kameeee

[kameeee]

ON GHOSTS AND DEMONS: Wei Wuxian's "demonic" cultivation?

There are a few big misconceptions I have repeatedly seen in English-speaking fandom about things that are fundamental to the story of MDZS. One of them is this—

Wei Wuxian is not a demonic cultivator.

To prove this, let's take a deep dive into the original Chinese text of MDZS.

(Adapted from my original gdoc posted on Twitter on May 27, 2022. All translations my own unless otherwise stated.)

Demon vs. ghost

Let's start from the very basics. In addition to orthodox cultivation using spiritual energy and a golden core, there are two other forms of cultivation that are mentioned in the novel:

魔道 (mó dào), or “demon cultivation/path.”

鬼道 (guǐ dào), or “ghost cultivation/path.”

To be clear, 魔 mo "demons" and 鬼 gui "ghosts" (and thus their respective cultivation/paths) are not interchangeable because of the in-universe worldbuilding within MDZS. Using the characters in the term 妖魔鬼怪 "monsters," MXTX created four distinct categories of beings, each of which has a strict definition in the novel. From chapter 4 (jjwxc ch 13):

妖者非人之活物所化; 魔者生人所化; 鬼者死者所化; 怪者非人之死物所化。 Yāo (妖) are transformed from non-human living beings; mó (魔) are transformed from living people; guǐ (鬼) are transformed from the deceased; guài (怪) are transformed from non-human dead beings.

And of course, WWX hoards all the ghost-type pokemon monsters at the Phoenix Mountain tournament, and he only exerts control over corpses, spirits, and the like (aka people who have already died). (As opposed to Xue Yang, who appears to have been actively trying to make 魔 "demons" out of living people with those "living corpses" of his, perhaps.) (And, ironically, in order to avoid showing necromancy / zombies on screen, CQL technically does show WWX practicing demon cultivation because everyone is "supposedly alive" even when they're corpses? Which is, funnily enough, far worse morally in the MDZS universe, lol.)

So, intuitively at least, we know that WWX must be practicing ghost cultivation—now let's look at some concrete examples from the book.

Running the numbers

1) 魔道 (mó dào) means “demon cultivation.” As such, it must use living humans.

魔道 appears one (1) time in the novel.

Yes, once. The only time it appears is in the term 魔道祖师 modao zushi, or the namesake of the novel, in chapter 2. This is a title the general public has given him through rumors:

魏无羡好歹也被人叫了这么多年无上邪尊啦、魔道祖师啦之类的称号，这种一看就知道不是什么好东西的阵法，他自然了如指掌。 Wei Wuxian wasn’t called titles like “The Evil Overlord,” “The Founder of Demon Cultivation,” and so on over the years by others for nothing—he knew these sorts of obviously shady formations like the back of his hand.

2) 鬼道 (guǐ dào) means “ghost cultivation.” As such, it must use dead humans. 

鬼道 appears 12 times in the novel.

Here is the first instance that 鬼道 appears, which I believe is the first time Wei Wuxian's method of cultivation is properly introduced. From chapter 3 (jjwxc ch 8):

蓝忘机 […] 对魏无羡修鬼道一事极不认可。 Lan Wangji […] had never approved of the fact that Wei Wuxian practiced ghost cultivation.

Here's another quote from chapter 15 (jjwxc ch 71) for funsies:

蓝忘机看着他，似乎一眼就看出他只是随口敷衍，吸了一口气，道：“魏婴。” Lan Wangji looked at him as if he saw through his half-hearted bluff. He took in a breath, then said, “Wei Ying.” 他执拗地道：“鬼道损身，损心性。” He stubbornly continued, “Ghost cultivation harms one’s body, and harms one’s nature.”

3) 邪魔歪道 (xiemowaidao) means heretical path/immoral methods/evil practices/underhanded means/etc—e.g., lying, cheating, stealing, bribery, and so on.

It appears ~24 times in the novel.

