Backlash Part 2

Chapter 217: A Plan to Buy Time

Jin Guangyao was not surprised when Lan Xichen shared the good news about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's impending marriage. The two had been betrothed since before the war. Wei Wuxian had returned with Lan Wangji to the GusuLan sect rather than returning to his natal sect. That was disappointing. It would have been more convenient if Wei Wuxian had returned to Lotus Pier.

Jin Guangshan desperately wanted to lure Wei Wuxian into joining the LanlingJin sect. He had made an offer, supposedly, but Wei Wuxian had turned it down. Jin Guangyao suspected this took place before he had been recognized. Otherwise he felt Jin Guangshan would have asked him to make the offer. By the time Jin Guangshan was hosting the flower banquet he was already manoeuvring to try and get the Yin Hufu, rather than Wei Wuxian.

Jin Guangyao could have told Jin Guangshan that luring Wei Wuxian into the LanlingJin sect would not be a simple matter. To convince Wei Wuxian to change his loyalties, they would first need to divest Wei Wuxian of his allies. Separating him from Lan Wangji would be a difficult task. Lan Wangji had proven to be extremely protective of Wei Wuxian. Jin Guangyao thought it might be possible to turn Lan Wangji from Wei Wuxian's side if Wei Wuxian appeared villainous enough, but Jin Guangyao was not confident in the success of such a plan.

It was not hard to ramp up the rumours regarding Wei Wuxian and his cultivation. Most of the sects took to the rumours quite quickly. Wei Wuxian was incredibly powerful. With the war over, Wei Wuxian was no longer an ally of all the allied sects. He was now an ally of YunmengJiang sect, or GusuLan sect. For every other sect that meant Wei Wuxian was better off destroyed. Better that no one has that power, if they could not possess it themselves.

The impact on Wei Wuxian had been better than Jin Guangyao hoped. The more public sentiment soured towards Wei Wuxian, the more Wei Wuxian withdrew from his allies. The three months in Nightless City after the war had been very promising, despite the lukewarm acceptance Jin Guangyao had received from Lan Xichen.

Wen Qing was a problem. Jin Guangyao regretted not cleaning up the Flame Palace properly. He had given clear orders, but the servants who were available to fulfill them were not the Flame Palace cultivators who knew to follow his instructions exactly. While most of the residents had been dead by the time Wen Rouhan fell, Wen Qing had slipped through.

Jin Guangyao had hoped Wen Qing's identity would allow him to clean up the loose end while she was imprisoned. Except that she had managed to put Nie Mingjue in her debt. It had seemed like a reckless gamble when she freed Nie Mingjue, but it had certainly worked to her advantage now. It was a nuisance to have Nie Mingjue so firmly on her side, but Jin Guangyao had already known Nie Mingjue would be a problem he needed to deal with. The bigger issue was how Wen Qing had wormed her way into Lan Xichen's trust.

Lan Xichen had always been too trusting. He was trusting, naive, foolish, and uncommonly kind. Saving Lan Xichen's life had been an easy decision. Jin Guangyao enjoyed the time they shared together. When it was just the two of them, and Lan Xichen could not risk showing his face in public. Lan Xichen had been so hopeless at household tasks, like laundering clothes. Lan Xichen could make basic congee, but was completely lost when it came to the preparation of anything else.

Lan Xichen had initially been wounded and then ill when his golden core was too exhausted to prevent infection. He had needed Jin Guangyao to take care of him. Jin Guangyao had been more than happy to oblige. Jin Guangyao enjoyed his time taking care of Lan Xichen. Of course, he was not someone who would allow any opportunity to slip him by. Inspection of Lan XIchen's belongings contained some interesting materials. Jin Guangyao supposed that the GusuLan sect had wanted to prevent the QishanWen sect from obtaining any dangerous information within.