#jin zixuan also does it in the xuanwu cave

[korpikorppi]

Some impressions of the Yunmeng Jiang fighting style (and some of the others, too)

This comment by @mylittleponygrrl

My one wish (regret) about the series is that we never got to see the Yunmeng Jiang fighting forms. What a wasted opportunity that we never got to see Wei Wuxian, their first disciple, actually sword fight 🥺

on this post about my favourite LWJ sword technique got me thinking. While I agree that There Should Have Been More!, we actually do see Wei Wuxian sword fight and we do also see the Yunmeng Jiang fighting style 🙂. Let's see...

We do, of course, have The Moonlight Duel™️. Wei Wuxian does not, as we know, draw Suibian, but he uses the sword in it's scabbard to parry Lan Wangji's attacks, using defence techniques we can safely assume to be part of the Yunmeng Jiang fighting style. And he fights Lan Wangji to a standstill, so they appear to be quite effective.

The occasion where we see the best glimpses of Wei Wuxian fighting with a sword (even if the sword is not, unfortunately, Suibian) is the fight against the Wen in the cave of the Xuanwu, which is actually a really nice show of the various fighting styles. It is (also unfortunately) almost impossible to get good screencaps of him: he is a flurry of motion, twirling in tight circles (rather similar to the moves he uses when casting his talismans, come to think of it, so that is perhaps something typical for him), performing fast parries and strikes with relatively small movements, skillfully wreaking havoc as he goes.

In this fight, Wei Wuxian also performs a neck slice, basically the same technique as my LWJ favourite (caps here), but the execution is more straight forward with him moving in after a nice little parry, keeping his body straight, barely leaning in, before pulling the blade back.

Moving on... Wei Wuxian actually wields Suibian during the fight on the Jinlintai stairs! Even if he has not been using a sword for a long time, even if he no longer has his golden core nor a reservoir of spiritual energy, he's doing... quite ok, relying at this point (I imagine) on his reflexes and muscle memory from his years of training.

And of course, regarding the Yunmeng Jiang fighting style, we must not forget Jiang Cheng. As the Young Master of the Jiang Clan he's sure to have received as thorough and rigorous a training in the Yunmeng Jiang sword techniques as Wei Wuxian, and we see him fighting both in the Xuanwu cave...

...and during the Sunshot Campaign.

Based on how the Yunmeng Shuangjie fight, I get an impression that where the Lan (or at least the Twin Jades) like to keep their enemies at a distance to employ their large, graceful sweeps and swirls, the Yunmeng Jiang seem to go by the principle of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer", also in practise.

Both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng perform their parries relatively close to their bodies (as can be seen in some of the images above), keeping their movements precise, fast and economical. And even when thrusting and striking out, they do not seem to reach very far or lean in but keep their bodies straight and their weapons closer to their bodies than the Lan, who always seem to go for range, to bend and stretch (check out the contrast between Jiang Cheng above and Lan Wangji below). I also have a feeling that compared to the Lan, more emphasis is placed on defensive techniques in the Jiang style, which would make sense considering the above-mentioned difference in their "range of engagement".

Also, the Yunmeng Jiang characteristic of fighting at a relatively close range allows Wei Wuxian to more easily adapt his sword style to fighting with Chenqing when he uses his flute (much shorter than a jian) as a melee weapon. Quite handy.

To end this, I also have to mention that I absolutely love the way Jin Zixuan fights! If the Lan favour engaging at a long range and the Jiang at a relatively short range, Jin Zixuan seems to settle somewhere in between. His techniques are not as graceful as those of the Lan nor as fast as those of the Jiang, but they are very powerful and well grounded. And while all of the young masters are quite adept at unarmed combat (look at the fight in the Xuanwu cave!), Jin Zixuan strikes me as being the most comfortable with it. So are those things representative of the Jin fighting style? Probably, but it is pretty much impossibe to say to what extent, because we do not see anyone else really use it (and Jin Ling for sure had not been taught proper unarmed combat).

And oh, talking about the fight in the Xuanwu cave! It is also interesting to see Lan Wangji fight the Wen: his injured leg prevents him from moving much so he needs to adapt his preferred fighting style. Pretty cool!

And the Nie style? Beats me. There are sure to be clear differences compared to the rest of the great sects, stemming from the difference in their weapon to begin with, but the only Nie representative we really see fighting is Nie Mingjue. And I strongly suspect no one else fights like Nie Mingjue.

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Didn't want to derail that last post since it's specifically about novel canon, but it got me thinking about the ramifications of the changes that the drama makes:

CQL Mianmian is a Jin disciple. I like this change overall because it facilitates her being a larger part of the narrative and implies that Jin Zixuan has a life outside of being That Rich Guy Wei Wuxian Hates. Still, as is also the case with Meng Yao and Lan Xichen due to them meeting earlier, it means that Jin Zixuan is defending someone already dear to him rather than protecting a stranger simply because it's the right thing to do. Don't shrug off his heroism yet, though, because...

A nameless Jin disciple is the one who tries to hand over Mianmian. Jin Zixuan (and only Jin Zixuan) strikes him down and says in disgust that he can't believe the Jin clan contains such cowards, or something like that. However, Mianmian herself reminds Jin Zixuan when they're giving up their swords that they're under orders from their sect leader to comply with whatever the Wen clan asks of them. Jin Zixuan's choice to defend Mianmian is potentially in defiance of his father's directive. (Why is Jin Zixuan willing to disobey his dad here but stays awkwardly silent during his family's BS at the Phoenix Mountain hunt and conference later on? Well, his dad's not in the room with him here.)

Su She is not involved here, as Lan Wangji is the sole representative from Gusu Lan. The selfishness/cowardice of trying to feed Mianmian to a monster is replaced with his (more socially unacceptable in-universe but IMO more sympathetic to the viewer) revealing the Cold Pond Cave secret. There aren't any Lans standing by as nobody but Lan Wangji does the right thing.

The hostages generally show a lot of solidarity! After Wen Chao punts Wei Wuxian deeper into the cave, everyone else climbs down after him. None of them responds to Wen Chao shouting questions from up above, forcing the Wen guards to climb down to their level to investigate. The Jin guy attacking Mianmian is an outlier, indicating a problem with Lanling Jin culture rather than the jianghu as a whole. They cooperate well when it's time to band together and escape!

So the takeaway in CQL canon isn't that everyone is a coward or overly concerned with politics except for the protagonist, his love interest, and Jin Zixuan for some reason, but more like... here are these young people and future leaders who are fully capable of acting together for the good of the group. They refuse to comply with their captors despite being unarmed, and they'll convince the older generation to take action against the Wen clan. (Nie Mingjue, the only sect leader who's part of the younger generation without an older relative's influence, has already been in open conflict with them.) And isn't it a shame, then, that Jin Guangshan--and his sect culture that would've excused feeding one of his own disciples to a demon turtle--is going to crush all of this.

*I initially assumed, when I started making this post, that Cloud Recesses in the novel gets burned after the indoctrination in retaliation for Lan Wangji's part in killing the Xuanwu of Slaughter. But the wiki timeline has the indoctrination still coming after Cloud Recesses is attacked? If that's the case, how do the Lan have that many disciples to send?

[ddthebreadboy]

The Case of Jiang Cheng's Canon Selective Amnesia

Jiang Cheng at MDZS chapter 59:

"Lan WangJi and Jin ZiXuan and those people can just die! Just let them die! What's their deaths got to do with us?! To do with our sect?! Why did this have to happen?! Why?!

"Go die, go die, go die! Everyone!!!"

And yet Jiang Cheng at MDZS chapter 87:

Jiang Cheng mocked, "Look how forgetful you are. What does unwelcome people mean? Then let me remind you. It was because you played the hero and saved Second Young Master Lan, who's standing beside you right now, that the entire Lotus Pier and my parents went down with you---, "

From blaming Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji, into blaming Lan Wangji alone🙃🙃

Why?

Duh of course because Jin Zixuan has married his sister🥱

The so called sin of causing a sect to be exterminated can be erased as long as you marry the sister~

Oh. I Forgot to add the REAL thought of Jiang Cheng at MDZS chapter 59:

In his heart, Jiang Cheng knew clearly that back in the cave of the Xuanwu of Slaughter at Muxi Mountain, even if Wei WuXian hadn't saved Lan WangJi, the Wen Sect would have found some reason to come over sooner or later.

Dude knew perfectly why the massacre happened at all. Yet refuse to face reality. C'mon, call some psychologist here, a delusional patient who refuse to see reality may have been spotted.

In addition, the REAL people whom Wen Chao wanted to kill and thus were saved by Wei Wuxian in Xuanwu Cave were (MDZS ch 52):

Wen Chao was enraged, shouting, "How dare you! Kill them!"

A few of the Wen Sect's disciples unsheathed their swords, rushing toward Lan WangJi and Jin ZiXuan.

Yes. It is Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan.

Not only Lan Wangji but also JIN FUCKINN ZIXUAN!

Alright, next:

Wen Chao looked as if his mood was much better. He spat, "Talking back to me, what did you think you are? People like you really do deserve to be killed."

Who talked back to Wen Chao?

Oh, let's look back a while ago:

Jin ZiXuan lifted his brows, "Is that enough? It wasn't enough for people to be flesh shields for you, and now you want live humans to bleed for you to use as bait?!"

Wei WuXian found this somewhat surprising, So Jin ZiXuan really does have some nerve.

Wen Chao pointed at them, "Are you rebelling against me? Let me warn you, I've been tolerating you for a very long time. Right now, hang the brat up with your own hands! Or else none of the people from your sects can expect to return!"

Jin ZiXuan sneered and refused to budge. Lan WangJi also looked as though he had heard nothing, so motionless that he seemed to be meditating.

Oh MY GOD! The one who angered Wen Chao first and talked back to him, it turned out it was Jin Zixuan all along!

That mighty Heir of the venerated LanlingJin, Jin Zixuan!

My my my...

To think that Jiang Cheng acted as if it was Lan Wangji solely who offended Wen Chao and needed to be saved... But the reality were...🧐🧐

The young and mighty Sandu Sengshou must have problem with hearing and seeing for him to think that the one Wei Wuxian saved is only Lan Wangji, right?

Or maybe Selective amnesia?

Oh!

It is because Jin Zixuan has married the Sister so the "so called sin" Got defaulted🙃

(All Excerpts are from ExRebel FanTrans)

***

JC (toxic ones) Stan: Listen to our babyCheng, Lan Wangji is the reason YunmengJiang got destroyed!

