54. A Changed Man

They left at dawn, taking a portion of Yanli’s heart with her. A’Cheng tried very hard not to show her just how excited he was about being entrusted with the mission to find Lan Wangji, but it was clear that he was filled with pride and youthful optimism.

Ying’er, on the other hand, let her know exactly how he felt. He was never disrespectful, likely due as much to A’Yao’s gimlet eye as much as his inherent respect for Yanli, but he whined and complained and drove A’Cheng up the wall with advice nearly the whole night.

But before the squadron left, several of whom had been with Nie Mingjue and A’Cheng on the mission to Muxi Mountain, Ying’er turned serious. He made A’Cheng bleed into a few small glass vials donated by the Nie doctors, and carefully wrapped them with preservation sigils. He then pressed a freshly inked talisman up against the wound, and when it was wet with blood, whistled softly.

The air turned cold and a few sabers rattled, causing everyone to tense up and Nie Huaisang to hide behind his brother. But all that happened was a massive crow swooped down and landed, then paraded around in a circle as if inspecting his troops. Yanli would have laughed at its posturing if her stomach was not in knots.

Ying’er squatted and eyed the bird, wisps of resentment wafting off of it and frolicking around Ying’er’s fingers like jaunty sprites, before he gently placed the talisman on the crow’s back. It dissolved immediately, followed by A’Cheng squawking like a crow himself when the bird jumped up on his shoulder.

“This thing weighs as much as a donkey!”

“Pssshhhht.” Ying’er waggled his fingers, and the crow took flight.

“How dangerous is it for you to communicate with the crow?” A’Yao asked, his sharp eyes watching it as it soared up into some air currents above them.

“Not very!” Ying’er said with far too much chipperness.

“Ying’ge!” A’Cheng said with frustration just as Yanli scolded, “Ying’er!”

His expression turned serious again. “A little. You know I have to tap into the yin shards to do it, and it is very draining. It’s not like holding them or trying to control the resentful energy, but it’s a…hmmm…call and response with the Burial Mounds.”

Yanli was so grateful that Lan Qiren’s health was not recovered enough for him to be present for all of this.

“Did any of that make sense?” Nie Mingjue huffed, shaking his head.

“Yes. In a disturbing way,” Nie Huaisang said with a frown.

Ying’er waved his hand around. “I don’t have to connect with the yin shards enough to let Wen Ruohan through. That’s all that matters.”

Yanli did not think for a second that it was all that mattered, and Nie Mingjue looked like he agreed with her, but she had known that asking Ying’er to use his crows to track A’Cheng would cost him. It seemed like a lower price to pay than having him try to sneak out at night and go after Lan Wangji himself.

Which he still might, once he decided he had recovered enough. She considered asking Meng Shi to deal with him, as she had a very effective way of keeping the boys in line. A mysterious way having to do with raised eyebrows and pursed lips that Yanli thought might be something only mothers could master. Even A’Yao got meek and quiet when Meng Shi was dressing Ying’er down for getting out of bed without the doctor’s permission, and A’Cheng would go around looking guilty all night even though he was not the one she had scolded.

Yes, she would set Meng Shi on Ying’er wrangling duty.

With that decided, she motioned to Nie Zonghui before he followed Nie Mingjue. He came over and bowed.

“How can I assist you, Sect Leader Wei?”

“I would like a private audience with Grandmaster Lan Qiren…or is it Sect Leader, now?”

“He has asked us not to call him by that title, as he would prefer to hold out hope that Lan Wangji is still alive.”

“He’s alive,” Ying’er said from next to them. He sounded resigned to the repetition.

“Mn.” Nie Zonghui tried very hard not to be skeptical, which Yanli appreciated.

“Nevertheless, he is currently the acting leader of the Lan remnants, so I would like to speak to him.” She glanced at Ying’er. “Alone.”

“Of course, Sect Leader Wei. I will have a disciple come get you once the healers clear Grandmaster Lan for visitors again.”

Yanli picked up her latest embroidery project and stabbed at it, determinedly ignoring everything for a while. She was pulling the oleander flower banner off its frame when the promised disciple came to fetch her in the late afternoon. No one liked being left behind for the conversation, but in the end, she was the sect leader and they weren’t. Ying’er pouted, A’Yao turned icy and quiet, and Meng Shi played a boring, repetitive tune on her guqin that was probably good for meditation when not being weaponized.

Liu Peng followed, but as a servant, that was to be expected. Yanli reminded herself to talk with Nie Popo about securing the girl’s services for her sect.

Lan Qiren looked better after over a full day of rest, but he remained bed ridden, one leg elevated on a pillow. He bowed as best he could, although it was in line with how a seneschal would bow to a sect leader. She thought he came by his reputation for being a stickler about etiquette honestly.

“Please have a seat, Sect Leader Wei.”

She did, smoothing down her robes. “You have taken well to my new official title,” she said with a soft smile.

He simply nodded. “Nie Mingjue is one of the most straightforward and strict cultivators I know. If he believes that you have earned the right to start your own sect, I am in no position to second guess him.”

