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heavymetalchemist · 2 years

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MingCheng Week - Distance

Stolen Time (ao3)

It was only after morning training was complete and he’d released his disciples to cool down and meditate that Jiang Cheng made his way to his study. He had paperwork, there was always paperwork, and even though he knew his new head disciple would hound him later about eating a proper lunch he really just wanted to make a dent in it first.

There were trade agreements to review, details on farms and businesses that were still being fully rebuilt after the war, requests for night hunts… all of it very important.

He hurried a little faster, although of course as sect leader he would never break into a run, not without a real emergency. Perhaps there would be an urgent night hunt request that would require immediate attention. It was best to check right away. No point in dawdling.

When he opened the door to the study, though, the perpetual scowl melted off his face. There it was! On top of his pile of correspondence, a letter with the Nie insignia!

He slid the door shut behind him and hurried over to his desk. He picked up the letter with trembling hands and stroked a finger over the wax seal once, gently, allowing himself to imagine Nie Mingjue pressing his sign into it. He broke the seal and eagerly unfolded the letter.

There was Nie Mingjue’s firm, bold hand. The stroke of each character was as straightforward as the man himself, no extra flair and no indecisiveness. It wasn’t exactly what one would call elegant, but Jiang Cheng thought it had its own charm. Nie Mingjue never had any wasted movements.

His words were as straightforward as he was. With other correspondence, Jiang Cheng had to weigh every word, to think about subtle meanings that could be hiding behind someone’s choice of phrasing. Especially with any letters from the Jin sect. But Nie Mingjue was never subtle, at least not with Jiang Cheng. When he described how his newer recruits were doing picking up the saber, Jiang Cheng knew it wasn’t any sort of comment on the motley collection of rogue cultivators he was trying to teach the Jiang forms to. In fact, Nie Mingjue had been open in his commiseration on the struggle to adapt pre-existing cultivation methods into something that fit into the sect.

Jiang Cheng felt himself smiling as he read. The Nie forms were quite different from the Jiang forms — using a saber rather than a sword made that rather obvious — but even so he could relate. Although the Jiang sect, having been nearly completely destroyed, was almost entirely rebuilt from rogue cultivators, none of the sects had been able to avoid taking more… nontraditional recruits. Except, perhaps, the Jin sect.

Privately, Jiang Cheng hoped that the chaotic collection of formerly wandering cultivators all coming together under the Jiang sect banner would please his distant ancestor, Jiang Chi. He knew it wouldn’t have pleased his mother, and he was pretty sure nothing he did would please his father. Wei Wuxian certainly hadn’t shown any interest in helping to train the new recruits, and Wei Wuxian was the one who was supposed to understand the sect motto the most. But after all, Jiang Chi had ceased his wandering to found a sect, hadn’t he?

He shook his head and refocused on Nie Mingjue’s letter. At least the Jiang forms were already fluid and flexible. As long as his disciples had a solid cultivation base, it was all right if some of their moves weren’t quite entirely pure Jiang. After all, what mattered was successful night hunts. The Nie sect saber forms, it seemed, were less forgiving.

Of course Nie Mingjue would hardly divulge sect secrets, but Jiang Cheng knew that the connection between a Nie cultivator and their saber wasn’t the same as the connection most cultivators had with their swords. The way Nie Mingjue talked about Baxia made Jiang Cheng think more of how he felt about Zidian — a first class spiritual weapon that, sometimes, he suspected had a bit of a mind of its own. It wasn’t easy to form a connection with a spiritual weapon of that caliber. He’d had Zidian for years and still felt like they were getting to know each other.

The letter continued with some news from Qinghe. Nie Huaisang’s fan collection continued to grow, although Nie Mingjue seemed more upset by that than he usually did. Jiang Cheng felt a little niggle of concern as Nie Mingjue told him, exasperated, how Nie Huaisang was more interested in toys than cultivation.

Frowning, Jiang Cheng looked over the letter more closely. Was it his imagination, or was Nie Mingjue’s writing becoming less steady as he wrote?

The end of the letter looked more like the beginning. Perhaps Nie Mingjue was just tired, and he’d taken a rest before finishing.

And the end of the letter was the best part. Nie Mingjue was not naturally inclined to the arts and had little appreciation for beautiful things. He had spent too much of his youth growing up too quickly to step into the role of sect leader and developing his cultivation with the single-minded focus necessary to defeat Wen Ruohan. After Lotus Pier had burned Jiang Cheng had been much the same, but he at least had had a summer in Gusu at Lan Qiren’s lectures studying gentlemanly arts. But despite all that, Nie Mingjue had a bit of rough poetry in his soul, and Jiang Cheng was someone he trusted enough to show it to.

The setting sun gleams on Baxia’s edge, but there is no one to challenge me. I sip wine after training, but the jar is too large for one man. Without your company, how can I sit and watch the moon?

Jiang Cheng shook his head, cheeks pink. “Terrible,” he muttered, but he was pleased nonetheless.

There was a knock at the door and he hastily folded the letter. “Yes?”

His head disciple poked her head into the room. “Zongzhu. You have to eat, the paperwork can wait!”

“Right, right,” he muttered, getting to his feet. Her cultivation wasn’t the highest, but she could out-stubborn even him. “I’m coming.”

He’d write Nie Mingjue back later.

It had been months since he’d last seen Nie Mingjue. Months of writing letters back and forth as they both dealt with sect business.

But this latest letter… something was wrong.

It was like that same discordant note he’d felt in Nie Mingjue’s qi that night at Carp Tower. Something under the surface, something that came out in the way Nie Mingjue’s handwriting wasn’t quite consistent enough, the way the strokes got a little jerkier and angrier whenever he mentioned his sworn brothers or Nie Huaisang.

And that was the strangest part, really. Jiang Cheng knew that Nie Mingjue pushed his brother a lot. Nie Huaisang was his heir, after all. And Nie Huaisang had loved to complain about Nie Mingjue when they were at the Cloud Recesses together.

But Jiang Cheng thought he could tell the difference between exasperated complaints and actual anger. He’d felt enough of it himself, after all. And Nie Mingjue… he’d never really been angry with Nie Huaisang. He was strict, yes, but he also had never stopped Nie Huaisang from indulging in his hobbies, either.

He opened the box he kept all of Nie Mingjue’s letters in and spread them out over his desk. Sure enough, over time they did get angrier, the handwriting more jerky. It was subtle, but with all of them laid out next to each other Jiang Cheng could see the pattern.

He realized he was breathing very quickly and shallowly and forced himself to take a long, slow breath. Surely it wasn’t like what had happened to Wei Wuxian. Surely not. Nie Mingjue had mentioned that his sworn brothers were playing music to calm his qi.

Filled with sudden determination, he shuffled all of the letters back into the box, folding them all carefully. The Lan sect’s musical cultivation was legendary, but Jiang Cheng knew something wasn’t right. He wasn’t going to blindly trust in others’ skills, not ever again. He’d go to Qinghe to see for himself.

Jiang Cheng knew that arriving unannounced was impolite. He had spent the energy to fly the whole way, rather than travel by horse, and he felt windswept and exhausted. But he was sure that he couldn’t waste any time, and as he’d traveled that certainty had only grown.

“Jiang-zongzhu!” the guard at the gate exclaimed. The doors to the Unclean Realm were open and Jiang Cheng could see through to the training yard. It was just about noon and morning training appeared to be coming to an end, disciples were walking back and forth rather than swinging their sabers. “We didn’t expect you! Please wait, I’ll go and fetch—“

“Huaisang!” a thunderous voice roared, and Jiang Cheng’s heart dropped. Ignoring the spluttering guard he dashed forward, Zidian already crackling to life on his finger.

“Who cares if I can’t learn saber!” Nie Huaisang was yelling at an enraged Nie Mingjue. “Let someone else be heir!”

Oh no, Jiang Cheng thought.

There was a pile of painted fans on the ground. Nie Mingjue raised Baxia to strike.

Unthinking, Jiang Cheng lashed out with Zidian to catch Nie Mingjue’s wrist. To his shock, it actually worked, purple electricity encircling Nie Mingjue’s arm and pulling him away. Jiang Cheng didn’t know if it was the element of surprise or getting better with Zidian after more practice, but he was certain he couldn’t have actually caught Nie Mingjue like that during the Sunshot Campaign. He quickly sent qi through his clarity bell, hoping that it would have an effect.

Nie Mingjue snarled as he was pulled to face Jiang Cheng, face contorted with rage, and for an instant Jiang Cheng felt fear. Then Nie Mingjue blinked, his expression smoothed out into one of confusion, and he stopped fighting against Zidian. “Jiang Cheng?”

“Jiang Cheng?” Nie Huaisang echoed, face still wet with tears but even more shocked than Nie Mingjue. “Jiang-xiong, what are you doing here?”

Feeling certain that Nie Mingjue wasn’t about to raise Baxia again, Jiang Cheng recalled Zidian. “I came to see Nie-zongzhu,” he said. “Something in his last letter concerned me. It seemed urgent.”

Wide-eyed, Nie Mingjue sheathed Baxia and walked over. To Jiang Cheng’s surprise, right there on the training field, in front of all his disciples and his younger brother, Nie Mingjue brought up his hands to gently cup Jiang Cheng’s face.

He could feel the unease in Nie Mingjue’s qi immediately, the same discordant note as before but even stronger, and he scowled.

Nie Mingjue chuckled. “Ah, are you here to scold me?”

“Yes,” Jiang Cheng snapped. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Nie Huaisang quickly gathering up his fans. “Privately. Come on.”

Nie Mingjue leaned down to press his forehead against Jiang Cheng’s. He heaved a great sigh, but allowed Jiang Cheng to pull him towards his quarters. The disciples stared at them as they passed, and Jiang Cheng forced himself to look straight ahead, shoulders back, moving with confidence.

Their relationship wasn’t supposed to be public, but it couldn’t be helped. Jiang Cheng knew he had just barely stopped Nie Mingjue from doing something he’d truly regret. How had it come to this? Nie Mingjue had threatened to burn Nie Huaisang’s things before, but it had always been in the same way that Jiang Cheng had assured people he’d break their legs! Hadn’t it?

As soon as they were in Nie Mingjue’s rooms he sat Nie Mingjue down on the bed and felt at his pulse point. He frowned. He was no physician, but as far as he could tell, Nie Mingjue’s qi felt fine.

Gently, Nie Mingjue pried his hand away. “There’s nothing to be done, A-Cheng,” he said. “I’m sorry it’s happening so soon.”

“What’s happening?” Jiang Cheng said, chest tight with worry. “What are you talking about?”

“I thought… I thought that my sworn brothers playing for me would help, but… it seems my fate is coming sooner rather than later.”

“What fate? Speak clearly!” Jiang Cheng snapped. But he let himself be pulled into Nie Mingjue’s lap, let Nie Mingjue lean in to kiss him. After so long apart, he couldn’t resist.

There it was, again, that thing that was off in Nie Mingjue’s qi. Jiang Cheng could feel it now, in the way that Nie Mingjue’s qi blended with his own. “What is that,” he said, breaking the kiss. “That— that— it’s like something out of tune, like a fucked up clarity bell.”

“What is?” Nie Mingjue said, tilting his head to the side.

“In your qi. I can’t feel it at your pulse point — I mean, not that I’m especially skilled with taking a pulse anyway — but it’s obvious when we, well,” Jiang Cheng shrugged awkwardly. “When we kiss. When we hold each other.”

“You can sense it?” Nie Mingjue said, voice careful.

Frowning, Jiang Cheng nodded. “Yes. Is that the fate you’re talking about? Is there something wrong with your qi? Were you poisoned on a night hunt?” Jiang Cheng had found a miracle cure once, and even without Wei Wuxian, he’d find another if he had to!

“Poisoned?” Nie Mingjue said, surprised. “No, it’s the sabers. The saber spirits. They… well, the stronger your cultivation, the closer your bond with your saber. But the sabers, they feed on resentment, so…” he gave a one-shoulder shrug. “It leads to qi deviations. It’s why all the Nie sect leaders have died young. And now it’s my turn. Fuck, I need— I need to apologize to Huaisang, it’s just— I’m going to die and he can’t even learn the most basic fucking forms, and he’ll be all alone, and—”

The rage was returning to Nie Mingjue’s eyes and his grip on Jiang Cheng was tightening. Jiang Cheng could feel that discordant note getting stronger again. “No,” Jiang Cheng snapped, giving a sharp ting of his clarity bell.

“No?” Nie Mingjue asked, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t believe me?”

“I mean, no, you’re not going to die,” Jiang Cheng said firmly.

“Cheng-er—“

“Shut up. There’s something wrong, something off, and I don’t know that it is Baxia. Maybe you’re right, and that’s just how your cultivation works. But your father lived longer than this, so you’ll live at least that long! Maybe it’s no super-special Lan song, but I can tell my bell helps you. And I can tell that this helps you.” He leaned in to kiss Nie Mingjue firmly, deliberately putting his qi into the kiss.

Nie Mingjue kissed him back, and Jiang Cheng could feel that discordant note fading. He let his qi flow through Nie Mingjue, flushing through stagnant meridians, and felt a tingle at the back of his neck as Nie Mingjue’s qi flowed back through him.

Nie Mingjue broke the kiss, resting their foreheads together. “You may be right, but you can’t do this at a distance.”

“Come to Lotus Pier. Leave Huaisang in charge. It’ll be good for him to see what leading a sect is like,” Jiang Cheng said. “Just a few weeks. Give it a chance. We’ll spar and share wine by the river. Watching the lotuses will be good for you.”

“Watching the lotuses, hm,” Nie Mingjue sighed. “And if I go into a qi deviation at Lotus Pier? What then?”

“I have Zidian, and all my disciples have clarity bells,” Jiang Cheng said. “Nie Huaisang will agree once we explain it to him, I know it. Please. Let me help you.” I can’t lose another person I love without even trying to keep them.

Nie Mingjue slumped forward, looping his arms loosely around Jiang Cheng’s waist and resting his head against Jiang Cheng’s chest. “All right,” he said quietly. “All right.”

#hmc writes #mingcheng #mingchengweek22 #mingchengweek2022 #mingcheng love letters are mostly practical #canon divergence #this au is based off of book canon #jiang cheng #nie mingjue #also this is a continuation from the first day of mingcheng week but I don't have a series title yet #naming things is terrible and I don't want to do it

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goldencorecrunches · 4 years

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Hi mr jiang? Yeah i just want a moment of your time *takes out cheerleading megaphone* WHAT THE FUCK

#mdzs #jiang cheng #wwx has a terrible life but hes the pov character so its usually kinda funny #jiang cheng's parts just HIT #see in the novel he doesnt throw a fit just about having to send away his dogs #which is something i'd expect ANY seven (?) year old to throw a fit about!!#fuck I'D throw a fit about that NOW and i'm nearly four times that old!#but its after he sees his dad pick wei wuxian up #like HEY jiang cheng here's this NEW son and because he's here #you have to give away your dogs and also he's gonna sleep in your room and aLSO i'm physically affectionate with him like i'm not with you!!#added to that bit about the zidian send off and jc like 'wow moms never hugged me like this' makes me : )#: ) ) ) )#and of COURSE at this point wei wuxian understands nONE Of this so hes just like ! guess he hates me!!!#: ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) i want a weapon

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

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Initiative - aka NMJ and JYL get engaged - ao3 or tumblr pt 1, pt 2, pt 3

Nie Mingjue was always glad for an excuse to leave a boring political meeting, although he was surprised that Jiang Yanli had been bold enough to send a note requesting his immediate presence before they were married.

Certain jibes had been made at his expense by his fellow sect leaders, of course, but he had shrugged them off. Let them think him overly indulgent; what did he care? He enjoyed having someone to dote on when he had the chance, and anyway he didn’t think Jiang Yanli would ask him to come out so quickly over nothing – though it was interesting she asked for him to join her, rather than asking for her brother.

“Mistress Jiang?” he said, walking into the room in Jinlin Tower where she was waiting for him. Her posture was tense, her hands clutched together under her sleeves. “What’s the matter?”

“Do you know where the Wen sect survivors were sent?” she asked. “It’s a matter of – some urgency. If you don’t know, we’ll have to find out another way.”

We, he thought. Wei Wuxian, no doubt, since Jiang Cheng was still inside the hall, enduring the politics that came with any meeting between sects. And Wei Wuxian did not, generally speaking, have the best ways of figuring things out.

“The Jin sect has not shared that information publicly,” he said slowly, and saw her shoulders slump in disappointment. “But that does not mean I don’t know it. What is the issue?”

Jiang Yanli explained in a few sentences: a woman looking for a brother, a young man who had helped rescue Wei Wuxian during the war, a doctor’s assistant, who’d even gone so far as to poison his own people to save members of the Jiang sect and then spent the majority of the war in a prison, and yet now they thought he had been trapped in a prison camp, being abused…a young man surnamed Wen.

A young man called Wen Ning, or Wen Qionglin. It was not a name Nie Mingjue remembered.

But the one searching for Wen Ning was his sister, Wen Qing - and that was a name he did remember.

Wen Ruohan’s favorite nurse.

Nie Mingjue’s jaw clenched at the thought. He’d spent more than half his life avenging his family, and had always assumed the Wen sect would do the same if they were allowed to live; he had never stinted on hating all of them without exception, without quarter. Wen Ruohan was a murderer and a tyrant, and his family supported him with nary a word in protest until the tables had turned and it was their own lives at stake – was it not evil to support evil? Could Wen Ruohan have done as much as he did without Wen Qing’s medicines and treatments, without Wen Qionglin’s silent compliance? Did it really matter that they had been threatened, as so many other people had been threatened?

No. Duress could explain many things, but it never excused standing aside in the face of murder. Wen Qionglin and Wen Qing were, at best, accessories to a hundred crimes, and deserved exactly none of his sympathy.