I mention this last term because it is often used to refer to Wei Wuxian's cultivation, but as a pejorative. Every instance of 邪魔歪道 is said by or to quote someone looking down upon Wei Wuxian’s cultivation (Jin Zixun, Jin Ling, etc.) and referring to it derogatorily, whereas every instance of 鬼道 guidao/ghost dao is said by someone discussing it neutrally and/or factually (Lan Jingyi, Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian himself, random cultivators at discussion conferences, the narration, etc.). Here is a pertinent example with Jin Ling (derogatory) and Lan Jingyi (neutral) in chapter 9 (jjwxc ch 43):

金凌怒道：“是在谈论薛洋，我说的不对吗？薛洋干了什么？他是个禽兽不如的人渣，魏婴比他更让人恶心！什么叫‘不能一概而论’？这种邪魔歪道留在世上就是祸害，就是该统统都杀光，死光，灭绝！” “We are discussing Xue Yang,” Jin Ling said angrily. “Am I wrong? What did Xue Yang do? He’s scum that’s lower than a beast, and Wei Ying is even more disgusting than him! What do you mean ‘don’t make sweeping generalizations?’ As long as those practicing this kind of demonic, heretical path are alive, they’ll continue to bring disaster. We should slaughter all of them, kill all of them, annihilate them once and for all!” 温宁动了动，魏无羡摆手示意他静止。只听蓝景仪也加入了，嚷道：“你发这么大火干什么？思追又没说魏无羡不该杀，他只是说修鬼道的也不一定全都是薛洋这种人，你有必要乱摔东西吗？那个我还没吃呢……” Wen Ning shuffled around. Wei Wuxian gestured at him to stay still, only to hear Lan Jingyi also join the fray, bellowing, “Why are you getting so riled up? It’s not like Sizhui said Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have been killed. All he said was that people who practice ghost cultivation aren’t necessarily all like Xue Yang. Do you have to go around breaking things? I didn’t even get to eat any of that yet…”

Tl;dr—Wei Wuxian does not 修魔道 practice demon cultivation. When Wei Wuxian’s craft is discussed in a neutral and factual manner, it is referred to as 鬼道 ghost dao. 

In fact, Wei Wuxian’s imitators are also referred to explicitly as 鬼道修士 ghost cultivators.

魏无羡早就听说过，这些年来江澄到处抓疑似夺舍重生的鬼道修士，把这些人通通押回莲花坞严刑拷打。 Wei Wuxian had heard a while back that over the past few years, Jiang Cheng had gone around snatching any ghost cultivator suspected of being possessed or reborn, detaining them in Lotus Pier to interrogate them using torture.

So why the confusion?

Of course, there is the matter of the novel's title, which I will get into in a second. But the real issue is a matter of translation.

The idea that WWX uses "demonic cultivation" is a misconception in English-speaking fandom due to issues with the translation of terminology. Of note, EXR actually did translate 鬼道 guidao as "ghostly path" most of the time, though there were at least 3 instances of "demonic" and 1 instance of "dark," especially regarding the first few.

However, this misconception was perpetuated (and arguably worsened) by 7S's official translation, which not only mistranslated additional terms as "demonic cultivation/path" (at least in book 1), but also consistently mistranslated every instance of 鬼道 as "demonic cultivation/path."

So why is this book called 魔道祖师, commonly translated as "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation?"

One possibility is one posed in Chinese-language meta online, which often cites that WWX himself is a sort of 魔 demon. While this may be true—after all, he can hear the voices of the dead—it doesn't quite explain the fact that the title sets him up to be the 祖师 or "founder."

My take is that this novel is very much concerned with hearsay vs. truth. This is one of the many monikers WWX is given by the public, who collectively view him as evil. (Also of note is that the non-cultivator public is not aware of all the nuances that cultivators learn re: distinctions between the 妖魔鬼怪 monsters.) In the quote from earlier, note that the first title we're given is actually 无上邪尊 “The Evil Overlord,” then 魔道祖师 "The Founder of Demon Cultivation." Like, what can that be other than MXTX telling us, "please take both of these with a HUGE grain of salt, lol."

(And not only the title, but the very first line—"魏无羡死了。" / "Wei Wuxian is dead."—is a lie.)

