Nie Mingjue felt his sabre tremble eagerly in its scabbard, a response to Nie Mingjue's irritation. It was a testament to the strong resonance between Nie Mingjue and Baxia. Something that was a sign of strength and power. It had started happening during the last year and had been taken as an omen of Nie Mingjue's power and capability.

It was a sign of strength, but it was also a sign of increased sensitivity to negative emotions. Those not privy to the inner workings of the QingheNie sect's cultivation were ignorant to the cost of the QingheNie sect's methods. The battlefield was both the perfect place for a QingheNie cultivator and also the last place they should be. The bloody battlefields strengthened their sabre spirits just as effectively as a difficult nighthunt.

Every cultivator of Nie Mingjue's sect that survived a battle was rapidly growing in power. Often more quickly than the battle honed skills of the other sect cultivators. Not that Nie Mingjue thought anyone was paying too close of attention to that. This was a war, and the QingheNie sect style was known for raw power and battle strength. Nie Mingjue knew perfectly well that every increase in power reduced the age at which one of his cultivators would need to put down their sabre, or die with it in their hands.

Nie Mingjue was no exception to this. The trembling of Baxia in response to his irritation was a landmark of sorts. A sign of his own strength, and the first indicator of interaction between his cultivation and his temperament. It wasn't much to worry about now. It would still be a long while before he had to worry about a cultivation fuelled qi deviation, but it was a reminder that this strength came with an expiration date. Nie Mingjue wondered if Wei Wuxian's did too.

Nie Mingjue's grip tightened on Baxia, commanding it to remain still. It was infuriating just how much there was to deal with following a battle. Nie Mingjue never wanted his didi near the fighting. Not when Nie Huaisang could barely even lift his sabre, let alone defend himself with it. Not when Nie Mingjue would rather gouge his own eyes out then see Nie Huaisang in pain.

However, when the battles were over and Nie Mingjue was inundated with tasks and duties that seemed both endless and tedious, Nie Mingjue really wished Nie Huaisang was around. For all his whining and complaining, Nie Huaisang was actually very good at the administrative minutia involved in running a sect. All the things Nie Mingjue struggled to remember and found frustratingly tedious, were things Nie Huaisang could probably have dealt with in his sleep.

The endless questions and interruptions were half the reason Nie Mingjue had never considered attempting to meet with individual cultivators. Even ones as important to the war as Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. Nie Mingjue simply did not have the time to spend meeting with cultivators who could, and should, be participating in the strategy meetings. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were both high ranking enough that they should attend those meetings alongside their respective siblings.

Wei Wuxian attended the strategy meetings, occasionally. His contributions were often equal parts helpful and disruptive. Though to be fair the disruptions mostly came from others reacting to Wei Wuxian rather than from Wei Wuxian himself. Nie Mingjue did not particularly fault Wei Wuxian for avoiding the strategy meetings. Nie Mingjue might have done the same in his position.

Nie Mingjue deliberately stayed out of the debates regarding Wei Wuxian's cultivation methods. He was of the opinion that the cultivation techniques of another cultivator was none of his business. How Wei Wuxian chose to cultivate was the business of Wei Wuxian and his own sect. Although from what Nie Huaisang had implied that was perhaps a more complicated distinction for Wei Wuxian than most.

Ultimately, unless it was actively harming innocent people, Nie Mingjue was of the opinion that cultivation methods were a personal decision. Nie Mingjue honestly wouldn't have had much ground to stand on to complain if Wei Wuxian even founded a sect with his new methods. He might have opposed it if Wei Wuxian did do that. At the least Nie Mingjue would not have liked to see anyone founding a sect using methods that were probably harmful to the user.

Nie Mingjue knew all too well what it was like to learn that the methods of your own clan would lead to an early death. He knew what it was like to have to tell a disciple that had been training in his sect for years that they would have to either put down their sabre or accept that they would die young. Nie Mingjue was faced with the eternal struggle of hating the system of the sect he had inherited, but not being able to find a way to address it.

Nie Mingjue thought he might be willing to go to great lengths to stop someone else from doing what the founder of the QingheNie sect did. Nie Mingjue's ancestor to whom he owed great respect and filial duty. The same ancestor Nie Mingjue rather wished he could punch in the face every time he had to watch another cultivator choose between their cultivation and dying young.

Fortunately Wei Wuxian had flat out refused all requests to teach his new cultivation techniques to anyone. Something that Nie Mingjue respected and which many of their allies resented. Wei Wuxian's cultivation had not lashed out and caused any harm to others. He did disturb the bodies of the deceased, but Nie Mingjue wasn't going to start complaining about the dignity of their enemies' bodies while there were still enemies trying to kill them.

