Chapter 24
Wei Wuxian was furious. They had showed up too late for the Lady Florist and lost a piece of the Yin Iron. The notice in town had gone up the night before, and somehow, between the time of the posting for competition and them making it into town, the piece had been taken.
The Wens had been a step ahead of them this entire time, and Wei Wuxian was not happy at all.
They had been so close to securing another piece. And Now Wen Ruohan had at least two, while they just had the one. And there was only one piece left.
Or was that the case?
"It was never there," Nie Huaisang told him, "Or it was but the competition wasn't real. The Florist had been attacked, then someone else invited the cultivators to find out who had the other pieces. We never would have had a chance of finding it."
They walked down the path, and he nodded in understanding.
It had been designed to be a trap. But no matter what, their piece of the Yin Iron had still remained secure for now.
They just couldn't let that change.
They stopped then as they heard something ruffling through the trees, and Lan Zhan was quick to react, sending his sword straight at it and severing a branch.
He watched as a dire owl was forced out of it, and then he realized.
They were being watched.
That was how the Wens had been one step ahead of them. They had led them straight to the Lady Florist.
"We need to hurry," Lan Zhan said simply as he walked faster down the path.
"I don't like this," Nie Huaisang muttered, as they saw a lady ahead of them after a while, "Maybe she can tell us if we can stay somewhere safe."
"Popo, do you know somewhere we can stay?" Wei Wuxian asked her gently.
"The fairy statue brings disaster and takes souls," the old woman murmured to herself.
"Popo?" Wei Wuxian asked her, unsure of if she was okay. "Popo?"
She stood up and gestured for them to follow her, as she led them through a village.
He felt an ominous feeling then.
"What is it?" Lan Zhan asked him.
"I feel some strange energy from here," Wei Wuxian admitted as he paused. "Something isn't right, Lan Zhan."
"Popo?" Wei Wuxian ran to catch up to her.
"The fairy statue brings disaster and takes souls," the old woman said again, "Spirit Snatch, soul taking. Spirit Snatch, soul taking."
She turned and continued walking.
What was happening here? It was clear that something was not right. But what could have happened to this town to cause this much resentful energy?
"What is she talking about?" Nie Huaisang questioned.
"Sprit taking?" he pondered, "Soul taking fairy?"
He looked up after where she was walking and saw the mountain ahead of them.
"We need to go there," Wei Wuxian said determinedly, and Nie Huaisang looked wary.
"Why must we always walk straight into the danger," he grumbled, but followed after Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan as they began climbing up the mountain together, following after the old woman.
It wasn't long before they found an entrance to a cave, and they made their way inside, Nie Huaisang gripping onto his sleeve a bit tightly.
She kept murmuring to herself, and he felt himself worry. What had she seen?
They walked closer, and he saw a beautiful goddess carved in the stone, as she stood in a dancing position.
"Now that is art," Nie Huaisang exhaled as he took it in, "Except for its ugly smile.
"That's the dancing fairy," Wei Wuxian said in understanding."
"Can it really snatch someone's spirit?" Nie Huaisang asked as he turned to face them.
"No one has seen it snatch any spirit," a middle-aged man stumbled out from behind it.
"Who are you?" Nie Huaisang questioned as he moved closer to Wei Wuxian.
"I'm the one who tends to it and am here constantly," he said raising a brow, "I should be questioning who you guys are and why you're here."
"Sir, we're passing through on our way to see our relatives in Qinghe," Wei Wuxian said quickly. He was wearing more discrete robes to not draw attention to himself, so it wasn't immediately clear that he was the second young master of Qinghe. Besides, even if he went home, he did have family there, so it wasn't entirely a lie. And he would be going back at some point. It was just a question of when.
Lan Zhan seemed to raise a brow at his lie, so it was clear he disagreed, but he did not say any word in protest against him.
"Pass through quickly and leave here soon then," the man said in response, and Wei Wuxian wanted to laugh. This man really had some nerve.
Lan Zhan nodded at him, as they came to an understanding, as he came closer to him.
"When was this statue built?" Wei Wuxian asked him as Lan Zhan stood beside him.
"The dancing fairy was once a blessed stone born between heaven and earth," the man narrated to them. "But it somehow turned into the shape of a fairy and had looked like this for years. Then twenty years ago, it began to cause trouble. It snatched someone's spirit, and it took a great clan to suppress it. Though many suffered trying to tame it.
