#spreading jiujiu feelings and crying about it

[yustinamishka]

You know that scene in Turning Red? What if Jin Ling saw that lost and traumatized younger version of Jiang Cheng…

[sasaranomiya]

Koukyuu no Karasu Volume 2 Chapter 4 - The Sweetheart Incense (Part 2)

The last chapter part of the year! This chapter will end with part 3, which will be coming soon.

Once again, a big thanks to everyone who read my translations, commented, sent asks, donated Ko-Fi, or just supported me in general.

Here’s my Ko-fi if anyone is feeling generous

Translation Notes

1. A yorishiro, in Shinto, is an “object representative of a divine spirit; object to which a spirit is drawn or summoned; object or animal occupied by a kami​“

2. I’m not 100% sure on this, but the “be” (部) ending seems to be referring to the “hereditary occupational groups” during the Yamato period. I think it’s supposed to be some kind of role that is given to the people of Kakurenomiya, like tsukaibe are those in charge of being running errands, toribe I guess are like special birds or something

3. Shougetsu’s role of haburibe is 葬者部 in Japanese, which contains the character for “to bury”

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Just as Jusetsu ran down the steps, Koushun was about to come upstairs. He was followed by Ei Sei, who was holding a candle. The remnants of sunset drifted around them, and a light purple curtain had fallen. The sun had set, but it was still too early for the darkness of night. The heat of the day hadn’t yet left, and a heavy, lukewarm wind was blowing.

“What’s wrong?” Koushun asked when he saw Jusetsu. He immediately sensed that this was something unusual.

“Onkei hasn’t returned from Jakusou Palace.”

Koushun knitted his brows. “Jakusou Palace? Why is he there?”

“I asked him to investigate the Magpie Consort,” Jusetsu bit her lip. “He returned once to give a report and went back again. I told him to find out a little more about the Magpie Consort and the eunuch…I should have stopped him. No, I should have gone myself. I—”

I was afraid. She was afraid to investigate it for herself because she was assailed by an unfamiliar fear. That was why she pushed Onkei to do it.

She used to do everything by herself before. She became less self-reliant and more spoiled when she started to have others by her side.

“I have become weak.”

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Relying on others, depending on the kindness of others, involving others…

“Jusetsu.” Koushun grabbed her arm. “You’re going to Jakusou Palace, aren’t you.”

As he stared into her face, Jusetsu nodded.

“Then just think about that. Other things can be considered later.”

Koushun’s voice resonated directly to Jusetsu’s core. It always did. In a way, his voice controlled her. But this time, it calmed her down. She gritted her back teeth and nodded again.

“I’ll go as well. That will be quicker.”

Koushun set off first and started walking. As she followed him, Jusetsu looked back at the palace. Jiujiu and the others were peering at her anxiously through the doors. Jusetsu turned forward and quickened her pace.

As the last vestiges of daylight faded, darkness fell quickly, and an indigo-blue darkness spread out around them. The color darkened as they continued onward. The flame of the candle held by Ei Sei, who was at the head of the group, was flickering. They stepped into the woods of laurel trees and rhododendrons. As soon as that happened, they heard a loud cry and a flapping sound and startled to a stop. A bird’s shadow swooped overhead, and a guttural cry echoed through the air. The bird perched on a branch, shaking the leaves. It was the spotted nutcracker. The white spots on its feather seemed to stand out in the darkness. Jusetsu let out a small breath and hurried on.

Jakusou Palace was quiet, as though it was holding its breath. It was completely silent. Not even the sound of insects could be heard. They went to the building where the Magpie Consort resided, but the front door and the doors facing the outer corridors were all closed, and it was pitch black beyond the latticed windows. There were no lights. The same was true for the lanterns hanging outside, and there were no lights in any of the palace buildings or corridors.

It isn’t as though this is Yamei Palace.

The night was supposed to be brilliant with lights in order to protect against Yeyoushen. Why was this place dark as well?

Ei Sei stood in front of the doors and announced their visit.

“Please open the doors, Lady Magpie Consort.”

There was no response for a while. When Ei Sei was about to call out again, the doors slowly opened.

It was an attendant who opened them. She was terribly pale and haggard. She knelt down and said, “We sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting.” The room was completely dark. “The consort dislikes light. I will light the lanterns now.”

The attendant, with her fragile body that looked as if it would snap in half at any moment, went back and forth across the room, lighting the lanterns. The inside of the room emerged dimly. The spacious room couldn’t be illuminated by one or two lights. A dimly lit curtain could be seen in the back of the room, and a woman could be seen rising from a bed.

Koushun stepped in, and Jusetsu followed. In the poor light, Jusetsu’s figure was hidden in his shadow. She looked around, but there seemed to be no other servants except for the haggard attendant. The eunuch in question wasn’t here. Jusetsu covered her nose with her sleeve. As soon as she stepped into the room, she was struck by the choking smell of incense. A sweet, clear, lily-like scent. It was sweetheart incense. It was like wandering into a lily garden. The room was hazy, probably due to the smoke from lighting incense too much. Next to the curtains, a white porcelain incense burner was placed on top of a cabinet, exhaling smoke. Mixed in with the scent, there seemed to be a faint, fishy odor lurking behind it. Was it just her imagination? No——

“Your Majesty…”

A dwindling voice came from behind the curtains. The woman who had been lying on the bed tried to peel away from her cushions and get out of bed. Her body was tottering.

“Stay where you are. There is no need to push yourself.”

Koushun called out and approached the curtains. Ei Sei, vigilant of their surroundings, stuck close to him. Jusetsu and Koushun walked up to the woman.

“I’m sorry. Having you see me in such a state…”

Her thin voice sounded familiar to Jusetsu. Koushun opened the curtains and stepped within. Jusetsu followed. The Magpie Consort, who had raised her head, widened her eyes in shock when she saw Jusetsu and gasped.

She was practically skin and bones, her cheekbones were prominent and her skin had lost its luster, but she was a good-featured woman. She had an elegant appearance that could be called graceful.

“Y…you…”

The Magpie Consort paled and lowered her head. There was no mistaking it—her voice was the same as the palace lady who asked her for a resurrection.

“You left your veil at Yamei Palace. I have come to return it.”

Jusetsu took out the piece of thin silk from her pocket and tossed it onto the bed. It fell to the mattress without a sound.

“You should also give me back my palace’s eunuch.”

The Magpie Consort’s head jerked up. Jusetsu stared straight into her eyes.

“Return him or else, Kin Keiyou.”

The Magpie Consort—Kin Keiyou—stiffened, and all the blood drained from her face.

“P…please forgive me, Lady Raven Consort.”

“What do you want me to forgive?”

“Ah…”

Keiyou buried her face in her hands. Jusetsu felt a fretfulness, as if her chest was being scorched. A cold sweat broke out on her skin.

“Keiyou, where is Onkei—the eunuch?”

When Jusetsu questioned her sharply, there was a sound like a beast groaning. It came from the other side of the door in the back. Keiyou, with some unknown reserve of strength, jumped out of her bed and stumbled towards the door. Lady Magpie Consort, the attendant rushed to intervene, but Keiyou pushed her away and opened the door.

A stifling smell struck their noses. A fishy odor. This was the smell that was mixed in with the incense.

“…the smell of blood.”

Koushun murmured. Jusetsu narrowed her eyes at what lied beyond the open door. It seemed to be a continuation of the room. There was no light and it was pitch-dark. But there was something there.

Jusetsu sensed it and stepped forward cautiously, holding her breath. Keiyou stood in front of the door and called inside. “Brother!”

Keiyou’s voice was shrill and out of tune. Her voice had a strange tone, a mixture of fear and affection.

“Brother, please be quiet. Wait a little longer. I’ll properly ask his Majesty.”

Brother?

Keiyou suddenly turned around. Her eyes were looking at Koushun. But her eyes were so dark that it was hard to tell where she was looking.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry. I was hiding my brother here. However, he does not have a normal body, so there is no choice but to let him stay here. So please—”

“Wait,” Koushun’s brow furrowed slightly and he spoke quietly. “Didn’t your brother die?”

Keiyou’s face twisted. It was as though a thin piece of glass had shattered inside her. “He died. He’s dead—even though he was so healthy!” Her high-pitched shouts sliced through the darkness. “He had never gotten sick, and had never been still since he was a child, so even though he often had minor injuries, he seemed to be unbothered by them, and soon he was riding his horse around the fields and mountains again…we live in the countryside, and there are many mountains around our house that are perfect for riding around in. My brother liked to hunt. Whenever he went out to hunt, I was always worried that he might get into danger, but he would always come back safely. And yet——”

Keiyou’s voice, which seemed like it would disappear at any moment, got stronger and sometimes wavered, yet she still spoke with all her heart as though she was delirious from fever. Everyone was silent, unable to interject.

“My brother and I are each other’s only sibling. My brother defended and protected me when I was little, and sometimes—no, often—scolded me and got into silly fights with me. We grew up together. My brother was a brilliant person and unrivaled in the martial arts as well. He excelled over his schoolmates, and to me, he was the best of the best. He was lively and beautiful, and he was never afraid of anything—I…”

Keiyou’s voice trembled, and she covered her face with her sleeve.

“I adored my brother. I even decided to the inner palace if it would help him when he eventually became a government official. And yet, he…he…”

The crying continued for a while.

“…My brother’s death is some kind of mistake. He shouldn’t have died. That was why I asked the Lady Raven Consort to bring him back to life.”

Koushun glanced at Jusetsu.

“When she told me that she couldn’t do it, I lost all hope. I thought of following my brother into death. But then…”

Suddenly, Keiyou’s face brightened. Her cheeks were tinged with red.

“Someone who could grant my wish appeared.”

Koushun quietly cut in.

“…Your wish is, in other words…”

Even in the presence of Keiyou’s obviously bizarre speech, Koushun’s tone was calm. He was probably like that to begin with, but it seemed as if he was just barely holding back Keiyou’s agitation.

“He said it wouldn’t be so difficult to bring my brother back to life.”

Keiyou’s eyes were glistening wetly.

“I was skeptical because he had only just joined the eunuchs. He asked for my brother’s hair or a fragment of his bones, as well as some soil. I asked my father to send me a lock of my brother’s hair. I…I haven’t even seen my brother’s body. All I have is a lock of his hair. This made me even more eager to see him again. With the hair and soil, the man made my brother. When he was making the mud doll, I was furious, thinking that he was trying to fool me with childish tricks, but when he finished, my brother was there.”

As Jusetsu listened to Keiyou talk, she quietly stepped into the adjoining room. It was completely dark inside, but her eyes adjusted after a while. There was a chair in the middle of the room, and someone was sitting in it. From their height, they must be a man. She couldn’t make out his face.

However, the smell of blood became even stronger when she entered the room.

“It really was my brother. My brother has come back to life. He can move. He can’t talk yet, but his face, his body—he’s my brother. It’s a bit difficult to keep him alive because it takes a lot of work, but it’s fine. I won’t cause anyone any trouble. No, he gets hungry sometimes, so it might cause some inconvenience, but—”

Keiyou’s voice was so thin as she talked on and on that it made one wonder where she was keeping that strength in her weak body. It was as if she was trying to cover up her anxiety by talking, rather than being agitated and unable to stop. In fact, her voice was trembling with fear.

“I will never let something like this happen again. So please, have mercy—”

Jusetsu focused her eyes on the back of the room. What was there? There were several objects that looked like buckets there. All of them were filled with water, which appeared black in the darkness. No, it wasn’t water. It was…

“What do you mean by, ‘something like this’?’

Koushun questioned her. Keiyou was at a loss for words, and her face scrunched up.

“Oh…Your Majesty, I—”

Keiyou’s voice had almost dissolved into sobs. She inhaled like she was weeping. Jusetsu looked around the room. Beyond the row of buckets, she could see a person lying down in the corner. Jusetsu slowly stepped forward. Neither the person sitting in the chair nor the person lying down moved. The person lying down was on their stomach, and their hands seemed to be tied around their back. They were wearing eunuch’s robes. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew him just by his stature.

“Onkei!”

At the same time she shouted his name, Jusetsu ran towards him. She kicked over the buckets that were in front of her, but there was no time to worry about that. Kneeling by Onkei’s side, she called his name. She was relieved to find that his arm was warm when she touched it. She placed her fingers on the nape of his neck to make sure he had a pulse. It was dark and hard to see, but it didn’t look like he was severely injured.

“Onkei,” she called his name several times, and Onkei opened his eyes.

“Niangniang?”

He called out hoarsely. “It’s me,” Jusetsu responded, putting her fingers on the rope that bound his wrists. The knot was tight and difficult to untie. Onkei tilted his head and looked up at her. His face stiffened with alarm. His gaze was directed behind her.

“What’s——”

Wrong? Jusetsu was about to turn around, but Onkei jumped up, his hands still tied, and went in front of her. It all happened in an instant.

Someone was standing right in front of her. It was too dark to see clearly, but it had to be the man who was sitting in the chair. The chair was empty. Jusetsu was horrified. She hadn’t felt the presence of anyone standing behind her. On the contrary, even though he was standing right in front of her, no vitality could be sensed from him.

What is this thing?

“Brother!”

Keiyou ran to them. She tugged on the arm of the man standing there and pulled him away from Jusetsu and Onkei. The man moved, swaying unsteadily. They weren’t the movements of a typical human.

Suddenly, a light illuminated the room. It was a small light. Ei Sei had entered the room with the candle in his hand. Koushun was standing near the door. His gaze was fixed on the man.

“…Is that the brother who came back to life you talked about?”

Keiyou’s fingers dug into the man’s arm. Jusetsu could see his profile and back from where she was. The man’s hands were tied behind his back just like Onkei. His face was pale, not just because she was looking at him in the darkness, and his lips were similarly bloodless. His eyes were dull and aimless. However, even in profile, she could tell that he was well-featured. But strangely enough, she couldn’t consider him beautiful.

“You said the dead was resurrected…?”

Jusetsu muttered. Impossible.

However, the man did look like a human.

“Not even a sorcerer could do such a trick. …I can’t do it either.”

Keiyou turned only her upper body towards her.

“Shougetsu did it for me. He gave me my brother.”

“Who is this Shougetsu? He is no mere eunuch.”

“I don’t know. To me, it doesn’t matter if he’s a eunuch or a death god.”

“Where is he now?”

“He’s most likely somewhere in this palace. I told him to stay close by.”

Jusetsu recalled the report from Onkei.

“You get terribly distraught when Shougetsu leaves your side, don’t you?”

Keiyou averted her eyes and clung to her brother’s arm.

“…Because Shougetsu is the only one who can calm my brother down.”

“Calm him?”

“My brother needs blood.”

With a smooth gesture, Keiyou moved her arm forward and pointed to the floor. It was the line of buckets. The bucket that Jusetsu had kicked over was still lying on the floor. The candle held by Ei Sei illuminated the buckets and what spread out on the floor from the fallen over bucket. Something like reddish-black water. A fishy smell was coming from it.

――Blood.

A large amount of blood.

Goosebumps rose all over Jusetsu’s body. Where did all this blood come from?

“All the blood here is animal blood.”

Be rest assured, Keiyou said in a feeble voice, as though she had read Jusetsu’s mind.

“But my brother doesn’t like animal blood very much. I have tried all kinds of blood. Shougetsu said that if I don’t give him blood, he would turn back into dirt. Monkey and pig blood seem to be the best. …But that’s a last resort. He actually needs human blood. But that’s not an easy thing to get. But sometimes, my brother goes berserk for human blood. When that happens, Shougetsu is the only one who can stop him.”

Keiyou paled. Her shoulders were trembling.

“…That’s why his hands are tied now?”

Jusetsu asked. Keiyou nodded slightly.

“Keiyou.” Koushun called her. Keiyou startled and turned to him. That voice, which resounded so deeply in Jusetsu’s heart, seemed to be terrifying to her.

“You haven’t answered my question earlier. What do you mean by ‘something like this’?”

Koushun’s tone was dispassionate. Keiyou lowered her head and covered her face with her sleeve.

“Please forgive us, Your Majesty. My brother…killed Jo Sei.”

Keiyou replied with a trembling voice. Jo Sei. That was the palace lady who had her throat torn out.

“My brother was starving that night. Animal blood wasn’t enough, and he went berserk for human blood. Until then, me and Renjou used to give him our blood before he got too hungry.”

Keiyou rolled up her sleeves. Cotton bandages were tightly wrapped around her entire arm. Renjou seemed to be the attendant’s name. The two women looked pale and haggard because they didn’t have enough blood in their bodies.

“This time, we didn’t make it in time. Just when I was hurriedly calling for Shougetsu, Jo Sei came into the room with water at an unfortunate moment. My brother bit through her throat…it all happened in an instant. He was engrossed in sucking her blood while still biting her throat.”

Keiyou’s face was chalk-white and shivering. It wasn’t just due to the lack of blood.

“By the time Shougetsu arrived, it was too late. Jo Sei was dead. We…couldn’t leave her like that. We couldn’t have this palace be searched. I had to keep my brother a secret. So, I ordered the eunuchs to take the body far away. …I did something inexcusable to Jo Sei.”

Her voice almost faded away at her last words.

“Your Majesty,” Keiyou raised her head. “I will take all the blame. Please overlook my brother. I beg of you. He finally came back to life. If he dies again, I will——”

Keiyou’s face was desperate. Her feeble voice became tense all at once. Jusetsu, who was crouching down, stood up and observed the face of the man standing next to Keiyou. There was no expression on his face, nor emotion, nor thought.

“…Keiyou, this person is not your brother.”

As she said that, something bitter seemed to spread in her mouth.

“…Huh?”

Keiyou looked back at Jusetsu with a puzzled look on her face.

“This isn’t your brother who has come back to life. Shougetsu hadn’t resurrected him. He only ‘made’ a mud doll.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This person isn’t alive. He is hollow. I see, the vessel is in the shape of your brother. But there is no soul within. No matter how long you wait, this will not become the brother you knew.”

Keiyou’s face turned white. Jusetsu could almost hear the sound of her expression being chipped off. She mouthed the words, That’s a lie, but only a hoarse sound came from her lips.

“That can’t be true, it can’t be…”

Keiyou looked up at the man next to her. However, seeing his face without any reaction, her expression fell. Somewhere in her heart, she must have also felt the same way. The fact that this person wasn’t her brother.

“No, no, this is my brother. My one and only brother,” Keiyou shook her head several times, her voice trembling as she insisted. “My one and only, my beloved—”

Keiyou’s voice, filled with pain, were directed at her brother, but the man standing next to her only stared blankly into nothingness. Keiyou’s face contorted, and tears spilled down her cheeks as though she couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Brother.”

Keiyou reached for him with shaking hands. Her hands touched the cheeks of the empty-eyed man.

At that moment, the man’s eyes widened. His face moved for the first time. His mouth opened. He bent over quickly, as though his previous sluggishness was unreal.

“Ah…”

A surprised, breathy sound escaped Keiyou’s lips.

The man was biting her throat. His bared teeth bit into her white throat, tearing the skin and causing blood to gush out. There was the sound of flesh being torn off. Blood spurted to the ceiling. The blood fell like rain on Jusetsu’s face. It all happened in an instant.

The man was slurping up Keiyou’s blood, still biting her throat. Keiyou’s arms drooped as they lost their strength, and they swung like pendulums. Her tear-filled eyes remained open, becoming empty like her brother’s.

Jusetsu pulled a peony from her hair and transformed it into an arrow. She took a step towards the man, and without a moment’s hesitation, plunged it into his solar plexus. He, sucking up Keiyou’s blood, stopped moving.

If it was a doll, it was easy to destroy it. All you had to do was take away their yorishiro. (1) And the place where the yorishiro was embedded was fixed. It was the solar plexus.

Jusetsu withdrew her hand. It was gripping a lock of hair.

The man’s skin dried up and turned ashen. Dirt crumbled from the surface of his skin.  His arms and hands collapsed into clods of earth. His face crumbled from his mouth, and Keiyou’s body fell to the floor. The man’s body disintegrated and fell on top of Keiyou.

All that remained was dirt and clothes. They were covering Keiyou like a blanket.

For a while, no one spoke or moved. The heavy scent of blood and dirt filled the darkness. The first to make a sound was Keiyou’s attendant. Her sobbing began to resound faintly in the room.

Koushun stepped forward and kneeled down beside Keiyou. He reached out his hand and closed her wide-open eyes.

