68. Unremarked

“A giant turtle.” Jin Zixuan looked out over the city from their perch on a broad balcony at the top of Koi Tower with a complicated expression of horror and resignation.

Far in the distance, an army of thousands advanced on Lanling City. They looked like a smudge on the horizon…except for Baxia, who even at such a distance was very clearly a giant turtle.

“She’s a demonic beast.” Nie Huaisang shrugged as if that answered all questions.

“You realize that kind of makes it worse, right?” Jin Zixuan said with exasperation. It was easy to see in those moments that they had spent time together during the Lan lectures when they were younger.

“I suppose. But she’s our demonic beast. Even Lan Qiren eventually got used to her!”

Yanli thought that was perhaps a bit of a stretch, but Jin Zixuan looked surprised.

“Lan Qiren is alive?”

Oh, oops. Yanli cringed internally but stepped forward before Nie Huaisang could make things worse.

“He is alive. He came to the Unclean Realm at great risk to himself and while injured to inform us of the fall of Gusu Lan to Wen Chao. He is the one who told us that Lan Wangji survived, which was why the Nie sent a squadron in to rescue him. I approved their request to have A’Cheng, ah, the former Jiang Cheng, accompany them, since he now wields Zidian and is a formidable cultivator in his own right.”

“He is?” Jin Zixuan squawked in disbelief.

“Zidian survives?” Madam Jin gasped in the first real show of emotion that Yanli had seen from her yet, clasping her hands together over her heart like a maiden who just found out that her lover had returned from battle alive.

“So you see,” Nie Huaisang said, talking over both of them, “Baxia can’t be that terrible if Lan Qiren, the Grandmaster of Gusu Lan, approves of her!”

“Grandmaster Lan tolerates Baxia,” she finally corrected. “He understands the value of a powerful weapon,” she said the last to Jin Zixuan.

Nie Huaisang slumped a little but murmured “Yes, Yanli’jie” with a slight bow. Yanli would take her wins where she could. At that moment, it was at the top of Koi Tower waiting for Sect Leader Nie to arrive.

She had called for a meeting with Jin Zixuan and Madam Jin not long after Nie Huaisang got the message, which was extremely fortunate because before Nie Huaisang finished explaining that he had heard from his brother, a Jin general had interrupted with breathless news that a “massive Nie army and a giant demonic beast were on the way to attack Lanling!”

It had taken a few minutes for everyone to calm down enough for Nie Huaisang to swear that it was not an invasion or attack, just his brother and his giant pet slaughter turtle coming to check on him. Which in turn seemed to give Jin Zixuan constipation, followed quickly by Madam Jin bullying her staff to get the guest quarters suitable for a visiting sect leader.

Yanli and Nie Huaisang had spent the following day in relative comfort, painting (him) and doing embroidery (her) while Koi Tower erupted around them with activity. Yanli wondered where the vigil for Jin Guangshan was being held, but not enough to ask. It seemed the most either wife or son were willing to commit to their (assumed) grief was taking down a bunch of gilded decor, putting up white banners, and donning white sashes. Most everyone, including the Jin themselves, joined Yanli in her studied obliviousness.

As soon as Baxia was spotted on the horizon the next morning, Nie Meitong and most of the surviving Nie had immediately taken to their sabers to ride out to their leader, leaving a small bodyguard for Nie Huaisang behind to stand with the welcoming committee. Yanli currently had the remains of her sect—Jiang Wu and Jiang Minhao—as her own bodyguard, with Liu Peng standing behind her.

She felt very alone.

Baxia did, indeed, move very fast and she was strolling down the main boulevard to the tower fairly quickly. Jin Zixuan’s jaw dropped lower the closer she got. He had not quite believed Nie Huaisang’s claim that since she was as wide as that boulevard it would need to be cleared of market stalls and civilians, but he had ordered it done when Yanli had backed Nie Huaisang up. Madam Jin, on the other hand, had an avaricious gleam to her eye that was more Yu than Jin.

“Is he riding it?” One of the (remaining) Jin elders standing behind them asked with dismay.

“Of course,” Nie Huaisang said proudly.

“Is it wearing a guan????” Another elder exclaimed disbelievingly, squinting ferociously. MianMian did a poor job of hiding her laughter.

“That’s the Saber Formerly Known as Baxia, impaled in Baxia’s head.” Nie Huaisang nodded as he spoke.

“I think perhaps you left out some details in your explanation, Sang’er,” Madam Jin said flatly.

“Perhaps we should go down to meet it…er, I mean, Sect Leader Nie?” Jin Zixuan did not sound very certain of that.

“No no, he’ll just park Baxia in the main courtyard and come up the stairs as usual.” Nie Huaisang flapped his fan confidently, as if he had already discussed the matter with his brother. Which, Yanli thought, he probably had via overstuffed pigeons.

Unremarked upon was what Yanli thought the most important part: lagging behind Baxia was the majority of the army Nie Mingjue had left the Unclean Realm with. The cultivators following on their swords and sabers included Nie Popo as well as Lan Qiren, who was out of his Gusu whites and wearing combinations of dark blues instead. But out past the gates, slowly making their way on horse and on foot, were thousands of soldiers. Yanli wondered just how badly the fighting had gone, for Nie Mingjue to pull so many from the field. She also wondered if this represented all the Nie who were still alive to pull from the field. Either way, the answer was a grim one.

“Oh no, it’s that woman,” Madam Jin huffed under her breath.

Yanli held back a frown and gazed out at the clutch of cultivators flying above Baxia as she…trotted?…down the grand boulevard to Koi Tower. There was only one person recognizable as a woman from that distance.

