Backlash Part 1

Chapter 134: Tension Remains

Wen Qing was not sure what she just walked into. In her last life she remembers the surprise, fear, and anger that came when she entered this room.  Wei Wuxian had been in a terrible state, physically and mentally. He had been holding Wen Qionglin with a sword at his throat. Jiang Wanyin had been unconscious on the bed behind them. The scene she walked in on now was equally tense, but a bit more confusing.

Jiang Wanyin was laid out on the bed again. A large bruise was forming near his temple. Aside from that he actually looked much better from last time. His colouring was only slightly pale, but from a distance he looked healthy. It was more than could be said about Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. Their bodies were laid out on the floor. Wen Qing was already internally grimacing about having to smuggle the bodies, or find a way to covertly burn the bodies and gather the ashes.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji both looked a bit worse for wear. One side of Wei Wuxian's face was beginning to darken in a bruise. There was distinctive bruising around his neck making Wen Qing's heart sink. Someone had tried to strangle him. She supposed it was optimistic to hope Wei Wuxian would not suffer injuries this time.

Most of this scene wasn't strange. The part that was making Wen Qing confused was the odd tension in the air. Wei Wuxian was silent, sitting on the floor. Lan Wangji was standing near him. What was weird was that Lan Wangji was not holding Wei Wuxian and not speaking. Wen Qing expected both, but instead Lan Wangji was simply standing next to Wei Wuxian, his leg just barely brushing Wei Wuxian's shoulder.

Wen Qionglin was fidgeting awkwardly as he glanced at Wen Qing for help. Wen Qing took in a deep sigh. She checked Jiang Wanyin's condition quickly. He appeared to be unconscious. She checked the injury and his pulse. His golden core was undamaged and already working at mending the head injury. The bruise already looked like it was a day old, although she suspected he received it this evening.

Wen Qing took out a needle and placed it with precision. She was not going to have him wake up screaming like a mad man this time. Not until they were out of Lotus Pier safely. She turns her attention to Wei Wuxian. He doesn't look like his brain is doing good things right now, but she has seen him worse. That was slightly encouraging. She crouches in front of Wei Wuxian.

"A-Ying. I'm gonna check your injuries, alright?" Wen Qing speaks in a soft voice. Wei Wuxian glances at her, then wordlessly nods. She examines his pulse. A thread of spiritual energy travels through his meridians, while she checks his spiritual energy. His golden core is healthy, although his spiritual energy is low. He must have expended a lot of it during the battle. She finds several small cuts, likely from the swords of other cultivators. To her relief his back appears undamaged.

The bruising around Wei Wuxian's neck is concerning. It's deeper than Wen Qing remembered it being, and Wei Wuxian's exhausted spiritual energy is making it slow to begin healing. Wen Qing gently applies pressure around Wei Wuxian's neck to assess the damage. If he didn't fall unconscious from the strangulation then it must have been a near thing. Possibly delayed by Wei Wuxian's golden core trying to compensate.

"Open your mouth. I want to take a look at your throat," Wen Qing says in concern. Wei Wuxian does not even make any inappropriate jokes. That was a worrisome indicator. Wen Qing channels a small amount of spiritual energy to the tip of her finger. A small ball of light, no larger than a pin prick, is glowing brightly. The light it sheds is brighter than a candle. She holds it up to allow her to look inside Wei Wuxian's mouth, particularly the back at the start of the throat.

Wen Qing frowns. There is more damage to his throat this time. It might have been a natural variation between the past and the present. Or maybe she just didn't look carefully last time. She had not yet grown close to Wei Wuxian, and using her spiritual energy to make a light like this was something she developed in the Burial Mounds.

"Your throat probably hurts pretty badly," Wen Qing said quietly. "I'll make you medicine for it. You should try not to talk too much while it's healing. If it hurts too much, stop." Wen Qing says in a serious tone. The Wei Wuxian of right now might not need that warning, but eventually he will be energetic and talkative again.

Wen Qing turns her gaze to Lan Wangji. He was the person best equipped to get Wei Wuxian back to himself, which meant she needed to know why Lan Wangji was not wrapping himself around Wei Wuxian and trying to achieve that. Lan Wangji hated a silent Wei Wuxian more than anyone else.

"Lan Wangji, I'd like to see your injuries next. I see a few small cuts, like A-Ying's. Do you have any other injuries I should know about?" Wen Qing inquired. Lan Wangji shook his head no. Whatever had happened, Wen Qing did not like the current energy between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

Wen Qing looked at Lan Wangji trying to identify his current expression. It maybe looked a little like angry, but she was almost positive Lan Wangji was at least a bit worried. Since it was a guarantee Lan Wangji was worried for Wei Wuxian, she was going to assume he was simultaneously worried and angry. Not angry enough to confront Wei Wuxian, but angry enough to feel... Wen Qing frowned and crouched down again.

"A-Ying. Did you do something deliberately that hurt you?" Wen Qing inquired gently. Wei Wuxian blinked at her with slight confusion.

"Wei Ying was strangled by Jiang Wanyin." There was a slightly choppy quality to Lan Wangji's words. Possibly a sign of frustration, or maybe Lan Wangji was struggling to repress his emotions.

Wen Qing's eyebrows raised. She looked at the darkening hand prints around Wei Wuxian's throat, then looked back at the unconscious Jiang Wanyin. Then she glanced up at Lan Wangji. She was honestly a bit impressed that Jiang Wanyin was alive. If Wen Qing wasn't so worried about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji she probably would be worrying about controlling her own furry.

It was an easy guess that Lan Wangji was blaming himself for allowing Wei Wuxian to be hurt. Of course if that was it, then Lan Wangji would not be hovering somewhere between wanting to comfort Wei Wuxian and being upset with Wei Wuxian. Wen Qing was very aware of her Da-di's penchant for allowing others to hurt him. A few more deep breaths.

"A-Ying," Wen Qing said softly. "Jiang Wanyin did this last time too didn't he?" Wen Qing inquired.

Wei Wuxian gave a very small nod. It was barely a tip of Wei Wuxian's head, but Wen Qing was not expecting much more than that. She looked at Lan Wangji.

"Did A-Ying do something to keep you from interfering?" Wen Qing asked. Lan Wangji's fists clenched tighter. Wen Qing felt like this entire night was just going to be one heavy sigh after another. Wen Qing stood up.

"Lan Wangji, I understand you're upset. You hate to see A-Ying hurt. You hate A-Ying interfering with your ability to protect him. The two of you will absolutely need to talk about this situation. That conversation is clearly not going to be happening right now. Sit down, let yourselves calm down and get some rest." Wen Qing kept her voice gentle, but commanding. Something passed through Lan Wangji's eyes. Wen Qing wasn't sure what it was, but she set it aside when Lan Wangji slowly went to the ground beside Wei Wuxian.

Nothing was said between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, but Lan Wangji pulled Wei Wuxian into his embrace. Wen Qing pinched the bridge of her nose. Most likely they were both just angry at themselves. It was something they could sort out tomorrow. After they both got some sleep. They were clearly exhausted and stressed, they were not going to be having any productive conversations right now.

Wen Qing got Wen Qionglin to work preparing medicine. She herself mixed and burned a medicinal incense. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji both needed something to help them calm down and rest. Hopefully by tomorrow Wen Qing will have figured out what to do with Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan's remains.

Ideally she would like to burn them and collect the ashes. Much easier to transport, and Wei Wuxian wouldn't have to see their bodies begin to rot. Wen Qing supposed it all depended on how many people would be on duty tonight and how late they would be burning the corpses of the other deceased.