49. Bad Odds

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT WORKED!” A’Cheng shouted as the air sped by them. Or they sped through it—Yanli was uncertain which.

In front of them, Nie Mingjue stood on Baxia’s head as if she were a war chariot, arms crossed and looking forward with a determined expression. Yanli assumed he was somehow in communication with Baxia, telling her where to go. He had to be using his qi to keep his balance, though, as Baxia kept looking around at the world around her with her wide turtle eyes, head dipping up and down. Yanli was certain much had changed in the centuries since the beast had hidden herself away, and it must be weird for her to wake up to see how everything was so different from the world she had known.

She herself was on Baxia’s shell, along with A’Yao and a few injured Nie and also an injured A’Cheng, who had taken a Wen blade to his right thigh, so was using his qi to heal it and could not fly along with everyone else on their sabers (or captured Wen swords, in the case of the Jiang).

The ride should have been bouncy and dangerous, but Ying’er had politely bowed and asked Baxia to make sure his family was carried comfortably. The result was that her shell was moving gently, as if on suspension, keeping everyone balanced and safe no matter how steep the incline or rugged the terrain, or even how fast they were going.

It turned out that a Xuanwu of Slaughter at full gallop was very, very fast.

The battle had been shorter than expected, mostly because while Baxia would not eat dead Wen, living Wen were fair game. That, and once A’Cheng was injured, Ying’er had, according to one of the injured Nie who gleefully kept talking about it, gone “bug-fucking-bonkers!”

A massive murder of crows reeking of resentful energy had descended, running straight into the Wen—and in some cases, through the Wen—while Ying’er screamed bloody vengeance like a broken god, loud enough to be heard from where Yanli had been hiding in the cave. She was glad she had missed seeing that, but it was bad enough to have heard it. It gave her flashbacks to his deadly battle with Xue Yang, when he had called up his crow-soldiers and drenched the area in blood.

In the end, between Baxia, Nie Mingjue’s Yin Saber, and Ying’er’s murder of murderous crows, Wen Zhuliu had called a retreat.

When they finally pulled Yanli and A’Yao out of the cave, she asked why Nie Mingjue did not chase them down.

“Core Melting Hand is not a stupid man. He can see that even with his elite forces, he’s outclassed, and his primary assignment is to keep Wen Chao safe. I have no doubt he grabbed that brat and sped out of here.” He sighed heavily. “More’s the pity. I was looking forward to putting his head on a spike.”

Several Nie sighed in sympathy with him like lovelorn maidens, and Yanli made a note to always stay on the Nie’s good side.

The trip overland back to Qinghe and the Unclean Realm would have taken days on horses, but Baxia kept pace with even the fastest sword fliers, jumping over “small” obstacles like ravines and rivers and hills like an oversized Heavenly Horse.

Even as a stranger to Qinghe, Yanli could tell when they were approaching the land where the giant fortress home of the Nie was located.

Unfortunately, as they slowed down, it was easier to see the trail of destruction Wen Xu’s army had left in their wake when they marched through. Entire villages were smoking ruins, and the larger towns they passed were empty.

Except for the bodies of the magistrates hanging from the town defenses.

The Nie were generally, righteously infuriated, but Nie Mingjue looked close to qi deviation from his rage. He slowed Baxia down even more and sent several scouts to get a clear look at the situation around the Unclean Realm, himself leaving his mount to go flying off ahead with a couple of Nie and Ying’er with him to scope out the immediate area in a wide loop.

“It is truly war, then,” A’Yao said, his voice still scratchy and weak. His spiritual energy was locked down, the Nie medic concerned that what was left of his core would spin itself out trying to recover from the trauma he had endured at the hands of Wen Zhuliu.

“Did you doubt it?” She asked, brushing hair out of his face. The ride was as gentle as could be, but the air was still playing havoc on their hair and clothes.

“No, but it was possible that Wen Xu meant to make this a targeted skirmish to show dominance. This,” he waved his hand around. “This is an announcement of intention. He plans to annihilate the Nie.”

But what could they do about it, Yanli wondered? Even at a slowed speed, Baxia was traveling faster than a horse at full gallop. She was impossible to hide, and was a dangerous beast in her own right, but up against a whole army bent on the destruction of the Nie? Yanli did not like those odds. She assumed Sect Leader Nie would not like them either.

“Grab Wei Ying. Now!” A’Yao croaked out, eyes wide. She looked at him in confusion, but A’Cheng must have understood what he meant, because he got up with a forceful grunt of pain and jumped on his borrowed Nie saber to zoom off.

“A’Cheng!” Yanli called out in shock. His leg was healing well, but not enough for him to be leaping around on it.

“A’Li!” Y’Yao said, yanking at her sleeve. “You have to hold Ying’er back.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sect Leader Nie is a good, honest man, but he is a sect leader first. He has a massive and powerful beast straight out of myth to ride into battle, and the Yin Saber to spite his enemies with, but he can’t win with those alone, not against a whole army. He will need the power of the yin iron.”

