Lan Xichen was clutching his most recent correspondence from Meng Yao. He had only received it yesterday. Nie Mingjue had been gone for five days by then. It wasn't really a surprise it took Meng Yao time to get the letter to him. Meng Yao did not have as convenient a method to send information as Wen Qing did. Wen Qing was able to convey information much more quickly, even if it was less detailed.

Lan Xichen found himself reading through the correspondence again. The letter from Meng Yao. The messages from Wen Qing. Wen Qing had been very direct. She'd been the first to tell him where Nie Mingjue was. She did not share much about the condition he was in, and Lan Xichen did not ask. He was afraid to hear the answer. Meng Yao's message had taken much longer to receive.

Meng Yao reported that Wen Rouhan had wanted to execute Nie Mingjue immediately. Meng Yao was only able to save him by convincing Wen Rouhan to imprison Nie Mingjue in the Flame Palace. Meng Yao wasn't certain how long he'd be able to protect Nie Mingjue. Lan Xichen wished they could push the confrontation to Nightless City now. Meng Yao was risking discovery by shielding Nie Mingjue. There was only so much he could do to keep Nie Mingjue alive.

Lan Xichen might have been more frantic if it weren't for Wen Qing's messages. Her messages were brief and direct. Still, it was enough to keep Lan Xichen calm. Wen Qing was adamant that she would be able to free Nie Mingjue. Lan Xichen was worried about Wen Qing. He did not want her to endanger herself any more than necessary. The only thing that kept Lan Xichen from anxiously cautioning her was the knowledge that she had been the one to tell him to set limits. He trusted her to know her own limitations.

It was more uncomfortable than Lan Xichen wanted to admit. He was always trying to caution the people he cared about. Nie Mingjue and his didi were both subject to his worried gazes and his every effort to try and ensure they were taking care of themselves. He did the same to Wei Wuxian, or tried to. Lan Xichen's concerned questions and cautioning gazes did not seem to be very helpful.

Lan Xichen flipped through the few messages he had received from Wen Qing since Nie Mingjue's capture. He glanced at the next blank page. He wouldn't waste time asking her the many questions he wanted to ask. He was staring at the empty space hoping for a new message to appear. Maybe something to confirm Meng Yao's words. That Nie Mingjue was mostly well.

Lan Xichen's breath hitched when he saw characters begin to appear on blank paper. It took him a few seconds before he allowed himself to believe that this was not just a wishful imagining. Wen Qing was sending him a message and maybe it would give him some sort of update. Then Lan Xichen's breath stopped all together when the words formed a complete sentence.

'Today?' Lan Xichen was floored. Apparently Wen Qing was going to break Nie Mingjue out today and smuggle him to Dafan. The allied sect would have to take Dafan. Suddenly words were materializing faster than Lan Xichen could process them. Descriptions of the civilians that would be willing to help them. A map of the layout. Numbers of soldiers guarding the area and typical patrol routes. There was the note that more cultivators may arrive if they realized where Nie Mingjue was going. Wen Qing hoped to avoid this, but suddenly Lan Xichen felt a new urgency.

Lan Xichen read through the information Wen Qing provided twice. Then checked again to make sure no new pages had filled with information. She had never filled so many pages in a single day. Lan Xichen set about gathering the sect leaders. They had been hit hard by Nie Mingjue's capture. He had been the strongest voice in every war council and the deciding vote in every strategy meeting. Without him the allied sects were floundering.

Lan Xichen was in the strongest position among the sects present, but he had never had the experience with battle or the force to to overcome arguments the way Nie Mingjue had. Jiang Wanyin might have been able to grow into a sect leader with a similar kind of force, but he was young and new to the responsibilities of leadership. The smaller sects did not trust his opinion or respect his authority the way they did of the other major sect leaders. It meant Jiang Wanyin's temper was taken more like a disrespectful teenager than the wrath of a sect leader.

Jiang Yanli had become Lan Xichen's ally in the few meetings that had taken place since Nie Mingjue's absence. She created opportunities in conversations and delicately led sect leaders into logic traps. It wasn't as swift and overwhelming as how Nie Mingjue could turn a conversation, but it was effective and left sect leaders with little they could do or say to contradict her.

Occasionally a sect leader would grumble about her presence in the meetings. Lan Xichen was certain this was because of said sect leaders not being able to find an effective way to argue with her. Such complaints did not get far. Jiang Wanyin would not tolerate anyone talking down to his jie. Anything Jiang Yanli said in the meetings he would support and any complaints about her presence were met with venom.

