Jiang Yanli got better quickly after they had arrived at her grandmother's house. They still had yet to hear a word about Wei Wuxian and their hearts were also grieving for their parents. Although she herself had told Jiang Cheng that he should not despair before the deaths of their family members would be confirmed, she found it hard to follow her own words.
Their grandmother had welcomed them with open arms and hid them, immediately sending servants to go learn what had happened in Lotus Pier. The news of the attack had not yet reached this far.
She also started preparing her household for the war, stocking on provisions and training all the capable young men and women, and basically everyone who could hold a sword or another weapon. She told them on the third day of their stay, once Jiang Yanli's fever had finally fully subsided that she was sorry she could not offer more protection, that they should go to one of the great sects, especially if Wen Chao was personally after them.
Begrudgingly, Jiang Cheng agreed. He was more than eager to join the allied forces which were now being gathered in Unclean Realm, that was no issue, but he did not want to take Jiang Yanli with him. He argued that it was too dangerous and too far a travel for her recently healed and still weakened body.
At last, she managed to convince him: "A-Cheng, it is true that the travel will be hard, but I am sure that I can manage. And we can take a cart with us, we do not need to go by foot, nor on horseback. As grandmother said, we will be safer in Qinghe, under protection of Nie Mingjue. Were you not friends with his younger brother during your studies at Cloud Recesses? You told me he was also no fighter, perhaps we could keep each other company. And I am sure I will be safer and calmer by your side than here, not knowing what is happening and only waiting for news about someone's death."
The last argument seemed to have worked and they have departed from Meishan the very next day. There was no splendid farewells or procession to come with them, they had to be careful to not attract too much attention. So in the end, Jiang Yanli was hidden inside a merchant's cart and Jiang Cheng was riding a horse next to it, seemingly hired as a guard for the merchant who had been sworn and paid for secrecy.
It took them almost a week to arrive to Unclear Realm. The travels were uneventful but slow since they had to pretend to be merchants and actually participate in markets in each town they passed. Then again, it was not a bad thing. Jiang Yanli used this time to listen to gossip and she learned what had happened in Lotus Pier and that her former home had now been overtaken by the Qishan Wen sect and transformed into their supervisory office. She did not prod too much to learn what had become of her parents, she did not want to arise any suspicions and she also did not want to let go of the hope that they were still alive just yet.
It was Jiang Cheng who bore the travels worse. He was becoming more and more grumpy each day, saying that they were just waiting time. It took all her patience to calm him down and keep him from just jumping onto his horse and going ahead of her. She was afraid the Wen patrols they now encountered quite regularly would spot him and she would lose perhaps the last member of her family. She would not be able to bear that pain.
Finally, they arrived to their destination. The now extremely impatient Jiang Cheng went immediately to meet Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen, the two leaders behind the allied forces which were by now known to every one under the nickname of Sunshot campaign. From the name only, it was clear what was their objective.
She slowly got out of the cart and stretched her legs, looking around for any familiar faces. Suddenly, a boy, perhaps a year older than her brother came up to her. He was wearing the Qinghe Nie sect robes, rich ones at that, and a fan. She immediately knew who he was even before he bowed to her politely and introduced himself: "Maiden Jiang, it is a pleasure to meet you. Please follow me inside, you should not linger outside too long. I hear you had had a rough time these past weeks. There are rooms prepared for you and your brother. You should first get a good rest."
"Thank you, Young Master Nie," she started but the second heir of the Qinghe Nie sect had waved his hand dismissively.
"Nie Huisang would be just fine."
"Then you should call me Jiang Yanli as well. I insist."
"It would be my pleasure, Jiang Yanli." Nie Huisang smiled at her and then covered his face with his fan once again. "Please follow me. Although Unclean Realm is safe, we should not talk out in the open."
Jiang Yanli was a bit surprised, she could not tell what Nie Huisang wanted to talk to her about but she obediently followed him through the long hallways of Unclean Realm. They stopped in front of one of the many massive wooden doors and Nie Huisang opened it and gestured for her to go inside first. She bowed to him and obliged. He entered after her, closing the door quietly.
Jiang Yanli was getting a more and more distinct impression that the Nie Huisang she had heard about from Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian was not the same person standing in front of her right now. He was hiding his face completely behind his fan, appearing nervous on the outside, but she could tell that there was hidden intelligence in his eyes. He was looking at her with something resembling concern.
She sat down at a low table in the middle of the room and gestured to Nie Huisang to sit opposite to her, she wanted to hear what he had to say before going to rest. She prompted him to start talking.
"I heard about what had happened in Lotus Pier and I have been since observing the current situation, Brother Wei had quite grown on me during out time in Cloud Recesses and also at the Wen indoctrination. And, the Yunmeng Jiang sect is one of the great sects, we need everyone we can find to win this war."
Jiang Yanli still could not understand what he wanted to tell her. However, she was happy that he was talking about the Yunmeng Jiang sect as if it was still existing and also used such a familiar way to talk about her brother. She sat still, waiting for Nie Huisang to continue.
"After Lotus Pier had fallen, many disciples who had survived had found refuge here. Let me tell you the truth: it would be beneficial to all if the Yunmeng Jiang sect could be revived, with Brother Jiang as the sect leader and you supporting him and taming his anger and temperament. We need skilful warriors in this war, but it would be contra productive to have hot-headed young sect leaders not listening to orders and ignoring all common sense."
Now everything was clear. Nie Huisang came to talk to her first because he supposed she had a great influence over her brother. When he was not completely incorrect to assume that, she was curious where he had learned this particular piece of information. It really seemed like there were two Nie Huisangs, one who appeared to be a weakling who needed his brother's protection and another one who was a schemer behind the scenes.
Jiang Yanli smiled conspiratorially. She did not mind giving a helping hand from the shadows, and Nie Huisang had not asked anything else from her than what she herself would have done regardless.
"I understand, I think I can help in this regard," she confirmed and Nie Huisang's eyes sparkled from behind his fan. He started getting up but stopped at her next question.
"Do you know what had happened to my parents and A-Xian? Are they still alive?"
Nie Huisang shook his head slightly, regret evident in his features: "Unfortunately, I do not have any proven information. All that I know for now is that bodies of Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan are not anywhere on display in Lotus Pier. If I learn anything new, I will of course inform you as quickly as I can."
Jiang Yanli nodded, appreciating the sentiment. Although the information did nothing to ease her fears, her parents' bodies could have long been burned to ashes for all she knew, it was still reassuring that Nie Huisang would continue to look into this matter as well.
"Thank you, Nie Huisang."
The second heir to the Qinghe Nie sect nodded his head again and left the room. Only now did all Jiang Yanli's exhaustion come back to her and she yawned, hiding it behind her sleeve. It was time for her to rest, there would be much to do from tomorrow onwards.