I think the title is genius, honestly. It intentionally makes readers come into the novel with preconceived notions that Wei Wuxian practices 魔道 demon cultivation and evil techniques—just like the public in the story. What better way to tell a story warning about the dangers of how easy it is to fall for misinformation and jump to incorrect conclusions?

(Though, in our case, perhaps it worked a little too well.)

[kameeee]

I hate... fanon archetypes. You know how people sand down their blorbos to fit into the same handful of incorrect quote templates and then they forget their actual canon personalities because they've gone too long without engaging with the source material? I hate it. I hate it. He would not fucking say that. The joke was slightly funny when it was on the office or whatever but we've all heard it over and over with different characters pasted into it how are you still laughing please let me out

[kameeee]

this was very funny when it happened

[kameeee]

Mid day, full dark

[kameeee]

an important note on wwx's characterization that i think is important and sometimes people will get wrong, is that wwx doesn't have low self-esteem ("i'm stupid, i'm ugly, i'm annoying, i'm bothersome, nobody likes me") nor does he have low confidence ("i can't do this" "i don't know this" "i can't do anything right"). in fact, both of these are extremeeeely high in his personality as a teen and young adult

what wei wuxian does have, however, is low self-worth, specifically when it comes to his own needs and well-being compared to other people. couple that with his high confidence and urge to pay off debts of gratitude, and you get his extremely self-destructive behavior ("it's fine if i lose my core as long as jc has it for the good of the sect, i can survive without one", "it's fine that i'm being forcefully kissed by a stranger because she's nervous and i don't want to embarrass her", "it's fine, it's all fine, as long as it's me, because i can take it")

[kameeee]

an important note on wwx's characterization that i think is important and sometimes people will get wrong, is that wwx doesn't have low self-esteem ("i'm stupid, i'm ugly, i'm annoying, i'm bothersome, nobody likes me") nor does he have low confidence ("i can't do this" "i don't know this" "i can't do anything right"). in fact, both of these are extremeeeely high in his personality as a teen and young adult

what wei wuxian does have, however, is low self-worth, specifically when it comes to his own needs and well-being compared to other people. couple that with his high confidence and urge to pay off debts of gratitude, and you get his extremely self-destructive behavior ("it's fine if i lose my core as long as jc has it for the good of the sect, i can survive without one", "it's fine that i'm being forcefully kissed by a stranger because she's nervous and i don't want to embarrass her", "it's fine, it's all fine, as long as it's me, because i can take it")

[kameeee]

i said 5 months ago i was gonna share my thoughts on this scene and never did, so it's time to dig this out

what did wei wuxian mean by asking shijie "why would someone like another person" and why i.... don't think he's talking about lan wangji (i know-- i know. just bear with me)

or more accurately: an analysis of chapter 71, wwx's thoughts on love, and how mxtx utilizes parallels between past and present!

(Ch 71 of MDZS web revised edition //// ExR translation)

okay let's get straight to the point that's gonna make y'all want to call me a stupid bitch who can't read: i legitimately do not think wwx was talking about lwj in this scene! here's why:

first and foremost, let's remember what the status of wangxian's relationship was at this point after sunshot ended

first, phoenix mountain: a callback to their teen dynamic. wwx's silly and flirty personality is back, he teases lwj by throwing a peony at him then asking to borrow his ribbon. lwj is frustrated, etc. lwj forcefully kisses wwx then gets angry at himself. wwx finds him and gets worried that something happened to him. they walk together and talk in very friendly manner until the xuanli incident happens. by the end they part on good terms

then, yunmeng teahouse: the first scene of this chapter. wwx is feeling quite upbeat about seeing lwj as they had a nice chat last time they met. he does a lil phoenix mountan callback by throwing a peony at him, then asking him to come upstairs and hang out. lwj does but it.... doesnt end well. he's worried about wwx's worsening temper and fears he's starting to show signs of loss of control, and asks him once again to go to gusu with him. that severely sours wwx's mood, to the point of snapping at lwj when lwj implies that he'll regret it in the future. lwj realizes his mistake and they become polite again, but the atmosphere is significantly strained, and wwx even comments that he was presumptious and shouldn't have invited him over, which lwj dissents. wwx parts with a cordial but distant "thank you", and on... not great terms

