Wen Qing was not sure what she found more offensive. Being asked to have some of her healers spend days tending only to the Flame Palace? A place where people were tortured and a healers only job was to prolong the victims lives so they could be subjected to more pain. Wen Qing's stomach roiled.
The implication that a few weeks was enough time to teach someone enough healing medicine? Enough to save the lives of victims that would be put under severe physical and mental strain? Victims who were subjected to excruciating suffering and often needed varied and extensive interventions to save the lives that have been put in danger by a wide range of brutal techniques.
The request to impart her medical knowledge to torturers? Give her knowledge freely to people who would not follow the three rules she held dear. Give her knowledge to people who would not value and respect life. Give her knowledge to people who do not accept that such knowledge should always be used to help the sick and injured. Give her knowledge to people who would in fact deliberately use that knowledge to harm and kill.
Wen Qing felt sick. She could not share her knowledge of the human body with torturers. She couldn't do it. Everything she taught them would be added to their knowledge and applied in their primary task. A task that was not healing. They would use that knowledge to perfect their craft. They would become better at keeping people alive just so they could hurt them more.
It had nearly killed something inside of Wen Qing to watch Meng Yao go through her medical library. Knowing exactly how that knowledge was going to be applied to his new position as Principal Torturer. Wen Qing was not confident that she had kept her thoughts and feelings off of her face. The thought of trying to stomach even one more sip of tea made Wen Qing nauseous.
"Three weeks will not be long enough for the sorts of interventions the Flame Palace residents will need. I will inquire with the medical cultivators... Healers are required to respond to all requests within the sect. I will plan a new rotation so that those who do not wish to spend long in the Flame Palace can be rotated out quickly. Perhaps a few hours at a time?" Wen Qing tried to keep her tone level. She needed to look calm and confident.
"Of course. The Flame Palace will welcome any medical cultivators who wish assignment here. If we need to do rotations perhaps we can schedule the conversations of important residents. We could potentially give breaks. Reduce the frequency that we need to have medical cultivators on hands and lessen the burden on the infirmary." Meng Yao smiled thoughtfully.
Wen Qing hummed an acknowledgement forcing herself to finish her tea. She felt stiff and anxious. She held back the urge to run through the last meaningless pleasantries and forced herself to keep a calm steady pace when she could finally leave the Flame Palace. She entered the infirmary. She wrote out a notice requesting any medical cultivators interested in assignment to the Flame Palace let her know.
With that deliberate steady pace she walked to her room, closed the door, and leaned heavily against it. Wen Qing tipped her head back until she could feel the texture of the door against her scalp. She let herself stand there silently for a while, breathing heavily. For a few minutes she did not need to maintain her calm or confidence.
Tears leaked quietly from her eyes, and Wen Qing honestly could not even say why she was crying. Exhaustion? Frustration? Relief? Wen Qing allowed herself a few minutes. The quiet tears were happening and she could at least give herself this space to just let whatever she was feeling leak out of her.
After a few minutes she felt calmer. If there was going to be an attack in two days she should let Lan Xichen know. It was possible Meng Yao already informed him, but it wouldn't hurt to have two sources providing the information. Wen Qing was also rather certain that however Meng Yao was sending his information, her method was faster. It was entirely possible that if this information was recently given to him, he wouldn't have time to send it.
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Backlash Part 1
FanfictionAt the moment of his death, Wei Wuxian is sent back in time. He wakes up in the Cold Spring of Cloud Recesses during the time when he was there to study. Traumatized and exhausted Wei Wuxian attempts to end his life, only to be stopped by Lan Wang...