"A great clan?" Wei Wuxian asked. If it were the Nie or the Lan he would have heard about it. It was a bit far for the Jiang, but it could've been the Jin. But otherwise, the Wen?
"Who was the clan leader?"
"I'm too old to remember," the man said, lying, despite cleaning a tablet dictating the name clearly.
"Sir, was it the Wen sect of Qishan?" Wei Wuxian asked, knowingly.
"I said, I can't remember," The man snapped, "You want to stay for the night? You may stay here then, and maybe you will understand everything clearly."
He looked over at Lan Zhan as Nie Huaisang looked uneasy at the concept of sleeping in the temple.
The man left then, leaving the three alone.
"I don't like her smile," Nie Huaisang told him, "It makes me uneasy. Do you think she can really snatch souls."
The old woman approached then, throwing sticks onto the ground, "The night is cold. Build a fire," she said, and Nie Huaisang rushed to her eagerly.
"It won't be cold if we have a fire," he said happily, "Thank you, Popo."
She left without acknowledging his brother, and Wei Wuxian stared after her curiously.
They lit the fire, and they gathered around it.
"Sleep," Lan Zhan told him, and he looked at his friend in confusion.
"What about you?" Wei Wuxian asked him, "You need rest too, Lan Zhan."
"I will meditate," Lan Zhan said simply, "It is good to practice on night hunts. Get some rest, and I will wake you up in a bit."
"Mm," Wei Wuxian agreed, knowing they could share the burden of having to remain awake. "I'll just close my eyes then."
He felt himself begin to drift off, as he leaned into his brother's shoulder. Nie Huaisang rested his head on his own, and he felt the world fade away.
Until he heard his brother scream.
"Er-ge?" he woke up with a start, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I had a nightmare," Nie Huaisang said, and he noticed that he'd fallen asleep hugging his brother as they laid on the stone ground, similarly how they used to sleep in Qinghe.
"It's okay," he soothed his brother, as Da-ge used to, "We're safe. Lan Zhan's been protecting us."
"Mm," Lan Zhan said, in an attempt to reassure him.
"And how could we ever be in danger with him watching over us?" Wei Wuxian smiled at Lan Zhan, as he sat up.
But then something moved in the cave, and he stood up quickly.
It was the statue. It began shifting around them, smile turning upwards, as her arms moved.
"How can she suddenly come to life?" Nie Huaisang asked, raising his fan up, terrified.
"This is the fairy's soul snatch," he said in realization.
She moved then, standing, as she came towards them, and the three of them flew backwards.
Lan Zhan flew towards her with his sword and he followed suit, as Nie Huaisang opened up his fan.
She lunged at Lan Zhan, and he threw a talisman at her to distract her from hitting his friend, then he threw the binding talisman he'd used on Lan Zhan not long ago, tightly securing the fairy in his ropes.
She struggled against him, and to his dismay, she pulled him forward, and he fell to the side. She brought an arm down on Lan Zhan, and he blocked her with Bichen, struggling to hold her off, and Wei Ying threw the talisman again, securing her other arm, while Nie Huaisang used his fan to attack her leg and throw her balance off.
She fell to the ground, but not before bringing Lan Zhan down with her.
"I think she has a crush on you," Wei Ying teased Lan Zhan.
"Shut up," Lan Zhan groaned, as she stood up once more.
Wei Wuxian threw a talisman at her, securing her in place, as Lan Zhan followed suit, and he threw another one.
"Is she secured?" Nie Huaisang asked, glancing at her warily.
"For now," Wei Wuxian said, knowing it wasn't a permanent solution.
They ran to the temple doors, and looked out in fear as they saw puppets approaching them.
"Why are there so many of them?" Nie Huaisang asked, worriedly, "Why are they coming towards us? What do they want?"
"There never was a spirit snatch," Wei Wuxian said in understanding. This was the same thing they had seen back in Cloud Recesses. The work of the Yin Iron. Had they been lured here to steal their piece of the Yin Iron?
Nie Huaisang began praying to the gods, seeming terrified. His brother's cultivation may have gotten a lot stronger lately, but it didn't mean that he didn't still have fears.
The puppets began pounding on the door, trying to break it down, and they each moved to cover a different set of doors, holding them with force to keep them back.
This wasn't going to work.