what i think really makes the above hurt though is that, when wwx comes back to yunmeng and jc asks who he met. wwx answers this:

worse than jin zixuan.....oof. im so sorry hgj

so, it really is quite tragic. wwx had a nice time with lwj in phoenix mountain, and because of that he wanted to try and wash away their bad blood, ask him to hang out, recall some stories of their youth, maybe mend this relationship that became so strained during the war! what happens instead is that... he gets the harsh reminder of what (in his mind) lwj thinks of his cultivation, thinks he's not in control of it, that it's dangerous and he should be locked up. with that, they're all back to square one :(

the thing is, MDZS is quite known for being non-linear and having a humongous amount of flashbacks, and they're all set and positioned at the time they were for a reason! the thing is, as most read the novel once and then proceed to only revisit scenes separately, naturally forgetting about the grand-picture and the scenes that come before and after, we might misremember how some events play out or the state of the character arcs and relationships, and i believe the popular fanon interpretation that "omggg wwx was asking yanli this bc he likes lwj but can't admit this yet!!!! 🙈" is quite of a great example of this

but!! it's not for any bad reason, after all both the Audio Drama and CQL kinda play up this moment with some beautiful background music. this is, in the end, a romance novel! but let's put a pin on that for a bit and analyze what led to this scene, and why WWX came looking for shijie to ask her this

so as you see, the scene right before was wei wuxian and jiang cheng talking about jin zixuan, with jc asking wwx to not pick fights with him anymore since he's the heir of lanling jin. wwx is baffled because up until that point he and jc were trashtalking buddies when it came to jzx, but there's nothing they can do about it if shijie still likes him

that... makes wwx quite speechless, and he goes searching for her to get an answer. in his mind, jzx is still an awful, undeserving person! so why would shijie like him so much?

why would someone like another person?

of course, he's not as shameless to ask shijie right to her face why she likes someone like jzx, esp since she's already well familiar with his poor opinion of him, so he tries getting an "unbiased" answer by making a vague question, which in turn makes shijie think wwx is in love with someone else

now here's the thing: i feel like fandom tends to flanderize wwx when it comes to his unreliable narration, awareness of his own feelings or lan wangji's. we don't have time to get into that now, but if you've followed me for a while you know my thoughts on this

but here, specifically, i do not think wwx is in "denial about his crush" or "waving off because he doesnt want to get caught". his answer feels genuine, and honestly? really sad once you think about it

"I won't like anyone, at least not too much. Wouldn't it be like putting a rein on my own neck?"

this isn't strange once you consider the types of romantic relationships he grew up observing. other than his own parents', which he's mostly forgotten about, a strong love and attatchment sounds more like tying a rope around your neck. even though wwx is a romantic at heart who flirts easily but had been saving his first kiss for 20 years, he's still never felt this type of love for anyone before, and can't imagine putting himself through it

"So, wait... just because WWX said so you think you should believe it? You're telling me the curtains are just blue? If he's not talking about Lan Wangji, then what's the point of this scene?"

glad you asked!

you see, something that MXTX does quite often with the flashback placement in MDZS is contrast the moments where wangxian's relationship was at its best with moments where it was at its worst. As wwx recall these memories, his pre-conceived notions about lwj get challenged and his actions and words get recontextualized! my favorite example is probably the ending of the flashback of wwx's return, to him waking up in the cloud recesses

no i'll never shut up about this flashback placement. my goddd

so, when looking at the "why would someone like another person" scene, i ask you to not look at it by itself, but as a part of the literary work that mdzs is! because, as the wangxian of the past are stuck in this cordial, but strained relationship, do you remember where the wangxian of the present have currently been left at?

if you ask me, there is something incredibly sweet about leaving these characters at their most tender --- when one is finally beginning to not only understand his own feelings, but to suspect that those feelings are requited, in which he's allowing himself to imagine a calm and happy future with him right as they march inside the lion's den --- and meeting them again when they're younger, and strained, and not fully knowing how to communicate that they care for each other, which in turn only hurts them both.

