Jiang Cheng's warning about Wei Wuxian haunted Jin Ling's thoughts.

A penchant for troublemaking… it will fall on those around him to try to survive…

Even though it was now known that Wei Wuxian had been set up and even though Jin Ling had forgiven him, it wasn't unfair to say that Wei Wuxian was responsible to some degree for the deaths of Jin Ling's parents. If he hadn't dabbled in the dark arts… if he'd always put his family first before anything else… who knew what might have happened?

Now, though, he'd gone against Jiang Cheng and joined Wei Wuxian's side.

Don't come crying to me when you end up hurt…

Would Jin Ling meet the same fate as his parents?

Or worse, would he meet the same fate as Jiang Cheng?

Would he lose everyone he cared about? Would he be doomed to watch them all perish, never joining them himself?

"Are you all right?"

Sizhui's voice pulled Jin Ling from his thoughts. Sizhui was gazing at him with all the intensity of a student scrutinizing an exam question.

"I'm fine."

They were heading back to the Unclean Realm. Wei Wuxian had wanted more time to talk with Nie Huaisang. After the portal debacle, none of them had had time to catch up on anything.

Jin Ling and Fairy were trailing far behind Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and Wen Ning. Sizhui had dropped back to walk with him.

"You seem upset," Sizhui said.

"I didn't say I wasn't upset," Jin Ling snapped. "I just said I was fine."

"Hm."

Sizhui was quiet then for a time. Jin Ling felt a little bad for lashing out at him. Perhaps that had been Sizhui's goal in falling silence.

"It's what your uncle said, isn't it?"

"Stay out of it."

There it was again. He'd snapped at him again, even though he felt bad for doing so just moments ago. What was wrong with him?

However, when he glanced at him, the corner of Sizhui's lip was upturned. He'd taken no offense.

"Think about how much trouble we've caused for the people who care about us," Sizhui said. "Hanguang-jun has come to my rescue more times than I can count. I'm sure your uncle has done similarly."

He had. There was no denying that.

"So maybe," Sizhui went on, "it's more of a matter of perspective and luck. I think Wei Wuxian has caused trouble and your uncle happened to be on the receiving end more times than not."

Jin Ling raised his eyebrows. "You really think Wei Wuxian caused our amount of trouble?"

Sizhui gave a nervous laugh. "I think he may have exceeded our amount, but things may not be quite as your uncle described it either."

Jin Ling wasn't entirely convinced, but he did feel a little better.

"Jiujiu will come around eventually," he said.

Sizhui smiled. "I hope so."

Fairy butted her head against Jin Ling's hand for the umpteenth time since they'd been walking. Jin Ling huffed, feigning annoyance even as he bent down to scratch her ears.

Crack!

Another portal had opened before Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" Jin Ling cried.

"Look out!"

Sizhui threw his arms around his shoulders and pulled Jin Ling down to the ground as a heavy log was flung in their direction by the wind. It crashed into a nearby sapling, splintering the trunk.

Since the portal had appeared near Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling had fallen so far behind him, he and Sizhui were in a more dangerous position. The winds were more tumultuous out here.

"We need to get closer!" Sizhui yelled, voicing Jin Ling's thoughts.

"Let's go!"

They huddled together, trying to make themselves as small as possible. A long branch whacked Jin Ling's arm, causing him to swear loudly in Sizhui's ear. Shortly after, Sizhui was hit by one as well. He was less vocal about it.

Wen Ning turned around, noticing their plight. He raced over and threw out his arms to shield both of them from the flying debris.

"Come with me," Wen Ning said. "Stay together."

They did as they were told and huddled together under Wen Ning's arms like chicks under the wings of a mother hen. Jin Ling felt ridiculous to be walking like that, but he wasn't keen on getting walloped by something else, so he stayed where he was.

Pretty soon, Jin Ling was able to hear what Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang were saying to each other.

"-don't know!" Nie Huaisang sobbed.

"I already told you that it's safe!" Wei Wuxian shouted. "In case it wasn't obvious, all of us who jumped through are fine! Stop being a baby!"

"I don't know! I don't know! I don't like this!"

"Get over here NOW!" Wei Wuxian bellowed. "I'm not talking to you like this!"

"All right, all right!" Nie Huaisang said. "I'll just – AH!"

