Jin Ling travelled mostly on foot. Occasionally, he would hop on Suihua and take off for a little while just to cut down on time. But he knew Jiang Cheng would be looking for him soon and he knew he would find him easily if he flew above the cover of the trees.

So, he stayed on the ground.

Snap! Crunch!

Something was moving toward him in the woods. Something big.

Stealthily, Jin Ling drew Suihua. He then pressed his back against the trunk of a big oak tree and readied himself.

When the heavy footsteps drew nearer, Jin Ling peeked around the trunk.

"Ghost General?!"

Wen Ning, with his solemn, once-handsome face and tattered clothing, snapped to attention as he stepped into a patch of dappled early morning sunlight.

He pulled his stiff lips into something resembling a smile.

"Jin-gongzi," said Wen Ning, inclining his head. "How are you?"

Jin Ling already wasn't listening. He was twisting around and peering behind nearby trees. Last he'd known, Wen Ning had gone off to lay what remained of his people to rest. But he hadn't gone alone.

"Did you lose something, Jin-gongzi?"

"Yes!" Jin Ling said, starting to feel flustered. "I mean no! Where is Sizh-?"

As if summoned by his mere partial mention, Sizhui trotted up behind Wen Ning, the hem of his moon white Lan robes fluttering about his ankles. He was fussing over something caught in his hair and didn't at first see who had appeared in the woods. But when he looked up, he instantly started beaming.

"Jin Ling!" he exclaimed. Sizhui took a step toward him, as if he were going to embrace him. But he stopped, smoothed the front of his robes, and folded his hands delicately in front of himself instead. "How are you?"

"Oh don't be ridiculous!" Jin Ling said. Taking a leaf out of Jingyi's book, he crossed the distance between them and gathered Sizhui in a tight hug, breathing deeply the scent of frankincense and smoke from his hair – the smell of mourning.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wen Ning shamble off to give the two of them some space to catch up.

"Have you finished what you needed to?" Jin Ling asked, releasing Sizhui. He could have sworn he saw pink in Sizhui's cheeks when he stepped back, but it was still a little dark in the woods and when Jin Ling looked closer (without being weird) he could detect no rosy color.

"We have," Sizhui said, a hint of melancholy in his voice. "Ning-shushu was teaching me about our clan on our trip back to the Cloud Recesses. We're taking a longer return trip so that we'll have more time to cover topics."

It was a secret that Sizhui's real surname was Wen. No one aside from Wei Wuxian, Wen Ning, Lan Wangji, Lan Jingyi, and Jin Ling knew the truth, and that was the way it would stay.

Jin Ling had smacked Jingyi over the head countless times to remind him not to say too much about Sizhui's journey to lay his ancestors to rest. Jingyi was fiercely loyal to Sizhui, but he was loud-mouthed and had difficulty keeping secrets. So, it had fallen upon Jin Ling to keep him in check as much as he could – a task that he took very seriously.

"He taught me some of the Wen fighting techniques…"

"Wait, what?!" Jin Ling said. "So you know the Lan technique, the Jiang technique that I taught you, and the Wen technique?!"

Sizhui smiled. Jin Ling's heart sped up a little bit. It felt like ages since he'd seen his friend. He supposed he was just elated to be reunited with him.

"Well I haven't learned all there is to know about Jiang or Wen… or even Lan for that matter," Sizhui said, laughing a little.

"You're going to surpass Hanguang-jun's ability if you aren't careful."

"I find that unlikely."

"I don't."

Sizhui definitely blushed that time. Jin Ling considered teasing him for it, but ultimately decided not to. Sizhui wasn't as fun to heckle as Jingyi anyway, and he didn't want to make him regret crossing paths with him.

"Do you remember how Jingyi acted when you left?" Jin Ling asked, changing the subject.

The corner of Sizhui's mouth twitched as they both recalled the blubbering mess that was Jingyi on that day.

"He begged me not to go," Sizhui said, continuing to hold a stoic expression on his face so as not to poke fun at his friend's past distress.

"And then he begged you to take him along."

"He did," Sizhui replied softly, no longer able to hide his amusement as he cracked a smile. "I'm looking forward to seeing him again. Have you seen him lately? How is he?"

