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#and everything is outwardly going very well for the jiangs
winepresswrath · 4 years
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I am just really into the idea of Jiang Cheng coming to Koi tower to visit Yanli and Zixuan being awkwardly nice to him. I like it because:
extra tragedy with my tragedy
I’m always charmed by both Jiang Cheng and Zixuan’s determination to give Yanli whatever she wants
Some awkward weirdness over how happy Madam Jin is and how happy Madam Yu would have been that somehow makes Jiang Cheng and Yanli miss Wei Wuxian more? Realizing how the little family Yanli is building would have pleased her makes them more conscious of the absence of the part of their family that did not please her, and they’re fucked up about it.
In the book Zixuan has a dog which means Jiang Cheng has a chance to pet a dog and honestly he deserves it.
I genuinely enjoy what we see of their interactions in the show. Zixuan is delightfully exasperated but also game.
Yanli loves it when the people she loves are together, and I want her to have had some happy if bittersweet times with the three of them chilling by that little lotus pond because her story is so, so sad.
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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years
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for the prompts: NMJ/JC - Everyone with a functioning brain cell can see that JC just needs someone to tell him he’s doing a good job. And if WWX isn’t stepping up? Well, NMJ definitely will. (Preferably smut and/or fluff) Thank you! ❤️
Compliments - ao3
It started in anger, out of spite.
Traditionally, the world took this to be a bad thing, but in all honesty the vast majority of projects in the Nie sect were started that way – they inherited fiery tempers and spiteful personalities from their ancestors along with their saber cultivation traditions – and it didn’t always turn out badly. There were any number of buildings, techniques, or technological innovations in the Unclean Realm that had started life as a furious fuck you to someone and only turned into something worthwhile about halfway through, once the person involved had calmed down enough to think about what they were doing, realize they were already committed, and then shrug and carry on forward because there was no point in stopping a charge midway.
What Nie Mingjue meant was: there was precedent.
He liked to think it started with Jiang Fengmian, but if Nie Mingjue was being honest with himself, it started back in the Unclean Realm when Nie Huaisang had told him, quite casually over dinner, that he thought that the female cultivator in his class was very pretty and that he’d be happy to marry her.
“Uh,” Nie Mingjue had said, very intelligently. “Huaisang, you’re seven.”
Nie Huaisang had not seen the problem. Instead, he explained very forthrightly that it was only right that he start thinking early on about his marriage, as getting married and having children would be his great contribution to the sect on account of being useless good-for-nothing unfit for anything else –
“Wait,” Nie Mingjue said. “Who told you that?!”
Nie Huaisang claimed he had deduced it.
Nie Mingjue claimed that Nie Huaisang was full of bullshit, and also that he wasn’t good-for-nothing even if he wasn’t good at saber, and anyway even if he was a total good-for-nothing he was still Nie Mingjue’s good-for-nothing and no one had better say a single damn word against him or Nie Mingjue would bite them.
“I meant stab them!” he explained, far too late; Nie Huaisang was already rolling around laughing to the point of tears. “I have a saber. I can stab people! I’m actually very scary, you know!”
Nie Huaisang hadn’t believed him one bit and had carried on, seemingly at peace and forgetting everything, but Nie Mingjue had gone seeking advice from all of his elders and counselors and the more dependable senior disciples of his sect, abruptly terrified that he was permanently damaging Nie Huaisang by raising him the wrong way or something. Didn’t children need encouragement at that age? Weren’t they all young and tender peaches liable to be bruised at the slightest glance or young sprouts that needed to be sheltered from the harsh wind lest they grow up crooked?
Everyone assured him that children were hardier than they appeared, flexible and capable of bouncing back from just about anything. He'd pressed, though, pointing out that even the most flexible wood would eventually form a crack in the face of a vicious hurricane, and in the end they'd admitted that it was better to avoid applying too much pressure at too young an age, that a child squeezed too hard or not hard enough might develop neuroses that would hinder them in the future.
They mostly tried not to look at him when they said that, presumably thinking to themselves that Nie Mingjue was little more than a child himself and had already been subject to the worst pressures possible, which would undoubtedly result in who knows what future issues, but he hadn’t paid that part any mind. As far as he was concerned, his life was already a loss – he had sworn to take revenge for his father, to make that ancient monster Wen Ruohan pay with his life for what he had done and furthermore he'd sworn to pay back the blood debt in full before any of that burden passed to Nie Huaisang.
Letting Nie Huaisang grow up happy – that was what mattered.
Letting him be insulted when Nie Mingjue wasn’t looking played no part in that plan. If Nie Huaisang were going to be insulted, let it be by outsiders who he wouldn’t need to care about! Within their Nie sect, at minimum, he should be doted upon and honored, or else those responsible would have to explain themselves to Nie Mingjue.
Those dark thoughts still lingering in his mind, he had gone to the Lotus Pier for a discussion conference, and that, perhaps, was where it really started.
Rumor had already made the entire cultivation world aware that Jiang Fengmian had found the orphaned son of Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze, and that he had taken him into his home as his ward, allowing him to become a Jiang sect disciple – treating him almost as one of the family, even. That much was known, so it didn’t come as much of a surprise when Jiang Fengmian proudly introduced him or even more proudly showed him off, praising him to the high heavens.
What did come as a surprise was how little he praised his own son standing beside him, despite them being only a few days apart in age. It was as if Jiang Fengmian had simply forgotten that such a creature existed, much less that he had himself contributed to its spawning, and the constant looks of hope – invariably crushed – the child sent him made it clear that the present situation had been going on for some time.
Fuck you, Nie Mingjue thought, seeing red, seeing instead Nie Huaisang in his failed saber classes, struggling so desperately to keep up with the rest even though his body wouldn’t allow for it, being told he was useless and a good-for-nothing and fit for nothing but marriage. Fuck you, Jiang Fengmian.
He couldn’t say that, of course.
So instead he said, “Excellent stance,” to the child, who'd received the courtesy name Wanyin but seemed to be universally called Jiang Cheng. “Do you know the others in the set?”
Jiang Cheng, staring at him, very slowly nodded, and demonstrated them.
“Absolutely perfect,” Nie Mingjue said loudly, drawing attention to himself with his over-loud voice that everyone would automatically forgive on account on him being both a Nie and a young man. “You can see how hard you’ve worked at it, and it has paid off handsomely. You are very lucky in your son, Sect Leader Jiang.”
“…thank you,” Jiang Fengmian said, a little bemused at being interrupted. He’d been talking yet again about Wei Wuxian’s brilliance at picking up the sword again after years of living on the streets without practice, even though at the moment the smiling boy's admittedly impressive skills were still largely wild and undisciplined.
Nie Mingjue nodded, and said: “When exactly did you say the opening festivities would be starting?”
Jiang Fengmian had clearly forgotten about that in his enthusiasm, so he quickly hurried back to the actual subject at hand and the discussion conference was started in earnest.
It was almost enough to allow Nie Mingjue to forget the matter and put it behind him.
Or, it would have been, if only Jiang Fengmian hadn’t continued to insert praise for Wei Wuxian at every possible instance – it was as if he were the man’s first-born son, rather than another person’s child.
Irritated beyond belief, Nie Mingjue started complimenting Jiang Cheng every time Jiang Fengmian said something nice about Wei Wuxian, and he made sure to keep his compliments accurate: he was a hard worker, dedicated and sincere, thoughtful, clever, not overly arrogant…
“Wei Wuxian came up with his own ideas for a sword style already,” Jiang Fengmian claimed at one point. “You can see him on the training ground now, practicing it – take a look!”
Nie Mingjue picked up a stone and flicked it over with his fingers, making Wei Wuxian jump half a chi into the air and nearly fall on his ass.
“Weak foundation, and he over-commits,” he analyzed dryly, because it was true, and because no one else was saying it. He didn't make it any harsher than it had to be: he had nothing against the boy himself, of course; it was only that he knew from experience that it was much easier to be the one being complimented than the one not. “He’s got his head so high in the clouds that his feet are barely touching the ground – the weakest fierce corpse would knock him flat as a pancake with a childish style like that. He’d be better off sticking with orthodox or he’ll end up in real trouble one day.”
“Sect Leader Nie, really,” Jiang Fengmian said disapprovingly. “He’s only nine.”
“Old enough to pick up bad habits,” Nie Mingjue retorted. “Your son’s the same age and he’s as steady as a rock. If Jiang Cheng keeps going as he is, he’ll have a strong enough base to outlast the fiercest storm.”
“A rock has no imagination,” Jiang Fengmian said, and was he actually arguing that his son was inferior? Out loud, in front of outsiders? Did the man have no shame? “Mingjue, you’re young, but you must know that my Jiang sect prizes freedom and creativity as the highest virtue –”
“Would you rather build a house using a firework or a foundation stone?” Nie Mingjue asked, doing his best not to outwardly bristle at the condescendingly intimate use of his name by someone who might be technically his elder but legally his equal. “Tell me, Fengmian, does your Jiang sect’s acclaimed ‘freedom’ only allow for people to be as fluid as the river and not as steady as the earth?”
Jiang Fengmian faltered, clearly not knowing how to answer that.
Nie Mingjue raised his hands in a sarcastic salute: “As the leader of a sect whose style is based on a grounded foundation, I would be very happy if you would educate me in your wisdom. No doubt my peers would benefit as well.”
Perhaps it was at that point that Jiang Fengmian realized that his words could be misinterpreted as an insult to all the sects whose styles were less free-flowing than the Jiang – just about all of them except for maybe the Lan and their subsidiary sects, given their preference for techniques modeled on the wind over the water – and moreover that this was a discussion conference, where every word was political, and that a great deal of people were glaring balefully at him. He hastily moved the conversation onwards, and left the subject of his sons for another day.
Later that evening, Madame Yu came over to where Nie Mingjue was nursing a bowl of very fine wine that he didn’t especially feel like consuming. Before he could start worrying about the Purple Spider’s intentions, she said, voice stiff, “Your words regarding my son are too kind. His skills are still inferior; he has a great deal of progress yet to be made.”
“He’s only nine,” Nie Mingjue said, feeling mortified that she’d noticed his little temper tantrum, which he had belatedly realized was probably extremely obvious. “Anyway, I wasn't lying. He has a good foundation; he’ll be a fearsome cultivator one day, there’s no doubt. I only said what I saw.”
“You didn’t comment about Wei Wuxian,” she said. “You must have noticed his genius.”
“Geniuses don’t need to be praised overmuch,” Nie Mingjue said. He himself had been termed a genius by his teachers, and he’d hated every single moment of it – couldn’t he just be good at things without having people fall all over themselves to compliment him? He’d enjoyed it at the start, but after a while it had started to wear on him; he was expected to be a genius in all things, and being simply ordinary was suddenly seen as failing. “It’s the ones that have to work hard that do, or else they’ll be discouraged…comparing someone to another person’s child works as a spur to a certain extent, but after a while it loses its potency as a tool.”
Your husband is a fucking idiot, he didn’t say. It’s his own son! How could he speak like that about him? Shouldn’t he be holding him in his palms like a gentle flame, protecting him from the wind and rain? How can he bear to scold his son when he hasn't shown that the scolding is meant for his benefit?
“Perhaps,” Madame Yu said, but it was clear on her face that she wasn’t about to start taking parenting advice from a half-grown sprout like Nie Mingjue. “Nevertheless, your words were kind.”
She swept away after that, much to his relief. He shook his head and daydreamed about a magic tool that would make this whole nightmarish experience go by that much quicker.
In the end, it went by at the same speed it always did. It could have ended there, but Nie Mingjue kept up the habit of blatantly complimenting Jiang Cheng in future sect conferences as well, if only because it clearly irritated Jiang Fengmian – less because Nie Mingjue was praising his son and more because it was so obviously meant as an indirect critique of Jiang Fengmian’s skills as a parent or sect leader, and moreover it reminded all the other sects of that unfortunate interchange and made them less inclined to listen to him – and of course, because, well, once you’ve started a charge, you had to finish it even if you came to your senses about halfway through.
He made sure to keep it proportionate, of course, since there was nothing worse than false praise. He didn’t really mean anything by it, other than the half-formed thought that someone ought to be doing it – that the boy should know that someone looked at him and Wei Wuxian and remembered to praise him first. Nie Mingjue praised Wei Wuxian too, of course, since the boy often deserved it; it was only that he made a particular point not to forget about Jiang Cheng, either.
