Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! Enjoy this next chapter :)

Beta: JeanGirl

- Chapter Start -

"Where can we find a healer?" ZeWu Jun demanded as soon as they were in the courtyard.

"You'll have to seek elsewhere," Madam Jin replied bitterly. "The healers here are loyal to my husband."

Paperman!Wei Ying looked at Jiang Cheng and jumped up and down, waving an arm.

"What - who's that?" Madam Jin asked.

"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan replied.

"Wei WuXian," Jiang Cheng replied at the same time.

As Madam Jin's eyes widened, Paperman!Wei Ying jumped up and down again.

"Do you mean Wen Qing?" Jiang Cheng asked, staring hard at him.

Paperman!Wei Ying gave a pleased nod; Jiang Cheng understood paperman language after all!

"One of the Wens you rescued?" Madam Jin asked, frowning. "Is she at Cloud Recesses?"

Paperman!Wei Ying nodded again.

"That's a three hour journey by sword!" She exclaimed.

"A little over two hours is possible." Lan Zhan's worried gaze went to ZeWu Jun who was cradling a softly groaning GuangYao in his arms.

"By the time she gets here it'll be too late." It was Sect Leader Nie who voiced out what they were all thinking, his eyes glittering with some unnamed emotion as he stared at his two sworn brothers.

"No! There must be something we can do." ZeWu Jun sounded desperate. He looked down when GuangYao clutched at his robes.

"Da-ge... is right," GuangYao said, his face screwed up in pain. "Too... late."

"No, A-Yao! You're going to be fine." ZeWu Jun looked up, despair etched on his pale face. "Can we fetch her here now?"

"I will go," Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng said at the same time and then the latter frowned.

"Second Young Master Lan, you need to return my brother to his body."

"Agreed. And please update uncle on what's happened," ZeWu Jun added.

"I will go with Sect Leader Jiang," Sect Leader Nie offered.

"Thank you, Da-Ge." ZeWu Jun gave him a wan smile.

"ZiXuan, return to A-Li now."

"She's sleeping and GuangYao needs our help," ZiXuan protested.

"And how do you propose to do that?" Madam Jin asked with raised eyebrows.

"I... uh... " Glancing around at the others, ZiXuan ducked his head, looking abashed.

Madam Jin sighed.

"Have you forgotten that I am skilled at acupuncture? I cannot heal him, but I can buy him some time."

"Madam Jin, I would be grateful for any assistance," ZeWu Jun said fervently.

"Please help him, Mother," ZiXuan said. "A-Li... she's fond of GuangYao."

"I know," Madam Jin said, "but there isn't anything you can do here so go back to her."

She reached up to place her hand against his cheek, her lips curving in a sad smile.

"My son, never let your wife worry about your whereabouts."

Paperman!Wei Ying peeped at Jiang Cheng to see him looking as uncomfortable as he felt.

ZiXuan's expression hardened.

"I will never be like him," he bit out. "A-Li is the only woman for me."

Turning to Lan Zhan, he placed his hands together and bowed low.

"HanGuang Jun, Young Master Wei, words cannot express how ashamed and disgusted I am at my father's actions tonight. Please accept my deepest apologies."

Paperman!Wei Ying placed his hands together to bow back, but when Lan Zhan did the same, he almost toppled off and had to quickly straighten up.

"Not your fault," Lan Zhan said.

"Rest assured the Lanling Jin Sect will remain a staunch ally to the other three great sects," ZiXuan promised, still bowing. "I hope we will continue to support one another."

Then he turned to ZeWu Jun and bowed even lower.

"GuangYao, I'm so sorry. ZeWu Jun, please take care of my brother."

ZeWu Jun nodded, his face still tight with worry.

"As WangJi said, it wasn't your fault."

Just then, they heard some voices and a group of people hurried inside the courtyard.

"Sect Leader Nie!" The two Nie cultivators bowed. "Second Young Master Nie told us to come here immediately."

"Sect Leader Jiang!" The three Jiang cultivators bowed. "Second Young Master Nie told us to come here as well."

As they bowed to the others, Madam Jin turned to her son.

"Very well, mother. I will return in the morning with A-Li," he promised and left.

- o -

When Lan Zhan and Paperman!Wei Ying entered the Lan guest room, Master Lan was pacing in the main area while a nervous looking HuaiSang perched on Wei Ying's bed and fiddled with his fan. They both turned around when the door opened.

"Second Young Master Lan! Wei-xiong!" HuaiSang jumped up from the bed.

"WangJi, what took so long?" Master Lan demanded.

"Uncle, please allow me to return Wei Ying to his body first."

As Lan Zhan strode towards the beds, Paperman!Wei Ying gave Master Lan a cheery wave only to get a glare in return.

- o -

When Wei Ying opened his eyes once more, the first thing he saw was Lan Zhan sitting beside him and HuaiSang's anxious face hovering behind. He tried to sit up and grimaced when his stiff muscles protested.

"Ow."

"Wei Ying." Lan Zhan helped to pull him upright, looking worried. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Wei Ying assured him, rolling his shoulders and flexing his arms and legs. He gave Lan Zhan a quick smile because the latter still looked worried.

"I'm fine, Lan Zhan. I'm sure Jiang Cheng didn't drop me on my head or anything, ahaha..."

