p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Jin Ling was crying by the time Jiang Cheng pulled the car up to the safehouse. The baby had, happily, slept through the night but the crying had forced Jiang Cheng to stop multiple times during the day, even though it wasn't safe to stop, to deal with diapers and feeding the boy. Sometimes it had stopped the crying but other times it hadn't. Either way, Jiang Cheng had gotten them settled back in the car and driven off. He couldn't be caught./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"When the Jins had insisted on keeping Jiang Yanli's body, he'd known they wouldn't let him keep her son. He'd stormed off in a whining huff. He hadn't liked looking weak, but if they thought he was sulking, they wouldn't realize he'd gone for the boy until it was too late. And so he'd driven through the night and the following day until he'd arrived at the safehouse with a crying baby. He didn't know what he was going to do next but figured he could catch up on his sleep and figure it out. "Shut up or I'll break your legs," he muttered as he drew Jin Ling out of the baby seat. He hoped the sound wouldn't bring neighbors running. It'd be better not to draw their attention at all./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"He didn't even think to draw his gun. Everyone else who knew about the safehouse was dead. So he had one arm full of screaming baby and the other carrying jiejie's baby-travel bag when the lights blasted on, blinding him, as someone shouted. "Stop or I'll shoot."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Jiang Cheng automatically turned so he was between the baby and whoever was in the house. Shit. The Jins had found him already. How? Jiejie must have told her idiot of a husband about the safehouse, and the arrogant bastard must have shared it's location with … one of his horrendous cousins most likely, or maybe his mother./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Jiang Cheng?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Wait, he knew that voice. The lights weren't burning his eyes now. He peered across the room. "Wen Qing? Wen Ning? What are you doing here? How do you even know about this place?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"The last question answered itself as he asked it. Wei Wuxian must have told them. Idiot./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""We're waiting for Wei Wuxian. Is he with you?" Wen Ning replied. Wen Ning didn't see his sister's glare as he walked straight over. "Give me the baby."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Jiang Cheng squeezed Jin Ling tighter. "No."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""His crying will bring the neighbors over. Do you want that?" Shit, he really didn't./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""What are you going to do to him?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Wen Ning, eyes wide, replied, "Just hold him. Honest, Jiang Cheng, I wouldn't hurt the baby."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Let him," Wen Qing added. "He's good with babies."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Jin Ling quieted down as soon as he was in Wen Ning's arms. "How the hell did you do that?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Bouncing the baby, Wen Ning said, "You have to walk, and bounce, and hum. All three."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Shut the door," Wen Qing said. Oh yeah, good idea. "Where's Wei Wuxian?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"They didn't know Wei Wuxian was dead. He decided to not tell them. It might give him an advantage on God knows he'd need it. "Did he say he'd meet you here?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"They glanced at each other before Wen Qing answered. "He told us about it back when we were in the Burial Mounds. After the fall of Nightless City, we needed someplace to hide. The Jin were killing every Wen they could get their hands on."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"He wouldn't put that past the Jin. Their morals, or lack thereof, was why he'd grabbed Jin Ling in the first place. He wasn't about to let his nephew be raised in that pit of vipers. His mind went to how the two of them had looked at each other before answering. That could mean any number of things but, "Wait. There are more of you?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""He's just a boy," Wen Ning exclaimed. "You can't tell anyone he's here."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""He won't," Wen Qing said. "He's on the run. That's Jin Guangshan's grandson he's holding."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""And? What of it? I'll break your legs if you turn us in."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Wen Ning waved his hands in denial. "No no no no no. We would not do such a thing."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Wen Qing sighed as if exasperated. "They're going to be searching hard for a single man with a child. They won't be looking that closely at families."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""What? You think you're safer than me? That it'd be okay for you to turn me in?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Are you an idiot? I'm saying we'd be safer together. Young married couple and sibling with two kids? Pretty far from man alone with one child."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Oh, yeah. That could work. Where would we go?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;""Canada. We'd need new identities." She suddenly looked vulnerable. "It'd be easier with three adults. If we all stayed together that is. If you were willing to work, my brother could watch the boys and I could finish med school in three years."/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"Before the war, he'd imagined a life with Wen Qing. This wouldn't be that. This would be a sham marriage, a pretense to keep them hidden. It'd be difficult. He still had feelings for her, but she was right. It was his best shot at keeping Jin Ling./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p