And yet.

It was not them that was making a request of him.

Patient, calm, gentle. Forgiving. These were all traits he wanted in his bloodline, traits he lacked and knew he lacked. Traits that Jiang Yanli possessed: matching strength to weakness, weakness to strength.

Nie Mingjue did not love Jiang Yanli, not yet, but if he was not willing to even trust her, it was better not to marry at all.

“Very well,” he said, deciding. “Are they waiting outside? We will go at once. Huaisang will make my excuses.”

“…Huaisang will?”

“He’ll stutter and obfuscate and make a tolerable mess of it,” Nie Mingjue said, not without a mixture of exasperation and fondness – he knew his brother too well. “And as a result they won’t know where or why we’ve gone for at least another half a shichen, if not more.”

(Knowing Nie Huaisang, he might ‘accidentally’ end up implying that Nie Mingjue had gone to enjoy some afternoon delight with his soon-to-be bride, but Nie Mingjue was too polite to mention something like that to Jiang Yanli.)

Jiang Yanli nodded, and slipped her hand into his, squeezing briefly. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I know what it all means to you.”

“I can only give you the benefit of the doubt,” he said, trying to be honest but probably coming off as harsh. “For the rest of it, I will decide when we are there.”

Wei Wuxian didn’t have his sword, as always these days, and Wen Qing, shivering behind him, had lost hers, but Nie Mingjue brought along four Nie sect cultivators and ordered two to act as escorts, with the other two trailing behind in the event of trouble. He rather liked Wei Wuxian, especially after that stunt he’d pulled in protest of the Jin sect’s little shooting ‘entertainment’, but demonic cultivation was dangerous and Wei Wuxian’s mentality was said to be unstable. Nie Mingjue had lost so many of his own already - he was taking no chances.

“How did you know where they’re located, Chifeng-zun?” Wei Wuxian asked from where he was balancing behind a long-suffering Nie Zonghui. “I wouldn’t have thought the Jin sect shared that information.”

“Are you not familiar with the concept of spies?” Nie Mingjue asked, voice dry. Jiang Yanli, in his arms, giggled – she’d planned to send them along without her, looking disappointed and worried and resigned, and she’d brightened like a flower exposed to the sun when he’d informed her that she was coming along with them. She was accustomed to being left behind, and he intended to change that.

Besides, they were only going to the Qiongqi Path, which was solidly in Jin territory, to a prisoner of war camp staffed by Jin cultivators. It was hardly a dangerous expedition, and he did not expect to encounter anything that might be a threat, excluding perhaps his own temper.

His temper did, in fact, make an appearance.

“Jin Guangshan swore to Lan Xichen that the Wen remnants would be resettled peacefully,” he snarled, eyes red with rage and Baxia in his hand as the Jin sect cultivators - which had been tormenting the civilians here and that had gotten into Wei Wuxian’s face when he’d charged over first to shout at them - cowered in front of him. They were willing to challenge Wei Wuxian, but it seemed that Nie Mingjue was a different story – bullying the weak and cowering before the strong. Pathetic! “I had not realized that our understanding of the word peaceful was so different. Clearly I will need to have words with Sect Leader Jin.”

A hand touched his arm, and he looked down, surprised; virtually no one approached him when he was in a rage.

Jiang Yanli stood beside him, looking up at him fearlessly. “As much as I’m sure you’d like to chop them into pieces, it’ll be more effective to present them as evidence,” she said, and even smiled, as if they were sharing a joke between the two of them. “We can save the chopping for later. Following the trial that I’m certain Sect Leader Jin will insist upon.”

The Jin cultivators paled, clearly realizing that the likelihood of Sect Leader Jin standing behind them rather than immediately making them scapegoats was very low. They would be much more likely to spill whatever secrets they might have now, knowing that their fates depended more on Nie Mingjue’s mercy than on Jin Guangshan’s, than they would have even in the face of his threats.

Baxia grumbled in reluctant approval, and all of a sudden Nie Mingjue could not wait for Jiang Yanli to have a saber of her own and to cultivate its spirit – he thought it would be a very fine spirit indeed.

“Very well,” he allowed, and put Baxia back on his back, noting but ignoring the respectful looks his cultivators were sending Jiang Yanli. It was nothing more than what ought to be, the proper role of a Nie furen: to incite when appropriate, to restrain when necessary. “Zonghui, return to Lanling and bring a larger force so that we can transport the Wen civilians to safety. And – there’s no need for subtlety.”

By which he meant that he wanted every cultivator who could fly their own sword to be tagging along out of curiosity, and Nie Zonghui knew it. He saluted and left at once.

“What do we do now, then?” Wei Wuxian asked, shifting from one foot to the other. He looked anxious and young, clearly startled by the abrupt lack of violence and worried about Wen Ning – the young man had some nasty injuries that hadn’t been treated by the Jin sect, his body tossed away like so much refuse, but they’d arrived early enough that his sister was avidly working to care for him. She had said that his chances were good, since they had arrived before his consciousness had slipped away.

If they’d arrived later…

If Nie Mingjue hadn’t had the information ready to hand from the spies he disliked using, if Wei Wuxian had had to get the information out of the Jin sect directly, if he had had to ride here from Lanling rather than fly a sword, if he’d gotten stuck in that thunderstorm that was rapidly heading their way…

Well, that hadn’t happened. There was no point in wondering what if.

“Now? Nothing. We wait. Nie Xizhe, Wu Shude, take some of the Wen civilians and have them help you tie up all the Jin sect cultivators; I don’t want anyone sneaking away, and there’s not enough of us to guard them while they’re free. Wei Wuxian, walk with me.” He glanced to his side. “With us, I mean.”

Wei Wuxian obediently trotted over to where Nie Mingjue and Jiang Yanli were waiting, and Nie Mingjue led the three of them over to a nearby ridge where they could have a little privacy. The storm was getting ever closer, he noticed.

“Very well,” he said finally. “It’s just us now. What debt do you owe the Wens?”

Wei Wuxian froze. “Debt? I don’t – I already said –”

“There’s something you’ve left out,” Nie Mingjue said. “The way you act with them…”

He didn’t know how to put it into words. It wasn’t merely chivalrous altruism, nor even friendship, that was driving Wei Wuxian – he was desperate to help, manic with the need to do something; there was something else there. Some secret. He knew, because Nie Mingjue knew secrets and what they did to a man, even if he was keeping it for the best reasons in the world.

“A-Xian?” Jiang Yanli asked when Wei Wuxian said nothing, when Nie Mingjue said no more. “You know you can tell me, right?”

His lips were pressed together, his hand tight on his flute until his knuckles were white. He shook his head. “Shijie,” he whispered. “Don’t ask, please. Don’t.”

At least he’d admitted there was something.

“Your conduct is causing trouble for Yunmeng Jiang,” Nie Mingjue said, and Wei Wuxian turned tormented eyes on him, even as Jiang Yanli’s hand tightened on his. “It’s a Great Sect, but your brother is young, untried, and sensitive to criticism. It will be difficult for him to deal with the issues you present, especially if you persist in your present path of continuing with demonic cultivation instead of returning to the orthodox path of sword cultivation.”

Wei Wuxian nodded, looking pained.

“Do you have a suggestion?” Jiang Yanli asked.

“Yes,” Nie Mingjue said. “Absent yourself before you are forced to leave in truth. Go to the Cloud Recesses the way Lan Wangji continues to pester you about – see if you can’t tell him what secret it is that’s weighing down your tongue, if you can’t tell any of us – and come visit the Unclean Realm when you’re done there.”

Wei Wuxian was staring. Nie Mingjue ignored him.

“When you’re done with that, assign yourself the job of checking up on the Jiang sect’s dependent sects, or even just go around to visit every sect listed as having fought in the war, building relationships with them,” he continued briskly. “As for the reason, you’re clever, you’ll think of something. Get Wangji to teach you some healing spells and come help those in my sect who need it. Say that you’re using your demonic cultivation to help ferret out resentful energy in need of cleansing. Something. It doesn’t really matter what. But whatever you do, go. Give Yunmeng Jiang time to become as strong as it needs to be to protect you.”

“But it shouldn’t be protecting me,” Wei Wuxian protested. “I should be the one protecting it!”

“A-Xian!” Jiang Yanli exclaimed, and her expression was suddenly fierce. “Are you the eldest? No. I am. You are my A-Xian, my didi, and that means you are part of Yunmeng Jiang – we have as much right to protect you as you us, and don’t you forget it.”

“But – shijie –”

“I won’t hear another word,” she said. “I won’t! Whatever it is, A-Xian, you need to tell us eventually, or else we’ll all fall apart. Didn’t you both promise me that we’d stay together, the three of us, always? You can’t break that promise now.”

Wei Wuxian’s eyes were wet with tears. “All right, shijie. I’ll figure something out.”

“Start with Gusu,” Nie Mingjue said again, uncomfortable with the display of emotions. “If you tell Lan Wangji the truth, he may even be able to help – in one way or another. Or don’t, it’s up to you. Just get yourself out of the public view. Earn some merits that aren’t related to slaughter.”

Wei Wuxian nodded again, clearly overcome with feeling, and then promptly made up a flimsy excuse to leave, dashing away towards where Wen Qing was still working on her brother.

Jiang Yanli sighed. “Thank you,” she said. “Again. I just wish I knew what was wrong with him!”

“We’ll figure it out,” he promised her. “Even if I have to pick him up and shake the secret out of him.”

Jiang Yanli smiled up at him.

“Thank you,” she said, now a third time over.

“Thank you,” he corrected. “If you hadn’t brought this to my attention, I would be guilty of negligence in regard to the Wen sect remnants – and most of them civilians, no less. As for Wei Wuxian…he’s your didi, and so soon to be my brother-in-law. It’s nothing but what I should be doing.”

“Still,” she said. “I am grateful nonetheless.”

Nie Mingjue looked down at her, fierce and yet patient, kind and righteous in her own quietly determined way, fearless enough to stand by his side and trusting him enough to come to him for help.

His heart moved in his chest.

He decided to be daring, as it had always served him well in the past – he stepped forward, closer to Jiang Yanli, and leaned down to press his lips to the corner of her mouth.

“It is what I should be doing,” he murmured, voice low. “Nie furen.”

Jiang Yanli’s face turned bright red, but she was smiling.

Yes, Nie Mingjue thought – he might not be able to promise love, but accepting Jiang Yanli’s show of initiative was definitely one of the better decisions he’d made.

#mdzs #nie mingjue #jiang yanli #wei wuxian #my fic #my fics #initiative

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baoshan-sanren · 3 years

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im kind of curious why you use the phrase "absolute stagnation" to describe jc's character arc - although it's true he never goes from solidly Heroic to Villainous (or vice versa) or has some dramatic blackening, there are i think solid changes over the course of the story (following the sunshot campaign, his sister's death, etc). do you just mean that he never has a single big shift, or have i misread that?

oh boy, and that’s my last ask for the day

The thing about a character arc is that the character has to undergo significant changes in response to these events, otherwise it’s just... a bunch of events happening, and the character... growing older. If you look at Shen Jiu as someone who blackened in response to the events around him, and you look at Mu Qing as someone who grew and changed for the better in response to the events around him (plus a thousand years, give or take), then the fact that Jiang Cheng does not change one significant iota is pretty hard to miss in the text.

Character arc isn’t Jiang Cheng becoming a sect leader after his sect is slaughtered. Character arc would be Jiang Cheng’s character (as in the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual) undergoing significant change as a result of his sect being slaughtered, and as a result of him becoming a sect leader. The basic premise is “The character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person.” Jiang Cheng who blamed Wei WuXian for Jiang FengMian’s “inattention,” then for the death of his parents, then for the death of his sister, is exactly the same Jiang Cheng who would torture potential practitioners of demonic cultivation because they “might” be Wei WuXian. “Arc” is often used to describe a sweeping change; it implies that he became something he wasn’t previously (not him getting older and having more power to do things he couldn’t do as a disciple, or had no cause to do back then) and literally none of that... happens in text.

The reason I don’t do JC meta any more is bc CQL JC has little to nothing to do with MDZS JC. Like a lot of other characters in CQL, JC is pretty inconsistent, and definitely not faithful to his canonic counterpart. His canonical counterpart has a place, and a meaning, in MDZS as a xianxia deconstruction novel.

This Jiang Cheng:

blames Wei WuXian for everything he’d blamed him for before Wei WuXian's death. He is exactly the same person he was then, with an addition of a Sect Leader seat, more rumors about him, more power, and probably some nicer robes idk. Like, substantive change leading from one personality trait to a diametrically opposite trait? Not a thing that happens with JC at literally any point.

From a literary (and psychological) perspective I’ve always found JC fascinating, because I think he is meant to be frustrating. His lack of development is intentional, and reads like nails on chalkboard. We want our characters to grow, to change, to learn to let go of their resentments, to do some introspection, to work on themselves. If we can’t have that, we want them to go in the other direction. We want them to be an easily-definable villain, or to at least fit into the mould of one. A lot of fanon JC is exactly that, one or the other with very little room in between. Humans hate things they can’t define, things they can’t easily identify as either right or wrong; that’s no great mystery.

JC didn’t blacken, and he didn’t become a better person. JC didn’t do anything except build himself a timeless little bunker of his festering resentments, and then decide to just huddle there until the end of time. And although I’m sure the water is nice and warm in that bunker, and that A LOT of real people would react in exactly the same way, when you pick up a xianxia novel to read for enjoyment, that’s not what you wanna see happen. So people tend to add things that are only canon in CQL, or their own headcanons that can hardly be supported by text, in order to alleviate that discomfort. Which is understandable, but not who JC is in MDZS.

If there is character development to be had for JC, it should be happening post-MDZS. The golden core reveal is exactly the type of event that would precipitate a major character change. But there is no hint that mxtx meant to even give us that. And I understand, completely, the frustration in that decision, especially if JC is someone’s favorite character. But a lot of fanon interpretations of him, in my opinion, have little bearing on canon JC, so honestly, I really have no interest in discussing him any further than this.

#the untamed #mdzs #cql #jiang cheng #meta #Anonymous #ask for ts #and that's that for me today #i'll try and get to the rest next week #will reopen inbox once I get down to below 5-10 unanswered asks #:)

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vrishchikawrites · 3 years

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I can't help but dislike lan xichen because he called wei wuxian a mistake. I know he's a good character and he had ever reason to be upset, but something about that conversation just bothers me. I don't know why it does.

Hm, I get you. I think this is a clear example of a character's actions having a different impact on the reader than on the plot.

Plot-wise, Xichen's reaction is 100% justified. He a worried older brother. He knows LWJ loves WWX and has been rejected by him. He is concerned that LWJ would get his heart broken again. It is an understandable concern. When you look at everything objectively, we have no reason to be angry at LXC for his reaction.

But the readers have just gone through 100 chapters of people just having a go at WWX for every fucking thing, whether it is his fault or not, with not a single apology in sight.

That's why we see many people so unreasonably pissed at LXC.

It is just another thing that WWX has to silently accept. When he was kid, he was called a bastard and abused. That abuse goes unacknowledged. The fall of LP is laid at his feet, he has to deal with it. He pays off his debt and goes through horrifying trauma, that goes unacknowledged too. He faces a lot of injustice and accusations (a lot of times those accusations are baseless and spiteful), he has to accept and brush it aside. He does this again and again. Not a single person acknowledges that it was wrong to put a man through this.

LXC then comes along to say WWX is LWJ's only mistake. WWX again brushes it aside and focuses on important matters. But it has to hurt. WWX loves LWJ at this point. He just as to accept that the entire Lan clan probably thinks the same (with good reason in their eyes but that doesn't change the fact that it will hurt) Then we have LQR at CR post canon asking everyone to stay away from WWX. He brushes it aside. Look, WWX understood that the juniors turned and walked away from him because of LQR's rule and they would meet anyways. But it was still another injustice. Remember this point for me, I will come back to it.

Everything, he just has to deal with and forget. Not one time does anyone acknowledge the shit people just carelessly hurl at WWX and forget about it.

WWX being WWX, he doesn't care and will probably continue to live happily. But he has taken a lot of hits with no resolution from everyone. By this stage, readers have reached saturation point with the amount of BS WWX has to put up with and forgive.

LWJ loves WWX and that is the only saving grace in this entire situation.

LXC is like the last straw off the camel's back, so to speak. This is another careless, hurtful comment flung at WWX in anger and WWX is just made to bear it.

It is natural to be a little pissed at LXC, even if it is unreasonable. After all, LWJ is the only person WWX has in his corner (aside from WN). By calling WWX LWJ's mistake, LXC essentially said WWX didn't deserve even that bit of happiness.

But that is a reader's emotional response to the story. It isn't actually LXC's character at fault. He is being perfectly reasonable given how much information he has.

The fact is, readers are invested in WWX by this point and we're being told -yeah people just fling accusations and abuses at the character we want you to love, no one apologizes for it, even the kind older brother thinks he's trash, but the guy we made you love is just gonna shrug it all off and be happy because that's just him. And you can't be a little bit mad about it.

Lmao, that's a bit of excellent writing but it is also immensely irritating.

Now, onto a more serious observation. WWX is essentially alone and socially isolated at this point. Before his death, he had WQ, WN, and the remnants with him.

Post canon, he only has LWJ and WN and even WN rightfully chooses to live his own life.

We love and trust LWJ but that man has a rock solid support system. A brother, an uncle, a sect, society's respect, status, and wealth.

WWX has none of that. As attached readers, we're asked to trust a beloved character into a family where - one important member thinks WWX is a mistake and the other actively tries to keep him away from other sect members.

Then we're asked to trust that LWJ is all WWX will ever need. I can tell you- in marriage, you need a few people other than your spouse to stay in your corner if there's conflict. Even if the conflict is minor. The situation here is - WWX lacks a support system outside of LWJ. LWJ's family and the society as a whole will consider it ABSOLUTELY HIS FAULT if things go even a little sideways.

