The meaning of protecting you with my life

Family reunion

Jiang Cheng opened his eyes in a complete darkness. Or at least it seemed like that at first, he had been confused if he had actually opened them at all. But then, he slowly started adjusting and realized that he was indeed conscious even though he probably should go right back to sleep. His head was killing him and he had a hard time remembering what had happened.

It took a while before everything came back. He knew that he had been fighting Wen Ruohan's puppets and soldiers. There had been so many of them and he had been getting more and more tired. He had lost Wei Wuxian from view too so he had been left on his own. The only thing which followed had been a sharp pain in the back of his head and darkness.

Seeing that he was not outside right now, he must have been either brought back to the camp or he must have been captured. The first option, however pleasant, would have been highly unlikely because if that had been the case, he would not be laying on a cold stony ground right now. He must have been captured then.

He tried to get up and see where exactly he was, if there was any way he could escape. He only made it into sitting position when he faltered. His head started spinning on top of all the headache and it was a terrible combination, his stomach felt like it could not hold onto his last meal anymore. He started taking deep breaths.

He only noticed that someone's hands were now supporting him, wrapped safely and gently around his shoulders, after quite a while. It could not have been the Wen sect soldiers so he did not panic. Before he could turn his head to see who was behind him, a face appeared in front of him, then a second one. Both deathly pale but still perfectly recognisable.

His mother and sister were sitting in front of him, looking at him with worry in their eyes. He could not find his words but it did not seem necessary at the moment as they were both already hugging him and wetting his robes with their tears. He had no reason to hold back his own. He did not have to look back to know that it was his father holding him from behind. He had found his family again and even though they were all captured in a hands of a maniacal demonic cultivator controlled by the Yin iron, he could not remember a time in his life when he had been happier.

"A-Cheng," whispered Jiang Yanli into his ear, "I am happy you are alright. We have been worried about you."

Jiang Cheng gulped down the mass of feelings blocking his wind pipes and he finally found his voice: "Sister... Mother, Father... I have thought you were all dead. I am so happy to see you."

He would have liked to check if they were fine but now was hardly a moment for that. They seemed not too injured if they could move around. And even if they were not alright, he could not do anything about that given the situation. So he only basked in their reunion, fully content to have his family back. Well, everyone except for his brother who was the only one not captured.

Or Jiang Cheng at least hoped that was the case. Since he had been apparently thrown into the same cell as his other family members, it would be a sane presumption to expect Wei Wuxian being there with them if he had also been taken prisoner. However, Jiang Cheng still could not shake off a bad feeling. It was Wei Wuxian he was thinking about, the one who had angered Wen Chao himself. It could have been possible that he would have been taken somewhere else.

With a sudden urge, Jiang Cheng pushed his sister and mother a bit away and looked into their eyes – or as close to that as he could manage in the darkness of their prison cell. "What about Wei Wuxian, had they captured him too? We have gotten separated on the battlefield. I am worried that Wen Chao still holds a grudge against him. Had you heard anything about him?"

Jiang Yanli gently took his hand into her own, hope blossoming on her face: "So you have found him, A-Cheng? Is he alright? Where had he been all those months?"

Jiang Cheng blinked. There was a bit too many questions at once and he could not think about an answer before he knew if Wei Wuxian was safe or captured and possibly tortured by Wen Chao.

His mother was the one to speak next, her voice unusually gentle and devoid of its usual bite: "A-Cheng, it is fine. I am sure A-Ying is alright. He was not brought here so he had probably not been captured."

Jiang Cheng felt reassured a bit. It was not hundred percent sure that his brother was still free somewhere out there but it was at least good to hear that he had not been brought here and then taken away before Jiang Cheng had woken up. He calmed even more and relaxed against his father's chest.

And then he froze again. He just realized what his mother had said, or more like what she had just called Wei Wuxian. He had never heard her address him in such an endearing way, it almost felt like something had changed in those short months they had not seen each other. 'A-Ying' she had said, almost as if he was also one of her children and not a son of a servant how she used to call him. It was incomparably more familiar of a term than referring to him with his courtesy name.

Then another surprising statement left his mother's mouth and Jiang Cheng felt like perhaps the woman in front of him was not his mother at all. She was too different from the fierce persona of the Purple Spider that he had known before the fall of Lotus Pier.

"I hope A-Ying will not try to save us on his own. I know I made him swear it, and knowing him he took it to heart, but he will be captured too if he tries. It is too dangerous. He should stay away from Nightless City and Wen Ruohan. He was already hurt enough in this war; he should not suffer any more for our sake."

Since when had his mother started caring about Wei Wuxian? She only ever had been cold to him, more like bearing with him living in their home than accepting him as Jiang Cheng's and Jiang Yanli's brother really. Where did this come from?

A million questions were now flying through Jiang Cheng's mind, it was clear that he and his parents had a lot of things to catch up on and to explain to each other.

He wondered how his parents and sister would react to the news that Wei Wuxian had spent three long months in the Burial Mounds and was now practicing demonic cultivation. What would they say when he would explain to them that his brother had changed because of that experience and that they were now hardly talking to each other?

But they had to know, Wei Wuxian was still part of their family. Even if they would possibly never see him again, it was only fair that they knew how he was doing. If not his parents, then Jiang Yanli was clearly dying to know all the news.

Jiang Cheng pulled himself away from his father's arms to be able to look at all three of his other family members when he would be speaking. He thought he was imagining things when he noticed a quickly hidden sorrowful expressing on his father's face, as if he did not want to let go of him. But that was impossible, his father had never been one for physical affection, Jiang Cheng could hardly recall a handful of times his father had as much as ruffled his hair, not even talking about hugging. Yes, he must have been mistaken because of the dim light in the cell.

He did not overthink things anymore, he took a deep breath and started talking about Wei Wuxian's recent experiences and behaviour.