A Phoenix Rising - An Untamed Story (Book 1 In Series)

Chapter 12

Wen Qing looked like a completely different person than the street beggar she had been just a few hours before. She was still far too thin if one looked closely, but clean and rested and dressed in the black and red of a Wei disciple, the hood of her cloak pulled up to shade her face, and walking behind her "Master" in the company of other similarly dressed Wei disciples, she looked like she belonged. The guards at the entrance to Koi Tower ignored her just like they ignored the rest of the group; Wei WuXian and Jiang WanYin and company were all allowed in without questioning. She tired easily, though, and Lan SiZhui was tasked with assisting her up the stairs to Jin GuangYao's room.

Once the door was locked behind them and sufficient spells were placed to keep outsiders from hearing or seeing anything in the building, Wei WuXian insisted the others leave to allow Wen Qing the chance to rest. "Lan WangJi and I will keep watch tonight." To Wen Qing he added, "Sleep a lot. Eat a little, and we can all talk strategy tomorrow."

Lan WangJi pulled a book out of his sleeve and sat at Meng Yao's desk to read. Wei WuXian went to join him, but Wen Qing pulled on his robe. "Stay for a while, please." Wen Qing lay down in the bed, while Wei WuXian sat at her feet. "How did you survive?" she whispered.

"I didn't." His answer was short, to the point, and laced with bitterness. Looking at her wan face, Wei WuXian decided to give her a highly edited version. "Once your needles lost their hold, I went to the Nightless City to get myself killed. I originally thought to die in battle. But then one of them tried to stab me in the back, and Shijie pushed me out of the way; he killed her instead. So I changed my mind and decided to do it myself.... They didn't deserve the honor of killing me. Not after murdering you all. And Shijie.

"Lan WangJi found A'Yuan hiding in the Burial Mounds and adopted him. He's called Lan SiZhui, and he's just as sweet as he was when he was a baby. A good cultivator, too.

"Seven or eight months ago, I woke up in a hovel as the result of a particularly nasty spell. The person who brought me back was another bastard son of Jin GuangShan named Mo XuanYu."

Wen Qing yawned. "Why did he bring you back?"

Wei Ying debated how much to tell her. "He wanted revenge upon the people who hurt him. This spell requires the one brought back to enact revenge. And who better to enact revenge than the cultivator blamed for the deaths of tens of thousands?" He tried and failed to keep the bitterness out of his words. "I think he was encouraged by someone who wanted revenge on Jin GuangYao."

"But why you? Not that I'm complaining that you're back...."

Wei WuXian scratched his nose. "I'm still not exactly sure about that. The list of dead evil cultivators is not short. But if the mastermind really wanted Jin GuangYao exposed and not just dead, then maybe he needed more than simply an evildoer."

"So Jin GuangYao was evil?"

"We can give you a more complete list of what he's done later. But, yes. He took down anyone who got in his way and anyone who might eventually get in his way. Or was just a useful pawn. But he's dead now, and I'm no longer the most hated villain in the world."

"So what's happened since he died?"

"I spent the next three or so months wandering around, trying to decide where I belonged. Lan WangJi was elected Head of Cultivation."

"Did you go home to Lotus Pier?"

Wei WuXian sighed. "Well, Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling still at least partly blamed me for all those deaths in their family. I may not have been the one who did the deed, but I was central to every death. I felt they needed time to figure things out. And I didn't really want to be around them in case they decided I needed to die again.