Nie Mingjue was relieved when he finally managed to clear things away enough to speak with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. The Yin Hufu was something that completely changed the balance of power in a fight. They could go from hopelessly losing to claiming an easy victory all because of one cultivator with one weapon. Which meant the limitations of that weapon and the well being of that cultivator were singularly important to the Sunshot campaign.

Nie Mingjue announced himself before he entered the tent. He recognized the sound of a guqin coming from within, and assumed Lan Wangji was playing another one of those healing melodies the Lans were famous for. Nie Mingjue wasn't someone who cared much about music, but if it helped Wei Wuxian manage his cultivation and the Yin Hufu then Nie Mingjue was happy Lan Wangji kept at it with such regularity.

"Sect Leader Nie." Wei Wuxian greeted Nie Mingjue with a smile. Wei Wuxian did not look well. He looked pale and exhausted. He barely lifted his head from Lan Wangji's shoulder.

Nie Mingjue took a seat across from them, not bothering with much ceremony or etiquette. They'd spoken enough that Nie Mingjue knew neither Lan Wangji nor Wei Wuxian would be offended. And, they were all tired. Going through all the motions of propriety simply felt too annoying and too exhausting for the circumstances.

"How bad is it?" Even for Nie Mingjue the question was blunt, but he was tired.

Too tired to be bothered with subtlety. Not too tired to remember that Wei Wuxian seemed to respond better to Nie Mingjue's blunt and direct mannerisms anyway. Nie Mingjue had spent enough time listening to Lan Xichen recount his concerns about Wei Wuxian and his efforts regarding Wei Wuxian's well being. Enough nights to know that Lan Xichen worried a great deal about his didi's fiance, and certainly enough to notice that Wei Wuxian had responded quite negatively to Lan Xichen's approach.

"Manageable." Wei Wuxian said after considering his options. Nie Mingjue raised an eyebrow in a clear demand for more details.

"Wei Ying has sustained internal damage from using the Yin Hufu." Lan Wangji answered while Wei Wuxian was still debating what to say.

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian squawked. Lan Wangji maintained eye contact with Nie Mingjue.

"Controlling corpses with Chenqing is draining. Over long periods it is harmful, but the damage can be healed quickly with rest and spiritual energy." Lan Wangji continued un-repentantly. "The Yin Hufu is much more difficult to control and causes much more damage. The damage is often to more vital areas and requires intervention to heal. Wei Ying has used the Yin Hufu in three consecutive battles, only one of which was planned. It is a problem."

Wei Wuxian looked like he wanted to complain, but ultimately tucked himself closer to Lan Wangji as he stared ruefully at the table. Nie Mingjue let out a frustrated sigh. It wasn't a surprise, but it certainly wasn't good news.

"How much time do you need before Nightless City?" Nie Mingjue asked. Wei Wuxian grimaced.

"So that I can use it without losing my mind and murdering indiscriminately?" Wei Wuxian asked, his tone too bright for the grim topic.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji scolded. Wei Wuxian's flippant smirk immediately cracked into something pained. Wei Wuxian buried his face against Lan Wangji's shoulder for a few quiet moments.

"Ideally I would... Well, actually, ideally I would like to never use this thing ever again, but that's not a reasonable option. A week would be nice. Enough time to make sure everything was healed fully before using it again, but I know that wasn't our plan." Wei Wuxian said, somewhat more subdued than before.

Nie Mingjue could feel himself frowning. He'd like to give Wei Wuxian the week, but they did not have that kind of time. Not if they wanted to take Nightless city. Not if they wanted to ensure that Wen Rouhan wouldn't gather his forces enough to combat that, or realize how weak their defensive positions were during this push.

"Three days?" Wei Wuxian asked. "Can we make that work? The more time the better, but three days should be enough. It'll probably be a little rough, but we've done a pretty good job minimizing how much resentful energy I channel through it when we've been able to plan the battle strategy for it." Wei Wuxian became less hesitant and more thoughtful.

Calling anything that Wei Wuxian had done with the Yin Hufu 'minimal' felt wrong. Without Wei Wuxian's impact on the battlefield was tremendous. With it, Wei Wuxian's power was something else entirely. NIe Mingjue was again reminded of his own cultivators. The stronger they became, the closer they were to death.

"Three days." Nie Mingjue said quietly. "We'll make it work. I'll revisit our strategy for Nightless City and see if we can reduce the burden on you." Nie Mingjue said with a small nod.