(He also made sure the other sect leaders saw how well the technique could be used to fluster Jiang Fengmian, an intrusion into his personal life that could be masked in perfect politeness, and several of them picked up the same tact, though less consistently than Nie Mingjue – Sect Leaders Jin and Wen, naturally, always looking for a weakness, but interestingly enough also Lan Qiren, who was normally above such petty maneuvers. Possibly he was actually just complimenting Jiang Cheng because he sincerely approved of him.)
He didn’t think much of it.
Nie Mingjue didn’t think much of it during the other discussion conferences, or when he came to the Cloud Recesses to pick up Nie Huaisang, who had – amazingly – actually managed to pass this time, although the expression on Lan Qiren’s face suggested the pass might have more to do with the other sect leader’s desire to never see Nie Huaisang haunt his classroom ever again.
“You know what, don’t tell me. Tell me….hm…how did Jiang Wanyin do?” Nie Mingjue asked, hand over his eyes as if it could forestall the headache. “He’s a bright boy, and knows how to put his mind to something when he wants. Tell me about him instead, it’ll be less depressing.”
“He’s very bright,” Lan Qiren agreed. “Very thoughtful, and very thorough. He sometimes errs towards conservatism out of fear of giving the wrong answer, but that’s just a matter of confidence; his thinking is very good. He’s very clear-sighted as long as the matter is logical, rather than emotional.”
“No surprise,” Nie Mingjue grunted. “He’ll be a sect leader worthy of respect, in his time.”
When he’s rid of that father of his dragging him down, he thought ungraciously, and he saw Lan Qiren bob his head in a sharp nod of unspoken agreement.
“All right,” he said. “I’m adequately fortified now. Tell me about Huaisang.”
Lan Qiren gave him a look of profound sympathy.
It wasn’t until much later, during the Sunshot Campaign, that it was first called to his attention – by Jiang Cheng himself, oddly enough.
“Why do you keep doing that?” he hissed, having stayed behind after one of their meetings.
Nie Mingjue blinked at him. “Doing – what?”
“You – you said – about me…!”
Nie Mingjue tried to recall what he’d said during the meeting just now. “That you – were doing an excellent job while facing much higher level of obstacles than everyone else?” he hazarded, because he had said something like that. “Or was it the bit about how if any of them had needed to rebuild their sect and fight at the same time, we’d all be doomed because they couldn’t multitask for shit?”
Yeah, it was probably that one.
“I didn’t mean any offense by referencing what happened to your sect,” he said, hoping to explain. “It was only –”
“I didn’t take offense,” Jiang Cheng mumbled. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not fine, but – it happened, everyone knows that it happened, not talking about it isn’t going to make it not have happened. That’s not what I meant…why do you keep saying such nice things about me?”
Nie Mingjue blinked at him. “Because they’re true?”
Jiang Cheng’s cheeks flushed red. “You’ve always said nice things about me. Ever since I was a little kid – every time you saw me, at the discussion conferences, or the Cloud Recesses, or even in your letters to my father…”
He had in fact done that.
“I just want to know why. Is it – my father’s not around, you can’t be doing it just to piss him off, even though I know that was part of it. Why me?”
Nie Mingjue coughed a little, having not realized that Jiang Cheng had noticed. Or possibly even overheard, in regards to the Cloud Recesses. “I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of the other person’s child,” he said, and Jiang Cheng nodded his head sharply, clearly thinking of Wei Wuxian. “You’re Huaisang’s.”
“Me?” Jiang Cheng seemed unduly vulnerable when he asked. “You compare him – to me?”
“It’s amazing he tolerated you at the Cloud Recesses,” Nie Mingjue said with a sigh. In fact, his brother had all but declared war on Jiang Cheng in absentia on account of all Nie Mingjue’s comments, only for his first letter home from the Cloud Recesses that year to be I see why you like him! He’s cute! A perfect match for you! because he’d apparently decided that Nie Mingjue had a crush on the boy.
Which he certainly hadn’t – at least not when he’d been that age, anyway. Jiang Cheng had grown up to embody every single one of the compliments Nie Mingjue had paid him when he’d been younger, especially with the maturity and natural aura of command that came to him after his personal tragedy.
“But why…you knew Wei Wuxian about as well as you knew me.”
Nie Mingjue snorted. “And that would have helped Huaisang how, exactly? If I wanted to compare him with someone who picked things up the first time they saw it, I wouldn’t need to go outside the Nie sect for that – I was also considered a genius when I was young. It’s no failing to be born without a vast and unending natural talent; Huaisang’s issue has always been his unwillingness to put in the effort.”
Jiang Cheng stared at him.
“Anyway, your father was so blinded by his adoration for Wei Wuxian that he overlooked your merits, which are different but no less impressive,” Nie Mingjue added. “As someone who was trying to figure out how to raise a child, it irritated me; I thought someone ought to make it clear to you that you were seen.”
“Yes,” Jiang Cheng said, his voice strangely hoarse. “Yes, you – you succeeded.”
He paused for a moment, meeting Nie Mingjue’s eyes intently, and then abruptly said, “I’ll be leaving,” and dashed out.
Nie Mingjue wasn’t entirely sure if that meant he should stop or not. Jiang Cheng had said he wasn’t offended…anyway, it was a fixed habit by now. He’d been doing it for over half his life! He couldn’t stop that easily! It would be like trying to stop his temper, or a charge – there was nothing for it.
Jiang Cheng would just have to live with a few compliments.
“Wow, you’re an idiot,” Nie Huaisang said when he told him about the incident, months later while he was lying in bed, recovering from the disaster that had been the end of the war. “I’ll fix this.”
“Fix what?”
“I’m going to tell him you’re dying,” Nie Huaisang decided.
“You’re going to do what?!”
“Stay in bed, da-ge! Doctor’s orders!”
The Nie sect chief doctor was an extremely terrifying person. Nie Mingjue stayed in bed.
Some time later, Jiang Cheng stormed in, face pale.
“Huaisang’s a rotten liar and I’m going to be fine,” Nie Mingjue said at once.
Jiang Cheng stopped mid-storm, and abruptly deflated. “Really?”
“Really. I would’ve stopped him, but I’m stuck in bed for the moment.”
Jiang Cheng took a seat next to him. “That sounds serious. You shouldn’t underestimate war wounds, especially given your sect’s tendency towards qi deviations...”
“Compassionate as well,” Nie Mingjue teased. “I’ll have to add that to the rotation of compliments.”
Jiang Cheng flushed red. “You’re…planning on continuing?”
“For the rest of my life, however short it might be,” Nie Mingjue said, because he was an honest person, even when it was inconvenient. He was going to explain about the habit, and the concept of stopping mid-charge, but he didn’t manage to start before Jiang Cheng grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up into a kiss.
After that, he figured that maybe explaining that part of it wasn’t necessary. He might be slow on the uptake, but he wasn’t actually stupid.
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defractum · 4 years
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A thing I've been sitting on for a while so thought I might as well pour it out as a headcanon for post-CQL. (If anyone wants to write this as an actual fic, please do)
 -
So the entire Mo family is dead right? And that kind of gets forgotten, because ~plot happens~ but what if after canon, when WWX has finished travelling the world and come back to Lan Wangji, a very disgruntled messenger arrives at Cloud Recesses looking for Mo Xuanyu
And WWX is like I mean. I guess that's me.
And he gets handed a whole bunch of paperwork, some contracts, a seal, and he's like ?? what is all this?
And the messenger is from the local administrative office and he's been travelling ALL OVER trying to track down Mo Xuanyu because he's the only surviving member of the Mo family, which means that the entire estate and the land and the village is now his
And WWX's like Haha, well I'm not… technically Mo Xuanyu, except the administrative office doesn't care what fucking name he's going by now. So what if he's decided to tell everyone to call him by some dead evil guy's name (they're like '...weird flex, but okay'), he was born Mo Xuanyu and in the eyes of the law, the estate is his
(They just really want to get rid of it: lots of disputes are coming up, the staff have questions about getting paid, someone has to pay for the funerals of all the family members lying around embalmed in the funeral home, and it sure ain't gonna be the administrative office, nope.)
And WWX is like Okay, well, it's kind of not really my responsibility, but also I do feel bad for all the people just trying to do their jobs and survive, and also those dead bodies probably really need taking care of, it's been a year, oops, so he heads down there to take a look at things
LWJ is busy being His Excellency and can't go with him and is super put out because he just got WWX back! They have just about managed to admit some Feelings! WWX was going to stay in Gusu with him! Was the 16 years of misery not enough?? Must he suffer? again?? Woe is him. Giant sulking baby Lan Wangji, essentially
WWX heads to Mo Estate with the intention of sorting everything out ASAP because he is also desperate to get back to LWJ and get dicked, you know? Except legal administration is a bitch. There's taxes, and salaries, and tithes, aka things he knows nothing about because he was never gonna be a Sect Leader
Plus, the villagers hear that they have a new lord and come to pay their respects and also bring all of their problems. He gets through most of it with common sense and an air of sounding like he knows what he's talking about.
He does not know what he's talking about.
(He does, actually, know more than he thinks, because heading up a small village of Wen gave him more practical experience in helping people than being Jiang Head Disciple ever did)
(He also finds out Mo Xuanyu's birth name for the first time because it's on some forgotten, crumpled paperwork and is slightly stunned with the realisation that literally no one alive even knows it, because wow, did you not want to be punched by Mo Xuanyu feelings in this post? Too bad.)
LWJ eventually comes looking for him after a month or so, having finally managed to rearrange all his meetings and clear out a week or two, and finds him holding audiences. LWJ waits, very patiently he thinks, for him to sort out property disputes over pigs and donkeys, and then drags him into one of the bedrooms for some private time
(Sex. It's sex. It's loud, passionate kinky sex, followed by equally loud but slightly less kinky sex, followed by slightly quieter cuddly sex.)
LWJ can see what a great job WWX is doing running the estate, and also has come to the realisation that WWX is now stonking rich! A titled and landed Lord! No longer has he the need to rely on LWJ and his Gusu coffers! He can pamper himself now! LWJ is possessed by a completely irrational fear that WWX no longer has any need for him and, like the uncommunicative gremlin he is, just tells WWX that he is doing a very good job of running the estate
WWX is like Aw, LWJ said I'm doing a good job!! Also, hey, Lan Wangji, you're a competent, competent man, would you like to stick around for the interviews? I'm trying to find someone who is a good match for me and you can give your opinion
LWJ, silently: ME. IT'S ME. I AM A GOOD MATCH FOR YOU. D:
LWJ, outwardly: Mn.
So he follows WWX to these interviews and WWX has all these criteria like Listens carefully to people and Good with numbers and strategy and Level-headed and Fair and Communicative and LWJ is sitting grumpily next to him internally pouting like 'I match all of these criteria, hmph'
(After some self-examination, he maybe concedes on the 'communicative' point.)
Anyway, WWX listens to all his opinions on all of them, and he seems pretty keen on his one woman who, well, under normal circumstances LWJ would also quite like her, she seemed a very practical and intelligent person, but given current circumstances, he's just going to go back to Gusu and maybe cry for a few days
WWX cheerily waves him goodbye, LWJ wishes him all the best and goes home and drowns himself in Chief Cultivator work
When WWX turns up at Cloud Recesses two weeks later, he is super confused. WWX starts telling him off, saying that the juniors told him how hard he's been working and not sleeping and honestly, it's only been two weeks of WWX not looking over his shoulder, but it's okay because he's here now and doesn't intend on leaving ever again, and also he brings treats because he's not poor and he can afford to spoil his Lan-er-gege now!
LWJ: ??
After the nth round of misunderstandings, LWJ finally, finally realises that the interviews were for someone to manage the estate for Wei Wuxian so that he doesn't have to stay there. Understanding dawns. LWJ's crops are thriving, his skin is clear.
There is some shouting, there are tears, there's a fair bit of wailing. There's a cracked teacup and the dramatic thwump of WWX throwing himself across the room onto LWJ's lap. There's some more loud, enthusiastic kinky sex. The end.
(Buy me a ko-fi)
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bloody-bee-tea · 3 years
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Brotherhood - All Star Xicheng White Day 3
The prompts for the third day of All Star Xicheng White Day were Good Ending/Bad Ending/Normal and I really wanted to give Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen a good ending here. It's what they deserve.
Jiang Cheng isn’t actually sure what he’s doing with the letter he just wrote up, but he guesses now that he used up some paper and ink for it, he might as well send it off too.
