Ling Qingge

Ling Qingge is the mother of Ling Qi, the protagonist of the Forge of Destiny Quest. She is much shorter than her daughter, barely coming up to Ling Qi's chest even with her commonly worn hair bun and is generally described as dainty and worn out. Born in the Clan of He, Ling Qingge is a hard working woman with a higher than average education due to her upbringing. However, she chose to run away from her clan instead becoming a concubine to a young Master Guan of the Liu clan, the viscount clan in charge of the He.

This choice would haunt her for the rest of her life, as her father disowned her and the Young Master ensured that the only work Ling Qingge would be accepted for was work as a prostitute in brothels, despite Ling Qingge's clear skills in music, literacy, and mathematics.

Ling Qingge lived freely for a few months away from her clan, but made several questionable choices. While she does not regret Ling Qi, the circumstances surrounding her are painful. Ling Qi's father was an entertainer from the south of Tonghou city, traveling with a trade caravan. Despite promises that he would remove Ling Qingge from her life in Tonghou city, he one day simply disappeared leaving Ling Qingge alone, pregnant, and with no other recourse but to seek employment in the brothels of Tonghou.

Despite the situation, Ling Qingge did her best to provide a life for Ling Qi, educating her in literacy, mathematics, and music to the best of her ability. However, Ling Qi would eventually come to terms with Ling Qingge's employment and fled from Ling Qingge after an overheard conversation made it seem that Ling Qingge wanted her daughter to become a prostitute.

In despair, Ling Qingge searched for years to find her daughter before finally resigning herself to never being able to see her daughter again. This was obviously extremely distressing to her, but she was slowly able to recover.

Then, despite her best efforts and the tools she had available, Ling Qingge became pregnant again, with Ling Biyu. Being pregnant a second time was a significant burden on Ling Qingge as she was unable to gain money as a prostitute during this time. After Ling Biyu was born, Ling Qingge was able to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, but only barely.

Then, several months into the quest, Ling Qingge received a letter from her long-lost daughter along with a significant amount of money. It had been over four years since Ling Qi had run away from home, but she had become an Immortal.

While Ling Qingge was hesitant to trouble her daughter with the troubles of a mortal, eventually she confessed that with the money Ling Qi had been sending her way, loan sharks and other unscrupulous men had begun demanding payments for loans she had never taken out. And given her position in the city, Ling Qingge had no legal recourse to ensure that she would be heard fairly by the courts.

The resources that Ling Qi brought to bear in order to assist Ling Qingge were astounding, and it was that which convinced Ling Qingge that Ling Qi had the resources and connections to provide safe passage out of Tonghou city and to the Argent Sect. Ling Qingge agreed to travel there to finally meet her daughter. After a successful trip with Ling Biyu she reunited with Ling Qi in an touching reunion.

Currently she lives within the Argent Peak Sect town with Ling Biyu in a home provided by Ling Qi. There she is provided with some Yellow and Red guards as well as household servants. After the invasion of the Argent Sect the warding has been significantly improved. With help from her daughter she has recently awakened lessening the fear Ling Qi had for her short mortal lifespan. She diligently cultivates when not managing the household and makes use of a nanny to keep Biyu entertained.