"Lan Zhan," he said, and his friend understood. They took a step back and he threw a sealing talisman at it to hold them back.
They heard a bird up ahead, and he growled.
"The dire owl," Lan Zhan said, looking towards the source of the sound.
"That damned bird!" Wei Wuxian glared at it. The Wen had been ahead of them again, and now they were paying for it, trapped in this temple with the puppets banging on their door, no way in or out.
"We fell for their trap," Nie Huaisang said, as flute music filled the air, and the resentful energy of the puppets grew stronger.
They hit the door harder, breaking into the temple, and the three of them braced themselves for what was to come.
He raised his hand to fight the puppets, as he threw spiritual energy at them, casting a net to keep them out.
"They're not dead yet," Lan Zhan reminded him as he went to draw his sword, "You're the one who said that before. They're still alive. We can't hurt them."
"So we just let them hurt us?" Nie Huaisang asked, looking at the puppets cautiously.
"You're right," he said, "Do you have any better ideas?"
"Run," Lan Zhan said simply.
"Like through them?" Nie Huaisang said, looking at Lan Zhan in shock, "You want us to run through them? What if they catch us? What if we're not fast enough? That's a death sent-"
Lan Zhan silenced his brother.
"Lan Zhan," he scolded lightly, but did not protest too hard. He did not want his brother to have a panic attack, and this would be the best way to help stop him from escalating.
"Er-ge, we can do this," he took his brother's hand, "We are both Nie. We can make it through okay? Just hit them with one blow from your fan and they'll go stumbling backwards. Besides, I'm not going to let you go. I'll hold on tightly."
Nie Huaisang nodded, the fear not leaving his eyes.
"Don't let go," he said, as they moved closer.
The flute music picked up again, but this time it was calmer than before, and he watched in shock as the puppets began to leave the temple.
"Where did they go?" Nie Huaisang asked, not letting go of him for a moment.
"We need to go," Wei Wuxian said, pulling Er-ge forward.
"Don't move," a voice echoed out from inside the cave.
"Is she awake?" Nie Huaisang stuttered.
"You fools wandered into my temple without permission," the statue appeared to say, "What punishment do you think you deserve?"
"Nie Huaisang, you do not remember your own friends enough to write to them about where you are going," the statue said, as his brother looked shocked, "Do you plead guilty?"
"Come out," Wei Wuxian said in understanding, as he put his sword back inside, "Or Lan Zhan's gonna fight you, Jiang Cheng. Don't scare Er-ge."
"Jiang Cheng?" Nie Huaisang looked up in surprise, as the Jiang heir made his way out from behind the statue. He rushed forward and hit him lightly on the chest, "You scared me! Don't you dare do that again! Do you know how terrifying that was? You're the worst! That was awful."
"You're going to leave him bruised," Wei Wuxian warned his brother, despite making no efforts to stop him.
"He deserves it for scaring me," Nie Huaisang said petulantly.
"It was worth it to see your face," Jiang Cheng said with a smile, "Look at all of you, going on a night hunt and leaving me out of it! You didn't think to ask if I'd want to come along?"
"I should've," Nie Huaisang sniffed, "It's been awful being alone with these two, Jiang Cheng. You should see how annoying they are when they're alone. At least then I could have had you as company so I wouldn't have had to have dealt with them on my own."
"Invite me along next time and you won't have to," Jiang Cheng smirked at him.
"I will," Nie Huaisang sighed, "I'm glad to see you. How did you know we were going to be here?"
"I ran into Wen Qing in town. She told me to come up to the mountains since you were in danger."
"Wen Qing?" Wei Wuxian asked in surprise. What was she doing here?"
"She thought the three of you would be in trouble," Jiang Cheng said, "Clearly, she was right. What have you guys gotten yourselves into?"
"Later," Lan Wangji says simply. The Wens had spies everywhere, and just because the puppets were gone did not mean the rest of them were.
"We should get out of here," Wei Wuxian said in agreement. They needed to get somewhere safe, in case the puppets come back.
"Did you come because you missed us?" Nie Huaisang teased him as he linked arms with Jiang Cheng.
"Who could miss them?" Jiang Cheng gestured at Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan, and Wei Wuxian scowled. How could anyone not miss Lan Zhan?