there is something very sweet about seeing wwx who is slowly realizing that he's in love, testing the waters of that, seeing how much he can take, in what ways he can ask for affection, and then seeing him again as he says "i won't ever like someone, at least not so much. wouldnt it be suffocating? wouldn't it be an impediment? wouldnt it be shackling yourself?" because you, like a cheeky grandma, can look at him and think: you don't know yet, but i've seen you then. you will like someone very much, and it won't be restraining. in fact, you'll never feel more free...

and that is the biggest thing, about revisiting this scene after you're done. because you'll look back this 20-something WWX who genuinely believed loving someone to much is like putting a rein around his own neck... and knowing he'll know a love that not only will not feel like a restrain*, but will be there to catch him whenever something does

*okay, except in bed, but that's only a bonus for wwx

[kameeee]

er-gege, look at me

[kameeee]

Meeting at Yunmeng

Art from Mo Dao Zu Shi novel serialisation, by ChangYang

[kameeee]

Everyones fav gay uncle is back in town!!

[kameeee]

figured i would at least paint them just to be fair. to pay my wangxian tax

[kameeee]

Soft DadXian content ☺️

[kameeee]

Lan WangJi looked up behind him, his white robes and forehead ribbon fluttering in the cold wind.

The night had passed. The sun in the sky was about to rise.

And the sun on the ground was falling.

[kameeee]

one more white-haired WWX

[kameeee]

Last snow before spring ❄️🌸

Happy birthday HGJ~

This art is inspired by twitter user @Gggg_Zhan design of Jingshi ❤️

[kameeee]

I just don't get the discussion going on. I confess wangxian isn't really a ship that hooked me enough. It's cute but no matter what, for me it feels like one of those cases where A picks B out of loneliness and security, sorry... For you it's important to highlight where wwx says lwj is the one he wants by his side but for me the part before that, where he says lwj is the only one standing by his side is more important so it depends on the perspective. And sure, he used to flirt with lwj but he also recognizes that he wasn't that serious... and that's basically all there is from wwx's side unlike lwj who fell for him years ago and did things that showed how deep were his feelings.

but you know what? That's OK. Even real life couples start like that too and they're more than content. In RL, there's always one who gives more and they're OK. My point is that what we like in a fictional romance is subjective and what some people find beautiful, others won't so nothing will change that. What is a fact and has nothing to do with opinions is that they're canon. it's ridiculous to pretend that's something that is up to debate and We can literally take every single canon couple in fiction and say there's someone else better for them but that's not how it works not in fiction and not irl either. And it's fictional ffs, there's no if's, they're no real, they're not people that can REALLY pick. So I don't see the point of overthinking and look if there's someone else for him. it's this moment where I believe people should go outside and stop interacting with fandom. Just look for other book and stop focusing on wwx if his story isn't that compelling for you. I'm sure that there are some story where a character that is the type of wwx ends up with someone that's more of the type you prefer.

Hi Anon,

Quite honestly I don’t care that you or anyone doesn’t like Wangxian. We all have different things that appeal to us after all and there is nothing wrong with that.

I also agree with your last point that Wangxian is canon and that is the end couple no matter that other fans may think WWX would be better off with someone else.

However to me Wangxian isn’t just the end couple because the novel told me but because MXTX crafted an exceptionally beautiful romance. And quite honestly I don’t know if you read the novel or not or only read it once but frankly you are wrong about the depth of Wei Wuxian’s feelings for Lan Wangji and why he fell in love with him.

Anyways I want to go over the 3 main points of your argument

1. That Wei Wuxian flirting with Lan Wangji didn’t mean anything

2. That Wei Wuxian ONLY fell in love with Lan Wangji because he was lonely and he was the only one by his side

3. That Lan Wangji somehow loves Wei Wuxian more because of what he did for him

Lan Zhan, you're really great. How can such a gorgeous beauty play the guqin so well, have such proper penmanship, possess such strong spiritual energy, be endowed with such high cultivation base and even be so amazing in bed? How can you be so outstanding? Tell me how I could not love you…"- Chapter 111 extended translation by Big Bad Red Panda

For the rest of the quotes I will be using the EXR Translation but I thought this was a perfect quote to start us off.