That, nonny, is something that people may realize and feel very uncomfortable about. That may be one of the reasons why LXC words hit a little harder. Because of course, the sect leader and brother's first concern is gonna be LWJ if there's an event where LWJ needs protecting from WWX.

But who protects WWX if he, in an unlikely event, needs protecting from LWJ?

(I want to make it clear that I don't consider WWX weak or vulnerable. He can take care of himself even if the entire world turns again him. and he certainly won't face any issues with lwj by his side. But it is a situation that can be a tad troubling if you look too deeply. )

#reader asks #stream of thoughts #have been thinking about this for a while

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plan-d-to-i · 2 years

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It’s not much but I do take joy in JC having to see WWX’s inventions even long after he died. I just know he had to of completely lost it seeing the flags catch on with the sects

I'd take a lot of joy if jc took a long walk on a short pier... I mean what? Who said that. Anyway I do get the feeling that jc derived no small measure of schadenfreude seeing the cultivation world turn against WWX and condemn him because in a way it validated his own mindset/feelings. So It's likely seeing WWX's inventions being used, by the Lan Clan no less, pissed him off.

You know jc is generally a sheep so he wouldn't go after an entire bigger clan for using them but he wanted Jin Ling to kill MXY FOR A PAPERMAN! So I wonder how difficult it was for those unaffiliated with powerful Clans to use any of WWX's methods without jc deciding they’re WWX and taking them to be tortured. After all jc is so crazed he even tried to challenge LWJ for MXY... Plus as Lan Jingyi says his standards for what constitutes a demonic cultivator and therefore possible WWX are not very stringent:

"Not to mention, Chief Jiang suspects everything that moves. If he tries to catch everyone, when will he ever be done? And look at yourself, playing your flute like that…hmph”"

But anyway back to how brilliant WWX is!!

As for why the flags looked familiar…how couldn’t they? The inventor of the yin summoning flag was none other than the Yiling Laozu himself! It seemed that though all the cultivation clans had furiously called for his head, they had no qualms about using the things he’d invented… (chapter3)

Cultivators had a very strict classification system for “vicious ghosts.” If a ghost killed one person a month for three consecutive months, it could already be classified as a vicious ghost. Wei Wuxian had been the one who had come up with these standards, but cultivators most likely still used them. He was the top expert on these types of things, and as he saw it, a ghost which killed once a week already counted as one that killed very frequently. (Chapter 5)

Don’t you remember who invented these compasses? I’ve never heard of anything disturbing the direction the needle points.”

“What exactly do you mean by that? Why are you asking such weird questions? Of course I remember evil wind compasses were invented by Wei Ying, but just because he invented something, doesn’t mean it’s all beautiful and perfect. Aren’t people allowed to question him?”

“I didn’t say you weren’t allowed to question him, or that his things were perfect. There’s no need to spew mud everywhere, your highness!” (Chapter 7)

In all fairness, the cultivator who had questioned him wasn’t wrong. The evil wind compasses in use were only the first edition, and indeed left something to be desired when it came to accuracy. Originally, Wei Wuxian had worked to improve them, but who told people to destroy his home before he was done? So he had no option but to inconvenience everyone and continue to force the inaccurate, first edition compass on them. (Chapter 7)

Sassy WWX alert. lol. ofc we find out the compass was working just fine. Even that first edition.

"By granting wishes, it could obtain the souls “voluntarily” offered by the wishers. After all, it was a fair exchange—each got what they wanted and gave up something in return, so it appeared reasonable and just. This was why the evil wind compass’s needle wouldn’t move, and why the yin summoning flags didn’t attract it, and why the swords and talismans had no effect. The thing on Dafan Mountain wasn’t an evil spirit or monster at all—it was a goddess!"

Then ofc the Summoning of the Painted Eyes:

The disciples inside were speechless and stupefied.

Previously, they had only heard descriptions of a few vile, unorthodox techniques from their seniors, or from their books. At the time, they hadn’t been able to understand it: “If these techniques are so vile, why do so many people want to learn them? Why does the Yiling Laozu have so many imitators?” But now that they had seen one of these techniques with their own eyes, they finally knew why such practices were the subject of such fascination. Moreover, this was only the tip of the iceberg, this “Summoning of the Painted Eyes.” Thus, once most of the youths had recovered from their stunned silence, their expressions, far from repulsed, were full of irrepressible excitement. They felt as though they had gained a lot of first hand experience, and when they returned home, they would have a lot to tell their fellow disciples. (36)

Xue Yang: “Of course. Ever since you entered and whistled, I thought you were a little strange. So I chose to join in on the action personally to get a reading. Sure enough, you were able to produce so much power from even such a low level technique as the Summoning of the Painted Eyes. You must be its inventor.” (37)

WWX is so cool for this because he doesn't hoard inventions he thinks might help others, but he's very circumspect about what he shares so others don't misuse it. When he realized the power of the Yinhufu for ex, and the fact that it could be used by anyone who possessed it, he sought to destroy it before he died. But something like the compass seems to be in the possession of many (⁀ᗢ⁀)

#mdzs #answers #jiang cheng #canon jiang cheng

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theres-a-goldensky · 3 years

Text

30 More The Untamed Fic Recs

Here we go again. Another Wangxian rec list. Are you bored of me yet?

Were these recs helpful to you? If so, you can check out my other Wangxian rec posts:

Part 1 - 40 recs

Part 2 - 23 recs

Part 3 - 23 recs

As ever, feel free to reblog.

You can also head over to my bookmarks on AO3.

(All recs are complete) (I’ve noted pairings, length, and rating, but not any warnings or additional tags.)

** denotes personal favorite

1. say it's here where our pieces fall in place by Lirelyn - ~69,000 words, explicit - Modern AU where Lan Zhan meets Wei Wuxian after he adopts a small A-Yuan, because Wei Wuxian also has a past with him. Lots of adorable family feelings and emotional hurt/comfort.

As often happened, Wei Ying’s voice preceded his entrance, calling to his co-worker through the open door, “Frankie, they forgot to order spoons again, can you hold down the fort a little longer while I —”

Lan Wangji was already looking to his entrance, head turning as if magnetized toward the voice, so he saw the moment when Wei Ying’s eyes landed on A-Yuan and the smile fell from his face. He looked stricken, and Lan Wangji immediately looked to his son in alarm. A-Yuan seemed fine. His small eyebrows were pulled together in a small frown as he looked back at Wei Ying, but that wasn’t surprising, given the expression on Wei Ying’s face. Lan Wangji had seen that face beaming, laughing, whining, wheedling, and occasionally angry, but never like this. He looked blank and hollow and it stirred something fierce in Lan Wangji: he wanted to rise up and obliterate whatever was making him look like that. Then his eyes lifted to Lan Wangji and there was a flash of something almost like betrayal, before he pressed his lips together and turned his back.

“I’m going to run out to the store and get spoons,” he said in a flat voice to his co-worker, and left without looking their way again.

2. the breaking of your soul (upon my lips) by sunsandships - ~41,000 words, mature - This is an AU of the novel where Wei Wuxian puts two and two together when Lan Zhan sneaks that kiss from him. It changes a lot of things.

Against his own will, Wei Wuxian found himself glancing at Lan Wangji’s hands. They were… certainly large enough that one of them could wrap around both of his wrists. And Lan Wangji was certainly strong enough, tall enough, broad-shouldered enough to bodily pin him against the trunk of a tree with no chance of him breaking free. Lan Wangji was the first person he’d come across in his slow comb through the vicinity of where he’d been so headily kissed.

Wei Wuxian drew a sharp breath. There was a connection to be made here. He didn’t think he was crazy enough to make it. Perhaps he truly was going slightly insane with demonic cultivation if he could believe Lan Wangji, the paragon of virtue and respectability, who lived unflinchingly under Gusu Lan’s three thousand edicts, who had at best only tolerated his presence as children, would sneak up to him while he was blindfolded, pin him against a tree, and steal a kiss from him in broad daylight.

3. and his wanting grows teeth by yukla - ~25,000 words, teen - This is a very interesting AU where Lan Zhan is a traveling cultivator and runs into Wei Wuxian and the Jiangs looking for shelter during a snowstorm. No spoilers, but this fic goes to a pretty dark place that genuinely shocked me, but I enjoyed. (Still ends well though.)

Without further ado, they are hustled past the entrance and into a smaller greeting area. Huang-bobo approaches the brazier in the center with his hands outstretched, warming his fingers in the heat, but Lan Wangji hangs back. As he carefully brushes the snow free from his shoulders, he feels the burn of a curious gaze trailing up and down his body, lingering at the guqin still strapped to his back; when the sensation pauses at his face and stays there, he lifts his head.

The boy with the ribbon lights up at the eye contact, flashes another dazzling smile, and gives a little wave.

“You must be new here,” he whispers, something like laughter threaded into his voice, eyes scrunching into winking half-moons. “All dressed up in white like that! You might lose yourself in the snowstorm!”

Something stirs to life in Lan Wangji’s chest. It’s—uncomfortable, he decides, and so he steps away. Teasing should not be encouraged with a response.

4. Ghosts Shouldn't by ShanaStoryteller - ~15,000 words, not rated - After Wei Ying's death, his spirit seems to linger. The story is told from Lan Xichen's point of view. I love an outsider point of view. I also love the way the author fleshes out his character as well.

Lan Xichen means to force his way inside, angry ghost of the Yiling Patriarch or no, but then his brother lets out slow breath, settling, the pain easing from his face as he falls back into a more peaceful sleep.

His hair is moving on its own, so subtly Lan Xichen might not have noticed it if he hadn’t been looking at Wangji so intently. It’s like someone’s running their hand through his hair.

The window frosts over suddenly, thick enough that he can’t see through it. Anxiety spikes through him so quickly he’s nauseous with it, but then the frost melts away and the opening notes of Healing start up again.

He can’t tell if it’s a warning or not. Maybe it’s just an acknowledgement. Wei Wuxian knows he’s there.

5. **leading tone by silencemostofall - ~32,000 words, general - This is a modern AU set in a world where people who love you leave a mark of color on you the first time you touch. Wei Wuxian has no color on him. So much emotional hurt/comfort. So much of Wei Wuxian's terrible self-esteem.

He can cover up his palms with his gloves, so that the blankness does not draw stares. But he has no marks on his fingertips, which he cannot easily hide, and none visible on his face or neck, the blankness of which is even more difficult to hide. People look at him and, with a single glance, understand the single most devastating truth that he knows about himself.

They assume that he does not have very many marks. He may be an eccentric, dramatic person, but the likelihood that an individual has all of their marks on, say, their feet or their torso or other places that are not immediately obvious-- that probability goes down as your number of marks increases. He can laugh as much as he wants about how he loves touching people for the first time with odd places, like the knee or the elbow, but it doesn't quite mask the feeling of other that he knows he exudes.

They assume that he does not have a lot of marks. This, while a heavy weight, is not unbearably so. It is okay that they think he is not much loved. It chafes a bit, and feels occasionally like something he has to furiously push down within himself, but it is not unbearable. What would be unbearable is if they knew the truth: that he does not just have very few marks, but none. That he is simply an individual who is not loved at all.

6. **pastel by antebunny - ~7,000 words, gen - This is a remix work of the above fic. It's from Lan Zhan's point of view and just different enough to be interesting. Still lots of emotional hurt/comfort. I love this concept a whole lot, and both of these fics are great.

It’s a simmering day in May, and Wei Ying is wearing long sleeves, long pants, and gloves.

His choice of dress isn’t unusual for many reasons. For one, there’s plenty of people who don’t like strangers seeing their soulmarks. There’s plenty of people who wish to keep them private by covering them up. For another, Wei Ying spends most of his day in various chilly computer science department rooms, He could just be wearing long sleeves for that.

7. one good thing by Yuu_chi - ~27,000 words, teen - Wei Wuxian has died (or did he??) and is haunting his old home. Lan Zhan moves in. This story has a happy ending! And so much yearning!

To the flowers struggling to grow on the other side of the glass, he says, “We’re getting a new roommate. Well, I’m getting a new roommate - you’re getting somebody who might actually be able to water you for a change.” The flowers outside sway a little in the breeze, and Wei Wuxian nods contemplatively. “He can’t be any worse than the last guy who lived here. Remember when I spooked him while he was cooking and he nearly burnt the house down? Of course you don’t. You’re fucking foliage, your memory is worse than mine. I remember though, so it’s cool.”

There’s the sound of shuffling behind him and Wei Wuxian looks up to see the stranger has entered the kitchen, setting the last of the boxes down on the table. Disgustingly neat handwriting declares the box kitchen - homeware. The stranger carefully brushes his hair back from his face and, without so much as a second of hesitation, cracks open the box and begins unpacking.

“Wow, you really don’t waste any time, do you?” Wei Wuxian marvels. “You literally just got here - who cares about unpacking? Sit down for a moment, breathe, have something to eat. It’s not going anywhere.”

8. with you, I am home by tellthemstories - ~47,000 words, mature - Modern AU where Wei Wuxian is being forced to return home to entertain marriage proposals. So naturally instead he "convinces" Lan Zhan to pretend to date him. I love a good fake dating fic, and this one hits all the right beats.

Lan Zhan does that almost-smile thing that Wei Wuxian takes to mean he’s happy, or at the very least not-mad. “You don’t have any money.”

“Not true. I have the money from our last job, when we settled the vengeful spirit for the flower shop girl.” (He doesn’t. They have Lan Zhan’s money. Wei Wuxian spent his on a pack of loquats and three bottles of Emperor’s Smile wine.)

“Fine,” Wei Wuxian says. “Do it for me.”

Thinking back on it two weeks later, standing alone in the middle of Jin Ling’s graduation banquet and watching Lan Zhan walk away from him, Wei Wuxian realises that this, this was the moment when he should have known. He should have realised in the way Lan Zhan doesn’t hesitate or negotiate and just says with that half-fond, half-exasperated tone he gets sometimes, “Fine.”

9. and in the spring i shed my skin by wvlfqveen - ~11,000 words, teen - Modern AU where Wei Ying can't find Lan Zhan, but hey, there happens to be a rabbit here instead. Features a very slow Wei Ying, emotional hurt/comfort and accidental love confessions.

Immediately, his heart settles and he grins down at his new friend. “Oh, hello there,” he coos, reaching out to pet the fluffy ears. The bunny is very, very still under his hand.

“Did Lan Zhan bring you today?,” he continues cooing. “I’m sorry I missed that, but your Dad didn’t tell me he was bringing you.”

Lan Zhan rarely brings his rabbits to work since they are as tolerant of crowds and unnecessary noise as he is. They were probably relevant to today’s lesson but…

Wei Ying frowns. “Why would he leave you alone? And where is your cage?”

10. how, or when, or from where by sarahyyy - ~10,000 words, gen - Wei Ying wakes up in the hospital with amnesia and can't remember the last few years of his life, including his best friend and the guy he's in love with.

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes so hard Wei Wuxian is surprised his eyeballs don’t just fall out of his eye sockets. “That’s the worst part. He did. Whatever mating ritual you both have going on is so fucking weird, Wei Wuxian.” He snorts. “If you’d stayed asleep for any longer, I’d have lost my shit and thrown my myself out a window just so I wouldn’t have to talk to Lan Wangji again.”

Wei Wuxian blinks at him. “Is this a good time to ask who Lan Wangji is?”

Jiang Cheng glares at him. “Your Lan Zhan,” he says, annoyed. Wei Wuxian must look as confused as he feels, because Jiang Cheng’s annoyance bleeds out into concern. “Your Lan er-gege? Your soulmate, Lan Wangji?”

Wei Wuxian shakes his head. “No bells are ringing.”

11. ** a shared plate by yukla - ~26,000 words, teen - This is an absolutely gorgeous fic about Wei Wuxian traveling the world post-canon to rediscover himself and restore his faith in humanity and eventually find his way back to Lan Zhan. The whole thing is great, but the last two chapters are just *chef's kiss*

Lan Zhan,

Just as the mountains stand unchanging and the green rivers flow ceaselessly, we will meet again — and between then and now, you cannot hope to avoid my letters, either! Haha! Lan Zhan, I’ve seen so many things and met so many people, and it’s only been a month!

I miss you already

It’s so hot that I find myself missing the wind in Gusu’s mountains. Your poor Wei Ying is I’m melting away, Lan Zhan...

I’m realizing now, sixteen years is a long time to be away — the world is vast, and quite a bit different than I remembered. And in sixteen years, a child can also grow up into a man! It’s your job to catch me up on A-Yuan’s fun childhood stories! I do remember hearing something about a pile of rabbits...

12. with your arms outstretched to me by annemari - ~14,000 words, teen - Lan Zhan finally gets up the nerve to ask Wei Ying on a date, but things don't go as expected. Features emotional hurt/comfort (are we sensing a theme with these recs??) and just regular hurt/comfort.

"Oh, man, I was hoping you had some water with you," Wei Ying says. "I totally forgot to bring any for myself. Stupid of me."

"There is enough for both of us," Lan Wangji says. He has another bigger bottle in the car, as well.

Wei Ying hums but he only takes a few sips. He presses it back into Lan Wangji's hand. "I don't need any more."

Lan Wangji is considering arguing, but then Wei Ying shifts a bit, moving his ankle, and gasps very, very quietly.

13. ** A Lot of Edges Called Perhaps by hansbekhart - ~22,000 words, explicit - Wei Wuxian has finished traveling and returned to the Cloud Recesses and Lan Zhan. But their lives never do run smoothly.

“Lan Jingyi,” Wei Wuxian says, recognizing him after a moment. His heart slams against his rib cage. “Where is Lan Zhan? What’s happened?”

