Leaning back in her comfortable rattan chair, Fen Ling gazed around her sect-appointed rooms, her eyes crinkling, almost closed in contentment. Life is indeed blissful.

Yama who is curled up fast asleep in her lap shudders cutely, caught up in some beastly dream... A few feet away, Little Xiao Ma was laying the table with various dishes... In the kitchen, her two brothers are storming back and forth arguing again.

It hurts her delicate shell-like little ears... Straining so hard to hear all the juicy details... But without sacrifice achievement means nothing - Brother Cheng said that once, long ago... And then many times since...

He’s also told Brother Feng to shut up twice... Today in the last two minutes.

Feng Ling loves her new sect, it is so much better than the last one. Like leeches, they still live in it though, Jian-ge-ge insisted the benefits still far outweigh the costs, or "anything either of you two idiots could ever come up with".

The new sect even has better techniques too. After four months of the Karmic Chameleon, she feels she has improved quite a bit. Her qi cultivation has slightly slowed, but her body had become a fair bit stronger, she can feel it in her very bones. Also, her consciousness has expanded, although the only tangible evidence is that her spiritual sense now covers two whole rooms.

Unfortunately, the nine jade slips, which benefactor Wang - a yuanying expert no less!- had so thoughtfully bequeathed them, have no specific lightning or wind affinity techniques...

Just some boring old recipes and unrelated skills or ones earmarked for future use, she couldn't be bothered reading. them anyway...

She'd tried to throw a few out, but Brother Cheng snatched them back out of her hands, quite rudely she thought - Surprisingly Li-ge-ge took his side on the matter ... Boys!

Brother Cheng had huffily tucked them back in his ugly boy's belt - why didn't he get a nice ring like a real elder? - claiming they were all trump cards.

Yama is also apparently a trump card - a cute one. The belt is a trump card - an ugly one... He even claims the stupid receipts he makes her sign most days are all trump cards too... And the message forms - You know she doesn't actually want to talk to Elder Xie? She has never even met him before ... And besides, Xiao Xiao says he is in deep seclusion, so it’s pointless?

It seems every-dumb-thing is a trump card to Brother Cheng!

She isn't sure he actually knows what the term means... What’s for dinner? Oh no, not trump cards again... No matter. Life is so much better than before. Her hope has been restored. As had her faith in her brothers... They have been sooo sneaky in the six months. It is such fun!

Having both her brothers as fellow elders in their new sect is great. It is also a relief, because she'd heard it was usually lonely at the top. The thousands of theoretical disciples that will come later, she could do without though. Recruiting them will be such a humongous inconvenience...

She'd argued that Little Xiao should become an elder too! But then Brother Feng had pointed out, that if all four of them were elders, she couldn't order Little Elder Xiao about anymore...

He'd made a good point, they already had enough elders.... Even if Brother Cheng insisted he was a special Senior Elder, especially decreed by Benefactor Wang, and technically in charge.

She didn't care, they could trust brother Cheng, because he always told the truth. He'd said Yama was cute, and he is. Sooo cute! Just look at him snorting in his sleep... And he was cuddly! And he caused trouble... It is so funny!

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Two months ago, she’d been angry at Jian ge-ge for the agony caused by the beast blood infusion, but that had been wrong of her. She can see that now.... Now that Brother Cheng has taken the time to explain it...

Jian ge-ge never actually said that it wouldn't hurt - he was quite correct about that... He'd only been trying to help! Therefore it was mostly her own fault for not communicating properly with proper words. Such a shame she is so inarticulate - it could have saved her several agonising minutes of searing pain... Oh well, in the end it had all simply been a big misunderstanding!

However, the benefits had been outstanding. Her tier had soared from five and a half to late stage seven! It is a secret though, she hides it with the Karmic Chameleon, suppressing it to lower than six. She hasn't quite got the hang of the technique yet though, and it hovers between mid tier-five and late tier-five on any given day.

Jian Cheng says her hidden tier was - surprise, surprise - one of her trump cards! Only to be exchanged later for benefits or used to get out of any troubling situation with sect elders. She doesn't understand the concept or unduly care, she simply enjoys having another secret to lord over others...

Since she’s become tier-seven, her Shock and Push had been blazing a new trail - into dangerous territory too! She now suspects her shock would fry anyone from a mortal man up to tier-two cultivators! When channelled through her expensive metal sword Dazzler... Of course, if one has already been skewered by Dazzler, the odds of dying obviously soar even more!

As for her wind push, it isn't a forceful shove yet, but has advanced to a slap level that she is somewhat satisfied with.

In their morning sword training sessions, Brother Cheng has helped her focus her push into dagger or dart-like attacks at the face - going for the eyes or gouging into the ears to upset a foe's balance.

Or he has her using blunter pushes against an already moving blade, thereby deflecting it aside. After all four ounces can repel a thousand pounds!

It’s such an amazing upgrade! She finally feels a little dangerous. After two and half years, it feels like her dream of returning home is now actually a realistic goal.

Enough day dreaming, she is missing the drama of the argument. It’s a good one too. Her brothers have both made several decent points, which make it much more interesting to her, than some random shouting match between two strangers. She’s learned a lot from exchanges like this. She is always analysing what gets said and what doesn't. Fen Ling has never been a book orientated person, she much prefers observing people... This is her learning style...

As for the argument, in a nutshell, Li Feng is impatient to become an inner sect disciple and is angry at Jian Cheng for holding him back. He is stuck, still pretending to be a messenger, despite having broken through the under-14 threshold of tier-six, two months ago... It is a fair point.

On the other hand, Jian ge-ge didn't want Li ge-ge to reveal his trump card too early, especially without leveraging any extra benefits.

Ugh, the benefits bit is fine and dandy, but Fen Ling could die happy if she never hears about another stupid trump card!

Li ge-ge then accuses Jian ge-ge of being jealous!

Ooh, maybe? He is still only tier four and a half...

Jian Cheng counter accuses Fatty of being overweight. Unnecessary...

"Why do you even care about being officially in the inner court, the food is still free?" Jian Cheng rails. "And you're clearly not starving to death!"

Sigh. Their back and forth blustering and blathering is too good. She suspects the real reason Li ge-ge wants to be in the inner court is prestige... He probably wants to be seen as a success for the first time in his little life... Probably wants to write a letter to his grandfather and make him proud...

Fen Ling is touched. Her own correspondence to her parents has become much more regular and cheerful in these last few months... Suddenly, Fen Ling feels sad and guilty that her biggest brother has struggled forlornly for so long. He's spent two years trying to find and help her, yet has nothing tangible to show for it. She is humbled by his sacrifice...

Naturally, she has to immediately act upon her feelings before they change. Overcome with compassion she speaks:

"Ahem... I think--," Her imperious tone cuts through everything and everyone halts. "That Brother Cheng should advance his inner court plans this instant. Brother Feng needs his own house as soon as possible... Because I'm sick to the back teeth at the sight of you both."

There. That should help!

"Oh, one more thing..." Fen Ling's voice has returned to normal, yet every shocked eye is still locked onto her. "Yama, may stay..."