JC throughout the MDZS: It's me~! Hi~! I'm the problem, it's me~! (The one who has problem with hearing, seeing, delusional tendency, plus selective amnesia)

[asymm3]

the urge to write the world’s weirdest, angst-ridden carrie underwood inspired mdzs fic (stay with me here, i promise i’m not that crazy)

lan wangji gets married off to wen ruohan fairly early on to try and prevent the wen from doing their whole conquering the cultivation world thing

it doesn’t really work

wwx and lwj don’t meet again after wwx departs from the cloud recesses with his siblings and jiang fengmian until the wen indoctrination

lwj has been ordered to be there for the indoctrination as a show of the wen’s power. look at how they’ve cowed and broken the second jade.

wwx can’t really believe what has become of his friend(?). lwj’s cold facade is now completely iced and hostile. there’s an edge to him that wasn’t there before. wwx almost doesn’t recognize the man in front of him, who aggressively ignores him. (it’s too painful for lwj to see wwx and imagine what could have been)

slaying the xuanwu happens roughly the same. lwj gets left in the cave by wen chao bc wen chao is a little bitch. in treating lwj’s wounds, wwx discovers horrific scars as a result of wen ruohan’s treatment of him.

lwj returns to wen ruohan in a vain attempt to prevent any further escalation. it does not work.

everything else is pretty much the same (as much as it can be with lwj not in the picture) until the final battle

instead of meng yao/jin guangyao delivering the final blow, lwj comes out of nowhere and kills him instead. viciously. that’s what he gets for treating lwj like shit.

(i’ve listened to far too many carrie underwood songs about murdering your abusive husband)

the sects are baffled. lwj returns to the lan but struggles to return to his previous way of life. when wwx rescues the wen remnants, lwj goes with him. lwj has already been faced with his “what is black and what is white” dilemma as a result of his suffering under wen ruohan for “the good of the cultivation world.” wwx is doing good, despite what the cultivation world says, so he follows him. they establish the burial mounds settlement together. their relationship develops slowly as they grow closer.

lgy doesn’t rise to (as much) power bc he didn’t kill wen ruohan. he still tries to get up to his “orchestrating people’s deaths” bullshit

however, lwj travels with wwx to jin ling’s 1 month celebration. (edit: fixed wedding to the one month celebration. i have scrambled eggs for brains and got my timeline confused) jin zixuan does not die, but jin zixun is killed by lwj for attempting to kill wwx. there is adequate political fallout. nobody knows what to do as lwj sacrificed so much in trying to prevent the war, as well as killing wen ruohan, but he also did kill jin guanshaun’s nephew

the cultivation world settles into an uneasy peace as the new yiling wei sect rises from the remnants of the wen, headed by wwx and his (eventual) husband lwj.

lwj does not need to kill this husband

[coquelicoq]

For your Untamed Billy Joel Musical, have you considered "I Go To Extremes"? It would barely need any lyrics changed.

yeah that's such a good one! @needtherapy suggested in the notes on the only the good die young parody that wei wuxian sing it during sunshot, which is spot on, and then later in response to this VERY funny How Peaceful Is LWJ: Episode 36 post it occurred to me that it would be delightful to have drunk!lan wangji do a reprise...

other songs that would work with few lyrical changes, mostly courtesy of @winepresswrath and needtherapy from that first link:

river of dreams as a song for the yunmeng trio to sing from different parts of the stage while they're separated during the burial mounds era

shameless, which wei wuxian originally sings VERY over the top and tongue in cheek during the yin iron roadtrip, and then a reprise in the second life to which lan wangji has a very different reaction (@weatherfey's brilliant suggestion), and then lan wangji does a heartfelt reprise on the steps of jinlintai

AND SO IT GOES JIANG CHENG SOLO (still hurting over this tbh)

if i only had the words (to tell you) would be lan wangji when he's trying to get wei wuxian to come back to gusu with him

lullabye (goodnight, my angel) as a song jiang yanli sings to her brothers and her brothers sing to jin ling and a-yuan when they're missing her...this would serve as the yunmeng trio theme and the melody would recur at all their important moments

if you have jiang cheng singing the questions in big man on mulberry street to wei wuxian (just change the pronouns to you instead of i), you could make some cosmetic changes to the street names and plop it in the qishan indoctrination. or if you were willing to make some changes to the questions you could make it about wei wuxian not carrying his sword and his other assorted inexplicable (to jiang cheng) behavior during and post sunshot

state of grace is sooooo lan wangji to wei wuxian during sunshot and/or burial mounds coded. but almost all of it would work very well for jiang cheng as well...maybe they trade off verses

i also think lan wangji could do a lil summer, cloud recesses solo at some point during that same period. maybe when he's letting wei wuxian and the wens go?

honesty would be first sung by nie mingjue, then lan xichen could do a reprise in guanyin temple

wei wuxian sings a minor variation right after he fails to grow lotus in the burial mounds

you may be right is wei wuxian to lan wangji but i'm not really sure exactly how to get the timing work. i did a version with the first verse in the burial mounds and the second verse in xuanwu cave, but i'm not married to that

someone could maybe sing angry young man about wei wuxian, but i'm not sure who

she's got a way and/or leave a tender moment alone by jin zixuan

song lan gets everybody has a dream :)

just the way you are, lan wangji to wei wuxian post-resurrection

possibly wei wuxian all about soul about lan wangji sometime in the second life, though it's probably unnecessary

you're my home, ensemble cast (also see needtherapy's wangxian fanvid 🥺). curtain.

also see various lyrical rewrites in A Very Untamed Billy Joel Musical Ice Dance Extravaganza. thanks for your contribution to the billy joel cql fandom, you're welcome here any time 🥰

[grewlikefancyflowers]

hello! I've always wondered about the fact that JC distracted the soldiers first? How does change interpretation of canon, and would it have mattered if wwx was told that jc distracted them first?

Hello anon!

The reveal that JC distracted the wens shouldn't really change how the reader views JC's character imo, because all it tells us is that he's capable of good things as well as very awful things. The reader should already know this because we see him being decent at other points in MDZS too (briefly in Xuanwu Cave, when the Wens come to Lotus Pier, and even in Guanyin Temple).

This isn't a 'psych!! jc is a good person!!!' moment, the importance it has to JC's character is that he chooses to keep it to himself rather than using it to try to earn forgiveness from WWX.

'After a moment of silence, Jiang Cheng shook his head, “There’s nothing to say.” [...] just like how the past Wei WuXian couldn’t tell him the truth of giving him his golden core, the current Jiang Cheng wasn’t able to say anything either.' (110)

This is WWX's reason for not telling JC about the GC (aside from the initial reason that it'd hurt JC's pride)

'Later, because Jin ZiXuan and Jiang YanLi had died because of him, Wei WuXian had become too ashamed to ever bring it up again. If he were to tell Jiang Cheng the truth after that, it would only sound like an excuse, a way for him to alleviate himself of the responsibilities by bringing up an act of kindness in the worst time, as if saying, ‘Look, you can’t hate me, I’ve also made sacrifices for the Jiang Sect.’ (102)

Obligation and debt form the very foundation of WWX & JC's relationship, at every every opportunity JC held these things against WWX. The 'promise', that WWX was raised in the Jiang Sect, the deaths of his family & JZX—even after the GC reveal JC holds these things against WWX.

'At this point, it was impossible to figure out who should apologize to whom.' (103)

It all becomes such an entangled mess that their relationship is made unsalvageable by it.

In contrast to wangxian, who's relationship can only be called unconditional—between them there are no expectations, obligations, debts, gratitude or envies. There's no need for thank you & I'm sorry. It is in both LWJ's and WWX's character to give freely to others without expectation for anything in return, to never begrudge what was given or resent what wasn't received. The 'message' of MDZS is that debts and gratitude have no place in a mutually-loving relationship, of any sort.

For JC's character development, in keeping this small thing to himself, when he could have held it against WWX as he does everything else, JC finally made some small progress towards self-improvement. It's the only positive character development he has in the whole novel.

As for whether or not WWX knowing about this would change anything either in the existing story, or post-canon? No.

In his first life, what could this mean to WWX? That JC cares about him? WWX already thinks that. He didn't base his decision-making on whether or not his relationship with JC was good or bad regardless. And if he considered this a 'debt' that tied him to JC?

'Wei WuXian’s expression darkened at once. His voice was harsh as well, “What a joke! Why is it that the debt you owe has to be repaid at the expense of others!”' (62)

He wouldn't let the Wens suffer at the expense of his own debts or obligations anyway, JC would still give him the ultimatum between staying in the Jiang Sect & abandoning the Wens, or leaving. WWX would still defect, the story would remain the same.

As for if JC revealed this post-canon, he himself recognises that this could only come across as an attempt to guilt-trip WWX into forgiving him. It certainly would not endear WWX to him, probably quite the opposite.

In the end, after everything JC has done, WWX doesn't want him in his life anymore, one good deed won't change that.

[jzixuans]

hello i'm here to wish you a very Jin Zixuan day 🤸🏻‍♂️ whats a favorite moment or thought or headcanon about the birthday boy that you have tucked in the back of your mind at all times?

GOOD MORNING ABBY HAPPY JIN ZIXUAN DAY WE ARE POPPING SO MANY BOTTLES FOR THE ONLY MAN IN THE WORLD

ohhhhhhh i have so many thoughts about him you are getting many more than you asked for and i wish i was more articulate today but i am mostly filled with coffee right now and i have to finish a midterm later

1) he's a family man!!! obviously there's jiang yanli and jin ling and he loved them SO much but also i think it's kind of canon that he's a bit of a mama's boy and i think a lot about how between the betrothal and other social/political obligations he was largely adhering to what his parents wanted for him. also i will eternally thank cql for the extra bits we got of him (im like 90% sure they were added but i haven't finished the novel) of him trying to get jin guangshan to back off of jin guangyao. i think in his perfect world he really would have liked to have jin guangyao treated well in the family and would have wanted his parents to be able to reconcile jin guangyao's presence but i also think he wasn't willing to transgress those boundaries in order for that to happen because of filial piety and also class and also because symbolically that would have fractured his image of family more than repaired it :(

2) follow up to this a scene cql gave us that i think about sooooo sosososoososo often is "a-yao, you always avoid eye contact when you're hiding something." like yes cql had jgy play him like a fiddle and so this quirk was obviously artificial but it's the fact that not only did they spend enough time together for jgy to fib and plant this habit, but that jin zixuan NOTICED and he REMEMBERED. he's not as socially inept as people make him out to be! he's just awkward!!