Lan Jingyi flaps a hand at him, gulping air. Wei Wuxian hands him the water, and leans back against Little Apple’s side as he waits impatiently for the boy to get his breath back.

“I’m so glad I found you,” Jingyi gasps, just as Wei Wuxian is about to throttle a proper answer out of him. “Hanguang Jun was in such a state when he woke up, we didn’t know if you’d come and gone already.”

“Where is he, Jingyi,” Wei Wuxian says, as evenly as he can. “What happened?”

14. So Why Not Crack Your Skull When the Mind Swells by greenteafiend - ~14,000 words, explicit - Wei Wuxian is cursed to feel extraordinary pain unless he's touching Lan Zhan. Yet more of Wei Wuxian's self-esteem issues and Lan Zhan's steadfast devotion.

“Are you hurt, Wei Ying?” Lan Wangji asks, pressing his hand to Wei Ying’s forehead to feel his temperature. There is no fever, but that doesn’t do much to mitigate Lan Wangji’s worries.

“No—I’m not hurt,” says Wei Ying, sagging forward to lean his weight into Lan Wangji’s hand like he can’t help himself.

It’s so strange—Lan Wangji can feel what Wei Ying is feeling. Although the relief is still very profound, wisps of other things are making themselves known; happiness; wistfulness; guilt. It’s all so fleeting that Lan Wangji can’t even begin to deduce what has provoked those feelings, but he wishes he knew their source.

15. puzzle pieces by Anonymous - ~6,000 words, teen - Modern AU where Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are roommates, and Wei Ying has started borrowing Lan Zhan's clothes.

“Hm? Oh.” With sleepy eyes that does— things to Lan Zhan’s heart, he blinks and tugs at the lower hem of the shirt, which is riding just above the curve of his thighs. Does Lan Zhan’s mouth water? Maybe. Yes. Absolutely. “Ah, yeah, sorry. Laundry day caught up to me before I could catch up with it. I saw this shirt left in the washer a few days ago, and—“ He blinks up at Lan Zhan through dark eyelashes that Lan Zhan wants to kiss, maybe, and gives him an uncharacteristically hesitant smile. “Do you mind?”

I mind the fact that we are not married, Lan Zhan thinks. But he can’t say that, and his tongue doesn’t know how to say anything else. So he stays silent.

“Oh,” Wei Ying says after a moment. “If you—oh, damn, I should’ve known, this is like real silk, must’ve been super expensive. Fuck. Okay, here, uh, I’ll take it off—“

16. ** Nothing But Trouble by brooklinegirl - ~60,000 words, explicit - Modern AU where Wei Ying is trying to be a good brother and get Jiang Cheng laid. Somehow this plan involves pretending to date Lan Zhan.

"I won't!" Wei Ying insists. "I'll ask out someone...high stakes. I'll find someone. I'll...okay, how's this? I swear that I'll ask someone out and keep at it for at least two dates."

"No."

"Three dates."

"Nope."

"Okay, okay, five. That's fair! That's more than fair! One person, five dates." He points at Jiang Cheng. "You have to do it, too. That's how a pact works."

Jiang Cheng stares at him. "Five dates," he says flatly. "Five. And yours can't be Nie Huaisang."

17. i'm the one for your fire by occultings (microcomets) - ~43,000 words, explicit - This is a Modern AU and a Cherry Magic AU! (Side note: GO WATCH CHERRY MAGIC IF YOU HAVEN'T.) But in short, Wei Ying turns 30 without losing his virginity and gets the power to hear people's thoughts when he touches them. He gets more than he bargained for with Lan Zhan. The author does a good job of translating the story to these characters. Wei Ying is not forced to be like Adachi, the main character of Cherry Magic. He's still himself, and the same goes for Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan’s voice is so clear, so sudden that it’s as though it’s spoken, the slice of a sharp object through velvet.

He’s touching me.

Wei Ying startles for a moment, wonders if he’d somehow heard his own thoughts instead, but — no, that had definitely been Lan Zhan’s steady, factual baritone, loud and clear.

God, this is still so weird. It still doesn’t seem totally real. But how else can he account for hearing Lan Zhan’s voice in his head, as clearly as if he’d spoken to Wei Ying directly?

18. like blue flame over my fingertips by tangerinechar - ~37,000 words, teen - Modern AU where Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are roommates, and Lan Zhan just finds himself wanting to take care of Wei Ying.

Lan Wangji’s roommate. Is a problem.

He doesn’t get an answer to the roommate problem until the next morning, when Lan Xichen texts him telling him that the apartment he’d suggested (and helped pay rent for) to Lan Wangji said in the small text that it’d be two people per apartment, the second bedroom wasn’t actually a guest bedroom, sorry, Wangji, you can move in with me if you want, I have space —

No. Thank you for your kind offer, Brother, but I will be quite fine, Lan Wangji texts back.

19. ** some impulse of delight by handclaps - ~20,000 words, explicit - College AU where Wei Ying decides he needs to help Lan Zhan get used to touching people. Lan Zhan agrees. Wei Ying is dumb and in love. Lan Zhan is less dumb, but still as in love.

Lan Zhan shakes his head and fumbles, tries to push the cotton wool into Wei Wuxian’s hand.

“Sorry,” Wei Wuxian says, realising. “Touching people, I know.”

He feels dumb. He thought he’d worn Lan Zhan down more than this, that they were friends now and that his whole no touching thing was mostly overcome. He took Wei Wuxian’s hand easily, right? He looks down at his belly full of scratches, dabbing at them moodily.

“Sorry,” he says, again.

Lan Zhan makes some kind of noise, but he is busy packing the first aid kit back, placing everything exactly where it was before.

“Lan Zhan, you’re going to have to do something about this,” Wei Wuxian complains. “I know you don’t like touching people and usually it plays as a kind of gentlemanly thing, but what about emergencies?”

20. And I Will Call You Home by Spodumene - ~43,000 words, explicit - Wei Wuxian returns after a year of traveling and rejoins Lan Zhan in the Cloud Recesses. He's doing a good job of pining and ignoring the obvious. Look, at this point, it shouldn't be a surprise that I'm a sucker for stories where Wei Wuxian deals with his ~*~issues~*~ and Lan Zhan takes care of him, whether he asks for it or not. This story has lots of that. I also enjoyed the case fic aspect of it.

“I do, I think,” Wei Wuxian admits. “Would be nice to see his face again after so long. And at least this time, I’m going to show up draped in finery. What do you think, Lan Zhan? I can’t possibly disgrace him—or you—wearing a cloak like that.”

“You could never disgrace me,” Lan Wangji says gently, that soft, affectionate look back on his face.

Wei Wuxian grins, warmed to the tips of his toes.

“I’ll remind you of that later. The next time I’m three jars deep and feeling especially shameless, you’ll have to remember those words, Lan Er-gege.”

“Of course,” Lan Wangji says simply.

Wei Wuxian smiles some more, overwhelmed by fondness.

21. darling, am i a chore? by martyrsdaughter - ~7,000 words, explicit - Wei Wuxian really, really wants Lan Zhan to call him 'gege'. Lan Zhan knows a trump card when he sees one.

“You know what I want,” Wei Wuxian purrs, reaching up on his tiptoes to throw his arms over Lan Wangji’s shoulders. “Call me gege, won’t you? Call me and I’ll stop.”

Lan Wangji knows he will not stop, regardless of what he calls him. Still, he thinks about it. If there really is a way to make Wei Wuxian stop, should he not consider it? He doesn’t have any real interest in curbing his husband’s insatiable mischievousness, but he does like knowing things about him—everything there is to know.

If there’s something that persuasive in the world, that it can bring Wei Wuxian into submission when no one is under threat, could he stop himself from seeking it?

22. your name, safe in their mouth by astrolesbian - ~11,000 words, gen - Wei Wuxian & Lan Sizhui fic with the Wangxian in the background. Lan Sizhui wants another dad and Wei Wuxian wants a son, they just don't know how to explain that to each other.

“Hush,” Wei Wuxian says, in a low croon, like someone quieting a baby. Then he blinks, and looks away, awkward. “I mean—you shouldn’t speak. You’re tired. Rest if you need to.”

Lan Sizhui tucks his chin into his uncle’s shoulder, and lets his eyes fall closed.

“It doesn’t hurt too much, does it?” Wen Ning whispers to him kindly.

Lan Sizhui takes a deep breath, and takes stock of all his aches, his ringing ear, his hollow chest, the way he had selfishly wanted Wei Wuxian to keep speaking to him in that careful voice, like he was just a child to be soothed and there was no real danger. How dangerous, to pretend. “No,” he lies. “It doesn’t hurt that much at all.”

23. when you're doing all the leaving (then it's never your love lost) by tardigradeschool - ~26,000 words, teen - AU where Lan Zhan with Wei Wuxian to Jin Ling's one-month celebration. Things go down, and it leads to Lan Zhan discovering Wei Wuxian's missing golden core. This obviously will not do, and oh look, the best doctor in the world just happens to be right here.

“How—“ Lan Wangji chokes. “His core —?” He looks at Wen Ning, half accusatory in his shock. “Jin Zixun could not have—“

“No, no!” Wen Ning says, holding out his hands. “He hasn’t had one for years, don’t worry!”

This is not as reassuring as Wen Ning seems to think.

“Please explain,” Lan Wangji says, pained. He feels for Wei Wuxian’s pulse instead; in the absence of a golden core, it will have to do as reassurance that he’s still alive.

Wen Ning is so anxious that the story comes out in a ramble, out of order. Lan Wangji wants him to hurry up, but he’s also not confident in his own ability to speak, so he just keeps quiet and lets him talk. His heart feels as if it’s about to fall from his chest, beating nearly twice as fast as Wei Wuxian’s does under his fingers.

24. A Match in the Making by lareine - ~30,000 words, teen - A Modern AU where Wei Wuxian sees his single and bad ass friend Lan Zhan and his single and bad ass friend Mianmian and gets some very dumb ideas.

To return to the point: Lan Zhan was peak adulting. Mianmian was peak adulting. And if they were both at the peak, then they were on the same level. What level? That mysterious level thing that everyone mentioned when it came to dating.

Whatever level it was, Lan Zhan and Mianmian were on it together. Wei Ying nodded to himself. So, Lan Zhan and Mianmian were allowed to date each other. The next question was: were they compatible? Did they have chemistry or whatever the fuck people called it?

25. Crack me open, pour you out by Tenillypo - ~16,000 words, explicit - Lan Zhan gets cursed to say whatever he's thinking. So his worst nightmare. Mutual pining, first time, all good stuff.

Lan Wangji freezes with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth, lifting his eyes to stare at Wei Ying.

"I know! Just completely paralyzed." Wei Ying mimes being still as a board. "I don't know how long I lay there. It must have been two days at least. Good thing for Little Apple. He wandered back to the village when he got hungry, and eventually a few of them got brave enough to come look for me. When they rolled me over, the figure fell out of my hand and I could move again. Cunning little thing." He shakes his head. "I was weak as a kitten for a little while after they took me back to the village, and by the time I recovered, they'd burned the whole place to the ground. Such a waste."

Lan Wangji slowly lowers his chopsticks, heart racing unpleasantly. In his head, a picture of Wei Ying slowly wasting to death alone in the middle of the woods, with Lan Wangji a hundred miles away and none the wiser.

26. Crazy, Rich Cultivators by ShanaStoryteller - 13,000 words, no rating - Lan Zhan wants to bring his boyfriend home to meet his family. There are some things he definitely didn't realize about Wei Ying.

“He has a life here,” he says down the line. He doesn’t say that he has a life here too, one he likes a lot more than the one he had before. He misses home. He’d miss Wei Ying more. But he doesn’t say that, doesn’t say how vibrant he is and how beautiful and how little interest Lan Zhan has at seeing him among the high society he grew up with.

“Well, your life is here, Wangji,” his brother says. “You can’t stay away from home forever. You’re going to have to see how he does with the rest of us sooner or later. It might as well be sooner.”

It might as well be never, as far as he’s concerned. His family can meet Wei Ying at their wedding.

“I’ll ask,” he says.

Wei Ying has no interest in cultivation politics. They’re horrible, the five clans have an iron tight alliance that’s thirty seconds away from collapsing in on itself the moment someone from one sect steps on another sect’s toes. It’s the worst and he hates it. Surely even just the idea of it will be so horrifying to Wei Ying that Lan Zhan will be able to tell his brother no.

27. just our hands clasped so tight by electrum ~4,000 words, teen - Lan Zhan really, really, really just wants to give Wei Ying everything he wants.

“Despite your best efforts,” Wei Wuxian agrees. He shakes his head in mock-dismay. “How much longer do you think that will last if you keep buying everything I look at?” When this, too, fails to soften Lan Zhan’s resolve, he tries a different tactic. “We couldn’t even afford potatoes,” he says. “Back when I was with the Wens, at the Burial Mounds. Only radishes! If I survived that, I can certainly survive without another pretty comb.”

Lan Zhan’s expression is at once unmoved and yet somehow stricken. “I would have bought Wei Ying potatoes,” he says, like Wei Wuxian doesn’t know, by this point, that Lan Zhan would buy him anything. “If I had known…”

28. ** Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller - ~64,000 words, no rating - Jin Ling & Wei Wuxian with Wangxian in the background. Jin Ling is the best boy! And as he tries to rehabilitate his sect and his family and keep himself alive at the same time, he realizes, horrifyingly, that he has to be the mature one.

29. ** an act too often neglected by Ariaste - Lan Xichen / Meng Yao, ~61,000 words, explicit - The Wangxian is in the background here, but the main story is about Lan Xichen meeting Meng Yao on a dating app and getting immediately dickmatized. Meanwhile. Meng Yao refuses to be won over by Lan Xichen's charm. It goes as well as you'd expect for him.

The caption below is equally sparse: “5’6. Demanding.”

Lan Xichen feels a low simmer of arousal kindle in the pit of his stomach, and he gazes at that word-- demanding --for nearly as long as he’d stared at the photograph. He swipes right.

A few minutes later, a notification pops up: < Hm, the size of your hands is promising.

This is familiar. This is the flirtation stage. Lan Xichen knows the steps to the dance.

30. My Land Beneath Me by longleggedgit - ~30,000 words, explicit - Modern AU where Wei Wuxian is cast out of his sect and out of China to America. And Lan Zhan just...follows.

Lan Zhan always waited for his tea to cool before drinking, which meant he had nothing to do but give Wei Wuxian a judgmental look. “No more McDonald’s.”

“You’re just bitter because you get indigestion from anything that actually tastes good,” Wei Wuxian grumbled.

Because Lan Zhan was insufferably mature and patient, he didn’t rise to the bait. “We have time to stop somewhere before class,” he said.

“Fine. But you’re paying this time.”

It was a bad joke, and predictably, fell flat; Lan Zhan was, after all, paying for everything, every time. Wei Wuxian frowned into his mug.

“You know,” he said, after another swallow, “you really don’t have to be here. I’m going to figure something out.”

Interested in 86 more The Untamed fic recs?

Part 1 - 40 recs Part 2 - 23 recs Part 3 - 23 recs

#the untamed fic #the untamed #master of demonic cultivation #wangxian fic recs #wangxian fic #mdzs #lan xichen/jin guangyao #lan zhan #wei wuxian/lan wangji #wei wuxian #jin ling #lan sizhui #mxtx novels

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bloody-bee-tea · 3 years

Text

Crossing

This is yet again inspired by this very same prompt from yesterday, by @mingcheng-prompts because it turns out it was written with Mingcheng as exes in mind. And oh boy, did that spark some ideas. Also, at this point it feels like I’m actively trying to avoid a bingo and what the fuck is up with that second to last line?

Jiang Cheng has only been back in his home town for two days now and he absolutely cannot understand how Nie Huaisang is already sitting on his couch.

Sure, they have kept in contact when Jiang Cheng was studying abroad, but not as much as before, which was understandable given what happened between Nie Mingjue and Jiang Cheng right before he left but it still doesn’t explain what Nie Huaisang is doing in his apartment.

Jiang Cheng can probably count himself lucky that Nie Huaisang is still willing to talk to him in person at all.

“Tell me again how you found out where I live?” Jiang Cheng asks as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Wei Wuxian,” Nie Huaisang cheerfully says and jumps up to help himself to whatever he finds to his liking in Jiang Cheng’s fridge.

Honestly, he’s too tired to ask at this point.

“So I heard you are single,” Nie Huaisang says when he turns back around to him and Jiang Cheng immediately stiffens.

“That’s none of your business,” he bites out, but of course Nie Huaisang is not at all affected by his tone.

“Aw, but Wanyin, we’re friends, right? Friends know these things about friends.”

Jiang Cheng clenches his teeth. There is a reason he made it a point to never, ever talk to Nie Huaisang about any kind of romantic interest he has—or doesn’t have—because Nie Mingjue is his brother.

Nie Huaisang should really know better.

“There’s nothing to tell,” Jiang Cheng says and winces just a moment later.

It’s the truth, but it’s also much, much more than he wanted to tell Nie Huaisang, who of course immediately lights up.

“Nothing? There’s no one?” he wants to know and Jiang Cheng fights the bitter feeling that rises up in him.

There is absolutely no one because even during five years abroad he could barely think about anyone else but Nie Mingjue and it’s just pathetic.

They broke up. Jiang Cheng really should move on, but his thoughts still linger on the other man. He wouldn’t say he’s still in love—how could he even be if he hasn’t seen Nie Mingjue in five years—but he also doesn’t feel ready for anything else.

“Can we drop this now?” Jiang Cheng asks instead of answering Nie Huaisang who sends him a knowing look.

It seems like Nie Huaisang can still read him way too well for Jiang Cheng’s comfort.

“I don’t think so. Listen, I have an idea,” Nie Huaisang says and Jiang Cheng immediately shakes his head.

