The day Wei Wuxian's compass alerted him that Wen Qing was in danger, it froze him in his tracks. His entire body twitched once, like all his muscles were urging him to run towards her location, but he forced himself to remain. Nuan-er and A-Yuan were with him. If he started freaking out it would distress them.

Nuan-er had just barely stopped throwing tantrums about being separated from them when Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji needed to attend a war meeting. Granted, Wei Wuxian rarely attended them, but he did occasionally need to be present. Not to mention Wei Wuxian knew they would need to leave her and A-Yuan in camp when they went into battle. Wei Wuxian had been toying with the idea of attending more war meetings so that he could help her get used to being away from him more.

Wen Nuan had slowly started to relax around a few other adults. She had warmed up to Jiang Yanli quite a bit, seeming to take notice of the firmness that crept into Jiang Yanli's voice when speaking with some of the other cultivators. Jiang Yanli carried herself with a subtle trace of authority that she didn't learn to carry until she'd been thrust into her new role in leading her sect.

Wen Nuan was very observant, and she had taken note of the authority and respect that was shown towards Jiang Yanli. She had started to somewhat begrudgingly accept being away from Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji for short amounts of time. Mostly if a combination of other adults were around.

A combination of Wen-Popo, San-yi, and Jiang Yanli seemed to be her preferred arrangement.  Unfortunately Jiang Yanli also attended the strategy meetings, so they were forced to make do. Wen Nuan was relatively amicable to Jiang Wanyin's presence. On their first day in camp after leaving Dafan, Jiang Yanli brought Wei Wuxian, A-Yuan, and Nuan-er to Jiang Wanyin.

'This is your niece and nephew.' Jiang Yanli had announced and immediately placed A-Yuan in Jiang Wanyin's arms.

Jiang Wanyin's face had at first been irritated and outraged. A more blatant expression, but the same emotions Wei Wuxian was used to seeing. Then he was choking on his own outrage, sputtering as Jiang Yanli placed a toddler in his arms. Jiang Wanyin's expression softened briefly before he settled on a slightly embarrassed frown. Wen Nuan took this to mean that Jiang Wanyin mostly did as Jiang Yanli told him to do. That was enough for the four-year-old for now.

Jiang Wanyin didn't say anything too disparaging after that. He mumbled something about how, Wei Wuxian, 'really couldn't wait until after the war before having kids?' Then he promptly began playing with his nephew.

Jiang Wanyin said nothing about the DafanWens being brought into camp, and stopped bringing up the old conflicts between himself and Wei Wuxian, mostly of his own making. The two of them began to see a bit more of each other, always in the company of A-Yuan and Nuan-er. Jiang Wanyin might not have let go of his jealousy and old gripes, but he stopped bringing them up. He seemed to finally be willing to have some sort of positive relationship with Wei Wuxian. Even if it was not quite the relationship he had wanted.

Jiang Yanli still ensured she was present during all of these visits, which Lan Wangji appreciated immensely. Lan Wangji was not especially pleased about Wei Wuxian interacting with Jiang Wanyin more. Lan Wangji still had nightmares about seeing Jiang Wanyin's hands wrapped around Wei Wuxian's throat.

Lan Wangji's entire being chafed at the idea of the two of them being alone together. But, Wei Wuxian was still aching from the damaged relationship. He wanted some semblance of a familial bond with Jiang Wanyin. Lan Wangji was not thrilled, but he wouldn't deny Wei Wuxian the chance. Jiang Yanli's continued supervision was deeply appreciated. Lan Wangji could not feel comfortable leaving Wei Wuxian without someone to look out for him, and Lan Wangji was not certain he could remain calm in Jiang Wanyin's presence for the length of a visit.

It was with all this progress in mind, especially Wen Nuan's slow acceptance of time away from Wei Wuxian, that Wei Wuxian did his best to fain calm when he became aware of Wen Qing's distress. Lan Wangji noticed anyway, because Lan Wangji is the sweetest and he watches Wei Wuxian for signs of distress religiously. By the end of the day Wei Wuxian had gotten enough time away from his two little ones to determine that Wen Qing is in Nightless City.

Wen Qing was in Nightless City and they weren't ready to march on Nightless City yet. Although the presence of Chifeng-zun meant they were in a much better position to attempt it than they had been before. Wei Wuxian had never really used the Yin Hufu at its limits. The longer he used it the harder it was to remember his rule.

If he wanted to cut a path by himself from here to Nightless City... Well, Wei Wuxian probably could. He could probably singlehandedly destroy the Wen armies and purge Nightless City. He also thought it was entirely likely that by the time he hit Nightless City, he wouldn't remember why he was there anymore. After channelling that much energy for that long. Wei Wuxian found it hard to believe he would not have functionally emptied himself of everything he was. Hollowed himself out and become little more than a vessel for the Yin Hufu to use.

So Wei Wuxian had to fly back to camp with Lan Wangji. He had to tell Wen Qionglin, and the rest of Wen Qing's family, that Wen Qing was in danger. Most likely she had been captured, and she was probably hurt. Wei Wuxian had limited information to work with. The Jinbu couldn't communicate much beyond Wen Qing's location and the fact that she was in distress.

