Backlash Part 1

Chapter 193: Wounded Hands

Wen Qing had not been surprised by the guards coming through with food and tea. There was sound filtering in from outside the flame palace. The nervous whispers of guards. The allied sects were in Nightless city. When the food and tea was hastily placed in her cell, Wen Qing did not consume it. She spilled some of the tea onto the ground. She moved the food around to make it look like she had eaten some of it.

She tried to see if she could identify what was in the food and tea. Not all poisons were easy to detect and the food was strongly seasoned. Wen Qing settled for crumpling onto the floor and pretending to be unconscious. Her time in the Flame Palace had been marked by knowing everything presented to her was probably drugged, and having to make decisions about which ones to willingly consume so she did not die of dehydration or starve.

Meng Yao seemed to notice this and had begun routinely drugging her food and tea with things that would make her horribly ill. Sometimes even swallowing made her nauseous before anything hit her stomach. Today's food was different.

Wen Qing couldn't identify what was in it, but she was not going to eat or drink anything given to her if the allied sects were here. Wen Qing didn't remember what happened to the prisoners of the Flame Palace in her first life. She didn't recall seeing any of them after the war ended, but they may have returned to their homes. However, it seemed equally likely that they had all been killed.

After the war people sometimes talked about Meng Yao's contributions as a spy, but no one talked about what he did in Qishan. Meng Yao was a spy, but he served as Principle Torturer. Wen Qing couldn't help but think that if there had been living breathing victims who could express the torture he did to them, it might have made Meng Yao's position as Principle Torturer less forgettable.

Wen Qing had survived this long after being discovered as a traitor. She was not going to ruin that by making it easy to get rid of her now. Wen Qing wasn't completely certain that the allied sects wouldn't kill her, but she was not going to let Meng Yao sweep her away with everything else he wanted to clean up.

Wen Qing wasn't certain how much time passed as she waited. She didn't know if they would check to see that everyone had eaten and succumbed to the poison she believed was in the food. Meng Yao would have wanted them to. He'd have wanted them to ensure anyone who didn't die from the poison was killed by sword. However, there was a battle going on, it was possible Meng Yao, and the cultivators beneath him, didn't have the time to ensure every single prisoner died.

Servants could pass out poison dishes, but may not be able to wield a blade to kill those who did not eat. Wen Qing heard the sounds of people running in the hall. There was a sound of blades. Metal scraping against metal. Some time later her door opened.

Wen Qing was still in shock when Nie Mingjue escorted her to the room where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were resting. First she had been freed from her room in the Flame Palace. Then she was dragged before the sect leaders with other QishanWen sect cultivators. There were familiar voices demanding her execution, and voices speaking in vehement refusal.

She was not entirely in her right mind. Further proven by the fact that she was still in shock when Sect Leader Nie escorted her to a room. Not a cell. A small cramped room with chains embedded in the floor and walls. A large room that she vaguely recognized was near the infirmary and might have been the quarters of one of the senior healers.

She was brought inside. She was vaguely aware of the sounds of talking before the large presence that was Nie Mingjue left. Wen Qing attempted to make her mind focus appropriately. She was vaguely aware that she was shaking. Shock. She was probably in shock. Add that to the injuries that had not received proper treatment. Mixing in the prolonged dehydration and lack of proper nutrition.

"Qing-jie." The name pulled her to the present. Lan Wangji was standing close to her. One of his hands extended hesitantly, like he thought she might need help to remain steady. It took a while longer for Wen Qing to process that Lan Wangji had just called her 'Qing-jie.' Had she heard him address anyone so informally who was not Wei Wuxian?

"Qing-jie?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow. Lan Wangji immediately bowed.

"Apologies. You were not responding to..." Wen Qing interrupted Lan Wangji with a wave of her hand.

"It's fine. You're still planning to marry my Da-di aren't you?" Wen Qing asked, a tiny smirk quirking her lips.

"Mn." Lan Wangji agreed immediately.

"How is he?" Wen Qing asked. The corner of Lan Wangji's mouth turned down slightly.

"Unconscious. Stable." Lan Wangji said, turning to look at a bed on the far wall. Wen Qing immediately moved toward it, cursing when her legs gave out under her halfway there.

"Damn it." Wen Qing cursed. Lan Wangji caught her by the elbow and kept her from falling.

"Wen Qing," Lan Wangji began.

"What happened to Qing-jie?" Wen Qing replied. Mostly to distract herself from her own helpless frustration.

"Qing-jie. You are injured." Lan Wangji said with slight hesitation.

"Just. Get me to him. Let me feel that he isn't dying. Then I'll walk you through helping me with this." Wen Qing gestured with her hands, bringing attention to them.

Most of what was wrong with her could be treated with time, water, and food. The thought of eating made Wen Qing queasy. Wen Qing suppressed the urge to sigh. She hoped the nausea just meant she still had some of the drug in her system that made her sick. If her body had learned to associate eating with getting sick then it was going to be a much more difficult issue to deal with.

Other than the burn on her back, most of the physical damage was done to her hands. Her fingertips were a half-scabbed mess. Other injuries to her palms had never been treated properly and been re-injured multiple times. Her hands would be scarred for life. She'd be lucky if she didn't have permanent limitations to her range of motion.

Wen Qing was not thinking about her fingers. She wasn't certain if any permanent nerve damage had been done. She wasn't certain if it might create problems for her ability to diagnose and treat patients in the future. As she slumped onto the edge of Wei Wuxian's bed, it certainly created problems for checking his pulse and spiritual pathways now.

After a lot of frustration and fumbling she was able to assess enough to not be worried about Wei Wuxian dying immediately. She noted the guqin still set out on the table and guessed Lan Wangji had been playing healing music for Wei Wuxian. Wen Qing gazed down at Wei Wuxian again. Her grasping damaged hands had left smears of blood on her didi's skin.

Lan Wangji stepped away briefly and returned with a basin of clean water. With her directions, Lan Wangji cleansed the wounds on her hands. He took the time to clean the blood from Wei Wuxian's skin with a delicacy that she was pleased to see directed at her didi.

Lan Wangji brought over a few different medicines. Wen Qing guessed they had been left in here before. Either something that had been stored in this room, or left for Lan Wangji to use on himself or Wei Wuxian. She directed Lan Wangji which one was the best to use as he applied medicine to her wounds and bandaged them. He did a passable job. She wasn't certain she trusted any healers from the allied sects yet, so Wen Qing accepted this as her best option.

Lan Wangji helped Wen Qing move to an empty bed. Once she was sitting he retrieved tea and brought it to her. Wen Qing hesitated when presented with the tea. She hadn't seen him prepare it.

"Did you prepare this?" Wen Qing asked. Lan Wangji nodded.

"I did. It is safe." Lan Wangji answered calmly.

Wen Qing took a deep breath. She pulled apart the scent of the tea. With Lan Wangji's help she took careful sips. When her stomach didn't immediately reject it she had Lan Wangji help her drink two more cups before she shakily lied down. Wen Qing carefully curled on her side. The position helped keep pressure off of the burn on her back.

Wen Qing wasn't certain she'd be able to fall asleep, but Lan Wangji sat behind his guqin. She felt the spiritual energy infused music soothing the pain in her body and relaxing her muscles. Lan Wangji wasn't likely to leave Wei Wuxian alone. Which meant he would be here. She could sleep and not worry about who might walk in.