roaring-rivers-of-the-underworld

[roaring-rivers-of-the-underworld]

Beginning Anew

“You know that’s not what I mean, A-Shan!”

Xiao Xingchen quickly ducks behind the wall. Eavesdropping is not technically against the rules, but it is considered rude. But considering that the man who is in the next room is the current Chief Cultivator.

“Ruohan, you can’t come into my home and try to guilt-trip me!”

“Again, that’s not what I was trying to do!”

“Oh no?! That’s not what you were doing? Then why were you bringing up A-Se and her family? You know that I’ve been trying to find A-Ying since the rumor!”

Xingchen winces. Anything that has to do with Cangse-shijie is a bit of a rough topic. Xingchen may not have been up on the mountain for very long, but even he knew that something had happened with Baoshan-laoshi. The Chief Cultivator must be either extremely brave or extremely stupid for bringing up Cangse-shijie.

“I know, Baoshan. I know that. So, I sent out search parties. I had to make sure Yunmeng didn’t have the boy first.”

Baoshan-laoshi sighs. “I know how possessive the Jiangs can be over someone they want to be theirs.”

“Exactly. So I looked there first. And guess what, or rather who I found in Yunmeng?”

A gasp this time. “Don’t tell me. Please tell me that A-Se was with A-Ying.” The silence is really loud. “No! Please tell me you are joking! Ruohan, I -” And that’s when Baoshan-laoshi starts crying. It causes Xingchen to feel uncomfortable. He has never seen nor heard his teacher cry before.

“I’m so sorry, A-Shan. I really am. Apparently, Xiao Ying has been on the streets for years. And somehow, Jiang Fengmian hasn’t spotted the boy. The wife, however, clearly has.”

“How do you know?”

“Whip marks.”

Silence fills the room once more. Baoshan-laoshi seems to have stopped crying, but that sadness seems to have morphed into anger. Growing up on this mountain, everybody becomes more attuned with each other’s signature energy. But Baoshan-laoshi is extremely hard to read. So if Xingchen can feel her energy, then she must be extremely mad.

“What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to take him in.”

“A-Han, I live on a secluded mountain, where the children here have no one to miss them. Some of these kids are only able to live because this mountain allows it. You want to put this child into seclusion? I say no.”

“But A-Shan! When have I ever done something that bad?”

“Do I need to remind you how many times you’ve led me astray?”

“I’ve only led you astray, like, twice. That’s not even that bad!”

Baoshan-laoshi seems to think. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Xingchen paces in his room as he thinks. He could go ask Chief Cultivator Wen about his new shidi. Or he could ask laoshi. But then they would know that he overheard. A-Ying. His shijie’s son. One who has been on the streets for years.

He can remember what it was like living on the streets himself. It was a scary thing. A boy had saved him from a mean man, but never got the name. He did really like candy though. There is a big difference between Xingchen and his nephew. Xingchen wasn’t on the streets for years. It was when he was really young and had only been a year. A-Ying, his mind reminds him, has been on the streets for years, multiple. That means the kid has seen some things.

A knock on the door signalizes Baoshan-laoshi on the other side. “Come in,” he says, continuing to pace. He has no idea why laoshi would want to talk to him at this point in time.

“A-Chen, how have you been?”

He stops pacing in front of her and gives her a small bow. “I have been good, laoshi. May this one ask about you?”

Baoshan-laoshi laughs slightly, “I have perhaps been better. How much did you hear of my conversation with Ruohan earlier?”

“Ah, laoshi, this one apologizes. I didn’t mean to overhear your conversation. I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit.”

“A-Chen, it’s fine. I was actually needing your input.”

“About what?”

“Do you think taking in A-Ying is a good idea?”

Xingchen is quiet for a little bit. “Laoshi, I think that it would help him if you brought him here. Something tells me that he’ll be okay here.”

