Jiang Yanli hadn't felt at ease since she heard about the attack on Cloud Recesses. She was grateful Wei Wuxian had sent a letter. News about the attack might have taken months to reach Yunmeng if Wei Wuxian had not sent news. Wei Wuxian had actually sent three letters. The letter to Jiang Fengmian detailed much about the attack and reported Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were alright. Jiang Wanyin's letter had been full of outrage over the behaviour of the QishanWen sect.

Jiang Yanli had gotten to listen to both of those letters and she appreciated them, but she liked hers the best. Her letter was filled with reassurance that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji really were fine. Their injuries were minor. Wei Wuxian delighted in informing Jiang Yanli that they were able to evacuate the kids before the wards were breached.

Wei Wuxian shared what it was like talking to the young children about what happened. Wei Wuxian had evidently upset a few elders, but Jiang Yanli could not help but feel proud of how Wei Wuxian handled it. Jiang Yanli wasn't sure how she would have handled it, but she could tell Wei Wuxian felt strongly about how you communicate such things to kids.

Jiang Yanli resisted the urge to tease Wei Wuxian about how he had evidently taken charge of the children and included them in the clean up of Cloud Recesses. Jiang Yanli knew Wei Wuxian always enjoyed teaching the younger disciples. He always had fun with kids, but she did not recall him showing such a keen interest before. Jiang Yanli wondered if perhaps she could expect some nieces and nephews to appear sometime after Wei Wuxian's marriage.

Jiang Yanli found herself excited at the prospect of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji adopting. She was confident Wei Wuxian would be a wonderful and affectionate father. Lan Wangji, well Jiang Yanli had seen the way Lan Wangji doted on Wei Wuxian. She had no doubt Lan Wangji would show their children the same care and consideration.

Even though the letter had been full of assurances, Jiang Yanli had found herself on edge ever since learning of the attack. There was no provocation. The GusuLan sect was incredibly polite, even to those who were rude and disrespectful. Nearly the entire cultivation world held them in the highest esteem. They were neither power hungry, nor were they inconsiderate. The idea that they could have done anything to provoke such an attack was ludicrous.

Yet, an attack had occurred. No warning. No provocation. At that point Jiang Yanli felt like she might find herself waking to the sounds of fighting any day. She had even brought her fears to her fathers. She had inquired about whether their own wards might be improved. She noted that GusuLan sect had an evacuation procedure that had allowed them to ensure the safety of the children and non-cultivators. Jiang Yanli inquired whether it might be prudent for their own sect to develop something like it.

Jiang Yanli decidedly did not mention the evacuation route that Wei Wuxian had set up in secret, and she was very glad she did not bring it up. To her dismay her father seemed eager to ask her not to worry about such things. Instead of discussing plans or making improvements, her father instead seemed to think that it was better to avoid fighting. He seemed to think changes to their protections may be taken as an act of aggression and talking to the disciples about an evacuation route could cause unnecessary panic.

In the past Jiang Yanli might have accepted this, but she had changed a lot over the last handful of months. Jiang Yanli found herself feeling strangely frustrated with her father. It was a strange experience that she was not accustomed to. It wasn't often that she felt her father was wrong, but Jiang Yanli felt he was truly wrong now.

GusuLan sect had done nothing to provoke a conflict with the QishanWen sect. They had been attacked anyway. As far as Jiang Yanli was concerned, that told her everything she needed to know. There was nothing to stop the QishanWen sect from attacking any other sect. The fact that they attacked a major sect without provocation made the idea that they would do it again feel like an eventuality rather than a possibility.

Jiang Yanli found herself thinking over Wei Wuxian's evacuation route and adding a few things to the cache of supplies. She also considered what, if anything, might need to be grabbed during such an evacuation. Her father was right about one thing. The YunmengJiang sect could not hope to defeat the QishanWen sect on their own. If they were attacked the way Cloud Recesses was attacked, Jiang Yanli wanted to be able to accomplish the same feat that the GusuLan sect had achieved. She wanted them to be able to safely evacuate all their non-combatants.

Jiang Yanli had found herself spending late evenings planning out strategies for how to ensure a safe evacuation. Once she was happy with her plan she had started spending time in the library. The YunmengJiang sect library was not the symbol Cloud Recesses' library was, but it contained many valuable books, scrolls, and important records. Jiang Yanli started spending much of her day copying important texts, or subtly relocating duplicate texts. Her mornings began to start earlier so she could fit in extra time to train privately.

Then the QishanWen sect sent their notice about indoctrination. Jiang Yanli's parents had a particularly tense fight. In the end Jiang Wanyin and eighteen junior disciples left Lotus Pier for the QishanWen sect's Education Office. Wei Wuxian had sent a letter indicating he would be there as a disciple of the YunmengJiang sect. The GusuLan sect had received a similar 'request' and Wei Wuxian would travel with the GusuLan sect disciples.

Lotus Pier felt empty. With Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin gone, Jiang Yanli felt useless and anxious. She seemed to just be waiting to hear what horrible thing was going to happen next. Then something horrible did happen, a letter arrived from the QingheNie sect. That was when Jiang Yanli learned about the night hunt on Dusk mountain.

The only thing that kept Jiang Yanli from going with her father was the fact that she did not have a spiritual sword and could not fly. She would slow down their ability to get to Dusk Mountain and rescue Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. Jiang Yanli waited anxiously for them to return. It took longer than Jiang Yanli would have liked. She ran to greet them when they arrived and nearly tripped in the process.

