Backlash Part 1

Chapter 153: Unlocking Talisman

Nie Mingjue is a dark mass chained to the far wall. It wasn't as though Wen Qing hadn't seen him before. Meng Yao had had three active torture sessions with Nie Mingjue which Wen Qing was required to be present for. Unless there was something urgent, Meng Yao would normally have waited longer before he began.

Wen Qing had taken enough shifts to provide medical support in the Flame Palace that she was becoming uncomfortably familiar with Meng Yao's process. Meng Yao was a meticulous person after all. He had his preferred methods, his own meticulous style. The coy terminology used in the Flame Palace was part of that style.

Before Meng Yao it was prisoners and torture. Now, prisoners were 'residents'. Active torture and interrogations were 'conversations'. Prolonged isolation and starvation was 'privacy'. And the combination of initial starvation followed by introduction of drugs, usually through food or water, was called 'introduction'.

Meng Yao had a very typical process for a prisoner's introduction. It usually lasted one to three weeks, depending on the person in question. They would be denied food and water initially. Not quite to the point of being dangerous. Then they would be offered food and tea. Both would be laced with things. Meng Yao had his favourites, but the specifics varied. A record of what a patient was given and what they ingested when was kept in every room. In case something went wrong, it would help the healer know how to intervene.

Wen Qing moved to the wall where it was kept. Since Nie Mingjue was not responding to her entrance, she should probably start here. It would tell her more clearly than Nie Mingjue could whether or not he had been given anything.

Wen Qing skimmed to see what had been offered. As expected he received no food or water the first two days. He had been offered tea every day since then. Prepared with herbs that would induce disorientation and hallucinations. Not usually Meng Yao's first choice, but Wen Qing had seen him use it before.

Today was the first day Nie Mingjue received food. Wen Qing balked at the notes regarding the content. It was a rather heavy dose. Wen Qing supposed they were not bothering to disguise the fact that the food was medicated. Wen Qing saw an untouched tray of food on the floor. It seemed undisturbed.

'Fair enough. I wouldn't eat anything in here either.' Wen Qing commented silently. There were no differences noted that indicated Nie Mingjue had ever consumed any of the food or liquids. That was a bit concerning. Wen Qing understood not wanting to be impaired, but Nie Mingjue did not have access to his spiritual energy. He could not sustain himself with inedia. The human body was a lot less tolerant of dehydration than it was of starvation. Neither was good, but a lack of fluids would kill you faster.

Wen Qing crossed the room taking out a few talismans. Wei Wuxian had given her an assortment of talismans the week before they left Cloud Recesses. He had been so worried as he gave her stacks of anything he thought might be useful. It had been sweet and heartbreaking. Her oldest didi wanted to keep their family safe.

Wen Qing hadn't even had the option of giving him false reassurances. This war was dangerous. People would die. Members of their family would die. Some of them Wei Wuxian never had the chance to meet in the first place. Wen Qing tried not to hope that Wei Wuxian might find their family bigger than he remembered. What his face might look like if her oldest didi suddenly found he had more aunties and cousins. A-Yuan has an older sister. She had died long before Wei Wuxian had a chance to meet her, but right now she was alive. She had been a precocious little girl. Wei Wuxian would have liked her.

Wen Qing tucked those thoughts away. She couldn't afford to spend too much time hoping that they'd be able to save that many more people. Considering their track record she wasn't letting herself be too optimistic. Wen Qing took a slow breath.

"Sect Leader Nie." Wen Qing spoke forcefully, but tried not to be too loud. She did not exactly wish to have too many people hear her. "I am going to unbind you and help you escape."

Wen Qing took out an unlocking talisman and use it to begin freeing Nie Mingjue's arms and legs. Nie Mingjue had not responded yet. It was somewhat concerning, but she could check his pulse once he was free from restraints. Moments later the arm she had just freed suddenly struck Wen Qing full force in the stomach. Even without access to his golden core, Nie Mingjue was strong. The air was knocked out of her and Wen Qing fought back the panic for the few seconds that she struggled to take in a new breath.

"Don't touch me Wen-dog." Nie Mingjue spat. Wen Qing gawked at Nie Mingjue.

"Did you not hear what I said before I approached you?" Wen Qing inquired in a calm tone. Nie Mingjue refused to answer, at least that is how she took the wordless scowl he shot her.

"Can I finish removing your restraints now? Or would you like me to give you the talismans so you can do it yourself?" Wen Qing asked, mostly politely. She was not going to pretend she wasn't annoyed. Attacking the person freeing you was a bit rude, and if he thought she had nefarious purposes then wouldn't it still have been better to wait for her to finish unchaining him?

Nie Mingjue squinted at her critically. Wen Qing was not offended by the skepticism. He was in a torture hall and Meng Yao was... Wen Qing could not really fault Nie Mingjue for being suspicious that this might be some sort of trap. She wasn't entirely certain how to prove it wasn't.

Wen Qing held up the talisman in as non-threatening of a way as possible and set it on the floor before scooting it towards Nie Mingjue. Wen Qing felt like she was trying to coax a wild animal. Her entire body was vibrating with nerves. Anxiety whispering that they did not have the time for this and they should not be so loud. Nie Mingjue squinted for a long time at the talisman.

"I've never seen this talisman before." Nie Mingjue said, suspicion clear in his voice.

"Wei Wuxian invents a lot of talismans. If you ask he'd probably give you any of them." Wen Qing said flatly. Nie Mingjue's eyes narrowed.

"Why would a Wen-dog have talismans made by Wei Wuxian?" Nie Mingjue questioned.

"We saw a lot of each other at Cloud Recesses. He was close with my didi and I." Wen Qing replied. Giving only a partial answer, not wanting to potentially injure Wei Wuxian's reputation further if her plans didn't pan out. Wen Qing wanted her entire family to survive, but at minimum she did not want Wei Wuxian to follow them into death if the rest couldn't be saved.

"What are your intentions?" Nie Mingjue inquired.

"Lan Xichen asked me to get you out. I'm doing that." Wen Qing said simply. Nie Mingjue's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"You're Xichen's spy?!" Wen Qing winced at how loud Nie Mingjue's voice was.

"Could you try not to alert all of Nightless City?" Wen Qing inquired. "I am one of Zewu-jun's spies. Now can we leave? Or do you really think I am trying to trick you into going somewhere worse than the QishanWen sect's torture hall?"

Nie Mingjue kept his eyes on her as he used the talisman to release the last of his restraints. He attempted to bring it up to the shackle at his neck. The talisman fizzled. Nie Mingjue's face scrunched up in something too subtle to be a flinch, but Wen Qing presumed there was some flash of discomfort. Nie Mingjue glared at her accusingly.

"I didn't expect we'd be lucky enough for it to work on that one. Can you walk?" Wen Qing inquired.

Nie Mingjue grimaced as he pulled himself up by the wall. His legs shook as he took unsteady steps away from the wall. Wen Qing resisted the urge to help support his weight. He would not welcome the acknowledgement of weakness, and probably would not welcome her proximity either. Wen Qing stepped towards the door and tapped against it a few times to alert Wen Qionglin.