3) this one is my most close to heart headcanon that's probably not canon but i like to think that jgy is actually older than jzx. either by a year or two but born on the same day, or (sexier) by just a number of hours. it kind of rubs a little more salt in the wound for jzx to be the recognized heir and jgy nothing more than a glorified attendant. more simply though it's endearing to think about little big brother a-yao and his big little brother :'))

4) the jin zixuan honour code thesis is REAL and THRIVING and i kiss xuanwu cave every morning on the mouth with TONGUE. him defending mianmian in the cave when no one else but lan wangji (hi xuanjimian friendship agenda) does is so good all the time in every adaptation and then you add to the mix cql's "is there any shortage of corpses lately?" (god he's so respectful even to wen corpses) and him honouring the girl he Thought was giving him soup by raising her rank and then him feeling so Bad about yelling at jiang yanli for the soup incident that he kind of just lay down and took the consequence is like!! in my mind there's (to oversimplify): lan wangji being the novel's most upright unwavering moral compass, there's wei wuxian being the novel's drive for justice, and then there's jin zixuan with his heart full of integrity and honour. my thoughts on this are summed up in "and so my heart beats wildly" by lily_winterwood during the scene where jin zixuan forces su she (?) to forfeit because he attacked mianmian and then forfeits himself because he also technically broke the rules. it's similar to nie mingjue's "after i kill him, i'll kill myself" but less out of some moral give and take but more because it's the right thing to do

5) xuanjimian friendship agenda :) and it is soooooo important to me that mianmian has her own #girlloser moments. she is not there to be their cool distinguished completely rational girl best friend. she is there because she looked at these two and said I Can Make Them Worse. they're all three a little bit mean and bitchy and incredibly self-righteous. too busy joining three sports teams and nine clubs to do any normal person hang out activities. my only crumbs are xuanwu cave, cql putting mianmian in the jin sect, and mianmian's (2) interactions with lan wangji but. they are best friends and they are all three jock prep nerds hope this helps <3

6) secret other friendship agenda: jzx lwj and nhz being xiao 3zun. they're like 3zun if 3zun was a little bit more cringe and had to sit at the kiddie table with their juice boxes while their brothers were being a cool political power throuple

[fortune-maiden]

oooh for the whump prompts, could i ask for 52 or 54 with jzx and wwx? i like it when ppl who don’t like each other take care of each other anyway :)

52) “Am I going to die here?” “No, okay? Just stay with me.” 54) “I’m fine.” “No you’re not, you’re losing a lot of blood.”

Finally finished!! Thank you so much for the prompt Anon! Sorry it took so long, but I enjoyed writing this! I enjoy any excuse to write Peacock Jin at his tsundere-est :)

I hope you enjoy!!

AO3

-

The Worst Option

“How many of us were there? It could have been anyone else. Anyone! Why did it have to be you?”

Jin Zixuan ignored the taunt. He ignored the accompanying hand gesture as well, and instead held his breath as he watched the demonic turtle circle around in the water, as though the slightest movement would get its attention.

He had half a mind to tell off Wei Wuxian for his complaining as well, but that would require having to acknowledge his presence, but also, the turtle’s continued lack of reaction to him was a comfort.

Jin Zixuan wasn’t sure what made him finally release his breath; the turtle slinking away or the realization that Wei Wuxian stopped talking.

He turned back to him and was met with a glare. Jin Zixuan glared back.

“Turtle’s gone,” he said after a moment.

“Good riddance,” Wei Wuxian agreed icily and leaned back against the rock Jin Zixuan had propped him against. One hand was still tightly clutched over his injured arm. It dripped bright red blood.

“You should do something about that,” Jin Zixuan told him.

“Happily. Just hand me the med kit I left back in Yunmeng.”

“Wei Wuxian!” Jin Zixuan snapped. “For your sake, you’d better not be insinuating that it’s somehow my fault we’re trapped here.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Wei Wuxian snapped back at him. “But why you, of all people…”

It wasn’t Jin Zixuan’s fault he’d been the closest. Or the fastest.

When the arrow shot through the air and pierced Wei Wuxian’s arm, Jin Zixuan’s body moved faster his brain, and he was at his side at once, helping to hold up the array and then moving him to safety once everyone else was gone. He didn’t realize until it was too late that his heroics would leave him trapped in the cave.

With a corrupted Xuanwu.

And Wei Wuxian.

“You aren’t my first choice either,” Jin Zixuan grumbled angrily. “I would never have saved you if I knew how ungrateful you’d be.”

“I didn’t need to be saved at all,” Wei Wuxian countered. “You think I lured that stupid turtle towards me so we’d have two idiots left in the cave?”

True. If he hadn’t been injured suddenly and spurred Jin Zixuan’s protective instincts, they could have had just one.

No. Even one was unacceptable.

“You’re a fool if you think I’d leave someone to die,” Jin Zixuan said quietly.

“And you’re a fool for thinking I would die,” Wei Wuxian said, with a roll of his eyes. His voice was suddenly quieter. Less venomous. “You think something like this is enough to do me in? I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not, you’re losing a lot of blood.”

His hand was almost completely red with it, but Wei Wuxian simply waved it around and laughed.

“Don’t you know how strong I am? I’ll have this healed up before Jiang Cheng even makes it out of Qishan!” he boasted.

The wound looked too severe for that to be true, but Wei Wuxian would never listen to anything Jin Zixuan had to say anyway, so he wouldn’t bother.

“You should get on that then,” he simply said instead and made himself comfortable.

There wasn’t much else for him to do.

-----

How long do you think we’ll be trapped here?” Jin Zixuan suddenly asked. He didn’t know how much time had passed. He had sat down in the lotus position and closed his eyes to try and meditate, but his fears kept intruding no matter how many times he tried to push them away.

“As long as it takes Jiang Cheng to get home and alert Uncle Jiang,” Wei Wuxian replied. There was no concern to be found on his pale face. Jin Zixuan hated it.

“And how long is that? Can we even last until then?”

“Of course, we can,” Wei Wuxian snapped. “Even someone like you should be able to go without food a few days.”

Of course, he could. Jin Zixuan bristled indignantly.

“A few days? Is that how long you think it takes to run to Yunmeng?”

“For Jiang Cheng, yes.”

“Ridiculous,” Jin Zixuan said. “We’re better off waiting for my parents.”

“If we have to wait for them, we really will starve. Lanling is much further away.”

“They’ll get here,” Jin Zixuan insisted. He thought about his mother, and how worried she’d be when she learned what happened. It pained him to cause her such distress, but that worry would be her greatest weapon. “Jiang Wanyin is a more valuable hostage than my clanmates. They’ll be able to get home, while Wen Chao will certainly pursue – OW!”

Wei Wuxian had thrown a pebble at his head.

“Don’t say stupid things. My shidi will save us.”

Jin Zixuan grabbed the fallen stone and threw it back. It hit Wei Wuxian’s shoulder and bounced off with a plink.

“I am being realistic.”

“You are being an asshole.”

“Wei Wuxian!” Jin Zixuan snapped, remembering more and more why it was he never liked him. After a moment of tense glaring, Jin Zixuan looked away.

“How can you have so much faith in him?”

“Because he’s my shidi. End of discussion.”

But of course, it wasn’t the end of the discussion.

“Besides if you want to talk valuable hostages, you’re forgetting Lan Zhan and Nie Huaisang. Wen Chao had it out especially for Lan Zhan.”

“And Nie Huaisang’s safety is the only thing holding his brother back,” Jin Zixuan added thoughtfully. “If he can get home, Sect Leader Nie would be in a position to retaliate.”

“Right. If Wen Chao was smart. he’d prioritize him and –

“How good do you think Nie Huaisang’s chances are if Wen Chao does that?”

Wei Wuxian didn’t answer. Jin Zixuan decided he didn’t want to answer that either.

The silence was suffocating.

“…Thankfully, Wen Chao is not smart.”

“And both Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan are.”

That was the end of that discussion.

-----

The corrupted Xuanwu surfaced on occasion, but for the most part it slept. Jin Zixuan struggled to do the same and passed the time trying to observe a pattern to its behavior.

Wei Wuxian did the same but also kept busy in other ways. Jin Zixuan would often break out of his trance to find him pacing around, mumbling to himself, though whenever their eyes met, he would stop and retreated further into what they’d established as his side of the cave and pretend to focus on other things.

They had a good separation in place. When some of his strength returned (and he smugly declared himself completely healed), the first thing Wei Wuxian did was go around the cave and gather up the weapons left behind and then any twigs and leaves he could find for them to start a fire. They agreed to share the fire to save on supplies, but the weapons were laid out to form a dividing line.

“Of course, you’re welcome to come over to this side if you’re scared,” Wei Wuxian teased, and Jin Zixuan bristled and promised to never do such a thing.

Occasionally, Jin Zixuan asked after Wei Wuxian’s arm. Other times, Wei Wuxian complained about various things. The two didn’t have much else to say to each other.

Once though, Jin Zixuan made the mistake of asking about his former betrothed. He’d done so as a formality. He didn’t really want to know and didn’t really care, but there had been a long stretch of silence where Wei Wuxian wasn’t mumbling or complaining, and Jin Zixuan hadn’t liked it. So, when they next met up by the fire, he decided to break it.

“That’s none of your business,” Wei Wuxian immediately snapped, and the temperature of the cave seemed to plummet despite the fire they’d just started.

“She was to be my bride once. I see nothing wrong with asking about her well-being,” Jin Zixuan replied coldly, even though he’d agreed with the reply.

“Keyword: once,” Wei Wuxian hissed. “You didn’t care about her before, so you don’t get to pretend now. I don’t care what anyone else says. I’m glad her engagement to you was canceled.”

“Of course, you would be,” Jin Zixuan remarked. “One less romantic rival in your way.”

“Excuse me?” Wei Wuxian leapt to his feet and glared down at Jin Zixuan. “You are not my rival. In anything.”

“Oh? So you won’t marry her either. Heh.”

“She’s my shijie,” Wei Wuxian said slowly, emphasizing each word carefully.

“And? You’re the head disciple. There’s nothing unusual.” Jin Zixuan replied. “In some sects, it’s even preferable. And in your case, I’m surprised Jiang Fengmian didn’t leap at the opportunity. Or could it be the rumors—

“Stop,” Wei Wuxian cut him off in a venomous tone, and Jin Zixuan knew he’d messed up. He held Wei Wuxian’s hateful gaze but searched for the nearest weapon in the corners of his vision, just in case.

But Wei Wuxian didn’t attack. As the fire crackled between them and the blaze reflected in his eyes, he only said, “Shijie will marry someone who will love her and treasure her above all else. Definitely not you.”

Jin Zixuan opened his mouth to have the last say, but Wei Wuxian didn’t give him the chance. He turned around and walked into the shadows.

“I’m tired. It must be nighttime now. Good night.”

The fire lost all its warmth.

-----

Wei Wuxian stopped pacing around the cave. He stopped gathering supplies as well. He didn’t stop mumbling to himself but as he kept to his rock on his side of the cave, Jin Zixuan couldn’t hear any of it, and only knew from the way his lips twitched on occasion. He never made any more fires, nor joined in when Jin Zixuan did.

Jin Zixuan now made his own rounds now to stretch his legs and try to see whatever else there was to the cave. The longer the silence stretched, the worse the thoughts in his mind. Were his parents on their way? Did any of his clanmates reach Lanling yet? Had they even escaped successfully?

He knew at least a few days must have passed by now. His golden core kept his hunger and thirst at bay, but he could slowly feel it grow weaker and couldn’t be sure how much longer it would last.

When he brought back an armful of dried wood and found Wei Wuxian slumped against the rock asleep, clutching his injured arm, he wondered if Wei Wuxian’s energy had already ran out.

