At long last, Jin Ling saw the lake that marked home. He had refused to stop in Yunping even though both of them were starving. As soon as Jiang Cheng had suggested it to him, Jin Ling sped up, saying that if they just got home quicker, that would solve their problem too.

He knew Jiang Cheng was annoyed with him for it, but Jin Ling didn't feel too badly. Anything to avoid that place.

"Please stop acting as though I may drop dead at any moment."

Jin Ling turned away quickly. He had been checking on his uncle throughout their journey, but he must not have realized how often he'd been looking over at him.

"Sorry, Jiujiu."

Jiang Cheng didn't respond.

To anyone else, he may have appeared to be focused on the road ahead. But Jin Ling knew better.

Jiang Cheng had kept their conversations short since Gusu to avoid inviting any questions about what had happened to him when his core was tampered with. Not that Jin Ling would have asked him. Prying was something that had gotten him into trouble more times than he could count. And in this case, it really wasn't worth it. He only hoped that Zewu-jun's talisman would be enough to protect them both.

They found the boat they'd used in their hurried departure to Gusu still beached in the grass. Together, Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling pushed it out into the water and hopped aboard.

The heady fragrance from the lotus blossoms dotted across the surface of the lake filled Jin Ling's nostrils. He always felt safe here, despite the fact that his uncle must have threatened to break his legs at least a hundred times on the shore of this very lake (and every other location within Lotus Pier).

Jin Ling dipped his hand into the cool water below. It was a welcome respite from the sweltering heat of Yunmeng.

"Are you just going to sit there like a spoiled mistress or are you going to help me row?" Jiang Cheng asked tersely.

"I don't see why we couldn't have hired someone to take us across rather than using this old thing again," Jin Ling said, taking the oar that his uncle handed him.

"Too good for physical labor now, are we?" Jiang Cheng remarked snidely.

"No. It just seems unnecessary."

"Get up and row. I won't say it again."

He just didn't want to risk fainting in front of whoever they hired. Jin Ling knew it. But accusing him of it would have been unwise.

So, even though he was the leader of a clan himself, he did as he was told and angrily took up the remaining oar.

They paddled quietly for a while before Jiang Cheng spoke again.

"Did you enjoy seeing your friends last night?"

Jin Ling's stomach twisted uncomfortably at the question, though he didn't know why.

He used his oar to gently push a lotus flower out of the boat's path and shrugged, trying to downplay how happy it'd made him feel to see Jingyi again after having been away for so long dealing with his new leadership position.

He looked out at the lake to hide the involuntary smile that spread across his face when he remembered how both he and Jingyi had greeted each other frigidly at first, still trying to keep up their antagonistic façade. They didn't keep it up for long before Jingyi had let out a dramatic sigh and said something along the lines of 'this is stupid' before pulling Jin Ling into a hug.

Jin Ling had hugged him back, but made him swear not to tell anyone, especially Sizhui. Jingyi had emphatically agreed and requested the same.

They couldn't very well ruin their reputation.

"You were gone for quite a while," Jiang Cheng continued. "I thought he didn't have any information for you? What were you talking about?"

"Lots of things."

Jin Ling heard Jiang Cheng click his tongue behind him.

"So that's how you're going to be?" Jiang Cheng asked. "What have I done to upset you now?"

"What do you mean?" Jin Ling snapped. "You're the one acting strangely. Since when do we make conversation like this? I didn't think you wanted to hear about every little thing that Lan Jingyi and I talked about."

Jin Ling looked back to see Jiang Cheng shrug, an aloof expression on his face.

"I figured it could pass the time on the ride over. If you'd rather sit in silence, so be it."

Jin Ling's heart twinged with guilt. But why should he feel guilty?

Jiang Cheng was the one who wouldn't ever talk about anything. Since when did he have the right to make Jin Ling feel bad for not sharing things?

"Will you tell me why you're so jumpy after what happened in the Cloud Recesses?"

Jiang Cheng turned red. His jaw clenched tightly and he drew his eyebrows up, giving himself an imperious air.

"Is that what you're mad about?" he snarled. "That I won't share my private thoughts with you?"

Jin Ling refrained from rolling his eyes. "No. I'm angry because I wanted to help, but you won't let me."

Jiang Cheng, unlike his nephew, did not refrain from rolling his eyes. "Right, and what is it that you, a child, would be able to do to help me?"

