Blood Cultivation

soft heart

Jin Ling was trying so hard to look grave and calm that Jingyi wanted to laugh but kept himself quiet. No doubt the facade would fade soon enough and was probably mostly for Sect Leader Jiang's benefit. For his part, Wei Wuxian was all smiles but decidedly nervous, refusing to look at his brother for more than a few seconds at a time. Sect Leader Jiang didn't really look angry so much as just very tense, something that all of them seemed to be feeling as they all bowed to each other at the entrance to Koi Tower.

With that out of the way, Jingyi felt it was safe to ask, "Where is Senior Lin?"

Sect Leader Jiang's face immediately turned down further and he huffed and strode away. Jin Ling watched him with a pained expression.

"Jin Ling, is everything all right?" Sizhui reached out a hand to touch Jin Ling's shoulder.

"No." Jin Ling snapped, wrenching away from Sizhui. Jingyi was about to reprimand him, but Jin Ling just looked so miserable that he held his tongue again. "Senior Lin and Uncle absolutely do not get along. They're horrifically polite to each other and always have murder in their eyes. Thank you for coming," he added, tone softening as he looked at Sizhui and Jingyi in turn, glance sort of bouncing off of Senior Wei.

"Of course we came," Sizhui said.

"Your letter was kind of terrifying," Jingyi put in, glaring at Jin Ling for all of two seconds before he couldn't take his friend looking so miserable any longer and just moved forward to hug him. Jin Ling gave a muffled protest but didn't push him away, which spoke volumes about just how exhausted he was.

"Jin Ling, let's go inside. You can tell us all about the problem that you were oh so vague about in the letter." Senior Wei chided gently, not pushing, letting Jin Ling gather himself and take the lead as they entered Koi Tower. "And also why it is that Jiang Cheng doesn't get along with Senior Lin in particular."

Jin Ling made a sound that was very close to a whimper, but again, Jingyi resolved to be a good friend and not mention it. He might store the memory away for use at a later time, but not just now. He had some sense of propriety, after all.

Koi tower was bustling and busy, with yellow-clad Jin sect disciples going here and there, a change from the serene Cloud Recesses. Jingyi wondered if some event was going on or being prepared. Jin Ling led them through some quieter hallways and into a room with tables and stools covered in books and teacups and some incense in the corner. Sect Leader Jiang was present, sitting at one of the room. On the opposite side, Senior Lin burnt a piece of paper and the ashes fell into the pot beneath her hand. Her face was also complex with exhaustion and frustration. As the group entered the room, she looked up with a faded smile, one that Jingyi didn't prefer to see.

"Senior Lin!" His voice was perhaps a trifle loud, but he was happy to see her and hurried over to sit on the other side of the table. "I missed you too," he said in a quieter tone, smiling across at her. "

"Well, now that we're all together, maybe someone could explain the situation that we're facing. I hope it's better than, Sizhui, there's a situation at Koi Tower and I could use your help. Please bring Jingyi and Wei Wuxian if he's around. Sect Leader Jin Rulan."

Jin Ling gave Senior Wei half of a withering glance before plopping down on a seat. "You memorized my letter?"

"Considering it's length, that wasn't hard to do," Senior Wei said mildly. "Who wants to talk first?"

Jin Ling turned toward Senior Lin, eyes thoughtful. "It should be me, right? I'll go first."

"I met a threat to Jin Ling's life a few days ago when I was unfortunately passing by Lanling and now we're trying to deal with it." Senior Lin said it all in a rush, like she was afraid someone would stop her in the middle.