After starting a fresh fire, Jin Zixuan crossed the divider, and knelt down.

“Wake up. I’ve made a fire.”

Wei Wuxian’s response was a slow shake of his head.

“I’m going to do another circle so it’s all yours.” Jin Zixuan tried again.

“Don’t need it,” Wei Wuxian slurred. “S’hot enough.”

“Don’t be stubborn,” Jin Zixuan said with a frown and grabbed Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. This was met with a groan, and some weak attempts at breaking free, first by shaking him off and then by attempting to smack Jin Zixuan’s hand away with his own.

On the third such attempt, Wei Wuxian’s hand landed on Jin Zixuan’s, and immediately his stomach sank.

Wei Wuxian’s hand was burning.

“You’re not alright!” Jin Zixuan cried out in alarm and reached to feel Wei Wuxian’s forehead. The action was rebuffed more strongly this time but not before Jin Zixuan could confirm the fever. “Wei Wuxian, wake up! How long have you been like this?”

Memories of their last conversation swirled in his mind. Had he already been sick then?

“Are you listening to me?”

“You’re too noisy. Go away. M’trying to sleep.”

“You can sleep later,” Jin Zixuan snapped. “Show me your arm.”

“Arm’s fine.”

“Obviously it isn’t if you’re like this.” With a rough motion, Jin Zixuan grabbed his arm and swiftly pulled back the torn fabric, ripping it further.

A large angry gash greeted him, but as Jin Zixuan looked closer, he couldn’t find anything amiss. The wound was large, but it was no longer bleeding and had sealed itself up. A few dark streaks of dried blood circled it but nothing to indicate poisoning.

“Told you so.” Wei Wuxian’s glassy eyes shone with smug pride.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Jin Zixuan told him. “You must be hiding another injury somewhere. Another arrow? Or –when you dove into the water, did the turtle bite you? Or when we fought the Wen –

He stopped. When they fought the Wen, Wei Wuxian was injured. Not from a sword or an arrow but one very hot…

“Show me,” Jin Zixuan demanded, looking at a dark splotch on Wei Wuxian’s chest. “Right now.”

He didn’t wait for an affirmation. Even if Wei Wuxian refused, he had no strength to fight him off in his current state, and could only suppress a pained cry as Jin Zixuan cut back the fabric to reveal the sun-shaped brand blazing on his chest.

The wound hadn’t closed fully. Even now there were fresh specks of blood dotting it.

“Wei Wuxian!”

“I’ve expelled any impurities,” Wei Wuxian breathed out. “But it’s a stubborn one… turns out I can’t heal it and my arm and go without eating.”

“You should have said something earlier,” Jin Zixuan hissed at him, and lifted his wrist.

“Don’t. You need your strength too.”

“You can’t expect me to do nothing! We don’t have any other medicine to –

“Oh.”

“Exactly, now hold still.”

“No, not “oh, you’re right.” I meant “oh, you’re wrong”,” Wei Wuxian clarified. Slowly, he pushed himself into an upright position and reached into his robes. After some searching, he pulled out a small pink perfume sachet. “We do have medicine!”

“Where did you get that?”

“Mianmian,” Wei Wuxian answered with a growing grin. “I wanted it for Lan Zhan’s leg but… I forgot.”

Jin Zixuan swallowed back his rebuke and gratefully took the sachet.

“Give it. No sense wasting it.”

Jin Zixuan opened it up and started looking through the cut-up herbs. He knew the basics of first-aid, but had never had to treat anything like this. He wasn’t confident about his ability to tell apart the different plants. Fortunately, Wei Wuxian was still lucid enough to help.

“Looks like this one is good for stopping bleeding, and this one for curing poison,” He explained. “Crush those.”

“I know,” Jin Zixuan snapped impulsively, and started picking out the mentioned herbs. He ground them, and then pressed them into Wei Wuxian’s hand to press to his chest.

“Isn’t the guy doing first aid supposed to dashingly press the herbs onto the wound himself?” Wei Wuxian quipped, but still obediently held them in place as he took long deep breaths.

Jin Zixuan meanwhile doused the previous fire, and moved the wood towards Wei Wuxian to set it up anew. He also checked through their findings for anything to use as a bowl. If they cut up some cloth to strain the lake water with and boiled it, they could have something to better clean the wound with.

After thinking about it some more, he grabbed an arrowhead to cut a few neat strips from his own robe to use as bandages, and placed them in Wei Wuxian’s lap.

“You’re being so nice to me,” Wei Wuxian muttered. “Am I going to die here?”

“No, okay? Just stay with me,” Jin Zixuan replied. “I already told you’re a fool if you think I’d just let you die.”

Wei Wuxian hmphed to himself and closed his eyes again.

His fell back into a peaceful sleep.

-----

It would have been a stretch to say that Wei Wuxian recovered from some herbs and water but his fever fell to a more manageable warmth, and his eyes were alert and movements energetic.

He started talking again, mostly nonsense, but it filled the silence and dispelled some of Jin Zixuan’s worst anxieties. For the first time since they became trapped, he could feel hope running through him.

“– and looking back, if you hadn’t been the one to move it might have been Lan Zhan. So, uh, good job on that, I guess.”

Jin Zixuan had tuned out the first half of the conversation, but now turned to Wei Wuxian in confusion. “Good job for saving you so Lan Wangji didn’t?”

“He was injured,” Wei Wuxian reminded him pointedly. “He needed to get out of here and get proper treatment for his leg.”

“You’re injured too.”

“And we barely managed to deal with that,” Wei Wuxian remarked. “No really though. Lan Zhan needed medical attention. Nie-xiong wouldn’t last without eating. Jiang Cheng had to lead everyone out and then get help… Mianmian’s nice, but it would have been bad to leave a girl in a place like this. What I’m trying to say is… you weren’t the worst option to be stuck here with.”

“Idiot,” Jin Zixuan muttered with a scowl, but as he mentally went down the list, he couldn’t disagree.

“I’m not thanking you for it though.”

“Good. You can thank me after my mother gets us out of here.”

His father too, of course, but for some things his mother was just a bit more efficient.

“I keep telling you, Jiang Cheng will be the one to save us,” Wei Wuxian retorted. “We should bet on it.”

“There’s nothing you have that I could possibly want.”

“Likewise, but we can figure that part out later. Or just go for a classic winner bosses loser around.”

“Because you need an excuse for that.”

“Because I’m going to win.” Wei Wuxian’s grin was full of life, a welcome change from the weak forced smirks from… not even that long ago.

(Jin Zixuan hoped his expressions were still the same way. At the very least, he would not allow himself to break before Wei Wuxian.)

“More importantly though, I’ve decided I’m tired of waiting around for Jiang Cheng like some helpless damsel,” Wei Wuxian announced and picked himself up, stretching tall. “I want a trophy.”

“What are you going on about now?” Jin Zixuan frowned, but then realized where exactly Wei Wuxian was looking and leapt up in alarm. “No!”

“Why not? We came here for a night hunt. Someone should bring back some kind of prize, right?” More seriously, he added, “We’ve been trapped here at its mercy for at least some days. I want to get even.”

“You’ll be killed.”

“Not on your watch,” Wei Wuxian said, and Jin Zixuan regretted ever saying those words. “I’ve had a way to bring down that thing down for a while now, but then that stupid fever rose – I finally feel up to it again. I don’t want to lose this chance.”

Jin Zixuan suddenly recalled those his pacing, and mumbling, and the long hours spent watching the turtle…

“You really have a plan? Even without our swords?”

“Yep,” Wei Wuxian answered readily. “It’s funny, all this time I thought you being here was just good because it meant someone else wasn’t. But you may still be useful yet. For a peacock.”

Jin Zixuan rolled his eyes, but let the insult slide. He could tolerate a little name-calling if it meant they could really bring down the Xuanwu.

“And I suppose you may finally prove yourself worth saving. Twice now.”

He held out his hand to Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian readily took it.

“So here’s the plan…”

[robininthelabyrinth]

Fic were both JZX and Jiang Yanli are trans? I imagine the engagement would get complicated.

The More Things Change - ao3

“My lady,” the midwife said. “Congratulations. You have a daughter.”

Madame Jin shook her head. “I need a son,” she said.

“My lady –”

“I’m not doing that again,” Madame Jin said, her voice getting stronger. “I need a son.”

“But –”

She looked at her loyal maid, who inclined her head.

A knife flashed.

“Congratulations, my lady,” her maid said, pushing aside the midwife’s body with her foot. “You have a son.”

Madame Jin smiled.

-

“I’m glad you survived the birth of your child,” Madame Yu said to her old childhood friend, wondering why she’d been invited over to visit Lanling City quite so quickly – it hadn’t even been a month. “Were you thinking –”

“I have a son,” her friend said.

“Congratulations.”

“You don’t understand,” her friend said. “There’s a problem.”

-

“A-Li,” Jiang Yanli’s mother said in a strange tone. “Do you like wearing dresses?”

“Uh-huh,” Jiang Yanli said, trying to see if she could stick her fist into her mouth. She’d always worn frocks, the way all children her age did, but at some point soon her mother had been warning her that she’d need to switch over to wearing proper robes for boys. Jiang Yanli had burst into tears, saying she didn’t want to be a boy at all – that she didn’t want to leave her mother’s side, that she didn’t want to join the world of men, she didn’t, she didn’t.

“And you really don’t want to go be a boy? Really, you’re sure?”

Jiang Yanli nodded.

“What if I said you didn’t have to be? You could be a girl, just the way you like.”

“Really?”

“Mm. But you’d have to be a girl forever.”

“Okay,” Jiang Yanli said happily. “I wanna be a girl forever.”

“Good,” her mother said, and picked her up. “Just keep saying that.”

-

“What do you think we are,” Jiang Fengmian asked his wife blankly. “Qinghe Nie?”

His wife glared daggers at him.

“Attempt the impossible,” she said stiffly. “A-Li has been claiming to be a girl consistently for a year. Would you deny her the chance to follow her dreams?”

Well, when she put it that way…

Jiang Fengmian hesitated.

“It does create a problem,” his wife said, and he looked at her. She smiled faintly and leaned forward, showing her curves to their best advantage. “If she’s a girl, she’ll marry out, won’t she? We need a boy.”

Jiang Fengmian swallowed. A boy sounded – nice, he thought vaguely, eyes caught on what he was being offered. A little boy, lively and bright, with a happy smile always on his face…yes, that sounded rather nice.

Wei Changze’s letter upstairs said that his wife had announced that they had conceived, and that she had divined that it would be a son – it was frightfully early to make such predictions, less than a month in, but apparently disciples of the immortal mountain were able to determine such things early. A boy like that, who could be friends with their boy, a reason for them to come to visit and maybe even to stay…

Yes, he thought. That sounded rather good.

“All right,” he said. “A-Li can be a girl, I guess.”