He had tried to pick his way closer to the portal, but he'd tripped on something that Jin Ling couldn't see. Almost immediately, the opening began to close, but Nie Huaisang got his arm through it quickly enough to have Wei Wuxian pull him the rest of the way.

Nie Huaisang fussed over his robes for a minute. Jin Ling also took some time to pick sticks and dirt out of his own hair.

"I wanted to make sure that everyone was all right," Nie Huaisang said once he was satisfied with his appearance.

"How kind of you to wait so long to use another portal," Wei Wuxian said sarcastically.

"I waited so that I didn't hit someone while Jiang Cheng-" the color drained from Nie Huaisang's face. "Where is Jiang Cheng?!"

Wei Wuxian snorted. "You know him. He stomped off as soon as he was well enough to walk."

"I see." Nie Huaisang's shoulders relaxed and his color returned. "I'll be on my way back to the Unclean Realm then."

Wei Wuxian laughed. "You came all this way just to check on him?"

"I didn't anticipate coming through."

"Do you even know where you are now? How do you intend to defend yourself from corpses during the journey?"

Nie Huaisang pulled a fan from his sash. He popped it open and waved it rapidly at his own face.

"Well – I - um…" the Nie Clan leader stammered.

"Come with us," Wei Wuxian said. "We'll be able to look after you."

"And where are you going?"

It was Wei Wuxian's turn to be confused. The group hadn't discussed what they were going to do after talking with Nie Huaisang.

"Uh…"

"I suggest we go to the Cloud Recesses," Lan Wangji said in his deep, calm tone that could settle the flightiest of horses. "We can discuss with my uncle what actions we might take to hunt down Xue Yang. He may also have collected more information pertaining to his whereabouts."

Jin Ling piped up then. "I was just in the Cloud Recesses not long ago! They said they would contact my uncle if-"

"Yes and Jiang Cheng isn't here anymore is he?" Wei Wuxian cut in. "How's he going to keep the rest of us informed? I think Lan Zhan is right. Our next step is to make a plan before we end up making a mess of things."

The annoyance he felt from being interrupted added to Jin Ling's already complicated feelings about having chosen to stay with Wei Wuxian and allowing Jiang Cheng to go off into the woods by himself. He was at his tipping point.

"Good idea when it comes to you," Jin Ling snapped. "You've already made a mess of things by pushing my uncle away like you did! You're both just going to hunt Xue Yang separately? If he gets hurt again, it's going to be your fault!"

A small crease appeared on Wei Wuxian's forehead. His lips tightened.

"Jin Ling, I-"

"If you hadn't made your stupid comment, he might have come with us!" Jin Ling shouted. "He shouldn't be out there alone! I should have gone with him!"

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath and drew himself up to full height, which wasn't saying much.

"What's done is done," he said. "Our next best step is to head for the Cloud Recesses. But if you want to go after Jiang Cheng, that's perfectly fine."

Jin Ling crossed his arms and humphed quietly to himself. He wanted to go after Jiang Cheng, but he didn't want to leave and miss out on possibly finding Xue Yang and helping to deal with him.

"I don't know," Nie Huaisang said slowly, once it was clear that Jin Ling wasn't going to respond. He covered the bottom half of his face with his decorative fan. "Maybe you would be better off delivering me to the Unclean Realm first. I won't be of much use to you."

"Why can't you just portal back home?" Jin Ling asked flippantly.

"I've tried going to different places, but I can't," Nie Huaisang said. "I can only link to people, and only certain people at that. I couldn't, say, link to you, Sect Leader, or your friend there, even if I tried."

Jin Ling frowned in puzzlement. Wei Wuxian, however, lit up like he'd completely understood the rules of this new magic. If Jin Ling wasn't mistaken, he even looked a little touched when he regarded Nie Huaisang, though he couldn't imagine why.

"I bet I can link to Jin Ling," Wei Wuxian declared with a wink in Jin Ling's direction.

"Just because you think you're better than everyone else," Jin Ling retorted.

Wei Wuxian laughed lightly. "No, it's nothing like that. Don't worry. You'll understand."

No matter how many things he did independently, Wei Wuxian still talked to him as if he were a child. Jin Ling was fuming.

When he opened his mouth to give a scathing reply, Sizhui brushed his arm with the back of his hand. He caught the hint and clamped his mouth shut, but he glared at Wei Wuxian with all his might.

