Remembering their first encounter, Wei Wuxian’s gaze shifted from Wen Ning to Jiang Cheng. He was still drenched in blood, eyes still shut tight. His hands were reflexively clenched into fists.
They first traveled by water, taking the boat down the river, and then swapped to land via a horse carriage Wen Ning had prepared.
The next day, they arrived in Yiling.
Wen Ning summoned dozens of sect disciples and personally escorted both of them to a large, splendid mansion with a courtyard. He snuck them through the back entrance and led Wei Wuxian to a small house on the mansion’s grounds. Wen Ning had only just turned to close the door when Wei Wuxian caught him by the neck again, before he even had the chance to draw breath.
“What is this place?!” Wei Wuxian questioned in a hushed voice.
Even though Wen Ning had saved them, he couldn’t let his guard down around the Wens. He’d kept a constant eye on Wen Ning, and they’d passed quite a few rooms full of people conversing with Qishan accents as they moved through the mansion. Eavesdropping on a few isolated phrases that leaked through the gaps around the windows and doors, he’d caught the words “Overwatch Office”!
“No… I…” Flustered, Wen Ning waved his hands.
“No, what?” Wei Wuxian pressed. “Isn’t this the Overwatch Office in Yiling? Which unlucky clan’s territory did the Wens occupy this time? What exactly did you want to accomplish by bringing us here?”
Wen Ning tried his best to explain. “Wei-gongzi, l-listen to me. This is an Overwatch Office, but…but I never meant to harm you. If I wanted to, I could have gone back on my word last night as soon as I entered Lotus Pier. There would be n-no need to lure both of you here.”
Wei Wuxian had been wound tight and on edge the past few days, unable to relax for a single moment. His thoughts were confused and whirling, leaving him skeptical despite Wen Ning’s reasonable response.
“This is indeed the Overwatch Office,” Wen Ning added. “If there’s one place that the Wen Clan won’t search, it’s here. You can stay here. Just don’t let anyone find you…”
Wei Wuxian paused briefly before he finally forced himself to release his grip. He muttered a thank you and a sorry under his breath, then laid Jiang Cheng on the wooden bed in the room.
At that moment, the door to the room suddenly opened and a woman’s voice rang out.
“I was just about to go looking for you! You’d better give me a good explanation…”
Wen Ning had just told them they mustn’t be discovered—and now they’d been caught! Wei Wuxian promptly broke out in a cold sweat and moved to block the bed. Wen Ning was so startled he couldn’t utter a word.
Both were frozen in place as they stared at the woman standing in the doorway—or rather, the young woman. Her skin was slightly tanned, and though her face was sweet, it was turned up in a haughty expression. She wore a blazing sun uniform with flames so vividly red it looked like her sleeves and collar were a dancing inferno.
This clearly marked her as someone of extremely high rank in the Wen Clan—a rank on par with Wen Chao!
The three of them stood still as statues as they faced each other, until frantic footsteps came from outside. Wei Wuxian steeled himself and was just about to make a move when the young woman unexpectedly beat him to it. She slammed the door shut with a heavy thud, shutting herself out.
“Chief Officer Wen, what’s going on?” someone asked outside.
“Nothing. My younger brother is back,” they heard the young woman say coolly. “He’s feeling low again. Don’t bother him. Let’s go. We’ll continue our conversation when we return.”
The ones outside the door acknowledged her command and followed her away. Wen Ning breathed a sigh of relief and then turned to Wei Wuxian to explain.
“My…my elder sister.”
“Wen Qing is your elder sister?” Wei Wuxian asked.
A little embarrassed, Wen Ning nodded. “My elder sister is, is very formidable.”
Indeed, she was.
Wen Qing was renowned both within and without the Wen Clan of Qishan. She wasn’t the daughter of the head of the Wen family Wen Ruohan but rather the descendant of one of his elder cousins on the maternal side. Although they were distant relatives, Wen Ruohan had had a good relationship with his cousin since they were children. Furthermore, Wen Qing excelled in both the literary arts and the study of medicine. She was highly favored by Wen Ruohan for her talents and often attended the Wen Clan of Qishan’s various year-round banquets alongside him.
That was why Wei Wuxian was able to recognize her. After all, she was quite beautiful. He’d heard somewhere that she might have an older or younger brother, but no one really talked about him—perhaps because he was far less exceptional than Wen Qing.
“You’re really Wen Qing’s little brother?” Wei Wuxian asked in wonder.
Wen Ning thought he was astonished that such an unremarkable younger brother could be associated with such an outstanding, famous elder sister. “Yes, my jiejie is formidable. Not…not me though,” he admitted.
“No, no, you’re impressive too,” Wei Wuxian assured. “I’m just amazed that your elder sister is Wen Qing, the Chief Officer, and you still dared bring us…”
Just then, Jiang Cheng stirred on the bed and slightly furrowed his brow. Wei Wuxian immediately turned around to check on him.
“Jiang Cheng?!”
“He’s waking,” Wen Ning hurriedly said. “He needs treatment. I’ll go decoct some medicine.”
He stepped out and closed the door behind him. Wei Wuxian was overjoyed, at first, that Jiang Cheng had finally started to come around after being unconscious for so long. But he quickly realized something was amiss.
Jiang Cheng’s expression was odd. It was too calm. Much too calm.