“…I knew that she wasn’t doing well after she heard the news of her brother’s death. I should have returned her to her father as soon as possible.”

His voice was tinged with bitter remorse. He stared at Keiyou’s face for a long time.

Jusetsu took out a handkerchief from her pocket and crouched down to wipe Keiyou’s blood-soaked face. After placing the lock of her brother’s hair in her hand, she stood up and left her side.

When she turned around before she left the room, Koushun was still staring at Keiyou’s face.

When she left the palace, the faces peering out from the edge of the outer corridor hurriedly pulled in. They appeared to be palace ladies and eunuchs. They must have come because they were worried about the commotion here. Jusetsu went down the steps and quickly walked on the paving stones.

“Niangniang.”

Onkei chased after her from behind. He seemed to have untied the ropes by himself. He was holding out his own handkerchief.

“For your face.”

Jusetsu touched her cheek. It had blood on it. “——I’m sorry.”

She used the handkerchief to wipe her face. As she wiped, she wondered what she had accomplished. The palace lady was dead, and so was Keiyou.

Keiyou came to the Raven Consort to ask for a resurrection, but more than that, she was looking for salvation.

I didn’t do anything.

All she did was chase Keiyou away.

“Niangniang—Lady Jusetsu.” Onkei held out his hand. Jusetsu returned his handkerchief. Onkei didn’t put it away, but said, “Forgive me for my insolence,” and wiped the remaining blood from Jusetsu’s face.

“…I did something unforgiveable to you as well, Onkei.”

Onkei, who was wiping away the blood, stopped and looked at her.

“I am the one who owes you an apology. Not only was I unable to carry out your order, but I was saved by you. Please accept my apologies. I have failed you.”

He told her that when he found the attendant and tried to talk to her, he was struck from behind.

“It seemed to have been the Magpie Consort.”

Is that so, Jusetsu murmured. She turned around and looked up at the palace building. The white moon shone wetly over the magpies of the decorative tiles.

“…I must search for Jusetsu.”

“I’m sure that Attendant Ei would make the preparations, but should we search within the palace?”

“He is no longer here.”

The palace ladies and eunuchs had come to take a look at what’s going on, so Shougetsu must have noticed the commotion as well. He probably already fled.

“Where is his room?”

She asked that because she was going to use Shougetsu’s hair or personal belongings to follow him. Since she knew his name, she could use a familiar bird to follow him.

About that, Onkei answered. “Shougetsu doesn’t have a room in the eunuchs’ dormitory. Since he was a personal attendant of the Magpie Consort, I thought that he might have a room in that palace, but that wasn’t the case either. It’s unclear where he sleeps or how he has his meals.”

Jusetsu was perplexed. How did Shougetsu live?

“Apparently, no one has ever seen him sleeping or eating.”

“Then, it’s as if he’s—”

Jusetsu thought of Keiyou’s older brother—or rather, the impersonation of her brother. A mud doll with empty eyes.

Jusetsu frowned. If she couldn’t pursue him using her arts, then there was no way for her to find him. She had no choice but to wait for Ei Sei to use the eunuchs to find him.

“…For the time being, we will return to Yamei Palace.”

Jusetsu bit her lip and quickly left Jakusou Palace. She was angry at herself for being of no use.

It happened when she entered the grove of laurel trees and rhododendrons. Jusetsu’s spine stiffened and she stopped in her tracks. It wasn’t that she stopped, but rather that she froze and couldn’t move.

“Niangniang?” Onkei asked quizzically. Without time to answer him, Jusetsu looked around. The moonlight cast the shadows of the trees. Where the light passed through, it was bright, but where the branches were the densest, a darkness that was deeper than shadows was harbored there. There was something on those branches.

There were two human legs standing on a laurel tree branch. That was the only place the moonlight reached, and they seemed to grow out of the darkness. She could tell that he was a eunuch from the hem of his gray robes.

“Are you the Raven Consort?”

A voice resounded from the branches. It was as high-pitched as the chirping of a bird and as low-pitched as a dog’s growl. It was a voice that was both bright and tranquil.

Onkei covered Jusetsu’s back. “Who are you?”

The person on the tree didn’t answer the question. The branch bent. Before they knew it, he was on the ground. There was no sound at all. All they could hear was the rustling of leaves.

In front of their eyes was a young man with slender, supple limbs, a pale face, and long black hair. He looked exactly like the picture Kougyou had drawn. No, the man who Jusetsu had saw on that night was right before her.

“——Owl!”

Jusetsu shouted that the moment their eyes met. Just like on that night.

“You’re not quite right,” Shougetsu said coldly. “This isn’t me. Just as you aren’t the Raven.”

He put his hand on his chest to indicate his own body.

“It’s nothing but a vessel. A tsukaibe.”

A vessel?

At the same time as she wondered this, Jusetsu pulled a peony from her hair. Her body was moving on its own. It was like it wasn’t her own body. Her hand moved and threw the flower at Shougetsu. The flower transformed into an arrow in midair and tried to pierce him. But as soon as the arrowhead hit his chest, it melted away and was sucked into his body. There was no other way to see that.

“It’s pointless to fight with your own family. If you’re going to fight, use a toribe,” (2) Shougetsu, with a cold face, said somewhat disappointedly. “What, you didn’t even know that? Or did the Raven forget? You ate too many flowers.”

Cold sweat was pouring down Jusetsu’s back. She wanted to run away from here, but her feet were stuck to the ground and couldn’t move. Her shoulders were heaving.

“But you know to be afraid of me. Hmm.”

“I…I don’t understand a single thing you are saying…”

Jusetsu’s voice was wrung out from between pained gasps. It was the first time she had ever heard such a thin, quavering voice from herself.

“Very well. I understand that you don’t know anything. You see, I’m a haburibe of Kakurenomiya—I suppose they would call me a guizishou (executioner) here—and the Raven’s older brother.”

Kakurenomiya—the country where the gods lived, said to be on the other side of the sea. He was an executioner there?

Shougetsu, who seemed to feel as if he had explained everything, looked up above his head, his expression unchanged. Ah, he said in a somewhat sluggish tone.

“There it is. I was looking for it. I worked so hard to get to this island, and yet it disappeared on me.”

Sumaru, he seemed to say.

“Come over here.”

The sound of flapping wings was heard. There was also a “Gah” cry.

A bird perched on a nearby branch. White spots on brown feathers. It was the spotted woodpecker.

“I told you to come here. To me. You really don’t listen to anything I say.”

After being called again and again to come, the spotted woodpecker finally landed on Shougetsu’s arm.

“Sumaru was originally the Raven’s bird.”

Jusetsu opened her dry mouth and formed the words. “Who—is this ‘Raven’ you’re talking about? Is it me?”

“You’re not quite right.” It was the same line he said earlier. “The Raven is the Raven. She’s inside you. In there.”

Shougetsu pointed at Jusetsu.

“Me?” Jusetsu pressed her hand against her stomach.

“I’ve watched over her for a long time. I wasn’t allowed to get involved. We are forbidden from interfering with this island. This is our land—the taboo island where those who are exiled from Kakurenomiya go. When the Raven was exiled for her crimes, when she washed ashore on this island, I couldn’t do anything about it.”

Shougetsu’s face didn’t change in the slightest, but his voice took on a faint hint of sadness.

“The Raven and I were born from a bubble on the sea that was split into two. We were originally one and the same, a single bubble. I was given the role of executioner, and the Raven was given the role of a misakibe, guiding the souls of the dead as they drifted in on ocean currents and winds. Souls are beautiful things. They twinkle in the darkness like pale white stars. The Raven and I lived in the night.”

His story brought a strange feeling of nostalgia from deep within Jusetsu. She had never heard this story before…no, hadn’t she heard something like this recently? A folktale from Ishiha’s home village. No, that wasn’t it. It was something that she had known for an even longer time. She didn’t know. Her memories were mixed up and confused.

“But the Raven sinned. Tempted by the dead, she sent a soul back and revived them. Without knowing how serious this crime was. The Raven was a foolish and naïve girl. Foolish little sister. That was why she was so dear to me. She is my only sister. I couldn’t do anything for her. I could only watch her be exiled and feel her drift to an island far, far away. I wasn’t allowed to interfere, so I could do nothing except wait and see from Kakurenomiya.”

However, Shougetsu put force into his voice.

“I felt the Raven’s power a little while ago. It was about to rampage within you. It was so nostalgic and dear to me that I couldn’t stand it any longer. That is why I sent to this here from Kakurenomiya along with Sumaru.”

Shougetsu pointed to his body when he said “this.”

“——I did pretty well, being so patient for a thousand years, didn’t I?”

Shougetsu pulled out a feather from the woodpecker.

“I have come to end your suffering. Raven Consort—and my sister.”

The feather turned into a double-edged sword. It was a straight sword, with star-like spots on the brown blade. It was a beautiful sword that shone brilliantly in the moonlight. The moment Jusetsu realized this, Shougetsu had landed firmly on the ground. The woodpecker flapped its wings.

Onkei was the one who reacted first. He took out a dagger from his pocket, pulled it out of its scabbard, and at the same time, the hard sound of blades clashing resounded in the air.

Shougetsu took a step back. He was holding his sword and observing Onkei closely. Slowly, he back away and kept a distance.

“This form is hard to move. The waves and the moon get into the way. If only this was the night of a new moon.”

He complained, but his expression was unchanged. This “vessel” was probably not designed to form facial expressions. Jusetsu didn’t know if it was mud doll or something else, though.

The feeling of panic that had been building up in Jusetsu was gradually calming down. Perhaps it was because she was with Onkei. If she panicked, he would be in danger as well.

“You came here to kill me—is that right?”

She asked as if to confirm, and Shougetsu took a pause.

“It’s not like I want to kill you. But, in order to bury the Raven, I must destroy her vessel—you. Because the Raven is inside you.”

Shougetsu spoke carefully and in order. It seemed that he really did have the intention of informing her.

“By Raven, you mean Wulian Niangniang, don’t you.”

She couldn’t think of anyone else. Shougetsu took another pause.

“…That is the name you people gave her on your own. It’s not the name I know. The Raven and the Owl are also not our names, but I won’t tell you our real names.”

So the Raven is Wulian Niangniang, and he came to bury her.

And that meant he had to kill Jusetsu, albeit reluctantly.

Jusetsu stared at Shougetsu. She couldn’t read his face. He was a puppet, after all. However, from the way he spoke, he wasn’t someone who couldn’t be communicated with. He was conscientious enough to explain what she didn’t understand. Even though he suddenly slashed at her with a sword.

She told herself to calm down. Jusetsu had no intention of getting killed, and if she did, Onkei would probably be get dragged into it as well, so she couldn’t afford to make a bad move.

“…Is Hou Shougetsu not your name?”

Jusetsu shifted the subject a bit. She didn’t know if he noticed.

“That is the name Master gave me. He looked after me.”

“Master?”

“That’s what everyone around him called him. They called him Hou.”

“What do you mean by ‘look after you’?”

“It was difficult to cross the sea, and I used up all my power to turn into this form. Master saved me when he found me collapsed. He brought me here.”

He answered any question that was asked of him honestly. Even though he came here to kill her. What was with this sense of crookedness?

“…Do you need human blood too?”

“I don’t need it,” his expression was unchanged, but there was a hint of dislike in his voice. “Because that thing I made is a human being. It takes blood to maintain it that way.”

“It wasn’t a human. It was just a mud doll. Why did you make that thing?”

Jusetsu kept her voice down, but she couldn’t hide the anger that was seeping out of her. Shougetsu tilted his head slightly and looked at her observantly.

“Because that was what that consort wanted. I think it was well done.”

“It wasn’t well done. That thing wasn’t brought back to life, nor did it have a soul. It was just a failure to make a human being.”

“But the consort was delighted that it was her brother.”

“You mean you did that to please her?”

“I wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble if it weren’t for that. The consort was so pitiful that I made it for her as a consolation.”

Jusetsu was at a loss for words. She stared intently at Shougetsu’s face.

“…There is a pond at Jakusou Palace. Have you ever been there?”

The image of the old palace lady came to mind.

“I have. There was a demon there and I got rid of it. Such things are harmful if left alone. It’s pitiful for the demons as well.”

Jusetsu didn’t know what to say anymore.

“Is that all? No more questions to ask me?”

Shougetsu raised his lowered sword. Onkei also raised his dagger again.

“Wait—”

Shougetsu was about to take a step forward when he suddenly stopped. Something grazed his toes and pierced the ground. It was an arrow. As soon as he saw that, another arrow pierced his shoulder. The impact made Shougetsu take a step back. The sound of objects cutting through the wind made him quickly turn around and hide behind a tree. Arrows fell to the ground.

Jusetsu turned around. She saw several figures at the entrance of the forest. Koushun was standing in the middle. Ei Sei was standing before him like a shield. On either side of him, there were rokuboushi eunuchs with nocked bows and drawn swords.

Jusetsu turned to Shougetsu again. She couldn’t see him behind the tree. Him hiding meant that arrow attacks worked against him. Even though Jusetsu’s arts didn’t work. Since he was a doll, that meant that it would be bad for him if his vessel broke. Speaking of which, he said it himself. In order to bury the Raven, he had to break the vessel—

“It’s not as if I’d die if I got shot by an arrow, but if this tsukaibe’s arms or legs get broken, I’ll have to remake them again. How bothersome.”

The voice came from the top of the tree. He seemed to have climbed the tree. The eunuchs armed with bows aimed at it, but it was dark and the branches and leaves were in the way.

Koushun approached in silence. He gave Jusetsu a once-over and asked, “Are you hurt?” Jusetsu shook her head.

“Is that Shougetsu?” Koushun said as he looked up at the tree.

“Yes.”

“We were just looking for him. We came right on time.”

“I do not know if that is good or not. He is not a normal human being.”

“I’ve gotten used to ghosts already. No, he got hit by an arrow. Hmm.”

Koushun fixed his eyes on the top of the tree. “Did he say he was going to remake his limbs? Is he also a type of mud doll?”

“I don’t know if he is made of mud or not.”

“If he is a doll, then we can destroy him.”

Koushun said in a casual manner. At the same time, Ei Sei sharply released something from his hand. Something fell from the darkness of the branches. It was Shougetsu. Even though he fell to the ground, the sound of impact was strangely light.

A knife was stuck in his ankle. That must have been what Ei Sei threw. Shougetsu didn’t even pull out the knife, but crouched down and looked up at Jusetsu and the others. The arrow in his shoulder also remained there.

“The emperor, huh. I would like you to stay out of my way.”

When Shougetsu said that, Ei Sei pulled out a dagger from his bosom. Koushun raised his hand to stop him.

“If you want to hurt the Raven Consort, then I have no intention of standing idly by.”

Koushun’s voice was dispassionate and quiet. Shougetsu scrutinized his face. Koushun also looked back at him as though inspecting him.

“Even I don’t want to kill an innocent girl. If you want to hate someone, hate Koushou.”

Koushou—the first Raven Consort.

“Why?”

“She is the cause of everything. She imprisoned the Raven within her own body.”

Koushun glanced at Jusetsu, then looked at Ei Sei, who had the other eunuchs move away from the surrounding area to a position where they couldn’t hear anything.

“Koushou…” Jusetsu spoke. “Did she not restrain Wulian Niangniang under Yamei Palace? That is why the Raven Consort is said to be her warden.”

Jusetsu was taught that, and it was also written as such in the history book at Yamei Palace.

“Warden,” Shougetsu spat out and laughed mockingly. “What a crafty little girl she was. She offered up herself and the numerous women who succeeded her as vessels and put a seal on them so they couldn’t escape, but she never spoke about her own crimes. She is a criminal. A monster. I hate that woman.”

Shougetsu’s voice was cold, and even his unchanging expression showed the shadow of hatred.

“It is unforgiveable to use a living thing as a vessel. It will inevitably cause corruption. For us and for you, it is a forbidden art. Koushou had violated this taboo.”

Shougetsu looked at Jusetsu.

“You suffer on every night of the new moon, don’t you? Your soul is being nearly torn apart because the Raven within you is escaping. I can’t even imagine that pain. The Raven within you is causing you to suffer.”

Jusetsu didn’t want to recall the pain on the nights of the new moon. She was taught that the Raven Consort and Wulian Niangniang was one in body and soul. Was this what it meant? The bottom of her stomach chilled. Wulian Niangniang was within her. The word “monster” came to mind.

“I know you’re afraid of me. But it is the Raven who fears me. I am the executioner who hunts the residents of Kakurenomiya who have sinned. You are already halfway to becoming the Raven. You were given life in this world as yourself, but it is being taken from you without you realizing it. What a horrible thing Koushou had done—”

Shougetsu closed his mouth and let out a deep sigh.

“Koushou made the Raven eat flowers. She continuously fed them to her. They were a poison. They make us intoxicated. The Raven had already lost itself.”

Shougetsu spoke with pain in his voice, like it was being wringed out of him. Flowers, Jusetsu murmured. She looked down at her palm. Was he talking about the flowers she offered to Wulian Niangniang at night? Were those poison?

“But even so, I watched over her. For a long, long time, to the point where I was on the verge of losing my mind. But a little while ago, I felt the power of the Raven overflowing. It was her cry. A cry of anger and pain. It was raging within you. You must have been angry at that time too.”

Raging——. Jusetsu remembered the time when she almost lost control of her anger in front of Hyougetsu. At that time, heat swirled in her stomach and it completely overwhelmed her.

“It’s time to put the Raven out of its misery. As befitting my title of executioner, (3) I am here to bury my sister. And to do that, I must kill you.”

Before he finished speaking, Shougetsu got down on one knee and swept his sword sideways. The tip of his sword tore Jusetsu’s clothes. Onkei pulled her body back at the last minute. Shougetsu quickly stood up and slashed at Jusetsu, who had lost her balance. Onkei caught the sword with his dagger, but Shougetsu flicked it away with his long sword. Onkei fell to his knees from the momentum. Shougetsu brandished his sword at Jusetsu’s neck.

She felt a chill on her neck, probably from the wind pressure created by the blade. Just when she thought that her head was going to be cut off, Jusetsu’s arm was grabbed with great force and she was pulled backward. Falling on her side, she felt the coolness of the earth and the strong scent of the grass rubbed against her. It was strange that she could be conscious of such things at a time like this.

In addition to those things, she felt the warmth of someone’s skin. Jusetsu was being held in someone’s arms. She knew who this warmth belonged to. It was Koushun.

Koushun, who had draped himself over Jusetsu, stirred slightly. When he got up, a metallic scent grazed against her nose.

――It was blood.

A shiver ran through her and her fingertips went cold. Jusetsu jumped up.

“Koushun—”

“No, I’m fine,” Before Jusetsu could say anything, Koushun expressionlessly pressed his hand against his arm and stood up. “It’s just a graze.”

It seemed that his arm had been cut. He said it was just a graze, but blood was dripping from the cuff of his sleeve. Jusetsu pressed her chest. Her heart was beating fast. Her fingers were still cold and she was shaking.

She heard the sound of blades clashing. She looked up and saw Ei Sei deflecting Shougetsu’s blade. Ei Sei’s dagger made the sword jump up. When Shougetsu staggered slightly, Ei Sei thrust out his blade, but Shougetsu jumped back and kept his distance. With his sword in his hand, he watched Ei Sei closely.

It was then that Jusetsu heard a piercing cry. It wasn’t the woodpecker’s voice. It was a voice that was very familiar to her. A golden-colored thing flew out of the bushes near Shougetsu.

“Xingxing!”

Flapping its golden wings, Xingxing flew to Jusetsu. “Why are you here?”

Xingxing let out another cry, though it probably wasn’t in response to her question.

“Harara.”

Shougetsu called it. He sounded annoyed.

“Useless toribe, what did you come here for?”

Xingxing spread its wing wide menacingly. Toribe, Jusetsu muttered in her head. “If you’re going to fight, use a toribe.”

Jusetsu plucked a tail feather from Xingxing. It instantly transformed into a golden arrow. The arrow of the golden bird, the arrow that would fly to the next Raven Consort. Jusetsu understood that this was it.

Jusetsu threw the arrow at Shougetsu with all her strength. The arrow, shining golden in the wind, aimed at him sharply.

