"Sect Leader Qian, your back! We all missed you!" Gao Song said running outside to meet TaiFeng.

After parting way with the others in Koi Tower she flew back to YueYang faster than you can say Yin Iron.

"It's nice to see you as well. I was really starting to miss this place. But first, there's the small matter of accepting new disciples." She said, walking into the main hall.

"Also, I think it's best if we build a few more rooms. I've brought back enough things for YiZhang to sell, so we should be able to afford at least one more side hall. I want to blow everyone's minds when the other sect leaders finnaly visit."

"I'll let Shixiong know. And as for the disciples we've already made a list of all of them. It's really just a matter of picking them out." He said handing her a thick booklet.

"This many?!" She gasped, opening it and watching trail on the floor.

'This thing is longer than a Naruto flashback.'

"We weren't really expecting this many people, but quite a lot of people wanted to join the sect." He said.

"Looks like I'm going to have my hands full tonight." She sighed making her way to her study.

'It's a good thing a pre ordered sect robes, otherwise I'd be screwed.' She thought, going through the long list.

In total there were ninety six names on the list, and after hours of careful consideration she picked out sixty six people off the list.

Add that to her current numbers, and she now had seventy disciples.

But she was nowhere near done, she still had to set up a training regime, reinforce barriers all around the sect, along with preparing for the indoctrination and making sure all her ships sail smoothly.

She already had a plan in mind for protecting her sect, and believe it or not, she got her inspiration from Wen Chao.

"What I wouldn't give for a Monster right now." She sighed, putting the final touches on her grand plan.

It was almost two in the afternoon, but she was prepared to work through the night.

She had designed stronger wards and built talismans that would alert her if somebody was trespassing on Sect property.

There were also her daily sect responsibilities such as solving problems in the local community that fall under the sects jurisdiction.

So far she had settled two disputes between local farmers and lots of other minor things. She also planned to open a public library once this was all over, but that could wait.

"Okay, I've finished the design plans for the side halls, now all I need is wait for the package for Ziyu forest to arrive, and I should be good for today." She muttered, cleaning up her desk space.

"Sect Leader Qian, there's a man at the door saying he has a package for you." ChenHe said, knocking on the study door.

"Speak the devils name and he shall appear." She said, getting up from her seat.

"Tell him I'll be there right away."

"Sect Leader Qian, always a pleasure doing business with you." The shady man bowed, beside him was a large wooden crate warded with talismans.

"Believe me, the pleasure is all yours." She said, gesturing for the shady man to take a seat. He was in his late fifties with a face full of wrinkles. He had a goatee similar to Lan Qirens along with sharp pointy eyebrows that made him look like he was up to no good, which most of the time he was.

"So, Yan ZiMing, you old fox, how do you intend to rip me off today?"
TaiFeng said sitting down in a golden seat engraved with dragons, a gift from Huaisang.

"Sect Leader Qian, you wound me. This time I'll give you a special discount. Five thousand silver, how about it?" He said with a smirk, rubbing his hands together.

Yan ZiMing had been trading with the Qian Sect for four months now, and, well, let's just say he wasn't the most trustworthy person.

"Five thousand? Just take my entire sect why don't you? Three and a half." She bargained.

"Three and a half? Sect Leader Qian, I almost lost my arm getting this for you. Four thousand, eight hundred. I'll throw in a cultivation book as well. It's from the lost Merfolk tribe of the eastern sea, I guarantee it." He said, smiling deviously.

'Screw being the better person, imma start biting him in a minute.'

"Hah, from the eastern sea my ass! What about the time you told me you found a yellow book that belonged to the founder of the Wen Sect?

Or that time you said you discovered a miracle ointment that can instantly cure tuberculosis?

Or the time you said you found a set of robes that belonged to Buddha himself!? Need I go on?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Three thousand eight hundred and fifty. I'll also consider buying a sword tassel, or something."

"Four thousand two hundred."
He offered.

"Three thousand nine hundred."
She replied.

"Four thousand and fifty."
He finalised.

"Three thousand nine hundred and forty....five."She answered.

"That.... works! Lovely doing business with you, but I'm afraid I must go." He said jumping out of his seat to receive payment.

"Until next time, Lao Yan." She said with a weary smile as the man left.

"Sect Leader Qian, what did you buy from that old weirdo this time?" Gao Liang said, followed by YiZhang and ChenHe.

"Something awesome." She said prying the lid off the crate for them all to see.

