The meaning of protecting you with my life

Moment of doubt

Jiang Yanli had already guessed where they were going when she heard her father whispering that he loved her and Jiang Cheng. It was a heartfelt farewell from his part. She could not see him or any other member of her family right now because she was being dragged first, in front of any of them. And right now, when it was time for them to face their fate, she did not want anything more than to be able to look them in the face for one last time and say her own farewell.

The hallways around them were slowly starting to look more representative and decorated, they were not in the dungeons anymore. She realized that her suspicion had been spot on when they shortly stopped in front of an imposing gate, waiting for it to open. Behind it was a large throne room, nothing like the sect hall at Lotus Pier. It was three times as big and also three times as high. And on the farther most side of it, there was a throne and a man sitting in it.

She did not recognize him but it was easy to guess who he was. It must have been Wen Ruohan, the Qishan Wen sect leader. Wen Chao and Wen Xu were standing each by one side of the throne, one looking angry and the other indifferent. There were also a lot of guards inside the room.

That was however not what attracted Jiang Yanli's attention. No, her eyes were immediately drawn to another figure clad in black and red robes which was kneeling in front of the throne. She knew the man, although she hoped that she would not see him ever again in this life time for it was clear that the moment of their execution was upon them. She was forced onto her knees in the middle of the room.

In comparison to Wen Ruohan and his sons, even all the guards in the room, Wei Wuxian looked for some reason really small. Perhaps it had been because of his kneeling position or because of the distance between the two siblings but Jiang Yanli wanted to cry all of a sudden.

As she and the rest of the Yunmeng Jiang clan had been dragged further into the room and the heavy gate closed behind them with a very definitive sound, she could not tear her eyes from her brother.

Wei Wuxian turned around, slowly and she could now see him more clearly. She immediately felt shock and worry overcome her. Her brother looked terrible. He was as pale as a ghost, his features tense and sharp. His shoulders were sagged and it felt like they were weighed down by extreme exhaustion. His robes were torn in several places, making them look more like rags than real clothes at this point, and she could tell that there was blood on them, fresh one from the looks of it. What did the Wens do to him? Jiang Yanli thought that it was a miracle he was even alive at this point.

She was afraid that Wen Chao had finally managed to capture her brother and torture him as he had in mind ever since the attack on Lotus Pier. Was Wei Wuxian about to be executed together with them? She had hoped that at least one of her brothers would be able to survive this but apparently luck had not been on their side. The only comfort was that they could see each other for one last time.

Despite everything, as soon as Wei Wuxian recognized them, he immediately tried to smile and it was so painful to look at that Jiang Yanli could not hold her tears back anymore. She watched as her brother stood up slowly, his every motion clearly screaming out about his exhaustion and pain but he was still smiling faintly, trying not to worry them.

His eyes however, were far from that. Jiang Yanli could not tell exactly what Wei Wuxian was feeling at that moment, it was too complex to understand just from one look. But she could definitely take a wild guess which she knew was not far from the truth. Wei Wuxian must have been both overexcited and happy to see them and horrified by their appearance, and perhaps also by the fact that all four of them were alive. There was also a very poorly hidden guilt in both his eyes and his smile.

Only at that point, Jiang Yanli realized that Wei Wuxian was not tied up like them, there were no restrains to be seen. The fact would make her relax if it would not be for Wen Ruohan speaking and completely chasing all the warmth from her body away: "Wei Wuxian, here they are, as I promised. Now it is time for you to heed your end of the bargain."

The smile immediately fell off Wei Wuxian's lips and was replaced by a grimace full of grief and pain for a swift second. And then it was gone and all that was left was indifference when he turned to face Wen Ruohan.

"Your Excellency, before I fully join you, I wish to speak with them first if you would allow me. I want to clearly tell them what I think about their family and the whole cultivation world." Wei Wuxian's words were so cold that Jiang Yanli shuddered just hearing them.

She had never seen Wei Wuxian behave like this and she knew she did not like it in the slightest. There was something about her brother that was making her extremely scared; and she could not tell if it was because she was scared for him or because of him which only intensified her unease. Was this what Jiang Cheng had been referring to when he had said that Wei Wuxian was not the same person anymore?

Wen Ruohan was watching her brother with a curious look for a while before slowly nodding his head: "As you wish. But be quick about it, we do not have a whole day for this."

"Yes, Your Excellency," nodded Wei Wuxian this time and then he turned towards Jiang Yanli and the rest of the Yunmeng Jiang clan.

Jiang Yanli almost wanted to take a step back, tears still running down her cheeks when she saw Wei Wuxian walking towards them, staggering ever so slightly in the process. As he was coming closer, she could see even better all his injuries and exhaustion, he looked more like a walking corpse than her brother.

Suddenly, she remembered that Jiang Cheng told them Wei Wuxian had started using demonic cultivation. Could he had been overcome by the resentment and that was why he had changed? Or could it be that he had simply had enough of the cultivation world and their family and he genuinely wanted to join Wen Ruohan?

She looked into his eyes and that was the last drop, she could not tell his intentions at all. Her brother's pupils were completely devoid of any emotion, they looked like dead. She staggered again and closed her own eyes. She was terrified to her very core and at the same time, she felt sorry for her brother who had clearly been broken and betrayed by both her family and the entire cultivation world.

And then, the brief moment was over and the Wei Wuxian she knew and loved was back. He had regained a spring to his walk, his eyes smiling at her, just as his lips were. And she could not even believe what she had seen a fraction of a second earlier had been true. Yes, she must have been imagining things. Wei Wuxian surely had a plan up his sleeve to get them all to safety.