"...We are all fortunate, it seems, that Wei Ying is--Wei Ying." He makes a helpless gesture to encompass Wei Ying. "She certainly lives up to her sect's motto." Attempt the impossible, indeed. "May we meet her?"

"The sentries must first be told not to harm her."

"Of course. Why don't we go with you, back to her; we can warn the sentries on the way out and determine what to say to anyone else once the details of--her condition--are better understood." 

He bows. "Thank you, Zewu Jun."

The three of them can leave, then; Lan Xichen warns the sentries that they're going to bring in "someone who looks like a fierce corpse" when they reach the edges of the camp. 

Wei Ying is still sitting and hugging Meng Shi, but she looks up at their approach. 

"Zewu-jun. Chifeng-zun," she says respectfully, inclining her head. 

(Lan Xichen looks at Nie Mingjue out of the corner of his eye.) 

(Nie Mingjue shakes his head slightly. Baxia has no more desire to stab this woman than she does any peasant mother in the marketplace; certainly not as much as she would desire to stab even the weakest walking corpse.) 

Meng Shi quickly wipes her eyes and hurries to her feet to bow. "Sect Leader Nie, Sect Leader Lan," she murmurs.

He bows in return. "Meng-guniang. The honor is unexpected; you raised a fine son who does you proud. What can you tell us about your current condition?"

Aaaaa a sect leader is bowing to her that's not what she was Expecting.

Meng Shi is skilled at not appearing flustered. "I myself know very little, Sect Leader Lan. I am aware that I died several years ago, and that now I am here and a piece of Yin Iron is inside my ribcage. I feel quite ordinary, no pain." She dips her head. "This one regrets that she cannot be more helpful."

"How long has it been since you awakened? Do you feel hungry at all, or thirsty, or tired?"

"None of those, Sect Leader, and it has been the better part of a day. I... do not feel like I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I have not yet tried."

"I think perhaps it should be supervised, the first time you try to sleep, in case the Yin Iron behaves differently in the absence of an active consciousness. This is--unprecedented on so many different levels. I certainly have no wish to deny you your privacy, Meng-guniang, but anything touching on the Yin Iron is an incredibly serious matter." 

"Speaking of the Yin Iron, you should be safe enough within the camp, once it's been sufficiently publicized that you are not an ordinary fierce corpse, but I would strongly advise against leaving the sentries' perimeter by yourself. Wen Ruohan would not hesitate to kill a dozen of you to claim the shard of Yin Iron, if he had the chance." 

"I understand, Sect Leader Nie. I have no desire to stray beyond the perimeter. And Zewu Jun, of course I will comply with any level of supervision you find wisest."

"Thank you. That having been said...welcome." He turns to Meng Yao and smiles. "I'm very happy for the both of you." 

"I cannot say I have no concerns, but Baxia isn't giving me any reason to worry. Meng Yao's family is of course welcome in Qinghe indefinitely." 

Meng Yao beams back at Xichen. "Thank you, Zewu Jun. Sect Leader Nie. We are both so grateful."

- hm.

"You know--assuming nothing goes horribly wrong--where's you guys's mom buried, Zewu-jun?" 

He makes a slight choking sound. 

"What, someone's mom comes back from the dead and I'm not supposed to immediately think of Lan Zhan?"

"Ah. Leaving aside the...obvious heterodoxy of arranging something like this on purpose instead of by accident, our mother's situation was...complicated." 

"If you're talking about the thing I think you're talking about, Lan Zhan already told me."