The arrow hit his shoulder. At that moment, his shoulder burst and shattered. It wasn’t flesh that scattered with a light bursting sound, but bird feathers. Owl feathers with brown and white stripes. Jusetsu’s hands were moving before she could think, and she released another arrow. It pierced Shougetsu’s solar plexus. This time, there was a sound like the shattering of thin glass. His chest puffed out before feathers were blown off in all directions. Not only his chest, but also his legs and arms turned into his feathers in succession. The robes, now empty, flopped to the ground. Only his head hadn’t yet turned into feathers and fell down as it was. His face was still expressionless, but his lips were moving. No sound came out, and Jusetsu didn’t know what he said.

It was most likely the Raven’s real name.

Before falling on the ground, the head also transformed into feathers. Owl feathers covered the surrounding ground. All remnants of Shougetsu disappeared without a trace.

Only the moonlight illuminated the owl feathers.

Previous || Index || Next

[vvienne]

ZHANCHENGXIAN FIC RECS

all that burns by ma_malice

Like this, it feels as though they’re cradling Wei Wuxian's memory between them. Like this, they keep a fire burning.

Wei Wuxian is dead.

Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng sleep together about it.

the lantern by the door by Lirelyn

Jin Ling’s needs were constant and repetitive; they ran like a lifeline through Jiang Cheng’s days. He didn’t need to see past the next feeding, the next changing. He didn’t need to persuade himself to get out of bed in the morning; sooner or later Lingling would cry, and he would find he could move after all. In the middle of the night, when neither of them could sleep, he paced up and down the room, holding Lingling to his chest, whispering, “Jiujiu’s here. I won’t leave you alone. I promise.” --- Jiang Cheng knew Lan Zhan had been seeing way more of Wei Ying than he had, but it still burned: Lan Zhan’s easy familiarity with Wei Ying’s household, with his thoughts. I’m the one that grew up with him. He was mine first.

续放纵 | Continued Indulgence by alcego

“What?”

Lan Zhan blinks at him, the heat of a moment ago fading fast, and somehow that pisses Jiang Cheng off even more—enough for him to slam the glass on the counter and jab a finger into Lan Zhan’s chest. Enough for him to demand, “What the fuck’s your deal? Seriously—if you’re gonna get so fucking judgmental about how I grab a goddamn cup, then at least get the balls to say it to my fucking face!”

Lan Zhan’s eyes get wider and wetter and wildly confused with each word; his stupidly nice lips part, just for a second, like maybe he’s gonna say something—like maybe he’s going to do exactly what Jiang Cheng said, but—shit. Fuck—balls.

Jiang Cheng didn’t mean to look.

There’s not even a chance to get mad at himself for it, not when Lan Zhan’s eyes go flinty and hard, when his hand wraps around the back of Jiang Cheng’s head in the blink of an eye—

—not when Lan Zhan’s kissing him about it.

Don't ask about the cabinets; don't ask about anything at all.

Just roll with it.

worm moon by serein

For a man such as Wei Wuxian to have a second chance at this life was surprising enough, a third could only be some kind of cosmic joke.

__________

Two years post-canon, the Yiling Laozu wakes on the streets of a town far from home. Two years post-canon, Wei Wuxian walks into Guangling and meets himself.

In Your Room, In Your Bed by giraffeter

After Wei Ying is disowned, Yu Ziyuan forbids Jiang Cheng from letting Wei Ying live with him. Jiang Cheng lets him stay anyway because Fuck That. He tells his parents Lan Zhan is his new roommate instead.

OMG, they were fake roommates.

tether and belay by Lirelyn (read series for context)

He hadn’t even been sure that he’d be getting another invitation. They might have changed their mind about taking him to bed again; they might never have been serious about it in the first place. He’d spent a lot of time telling himself that it might just have been a whim of Wei Wuxian’s: one fling for old times’ sake. Lan Wangji, of course, would go along with whatever his husband wanted. It had been — good, he thought when he was alone, overwhelmingly good, taking hold of himself as he remembered Lan Wangji filling him, Wei Wuxian’s mouth around him — it had been good, but that didn’t guarantee they would want a repeat.

And a Flame Makes Three by longleggedgit

Jiang Cheng gets sex pollened while stuck in an island cave with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. They do their best to be helpful.

“Listen to me,” Wei Wuxian said. “You can’t take care of this on your own. Lan Zhan doesn’t exaggerate; you know that. You could die, Jiang Cheng.”

From over Wei Wuxian’s shoulder, Lan Wangji was shrugging out of his outer robes; it stilled Jiang Cheng for a moment, but the sight of him next spreading them out on the cave floor, like they were about to undergo some ritual deflowering, brought him swiftly back to life.

“Then I’ll die,” Jiang Cheng snarled, trying again to pull away. But the movement was careless, and fabric shifted painfully against his lap, more constricting now than he had realized. He fell forward, fully into Wei Wuxian’s arms, shaking and cursing.

Out of Nothing by Pip (Moirail)

You and me, Wei Ying had said. Jiang Cheng is going to take him at his word.

Command says that the first neural link is the one that stands out the most, the one that everyone has to be the most careful of, because a navigator’s thoughts can get tangled up with their pilot’s and become inextricably linked. Entangled.

a firm hand by verity

When Jiang Wanyin meets Lan Wangji's eyes, his cheeks stain a matching crimson.

"Just look at Jiang Cheng." Wei Wuxian lets out an exaggerated sigh. "He really needs your help, Lan Zhan. Teach him how to punish me."

same, same by jiucengta

You want to see the true legacy of the Yiling Patriarch? Look at the empty spaces Sect Leader Jiang leaves in her wake. Look at the things Hanguang-jun hides in his floorboards.

sunset, like survival by serein

Lan Zhan had never expected to marry.

So of course, fate would have it that he was wed to Wei Ying's beloved shidi, just as they had become close, somewhere between friends and companions.

aka Canon Divergent AU where coreless!JC marries LWJ, complicated feelings ensue. Eventual zhanchengxian.

Acceptance. Understanding. Appreciation. by Anonymous

Some Clan Leaders need to learn how to take 'no' as an answer.

expansion//recursion by coslyons

Dreadnoughts were powered through the combined efforts of three pilots: the source, to generate the raw power; the channel, to refine it and amplify it; and the vessel, to control it. When their channel Wei Wuxian goes missing, Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan have to figure out how to work together to find him while surviving a war.

Tercet by DachOsmin

"You and Lan Wangji taste different,” Jiang Cheng mumbled as he pulled himself away from Wei Wuxian's mouth. Wei Wuxian’s eyes grew wide as saucers in the moonlight. “You’ve kissed Lan Zhan?”

Or: Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng fall into each others' bedrolls while searching for Wei Wuxian. Complications ensue.

an ode to the lovebirds of yunmeng by jiucengta

The events of their lives become stories traded around fires at night hunts, which become legends in the homes of common people. Optics are everything, and everything is political.

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng work with Nie Huaisang to rehabilitate their reputations by being married but not really. Lan Wangji is just trying his best to keep up.

Or, the aftermath of Guanyin Temple told in four seasons, because it was never going to be simple walking away from each other.

pyre by serein

"You haven't seen him," Lan Wangji had said, his gaze heavy on Jiang Cheng. "Since."

Demonic cultivation affects much more than Wei Wuxian's temperament. Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng make an offering to the Yiling Laozu.

[aurora077]

The Value of Recognition Chapter 2

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13934252/2/The-Value-of-Recognition

Chapter 2 - Who’s your shufu!????

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah” cried mini jiujiu.

“Ahhh please jiujiu, don’t cry!” said a distraught Jin Ling.

“A-niang….a-die” sobbed the baby.

Jin Ling was now close to tears himself.

“Young Master Jiang,” cooed Healer Zhang, “Look what I have here. If you stop crying, you can have some.”

She waved a sweet-cake in front of him.

He paused his crying, peeking at the Healer tentatively. At the same moment his stomach rumbled. He looked very much like he wanted the cake. But then he shook his head and said, “Jiejie said A-Cheng mustn't take food fwom stwangers.” He sniffled miserably. “A-Cheng wants jiejie,” his eyes started watering again. This time Jin Ling’s eyes were watering too.

“It seems like Jiang-zongzhu has not retained his memories,” concluded Healer Zhang, “So it’s not just his body but his mind as well that has reverted.”

Jin Ling nodded in understanding. It would hurt but he couldn’t lie to his jiujiu about this. Though he couldn’t quite say the truth either. “Jiejie isn't here,” he ended up saying. The others were watching quietly and felt their own hearts hurt for the both of them.

“No. Want jiejie. Jiejie won’t leave A-Cheng,” he sniffled, big baby eyes staring accusingly at them as if to say ‘you’re lying’.

No, they were not tearing up. They weren’t!

“Hey look who’s here!” said Ouyang Zizhen, bursting into the room with Wei Wuxian following behind him. The infirmary was now very crowded.

They all turned to look at him, and he stopped short in his tracks upon seeing the somber looks on their faces. “Oh no! What happened? Is Sect Leader Jiang okay?”

“Where’s Jiang Cheng?” said Wei Wuxian, abnormally serious.

“He’s right here,” said Jin Ling, lifting the baby slightly.

Wei Wuxian’s eyes widened. “A-Yuan.. Did you maybe... forget to mention something?”

“No! He wasn’t like this yesterday!” Sizhui defended.

“Huh, well how did this happen then?”

But before anyone could answer him the baby gave a short cry, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Wei Wuxian. He struggled in Jin Ling’s arms stretching out his own towards Wei Wuxian in the universal baby gesture for ‘pick me up’.

“I thought he didn’t remember anything?” said Lan Jingyi.

Healer Zhang looked just as confused as they did, “He shouldn’t… from what we’ve heard so far.”

“But he seems to recognise Senior Wei though.”

“I mean to be fair he might just think Senior Wei looks the least intimidating or something, cuz that’s not usually how he looks when Senior Wei is around,” said Zizhen. To be frank, none of them had ever seen Sect Leader Jiang looking openly happy to see anyone.

Xiao Jiang Cheng seemed to get fed-up of waiting on Wei Wuxian to come get him though and with a burst of strength he pulled away from Jin Ling and tried to hop off the bed to go to him himself.

He seemed to be at an age where he could come off of the bed by himself but he wasn’t wearing clothes in his size, he was merely wrapped in adult-him’s inner robe, which tripped him up and he would have face-planted if not for Jin Ling’s good reflexes.

Seeing as he was thwarted, his eyes began to water again. Raising his arms once more he looked pleadingly towards Wei Wuxian, “Shufu!”

Wei Wuxian choked on his own spit. “Shu… who???”

Seeing fat tears start to drip down Xiao Cheng’s chubby cheeks he hurried over and picked him up. “Alright. It’s okay. You’re okay,” he soothed, as the baby snuggled into him.

His tears petered out and he looked up at Wei Wuxian hopefully. “Wei-Shufu, whewe’s A-die an A-niang? Flower-gege (Lan Jingyi snickered in the background “Flower-gege hehe” “Shut up idiot” “But it suits you”) said jiejie is not hewe. It’s not twue, wight shufu?” he frowned.

Oh. Oh no.

For some reason, Jiang Cheng was calling him uncle and seemed to be okay with his presence, unlike all the other people in the room. But...how was he supposed to answer that question. The guilt hit him acutely because if only this child remembered that it was thanks to saving him that his jiejie was no longer around, he would hate him once more.

But how could he tell this child that his parents and sister were dead?

He couldn’t.

“A-Cheng, do you know why Wei-shufu is here? It’s because your A-die, A-niang, and jiejie had to go on a trip. So Uncle Wei is here to keep A-Cheng company. And all of these friends are here too.”

“Twip? Witout A-Cheng?” And oh no how could a baby look so heartbroken? He’d made a grave mistake.

Jin Ling glared at Wei Wuxian. “They left A-Cheng here because A-Cheng is going to be Sect Leader one day. Do you remember what a Sect Leader does?” he said hastily, trying to fix his colossal screw up.

“The Sect Weader has to pwotect the Sect,” said A-Cheng, as if he had memorised that fact.

“That’s right. And who is the Sect Leader” “A-die!”

“Mhm. But when A-die and A-niang are not here, who will protect the sect?”

“A-Cheng?” he said questioningly.

“That’s right! A-die trusts A-Cheng to watch over the sect when he is not here. And A-niang trusted Uncle Wei to watch over A-Cheng.” Well, that was entirely the truth and way too bittersweet. He pushed down the feeling to focus on the child in front of him, “So will A-Cheng allow Uncle Wei and these friends to help him?” He set his little face determinedly and nodded seriously. An expression that was so Jiang Cheng that he couldn’t help but pinch his little cheeks in response, making the child squirm and pout at him.

His movements made the big robe that was wrapped around him loosen slightly and halfway fall off. Wei Wuxian fixed it but decided they would need a plan of action, especially as the child’s stomach rumbled once more and he blushed, hiding his face in his Uncle Wei’s chest.

“Alright, so here’s what we’re going to do,” he said decisively.

“A-Ling, if I know anything about Jiang Cheng, it’s that he’s really a big sap, and I assume he still has some of your baby clothes lying around here somewhere. See if you can find any. If you can’t, use that nice Lanling gold of yours to go to the tailor’s and order some. We don’t know how long he will be like this and we can’t keep wrapping him in these *he indicated to the huge robe* things. He needs proper clothes.” Normally Jin Ling would protest being given an order by Wei Wuxian, but this was for jiujiu and he didn’t want anyone else poking through his uncle’s things anyway, so he left right away to find some of his old baby robes.

“Have you all had breakfast yet? “No Senior Wei.”

“Okay, right, next order of business is breakfast. This little one is hungry. By now the kitchens must be busy. Lotus Pier has breakfast ready by 6:00am so we don’t have to wait very long. Though I don’t know if A-Cheng can wait, maybe we need to find something for him until then.”

“I offered him a green bean cake,” said Healer Zhang, “But his jiejie rightfully taught him not to eat from strangers. Maybe he will eat it from his Uncle Wei though, to tide him over until breakfast is served.”

“Hmm A-Cheng, do you want the cake?”

He nodded shyly.

(“This is so weird,” said Lan Jingyi. “Yeah… I never thought Sandu Shengshou would have been such a cute child,” said Ouyang Zizhen gleefully. He’d been aching to pinch those cheeks since Senior Wei did it and drew his attention to them. So. Cute. Zizhen was gonna die.)

Healer Zhang held out the cake to him and he took it, bowing halfway from Wei Wuxian’s arms and saying a quiet Thank You.

Zizhen was having cuteness overload. “He’s so polite.” *sniffs*

“Now while the Young Master eats that cake, I’d like to do a checkup,” said Healer Zhang seriously.

“Yes, I was about to suggest it myself. A-Cheng, will you let Healer Zhang do her job? I promise it will be okay, Healer Zhang is a doctor and you can trust her.”

A-Cheng looked sceptical but he nodded and Wei Wuxian handed him off to her. “Uncle Wei is right here, A-Cheng, don’t worry.”

He turned back to the juniors while Healer Zhang did her inspection, “A-Yuan, your message said that he was only unconscious. How did he become this way instead?”

“We don’t know Senior Wei, Jingyi and I were woken up by a baby’s cry. When we came to check on Sect Leader Jiang, we found out the baby was him! Senior Wen and Jin Ling spent the night with him so maybe they will know. We didn’t get a chance to ask before you came because Sect Leader Jiang was very upset. He only really stopped crying when he saw you.”

“Wen Ning?” “Yes Master Wei?” “Aiya stop it with that Master Wei I told you.” Wen Ning blushed, as much as a fierce corpse could blush, he’d gotten better at not calling him master but it was a habit and those were hard to break. “What happened last night?”

“Nothing much at all, but this morning just before 5am Sect Leader Jin woke up and said Sect Leader Jiang felt hot like he had a fever, and he asked me to get Healer Zhang. When I came back with Healer Zhang, we just walked in and there was a huge flash of light and where Sect Leader Jiang was, there was a baby.”

“Huh. I haven’t heard of anything like it. We’ll have to do some research but if it’s related to the night hunt you went on maybe.. Hmm.. A-Yuan after breakfast, if you’re up for it you can play Inquiry and see what the spirit has to say. If we don’t solve this soon I might have to ask Lan Zhan to do it because they can’t lie to him.”

“How come Hanguang-Jun didn’t come with you, Senior Wei?” questioned Lan Jingyi.

“Ah well you know Lan Zhan and I just got back from travelling. Since old man Lan has been doing all of the sect leader duties it’s Lan Zhan’s turn. He couldn’t just leave again, it would be unfair. My core is strong enough now to make the trip from Gusu to Lotus Pier so I told him not to worry about me, I’ll be fine. I should probably shoot him a letter though, he’s probably going to worry until he hears from me.”

“I don’t care if you’re writing to Hanguang-Jun, but Wei Wuxian, this news better not be spread outside of Lotus Pier, or else,” threatened Jin Ling, walking back in with a few robes bundled in his hands. It would be a prime opportunity for jiujiu’s detractors to try and kill him as a defenceless baby.

Wei Wuxian raised his hands in surrender, “I know, I know. I won’t even put what the problem is in the letter. I’ll just say he’s been cursed.”

“Good.”

Jin Ling dumped the robes on Wei Wuxian’s lap. “You can dress him since he seems to like you the most.” He was not salty at all.

Wei Wuxian laughed sheepishly; it wasn’t like he could help that! Not that he wasn’t enjoying it of course, baby Jiang Cheng was adorable and looked even more fun to tease than big Jiang Cheng.

“Right,” said Healer Zhang, garnering their attention. Wei Wuxian’s levity fell away. “What have you determined?”

“Sect Leader is a healthy toddler.” Said toddler was already reaching out for Wei Wuxian, who cooed and cuddled him close.

“He seems about three at the moment. His memories of course, are of the three-year old him. He does not have a core at the moment so it’s likely that the curse actually transformed him to how he was exactly at that age, memories and all. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with him, other than the obvious of course. The issue here is that we don’t know if this is permanent or not. I can’t say if this will wear off or if he will have to grow up once more.”

Jin Ling made a wounded noise. As cute as xiao jiujiu was, he wanted his normal jiujiu back.

“We’ll find a solution,” said Wei Wuxian resolutely. “Yeah if anyone can find it it would be you Senior Wei!” said Zizhen supportively.

“Don’t worry so much Young Mistress,” Jingyi poked at Jin Ling’s furrowed brow, “Your pretty face will get premature wrinkles.” Jin Ling turned red and batted away his hand, scowling just like his uncle.

“Alright, breakfast should be ready by now. Let’s go kiddos. We’ll need to eat to keep up our strength. We have lots of work to do,” said Wei Wuxian.

Healer Zhang cleared her throat, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Eh?”

The robe slipped further down the baby.

“Ah hehe, oops. A-Cheng, be good and let Uncle Wei dress you.”

But the toddler took one look at Wei Wuxian’s disheveled robes (in his defense he’d come straight to the infirmary after flying to Lotus Pier okay, he didn’t have time to freshen up!) and screwed up his cute little face.

“Flower-gege help A-Cheng,” he said decisively.

Jin Ling, of course, was impeccable despite being in yesterday’s robes. Wei Wuxian pouted. “Figures he’d want the peacock’s son to dress him,” he mumbled.

Jin Ling was quietly delighted.

“Xiao-jiujiu, you have good taste,” he said, promptly taking the baby away to have a bath and get dressed.

“Well,” he said, overcoming his disappointment, “We should probably find whoever’s in charge while Jiang Cheng is away and brief them on the situation.” There was a twinge of hurt when he realised he didn’t know who that was. He and Lan Zhan had travelled for a while, only stopping for brief periods in Cloud Recesses as things were still a bit uncomfortable for him. The rule against interacting with him was still carved into the stone after all. It was easier to just...not remain there, and since Lan Zhan was known for going where the chaos was, it wasn’t unusual that he himself wasn’t often there. But with Lan Xichen’s seclusion, Master Lan had been running the sect once more. Since at the moment Lan Zhan was the heir, it really should have fallen to him if the Sect Leader was indisposed. As much as Master Lan was upset at his nephew’s choice of partner, he still gave him the freedom to wander about. Master Lan had fallen ill recently, nothing major but still, Lan Zhan had realised how much leeway his uncle was allowing him by taking on all the duties himself and had asked if Wei Ying would go back with him. They hadn’t expected that Wei Ying would be leaving on another trip on his own this time, to face the demons of his past (or in Lan Wangji’s eyes, demon). Lan Zhan couldn’t come with him no matter how much he’d wanted to. It would have been supremely unfair to Master Lan now that he’d accepted the responsibility of acting sect leader, to just up and leave again. But being here on his own really reminded him that this was no longer the Lotus Pier that he knew. Once upon a time he would have been the one who would be in charge if the Sect Leader was indisposed. He would have been Jiang Cheng’s right hand man. But he’s also the one who stuffed it all up so he had no right to feel bitter. It was his idea to defect. Jiang Cheng hadn’t wanted him to. He’d been doing his best to put the past in the past like he’d told Jiang Cheng to do, but he wouldn’t be able to escape it, would he? Jiang Cheng was now quite literally in the past….and Wei Wuxian would never be able to abandon him again. He didn’t want to. He’d find a way to restore Jiang Cheng, and failing that, he’d take care of him as much as possible.