"This is no laughing matter!" Master Lan glared down at him.

"Uncle." WangJi stood up and bowed.

Wei Ying jumped up to do the same and swayed a bit, HuaiSang grabbing his arm to steady him.

"Wei-xiong, did the Nie and Jiang disciples find you all? Where's Da-ge? And-"

"Wei WuXian, you will be the death of me!" Master Lan interrupted. "I recognise that talisman from three years ago. You used it to disturb WangJi in class!"

"Oh, you remember that?" Wei Ying beamed at him. "Back then, I just transferred a bit of-"

"I know what you did! This time, you transferred your entire soul, and in your condition, no less!"

"Con-condition?" HuaiSang echoed, turning to stare wide eyed and open mouthed at Wei Ying who turned a bright red.

"Master Lan! Please don't make it sound like I'm-"

"What if the talisman was damaged? Or destroyed? What would happen then?"

Wei Ying bit his lip, glad that Jiang Cheng wasn't here to witness this. He didn't dare look at Lan Zhan so he glanced at HuaiSang who mouthed 'He does like you!' from behind his fan. Wei Ying's lips twitched and he looked down, rubbing the side of his nose.

"Uncle," Lan Zhan said as soon as Master Lan stopped for breath. "Allow me to update you on what happened."

- o -

Nie MingJue, Jiang Cheng and their respective disciples flew to Cloud Recesses in silence, long hair streaming behind them and robes whipping in the wind.

The speed they were traveling at made speaking almost impossible for which Jiang Cheng was grateful. He wasn't in the mood for conversation, polite or otherwise, not when his brain felt like it was about to explode with all that had happened during the past couple of days. His emotions were still all over the place, see-sawing between relief, guilt, regret and anger.

Relief that Wei WuXian was now safe with someone - make that a few someones - who would protect him.

Guilt that it wasn't the Yunmeng Jiang Sect.

Regret that he had lost the one person who had promised to help him run Lotus Pier.

And anger - yes, that never went away - that Wei WuXian had chosen the Wen survivors over him, obtained sanctuary for them, gotten engaged to one of the Twin Jades of Lan, and been publicly lauded a hero by Lan QiRen, no less.

Once again, Wei WuXian had attempted the impossible. Once again, he had succeeded.

Jiang Cheng snorted and Sandu dipped a bit. Catching Sect Leader Nie's side glance, he shook his head to indicate he was fine.

He wasn't fine. He would be seeing Wen Qing again soon. Wen Ning was sure to insist on coming along. Jiang Cheng's stomach twisted at the possibility of having the Ghost General share his sword instead of his sister. He felt the same set of emotions churning in his gut.

Relief that Wen Qing was safe... guilt that it wasn't because of him... regret that whatever chance he might have had with her was long gone... and anger that she had chosen her family over him.

Shame prickled, hot and sharp, making him swallow hard.

No. He would have thought less of her if she had abandoned her family to save herself. In fact, he respected her even more now for her courage, her principles and her devotion to her family. They were proof that she too, was a better person than he was. Jiang Cheng wasn't angry at her, not like he was at Wei WuXian even though it was thanks to him that Wen Qing was still alive.

It was complicated. And it wasn't fair.

Wei WuXian had been Head Disciple of the Yunmeng Jiang sect, but not the Jiang Sect heir. He never had the responsibilities Jiang Cheng had. He never had dead parents to avenge (his parents had died during a night hunt), a sect to rebuild, disciples to look after, and a legacy to continue.

He could play the hero in every story, every play.

And he was still doing that, with the result that two sect leaders and their senior disciples were risking their lives right this minute, flying at breakneck speed through the night just to save Jin GuangYao's life.

A voice inside Jiang Cheng's mind whispered that GuangYao had risked his own life to save Wei WuXian, but Jiang Cheng squashed it flat. He didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about what a narrow escape the three of them, including Nie HuaiSang, had had tonight.

Jin GuangShan had implied the liquor contained a slow acting poison which meant they would only suffer the consequences after leaving Koi Tower. It was a smart move. Jiang Cheng fisted his hands, Zidian giving off purple sparks. They needed to find a way to bring that man down, if only because he had tried to kill Wei WuXian.

For now, their mission was to save Jin GuangYao's life even though Jiang Cheng barely knew him. ZeWu Jun and Sect Leader Nie knew him better, being sworn brothers and all. Jiang Cheng was aware of how differently they each treated Jin GuangYao, but he didn't care to know why. It wasn't his problem.

He also didn't want to think about A-Jie and that Peacock either. Just the tiny hints that they had been intimate tonight was... gah, more information than he wanted to know. Ever.

It was Wei WuXian's fault. All of it!

Jiang Cheng shook his head hard, causing Sandu to sway again. He shouldn't think of anything right now, but what he was doing. He would go crazy if he continued to worry about things he couldn't control or wish for things he could never have.

Taking a deep breath, he blinked a few times. They were flying so fast that the wind was drying to his eyes. That was the only reason why they were watering, of course.

Like everything else, that was Wei WuXian's fault too. Jiang Cheng would go to his grave swearing it.

- Chapter End -

A/N: Thank you for reading! Writing from Jiang Cheng's POV is... hard. Please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter and stay safe :)