They all gasped in astonishment at what was inside.

"This will be our little secret, okay. I don't want anybody else finding out about this."

"Where on earth are we going to put it?" YiZhang said.

"There's more than enough space for it in Ziyu forest. It's always good to have some form of protection for your Sect."

"But, Sect Leader Qian, are you sure about this? We could just further reinforce the wards. Do we need to take such a... drastic approach?" ChenHe questioned, eyeing the contents of the crate.

"All is fair in love and war. Besides, I can handle it just fine. And I bet not even Jin Guangshan has one of these!"
She said, putting the lid back on the crate.

"By the way, until I have it fully under control make sure none of the disciples go into Ziyu forest. I'd rather not have to deal with any gruesome casualties."

She shuddered at the thought of having to scrape up a bloody dismembered corpse off the forest floor.

"Sect Leader Qian, there's a woman and a man outside that are requesting an audience with you." One of the new disciples walked in.

"They have a letter with your name on it."

"Are they wearing Wen Sect Robes?" She questioned.

"Yes, they are." The disciple answered.

'I didn't think she would come this soon. It hasn't even been two days yet.'

"Let them in, lead them into the garden. I'll be with them right away." She dismissed him.

Making her way into the garden, she started preparing her arguments in her head.

If she could get Wen Qing and the Dafan Wens safe, she would be ensuring Wei Ying safety as well.

If the Dafan Wens are safe, the massacre at Qiongqi path won't happen, along with everything that comes after it.

Once she got past that stage in the timeline it was really smooth sailing, she had already fixed most of the major issues.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were already together and, according to Xichen, they were making almost everyone around them eat dog food with how lovey-dovey they were being.

Lan Qiren almost Qi Deviated when he heard the news.

"Sect Leader Qian." Wen Qing bowed alongside Wen Ning.

"I'm sure your wondering how I knew about the hostage situation with the Dafan Wens." TaiFeng stated, gesturing towards some seats.

"I've heard about your ability to make premonitions, but I'm afraid I have my doubts as to whether or not it's true."

"I'll come clean. That whole seeing into the future thing is just a load of bullcrap." She said, like a liar.

Wen Qing stared at her with confusion while Wen Ning looked like he was hard at thought.

"I'm just really smart. Meaning that I know that your being coersed into helping Wen Rouhan. That part's rather obvious, as no-one in their right mind would willingly help that maniac. And if your willing to accept my help I might be able to help you all."

She could see the hope sparking in Wen Ning's eyes, while Wen Qing stayed passive.

"Why do you want to help us? Most people hate us because of our surnames." She finnaly replied.

"Well, you aren't like the others, are you? I don't believe that your a bad person. And your people have done nothing wrong. But war is, unfortunately, indiscriminate."
She solemnly spoke.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning gave her a startled look.

"See, I'm right, a war is coming. And you both know this." She crossed her arms.

"Jie, I think we should take her offer. Wei-gongzi talks about her a lot, I believe she's a good person." Wen Ning timidly whispered.

"I've already thought of a plan to get them out safely. I just need your approval." She said, trying her best to convince her.

"I've seen far too many conflicts where innocent people die. I'm determined to make sure that this doesn't happen during this war."

"If we were to agree. What do you want in return?" She asked.

'I figured that she wouldn't want to accept charity.'

"Help me run the sect. I'm low on manpower and I don't have anyone employed to work as a doctor. The Dafan Wens are healers so I have no doubt that they'll be useful." She offered.

"In return I'll guarantee your people's safety." She said, settling her nerves and confidently speaking.

'Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.
Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.'

The three of them sat in silence for a good two minutes before Wen Qing finnaly agreed.

"Are you sure you'll be able to get them out safely?" She questioned.

"I've already prepared a fool proof plan. By the time anyone realizes what's happened, we'll be long gone."
She answered.

"I'll trust you." Wen Qing agreed.

On the night of the plan.

Two figures, clad in black, stealthily ran through the forest at night. Barely making a sound as their feet hit the ground.

Carefully assessing the surroundings they found what they were looking for.

"There's the dire owl." Wen Qing gestured towards a small canopy of trees over looking the Dafan Wen settlement.

Without hesitation, TaiFeng took out a talisman made with fuchsia paper with a gold pattern on the edges.

Aiming at the owl, she hit her mark and waited. After a few seconds the owls eyes turned a bright yellow.

