42. Future Plans

Nie Mingjue moved the discussion to the more discrete and far more heavily warded war room. Nie Popo arrived and stood off to the side with a couple of other elders, while the Nie lieutenants ranged around the table on one side and the Yiling Wei sect on the other. The big map of Qishan was laid out for them again, and Nie Zonghui placed a marker representing the Xuanwu of Slaughter in the general area A’Cheng had pointed out last time.

Ying’er nodded happily. “Yes! Since we’ve narrowed down the places where she might be, I can send crows out to look for her, now.”

“I don’t want you sending the yin iron pieces directly into Qishan by way of crow,” Nie Mingjue said, leaning forward.

Ying’er flapped a hand at him until A’Yao slapped it down with a hiss of “manners, Ying’er!” He rubbed his hand but continued on. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. But, uhm, it might take a little while?”

No one was happy about that.

Nie Mingjue gave Ying’er an intense look that had him going wide-eyed in response.

“I am allocating important resources to this salvage effort, Young Master Wei. Timing is critical, because if we can find the Xuanwu of Slaughter, then so can Wen Ruohan. Then he will have three pieces to match the three pieces you have, and quite frankly I don’t like our odds in that scenario. Wen Ruohan has had years—decades!—to learn the art of demonic cultivation with the yin iron, and he is both cunning and ruthless. He’s willing to sacrifice his own people, and he’s got a lot of people. By rights Qishan should be as remote and ancillary to the jianghu as Meishan, but the Wen have worked for generations to achieve the power and reach he enjoys now.” He stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. “Vague generalities and half-truths will not be useful to me. They might get a lot of people killed, including people you care about.”

As he spoke, Ying’er went paler and paler, and seemed to withdraw into himself.

“You are the crux of this situation, as I believe that you are probably the only one who can successfully retrieve the yin iron from the Xuanwu of Slaughter, much less wield it. I need you to do your best, harder and better than you ever have in your entire life, to help us win this war. Can you do that, Senior Disciple Wei Ying?”

Yanli had never heard such a rousing speech given in such a foreboding tone, but it worked on Ying’er who stood up straight with a look of determination on his face.

“It will take at least a two days for the crows to find her. Maybe three.”

“Wen Xu’s army will be at our gates in another eight days, maybe less. Do better.”

Ying’er winced. “I might be able to send them closer in range if I use the yin iron.”

“No,” Yanli and A’Yao said at the same time.

Nie Mingjue looked at her for a moment, then gave her a curt nod. “Your sect leader forbids it, and I can’t say I disagree. We need you fully present, and you tend to pass out for a full day after you use the yin iron for anything.”

“Not a full day! Half a day, tops!”

Nie Mingjue rolled his eyes. “Point taken, but my point stands.”

“Sect Leader,” Nie Zonghui said deferentially. Nie Mingjue waved him on. “Travel time is going to take over a day, by sword, to get to that area in general. Longer, since we have to do it without being spotted by Wen scouts.” He turned to Wei Ying. “Can your crows find you if you are in transit?”

“Oh, yeah, sure. They recognize the difference between me and the Burial Mounds,” Ying’er said, once again horrifying everyone in the room.

“What does that even mean?” A’Cheng hissed at him.

“It means I’m alive,” Ying’er said, slapping his chest. When all he got was confused looks, he sighed heavily. “It means the crows will be able to find me.”

Even Yanli could not tell if he was honestly confused by the question or just pulling on A’Cheng’s hair.

Nie Mingjue very obviously chose to ignore the exchange in favor of moving forward with planning. They spent some time hashing out the trip, but then Nie Mingjue focused on Yanli again.

“I wish with all my heart that I could say you and Madam Meng would be safe here in the Unclean Realm, but I cannot. Wen Xu is bringing a siege army of ten thousand, which is the only reason it is taking him so long to get here. I am sending Huaisang out to Tangshan, where we have an old ancestral manor. It’s remote and protected, up on the northeast coast. I offer you the protection of going with him.”

She didn’t want to accept. She thought she shouldn’t accept. Any other sect leader would likely be heading the expedition—as Nie Mingjue in fact planned to do, leaving the defense of his fortress city in Nie Zonghui and Nie Popo’s hands. That was how critical he believed the final piece of yin iron to be to their war effort. A sign of desperation, perhaps, but no less vital for it.

As well, Ying’er and A’Yao and A’Cheng were all going, because they had to. Ying’er, of course, was the obvious choice. But she and A’Yao agreed that A’Cheng was the best choice to rein his brother in when needed. A’Yao had expressed his concern with Ying’er’s sometimes erratic behavior in their journey through the Nie crypts, which was worrisome and something that had to be accounted for. With both Ying’er and A’Cheng going, a “senior disciple” of Yiling Wei needed to be there, too, and no one doubted A’Yao’s ability to think his way out of a problem. The three of them had trained together for years by that point and were a cohesive unit.