Lan Xichen would need Jiang Yanli's help today. He alone would not be enough to convince them all on a plan to take Dafan. Even for the sake of Nie Mingjue there would be fear and resistance. Lan Xichen made a detour towards the camp infirmary. Jiang Yanli spent every spare moment she could assisting in the infirmary. It was a good place to start with trying to find her. Having her input beforehand could only make the coming discussion go smoother.

Entering the infirmary Lan Xichen quickly spotted a figure dressed in soft lavender changing bandages on a cultivator's leg. Lan Xichen waited until she was finished, politely waving off one of the healers who asked if he needed something. Once Jiang Yanli stepped back from the cultivator Lan Xichen stepped forward.

"Zewu-jun, can I help you with something?" Jiang Yanli inquired as Lan Xichen came into view.

"I was hoping to get your advice on something," Lan Xichen said quietly. He hoped to indicate that they should attempt to get some privacy for the discussion. Jiang Yanli seemed to understand. She offered to retrieve some things to restock the infirmary and began to lead Lan Xichen toward the supply tents.

"Sect Leader Nie has escaped from Nightless City with assistance. They can get him to Dafan, but it is still controlled by the QishanWen sect. I am hoping to convince the other sects to support taking Dafan." Lan Xichen explained trying to keep his voice calm and even. Jiang Yanli was quiet, pausing in her motions of picking out the supplies she had come for. A thoughtful look appeared on Jiang Yanli's face.

"Wen Qing?" Jiang Yanli inquired. Lan Xichen probably should not have been surprised that Jiang Yanli put it together. He had been withholding who his spy was in Qishan. He had not bothered to mention he had more than one since he would not risk disclosing who they were.

"She is breaking him out today and expects to be able to get him to Dafan. She will confirm once he is out, but we can't wait that long if we want to get our forces to Dafan in time. She provided a lot of information about Dafan, but it isn't a strategic location. I'm worried the other leaders will not feel it worth the risk, and without Nie Mingjue coming to an agreement about our next moves has become increasingly difficult." Lan Xichen tried to summarize what he thought were the important points. Jiang Yanli considered what he said for a moment.

"The DafanWen's are healers like Wen Qing. We might be able to make the case that they intend to defect and offer aid. We could certainly use more knowledgeable healers and medical supplies, but I don't think that is the argument we want to start with. Too likely that an argument will just start up about whether they would actually help or whether they could be trusted." Jiang Yanli became quiet once more.

Jiang Yanli tapped a finger against her chin lightly in thought. Lan Xichen was used to spending long periods of time with his very quiet didi. He did not have trouble waiting for Jiang Yanli to be ready to present her thoughts.

"Don't talk about Nie Mingjue having escaped Nightless City right away. Let them start talking about how much they miss Nie Mingjue and how great he is. Talk to Nie Huaisang. He'll have no trouble prompting a discussion like that. A lot of the sect leaders respect Nie Mingjue. Talking about rescuing him is noble without obligation when rescue seems impossible. Once enough of them start talking boldly you present the information about the rescue." Jiang Yanli stated with a firm nod.

It was a lot more elaborate than how Lan Xichen usually approached a dialogue. Yet what she was describing very much followed the rhythm he had seen her use in discussions time and time again. Lan Xichen had to admit that her arguments were often highly effective. Even if sect leaders were often not all together happy about what they ended up agreeing to. It was a bit underhanded, which made Lan Xichen uncomfortable, but at the same time it wasn't as though they were forcing the other sect leaders to say things they don't mean. The sect leaders were also capable of taking their own words back, if they could stomach the loss of face.

"You should also talk to A-Xian beforehand."

Lan Xichen glanced up at that. He knew Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian were incredibly close. He had heard them slip into familial terms of address with one another. Not to mention the protectiveness Wen Qing demonstrated towards Wei Wuxian had been almost staggering. At the time Jiang Yanli had just been happy someone was looking after Wei Wuxian, but Lan Xichen wasn't certain how Jiang Yanli would feel about that dynamic with the current state of the world.

"Do you think he will want to attend the meeting?" Lan Xichen inquired. Jiang Yanli smiled softly.

"I think A-Xian will want Wen Qing and Wen Ning safe. They did a lot for him in Cloud Recesses. He deserves to know about something that would affect them so directly." Jiang Yanli said softly. "You also mentioned being worried about getting the sect leaders to take action. If you need someone to shout over their bickering about what they should do, A-Xian is certainly capable of filling that role."