Jiang Yanli and Lan Xichen were both informed. It was late by then. Lan Xichen said he would speak with Nie Mingjue. Wei Wuxian wasn't certain how much that would help, but Lan Xichen seems certain that Nie Mingjue will care about this information. Wei Wuxian has a really hard time getting that to line up with the Nie Mingjue who was ruffled into cursing any and all Wens with little to no prodding.

On the other hand, Nie Mingjue did support the DafanWens being brought into camp. That was already way out of the realm of Wei Wuxian's expectations. If this was his first life he might have been offended at the not entirely universal acceptance of their presence. Although in his first life Wei Wuxian wasn't thinking much during the war, beyond the need to murder his way through the QishanWen sect. So maybe the him of his first life would have also not handled the presence of the DafanWens super smoothly.

Wei Wuxian would like to think that the vivid memory of the debt he owed Wen Qing and Wen Qiongling, combined with the presence of the adorable A-Yuan and Nuan-er, would be enough to convince him. The him of now, remembers when all these righteous sects marched into a muddy rundown settlement and killed every single soul. Slaughtered everyone from Wen-Popo, who could scarcely walk without her cane, down to A-Yuan, a tiny child hidden in a tree trunk.

Wei Wuxian didn't actually witness A-Yuan's death. Wei Wuxian considered it a mercy that he was not forced to watch that. Still, he saw how fervently his family was slaughtered and how greedily the cultivators ransacked their home. He had no illusions that A-Yuan would survive that onslaught. When he died, Wei Wuxian died knowing that the last people in the world who cared about him had died with him.

Something poked at Wei Wuxian's dark recollections. Reminding him that that probably wasn't actually true. From what he has been able to determine, it is surprisingly likely that Lan Wangji in fact still liked him. Might, probably, have still been in love with him despite Wei Wuxian pushing him away at nearly every opportunity. The thought is both sad and painfully sweet.

Wei Wuxian is so grateful that Lan Wangji was there when he first came back. Wei Wuxian had come back an absolute mess, expecting to have already died, and it's entirely possible he'd have completed suicide without Lan Wangji there to stop him. Despite the pain and loss that have happened since then, Wei Wuxian finds he is grateful he is alive.

That night, when Wei Wuxian can't bear to leave his didi alone in the wake of learning their Jiejie was in danger, Wei Wuxian is again grateful for Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian only has to look at Lan Wangji while he wraps an arm around a shaking Wen Qionglin, and Lan Wangji gives a small nod. Wen Qionglin trembles quietly as he lays his head on Wei Wuxian's lap, allowing Wei Wuxian to comb his hair and comfort him while they can do nothing but worry about Wen Qing.

Nuan-er and A-Yuan both notice Wen Qionglin's quiet and pained expression. They pile onto him, offering comfort even though they don't know why he is sad. Lan Wangji sits beside Wei Wuxian peacefully, letting Wei Wuxian lean against him tiredly. For once there's no discomfort or frustration in Lan Wangji's expression.

After Wen Qionglin is fast asleep, Wei Wuxian sneaks out from under him, sliding a pillow into his place to support Wen Qionglin's head. He and Lan Wangji quietly situate themselves in the second bed in their tent. Wei Wuxian let his own anxiety bubble up and dissipate under Lan Wangji's soothing touch.

"Thanks for letting A-Ning stay. I didn't want to leave him alone. Not with Qing-jie..." Wei Wuxian's voice trailed off. He wasn't sure what exactly was happening to Wen Qing, but none of his guesses were good options. "I know it's not the easiest thing for you to watch me being touchy with other people." Wei Wuxian said gently.

"Mn." Lan Wangji gave a non-committal hum. It was true that he had often felt jealous when Wei Wuxian and Wen Qionglin were close. But, that felt far away. Lan Wangji couldn't say he quite thought of Wen Qionglin as his own didi yet, but his thoughts and emotions had shifted towards that direction since Dafan.

"Wen Ning is not 'other people'. He is your didi. He is family." Lan Wangji said quietly. Wei Wuxian's eyes filled with warm tears as he gazed at Lan Wangji fondly. Wei Wuxian captured Lan Wangji's lips in a deep kiss, filled with emotion.

"I love you, Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian whispered quietly. A soft peck was placed on Wei Wuxian's forehead.

"Love Wei Ying." Lan Wangji said softly. For a few moments Lan Wangji allowed the silence to continue. "Tomorrow we will discuss plans to reach Nightless City. We will find Wen Qing." Lan Wangji added after a long hesitant pause. Wei Wuxian nodded, the motion rubbing his cheek against Lan Wangji's chest.

"We'll save her." Wei Wuxian said quietly.

"Mn." Lan Wangji affirmed. Wei Wuxian tried his best to believe it. To believe that they would reach Nightless city in time to save Wen Qing's life. Wei Wuxian was so tired of losing family. He didn't want to lose her again.