The meaning of protecting you with my life

Fall of Lotus Pier

Wei Wuxian had always known what his role in the Yunmeng Jiang clan and sect was. He was supposed to protect them with his very life which he owed to Uncle Jiang for rescuing him off the streets. It was that simple, they saved his life and he owned it to his family and to the sect which had so graciously taken him in.

He only needed to be told once to understand what his standing was, but Madame Yu made sure he would not forget, reminding him often enough. He had been training hard to be able to accomplish his duties when necessary. But he would have never imagined that he should do so in this way.

He was already laying on the hard ground, in the remnants of a low table and another strike of Zidian had just rained on his already aching back. He did not mind the pain, just as Wang Lingjiao had said, this was his punishment for being too arrogant and forgetting his place because of wanting to help Lan Zhan. Jiang Cheng had even warned him, multiple times at that. So it came as no surprise that
Wen Chao's woman came to request his punishment.

Even when she said that his right hand should been the right price to pay, he was alright with that as well, his life belonged to the Yunmeng Jiang sect and if this much can right his mistakes, then so be it. He would still be able to practice swordsmanship and protect everyone. Madame Yu would at least make it less painful than if he had been dragged directly in front of Wen Chao. Or at least he hoped so with how angry she was at him for endangering the Yunmeng Jiang sect in the first place.

He stretched his right hand and spread his fingers wide on the floor, preparing for the inevitable.

"Close the door, I do not want anyone to see the blood!" Madame Yu ordered and Wei Wuxian closed his eyes at the same time. He did not need to see either.

He opened them again when instead of the pain he was expecting, only the conversation between Madame Yu and Wang Lingjiao continued and he was helped up by Jiang Cheng. His back was hurting but it was not so bad, he knew worse. Still, he would barely be able to stand up at this point. He would be useless to protect the family now and he despised himself for his weakness.

He grabbed at his robes, clutching them tight as he uselessly laid down in Jiang Cheng's lap and watched the events take place in front of him. He could not believe his eyes and ears, was it only because Wang Lingjiao had wanted to make Lotus Pier a supervisory office that Madame Yu had stricken her down? She must have surely realized what consequences her acts would have, his severed hand would not be then enough to appease the Qishan Wen sect. She should have just let him be taken to Qishan at this point.

A fight erupted and Wei Wuxian watched with wide eyes how Madame Yu and her maids had singlehandedly taken care of all the Wen soldiers in the room. Perhaps he had been worrying over nothing? No, Wen Chao would not let it slide just like this, there would definitely be consequences for the Yunmeng Jiang sect's resistance.

Just as he thought about it, Wen Zhuliu came inside the room through the window and protected Wang Lingjiao. Wei Wuxian had already heard about Wen Zhuliu's abilities, he supposed the whole cultivation world did by now. His right hand was feared far and wide. He could make one's golden core melt in a matter of seconds, upon touching one's chest. They were in big trouble now; this man was far more dangerous than a whole army of Wen soldiers on his own.

Wei Wuxian watched in horror how Madame Yu and Wen Zhuliu engaged in a well-balanced fight, they were both equally skilled and it was clear that there would need to be something to distract them for one of them to gain an advantage. Perhaps not everything was lost yet.

Suddenly, the distraction was there. Wang Lingjiao run out of the throne room, evidently about to send out a signal for reinforcements. Wei Wuxian cursed internally, he was in no good condition right now and he knew he would be too late if he tried to stop her himself.

"Jiang Cheng! Stop her!" he yelled at his brother, the only option they had left. Madame Yu could possibly take care of Wen Zhuliu on her own, even though Uncle Jiang was not in Lotus Pier right now, but a bunch of Qishan Wen sect soldiers was another matter entirely, they were not prepared for an attack, there would be casualties.

Wei Wuxian did not know who he should be helping first. Madame Yu seemed like she was starting to be overwhelmed by Wen Zhuliu. Jiang Cheng would probably not have a hard time dealing with Wang Lingjiao on his own. In the end, Wei Wuxian opted to stay in the throne room and jump into the fight if needed.

He saw how Madame Yu was trying to avoid one of Wen Zhuliu's attacks and she could not see that he was getting too close to her, ready to strike her right in the middle of her chest.

"Watch out! Madame Yu!" he tried to warn her.

His shout had an effect alright, but not the one he intended for it to have. He quickly scrambled to his feet, although swaying dangerously and having to steady himself by leaning on the wall. His head was spinning dangerously and the movement pulled at the wounds on his back, he however could not care less about his own discomfort. Not when the family he was supposed to protect was in danger.

He saw how Wen Zhuliu turned around and was about to attack Jiang Cheng. His mind went completely blank and the only thought which stayed in it was to protect his brother. He let go of the wall and threw himself directly at Jiang Cheng. He pushed him out of the way, happy that he would not be harmed.

The next second, all his senses were overcome with pain. He had never felt anything like this, it was as if all his meridians were suddenly on fire which was cursing unrestrained throughout his body until it found his golden core. The next part was actually much better, it was just a fraction of a second of flaring, searing pain and then there was nothing. Where his golden core had once been, there was now only emptiness.

Wei Wuxian was shaken. He only barely realized he had just lost his golden core and he was already flying backwards into the courtyard and landed on something else than the hard pavement. Actually, on someone; and that someone being Wang Lingjiao who started screaming at the top of her lungs.

He quickly shook his head to get rid of any unnecessary feelings, he could worry about losing his golden core later, now he had to prevent her from sending off the signal flare. With a little difficulty because his body was still hurting all over, he turned around and managed to snatch the flare from Wang Lingjiao's hand. He then broke it in two to make it unusable.

"Wen Zhuliu, save me!" cried out the despicable woman under him.

The next thing Wei Wuxian knew was that he was once again flying through the air and crashing back first into a wooden door.