“No. Whatever it is, no. Can you please just let me settle here and let me make my own friends and connections?”

Nie Huaisang squints at him.

“No. I don’t think you’re very good at that and you’re gonna need help if you want different friends than your brother. I’m your best bet,” he tells him and Jiang Cheng lets himself drop down on the couch with a sigh.

“Thanks for your trust. You know, I could have grown when I was away. Maybe I’m a completely different person now. Outgoing and fun to be around,” Jiang Cheng snarks even though they both know it’s impossible.

No person could ever change that much.

“You have always been fun to be around,” Nie Huaisang says with a frown as he drops down next to Jiang Cheng. “And your statement alone makes me think that you haven’t changed that much at all.”

“Great,” Jiang Cheng grumbles and Nie Huaisang pokes him into the side.

“It’s not a bad thing. I happen to like who you are, as do many other people. And now shush with these self-deprecating thoughts, let’s go back to my idea.”

“I’d really rather not,” Jiang Cheng sighs, but he knows he already lost that battle.

“Tough luck,” Nie Huaisang cheerfully says and then claps his hands together, the excitement clear in his face. “A blind date.”

“Absolutely not,” Jiang Cheng immediately shoots back but it doesn’t seem like Nie Huaisang is listening to him at all.

“I have the perfect candidate,” he goes on as if Jiang Cheng didn’t say anything and he bites back the words that there is no one perfect out there.

Especially not for Jiang Cheng and absolutely not after he fucked it up with the only good thing in his life.

“No,” Jiang Cheng says again, but just like the first time Nie Huaisang talks right over him.

“Just an easy dinner—your favourite place hasn’t changed, right?—and then you can go your merry way.”

“Huaisang, I’m not meeting anyone for a date. I’m not ready for that kind of commitment, I only just moved back!”

"I'm not saying you have to marry them! It's just one date,” Nie Huaisang huffs out, crossing his arms in front of his chest in the most childish gesture Jiang Cheng has seen him make.

Yeah, one date where Jiang Cheng has to sit and make awkward conversation before ultimately being rejected. Nie Huaisang isn't the first person to try and set him up to no avail, but Jiang Cheng had thought at least he, of all people, knew better.

So of course he says no.

“Consider it my welcome back gift,” Nie Huaisang tries next and Jiang Cheng vehemently shakes his head.

He’s not going to meet with someone, period. He wants to find his footing in this city first, get back with his friends and family before he even so much as entertains any kind of thought about dating and going on a blind date in the very first week he came back is not what he wants.

“Please?” Nie Huaisang asks and whips out the puppy eyes.

Jiang Cheng has always been weak to them, but he also grew as a person over five years and he is now strong enough to endure them.

“Fine,” he hears himself say and promptly buries his face in a pillow.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng really wishes he could be anywhere else but here.

Nie Huaisang not only picked his clothes and the date, but also time and place. And letting him do that turned out to be the biggest mistake Jiang Cheng has ever made, because he’s sitting in the restaurant he used to frequent with Nie Mingjue and Jiang Cheng desperately doesn’t want to be here.

He hadn’t realized it before, because he lived in a city that Nie Mingjue had never stepped a foot in before, but he still remembers so much of his time with Nie Mingjue. Especially now that the reminders are everywhere.

Jiang Cheng still remembers the first time they came here, the food they usually ate, how fun the drive here could be if they took the sub. Just. Little things. All of which tear at Jiang Cheng’s heart and he already knows that no matter who will come for this blind date, he will snap at them unnecessarily just because of that.

He really wishes he could forget all of his time with Nie Mingjue.

Jiang Cheng is reluctantly reading the menu for tenth time—noticing with despair that their meals are still on there—when a light knocking on the table alerts him to look up—and keep looking up until he is met with the charmingly bashful smile of Nie Mingjue.

No one can blame Jiang Cheng if the first words to leave his mouth that evening are, "I'm gonna kill Nie Huaisang."

He definitely crossed a line there and Jiang Cheng vows to yell at him about it later.

“If it helps, I didn’t know about this, either,” Nie Mingjue says with a wince but he sits down instead of simply walking away.

Jiang Cheng can do nothing but stare at him, because fuck.

He forgot how gorgeous Nie Mingjue is.

“It’s nice to see you,” Nie Mingjue says, a small smile playing around his mouth and Jiang Cheng wonders how he can even say that.

Jiang Cheng had thought that being away from him—putting distance and time between them—would help, would mean he could get over Nie Mingjue faster and while Jiang Cheng always knew that a small part of him still lingered on Nie Mingjue he hadn’t realized that he is still completely in love with him.

And he really doesn’t need the reminder either. Especially not with Nie Mingjue sitting so close.

“I think I’ll be leaving now,” Jiang Cheng says, not meeting Nie Mingjue’s eyes but just at that moment a waiter steps to their table, plates at the ready.

“Your orders,” he tells them as he puts them down and Jiang Cheng frowns.

“We didn’t order anything yet,” he says but the waiter shrugs.

“The order came with the reservation. It’s already paid, too.”

He hurries off without further explanation, but of course Nie Huaisang would have thought about this.

“Come on, Wanyin, it’s just dinner.”

Nie Mingjue sounds relaxed and Jiang Cheng finds it hard to breathe. Nie Mingjue doesn’t seem to be affected by their meeting at all and it just serves as a reminder that Jiang Cheng fucked up monumentally; not only by breaking up with Nie Mingjue in the first place, but by still being in love with him as well. Nie Mingjue seems to have moved on without problems.

“It’s already paid, and I know it’s your favourite. Let’s just eat,” Nie Mingjue says again when Jiang Cheng continues to hover unsurely and finally Jiang Cheng sits down.

“Fine,” he bites out and then—on instinct—he reaches over the table to take the mushrooms off Nie Mingjue’s dish.

He never liked them and they always swapped them around and Jiang Cheng flushes when he realizes what he just did.

Jiang Cheng is no longer allowed to take these liberties with Nie Mingjue.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, but it doesn’t quite feel right to put them back on Nie Mingjue’s plate either.

“That’s fine,” Nie Mingjue says after a moment. “As long as you trade me for that egg,” he then tacks on and Jiang Cheng gladly transfers that over.

It’s what they always did. The thought hurts—more than Jiang Cheng ever expected it too—and he realizes that they are crossing over into territory they have no business walking into.

Jiang Cheng finds it increasingly hard to remind himself over the course of dinner that this means nothing because it’s easy, so easy to fall back into a comfortable talk and banter with Nie Mingjue and it almost feels like it’s cutting Jiang Cheng open.

There’s no way around it, he still loves Nie Mingjue.

Despite everything, Jiang Cheng has to admit that they are having a nice evening. They avoid any and all talk about their relationship or break-up and instead focus on other topics, but the conversation is flowing with little to no pauses and Jiang Cheng has to admit that he has missed this.

He missed being comfortable with another person. The fact that that person apparently still is Nie Mingjue hurts him deeply though and by the time dessert comes around, he’s a little more subdued.

Nie Mingjue seems to notice, but he doesn’t say anything and Jiang Cheng is thankful for it. It’s not like he could explain what’s going on in his mind right now anyway.

“Wanyin,” Nie Mingjue says when they have finished their dessert and Jiang Cheng immediately tenses. “This was nice,” he carefully goes on, waiting for Jiang Cheng’s nod. “I—it would be nice if we could do this again. As friends.”

Jiang Cheng feels like someone pulled the chair out from under him and for a moment everything is spinning around. His heart is beating erratically in his chest and it makes breathing very hard but Jiang Cheng forces himself to maintain a steady rhythm anyway.

“I don’t think so,” Jiang Cheng manages to say, staggering to his feet. “I don’t want that.”

“Why?” Nie Mingjue asks and suddenly his face is hart, bordering on angry and it seems like they are having this conversation now, in a restaurant full of strangers. “Why not? Why can’t we be friends? Are you still that angry with me? Might I remind you that we both said things there at the end, but ultimately it was you who broke up with me.”

Jiang Cheng jerks with his words, but it’s not like he doesn’t know it.

“Five years, Mingjue,” Jiang Cheng chokes out. “I was gone for five years. It would never have worked.”

“And I said I wouldn’t be against a long-distance relationship,” Nie Mingjue gives back but Jiang Cheng shakes his head.

“Yeah, at first maybe. But then what, huh? Eventually you would have grown tired of that, and started to resent me. You would have wasted months, if not years on me and for what?” Jiang Cheng asks him and he feels like he did five years ago.

His whole life is coming down around him, again, and he can’t take it.

“Let’s just—not,” he gets out, and finally turns around from Nie Mingjue.

He has to get away. He didn’t expect it would still hurt this much, but if he’s being honest with himself, breaking up with Nie Mingjue was the biggest mistake he ever made.

And he doesn’t need to be reminded of that again and again.

“Wanyin,” Nie Mingjue calls after him, but Jiang Cheng is already out of the restaurant.

He’ll have to block Nie Huaisang’s number, he realizes, because he will want to yell at him, no doubt and Jiang Cheng is in no place to take that right now.

“Wanyin, wait,” Nie Mingjue suddenly says from behind him, stopping him with a hand to his arm and Jiang Cheng freezes when he realizes that Nie Mingjue came after him.

“What for?” Jiang Cheng whispers but he can’t bear to turn around, can’t bear to look at Nie Mingjue any longer, and he realizes that he’s shaking.

“Let’s just not talk about—dinner today was nice, right? Why can’t we try for that?” he asks and he sounds so hopeful that Jiang Cheng feels sick to his stomach.

It seems so easy for Nie Mingjue to talk to him, to ask to be his friend, when all it does to Jiang Cheng is tear him apart. Logically, Jiang Cheng knows it’s unfair that he’s being hurt by this, that he’s so mad at Nie Mingjue for being over him when that is really all Jiang Cheng wanted when he broke up with Nie Mingjue but it still hurts.

“Wanyin, why?” Nie Mingjue asks again, his voice now harder and Jiang Cheng has had enough.

He whirls around, dislodging Nie Mingjue’s hand in the process, and yells “Because I still love you!”

The words ring out between them, and Jiang Cheng is distantly aware that people are looking at them, but he barely notices it.

What he does notice is how Nie Mingjue takes a half step back, how his eyes widen and Jiang Cheng deflates.

He is so, so stupid. He should have never said it.

“Fuck,” Nie Mingjue hotly says and then suddenly his lips are on Jiang Cheng’s.

Jiang Cheng is frozen for the longest moment, and by the time he regains his senses Nie Mingjue is already pulling away again and Jiang Cheng can’t have that.

“Get back here,” he growls out and fists his hands into Nie Mingjue’s shirt, pulling him close, pulling him back into a kiss and it feels like coming home.

“Tell me you’re staying,” Nie Mingjue whispers against his lips when they do part for the second time. “Tell me we didn’t waste five years for nothing.”

“I’m staying, I’m here,” Jiang Cheng promises him, moving his hand to encircle Nie Mingjue’s wrist to keep his hand on his face. “I promise.”

“Alright,” Nie Mingjue breathes out and then kisses Jiang Cheng again, softer, this time. “We’ll figure it out.”

Jiang Cheng feels hot tears in his eyes, because this is more than he could have ever hoped for, ever dared to dream for, but he nods.

“Please,” he begs and Nie Mingjue takes the opportunity to kiss him again.

There is still a lot they have to talk about—probably also some things they have to fight about—but Jiang Cheng thinks that they will probably get through that.

At least he hopes they will.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

#bt writes #mingcheng #the untamed #mdzs #mdzsbingo #modern au #post break-up #getting back together #hurt/comfort #feelings #all of the feelings

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rainbowsky · 2 years

Note

Heya, I was watching the untamed again and I have some questions about that. I was wondering if you could answer them I tried googling it, but I couldn't find it.

1) why does the grandmaster Lan outrank the clan leader? None of the other Clans have one is there a reason why it's just him. And he is doing all the punishments etc.

2) yanli is sick a lot, and she's got no fighting skills unlike her mother. Is there a book explanation for why she's so mundane and sick?

Sorry, another question. What was the plan Lan Zhan had to save Wei Wuxian during that finale fight in the flashback episodes?

I have not read the books in full. At some point I didn't enjoy it much. So I hope it's okay to ask these questions.

Hi Anon. It's been a while since I read the book, but I think I can answer most of this. Although to be honest I kind of dislike talking about MDZS and The Untamed, because there are rabid fans of each who like war and who attack anyone who says things they disagree with. It sucks all the joy out of discussing the books/show.

Lan Qiren is only a clan elder and teacher, and the guardian of Xichen and Wangji. He hands out punishments in those capacities. "Grandmaster" is just an honorific title meaning, "elder" in this context. He has never been clan leader.

Yanli is portrayed a bit differently in the book than she is in the series, but in both cases she is not a very talented cultivator and prefers cooking and nurturing and caring for others over cultivation. I wouldn't go so far as to say she's sick a lot. She's just a sensitive, fragile person in The Untamed. This could be in part because she isn't as powerful as the other cultivators. Everything she goes through impacts her harder as a result. Remember, strong cultivators have supernatural powers that heal them, give them endurance, etc.

I'm not sure which plan you're talking about. Unless you're talking about in episode 32 when they were fighting and Wangji said, "The situation has changed. Trust me." It's never really explained what he means by that. I don't know if some of that got cut out by censorship or if they never really had any plan to explain it. There are possible theories, of course, but they'd just be speculation. All we really need to know is made pretty clear in that moment anyway: LWJ is on WWX's side. He's trying to help. That's all he's ever really wanted to do. He has always had WWX's best interests at heart.

Although, Anon, you shouldn't get too caught up in what the book says vs what the drama says. They are, in many ways, two entirely different stories, and trying to reconcile them as though they tell the same story will only confuse you.

If you don't plan to finish the book, then just enjoy the drama and recognize that the drama isn't going to tell you much about the book, or give you a proper, complete understanding of MDZS canon.

#the untamed #ask

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franniebanana · 3 years

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CQL Rewatch - Ep 30

I really appreciate these quieter moments in this series, these kind of comedic moments that kind of get swallowed up by the epic, dramatic events. And seeing the Yiling Laozu hawking turnips by the side of the road is just such a good contrast from what we've seen earlier from his fake disciples. It's a very funny comparison to how people view him. It's a very good example of reputation preceding the person. And not only Wei Wuxian, but you also have Wen Ning, the Ghost General, most often one of the meekest people you'll ever meet.

This is just hysterical: the fake disciple shows up right next to them, trying to sell "spiritual tools!" And, of course, Wei Wuxian can't resist the urge to check it out. I so would have loved to see the look on that guy's face if he'd found out who Wei Wuxian actually was, especially since he later calls him a "dirty turnip seller."

Jiang Cheng looks so offended when he hears that Wei Wuxian already knew Jiang Yanli was getting married. He asks from whom he found out, but isn't it obvious? Who else would have told Wei Wuxian but Lan Wangji? And I feel like Wei Wuxian's answer of "none of your business" makes it even more obvious. Just another moment to make Jiang Cheng feel inferior.

She is so gorgeous here, though. I really wish we had gotten to see some of the wedding, even if it wasn't part of the book. It would have been interesting just from a cultural perspective (not that I can't just go look this stuff up, but I'm lazy and also very busy IRL). I really love the red and gold, and those earrings are so pretty! Just another example of the excellent costuming department. They did such a great job on this series--it's honestly one of the best parts for me, outside of Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan.

Oh my gosh, Jiang Cheng looks so pleased here hahaha! "My incoming nephew!" Hahaha! What if she had a girl, though, huh? That actually would have been interesting. I was confused reading this part in MDZS, because I thought Jiang Yanli was getting married, but then they were talking about her baby, and I'm like ????

But this part is super cute, how she wants Wei Wuxian to help pick the courtesy name, and how he manages to add "Lan" into it. So sweet. And of course Jiang Cheng looks so annoyed. Love it.

I feel that the central message of this series up to this point is that soup can solve all problems. But really, they all have an unhealthy obsession with soup. I get it, I get it, it reminds them of old times, it's comforting, it's something they've done as a family for years and years....I just need some stupid side character to pop up every once in a while to say, "If you like soup so much, why don't you marry it?" Am I the only one who feels like they're really trying to shove the soup down our throats? The message is heard loud and clear the first several times. And I think even seeing it at a pivotal moment, paired with Wei Wuxian's "I'm hungry" line is enough. We get that he's not hungry for soup and that his hunger is a metaphor--he's not craving food, he's craving comfort and love.

It's pretty clear here that Jiang Cheng wants Wei Wuxian to come back. He gives him another chance to give up the Wens and return to Lotus Pier. Again, I think he cares about Wei Wuxian, but I also think he wants Wei Wuxian on his terms. He wants someone he can control and someone who'll be obedient and subservient to him. In other words, he doesn't want Wei Wuxian, the rebel, the outcast, the Yiling Laozu. He doesn't understand until Wei Wuxian says it (and even then, I'm not sure he gets it) that Wei Wuxian is close to the Wens, and possibly even considers them family as well. He was willing--and did--give up his whole life for them.

I think Jiang Yanli is more understanding of what Wei Wuxian has done, but she still wants him to come back. She cares about his wellbeing more than anything, so her concerns are different than her brother's. But I think, ultimately, it's a selfish wish that she desires him to come back into the fold. I can't really fault her for that. Because of the situation and the politics, she loses someone who she considers a younger brother. Saying goodbye here is potentially saying goodbye forever, and it's not fair. Were she a man, even, things may be different, but marrying into the Jin Clan almost certainly denies her the right to visit Wei Wuxian on her own. I do like how she never asks Wei Wuxian to come back, but she asks Wen Ning how he is doing among the Wen remnants. I wish we had gotten to see that conversation, because I'm actually curious what Wen Ning said.

