Wen Qing felt like she hadn't taken a proper breath in days. She had been too anxious about Lotus Pier. There were so many ways it could turn out and Wen Qing was not even sure which set of events she was hoping for. In the original string of events Wen Qionglin had snuck ahead of her. He hid Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin in Lotus Pier. Wen Qing found out, because her Er-di was miserable at lying to her. She had, with some protest, helped hide them and treated their wounds.

Jiang Wanyin had lost his golden core, suffered two broken ribs, and a litany of other injuries she didn't remember. Wei Wuxian had fresh bruises decorating his throat and petechiae under his eyes and scattered across his face like red freckles. Someone had choked him. Maybe as part of the punishment that Wang Lingjiao demanded. Something to accompany the fierce lashes from Zidian that had ripped open Wei Wuxian's back.

Wen Qing hoped she would not be treating the same injuries. She hoped things went better this time. The best case scenario might be for her and Wen Qionglin to arrive in Lotus Pier and find Wei Wuxian, Jiang Wanyin, and Lan Wangji all long gone. Preferably with no bodies of the main Jiang family present.

Selfishly, Wen Qing had some concerns about that scenario. Assisting Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian had been the main evidence Wei Wuxian had cited as to why the DafanWen branch should not be treated as prisoners of war. It hadn't been enough, but it was something. If Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin did not need help, is there really anything she could do to prove her family was different than Wen Rouhan?

Wen Qing hated herself for this thought. It was selfish. It was better if things went well. However, Wen Qing was paying a lot more attention to the war planning than she did in her last life. The number of cultivators being dispatched with Wen Chao was staggering. Wen Qing was worried about Wei Wuxian. The odds that Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan would insist on staying behind to fight to the end were high. They were proud, arrogant, leaders.

Wen Qing worried about Wei Wuxian a lot. She worried about both her didi, but it seemed much worse whenever one of them was out of her sight. Which is where Wei Wuxian had been for entirely too long, out of her sight. Wen Qing fiddled with the jinbu Wei Wuxian had gifted to her. The once white silk thread had become a deep maroon. Apparently this was 'normal', or at least her youngest didi had ensured Wen Qing that Wei Wuxian said this would happen.

Wen Qing trusted Wei Wuxian, but she sometimes wished he had made a second set of communication books instead of the jinbu. The jinbu would apparently offer protection. Wei Wuxian was certainly skilled at imbuing things with protective spells, but sometimes Wen Qing wouldn't mind trading that protection for the ability to check in with him. It wasn't enough to know he had survived this long in his last life. She needed to be able to see her Da-di. She needed to look at him and make sure he hadn't done something stupid, like getting himself killed.

"Wen-guniang." A disciple stepped towards her. "Wen-er-gongzi has requested your presence."

Wen Qing fought the urge to roll her eyes. He most certainly did not 'request'. Wen Chao did not understand the meaning of the word. Wen Qing stepped forward with Wen Qionglin following behind her. The disciple moved to stop Wen Qionglin and Wen Qing levelled him with an unfriendly look.

"Is there a problem?" Wen Qing asked. The disciples visibly paled.

"L-Lotus Pier hasn't been cleared yet. There may still be enemy cultivators. We've been ordered not to bring in medics yet." The disciple stuttered. Wen Qing narrowed her eyes.

"If Wen Chao wants me there, A-Ning comes with. However I am perfectly happy to wait until you are allowing in the other medics." Wen Qing said indifferently. The disciple went several shades paler. Wen Qing already knew what would happen, but she tried to keep the smugness off of her face. They hadn't even finished clearing Lotus Pier. That was perfect. If Wei Wuxian was hiding in there, they would have a chance to find him first.

"A-Ah, please follow me." The disciple stuttered before leading the way. Wen Qing walked over blood soaked ground. She resisted the urge to examine the faces of the deceased as they walked past. It would look suspicious. For now she had to hope there were no faces she knew among the deceased.

The disciple motions behind a building. Wen Qing nods and the disciple leaves. Wen Qionglin departs without a word. He has always been ignored more than Wen Qing. Therefore Wei Wuxian had previously drawn out a map of Lotus Pier and pointed out where Wen Qionglin previously hid Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin. Wen Qing didn't need to say anything for Wen Qionglin to understand that it was the first place he should go. Wen Qing walked towards Wen Chao, her expression calm and neutral.