"Actually…" Jin Ling said, wondering if he should admit to having seen Jingyi recently or not.

If he did, Sizhui would ask why and he would be put in the position to have a conversation that he wasn't sure he wanted to have. He didn't want to worry Sizhui and make him cut his trip short.

"Actually, what?" Sizhui prompted.

"I saw him the other day," he replied, ultimately making the decision to tell him.

Sizhui's eyebrows shot up. "Why?"

"It's a bit of a tale. Maybe we should take a seat?"

He and Sizhui sat cross-legged opposite one another, and he proceeded to tell the story of how he and his uncle had ended up in Gusu. Sizhui listened with rapt attention. Never once did he interrupt, merely nodded on occasion.

He was so easy to talk to that Jin Ling accidentally told him about what happened to Jiang Cheng when they'd gone to leave. It wasn't a story that his uncle would approve of him telling. But he only realized what he'd done after he'd done it.

"Oh no," Jin Ling said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You can't tell anyone about the part where my uncle collapsed. He'll break your legs."

Sizhui smirked – a rare expression for him. "For all he knows, I could have heard this whole story from Zewu-jun."

"Zewu-jun is one to talk like this?"

"No, but I think your uncle… well, I don't think he'd question it much."

Jiang Cheng was widely known to be paranoid to a degree. That was why Sizhui thought he would believe Lan Xichen would talk about him behind his back. But Sizhui was also too polite to suggest that Jiang Cheng was paranoid, especially to Jin Ling.

It was true that Jiang Cheng was wary of others, but that didn't mean he was a fool. It was just as easy for him to be suspicious of his nephew as it was for him to be suspicious of another sect leader. He would land on whichever suspect was more reasonable. And that would be Jin Ling.

"No one will hear of this from me," Sizhui promised.

Jin Ling sighed in relief. Then he asked, "How much longer will you be on your trip?"

"I'm done with my trip," Sizhui said, rising to his feet.

"What? Why?" Jin Ling asked, jumping up as well.

"Wei Wuxian and Hanguang-jun are family to me," Sizhui said. "I have to find them and make sure they're all right. Xue Yang is probably coming for Wei Wuxian and targeted your uncle to get his attention. He may go straight for Wei Wuxian next time. I have to warn them."

He spoke very matter-of-factly, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of fear. Jin Ling wanted to offer comfort, but the truth was, he was scared too. He didn't want anything to happen to Wei Wuxian either, and he'd been worried about the same thing.

Almost as if he'd sensed their fear, Wen Ning reappeared beside Lan Sizhui. He placed a pale hand on his shoulder but said nothing.

"Did you hear all of that?" Sizhui asked.

Wen Ning nodded.

"Will you have to return to them too?"

"No," Wen Ning said, answering Sizhui. "Wei-gongzi gave me my freedom. I don't have to go. So, I will leave this up to you, A-Yuan. I want to give you as much time as you need to learn as much as you want to before I leave you."

Jin Ling balked at the sound of Sizhui's birth name. He didn't know why, but he didn't like that Wen Ning had called him that.

Sizhui looked devastated. He had been trying to learn about what was taken from him, and now he had to choose between that and protecting those he cared about. Who knew if he would get a chance to finish his trip later?

Jin Ling could try to make the choice easier for him.

"Continue your journey," he said. "I will send word to Sect Leader Nie and then I will find Hanguang-jun and Wei Wuxian."

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't."

Sizhui dropped his gaze and nodded at his feet. "That means a lot to me. Thank you."

Jin Ling scoffed. "It's no big deal, you know."

"It is to me."

Jin Ling's face felt hot. Why was Sizhui being like this? It really wasn't any sort of big favor. The only thing he was risking was potentially angering Jiang Cheng a little more by staying out longer than originally planned. Why did Sizhui look so upset?

"If Xue Yang knew where to find Wei Wuxian, I don't think he would have attacked my uncle first," Jin Ling said. "He must not know how to find them or hurt them. I don't think you need to fret."

Sizhui looked back up at him, eyes shimmering a little. "I'm not worried."