Wei Wuxian's eyes flicked down to where Sizhui had brushed against Jin Ling. He then looked back and forth between the two of them, a smirk forming on his lips.

"What are you looking at?" Jin Ling snapped. He pulled his sleeve down over the hand that Sizhui had touched as if there were some secret written there that Wei Wuxian wasn't allowed to see.

Next to him, Sizhui was beginning to turn a little pink.

"What?" Wei Wuxian said innocently. "Can't a man look at his family?"

"Tch. You're not my family."

Wei Wuxian's brow twitched. "Maybe I wasn't talking about you," he said.

"Well good."

It wasn't as if Jin Ling hated Wei Wuxian anymore. But he hadn't grown up around him either. Plus, he'd hated him throughout his formative years.

How he felt about him was complicated. But he knew he didn't consider Wei Wuxian to be family.

Regardless, he'd spoken more harshly than he'd intended.

Too proud to apologize, he simply let the hurt hang in the air as he sheepishly averted his gaze.

Nie Huaisang continued to fan himself nervously, eyes darting between each member of their group as if praying that one of them would make the decision to escort him home.

Jin Ling wasn't going to be the one to volunteer. He was determined to stick with the hunting team. Xue Yang was going to pay for what he'd done.

Wei Wuxian threw his arm across Nie Huaisang's shoulders, pulling him along the trail with him.

"To the Cloud Recesses we go then!" he declared. "I'm sure Lan Qiren will be willing to send you with a disciple or two to get you home, Huaisang."

"It's out of the way for me to go to the Cloud Recesses first," Nie Huaisang whined.

"Oh, so now you don't want to spend time with your old friend?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Great!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed. "While we walk, you can show me how you make the storm gates!"

"Storm gates?"

"Yeah! The portals! They're like a moon gate but flashier!"

"That's stupid," Jin Ling grumbled.

No one but Sizhui heard him. He nudged Jin Ling lightly with his elbow.

Nie Huaisang continued to utter protests that fell on deaf ears. Wei Wuxian kept talking about storm gates and tugging Lan Wangji along by the sleeve to keep him close.

Wen Ning quietly sidled up to Jin Ling and Sizhui.

"Are you two all right?" he asked, inspecting them closely. He reached out for Jin Ling's hurt arm, but Jin Ling stepped away from him.

"I'm fine," he said hastily.

"You're injured, Jin-gongzi," Wen Ning insisted, though he didn't reach for him again.

"I'm sure he'll be all right," Sizhui cut in calmly. "Thank you for protecting us."

"Of course, A-Yuan."

That almost angry feeling at hearing Wen Ning use Sizhui's birthname returned again. Was it… jealousy? Why?

Wen Ning wandered off to walk with Wei Wuxian again, leaving Sizhui and Jin Ling alone once more. He found it strange that Wen Ning chose to stay with Wei Wuxian when he now had the freedom to do whatever he wanted.

Why wouldn't he choose to stay with his own family, Sizhui?

Then again, Jin Ling had chosen not to accompany his own family back to Yunmeng, so who was he to judge?

"Your wound isn't deep, is it?" Sizhui asked.

Jin Ling smirked. "Worried about me?"

"Of course I am."

He hadn't expected that answer. Jin Ling blushed.

"Well don't be," he said curtly. "It's just a scratch from that branch that hit me."

"Good."

Ahead of them, Wei Wuxian was animatedly conversing with Nie Huaisang. The Nie Clan leader had started their conversation meekly, but now he, too, was chatting with exaggerated hand gestures and at a much louder volume. Even though they were speaking louder, Jin Ling still couldn't catch everything they said to one another.

Nie Huaisang pulled a strip of paper out of a pouch on his sash. Fairy perked up immediately. Like a wolf hot on the scent of a rabbit, she crouched low and trotted forward.

"Fairy, no!" Jin Ling yelled.

Wei Wuxian noticeably stiffened. Spotting the dog sneaking toward him, he let out a high-pitched scream and desperately clutched at Lan Wangji's arm.

"What's wrong?!" Nie Huaisang asked in bewilderment.

"Get your dog away from me!" Wei Wuxian cried.

Fairy bowed playfully, wagging her tail and staring up at Nie Huaisang who still held the paper in his hand. The golden mantle on her back shifted up onto her shoulders.

