"Thank you, my Lady. How did you meet my son?"

"Uh, the first time we met was when me and Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan and Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan captured Xue Yang, who had just murdered a lot of people, and Nie Huaisang didn't help because he's kind of useless at stuff like that, but your son showed up with a bunch of Nie disciples--he's Sect Leader Nie, Chifeng-zun's, right hand man--and took him back to Qinghe. As far as I know he hasn't been executed yet because we still need information from him. Me'n A-Cheng were impressed with him from the start but we didn't really become friends until later after I showed up with Lan Zhan on the run from the Wen sect which is who we're at war with right now." 

All of those names are unfamiliar, but Meng Shi makes careful note of them.

Her A-Yao is Sect Leader Nie's right hand man? On the one hand, she is endlessly proud of him and sure that he does his job well. On the other hand, she is... confused about how her son arrived there when he joined the cultivation world. She will ask him later.

"I am glad that you were met with the shelter you needed. Is there a particular reason for the war why you have traveled here now, just the two of you?"

"I'm engaged to a Lan, and they have this silly rule where the couple aren't allowed to see each other for two weeks before the wedding. I'm...bad at following their rules. Easier to remove temptation if we're farther apart." 

Ah, so not a girlfriend after all. "What an interesting custom. It is good of you to respect the wishes of your betrothed. -- was the incident just now the first trouble you encountered?"

"Yes. Until now, our travels had been quite peaceful! I do find it worrying that the Wens anticipated our arrival here, but we will return quickly and cautiously."

"Like I said, Wen Ruohan apparently found a more precise way of tracking the Yin Iron's location. I think they--anticipated our destination and set up an ambush. I don't know if that means we should try taking a more indirect route back, they can hardly ambush us in the middle of our allies..."

"An indirect route would only give the Wens more time to put soldiers between us and the Unclean Realm. I would prefer to travel home directly and bring Mother to Qinghe as quickly as possible."

"Yeah, that's probably safest." Sigh. "So much for staying far away from Lan Zhan for two weeks. I'm not sure if I'm glad I don't have to explain this in person right off or sorry I can't." She gives the surviving Wens a considering look, then decides that transporting them would slow them down too much and killing them would take too long; someone will find them, or not, it doesn't matter that much either way. She assumes Meng Shi will probably want to ride with Yao-ge but doesn't take off so high she'd have to go back if she was wrong until it's confirmed. 

A-Yao has a sword now! And can ride it! Meng Shi is perfectly happy to hold on to him as they fly.

Awwwww. She kind of wants to hug Meng Shi but apparently the terms they're currently on are "My Lady" and she doesn't want to imply disrespect by jumping over several steps of familiarity. Doing that to the revered Second Jade of Lan was one thing, but Meng Yao's mom is a much less appropriate target for that kind of behavior. 

Nyoooooom.

Nyoom!

Meng Yao frequently checks that his mom is still feeling okay and properly calm and alive and everything.

Meng Shi thinks that she is fine, still! She will let him and Wei-guniang know if anything begins to seem awry.

Excellent, Wei Ying would feel even more guilty if it turned out she felt like she had a jagged chunk of metal lodged in her chest!

When they get close, Wei Ying says, "I think probably one of us should explain the situation before bringing someone who looks like a fierce corpse in view of a bunch of paranoid sentries. I, uh, think you would probably do a better job of explaining, but I could probably do okay if you'd rather wait with her."

Meng Yao does not feel inclined to leave his mom behind, even though Wei Ying definitely will not jam any more pieces of metal inside her rib cage. It's more important to explain things well, which he will be better at, and to keep Mother protected, which A-Ying will be better at. 

He sighs. "Mama, do you feel comfortable waiting with A-Ying? Wei-guniang is a very skilled cultivator; she will protect you well."

"I am sure it will be fine."

He hugs her.

Then he smiles at Wei Ying. "A-Ying, I am sure that this will all go smoothly. I trust you will not allow my mother to endure any further indignities, today?"

She bows. 

"Definitely not. Nobody's going to lay a finger on her or anything while I draw breath." 

"Thank you."

And he leaves them to fly towards the walls of the Unclean Realm.

This leaves the two women in slightly awkward silence for approximately three seconds before Wei Ying, eternal enemy of silence, gives up. 

"You did a really good job with him." 

This catches Meng Shi by surprise! She blinks, and then smiles warmly. "Oh, thank you, Wei-guniang. It was very important to me to raise him well. I still worried about him finding his place, after I died, but he seems happy."

"Yeah, he was, uh, Sect Leader Jin didn't take him. I don't know exactly how he found his way to Qinghe after that but Sect Leader Nie isn't an idiot." 

"His father turned him away?"

She rubs her nose. 

"His father...turned him away...vehemently. Uh. By kicking him down a flight of stairs for daring to show up expecting anything else. I'm sorry, I just--you should hear it from someone who cares about him, not a vicious rumor-monger--Jin Guangshan isn't good to his legitimate son either, I overheard one of the other Jin disciples remind him that his father said he should let himself get humiliated if it would make Sect Leader Jin's life easier. Yao-ge wants him anyway, so I'll do what I can to twist his arm, but honestly it was blatantly obvious from the moment I met him that you must be completely awesome because there was nowhere else Yao-ge could have gotten it."