He reads over it again, but there’s actually not that much to it. It’s just an invitation for Lan Xichen to come to Lotus Pier if he should find seclusion or the Cloud Recesses no longer to his taste. Jiang Cheng made sure to stress that it’s open ended, too, because he doesn’t want to pressure Lan Xichen.
Jiang Cheng would have loved to go into seclusion a number of times in his life—after Lotus Pier burned, after Jiang Yanli died, after Wei Wuxian died—but he didn’t have the luxury to do that. But Jiang Cheng also knows himself well enough to know that he would have gone mad if he stayed in seclusion for a longer period of time.
And he just wants to make sure that Lan Xichen knows that he has other options that are not seclusion or diving back into being a Sect Leader and so he sends the letter off.
Coming to Lotus Pier could be viewed as a vacation, or some well deserved time off for Lan Xichen, and Jiang Cheng hopes he will see it like that as well.
Jiang Cheng doesn’t mean to offend after all, and he hopes he didn’t make a mistake writing to Lan Xichen like this.
He doesn’t even know if Lan Xichen will get the letter, or if Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji will intercept it, and maybe if Jiang Cheng flies fast enough he can get it back.
“Stop that,” Jin Ling suddenly says and Jiang Cheng flinches.
“What?” he bites out, but he flushes slightly, because Jin Ling gives him a very judging look.
“You’re worrying over nothing. Lan Xichen will get the letter and he will not misunderstand because you were very clear in your words and now quit fretting over this,” Jin Ling tells him and Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes at him, though Jin Ling is right on all accounts.
“What do you know about this?” Jiang Cheng mutters, but he tries to put the letter out of his mind.
“I damn well know about your crush on Zewu-Jun,” Jin Ling gives back with a teasing smile.
“Language,” Jiang Cheng reminds him instead of touching on what Jin Ling just said, despite the fact that Jin Ling is right.
Jiang Cheng was never under any illusions that he managed to keep his feelings a secret from his own nephew, but the hope was always there.
“I will watch my language if you stop looking like that,” Jin Ling gives back and then turns his concentration back to the paper work in front of him.
Jiang Cheng tried his best to raise Jin Ling as the next Sect Leader, but being thrust into the position so suddenly and so early leaves Jin Ling at a severe disadvantage against the other Sect Leaders and so Jiang Cheng continues to coach him as best as he can.
“Careful, brat,” Jiang Cheng mutters, but he can’t help the fond feeling in his chest when Jin Ling just rolls his eyes at him.
Jiang Cheng curses the day he allowed Jin Ling to pick up on that habit, because it doesn’t feel that great to be at the receiving end of this, but if Jiang Cheng is being honest, it warms his heart to see that Jin Ling picked up anything from him at all.
~*~*~
Nothing happens for a year, and then almost two, and Jiang Cheng can’t say that he forgot about the letter he sent to Lan Xichen, but it moves into the background after a while.
It was an open ended invitation after all, and Lan Xichen is under no obligations to actually come through on that. It could be that he burned the letter the moment he got it and Jiang Cheng would never even know.
And it doesn’t matter anyway. If Lan Xichen is doing well in seclusion then that’s more than alright with Jiang Cheng and he doesn’t care at all if Lan Xichen got his invitation or what he thinks about it.
Maybe Jiang Cheng overstepped with his offer?
Jiang Cheng shakes his head and pushes those thoughts far away. It doesn’t matter. He sent the letter and everything else is no longer in his hands. He doesn’t care what Lan Xichen thinks about it.
At least that’s what Jiang Cheng keeps trying to tell himself most of the times, with various degrees of success.
Mostly he fails pretty spectacular at it, especially going by the numerous eyerolls he gets from his nephew.
It’s really a pain in the ass that he couldn’t keep his stupid crush on Lan Xichen a secret from Jin Ling, because he most definitely didn’t sign up to be judged by a kid.
Jiang Cheng can’t wait for Jin Ling to fall into love, just so he knows what it feels like to be judged at every corner.
~*~*~
By the time the third year mark comes and passes, Jiang Cheng manages to mostly not think of the letter anymore.
At least until a disciple announces Lan Xichen’s arrival at Lotus Pier to him.
Jiang Cheng’s heart starts to beat faster in his chest, but he tries to not let it show outwardly, before he makes himself presentable and then follows the disciple.
Lan Xichen looks bad, is Jiang Cheng’s first thought when he comes into view. He looks like he lost weight and his face is pale and pinched and Jiang Cheng wants to bundle him up and protect him from the world.
“Zewu-Jun,” Jiang Cheng greets him, opting not to go for Sect Leader, because he’s honestly not quite sure if Lan Xichen still is the acting Sect Leader.
“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Xichen softly gives back and bows to him, a letter clutched in his hand where usually his sword or flute would be.
Jiang Cheng can’t see either right now.
He wants to ask what brings Lan Xichen to Lotus Pier, without proper announcement at that, but he can guess when he recognizes the handwriting on the letter.
“Your letter said it’s an open ended invitation,” Lan Xichen says when he follows Jiang Cheng’s gaze. “I wanted to take you up on that, if you don’t mind,” he finishes weakly and Jiang Cheng frowns.
“Of course I don’t mind. I meant what I wrote there. I’m just wondering—” he trails off, because he can’t actually ask why it took Lan Xichen three years to follow his invitation. That would be rude, and Jiang Cheng is not about to spook Lan Xichen away before he even fully arrived.
“The three years—it wasn’t quite voluntary,” Lan Xichen mutters after a long pause and Jiang Cheng goes hot with anger.
Even Zidian sparks lightly on his hand.
“What do you mean, it wasn’t voluntary?” he demands to know and forces himself to soften again when Lan Xichen flinches under his gaze.
“It was—punishment, I guess,” Lan Xichen says with a small smile. “The elders decided that I had to repent for my crimes.”
“Your crimes,” Jiang Cheng presses out. “The crime of getting as thoroughly deceived as everyone else in the goddamn cultivation world?” he spits out and Lan Xichen presses his lips together. “I didn’t see your elders go into seclusion so it can’t be that.”
“It was for that, yes,” Lan Xichen tells him with a shrug. “Apparently I let myself be blinded beyond reason and I needed to reflect on my trust in people.”
“Bullshit,” Jiang Cheng immediately says and then scrubs a hand over his face. “So they put you into seclusion for three years?”
“Yes,” Lan Xichen nods. “I did a lot of thinking but—I don’t think it’s getting me anywhere, to be honest. I’m only moving in circles and I still don’t know where my fault lies,” he finally admits and Jiang Cheng lets out a short laugh.
“Of course it’s not getting you anywhere! It’s not your fucking fault and so no amount of thinking will ever make sense of that.”
Jiang Cheng is entirely unprepared for the hopeful and open look on Lan Xichen’s face as he says that, and Jiang Cheng bristles in defence.
“What?” he snaps out but Lan Xichen doesn’t seem to take offence at his tone.
“You don’t think it’s my fault?” he whispers and the sheer naked hope on Lan Xichen’s face is enough to break Jiang Cheng’s heart apart.
“Of course not! If they think it’s your fault then they should also think it’s Nie Mingjue’s fault, because he trusted him, too. And if they think that then we all have to be at fault, too, because none of us saw past his mask. Nie Huaisang is definitely at fault then as well, because he didn’t tell us what he knew.” Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath to calm himself down before he continues. “It’s just a load of bullshit. We all saw exactly what he wanted us to see and none of us were perceptive enough to notice what he was doing. It’s not your fault you decided to trust your own sworn brother. That brotherhood was supposed to build trust, not ruin it forever.”
Jiang Cheng is entirely unprepared to see tears in Lan Xichen’s eyes, and he doesn’t know what to do about that.
“Thank you,” Lan Xichen whispers, once he wiped those away, and Jiang Cheng pretends he didn’t see anything, because that seems like the safer option. “If it’s not too much of a bother I’d like to stay here for a while.”
“I already invited you in my letter, that hasn’t changed,” Jiang Cheng snaps out at him, because anger is always something he feels more comfortable with.
“And this one is very grateful for that,” Lan Xichen says with another low bow and Jiang Cheng waves over a disciple.
“Show Lan Xichen to his room. He will be joining me for dinner,” he says, though he throws a questioning look at Lan Xichen at the last part.
“Of course I will,” Lan Xichen immediately agrees and Jiang Cheng breathes a little bit easier when he sees how honestly pleased Lan Xichen seems with that.
Jiang Cheng just hopes his stay in Lotus Pier will do Lan Xichen some good.
~*~*~
Lan Xichen is flourishing at Lotus Pier and Jiang Cheng has many, many feelings about that.
Lan Xichen managed to stay idle for about two days after his arrival, before he asked to join in on training—though Jiang Cheng has still not seen Liebing anywhere since his arrival—and soon after that he took over some basic lessons for the smaller kids.
Jiang Cheng wanted to protest that, because this whole thing was so that Lan Xichen could heal, but then he didn’t say anything. He was not about to dictate what Lan Xichen needed to do to heal or come to terms with what happened, and so he gladly handed over that responsibility.
And it seemed to do Lan Xichen a lot of good, because barely two months passed before Lan Xichen could laugh like before and Jiang Cheng definitely felt a very dangerous feeling when he heard it for the first time.
But it’s been a long time since then and now hearing Lan Xichen laugh is as normal as hearing the water murmur and still Jiang Cheng is not getting used to it.
Having Lan Xichen stay in Lotus Pier is not helping his crush at all, and by now Jiang Cheng has to admit that his feelings go way beyond a simple crush. Still, he’s not going to say anything to Lan Xichen, because that would put expectations on Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng doesn’t want that.
Lotus Pier is supposed to be a refuge for Lan Xichen. Not something he wants to avoid just because Jiang Cheng is not able to keep himself in check.
“You’ve been quiet lately,” Lan Xichen remarks that night during dinner and Jiang Cheng shrugs.
They usually take at least one meal together—never breakfast though, because Jiang Cheng isn’t quitebusy enough to get up at five—and it’s become something Jiang Cheng is definitely looking forward to.
“There’s a lot to do,” Jiang Cheng evasively says, and it’s not even a complete lie.
It’s harvest season and that means Jiang Cheng is being pretty damn busy all day long.
“That’s not it,” Lan Xichen immediately says. “You would complain if it was just that,” he very correctly says and Jiang Cheng kind of fears where this is going.
He doesn’t want Lan Xichen to figure out what he’s feeling for him; he is very content to keep spending time with Lan Xichen like that, without anything else happening ever.
“Why did you sent me that letter all those years ago?” Lan Xichen asks him suddenly and that, at least, is something Jiang Cheng can answer.
“Because I thought after some time, you could use a change of pace. Seclusion might be helpful for a while, to sort out your own thoughts, but I didn’t think it would be good in the long run. I wanted you to have options.”
“That was very thoughtful of you,” Lan Xichen says and there’s a dangerous tone to his voice. “It’s just as thoughtful of you to let me teach the kids and help with paperwork and having a meal with me every day,” Lan Xichen goes on and now Jiang Cheng is convinced that he’s teasing him.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Jiang Cheng snaps out.
“Nothing,” Lan Xichen says with a shrug, but there’s a small smile playing around his mouth. “I just think that if you’re grooming be to be the wife of this household you should at least make your intentions clear,” he then says and Jiang Cheng almost chokes on his tea.
“What the hell,” he splutters out once he can take a breath again, but Lan Xichen only keeps smiling at him.
“It’s been what, a year now? I would say you have courted me very thoroughly. It’s time to make an official move now,” Lan Xichen says as if nothing at all is wrong in the world and Jiang Cheng goes bright red in the face.
“I would never have said anything,” he defends himself, because he wants Lan Xichen to know that, even though his reaction doesn’t seem to be all that bad.
“I know,” Lan Xichen says with a nod. “That’s why I am saying something.”
“Oh,” Jiang Cheng says and his heart is beating very fast when Lan Xichen smiles at him.
“So, about that official courtship,” Lan Xichen says and puts his hand on the table, clearly waiting for Jiang Cheng to take it, which he does almost immediately. “I don’t think shufu will object, so maybe write to him instead of Lan Wangji first,” Lan Xichen advises him and Jiang Cheng doesn’t even know what his heart is doing anymore.
“You would want that?” he has to ask, because he simply needs to make sure that Lan Xichen really, truly feels that way.
“I warned him about receiving a letter with that content months ago,” Lan Xichen teases him. “He was very regretful when he told me nothing of the likes had reached him yet.”
“Goddamit, Xichen, now I started off this whole thing by disappointing him,” Jiang Cheng hisses and he has to admit that he feels better when Lan Xichen laughs softly at him.
