“A supply contract?” Bai Meizhen asked, tilting her head to the side. She crouched amongst a bed of wildflowers, her fingers brushing a set of colorful petals. Her inky shadow pooled about her feet, cold and dark. It kept the little carnivorous spirits that lurked there silent and still as mice before the serpent.

“It’s the best cover I have been able to think of,” Bao Qingling replied shortly. The branch she held snapped up, rustling disgruntledly as she released it and stoppered the vial containing the pale green fluid she had squeezed from the bark.

Collecting reagents herself, particularly mundane ones such as these, was a bit plebeian, Bai Meizhen thought, deliberately plucking specific flowers from among the bed. Her shadow slid like a knife into the soil, severing and bringing her the roots. However, she had asked Qingling what she wished to do, and so, she endured. She chose to think of it like a particularly hands-on nature hike.

Bai Meizhen stood smoothly, depositing her take in the storage basket brought along for the trip. The fragrant toxic oils tingled pleasantly on her fingers. “I have the authority for that, but I will have to run it by the ambassador.”

It wasn’t all bad, she mused. Hooking the basket over her arm, she stepped close to Qingling’s side, arm brushing against hers. She watched with some satisfaction as the tall girl’s impassive gaze flicked down, lingered, and then flicked back up. This trip had given her an excuse to wear her hair up for once in a tight braid coiled into a bun. Qingling seemed intrigued by the bare curve of her neck. A most satisfying realization.

“I will have to run it by my brother as well,” Qingling grunted, her expression tightening. Bai Meizhen’s mirth faded. That was… dangerous. There was only so much that one could hide from higher realms who wished to investigate.

They resumed walking, heading for the next site, not quite arm in arm, but letting their limbs brush now and then.

“I have been corresponding with the ambassador for some time,” Bai Meizhen said as they walked under the evergreen boughs of the forested valley. Somewhere off to the left, a stalking shadow the size of a horse froze in place at her glance. “She is a very liberal woman. So long as there is no break in public propriety, I do not believe we will be troubled.”

A flash of silver, and a needle flicked. There was a crash as the terror-frozen beast crumpled to the ground in a heap.

“My brother is nosy, but… he is like my father, or so I have heard. Building a relationship with such a highly valued client will not bother him.”

Bai Meizhen was silent as Qingling turned, their walk carrying them down to the edge of a wide but shallow brook. She could hear the faint sneer in Qingling’s voice. Qingling disliked framing their relationship in such a way. “So we will simply have to continue our public charade then? The plan seems good.”

“For now.” Qingling crouched by the stream’s edge.

“Try to be more optimistic,” Bai Meizhen said, smiling faintly. “Now, what are we here for? Some manner of water weed or reeds?”

“I thought we would do some fishing,” Qingling replied, not turning from the water.

Bai Meizhen blinked, tilting her head. “Bao Qingling, was this trip a ruse?”

She grunted. “No, I do need reagents. I just happened to have a need for these as well.”

Bai Meizhen gave her a patient look, not believing her at all.

***​

Ugh, that look on her back. She was not good at this. Bao Qingling hunched her shoulders. “I do not like surprises. I have observed that you do. I merely rearranged my gathering schedule.”

Clear. Concise. That was the best way to answer questions. That it bore some resemblance to a deflection was wholly coincidental. Bai Meizhen had asked her if she had wanted to direct one of their leisure activities. This had been the best plan she could construct.

“Well, thank you,” Bai Meizhen said. Her tone indicated amusement, but also happiness. Bao Qingling would endure one for the sake of the other. “What is our quarry then? I see few fish here, and the bed of the brook is shallow.”

“Focus your senses.” Bao Qingling reached out, grasping Bai Meizhen’s hand and guiding her fingertips to the water. “Feel the ripples and vibrations. They are there. You just do not see them yet.”

She waited a moment, listening to her own heartbeat and feeling the back of the small, dainty hand brushing her palm. Forward. Too forward, part of her grumbled.

Finally, Bai Meizhen let out a breath, her dark qi bleeding into the sparkling water. “Fascinating. What are these creatures called?”

“Glasscale Minnow.” She felt them herself, tiny and darting. “They naturally warp light and sound around them and can briefly become ephemeral. The oil produced by their scales is part of this and can only be harvested from live specimens.”

“I see. A different sort of challenge than I am used to,” Bai Meizhen mused, not removing her hand from Qingling’s grasp yet. “Is there a particular method to their capture?”

“Yes.” Bao Qingling straightened her shoulders, drawing from her storage ring a clay jug filled with clean river water and a pair of small formation-inscribed hand nets. She passed one to Bai Meizhen, who took it and turned it over in her hand. “These will hold immaterial creatures, so it is only a matter of scooping them out.”

There. A productive but enjoyable activity to quiet the voice that told her that she was wasting time. If—

Bao Qingling stiffened as soft warmth brushed her cheek. Bai Meizhen’s lips. The pale girl smiled impishly at her as she drew away. “Thank you, Qingling. I shall be catching the most, of course.”

Bao Qingling let out a snort, ignoring the warmth in her cheeks and the beating of her heart. “You are too arrogant… Meizhen.”

“Naturally. I am a Bai.” Meizhen chuckled, turning her eyes to the brook. “I am glad our little dream can go on for a while longer.”

“As am I,” Bao Qingling said quietly, already reaching her senses into the brook. Silly and childish as it was, she would cherish it while she could.