Her blood ran cold. She looked up to see A’Cheng dragging Ying’er behind him, their flight slow and meandering as Ying’er warred between forcing his brother to let him go and possibly hurting him further, or just playing along. He straightened up as soon as he caught sight of Yanli.

“JieJie! Tell A’Cheng that I’m fine!” He complained. They jumped onto Baxia’s shell, and A’Cheng stumbled with a grimace. “Look! He injured himself! Tell him he’s in trouble!” Ying’er declared, earning him incredulous looks from everyone around him, including the Nie.

“Ying’er,” A’Yao said, his voice soft and low and firm.

“I didn’t do anything!” Ying’er howled in automatic defense.

“No, you didn’t,” Yanli confirmed, setting a hand on A’Yao’s chest, both to hold him down and to let him know that she was handling the situation. He settled with a grumble.

She motioned them closer. Both boys came over and sat down, Ying’er fussing over A’Cheng until they ended up in a slap fight.

“Boys,” she sighed. They quieted, and she focused on Ying’er. “Sect Leader Nie will want to attack the Wen army, and subdue Wen Xu.”

They nodded.

“He can’t do it with just a small fighting force, Baxia, and the Yin Saber.”

A couple of Nie looked insulted by that, but wisely kept their own counsel.

“He will likely ask you to use the yin iron.” She waited for him to understand the implications.

“Oh, that’s a great idea!”

A’Cheng slapped a hand over his eyes while A’Yao snapped “No!” Yanli sighed heavily.

“It’s okay! I’ll be fine! Baxia will help!” He slapped at the beast’s shell.

“I forbid it.” She spoke simply but firmly, but Ying’er shook his head. She sat up straight in surprise. “Are you disobeying me?”

He bowed solemnly, which set all her alarm bells off.

“JieJie…Sect Leader, this disciple does not intend disrespect! But don’t think we have much choice in the matter.”

A’Yao frowned contemplatively, while A’Cheng slowly nodded, although he did not look happy about it. She motioned for Ying’er to explain.

“One of the scouts met up with some other Nie scouts who have been lurking in the mountains on Nie Popo’s orders. They told him that both Nie Huaisang and Second Mother are still there. Apparently, when the alarm went up at your disappearance, they refused to leave.”

A’Yao cursed.

“So, I don’t think Sect Leader Nie can be talked out of engaging with the Wen. Not with Nie Huaisang locked inside, under siege. Which means he needs all the help he can get.” Ying’er shrugged.

“That’s going to be a lot of help,” A’Cheng said, cringing. “The reports of the Wen army suggest a fighting force of 10,000 men or more, which means at least 1,000 cultivators. If nothing else, the Wen have numbers on their side.”

There was a long pause as they all considered those odds.

“Sect Leader Wei,” one of the injured Nie said deferentially. She nodded for him to continue. “Young Master Wei is correct. I’m sure you’ve seen the close filial relationship between the brothers; Sect Leader Nie will not leave Sang’er at risk. Especially not to Wen Xu, who is smarter than Wen Chao, but no less cruel. He would execute the boy just to show he can.”

“It’s a suicide run,” A’Yao said flatly, his frustration evident in his tight expression.

The Nie shrugged. “As final battles go, charging his own fortress city with a mythical beast at his command and carrying a saber of legend in order to save his brother is not a bad one.”

A’Cheng spoke up. “It’s too late to ask for help, if anyone would give it. The Jiang are under Wen Ruohan’s thumb, the Jin will stay out of it if they aren’t under direct threat, and the Lan…” A’Cheng petered off with a glance at Ying’er, whose expression had only gotten angrier.

Yanli raised a hand for silence. She could, as a sect leader, remove her people from the board completely. It would likely end any alliance they could ever have with the Nie, but then, if the Nie were obliterated, would it matter?

However, she knew that if the Nie fell, it would not be long before the rest of the jianghu was under Wen Ruohan’s thumb. Some, like Jin Guangshan and Jiang Fengmian, probably felt that would be a small price for surviving. Maybe for them, it would be.

But for her and her family, much less the Lan and the Nie themselves, it would spell annihilation. If nothing else, Wen Ruohan would stop at nothing until he either controlled Wei Ying, or killed him.

Furthermore, she was certain that the guilt Ying’er would feel at possibly being able to save the Nie and yet forced not to assist would be soul crushing for him.

She turned to the boy in question.

“Go fetch Sect Leader Nie. Tell him that we must strategize together how to use the yin iron that you control. I do not give permission for him to whisk you away to use as a weapon without a plan, or without my approval.”

Ying’er nodded firmly and jumped up, landing on his loaned saber with a wobble before zooming off.

“A’Li, I think his plan is ‘smash and crush.’” A’Yao scoffed. Several of the Nie nodded in agreement.

“That is his plan. That is not our plan.” She went back to gently removing hair out of his face.

“What is our plan?” He asked, looking up at her.

“I don’t know.” She smiled. “You’re my seneschal, Meng Yao. You tell me.”