“I wouldn’t say disappointed. You’re keeping him on his toes. He’s so excited, he writes me every other week asking where your proposal is.”
“I better should get to that then,” Jiang Cheng grumbles and moves to take his hand back, but Lan Xichen won’t let him.
“If you want that. If you want me,” Lan Xichen lowly says, and suddenly Jiang Cheng is hit by the realization that he still didn’t say anything to Lan Xichen.
“I love you,” he says and it’s almost not hard at all. “Of course I want you.”
He is rewarded for that by a blinding smile and just for that, Jiang Cheng vows to say it often.
“I love you, too,” Lan Xichen says and then leans over the table to brush a quick kiss over Jiang Cheng’s lips. “But you really should write shufu first. He’s about ready to make a trip over here, just to kick your ass,” Lan Xichen tells him and Jiang Cheng groans, before he narrows his eyes at Lan Xichen.
“You know what? Let him. I’d like to ask him for the privilege of marrying you in person,” Jiang Cheng decides and watches in fascination as Lan Xichen goes red at that.
“Oh,” he whispers, clearly taken off guard by that and it only cements Jiang Cheng’s decision.
“I want to do right by you. Simply asking for that in a letter can hardly count as that.”
“You are already doing right by me,” Lan Xichen softly tells him, but it doesn’t change Jiang Cheng’s mind.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he gives back and lifts their hands to press a kiss to the back of Lan Xichen’s.
It might have taken them a long time to get here, but Jiang Cheng thinks it’s still a very perfect end for the both of them.
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amoret-the-leaf · 3 years
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Summary: Wei Wuxian is determined. After seeing his Lan Zhan yawning, yawning of all things, he makes it his mission to let his husband take a rest. Though, as with many things in life, it doesn't go according to plan. Many years had passed since the esteemed Hanguang-Jun and the Yiling Patriarch had found themselves stuck in a cave on death's doorstep, confessing deeply rooted traumas to each other. Wei Ying would give everything he had and more to never let it happen again. Never. He was going to cherish Lan Wangji like he deserved, until the day he died.
Ship: Wangxian
Word Count: 5397
Author’s Note:  This story is a result of MDZS/CQL frankencanon, and may contain differences in titles and ways of addressing due to subtitle variations. This work may not be completely accurate to Ancient Chinese and Xianxia culture. If something has been written inappropriately/offensively, please let me know!
This chapter contains:
Exhaustion, Hypothermia, Delirium
"IT'S FREEZING OUT HERE!!! HUG ME LAN ZHAN!!!"
The snow was fierce, blowing in strong gusts of wind that changed directions every few seconds. Thick snowflakes sat in everyone's hair, from the lovers leading to the group, to the juniors being nearly blown away trailing behind. Clearly (or rather, unclearly- it was very hard to see), this day was not going as Wei Ying had hoped. Had it, and they might've been dancing through the white-coated streets of Caiyi, where the sky was calm now, and the sun shone to melt some of the snow. A blizzard in Yuanwei was certainly not in his planned itinerary for the day.
They'd been sent off when Zewu-Jun arrived back in the Cloud Recesses, visibly distressed with several delayed letters of aid coming from the townspeople. A blizzard of questionable origins had been raging for about two days now, judging by the dates on the papers. A collection of them had been found just outside the borders of the place. When recalling the events of the night before to the Lan Sect Leader, the worst was feared. Had the people been... were they gone?
If so, they were dealing with something, or someone, much more dangerous than they'd hoped.
So Zewu-Jun sent out his brother, accompanied by Wei Ying, and a group of their finest junior disciples to look for survivors, or bodies of the dead. Whatever was left at this point. Though, what had yet to be explained, was why Jin Ling was trotting around and rolling his eyes at Wei Ying snuggling against up his lover.
"Roll your eyes all you want! I'm cold! What are you even doing here?!" The former Jiang disciple hissed, head half-covered by Wangi's long sleeve he'd been wrapped in. "Shouldn't you be doing Sect Leader things?! If we needed a Sect Leader, Zewu-Jun would've come with us!"
"Mind your business!" The teen snapped back, crossing his arms. "I'm studying in Gusu right now! Did you forget? We literally see each other every day!" Jin Ling... in the Cloud Recesses? That would explain why a wild Jin would be wearing white. But it wasn't exactly ringing a bell. "Why didn't you dress warmer anyways? You knew where we were going!"
"I am dressed warm! I have my warmest clothes on mind you! But it's still cold!"
"Then you're a baby."
"A-Ling... Maybe fighting with Senior Wei isn't worth it?" Sizhui intervened, giving the softest nervous smile he could. "All of us are still cold, the temperatures are below what most of us are used to. We should try to get this done as soon as possible."
So it was A-Ling now? Interesting... He and Sizhui would be having a talk when they got home. Wangji seemed to pick up on this too, sharing a look with the other before nodding.
"Well said Sizhui!" Wei Ying exclaimed, pacing around the group. "What a polite disciple! You should try to be more like him! Your uncle has corrupted your brain to be so aggressive! It's scary!" He jumped back to his lover in exaggerated fear when Jin Ling practically growled at him as a response.
"Can we get going now? Some of us would like to keep all our fingers and toes by the end of this." Jingyi complained, sarcasm being second nature to him. It was almost impressive. "It's cold, and this place is almost buried. I don't wanna be buried with it."
Normally, the Second Jade would at least point out the rude behavior. But the boy was right. People's lives could be on the line. So he took off his outermost layer of winter robes, gently placing the clothing around Wei Ying's shoulders. His husband's golden core was still weak in comparison to what it used to be, Wangji could manage in the cold if it meant swaddling the other. White was not his color, but seeing Wei Ying with embellished clouds covering his typical black and red combination reminded him of their student days back in Gusu. Back when they were carefree teenagers.
They had to move now.
So they walked. Trudging through knee-deep snow as wind whipped their faces, snow blurring their vision, and hoping they were still headed towards the right direction. Wei Ying tried to protest giving the extra layer back, but would only be met with, "You need it more." At least, it was something along those lines. Perhaps it changed, Wei Ying didn't focus on it too much. All he wanted was for his beloved to be taking a break.
They hadn't slept in. There was no time for naps or any trips out to Caiyi. No buying loquats in the marketplace or relaxing by the cold pond (too cold to go in!) or catching up over a meal with the kids. It scared him. Wangji looked exhausted; scary to think about, scarier to see.
Is this what it felt like? Being worried for your one true love? Did Lan Zhan go through this all the time? Standing there, watching, knowing he's too stubborn to ask for help or properly take a rest? They were more alike than Wei Ying would like to admit... and that was... Miraculous. Even through his worry, Wei Ying couldn't help but be enamored by the graceful beauty Wangji had. Intoxicating in the best way.
Thick, frosty flakes sat in his hair, looking so natural. So pristine, so tranquil. "Lan Zhan! How dare you look like a regal, captivating snow prince while the rest of us look like drowned rats!" The Yiling Patriarch whined. He wasn't wrong, damp, half-frozen hair clung together wildly in almost everyone's face. Yet Lan Wangji was immune, so to speak, still looking as handsome as ever. Even tired, he was radiant.
"Mn. Not true." The Second Jade replied.
Ah, an opportunity. "Oh? Is that so?" Wei Ying smirked, bringing his palms to rest cutely onto his frigid, rosy cheeks. "So there's an exception then? Someone who gets to be labelled as breathtaking as Hanguang-Jun? I envy them~"
"Sizhui."
Eh!? "LAN ZHAN!!!" Wei Ying cried, throwing his arms back down in a fuss. He could already hear the muffled snickers coming from the juniors still following behind. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAY ME!!!"
"Lying is forbidden."
"WHAT!?!? LAN WANGJI!!!"
Oh how they laughed. The lot of teens quite honestly couldn't contain it anymore. Senior Wei had just been delivered a critical blow- that was hilariously overdue. Anyone could hear the moment Jin Ling dropped to the ground with a loud thump, sinking into the fresh powder as hysterical laughter spread throughout the group. Jingyi was barely hunched over on his knees, trying his very best to stay upright in the frenzy, huffing loudly every few seconds to get more air. The ever-mannered Sizhui only meekly turned away, giggling in a sort of shame.
But Hanguang-Jun took a hand to his husband's face. "Wei Ying is too bright. Too warming. He cannot be a snow prince. Has to be the sun. "
The Yiling Patriarch smiled brightly, spitting out a "take that!" to the group. "Is it because I make you melt, Ji-xiong?" He asked, playfully sticking out his tongue.
Still laying in the snow, Jin Ling covered his eyes. "Ew. I did not want to see that. Please never do that again."
Hanguang-Jun didn't seem outwardly amused, but Wei Ying could tell he was snickering at the remark (on the inside!). That is, until the Second Master Lan stepped forward once more. "No time for this. Advance."
With that, the disciples scurried back and followed. Even his husband seemed to get the message that his teasing time was regretfully over. Maybe Lan Zhan WASN'T laughing on the inside? Actually, he seemed so tense all of a sudden. Stiff as a board. When they'd arrived, he was his usual smittenly sweet self. Now it was like he was in a cultivation conference listening to the nonsense being spit by anyone who craved a sliver of attention. But he had seen him amused by it! So what just happened?
Sizhui, covertly speeding up behind Wei Ying, tugged on his sleeve. If he hadn't been half-expecting the kid to notice, he might've flinched. But A-Yuan was attentive. The subtle frown on the teen's face, the way his eyebrows lowered, and his lip sunk just a bit- Sizhui was worried too. And maybe, just maybe, Wei Ying was close enough to now be able to decipher his kid too.
Before either of them could try to get to the bottom of this, a quiet thunk was heard. Thunking wasn't the typical crunch of the snow now was it? Heads turned to Lan Jingyi, the origin of the sound. At the disciple's feet, something was peeking out. The group gathered around the unidentified object like ducklings, before digging into the fresh powder.
"It's... It's some kind of box?" Someone announced. Three of them lifted it up, but whatever was inside was buried at this point. Tipping it over, parcels containing cloths and pendants fell out. Many of them held the same, if not similar design to the tapestry previously hung in the Jingshi, and the symbol on their map.
"Well!" Wei Ying bent down, grabbing one of the pendants and sweeping snow off its print. "At least we know we're getting close!" He perked up, "And this wasn't buried deep. Someone was carrying this recently. Maybe even a few hours ago. Could've been a merchant, could've been a shopkeeper desperate to preserve their valuables. But it was abandoned here within the last 24 hours, so there's at least one person nearby."
Wangji nodded. But he kept the grim look on his face. It was always a possibility, but no one was happy when he added, "Check for bodies."
They dug around. No bodies. That was a relief. Whoever was out here, well, hopefully this meant shelter was somewhere, and still intact. Townspeople didn't have golden cores, they wouldn't make it long in this.
So they kept going. Wei Ying kept his eyes on Lan Wangji, and through his peripheral vision, watched as Sizhui and now Jingyi seemed to fret at the sight of their beloved Hanguang-Jun. If Jin Ling had any suspicions, he was doing so from afar, trailing behind with the very end of the group.
What was especially concerning, was that Lan Zhan didn't notice them. Really, Lan Wangji wasn't noticing their not-so discreet eyes piercing into him. He just kept walking.
But a hut, a hut on the hill, would draw attention away from that. A hut on a hill with a fire nonetheless, as smoke came out of the side of the place. The teens cheered, scurrying up closer, but never going past their Second Jade, who kept his simple pace. Luckily he seemed relaxed at the sight. Thank goodness, it was unbearable to see that side of him! Oh Wei Ying was definitely having a conversation with his lover about this later.
Wangji lightly knocked on the door. The loud screech of the bitter wind nearly drowned the voices inside the cabin out. But the door swung open. A woman put a hand to her chest, sighing with relief. "The cultivators have arrived!" She cried out. "Oh you're here, we're saved! We're saved!"
She pushed the door out wider. Groups of people could be seen sitting on the floor, the younger of which appearing to be swaddled in thin, scarce blankets. There was enough people crowded in this tiny house to... To fill a village! Oh!
All of them huddled around a tiny bundle of wood lit aflame in the middle of the floor. Just barely, it seemed, as it was more of a flicker than a flame. The Juniors were already taking care of that, a fire talisman sweeping through the air to get a brighter flame on the already charred wood. "Jingyi, Jin Ling, gather some wood." Lan Wangji instructed. "Sizhui, keep feeding the flame as best as you can."
