"Mistress, move! East side…" Chàng grunted, kicking up sand as she flung her body across Dàilán's path, waving her fan to deflect the incoming projectiles.
The youngest mistress Guan circulated her Essence as she sidestepped swiftly in the other direction, sliding across the sand to avoid Biyu, who was backsliding to try and cover the rear.
Unfortunately, there was only a moment's warning before Dàilán threw herself backward to bring up her daggers, deflecting a short blade. The attacker whirled, one foot aimed squarely for her head. Dàilán's body curved under the first strike as she drove Essence into her right leg, throwing herself clear of the kick.
Sand flew as she crashed into the ground hard, blinding her. A brief clash of blades rang out overhead as Biyu blocked the attacker with her own blade and Dàilán swore internally. This was going badly, she thought as she rolled to get away from the area of attack, pushing her Essence through her core to convert her position into a standing run.
Her breath left her in a violent rush as a body struck her spine, hurling her forward once more. Rather than fight it, she used the momentum to change her trajectory, slamming Essence through her chest to kick start her breathing again, which hurt like a mule kick.
With sand flying in every direction and her position shifting constantly, she was losing her spatial awareness. She needed to try something different, but…
As she fell downward, she closed her eyes, sliding between the shùnqǐng, those blink-thin intervals where movement stretched and slowed…
…and remembering her recent meditations with the bāwū where she could almost see the flows of Essence…
…she felt the pressure lines in the sand, the faint eddies in the air—Essence displaced by movement…
…her arms flew open as one foot arrested her fall—the momentum sending tiny projectiles flying through the sandy air in opposite directions.
Cries of alarm and a break in the sound of combat told her everything else she needed to know.
"Maids, to me!" Dàilán cried as she bolted for the exit of the garden.
Hurried footsteps behind had her grinning at Chàng and Biyu as they slammed out of the clouds of sand to pace her.
"Hold it… Hold it! Damn it! I said HOLD!" Chénli's aggrieved voice called out behind them.
Dàilán sighed as she turned around. "Yes, Chén'er?"
"What was that? We were practising escape and evasion… The ruler does not throw herself into danger—your duty is to withdraw so your bodyguard can disengage as soon as possible!" growled Chénli.
"I was locked down—even with both my guards keeping the attackers occupied—I could not escape without creating a gap. It was a momentary distraction at best, done without pinning myself down, and it let my bodyguard withdraw to cover my escape. I believe that falls within the rules we agreed to for this practice. Not only that, but I believe it would be a reasonable response if it was a real attack," answered the Heiress. "Can you say otherwise?"
"The Young Mistress is correct," Ài spoke up from where she trailed behind the Head Maid and bodyguard. "Her position was close to being overrun; she could not have escaped alone, and neither of her protectors could disengage—nice block, by the way, Mistress."
"Same to you, Ài—that foot nearly took my head off," said Dàilán. "And call me Dài, at least when we are working as a group. That goes for all of you."
Chénli sputtered at being called out on the validity of her complaint. "Eh… ah… fuuu… are you still wearing the limiter?"
Dàilán raised her eyebrows. "Is that what is bothering you? Yes, see?" She opened the collar of her Tang dress, showing the grey of the limiter fitted snugly against her neck.
"Then how in the nine under-realms did you manage those shots?" fumed Chénli, throwing her hands up in the air.
The Heiress rolled her eyes. "If there is no mistake, then the outcome was earned. No sore loser, Chén'er—especially since you made me dress like this on top of the limiter."
Ài gently laughed. "Miss… Dài, you will not usually be wearing good clothes for fighting in if there is an attack. Imagine trying to fight with that blue dress you wore to breakfast the other morning!"
"I know. Say—is there any way to modify our wardrobe so that it still appears appropriate but allows for fighting?"
Ài blinked. "That…"
Chénli nodded her head. "…is a good idea. Let me know how I can help, Ài." She sighed and turned to Dàilán. "You are right, it was a fair call and a solid win. I am just finding lately you seem to be surprising me a lot since you picked up that old book."
A sudden cough from Biyu interrupted the discussion.
"Mistress, we have company."
A light clapping followed her words, causing all of them to spin to face the exit of the garden.
"A good show, Third. Second is going to be upset when she finds out about your additions to your retinue."
"Young Mistress—" Chénli was all business as the maids spread into a protective formation.
"Stand down, Chénli. First Heiress is here at my invite. Ài, Chàng, Biyu—please keep watch on the entrance for any unwanted guests."
She was pleased to see all three of them retain watchful, if respectful, stances as they acknowledged her order.