It was at that moment that Jin Ling realized how dirty she was. Mud was caked on the long fur on her backside and there were a few thistles matted around her thighs. He wondered what Jiang Cheng had been doing to get his dog so dirty.

"I've told you before that she won't bite unless ordered," Jin Ling said crossly. "Why are you such a baby?"

"I said get it away from me!"

Jin Ling rolled his eyes but did as he'd requested. Fairy came trotting back to him obediently.

"And keep it back there with you!" Wei Wuxian said.

With that, he went back to his conversation with Nie Huaisang as if nothing had happened.

It was at that moment that Jin Ling was struck by an idea. An evil smirk spread across his face.

"What's that about?" Sizhui asked.

Jin Ling didn't answer him.

"Fairy," he said, "forward there."

He pointed a few feet ahead of himself. Fairy did as she was told, moving to stand in front of the two boys.

"Wei Wuxian!" Jin Ling called.

Wei Wuxian glanced back over his shoulder. His eyes found Fairy and narrowed momentarily, but he didn't comment.

"How far to the Cloud Recesses, do you know?" Jin Ling asked him, being as casual as he could.

"Don't you?" Sizhui whispered. "What are you doing?"

Still, Jin Ling didn't answer him.

"It'll take us a while," Wei Wuxian said. Then he smiled. "Unless Huaisang here can teach me this portal technique. Then I can have us there in a second."

When he turned back around, Jin Ling ordered Fairy to move forward a few more feet.

"Oh, don't do that, Jin Ling!" Sizhui pleaded. "He really is very afraid. This is cruel."

Jin Ling grinned.

"Hey, Wei Wuxian!" he called.

Again, Wei Wuxian turned around and noticed Fairy, now closer than she had been before.

"Are you playing games with me, Jin Ling?" he asked sternly, but the note of fear in his question wasn't well hidden.

"What games?"

"I told you to keep that dog back there with you! Why is it sneaking up behind me?"

"Don't be silly!" Jin Ling said. "She's moving around like a dog normally would. Don't be such a bab-"

Suddenly, Jin Ling's lips clamped shut. His voice died in his throat.

He knew instantly that Lan Wangji had silenced him, so he didn't try to force his mouth open nor did he continue to try to talk for fear of causing more permanent damage to himself. He did, however, glare at his own feet, too afraid to direct his gaze to Hanguang-jun.

"Enough," Lan Wangji said.

Wei Wuxian laughed and placed a hand on Lan Wangji's shoulder. Lan Wangji cast a stern glare at Fairy, who tucked her tail between her legs and backed up to walk beside Jin Ling again.

"It's all right," Wei Wuxian said. "I'm not that upset."

Lan Wangji continued to stare disapprovingly at Jin Ling.

"I won't object, though, if you want to keep the spell on him," Wei Wuxian added slyly. "Jin Ling is too mouthy for his own good."

Jin Ling glared at him. But even Wen Ning and Nie Huaisang seemed to think his plight was funny.

As soon as Wei Wuxian had stopped laughing and started up his chat with Nie Huaisang again, Sizhui touched Jin Ling's uninjured arm and gave him a consoling smile.

For the next half-incense time, Jin Ling glowered at his feet as he marched along beside Sizhui. Fairy didn't dare to approach Wei Wuxian again. And so, his game of seeing how close the dog could get before Wei Wuxian panicked was over… at least for the time being.

He listened to the group ahead take turns trying their hand at creating storm gates. Surprisingly, this magic did not seem to come easily to Wei Wuxian.

That was, until he decided to make his gate link to someone else instead of whoever it was that he'd been trying.

A loud crack split the air.

The boys dropped to the ground. Nie Huaisang screamed.

"You've got to be joking, Wei Wuxian!" Jin Ling bellowed. "Stop that! Stop it now!"

With both the entrance and the exit gates present in such a small space, the wind was even harsher. Full grown trees bowed and creaked. White sparks of energy arced between each gate, like some sort of blinding electric bridge.

Jin Ling covered his eyes with his hand. Afterimages floated freely in the darkness behind his eyelids while the storm outside raged on.

And then, just as quickly as it had started, everything stopped. The wind died abruptly and the popping of sparks fell away.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Wei Wuxian said.

He didn't sound particularly sorry. He sounded excited.

"Why would you make a portal right here?!" Jin Ling demanded.