“Indeed. I’ll get our Second-in-Command to speak to you. You should follow me, Sect Leader Jin will know where to find us for breakfast.” Healer Zhang’s voice brought him back to reality.

He nodded and they all followed, the juniors behind him like a row of ducklings.

Healer Zhang arranged for them to meet with the Second-in-Command, who introduced himself as Pan An. “Hehe rhymes with Lan An,” Jingyi joked quietly behind them. Wen Ning wanted to excuse himself since he didn’t need to eat and Pan An was staring at him rather intensely, but they insisted he was needed for the discussion and so he sat down reluctantly.

Luckily, breakfast was set out in a private room so that they could discuss matters freely and keep the mini sect leader with them. “I have already briefed the disciples on the importance of staying silent about Sect Leader’s indisposition,” said Pan An, “However, now Healer Zhang has said there is another problem?”

The aforementioned problem finally arrived and he was looking cute enough to eat in his mini Yunmeng Jiang robes, walking in on his own now, holding Jin Ling’s hand. Both uncle and nephew had taken a bath and Jin Ling had thoroughly enjoyed seeing xiao-jiujiu playing and laughing in the tub like he had no cares in the world. It was bittersweet because as much as he liked it he wished his jiujiu would be able to smile like that as an adult. It hurt his heart to think that this innocent little boy would have to go through so much pain in the future.

“Ah yes, here’s our problem now,” said Wei Wuxian, smiling at the toddler.

Pan An’s eyes widened. “I..is that who I think it is?”

“Yup,” said Lan Jingyi cheekily, “There’s the fearsome Sandu Shengshou in the flesh.”

“Jingyi..” reprimanded Sizhui.

“What,” he grinned, “It’s true. Children can be terrifying.” He shuddered thinking about the baby’s ear-piercing cries. A crying child was almost as scary as a ghost.

Wide-eyed, A-Cheng looked at the stranger and hid slightly behind his Flower-gege’s leg.

Jin Ling pat his head and picked him up. “Don’t be afraid, this is Pan An. Pan An is here to be your second-in-command while A-Die’s gone. You know that Sect Leaders have second-in-commands right?”

Xiao jiujiu nodded.

“Of course he does. A-Cheng’s a smart boy,” praised Wei Wuxian. The tot blushed and hid his face in Jin Ling’s robes. Jin Ling carried him over to the table and set him down in between himself and Wei Wuxian who began teasing the child immediately, squishing his cheeks to see his cute expressions of annoyance.

The juniors looked on in envy; the toddler had not warmed to them yet.

“We’ll debrief you after breakfast,” said Jin Ling, “Xiao jiujiu’s hungry. The rundown is that he’s been cursed and is now a three year old with no memories beyond that time.”

“And Pan-qianbei…” Jin Ling looked at him sharply, “Young Master Jiang’s family is currently on a trip. They have, of course, left him in charge because someone needs to protect the sect while they’re gone. We are all here to assist him.”

“Understood Sect Leader Jin.” The man was quick to catch on, after all Jiang Cheng would not leave just anyone in charge of his sect. Pan An was also secretly proud of the young boy in front of him. He was handling this situation well and sounded every inch the Sect Leader. His jiujiu would be proud, though he would mask it with grumbling if he wasn’t… three.

They all set about eating though Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian both fought to outdo the other when feeding mini Jiang Cheng. One would be spooning congee and the other breaking up buns to feed him...until-- “A-Cheng is big boy. A-Cheng eat like shufu and gege!” And what do you know, he really could eat by himself. That put a stop to their competition and they both pouted. Lan Jingyi didn’t even make fun of Jin Ling for it because...he got it.

Pan An could cry. Who knew his tsundere sect leader was so precious as a child?

Wei Wuxian sighed in pleasure. Yunmeng’s food was the best! It had been so long since he last ate at Lotus Pier.

“Wei-shufu like spicy?” asked A-Cheng, upon seeing him reach for the chilli to add to his already spicy dish.

“Mm. Wei-shufu likes spicy very much. A-Cheng is a good host. The food he serves his guests tastes the best! Wei-shufu has to visit more often.”

Mini Jiang Cheng nodded seriously at this. “Wei-shufu must bwing A-Ying an Aunty ‘angse. Wei-shufu pwomised to bwing A-Ying to play with A-Cheng next time. But now is next time an no A-Ying. A-Cheng want to meet A-Ying.”

And all of a sudden, he felt as if he’d taken a hit from Zidian. Wei Wuxian was struck dumb. Because he’d simply been going along with Xiao Cheng, thinking that some part of the child’s subconscious memory must have remained. But that wasn’t what it was, was it?

Because it was now obvious that Jiang Cheng thought...

Jiang Cheng thought he was Wei Changze.

[trilliastra]

[much fluff with a dash of angst, but mostly jin ling coping with being a sect leader and his uncles being there for him. jin ling & jiang cheng & wei wuxian.]

-

Jin Ling has been a Sect Leader for exactly four months and eighteen days when the letter arrives.

Sect Leader Yao wishes to invite you and…

Jin Ling rolls his eyes. It’s always an invitation for dinner or a ‘sumptuous trip to try our most beloved meals’ and it always ends with Jin Ling visiting their crops and listening to hours upon hours of a speech about the advantages of having Sect Leader Yao as ally and biggest business partner.

Jin Ling always leaves with a headache and the certainty that not even the finest crops in the world are worth enduring that old hag’s voice for days.

He’s wondering if he could get away with ‘accidentally’ dropping the letter in the fire when the word ‘marriage’ catches his attention.

Dread spreads through his body. His uncle has warned him about this, lectured Jin Ling about taking his time, being careful around pretty ladies, but he thought he had more time! He’s still sixteen, why would he want to marry anyone right now?

He keeps reading, curiosity getting the best of him, and then he realizes, Sect Leader Yao is proposing an alliance through marriage, but not with Jin Ling.

With his uncle.

-

Jin Ling does not mention the letter to his uncle. He does not think that would end well for him or Sect Leader Yao, and though Jin Ling would not mind if the old man was accidentally pushed into a pit so deep he could never escape – it would save him so much time and tears of frustration – he does not want his uncle to start a war. One murderous uncle is enough, thank you.

So Jin Ling does the next best thing and throws the letter into the fire, pretends it never happened and leaves Sect Leader Yao to deal with it alone.

That’s not the end of it, though. Of course not. Jin Ling could not be that lucky.

The second letter comes the next week, and by the time the twelfth letter arrives, Jin Ling is just about ready to start a war himself, so when Wei Wuxian shows up unannounced, he cannot be blamed for throwing a whole jar of wine on his head.

Wei Wuxian’s entire bright demeanour is particularly annoying when Jin Ling has been experiencing a headache for the past – what, month?

“You look stressed.” Wei Wuxian points out, wiping the wine off his face with the sleeve of his robe (‘such a waste’, he had said, but instead of leaving as Jin Ling had hoped, he simply collapsed on a chair and grinned, ugh).

“The letter just won’t stop!” He grits out, angry, throwing the closest letter – from Ouyang Zizhen’s father of all people, apparently, he has two daughters that would be just ‘perfect’ for Jin Ling’s uncle – towards Wei Wuxian.

“Oh,” Wei Wuxian laughs hysterically for a good minute while Jin Ling stares, unamused, “I did not think Jiang Cheng would be this disputed.”

Jin Ling tries not to take offense on that, but the words come out of his mouth before he can hold them back, years of having to defend his uncle from other disciples getting the best of him. “He would be a great husband!” Jin Ling argues. “If he wants to!”

Wei Wuxian raises his hands, placating, but he still has that knowing smirk on his face. “I know.” He says, softer this time. “He always liked to pretend to be cold and angry, but we knew-” Jin Ling feels a shiver run down his spine at the mention of his mother so casually. His uncle talked about her, told him stories about his parents, but he never looked at ease while doing it, his eyes always trying to hide the pain, “Jiang Cheng is especially warm inside, he takes criticism to heart and he hurts just as easily, just as deeply. Maybe even more than the rest of us.” Wei Wuxian gets a distracted look on his face, lost in thoughts and memories that Jin Ling knows he will never understand, does not know if he even wants to.

The pain and the heartbreak that molded his uncle while he was growing up, Jin Ling has long understood that it came from years of self-doubt and self-loathing.

‘I am proud of you, it does not matter what happens, who you are, what you do, I am proud of you’, Jin Ling heard those words more than once as he grew up, his uncle wiping his tears of frustration and anger when he failed at hitting the targets with his arrows, lost a fight with one of the older disciples. He did not think much of it at the time, but after the temple, after hearing the pain in his uncle’s voice while arguing with Wei Wuxian, the pain of being left alone – Jin Ling understood that those were words his uncle wishes someone had told him.

“I know.” Jin Ling says, softly, before looking down at the pile of letters still on his desk. He lets out another groan of frustration. “But why me?” He cries out while Wei Wuxian starts giggling again. “They should send these to him!”

“Oh, my dear A-Ling.” Wei Wuxian says, taking deep breaths to control his laughter. “They want your help.”

-

“No, no.” Jin Ling groans, pacing around the room. Wei Wuxian watches him patiently, drinking from a new jar of wine one of Jin Ling’s servants brought. “I will not be Jiujiu’s matchmaker! I have other things to do! Did you know there are rumours of a ghost terrorizing a village? At least twenty families have arrived to Lanling yesterday, I do not have time to help Sect Leader Yao se – seduce Jiujiu!”

Wei Wuxian – proving to be just as useless as Jin Ling had thought – snorts and reaches out for another jar of wine. “You are pathetic.” Jin Ling points out, rolling his eyes when Wei Wuxian merely shrugs.

“You are the Sect Leader.”

“I know!” Jin Ling cries out, throwing his arms up in frustration. To his horror, he feels himself starting to tear up.

He hates crying, even more in front of others. He knows he does it a lot, he’s always been a crier, but he is, as Wei Wuxian pointed out, a Sect Leader now. He cannot just burst into tears every time he feels tired or sad or—overwhelmed.

“Jin Ling—” Wei Wuxian starts, softly, but a knock on the door stops him.

“Sect Leader,” his secretary calls, sounding panicked, and though Jin Ling wants to tell him to leave, he takes a deep breath and orders him in, “you have a visitor.” He announces.

“Who-” Jin Ling tries to ask, but the door flies open before he can finish and soon enough his uncle is stalking into his office.

If it weren’t for the secretary still watching them, Jin Ling would have dropped everything and ran into his uncle’s arms, crying as if he were five years old again.

-

“You do not have time to write,” his uncle accuses as soon as the door closes behind Jin Ling’s secretary, “but you have time to chat with him.” The tone is not as cold as it used to be and Wei Wuxian offers him a wave and a teasing grin instead of flinching like he also used to do.

“I did not invite him,” Jin Ling turns around, scrambling to wipe his tears. It has been a rough couple of days, emotion got the best of him, “he just showed up and now he refuses to leave.”

“Not fair!” Wei Wuxian cries out, pretends to be wiping a tear while his eyes shine with mischief. Jin Ling’s uncle rolls his eyes, expression so soft Jin Ling feels himself tearing up again.

His uncle deserves so much more than an arranged marriage.

“A-Ling.” Jin Ling looks up, finds both his uncle and Wei Wuxian looking at him with concern. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing.” He shouts, starts rearranging the papers on his desk as to have something to do with his hands, something to distract him from all these emotions, the tiredness, the overwhelming happiness of having his family with him after all this time where he forced himself to be strong, to deal with everything alone, to—

“A-Ling.” Jin Ling feels a hand on his shoulder, strong and careful and loving.

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling sniffs, suddenly so exhausted he feels his legs giving out. He is quickly supported by his uncle and Wei Wuxian, “I do not want you to get married to Ouyang Zizhen’s sister.”

“What?” he asks, helping Jin Ling to the chair and kneeling in front of him. He runs a hand through Jin Ling’s hair, touches his cheek softly. “What are you talking about?”

“You should marry for love.” He whispers, weakly, and then – nothing.

-

When Jin Ling was a child, he used to have nightmares about losing two faceless people, a woman he would call mother and a man he would call father. He’d wake up, shaking, heart beating fast, and immediately run to his uncle’s room.

He would also have dreams where his uncle died, but those never seemed so scary because once Jin Ling woke up, he knew it would never happen. His uncle would never leave him.

That certainty never wavered, not once, even when Jin Ling was in Lanling, even when his uncle got hurt fighting Su She, his uncle would never leave him.

But as soon as Jin Guangyao died, as soon as Jin Ling was pronounced Sect Leader, as soon as his uncle left to Lotus Pier, Jin Ling realized it was time he let his uncle go.

-

The faceless woman in his dream is different this time. She’s holding one end of a rope while the other end is tied around Jin Ling’s neck and when he tries to run, she holds him back, the knot so tight Jin Ling feels himself suffocating, unable to scream, to call for help.

From afar he sees his uncle burning, fire surrounding him as he shouts, one hand stretched out in front of him, reaching out for Jin Ling while the woman drags him away from his uncle, farther and farther. And while his uncle burns, Jin Ling chokes.

-

He startles awake, gasping for air as his hands search for the rope around his neck, a rope that isn’t there anymore.

“A-Ling.” His uncle calls. When Jin Ling looks at his worried face, he collapses against his chest, relieved. “Breathe,” he whispers, pulling Jin Ling closer to him, one hand on the back of his neck, comforting, “I am here.”

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling sobs, holding his uncle’s robes tightly. He should not be acting like this anymore, he should not behave as a child, he is not – he is a Sect Leader now, he needs to be strong. Ashamed, he sobs harder, hides his face in his uncle’s chest, “I am sorry, I should not –”

“Stop.” His uncle orders. “I should be the one apologizing. You were not ready for –”

“You were a year older than me when you became a Sect Leader!” Jin Ling protests. All the things his uncle did when he was younger, the war, the people he lost.

“I was not ready either.” His uncles confesses. Jin Ling pulls back, surprised. “I had no other choice, A-Ling, but you – you have me and your friends and – Wei Wuxian, I suppose,” he adds, rolling his eyes, and Jin Ling, despite himself, smiles.

He notices Wei Wuxian by the door, arms crossed in front of himself, eyes shining with tears, Jin Ling imagines, of regret for years lost, bonds broken.

“I will try to visit more often.” Jin Ling’s uncle promises. “And if you do not write back,” he threatens, “I will drag you back to Lotus Pier and feed you to the water spirits.”

Jin Ling blinks. “I am a Sect Leader.”

“I don’t care. Learn when to ask for help, brat, and answer to your uncle’s letters.”

“My, my, A-Ling,” Wei Wuxian says for the first time, eyes still wet, smile brighter than before, “it seems your uncle was lonely.”

“Wei Wuxian.” Jin Ling’s uncle growls, reaching out for a pillow and throwing at Wei Wuxian’s beaming face. The other man ducks away easily, cackling.

This is how his uncle’s life must have been before. He was not ready to become a Sect Leader then, but most of all, he was not ready to lose his entire family.

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling takes his hand, “do you wish to get married?”

His uncle furrows his brows, confused. “This again?” He glances at Wei Wuxian, then back at Jin Ling. He sighs. “Maybe one day.” He says. “But that is not important right now.”

“It is important!” Jin Ling argues. “I want you to be happy!”

“Marrying one of the Ouyang girls won’t make him happy.” Wei Wuxian says, pulling a chair to sit on the other side of Jin Ling’s bed.

“You are married to Hanguang-jun!” Jin Ling points out.

“Because I love him.” He answers and Jin Ling is relieved he doesn’t go on a rant about Hanguang-jun’s eyes or something, it has happened before. It was disgusting. “Jiang Cheng should marry someone for love.”

They both turn to look at his uncle and Jin Ling’s eyes widen when he sees him blush. Does that mean–

“Enough with this.” Jin Ling’s uncle says, forcing him to lie back, fluffing the pillows around him. “I will deal with the letters.”

Jin Ling sighs, relived, as his eyes start to drop shut. “Do not start a war.” Both his uncles snort.

“I promise.” He whispers and Jin Ling falls asleep surrounded by his family.

[odd-triceratops702]

Idk what I'd give if someone writes this.

But I had this concept for the years about mingcheng. So like here it goes...

Anyways, so the fic goes like this: it's about 2 years after WWXs death and NMJ is SLOWLY getting affected by his qi deviation and is getting desperate in slowing down the symptoms and what not.

But then he meets up with JC (who cares where, could be a discussion conference or him visiting whtevs) and develops a HUGE crush. But JC doesn't realise it cuz he's really spread thin with leading yunmemg and raising Jin ling. So they interact a lot, with NMJ trying to support JC whilst he's still alive.

Eventually because JC is a masochist - he falls in love with NMJ and confesses, assuming that NMJ will friendzone him. Only for NMJ to admit his feelings as well. But it's bittersweet cuz NMJ is still dying from qi deviation (JGY is still a dick) so they rush their relationship. JC gets married to NMJ (this being NMJ favourite memory and JC favourite memory is NMJ interacting with JL) whilst NMJ is still stable and have many little moments together (like both of them teaching jin ling how to shoot and JC teaching NMJ how to use zidian because he trusts NMJ enough to not hurt others with zidian. )

Anyways NMJ eventually dies when Jin Ling is like 8 (and JL only has a few memories of NMJ which destroys JC) and JC & JHS grieve together. BUTTT JC didn't know the full story because NHS wanted to be the only one to get revenge for NMJs murder. So JC just thinks NMJ died because of qi deviation and slowly accepts it but never moves on because NMJ was his soulmate.

Fast forward to the plot, JGY is being confronted by WWX and the gang and JGY admits to killing NMJ and JC is destroyed. And he is Hella pissed, and tries to kill JGY buttttt doesn't because morals or whatever. LXC still kills JGY. But the twist is, that WWX doesn't know that mingcheng was a thing.

Shenanigans happen with WWX and NMJ and somehow WWX fixes him and makes him a fierce corpse... But the twist is that NMJ only remembers his life BEFORE having qi deviations. *Shock and disbelief ensures *

And since of the WWX and LWJ didn't know mingcheng happened, LXC being in seclusion and NHS feeling too guilty and bitter to be near NMJ. NMJ has no where to go and is having a lot of self-loothing because he is a fierce corpse, can't remember some of his later years and didn't figure out that JGY was killing him. But then NMJ stumbles into Lotus Pier...

NMJ meets up with JC and JC is shooketh. Buutttt then the whole memories erased thing becomes plot revelant and JC becomes insecure ..."If he everything else EXCEPT us, their relationship wasnt that important to him than it was to me...."

So JC keeps his distance from NMJ and lets him stay at lotus pier cuz he's a masochist. Only NMJ to get attach to JC and slowly fold back into JCs life. JC still loves him and this situation is slowly destroying him that JL notices. (Also NMJ knows he feels something to JC but doesn't know what it is, and is repressing it because of self-loothing)

Jin Ling has been prepping to become the Jin Sect leader whilst Lan qiren is his Regent cuz JC REFUSES for JL to lose his childhood like he did.

And Lan Qiren was bored and wanted to give WWX and LWJ some alone time idk. Anyways, JL is free and studying under Lan Qiren and JC on how to be a sect leader and one day whilst staying in lotus pier, he hears JC crying alone in his room. And gets super over-protective cuz "no one makes my favourite parent uncle cry."

And then JL bumps into NMJ and recognises him as jiujius husband from a painting or whatever. And realises that NMJ is the one making JC depressed. JL confront him, saying something on the lines of "that's yr soulmate buuuttttt you don't even recognise him because of yr self-loothing"

NMJ realises that he loves JC and those feelings he has been repressing were because of this.