Jin Ling's face grew hot. "I am not a child," he stated through gritted teeth.

"You're sixteen!"

"Almost seventeen!"

Jiang Cheng laughed harshly. "Exactly. You don't need to get involved with everyone else's problems."

"I'm a sect leader," Jin Ling said. "I already have to involve myself in the problems of many people. Why shouldn't I try to help with yours too?"

For a split second, Jiang Cheng's rigid stance softened. His shoulders dropped by less than a millimeter before returning to their original position as he dipped his oar back into the water.

"I don't want you involved," Jiang Cheng said. "It's my problem. I'll deal with it. Like you said, you have enough on your plate."

"And I'm going to have more on it if you refuse help from others!"

"I took Zewu-jun's talisman, didn't I?"

"But you didn't stay to rest there when he suggested it. Who was going to have to figure out what to do if you collapsed again?"

"Did you want more time with your friend, is that what this is?" Jiang Cheng asked. His aggressive paddling might have started turning their boat if Jin Ling wasn't equally worked up and countering his movements. "If you want time with your friend, go take it! But don't try to dress this up as selfless concern for me!"

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT MY FRIEND!" Jin Ling screamed. "WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME?"

Jiang Cheng fell silent for a moment. Then, he slowly turned redder and redder. His eyes were like storm clouds.

"Then what, exactly, is this about," Jiang Cheng asked coldly.

Jin Ling willed himself to meet his uncle's gaze. "I've already told you," he said. "I'm worried about you. Why wouldn't you let us take a boat ferried by someone else? Is it really so important to you to hide this that you're willing to risk your life just to avoid embarrassment?"

"Mind yourself, Jin Ling."

"Why don't you mind yourself for once!"

Jiang Cheng sighed. For a time, the boat continued across the tranquil lake in silence. It was a welcome break from their argument.

But just when it seemed like Jiang Cheng was done fighting, he spoke again.

"Like I said, you have enough to worry about without adding me to the list. I will be all right. I always have been."

Yes and it takes one bad day to change all that, Jin Ling thought. Saying it aloud might rekindle Jiang Cheng's fury, though, so he didn't dare. He was tired of arguing. They weren't getting anywhere. Neither of them would yield, so there was no point.

They didn't speak again until they reached the other side of the lake. There wasn't complete silence, though, as they approached the pier where vendors promoted their wares and children weaved in and out of the crowd, racing one another.

Jin Ling smiled.

They hadn't been away from Lotus Pier for long, but returning always made him happy. The people on the dock waved as the two of them approached. They were only being polite. None of them seemed particularly excited or happy that the two sect leaders were there.

It was something that used to bother Jin Ling. Now he was used to it.

"Let's get inside," Jiang Cheng said.

Something about the way he'd said it put Jin Ling on edge. He studied Jiang Cheng, worried someone might have been tampering with his core again. But there appeared to be nothing wrong with him.

He untied the rope at the bow of the boat without issue and threw it over one of the wooden poles of the dock. He wasn't collapsing or acting as though he were in pain, though the latter was difficult to tell since the section of his hair that was not pulled back was concealing part of his face like a black curtain.

Before Jin Ling could speak, the sound of barking drew his attention. It was a familiar noise, not that of the street dogs that sometimes lingered around the town.

"No! Come back!" cried a young boy.

From within the crowd, a dog with markings like a wolf emerged. Her eyes were wide and her bright red tongue lolled out of her mouth, in prime position to lick Jin Ling as he stepped off the boat and onto the pier.

"I missed you too, Fairy," Jin Ling said, wiping the dog's spittle from his face.

Fairy wound up to jump and lick him again, but Jin Ling called her off with a stern 'behave'. Fairy obediently settled down, containing her excitement to her vigorously wagging tail.

"Oh, no wonder!" said the boy who had shouted earlier as he came to join them. "I was worried she was running off. Welcome back, Sect Leaders."

The boy was called Jiang Ming and was the clan disciple to whom Jin Ling had entrusted Fairy's care while he and his uncle were away. There was no particular reason for his selection. He'd simply been nearby when Jin Ling and his uncle were discussing the idea of leaving and had volunteered for the job. Jin Ling had agreed since Fairy could mostly take care of herself anyway.

