Wen Qing was so exhausted she thought she could probably sleep while sitting up. It was a tempting idea, but there was a decent chance that if she tried it she would end up falling off the carriage. That was not something she wanted to see happen. Sleeping inside the carriage was also tempting. Unfortunately the carriage contained three refugees she was smuggling under the guise of transporting her sick brother back to Yiling.

It was better for her to be outside the carriage, just in case anyone decided to take an interest. She was best able to keep anyone from looking in the wrong places. Wen Qing adjusted how she was sitting and prayed it would be enough. They would arrive in Yiling soon. Things would get easier from there. She'd have a large building, behind large walls that she could hide Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji behind. Jiang Wanyin too, although he was certainly easier to keep hidden when he wasn't screaming his lungs out. She fully expected him to scream his lungs out the second he woke up.

She would have to make a trip to Qishan in a few days. Wen Qing had volunteered to prepare Wen Zhuliu's body for burial and bring it to Qishan. She wasn't sure what Wen Chao had planned to do with Wen Zhuliu's body. He probably hadn't thought that far ahead. Wen Qing volunteered to escort his body. She was not certain Wen Rouhan would actually care about Wen Zhuliu's burial, but since Wen Zhuliu was a high ranking cultivator and carried the Wen name it wouldn't be strange that Wen Qing might assume that they should have proper funerary rights for him.

No one questioned her about it, and it was much easier to hide two dead bodies if everyone was expecting her to already be transporting one. Wen Qing was not certain how Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan would feel about being transported with their killer. Wen Qing personally thought it was rather poetic that their killer provide the cover for the safety of their remains. If Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan found lying beside Wen Zhuliu to be offensive... Well they'd have to get over that. It was a blessing she could transport their bodies intact at all.

Finally the gate of the supervisory office were in sight. As they creaked closed behind their procession Wen Qing slumped in relief. She had enough favour from Wen Rouhan to exert a lot of control over who worked under her. It was why she could do something like this without worrying about immediately being discovered.

Wen Qing got to her feet, trying to ignore the aching in her back as she stretched her stiff legs. She wanted to sleep for a week. Maybe two weeks. She went around back and opened the door. Immediately Wen Qionglin looked out, taking up nearly the entire view.

"We're here. Get them situated." Wen Qing said, suppressing a yawn.

Wen Qionglin quickly scrambled from the carriage ushering Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji out. Wei Wuxian was, apparently, asleep. He buried his face in Lan Wangji's chest after making several unintelligible grumbling sounds. Lan Wangji was gazing at him like this was the most adorable and precious thing Wei Wuxian had ever done. Wen Qing was mostly sure that if she was a little less tired she would find this sweet.

Wen Qing had never been annoyed about Lan Wangji doting on Wei Wuxian. In fact she generally enjoyed seeing it. She liked seeing her didi loved and cared for, and not constantly raked over the coals of guilt that burned in his heart. However, right this second she was just sort of annoyed with everything.

She was annoyed at the sun for being bright. She was annoyed at the cultivators under her orders for being too loud when they walked. She was annoyed that she still needed to make arrangements for three bodies, none of people she even liked. She was so tired that it was like her brain was rebelling against being awake. Her pulse pounded in her ears and her head throbbed.

She hadn't slept for more than a few hours in days. She couldn't risk a delay in being alerted to anyone coming around to 'check' on things. The safety of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji depended on it. As such, Wen Qing was currently very tired and found it just a little annoying to watch Lan Wangji gaze down at Wei Wuxian in a daze without moving indoors.

"Lan Wangji, take him inside. A-Ning will show you where." Wen Qing said with a tired sigh. She refused to let her irritation make her snap over something that she knows she would normally have no issue with. She would not let her temper, shortened by sleep deprivation, lash out at the people she cared about.