This is heartbreaking here: the music, her steps forwards and backwards. The hesitation makes me anxious and tense and sad. Wen Qing knows Wei Wuxian gave up everything, she sees how despondent he gets, how depressed he gets: his drunk ramblings about Emperor's Smile and Lan Wangji, his sudden urge to grow lotus flowers. And now she finds out that he's seen Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli. She knows that he's saved them all at the cost of his own happiness and his own life and ambitions. She wants him to go back, but at the same time, she doesn't want to lose him. I noticed in the prior scene how they were all sitting at a table together: Granny Wen, A-Yuan, Wen Ning, Wen Qing, and Wei Wuxian. It's like they were a little family. And I think that's what Wen Qing feels for Wei Wuxian--he's like a younger brother, someone she feels like she needs to take care of. He's nothing like her own brother: he's rash and wild and irresponsible, but I think she feels familial love towards him all the same. And I think they connected on an intellectual level as well--it seems that he is one of the only people she can really talk to and be honest with, at least from what's shown to us. It's the old adage: if you love something, let it go. She knows in her heart that she'll eventually have to let him go--not just him, but all of them. She says this later, but she knows they're living on borrowed time. They were never supposed to have survived this long, and they only did because Wei Wuxian gave up his life. It's so sad.

And then we have this great scene, where Wei Wuxian is at war with himself. Is he Wei Wuxian, the man who would be the other Twin Pride of Yunmeng, Clan Leader Jiang Cheng's subordinate? Or is he the Yiling Laozu, the man who sacrificed everything for his own principals? He wants to exist in both worlds--he wants to be true to himself and his values, while also supporting those he loves. But the choices that he's made up to this point have landed him squarely on one side, and he can't cross over now. The politics, the demonic cultivation--everything in the world being what it is, it's impossible for him to change now. He can't be the Yiling Laozu and be part of the Twin Prides of Yunmeng. Again, it's quite sad, but ultimately he still doesn't know if he made the right choices or not.

Just Wei Wuxian taking credit for something that he had barely anything to do with! But seriously, talking about gardening, especially with what little they have, the only thing that was a factor in whether or not the lotus would take root was the soil quality and the amount of water. It's silly to me that Wei Wuxian made it all about destiny. Really, it's not hard to grow a plant. What's hard is getting that plant to flower and produce fruit (if it's that kind of a plant). So, honestly, it's a bigger achievement that they were able to grow those turnips.

Wow, this episode really wants to hammer home how much Wei Wuxian misses Jiang Yanli and being apart of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect. I was going to say it's about how he regrets his choices, but I still think it's unclear if he regrets them or not. I think he's very torn on what he would have done if he'd had the chance to do it again. I'd say he's leaning heavily towards regret, but that he's also very invested in his principals and the oath that he made on the mountain that day. But in the same episode, we have Jiang Yanli getting married, which he is unable to attend, and now she has given birth to a baby, who Wei Wuxian won't be able to see (or so he thinks right now). He's realizing that his rash decisions that made sense in the moment now seem very shortsighted. Life in Yunmeng and the world beyond has gone on without him, and it will continue to go on, and that's a very sobering thought.

What a dick. Just let him hold the damn baby!

Okay, first of all, FINALLY, Lan Wangji is here. I couldn't remember if he was in this episode of not. Secondly, of course he's fighting for Wei Wuxian's rights again. Gotta love the guy for not giving up. And also, you have to love Lan Xichen for agreeing with him. Wei Wuxian hasn't stirred up any trouble, he's been hiding away in the Burial Mounds. He should be able to come see his shijie's son. But man, even Lan Xichen is taking the heat here. Jin Zixun says, "even you, Zewu Jun, are defending a traitor" (paraphrasing), as if Lan Xichen should be above that. Jin Zixun is used to Lan Wangji defending Wei Wuxian at this point, but this is a bit of a first for Lan Xichen. Even though I'm a sucker for "us vs the world" tropes, I like how Lan Wangji's brother is on his side and does come to his aid here.

I love how the conversation quickly devolves into trash-talking Wei Wuxian and, by extension, Lan Wangji. Why does he have a friend like Wei Wuxian? Does that also mean that he is like him? Jin Zixun is really out of line here and essentially saying Lan Wangji is fraternizing with the enemy--basically, he may not be worthy of the title of Hanguang Jun. Personally, I eat this shit up. I love that Lan Wangji is being put on the spot here by that asshole, and how both Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao are about to side with Jin Zixun.

And God forbid the father of the actual baby should have anything to say about this, right? I get how things are there culturally, but I would think that the future clan leader, Jin Zixuan, should get some say in who's invited to his child's first month celebration. Wei Wuxian is someone who remains close to his wife, despite the physical distance between them. He should be allowed to attend. It's great to have seen Jin Zixuan grow up, you know? He was such a tool at the beginning, but he comes to love Jiang Yanli, and through that, accept Wei Wuxian. That doesn't mean they are friends, but he respects that Wei Wuxian is a part of the family, regardless of the situation. Jiang Yanli loves him, so Jin Zixuan accepts him as well.

I feel like half the room is willing to support Wei Wuxian coming, but none of them can deny that Wen Ning is a problem. Even Lan Wangji knows how dangerous he can be, having seen it firsthand when he lost control.

Jin Guangyao: How's that Hundred Holes curse treating you, Zixun? ;)

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

#wei wuxian #wen qing #wen ning #cql #the untamed #jiang cheng #jiang yanli #lan wangji #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #lan xichen #jin guangyao #jin zixuan #ep 30 #cql rewatch

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drwcn · 3 years

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concubine/sleeper agent!wwx and prince!lwj bullshit continues:

[story board 1] - The two empires and the Imperial Lan Family [story board 2] - WWX, Qishan Wen’s sleeper agent [story board 3] - The inner court (harem) of Hanguang Manor, prior to WWX

→ [Story Board 4] - “A-Xian”, the attendant of Jiang Yanli

Wei Wuxian lived with the Jiangs for 2 years. After he came to Gusu as a 16-yro, he charmed/scammed his way into the Jiang manor, won the favour of Jiang Fengmian, the affection of Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng, and waited. For a long time, no further instructions were given to him from Wen Ruohan. Then, one day, he saw Zhao Zhuliu on the streets of the Capital. Zhao Zhuliu was the head of Wen Ruohan’s intelligence bureau and incidentally, was also Wei Wuxian and Xue Yang’s shifu.

— “Shifu, does bixia finally have an assignment for me?” — “He does. Jiang Yanli is set to marry Lan Wangji. You are to find a way to accompany her to Hanguang-fu and get close to him.” — “Close to him as in...?” — “Any means necessary. He has a harem already, so you will not be the only one vying for his attention. Do think you can handle it?” — “Well I don’t know, shifu,” responded WWX coyly. “ Word on the street is that this Hanguang-wang prefers pretty men. His ce-wangfu Jin Ziyan is famous for his handsomeness, and that mianshou Mo Xuanyu he keeps around is a looker too. Do you think I’ve grown pretty enough?” — “You seem very aware of his household, I’m surprised.” — “Bixia sent me here to observe and learn; I’ve not been idle.”

Wei Wuxian knew Jiang Yanli was set to marry Lan Wangji before she even knew herself. This was not a coincidence. Originally, three years ago, when Lan Wangji was first choosing members of his harem, Jiang Yanli had been considered, but at the time Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan were already engaged to be wed. Jin Zixuan had promised Jiang Yanli that as soon as he passed the imperial scholarly exam and secured a position for himself in His Majesty’s court based on his own merit and not on the influence of his father Jin-guogong (Duke Jin), that he and Yanli would marry. It was a marriage that his late mother had arranged with her best friend Yu Ziyuan, and both Yanli and Zixuan were amenable to it. However, when Jin Zixuan finally passed the exam and ranked 6th in the national polling, he chose to take a position far away from the capital and left without a word of affirmation regarding the engagement. The position was an important one given to Jin Zixuan by Emperor Lan Xichen himself and so in some ways, it was understandable that he could not refused. After Jin Zixuan left the capital, Jin Guangshan went to his “old friend” Jiang Fengmian and “apologized” profusely on his son’s behalf, spewing all sorts of words about how a young man ought to make his way in this world and such. However, this left the Jiangs in an awkward position. Jiang Yanli was 21 yrs old, already older than any unwed noble lady should be. The Jiangs were angry with this outcome, but given the politics of it, they could not say much...and that was when Lianfang-jun Meng Yao revisited an idea that had been put aside three years ago. — “Hanguang-wang...desires to marry A-Li?” Jiang Fengmian was somewhat flabbergasted. “But...” — Meng Yao smiled, “Jiang-houye*, three years ago I came on behalf of er-di to broker a marriage between our two families, but you and Yu-furen both refused on account of her engagement with Jin-xiao-gongye. But I must say ling’ai* is a fine young woman, eloquent and mild-mannered and would make a fine wangfei* some day.” — “Wangfei? but -” — “Yes, Hanguang-wang did say he would choose his own princess or prince consort, but as you can see, even with Jin Ziyan as he ce-wangfu, Qin-fu’ren and Luo-fu’ren at his side, our prince has not shown any desire for any of them to be his legal spouse. He is still waiting, searching, and who’s to say Jiang-gu’niang is not equal if not better than the lot of them?”

What the Jiangs didn’t know was that Jin Guangshan was a traitor and had already sold his loyalty to Wen Ruohan, who promised him to make him a fanwang* when Qishan eventually annexed Gusu. JGS was a mole inside Gusu’s government secretly helping to further Wen Ruohan’s agenda. Nevertheless, Wen Ruohan wanted Wei Wuxian to get close to Lan Wangji, because as helpful as Jin Guangshan was, he was never fully trusted by the royal family and did not know their inner workings. Breaking Jiang Yanli’s marriage with Jin Zixuan was just a matter of convenience. Jin Guangshan was not fussed regarding a simple marriage when the reward would be much greater. As per WRH’s instruction, he used his influences in court to maneuver Lan Xichen into giving Jin Zixuan a position far away from the capital, thus removing his son from the dangerous political atmosphere and freeing up Jiang Yanli as a potential concubine for Lan Wangji. Then, Jin Guangshan sat back and allowed Meng Yao to finish the game that he started. Meng Yao was not a willing participant. He loved Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue but Jin Guangshan held the secret to his past and thus a noose around his neck. Everyone in court knew that Lianfang-jun Meng Yao was once a lieutenant in Nie Mingjue’s army and later became his personal secretary. He was known for his wit and silver tongue and the charming dimples on his cheeks whenever he smiled. However, not many knew that Meng Yao was the bastard son of Jin Guangshan and a prostitute. Meng Shi’s hope was that one day her son would be legitimized by his father, but alas her hopes were in vain. A child born to a whore would be condemned to a live in the “jian” caste unless otherwise freed. It was Nie Mingjue who chose to raise Meng Yao above his station and respected him as a person for the first time in his life. When Nie Mingjue and his long-time sweetheart the crown prince Lan Xichen were set to marry, Meng Yao thought his days of freedom would be over. To his surprise, Nie Mingjue opted to bring him back with him from the borderlands where Nie Mingjue’s battalion was stationed and introduce him to court and to Lan Xichen. It seemed almost impossible that Lan Xichen would love him as unapologetically as Nie Mingjue, but somehow he did. Meng Yao became the only concubine person in Lan Xichen’s harem other than Fengjun Nie Mingjue. Life was perfect, so perfect in fact Meng Yao even entertained the idea of coaxing Lan Xichen to take on a lady or two to be his concubine so that the palace could be filled with little ones. Of course he’d be a little jealous...but they would have children...and Lan Xichen loved babies. Then of course, Jin Guangshan found out who he was, and from that point on, Meng Yao was no longer a free man. Every single moment of his life, his father threatened him with exposure. If anyone were to find out just how unseemly his origin had been, how not only was his mother a prostitute, but he himself had been nearly no different (given to the Nies as a gift by a stupid pandering official), his life would be over. At the very least Lan Xichen would be forced to banish him, at the worst, he’d be dead. Oh there would be no public announcement of course, but it would be said that he had taken ill and succumbed to his frail health, and with his death the smear on the Lan imperial family would be cleansed. Meng Yao didn’t want to die, so he did as Jin Guangshan asked, even when the ask became Nie Mingjue’s life. (But NMJ isn’t really dead...Meng Yao was nothing if not a fighter. He could not let the father who’d cursed him to a less than hellish existence take away from him the first man who’d ever shown him love and kindness.) — “Jiang Yanli must marry Lan Wangji.” Jin Guangshan instructed. “And you must ensure that when she does, the boy goes with her.” — “What boy?” — “The ward of Jiang Fengmian: Wei Wuxian.”

So when Meng Yao came to speak with Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan, naturally he brought up the subject of Lan Wangji’s “preference.” “The Qin family did very well in this regard. They were quite clever in allowing Mo Xuanyu to serve Hanguang-wang; the boy is too low-born to be of any threat. Even if Hanguang-wang’s harem of today becomes the imperial harem of tomorrow, Mo Xuanyu would not be more than a mianshou. His success, on the other hand, would ensure that Hanguang-wang’s favour stay with the Qin family. As we can see, their effort was not in vain. Qin Su became with child rather swiftly. Little Kaisong was born more no later than three months after Jingyi.” Meng Yao explained the delicate nature of the situation to the Jiangs. “If Jiang-guniang is to marry Hanguang-wang, forgive me for my boldness, but she would be wise to bring a male attendant of her own. Wangji is kind and would honour her as his concubine, but the man cannot control his inclinations, as none of us could.” Yu Ziyuan exchanged a look with Jiang Fengmian. Yanli was older now; waiting for Jin Zixuan to keep his promise had delayed her and possibly ruined her prospects. If this marriage to Lan Wangji were to succeed... he is an honourable man who treated all his concubines equally and with respect. If he grew to like Yanli enough to make her his legal spouse as Meng Yao seemed to think is possible...then one day she would be Empress. — “Hanguang-wang’s preference is men. Would he not prefer to have a wangfu instead of a wangfei?” Jiang Fengmian was still hesitant. — “Indeed I’m sure he would, but politics being what it is...” Meng Yao sighed. “I’m sure Wangji understands that having the mother of his heir be his wangfei and his future empress is the best course of action to ensure the stability of the nation. We certainly have no shortage of examples to learn from in history: a shuchu prince with competing shuchu brothers walks a perilous road.” — “Lianfang-jun is wise.” Yu Ziyuan nudged her husband. “Which young man do you suggest we include in the bridal party?” — “That I have not decided, which is why I’ve come to see you today. Jiang-fu is a large manor, surely there must be some servants worthy to catch the eye of our Hanguang-wang. Yu-fu’ren, why don’t you assemble them, and we can have a pick?” — “Lianfang-jun, that is a delightful idea.”

Wei Wuxian was not surprised at all when all the young men of Jiang-fu under 21 and above 16 were assembled in a courtyard. He scanned the crowd; there were about 20-ish of them. One by one, they were beckoned forward, and when it was his turn, he walked with his head bowed towards the man sitting under the eave on a luxurious wicker chair, holding a fan. The fan was very expensive, drawn by an artist in the previous dynasty. An antique. This must be Zewu-di’s* only concubine, Meng Yao. — “Greetings to Lianfang-jun.” — “Raise your head, boy, let me take a good look at you.” — Wei Wuxian obeyed. Meng Yao looked him over once, appraising and evaluating, before making a pleased little noise. “Hm. Your name?” — “Wei Wuxian.” — “Wei...Wuxian?” Meng Yao gave a pretty laugh. “A rather boastful name for so young a person. My, but you are a lovely thing. Tell me, what is your age?” — “Eighteen.” — “Eighteen, excellent. It’s unfortunate that your name isn’t something a little more humble. What does your family call you?” — “My family calls me A-Xian, dianxia.” — “Well A-Xian, if I were to tell you that you’ve been chosen to accompany Jiang-gu’niang to serve Hanguang-wang, what say you?” — WWX thought *I’d say Lan Wangji better sleep with one eye open*, but said with a gracious and deferring bow of his head, “That would be my honour.”

[next]

Note:

houye - marquess ling’ai - a formal way to address someone else’s daughter wangfei - princess consort fanwang - a type of high-ranking prince with their own region/land to govern and possibly even their own army to command under imperial rule. Zewu-di - emperor zewu.

#cql #the untamed #wangxian #wei wuxian #concubine!wwx #assassin!wwx #prince!lwji #cql ficlet #corie fics #without envy

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 3 years

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i'm so TIRED of people with vivid imaginations trying to convince every1 the things their brains came up with happened in MDZS, just saw some1 say about lan mom "SOMETHING went down between a creepy teacher and their mother. She gets forced into marriage with a man she doesn’t love and IMPRISONED before eventually committing suicide/ falling sick and dying" like WHERE? the only piece of information was LXC saying "i have no idea WTF happened" so he doesn't know, MXTX doesn't know but you do???

Some of this is a shock for my system so early in the morning... alright... I guess we're gonna go step by step with this just cause people are awful at reading, along with my stance on this particular bit of prevalent discourse.

Since this is greatly misinterpreted for whatever reasons, here is the relevant passage and only one in the text we get concerning the Lan parents. I'm going to add that this is alllll relaid by Lan Xichen and to keep that in mind with what is highlighted.

He spoke slowly, “The reason that my father often practiced secluded meditation was my mother. This place, compared to a place of living… was more like a place of detention.”

Wei WuXian was surprised.

The father of ZeWu-Jun and HanGuang-Jun, QingHeng-Jun, used to be a famous cultivator. He made his name at a young age and had many things waiting for him in the future. However, at the age of twenty, he suddenly backed away and announced his marriage. He had also ceased to care for much of the world. Although it was called secluded meditation, it was much more like retirement. People had come up with many possible reasons, but none of them had been verified.