"Not to worry, Third Heiress, I came here alone." Míng Jiàn stepped aside to let the maids move past her into the exit as Chénli stepped closer to Dàilán, not taking her eyes off the older woman.
"I am more worried about people you did not intend to bring along, Cousin. So… can you?"
"You have a nice simple garden here, Third," the older Heiress said as she walked slowly around it, idly picking up and placing stones and kicking others. "Needs a bit of work though."
Dàilán felt Chénli bristle beside her and felt herself frown almost instinctively.
"I do not know anyone who could improve it," she replied evenly as her cousin sat on a larger rock.
Dàilán felt her ears pop slightly.
"Fortunately the Maintenance Formation was already well structured—it only required a minor alteration," said Míng with a genuine smile. "I just added a temporary blocking agent to the garden's Maintenance Formation. It will take some work to make a stronger, more permanent one, but I can lay the groundwork while this one is up and do similarly over the next few visits. For now, it is OK to talk openly. I will work as we do."
Suiting her actions to her words, the other Heiress pulled out materials and what looked like a large brush and moved over to a corner of the garden.
"Young Mistress, what?" murmured Chénli urgently.
"I discovered a few extra things yesterday on top of everything else—namely that the Clan is probably being spied on, and it is not a good idea to discuss sensitive topics without some sort of protective formation up. Cousin Míng has agreed to help with that. It turns out that all the daughters of the Clan are more independent than one might suppose—the other behaviour is protective coloration…"
"I know you have no cause to trust us, Chénli, but we allowed your mistress to see a few of our secrets yesterday… I ask that you trust your mistress' judgement for now. You can always cut our throats later," the other Heiress said idly as she moved to another spot in the garden—doing something with an arrangement of driftwood.
"By the way, Orchid, your Father was pleased that we had come to a detente—and once I showed my badge from the Formation Association, he was happy to give permission for me to make changes to the Formation here. He also swore to keep my abilities a secret from the other Elders unless it endangered the Clan."
Dàilán blinked in puzzlement.
"You told my Father? But not your own? Surely—a Formation… what rank?"
"Second Earth," replied the First Heiress as she moved to the next cardinal point.
"Really? But surely First Uncle would value a budding Formations Master? To treat one as a bargaining chip would be foolish," spat the younger girl.
"The support you have received from your own Father colours your vision, Third," Míng said calmly, although there was a definite undercurrent of bitterness. "Though we are all named Heiress, only you have true status as an Heir. My level of ability at this point would be considered a threat to my brother's succession—especially given his own lack of redeeming qualities. I would have to be at least Sky Rank before the cost to the Clan from losing me would outweigh that. Thus, I must stay quiet."
Dàilán shook her head. "I am starting to wonder if this Clan is worth saving. Perhaps its collapse is inevitable."
Chénli snorted. "You have never had contact with the really big Clans, Mistress. All prioritise the sons over females, and most would never let any females leave their compounds at all until marriage. The fact that Guan has allowed enough leeway that all three of its Heiresses have been able to build respectable cultivation bases and skills—even if some of it has been done under the table—would never have happened there."
Míng laughed. "You can thank Dragon for that," she said as she painted an odd-looking set of characters onto one of the garden walls—which glowed before fading away. "She kept her sons from getting too extreme in their ambitions to emulate the larger Clans and found us ways to explore our areas of interest."
Chénli chortled. "Does she know you call her that?"
First shrugged. "Grandmother started the group." She walked to the exit and tapped a few bricks in the wall with the brush. "Actually, she is head of all the Matriarchs in Hujian—and they all do similar things, to a greater or lesser extent, with their daughters—depending on how thick-headed or sensible each clan's men are."
"That explains a few things… perhaps she is the reason Guan has been targeted? I can imagine a few male-oriented Sects and the most hidebound Clans might not approve of such things…?" asked Chénli slowly.
"We have been considering that, Knife. But our intelligence is limited. Any possibility your own sect might be willing to assist?" Míng asked nonchalantly, though she had turned to stare intently at Chénli, who stiffened.
"Knife?" the maid asked carefully.
"Consider it an informal offer to join the group. Orchid did not hesitate." Míng studied Chénli closely.
"Of course not—too trusting," Chénli muttered.
Her mistress shook her head. "No—they showed me too many important secrets to consider it a pretence. We are all in the same boat. We have to stop this pointless internal distrust. Maybe if Mother were still alive and Father were in charge it would not be necessary—but we need all the allies we can get. They gain nothing from harming us at this point—in fact, we have more access and freedom outside than they do, so they need us more than the reverse."
First Heiress bowed her head. "All too true—and of course we are not asking for all your resources—simply an exchange of information and pooling of useful assets where it does not threaten yourself."