Not worried? Then why was there a hitch in his voice? Why did Wen Ning squeeze his shoulder gently?

"If you say so," Jin Ling said, folding his arms.

Sizhui chuckled lightly. His unfallen tears dissolved when he blinked.

"I suppose you'd best be on your way?" Jin Ling asked.

"You too."

"Right."

They stepped past one another – Sizhui heading the way Jin Ling had come and Jin Ling tracing back Sizhui's footsteps.

"Oh!" Sizhui exclaimed suddenly.

Jin Ling stopped dead in his tracks. "What's wrong?!"

"Nothing. Just… did I tell you about the jade ghost incident?"

"No," Jin Ling said, grinning. "Tell me."

And just like that, they spent another half-incense time talking to one another. When they made to leave again, Jin Ling added on the story of Fairy's recent night hunt and why he chose not to bring her along to Qinghe.

Another half-incense time gone.

They went back and forth like that, adding more stories, until the sun had fully risen and the air was starting to get hot. Wen Ning never once interrupted them nor gave any indication that he wanted them to wrap up.

Quite the opposite, actually. He watched them converse, the corners of his mouth turned upward.

"We really should be going," Sizhui said.

"Me too."

Finally, they parted ways. As he walked forward, deeper into the forest, Jin Ling found himself expending a good amount of energy to keep himself from looking back over his shoulder. He couldn't do that, even if he did like spending time with Sizhui.

Jin Ling arrived in the Unclean Realm without trouble. He ran into a few walking corpses and things of that sort, but he was able to do away with them easily. He made sure to steer clear of Xinglu Ridge, remembering vividly how Wei Wuxian had had to save him last time.

The guards outside the Nie estate let him inside with very little convincing. Difficult as it may be to take over as a sect leader, the position had its perks.

Jin Ling was escorted inside by one of the guards. Lanterns with the Nie name lined the halls, but aside from that, the place was largely unadorned. This was, as Jin Ling had heard, the same way the estate had been decorated during Nie Mingjue's time as sect leader. His younger brother had never changed any of it, despite his love for art.

His own private room, though, was supposed to be very different from the rest of this plain design.

"Here we are, Sect Leader Jin," the guard said, halting outside a set of black double doors.

"Thank you," Jin Ling said. "This is urgent and secret business, though. Please leave us."

The guard hesitated, but decided that he couldn't very well argue with a sect leader. Or perhaps he'd decided that a child would pose little threat to his sect leader.

Either way, he left Jin Ling alone there outside Nie Huaisang's door.

"So much for security," Jin Ling mumbled under his breath.

He raised his fist to knock but paused. Inside, he could hear the sect leader's voice and worried he might be interrupting a meeting. But the guard hadn't indicated anything of the sort. Surely the guard would have warned him if Nie Huaisang wasn't alone in there…

"Don't look at me like that," came Nie Huaisang's voice from the other side of the door. He wasn't speaking quietly. "Today will be the day. I'll tell him. I'll come clean. Are you happy?"

Jin Ling started to feel uncomfortable. He was sure he was hearing something he shouldn't be. So, he rapped a few times on the door, prepared to pretend like he had only just arrived.

A crash from the other side, like something heavy had been knocked over.

"W-who's there?" Nie Huaisang called out.

"Jin Ling. I come with news from… Yunmeng? I guess?"

There wasn't a response. Jin Ling worried Nie Huaisang might not let him in. After all, they barely knew each other. They'd said maybe a total of thirty words to one another when Nie Huaisang would come to visit Jin Guangyao on occasion, usually asking for help with something.

But, the door opened eventually and there stood a short man with a round naïve-looking face and long dark hair that was partially pulled back by a large golden hairpiece. He was dressed in expensive robes that rivaled the fine quality of those the Jin Clan wore.

Nie Huaisang was flushed and fanned himself furiously. "Welcome, welcome Sect Leader Jin," he said. "Please come in."

Excited to see his famously lavish living quarters, Jin Ling eagerly trotted in.

The room did not disappoint.

There was a gilded mirror with ornate leafy designs pushed up against one wall. Beautiful vases, delicate porcelain, lovely fans, and exceptional paintings filled the space.