-

Madame Yu and Madame Jin let news of the engagement seep out as rumor for months before telling their husbands. When they did, they took different approaches: Madame Jin pointed out the strategic benefits of an alliance with Yunmeng Jiang and the unlikelihood of Jin Guangshan finding a match for their son that would give him so much more influence in the cultivation world, which had made her husband stop his grumbling and look upon the match with a favorable eye.

Madame Yu stared at her husband, for whom she had just born a son three weeks premature and very nearly died in the process, and said, “What’s your problem?”

“A-Li can’t marry the Jin sect heir! She’s not –” He waved his hands. “The possibility of children –”

“I would have thought that would be a selling point,” Madame Yu said, and he blinked at her. “He’s Guangshan’s son. There will be children enough.”

After some further arguing, Jiang Fengmian begrudgingly backed down.

Madame Yu smiled to herself, and thought of grandchildren.

-

Everyone said that Jin Zixuan was a spoiled brat and incredibly lucky, but he didn’t think he was. Sure, he was rich and legitimate; his father valued him, while his mother loved him and would defend him against any challengers to his position as heir, but privately…

“Why do I have to work so hard?” Jin Zixuan asked, panting. “I’m already cultivating, and my teachers say I’m not bad with the sword –”

“Not bad isn’t good enough,” his mother said sharply. “You have to keep up with all the rest of them, and that means getting ahead now.”

“The rest of who?” he asked. “Do you mean…”

He hesitated, not knowing if he was also included in his mother’s taboo against mentioning the results of his father’s philandering.

“All of the cultivation world’s young gentlemen,” she said, to his surprise. “You have to keep up with them. No, you need to exceed them. You must!”

“But – why?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

-

“Mother,” Jiang Yanli said. She was clutching a book in her hands. “Mother, can we talk?”

Her mother frowned at her, looking disapproving – and then she saw the book.

Jiang Yanli thought she would yell at her, but she didn’t; her mother only gestured for her to come into her room, ordering her maids to close the doors and windows.

“Mother,” Jiang Yanli said. “Mother, the book –”

“How did you get a spring book?” her mother asked. She looked tired. “Surely you’re still too young?”

Jiang Yanli bowed her head.

It was true, she was too young. And yet…

“Mother, the pictures in the book…”

“I know.” Her mother sighed. “All right. Let me explain.”

-

Jin Zixuan stared at his mother. He felt sick.

“But,” he said, and swallowed. “But what about…?”

“I’ve handled it,” she said harshly. “But that is why you must not allow your father to take you to a brothel. Is that understood?”

-

“Who do you think is the best girl? Zixuan-xiong?”

“Oh, don’t ask him! He has a fiancée, so his answer will be her!”

“A fiancée? Really? What sect is she from? She must be extremely talented!”

“Forget it,” Jin Zixuan said.

“What do you mean by that?” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, and suddenly he was getting into his face. “Say that again if you dare!”

Jin Zixuan opened his mouth, hating him – hating the whole situation, being stuck not making any decisions for himself, his whole life mapped out for him by others – but then hesitated.

Jiang Yanli is the only one fit for you, his mother said. Do you understand? The only one.

“I haven’t met her since I was five,” he said instead of what he wanted, rolling his eyes. “So how could I dare to boast about her in your presence? You all want to know about her, ask Jiang-gongzi.”

Wei Wuxian blinked at him, the wind suddenly taken out of his sails.

Jin Zixuan escaped.

He felt like shit, thought. She was his fiancée, and he didn’t know anything about her – he didn’t want to hear about her, think about her. And yet…

The only one.

He went back to his room and wrote her a letter. It was a mess, the worst thing he’d ever written, nothing at all like the polite and careful phrasing, elegant and beautiful, that he’d been trying to put together, something worthy of his name.

He sent it before he could think better of it.

-

Jiang Yanli held the letter to her chest and smiled.

-

They’d exchanged a few dozen letters. Jin Zixuan knew that his intended was smart and witty, empathetic and kind, observant and well-meaning, but he didn’t know that she was beautiful until after they escaped from the indoctrination camp and the cave with the Xuanwu of Slaughter.

He’d just accompanied Jiang Cheng for the entire seven days it took to get to the Lotus Pier, collapsing right alongside him, and while Jiang Cheng had – somehow – gotten back on his feet and immediately led his father and mother out the door to go rescue Wei Wuxian, he’d stayed down on the floor until someone knelt down in front of him and smiled.

“Can I get you something to eat, Jin-gongzi?” Jiang Yanli asked.

“Uh,” Jin Zixuan said, and turned bright red. He could sure think of some things he’d like to eat – living as his father’s son had certainly given him an education (however theoretical) about that.

“Food,” Jiang Yanli clarified, giggling into her sleeve. “Let me get you some food.”

-

This was probably a bad idea, Jiang Yanli thought, looking down at the head tucked against her chest. I probably should’ve just stuck to food. What if he gets with child? What will we do then?

She couldn’t quite bring herself to regret it, though.

“A-Xuan,” she whispered, and Jin Ziuxan stirred a little. “Can we do it again?”

“You’re insatiable.”

That wasn’t a refusal.

-

“A-Li!” Jin Zixuan shouted, rushing forward. “A-Li, A-Li…!”

She collapsed into his arms.

He looked at the retainers from Meishan Yu, stubborn but pale. “It’s all right,” he said. “She’s my fiancée. I can take care of her.”

“The Jin sect walks in the center path,” one of the retainers said. “Never quite committing to the Sunshot Campaign. How do we know this isn’t a trick to get into the Wen sect’s good books?”

Jin Zixuan bit his lip. He’d pushed his father time and time again, and even that had only gotten them to participate half-heartedly in the fight against the Wen sect. What could he say? What worth was his word?

“It’s all right,” Jiang Yanli said. “I trust him.”

-

“You could do so much better, you know,” Wei Wuxian said. “It’s not too late!”

Jiang Yanli smiled down at her wedding outfit, but thinking instead of the panicked expression on Jin Zixuan’s face a week before when he’d unexpectedly thrown up in the morning when he was supposed to be preparing for the Phoenix Mountain hunt.

“Oh, it’s too late,” Jiang Cheng grumbled. “On that note, you pick the name.”

“The name…?”

“For our upcoming nephew.”

“Shijie! You didn’t!”

Jiang Yanli’s grin widened.

-

“Wei Wuxian has committed a crime in attacking our camp and taking the Wen remnants,” Jin Zixuan’s father announced. “We should –”

“Let it go, Father.”

“…what?!”

“I’m getting married, and he’s A-Li’s shidi,” Jin Zixuan reminded his father. “It would be inauspicious to start a marriage by breaking such a relationship.”

His father looked like he was planning on ignoring that, so Jin Zixuan used his trump card.

“We can’t afford anything inauspicious right now,” he said. “Not when there’s a child on the way.”

His mother dropped her cup.

-

“I have to go,” Jin Zixuan said. “You don’t understand. I have to.”

Jiang Yanli rubbed his hair. “You’re supposed to be in seclusion,” she reminded him. “As am I.”

“I’ve been throwing up every morning for two months, A-Li,” Jin Zixuan pleaded. “I can order them to clear the kitchen. No one would know we were there!”

Jiang Yanli laughed a little. “The craving’s that bad, huh?”

“Yes!”

“Oh, all right. We’ll give it a shot…”

It would have worked, too, if Jin Guangyao hadn’t noticed that too many people were in the wrong place and taken it upon himself to investigate.

“…Jiang-guniang?” He stared at her flat waist, then turned his eyes slowly towards the roundness at Jin Zixuan’s. “Jin-gongzi…?!”

“It’s all right, it’s A-Yao,” Jin Zixuan said to Jiang Yanli. “He won’t tell anyone. Right?”

Jin Guangyao shook his head mutely.

“Seclusion,” he muttered. “No wonder…everyone said it was bad timing that you went into seclusion right before Mistress Jiang announced her pregnancy. But it wasn’t, was it..?” He shook his head. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell.”

“We’re in your debt,” Jin Zixuan said, and thought Jin Guangyao’s eyes upon him were softer than they’d ever been before. “You’ll be a good uncle.”

Jin Guangyao smiled. “Perhaps,” he allowed. “One question, if I may. Who’s the father?”

Jiang Yanli wrapped an arm around Jin Zixuan’s shoulders and beamed.

Jin Guangyao’s jaw dropped again.

-

“Your son needs you,” Jiang Yanli said to Madame Jin. “Go.”

-

“Jin Ling,” Madame Jin said, looking down at the baby in her arms. A son, her grandson…a miracle. “Well. You’re – not what I expected.”

If her husband ever found out…

Well.

She’d just have to make sure he wouldn’t, now, wouldn’t she?

[flautistsandpeonies]

Wei WuXian Does NOT have a Hero Complex

Defined by Laura Berman Fortgang, a heroic complex is a phenomenon affecting people who seek heroism or recognition, usually by creating a desperate situation which they can resolve and subsequently receive the accolades from. This can include unlawful acts, such as arson and attempted murder.

If you paid attention at any point in the story, you would realize that Wei WuXian does not care about the opinion of others and also does not seek praise.

"There’s no need, there’s no need. There’s a problem with me that I’m unable to stand it when others thank me, especially when people like you thank me so seriously. It’s so creepy that I’m even getting goosebumps. Kneeling worship, of course, is even more so unnecessary.” - Wei WuXian to Lan WangJi, Xuanwu Cave

“But, let the self judge the right and the wrong, let others decide to praise or blame, let gains and losses remain uncommented on.” - Wei WuXian to Lan WangJi, Burial Mounds

There are three characters in the book that claim Wei WuXian has a heroic complex:

Yu ZiYuan: A woman who has spent eight years whipping Wei WuXian with an electrified whip, locked him in the ancestral hall for hours on end, claiming his dead mother cheated on his father with her husband, claimed her husband favored him and loved him more than her son, and later blames the fall of the sect of him despite it not being his fault.

Jiang Cheng: Believes Wei WuXian should have left their peers be murdered in a cave and gets upset when his father scolds him for this belief and later hits Wei WuXian because of it, blames the fall of the sect on Wei WuXian and strangles him twice despite acknowledging it wasn’t it his fault, accuses him of having a heroic complex right before demanding he hand the refugees he just saved over to be killed, joins the pledge conference at Nightless City, and leads the siege to kill Wei WuXian and the refugees under his protection.

A Unnamed Man: A cultivator says this at Nightless City.

None of these characters are reliable sources; they are all shown to be biased towards this character so their words cannot be taken as fact. In fact, the narrative goes on to disprove these characters almost immediately, such as when Madam Yu claims that Wen Chao wouldn’t have killed Lan WangJi and Jin ZiXuan, the narrative immediately states that her assessment is totally incorrect.

...

Let’s go into detail about the two scenes fandom claims shows Wei WuXian has a Heroic Complex.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

XuanWu Cave:

I know I’ve written two different posts pertaining to this scene already, but what’s a third time?