That night NMJ confronts JC and emotions soarrrrrr. They realise that they are being stupid and get back together. And live out their days together.

*Some additions that isn't in the main plot,

*WWXs reaction to mingcheng like "wait JC lost his virginity BEFORE ME!! NOOO"

*Jin Ling and WWX being overprotective over JC

*JC being Lan Qirens favourite even though they're not related (pre-timeskip, they would have tea once a month because Lan Qiren used to have tea with JC's parents but not as regularly as they do. JC goes Lan Qiren for advice and Lan Qiren sees himself in JC)

*LXC reconciling with NMJ, (Im actually a fan of NMJ being a bit mad at LXC because LXC forced 3zun brotherhood) but both of them working out their issues

*NMJ and NHS interacting, NMJ understanding why NHS did it and didn't hold a grudge

BUT JC is angry with him because NHS didn't ask for help and didn't consider JCs feeling on the matter.

Eventually JC and NHS reconcile after NHS reveals his true nature to JC (like be more sly and intelligent in front of JC) and stops being the lazy headshaker. NHS is still sect leader because NMJ wants to live with JC and NHS wants to change the Niè sect. (Also NHS wants to become chief cultivator) (I just want NHS to be an evil mastermind, an ethical bastard with JCs support)

*maybe LXC and NHS romance, LXC being angry with NHS and being hostile with NHS (and then bring in the enemies to lovers trope)

*JC and WWX reconciling extremely quickly because JC now knows that time is precious and had forgiven WWX a long time ago (during when NMJ and him were first dating because he didn't want useless baggage to ruin mingcheng so he confessed EVERYTHING to NMJ and they moved past it)

*WWX being the strict uncle to JL, and JC, having more child rearing experiences, can handle a bratty teenager whilst WWX hates his past self for giving him karma

So yeah this is a prompt I've BEEN thinking about for a while and I don't want to write it sooooo

[foularcadebanana]

I will be okay

Prompt for the Untamed Fall Fest for Day 27 was ‘Fright’ and Day 28 was ‘Decay’. I decided to do these two days together because I have big things planned for the last three days of this fest. I hope you guys enjoy this. I poured all of my whump!JC feels into this one. He deserves to be cared for and loved.

Summary: Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling find out that Jiang Cheng was severely wounded in a hunt and rush to him.

Wei Wuxian sat in an unnamed inn in an unknown town. He had been travelling for months and he felt homesick. He had been to Gusu just weeks ago to visit Lan Zhan, and then Lanling before that to visit Jin Ling, hoping the boy’s behaviour towards him would soften. Wei Wuxian thought he was succeeding and Jin Ling’s feelings towards him were slowly thawing out, although he was still averse to calling Wei Wuxian his uncle.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t stay in Gusu for more than a few weeks at a time, and he could barely stay in Lanling for days before leaving lest the ghosts of his past come back to haunt him. The place he craved to visit, the person he wished to see, was in Yunmeng Jiang. Lotus Pier.

Wei Wuxian drank the unknown liquid in his cup, deep in thoughts that he was pulled out of by the sound of two male voices talking.

“Yeah, I heard that it was a decaying corpse. It was dead on the ground one second and the next, it was alive and rushing towards him. No one could figure out how it had happened, and it took them all by surprise, even the Sandu Shengshou. The corpse rushed towards him so quickly that no one had the time to defend him or push him out of the way.” Wei Wuxian’s eyes widened at the words, his heart pounding in his chest. These people, they couldn’t be talking about…

“Didn’t they rush him back to Lotus Pier on their swords? I heard the corpse got him really good, and they don’t know what it did to the Sandu Shengshou, but there’s something really wrong him. All of the doctors and physicians of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect are scratching their heads in confusion. They think someone’s cursed him.”

“What?!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed before he could help himself, making the two men turn to look at him. “The Sandu— I mean, Sect Leader Jiang, he— What’s happened to Jiang Cheng? Is he—?” Is he dying…again?

Flashes of Jiang Cheng when he had been captured by the Wens and Wei Wuxian had found him; of when Jiang Cheng had woken up and told Wei Wuxian that he didn’t have a core, that he would rather be dead than live like this; of how Wei Wuxian had scrambled to find a cure, and watched his brother laying in that bed motionless, in a coma-like state, day after day; of how he had searched day after day and night after sleepless night for a cure; and of how he had finally found the cure and it had changed everything, ran through Wei Wuxian’s head.

Wei Wuxian could not go through that again. He refused to do it. He stood up from his table and ran. He didn’t know how he would get there, but he was going back to Lotus Pier.

It was stupid. Ridiculous, really. He was the Sandu Shengshou, the Sect leader Jiang. He had been through way worse. He was fine. He had told the physicians and doctors and numerous disciples and residents of Lotus Pier continuously that he was. And as touching as it was, he was getting a bit irritated and straight up annoyed at repeating himself.

He didn’t understand why his subordinates had thought it okay to go behind his back and send a messenger to Koi Tower as an emergency call.

He hadn’t rested his head on his pillow for more than a few minutes when Jin Ling burst into his room with a dramatic flair that he had, no doubt, inherited from Jiang Cheng. Jin Ling's eyes were red and puffy, he had clearly been crying, and he was a mess, his robes were on the wrong way around, his shoes were untied, his hair was all over the place. He had clearly hurried over, leaving everything and everyone at Koi Tower the moment he had received the message.

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling’s voice was soft as he sat next to Jiang Cheng. His hands tightly wrapping around one of Jiang Cheng’s. Jin Ling’s hands were warm against his own. “You’re going to be alright,” Jin Ling’s voice cracked as he spoke, trying not to look at the deep scratches on his arms or the bleeding bandages wrapped around his stomach.

The blood was soaking through his robes and his hands were covered in it, but he  decided to ignore all of that to concentrate on the trembling of Jin Ling’s hands. Jiang Cheng reached his free, bloody hand out to caress Jin Ling’s cheek gently and reassuringly. “It’s fine, A-Ling. I’m going to be fine.”

Tears sprung from A-Ling’s eyes and good heavens this was why he hadn’t wanted anyone to unnecessarily cause the boy any trouble. Jin Ling had already been through so much, and he had just lost another member of his family not too long ago. He didn’t deserve to be here to see Jiang Cheng in such a state.

“You have to be,” Jin Ling whispered, determination and resolve etched onto his face. “You hear me, Jiujiu? You have to make it out of this. I can’t— I can’t— Don’t leave me, please. Not you, too. I won’t— You’re the only one—” Jin Ling began to sob so hard that the whole bed shook with him.

“A-Ling. Don’t— Don’t cry. I’m fine. The physicians and doctors will patch me up like they always do. I’ll be okay. You’ll see. I’ll be nagging you to be a great sect leader and threatening to break your legs in no time,” Jiang Cheng said, hating that he had to watch Jin Ling cry so openly without being able to do anything about it. He hated it even more that he was the reason for it.

He should have been more careful, but he had been distracted during the hunt. They had been hunting for a demonic cultivator who delved into black magic. His victims were many, spread across all of the sects, but he had been choosing victims specifically from the Yunmeng Jiang Sect for the past few weeks which had meant that he had become their problem.

Jiang Cheng vividly remembered what had distracted him, but he refused to acknowledge it. It had been voices. Voices of his A-Jie, of Wei Wuxian, of A-Ling, all of them calling out to him, laughing. Visions of them happily smiling and together had flashed in his mind. He hadn’t been able to help it. He should have been more alert.

It wasn’t like he had never been hurt on a hunt before. Jin Ling had always been there for him when it had happened in the past too, choosing to stay by his side, the stubborn kid.

As the pain woke Jiang Cheng up in the middle of the night, he saw that A-Ling had fallen fast asleep next to him, and Jiang Cheng really wasn’t been able to help himself from carding his fingers through Jin Ling’s hair, soothingly. A-Ling was there despite being a Sect Leader now, despite having his duties and obligations to the Lanling Jin sect to complete now.

You would have done the same, a voice in Jiang Cheng’s head responded. You have done the same, in the past, and you still will in the future. Just like he will, the voice promised him. Jiang Cheng wasn’t able to help the smile on his face, he couldn’t help himself from leaning forward slightly, despite the pain, to kiss A-Ling lightly on his forehead.

“Thank you for being here for me, A-Ling.” Jiang Cheng softly muttered into the darkness of the room.

READ ON AO3

[angstymdzsthoughts]

Ignorance is a bliss

Imagine if “come to gusu with me” ends up with wwx passed out of exhaustion before he could reject the offer. Lwj did brought him to gusu and under the jurisdiction of the elders, after wwx is nursed back to health, his demonic cultivation must be sealed and he must received say maybe 15 lashes as punishment for straying off the righteous path before were sent to seclusion with lwj so that wwx will finally be ‘cleansed’. Wwx wasnt happy ofc but what he could do with his powers are sealed away? Now , 5 strokes of discipline whip may cause a cultivator bedridden for months, how about to a non cultivator ? It must affect them severely so that is why discipline whip can never be used to a non cultivator. Lwj was forced to a house arrest guarded by three disciples due to him trying to (forcefully) persuade the elders to not hurt wwx. Lwj never thought that the elders were so hell bent on punishing wwx , where he promised wwx that gusu will be his safe haven (oh lwj, ignorance is a bliss).

The elders of Lan assumed that wwx’s core is still intact but maybe diminished due to demotic cultivation. So they still proceeded with the punishment. But halfway through the session, wwx lose consciousness and healers were called to heal him so that they could finish the punishment.However, upon trying to heal him , the healers discovered that wwx does not have a golden core. Lxc was horrified and ultimately barked an order to bring wwx to the sect’s infirmary to put him to rest. Glaring at lqr and the elders , he told them if wwx did not survive the ordeal , they would have become a murderer.

Lwj was devastated on the state wwx in. Wwx had a bad fever due to infection despite how hard the healers were trying to use medication. Bandages were changed thrice a day to ensure the infection does not spread to other parts of body. Wwx never gained consciousness for 3 months. He was delirious in fever as his health rapidly declining over the days. Healers concluded that wwx may not he able to perform his daily routine without help as the whip has cause major backlash on his physical and mental health.

After a discussion, the lans decided to finally informed the jiang sects of the situation wwx was in. JC was on his way when wwx woke up. Wwx was in confusion and struggling to get out of his bed. Lxc and lwj had to restrain him to ensure he doesn’t hurt himself. The last thing wwx remembered that his back and legs were excruciating painful and people in white robes are the cause of it.Paranoia settles in him causing wwx to be on alert every second and never utter a single word after waking up, not even to lwj. For wwx, lwj has brought him to gusu because he hated wwx so much that he let those people hurt him. He was betrayed.

Although he was reluctant at first, he forced himself to eat to regained his strength and escape this hell. When the jc arrives at gusu with a group of disciples , lxc and the elders met them at the entrance leaving lwj and wwx alone at the room. Wwx for the first time spoke to lwj, requesting for a new change of robe. “I just dont want anyone to see me in this dirty robe” . Lwj acquiesced.

When lwj came back with new set of fresh robes and a basin of hot water , wwx was gone. Due to the envoy from Jiang sect , the entrance was not guarded as usual and wwx miraculously managed to flee gusu. Wwx put his guard up even he has successfully escape and ran to the most secluded part of Caiyi town. After resting for few hours and after the adrenaline was gone ,wwx realised that he was severely injured and crippled. His left leg cannot be bend without causing painful jolt like feeling. Him running all the way from gusu to caiyi with a bleeding back and hurting leg was indeed a miracle. Now , if walking was painful , then running was courting death. With careful planning using his survival skills and experience , wwx continues his painstaking slow journey and enters a forest , opposite direction of gusu and lotus pier. Wwx was last seen by a fruit vendor of Caiyi Town ; limping away without a trace.

Lwj without a doubt used an inquiry to find wwx , but wwx was an ambitious lad. Wwx somehow managed to create a talisman that can hide his presence even to spirits. Jc has issued posters all over the place , in hopes that someone might give an intel for him to find his brother but to no avail , no one has a clue of where wwx has been gone to. Wwx - like a ghost , has disappeared . JYL and JXZ was also at deeps end, unable to trace her missing brother. Other major sects also keep an eye for wwx, though the Lan clan has claimed that wwx’s demonic cultivation was sealed and was severly injured, who knows what can that young man do ?

Timeskip to 13 years later, JL LJY and LSZ (assuming that the siege never happened, but lwj adopted a-yuan as per requested by wq and wn to ensure he was raised at a proper & healthy background and the wen remnants survived and disperse for safety) was attacked at goddess temple only to be saved by a mystery crippled guy with mask (JL: a non cultivator nonetheless!) (LJY: what an amazing talent ! Only using talisman to beat the statue!). The teenagers were awestruck with the masked man’s skill, that they wanted to thanked him with a meal and few drinks but was rejected and the man leaves.

JL who never accepts no for an answers suggest to secretly follows the man so that they can send drinks or some offering for him to his house instead. Ljy and Lsz tagged along as they were curious of their saviour after all. A non cultivator cannot detect presence like a cultivator do, so the man was unaware that he was tailed. Upon arriving an old shack with a small potato farm , the man limped and sat with a grunt. Taking off his mask , he took a bottle of water and consumed a few concoction of medicine before coughing. The teenagers was surprised on the living condition of their saviour. JL however upon seeing the face of the man, went wide eyes.

“That man, he was in the poster my jiujiu used to issue around LP . My A-niang talks about him a lot,” looking over his other two confused companions. “I can never forget that face. The face that always make my mother cry upon looking at his picture and frown at his name. He is my missing big uncle , Wei Wuxian of Jiang Sect.”

“Ah i heard about him. Apparently our Elders punished him until he was missing his golden core , i think? Or is it the other way around?” Ljy spoke. “But i think the limping was the consequences from our Sects’ punishment. That time , Lan sect and Jiang Sect almost broke the treaty. I heard Madame Jiang managed to convinced your uncle to stop”.

They saw the man plowing a part of his potato field ,who occasionally stopped due to his heavy cough and resume his work. “Wwx , he is the person my father has been looking for the past 13 years. I need to let him know” Lsz finally spoke, smiling.

“Oh my potatoes , I hope you grew up fat and yummy for this master over here! I need more money , or i wont be able to buy medicine. You dont want me to die yet are you~” sang wwx. The 3 looked at each other and finally decides to leave for their respective inn, bringing a joyous news for their leaders.

Next day, both JC and lwj accompanied by the 3 went to wwx’s house. Both heartbroken on the state of the old shack . Knocking the wooden door and clearly listening on the voice mumbling from inside “who the hell would come here early in the morning at middle of a forest”, jc and lwj was shocked on the physical appearance of their missing person. Sunken cheeks and dark eyes as indication of fatigue , limping , voice hoarse from sickness and the obvious whipping scars marring from behind his neck to under the ragged clothes , jc couldnt help but to greet wwx with a hug , holding him so gentle in fear that wwx would break with the slightest of strength. Wwx frozen in shock couldnt hug back but made eye contact with lwj. “Weiying, please forgive me that I couldn’t protect you. I am very sorry.” After 13 years of internal pain and agony , wwx for the first time shed his tears . “I forgive you , so you all should leave me alone. I am a burden. Im no longer a cultivator , but a crippled man with not much time to left. I am nothing but a burden. Please” sobbed wwx.

“Idiot. Give us a chance to take care of you. A-jie misses you so much, every day and night. You haven’t met your nephew , Jing Ling . Don’t you want to eat her soup? And about your health, i can call WenQing to help you. She is still the best doctor alive. Come back with us , okay ? And no one will hurt you. “ jc.

Wwx was shocked to hear wq was still alive and her name was spoken by jc without an ounce of hatred. What have been happening for the past few years he have been isolating himself ? With shaking hands , he grabbed jc’s robe and nodded. He made another eye contact with lwj and could see how sincere he is from his eyes. Maybe , all this time , the fact that lwj hates me and sending me to my demise was all a misunderstanding?

“I am no more a cultivator.”

“It’s fine , WeiYing”

“I cannot contribute to Jiang sect anymore.”

“Who cares about that, idiot?”

“I’m going to be a burden !!! I cant even walk properly. My health is deteriorating”

“WeiYing, if tired , I can carry. Let me take care of you when sick”

“Lan Zhan, i dont want to go to gusu”

“We can go anywhere other than Gusu.”

“I wont let you take a single step to that damn place , no offence Second Young master Lan”

“None taken.”

———

(Alternate ending)

Wwx was still unconscious and attacked by a high fever due to infection in his wound. Numerous method has been used to mitigate the after effect of the whip , but to no avail. Infection starts to spread to his legs, and wwx was delirious and moaning in his sleep due to pain. The severity of the wound caused both of his legs to sepsis and the healers has no other way than to amputate the legs to make sure that the infection will not spread internally.

After the surgery of removing wwx’s legs , the infection are able to be minimised but still needs to be monitored. Still, wwx has no signs of waking up. Lwj was loyal to his side , taking care of changing the bandages . Every night , lwj had a nightmare of the reaction of wwx waking up with no legs . One particular nightmare that haunts him the most is weiying took out his own life out of despair. Lwj couldnt sleep for two nights watching over wwx after that nightmare occurs.

After 6 days, lqr visited the room and berates lwj for neglecting his duty as a student of Lan sect. Lwj angrily talks back, and was taken to kneel in the hall for one day. When he came back , no one was watching wwx. He came back with pure silence from wwx .Where there should a ragged breathing from wwx , it was only silence. Wwx’s usually pale lips was ashen. Bandaged chest that should be heaving was still. Wwx finally succumbed to his injuries after 11 days of fighting and lwj (again) was not by his side. His sect (again) are the cause of pain for his beloved ones and has taken everything from him.

—-

Wow took this one hour and a half. This is my second time posting here. 😋 enjoy?

-b

[curiosity-killed]

a bow for the bad decisions: 23

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(on ao3)

He’s going to kill him. No — he’s going to hunt down Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian, drag them back to Lotus Pier, and dunk them until they both decide they’re too tired to run around like absolute idiots giving Jiang Cheng accelerated risk of qi deviation. It started when they stopped for lunch at a teahouse in a little town just shy of the Qinghe border. As in every teahouse in every city, there were idiots running their mouths two tables over. Despite years of Wei Wuxian trying to teach him the benefits of teahouses for gathering intelligence, Jiang Cheng has never figured out the puzzle of pleasant small talk with strangers, and as the Jiang Sect leader, he’s too conspicuous to be subtle. Instead, he sets Sun Luzhou and Xingtao off at their own table; a-Hai will tease out any useful rumors while Xingtao keeps an eye out for the younger disciple. As much as Sun Luzhou has grown into a blade-sharp cultivator, she’s still only twenty-three and sometimes loses herself in the quest, an arrow shooting to her target with little mind for changing winds. Xingtao levels her out, ensures they stay on track and don’t offend any shop-owners. It also means Jiang Cheng can enjoy lunch without reaching for Zidian every time he hears some loudmouth blurt out moronic rumors and nonsense. Wen Qing has approved this strategy for the sake of preventing qi deviation; he suspects she employs something similar at formal banquets, though that’s harder to prove. He settles in to enjoy his chestnuts and pork and does not listen to anything outside their table beyond a background awareness. Jin Ling, sitting opposite him with an untouched plate of carp, clearly does not do the same.

One hand’s tightened into a fist on the table and the other is inching toward Suihua, where the sword’s leaning against the table. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Jiang Cheng sighs.