Jin Ling had difficulty hiding how impressed he was by all of it. His head was turning every which way, trying to take everything in.

Two paintings in particular caught his eye.

One was hung on the wall across from him. It was a picture of Qinghe that captured the bustling streets and somehow the very noise of the city. Examining it closer, however, revealed sweeping brush strokes that were oddly familiar and carried a serene pleasantness.

It reminded him of the four seasons paintings that he'd once glimpsed in Jin Guangyao's personal study. He'd never known the artist of those paintings, but if Jin Ling had to guess, he would say the one responsible for this Qinghe scene was the very same.

The second painting was placed on the wall opposite Nie Huaisang's black lacquered desk and was almost definitely not painted by the same person.

Jin Ling didn't know how to feel about the stern eyes of the man he assumed to be Nie Mingjue that seemed to watch him move about the room.

Most paintings of the late Chifeng-zun depicted him with his saber drawn, but this one did not. Nie Mingjue stood regally against a backdrop of multicolored flowers – a quiet scene that didn't fit any description of Nie Mingjue that Jin Ling had heard.

However, each color was almost struck across the canvas, like the painter had been in a raging fit during its creation. The style stood in stark contrast to the city of Qinghe piece.

Though beautiful, this one hurt to look at.

Nie Huaisang was watching him with the hint of a smile. "Are you appreciative of the arts too?"

"Not really," Jin Ling said apathetically. Art wasn't a warrior's pastime. So, Jin Ling didn't devote much time to its study.

"I saw you looking at that one." Nie Huaisang pointed at the Qinghe painting.

"Yeah, who made it?"

Nie Huaisang beamed. "My er-ge, Lan Xichen, gifted that to me. Isn't it magnificent? He has such an eye for detail! The colors are just so soft, aren't they?"

"Um sure," Jin Ling said. Hadn't he already told him that he wasn't a fan of the arts? "Maybe it would be a better use of our time if I told you why I was-?"

But Nie Huaisang didn't seem to be listening. He glided over to his desk and pulled out some scrap paper. He dipped a brush in an ink pot nearby and started painting.

Was he ignoring him?!

"I've been taking some classes myself," Nie Huaisang said. "I think I've much improved in these past few months."

"Sect Leader Nie, please," Jin Ling said through gritted teeth.

He had to mind his manners. There was no way he could speak to him the same way he talked to Jiang Cheng.

"This will only take a moment, hold on."

"Sect Leader, I'm here to warn you that Xue Yang is still alive and well."

Nie Huaisang leaned down, redoubling his efforts in painting a tree. Jin Ling's blood was boiling.

"Does Wei Wuxian know?" Nie Huaisang asked.

So he had heard him. Jin Ling noticed then that Nie Huaisang's hands were shaking.

"I intended to find him next," Jin Ling said. "I thought sect leaders should be the first to know."

"Are the others informed then?"

"Yes."

Nie Huaisang frowned at his paper. At first, Jin Ling thought he was dissatisfied with his picture, but when he spoke again, he realized that was not the case.

"And they sent you?" Nie Huaisang said quietly. "I suppose Sect Leader Jiang would have a further distance to travel and Lan Qiren probably has his hands full."

Was this hurt he detected in Nie Huaisang's voice?

Jin Ling's gut twisted. He didn't know what to say.

"Uh, I don't know. I'm the one who volunteered first, I guess."

The Nie Huaisang's brush strokes became more agitated. He whisked the bristles back and forth over the page.

But his face never looked angry. His expression was impassive.

"We need to find Wei Wuxian," Nie Huaisang said, his tone even and uncharacteristically authoritative for him. "Xue Yang is more of a threat to him than any of us, I would think."

"How would you know that?" Jin Ling asked.

Nie Huaisang hadn't been there in the Yi city. And as far as Jin Ling was aware, he and Wei Wuxian weren't in contact with one another.

"I know a bit about Xue Yang."

That wasn't a satisfactory answer, but he supposed it would be useless to pry. Nie Huaisang was known to clam up if pushed too much for answers.

"Did you want my help finding Wei Wuxian?" Nie Huaisang offered.

