Backlash Part 1

Chapter 5: The Infirmary

Wen Qing stepped out of the room, only a little concerned that she might have shared too much with Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian had only ever told her that he and Lan Wangji were friends. She wasn't sure if he was deliberately trying to maintain distance between the two of them, or if he was ignorant to his own feelings. Wen Qing was well aware that he could be deceptively dense at times. It also would be just like him to try and push someone away to protect them. She had seen something similar when Wei Wuxian had told Jiang Wanyin to tell everyone he defected from the YunmengJiang Sect. From what Wen Qing had been able to glean of Lan Wangji's personality, he didn't seem like the type to abandon a loved one for his own safety. So it would make sense that Wei Wuxian may have been deliberately keeping some distance in their relationship. Wei Wuxian probably wanted to spare Lan Wangji from becoming a target because of his proximity to Wei Wuxian.

Wen Qing personally felt this was a pretty stupid reason. It robbed the other person the ability to choose for themselves. She doubted Lan Wangji would be happy with having that decision made for him. If she hadn't been certain at Koi Tower, then seeing Lan Wangji now was all the evidence she needed. Hanguang-Jun cared deeply for Wei Wuxian. As such, he deserved to know Wei Wuxian's feelings and to choose for himself whether or not to stand by his loved one. She also personally wanted Lan Wangji to have that choice. She was pretty confident of what his decision would be. She believed he would choose to stay by Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian really needed someone to choose him for a change.

This is probably the real reason why she had an urge to disclose things to Lan Wangji that she would not have disclosed to anyone else. This was also the reason that she could not let go of her personal resentment towards Jiang Wanyin. Wen Qing did realize it was unfair to say that Jiang Wanyin had agreed to have Wei Wuxian defect just to save his own skin. He was a sect leader after all. More importantly, the YunmengJiang Sect had only recently been rebuilt from scratch. That they had risen to such heights so quickly was impressive, but their position was by no means stable. Wen Qing understood this logically.

It didn't even bother her that Jaign Wanyin didn't offer aid to the surviving members of her branch of the family. She knew her branch of the family was exclusively healers and no one had participated in any battles or killings. Still she understood why Jiang Wanyin would not assist them. He was protecting his sect and his family. She had assisted very little those opposing Wen Rouhan for similar reasons. If she were caught her family would die. Yet this argument was also what made her blood boil when she thought of Jiang Wanyin's actions.

Wasn't Wei Wuxian also his family? Didn't they always say that they were siblings in all but name? Wei Wuxian was not formally adopted by the Jiang Clan. Wen Qing was well aware of this, but she had been under the impression that that was mostly because of Yu Ziyuan. Practically the entire cultivation world knew Yu Ziyuan didn't like Wei Wuxian. Yet Wei Wuxian had been otherwise treated and presented like he was a member of their family. Her understanding was that Jiang Fengmian treated him like a son, and both Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli treated him like a sibling. She knew Wei Wuxian treated them like family. She knew all too well what he was willing to sacrifice for them.

Which is why she could not help but be angry that Jiang Wanyin had agreed to announce Wei Wuxian defected. Even if he was doing it to protect the YunmengJiang Sect, she couldn't help but feel like he was sacrificing his own brother to do so. Wen Qing really had a hard time forgiving that. It was only made worse by the fact that she was privy to the knowledge of just how much Wei Wuxian would sacrifice for Jiang Wanyin. She took a deep breath, trying to not be too noticeable about it. For Wei Wuxian she would do her best to treat Jiang Wanyin with courtesy.

If she happened to be a bit intolerant of Jiang Wanyin... 'Well, that's just me protecting A-Ying like I should as his Jie.'

Wen Qing looked up at the three people she had previously ushered out of Wei Wuxian's room. She had been concerned they might do something unfortunate while Lan Wangji was still trying to soothe Wei Wuxian. She knew from experience that even if he cared about someone and trusted them it didn't mean he would unconsciously recognize them as safe. There was every possibility that if someone besides Lan Wangji or her tried to touch him he might have reacted to defend himself again. Honestly encouraging Lan Wangji to soothe him had been a guess on her part.