Jiang Gunian Made A Change

Part 26

She allowed herself a day to mourn. One day to cry over her father; she would mourn properly once the war was won.

And they would win. There was no alternative that was acceptable. Her brothers would live, and Wen RuoHan and his remaining son would die.

She washed her face of tears, dressed, and reported to her command tent. "Meng Yao, report."

"General," he bowed. "Lotus Pier is firmly in Jiang WanYin's control. Jiang Furen is in the infirmary; her condition is listed as 'stable', but no details of what occurred has been forwarded. Wen Xu's army is approximately five days out from the Unclean Realm. They must have received intel that Wen Chao's army was defeated as they have not moved in the last two days. We suspect that they are waiting for reinforcements from Qishan."

Yu FangSu glared at Meng Yao as he spoke. As soon as he took a breath, she interrupted. "We should move our camp to Lotus Pier. It will be more protection than what we have here, and it will free your brother to assist Nie ZongZhu."

"We are not going to Lotus Pier," Jiang YanLi stated. "We will continue as we have."

"Your esteemed mother needs you!" Yu FangSu spat. "It is your duty as her daughter to be with her in her time of grief."

"My duty?" Jiang YanLi wanted to cry again. Instead she stiffened her back, both physical and mental. "This is war. My duty is to keep my people alive."

"Your people are in Yunmeng. Not here."

Meng Yao smiled his 'I'm going to be polite because I have to' smile. "Jin Furen. Your people are in Lanling. My people are in Qinghe. And yet... we are here. Supporting General Jiang."

"General Jiang?" Jiang YanLi repeated. "Who is that?"

Yu FangSu sighed. "For some reason, the reports that came in starting yesterday, all referred to you as 'General Jiang'. "

"Not for some reason," Meng Yao snapped. "Jiang YanLi is just as much a General in this war as Nie Mingjue and Lan XiChen. She has earned the title."

"A woman General? Next will you petition for her to be Jiang ZongZhu instead of Jiang WangYin?"

"No."

"If she's capable, why not? She is the eldest."

"No," the young woman repeated. "My brother will inherit." Her hand buzzed: the new ring she wore indicating Wei WuXian had sent a letter. "Please excuse me. A'Xian sent me something."

The letter was short. 'ShiJi. Read when alone. Madame Yu's condition is not being disseminated. Even Jiang Cheng can't get the healers to tell him what's wrong. She's been seen walking, and does not have any obvious bandages on. What I do know is that she was injured in a fight with someone called Wen ZhuLiu. She tried to whip him with Zidian. He moved out of the way too quickly and he pushed her down. She screamed and was unable to stand again. His title is Core Melting Hand. Can you discretely find out if the title is because he can destroy someone's Core? He's dead. I killed him right after he hurt Madame Yu, so we can't ask him. The Wen aren't saying anything. Four buildings are fire damaged in the compound. A dozen in the town will need to be rebuilt. Twenty-three townspeople are dead. The rest followed our directions to leave. Initial count is forty-eight dead in the Sect. There are six or seven more who might yet succumb to their injuries.'

"Meng Yao... what do you know about a man called the Core Melting Hand? A'Xian killed him."

"He's dead? Good," he smiled a genuine smile. "Officially, he was Wen Chao's bodyguard. A nobody who worked his way up in the QishanWen ranks. In part it was because of his dog-like loyalty to Wen RuoHan. In part because of his little trick. As his title suggests, he did indeed have the ability to melt Cores."

Jiang YanLi kept her face still as she processed exactly what had happened to her mother. Her Core was melted? No wonder she doesn't want anyone to know what's happened to her. "It's good he's dead then. Just think of the damage he could have caused to our people.

"So." She took a deep breath, and shoved her concerns about her mother into a cabinet in her mind. She set Wei WuXian's letter over a flame and watched it burn. "We will concentrate our strike troops on Wen Xu's army. What news from the Unclean Realm."