The three nodded, immediately doing as they were told. Sizhui shielded the fire when the other two had opened the door. Still, the fire wavered, hanging on by what could best be compared to a loose thread. "Miss, what happened?" Wangji asked, in as few, few words as possible. At least that was normal.
"Hanguang-Jun," She started, slowly. "Hanguang-Jun, a few days ago, one of our youngest here, A-Bao, had wandered off. When he came back into town, he said he'd met a little girl." The woman's breath hitched, eyes welling up with tears. "H-He said this girl was friendly, and she wanted to play with him. A-Bao talked to her and... and he mentioned he liked snow. So the little girl promised she'd make it snow for him the next day."
It sounded like a fairytale, almost. "We thought... we thought it was a joke. But the snow came the next day. At the time, it was a coincidence to us. It's winter, we don't usually get a lot of it but it's not uncommon. But the snow never stopped!" She cried out, causing a few gathered by the fire to groan, or cover their ears. "It never stopped! We tried sending requests for aid. But every time we sent someone out, they came back, halfway to death's doorstep! No one could bear the journey! The last person to go out never came back! Sang Meng, our most talented in cultivation! A-Bao is his brother... So he went to fix his mess! Oh please, please!" The woman was kneeling now, gripping her dress, tightly. "Please help us, Hanguang-Jun! The boy might've died! We can't last like this!"
A spirit, most definitely. No curse could do this, and last he'd checked, Wei Ying wasn't aware of any large scale weather changing talismans. However, it would be unlikely this spirit would attempt to freeze over the town, and send a signal while its people were still alive. If it was out to kill, no warnings would be given. Therefore, it was not the spirit to have burnt the tapestry last night. Wei Ying's eyes glimmered with a realization. "Has Sang Meng ever created any original talismans?"
The woman nodded, vigorously. "He's been working on an altered fire talisman last I'd heard. Why?"
"He's alive, or, was. Last night. He could still be out there."
Everyone gasped. Some pulled each other close, some remaining more distant. The juniors were surprised, especially. But hope, hope was in the eyes of the townspeople. It was an all too familiar feeling. Wangji nodded, catching onto what his husband had eluded to. "Incident in the Cloud Recesses." He confirmed, though giving no other details. "Sang Meng could be alive. Most likely with the spirit now. I need to go."
...I? When had there ever been an I with them? The one person Wei Ying did not want of this house, and he was volunteering. "Lan Zhan-" He tried, but honestly, it was no use. He also, in good conscience, did not want to send the kids out in this, possibly to retrieve a body. Besides, his husband was already halfway to the door. "Lan Zhan!!! I'm coming with you! Wait for Xian-gege!"
"Wei Ying will stay here."
"Wei Ying absolutely will not. Silly Lan-er-ge."
They were both impossible to sway from these kinds of things. Righteousness was as much of a curse as it was a blessing. The Second Master Lan sighed, taking his beloved's hand. "Wei Ying is cold. The juniors are cold. They will stay here and help keep warm." He insisted,
Wei Ying huffed. Were they fighting? Was this a fight? No, Wangji was looking at him with those sweet big eyes of his. Guilt trap. It was a guilt trap, do not fall for it. They weren't fighting, Lan Zhan was worried. The other hated that. "Lan Zhan is cold too, he just won't admit it. This Yiling Patriarch is coming with you, and you cannot stop him!" With that, he continued for the door.
Wei Ying was set on this. These kids were absolutely not going to fight whatever was able to plague this whole place with a blizzard. It was definitely not the best idea to bring them, now that they had an idea of what was going on. But they could still help these people, hopefully not freezing in the meantime. "Oh, and A-Yuan, you're in charge. None of you are allowed to come with us, just make yourselves useful here. We're gonna go get the bad thing now! Don'tdoanythingstupidokaybyebye!" He beamed, ignoring the near horrified face of their son, and stepping out into the snow. His soulmate was already ten paces ahead.
Lan Wangji, just what was he not telling his A-Ying?
-
The woman, who Lan Sizhui now knew as Feng Jixiao, turned to face him. "So, are they always like this?"
A-Yuan laughed, timidly. There was only one word that came to mind to answer that, his beloved Hanguang-Jun's favorite phrase in the world. "Mn." He answered, closing his eyes. The disciple couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong, and that he was missing something very important here. But what...
-
Wei Ying panted, holding himself up on his knees. "Lan... Zhan... not so fast." He mumbled, getting no response. Or rather, if he did get one, he couldn't hear. The wind had grown louder since they'd gone inside. But it was just the two of them out here now, and Wei Wuxian was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with his husband. In this case, it had to come first. Spirit, rescue, whatever they were doing, his soulmate came first- and Wei Ying did not have a good feeling about this. No, not at all. Was Lan Zhan swaying?
They'd been walking for about an hour. Honestly, they probably strayed far away from their original direction long ago. Luckily, the two had a teleportation talisman to use if they started to freeze. Over an hour now, and still no sign of a boy. No taunting whispers of a spirit either. If they couldn't find this spirit, they would have to call for additional aid from the clan and evacuate the townspeople. The only reason they hadn't, well, those without a core had a slim chance of surviving long enough to get to safety. Yuanwei would bury itself, something that Wangji understood, and absolutely would not accep- Was Lan Zhan swaying?
No, Wei Ying couldn't give in to paranoia. The winds were strong, and his vision was blurred with snowflakes that would fall from his eyelashes as he blinked. He definitely was not seeing his husband sway as he walked. He wasn't noticing the way that his soulmate clenched his hands, stretching them in and out. What was it? Had he found A-Bao's brother? Was the sight too terrible to see? Wei Ying took his eyes off Hanguang-Jun for a moment, a fraction in time, to try and organize these frenzied thoughts of his...
Thud.
If a thousand snowflakes had fallen last evening, then the Heavens should be happy with what they'd brought down. The will of no deity or divine being ever deserved to take Hanguang-Jun down with it. But he was falling. By sheer adrenaline, Wei Wuixian was moving. As fast as any rules would forbid, he was moving. Across the sea of dusty white, he was going. But today, Wei Ying couldn't move fast enough. The Second Jade hit the ground, any and all color drained from his face. Lan Wangji was on the ground... a ground that began crackling and crunching underneath him. Snow didn't crackle like that. The Earth did not crackle.
They were walking on a lake. A fucking frozen lake for who knows how long. A frozen body of water they somehow had defied fate on until now. But now his soulmate was unconscious. He looked like he had DIED. How far out were they?! The ice was buried under the snow, Wei Ying couldn't tell! He couldn't see- FUCK!
"LAN ZHAN!"
An earth-shattering scream rang out, and god did he run. Wangji dipped below the surface and he ran. Wei Ying didn't even feel as though he was running. No, he was flying, as fast as humanly possible. The ice cracked beneath his feet as he ran, but he would not falter nor slip. The Yiling Patriarch did not stop as he dove just his hands into the freezing water. Thousands of needles shot through his every nerve, barely registering the white cloth he'd gotten ahold of. But once he saw it, he didn't hesitate. Wei Ying pulled. 'Please don't just be the headband,' he thought, desperately. He pulled and pulled with all the strength he'd worked to regain. Come on... come on! Lan Zhan!
Wei Ying fell back with a limp body in his arms. The former Jiang disciple didn't have time to even check if he was still breathing. They had to- he had to keep running! This ice absolutely not going to hold much longer. The teleportation talisman wouldn't be fast enough! He'd fucking play a life and death game of hopscotch across glaciers if he had to. Lan Wangji just fainted on him. He should've stopped him from coming. He should've said something sooner! This was all his fault!
Bichen. Wangji still had Bichen with him. Wei Ying was too weak to ride a sword, he didn't bring Suibian. But goddammit he was gonna ride this sword. WITH Lan Wangji. Unconcious. There were no other options. Bichen already had let him wield them once, a long time ago, so Wei Ying was eternally grateful when he was able to unsheathe the sword again. He threw it straight out, shaking hands gathering up the Second Jade, and hopping on.
Of course, he'd nearly fallen off right then and there. Bichen had taken a sharp swerve left to keep them on. Wei Ying adjusted his footing, and they were going at breakneck speed, on a dizzying, unclear path. He was on a moving tightrope, and could only hope when they eventually got to the ground, it was real ground. Solid, snow-covered ground. The wind hurt as they flew, but any pain in his hands was completely blocked out by frostbitten numbness and sheer determination.
They weren't high. He didn't feel like breaking any bones if they DID get lucky enough to not die from this. Wei Ying could only swing helplessly back and forth, trying to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. Eventually, he'd more or less gone dry of spiritual energy and lost his momentum, and they tumbled off the sword, which came to a halt. Wei Ying wasn't sure if he closed his eyes, or they'd done that by himself. He really didn't want to watch himself die again.
There wasn't any cracking. So, one eye peeked back open. Trembling, he slammed down on the ground with his arm. Not slippery. Hard. No cracking sounds. No breaking. Lan Wangji was in his arms. Panicked relief swept over him as though he'd never experienced before. He could cry, hell, he was already close. But it was too cold. Icicles hanging off his face wouldn't help. "Lan Zhan." He whispered pushing his body over to his husband, turning the Lan on his back. His voice was raspy, and god was he tired. "Lan Zhan." He shook. "A-Zhan. Wake up."
He didn't. Wei Ying hunched over him, breathing hard. He took his finger's to the other's wrist, hesitantly. He really, really couldn't feel, though. The Yiling Patriarch's hands were ghostly white. Was Lan Zhan breathing? He thinks so? Fuck it, he'd do it anyway. Wei Ying used his entire body to press into the other's chest. Deep, strong rounds of pushing, with the scarce bits of spiritual energy he had left being infused into his husband.
Before he could do any mouth to mouth (much to his dismay), a pained groan escaped the Second Jade's throat. Wei Ying quickly moved back, gasping. "Lan Zhan?" He asked, lacing his fingers into his soulmate's hand. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to smack him too, but mostly kiss him. Instead, Wangji just turned over, harshly coughing. A small trail of water he'd breathed in fell onto the ground.
Glazed-over eyes stared back at him. The typical strong, striking gaze of the Lan's golden eyes looked more like they were dripping in honey. Wangji blinked, looking confused. "Wei Ying?" He asked, quietly. Wei Ying only nodded, bringing his unfeeling hand to Lan Zhan's face. Wangji looked as though he wanted to say more, but was simply too out of it. It didn't take much thinking to know that he was ice cold, colder than he was, even if Wei Ying couldn't feel it. They had to find shelter.
There was a tree nearby. Wei Ying trudged over with his own tired and bitterly freezing body and snapped off a thick, long branch. Leaning most of his weight onto his new walking stick, he swung Wangji's arm over his shoulders. "Lan Zhan, I'm going to carry you on my back, okay?" He spoke. Switching which hand he held his stick, he got the Second Jade's other arm around his neck. "Hang on for me, please."
Wei Ying had never said a genuine please in his life.
Wangji gave him no answer. Luckily, he seemed to comply, trying to hold his feet up, just a few centimeters off the ground, so they didn't drag. It was enough. Ideally, Wei Ying would be able to hold his legs, or just cradle the other bridal style in his arms once again. But this was not ideal, and he was exhausted. Wei Ying wasn't sure he'd stay upright without leaning against the stick. That, and he refused to stand on the ice again. If they were getting close, the stick would be the one being plunged into the frozen lake. Never would anyone think the Yiling Patriarch would be hunched over, stabbing the Earth with a walking stick with a frozen Hanguang-Jun on his back all those years ago. Yet here they were.
There was nothing to see but white. If only Wei Ying had more spiritual energy. The teleportation talisman they'd brought was just about useless now. Neither of them would have enough to use it- Lan Zhan's was far too important in keeping him alive. No signals would work in the blizzard either. Perhaps it wasn't the smartest decision for them to come alone. Then again, if all those kids had fallen into the ice... Wei Wuxian would never forgive himself. He'd never forgive himself for this.
...Wangji had closed his eyes again, head buried into Wei Ying's back as they walked. Was it a relief? Or was he- no, Wei Ying couldn't think about that. He was fine, for now. He WOULD be fine. When this was all over, fuck it, they were going on a break. A year-long break far away from any of this. No night hunting, no cultivation world. The Sects would just have to learn how to live without him and Lan Zhan solving all their problems. The world owed them it's kindness.