“Jin Ling, eat your lunch.” “Uncle, are you listening to them?” Jin Ling demands. “Don’t you care what they’re saying?” Frankly, Jiang Cheng could list on his hands the number of people he actually cares to hear speak. They begin with his family and end within his disciples. Layabouts in a teahouse far from home do not number among them. “They’re talking about Auntie Qing,” Jin Ling says. “They’re saying she’s going to take over with the Wen refugees.” This is why Jiang Cheng doesn’t listen to gossip in teahouses. Already, he can feel his calm slipping away to be replaced with old anger and fresh irritation. “Jin Ling, eat your food. It’s Sun Hai and Xingtao’s job to listen to the idiots talking too loud,” he says. If he knows anything, he knows Sun Luzhou will leave behind a few nasty surprises for the ones talking about Wen Qing. Orphaned before the war made orphans of them all, she’s viciously loyal to Yunmeng Jiang and as clever as she is stubborn. She wasn’t Wei Wuxian’s top student without reason. “Uncle—” Jin Ling starts. “Eat. Now.” He subsides at last, but there’s a scowl on his face that threatens future trouble. If Jiang Cheng were paying better attention in that moment, he wouldn’t be so surprised by the rest of the day. “Zongzhu?” Xingtao prompts now. Pinching the top of his nose, he exhales to the count of three. “Any sign of him?” “Not yet, zongzhu,” she says. “Nor Lan-er-gongzi and his…companion.” Despite her still expression, distaste drips from her tone. He’s not sure who told her about Wei Wuxian’s return or if she’s just making an educated guess. Whichever it is, she has clearly not forgiven him — or Lan Wangji. Absurdly, he’s a little pleased by her stubborn disdain for the pair of them. It’s lessened over the years, but there’s always a thin spike of guilt, like he’s somehow tricked her into choosing him over his sun-bright brother. He’s never joined in Bujue’s campaign to win her to Wei Wuxian’s side but only because it seemed inevitable. Wei Wuxian has always been the better pick. Still, Xingtao has stubbornly kept to her opinion. “What,” he snips, “is some other Lan disciple going around with a demonic cultivator just to lead us off their trail?” Part of him wouldn’t be surprised. He is eternally unsurprised by all the ways Lan Wangji finds to inconvenience him, or at least all the ones Jiang Cheng can blame him for: stealing his night hunts, making Jin Guangyao flutter anxiously at conferences to keep them apart, wearing all that white like a flag in Jiang Cheng’s face. This is his punishment for killing his brother: a lifetime of his so-called soulmate’s disapproval. “There is talk of trouble on Traverse Ridge,” Xingtao says. “Man-eating castles, apparently.” He squints at her for a moment, trying to guess if this is some of her wry humor, but she only arches a brow back at him and he grimaces. “We could have just gone on a normal night hunt, zongzhu,” she points out. “They’re bound to show up eventually.” Probably. Maybe. The cultivation world is small enough that he would probably run into Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian again even if he stopped searching right this instant. But there’s the chance he wouldn’t. There are a hundred thousand ways to disappear. The thought of turning his back and never seeing him again, never finding his brother, never getting him back, makes something tight and sticky squeeze around Jiang Cheng’s stomach. “We’re looking for Wen Qing’s brother, too,” he points out instead. Xingtao’s lips twist, expression scrunching up in annoyance. Despite her initial reluctance, she’s grown to respect Wen Qing and even, perhaps, like her. Now, she huffs out a breath through her nose and crosses her arms so that her sword’s pinned against her chest. “For Jiang-furen, then,” she grumbles. Her grudging acceptance draws a snort out of him, and he drops his arms. “Man-eating castles, you said?” She shrugs. “As long as there are no monkeys.” He doesn’t crack a smile, but his shoulders ease a little. Xingtao showed up a month into the war with broad knuckles clenched around a sword older than her and an unshakeable stance. She’d kicked Bujue’s ass in a friendly duel and told Jiang Cheng she was going to fight for him, and she’s continued to show that same staunch resolve in the face of everything since. “You’d really take man-eating castles over monkeys,” he scoffs as they turn to follow the road up toward the outer ridge. “Monkeys are bastards,” Xingtao says decisively. “At least monsters have the courtesy to look evil before ripping your face off.” He snorts, shaking his head. He doesn’t point out all the monsters that don’t have that courtesy, that wear children’s faces and cloak themselves in the laughter of loved ones and make you run your sword through your closest friend. “Zongzhu! Jiang-zongzhu!” Turning back the way they’d come, he finds a trio of juniors dashing down the street after them. They sketch hasty salutes, panting. “What is it?” he demands, hand tightening around Sandu. Jin Ling’s only been missing for a few hours, but a few hours in a strange land is enough time for anything to go wrong, for the worst to happen. If he’s hurt, if he got caught somewhere— “We found Jin-gongzi, zongzhu,” Duan Fang reports. “He’s alright!” Relief prickles through him like feeling returned to a limb as he looks past the trio to see the other disciples rounding a corner with Jin Ling in their midst. He’s scowling, arms crossed over Suihua against his chest, and a baffling amount of dirt stains his robes and face, but he’s walking straight and there isn’t any blood. “Uncle,” he grumbles, bowing. “Jin Ling,” Jiang Cheng says. “Done running off?” He huffs, looking away with a mulish set to his jaw. Despite his stubbornness, there’s a redness to his eyes like he’s been crying and a tremble in his lips. “We’ll stay here tonight,” Jiang Cheng says. “Get some rooms.” With another quick salute, the juniors turn and scurry back toward the inn they passed earlier. Jin Ling falls in at Jiang Cheng’s side, arms still crossed and expression stormy. Jiang Cheng doesn’t reach out, doesn’t loop an arm around his shoulders or muss his hair; he remembers too clearly what it was like to be that age, to have a horrifying well of emotions bubbling up at all times. Back then, he’d had Wei Wuxian to punch or chase after when he couldn’t stand the force of his own thoughts. A gentle touch would have brought him to tears. They walk in silence instead, their shadows blending with the night as they cross between pools of lantern light. By the time they reach the inn, rooms have been secured, and Jiang Cheng pushes Jin Ling into his by the back of his shoulder. The boy’s shoulders hitch up a little, and Jiang Cheng frowns as he pulls the doors closed. “Are you going to tell me where you’ve been?” he asks, turning around. Jin Ling’s already braced in the middle of the room, feet spread in a defensive stance. Distantly, Jiang Cheng is a little proud of his form; a strong base can make all the difference in a fight. “I followed a lead,” Jin Ling says stiffly. “Just like you always do.” Jiang Cheng’s eyes narrow. He is a thirty-four-year-old sect leader who fought in the worst war in generations. Jin Ling looks away, hunching down further into himself. It makes him look even younger, small and fragile. Forcing himself to exhale, Jiang Cheng crosses the room and sets to making tea. After he’s set it to steep, Jin Ling finally walks over and kneels across the table. Jiang Cheng gives him the time to compose himself. “Uncle,” he says after a moment, and his voice comes out small in a way he never lets it anymore, “will you tell me about da-jiujiu?” His hands freeze around the teapot. This is the opening. This is the time they’ve all been waiting for, to tell Jin Ling the truth. He’s old enough to know, now, old enough he might have a chance at understanding. Even if he weren’t, Wei Wuxian’s back regardless. He needs to know. But— But Jiang Cheng looks up, and his nephew looks small and tired and like he’s spent at least part of the day crying, and he can’t. He can’t tell him the hero he’s loved since infancy is the villain who damaged his father’s core. He can’t tell him the reason he’s never met his eldest uncle is because Jiang Cheng himself killed him before he could. He tells himself it’s for Jin Ling’s sake. The boy is still young and clearly went through some trial today. He’s looking for comfort, not earth-shaking revelations. He tells himself he’s just waiting till a better time, when it won’t be so hard for Jin Ling. Jiang Cheng’s never been a very good liar. “Your da-jiujiu,” he says, swallowing around familiar guilt, “was a genius and an idiot at the same time. He could modify talismans before half the class could even power a correct wind talisman, but he’d knock himself off the roof testing them.” He invented an entire cultivation path and still couldn’t tell Lan Wangji was in love with him from an arm’s length away. To be fair, Jiang Cheng hadn’t really understood until it was too late, either, but then, Wei Wuxian had been so adept at reading Lan Wangji in comparison. He wonders, briefly, if they’ve sorted that out now that Wei Wuxian’s suddenly back. Surely Lan Wangji’s finally said something, after thirteen years acting like a widower. Bitterness chokes up his throat like wisteria vines. Jin Ling frowns down at the table, his hands curled around tea he’s yet to drink. He’s not smiling yet, which was Jiang Cheng’s goal when he started. Instead, there’s a funny pinch to the corners of his lips like he’s studying something and finding it lacking. “He loved you,” Jiang Cheng says, because he’s not sure he ever has and it seems important. Jin Ling looks up, sharp. His brows draw together and he suddenly looks so much like his sister, Jiang Cheng could almost laugh. Jin Ling’s temper is a milder sort, but they both got it from the same side. “He didn’t get to meet you before he died,” Jiang Cheng says, because that much is true, “but he loved you before you were even born.” He lets himself wonder, just briefly, what it would have been like, if Jin Ling had grown up knowing Wei Wuxian. The laughter, the pranks, he and Zixuan and Wei Wuxian all competing to see who would teach him how to fly— Only, no. Wei Wuxian gave up his core long before Jin Ling was even a possibility. Would Jiang Cheng have shared that with Zixuan while his brother was stuck watching from the ground? The thought makes his stomach twist, those vines twining tight and blooming nauseous in the back of his throat. He sits down his tea and stands.

“You should bathe and get to bed,” he says. “We’re starting early tomorrow.” Jin Ling’s lips purse in frustration, like he’s about to protest, but he stands and picks up Suihua without a word. Giving a short bow, he leaves Jiang Cheng standing alone with guilt gnawing through his lungs like an old dog’s favorite bone. He’s spent a hundred endless nights trying to think of some way he could have fixed it. Some way he could have changed the outcome, adjusted the start enough that things didn’t end the way they did. He could have left Wei Wuxian in Lotus Pier for the Phoenix Mountain Hunt, just like Wei Wuxian kept requesting; if other sects asked, he could have made up some excuse about not leaving Lotus Pier unattended. It would have been strange, but everyone was on-edge after the war. They would have accepted it.

