The Lotus and the Flame Volume 3 Life Among the Clouds

Flame Kindles Tinder

Qinyang was running through Cloud Recesses, trying to find Qing and Yenay. After checking both the Jinshi and the Minshi, she was about to just start yelling her head off for them, when the gentle glow from a copper butterfly caught her attention. She held out a slender finger and it landed.

Come to the clinic. Please. I am exhausted.

She ran quickly and entered the clinic in time watch Qing pacing furiously from one end of the waiting area to the next, muttering in anger with each breath.

"That arrogant bastard. That demon from the 9th level of hell. How DARE he approach me, ME, in that manner! I am going to kill him. NO! I am going to slice his head off. NO, no! I am going to remove your manhood, Jiang Cheng, and make you watch me feed it to the dogs. No needles, no pain drugs. One slice and it's gone." She began to rummage for the biggest scalpel she could find.

"Oh my, and I thought I was bad when the boys found me at The Night Hunting Lodge!" Qinyang raised an eyebrow and looked at Yenay.

"She has been like this since we arrived. I would say that Sect Master Jiang could be in serious danger."

"If he showed up right now, you could be right. Keep talking to her while I whip up a sedative."

"I'll try but she won't let me get a word in!"

"Do not tell me you are frightened of our little Qing?"

"I am when she is like this!"

"Well, I cannot blame her. It's been building for almost a decade and a half, poor thing."

"Poor thing? What about poor Yenay? I have had to listen to this for an hour!"

"I'll treat you to an hour in the tub when we get home. Will that make you feel better?"

Yenay's copper eyes began to melt at the thought and grinned at her wife. Qinyang grinned back as she hastily mixed a strong tea, designed to calm nerves in a minute or two.

Then she walked over and pulled the manic Qing around. "Take a break, my dear. Have a cup of nice tea and then you can tell me all the tortures you have devised for that jerk. Let us see if the two of us can help you with that."

"That person deserves everything I...Oh! This smells nice...Thank You."

Qing down the tea in about three gulps and she nodded rapidly.

"Good idea my friends. Torture, I like the sound of that! I knew I could count on you."

She paused to yawn. "We three, we'll figure something really gruesome for him." Suddenly she started to sniff, and a few tears fell from her eyes. "I mean, he deserves the worst, doesn't he? Big, stupid fool. He could have been so happy. WE could have been so happy." Her head slowly lowered and Yenay caught her before she fell.

"There," chortled Qinyang in satisfaction. "She should sleep until noon tomorrow."

The two women carried her safely home and safely tucked into her bed. Once they made certain that she would be cared for and watched closely, they felt secure in leaving again and they headed back to the Inn to relieve Lan Zhan of his reluctant guardianship of Jiang Cheng. By the time they arrived Jiang Cheng had downed several cups of wine and Lan Zhan was looking a little desperate. He didn't particularly like the man and he certainly didn't like having to babysit him as he sank into a deep depression right before his eyes. His relief at seeing his sisters arrive was enormous. As he started to rise, Qinyang grabbed his sleeve.

"You are going nowhere for a while. We are going to need your strength in a few minutes."

He glowered in reply.

She slipped the same concoction she had made for Qing into Jiang Cheng's cup of liquor, mentally adjusting for his size difference and the alcohol content he had already consumed. The man was truly pathetic at this point, about to break down into an enormous wine-induced crying jag, something none of them wanted to witness. The tears were beginning to flow when his eyes rolled back into his head and he flopped forward and began to snore. Normally he was a handsome man, but right now he looked somewhat disgusting.

Qinyang put a quiet spell over their booth and they breathed a sigh of relief. Lan Zhan's eyes widened as they filled him in on Qing's meltdown in the clinic and he was relieved that she would be safe until the next day. He began to relate his conversation with Jiang Cheng. He had explained the last few months of Yin Yan's life and her arrival at Chang Manor. Jiang Cheng was horrified and guilt-stricken. He then told Lan Zhan of his failed attempt to rescue Qing and Ning and the triumphant success of Meng Yao's subterfuge. He confessed his own despair and guilt and his retrieval of their ashes. Both women looked horrified.

"He's not a complete bastard, is he?" asked Qinyang.

"He is guilty of being unable to speak out publicly in his testimony and of being arrogant enough to think a plea behind the scenes could save them," stated Lan Zhan, implacably. "Even Luo Qingqing, our old friend Mian Mian spoke up publicly on Wei's behalf and theirs. He kept his mouth shut then, as well. But, no. I do not believe he is guilty of desiring their deaths in any way."

"Yet he risked his life and took on Koi Towers' guards to try and save them. He is truly a strange and conflicted man." Qinyang shook her head.

Yenay spoke quietly. "Those two have an enormous mountain to climb right now. I am not sure they will make it to the top. So much blame and resentment, guilt, and sorrow. It will be hard. Their parting was not the same as ours."

"You are right, my love."

Lan Zhan sighed. "It can be done. The situation between Wei Ying and me improves with time. I do not know the odds for these two though."

"You are two entirely different couples. Qing and Cheng are both strong and fiery people. When it gets down to it, it is their business and they will decide for themselves." Qinyang stood up. " Are we ready to haul this lug off to his quarters? His entourage will care for him well enough. Lan Zhan, you better return to watching that snake, Meng Yao."

She lifted the quiet spell, and they began the long trip back to Jiang Cheng's suite of rooms.