The Bamboo Needles Embroidery Shop served as the only official or unofficial presence of the Bamboo Silk House in Bufa City. The shop itself was small, occupying just one corner of a large building with shops on the ground floor and two floors of residences above.
When Wu Ling entered the shop, he found a matronly woman with graying hair sitting behind the shop's small counter and working on a delicate bit of embroidery. Several samples of the shop's work lined the walls and a young girl who couldn't be more than fourteen or fifteen summers old paused in setting out neatly folded handkerchiefs to greet Wu Ling.
"Welcome to our humble shop, kind miss," the young woman greeted, offering an abbreviated bow without putting down her stack of handkerchiefs. "Are you looking for something ready made or would you like to have a piece embroidered just for you? Madame Cixiu does all of our custom work and her skills are second to none in Bufa City."
"House Mistress Cixiu, was it?" Wu Ling asked, briefly flashing his identity jade at the matronly woman behind the counter who looked up sharply at the way Wu Ling addressed her. "I'm more interested in conversation and communication today than embroidery."
"Shu'er," the older woman said to the young girl with the handkerchiefs. "Please go outside and sweep the front steps. I'll entertain our guest for a while."
"Awe, you never let me stay when interesting big sisters visit," the young girl protested, putting down her stack of handkerchiefs and retrieving a broom from a corner of the shop. "When are you going to let me learn what the big sisters have to say?"
"When you show me that you can awaken and start to cultivate," the matronly woman said sharply. "Until then, it's better that you don't listen to other matters. Now go sweep."
"Yes, House Mistress," the young woman said, hanging her head and walking slowly to the door. It wasn't until several breaths after the young woman had exited that the House Mistress spoke again to Wu Ling.
"It's been over two years since anyone from the sect bothered to visit in person," the matronly woman said, setting down her embroidery and giving Wu Ling an evaluating look. "You're too young to be my replacement, so if the sect isn't recalling me, what brings you to my humble little shop?"
"I would hardly call it a humble shop," Wu Ling said, looking around at some of the pieces displayed on the walls. "Warden Mu told me that you were a Trusted Artist when she was still an Understudy and that you've blended the study of Formations with your Embroidery for many years. This little disciple can only admire House Mistress Cixiu's work."
"Ha," the older woman laughed sharply. "You are the most humble Inner Sect disciple I've ever met to refer to yourself as 'this little disciple.' I thought you heavenly swans only knew how to look down on those of us who reached our limits long ago."
"I'm not an Inner Disciple," Wu Ling corrected. "Not yet anyway. I've only broken through within the past month and I have yet to return to the sect since then. I'm a disciple of the Outer Blossom Branch, called Wu Ling. My mother is Elder Wu Ningli."
"Merciful heavens," the older woman said, raising her hands to her lips before coming out from behind the counter to get a better look at Wu Ling. "You're Elder Phantom's daughter? Finally awakened and already an Understudy. You know, Little Mu Shien always boasted that you'd blossom one day, to think you'd show up here. Come," she said, turning around the sign on the door to read closed before pulling on Wu Ling's sleeve, drawing him toward the back of the shop. "Come have tea with this old woman and tell me the news of the sect."
For longer than it would take for two sticks of incense to burn, neither Wu Ling nor Madame Cixiu spoke of anything of consequence. The House Mistress had left the sect more than twenty years ago and only returned to the sect once every five years to visit. She'd been an elder sister of Mu Shien's and often exchanged letters with her friend even though their current positions in the sect meant that neither saw the other very often.
Perhaps the most interesting thing to Wu Ling was that Madame Cixiu had a very clear impression of his mother's earliest days in the sect.
"I was so worried that she'd waste her talent, chasing off after your father," Madame Cixiu said as she poured another cup of tea. "But look at her now. A sect elder with a daughter set to join the Inner Sect. What happened to your father was a tragedy," she said, placing a weathered hand on Wu Ling's as though to reassure him. "But I'm glad to see that it hasn't consumed you. Now, while I could prattle on for hours more, I'm sure you had reasons for seeking me out. What sort of support do you require?"
"I have a report to send back to the sect," Wu Ling began. "I also have a few personal letters to send back to the sect. After that, I'm looking for local information. I'm not on any specific mission to Bufa City," he explained. "Rather, Bufa City is on my way somewhere else. I'm traveling with companions from several different sects and one from a prominent family in the Golden Mist ward. Of course, if there's something House Mistress Cixiu needs help with, I'll be at your disposal as well."
"Each stitch in order then," the House Mistress said, taking out a small pad of parchment, a brush, and ink. "What information do you have to report? I assume that I'll be sending the report back to the Outer Blossom branch? Is any of the news urgent?"
"Nothing is urgent," Wu Ling said. "The first bit is that I was able to complete one of my assignments. Nalan Jiang is dead. I've also achieved some success on a related mission," he added.
"I've found the location of the Mountain's Bones headquarters which is likely where Fantian Wong is hiding," Wu Ling explained. "Unfortunately, the location is likely too fortified for me to risk eliminating Fantian Wong directly. I can only pass on this information to the sect."