"There was something you needed me for?" Wen Qing inquired. Wen Chao motioned to the side without looking.

"See what you can make of that mess. A-die is going to demand an explanation of how one of his favourite dogs died." Wen Chao's tone was indifferent, but there was a sharp edge to it. Wen Qing nodded wordlessly and proceeded towards the cultivators clustered around a given body. As soon as it was in sight Wen Qing's eyes widened.

'A-Ying. You certainly made some changes.' Wen Qing crouched beside the body of Wen Zhuliu. Wen Qing wasn't especially sad to see him dead. While he was generally respectful, he followed the orders of Wen Rouhan absolutely. If Wen Rouhan said, 'follow Wen Chao's orders,' then Wen Zhuliu followed those orders to the letter. This fact alone meant that Wen Zhuliu did some truly awful things.

His ability to destroy a cultivator's golden core was horrifying. Wen Qing didn't know how he did it, and she never wanted to know. She assumed Wen Rouhan must have asked him at some point, but if he had then Wen Zhuliu had never revealed it. Wen Rouhan would absolutely brag about knowing such a technique. Therefore it was either unteachable, or Wen Zhuliu had refused to reveal how it was done. If it was a teachable technique then Wen Qing felt the most noble thing Wen Zhuliu ever did was let it die with him.

Wen Zhuliu's body was crumpled over, in a pool of blood. He had been bleeding from all seven qiqiao. Wen Qing examined his corpse, sending spiritual energy through his body. He was dead, so she naturally did not expect to find a golden core. She should be able to see if there was damage to his meridians, or may be able to tell if his core was damaged before death. Wen Qing already had a suspicion of how he died, but it would not hurt to check.

His body was suffused with resentful energy. Much more than she might expect in a deceased cultivator. It would indicate either dying with a great deal of personal resentment, or coming into contact with a great deal of resentful energy before death. Wen Qing could assume easily enough that it was the latter, but there was no reason to inform anyone else of that. She examined his body for external injuries. Wen Zhuliu had several broken bones and internal bleeding. Both were probably secondary to the obvious qi-deviation, but that was only apparent because she knew what caused the qi-deviation. No other healer would, and so she had some room to speculate an alternative.

Wen Qing stood and went to find Wen Chao. Apparently he had decided not to wait. Wen Qing wasn't surprised. Wen Chao was not sentimental or kind. Wen Zhuliu was only relevant, because Wen Chao would need to inform his own father of Wen Zhuliu's death. She found Wen Chao standing beside Wang Lingjiao's corpse. He did not seem distraught. Certainly not the face Wen Qing would have if her lover had just died. The face was more like disappointment, like the face someone might make if they found their favourite confection was sold out.

Wang Lingjiao had always been a rather petty and vicious person. Wen Qing was not sorry to see her dead. From what she recalled this was a considerably nicer death than Wang Lingjiao had received last time. Wen Qing looked up at Wen Chao, who was more upset that he did not have a concubine to fuck, than he was about Wang Lingjiao's death. Oddly enough Wang Lingjiao had stayed in favour longer than most of the wives and concubines. She had stayed in favour for over ten months. Most of the favourites were switched out after six.

"Wen Zhuliu's cause of death is qi-deviation," Wen Qing announced clearly. Wen Chao looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"He sustained a number of broken bones in combat. I would guess the pain and distress combined with over exertion of his spiritual energy, causing him to go into qi-deviation." Wen Qing continued calmly.

"Huh?" Wen Chao's face was a mixture of confusion and disgust.

"I'll write up a medical report." Wen Qing said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She was quite certain she used simple words, but Wen Chao was about as smart as a rock. He nodded in agreement and dismissed her. Wen Qing used the time to walk casually around the aftermath of the battlefield. She lingered when she heard a few cultivators confirming the number of deceased. She tucked the information away.

Wei Wuxian would like to know, and she could pass it on to Lan Xichen as well. It might help Lan Xichen get an idea of how many disciples he might expect to be flocking to Gusu. Wen Qing was not certain if he had returned to Cloud Recesses yet or not. She had not felt any pain or illness from Lan Xichen in the last couple weeks. That was certainly a good sign, but it wasn't appropriate to continually ask in on his condition. She could send Lan Xichen information about what happened to Lotus Pier, and update him on anything she knew about Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. If she was going to be with Lan Wangji for a few days, perhaps Lan Xichen would ask her to pass him a message about how Lan Xichen was fairing.