Ask yourselves, should Wei WuXian have just left the Lan and Jin disciples- that would be forty people in all- be killed by Wen Chao’s men? If by some chance you believe the answer is “yes”, why did they deserve to die? Because they wouldn’t let a girl be strung up and used for bait because of Wen Chao’s jealous mistress? In your eyes, did Luo Qingyang deserve to die because Wen Chao found her attractive and Wang LingJiao got jealous?

Is it not a smart idea for Wei WuXian to take Wen Chao, the leader of the group holding them hostage and one of the heirs to the Wen Sect as his prisoner? This move got Wen Zhuliu, the fearsome Core Melting Hand, to stand down with just a couple words. Wen Ruohan’s men would not move with one of their heirs in mortal danger. At that point, the other sects had the advantage.

Furthermore, no one could have known the Xuanwu of Slaughter was there. It isn’t as if someone summoned the creature into their midst, and holding this unforeseen/improbable happenstance against a teenager that’s trying to keep himself and his peers alive is ludicrous.

Should Wei WuXian have allowed Luo Qingyang’s face to be burnt by Wang LingJiao? Should Mianmian have had half of her face burnt off and lost an eye because Wen Chao’s mistress wanted to harm her?

Should Wei WuXian not have tried to find an exit? Should they have been content sitting trapped in cave with a murderous beast? There was no one coming to help them, all their elders thought they were still in the indoctrination and it isn’t like the Wens would have told them about the incident.

Finally, Wei WuXian did not intend to get trapped with Lan WangJi. He was preparing to try and follow the group out when Su Minshan shot him in the arm with an arrow. The smell of blood drew the XuanWu to him and Lan WangJi jumped in to save him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qiongqi Path Part 1:

I have also written a little bit about this but, I digress.

Wei WuXian did not save the Wen remnants because he wanted to look like a hero. The Wens were hated by everyone, no one cared if they died or how they died; they weren’t even seen as human beings anymore. If Wei WuXian wanted praise he would’ve told the overseers how to torture them more; hell, he wouldn’t have gone to the Flower Banquet in the first place or turned Wen Qing in.

Saving the Wens is the start of Wei WuXian’s exile from the cultivation world. He’s forced to leave his sect and take up residence in the Burial Mounds, using a corpse barrier to keep himself and his charges safe. Rumors start spreading that he’s kidnapping and r*ping women, eating infants, and cursing people and their livelihoods. This one single act destroyed what little reputation he had left after the war, so how could you say he was looking for praise or trying to seem like a hero?

...

The idea that Wei WuXian searches for praise is a complete misrepresentation of his character. The idea that he has a heroic complex is the culmination of picking certain lines from the text and ignoring others.

Wei WuXian has been showed multiples times throughout the story to save others, not because he wants to be in the limelight or be seen as some great cultivator/hero/warrior, but because helping people is the right thing to do.

We don’t say that characters who do things like that have a “Heroic Complex”.

We call them heros.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jiang Cheng Stans & Yu ZiYuan Stans Don’t Clown on my Posts

[plan-d-to-i]

Hello, I just saw this weird take on the MDZS Short Fics on ch 4. 'He actually wasn't really mediocre, he was ranked 5th in the best-looking young gentlemen in the cultivation world and in terms of skill and knowledge in the 6 arts (this was before the sunshot campaign too). Wei Wuxian was always ahead, thats true but Jiang Cheng was always a step behind. He kept up his pace and considering Wwx is a literal genius I'd say its pretty damn impressive. (1/?)

. He kept up his pace and considering Wwx is a literal genius I'd say its pretty damn impressive. Plus though he’s not very good at manipulating people, but he generally has a pretty good sense of which ways the political winds are blowing and he almost always knows what’s going to annoy, infuriate or enrage. (2/?)

It’s why he gets so twitchy when Wei Wuxian starts doing stuff that’s going to land him with a Reputation. he has custom virulence perfectly tailored to his target’s insecurities and weaknesses. Very good at making people mad. He's good at organization and logistics. He walks down that mountain and manages to pull together enough of a clan to start fighting the Wen, making allies, and looking for his brother, and I don’t think he could do that if he wasn’t pretty good at both of those things. (3)

TLDR: good at reading a room, organization,leadership and logistics. Drive as we. And lastly you remember that cute disciple in nightless city that was like 'Oh look! The ghouls aren't attacking us! Senior brother didnt forget us after all!'' The next scene we see him dead and a zombie slashing Yanli's back. That chip was earned. Sorry about the other guy, and for the long read :) I had a lot of feelings today and needed them out. (4/4). Tbh I think this one just didn't understand MDZS at all.

Well this person may have not even read MDZS since they're referencing cql here... so I'm going to go ahead and take their "meta" on the story and characterization, and gently, tenderly, carefully place it in a 🌋...

jc may have been number 5, still hilarious that he's less eligible even as a Clan heir than WWX, but in the present he's banned by the matchmakers courtesy of his personality... so ...

Also, do people think: "he has custom virulence perfectly tailored to his target’s insecurities and weaknesses." is a positive thing the way it manifests in jc? Like: He can be the biggest asshole in the room and make everyone miserable and he does 🥺🙌. you dropped this 👑 💩 king.

He doesn't utilize it to manipulate a situation for the better. He just uses it to shit on other people. Usually the good people. Now JGY for example uses that ability in a savvy way to throw his opponents off balance and gain the upper hand. jc? jc just knows how to hurt ppl for the sake of hurting them.

You know who else knows how to play on someone's temper but isn't consistently an asshole for it? Wei Wuxian. He uses that strategically in the Xuanwu cave to get Wen Chao away from Wen Zhuliu so he shift the odds in their favor and help MianMian, Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji - and really everyone else in the cave who was going to be forced to face the Xuanwu without their swords.

jc gets twitchy when WWX is doing the right thing bc let's say 20% he also wants to be seen as a hero but he's too self absorbed and selfish to put in the work...which brings us to the remaining 80% of his motivation- which is that he doesn't want to inconvenience himself to help someone else.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

I’ve been wondering this from reading your posts and adaptations of this and I want to know why jc hates lz so much? Is it just purely because of wy?

This is a bit of a yes and no to "because it is Wei Wuxian".

Early on from the Cloud Recess days he was not exactly favorable to the idea of these two bonding as friends. In the least he used the accusation that Lan Wangji hated Wei Wuxian. Which given his attitude would be understandable if it was relegated to wanting to keep Wei Wuxian from facing hate. However, Jiang Cheng himself constantly calls Wei Wuxian annoying out of his own issues with Wei Wuxian drawing people in which Wei Wuxian is used to ignoring. If it was relegated to only this there would be no reason for Jiang Cheng's aggressive reaction and forbidding the idea of Lan Wangji in Lotus Pier,

I just thought of someone.”

Jiang Cheng, “Who?”

Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan.”

Jiang Cheng, “Why would you think of him for no reason? Reminiscing what it felt like to copy sect rules?”

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…'”

Before he even finished, Jiang Cheng slapped his watermelon off, “Are you mad? Inviting him to Lotus Pier—are you trying to torture yourself?”

Wei WuXian, “Why are you so upset? My watermelon almost flew away! I was just being polite. Of course he wouldn’t come. Have you ever heard of him go anywhere by himself to have fun?”

Jiang Cheng had on a stern expression, “Let’s make this clear. I don’t want him to come, anyhow. Don’t invite him.”

Wei WuXian, “I never knew you hated him so much?”

In the case of this, Jiang Cheng is assuming a hate that resounds through the novel. Lan Wangji in particular seems to be used as a proxy of sorts for more of Jiang Cheng's distaste of Wei Wuxian who is constantly surprised and angered when he observes their interactions in their youth.

This also devolved into hating Lan Wangji himself after the fall of Lotus Pier. For Jiang Cheng, he sees Wei Wuxian choosing to stay behind with a hurt Lan Wangji back in the Xuanwu cave as choosing someone over himself and the safety of his parents. He hinges the fate of them on the idea that if Lan Wangji died instead, Lotus Pier would not have fallen despite 2 of the other clans having been attacked and ruined in some capacity.

Wei WuXian was pushed into the bushes. Jiang Cheng threw himself over. He grabbed Wei WuXian’s collar and shook, “Why?! Why?! Just why?! Are you happy?! Are you satisfied?!”

He clenched Wei WuXian’s neck, eyes bloodshot, “Why did you save Lan WangJi?!”

Under the grief and the fury, Jiang Cheng had lost his mind. He couldn’t control the strength that he used at all. Wei WuXian pulled at his wrist, “Jiang Cheng…”

Holding him on the ground, Jiang Cheng continued to roar, “Why did you save Lan WangJi?! Why did you have to speak up?! How many times have I told you not to stir up trouble! Not to strike! Do you really want to play the hero so much?! Have you seen what happened when you played the hero?! Huh?! Are you happy now?!"

“Lan WangJi and Jin ZiXuan and those people can just die! Just let them die! What’s their deaths got to do with us?! To do with our sect?! Why did this have to happen?! Why?!

“Go die, go die, go die! Everyone!!!”

He equates Wei Wuxian having saved or helping several people as the reason for his own losses. He forever blames Lan Wangji as one of the people who took his parents from him as well as the Wens. He says so himself, what do those people have to do with us, why did you care to help and protect Lan Wangji, when it is always supposed to be me first and foremost that you are to keep happy and safe over anyone else. Being well-meaning does not occur to Jiang Cheng and due to this he forever shows disdain that Lan Wangji continues to help those in need. Lan Wangji in his eyes is a reminder of Wei Wuxian choosing strangers and someone else that was not for Jiang Cheng's betterment.

Wei Wuxian makes this observation even over 13 years later,

Jiang Cheng mocked, “Look how forgetful you are. What does “unwelcome people” mean? Then let me remind you. It was because you played the hero and saved Second Young Master Lan, who’s standing beside you right now, that the entirety of Lotus Pier and my parents went down with you. And that wasn’t enough. After the first time, soon comes the second. You even had to save Wen-dogs and drag my sister down with you. What a person you are! What’s more, you’re even so generous as to take the both to Lotus Pier. The Wen-dog’s strolling in front of my sect’s gates; Second Young Master Lan came here to burn incense. You’re here on purpose to remind me, to remind them.” He continued, “Wei WuXian, who do you think you are? Who gave you the face to take whomever you want into our sect’s ancestral hall?”

Wei WuXian knew that Jiang Cheng had to settle this with him no matter what.

For Lotus Pier’s destruction, Jiang Cheng thought not only that Wei WuXian was responsible, but also that Wen Ning and Lan WangJi were responsible too. He wouldn’t give a friendly look to any of the three, let alone when they were walking right in front of his face at the same time inside Lotus Pier. He was probably infuriated.