#wen ruohan #baoshan sanren #xiao xingchen #mentions of wei wuxian #canon divergance au #mentions of whipping #potentially a longer fic #River: streams

[roaring-rivers-of-the-underworld]

Funny Enough, I Don't Care

If you could ask Wen Qing one thing she regretted from her younger years in college, she would say nothing. Because she would want a specific portion of her college years to disappear from her mind, and if she talks about it, that won’t happen. Now that Wen Qing had joined this little group of vigilantes, she never had time to think about terrible times in college. Unless someone by the name of Nie Huaisang decided to bring it up.

“Qing-jie, what was your college life like?” They smirk like the giant brat they are, which causes Wen Qing to wonder just how Nie Mingjue deals with that thing living with him.

Wen Ning, who used to be such a good boy, decides that it’s a great time to bring up her worst mistake. “Oh, jie-jie had decided to befriend this one guy, and I can’t believe she stayed friends with him. At least until the point she realized that she, in fact, did not like men. And then left him. It was the best moment of my life.”

“A-Ning!”

“Sorry, not sorry jie.” Wen Ning used to be such a good boy. That was before he met Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang though. Those two are huge problems themselves.

Wei Wuxian looks interested though. And when he gets interested, he won’t stop until he gets his answers. “So, do we know the guy?”

Wen Qing nods as she patches up one of the other men in the room, Lan Wangji. Wen Qing isn’t sure how he got hurt, as he’s the most responsible one among the others. On second thought, Lan Wangji looses all his braincells when it comes to Wei Wuxian so that might be the problem. “Unfortunately, you do. And he’s only gotten worse from schooling.”

From the look of Lan Wangji’s face, it’s clear he has no idea who. Wei Wuxian can’t remember names for crap. Nie Huaisang might be the only one other than Wen Ning who might know the name.

And speaking of the devil, Nie Huaisang decides to bring it up. “Oh, you mean Su She?” Not paying attention to how Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian freeze, they continue speaking. “I heard that he was in medical school for some odd reason. I think it was because he wanted to be better than Xichen-ge, and there’s only one person who can beat Xichen-ge at medicine and that’s you. Su She also really wants to do stuff like we do, be vigilantes and all that. But unfortunately, he’s quite terrible at it. He’s either a) gotten severely hurt, or b) almost or did get caught by police.”

Everyone turns to look at them. “How on earth do you know all of that?” And this is why Huaisang is the group’s general informant. They have a huge ass network of spys.

“I had one of my people who work at the medical school you went to look at the records, and it doesn’t takae an idiot to realize that the guy has a personal problem against Xichen-ge and A-Zhan. And the last portion definitely isn’t from overhearing Su She’s conversation with Jin Guangyao. Totally not.”

Wen Ning laughs quietly, as Wei Wuxian shakes his head. “Jesus, Hausiang. And you say you are useless.”

Wen Qing nods her head as well. “I’m surprised Guangyao allowed you to listen in on his conversations. He can be quite paranoid. Especially after that one incident with Xichen and Mingjue. Oh, speaking of which, where is your brother and Xichen? I thought they were both supposed to be here by now?

As soon as she finishes that sentence, the door opens to a giant tree of a man and his almost as tall tree of a man. “Sorry, there was traffic and a little bit of a problem between groups. Xichen, apparently, has finally realized some things about our dear old friend.”

Huaisang grabs the cup of tea in front of them, the one that has been sitting there for about an hour, and chugs it. “Oof, that must suck. It’s not like anyone tried to tell you.”

Xichen rolls his eyes. “I know, Huaisang. I did bring some new information about their next mission if you want it.”

Mingjue gives him a side-eye as he makes sure the wound Wangji has isn’t that bad. “And why would you share with us that information? You were their doctor, Xichen.”

Xichen takes a seat a nearby table and sighs. “And that was before I realized that they were wanting me to be a part of a murder involving a very dangerous poison and dismemberment”

Wen Qing becomes interested. If this poison affects Xichen this hard, then it might be a part of her expertise. “What poison? And on who?”

Xichen winces, before pulling out a bottle in his jacket. “You might want to hide that. They might be wanting to contact you, as you are also high on the list of people who know how to use that. And that’s their only bottle of it. Who they were going to poison, though. Do I really have to answer?”