Lan XiChen bent down amid the clusters of gentians. He gently stroked those thin, tender petals, “When my father was young, when he returned from a night-hunt once, he saw my mother outside of Gusu city.” He smiled, “I heard that it was love at first sight.”

Wei WuXian grinned as well, “The young are often sentimental.”

Lan XiChen continued, “But, the woman did not care for him the same way. In addition, she killed one of my father’s teachers.”

This was beyond imagination. Although Wei WuXian knew that asking too many questions would be very rude, however when he remembered that they had been Lan WangJi’s parents, he felt that he just had to ask. “Why?!”

Lan XiChen, “I do not know. But, I assume that it was something along the lines of ‘grievances’.”

Wei WuXian didn’t ask anymore into this and forced down his curiosity, “And… what happened later?”

“And then,” Lan XiChen explained, “When my father heard of this, of course he was in much pain. But, no matter how he struggled, he still took the woman to his sect in secrecy. Ignoring the objections from his clan, he knelt with her for the Heavens and the Earth without making a sound and told everyone in the clan that she would be his wife for the rest of his life, that whoever wanted to harm her would have to pass through him first.”

Wei WuXian widened his eyes.

Lan XiChen continued, “After the ceremony was completed, my father found a house and locked my mother inside. He found another house and locked himself inside. It was called secluded meditation, but it was in truth to repent.”

He paused before speaking again, “Young Master Wei, can you understand why he did such a thing?”

Wei WuXian answered after a moment of silence, “He could neither forgive the one who killed his teacher nor watch the death of the woman who he loved. He could only marry her to protect her life and force himself not to see her.”

Lan XiChen, “Do you think that this was right?”

Wei WuXian, “I don’t know.”

Lan XiChen looked somewhat lost, “Then, what do you think would be right?”

Wei WuXian, “I don’t know.”

A while later, Lan XiChen whispered, “It could be said that my father did this without a care for anything else. All of the seniors of the clan were enraged, but they had all watched him grow up. They could not do anything except guard this secret, hint to the outside world that the wife of the GusuLan Sect’s sect leader had an unspeakable disease and could not see others. After WangJi and I were born, we were immediately taken away to be cared for by other people. When we grew older, we were brought to Uncle to be taught."

“My shufu… has always had a frank personality to begin with. Because of how my mother caused my father to destroy his own life, he began to hate those who behaved improperly even more. Thus, he poured his heart into teaching WangJi and me. He was especially harsh as well. Every month, we could only see Mother once, inside of this cottage.”

They were two young children, who faced everyday only their harsh uncle, strict teachings, and mountains of books. No matter how tired, they had to straighten their soft backs to be the most outstanding disciples of the clan, the model students in others’ eyes. They could rarely see their closest relatives. They couldn’t fool around in their father’s arms, they couldn’t act spoiled in front of their mother.

But they had clearly done nothing wrong.

Lan XiChen, “Everytime WangJi and I went to see her, she would never complain about how tedious it was being locked inside of here, unable to step out once. She had never asked about our studies, either. She especially liked to tease WangJi, but WangJi, the more you tease him the less willing he is to talk, and the worse of an expression he puts on. He has been like this ever since he was young. However,” he chuckled, “even though WangJi never said it, I knew that every month he was looking forward to the day he could see Mother. He was like this, and I was the same.”

Wei WuXian imagined a young Lan WangJi hugged inside of his mother’s arms, his snowy little cheeks flushed pink. He laughed as well. But before his smile had even melted, Lan XiChen continued, “But one day, Uncle suddenly told us that we would have no need to go any longer."

“Mother was gone.”

Wei WuXian’s voice was soft, “How old was Lan Zhan back then?”

Lan XiChen, “Six.”

He continued, “He was still too young to understand what ‘gone’ means. No matter how much others comforted him, or how much Uncle scolded him, he would continue to come back here every single month, sit down in the hallway, and wait for someone to open the door for him. When he grew older, he understood that Mother would not be coming back, that no one would open the door for him, but he kept on coming here.”

Lan XiChen stood up. His dark eyes looked into Wei WuXian’s, “WangJi has been so stubborn ever since he was young.”

The leaves rustled and the gentian flowers swished alongside the wind, their scent lingering. Wei WuXian’s eyes landed on the wooden hallway of the cottage. He could almost see a small child wearing a forehead ribbon sitting with proper posture in front of the house, waiting quietly for the door to open.

He spoke, “Madam Lan must’ve been a very gentle woman.”

Lan XiChen, “In my memories, Mother had indeed been so. I do not know why she did such a thing back then. And, in truth, I…”

He took a deep breath before confessing, “I do not want to know either.”

After a few moments of silence, Lan XiChen closed his eyes. He took out Liebing. A gust of night wind suddenly sent forth a sobbing note of the xiao. The sound was deep, like a sigh.

Wei WuXian had heard Lan XiChen play Liebing before. Its timbre was just like Lan XiChen himself, as warm and graceful as a breeze and the rain of spring. Yet, now, although his technique was as excellent as ever, the tone evoked a strange mixture of feelings.

The night wind swept by. Lan XiChen’s hair and forehead ribbon were already somewhat disheveled. However, the GusuLan Sect’s sect leader, who had always regarded appearance highly, didn’t pay any attention to them. He only put down Liebing after the song had finished, “Music is forbidden at night in the Cloud Recesses. Today I have overstepped far too many times. Excuse me, Wei gongzi.”

Wei WuXian, “How so? ZeWu-Jun, have you forgotten that the person standing in front of you is the person who has broken the most rules…”

Lan XiChen smiled, “The GusuLan Sect has never revealed these facts about Lan Wangji and myself outside of itself. I should not have told you. Tonight was my sudden urge to unburden myself, a spur of the moment.”

Wei WuXian, “I’m not the kind of person who talks too much. Don’t worry, ZeWu-Jun.”

Lan XiChen, “Regardless, I would assume that WangJi would not hide anything from you anyways.”

Wei WuXian, “If he doesn’t wish to talk about something then I won’t ask.”

Lan XiChen, “But, with WangJi’s personality, how could he say anything if you do not ask? There are some things that even if you ask him he would not say.”

Now that we have the context of the Lan parents laid out the only definitive answer for anything concerning their personal motivations for anything is "I DON'T KNOW". Their secrets and thoughts literally died with them.

And this entire story Lan Xichen told in the end, had nothing to do with his parents. He did not tell Wei Wuxian about them, he was speaking everything unsaid about Lan Wangji's motivations and his love of Wei Wuxian. He does not care why his parents did what they did, but he does for the one that is alive. His brother who he had just had a bit of a veiled conversation about Lan Wangji's pure trust in Wei Wuxian. Who, in Lan Xichen's eyes, had already rejected his brother's love and did not feel the same, mirroring the past of their father's apparent unrequited love. He is saying Lan Wangji is sacrificing his all, unvoiced.

His pressing of if his parent "are right" is him asking Wei Wuxian what he feels about those sacrifices, if he can see the sacrifices Lan Wangji had gone through. At this point he along with Lan Wangji have assumed Wei Wuxian knows and remembers what he had said within the cave. He is telling Wei Wuxian his brother has alway been this way for those he loves regardless of what they may be perceived as by outsiders.

"Today I have overstepped far too many times. Excuse me, Wei gongzi.”"

"I should not have told you. Tonight was my sudden urge to unburden myself, a spur of the moment.”

Meaning, it was not his place to tell this about his brother, but there is no one else that would, and Lan Wangji would never say anything about his feelings again. Lan Xichen is first and foremost worried about where his brother has placed his love, as he knows, regardless of what rumors surround those he loves, his brother will still be forever loyal to them without question if he believes them to be in the right.

Lan Xichen is warning Wei Wuxian he needs to take care in his actions as he approaches Lan Wangji as Xichen is well aware already of how Lan Wangji will go through hell for others he adores. From the start it was never about his parents, as Lan Xichen says, "I do not want to know either,". But what he does want to know is where Wei Wuxian stands with his own feelings towards Lan Wangji or if he is still using his brother as he has thought for years. Leaving Lan Xichen to protect him as best as he can while Lan Wangji stays hurt for others with no happiness for himself.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the Lan parents #It literally does not matter what was between them as they are dead and gone #Lan Wangji is the one left seemingly continuing their tragedy and rumors #the lan parents are a damn metaphore for Lan Wangji's feelings

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smiting-finger · 3 years

Text

alive, and back on my usual nonsense

So after getting preoccupied with other things and temporarily falling off the face of the planet (for like an entire year ಥωಥ), I was thinking about the kdrama Mr. Queen (which I've been meaning to watch), and the Chinese novel it was based on (太子妃升职记, which I read a few years ago and very much enjoyed), and this popped out--

Wei Wuxian’s first thought is that there seem to be an awful lot of female voices around, for a bedroom inhabited by two men. Did he drink too much last night? It wouldn’t be the first time he’s overindulged on a trip to the town and woken up in a strange place the next morning, but that kind of problem has been cropping up a lot less frequently now that he has Lan Zhan around to ferry him home.

(Sometimes literally, on his back. His broad, strong--)

But perhaps Lan Zhan had gotten drunk, too? In which case, Wei Wuxian should consider them lucky to have woken up surrounded by people, rather than chickens, rabbits or, notably, on one occasion, mounds of resentful cabbages.

The chatter around him continues, pitched high with youth and - is that anxiety? It's interspersed with the odd interjection from what sounds like one (calmer, if more exasperated) older woman and a man. Probably not a nunnery, he decides. Perhaps the back rooms of a pleasure house? Although, if that’s the case, this amount of excitement over a mere two men is honestly a little excessive.

He reaches out tentatively, but pats all the way across the mattress to the edge without finding his usual bedfellow. A much less tentative venture towards the other side produces similar results.

Hm.

Wei Wuxian cracks open an eye and heaves himself upright, absent-mindedly scratching at his (unusually soft - as much as he hates to admit it, maybe Nie Huaisang has a point about drinking less and training more) side and squinting into the too-bright light until the person-shaped blur in front of him sharpens into focus.

“Niang niang!” a complete stranger cries tearfully, clutching at the sleeve of his other arm. “You’re awake! Thank Heavens, you’re awake! Physician Liu, quick, quick!”

A cushion is produced from somewhere and thrust expectantly between Wei Wuxian and the elderly man sitting at his bedside.

He sighs. It’s probably not worth fighting.

Wei Wuxian smacks his upturned wrist onto the unusually lavish brocade and is only a little surprised when it’s covered by a cloth before the physician reaches to take it.

(Do they think he’s diseased?)

((Is he diseased?!))

(((Is that why Lan Zhan isn’t here?)))

He looks at the row of young girls (+ 1 matron) kneeling along the wall to his left, dressed identically to the first and also now beginning to prostrate themselves and wail about “Niang niang!” and blessings and deserving to die.

Not a pleasure house, then.

He looks around at the rest of the richly-furnished room and its intricately-carved wooden furniture, the wealth of jade carvings and the obscene amount of gold that's gilding … everything (so shiny). The opulence of it all would put even Jin Guangshan to shame.

So, not a nunnery either.

He looks down at the small hands, delicate wrists and - he clutches one abruptly just to make sure his eyes aren’t deceiving him - breasts of the body that he certainly was not inhabiting yesterday.

“Well,” he says aloud, unable to stop himself from wincing at the high, soft voice that emerges despite fully expecting it. “It’s not the first time this has happened.”

===

Two days, one diagnosis of shock-induced memory loss and some discreet enquiries (as well as some indiscreet enquiries) later, this is what he knows about his situation:

He’s the main consort (unfavoured) of the crown prince of whatever place he’s landed in;

Three days ago, following a disagreement with one Consort Yun (favoured, main competitor for husband’s affections);

In the course of this disagreement, both women somehow fell into a palace lake and mostly-drowned;

Consort Yun (admittedly quite pretty) was revived at the scene, but Wei Wuxian took a full day to “miraculously” recover;

Angered by the unseemly behaviour of her daughters-in-law, particularly upon learning that the Crown Princess’s first act upon waking was to stumble upon a chance meeting between the Crown Prince and Consort Yun in one of the pleasure gardens and bodily throw herself between them (a tactical error on Wei Wuxian’s part. He’d been trying to throw himself over the battlements to freedom, but he’d gotten lost and scaled the wrong wall), the Empress (Crown Prince’s political opponent, not particularly fond of either consort) grounded both of them to their respective residences for a month, with no visitors allowed.

Which brings him to his current position, feeding the fish in his personal pond as an excuse to be alone. Not truly alone - he shoots a pointed glance at the maids watching anxiously from the other side of the courtyard - because he’s apparently a “suicide risk” now (and honestly, yes, he’d meant to throw himself off that roof, but he hadn’t meant to die - it’s simply that this new body’s cultivation level is not what he’s come to expect even from Mo Xuanyu’s modest abilities), but alone enough to start planning his next move.

Direct escape is out - he didn’t have a plan for what to do once he’d gotten out anyway, and honestly he’s better-resourced for finding out how he got here in the Palace than anywhere else, so it’s no great loss.

“What do you think, Master Fish?” Wei Wuxian asks a gold and black spotted koi with particularly sage-looking whiskers. “Shall I just stay here for the time being?”

It’s not a terrible place to be for the time being, he must admit, throwing more food into the water and watching the fish swarm. Being grounded, he’s at no risk from the Crown Prince’s amorous attentions for a month (a salute of gratitude to the Empress for the inadvertent protection). And thanks to Consort Yun and her voluptuous figure (and if the Crown Prince is more partial to that than the Zhao Feiyan style of willowy fragility that Wei Wuxian seems to have inherited, who can honestly blame him?), he’s at no great risk from them after that, either (a salute of gratitude to the unknowing sister-in-arms, taking one - and hopefully a great many more after that - for the team).

According to his maid (sleeve-clutcher extraordinaire, who even now is boring two holes into his skull with her woeful gaze from across the way while he does nothing more suspicious than scatter another handful of feed towards some latercomer fish), the body he’s inhabiting comes from a powerful military lineage. In particular, her father is (was?) a powerful general who currently commands more than half the nation’s military forces and has the absolute trust of the Emperor. So that more or less keeps him safe from the machinations of the majority of the nest of vipers in this palatial cesspit.

That just leaves the Empress, who - if his servants and the smuggled letters from the Original Goods’s mother (a salute of gratitude to the worthy woman for spelling it out so that even such an interloper as he can understand) are anything to go by - would definitely kill him to damage the Crown Prince’s political standing or throw any sort of roadblock in the way of him from becoming Emperor.

Less immediately - if his secret informants are anything to go by (a salute of gratitude to the resourceful host for cultivating such a valuable resource if not her dantian) - it also leaves the Crown Prince, who, upon cementing his power as Emperor, would also definitely kill his current Crown Princess in order to wedge his beloved Consort Yun into the Empress role.

Really, the only road to any sort of security for someone in his position is to raise the next Imperial heir, outlive the Original Goods’s faithless husband and become the Empress Dowager.

Hopefully Wei Wuxian will be long gone by then, but if leaving means the Original Goods will return (from … Mo Xuanyu’s body? The Ether? Or???) - well, he doesn’t want to repay her hospitality by leaving her house in a mess, so to speak. So he’ll try to set her on that career path, if he can.

But that’s an aspirational goal. First, he has to not-die before he can find out how to get himself home.

And find out how to get himself home.

If getting himself home is even possible.

Wei Wuxian dumps the rest of the fish food in the water and yells.

(It startles the maids, the fish and the poor eunuch the Crown Prince has sent as a spy into falling out of the tree he’s been hiding in and into the prickly bushes below.)

===

The problem with “staying for the time being” is … well, how interminably boring it is. The approved list of hobbies for an Imperial consort seems to consist of: eating (but not too much), sleeping (but not too much), embroidery (which he can’t do), reading (but only texts on female virtue and the occasional terrible novel), playing music (but not the flute), conversing with his maids (who are very sweet, but are all like, 12) and walking in the gardens (which he’s not allowed to do).

Honestly, it’s no wonder all the consorts turn to scheming and murder.

It only takes a week of confinement for him to snap and sneak himself out for a nighttime adventure, setting off to explore the grounds and see … a night-blooming flower, a ghost, a rat, he’ll take pretty much anything at this point.

In the end, he finds none of these things, but the walking is still pretty nice, and he even hears the faint sounds of a guqin wafting over from one of the other consorts’ residences. (He should probably learn who lives where at some point, but it’s not exactly a priority. What’s he going to do with the information when he can only visit during the nighttime? Peep?) When Wei Wuxian wanders closer, the notes resolve themselves into the familiar strains of Flowing Waters, and his breath catches on a sudden surge of longing to hear the same song, played by a different set of fingers.

(First played on a familiar guqin and then, later, accompanied by soft humming between soft, worn sheets, played across the edges of Wei Wuxian’s ribs, along the dip of his spine, and finally lower, into--)

((Is Lan Zhan thinking about him?))

(((Is Lan Zhan looking for him?)))

Stumbling blindly on, he’s so caught up in missing Lan Zhan that he misses the first few stanzas of the next piece, and it isn’t until the music starts to rise in a familiar refrain that he freezes.

He knows that song.

He’s one of the only two people who know that song, which is in fact how he got caught out the last time he found himself in a farce of an identity charade, by the only other person who knows that song, who must be - who must be -

Lan Zhan, his blood sings in his ears as he takes off in a dead run towards the source of the playing. Up ahead of him, small courtyard glows softly with the light of the only burning lamp in their vicinity. Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan-

He scrambles up the wall with the ease of a lifetime’s practice, using bloody-minded determination to make up for the lack of muscle memory.

“Lan Zhan,” he yelps, forgetting to whisper in his excitement as he flings himself over the top and into the branches of a convenient, wall-side tree. “Lan Zhan, it’s me, I-”

This is, naturally, when his foot slips. He manages to catch hold of a branch, but his tender hands and puny wrists, unused to holding up anything heavier than a chicken leg, fail to maintain their hold through his weight, and he tumbles down the trunk into a sad puddle of fabric on the ground.