Jin Ling raised his eyebrows. "Do you know where he is?"

"No but-"

A sound like the crack of a falling tree interrupted their conversation. Wind swirled around Nie Huaisang's quarters, knocking over expensive porcelain and rattling the canvases on the walls.

Jin Ling shielded his face. Nie Huaisang yelped in surprise.

"WHAT DID YOU-?!" Jin Ling started to shout. But when he cut off to duck under a flying marble abacus, he heard something that caught his attention.

"What the hell is this?" came a familiar voice from somewhere behind Jin Ling.

"You shouldn't go near that," said another familiar voice.

"Look at it, Lan Zhan!" the first person said. "Have you ever seen anything like it?"

Jin Ling whirled around, still holding his arms up over his head to protect himself from the objects that continued to whiz around the room.

"Wei Wuxian!" Nie Huaisang and Jin Ling shouted in unison.

There, a few meters from the desk, was a circular opening into a forest. The edges of the circle glowed white and crackled with energy, not unlike Zidian. And standing in that forest, ravaged by high winds like Nie Huaisang's room, was a grinning Wei Wuxian and an ever straight-faced Hanguang-jun.

"Jin Ling?!" Wei Wuxian cried. He half-raised his arm as if he was going to reach out for him, but apparently thought better of it. He put his hands behind his back and rocked back and forth on his heels. "And is that Sect Leader Huaisang I see there too?!"

"Uh, hi there, Wei Wuxian," Nie Huaisang squeaked.

Jin Ling frowned and scooted around to examine the circle from all sides.

Strangely, his initial assessment was precisely correct: it was a two dimensional circle. If he stood in exactly the same plane and looked at it edge-on, Jin Ling almost couldn't even see it anymore.

When he walked around to look at it from the backside, he could still see a forest, but it appeared to be a different part of it. Wei Wuxian and Hanguang-jun were nowhere to be seen.

"Get back here, Jin Ling!" Wei Wuxian called from the other side. "Don't be poking around!"

"You're one to talk!" Jin Ling said crossly, coming to stand across from him again.

"Did you two make this?" Lan Wangji asked.

"I – well – um – I don't think so?" Nie Huaisang stammered. "I barely know the basics for arrays and Jin Ling hasn't done anything since he got here."

"What are you doing in the Unclean Realm, Jin Ling?" Wei Wuxian asked.

"I was delivering a message," Jin Ling said, "about Xue Yang."

"What?"

"He's alive," Jin Ling explained. "Some Jiang disciples spotted him in the Yunmeng region, but he was on the move and they failed to capture him. He's using some sort of weird magic. He already used it on my uncle and-"

"Jiang Cheng?" Wei Wuxian interrupted.

"That's what I said," Jin Ling replied, frustrated. "We think he's looking for you and-"

"OW!"

Just like that, the circle collapsed in on itself with a whoosh, sending a shockwave through the air that knocked Jin Ling backward into the desk.

"What happened?" Jin Ling asked, getting to his feet and brushing dust off the front of his robes.

"One of those bowls hit me in the head," Nie Huaisang said, not answering the question that Jin Ling had intended.

He had wanted to know why the magic had failed. He didn't really care why Nie Huaisang had yelled. But he supposed neither of them would know why the magic had failed since neither of them knew why it had started in the first place.

"I guess that takes care of the issue of informing Wei Wuxian," Nie Huaisang said, looking around sadly at the wreckage of his room. Incredibly, the Qinghe and Nie Mingjue paintings were unscathed.

"How convenient," Jin Ling stated.

"Will you be taking your leave then, Sect Leader? Or was there something else I can help you with?"

"I can leave," Jin Ling said. He didn't want to cause another disaster by staying. "Would you like me to send some of your staff up here to assist with the clean up?"

"Please."

"Thank you for your time, Sect Leader Nie," Jin Ling said, bowing deeply to him.

Shakily, Nie Huaisang stood from his chair and bowed in return. "Thank you for delivering your warning."

With that, Jin Ling took his leave. His head was filled with thoughts of transportation talismans, Xue Yang, and fear, both for and of, his uncle.

He wondered how long Jiang Cheng would yell at him when he finally got home.