He could have dragged Wei Wuxian home from the Burial Mounds and left the Wen remnants to fend for themselves. Wei Wuxian would have been pissed, might have hated him for the rest of their lives, but he wouldn’t have had the chance to kill himself protecting them on that mountain. He could have gone to meet Wei Wuxian before Jin Ling’s hundred days’ celebration, sent Wen Ning home and carried Wei Wuxian on Sandu. They would have still had to figure out what to do with the Seal, how to stop Wei Wuxian from destroying it while appeasing Jin Guangshan, but they’d almost had Nie Mingjue on their side. If Wei Wuxian had just gotten there, seen jie with little a-Ling, seen Lan Wangji, maybe it would have been enough to convince him to stay. There were so many forks in the road where Jiang Cheng could have fixed it, and every time, he took the wrong turn. In the weeks after Wei Wuxian’s death, he’d catch himself looking out toward the lakes, half-expecting to see a familiar figure slouched at the end of a dock. Wei Wuxian had never had a spirit calming ceremony; his parents had been wanderers when he would have been of age and couldn’t have afforded the sacrifices necessary. Of the three of them, he was the only one who could have come back to haunt them. He could have come back with red eyes and snarling accusations, and Jiang Cheng knows he would have opened his arms wide. But no matter how many demonic cultivators claimed to be him, no matter how many nights Jiang Cheng found himself waiting on the edge of the docks, he never found a ghost with his brother’s laugh. Silence cut a shadow at his shoulder, and betrayal twined thorny vines through his marrow. He’d mastered death a hundred times. He’d been left for dead and crawled out grinning. If he wanted to stay, he would have found a way. Now his brother is back, and the silence hasn't lifted. Wei Wuxian's alive, out there somewhere with Lan Wangji, and Jiang Cheng is back to chasing after guesses and whispers. Tugging off his belt, he prepares for bed rotely. His robes are neatly folded, Sandu laid close to hand by his bed. He folds himself cross-legged on the mattress and closes his eyes, tries to center himself. Breathe in, feel the qi activate and rise; exhale, feel it settle and stabilize. When they were children, first starting their training, he and Wei Wuxian had both gotten reprimanded in their meditation class. Wei Wuxian had been too fidgety, constantly opening his eyes and twitching with the need for movement, but he'd found his own way to meditate, swimming or running through the woods or flopping full-bodied against the dirt and closing his eyes. Jiang Cheng had been so focused on trying to meditate perfectly that he'd been scolded for focusing on the wrong things, for fixating on the image of meditation rather than finding inner peace. He'd learned eventually, of course. Cultivation requires meditation, requires a steady center. Now, decades removed from his childhood, he meditates when he first wakes up and right before he sleeps. He's always been diligent. Sitting on an inn's stiff bed, his breaths long and deep, he finds himself turning over images from their childhood and chasing after the threads like golden butterflies. He's told Jin Ling and his siblings a thousand stories of their da-jiujiu, of childhood antics and later heroics. The stories now feel soft-worn, pages thumbed too many times to keep their crisp edges. When he's tried to call up Wei Wuxian's voice, he's found it mute. In his dreams, his brother loops an arm around Jiang Cheng's shoulders and tugs him along into trouble, and he knows what he means, but there are no words, only silence. He tries to call to mind Wei Wuxian's voice from Dafan Mountain, but the replication feels wrong. If Wei Wuxian had come back as a ghost, it would have been wrong, twisted, not the brother Jiang Cheng remembers. He would have been shot through with resentment, ink flooding fresh water, would have been incorporeal and frayed. If Wei Wuxian had come back as a ghost, would Jiang Cheng still remember his voice? Pressing his thumbtips into the center of his brow, Jiang Cheng exhales. It doesn't matter. His brother didn't come back as a ghost, and Jiang Cheng forgot his voice, and Wei Wuxian is back, and he's still not here. Jiang Cheng hasn't been alone these last thirteen years. He's had his sect and jie and Wen Qing and all his growing family. He has grown, in ways he would never have guessed when he was twenty-one. He's changed, like a stone worn into new shapes by the steady river of time. What if Wei Wuxian has, too? What if death has altered him, turned him into someone Jiang Cheng no longer knows, into someone who no longer wants to know Jiang Cheng? What if his spirit watched the world spin on and it grew and shifted in that time as well? What if he is a stranger with his brother’s face? Or, worse— what if he hasn’t changed at all? Jiang Cheng may not be able to recall his brother’s voice anymore, but he remembers with horrible clarity Wei Wuxian’s last moments. He remembers the bone-shard edges, the great weight of exhaustion eating away at his core. What if Wei Wuxian hasn't changed at all? What if these thirteen years have meant nothing and he's been brought back exactly as he was? What if Jiang Cheng catches up with him only in time to watch his brother die again? He tamps down on the fear spiraling in his chest, locks it away. It doesn't matter. He told Wen Qing he'd find their brothers. He'll find them. If Wei Wuxian never wants to see him again, then so be it. He owes nothing to Yunmeng Jiang. He owes nothing to Jiang Cheng. As long as he's — as long as he's alive and well, Jiang Cheng will let him walk away. He curls around his hurt and closes his eyes. Sleep is fleeting that night. In the morning, their party leaves the town to head up to Traverse Ridge, where Xingtao heard of the man-eating castles. Jiang Cheng isn't sure what he's expecting, but it certainly isn't to walk out of the forest and directly into Nie Huaisang standing in front of a long line of corpses. He stares, thoughts churning furiously in a futile effort to make sense of the scene. "Nie-zongzhu?" Ren Tian blurts out. Nie Huaisang whirls around in a flutter of sleeves and silk, his fan raised like a saber. His face is a little strained, eyes wide with as much stress as surprise. Jiang Cheng frowns. "Ah Jiang-zongzhu," Nie Huaisang says, his voice a little too high and tight. "What are you doing in Qinghe?" "I sent a message to the Unclean Realm," Jiang Cheng points out absently, stepping closer. "What happened?" For an instant, he thinks Nie Huaisang is going to snap at him, but then that strained expression vanishes behind a tittering laugh and wide eyes. Irritation starts creeping up his back preemptively, ingrained after this many years of watching Nie Huaisang throw himself helplessly on his brother's sworn brothers. "Nothing, nothing," he says, waving his fan. "It looks awful, doesn't it? But my cultivators say it's just a case of improper burial and will be cleaned up soon. I'm so glad they're fixing it and not me!" If he were a Nie disciple, Jiang Cheng's pretty sure he would have throttled their sect leader by now. He doesn't get what Nie Huaisang gets out of pretending to be so useless; he's never been a strong cultivator, but he wasn't an idiot when they were growing up. Even at Cloud Recesses, he'd pour plenty of effort into the right things: painting, following Wei Wuxian into mischief, even the stupid yin iron quest he wasn't supposed to join. Crossing his arms, he eyes the bodies laid out behind Nie Huaisang. There are...a lot. Different states of decay, too, though from the better-preserved ones, they all seem to be wearing the same drab clothing. Like criminals, maybe. He frowns. One of them is missing both its legs. "That's a lot of improper burial," he points out. "Ah, well, you know how overwhelmed I've been, Jiang-xiong," Nie Huaisang whines. "I can't keep track of everything that happens in Qinghe." He almost points out that he had the same responsibility at close to half Nie Huaisang's age, but he reins it in. "Haven't Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao been helping you?" he points out instead. Nie Huaisang flutters his fan, a saccharine smile on his lips. "Oh yes, er-ge and san-ge are so helpful," he says. Something doesn't feel quite right, but Jiang Cheng can't pin it down. At his shoulder, he can feel Jin Ling fidgeting, clearly bored. "I heard there was trouble at a Wen resettlement camp in Qinghe," Jiang Cheng says. Nie Huaisang's eyes narrow just slightly before he catches himself. Jiang Cheng's scowl tightens. "Oh, that?" Nie Huaisang says. "I don't know, really. Cousin Zhaoyu and san-ge help me with all of that." He's getting nowhere and all these non-answers are starting to itch under Jiang Cheng's skin. They used to be friends, back when they were growing up. That first year after the war, Nie Huaisang had come to Lotus Pier and the three of them had spent two weeks acting like they really were only twenty-year-olds and not exhausted and scarred. Nie Huaisang's the reason Wen Qing ever came to Lotus Pier, even if Jiang Cheng had been the one to suggest it. Clearly that doesn't matter anymore. "Whatever," Jiang Cheng says. "I'll leave you to your improper burial." The walk back is stiff and quiet, everyone shooting Jiang Cheng looks out of the corners of their eyes. He ignores them. The sooner they leave here, the sooner they can try to catch up to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. Maybe someone in the village saw them. Fifty paces from the castles, Duan Fang screams. "Ah, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, young master!" That voice— Jiang Cheng pivots, already shooting to the flank where the junior was walking. It's been years since he's seen Wen Ning, but he recognizes those big eyes wide with alarm and the pale hands lifted close to his chest as if to guard his own undead body. There are heavy manacles around his wrists, broken bits of chain still dangling from them. Catching sight of Jiang Cheng, his eyes widen and he shrinks back in on himself. "Wen Qionglin?" Jiang Cheng demands. Swallowing, Wen Ning lifts his hands in a low, stiff salute. "Jiang-zongzhu, I'm sorry," he says. "Stop that, stand up," Jiang Cheng snaps, stepping closer. "What's with these chains? What are you doing here?" There are murmurs behind him, but he ignores them in favor of eyeing Wen Ning's shackles. The fierce corpse — the least fierce man Jiang Cheng had ever met before he died — still stares at him with wide, deer-like eyes. "Well?" Jiang Cheng demands. "Here, give me your wrist, I'll cut them off." "Jin-gongzi, no! Don't—" There's a yell, an unfamiliar bleat of anger. Jiang Cheng turns without thinking, lifting Sandu on instinct. Suihua's bared blade clashes down on the scabbard. Jin Ling's shaking, both hands around the handle and jaw clenched so tight Jiang Cheng's almost worried he'll crack his teeth. "A-Ling, what the hell are you doing?" he demands. Jin Ling pushes harder, as if he can break Jiang Cheng's stance. Twisting Sandu, he flicks Suihua out of his hands and presses down on his shoulder with the sheathed end of his own sword to pin him in place. Jin Ling stares at him, mouth parting slightly in shock. He shakes himself, stabbing his hand out toward Wen Ning. "I'm getting justice," he yells. "The Ghost General is evil! He tried to kill Father. What are you doing?" “Jin Ling,” Jiang Cheng warns. He can feel a headache building in the back of his skull. Maybe it’s a good thing he didn’t talk to him last night about Wei Wuxian. They’d only have more of a mess on their hands now. “Oh,” Wen Ning says softly. “Jin Rulan.” “Don’t call me that!” Jin Ling snaps. “He picked that name. I’m not— I won’t— You treat me like I’m a little kid, like I’m too dumb to figure it out.” There are tears gathering in his eyes, and Jiang Cheng feels a spike of dread jolt through his chest. “You’re always telling me stories about da-jiujiu, about — about your brother, the hero of Lotus Pier,” Jin Ling says, and his voice is shaking even as his face has gone livid. “Like I don’t know that he’s Wei Wuxian! I’m not an idiot, Uncle. You can call him whatever you like, but Wei Wuxian is evil. He’s the one who sicced this — this dog on my father, and I will avenge him.” Shit. Jiang Cheng swallows, feels the words like arrows in his chest. “All these years, you haven’t been looking to make sure Wei Wuxian’s demonic cultivation doesn’t spread, you’ve been trying to find him, haven’t you?” Jin Ling spits. “You act righteous but all you’re doing is chasing after Wei Wuxian!” “Jin Ling,” he says, “put your sword away. We’ll talk about this at home.” “No!” His fists have balled up at his sides, little spots of red appearing on his blanched knuckles from the force. He meets Jiang Cheng’s eyes, through the tears edging his. Jiang Cheng falters, fear a living thing in his chest. “No, I’m not going with you,” Jin Ling says. “Not if you’re protecting him. I’m the heir of Lanling Jin, Jin Zixuan’s son. I don’t want anything to do with — with Wei Wuxian and his attack dog.” His hand jerks down his left wrist, flinging the dark bracelet to the ground. He freezes up a little as soon as it hits the grass, as if realizing he’s made a mistake. He doesn’t reach for it, though. Swallowing tightly, he squares up his shoulders. “I’m leaving with my disciples,” he declares. “I won’t come back to Lotus Pier till that is gone.” Snatching Suihua from the dirt, he stalks off with the few Jin juniors who’d accompanied them slowly tailing after him. They cast uneasy glances back over their shoulders before hurrying to catch up. “Sun Hai, Yinliu, a-Fang,” Xingtao says, low, “go with him. Make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.” Jiang Cheng bends down, picking the bracelet up from the ground. The wards still hum, content and unaffected by being thrown aside. “He’ll want this back,” he says, stiff, pressing the bracelet into Sun Luzhou’s hand. She pauses, thumb running over the wards carved into the beads and flicking a curious look up at him. He doesn’t know if she recognizes the work, if she can feel the similarities between the bracelet and the wards she helps maintain back at Lotus Pier. She doesn’t say. Giving a polite salute, she leads her juniors off after Jin Ling. Left behind, Jiang Cheng forces himself to keep breathing. It’s just a fight. It’s just a kid having a bad day. He’ll calm down. He still has a tracking talisman with him, if Jiang Cheng needs to find him. If he realizes that’s from Wei Wuxian, too — well, all the Jiang disciples carry them as a precaution.   He turns back to Wen Ning and tells himself it doesn’t hurt to breathe. “Jiang-zongzhu, I-I-I am sorry,” Wen Ning says, sounding miserable. “I shouldn’t have — I didn’t mean to — I can go. I’m sorry to have caused so much trouble.” “Shut up,” Jiang Cheng says, tired. “What, you think I’m going to tell your sister I let you run off into the woods?” Wen Ning brightens — well, as much as a corpse can. His brown eyes go big, eyebrows lifting. His skin wrinkles funny when he moves, like it’s not quite flexible enough for expressions. Jiang Cheng carefully does not think about it. “Jie?” he asks, voice full of wonder. Jiang Cheng huffs and unsheathes Sandu. “I’m not bringing you to her with your hands like that. Hold them out,” he orders. Wen Ning bobs his head in a little nod, looking worryingly like he might start crying. Jiang Cheng pauses, wondering briefly if he can cry, before shaking his head. There’s a lot there he doesn’t really want to think about. “Is — is jie alright?” Wen Ning asks as Sandu bites through the metal. “Yes,” Jiang Cheng says. “She’d probably be here now but Xiong-daifu convinced her she’s too far along to travel by sword.” The shackles drop to the ground with a clank, and Jiang Cheng frowns at them before kicking them into the bushes with the side of his foot. They’ll have to figure out who put them on him, where he’s been all these years, but he’s not getting into it out here. Wen Qing will want to be part of that conversation anyway. “Jiang-zongzhu,” Wen Ning asks, voice a little funny, “what do you mean ‘too far along’?” Oh. He looks up, a small jolt of horror shooting through him. Oh no. Wen Ning’s brow is furrowed a little now, something like worry in his frown. Jiang Cheng’s always thought him a coward, but Wei Wuxian had pointed out how much resentment he carried. What if that extended to protecting his sister? “Perhaps we could fill Wen-gongzi in on our way,” Xingtao suggests. “Jiang-furen will be waiting.” “Right,” Jiang Cheng says, relieved at the distraction. He catches Wen Ning from the corner of his eye, lips moving as if to mouth ‘Jiang-furen’ to himself. Abruptly, he straightens, brown eyes going wide. “Jie married you?” he demands. Right, Jiang Cheng thinks, that’s it. He’s following Baoshan Sanren’s lead and moving off to some mountain where no one can find him. No brothers or cranky nephews or — well, he couldn’t leave Wen Qing to handle the entire sect even if it’d flourish under her care. “We’ll talk about it at home,” he says, a little more loudly than necessary. Wen Ning subsides, but there’s a look on his face that makes Jiang Cheng certain this isn’t the last of the conversation. It’s an awkward flight. Carrying another adult on sword is always a little too close for comfort, but it’s worse when Wen Ning is cold as a corpse and also his wife’s dead little brother. Jiang Cheng keeps his gaze fixed firmly ahead and does not acknowledge any of his disciples. Xingtao is going to give him shit for this for three weeks straight. They’re passing the border of Yunmeng when he finally clears his throat. “So. You’ve seen Wei Wuxian,” he states. Wen Ning is quiet long enough that Jiang Cheng thinks he hasn’t heard, that the wind snatches the words from his mouth. It wouldn’t be the worst thing. “I have,” Wen Ning finally says, slow. “And?” Jiang Cheng prompts. “What, is Lan Wangji running off with him?” He doesn’t have to check to feel the look Wen Ning is giving him: steady, evaluative, unimpressed. Jiang Cheng swallows down a hundred bitter retorts to tell him to mind his own business. “Master Wei seemed well,” Wen Ning says. “He and Lan-er-gongzi are working together.” Jiang Cheng grunts. Of course they are. Hanguang-jun and the Yiling laozu, the perfect little duo. He doesn’t acknowledge the first part or the way his shoulders ease a little to hear it. It’s not like he asked. They dismount outside the gates in the ink-dark of night. Lotus lanterns reflect off the lake waters, burnish the walls and floors a honey-gold. For the first time all day, Jiang Cheng draws in a full breath. “Oh,” Wen Ning says as if startled. He’s looking at the gates but not at them — like he’s seeing some other plane instead. One hand has lifted to the level of his waist, palm out and fingers flat as if against a wall. “This is Wei-gongzi’s work,” he says. He pulls his hand back down to his side. “I’m sorry, Jiang-zongzhu. I’m afraid I won’t be allowed to enter.” Oh. Right. Despite being pressed against him for the whole flight, Jiang Cheng had — not forgotten, exactly, but not thought about the logistics of bringing a fierce corpse to Lotus Pier. He hesitates now. “It doesn’t — recognize you?” he asks. He doesn’t say ‘as another of Wei Wuxian’s creations,’ but from the slow blink Wen Ning gives him, it comes across clearly enough. Turning back to the gates, he tries to think of any solution. He can’t grant Wen Ning permissions over the whole shielding system, and he doesn’t know enough about them to figure out a loophole. He’d thought Wei Wuxian would always be here to handle that, and then once he wasn’t, there were too many other things to worry about. After a long moment, he reaches toward his belt. “Here,” he says, a little gruff. “Try this.” Wen Ning takes the clarity bell as delicately as if it were a spring blossom or a paper sculpture. He gives Jiang Cheng a long look, searching, but he doesn’t ask if he’s sure. Jiang Cheng’s grateful for it. His hands itch to reach out and snag it back, to hold his bell close to him. He doesn’t have a lot left of his father. If this goes wrong… Holding the bell by its upper clasp, Wen Ning reaches one hand tentatively forward toward the boundary of the wards. Smart, Jiang Cheng thinks absently. If the shields reject him, at least it’ll only be an arm. He extends his arm carefully, and there’s a slight shimmer in the air like a single drop falling into still water. The bell rings one bright peal. His hand passes through. Jiang Cheng exhales and nods brusquely, starting down the walkway. It takes a beat before he hears the footsteps follow in behind him. His bell doesn’t ring again, and Jiang Cheng takes that as confirmation that this plan worked. It’s late enough that most the disciples have retired, though they pass two patrols: one pacing the inner walkways and another up on the roofs. Normally, he and Wen Qing would have retired to their shared desk, a jar of wine or a pot of tea split between them as they sifted through the last of the day’s work. Now, he turns left and leads Wen Ning to the infirmary. There’s a single candle still burning, throwing soft shadows long against the walls and floor. They dance in the breeze and turn the room to a night festival of shapes. Wen Qing sits alone at her desk, head bowed and thumb pressed into her temple. She glances up at the sound of the doors opening, an absent flick of her gaze, before she freezes. “A-Ning?” He steps into the room with his hands clasped before him, a little uncertain. “Hi, jie,” he says, voice wet and shaky. She’s across the room faster than Jiang Cheng’s seen except in emergencies, arms wrapped around her little brother. Wen Ning blinks, once, twice, before his arms lift and wrap around her back. “A-Ning,” Wen Qing repeats, voice breaking. Jiang Cheng looks away, to give them privacy and not because there are tears in his eyes or anything. There’s no reason for him to cry. His wife is getting her brother back. The heavy ache in his ribs is just for them, just for the years they’ve lost. He crosses his arms over his chest and does not think about any other brother, returned but not to him. “Let me look at you,” Wen Qing says, drawing back from Wen Ning. Her eyes are bright with tears, catching in the candle light. “Come. Here, take a seat.” She draws him across the room by his wrists, and Jiang Cheng follows. He flicks a hand up to light the rest of the lanterns in the room with a flick of spiritual energy. The room is flooded in soft light, catching on the examination bed Wen Qing leads Wen Ning to sit on and illuminating the sorry state of her brother. His hair’s tangled, matted, and his clothes look like he hasn’t changed them in years. Sitting him down, Wen Qing tsks and draws his wrist up to press two fingertips to the inside. Jiang Cheng leans his shoulder against the wall to watch. He never really gets tired of watching Wen Qing work; there’s something about her brusque efficiency and expertise that makes possessive pride rise up in him, all warm and fierce. She is the best at what she does, and she chooses to be here, be his. She checks his meridians, all three dantians, in standard procedure, and Jiang Cheng wonders a little if there’s anything to check in a corpse brought back to life. He does not say it aloud. As she steps to Wen Ning’s side, she frowns and thins her lips. “You’ve seen Wei Wuxian, then? Did he play anything for you?” she asks. Wen Ning’s eyes cut briefly toward Jiang Cheng before he gives a slight nod. “Mm,” he says. “He played the lullaby, I think. And took out the nails.” The room grows abruptly cold, Wen Qing freezing where she’s lifted her brother’s arm to check the articulation of his shoulder. She turns slowly to face him. “A-Ning,” she says, “what nails?”   Directed at anyone, that tone is a threat. Turned toward her baby brother, Jiang Cheng’s certain the threat isn’t for him but at whoever has hurt him. Still, Wen Ning quails a little under her gaze. “Ah, I-I’m not sure, a-jie,” he says. “Wei-gongzi removed them before I met Jiang-zongzhu.” Jiang Cheng’s breath catches. He was there. Wei Wuxian had been there. Had they crossed paths? Had they walked the same road and Jiang Cheng turned left where Wei Wuxian turned right? Wen Ning’s lifted a hand to gesture to the back of his head, and Wen Qing parts his hair there. She breathes in sharply, hands tensing where they’ve drawn back his hair. “I imagine Wei Wuxian didn’t offer any insight into what these nails were,” Wen Qing sighs, smoothing Wen Ning’s hair back down. Her hand cups the back of his head, and Wen Ning tilts his face up to meet her eyes. “He seemed unhappy about them,” he offers, and Jiang Cheng has to stifle a snort.

He can imagine Wei Wuxian’s reaction to finding out someone’s hammered nails into his friend’s head. ‘Unhappy’ doesn’t come close to covering the carnage. “Did he say anything useful?” Jiang Cheng asks. “Where they came from? If his and Lan Wangji’s — quest, whatever, has something to do with them?” “Um. We didn’t — we didn’t talk very much,” Wen Ning says, not looking at Jiang Cheng. “Wei-gongzi said he needed to meet Lan-er-gongzi. And he — he had curse marks on him.” All things considered, Jiang Cheng thinks he reacts fairly well to finding out his newly-resurrected brother already has not one but multiple curses on him. “Curse marks? How the fuck has that idiot already gotten himself cursed?” he demands. “Is he that eager to die again? One time wasn’t enough, he has to—” “Wanyin.” His mouth snaps shut, teeth clicking, and his hand tightens into a fist. Wen Qing’s watching him steadily, her hand resting on Wen Ning’s shoulder. Based on Wen Ning’s expression, it’s not just for comfort: his eyes are hard and openly angry. Jiang Cheng looks away. "A-Ning," Wen Qing says, "why don't you start from the beginning of what you can remember?"

[yilingradishfairy]

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jīn Líng | Jīn Rúlán & Lán Jǐngyí, Jīn Líng | Jīn Rúlán/Lán Jǐngyí, Jīn Líng | Jīn Rúlán & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn Characters: Jīn Líng | Jīn Rúlán, Lán Jǐngyí Additional Tags: Don't worry, WangXian is coming, we've got some setup to do first, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Alternate Universe - Wizards, Alternate Universe - The Princess and the Frog (2009) Fusion, or rather, the book that movie was based on, Untamed Spring Fest 2020 Summary:

Jin Rulan had no idea how this happened. Really. He should in no way be blamed for the events that transpired to get him here. Running for his life. Or rather … hopping. He couldn't believe his first real life-or-death situation is at the threat of an average garden reptile. Oh yes. The very real threat to his life was a freaking garter snake. Harmless to him normally, wouldn't have even bothered him as recently as two hours ago, but things have changed. He has changed. Rulan spared a moment to glare again at his new frog body with distaste. "Come on!" Jingyi urged, hopping in front of him. Rulan directed his scowl toward the other enchanted boy. "This is all your fault," he panted, turning his ire on Jingyi. "No, it's not!" He returned indignantly, even as he helped Rulan hop over a fallen log. "The witch said a kiss from a royal would turn me back. You're royal, and you kissed me, so I don't know what went wrong." ( Or, the Frog Princess AU no one asked for.)

A/N: The prompt for Untamed Spring Fest 2020 – Day 19 was Journey. I was reading (fic) and having lots of feels about Jin Ling’s bracelet and suddenly had the –cursed– brilliant idea to mash it up with E.D. Baker’s Frog Princess (which is the book series that heavily defined much of my childhood and also inspired the Disney movie Princess and the Frog). So, this fic is set in the world of Frog Princess. Functionally, a royal AU plus witches. For example, WWX spends his days tinkering with talismans in Lotus Pier as the resident Guardian Mage, or something. But he and some others are going to be the closest things to Cultivators in this AU. Everybody else is just going to be regular old royals. So partially because it's AU and mostly because I personally mix up Jin Ling and Jingyi when I'm reading too fast, I'll be using courtesy names mostly. So that means JL = Rulan and JC = Wanyin. 

Jin Rulan has no idea how this happened. Really. He should in no way be blamed for the events that transpired to get him here. Running for his life. Or rather … hopping. He couldn't believe his first real life-or-death situation is at the threat of an average garden reptile.

Oh yes. The very real threat to his life was a freaking garter snake. Harmless to him normally, wouldn't have even bothered him as recently as two hours ago, but things have changed. He has changed. Rulan spared a moment to glare again at his new frog body with distaste.

"Come on!" Jingyi urged, hopping in front of him. Ah yes, the frog who had started this whole mess. He directed his scowl toward the other enchanted boy.

"This is all your fault," he panted, turning all his ire on Jingyi.

"No, it's not!" He returned indignantly, even as he helped Rulan hop over a fallen log. "The witch said a kiss from a royal would turn me back. You're royal, and you kissed me, so I don't know what went wrong."

They hopped frantically for a few more seconds, narrowly escaping some of the snake’s lightning-quick strikes, before Jingyi wondered aloud, "Maybe you kissed me wrong?"

Rulan almost face-planted at that. "Do we have to talk about that now?" He yelped.

Jingyi pouted as they hopped. "You brought it up," he muttered as if he couldn't hear him.

Suddenly, the snake struck again, nearly nabbing the distracted Jingyi. Rulan impulsively pushed him out of the way, sending him sprawling. The snake turned enterprising eyes on Rulan and sunk its fangs into his flank. Rulan's panicked flailing slowed as the neurotoxin spread through his bloodstream. "Jingyi," he gasped out.

"Rulan!" Jingyi shouted, scrambling back toward him. He reached out toward Rulan, but the snake grasped its paralyzed prey in its jaws and shot off toward the water. Rulan thrashed frantically, but his valiant attempts at escape did not loose his enemy's jaw.

They splashed into the water, and the snake began to unhinge its jaw, slowly enveloping Rulan's amphibious body. He jerked, trying to wiggle out to no avail.

"Spread your legs!" He heard Jingyi shout. He drew his eyebrows together in confusion - or at least he would have if he had eyebrows to draw and control over his body. "Keep your legs wide open! That'll keep it from swallowing you."

Rulan turned his attention to keeping his front legs spread wide. The snake maneuvered his body against a rock to try and leverage his body into its mouth. Suddenly, a green blur dropped down onto its head, and the impact sent Rulan flying. "Swim!" Jingyi yelled, tugging him along down the river. They swiftly swam downstream for several minutes until they felt confident they were out of danger.

"We should make camp for the night," Jingyi suggested, slowing his pace. Exhausted, Rulan could only vaguely nod his head and follow along. He trailed behind Jingyi as they crawled up the bank and around the edge of the forest until Jingyi found an acceptably empty tree hollow. Rulan slumped down as soon he clambered inside, stretching his aching unfamiliar muscles.

"Well, uh," Jingyi started awkwardly. "Good night."

"G'night, Jingyi," Rulan sighed, eager for this day to just be over.

Silence reigned. Well, not really silence. The forest floor was alive with noise. Bug chatter, leaf rustles, and whatnot. But the only thing that could be heard here, in this tiny tree hollow with just them, was the sound of their exhausted breathing. Rulan was listening to his breaths even out and his heartbeat slow (has his heart ever beat that slow?! This is safe, right? It's just because he's a frog now?), when he heard the whisper.

"Rulan?" he heard Jingyi start tentatively. Rulan stubbornly refused to answer. This was the -boy- frog that had turned him into this slimy green thing and endangered his life with a freaking garter snake. What could he possibly have to say?

He heard Jingyi sigh, sounding a bit sad and alone. "Thanks for saving me," he said, which is ridiculous. Rulan didn't save him. He just wasn't quite in control of his limbs yet. Yeah. Totally a freak accident that he had knocked Jingyi out of the way of the snake's attack, Rulan reasoned. And anyway, Jingyi saved me more, he reminded himself petulantly. Telling me how to keep from being swallowed and knocking me from the snake’s mouth and tugging me along with him down the stream.

"I'm glad you didn't die," Jingyi declared quietly. He then turned over and apparently went to sleep.

Rulan wanted to scream. All he had wanted to do was sleep, but now his brain was awake and thinking things.

He regretted it, he told himself firmly. He regretted it terribly.

He wished he had never kissed Jingyi. He wished he had never even met the brutally honest frog who had begged for kisses and yet made him feel more seen than anyone else, outside of his family. He wished he had never bargained to help him, even if he’d had no way to think it would turn out like this. He wished to take it all back. Right?

Rulan cracked open an eye to scrutinize at his companion's sleeping form. Is that where he went wrong? he wondered. Maybe he should have listened to xiao-jiujiu about not spending all day in the swamp. But it’s his favorite place in all of Lotus Pier’s, as it was his mother’s.