Nie Huaisang looked a little let down, and Jiang Cheng was quick to back track, "I did miss you though. I got your letter that you were going to go on a night hunt and I wanted to come with you. In case you all needed more hands or something. Of course."
"Of course," Nie Huaisang studied him curiously, "Well we're glad to have you."
Jiang Cheng looked at him softly, before pausing, "Did you notice the flute sound has stopped?"
"How long has it not been playing for?" Wei Wuxian froze, taking note of the lack of music.
"Wen Qing may be in danger," Jiang Cheng commented, and the three of them ran out of the cave.
It didn't take long to find her, as all the puppets had gathered in one place, with Wen Qing holding off a dire owl from approaching.
"Wen Qing!" Wei Wuxian shouted out as they approached her.
"It's the damn dire owl again," Nie Huaisang commented as he spotted it from afar, "How much longer is it going to follow us for? Why does it keep trying to kill us!"
"Are you okay?" Jiang Cheng asked her, looking over her carefully.
"Didn't I tell you to save them and leave?" Wen Qing ignored him, "It's not safe for you here."
"And it's safe for you?" Wei Wuxian questioned her curiously, "Why are you even here?"
She didn't respond, and Wei Wuxian studied her. He knew they had somewhat of a tentative understanding after Cloud Recesses when she'd promised to help him learn about resentful energy. But that didn't explain her presence here. Was she running interreference for the Wens?
The puppets began to move again, and Nie Huaisang let out a yelp, grasping onto Jiang Cheng's sleeve, as they approached them.
Lan Zhan was quick to respond, throwing a slowing talisman at them to make them move slower.
"You should go," she said hurriedly.
"What about you?" Nie Huaisang asked her worriedly, "We can't just leave you here."
"I'll be fine," she said simply, "They won't hurt me."
"They don't even know you. They have no cognition," Jiang Cheng argued, "You're not safe here either."
"Do you know how to save them?" Lan Zhan asked, in understanding.
"Doesn't the dancing fairy extract the spiritual cognition?" Nie Huaisang asked curiously. Was there anything they could do to save them?
Wei Wuxian spun Wen Qing around carefully, "We all want to save them, Wen Qing, but you need to tell us what you know. It's clear you care about these people. Let us help them."
"Fine," Wen Qing sighed, "I'll tell you what I know. They're not being controlled very well at the moment. Wen Ruohan gave Wen Chao a piece of the Yin Iron that is in the dire owl that Wen Ruohan controls. To free them, we need to kill the dire owl. Then they'll be released from this spell."
"Okay," Wei Wuxian said in agreement, "How do we do that?"
"Set up a gold silk barrier," Lan Zhan said first, "So we can keep the puppets out."
Right, because them interfering would make things all the harder for them, he turned then and released the spell, tying up the puppets.
"You need to watch them," Wei Wuxian told Nie Huaisang. "Wen Qing can keep them in stasis but it's not going to hold forever. They're going to try and break out. But I need you and Jiang Cheng to ensure they stay in there. He can keep pushing power to the talisman."
"So you're going to go off on your own?" Nie Huaisang demanded, "This is exactly what Da-ge did not want you to do."
"We don't have a choice," Wei Wuxian said, rolling his eyes, "Besides, I'll have Lan Zhan with me. I won't be alone. Just stay here and keep them contained, Er-ge. It's going to be dangerous fighting the dire owl."
"And yet you want to go do it yourselves," Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes, "Promise me you'll be careful Wei Ying. I do not want to have to write to Da-ge that you've been seriously hurt or worse."
"I promise," he said, as Lan Zhan nodded in agreement towards Nie Huaisang. "We should go."
He directed the last part at Lan Zhan, and the two of them took off together towards the forest they had seen the dire owl fly towards. Instantly, as they entered, the forest was filled with a deep fog, making it hard to see.
"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian asked, as he stumbled around. He bumped into Lan Zhan, and the other man steadied him carefully, "I can barely see. What is going on?"
"Mm," Lan Zhan said in agreement, "Listen."
He stopped talking then, as he heard the sound of the dire owl flying above them, "What kind of bird is that even?" Wei Wuxian questioned, "It's so loud and is clever. It definitely cannot be an ordinary one."
"It is not," Lan Zhan said in confirmation. The Yin Iron was definitely affecting it somehow.
"How are we going to fight it when we can't even see?" Wei Wuxian said, losing sight of Lan Zhan once more, "Lan Zhan where are you?"