So she took a few deep breaths and set about getting the bodies inside. She'd let Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji rest for a night before they head out. Once they left she would deal with the headache that was Jiang Wanyin. Wen Qing felt a bit bitter about that part. She wasn't thrilled about having to deal with him alone, but on the other hand... She could always immobilize him and set a privacy talisman in his room. Eventually he'd scream himself to exhaustion, and maybe he'd talk like a rational person then.

Wen Qing tucked the idea in the back of her head. He wasn't badly injured, so she wouldn't need to keep him here very long. That was a good thing since she did not wish to leave him with Wen Qionglin unsupervised. Yet, she needed to depart for Qishan in a few days, or answer some very uncomfortable questions.

Wen Qing made sure Wen Zhuliu's body was in a separate, more accessible room. Just in case anyone decided to visit. She also worried that Jiang Wanyin might mutilate the corpse if he saw it in the same room as the remains of his parents. Wen Qing might have let that slide if she wouldn't have to explain what happened to the corpse to anyone else.

Wen Qing didn't even bother to remove her outermost robes or pull back a blanket. She shuffled to her bed and collapsed face first into her pillow. It was not a comfortable sleeping position for her, but she just needed a minute before she rolled onto her back more properly.

Tomorrow Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji would leave for the Burial Mounds. Wei Wuxian needed to forge Chenqing. Wen Qing might have put up more opposition to this idea if Wei Wuxian had insisted on going alone. Thankfully Wei Wuxian had no intention of trying to keep Lan Wangji from coming with him. Wei Wuxian didn't know how long they would stay in Burial Mounds. He wasn't sure how long forging Chenqing would take compared to before. He assumed it would be faster this time, but he wasn't certain how much faster.

In any case he had been missing three months last time, and Wei Wuxian was certain he would not need nearly that long. He only needed to forge Chenqing, not invent demonic cultivation. He knew where to find her if he needed help, at least for the time being. She would eventually be moved back to Qishan, like she had before.

Wen Qing sighed. First sleep. Tomorrow she would see off Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. She would pray that between the two of them they would manage to keep themselves alive and mostly healthy. Apparently Lan Wangji had a bit of a self-destructive streak in him similar to Wei Wuxian's. Otherwise he would not have concealed the damage to his hand for Zidian. Fortunately Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were decent at scolding and looking after each other. That would hopefully be enough.

Once they were safely away she would deal with Jiang Wanyin. She would make sure he was reasonably healthy. She would give him the time and resources to properly see to the burial of his parents. Then she would happily shove him out the door towards Gusu, where hopefully Jiang Yanli would be. Jiang Yanli had not been found as far as Wen Qing knew, so Wen Qing hoped that meant everything was alright.

Lan Xichen was not in Cloud Recesses, but he had written after Wen Qing gave him the update about Lotus Pier. Apparently he was gathering allies. He didn't share any details and Wen Qing supposed that was fine. Lan Xichen only asked that she let Lan Wangji know that he was well, and was gathering allies. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had decided not to inform anyone of where they were going.

Wei Wuxian needed time and space to craft Chenqing. He also needed space before joining the war effort. He needed some time to make it look like demonic cultivation was something new he picked up. Not something he had been secretly doing behind everyone's back. Wen Qing was not certain that would matter, but she understood Wei Wuxian's fears. He had been persecuted for demonic cultivation. Wei Wuxian was terrified of going through that again, but he also knew it would happen.

Wen Qing let out a long sigh. Sleep first. Then continue forward with each step of the plan. Prove to Jiang Wanyin that she had helped him escape and rescued the remains of his parents. Secure the fact that he owes her a debt. Then focus on trying to piece together information that she can pass to Lan Xichen. She needed to make herself invaluable to the allies of the Sunshot Campaign. Then, maybe, the sects would allow her family to live peacefully. A deep breath in and out, trying to release the tension caused by her anxious thoughts. Wen Qing would follow through with all of these plans, but first she needed to sleep.

Author Note: Next update will be on June 20th.  At that point I will resume daily updates. I have been plotting for a good place to give myself a week to try and get ahead in the story again.  The next chapter will be a time skip so this felt like as good a place as any.