Jiang Ming bowed to the two of them.

"Any news while we were in Gusu?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"None that I've heard," the young disciple replied as Jin Ling bent to fix the golden mantle on Fairy's back that had been knocked askew in her eagerness to greet him. "But I'm not always told."

"Hmm."

Jiang Cheng walked down the pier at a brisk pace. Jin Ling quickly paid and thanked the disciple for looking after Fairy, but his uncle had already nearly reached the entrance of the Jiang estate.

Rude, Jin Ling thought to himself as he trotted to catch up. Didn't even bother to wait for me? Even now he treats me like I'm a child meant to tag along with him.

But he wasn't surprised. He knew what Jiang Cheng thought of him – that he was a kid only playing at being in charge. He'd seen that Jin Ling was getting overwhelmed by everything that needed his attention and felt it was time he took his nephew out of the position he clearly couldn't handle.

The worst part was, Jin Ling could allow himself as much anger and indignation as he wanted, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't convince himself that Jiang Cheng's assessment of his abilities was wrong. He really was struggling in Jinlintai. His time had come to lead and he wasn't ready.

What would his father have thought of him?

Jin Ling's hand subconsciously drifted toward Suihua.

"What's the matter now?" Jiang Cheng asked, not unkindly. He had stopped to wait for him before stepping inside. "Did someone say something to you on our way in? Who was it?"

"No one said anything."

Jiang Cheng's eyes narrowed, but he turned and led Jin Ling in without another word.

Fairy took off inside the inner courtyard, sprinting across the little beechwood bridges that led to different wings. Disciples within the walls bowed to Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling as they entered and made their way toward the main hall.

"By the way," Jiang Cheng said, reaching up to straighten one of the nine-petalled lotus banners hanging beside the open doorway. "You haven't told me who it was that you left in charge back in Jinlintai."

Because you wouldn't approve.

"I thought I had," Jin Ling answered, giving Fairy the signal that it was all right to continue to play when she'd stopped to check in with him. Fairy took off across the nearest bridge and raced toward a group of young disciples. They squealed in delight.

"Refresh my memory then," Jiang Cheng said.

Jin Ling sighed. There was no way around it unless he were to lie and that would only cause more problems later. Besides, it wasn't as if he didn't stand by his decision.

"Luo Qingyang."

Jiang Cheng paused in his fiddling with the banner. It was more crooked than it had been before.

"I must have misheard you."

"I did not speak quietly," Jin Ling said. "I would be surprised if you had."

"So you put Mianmian in charge."

Jiang Cheng pushed the banner to the right, and then back to the left, still failing to set it straight.

"Mianmian?" Jin Ling repeated. "I think her friends call her that. I didn't know you two were so close."

It was an accusation more than anything and Jiang Cheng knew it. He finally ripped the banner down off the wall rather than continue trying to fix it, and wheeled around to face his nephew.

"You making her an advisor is one thing, but now you've put her in charge?!" he roared. "Do you have any idea what her reputation could do to you? Get inside!"

He grabbed the front of Jin Ling's robes and dragged him through the main hall into one of the private guest rooms. Fairy darted in behind them just as Jiang Cheng closed the door.

"In front of everyone, she defended a public enemy!" Jiang Cheng bellowed.

"You mean Wei Wuxian? The enemy whose name is now cleared?"

Jiang Cheng clenched his jaw. He leaned in close. Jin Ling stood his ground.

"She embarrassed the clan leaders of the time!"

"Those same clan leaders that were looking for any reason to kill Wei Wuxian because he had grown too powerful? I don't think she embarrassed Zewu-jun or Hanguang-jun."

"She defected!"

"She stood up for what she believed, and she was right," Jin Ling said as calmly as he could. "I can trust someone like her."

"I just told you that she defected from her own clan!" Jiang Cheng yelled. "There's no reason to believe she wouldn't do the same to you!"

"She defected because her own clan was behaving disgracefully. I hope I wouldn't give her the same cause to leave."

Jiang Cheng was fuming, but Jin Ling wasn't faring much better. His arms tingled. His jaw was clenched so tightly that his teeth were beginning to hurt.

"This was one of my biggest decisions to make as a sect leader and you can't even pretend to approve of it?"

"How can I?!" Jiang Cheng roared, throwing the lotus banner across the room. "People are going to question you because of this. You have to go back and choose someone else!"