He holds the fall of Lotus Pier on these three forever, despite the irrationality that with or without Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian protecting others and themselves from the Wens, Lotus Pier inevitably would have always fallen just as the others due to Wen Ruohan trying to eradicate and make the other clans submissive due to heavy losses. Wen Ning bring a Wen, has always been at fault for Jiang Cheng's losses despite having hidden and protected him as well as retrieving the sect leader's bodies despite the danger of death facing him for being a traitor to his sect. Jiang Cheng's overpowering hate and his own accusations against these three for ruining his life is more important than acknowledging they too are victims of tragedy that would never have a good outcome.

[sepia-mahogany]

@91939art​ Uh whether or not Wei Wuxian’s core got nullified, his Sect Leader should have protected him regardless in case conflict comes? It really isn’t the issue of Wei Wuxian practising Demonic Cultivation that is a problem tho? They all know about impact Wei Wuxian had on the war, and also the benefits he brought to Yunmeng Jiang? If anything, the Sects envy the fact that Wei Wuxian belongs to Yunmeng Jiang and not them? 

About people not liking him other than NHS and JYL? The disciples of Yunmeng Jiang flock to him crying “Da shixiong! Da shixiong!”, the juniors of Lan Sect absolutely adore him, Wen Ning and Wen Qing love him, the Wen Remnants were grateful to him and had the whole dinner to show their affection, all the kids in the series love him (going by his interaction with children throughout the novel) Mian Mian (Luo Qingyang) is grateful to him and greets him like greeting an old friend, there’s more but I’m going by memory right now so. 

“Jiang Fengmian’s leniency being taken for granted being a servant”....Wei Wuxian is not a servant tho? He’s the son of Cangse Sanren (a famous immortals disciple) and the rouge cultivator Wei Changze, and Jiang Fengmian takes him in after being orphaned for the sake of their friendship, not for servitude, and uhh why is Madam Yu’s jealousy over Wei Wuxian’s dead mother being held as if Wei Wuxian did something wrong...by simply existing? Why should he be held responsible for that when Madam Yu has a child between age 9-15 whipped as punishment for minor inconveniences? All because she’s jealous over his mother, who isn’t even in the world anymore? Madam Yu abuses all 3 children under her care, along with the spousal abuse, which one of them is continuously hurling accusations of cheating at the other, with their dead close friends, after forcing said person into marriage? The ‘jealousy’ issues of Yunmeng Jiang come from Madam Yu’s one woman show, the rest are her victims.

And uh forgive me but what do you mean by ‘seeking out trouble’ if you mean ‘reading forbidden materials in Cloud Recesses’ or other minor rule breaking that literally ever child/disciple does, he does not in fact seek trouble? If you’re talking about the cave situation, what should he have done? Stepped aside and let the Wens kill Jin Zixuan, Lan Wangji and Luo Qingyan? Do you think after Wens are openly saying to kill 2 Sect heirs that they would let everyone else leave alive? Wei Wuxian stepped in and turned the situation around, by taking Wen Chao hostage, since they didn’t have their weapons. (It was the unaccounted for xuanwu that made problems) Or if you’re talking about the innocent war remnants who were being tortured to death, that Wei Wuxian should have ignored when Wen Qing came asking for help? Wen Qing (and Wen Ning) sheltered them by risk of their own lives, he owes them a life debt, Wen Qing saved (him and) his brother, why wouldn’t he return the favour when (she and) her brother is the one in danger?

And uh Wei Wuxian is playful, he teases a lot of people, he does flirt here and there (Mian Mian and Yuandao) and Lan Wangji too, some readers find that annoying, some love that, a lot of opinions, but inside their world most of the time the reaction he gets is flustered or angry huffing as people do when they are teased, hardly does anyone hold that as a grudge or grievance? 

Tbh all the characters of mdzs are consistently written, the story is rich like that, and Wei Wuxian is no exception, he’s a really well written character, his morals and values, his actions, his personality, his intelligence, his caring nature, I could go on but yeah.

[antebunny]

April 30: rebirth

(Also called Bargaining–idea is taken from an old Loki fic with the same time travel premise).

When Jiang Yanli dies, Wei Wuxian goes into denial and just runs from Nightless City. He goes back to the Burial Mounds and feverishly works on a time travel array. Within the month he completes it and prepares to travel back in time, but there’s a catch. He first activates the array and then spends the next several hours going through the ritual, while outside the Siege of the Burial Mounds begins. The Wens know what Wei Wuxian is up to so they understand why he’s not bothering to protect them. He completes the ritual just as Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan burst into the cave. They’re both there, at the front, in order to protect Wei Wuxian, but by the time they arrive it’s too late: the array is fading and Wei Wuxian is already dead. He barely sees them in the entrance when he dies, which leads him to (logical) conclusion that they’re there to kill him.

Here’s the catch: Wei Wuxian gets to go back, rewrite time, and change things. He decides to go back to the day before he got kicked out of the Cloud Recesses. But when time finally arrives at the time he activates the array, everyone gets their memories back. Although a lot of people will remember dying, it’s preferable to actually dying. Then Wei Wuxian has to conduct the ritual again, to ensure that this is the future that stays, and seal the deal with his own life. Basically, in order to change the future Wei Wuxian has to die. And obviously because he's Wei Wuxian, he decides that that’s okay so long as everyone gets to live.

So Wei Wuxian comes back to life with a golden core and cries for a solid minute, scaring tf out of Jiang Cheng, before he gets a grip. Then he proceeds to yell at Jin Zixuan, not get kicked out, and live life like everything’s normal. He enjoys the next six months of peace, and then he gets to work. Once the year is over, he goes on a very long night hunting trip, kills the Xuanwu of Slaughter, and sets up the cave for use. A year later and they’re at the archery competition, where Wei Wuxian still places first, meets Wen Ning again, and doesn’t pull off Lan Zhan’s forehead ribbon.

Then Wen Ruohan is ~mysteriously~ assassinated and the Wens declare war on all the sects in revenge. When the Wens come for Lotus Pier, there’s no personal vendetta, and Wei Wuxian hides in the shadows and drowns all of them. Then he pretends that he got knocked out and was unconscious somewhere hidden from the main battle where Jiang Cheng finds him. They win the war, and Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan are still alive and bickering with each other, the Jiang sect is still strong, etc. etc. Wei Wuxian personally hunts down Wen Zhuliu early in the war, before he can cause any damage. Then he also kills Jin Guangshan, blames it on the Wens (does it make sense? No. does anyone care? No) and Jin Zixuan commits fully to the war. Jin Zixuan learns to appreciate Jiang Yanli during the war, and since they’re already engaged they get married soon afterwards. Jin Guangyao gets taken in as Jin Zixuan’s younger brother, and since Jin Zixuan is a decent person who doesn’t want him to commit crimes but also needs Help, it goes a lot better. Meanwhile Wei Wuxian finds the DafanWen and they move to the Xuanwu cave, which Wei Wuxian has prepared. Also the carcass of the tortoise should scare anyone away.

Wei Wuxian sticks around to see his sister get married, takes Lan Zhan on a tour of Lotus Pier, at the end of which Lan Zhan proposes. Wei Wuxian is confused but figures that Lan Wangji must like this version of him that hasn’t used resentful energy as far as Lan Wangji knows or recused the Wens as far as he knows, or done any of the things that Other Lan Zhan hated him for. The Wens ask him to adopt A-Yuan, which he does after talking about it with Lan Zhan and after they get married. So now Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are married and they have an adopted child. That part was all the fluff and fix-it, cue the angst. The date of Wei Wuxian’s death draws near, and Wei Wuxian starts getting moody and antsy, starts drinking. Yu Ziyuan yells at him, of course, and everyone else worries over him. It is during one of these blackout drunk sessions that Wei Wuxian tells Lan Wangji that he fully expects Lan Wangji to regret marrying him in the future. Lan Wangji swears up and down that he won’t, and Wei Wuxian kinda critiques himself and calls himself selfish, for marrying Lan Wangji and raising a kid when he knows it’s not going to last.

Basically Wei Wuxian starts getting skittish and disappears for periods of time to the Burial Mounds, where he acquires enough injuries that Lan Wangji suspects that someone is hurting him, which Wei Wuxian vehemently denies, but Lan Wangji is still Onto him. He goes to Jiang Yanli, who says that Wei Wuxian has been acting differently ever since he came back from the Cloud Recesses, seemed to know things that were going to happen before they did, disappears at odd times and incidents that occur when Wei Wuxian is missing, and they get Jiang Cheng, who recalls that one time Wei Wuxian woke up in the middle of the night and just bawled, and after that didn’t lose his temper on Jin Zixuan, pulled back on his most crazy antics.

Still, none of them suspect the exact day, so on that day, Wei Wuxian gets up, tells Lan Wangji he’s going to train the Jiang juniors, and then just…disappears. Night comes and Lan Wangji is already worried, according to the juniors he never showed. Yu Ziyuan accuses him of slacking, but then Lan Wangji barges in crying, holding a note. In it, Wei Wuxian doesn’t tell him about the time travel, but says that Wei Wuxian is going forever, and Lan Wangji will understand why tomorrow. He understands that it’s too much to wish for that Lan Wangji won’t hate him, after how selfish he’s been and what a terrible person he’s been, marrying Lan Wangji and pretending it can last, but he hopes Lan Wangji can still look back and remember him fondly in the future. He apologizes again and tells Lan Wangji again that he didn’t mean to tarnish Lan Wangji’s reputation or saddle him with a child, but A-Yuan is here now and he knows Lan Wangji loves A-Yuan. He leaves a similar cryptic note for Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli, apologizing to all of them for things they don’t understand.

Lan Zhan immediately begins searching for him all through the night, and then in the morning everyone blacks out and suddenly has memories of a different past couple of years, for most people starting with Wen Ruohan getting assassinated. People don’t immediately suspect the Yiling Patriarch, because they think he was simply never created in this timeline, and lives as Head Disciple Jiang and Lan Wangji’s husband, but Wei Wuxian’s family know better. They immediately rush to the Burial Mounds, and find it guarded by corpses. Inside the cave, Wei Wuxian begins conducting the ritual, also crying because he really had a happy life this time and he really really doesn’t want to go, but he can’t bear to revert to the original timeline, not when everyone is still alive here, so he continues. Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian find out about the whole yiling patriarch thing and jiang yanli is just like…i don’t care. Jin Guangshan is dead and can’t care, Jin Guangyao doesn’t have a vendetta, Jin Zixuan does what his wife says, and Jiang Yanli is alive so Jiang Cheng has no beef, plus he sees the lengths Wei Wuxian went through to save everyone. He also understands the letter now, then he and Jiang Yanli confront Lan Wangji like…do you no longer love him? Lan Wangji of course reacts poorly to this accusation and denies it. They leave A-Yuan behind and go to the Mounds with the intention of convincing Wei Wuxian that he doesn’t have to run away and they want him back.