Wei Wuxian's grin slipped a millimeter. "It was the one that worked. I can link to Sizhui!"

A warm smile spread across Sizhui's face. "Really?" he asked.

Jin Ling felt like he was missing something. Why was he so happy about that?

"Of course I can!" Wei Wuxian said. "Don't be so surprised!"

Of course? Why was it so obvious that he would be able to link to Sizhui? Nie Huaisang couldn't even link to Sizhui. He'd said so himself. Was Wei Wuxian showing off again?

"Who else did you try?" Lan Wangji asked.

Wei Wuxian put his hands up. "What does that matter? It didn't work."

Lan Wangji's brow knit together. Jin Ling was definitely missing something.

"Anyway," Wei Wuxian went on in a falsely cheery voice. "How about we work on getting to Gusu now?"

"Do you have a way?" Sizhui asked.

"Maybe," Lan Wangji answered.

When they started moving again, Jin Ling leaned over close to Sizhui so that he wouldn't be overheard by the others.

"What's the significance of being able to link?" he asked.

Sizhui looked at him. There was a debate happening in his head, Jin Ling was sure of it. He was trying to decide whether or not to tell him.

"Come on," Jin Ling said, careful to keep his impatience out of his voice. "I want to know."

Sizhui sighed. "We may have to learn this magic ourselves," he said. "You probably ought to know."

"Exactly."

"But…" Sizhui went on slowly, "I think you should hear it from Wei Wuxian, not me."

Jin Ling balled his hands into fists. "What? Why? No, you tell me."

Sizhui shook his head.

"You sai-"

"Sect leaders!" came a voice from above.

Jin Ling looked up to see a pair of men dressed in white Lan robes descend from the sky. When they were close enough to the ground, they both hopped off their swords and sheathed them neatly.

They bowed to Lan Wangji first, then the others.

"What brings you here?" Lan Wangji asked.

The disciples bowed again before speaking.

"We were told to report to Sect Leader Jiang with any news of Xue Yang," one of them said. "We sent word to Yunmeng, but we were told that he'd departed without telling anyone where he was going. Zewu-jun sent many of us out to search for him."

Jin Ling was a little surprised that Lan Xichen would expend so many resources to look for Jiang Cheng. Then again, he was a sect leader, so perhaps that level of concern was typical, especially considering how he'd fainted in the Cloud Recesses in front of him. None of the others in the group seemed surprised.

"We met with him not far from here," Wei Wuxian told the disciples. "He was headed back to Lotus Pier last we knew. What's the word on Xue Yang?"

The disciples looked at one another uncertainly.

"Tell us what you know," Lan Wangji commanded.

The disciples bowed again. "Apologies. He was seen in the Qishan region. Zewu-jun asked us to call for Sect Leader Jiang so that they can formulate a plan of action."

"You weren't told to locate me as well?" Jin Ling asked.

"We were," one of the disciples assured him, "but we were told you would be with him."

He supposed that was fair. Just as long as he was also meant to be informed.

"We suggest you head for Gusu to speak with Zewu-jun," said the other disciple. "We'll find Sect Leader Jiang in the meantime."

The disciples bowed to their party before hopping back onto their swords and taking off over the forest canopy.

"At least we were already on our way there," Wei Wuxian said. "However…"

His eyes locked onto Nie Huaisang, who shrank away.

"I wonder if you could link us to Zewu-jun," Wei Wuxian said.

"Me?!" Nie Huaisang squeaked. "Isn't he still in seclusion? Shouldn't Hanguang-jun do it?"

"Lan Zhan doesn't have the practice yet. And didn't you hear what the disciples said? They got their orders from Zewu-jun, not Lan Qiren. He's come out of seclusion."

Nie Huaisang closed his fan and twisted and untwisted it between his hands. "I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't go directly to him like that. It seems rude."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Wei Wuxian said, passing the remainder of the paper to him. "Zewu-jun will be excited to see you!"

"Uhhh…"

They went back and forth like this for a time until finally Nie Huaisang agreed to make a portal as long as no one told Lan Xichen that it was his doing. Once they'd all agreed, he finally accepted the offered paper from Wei Wuxian.

It took a little while, but in a matter of minutes, a portal was opened and the forest was once again plunged into a windstorm.

Nie Huaisang seemed disappointed. "To the Cloud Recesses we go," he mumbled.