The meaning of protecting you with my life

Time to tell everyone

Jiang Yanli had only gotten to find her mother and tell her that Wei Wuxian had woken up for a minute. As soon as Yu Ziyuan heard the news, she rushed away, leaving Jiang Yanli on her own. From the direction her legs were taking her in, it was clear that she wanted to check for herself.

As Jiang Yanli was standing there, considering what she should do next, she saw her younger brother and a great number of the Yunmeng Jiang sect disciples heading towards the training grounds. She knew what was coming, they have already discussed it, she did not need to be present.

They had to inform everyone about Wei Wuxian's missing golden core and that they should try to accommodate him to the best of their abilities. She was pretty certain it would probably still hurt her brother to realize that everyone knew, but it was a better option to him trying to hide this fact and pushing himself too hard as was usually his habit. She did not want him to feel inferior and suffer while hiding the fact and overexerting himself to not let anything show. He would come to understand them one day, and hopefully that day would come soon.

Wei Wuxian needed all their support. Jiang Yanli was suspecting that it would all down on him only now; he had not had too much time to consider his own situation ever since losing his golden core as he had been fighting for his and everyone else's lives. It would be only now that the reality would sink in and she was afraid how would her brother react. Should he try to hide everything and let it fester inside of him, it could break him in the end, like an infection which would slowly take over his whole body until it would cause irreparable damage. It would be much better for him to let everything out in the open and not have to pretend.

However, that would be easier said than done. She knew her brother and Wei Wuxian was certainly not someone who was able to sit in one place and take care of himself properly. Nor was he cautious enough, as if he was not really realizing how fragile and easily injured he now was. He still behaved as recklessly as ever from what she had heard and seen. It would be a piece of work to keep him from getting hurt despite himself.

It was at that moment that she remembered that they would need everyone's help to keep her brother safe not only from himself – although that in itself would have been a great task on its own – but also from anyone who would attack him. Of course, Wei Wuxian could protect himself just fine while using demonic cultivation. But she did not want him to overuse it recklessly, especially not after she had learned that it was harming his already weak body and his temperament.

He would need someone to be watching after him once the whole cultivation world would learn that the Yiling Patriarch could potentially be defenceless as he was just a normal man and not a cultivator. They would learn that Wei Wuxian was not left undefended and hopefully the attempts would die out soon enough, perhaps her brother would not even get to know about them. Yes, they would all have to work hard so he would feel welcomed and protected.

And it all had to start with the Yunmeng Jang sect disciples knowing about her brother's situation. That was both the easiest thing to do and the most complicated one as well.

Telling the disciples would secure them their support and they would undeniably protect the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple with their lives if it would come to it. However, as Jiang Cheng had told them, there were already Jin Guangshan's spies in their midst and it was most probable that there were some between the disciples as well. Jiang Yanli could only hope that this information would force them to reveal themselves so they would be able to dispose of them.

She headed to the training grounds as well, expecting to be able to see something unusual in some of the disciples' behaviour which could help her to find the spies. All the while, she was musing that once the announcement would be finished, she should head to Lan Wangji's rooms and inform him of the latest development. He would surely want to be by Wei Wuxian's side at this time as well. By now, she considered the Second Jade to be part of their family.

She arrived to the training grounds just as Jiang Cheng was finishing his speech: "...and that is why I ask you to help Wei Wuxian in any way you see fit. But without being too obvious about it, most of you know how he is, we do not want to cause him any further harm."

Jiang Yanli was now standing in the middle of a whispering sea and she was just a little bit overwhelmed trying to listen to each and every one of the voices.

"Senior martial brother... that is just too terrible, he had lost so much because of this war, even more so than anyone else I dare say..."

"To know that he had protected all of us during the Sunshot campaign, he was surely forcing himself just like usually..."

"Yes, we need to protect him. I cannot even imagine what I would do if I lost my golden core. I would have surely not been able to behave normally, I would have been completely crushed, body and soul. Senior martial brother is so strong even without his cultivation..."

"It is hard to believe... Wen Zhuliu should die a thousand deaths for what he had done!"

"And instead of being hailed as the war hero he is, Wei Wuxian is even being persecuted by the whole cultivation world. Despicable!"

"Leave him in peace, we need to keep him safe! Senior martial brother is a good person, I know it, demonic cultivation or not. Plus, he was forced into picking it up in the first place. If he still had his golden core, the Wens would have been cowering at his feet..."

"It is so sad... We need to protect him, we cannot let anyone take him away or harm him..."

She was looking all around, trying to see anything out of place or anyone who would not seem concerned and eager to help Wei Wuxian. However, she saw no one. If there were indeed spies between the disciples, they knew how to not stand out. Some of the younger disciples were confused because they did not quite know who Wei Wuxian was beside the fact that he was the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple but that was all that somehow stood out. It was not their fault either for not knowing, they had after all joined the sect only later, when Wei Wuxian had already been missing.

It warmed her heart that all of the disciples seemed to have been of one mind with them and were offering help immediately. The more eyes would be on Wei Wuxian the better. The more protective and supportive eyes to be exact, surely not the stares of those who were looking for her brother's every mistake to seize him and imprison him. It would never be too little when it came to Wei Wuxian's protection.

The disciples started to leave the training grounds, still discussing between small groups. With a long sigh, she turned around and headed towards Lan Wangji's room. She had already lost enough time; the Second Jade would surely be worried for her brother. She would just quickly tell him and then go with him to see Wei Wuxian again. There was no doubt in her mind as to what would Lan Wangji do when he would learn about her brother finally regaining consciousness.