WangXian Forever 3

Chapter 71 Signal

All the clan leaders had arrived by cover of night in Cloud Recesses for one last meeting before the final attack. They held this one in the Great Hall, the library unable to accommodate the attendees. Jiang Cheng had rolled his eyes at the insistence on some pomp and ceremony; Wei Ying wanted to so much, but he was in possession of greater self control.

XiChen was in charge of answering their questions and giving them guidelines on what to expect. They had spent the better half of the afternoon hashing it out in the library, so they were fully prepared.

Jiang Cheng removed the silk sheet covering an ebony blackboard, and then XiChen took over.

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming to Cloud Recesses for this vital meeting." He pointed at six different locations on the map drawn in chalk. "Here are our targets. We are lucky that the layouts of all these buildings are more or less the same."

"When is the attack planned for?" Nie Huaisang asked.

"Some time after eleven o'clock. We want the children to be out of harm's way, if possible. The attacks are split into two main groups: one to rescue and the second teams to subdue. If we stick to this plan, we can complete this mission with a high chance of success." XiChen looked at Wei Ying and nodded.

He hadn't wanted to speak up at all, but his XiChen-Ge had requested it, saying it would accomplish two things; the leaders would see he had used his superior knowledge and skills to save children, so he, as the Yiling Patriarch was not someone to be frightened of, and as such, because this two pronged attack had been his idea in the first place, it was credit where credit was due.

By now, Wei Ying was just anxiously waiting to leave, and standing up to talk to people who would more than like to pierce him with their swords, was the least desirable thing he could think of. He was only doing it because a man he had nothing but respect for, and a lot of love, had asked him to. Plus said man was married to his brother, and no doubt Jiang Cheng would have plenty to say if he refused.

So he stood up and walked to the blackboard, facing everyone. Wei Ying looked at his husband first, just to gain support and courage, and found it in abundance. Lan Zhan was making cow eyes at him and it made him want to dance with joy, but this was not the time. He straightened his back and faced the rest of them, to talk.

"Our main priorities lie with the children. We must rescue them first, therefore having two teams going in makes sense. One team will free the children and escort them out of there, if that's not possible, find somewhere that they can be protected at all costs. This is where the second teams come in." Wei Ying stared at them to make sure this was all going in. "Second teams must deal with any threat. We should expect resistance; these people do not care about any lives, much less their own. It is up to us to ensure the loss of life is at a minimum. They will probably try to take their own lives, as we know from past experience, so the removal of their rings is paramount."

"We must see to it that as many of them must be brought to justice as possible. If we do not make them pay in some form of punishment,  then we are remis in our duties as clan leaders." XiChen clarified, making eye contact with each leader.

They all bowed, accepting what he said.

Now, Wei Ying thought, there was nothing left to do but wait until it was time.

*******

He held Lan Zhan tightly as they flew on Bichen. The night sky was beautiful, a carpet of stars littering the velvet sky. Wei Ying had brought Suibian with him as well as Chenqing. Lan Zhan had returned it on his first day back, kissing it first. Of course, other things happened because of that...he smiled at the memory.