. "High Essence Concentration harvested, Earth, Three first rank, two second rank, one third rank."
Míng Jiàn's eyes narrowed. "How high a concentration… never mind. They could pass for Sky. The third rank needs to go in the centre." She sped off towards the middle of the formation.
Yue Ying grabbed Dàilán's arm. "Come on!" her Second Cousin rushed to follow, towing the younger girl behind until she matched pace again. "When were they harvested?" she demanded.
"Peddler said four days ago - it has to be from a Relic or a Secret Land!" responded Dàilán excitedly as they caught up to Míng.
"Here. I will open the formation for the new points," said the First Cousin as she put the bag in Yue's hand. "First there," ordered Míng tersely, pointing to spots in front of them, "seconds - there and here… thirds in a triangle around the three in the centre - there, here and there."
Yue nodded. "How long?"
"I can only open the points for a half fēn. Be swift," answered Míng as she sank into a meditative pose.
Second Cousin blurred as there was a sharp crack and it seemed like suddenly there were five plants in the specified pattern, where the ground was bare a moment before.
There was a slap of pressure as the Essence perceptibly thickened and the air suddenly became hard to breathe. The plants seemed to glow and visibly freshened from their slight signs of wilt.
"Done, Dagger." Yue reported crisply as she was suddenly beside Dàilán. There was a second softer crack and the pressure suddenly became manageable. "Four days? Seriously?" Second Cousin turned to her youngest cousin, her eyes glowing, "I would love to see where these plants came from - I would have sworn they have been barely out of the ground a day."
"That is what the peddler said… he told me where too. I want to go and see for myself - he said he would be back in eighteen days, possibly with more."
Míng was suddenly in front of her. "More? The formation has never been this solid. If I could get more…"
Dàilán made a sudden decision. "Come with me when the peddler comes back, both of you. Yue, Heir Ji really needs to talk with you…someone is attacking the Clan - that is why suddenly there was all this mess with suitors… Míng, Fatty mentioned there was someone else… he shut up really quickly, but I do not think he would have mentioned a rival for Yue's hand."
Míng's eyes narrowed. "Attacking the Clan? Why do you say that?"
"Heir Ji said that all the Clans approaching to talk marriage for either of you were given excuses or formal declines from both of you - I was offered as the only option in exchange for support… I told Grandma as soon as I got back… she agreed, someone is attacking us, subtly. If Fatty Ji did not have a thick face, I doubt we would have realised until we lost all support."
Yue whistled then made an unhappy face. "Dagger, Father was mad when I confronted him on our agreement with Ji Clan. I do not know why."
"Chén'er… thought it gave him an advantage for my Father's support to be married out…" Dàilán flushed, ashamed to have mentioned it, but the others only nodded.
"Yes. But this looks bigger than what we thought was just internal jockeying over the Clan leadership," agreed Míng. "I think… Moon, I propose that Orchid has matured and is worthy of admittance to our group."
Yue gave Dàilán a measuring stare. "I agree. Breakfast was most impressive. So is going to see Grandmother the fēn you found something else out instead of keeping it to yourself. We will have to think of a name for you."
Dàilán shrugged. "Orchid is fine. No one said petals can not be deadly. But I am serious about all of us going together to see the peddler - each of us has separate areas of interests he seems to have knowledge in. If I plan a trip out to the secret land, can you get permission?"
"Depends on if we can convince the other Heirs so that it is 'appropriate'," said Yue speculatively, "Fatty is a dear, but he can be hard to convince to exert himself sometimes. We should be able to talk with him if we all go out next week though."
"I will have to tell Chén'er about this," confessed the youngest, feeling confused at how fast things were changing.
"That is fine - we would have brought her in before this if she was not always glued to your side." replied Míng.
"She does not like how you have been treating me - she might…" The Third Heiress frowned.
"That just means we have been keeping up a good act - you have to be careful where you talk about this though - here inside the formations is OK because I have added a lot of privacy inscriptions… but we can not always meet here."
"Could you upgrade the formations in my Meditation Garden?" asked Dàilán, "I have been trying, but…"
"Possibly - especially if you get more plants like those. What do you mean, you have been trying?" Míng frowned severely at the youngest, "Formations are dangerous to play with."
Dàilán glared. "I am aware, thank you. There was this old Formations codex I found - Father confiscated it, but now he seems to think it is safe. You could ask him for it..."
"Do not get too friendly Dagger," warned Yue suddenly, "Remember we still have to keep up the act outside…"
"Why - are - you all acting like empty vases anyway?" demanded the youngest.
"Our Lines have male Heirs," grumbled Míng, "if we let people know what we were really like… we have to play the perfect noblewomen."
Dàilán snorted coldly. "Yes. I understand. Married off to whomever was willing - I take it Heir Ji knows then?"
Yue smiled. "Yes."
"Explains why he took such a big risk. He knew things were wrong." Dàilán rubbed her forehead. "I hate politics and stupid traditions that make no sense."
Míng turned to Yue. "You need to keep an eye on your father." She tossed a communication jade at Dàilán before striding off back towards the edge of the garden. "We need to get back to our normal routine, before someone wonders where all the Heiresses have gone."
Yue rolled her eyes, "Do not mind her. Always abrupt. Hang on to that," she indicated the jade, "she makes them so we can keep in contact without people getting suspicious. Be careful not to let people see it - unless you trust them."
"Wait. Why suddenly treat me like family?" Dàilán was very confused.
Yue started walking. "Things have changed. You have proven to care about the Clan and us regardless of anything else. We were pitted against one another - someone has to pay for that. So we need to start working together. Besides - it was mostly an act to keep our Fathers from getting suspicious."
She started running and Dàilán paced her again as they reached the boundary. "Split up when we cross, best not to be seen together."
"Is the green tea behaviour going to stop at least?" asked Dàilán plaintively, "I would like to have real Cousins."
"Well, I did say mostly, Orchid. You are still far too good looking for your own good." Second Cousin laughed merrily as she disappeared across the formation edge.
The youngest dropped to a walk and hung her head. "It is not my fault!