The swamp is Rulan’s favorite because it reminds him of home, of his mother’s Lotus Pavilion. (Ironically, his father had built that Pavilion to remind her of that lotus swamp from her home.) But both places reminded Rulan of the times when he and his parents were able to forget the pretentious behavior of their station. Koi Castle was so stuffy and suffocating. Rulan would rather spend his whole day in the Lotus Pavilion. He liked to dig his toes into the mud. He liked to listen to his mom regale him with tales of her unruly childhood with his wild uncles. He liked to wheedle his parents into water fights where they would all laugh and his dad would try to catch his mom when she slipped and he would fall instead and then Grandma Jin would yell at all of them. But Lotus Pier is just as good. He liked to swim with his da-jiujiu and shoot arrows with his xiao-jiujiu and watch them cry over his mother’s soup. He liked to feel his face stretch with a smile he could never wear at home.

He missed his mother. He missed his father. He even missed his shushu. He doesn’t know why they bundled him off so quickly to his uncles in Lotus Pier only for both of them to leave him too.

He had just wanted someone to talk to. Not any of the simpering, back-stabbing idiots he had to bring with him. Not even any of the disciples at Lotus Pier (even though they were markedly more sincere and kind to him). Just someone who would get him. As a person, not a status.

Is that where he went wrong?

Okay, maybe making friends with a frog hadn’t his smartest move. But really, who could it have hurt? The frog may have had the most contrary personality he had ever met (that he hadn't been related to). Yet, underneath the savage honesty and incessant requests for kisses, Jingyi was surprisingly insightful. He seemed to understand Rulan, even if he rarely agreed with him. Rulan had met plenty of people who wanted something from him. Practically everybody not related to him only talked to him if they wanted something. But no one had ever been like Jingyi. He would request a kiss, then immediately insult his clothing or his hairstyle or his bracelet. But he was never malicious about it. Rulan had heard some much nicer things said (by his shushu or once even his mother) that had cut down the target more cruelly than any insult ever could have. Jingyi’s insults seemed … careless? Ignorant, certainly, but usually insignificant. Jingyi just couldn’t keep his thoughts inside of his head, rude or not.

Rulan had wanted to help. Jingyi seemed so distraught, and he didn’t really deserve this. (Okay, actually Rulan has spent more than an hour with Jingyi. Jingyi had probably deserved it. But he’s sorry now! And if Rulan could help him out of this predicament, shouldn’t he help? Isn’t that his princely duty?) Rulan had planned to take him to see his da-jiujiu once everyone comes back. He only vaguely knew the curse-breaking spree of the cultivation world that da-jiujiu had been on for much of Rulan’s childhood, then suddenly given up on a few years ago. (Nobody would give him any details.) But Rulan knew that Wei Wuxian was the person he would want to talk to about breaking this kind of curse. He said as much to Jingyi. But his family was taking so long coming back, and no one would tell him anything, and Rulan felt so helpless. Surely a kiss wouldn’t hurt. Right? So, he had kissed Jingyi anyway.

Is that where he went wrong?

Or maybe he did kiss him wrong. With that distressing thought, Rulan fell asleep, his dreams full of kisses, green slimy skin, and Jingyi.

Next scene should be up later today. Still in editing stages.

Everybody, stay safe and wash your hands!

[foularcadebanana]

Lan Xichen: A Good Friend, A Better Uncle and A Helper of People

Day 8 Prompt for the Untamed Fall Fest 2020 is ‘Lan Xichen’. Before you all read the fic, though, let me just say that I love Lan Xichen as a character and a person, but I couldn’t think of a better POV for this particular trope. I see him as someone who always wants to help, but ends up somehow botching his attempts at helping people.

This is one of my favourite tropes to read in other fandoms but I have never seen it in this one. I’ve always loved exploring outsiders’ POVs and I knew I had to write it when this opportunity arose. I hope you all enjoy reading this fic. I might even extend it after the fest.

READ ON AO3

Lan Xichen thought of himself as a better than average friend. If anyone was ever in need of his help, then he liked to think that he helped them to the fullest of his abilities. Sometimes, some of his friends were stubborn enough to not ask for his help, even when he could clearly see that they were in desperate need of it.

So, he took it upon himself to help them, sometimes without consulting with them, especially if he thought that they would reject the offer immediately.

He also liked to think of himself as a good uncle. He had been like a substitute uncle-dad to Sizhui until Wangji had finished his punishment and stay in isolation. Even now, he loved to take care of Lan Sizhui and to look after him whenever he could. But it wasn’t just him, Lan Xichen though of himself as a good uncle in general, to all kids who were around his nephew’s age.

One such kid went by the name of Jin Ling, and the stubborn friend Lan Xichen was referring to would be Jiang Wanyin. Usually Lan Xichen minded his own business and was content with not interfering in other people’s personal lives, even if said person was his friend and a Sect Leader with a famously short temper. Especially if that was the case.

But it came to his attention that perhaps there were somethings he needed to help with, as a good friend and an even better uncle. He realised this during one sunny afternoon he was spending at Koi Tower with Jin Guangyao.

Jin Ling had just been dropped off by one of the Jiang disciples, not Jiang Wanyin, Lan Xichen had noticed. Jin Guangyao had gone inside inform all of the maids and servants of Jin Ling’s arrival. So, it was just Lan Xichen and Jin Ling sitting in the large throne room.

Now, Lan Xichen did not like to brag but he had a way of talking to children that could make them instantly feel a connection with him. It was that skill that he was sure would come in handy while talking to Jin Ling.

“Jin Ling,” Lan Xichen spoke up, making the tiny child look up and blink at him. “How was your visit to Lotus Pier?” Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say to him, because Jin Ling frowned and turned his back to Lan Xichen, muttering something under his breath grumpily. He folded his arms and legs.

Something was clearly bothering the child. Lan Xichen had to find out what it was, and he had to find out fast. “Is it Jiang Wanyin? Did he do something wrong?”

“Don’t talk about my jiujiu!” Jin Ling exclaimed, and Lan Xichen was taken aback by the unexpected burst of anger from the previously silent boy. Clearly something had gone wrong between Jin Ling and Jiang Wanyin. Perhaps they had gotten into an argument? But what would Jiang Wanyin possibly argue about with a boy so young?

Whatever it was, Jin Ling did not wish to speak about it, just like he did not wish to speak about his uncle. So, Lan Xichen let it go.

The next time he met Jin Ling was when he was in Yunmeng for a meeting with Sect Leader Jiang. His boat had been tied at one of the private docks in Lotus Pier and he had entered the vast fields where the training grounds were situated. He had been informed by the Jiang disciples that this was where Sect Leader Jiang was currently training Jin Ling.

Lan Xichen had heard various rumours and gossips that told of the strict training regime of the Jiang disciples. Jiang Wanyin was slowly gaining his reputation as the Sandu Shengshou, a terrifying and cold-hearted opponent that anybody would be unlucky to face. Hopefully, he was more caring and understanding with Jin Ling. A lot more caring and understanding.

After all, Jin Ling was just a child, and he had no parents. Jiang Wanyin should be able to tread carefully around him. Just as that thought passed through Lan Xichen’s head, he spotted the training grounds in the distance, and running closer and closer to him was a very upset Jin Ling.

As he neared Lan Xichen, Lan Xichen reached out to him, wanting to softly ask him what was wrong. But Jin Ling ran past him, crying and not sparing him a single glance. Lan Xichen was left watching Jin Ling’s back as it disappeared around the corner.

“Zewu-Jun,” Jiang Wanyin’s voice made Lan Xichen turn back to face him. “I apologise for making you wait. I was just finishing off Jin Ling’s training.”

“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Xichen greeted him formally, bowing to him before continuing to speak. “I have no problem waiting for you. If I may be so forward as to ask, what was it that had Jin Ling so upset that he ran crying from the grounds.”

Lan Xichen watched as a  frown appeared on Jiang Wanyin’s face and his brows furrowed. “That boy,” Jiang Wanyin sighed, “I don’t know what to do with him, really.”

“Well, he is still a child. I would remember that while training him,” Lan Xichen advised. Jiang Wanyin blinked in response and nodded at him, as if he hadn’t been expecting Lan Xichen to tell him that. But someone had to tell him, and surely Lan Xichen could not expect Sect Leader Jiang’s disciples to point it out to him.

The meeting went by smoothly and just as Lan Xichen was about to take his leave, a knock on the door startled them both.

“Come in!” Jiang Wanyin ordered. The door opened slowly and behind the door stood Jin Ling. He hesitantly looked up at his uncle, whose demeanour did not change, nor did his expressions. Then he shifted his gaze to Lan Xichen, who smiled and waved to Jin Ling in a friendly manner.

Jin Ling hastily looked away, meeting Jiang Wanyin’s gaze again. The boy wasn’t crying anymore, and he did not seem as upset as he had earlier. Instead he seemed nervous, scared even, of something…or someone.

“Jiujiu,” he said, staring down at his knuckles which had whitened slightly due to his grip on his robes. He looked up at Jiang Wanyin. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled quietly.

Jiang Wanyin sighed and leaned forward a little to pinch the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “I’m going to accompany Zewu-Jun to his boat. I will talk to you when I get back.” Jiang Wanyin spoke neutrally, without a hint of emotion in his voice.

Lan Xichen wondered whether he should talk to his friend about it but decided against it. Maybe he would do it some other time, when they were both not overly stressed out from their meeting.

“There is no need to see me off, Sect Leader Jiang. I shall be accompanied by my disciples and a few of yours. You should stay here and speak to Jin Ling.”

Jiang Wanyin seemed surprised at the suggestion, but he did not protest. He simply nodded in agreement.

The third time Lan Xichen noticed that the need for his interferance was during a discussion conference at Koi Tower. Lan Xichen and his disciples from the Gusu Lan sect were sitting opposite Sect Leader Jiang and the Yunmeng Jiang sect disciples.

During one of the many breaks in between their discussion conference, Lan Xichen spotted Jin Ling making his way to Jiang Wanyin. Jin Ling was a mess, his hair was spread everywhere like a bird’s nest, his robes were splattered with mud and his face was covered in dirt. Lan Xichen saw anger spark in Jiang Wanyin’s eyes as soon as his gaze settled on Jin Ling.

He did not know what it was that Jin Ling said to Jiang Wanyin, but rage filled the Sect Leader’s expressions. Lan Xichen watched as Jiang Wanyin stood up abruptly and grabbed Jin Ling’s arm, a bit too roughly in Lan Xichen’s opinion, just to march out of the conference dragging poor Jin Ling along with him.

Lan Xichen would not lie, he had been incredibly tempted to follow them and see how Jiang Wanyin would react to the mess Jin Ling had made, no doubt, while playing with Little Fairy. The dog had probably become just as dirty as Jin Ling had, and Lan Xichen was sure they were both going to be receiving quite the lecture and punishment for it.

He had been tempted to interfere then, but he had not known how to do it.

He may think of Jiang Wanyin as a friend, but he was not sure about whether Jiang Wanyin shared his sentiments. It had been a long time since they had spoken about their personal lives to each other, although they were both aware of the events that took place in each other’s personal lives. Still, they chose to not speak about it, so speaking about it would surely not go over well.

The fourth time Lan Xichen saw them together, however, he was forced to interfere.

Wangji was out on a hunt with a few of the newly recruited Lan disciples, and Lan Xichen had used that opportunity to take Sizhui on a trip to Lotus Pier. It would help the both of them bond with Jin Ling and open a gateway to speak to Jiang Wanyin about possible uncle-nephew problems he might be facing. Hopefully, arriving at Lotus Pier unannounced would not be too big of a problem.

Lan Xichen and Lan Sizhui arrived on their swords. Sizhui was finally old enough to ride one. As soon as they stepped foot into Lotus Pier, they were greeted with the sounds of familiar voices shouting at each other. They both walked inside to see what the fuss was about and were just in time to watch Jiang Wanyin running through a corridor with Zidian flaring up and ready to whip someone.

“Wait right there, you brat! I will break both your legs, so you won’t be able to run away from me any longer!” Jiang Wanyin yelled. It was then that Lan Xichen noticed who he had been chasing after.

Jin Ling ran a few feet ahead of him, probably fearful of the whip in case it hit him during Jiang Wanyin’s ongoing temper tantrum.

“Don’t yell at me, Jiujiu. It was your fault!” Jin Ling responded and was grabbed by his uncle not a moment later.

“What did you just say to me?” Jiang Wanyin asked as though daring Jin Ling to repeat what he had said. Jin Ling pulled his hand away and huffed, holding his chin up high. He used his hands to dramatically push his robes to the side.

Lan Xichen noticed the way all of the Jiang disciples had gathered around them, probably discussing the punishment that would be doled out to Jin Ling and wishing they could do something. Well, luckily for them, Lan Xichen could do something about it.

“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Xichen called out. Jiang Wanyin seemed shocked to see him, and Lan Xichen realised again that he had arrived at Lotus Pier unannounced, which was highly irregular behaviour for a Lan.

“Zewu-Jun, I was not expecting you—.” Jiang Wanyin let go of Jin Ling and tried to scramble for a response as he bowed to Lan Xichen. Jin Ling mimicked the gesture and the greeting.

“It is alright, Jiang Wanyin. Sizhui and I were free today and I thought it would be great to introduce him to Jin Ling. Forgive me for not informing you in advance.” Lan Xichen replied with a smile.

Jiang Wanyin nodded his head, slightly taken aback due to the use of his rarely spoken courtesy name, especially by Lan Xichen, but he covered it up quickly. “Lan Xichen, it would be our pleasure to welcome you here as our guests.”

Lan Xichen’s smile widened as Jiang Wanyin led him to a large empty room where food lay served on two tables. No doubt it was for the four of them to eat since it was almost lunch time. The Jiang disciples were well-taught, Lan Xichen observed.

As they all sat down, Lan Xichen realised that it was the perfect moment to speak to Jiang Wanyin since Jin Ling was present as well. But how should he begin. He looked down at the food.

“In the beginning, Wangji used to have a lot of problems with Sizhui. He was not a baby when we found him, he was a young child, but still, he was a child. He had an intense fever when we found him and if Wangji had not asked for help, Sizhui may have never recovered.” Jiang Wanyin seemed to be listening to him, so Lan Xichen continued to speak.

“It might be difficult to take care of a baby and to pay attention to the growth of your sect. You might feel helpless and unbelievably angry. You may feel like ripping your hair out and pulling out Zidian or screaming and yelling, but the children deserve better than that. Jiang Wanyin, I want you to know that if you ever feel like that again, you can ask for my help.”

Jiang Wanyin nodded his head seriously. “I understand.” He met Lan Xichen’s eyes.

Lan Xichen stopped smiling for a moment to search Jiang Wanyin’s eyes. “Do you?” He questioned.

“Of course, I do,” Jiang Wanyin said, acting surprisingly calm. Lan Xichen had expected for him to burst out in screaming rage sometime during the talk but nothing of that sort had happened.

To his disbelief, it was Jin Ling who slammed his hand on the table and stood up. He glared at Lan Xichen with such palpable rage that Lan Xichen had to immediately look away.

“No, he doesn’t.” Jin Ling stated.

“A-Ling,” Jiang Wanyin said, but Jin Ling only spared him a single glance.

“You don’t understand what he’s trying to say, Jiujiu, but I do.” Jin Ling met Lan Xichen’s eyes again. “You’re wrong,” he said directly to him.

“Jin Ling, it’s alright. Lan Xichen is just telling me to take care of you and to look after you,” Jiang Wanyin said, trying to make Jin Ling sit down.

Their exchange made Lan Xichen grow confused. Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Why were Jiang Wanyin’s and Jin Ling’s roles reversed? Why was Jin Ling so angry at Lan Xichen when he was only trying to help the boy?

“No, he isn’t! He’s trying to tell you that you’re not taking care of me or managing to look after me!” Jin Ling exclaimed, his voice growing immeasurably loud. He turned to Lan Xichen again. “Didn’t I tell you to never speak about my jiujiu in that way? Why does everyone keep bothering him? Just leave him alone. He hasn’t done anything wrong!”

Jin Ling looked as if he were about to stomp away but instead he cast a glance at his uncle and sat down, crossing his arms tightly.

Lan Xichen was stunned speechless and could not speak as Jiang Wanyin looked to him for clarification.

“Is that true?” Jiang Wanyin asked, and Lan Xichen swallowed the bile rising up his throat to finally answer.

“It just seemed to me as though the two of you did not have the best relationship,” Lan Xichen said.

“What made you think that?” Jiang Wanyin asked. Lan Xichen could hear the gnashing of Jin Ling’s teeth.

“Well, the first time I saw Jin Ling was when I was visiting Jin Guangyao and he refused to speak about his visit to Lotus Pier or to speak about you.” Lan Xichen said. “He seemed angry and grumpy about you and this place.”

“That was because I had wanted to stay in Lotus Pier for longer. I had begged Jiujiu to ask xiao-shushu if I could stay but he had refused to let me!” Jin Ling cried out. “I asked you not to speak about my jiujiu because I knew you wouldn’t have anything good to say about him, and I hate it when people talk behind my jiujiu’s back.”

“A-Ling.” Jiang Wanyin’s voice cracked. He seemed flustered, but Lan Xichen wasn’t deterred in the slightest. He would do what he came here to do, which was to confront Jiang Wanyin about his behaviour with Jin Ling.

“What about the time Jin Ling ran away from the training grounds upset and crying?” Lan Xichen questioned, still addressing Jiang Wanyin.

“I was upset because I sucked at training and everything hurt. Jiujiu tried to reassure me, but I thought that I was the worst and that I would never get better at cultivation, that I could never fight monsters like my parents had. I tried to shoot arrows even though Jiujiu had warned me not to and I almost hit him in the head. Jiujiu could have been seriously hurt because of me. That’s why I came to apologise afterwards.”

Oh. “Then what about that time you entered the discussion conference at Koi Tower looking like a mess, and your uncle was absolutely furious at you?” Lan Xichen spoke to Jin Ling now. Jiang Wanyin was completely quiet, choosing not to utter a word.

Jin Ling snorted in response. “Jiujiu wasn’t furious at me, he was furious at the disciples I had fought with because they had been talking about my parents behind my back! Jiujiu put medicine on all of my wounds himself and then he took care of me and Little Fairy, too.”

“What about today, then?” Lan Xichen finally asked.

“What about today?” Jin Ling threw back.

“Your uncle ran behind you with Zidian, promising to break your legs,” Lan Xichen reminded him.

“So? I deserved it. I pushed him into the lake while he had been teaching his disciples. I disrupted his lesson. Besides, Jiujiu didn’t mean any of it. He wasn’t serious. We were just having fun. Even if we hadn’t been having fun though, how was it any of your business?”

“A-Ling.” Jiang Wanyin spoke up again.

But Jin Ling didn’t listen to him. “I don’t care about the fact that I have to respect my elders, Jiujiu, I think Zewu-Jun should leave.”

“Jiang Wanyin, I—”

“You heard my nephew, Lan Xichen. I think you should leave.” Lan Xichen was taken aback by the bluntness of both the uncle and the nephew, and the blankness of Jiang Wanyin’s expressions.

Lan Xichen cleared his throat and said, “I think I have overstayed my welcome here, and I apologise for having overstepped my boundaries. I was merely concerned—”

“You don’t need to be concerned for me. I already have a jiujiu who shows more concern for me than he needs to, a shushu who could show concern if he needed to, and I can take care of myself too.” Jin Ling interrupted.

“I understand.”

“Do you?” Jin Ling asked this time.

“A-Ling!” Jiang Wanyin exclaimed. Jin Ling looked away and clamped his mouth shut.

“Zewu-Jun, you should really leave. I insist.” Jiang Wanyin said pressing his lips together.

Lan Xichen stood up walking away with Sizhui trailing behind him. He did not understand the weird relationship Jiang Wanyin had with Jin Ling.

Jin Ling called him his ‘jiujiu’ despite Jiang Wanyin having looked after him and raised him when no one else had wanted to take that responsibility. He was practically Jin Ling’s parent. Even Lan Sizhui called Wangji his dad.

Perhaps Lan Xichen was not meant to understand their relationship. It was theirs to understand and keep, and maybe it was better for Lan Xichen to not interfere in matters that were not his own. He should really just mind his own business.

As Lan Xichen passed the disciples that had gathered around to watch Jiang Wanyin chase Jin Ling. He heard them talking to each other.

“Do you think we should ask the physician to take a look at Sect Leader Jiang? I think he might have hit his head on something.”

“If not a concussion, then he’ll surely have caught a cold from wearing all of that wet clothing.”

Lan Xichen truly had been wrong about everything concerning Jiang Wanyin and his nephew. Maybe he wasn’t as great a friend or an uncle-dad as he thought he was.