"Why were we left out before this?" inquired Chénli.
"Dragon had a disagreement with Third Uncle's wife. Your Mother insisted that she could provide her daughter with a more appropriate level of support. She disagreed with some aspects of what Dragon considered essential for young ladies at our level of society—and refused to cut her prior allegiances. So she was not part of the group."
Míng moved to the other side of the wall and dabbed her brush again, still looking at Chénli.
"After her death, Third's father refused to seek another wife and treated Third as his true Heir—and continued to allow you to train her as per her Mother's wishes. So we were not required—and we were uncertain how your sect would respond if we tried to intervene." Míng hesitated slightly. "And with Third attracting all the attention, it took the pressure off the rest of us."
"And now?" questioned Dàilán, anger tightening in her chest at the aspersions cast upon her Mother's name.
"Now we need all the help we can get." Míng's admission was blunt. "And Dragon regrets not finding ways to train the women in the group with more direct combat and cultivation methods. In essence, she is agreeing with your Mother—so do not bristle, Orchid. She has directed both of us to find ways to train with your… group. Dragon will wish to speak directly to you soon, Knife. I believe she wishes to approach your Sect."
Chénli blinked. "A Formation Master to train with and against?"
First waved a brush-filled hand demurely. "Only an Apprentice."
The maid grinned, the expression of glee on her face causing Dàilán to take a few steps to the side.
"Knife accepts—unless my Master directs otherwise at some point. Whom do I address?"
Míng made the Formation brush and materials vanish and turned to face them, dropping into a bow.
"Dagger greets Knife."
Chénli blinked. "Not Brush?"
"According to Dragon, my words are too sharp to belong to something so delicate." Dagger rolled her eyes. "Can we trust your other maids? Our entourages are filled with empty vases or spies."
The Head Maid nodded. "All clear. All have good combat ability—especially Ài. She has not said specifically, but I suspect her old Clan may have trained her similarly to myself. And they are personally loyal to Orchid here—as she has given them a chance and treated them like real people."
"Chén'er! They are real people!" Dàilán admonished her friend. "Mother always said the ones who serve are what allows the Clans to exist and deserve as much honour as those that make decisions. I treat all the servants as people."
"Which is why Third House is completely impervious to spy networks. Your Head Maid runs the servants here like an intelligence ring—it frustrates Second Uncle and Dragon no end. Feel free to ask them to join if you think it appropriate," noted her Cousin.
Chénli inclined her head sardonically in response.
Dàilán sighed. "And people wonder why we do not trust them."
"Speaking of which, what area is Second… Cousin proficient in?" asked Chénli.
"Moon-face? She has worked out a way to turn the traditional 'female arts' into offence and defence—gardening, dancing, clothing… nothing is safe," answered Míng absently, her attention suddenly distracted. "Incidentally, the temporary blocking foundation is losing power—we will have to resume this conversation next time. You can ask her in person then."
"Fatty Ji is in so much trouble," muttered Dàilán. "First, is it safe to rest the formation?"
Her Cousin tapped one slipper on the sand, and the garden reset to its pristine state, accompanied by a slight feeling of pressure lifting.
"Yes." One eyebrow raised, meaningfully.
The youngest Heiress nodded. "Chén'er, please escort my Cousin to her House if she requires it. I am sorry my garden does not meet your approval, First—perhaps you could suggest someone to assist in improving it?"
Míng smiled gracefully with a slight hint of bite. "Second would love the chance to give this rundown place a makeover, Third. I will bring her next time."
"Of… course. You are both welcome," Dàilán said insincerely, a false smile plastered on her face.
"How dare you continue to be disrespectful to my mistress in her own house? I will escort your empty-vase self out." Chénli walked towards the other Heiress grimly, a partially drawn blade visible. "Move."
"How dare your servant threaten me! The Matriarch will hear of this, youngest!" snarled her Cousin as she marched out of the exit.
There were some angry sounds from her other maids as the pair left. A moment later, Chàng and Biyu hurried in.
"Are you OK, Young Mistress? How could she be so inappropriate—even if she is senior!"
"Just words. Nothing to worry about. Did Ài go with Chén'er?" responded Dàilán, waving their concerns away as she removed the limiter from around her neck. "I am going to play my bāwū for a while—I need to meditate."
"Yes, Young Mistress. We will guard you until Boss comes back."
"That is not necessary…"
Her words died away at the determined looks on her maids' faces.
"As you wish. Eat and drink—food and drink have been placed in the changing rooms. I am going to get my instrument and sustenance for myself now."
Suiting words to actions, she headed for the changing rooms to put away the limiter and retrieve her flute.