Heh, if he wasn't so blind, maybe things would be different. Maybe he could've married Lan Zhan all those years ago. Maybe the Burial Mounds could be the Yiling Wei Sect by now. Maybe Wen Qing and Granny Wen and Uncle Four would be sitting around a table as they feast. Or maybe they'd all be in the Cloud Recesses. Wen Ning would be perfect for this job, considering he's dead. He wanted to call him, in a desperate attempt, but Wei Ying knew he was in Lanling right now.
Maybe if he'd gotten Jiang Cheng out of that damn Wen prison earlier... They'd both have their cores. Maybe he wouldn't have walked his single-plank bridge. He could be sitting in Lotus Pier right now, and Shijie...
A cave. A cave?
He was hallucinating. That definitely wasn't the entrance to a cave. Oh, but it was too good to pass up. For Lan Zhan's sake, he'd have to hope it was real. Slowly sweeping through the mountains of white wet shit, Wei Ying put a hand to the outside rock wall of the hallucinated cave. Solid. Solid? It was real.
The inside was dark, damp, and depressing. Not the first cave they'd be stuck in, unfortunately. This one at least looked a little different, ice hanging from the ceiling in certain spots. But the cave- it was also deep. Deep enough to hide away from the whirring wind outside, and finally sit down with the Second Jade. He didn't waste a moment to pat his hand on the other's cheek, even if his own bones screamed at him. "Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, you can't sleep anymore." Wei Ying spoke, soft, and hurriedly. "Lan Zhan. Open your eyes."
Those golden, honey glow eyes fluttered once more. "Wei Ying." Lan Wangji repeated, as if picking up where he'd left off before. Just by the way his head rested off the cave wall, Wei Ying could tell he was dizzy. "What-"
"I'd like to ask you the same question, Mister 'I'm fine I don't need a break' and 'let's faint on my husband'." The other bit, not exactly meaning to be harsh about it. Still, it probably came off that way. "You. You fainted. What the hell have you been doing? Why won't you talk to me?" Stop. He wasn't angry. Why was he saying these things?
'I'm sorry.' Wei Ying thought, his breath hitching. 'I'm so sorry for not doing something sooner. I let you fall.'
"I..." Wangji really, REALLY looked tired. But Wei Ying couldn't let him sleep. No, not until he warmed up, even just a little. Otherwise, he might never wake up again. "I can't tell... Wei Ying. I can't tell him." The Second Master suddenly shot upright, grasping at Wei Ying's clothes. "You won't tell him, will you? Please don't tell him."
Oh, that wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. Deliria? "...I won't tell him." Wei Ying answered back, sadly. He shuffled on the floor. That walking stick was about to come in hand. "I won't tell him anything... but we need to get you warmed up." Snapping the stick into three... four smaller sticks, he sprinkled them on a dry spot. Luckily, there was another tree right outside the cave entrance. So Wei Ying had taken Bichen once again, the sword being much heavier this time and chopped up bundles of logs. He came back to the same, mumbling Lan Zhan seated in the exact same place.
He had a fire talisman. Not that he couldn't start one on his own, but this was way easier. Plus, he didn't need spiritual energy for this one. A bit of his tinkering had come to the rescue. Fire talismans were one of the easiest to alter, he'd found. But if that kid had sent a strategic fire all the way to the Cloud Recesses, well, he was a bit of a genius. His rescue would have to wait, though.
The fire caught, blazingly. Sticking his hands over it made them feel as though they were melting back to some degree of normal. "Lan Zhan, I'm gonna move you closer to the fire, okay?"
He didn't get a verbal response. But he did get a pout, and puffed out cheeks. That couldn't help but make him laugh. "Ah Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan," He spoke, carrying his lover and plopping him on the ground, for him to then lean against Wei Ying's body. "Is Lan Zhan five? No, that can't be it. How about three?" He teased, trying to lighten the mood.
What didn't Wangji want to tell him? He couldn't be sure. All he could do was gather them up and throw them into the fire. Dissipate, burn and disintegrate and fly away. Make like a bird and fly away.
Hanguang-Jun was down. They had no idea where the spirit was. The Juniors and all the townspeople were waiting for them. Sang Meng's survival was looking less and less likely by the minute.
Lan Zhan was down.
"Shijie," He looks up, frowning, "Xianxian doesn't know what to do now."   
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otterplusharchive · 4 years
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ep 50 thoughts last episode i cant believe it... part one bc my thoughts got long
- jgy starting to reveal that nhs is the one who planned everything was a very good interaction while nhs is still acting like he doesnt know whats going on
- i hate jgy so much im going to write a whole other post abt this but the stuff he says about never wanting to hurt lxc despite the bad things hes done is like. classic abusive manipulative talk that ive been told in the past as an abuse survivor so if anyone tries to use those lines as like ~romantic shipping~ shit ill go wild
- also saying fucking "die with me" to lxc?? fuck off oh my god but it is strange that he says that and then pushes lxc away as the temple is collapsing
- "who is ever able to completely understand another person" is such a good line coming from nhs with the subtext of him as a character saying that
- lxc: ok tell me did you really see him go to attack me from behind
nhs: yes. well. maybe. now that you mention it. yes. actually. idk.
- lwj and lxcs uncle yelling RUNNING IS PROHIBITED as the juniors rush to wwx is so fucking funny
- jiang cheng looking at his brother just so sadly and full of so much emotion and then walking slowly out of the temple to follow jin ling while wwx watches without the two of them saying anything. im so sad about these siblings but i genuinely think that this ending could be a starting point to them healing and forgiving each other and working to have a better relationship like the potential is there you can see that jiang cheng is less outwardly hateful
- the scene where nhs picks up jgys bloodied hat and we get a small scene of baby jgy and his mother and then cutting back to nhs is very good for a lot of different reasons but i think the part i noticed the most is when nhs is walking down the stairs he looks.. very tired and sad. as if hes finally letting down his act of not knowing anything for a moment and going 'ok. its over. its finally over. ive avenged by brother and cleared my friends name'
- JIN LING COMING BACK AND ASKING WHERE WWX IS AWAWAWA also him saying jiang cheng was annoying for not wanting to chase after wwx was very funny call him the fuck out little dude
- the flashback showing jiang cheng thinking of when he distracted the wen gaurds away from wwx and then showing him with tears in his eyes looking at where wwx saying "take care" after jin ling had said hey i know u wanted to say something to wwx. further proof that these two could make up and could try to have a better relationship again jiang cheng just needs some time to maybe process his emotions some more and also suck up his pride. wwx also needs some time to process his traumas and emotions as well but these two brothers still care about each other so much despite everything thats happened and im convinced that they can and will make up with time.
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trishmilburn · 5 years
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An Exploration of The Untamed’s Romance and Mystery, Episode 1
Disclaimer: This post and the ones that will follow will be filled with loads of spoilers if you haven’t seen The Untamed, the Chinese drama based on Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s novel, Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation).
It’s been almost a month since The Untamed aired its final episode, and I’m still totally obsessed with it. That’s both as a pure fan and as a writer of romance. I’ve been published in romance for eleven years now, and I’m always fascinated by how romance storylines are constructed in various forms – books, movies and TV. To me, The Untamed has a beautiful romance even though, due to the Chinese government’s censorship of homosexual (or BL, i.e. boys love) content, it was presented as a bromance. But you can tell that the writers, directors and lead actors of The Untamed were very well aware of the enormous fan base of the original novel and the donghua (Chinese animation) and did their best to live up to the spirit of the love story even though they couldn’t present it in an explicit or obvious way. But here’s the thing, the constraints did nothing to lessen the beauty of the romance; in fact, in some ways it made it even more impactful and emotional.
So beginning with this post and continuing with more in the future as I complete a re-watch of all 50 episodes, I’m going to explore the development of the romance and what made it so lovely to watch unfold. To a lesser degree, I’ll also be commenting on the development of the mystery and the machinations of the forces working against or using for their own personal advantage our two leads, Wei Ying (aka Wei Wuxian or the Yiling Patriarch) and Lan Zhan (aka Lang Wangji or Hanguang-Jun).
Of note, I’ll be commenting with the knowledge of what’s going to happen throughout the series and having read the novel.
So here we go with Episode 1:
We are thrown right into the middle of the action of a battle scene that happens a good way into the story as we’ll see it presented but that happened in the past. The first thing we hear spoken is some unknown person saying, “Wei Wuxian is dead. This calls for a celebration!” And then we see the raging battle, Wei Ying (Wei Wuxian is his courtesy name) is looking broken and horrified as people battle for a piece of powerful metal known as the Yin Tiger Seal, which Wei Ying created. Then the action is frozen as tears fall from Wei Ying’s eyes and he starts walking backward toward the edge of a cliff. We’ll see in the episodes ahead just why he is so broken at this point, but suffice it to say that almost everyone wants him dead and he’s lost so much that his tears are more than understandable.
But as he begins to fall, we see that there is still one person who very much wants him to stay alive – Lan Zhan, the man who loves him but who has never said those words. The first we see of Lan Zhan is him extending his arm bloody from battle and flying toward the edge of the cliff, grasping Wei Ying’s wrist at the last possible moment. His arm shakes as blood drips off of it, but he’s determined to hold all of Wei Ying’s weight with that one injured arm to keep him from falling to his death. You see the desperation in his eyes, and when Wei Ying looks up at him, you see how surprised and touched he is that this one person still cares whether he lives or dies. The first words we hear Wei Ying say are Lan Zhan’s name, right before he tells Lan Zhan to let him go. Lan Zhan, of course, doesn’t, but then Jiang Cheng, who is basically Wei Ying’s adoptive brother, approaches with the intent of making sure Wei Ying does, indeed, die. As he stabs down at Wei Ying with his sword, he misses but very nearly stabs Lan Zhan in the arm that is already injured. Seeing this, Wei Ying’s eyes go wide. He doesn’t want this person who is dear to him to suffer more injury, especially something that might prevent him from playing the zither or using his sword, the two items that help make him one of the most powerful immortal cultivators among all the cultivation sects. And so Wei Ying wrests his wrist out of Lan Zhan’s grasp and falls to his death, much to Lan Zhan’s horror. As a smug Jiang Cheng walks away, all Lan Zhan can do is stare downward, heartbroken, shocked and in utter despair.
In the next scene, we jump back to the “present” timeline, 16 years later. A storyteller is telling stories to the Lan Clan’s disciples, including Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi, about the infamous Yiling Patriarch, which is the name Wei Ying was known by after he startd down the demonic cultivation path. Though he’s been dead for 16 years, this storyteller is planting the seed that he might not be or that he might come back. On first watching, I was confused here, especially when the storyteller looks over his shoulder toward someone who is sitting behind a thin curtain and holding a fan. Now I know that this person is Nie Huisang, who while outwardly putting on a cowardly but loveable face and seeming to know nothing throughout the story, is actually a master manipulator of events, moving people like chess pieces to gain the end result he desires to get revenge for the death of his brother.
It suddenly starts getting darker outside, a person on the street says, “The soul has returned,” and the wind kicks up. A flag flies through the air and lands against a door at Mo Manor, where Wei Ying has returned to the land of the living because of a spell cast by Mo Xuanyu so that the powerful Yiling Patriarch can carry out revenge against all the people who have harmed Mo Xuanyu, who has been branded a lunatic by his family and others because he’s gay. As all of this is being explained, we see a flashback to the moment when Wei Ying was falling off the cliff. It took some discussions with other fans and this re-watch to figure out what was going on here, especially since this is where there’s a significant difference with the book. In the book, Wei Ying comes back in the body of Mo Xuanyu, so he looks like a different person and thus is unrecognizable as Wei Ying by just looking at him. Understandably, the makers of the drama didn’t want to have two actors playing the part of Wei Ying, and so we’re led to believe that the spell Mo Xuanyu cast allowed him to actually swap bodies with Wei Ying just before the moment of Wei Ying’s death. There’s a time travel-y aspect to this spell, and thus this is the reason Wei Ying’s body was never found in the drama. It’s a little mind twisty; just go with it because we get to have the handsome owner of gorgeous smiles Xiao Zhan play Wei Ying in both of his lives.
But wait, you might be thinking, how does that work? How would his family not recognize him? Well, Mo Xuanyu is actually the illegitimate child of the Jin Clan’s leader, and thus he went to the Jins’ Golden Unicorn Tower when he was 13. He was an adult when he got kicked out and returned to Mo Manor. His family has never seen his adult face as he always wears a mask or heavy powder to cover it. This mask will also allow Wei Ying to hide from those who would recognize him and assume he’d done something nefarious to come back to life.
Mo Xuanyu’s voice in Wei Ying’s head tells him what’s up, and Wei Ying notices a series of deep cuts on his arm that are a product of the spell. These wounds will never heal if Wei Ying doesn’t carry out the required revenge.
