Backlash Part 1

Chapter 6: The Infirmary

Wen Qing quietly left the small room where she and her youngest didi had moved to. Technically she was in the past now. The time before Wei Wuxian had rescued her and her remaining family. Even then it had been almost six months of living in the Burial Mounds before they had all discussed formal adoption. It was true that probably no one outside their little community would care, but that wasn't why they did it. They did it because Wei Wuxian was family, and they wanted him to know it. They all knew he treated them like they were family and they all thought of him the same way, but there was something about formalizing it. It was like making a promise, a commitment to that relationship and everything it entailed.

The afternoon they had sat Wei Wuxian down to ask him about it was one of her fondest memories of their time in the Burial Mounds. Wei Wuxian had been so excited. He had seemed completely overwhelmed. When they proceeded to tell him that they wished to take his last name, he cried. She remembered Uncle three frantically explaining that Wei Wuxian was their savior and taking his last name would be an honor. It took a few more panicked explanations before Granny figured out that Wei Wuxian wasn't upset, but crying because he was happy. If Wen Qing had perhaps been a bit tearful towards the end of the discussion no one mentioned it. That night they celebrated much like they had when Wen Qionglin woke up. Uncle Four spent half the night talking with Wei Wuxian about wine making. The very next day he had Wei Wuxian assist him so he could teach him how to make it. Even though they had all considered Wei Wuxian as part of their family before, afterwards Wei Wuxian seemed so much more comfortable. It made the Burial Mounds feel a little bit brighter.

These events had not happened yet. They may not ever happen since she was now in the past. Regardless, they were real for her. Even if she and her family were Wen's now. In her heart she had already allowed this name to die alongside the nightmares the main family had brought on the world. As far as she was concerned Wei Wuxian was now, and will always be, her didi. She didn't know exactly how the future would progress from here. She didn't know what they would manage to change. However, she had every intention of making it official again.

Her youngest didi would accept this easily. The last time she studied at Cloud Recesses she had tried and failed to get her youngest didi to stay away from Wei Wuxian. She had wanted to protect him by keeping him away from everyone and anyone. She probably should have known better. Wen Qionglin had always been a good judge of character. Her only hesitation now would be what Wei Wuxian would be comfortable with. It wasn't that she thought he didn't still think of them as family, but she suspected he may be worried how the Jiang's would react. She still didn't know whether he would want to stay away from them or desperately stay close to protect them. The desire for both was probably present. She didn't begrudge Wei Wuxian for his loyalty and affection for the Jiang's. More the opposite really. A large part of her felt the Jiang's hadn't deserved him. Jiang Wanyin was taking the brunt of that from her, but he was not the only one who instilled this sentiment within her.

Wen Qing walked through the dimly lit infirmary. The infirmary had a few lanterns that were kept lit every night. It was meant to make it easy to locate and navigate in the event of an emergency. The room Wen Qing and Wen Qionglin had moved to was a small room attached to the infirmary. It was meant for healers to stay in when they had patients that might need care in the middle of the night. It was exactly for this reason that Wen Qing had requested Lan Xichen permit them to move there. No one knew yet what condition Wei Wuxian would be in when he woke up. They also did not know when he would wake up. That plus the fact that everyone was nervous about the resentful energy made it a very reasonable request.

Wen Qing softly opened the door to Wei Wuxian's room. There was still a lantern glowing faintly beside his bed. It was already past curfew. The room was filled with the soft sounds of sleep. The Jiang siblings were sleeping on a spare mattress, unwilling to leave Wei Wuxian's room. Lan Wangji was sitting on Wei Wuxian's bed leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Wei Wuxian was now mostly laying on the bed. His head pillowed in Lan Wangji's lap as his hands gripped the fabric of the thick white robes. She smiled faintly at the scene before she continued with her task.