play with tiger whiskers

part 1

The news of Wen Rohan's death reached Nie Huaisang almost at the same time as the letter informing him of Nie Mingjue's capture near Yangquan, so that he was lucky enough to spend only a few hours in tears and despair. With the victory over the main enemy, the final “Overthrow of the Sun”, about which the spellcasters had been dreaming for several years, came many times closer, but Nie Huaisang was worried about only one thing - the safety of the sun. whether his beloved dage was able to leave the Palace of the Sun and Flame unharmed, notorious for its superbly equipped torture rooms and cruel executioners?...  He almost kissed the disciple, on both cheeks in joy, who informed him that General Ne had safely departed for the Allied camp south of the Nightless City; only a significant cough from teacher Lan behind his back saved this wonderful young man from such incontinence.

So, at the first opportunity, Nie Huaisang went to Weibin, where the last large camp of the alliance opposing the Wens was located. He had already spent more than a year in the Cloud Recesses, worrying about those who had gone to war (when there was time to rest between redrawing maps, rewriting reports for Lan Qiren and talismans for Gusu Lan’s doctors - even in the rear, any free hands and the most modest skills were needed), and even though he had not yet been allowed to leave this relatively safe corner without permission, it was not for nothing that in his youth he had crawled up and down the Laney residence and had never caught the eye of the disciples on duty. It was enough to call in sick, and then, after waiting for the changing of the guard at the main gate (the round always began from there), jump over the wall not far from Lan Wangji's now empty chambers, climbing an old plum tree - oh, such a wonderful loophole was missing all these years, when the younger Jade watched like a kite for intruders and looked out the window or even ran out onto the porch at any suspicious rustle! Now, however, there was nothing to be afraid of - the second young master Lan fought on the front line and earned himself an extremely poetic title, and the damned Weni had already lost. And although not all of them were ready to accept this and surrender to the mercy of the victors, the lone traveler could certainly now count on a relatively calm journey through the lands of the once Great Order. So, after his brilliant escape, Nie Huaisang took care of changing his wardrobe and bought some gifts in Tsaiyi before, with a sigh, he stood up on his saber - even though, as he knew from Lan Qiren’s correspondence, the alliance of spellcasters awaited several more battles with the enemy hidden near the border of Taipei. still, no one will be worse off if Nie Huaisang arrives on the eve of the battle and encourages the dage and his comrades!

Finally, finally, he will be able to hug his brother, whom he has not seen for a year and a half, isn’t this happiness! It was worth any tricks and even a tiring flight with a thousand breaks - sometimes Nie Huaisang thought that he would have gotten there faster on foot (and thus definitely saved much more energy before the meeting). Nie Mingjue should actually be proud of him - not touching a saber for more than a year, and then flying like this for several dozen with just a dozen or so stops!.. Although it would be better to keep silent about the first circumstance, otherwise he will not be able to joke will get angry...

However, Nie Mingjue still found a reason to be angry when he saw Nie Huaisang at the border of the camp, accompanied by guards. He was cheerful and not at all constrained in his movements (on the contrary, he kept waving his arms widely, accompanying his angry speech with threatening gestures), and the only reminder of recent captivity was the edge of the bandage peeking out from behind the collar. When he and Nie Huaisang had had enough of yelling at each other (each accusing the other of being careless and irresponsible), and then they hugged, confusedly retelling the news to each other. Nie Huaisang finally felt that he could breathe deeply again and was able to pay attention to at least something around him.

He left the general’s tent, tired of talking about the military system and duties (his brother, although he scolded him for escaping from the safe monastery of Gusu Lan, had already ordered a new tent to be placed nearby, and now he wanted to assign at least one guard to it and was selecting a suitable one candidate), and slowly walked around the camp, looking around with curiosity.