After an encounter with Mo Xuanyu’s ass of a cousin, Wei Ying steps out of the room that is covered in blood and paper talismans that were used in the spell to bring Wei Ying back. He eventually encounters the young Lan disciples. He marvels at this coincidence and wonders, “Is he here, too?” He being Lan Zhan. When Wei Ying wanders into the room where the Mo family is meeting with the disciples, who are there to get rid of some evil spirits, he’s once again attacked by his cousin. Lan Sizhui helps protect Wei Ying, likely acting on an unknown but instinctual connection since, though he’s forgotten, Wei Ying was an important person to him when he was young.
When Wei Ying sees the disciples using spirit attraction flags, he thinks about how everyone wanted him dead but they still use something that he created. When talking to the Lans, he notices the cloud pattern on Sizhui’s clothing and remembers the first time he saw Lan Zhan, back when they were both teens studying at the Lans’ home in Gusu, the Cloud Recesses.
That night, as the Lan disciples are in position to capture the evil spirits, Sizhui hears Wei Ying playing a tune on what looks like a blade of grass and tells Jingyi the song sounds familiar, like a melody from Gusu. He likely has heard Lan Zhan play the song as he’s mourned the loss of Wei Ying and desperately tried every day of those 16 years to reconnect with some piece of Wei Ying’s soul. It’s obvious Wei Ying is still thinking about Lan Zhan as he plays the song, and when he stops he says Lan Zhan’s name with a look of longing on his face. He is probably thinking about how Lan Zhan’s was the last face he saw before dying, about how Lan Zhan was trying so desperately to save him despite everything that had happened and how the rest of the world viewed him.
It’s important to note that at this point, Wei Ying is likely not in love with Lan Zhan, at least not knowingly. He can be a bit oblivious not only to the feelings of others, particularly Lan Zhan, but also his own. But there is no doubt he harbors a deep affection for the person he considers his dearest friend in the world.
His thoughts of the past are interrupted when Master Mo and his servants drag Wei Ying back to the main room, where Cousin Mo has been possessed and Madam Mo is convinced it’s Wei Ying’s doing. At this point you understand why Mo Xuanyu wanted revenge on his family. They’re awful. Wei Ying and the Lans work together as one member after another of the Mo family gets possessed by a spirit that is, strangely, residing in their left arms. The young Lans decide they need to call Lan Zhan for backup since they’re out of their depth, and of course Wei Ying is against this. After all, he can’t yet run the risk of being recognized, especially by the person who knows him best. While everyone else is dealing with possessed Madam Mo, Wei Ying sees an opportunity to exact some of the revenge he’s been tasked with and smears the circle keeping Master and Cousin Mo contained and tells them to “get to work.” Thus begins a fight between the three Mo family members.
Next we see Lan Zhan at some other location, his zither behind him and holding his sword, Bichen. He sees the signal flare the disciples sent up and off he goes to help. When he arrives and uses his powerful zither to send out a wave of white light to bring the Mo family under control, Wei Ying realizes who made that happen and slips away to hide. When he sees Lan Zhan descend into Mo Manor (like the gorgeous angel he is -- oops, sorry, got carried away with my love for Lan Zhan there), the smile on his face shows how much happiness Lan Zhan has brought him in the past, particularly when he was teasing Lan Zhan.
Sizhui asks Lan Zhan what kind of evil spirit they’re dealing with, but Lan Zhan replies that it’s rather a spiritual consciousness of a spiritual weapon. After he examines a sword, he realizes it has traces of the Yin Tiger Seal, to which Jingyi replies that the Yiling Patriarch must still be alive. Remember, that idea was planted by the storyteller at the command of Nie Huisang, who studied alongside Wei Ying and Lan Zhan at the Cloud Recesses.
Movement at the edge of the manor is Wei Ying making his escape, and Lan Zhan follows but doesn’t catch him. But when Lan Zhan is alone, he looks down the street and wonders, “Wei Ying, was it really you?” You can tell there is hope mixed with dread of what method Wei Ying may have used to come back.
The next scene reveals the storyteller being paid a gold nugget by Nie Huisang, though we still don’t see Huisang’s face, all for three days of stories about the Yiling Patriarch. Unknown to the storyteller, Wei Ying passes behind him with a donkey. Again the nameless man in the street says, “The soul has returned.” And Wei Ying sees that there is only one cut left on his arm. He wonders who it represents. That question and the mystery of the left arm-possessing spirit are what will bring Lan Zhan and Wei Ying back together and lead them on a series of adventures, during which their feelings for each other will grow.
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ridiasfangirlings · 4 years
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Not exactly K related, but you did already K characters in a Mdzs setting, so what about Mdzs characters in a K setting?
I kept having different thoughts for this one, like should we go for trying to fit the MDZS plot into the K setting or stick the MDZS characters into K's plot XD Maybe mix the two a little and play with the timeline because characters in the K universe don't have the kind of lifespan the MDZS characters do. I'm thinking most of the sects would then instead be clans with different characters as their Kings. Like imagine Wen Ruohan is the Gold King and he's trying to use his power to help his clan take over all of the others, so that he can become the only King and the Gold clan can have authority over all of Japan (….or wait would it be China in this case). The rest of the clans band together to try and stop him but he kills Blue King Qingheng-Jun and manages to scatter his clan, including the King's sons/clansmen Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji. The other sects also come under attack, I'm thinking Qinghe Nie would have to be the Red clan in this scenario since their sect is known for being more violent. Lanling Jin can be the Green clan, who aren't quite hiding from the world in this scenario but rather holding back on whether to fight the Golds because they aren't certain if it's worth it to stand up against them. Yunmeng Jiang gets to be the Gray clan, their King Jiang Fengmian is also killed by Wen Ruohan (who by now has a very unstable Sword of Damocles and is trying to have rogue Strain Xue Yang figure out a way to manipulate the Dresden Slate to help fix this). Jiang Cheng has his powers stolen by one of the Gold clansmen and Wei WuXian secretly gives up his own powers in order to help him. However afterward Wei WuXian is captured by Gold clansmen, at which point he ends up awakening as Silver King.
So then we have Silver King Wei WuXian helping everyone defeat the Golds and say no one quite knows what his powers are other than that he's known as an 'immortal' King and he seems to have power over the dead. After the Gold King's death it seems like everything should become calm but there's still a bunch of infighting between clans, maybe Jiang Cheng gets to awaken as the new Grey King while Lan Xichen becomes the Blue King (and then eventually Jin Guangyao becomes Green King, everyone is very impressed and they all expected it after he did so well pretending to become a Gold clansman in order to kill the Gold King). People are wary of Wei WuXian however as a King with no clansmen, who takes over a throne that no one has sat on before.
Wei WuXian ends up making clansmen of a few of Wen Ruohan's previous clansmen – Wen Ning, his sister and the others under their care – and now everyone is extra suspicious of him, believing that Wei WuXian intends to become a rogue King (oh oh and at one point Lan Wangji stops by he place Wei WuXian has set up as his 'sanctum,' Wei WuXian teases him about becoming a Silver clansmen and he notes that Lan Wangji seems to get angry about that, of course it's absurd that a proper Blue clansmen like Lan Wangji would ever want to be so close with a person like Wei WuXian who he clearly dislikes so much). Eventually everyone turns against him, Wei WuXian begins to lose control of his powers and ends up seemingly dying after he kills himself to avoid a Damocles Down – the rumors all say that he was killed by his powers tearing him apart and that's what most people choose to believe, no one knowing that Wei WuXian couldn't let his Sword fall because he knew Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng were in range and would surely have been killed if such a thing had happened.
Fast forward a couple years, instead of a Kagutsu Crater we probably have the Nie Mingjue Crater and things seem to have outwardly settled down. However one day Wei WuXian suddenly opens his eyes and finds he's been reborn as a random teenager and he doesn't know how, assuming maybe this was like a Strain who could revive the dead. Wei WuXian is still trying to get his bearings when he's suddenly attacked by members of the Blue, Green and Grey clans who claim that he's the Colorless King who murdered Jiang Cheng's sister Jiang Yanli, showing him video of what appears to be the previous owner of his body doing the deed while proclaiming his Kingship. Wei WuXian tries to escape and instead finds himself cornered by Lan Wangji, who as the right hand of the Blue King has been ordered to find the new Colorless King and judge whether he is good or evil. Wei WuXian manages to trick him a bit in order to escape – he feels a bit bad for it really, because Lan Wangji is too strict a person and very admirable in that respect, and using that against him isn't quite fair – and maybe he ends up like running into young eager Blue clan recruits Lan SiZhui and and Lan Jingyi and helps them out chasing a dangerous Strain. Lan Wangji shows up just as Wei WuXian is helping the kids defeat the Strain (a trick which possibly involves whistling a particular tune that Lan Wangji finds strikingly familiar) and rather than arrest him Lan Wangji decides he will take Wei WuXian into custody for now and remain by his side until he can determine if this new King is good or evil.
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azure7539arts · 5 years
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In regards to chapter 88-89
Because I have seen a few posts around with opinions relating to the revelation that happens in these two chapters, specifically about Wei WuXian’s actions and Wen Ning’s handling of the situation, I’m going to chip in a bit as well.
So for anyone who has NOT caught up with the latest chapters of MDZS and does NOT want SPOILERS, please do NOT read what’s under the cut.
Warning: very long post that’s a combination of analysis and feels. Obviously, everything you’re about to read are my interpretations and personal perception of the characters, so do take it with a grain of salt.
Right off the bat, I just want to state clearly that Wei WuXian has and will never consider himself a hero. His actions have always been more about instincts than actual needs to prove himself; heroism is not the principle on which he operates himself because he has never been conscious of this during the acts themselves. If anything, what he is conscious about are his mistakes and shortcomings, which can be clearly seen via the fact that he slaps himself upon realizing that it was Jin Ling whom he just unknowingly insulted, or the fact that he cringes at the sight of his past self from before his death in Nie MingJue’s memory (and many more, but we are not here to discuss this).
With that in mind, let’s move on to why Wei WuXian never told Jiang Cheng about the golden core business.
Firstly, doing things, especially what will (in retrospect) be considered favors, without never telling anyone about it is basically how the Jiang Clan operates, and Wei WuXian, having nothing other than a couple of fuzzy memories of his birth parents, will of course be influenced by this teaching, too, seeing as he more or less grew up with it.
We can see evidences of this problematic behavior in almost every member of the main branch of this family. For example, Yu ZiYuan (who always outwardly expressed her contempt and displeasure toward Wei WuXian without restraints) was harsh on Wei WuXian, yes, but in the end, even during that seemingly brutal whipping that she gave him as ‘punishment’ for his ‘misdemeanor’ toward Wen Chao, she obviously held back to make sure he wasn’t as hurt as she would later claim him to be even though she could’ve gone all out. This doesn’t negate the fact that she had a penchant for verbal abuse, but in that moment, she decided—without telling anyone, fooling even her own son and the adopted one she was whipping—to not make Wei WuXian suffer. There are many reasons as to why she made this decision, but we won’t be mentioning that here.
As for Jiang FengMian: I will only go over this detail briefly because it only exists in the donghua, but he does keep the brooch his wife discarded, most likely unbeknownst to her, with the desire to once again give it to her when they were on better speaking terms, which never happened.
Jiang YanLi herself was no different. When her father and Wei WuXian came back from GuSu Lan Sect, bringing the news of her broken engagement, she never told anyone a word about her feelings for Jin ZiXuan, probably because she didn’t want Jiang FengMian and her brothers to feel bad about this, until a sudden altercation much, much later on revealed this truth, much to Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng’s complete bewilderment because they had never suspected this.
And finally, Jiang Cheng himself is the same. Jiang Cheng is a complicated character, partly due to complicated relationship (mainly to Wei WuXian), and partly because he is featured prominently in the series, and therefore we know more about him and have more insights into his character. Without spoiling anyone who hasn’t known/already been spoiled/read through the novel before, I won’t be saying what it is, specifically, that he has done to demonstrate the Jiang’s characteristic streak of doing good/well-meaning things for other people without telling them, but please know that he did. He does so with immense consequences, and he does so without telling anyone, particularly Wei WuXian.