"And they won't question me for that?!" Jin Ling screamed back at him. "I chose someone I believe in! Why can't you support me in this?!"

Jiang Cheng covered his face with his hands. He stood like that for such a long time that Jin Ling began to fear that something was wrong.

However, he eventually dropped his hands to his sides, the fire within him extinguished.

"You don't understand the sort of trouble this could bring to you," he said gruffly.

"She's good and she's smart and she cares about people," Jin Ling replied. "I question whether even half of my council cares about the people they're supposed to protect."

Jiang Cheng let out a long sigh. "If I can't change your mind, I'll say no more on it for today."

"I won't be swayed."

"Very well."

Jin Ling knew their conversation was far from over. Jiang Cheng would surely keep trying to convince him not to use Luo Qingyang as his interim sect leader in the future. But for now, he was pacified.

"Right," Jiang Cheng said sharply before turning on his heel. "We need to figure out where to search for Xue Yang first."

Jin Ling had to trot to keep pace with him, which was saying something since Jin Ling was usually the faster one between the two of them. Fairy, however, had no trouble and happily bounded along beside them.

Jiang Cheng threw open the door on the opposite wall of the guest room and led the way toward his own private quarters where he stored many of his documents and maps that should have remained in his study but ended up in his room because he never stopped working on something or the other.

The disciples in the corridor shot furtive glances at the two of them and bowed as fast as they could before scurrying away. Jin Ling wondered if they'd heard the fight in the guest room. He hoped they hadn't.

Violet bedspread, cluttered bookshelves, and tables full of work – his uncle's sleeping chamber never changed.

Jin Ling idled in the doorway, waiting for Jiang Cheng to collect what they needed so they could bring it to the study, when a thought occurred to him. Jiang Cheng had gathered maps and books and turned back toward him to see the frown on Jin Ling's face.

"What is it now?" Jiang Cheng demanded.

"The Jiangs, the Jins, and now the Lans have all been alerted to Xue Yang's survival," Jin Ling said thoughtfully. "Should we not send word to Sect Leader Nie as well?"

Jiang Cheng looked down at the bundle in his arms, scowling. Why he seemed angry, Jin Ling didn't know. The Jiang Clan was generally friendly with the Nie Clan. Plus, he thought he remembered stories that his uncle and Nie Huaisang had been friends back during their schooling in Gusu. Why wouldn't he jump at the chance to visit an old friend?

"No," Jiang Cheng said coldly, "this has nothing to do with the Nie Clan. Xue Yang has no reason to try anything there. Let's not involve them."

"Maybe it won't affect him, but what if it does?" Jin Ling asked. "Shouldn't he at least be made aware of the situation?"

Jiang Cheng sighed. "I don't want to needlessly involve Huaisang in something that doesn't concern him. He has a hard enough time dealing with his own affairs."

That wasn't entirely true. After everything that had happened at Guanyin Temple, Nie Huaisang had somehow, almost overnight, become a competent leader. It was an abrupt enough change to garner attention, but everyone in Qinghe was so thrilled to have a decent clan head that no one had asked too many questions about it.

"We could inform him, but tell him that we're handling it?" Jin Ling suggested. "He wouldn't need to get involved then."

The crease between Jiang Cheng's eyebrows deepened. "Drop it, Jin Ling."

Oh, he was definitely hiding something. There was some other reason that Jiang Cheng didn't want to reach out to Nie Huaisang.

But Jin Ling knew he wasn't going to get the answer tonight and possibly not ever. So, for the sake of peace, he dropped it like Jiang Cheng ordered.

He spent the rest of the day helping Jiang Cheng try to think of which places were most suspicious and most likely for Xue Yang to be hiding at.

But come nightfall, Jin Ling had packed his bags in secret. He gave Fairy a loving pat on the head and instructed her to stay with Jiang Cheng. Fairy had recently been injured in a night hunt and Jin Ling was feeling a little protective of her, so he didn't want to bring her with. Plus, he figured the company of his dog might somewhat quell his uncle's temper.

He left a note on the table in his room to tell Jiang Cheng what he was doing and to apologize for going against his advice.

Then, he stole away under cover of dark. Even if he had to go alone, Jin Ling would do the right thing: he would warn Nie Huaisang of Xue Yang.