Wangji speaks up. “Xiangzhong, if it was bad enough that you quit their team and joined their ‘enemy’ group, then it must be important.”

Xichen glances at Mingjue and once he gets the nod of approval, he speaks. “I was supposed to go have dinner with a man and poison his food when he didn’t notice, because the man can be extremely obvious. Then I was supposed to bring him to the team’s place, kill him, and then dismember him. That would have taken hours because that man can’t sit still and wouldn’t realize what I was doing until an arm was taken off.”

“Hey now. You’re talking about me there. Don’t be so mean.” Mingjue moves over to the fresh teapot and pours himself some tea. “And besides, I have faith that you wouldn’t have done that.”

“Are you fucking serious? Xichen-ge just said that they were trying to kill you. That is extremely important information to know, da-ge.”

Wen Qing stares at the medicine in her hands before sighing. “There is a huge chance that if they had used this against you, Mingjue, nobody would have noticed. This is a great way to kill someone, make it look natural, and then be almost entirely invisible during an autopsy. The only difference would be a bit of muscle tension. And since you are really active, that could be explained as working too hard.”

Mingjue nods. “I know, guys. Why do you think I brought Xichen here. He was a part of the plan until he realized that it was supposed to be me being poisoned.”

“So what’s our plan?”

“We wait.”

~~~~~~~

It was about a week after Xichen had defected from his team when she got the call. Well, more like calls. The number was an unknown one, and seemed to know her schedule really well. And she knows for a fact that it isn’t one of her teammates because they would have told her. Being in this line of business causes people to become extremely paranoid. And paranoia is not a great thing your doctor should have.

“Hey guys? I have something to say.” It was their next meeting, the time when they were about to fully plan what to do with Guangyao and his team.

Mingjue looks at her, a little worried. Normally, Wen Qing would just spit it out, but if she’s a little hesitant, then that can be concerning. “Yeah, go ahead A-Qing.”

“Well, I keep getting calls from this random number. And like that could just be a friend mistyping and missaving someone’s number, but they always call as soon as I’m on break at the hospital or as soon as I get home. One or the either. It seems like they memorized my schedule.”

Wuxian and Wangji stare at each other, having a silent communication. “Do you think that it is entirely a coincidence?”

“Maybe. But if they have memorized my schedule, then they would be calling within the next 5 minutes. This meeting was sort of hastily scheduled and I had called in sick today. If they were relying on the fact that I don’t take sick days, then they’ll call.”

Right on cue, Wen Qing’s phone starts buzzing, and an unknown number pops up.

Xichen sits up. “Oh! That is Su She’s number I believe. I had to have it because he kept getting hurt.”

Mingjue rolls his eyes before nodding at her. “Go ahead. Answer it. Let’s see what they want.”

Wen Qing takes a deep breath before finally answering it. “Hello?”

“Wen Qing! It’s been a while since we’ve talked. Like what, 3 years?”

“It’s been more than that, Su She. But anyway, how are you? What do you need?”

Su She chuckles. The laugh that he thought would interest her. “I heard that you’ve become a great doctor and wanted to congratulate you. I also had a few questions for you.” Wen Qing glances at Mingjue, gauging his reactions. So far, he’s fine. “Go ahead.”

“Well, Wen Qing, A-Yao and I have been talking for a while and decided that you are the chosen one.”

“The chosen one? Su She, this is the modern world. Not Harry Potter.”

“I know, but we would like to have a doctor that has extreme expertise on medical practices and our former doctor wasn’t the best they could have been. A-Yao has mentioned that if you want money working for us, he’d pay you about how much you get at the hospital, for way less hours.”

Wei Wuxian whispers, “At least he knows how to bribe. Do we have her say yes and act as a spy?”

Mingjue shakes his head and whispers back, “No. I know Guangyao. He’ll use A-Ning as a hostage. It’s too dangerous for many people. Wen Qing, decline.”

She nods her head. “Unfortunately, Su She. I am not looking for another job at the moment. You’ll have to find someone else.”

Su She sighs. “Fine. We’ll pay you double the amount and you’ll have access to all the medical equipment you could need.”

