Zeqing

Zeqing is not the name of the Yuki Onna that Ling Qi met in the Outer Sect, but it is the name that she wishes Ling Qi to use when addressing her. Zeqing, otherwise known as [Winter's Muse, Songstress of Endings, *****], is a powerful 4th realm spirit that inhabits some mountains in the Outer Sect. A living personified blizzard, Zeqing prefers taking the form of a femme fatale. Standing over 2 meters tall, with long silver hair, eyes lit with a frigid light, and lips the color of freshly spilled blood, Zeqing appears graceful and beautiful to all who are unfortunate enough to behold her.

Ling Qi first encounters Zeqing during a sect mission to retrieve a precious nectar from a flower growing near the peak of a mountain in the Outer Sect. After getting involved in a game of tag with Hanyi, Zeqing's daughter, along the way to the flower, Zeqing came to retrieve her wayward daughter and grant passage to Ling Qi. Gifting Ling Qi a small talisman for her troubles, and insinuating that Ling Qi should come and find her after Ling Qi became more proficient in a specific melody.

Months later, Ling Qi was able to obtain enough mastery of the art that she felt comfortable seeking Zeqing out again. Zeqing tested Ling Qi's musical ability and deeming it sufficient showed her the Black Pool and granted her permission to seek Zeqing for tutoring on the musical arts.

Ling Qi sought Zeqing's instruction like clockwork and developed a student/mentor relationship with the powerful spirit. During this time, Ling Qi's musical ability increased dramatically. It got to the point where Zeqing determined that Ling Qi was sufficiently advanced enough to attempt to understand the true nature of music. With almost no warning, Zeqing summoned a lethal blizzard around Ling Qi during one of their training sessions and forced Ling Qi to either understand what music was truly about or perish in the ice storm.

Ling Qi succeeded and obtained access to what seems to be an incredibly rare and powerful element which dramatically improves every single music art that Ling Qi has access to. Greatly disturbed by this, it took Ling Qi weeks to come to terms with Zeqing's actions, but finally resolved that Zeqing did not mean for her to die, but that producing a life or death trial was the only way that Zeqing knew how to teach this lesson.

After returning to Zeqing for tutoring, Ling Qi's instruction in the musical arts resumed, but were even more frequent than before. Developing a firm understanding of her initial melody, Ling Qi was gifted one of Zeqing's own melodies to work on, a powerful melody personifying the absolute depths of winter and the death that awaits everything in its embrace.

Zeqing seems to hold some regard for Ling Qi and has made some insinuations that when the time was right she would let Ling Qi bond with her child Hanyi, in order to let Hanyi grow in power and strength. Outside of Ling Qi's knowledge, it seems that Zeqing has even taken to watching the tournament that Ling Qi is participating in, to see the progress of her student.

Threads of Destiny
Zeqing remained as a tutor for Ling Qi despite the latter moving to the Inner Sect. Special dispensation had to be asked for, in order to allow it, but eventually, an arrangement was reached which allowed Ling Qi to travel to the Outer Sect to be tutored by Zeqing in the art of music.

This arrangement, however, was not to last long. The Zeqing Ling Qi knows is just the most recent iteration of a cycle that has been present on the peak of the mountain for longer than the Empire has claimed the lands. And Zeqing's end was fast approaching.

Knowing this, Zeqing assisted Ling Qi one final time by providing her a trial to overcome. The trial was spawned by her death throes and covered the Outer Sect in a terrible storm, a storm that Ling Qi was at the center of and had to escape in order to ensure Hanyi's survival. Ultimately, Zeqing seemed happy with the choice that Hanyi made, and Hanyi's declaration to become like her.

This, however, is just another part of a cycle that Zeqing was embodying. Another spirit will eventually coalesce from Zeqing's death and begin the cycle again. It is unknown, at this time, when this new spirit will be born and how similar to Zeqing it will be.