Going back to Wei WuXian, with all these examples from the people who brought him up from the age of 9, the very same people whom he interacted the most with for most of his teenager years, of course their behaviors and their conducts would affect him, too. Especially when he feels indebted to them for picking him up from the streets and giving him another home. You may say that all the mentions above may be solitary events, but people do not just decide to do things in a certain way one day, people gradually develop a way of behaving by repeating the same thing over and over—this is why the whole Jiang family exhibits these traits, and not just in certain individuals. And this, probably, plays a part in shaping the way Wei WuXian acts and why he didn’t tell Jiang Cheng about giving his foster brother his golden core either. This is a family of doers, for various reasons, and they do more than they talk, and even when they do talk, they don’t really communicate (e.g., Jiang FengMian and Yu ZiYuan constant fighting instead of talking things through, or Jiang Cheng’s “tough-love” acts toward Jin Ling later on).
Wei WuXian has days to deliberate, though, but he still chose not to tell Jiang Cheng, not because he thought that Jiang Cheng was weak or that he wouldn’t be able to handle it, but most likely because he knew his brother too well, and he knew Jiang Cheng would reject this without considering the option. There are many reasons as to why Jiang Cheng would reject (one of them I won’t be saying here because of spoilers), although most of them would boil down to pride and his inferiority complex. Jiang Cheng would most probably think that Wei WuXian was trying to play hero again (which, again, as we have established, has and will never be in Wei WuXian’s intention or agenda), that Wei WuXian was pitying him, and he wouldn’t have accepted the golden core transfer.
But this, in itself, has its problems and complications, too. Let’s pan this what-if situation out for a bit here: had Wei WuXian had told Jiang Cheng about this option, he would’ve given Jiang Cheng his choice in the matter (which is important because a person’s choice is important), but because there was no way Jiang Cheng, being the person that he was and with the unstable state of mind he had been in at the time, would’ve accepted this from Wei WuXian, he would’ve rejected the option. Would this mean they wouldn’t have any regrets? No. Because Wei WuXian loved (still does) his brother, and combined with the promise he had had with Madam Yu about protecting Jiang Cheng (to death, by the way), he wouldn’t have been okay with watching Jiang Cheng suffer and wither away. 
Remember, at this point, Jiang Cheng was already clearly suicidal. In the novel, and even in the donghua, this isn’t simply lightly implied, the way he behaved and the things he said (asking about why Wei WuXian had bothered saving him instead of just letting him die off because he didn’t want to witness the Wens overrun the cultivation world, and saying that he’d die and come back to haunt the Wens) stated this without leaving any remaining shadow of doubt. As for Jiang Cheng, had he been told, would’ve rejected Wei WuXian’s plan (as we just talked about), but would he have not thought about this every single day for the rest of his remaining days (however long he would’ve managed to live without trying to do something to get himself killed, that is)? Jiang Cheng has an inferiority complex (through no fault of his own, of course), and he wouldn’t have been able to live with seeing Wei WuXian still out there and entirely capable and fighting off the Wens whilst he himself was, more or less, dead weight. The idea that he could’ve restored his golden core at the expense of someone else would’ve never let him go, exactly because of how possibly attainable and absolutely horrifying it was.
And did Wei WuXian in that moment really had a choice? This was Jiang Cheng’s actual life on the line, as well as his own, and Jiang Cheng was his brother—the one he loved, the one he played with, the one who grew up with him and protected him and shared meals with him. The one he promised to protect to the bitter end. It had always been Jiang Cheng’s dream to be the Sect Leader that his father approved of, and he would never be able to become leader and realize his full potential without a golden core. So, Wei WuXian was saddled with a choice: he had to choose between a suicidal Jiang Cheng (which, believe me, is a very hard thing to watch anyone close to you go through) who would very likely try to get himself killed doing something reckless, and a Jiang Cheng who would regain his confidence and take up the mantle of sect leader to continue on the Jiang Clan legacy and rebuild their decimated sect from the group up—like what his parents would’ve wanted, like what Jiang Cheng himself would’ve done had he still had his golden core.
You have to understand that Wei WuXian himself, in that moment, must have been scared, too, scared and desperate, for a multitude of reasons—the Wens finding them and their helplessness in the face of all that power, the operation not working out, him not being able to protect Jiang Cheng and Jiang YanLi anymore. But what must have been the height of his fear (for a teenaged boy who had lost his entire family twice) was losing Jiang Cheng—and he had been losing Jiang Cheng right in front of his eyes because Jiang Cheng—Wei WuXian’s proud and resilient and capable brother—had given up on life. (And let me tell you, it is a very frightening thing that will haunt you for a long time).
Jiang Cheng, a child growing up in the main branch of a prominent, cultivating clan, believed his self-worth to lie in the existence of his golden core—in his continued capacity to keep on being a cultivator. He didn’t know a life outside of that, still doesn’t, and he couldn’t imagine a life in which he couldn’t cultivate anymore. He was devastated. His parents, his entire sect except for his sister, died horrible deaths, and his family home was razed to the ground. Without the means to take revenge, the rage he felt would’ve been nothing but an impotent one, and this was why, the second Wei WuXian told him there was a way, the spark of life returned to his eyes. Because only with the possibility of being able to cultivate again did he actually give himself a fighting chance.
And Wei WuXian saw this because, despite all appearances, he was/is an observant individual.
Consider these passages taken from chapter 60, translated by Exiled Rebels Scanlations, bolded parts by me:
[Wei WuXian] closed the door and pulled out the needle in Jiang Cheng’s head. [Jiang Cheng] opened his eyes only after a long time had passed.
He did wake up, but he didn’t move at all. He was so uninterested that he didn’t even turn around or ask ‘where is this’. He didn’t drink any water, he didn’t eat any food. It seemed that all he sought for was death.
Wei WuXian, “Do you really want to die?”
Jiang Cheng, “I can’t seek revenge even when I’m alive. Why shouldn’t I die? Maybe I’ll be able to turn into a ferocious ghost.”
And:
Jiang Cheng, “If I can’t seek revenge no matter if I’m dead or alive, then what’s the difference between the two?”
After he said this, he wouldn’t speak again no matter what.
Wei WuXian sat by the bed. He looked at him for a while. Slapping his knees, he stood up and began to busy himself.
This, in all honesty, must have been when Wei WuXian finalized his decision. And so he set about to busy himself and try to cook Jiang Cheng a meal, probably trying to think up a believable enough story for his brother in the meantime as well. Maybe he had considered telling Jiang Cheng, maybe he hadn’t. But the second he saw this: “The sentence was only a few words long. However, it immediately lit up the lifeless eyes of Jiang Cheng,” (chapter 60) he had already made up his mind.
As for why he refuses to tell Jiang Cheng later on, it’s a combination of, once again, knowing his brother well, of absorbing the Jiang behavior (something which Jiang Cheng will exhibit later on himself), and of how, in the end, they were two prideful people themselves. Jiang Cheng would’ve been devastated and would’ve felt guilty (as he is now) had this revelation came out after all was said and done, and Wei WuXian hadn’t done this for Jiang Cheng to feel grateful either. He just hadn’t wanted his brother to go kill himself. He hadn’t wanted his brother to live in guilt, and he hadn’t wanted to have received pity from Jiang Cheng either (much like how Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have and had never wanted Wei WuXian to pity him).
We will have our own opinions on this, on Wei WuXian’s choices and whether they were right or not, but in the end, he had only wanted one thing out of this: he had wanted Jiang Cheng, his brother, to live. Actually live and thrive, instead of just dragging a withering existence.
Now, moving on to the second matter in this too long essay, Wen Ning’s handling of the revelation and why he was doing it at all.
Firstly, we need to remember three things: that Wen Ning still feels guilty toward Jiang Cheng for all the wrong things he did; that Wen Ning is very protective of Wei WuXian; and that by nature, Wen Ning is a soft, shy, polite person with a good heart (as demonstrated by him going out of his way to help Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng back when Lotus Pier had just been destroyed). So this revelation doesn’t stem from a want and/or need to humiliate Jiang Cheng, nor does it have any ill-willed intention at all other than for Jiang Cheng to please just stop going after Wei WuXian for a second.
From the moment Wen Ning woke up from his 13 years of imprisonment, all he heard was bad news. Very bad news. In all of those bad news, aside from the fact that his entire family died, was the one fact that Jiang Cheng had personally led the siege up Burial Mounds himself to eradicate evil, Wei WuXian and those fifty Wens people who had been clearly old and feeble last time Jiang Cheng had checked, and had caused Wei WuXian’s death. (This, Wei WuXian denied, saying that his demonic cultivation was what had done him in in the end, but because Wei WuXian is a liar, we don’t know if Wen Ning actually believed this or not).
Eventually, there was the second Burial Mound siege, also led by Jiang Cheng, also organized by people who wanted Wei WuXian dead. Wen Ning couldn’t have possibly been okay with this, with the way they were treating Wei WuXian, considering that just one nameless junior disciple bad-mouthing Wei WuXian alone was already enough to set him off. But, this aside, Wen Ning had had a tough time, too, what with the blood corpses of his brutally slain family coming back up from the death to help the very same people who had killed them years ago, only to crumple back to dust before his eyes.
This was a lot of stress, and Jiang Cheng has never stopped trying to make sure Wei WuXian sees the disdain, anger, and contempt Jiang Cheng has for him. And because this is Jiang Cheng, he never holds back his words, especially when he has a multitude of complicated emotions when it comes to Wei WuXian, which have been festering for nearly two decades.
(Excerpts, all are what Jiang Cheng says to Wei WuXian during what leads up to their eventual fight taken from chapter 87 and 88, translated by Exiled Rebels Scanlations, and bolded parts by me:)
“Wei WuXian, you really don’t take yourself as an outsider, do you? You come and leave whenever you want. You take with you whomever you want. Do you perhaps still remember whose sect this is? Who’s the owner?”
“If you’re leaving, please go as far as possible. Don’t let me see or hear you fooling around in Lotus Pier again.”
“You really should kneel for them properly, having dirtied their eyes and contaminated their peace.”
“Burn some incense? Wei WuXian, are you really that dense? It’s been so long since you were kicked out of our sect, and here you are taking unwelcome people with you to burn incense for my parents?”
“Look how forgetful you are. What does unwelcome people mean? Then let me remind you. It was because you played the hero and saved Second Young Master Lan, who’s standing beside you right now, that the entire Lotus Pier and my parents went down with you. And that wasn’t enough. With the first time, soon comes the second. You even had to save Wen-dogs and drag my sister down with you. What a person you are! What’s more, you’re even so generous as to take the two to Lotus Pier. The Wen-dog’s strolling in front of my sect’s gates; Second Young Master Lan came here to burn incense. You’re here on purpose to remind me, to remind them.” He continued, “Wei WuXian, who do you think you are? Who gave you the face to take whomever you want into our sect’s ancestral hall?”
“Who’s the one insulting my parents in front of their spirits?! Could you two please understand whose sect you’re in? I don’t care if you act so shamelessly outside, but don’t you dare fool around inside our ancestral hall, before my parents’ spirits! After all, they were the ones who brought you up—even I feel ashamed for you!”
“Mess around outside however you want, whether under a tree or on a boat, hugging or otherwise! Get out of my sect, get out of anywhere my eyes can see!”
And because Jiang Cheng has always had a temper, and this, again, has been festering for years, he keeps trying to chase after Wei WuXian even after the Wei WuXian in question has coughed up blood and had a nosebleed and collapsed.
Wen Ning has probably been watching the entire thing (hence why he manages to jump out and uses himself to block that very damaging whip that Jiang Cheng didn’t manage to pull back in time), and for a person who is very protective of Wei WuXian, who is hurt right then, Wen Ning, with his own emotional stress and psychological trauma, snaps.
Jiang Cheng still blames Wei WuXian for everything, and Wen Ning cannot bear that. Wei WuXian, after all, is the first person who acknowledge him and complimented him, the only person who was willing to extend a hand to help his sister and his entire family, and the one who ended up paying for that choice with his life.
Wen Ning doesn’t fight Jiang Cheng because he still feels guilty, but at the very least, he can’t just stand there and let Jiang Cheng keep chasing Wei WuXian out and away, spewing such hurtful words in the meantime as well. Wei WuXian might act carefree, but Wen Ning knows that these things bothered Wei WuXian—he was there to see Wei WuXian break apart for himself, after all.
And Wen Ning does what he has always done: he defends Wei WuXian.
Wei WuXian, Jiang Cheng, and Wen Ning, are their actions and reactions right? I don’t know. I can’t tell, not when the situation is multifaceted and very complicated, especially when you try to look at the big picture and analyze what is going on at specific points in story and what may be driving these character forward as they progress through the story.
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