Backlash Part 1

Chapter 184: The Compass Alert

The day Wei Wuxian's compass alerted him that Wen Qing was in danger, it froze him in his tracks. His entire body twitched once, like all his muscles were urging him to run towards her location, but he forced himself to remain. Nuan-er and A-Yuan were with him. If he started freaking out it would distress them.

Nuan-er had just barely stopped throwing tantrums about being separated from them when Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji needed to attend a war meeting. Granted, Wei Wuxian rarely attended them, but he did occasionally need to be present. Not to mention Wei Wuxian knew they would need to leave her and A-Yuan in camp when they went into battle. Wei Wuxian had been toying with the idea of attending more war meetings so that he could help her get used to being away from him more.

Wen Nuan had slowly started to relax around a few other adults. She had warmed up to Jiang Yanli quite a bit, seeming to take notice of the firmness that crept into Jiang Yanli's voice when speaking with some of the other cultivators. Jiang Yanli carried herself with a subtle trace of authority that she didn't learn to carry until she'd been thrust into her new role in leading her sect.

Wen Nuan was very observant, and she had taken note of the authority and respect that was shown towards Jiang Yanli. She had started to somewhat begrudgingly accept being away from Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji for short amounts of time. Mostly if a combination of other adults were around.

A combination of Wen-Popo, San-yi, and Jiang Yanli seemed to be her preferred arrangement.  Unfortunately Jiang Yanli also attended the strategy meetings, so they were forced to make do. Wen Nuan was relatively amicable to Jiang Wanyin's presence. On their first day in camp after leaving Dafan, Jiang Yanli brought Wei Wuxian, A-Yuan, and Nuan-er to Jiang Wanyin.

'This is your niece and nephew.' Jiang Yanli had announced and immediately placed A-Yuan in Jiang Wanyin's arms.

Jiang Wanyin's face had at first been irritated and outraged. A more blatant expression, but the same emotions Wei Wuxian was used to seeing. Then he was choking on his own outrage, sputtering as Jiang Yanli placed a toddler in his arms. Jiang Wanyin's expression softened briefly before he settled on a slightly embarrassed frown. Wen Nuan took this to mean that Jiang Wanyin mostly did as Jiang Yanli told him to do. That was enough for the four-year-old for now.

Jiang Wanyin didn't say anything too disparaging after that. He mumbled something about how, Wei Wuxian, 'really couldn't wait until after the war before having kids?' Then he promptly began playing with his nephew.

Jiang Wanyin said nothing about the DafanWens being brought into camp, and stopped bringing up the old conflicts between himself and Wei Wuxian, mostly of his own making. The two of them began to see a bit more of each other, always in the company of A-Yuan and Nuan-er. Jiang Wanyin might not have let go of his jealousy and old gripes, but he stopped bringing them up. He seemed to finally be willing to have some sort of positive relationship with Wei Wuxian. Even if it was not quite the relationship he had wanted.

Jiang Yanli still ensured she was present during all of these visits, which Lan Wangji appreciated immensely. Lan Wangji was not especially pleased about Wei Wuxian interacting with Jiang Wanyin more. Lan Wangji still had nightmares about seeing Jiang Wanyin's hands wrapped around Wei Wuxian's throat.

Lan Wangji's entire being chafed at the idea of the two of them being alone together. But, Wei Wuxian was still aching from the damaged relationship. He wanted some semblance of a familial bond with Jiang Wanyin. Lan Wangji was not thrilled, but he wouldn't deny Wei Wuxian the chance. Jiang Yanli's continued supervision was deeply appreciated. Lan Wangji could not feel comfortable leaving Wei Wuxian without someone to look out for him, and Lan Wangji was not certain he could remain calm in Jiang Wanyin's presence for the length of a visit.