Anyways basically this is going to be an extremely long essay about Wei Wuxian’s love for Lan Wangji. It’s long because Wei Wuxian loves Lan Wangji a lot.

Wei Wuxian’s Flirting

“And sure, he used to flirt with lwj but he also recognizes that he wasn't that serious...”

I am not sure where you got in the novel that Wei Wuxian’s flirting with Lan Wangji wasn’t serious. True, Wei Wuxian flirted with many pretty girls such as Mian Mian, girls in Caiya Town, Girls in Yunmeng, etc but who besides Lan Wangji did he continuously flirt and tease whenever he saw them? How many times did he throw flowers at him? Did he ever do this to anyone else?

As a kid Wei Wuxian is constantly bringing up Lan Wangji even when he isn’t even around and wants him to come to Lotus Pier

Wei WuXian spat out a seed, It’s fun to think of him. You don’t even know—he’s just too amusing. I told him, ‘Your sect’s food is disgusting. I’d rather eat stir-fried watermelon peel than eat your food. If you have time, come have fun with us at Lotus Pier...’ -

Wei WuXian,Don’t worry. There’s nothing to be scared of even if he comes. If he does come, you can tell Uncle Jiang to have him sleep with me. I’ll definitely drive him mad in less than a month. -Lotus Seed Pod Extra

As an adult Wei Wuxian first flirts and comes onto Lan Wangji so he would drive him away but is that really the only reason? Maybe at first but after he keeps doing it and it doesn’t work you kind of have to wonder what his real motivation is

He couldn’t help but thought, Now that he grew up, he also became less fun than before. In the past, he would become shy whenever he was teased, not to mention that he did it in quite an amusing way. But now, not only does he remain unmovable no matter what, he even learned how to counterattack. How can this be?! - Chapter 20

Finally the novel literally contradicts your point here. This is when Wei Wuxian comes to the realization that all those years he teased Lan Wangji there was more to it.

Her husband spoke calmly, “Let him be. Boys, don‟t they bully other people only because they like them? They just want others to look at them.” Hearing this, Wei WuXian‟s smile froze. - Chapter 66

Wei Wuxian always had feelings for Lan Wangji; the main difference between them is he didn’t realize them as early as Lan Wangji did. But after the fall of Yunmeng, losing his Core, being thrown in the Burial Mounds, and then having to protect 50 refugees on his own, maybe romance was not the first thing on his mind. It also doesn’t help that his encounters with Lan Wangji in his first life were so fleeting and when they did meet Lan Wangji was either rejecting his offers of friendship or lecturing him.

When Wei Wuxian comes back to life and gets to actually spend considerable time with Lan Wangji and Lan Wangji shows him actual kindness he is able to understand things about his feelings in a new light.

The Reason Wei Wuxian Fell in love with Lan Wangji.

“It's cute but no matter what, for me it feels like one of those cases where A picks B out of loneliness and security, sorry…

For you it's important to highlight where wwx says lwj is the one he wants by his side but for me the part before that, where he says lwj is the only one standing by his side is more important so it depends on the perspective.”

Obviously Wei Wuxian realizing Lan Wangji is completely on his side is an important moment. In fact it’s one of my favorite moments in the story. Wei Wuxian realizes that the person he thought always disapproved of him is actually the only one standing by him. Of course he would be moved by that.

But what he hadn‟t expected was that when everyone feared him and flattered him, Lan WangJi scolded him right in his face; when everyone spurned him and loathed him, Lan WangJi stood by his side. - Ch 50

But needless to say you are wrong to say this is the ONLY reason Wei Wuxian loves Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian loves Lan Wangji because he sticks to his principles. When they were kids Wei Wuxian never expected Lan Wangji to take the punishment with him because something like that never happened to him before

Lan Zhan, I admire you so much. You really did punish yourself as well, without treating yourself any better. I don’t have anything else to say.” - Chapter 18

He felt his back, covered in scars both old and new, and still couldn’t hold back the question he’d been thinking about,How awfully unfair. Why is it that I’m the only one who gets beaten up, whenever something happens? - Lotus Seed Pod Extra

Wei Wuxian also just admires the adult Lan Wangji so much who grew up to be an amazing cultivator and a person who righteously helps those in need even when no one else can bother.