“Do you mean Nie Popo, Madam Jin?”

She heard Jin Zixuan suck in his breath next to her.

“I certainly do! Why is she here?” It was the closest Yanli had ever heard the older woman come to hissing. She turned to her chief handmaiden. "Set up the Immortal Rose pavilion now. If I hear a single complaint from that woman about the smell or the state of the bed linens, I will have every single one of you flogged!”

“Mother—”

“MianMian! Round up every female Jin cultivator and put them on guard duty for the whole east wing. Now, child! Now!”

Wide eyed, Luo Qingyang tried to bow while also spinning around to run off, nearly thwacking Jin Zixuan with her sword in the process before sprinting away.

“Mother, please calm down.”

Yanli flinched as Madam Jin turned cold, furious eyes on her only son. “Do not tell me to calm down, you insolent brat!” She snorted like a bull, causing Jiang Minhao and Jiang Wu to gently pull Yanli further away from her.

Whatever rebuke Madam Jin was going to give him was stopped in its tracks as the Nie contingent reached the bottom stairs of Koi Tower and started marching up. Nie Mingjue left Baxia in the massive courtyard, where she stuck her head into a large decorative pond and, presumably, ate all the fish.

Madam Jin let out a soft whine of dismay.

The Yin Saber was obvious at his back, even the hilt glistening darkly in the sunlight, its malevolent aura radiating off of it like a fine mist. Nie Huaisang had warned Jin Zixuan to warn his people about the saber, but even so, everyone watched Nie Mingjue’s approach with apprehension clear on their faces. Jin Zixuan’s expression had gone still and politely blank, but he never took his eyes off the saber.

Despite that, Nie Mingjue wasn’t two-thirds of the way up before Nie Huaisang finally broke, launching himself down the stairs for his brother to catch him. It was incredibly indecorous but also incredibly sweet, watching Nie Mingjue spin his little brother around as if they were both half their ages. Nie Mingjue kept walking up the stairs while Nie Huaisang hung off of him like a limpet, both of them whispering to each other. Yanli’s heart ached for her own brothers, but she resettled herself and eyed her people, all three of them, who each took the hint and made themselves look as proper as possible for a welcoming ceremony.

Nie Mingjue dumped Nie Huaisang as soon as they crested the stairs, leaving Nie Zonghui to grab him so he didn’t fall over. Nie Huaisang gave him a quick hug before jogging to catch up with his brother.

“Sect Leader Nie,” Jin Zixuan said with a very slight bow, perfectly appropriate from one sect leader to another. “Welcome to Lanling. The Jin sect is honored to host you and your retinue.”

Nie Mingjue studied him for a moment, taking in the white mourning sash around his waist. “So it’s true that your father is dead and you are now sect leader?”

Madam Jin shifted unhappily but Jin Zixuan simply nodded. “It is true. A great tragedy of course, but he died fighting off several assassins while protecting the honor of Sect Leader Wei Yanli.” He lied like a true Jin, then slid his hand through the air gracefully in her direction, which Yanli took as her cue to step forward.

“It is reassuring to see you in good health, Sect Leader Nie. Nie Popo.” She bowed to them.

He did the same peer-to-peer bow back to both her and Jin Zixuan. “Sect Leader Wei, we are pleased to find you are safe. Sect Leader Jin, thank you for welcoming the Nie into your borders.”

Yanli turned to Lan Qiren, who actually looked a lot better than the last time she had seen him. “Grandmaster Lan.” She paused, but decided to forge ahead, despite the breach in formalities. “We have news about your nephews. It is not all good news, but they are both alive.”

He froze mid-bow. “Alive? Both of them?”

“Yes. We are not in direct contact with either of them, and the full story is…hmmm, convoluted. But as far as we know, yes, they are alive.”

He paused and closed his eyes for a long moment, emotions flickering over his face as he straightened up. For the first time, Yanli could see his resemblance to Lan Xichen instead of Lan Wangji, and it struck her anew how much closer Lan Qiren was to being their father than their uncle.

Everyone let him collect himself until he finally opened his eyes and nodded his head to Yanli. “I am truly grateful, Sect Leader Wei. Thank you for easing my worries. Although, I look forward to discussing how exactly you got here to Koi Tower.” He gave Jin Zixuan a look that was only a hairsbreadth short of suspicious. Jin Zixuan expertly sidestepped the comment and turned to his mother.

“I believe you all know Madam Jin, who is serving as my trusted advisor in this unexpected time of transition.” Jin Zixuan did another smooth slide of his hand, and she stepped forward.

“Lanling Jin welcomes you.” She bowed.

“I’m sure it does,” Nie Popo said. Madam Jin’s eyes narrowed, and Nie Huaisang slapped at Nie Popo’s arm with his fan. Everyone else pointedly ignored the exchange as Jin Zixuan continued.

“We have quarters set up for you, including, ah, the Immortal Rose Pavilion for Nie Popo.”

“Hmph,” the woman herself grunted, although she looked pleased. It seemed to give Jin Zixuan some confidence.

“Sect Leader Nie, we have a site suitable for your army’s encampment to the south of Lanling City proper. Luo Qingyang—oh, uhm, Jin Ziyi is available to lead them to the location and assist with logistics.”

A young and startled Jin disciple stepped forward with a hasty bow. Nie Mingjue sent him off with Nie Zonghui to fly back out to the army, which was making good time in closing in on the city.

With the formalities apparently out of the way, Nie Mingjue squared his shoulders, turned from Jin Zixuan, and speared Yanli with an intense look. “So, I hear we have cause to go to war with Pingyang Yao?”