There were layers to that answer, but she let them lie as they fell. “Thank you, Grandmaster Lan.”

“I have also been told in some vague terms that the Nie have allied with the Wei. I assume that has more to do with than simply the yin iron, although it is not my business to glean the details.”

Which left the door open for her to share as much or as little as she wanted. She made a note to remember his politically artful approach.

“It is an alliance that is mutually beneficial,” she said with a pleased nod. But then she paused, and glanced away.

He huffed a little. “If you have concerns, I am willing to mediate. The Lan and the Nie are long standing allies, but I have a vested interest in your family…clan. Sect.” He cough to cover his mistake.

“Hm. It has been less than a day since you arrived, and your health is precarious due to battle and journeying. Have the Nie informed you of the events of the past few weeks?”

He frowned. “Only that Wen Xu tried to attack the Unclean Realm, and lost his life for it.”

“Mn.” She took a deep breath. “I do not suppose you saw the…ah, the big turtle in the banquet hall?”

His frown deepened. “That massive statue of a turtle’s head? Quite ludicrous, but then Nie Mingjue’s father was an eccentric from the day he was born.”

“Oh dear,” she said, realizing that no one had briefed Lan Qiren on Baxia or exactly how they had won against Wen Xu’s forces.

“What is it? What are you—oh no. No! Do not tell me that Wei Ying used resentful energy during the battle!” He covered his face with one hand. “That boy! Did anyone observe him doing so? Perhaps we can direct interest away from—”

Yanli stood up and bowed again, cutting him off as politely as she could. She would have kowtowed if her status had been one iota less than it was.

Then she asked Liu Peng to send someone for Nie Zonghui, or Nie Popo, or even Nie Mingjue if he was able to come.

“Wei Yanli?” Lan Qiren asked softly, genuine worry tempering his expression for the first time.

“Quite a bit has happened since we arrived in the Unclean Realm, Grandmaster Lan, and I believe it is only fair that you hear the full story in proper order rather than in bits and pieces from different people at different times.” She took a deep breath. “I will dispense with suspense on one matter for now: yes, Ying’er used resentful energy; yes, many people saw him do it, on several occasions. I am so sorry I could not keep my promise to you.” She bowed again.

He had paled as she spoke, picking up on her seriousness. “Please sit, Sect Leader Wei. I will wait for the others before asking anything further.”

Not long after, they all arrived, although it was mostly Yanli and Nie Mingjue explaining everything—the expedition to find the Xuanwu of Slaughter, Yanli’s kidnapping, the battles at Muxi Mountain, and the eventual battle with Wen Xu. Lan Qiren asked pointed questions about the yin iron, which led to Nie Zonghui providing an explanation of Ying’er’s dual with Xue Yang, then Nie Mingjue providing less of an explanation of his old saber’s new home inside of a giant turtle’s head.

When they were done, they sat there and watched as Lan Qiren rubbed his temples and grumbled under his breath for a while. None of them felt like they should speak until the elder had sorted out his thoughts.

Almost none of them.

“RenRen,” Nie Popo started, causing Nie Mingjue’s eyes to widen in shock. Yanli felt the same. RenRen?

“You can’t be mad at Little Ying’er. Without his powers, my grandson would be dead twice over and Wen Ruohan would have complete control of the jianghu, for all intents and purposes. The Nie are more familiar with the damage resentful energy can do than most, and I am not one to wave away the evil potential of such dangerous powers, but this is war the likes of which no one alive has seen. We need him, appearances be damned.”

Lan Qiren lowered his hands, closed his eyes, and sighed. “Yes, Nie Popo.”

Nie Zonghui was doing a masterful job of not laughing at his sect leader, whose eyebrows had shot up high on his forehead. Obviously, he had never seen such familiarity between the two elders before. It occurred to Yanli that in much the same way Nie Popo had watched Lan Xichen grow up, she had also watched Lan Qiren himself grow up. They were all just children to her.

She glanced at Nie Mingjue and tipped her head toward Lan Qiren. Nie Mingjue sighed.

“You should know that this morning I sent off a squad of my best disciples to sneak into Gusu and look for Wangji. Sect Leader Wei graciously provided her disciple and brother, Wei Cheng, to travel with him. Wei Ying is still recovering and could not join them, but he is using his ghost crows to monitor their travels, and should be able to know when they find Wangji. They have been ordered to assist any Lan remnants they find, but I felt it was too hazardous to bring them here. I do not know what Wen Ruohan will do next, but I am in his sights more than ever now.”

Lan Qiren bowed, and they all ignored his watery eyes. “Thank you, Sect Leader Nie.”

“Would you like to talk to Ying’er?” Yanli offered, although she hoped he would say no.

“No,” the doctor answered instead. He had been lurking by the door, but came forward to check Lan Qiren’s qi. “He needs more rest, not more upsetting news.”

The dismissal was clear, so they bowed and shuffled out into the breezeway, solemn and quiet as they went their separate ways.