“Lan Zhan,” he gasps, fighting to untangle himself from the ridiculous train that, admittedly, made a considerable contribution to cushioning his fall. He clambers up onto his hands and knees--

--and looks straight into the wide-eyed stare of Consort Yun.

===

“I cannot believe,” Wei Wuxian growls, palming the ample softness of one exposed breast with one hand, while shoving the other deeper into the many (too many) layers of fabric between them and between Lan Zhan’s splayed legs, “that after everything that’s happened, you’re still taller than me.”

Lan Zhan huffs a laugh that turns quickly into a moan, and Wei Wuxian swallows it, smothers Lan Zhan’s gasping breaths with his own parted lips and sucks them greedily down even as he coaxes out more with twisting fingers here, another tug to Lan Zhan’s poor, abused nipple there.

He slides his fingers back between slick folds and then upwards again, pushing in and out in a few languid strokes before curling them to make Lan Zhan arch harder against the wall behind him, tilt his head back and expose a beautifully vulnerable stretch of neck to Wei Wuxian's teeth.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan murmurs, and his voice is different, the shape of his lips is different, but the way Wei Wuxian’s name fits inside his mouth (tender, beloved), the way he tucks the flyaway strands of hair behind Wei Wuxian’s ear, the look in his eyes when their gazes meet (warm, open, knowing) are the same, same, same.

===

I am entirely too lazy to write the rest of it, but afterwards they regroup and it turns out LWJ has been in this world for exactly one more day than WWX, having woken up in Consort Yun’s body when she was “revived”. Consort Yun is the daughter of a high-ranking Minister in the Treasury or something, so Lan Zhan been using his new position as the daughter of a ~scholarly family~ to build a reputation for being really into Buddhist scripture, and eventually he’s going to request to be allowed to go to a nearby Temple to attain some virtuous brownie points for the Imperial family via prayer as his penitence.

That there’s also an elderly monk living there who’s got a reputation for being super good with the divine mysteries and spiritual lore about curses and whatnot is totally immaterial, if Lan Zhan happens to run into that guy, it’ll be a total coincidence, yeah.

So WWX also starts on the divine penitence route, and if everyone thinks it’s because the Crown Princess refuses to be outdone by Consort Yun, then even better, and two weeks into confinement they wear the Empress down into letting them make the trip, and when they get there, turns out the monk is Nie Huaisang.

(NHS: “OH THANK GOD, I’ve done the research but the lynchpin of this mess is definitely somewhere in the Palace and I could not for the life of me figure out a way to get in.”

WWX: “That's nice, but seriously, how come you got to stay a man?”

NHS: “My friend, I may be a man, but my balls are currently swinging somewhere around my ankles.”

WWX: “...show me.”

And LWJ is like “NO.” except WWX can tell by the look in his eye that he sort of wants to see, too).

So they return to the Palace and WWX whirls into one of their morning audiences with the Empress, distraught about a ~dream from the ancestors~ where they warned him about disrupted ley lines or accumulated resentment or an offended minor god that needs investigation by someone, and “How convenient, because we met just the guy!” And the Empress looks like she was Done Five Years Ago, but the Empress Dowager, who’s old and doddery, is like “oh no, you must bring him!” and the Empress mutters “to fucking what, offend some major gods and really do the job properly?” and that’s how they find out the Empress is Jiang Cheng.

In the meantime, the confinement edict expires and WWX+LWJ are allowed to return to their regular programming, which means that as the legal wife, WWX can continuously summon LWJ to his residence for increasingly tenuous and spurious reasons. The best thing is, it’s not even out of character for the Crown Princess, who used to regularly summon Consort Yun to subject her to not-so-veiled barbs and petty torments. So WWX summons LWJ, and then immediately expels both their entourages from the room, instructing that no one is to enter on pain of death.

So LWJ’s maids are gnashing their teeth helplessly while all sorts of piteous moans, pained gasps and the occasional scream emanate from behind the closed door, and when their mistress finally emerges there are no marks on her body, but she’s weak-kneed and having trouble walking straight, so who knows what kind of terrible tortures the Crown Princess has visited upon her.

The Crown Prince obviously hears about this, so he bursts in one day without warning, only to find the two sitting together, the Crown princess’s arms around Consort Yun’s waist, her cheek pillowed on one heaving bosom, and although she’s smiling besottedly at him now, he could have sworn that he felt killing intent being directed at him only a second ago? And to tell the truth, he’s not really in love Consort Yun either, it’s all an act to keep the two consorts (and their families) pitted in a power struggle against each other until he can finally outmanoeuvre the Empress and cement his position as heir to the throne (and also to protect his actual favourite, a third consort who’s a nondescript nobody with no political backing). So the fact that “It was all a misunderstanding, we’re friends now,” his Crown Princess says sweetly (and did she … rub her cheek against his Consort’s chest? Must be his imagination) is not the worst thing (at least neither of them/their families can be enlisted by the Empress in support of her son, and if they’re caught up with Being Besties, then at least they’re not bullying his actual favourite), but for some reason he still feels kind of … threatened? Like someone’s making moves on his wife, which is absurd because they’re both his wives, but the vibes he gets from the first one in particular are kind of … off?

In any case, the crew solve the mystery, find the lynchpin object (which turns out to be a jade dildo belonging to one of the Emperor’s favoured consorts because of course it is), and wake up in their real bodies, in their real world, to a very apologetic hermit-inventor-cultivator whose property they stumbled onto while pursuing a resentful beast. Turns out they triggered the glamour/enchantment/psychic maze world he created as a security system because, “I just didn’t want to risk people getting into my stuff, you know? I’ve got some things that could be very dangerous in the wrong hands”. WWX is like “oh yeah, for sure” and JC is like “WHAT DO YOU MEAN FOR SURE? HOW IS THIS AN UNDERSTANDABLE RESPONSE, IF YOU’RE AFRAID PEOPLE WILL TOUCH YOUR SHIT THEN JUST ENCHANT SOME FUCKING WARRIOR GOLEMS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.”

#CQL #The Untamed #mo dao zu shi #Wangxian #fic #not-fic

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Note

We’ve heard Jiang Fengmian as WWX’s bio father, now it’s time for Lan Qiren as secretly his father. (Please no Wangxian for this one!)

ao3

“You want me to what,” Lan Qiren said.

“Be the father of my child,” Cangse Sanren said. Simply and straightforwardly, as if that were just a thing people said.

Casually.

To their friends.

To their – as far as he knew – platonic friends!

“You’re married,” he stressed.

“Yes, Qiren-xiong, I’m aware,” Cangse Sanren said, her eyes bright with mirth. “I was even there through some of the festivities. Though not all, of course, since the bride gets sent away far too early at these things, and of course then there was all the liquor –”

“Cangse Sanren,” Lan Qiren said through gritted teeth, wishing not for the first time that his friend had an actual name rather than merely a title – something he could use or not use to emphasize his feelings on the subject.

She laughed at him, because of course she did.

“Let me explain,” she said, probably because she sensed that he was considering stabbing her if she didn't. “Lao Wei and I –”

“Aren’t you older than he is?” Lan Qiren asked, dubious. “Possibly by several centuries?”

“Humans call their husbands that,” Cangse Sanren said, waving her hands at him. “Don’t bother me with details.”

“…you’re human, right?”

“Of course! This is the fourth time you’ve asked, and the answer hasn’t changed. Why would you ever think otherwise?”

“The way that you continuously refer to – no, I’m not letting you distract me this time. Explain yourself!”

Cangse Sanren giggled into her sleeve. “We want children,” she said. “But he can’t, you see. Wrong parts. So we need someone else to be the sire, and I want it to be you.”

“Why?”

More giggling. “Because I like you. And why not?”

“And Wei Changze agreed to this?” Lan Qiren asked, slightly appalled. He knew Cangse Sanren well enough to assume that the answer had to be yes, and yet still...

“Yes, he did, but you’re welcome to talk with him directly. In fact, I encourage it.”

“Perhaps I will,” Lan Qiren said.

Wei Changze was a pleasant person, even if he and Lan Qiren weren’t direct friends – Lan Qiren was a bit too inflexible and serious, Wei Changze a little too free-spirited and light-hearted, so they’d never entirely bonded, but they were both very fond of Cangse Sanren in all her strangeness, each in their own way, and that was enough of a basis for a decent relationship.

“I’d be honored if you would agree,” Wei Changze said when Lan Qiren asked. “You’re my wife’s favorite person besides me – why not you?”

Lan Qiren could think of many, many reasons why not.

“I don’t want to impact your relationship with her,” he said cautiously, and Wei Changze blinked at him as if to say how would it do that? “If jealousy were to arise…”

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Wei Changze said.

“…you understand that if I agree to your proposal, I would be sleeping with your wife.”

“Oh yes,” Wei Changze said. “Several times, I hope. We've got to make sure it takes, after all. On that note, can I watch?”

Lan Qiren was a man aware of his dignity. It was beneath his dignity to flail around like a teenager.

He flailed regardless.

“You don’t have to let me if you don’t want to,” Wei Changze said, but he was pouting. “I guess. I just think it’d be hot, that’s all.”

Lan Qiren put his head in his hands.

“You’re bright red,” Wei Changze observed. “Does that mean you’ll do it?”

“I don’t even like Cangse Sanren that way,” Lan Qiren said, voice muffled by his palms. “I mean, I like her, but I don’t – like her. Romantically. At all.”

“And I’m very happy about that,” Wei Changze said soothingly. “As is she, being as she married me and not you. You don’t need to have romantic or even sexual feelings about her, you just need to platonically bang her a few times.”

“…I will do it provided you never refer to it that way ever again.”

“Deal,” Wei Changze said, and grinned, waving his wife in through the door; she bounded in like a lion on the hunt, smelling blood.

“Additionally, we should be clear about what we expect regarding the child,” Lan Qiren said, even though he was already being carted along to the bed by Cangse Sanren’s excessive momentum and Wei Changze’s entirely unnecessary assistance in removing his clothing. “Obviously any child will be yours in every respect, legally and emotionally and otherwise, both of you, but if possible I would still like to see him –”

“Of course,” Cangse Sanren said agreeably, removing his pants. “Whenever you like.”

“Something is wrong,” Lan Qiren said firmly.

Yu Ziyuan scowled at him, even as her husband frowned thoughtfully. “Cangse Sanren is a rogue cultivator,” she said acidly. “It is not unusual for rogue cultivators to go a few months without contacting their friends in the cultivation world.”

“We have an agreement that she would come by once every season or else send word. She has not missed a single instance, and yet now she does.”

“Why would she agree to meet so regularly with you? We barely see her once a year, if that,” Yu Ziyuan asked, and Lan Qiren knew her issues with Cangse Sanren were actually issues with Jiang Fengmian, but it still irritated him to be used as a pawn in their troubled marriage.

“If you do not intend to help me search, then just say so,” he said heavily. “I fear that something has happened to her, and I intend to find her; I would like your help, but will proceed without it if need be. If all is well and she just decided not to come, and also not to send word or any other sign, then I will apologize for the inconvenience and repay you any monies expended. But if not…”

“I will help,” Jiang Fengmian said, and Yu Ziyuan looked on the verge of exploding.

“I’ll leave you to sort that out,” Lan Qiren said, shaking out his sleeves and leaving at once. As per their agreement, Cangse Sanren brought Wei Ying to the Cloud Recesses once every season or else sent word explaining her absence – the lack of any word this time was deeply troubling. After all, in the end, despite Cangse Sanren’s relatively humble goals and low-key life, there was always that doom said to be associated with those who left the immortal mountain…

He worried.

He’d planned to tell Cangse Sanren about He Kexin’s death during her present visit, had hoped that Wei Ying’s presence might help lift Lan Zhan’s mood after the loss of his mother and give him some comfort – Wei Ying was Lan Zhan’s favorite person in all the world, bar none, and he had waited so anxiously, if wordlessly, for him to arrive during the month that they expected Cangse Sanren and her family to come. And yet the days ticked by and he didn’t arrive at all…

Lan Qiren worried.

Still, with Jiang Fengmian’s help, and of course the Nie sect’s – Lao Nie hadn’t hesitated to agree, even though unlike Jiang Fengmian he did not have a personal connection to either Cangse Sanren or Wei Changze and was acting wholly on account of his friendship with Lan Qiren – they would be able to cover a great deal of the cultivation world, especially given that Cangse Sanren disliked both Lanling Jin and Qishan Wen and was unlikely to venture into either of their territories.

They would find her.

He hoped that they would find her.

“Well, that was a meeting full of revelations,” Lao Nie said, eyes curved into crescents of mirth. “The only thing that would have made it better is if you’d ended your sentence with ‘so fuck off’. You know, so that it would’ve been ‘Because he’s my biological son, so fuck off’.”

“It isn’t anyone else’s business,” Lan Qiren said querulously. “I don’t consider him my son – he’s Wei Changze’s son! His surname is Wei for a reason! The exact mechanics of his conception are private-”

“Are they? Too bad, I’d have liked to hear about it.”

“Lao Nie!”

“What? It’d be hot.”

“Wei Changze said the same thing,” Lan Qiren grumbled. “What is wrong with all you people? Anyway, that was not my point; we can discuss your sexual titillation later. My point is that Wei Ying should not have a shadow cast over his parentage – I should not have had to reveal that fact at any point.”

“You had no choice,” Lao Nie said, not without sympathy. “Given that Wei Changze was a former disciple of the Lotus Pier, Jiang Fengmian had the better claim to custody absent that fact. Never mind that you were Cangse Sanren’s close friend, or that they came to visit you more often; never mind that Yu Ziyuan is to this day only barely able to restrain her jealousy and hatred of the pair of them and would be made miserable by the boy’s presence on the Lotus Pier, and possibly make his life miserable in return; never mind that Jiang Fengmian already grossly favors the boy over his own children, a surefire recipe for disaster…you had to say what you said, Qiren. Wei Ying will be better off at the Cloud Recesses.”

“He’ll be a disaster at the Cloud Recesses,” Lan Qiren said, rubbing his temples. “He’s as free-spirited as his parents were. That’s the only hesitation I have…if it weren’t for all the other things you mentioned, Yu Ziyuan’s jealousy and the favoritism and all that, I would think he’d be better off among the Jiang.”

“He will make a very unique Lan,” Lao Nie acknowledged. “But he’ll be an adopted cousin to your nephews, and they’ll grow up as brothers. A-Zhan will be delighted.”

“Yes,” Lan Qiren said, acknowledging the point. At least there was that. “Yes, he will.”

“Maybe I’ll have a talk with Jiang Fengmian,” Lao Nie said, more to himself than Lan Qiren. “That poor Jiang boy, no one deserves to grow up with a real-life person being ‘another person’s child’. Perhaps I’ll see about inviting the boy over to the Unclean Realm more often. A-Sang could use a playmate…”

“You’re weird for a Lan,” Jiang Cheng said.

“That’s because I’m not a Lan,” Wei Wuxian laughed. “I’m a Wei! Lan Zhan’s a Lan, Xichen-da-ge is a Lan, but I’m not. Don’t let the white robes mislead you.”

Jiang Cheng coughed. “That’s not – what I meant.”

Wei Wuxian blinked at him.

“Well,” Jiang Cheng said, abruptly looking extremely awkward. “Your father’s a Lan, isn’t he? Teacher Lan.”

“Oh, that! No, he’s not. Easy mistake to make,” Wei Wuxian assured him. “Lots of people think that, what with me knowing the Lan sect rules backwards and forwards and upside down – mostly so that I can haggle my punishments down when I break them, that's how I learn them best – but actually I’m Wei Changze’s son.”

Jiang Cheng’s face was red. “But…my dad said…”

“He helped,” Wei Wuxian conceded, tapping his nose meaningfully. “That’s why I’m so pretty! But Wei Changze was the one that wanted me, Wei Changze’s the one who gave me his surname; it’s his grave I sweep during Qingming. If you like, you can think of me as having been adopted into the Wei family; that’s common enough, isn’t it?”

“I guess so,” Jiang Cheng said, blinking. And then he said, sounding doubtful, “Do you really know all those rules?”

“All of them! You have no idea how much trouble you can make with a good set of rules.” Wei Wuxian grinned. “Want to see?”

“I – can we?”

“No,” Nie Mingjue said, stepping into the room. He looked tired, as always, but Wei Wuxian thought that there was never a time when he didn’t, certainly ever since he became sect leader too early. Lan Xichen was always worrying about him, and Lan Qiren, too, and since they were worried, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had figured they might as well get in on the action. “Not in the Unclean Realm you can’t. Save it for the Lotus Pier, since the Cloud Recesses are too wise to you now.”

“No one is truly wise to my wicked ways,” Wei Wuxian boasted, and Nie Huaisang poked his head out from behind Nie Mingjue’s back and waved – he’d been dragged away to saber training, leaving Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng to try to make friends without him. Without Lan Wangji, too, which was even more unfair; how was Wei Wuxian supposed to represent the gentle snow and wild wind without his other half?

Stupid seclusion. Wei Wuxian was with his uncle in disliking it even when it was necessary.

Though Jiang Cheng was kind of cool…

“This is,” Lan Qiren informed Cangse Sanren’s memorial tablet, “entirely your fault.”

Despite her son’s newfound demonic cultivation skills – or his taste for revenge: he had taken the burning of the Cloud Recesses very personally, and the attack on the Lotus Pier, and so on his best friend Jiang Cheng, very nearly as badly, and that, somehow, had inspired him in new and even more uncontrolled ways – there was no response from the grave.

And yet, somehow, Lan Qiren suspected that he could hear her laughing at him.

#mdzs #lan qiren #cangse sanren #wei changze #sect leader nie #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #my fic #my fics

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