A Long Road Chapter 16 Ficbit – Well Warned

“MindHealer Crathach, and yes,” Wei Wuxian agreed. “I know, no one wants to involve strangers in sect matters. But the Heralds are already involved with your sect. They may not know cultivation, but they know enough about how their Gifts work to draw some obvious conclusions. Queen Selenay saw the first array, she knows the Nie built a cultivation back door into her land. And she has enough enemies on one border. She needs assurances that you won’t use the arrays for invasion.” He took a breath. “If we can tell her your sect members need her people’s help, then… Qinghe Nie has good reasons for an alliance, and Valdemar can get the assistance of cultivators – magic Ancar has never fought – if their war with Hardorn flares up again.”

“If.” Nie Zonghui grimaced. “You mean when.”

“Nie-xiong.” Nie Huaisang flipped open his fan. “We can’t know that.”

“Yes, we can,” Nie’s First Disciple nodded, short and sharp. “A man stealing power from bloody murder, sharing a border with a kingdom full of spirit-guardians? That’s going to last only as long as he thinks he can’t crush them like rotted bamboo. He knows Queen Selenay wants him dead. So he’ll strike first.”

Wei Wuxian sighed. “And about that blood….”

Wen Qing tensed as he drew out the last word, and tensed tighter as her brother winced. Oh no. She’d already seen strange looks from those of Rabbit Hole at some of their cultivation techniques. After which the local grannies and midwife had carefully invited her to sit and sip tisanes, while they asked exactly what was up with dotting blood in places, after all you didn’t want to do that in the woods, my no, there were bears….

“Heralds have some very… clear-cut concepts of energy manipulation using blood,” Wei Wuxian stated, very carefully. “So! I need to warn you both, and Lan Wangji, about what they call blood magic.”