Wei WuXian touched his chin, “Hmm. He’s good. Of course. He’s really good. He’s the best.” As he talked, he couldn’t help but break into a smile. - Ch 38

In truth, to refuse to act unless it was a malign spirit was a silently agreed rule that all of the larger sects followed. Although „to be wherever the chaos is‟ was praised by many, the only person who really followed this was Lan WangJi, the one beside him right now. - Chapter 94

And let’s face it, Wei Wuxian is also very much physically attracted to Lan Wangji.

As a kid he might not realize it but for example at the Wen archery tournament when Wei Wuxian sees Lan Wangji in red he is momentarily blinded by his good looks.

Along with that overly-pretty face of Lan WangJi’s, now that they met again, Wei WuXian’s eyes had momentarily been blinded by his looks, failing to immediately recognize him. - Ch 45

And of course Wei Wuxian’s continues to be attracted to Lan Wangji’s looks in his second life

The person in the spring was quite tall. His skin was fair and his hair was black, wet and gathered to one side. The lines which outlined his waist and back were smooth, graceful yet holding strength. In simpler terms, he was a beauty. - Chapter 11

But now I want to get to your point that Wei Wuxian only chose Lan Wangji because he was lonely and because Lan Wangji was the only one. Well quite honestly even if this was the case (which it clearly isn’t) why seek romance at all? If it was only about loneliness Wei Wuxian could just be friends with Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian in the past actually says to Jiang Yanli that he has no interest in romance

Wei WuXian, “No. I won‟t like anyone. At least not too much. Wouldn‟t it be the same as putting a rein on my neck?” - Ch 71

However when it comes to Lan Wangji he does come to want more than friendship. He knows Lan Wangji has been kind to him but when he finally realizes the depths of his own feelings he starts to question Lan Wangji’s. It’s not loneliness he is trying to quell but he is genuinely hoping Lan Wangji feels the same way about him because he desires something more intimate than just friendship.

Although in the past few days, he felt that Lan WangJi probably regarded him highly and differently from other people, he‟d never dared to guess just how „highly‟ it was or if „differently‟ was the kind that he thought. - Chapter 90

It was probably because he was afraid. He was scared he‟d hear an answer different from what he hoped for. - Ch 95

This situation clearly verified the worst possibility. Lan WangJi was indeed very nice towards him, but... it probably wasn‟t the kind of nice he hoped for.- Chapter 96

And yes Lan Wangji also brings him comfort and security but it’s not like he can’t survive without it. Still he comes to realize it’s nice to have someone to rely on to lean on. The tree scene is of course very symbolic of this but I also love this simple scene from the temple chapters.

On the other hand, Lan WangJi gripped Bichen in one hand as he grabbed Wei WuXian‟s waist with his other, pushing Wei WuXian behind him for better protection. In reality, Wei WuXian had no need for his protection, but he still leaned against his body with both comfort and compliance. - Chapter 104

Finally and here is the most important reason Wei Wuxian loves Lan Wangji. He simply makes him happy and despite the wall of text I wrote there shouldn’t need to be any other reason than that.

With this journey to Yiling, it was clear that their future was still unclear, even somewhat dangerous. Wei WuXian couldn‟t get himself to feel nervous at all. Sitting on a donkey with Lan WangJi holding the rein, leading them down the path, his entire heart was fluttering, feeling as though he was walking on air. - Ch 66

3. Lan Wangji did more for Wei Wuxian so the depth of his feelings are greater

“unlike lwj who fell for him years ago and did things that showed how deep were his feelings.”

Here is where I think you may have missed the themes of the novel.

First of all Lan Wangji did not just protect and stand by Wei Wuxian side because he loved him. He did so because he had been watching him all those years protecting others and in the end made his own moral judgement & believed Wei Wuxian’s was right. This is why he even stood against his own sect for Wei Wuxian. I will leave MXTX’s own words supporting this below.

https://twitter.com/reviewsnana/status/1473677987543453708?s=21

Lan Wangji does stand by Wei Wuxian but not till the end when it was too late and he could no longer reach him. Lan Wangji lost Wei Wuxian for thirteen years. When Wei Wuxian suddenly comes back Lan Wangji is basically given a second chance. Sure Lan Wangji’s actions show the depth of his love but I would argue they also show the understanding of what he lost.

