At thirteen, Wei Ying creates an array he calls 'Time Reversal' which he uses to save Jiang Cheng from drowning. At fifteen, he dies in a tragic accident. Two years after that, Wen Ruohan has overcome the Nie-Lan-Jiang rebellion. The small clans as...
The journals stated that Wen Xu attacked on the third day after the new moon. The wedding was nine days before that. For nine days Gusu Lan waited.
Scouts patrolling outside of Yunshen Buzhichu noted that the Qishan Wen army was increasing in numbers. And mentioned that Wen Xu and his military advisors seemed to be bragging about their strength.
Unfortunately.... He looked at his new husband talking quietly with the cultivators under his command. A casual observer might see that those cultivators were obviously Gusu Lan. A more diligent observer might question why Gusu Lan cultivators were wearing black boots or gray trousers under their white robes. And why their ribbons looked like ripped strips of cloth. They also might question when Gusu Lan disciples started practicing with sabers.
If they were smart, they'd be counting the number of cultivators seen entering and leaving Yunshen Buzhichu and realize that the numbers didn't add up.
As they shouldn't.
He looked over to where his brother stood in conversation with Nie Mingjue and Jiang Fengmian. The three had forged an alliance against the Qishan Wen, pledging to support whichever sect was in danger. With the addition of the other two sects cultivators, Gusu Lan's fighters had swelled to almost three times their original numbers. Behind them, the last cart was leaving the library; every important document had been removed over the past month, copies made, and every copy stored in a unique, fireproofed location. Anything still left in the library was easily replaced.
Along with the books, non-combatants had been moved after the wedding. Led by Lan Qiren and some elders, they were hidden in the back hills by maze arrays and privacy shields and a cave system. No matter what happened when Wen Xu made his move, the innocents would be spared. Knowledge would be saved. The sect would survive.
On the second day after the new moon, he watched, chest pounding with fear and anxiety, as Wei Ying and nearly half of the Gusu Lan forces slipped through various places in the wards to hide on the mountain. They would ensure that if Wen Xu started a fight, that it would end in Gusu Lan's favor.
On the third morning, he was far enough away from the gates to see, but not hear, Wen Xu's posturing. And then the Qishan Wen forces started throwing things at the wards. He wasn't close enough to see what they were... They sort of rolled, but they weren't balls.... Then Wen Xu stopped pretending he was on a friendly mission and pulled his sword from its sheath. He could see his brother gesturing wildly, and then Wen Xu lunged.
Almost instantly, the clearing in front of the gates became a battleground. One where the defendants should have had a distinct advantage, given the additional men and women stationed outside and in.
Instead of fighting, though, he rushed to see what the ball-like things were.
Heads. The ground was littered with heads. Eyes open or closed, some with Lan ribbons still attached. They found and killed them.
And then he felt the focal point of the wards snap to him. Xiongzhang is dead. Mentally numb, he returned to the gate, watching his martial brothers and sisters pass through it to find safety. He watched as the Qinghe Nie and Yunmeng Jiang died under the Qishan Wen blades. He watched as the Qishan Wen tried to pass through the wards. It took almost no time at all for the outer, original, ward to fall.
After a sichen of attacks, Wei Wuxian's ward still held.
What went wrong? How did Wen Xu know we were out on the mountain?
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Dear readers.
Three guesses as to how the Wen knew where the Lan and allies were hiding and the first two don't count.
In case you missed it, I did post the unfinished chapter I spoke about in the last chapter. If you're curious, it's in the book 'Unfinished Prose." If not, no worries.