"Are you sure that will work?" Wen Qing questioned as they made their way to the houses.

"I drew that with my own blood. You won't find a talisman of higher quality." TaiFeng replied.

It took TaiFeng weeks to find out how to make a talisman that would render the Dire owl useless.

After a few fails, and some... minor bouts of anaemia, she figured it out.

What the talisman does is take what the Dire owl could see at the time just before she used the talisman, and then replay that image over and over again to whoever is looking.

In simpler terms, she hacked into the Dire owl, Mission Impossible style.

"Why is the paper different, then?" Wen Qing asked as they got closer to the houses.

".... It looks prettier. I figured since the type of paper you use doesn't make a difference, why not make it look nice? It's a lot sturdier than yellow joss paper as well." She replied.

"You should sell those."

"Maybe I will, I could have a whole range of colour options."
She said before they stopped at the door of one of the houses.

Knocking in a rhythm, Wen Qing gently pushed open the door.

Inside was Granny Wen, along with Uncle Six, and a few other people who had heavy looking bags on their backs, most likely filled with all their belongings.

Opting to leave her mask and sedge hat on she bowed to the slightly startled Wens.

"Granny, this is Sect Leader Qian. The person I told you about. Don't worry, we can trust her." Wen Qing said.

"Her? My my, aren't you a tall one then." Granny Wen smiled.

Fun fact: TaiFeng is 173cm tall.
Why did I make her this tall? Because I can, that's why.

'She's like the grandmother I never had. I must protect her at all costs!' She thought.

"I'm afraid we should get moving as soon as we can. The talisman will only work for another hour or so. I've prepared some carriages a mile from here, they'll take you all the way to YueYang." She said in a hushed tone.

They quickly rushed out into the woods, not looking back even once.

Once they got to the carriages, TaiFeng mounted her sword and flew a little further ahead, making sure the path was clear.

The journey was filled with anxiety, and after a nerve racking three hours, they finnaly arrived at the Sect gates.

"ChenHe, YiZhang, these people will be staying with us from now on. Could you lead them into the side hall, please. Also could tell the servants to get them some food and spare clothing." She said, taking off her sweaty mask to reaveal her face.

"She looks a little different than what I expected." One of them whispered, which earned them a harsh whack from Granny Wen's cane.

"Sect Leader Qian, we'll never be able to express our gratitude as too what you've done for us." Uncle Six cried out, kowtowing down.

"Eh, please rise! There's no need to bow, I was just doing what was right." TaiFeng said, lifting him up from his arms.
"You all must be exhausted. Please, ChenHe will lead you to your rooms."

As ChenHe went to lead them to the newly built side hall, Wen Qing and TaiFeng went to discuss what was to come next.

"I think it's best if you keep working for Wen Rouhan for now, that way I'll have a link on the inside." TaiFeng said, slowly walking the hallways

"That seems like the best option for now. Although, he might suspect me once he realizes the Dafan Wens are gone." She said walking along side, entering her study.

"I thought about this.... If you confront him tomorrow about their disappearance and make a huge scene he'll most likely come to the conclusion.. that there's a third party involved.... He won't suspect you if you "try your very best" to.. locate them as well." She said, lethargicly, before walking face first into a pillar.

"Did you just walk into that pillar?" Wen Qing asked, a bit stunned.

".....No?"

"You seem unsure." Wen Qing said, crossing her arms.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"....... What day is it?" She replied.

"Have you seriously not slept for days? You do realize that's extremly unhealthy for you." Wen Qing reprimanded her.

"You try running a sect and preparing for war whilst teaching seventy disciples." She said, leaning on a chair, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I don't need sleep and can't afford to sleep."

"Then you leave me no choice." Wen Qing sighed, reaching in to her sleeves.

"Huh?"

"... Wait!" She yelled, but it was too late.

Three needles were all ready stuck firmly in her forehead, swiftly knocking her out.

"Jie, I was just wondering..." Wen Ning said walking in, pausing when he saw TaiFeng slumped over a chair.

"....Is Sect Leader Qian okay?"

"I just used my needles on her. She hasn't slept for days so I knocked her out."

Wen Ning nodded while forming an 'o' with his mouth.

"She's been really busy recently with her sect duties. Although I thought she was at least sleeping properly."

Now that the two looked closer they could see the bags under her eyes.
She was also extremely pale, almost grey, a result of her using too much blood to experiment on talismans.

"A'Ning, help me carry her over to that bed."