Wei Wuxian was unconscious. He was injured and running a fever. Lan Wangji had told the healers in detail what medicines had been administered and approximately how long ago. A healer noticed Lan Wangji's bandaged hands and tried to lead him away to examine them. Lan Wangji vehemently refused to leave Wei Wuxian's side. Jiang Wanyin had made a few less than polite remarks at Lan Wangji, that Lan Wangji deemed unworthy of his attention. Eventually the healers declared Wei Wuxian would be fine. He needed rest.

Jiang Yanli managed to usher her exhausted and distraught didi back to his own quarters. Jiang Yanli sat with Jiang Wanyin until he fell asleep like she used to do when he was little. Jiang Yanli could not imagine what it must have been like to know Wei Wuxian was trapped inside with that monster. Jiang Wanyin had travelled without rest to the QingheNie sect to request aid. Nie Mingjue had a disciple travel by sword with a letter for Jiang Fengmian. Jiang Wanyin had been able to rest, but immediately set out as soon as their father arrived with cultivators.

The expectation was that they would have to fight the monster. They would either need to kill it, or distract it long enough to rescue Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. Jiang Yanli wasn't certain whether or not she was surprised to hear that the monster had already been slain. She felt like she should be surprised. From the sound of it, the two boys defeating the monster in question was a nearly impossible feat. Yet, Jiang Yanli found she wasn't surprised in the slightest.

Jiang Yanli let out a sigh of relief as she slipped from Jiang Wanyin's room. She stopped to gather a few things before she made her way to Wei Wuxian's room. As expected she found Lan Wangji sitting at Wei Wuxian's bedside anxiously. The bandages on his hands were visibly dirty. Jiang Yanli knocked lightly on the door frame as she entered.

"Lan Wangji?" Jiang Yanli called cautiously. Again there was no response. Jiang Yanli sighed. She set out her supplies. She made sure she had clean, warm, water ready before gently touching one of Lan Wangji's hands.

"Lan Wangji?" She tried again. Lan Wangji drew his hand back reflexively before looking at her. He looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his expression seemed slightly dazed. Jiang Yanli sat down across from him and gently took hold of his hands.

"A-Xian will be alright. The healers said you took excellent care of him." Jiang Yanli said softly. Lan Wangji stared down at his hands, his lips pressed into a firm line.

"You didn't let the healers check your hands. Let me take care of it. A-Xian won't be happy if you neglect your wounds." Jiang Yanli said in a gentle, coaxing manner. Lan Wangji gave her a suspicious look and Jiang Yanli remembered only too well how Lan Wangji responded when the healer and then Jiang Wanyin had tried to get Lan Wangji out of the room.

"We can stay here the entire time. You won't have to be out of A-Xian's sight," Jiang Yanli said gently. Lan Wangji relaxed and nodded his head.

Jiang Yanli carefully unwrapped his hands and winced. Deep cuts ran across his palms and wrapped around cutting partially into the back of his hands as well. The injuries looked inflamed, the surrounding skin felt warm. Jiang Yanli had a mild urge to scold Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji was a powerful cultivator and healing this sort of injury should have been nothing for him. Jiang Yanli sighed and silently began to clean the wounds.

The answer was simple. Lan Wangji had put all of his energy into taking care of Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji had exhausted himself and his spiritual energy, which robbed his own body of the resources to heal his hands. Jiang Yanli dried Lan Wangji's hands gently, then applied ointment to fight infection and promote healing. She wrapped Lan Wangji's hands in clean bandages, then set her supplies to the side.

"A-Xian will probably sleep through the night." Jiang Yanli said softly. Lan Wangji frowned.

"I will stay." Lan Wangji stated firmly. Jiang Yanli smiled sadly. Many people tried to get Lan Wangji to leave Wei Wuxian's side today. She couldn't fault Lan Wangji for assuming that was what she was trying to say.

"I agree." Jiang Yanli stated firmly. Lan Wangji glanced at her, there was a glimmer of surprise in his eyes. Jiang Yanli gave him another gentle smile. "A-Xian always feels safer with you. I think he would rest easier with you holding him." Jiang Yanli said gently. The words seemed to take time to register, but eventually Lan Wangji nodded his head.

Jiang Yanli excused herself and took the supplies away. She listened outside the door to the rustling of fabric and sounds of movement. She was hoping that if she could get Lan Wangji to lay down next to Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji would sleep. It was clear he needed it, but he had seemed prepared to stay awake all night watching over Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian would not be happy to wake up and find Lan Wangji in poor condition due to worry.

Jiang Yanli put away the supplies she used, then took her time drifting back towards Wei Wuxian's room. Soundlessly she cracked the door open. Lan Wangji was laying on the bed beside Wei Wuxian. Jiang Yanli walked quietly into the room. She pulled the blanket up gently to cover the two boys better. Lan Wangji had been truly exhausted. He was laying on his side with his arms wrapped securely around Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian shifted in his sleep to snuggle closer to Lan Wangji. Automatically Lan Wangji's hand began to stroke Wei Wuxian's arm, as though trying to soothe him.

Jiang Yanli smiled down at the two of them. She allowed herself a few moments to take in the sight of both of them sleeping safely in each other's arms. Jiang Yanli had been protective of Wei Wuxian for a long time. Slowly Lan Wangji had become someone she was also protective of. At first it was only because losing Lan Wangji would hurt Wei Wuxian. Gradually she had gotten to know Lan Wangji better. He was considerate and sweet, and intensely devoted to Wei Wuxian. Jiang Yanli found herself smiling to herself. She wouldn't mind having three didi.