"I'm not here to punish you.  I'm trying to warn you, and to fix things so they'll go better this time."

Snort. "Yeah, sure, Jiang Cheng, you know how much I ever do what I'm told. By you in particular! Tell me this -- you say my Chenqing assisted in the war. How much? It was important, wasn't it?"

"There will be another way." No one can see the Stygian Tiger Seal. No one can conspire against Wei Ying in order to steal it. Never.

Exasperated sigh. "What way, Lan Zhan?"

Well for one thing you could use your SWORD. Or a bow and arrow, or literally anything other than the tools that actively harm you.

Wangji doesn't say that. He knows how well it will go over if he tries. (What do others know about my temperament, and why should it be their concern? Who do you think you are?) 

"I will figure it out."

He rolls his eyes and tries to drink more; the bottle is empty.

Has he been eating too?  Does Jiang Cheng need to nudge one of the dishes closer to him before he'll remember?

Jiang Cheng is also trying to come up with ideas.  "Perhaps if the Jin had committed more of their forces."

He has not been eating, but does so when nudged.

"You think we should rely on Jin Guangshan."

"I think he needs to be dealt with for other reasons too.  It would be rather convenient if Jin Zixuan were to take command of Carp Tower before any of the other events can get set into place."

"Wei Ying should not be involved." Nothing that could possibly paint a target on his back from any angle. Never again.

"Lan Zhan. Don't you trust me at all? Even after all the time we’ve spent together?"

"Not safe."

Jiang Wanyin should go kill Jin Guangshan, since killing in cold blood is a hobby of his. Maybe he could get himself killed in the process, that would be efficient.

But he might also leak information that endangers Wei Ying.

Wangji should to it himself, then, but it will be difficult to kill both Wen Ruohan and Jin Guangshan before Wei Ying can get near them.

SIGH. 

"Where is the peacock now, anyway? Do you already have Jin forces with you?"

"We'll have a better chance if we work together."  He says this to Lan Wangji, and is resigned to the fact that Wei Wuxian is going to be coming along anyway.  Jiang Cheng is not looking forward to dealing with more of Lan Wangji, but at least his current insistence that Wei Wuxian avoid using demonic cultivation is reassuring.  The way that Lan Wangji had been willing to protect what had looked like a possessing spirit had not been.  

"I don't remember seeing Jin tents before I left, but I'm sure that someone knows their location.  They would have sent his sword off to the right place."

"Qinghe." He had seen Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli in the Unclean Realm before leaving to find Wei Ying.

"Uh huh. So what's the plan then, we kill Jin Guangshan and then ask them to send more troops away from Lanling during the upheaval? Fat chance."

All the other sects have taken losses. All the other sects are still fighting on the front lines. The war has been nothing but upheaval. 

"You literally already know how to win this war, both of you! The one path to guaranteed success is letting me do whatever I want, yeah? That's how you won last time. For all you know, that's the only way to beat Wen Ruohan!"

"And we know how it turned out after the war, too!"

"It's not like killing Jin Guangshan is going to be easy, Jiang Cheng. Unless you let me..." He raises his eyebrows.

"No."

"You don't like our ideas?  Then why don't you start thinking of other ideas, because we aren't going to let you use demonic cultivation."

He huffs. "Fine, maybe you should try frowning at him until he shrivels up and dies."

"This is no time for jokes, Wei Wuxian!"  Jiang Cheng is too riled up.

Wei Wuxian needs more wine. He waves off Lan Zhan, who tenses furiously beside him. "Alright fine, no jokes. No jokes. The truth is, I am not going to hold back from winning this war and saving lives if I am able to do that. I am not going to hold back from tearing Wen Ruohan limb from limb if I am able to do that. I can destroy them, Jiang Cheng, the people who slaughtered children at Lotus Pier, I can end them. I'm not going to let you -- not either of you stop me from destroying them. I won't go too far, not this once. Any single plan you can come up with will still be made easier by my Chenqing."