He reached out, and grabbed onto Lan Zhan's chest, as he quickly dropped his arm. But he kept a hold of Lan Zhan's arm for now, not wanting to keep losing sight of the man.
"I am here," Lan Zhan said gently to him, "The dire owl is releasing a strong fog to throw us off."
"I can break out of it," Wei Wuxian said, a bit confidently, as he started to throw a talisman into the air. But he could not release it.
"It is disorienting you with its' hallucinations," Lan Zhan told him, as he did not pull away from Wei Wuxian.
"Then why aren't you affected?" Wei Wuxian pouted, looking over at him.
"The hallucinations only affect those who have too many thoughts in their head," Lan Zhan said, a hint of mirth in his voice.
"Lan Zhan, are you bullying me?" Wei Wuxian asked him in amazement, "You've changed so much from the boy I met all those years ago! Lan er-gege, so mean!"
"It is the truth," Lan Zhan said simply, without responding to his claims, as Wei Wuxian bumped into him gently.
"I'll get you back, just you wait," Wei Wuxian said threateningly, and Lan Zhan did not look bothered.
The sounds grew closer, and he knew the bird was approaching, and he watched in horror, as Lan Zhan jumped out of the way, thrusting his sword at the incoming bird. He dodged the attack, as Lan Zhan cut off a piece of chain.
"Lan Zhan, are you okay?" Wei Wuxian asked him quickly. After getting his confirmation, he continued, "Did you happen to see who was controlling the bird?"
"No," Lan Zhan said simply, "Wei Ying, trust your other senses."
He nodded in understanding. They couldn't trust their sight. It was compromised by the fog. But their other senses were still working just fine.
He closed his eyes then, listening to the sound of the bird, as Lan Zhan commanded, "Fire split talisman."
He put his sword back in his sheath, as he drew the talisman out of his sleeve, sending it in each direction he heard the sound of chains coming from.
He and Lan Zhan moved in harmony, fighting against the attacks as they came for them, and he focused on nothing but the sound of the attacks. And well if he focused a bit on Lan Zhan's movements as well, who could fault him?
The attacks increased in speed, and he dodged out of the way of one he was too slow to defend from. He saw Lan Zhan fight it off, opening his eyes for just a moment, and he pressed his back against Lan Zhan's as he got back on the ground.
Only for a series of chains to drag him away before he could stop it.
He crashed into a tea, letting out a grunt, as the chains held him against the tree by his neck.
The dire owl thought it caught him; it was so sure he couldn't move, and Wei Wuxian knew he needed to use that to his advantage.
He closed his eyes, pretending to be knocked unconscious, as the bird flew at him then, and at the very last moment, he caught it between his hands.
He watched as Lan Zhan broke the chains, and he threw the now dead bird onto the ground, as the fog began to fade.
It was over.
"You saved me," Wei Wuxian said to Lan Zhan as the man steadied him.
"Mm," Lan Zhan said, as he helped him back to where they'd left the others.
It was a brisk walk back, as Wei Wuxian couldn't help but worry about Nie Huaisang and the others, wanting to make sure that they were doing okay, as Lan Zhan agreed.
When they made their way back to the clearing, he looked around in amazement, as the villagers cognition seemed to have returned.
"Are you okay?" Nie Huaisang demanded, as he saw the red marks on Wei Wuxian's throat, "What happened?"
"It's nothing," he brushed off, "Lan Zhan saved me from some chains. I'm okay. Are you guys? The puppets didn't hurt you, did they?"
"No," Nie Huaisang shook his head, "The villagers are mostly confused, but they're okay now."
"Where's Wen Qing?" Wei Wuxian asked, noticing her absence.
"She's with Popo," Nie Huaisang said, "Some of the villagers were upset by what had happened, and she went to comfort them."
He saw them a small distance away, and he walked over, as he heard the elderly woman from earlier sobbing as she bowed on the ground.
"I almost hurt you," she sobbed towards Wen Qing, "I let down sect leader Wen Ruohan and this was our punishment. I'm sorry Wen Qing, I couldn't live with myself if I had hurt you. My family. My family were all in danger, because of me."
"Popo, it wasn't your fault," Wen Qing soothed her, "You were a pawn for him. But you need to go. Qishan is not safe for our family. We need to get them somewhere else. Do you understand me?"
