"You can save me, but you can't save them all." The words fell heavily into the room. They hovered. A crossroads had been reached. The world held its breath.
Jiang Cheng froze. Indecisive agony contorted his features. Everything in him urged him to do what his mother would tell him. Think only of your clan. Of what he had told Wei Wuxian time and time again. A pain stabbed his heart. Was Wei Wuxian even still alive? What would he do? Jiang Cheng knew what Wei Wuxian would do. He would play the hero, save Wen Qing and her people, no matter what the cost to himself or to his clan. He would follow the Jiang sect motto, attempt the impossible. An internal battle fought within Jiang Cheng's mind and heart. Something told Jiang Cheng that this was his last chance to be with Wen Qing. If he refused to help her now, he might never get the chance to do so again.
Jiang Cheng clenched his fist, making a decision. "Lady Wen," he began. "If you come with me, I will help you track down your brother and your people." The words felt dragged from his soul, going against everything he had been taught by his mother. But they felt right as well, like he had finally done something his father would have been proud of.
Wen Qing turned to look at him, her face impassive as it usually was. But there was something in her eyes that spoke of vulnerability and surprise.
"Will you?" she asked, not sure she could believe it.
"Yes," he said, stronger than before. Now that he had committed to it, he knew he couldn't go back. "We will find Wen Ning and your people."
"And you'll offer them your protection?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. "I will welcome them as refugees into the Yunmeng Jiang sect. You have my word." Every word he spoke in a more confident tone. He would do this. It was crazy, but he would do this. Besides, who knew what cultivators came from that branch of the Wen sect? He was doing everything he could to rebuild the Yunmeng Jiang sect. Any cultivators would be welcome at this point. Plus, this branch of the Qishan Wen sect were known for being doctors, and right now, they could use all the help they could get during the Sunshot Campaign...and getting Wen Qing was an absolute coup there. She was one of the most gifted doctors of their time.
Wen Qing could not help it. She smiled at him. "Then I will go with you," she said.
Jiang Cheng swallowed hard at that point, trying to fight against the red creeping across his face. He pulled a small wrapped item out of his robes. Her head tilted slightly in curiosity. He unwrapped it, to reveal the pretty comb he had bought in CaiYi town. It felt like a lifetime ago now.
Her eyes widened at it.
"Will you take it?" he offered.
Her fingers reached out, and brushed his as she took the comb into her hand. She nodded. She wrapped the comb back up, and put it safely in her robes. Neither said a word, and the silence between them was thick with unsaid emotions. Something had shifted between them, and they both knew it. Jiang Cheng couldn't believe that she had taken the comb. The gesture spoke of feelings shared, though unsaid. He felt dizzy, yet strangely light as well.
The two walked out of the dungeons together, walking near enough that their clothes brushed against each other, though they didn't actually touch. Wen Qing couldn't hide her startled look at the bodies strewn on the ground.
"What happened?" she asked, kneeling down by one of the bodies. "They seem to have all died by different methods."
"Did you hear or see anything?" Jiang Cheng asked, realizing that standing here was their only living witness to what happened.
Wen Qing stood still for a moment. "A flute," she said. "There have been several nights where a flute played. Then I heard screaming coming from Wang Lingjiao." She looked steadily at him. "Where is she?"
"She's dead," Jiang Cheng clipped out, not wanting to admit to hitting the woman's corpse with Zidian. No matter how much she deserved it, he knew it wasn't something that Wen Qing would approve of.
Wen Qing's sharp gaze said she saw more than he wanted her to, as seemed to always be the case. But she said nothing, only nodded. She stood back up, and the two continued their journey through the courtyard.
A few members of the Yunmeng Jiang sect looked surprised to see their sect leader walk into the courtyard with a member of the Qishan Wen sect, but wisely, they said nothing. The defensive thundercloud on Jiang Cheng's face might have had something to do with it. Jiang Cheng felt very uncomfortable, feeling like he had done both something wrong and something right at the same time. It was a strange, itchy, empty feeling that left him irritable, though he had to admit, if only to himself, every time he looked at Wen Qing, that light feeling washed over him, making him feel that yes, he had made the right decision.
Lan WangJi turned around as the two walked out. He offered a bow of greeting to Wen Qing, who returned it. He didn't seem at all surprised to see her standing with Jiang Cheng, though since Jiang Cheng couldn't read the man's facial expressions at all, he never knew what he was thinking.
"Let's go," he said to Jiang Cheng.
"Where?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"Qishan," he said.
"You mean that Wen Zhuiliu has taken Wen Chao and run away?" he asked.
Lan WangJi nodded.
"I heard him screaming before you got here," Wen Qing said quietly. "Something terrified him. You should be careful of what is chasing him."
Lan WangJi nodded again.
"Sect leader Jiang, what are we to do with this prisoner?" One of Jiang Cheng's men asked, indicating Wen Qing.
"She's not a prisoner," Jiang Cheng growled the words. "She's an ally and a friend." He almost choked on that last word, thanks to his mother's training, but it was true. She had proven time and again to be a true friend and ally to him and his siblings. Besides, with her acceptance of the comb, it meant they were a bit more...though time enough to announce that later.
"But she's a member of the Qishan Wen sect!" he protested.
"As a member of a smaller clan dedicated to medicine and not war," Jiang Cheng said in his most imperious tone. "She and her people are to be protected."
The other members of the Yunmeng Jiang sect looked like they wanted to argue, but chose to back down instead. Jiang Cheng's tone said he would brook no arguments. They had heard that tone many times from his mother, and had no desire to be on the wrong side of her son.
"We should leave this abandoned supervisory office," Jiang Cheng said, turning his attention to Lan WangJi. "How about we all use our swords to chase them?"
"Agreed," Lan WangJi said.
Jiang Cheng turned to look at Wen Qing, whose sword had been confiscated by the Wen clan when she and her brother had been thrown in the dungeon. He held out his hand to her.
"Will you come with me?" he asked.
Wen Qing nodded, taking his hand. He pulled her close to him. She held tight to him, so she wouldn't fall. The group took off to follow the trail left by the fleeing Wen Zhiuliu and Wen Chao.
"Once we find Wen Chao, we can get him to tell us where he sent your brother," Jiang Cheng said to her once they were airborne. "And then we can free him."
"Thank you," she said.