They arrive in the cave just as Wei Wuxian is finishing with the ritual. But of course, parallels, Wei Wuxian looks up to see them standing in the entrance of the cave and thinks that they’re there to kill him, but also can see how distressed Lan Wangji looks and attempts to reassure him that he doesn’t have to kill Wei Wuxian! You know, his husband in this timeline! Because Wei Wuxian will do it himself! Wei Wuxian makes them fight some corpses while he rushes to finish the ritual, because they seem keen on stopping him (“i know you disapprove of demonic cultivation but this is the only way to save everyone”). Lan Wangji tackles him away from his ceremonial knife, and Wei Wuxian fights back (still has golden core!) they both fight desperately (“i have to do it myself Lan Zhan, otherwise I would let you do it”) over the knife. Jiang Cheng insists that there must be another solution, bc he doesn’t want Jiang Yanli to die. Then Wen Qing and Wen Ning walk into the cave, and Wen Qing like the genius she is, proposes the Alternate Solution. (What is it? Idk. just a magic solution in which Wei Wuxian doesn’t have to die). Wei Wuxian pauses in the middle of fighting Lan Wangji (“i don’t have to die?” he asks while Lan Wangji is busy shattering the knife and then he and Jiang Cheng pin him down so he can stop trying to kill himself in front of them. “Nope,” says Wen Qing, the only person with brains here). So Wei Wuxian sits on the floor of the cave, tied with deity-binding thread (Wei Wuxian: let me go Lan Wangji: not until you promise to go with wen qing’s version of the ritual Jiang Cheng: unless…do you want to leave? Wei Wuxian: no!) (What’s the solution? Maybe all of them sacrifice something important to them, maybe they just…all use their power to BS their way through a solution? Again, I don’t know).

So Lan Wangji unties Wei Wuxian and they hug and kiss and they all head back to Lotus Pier, where they eat a celebratory dinner, and reunite with A-Yuan, and Wei Wuxian celebrates the fact that he can live this happy life and not owe the world anything/need to go through the ritual.

The End!

[evakant]

hello! what's your favourite jiang cheng moment? :)

wanted to answer this yesterday but then i got distracted by other things, i am so so sorry. anyway, here we go. in no particular order even though you asked for just one:

him looking at his siblings with tears in his eyes + smiling when they're all reunited after wei wuxian went missing

looking at wei wuxian one last time before distracting the wen guards

literally every moment at guanyin temple but "shouldn't i hate you? can't i hate you?" (and also the Younger Sibling Death Glare)

when the jiang siblings go visit wei wuxian in secret to show him jiang yanli's wedding robes and he does that little passive aggressive "to the yiling patriarch" (but also the expression he has when jiang yanli let's wei wuxian know it was his idea to let him choose jin ling's courtesy name)

when jin zixuan has to physically hold him from going back to wei wuxian in the xuanwu of slaughter's cave

when he hugs jiang yanli during the sunshot campaign

when he hugs wei wuxian during the sunshot campaign

"you said you could control it" at the second nightless city massacre

when he just lets lan wangji grab suibian when they're on their little road trip looking for wei wuxian (and also in general the conversation these two have before the lan disciples bring them their swords)

when he puts himself between his mother and wei wuxian

when wei wuxian has just noticed him in the burial mounds and they Look at each other for this endless moment and they both seem to realize: This Is It

the little '3' mwah '3' he does at the rabbit

"who is this famous and talented cultivator?? zewu-jun won't you introduce him to me?"

this tiny moment after they find wei wuxian again after he goes mia

when he rolls his eyes at wei wuxian during the wen indoctrination (after he spent the night in a cell) but still happens to have food for his brother :/ it's a coincidence i'm sure

the two-in-one brotherly scolding when wei wuxian and lan wangji disappear in the cold cave and jiang cheng finally finds them: "everyone was worried, lan wangji!!!!!! your brother has been looking all over for you"

and in the same episode when they're releasing the lanterns and he hears wen qing's wish and turns to look at her with the softest expression on his face

"a-ling come here! what's wrong? who made you cry?"

when he goes "you flatter me :)" to lan xichen at the beginning of the banquet for the end of the sunshot campaign

and, of course:

at the burial mounds again: "if you insist on defending them then i won't be able to protect you"

you: what’s your favorite moment (implying one) me: oh you want a list of every single jiang cheng scene?

[hunxi-guilai]

hi hunxi! there's a thought that keeps bugging me. During the battle at nightless city we can see that wwx doesn't kill yl and jc is clearly there and sees it as well. It may have been all the loss he went through & all the suffering he had to face, but why would he refuse to accept that and blame wwx anyways? Is it because in his mind that would hurt less?(i can't see how that would hurt him less tho) i admit i don't like jc much but i dont get why would he treat wwx so badly when he returns

hi anon! So I think it’s a little more complicated than simply “blaming Wei Wuxian for Jiang Yanli’s death,” because it’s the slow accumulation of a multitude of smaller events that have snowballed into the respective terrible mental states that both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng are in by the second siege of Nightless City

Jiang Cheng’s eternal frustration with Wei Wuxian emerges from the same question, every time -- why can’t you stop. It’s fun and cutesy during Cloud Recesses summer school, when Jiang Cheng is just constantly rolling his eyes at Wei Wuxian’s oblivious crush on Lan Wangji and being like dude, why can’t you stop riling up the Lans you’re making Yunmeng Jiang look bad but it’s all small-scale stuff, nothing that can’t be smoothed over with a brotherly arm over the shoulder and some mutual teasing

This comes back in an uglier light when we get to the evil counterpart of Cloud Recesses summer school, i.e. Wen indoctrination and the Xuanwu Cave Arc. Here, we see the same issue crop up when Wei Wuxian goes to help a visibly limping Lan Wangji. Jiang Cheng, ever defensive, ever conservative, begs Wei Wuxian to stop sticking his neck out to help other people. They’re not even sure they can protect themselves, because the Wens are making more and more outrageous demands by the second, so Jiang Cheng grabs Wei Wuxian by the elbow in a sunlit clearing, trying to hold him back, and thinks why can’t you stop, don’t you understand that things are different now, don’t you understand that now, your disobedience has real, dangerous consequences that will be visited on both of our heads.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when it comes to speed, no one can match Wei Wuxian for how swiftly he’ll light himself on fire to save someone else. It’s why we call him a hero; it’s also why his life (the first one, at least) is a tragedy.

And to be someone who loves him -- Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, Lan Wangji -- and have to watch him as he strikes that match to the kindling of his life again and again and again -- it’s terrifying. It’s devastating. It’s incredibly frustrating, because sometimes you just want to grab him by the shoulders and yell at him until he realizes that he’s loved, he’s valued, that he’s worth more to the world sunlit and laughing and alive than he is tragic and doomed and sacrificed.

Right after the fall of Lotus Pier in episode 16, Jiang Cheng screams at Wei Wuxian, wraps his hands around his throat, knocks them both over in an unnamed meadow during the darkest night of their lives (so far. yikes). Tell me why! Jiang Cheng yells at Wei Wuxian, slamming him to the ground. Why did you save them? Are you happy? How many times did I tell you not to play the hero? You should have just let Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan die! What would their deaths have to do with us? You could have just let them die! Why did you stick your neck out for them?

凭什么！Why! Jiang Cheng screams -- the same words he’ll cry and scream and rage at Wei Wuxian with in a haunted temple, almost two decades later.

Why can’t you stop? Jiang Cheng asks, time and time again -- why can’t Wei Wuxian stop antagonizing Lan Wangji, why can’t Wei Wuxian stop sticking his neck out for other people, why can’t Wei Wuxian just keep his head down and stay safe, why does he have to keep doing things that make the people who love him so, so afraid for him as well?

Why can’t Wei Wuxian put down that goddamned flute and pick up Suibian again? Why must Wei Wuxian insist on being so special, so different? Why must Wei Wuxian stick his neck out again, after the war no less, for a bunch of people they don’t even know well? Why can’t Wei Wuxian stop? Why can’t Wei Wuxian just stay safe?

Jiang Cheng tries, tries to get Wei Wuxian to come back to him, to come back with him, so he can finally protect this foolish brave ridiculous wonderful infuriating generous brother who he loves ferociously. He visits Wei Wuxian in the Burial Mounds; he brings Jiang Yanli to him before her wedding. Jiang Cheng does everything short of telling Wei Wuxian that he needs him, which also means that Wei Wuxian -- filled and overfilled with his own self-perceived guilt for the disasters visited on the Jiang Sect -- doesn’t understand that Jiang Cheng wants Wei Wuxian to come back, burden or no. Wei Wuxian thinks he’s doing Jiang Cheng a favor; Jiang Cheng thinks that Wei Wuxian is rejecting him. Jiang Cheng can’t understand why Wei Wuxian won’t listen to reason for his own good, Wei Wuxian doesn’t consider his own good to be that all that important.

so when it comes to the actual worst night of their lives in Nightless City, when both of them are equally powerless in protecting Jiang Yanli from the sword to her back, the sword to her heart, it’s painfully easy for me to see why Jiang Cheng fucking snaps and shoves Wei Wuxian away. How many times did he tell Wei Wuxian to stop being the hero, to stop standing up for other people, to stop sticking his neck out for others when Wei Wuxian can’t even protect himself or the ones he loves? How many times did he beg Wei Wuxian to do less, to pick fewer battles, to narrow the focus of his vast reservoirs of empathy down to the people closest to him, the people who needed him most? How many times did Wei Wuxian refuse to listen, did Wei Wuxian insist that he had it all under control?

Why is it that Jiang Cheng has to pay for Wei Wuxian’s noble sacrifices?

(because every time, Jiang Cheng feels like he does -- he’s the one who’s always there to 收尸 pick up after Wei Wuxian, the one who has to smooth things over with the other sect leaders, the one who has to go on alone. Jiang Cheng keeps being left behind by those he loves and he’s so fucking sick of it)

all of which is a very long, roundabout way of saying: Jiang Cheng knows that Wei Wuxian was not the person who plunged the sword into Jiang Yanli’s heart. But all the factors that led to this convergence of events -- the whole confrontation at Nightless City, the fact that Wei Wuxian just killed the brother of the man who stabbed Jiang Yanli, the fact that Jiang Yanli died because she was protecting Wei Wuxian -- everything about the situation around them revolves unerringly around the gravity point of Wei Wuxian.

It’s not Wei Wuxian’s fault that the sects have selected him as scapegoat, as sacrificial lamb, on this night of all nights. It’s not Wei Wuxian’s fault that Jiang Yanli ran into the middle of a melee to look for him. It’s not Wei Wuxian’s fault that a sword found its way to Jiang Yanli’s heart.

But if Wei Wuxian hadn’t tried to protect the Wen refugees; if Wei Wuxian had just behaved like a normal cultivator instead of riling up the other sects with his uncanny new cultivation techniques; if Wei Wuxian could have just kept his mouth shut for once; if Wei Wuxian hadn’t stuck his neck out for Lan Wangji all those years ago...

It’s years of frustration finally breaking the dam for Jiang Cheng, because he told him, he told Wei Wuxian so many times, and now look what’s happened

They’ve both lost the best person in their lives, and everything around them screams Wei Wuxian’s name.