They were also her family.

But she would be a liability on such a trip. They did not need her diplomatic skills to take on the Xuanwu of Slaughter, or her embroidery skills to attack any Wen they came across.

She bowed to Nie Mingjue. “This one thanks you for the offer, and accepts it with gratitude.” The boys and A’Yao had the nerve to all look incredibly relieved, so she ignored them.

Nie Mingjue however, probably knew how she felt since he looked genuinely regretful for her sake, then shrugged. “Have fun traveling with Sang’er. He’s an absolute monster of a spoiled brat during long distance travel.”

The “monster of a spoiled brat” shouted at his brother, who just laughed at his antics. If it all seemed a little forced, a little stressed, Yanli could sympathize.

The meeting broke up and everyone went their ways to get ready for the weeks ahead, which would be a turning point in the war, one way or another.

As they left, Yanli put on a little speed and trailed after Nie Huaisang, causing some confusion with her brothers and A’Yao.

“Young Master Nie,” Yanli called out.

Nie Huaisang came to a dramatic stop, his robes swishing around as he performatively fumbled. He turned to her with an innocent expression.

“I would like a moment of your time,” she said pleasantly, which put him on guard. She waved off A’Yao and the boys, who to a man looked unhappy about it. But there were plenty of people walking around, and they were out in the open, so it was hardly indecent. They slunk away, looking over their shoulders as they went.

“How may I assist you, Sect Leader Wei?” He asked like sugar would not melt in his mouth.

“Did your brother actually gift his own mother’s guqin to Madam Meng?”

His smile was quickly hidden behind his fan. “Did she like it?”

“Sang’er,” Yanli said warningly.

“Ugh!” He stomped his foot like a five year old. “He told me to send her something she would enjoy as a gesture of his admiration.”

Yanli closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. “You realize it looks like a courting gift, right?”

“Would that be so bad?” He looked genuinely hopeful.

Yanli looked around, making sure they were not being overheard, before lowering her voice. “It is cruel.”

“What? No! How?” He reared back, confused and hurt.

“She is Meng Yao’s mother, and a former courtesan. It is highly inappropriate for a man of Nie Mingjue’s stature to court her, and doing so makes it look like he is trying to, ah, procure her services.”

Nie Huaisang let out a bird-like screech, then waved off a few Nie who looked over in concern. “No!” He hissed at her. “That would never happen!”

“Explain to me using simple phrases how this situation is not an insult to Yiling Wei,” she said, folding her hands in front of herself. She was genuinely curious as to how he was going to talk himself out of this.

“Because it is actually a courting gift!” He said indignantly. That was not the answer she had expected, for a variety of reasons, so she had to take a moment to collect her thoughts.

“Does Nie Mingjue know it’s a courting gift?”

“I’m warming him up to the idea.” He held up his hands. “I know it looks unsavory, but Nie men…are like that. My mother was a courtesan, as was Nie Popo’s.”

Yanli blinked at him. At no point in her studies of other sects’ histories was it mentioned that Second Madam Nie had been a courtesan.

Nie Huaisang nodded like he heard her thoughts. “It’s not considered proper to talk about. Once they marry in, it’s never mentioned again. But one thing the Nie and the Lan have in common is a fierce kind of love. We might not love ‘only once’ but we love with all our heart.” He slumped a little. “I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looked at Madam Meng, and he’s, uh, had his share of infatuations. And he needs a wife.”

“She’s already over thirty years old. There will be no guarantee of a child.”

“Oh please. Nie Popo was 44 when she had her last daughter, and Nie Zonghui’s mother was 37 when she had him, and she wasn't even a cultivator.” He leaned forward, a fierce expression on his face. “I just need him to have one heir!”

“So this is all about you not wanting to inherit the role of sect leader?” Yanli frowned.

“That’s definitely part of it! But no, not all of it. I want him to be happy, too. We don’t…Nie don’t tend to live long, either. Even if Wei Ying solves our problem, Da’Ge is never going to cultivate to immortality. We never do. I just want him to be happy while he’s alive.” He looked genuinely heartbroken at that moment.

Yanli sighed. “We are at war and now is not the time to broker betrothals, but I will discuss the matter with Meng Shi.”

“Thank you, Yanli-jie!” He hopped up and down.

“I make no promises! And don’t make any plans yet!” She called after him as he made his escape.