Wei Wuxian’s entire life has been tied to gratitude and debt. He felt so indebted to the Jiangs for taking him in he takes their last words to heart “to protect their son even if he dies” and gives up his Golden Core.

This is why the “there is no need for thank you and sorry between us” is so important for Wangxian because Lan Wangji never wants Wei Wuxian to feel indebted to him in any way. Lan Wangji did what he did out of love . He didn’t even do it because he wanted his feelings returned.

The fact of the matter is Wei Wuxian is an extremely selfless person who always put others first and died in a very painful way. Lan Wangji is now putting Wei Wuxian first. Obviously if Lan Wangji needed someone Wei Wuxian would be there for him as well but in this case it was Wei Wuxian who needed someone.

Lan Wangji is also extremely capable and Wei Wuxian doesn’t actually have to worry about him all that much. But we are still shown in the novel that Wei Wuxian is constantly thinking about Lan Wangji.

On top of that, he wasn‟t the only one straining his mind and body in the past few days. Lan WangJi didn‟t rest for a second either. Thinking even if he didn‟t need to rest, Lan WangJi definitely needed to, Wei WuXian replied, “Okay. Then let‟s find somewhere to rest first. - Chapter 91

Looking around, Wei WuXian suddenly exclaimed, “I‟m hungry.” Lan WangJi looked up. Of course, Wei WuXian wasn‟t hungry at all. He had just eaten three pies at the vendor in front of Lotus Pier‟s gates. Lan WangJi only ate one, however, and it was the only thing he‟d eaten in the past two days. The matter was on Wei WuXian‟s mind. - Chapter 90

Not to mention that while Wei Wuxian let’s others berate him unfairly he gets extremely defensive when anyone says anything badly about Lan Wangji

When Jiang Cheng accused him, Wei WuXian couldn‟t defend himself at all, but he just couldn‟t bear it when such words were being directed at Lan WangJi. - Chapter 88

In the end though I am just not sure why Wei Wuxian has to prove his love by some grand gesture. Your argument seems to be that because Wei Wuxian didn’t get whipped 33 times or the equivalent he doesn’t love Lan Wangji as much. But why does Wei Wuxian need to prove his love in that way?

Wei Wuxian was in love with Lan Wangji before he knew about Nightless City. He just was unsure exactly how Lan Wangji felt about him.

When Wei Wuxian does realize the truth and how Lan Wangji doesn’t realize he doesn’t remember the aftermath of Nightless City, he wants to tell him his feelings immediately. Even with the guqin string still around his throat Wei Wuxian can’t wait to clear up what happened at the inn

Lan Zhan! Lan WangJi! HanGuang- Jun! Back then, I-I really wanted to sleep with you!” - Chapter 100

While this line may appear silly and frivolous to some fans; Wei Wuxian only thought at the moment is to clear up the misunderstanding between them. He loves Lan Wangji so much he is bursting to get his feelings out. And shortly after this of course he confesses his love for Lan Wangji in every way he can think of because he doesn’t want there to be any doubt about his true feelings.

I swear it‟s not the heat of the moment or joking around like I‟ve done in the past. I‟m not doing it out of gratitude either. Anyways, it‟s not because of anything else. I really just like you so much I want to sleep with you. I don‟t want anyone but you—it can‟t be anyone but you. You can do anything you want to me, however you like it. I‟ll accept everything, as long as you‟re willing to...” - Chapter 100

The idea that Wei Wuxian doesn’t love Lan Wangji as much as Lan Wangji loves him is so ridiculous. Honestly Wei Wuxian’s love for Lan Wangji is bursting through the pages that I could have picked so many other examples to use and made this even longer.

[kameeee]

MDZS Donghua: "Happy Chinese New Year" Source: https://m.weibo.cn/status/4732485797941717