Wei Wuxian froze. These were Wen Qing's family? Wen Qing was a niece of Wen Ruohan, so this was his family as well. He attacked his own family like this?
He knew Wen Ruohan was not a good man, but too many were afraid to stand up to him. Nie Mingjue hated him after what he had allegedly done to their father, but no one had ever been able to prove that.
And now, he'd hurt his own family like this.
Anger seethed through him, as he approached them.
"He hurt his own family?" Wei Wuxian asked Wen Qing, as she looked at him helplessly. "That is why you are helping him, isn't it? Why you were digging around Cloud Recesses looking for the Yin Iron. Because he is threatening you with your family."
"He is a powerful man," Wen Qing swallowed, and Lan Zhan looked angry.
"These are innocent people," Wei Wuxian exclaimed, looking at the towns people. There were elderly people around. Children. And they had been turned to puppets.
If they had met any other cultivators, they may have been cut down without thought.
They would have died.
"I'm going to write to Da-ge about what happened," he told Nie Huaisang, "I know he doesn't like the Wens, but what happened here is wrong. Da-ge sides with justice, and there is no justice to what happened here. Wen Ruohan attacked innocent people without a second thought. Da-ge wouldn't be happy to find that out."
"Mm," Nie Huaisang agreed, looking over the people, "They were of no fault to what happened here. You cannot stay, but you need to be careful with where you go. You need to find somewhere safe."
"Nowhere will be safe from him," Wen Qing said softly, "He will find us wherever we go. We aren't from the main family line. We are Danfan Wens. Not Wens enough for Wen Ruohan to care about us. But still Wens in the eyes of the rest of the world."
"What happened with the fairy?" Wei Wuxian prodded her gently.
"Something happened years back, when I was just a child. The statue had been tamed for years, but suddenly it came alive one day. It killed my parents, and it started taking Wen Ning's spirit. It is why you noticed him reacting to the resentful energy like he did. I've been trying to find a way to save him for years. To help treat it, and keep it under control. Wen Ruohan knows that, and he threatens me with my brother's safety and with the rest of my family's."
"But none of you are cultivators," Jiang Cheng said in understanding.
"We are doctors," she said simply, "We've been healing people for generations. Wen Ning and I are the only two who could, and I cannot fight. He is strong, but he doesn't have a lot of confidence."
"You can come with us," Nie Huaisang offered, "Da-ge won't be happy but he'll offer you refugee. You need a safe place to stay."
"We cannot vanish all together," she sighed, "He still has Wen Ning. It is why I've been accompanying Wen Chao. Even now, he holds my brother against me as a hostage. I need to go back to him, or he'll kill Wen Ning. I'll settle my family somewhere safe from this. And maybe, if I can get my brother out, then we can all go somewhere safer."
"Da-ge is a good man," Wei Wuxian told her, "He will offer you sanctuary from your family if you need it. I'll make sure he knows what happened here. Because this? This was beyond cruel."
She offered him a tentative smile, "You really are not what people would expect."
Lan Zhan moved closer to him, and he felt himself lean a bit into his friend, still a bit wounded from earlier.
"We should go," Lan Zhan said simply, "They will be back. It is not safe."
He nodded in agreement, as they helped the villagers gather up their things, before setting off once more.
"The Dancing Fairy," Lan Zhan asked Wen Qing as they walked, "What changed all those years ago?"
"I didn't know what it was back then," she said simply, "But I think you know what changed."
"Is it the same reason Wen Chao's been following us?" Wei Wuxian asked her, "The missing heart that was removed. It was a piece of the Yin Iron."
"Yes," she said simply without elaborating further. They did not discuss it further, knowing what she meant. They were drawn here on purpose, to try and steal the piece of Yin Iron from Lan Zhan. The fair had begun to snatch spirits after losing the Yin Iron, and it had been why she was so desperate to attack Lan Zhan for it.
"More people are going to die, if we do not stop him," Wei Wuxian warned her, "You need to get your family out of there. They will not be safe as long as he has the shards."
She nodded in agreement, but there was no use circling it further. Wen Ning was still a captive, so they could not do anything just yet.
"I should go," Wen Qing said simply, "Wen Chao will be looking for me. Popo, please write to me when you get to there. Please tell me if you need anything."
She nodded in agreement, as Wen Qing set off and bit them adieu.
It was time to go.