“Yeah, uh funny enough, I don’t care. Goodbye.” She hangs up the phone and sets it down. “What do we do with the poison?”

Mingjue and Huaisang share glances before the latter one smiles. “Oh, I have that handled. I’m going to give it to Guangyao later tonight!”

“Huaisang! Why would you give back poison that Xichen stole to protect your brother?”

“Who said that I was going to hand poison over?”

#wen qing #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #lan xichen #wei wuxian #lan wangji #minor wangxian #wen ning #jin guangyao #su she #nonbinary nie huaisang #mentioned past su she/wen qing #vigilante au? #modern au #mentions of murder #mentions of dismemberment #River: streams

[roaring-rivers-of-the-underworld]

Unseen Luck

Sisi had finally managed to get out of her home, even if it was just for a little. Well, home was a bit of an overstatement. It was really a prison. Since Meng Yao bought her off for what she had done. Her Meng Yao. The one that she helped raise with her best friend. The one that had been accepted in Lanling with his father. The one that had used her to help kill his father. The one that has been putting her in this prison in order to stay quiet.

The guards that are stationed outside of her prison were given specific orders to keep her inside. And if she had managed to leave the premises three times, she would be killed. This was her first time, and she needed the time.

Sisi glances behind her as she hears some of the guards yelling for her. She’s losing them as much as they are gaining. It’s utterly frightening. She rushes past a few stalls in the market, which probably isn’t the best idea. Being in a highly-populated area will help lose her within the crowd, but she still has the scars on her face that make her “unique.” Once she makes a right turn into an alley, she realizes that it is a dead-end. Once she gets to the end of the alleyway, guards move to the entrance of Meng Yao had been really thoughtful when keeping her silent.

The guards at the end of the alley notice her and begin heading towards her, hands on their swords. That isn’t a good sign. They’ll probably beat her, and it wouldn’t be the first time. Sisi used to be a prostitute, a great one at that.

Once the guards get closer, they start cursing at her.

“Get back to your house, whore. Chief Cultivator Jin has shown you mercy and this is how you repay him?”

One motions to backhand her, before a man in tattered, gray clothing jumps down from the roofs onto them. The sound of chains echo throughout the alley way as the man attacked the others. It was a very quick fight, seeming almost unfair putting the guards against whoever this man was. Once the guards are all killed, the man in chains turns around and that’s when Sisi gasps. It’s the Ghost General.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” Sisi quickly closes her mouth. For all she knows, he’s about to kill her.

Something happens with his face, a look, that might be a smile. “I could say the same about you. Are you Madame Sisi?”

Sisi nods, looking astonished. What the Jin had said, what her boy had said, they were all off from the man in front of her.

“I -uh- I guess I should be. Um, may I help you?” Well. The man in front of her, the Ghost General, was not going to kill her. At least it seemed that way.

“Oh, yes! Um, so would you want to be free of your prison?”

Sisi looks astonished once again. “I would like to be, yes. But what’s the cost?” Sisi was once a prostitute, a famous one at that. She knew that great things came with a price. And sometimes the great things were worth the prices.

The Ghost General starts to fidget with his hands. Oh, his nails need to be trimmed a little. Honestly, he could go for a makeover. He wouldn’t look so scary. “Well, there is suspicion that the current Chief Cultivator had killed his father. Of course, there is no proof as there were no remaining witnesses. A real shame.” Again, a quick change of subject, but one that didn’t seem generally related. Unless you were one of those witnesses.

“I - I was there. Would you need me to testify?” The Ghost General smiles slightly and nods.

“That would be great Madame Sisi. However, we’ll need to keep you safe. The Oriole has gotten paranoid about his plans, so you’ll come back home with me!”

Sisi nods, and for once, doesn’t feel regret about what she’s about to do. “You know what, Mr. General. I’ll go with you.”

#sisi #wen ning #canon divergence au #just that wen ning gets freed #and sisi deserved better #mentioned sex work #kidnapping #is it technically kidnapping if she wants to go? #i mean the second time #mentioned murder #mdzs #chen qing ling #River: streams