Jiang Cheng finished eating his sister's soup and left her in the kitchen while he headed towards his study, the Yunmeng Jiang sect leader's study which had once been his father's. He had already gotten used to his new position even in peaceful times and he was now perfectly capable of handling all the duties and expectations on his shoulders and keeping everything balanced. The only thing which was making his life difficult and his head hurt constantly was Wei Wuxian.
Do not get him wrong; it was not his brother who was on his mind for being a headache himself, but his well-being and protection. Wei Wuxian had been especially well behaved ever since he had woken up, he had even yet to leave his room. There was no doubt on Jiang Cheng's mind that he would start causing trouble and running wild once he did, but for now, nothing happened.
No it was actually those who wanted to hurt his brother who were making his life difficult. Even though Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao seemed to be laying low and publically asking about his brother's well-being and recovery, they had in fact not given up on having Wei Wuxian join the Lanling Jin sect, voluntarily or not.
Ever since Jiang Cheng came back to Lotus Pier, there had already been three attempts at intrusion into his brother's room. Luckily, they managed to stop the intruders before they could do anything but it was worrying nevertheless. One of them had even been a long-time servant which had survived the fall of Lotus Pier. That was all Jiang Cheng needed to determine that snakes and traitors could be anywhere, he could hardly trust even the most loyal of people.
He had dreaded to reveal the truth about his brother's missing golden core but he could not not do that since keeping it a secret would only hurt Wei Wuxian in the long run. They had to do it for him to not overexert himself unnecessarily in pretending to be alright. What his brother now needed more than anything was a safe place to recover, a place where people would accept him as he was, with demonic cultivation and a missing golden core. It was the least they could provide. He was only afraid how his brother would react upon learning that everyone knew about him secrets.
What truly terrified Jiang Cheng to his core was however something different. What was not letting him sleep at night was the fact that since the announcement, there had been no more attempts at Wei Wuxian's life nor safety. It was as if the information had never been said aloud. He feared that it was just the calm before a storm but he did not know how to stop it from coming.
On his desk, he found another letter from Nie Huisang and he already dreaded the news. It was the first one after the truth about his brother's missing golden core had been revealed. He was sure that the Qinghe Nie sect heir would not be happy about him acting on his own before as much as consulting him. It could ruin his whole plan of capturing Jiang Guangshan and Jin Guangyao red handed. But Jiang Cheng just could not care about Nie Huisang's whining.
He sighed and opened the letter. It was short but very concise; it must have been as it had been brought over all the way from Unclean Realm by one of Nie Huisang's trained birds:
Brother Jiang,
I am getting closer; it will not take long now. I have discovered another five attempts, two directly in Lotus Pier, be careful. Tell Brother Wei to be careful too; I know he is awake now. The news about him had reached me, it is fine, it will help my plan.
Nie Huisang
It was not really what Jiang Cheng had expected but it was a pleasant surprise. It was great that Nie Huisang apparently did not mind the news circulating and would use the rumours in his plan, whatever that was. Jiang Cheng still did not know for sure what his friend had in mind but he believed him. Nie Huisang had become one of his closest confidants during the time that Wei Wuxian had been shutting himself from him during the Sunshot campaign and afterwards.
He also apparently knew that Wei Wuxian was awake already, he must have spies in Lotus Pier Jiang Cheng supposed. It actually made sense, it was only that this was the first time he was hearing about it. Was the situation now getting so serious that Nie Huisang had opted to show him his cards? Or was the opposite the reality and were they now getting closer to unmasking Jin Guangshan's and Jin Guangyao's plot? Jiang Cheng could not tell and it was making him nervous.
And the worst, Nie Huisang had mentioned another five attempts at attacking Wei Wuxian. How many had Jiang Cheng missed and how many had the Qinghe Nie's spies had to take care of? It was very unsettling to learn that he, even as a sect leader, still did not know about everything which happened in the walls of Lotus Pier.
Nevertheless, he was grateful to his friend for protecting Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng was not stupid, he knew that Nie Huisang had also another hidden agenda in helping them, but it did not matter. What was important was the fact that the Qinghe Nie sect heir liked Wei Wuxian and wanted to help him for now.
It would also be good for the whole cultivation world if the Lanling Jin sect would not gain any more power. They were already trying to take over all the cultivation sects with Jin Guangshan naming himself presumptuously the Chief cultivator. They also had one piece of the Yin iron. It would simply not do if their spies managed to kidnap Wei Wuxian, he would then have a weapon and also a master who could wield it. The Lanling Jin sect leader would never take any regards as to what would happen to Wei Wuxian after he used him to gain more power nor the means with which he would have to make the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple cooperate with him.
Though Jiang Cheng and his family cared. And that was why they would never let the demonic cultivator to be used in this way.
Jiang Cheng picked up a brush and started writing a response to Nie Huisang's letter. He had to know just how close the Qinghe Nie sect heir was to his goal, how long it would take before Wei Wuxian would be able to live freely again.