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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wen Ruohan’s favorite nurse.

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

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

And yet.

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

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

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

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

“…Huaisang will?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

His temper did, in fact, make an appearance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If they’d arrived later…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At least he’d admitted there was something.

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

Wei Wuxian nodded, looking pained.

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

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

Wei Wuxian was staring. Nie Mingjue ignored him.

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

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

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

“But – shijie –”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jiang Yanli smiled up at him.

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

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

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

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

His heart moved in his chest.

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

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

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

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

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

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flautistsandpeonies · 3 years

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Reformation Part 3

Read the Previous Chapter [Here]

Word Length: 3,931

Summary: Something needs to be done about this tragedy, but at what cost?

TW: Sexual Assault in this chapter.

“Calling me.....“

“Wei-Xiong, “Nie Huaisang muttered while walking alongside his brother, a saddened look upon his face as he stared at his friend

“I have him, “Nie MingJue replied, one arm encircled around Wei WuXian’s waist to keep him upright, while the other gripped his wrists so he couldn’t fight against his hold

The people of the search party were, for the most part, as quiet as mouses. Walking alongside one another, they could only spare glances at the bewitched cultivator as he continued to chant on and on.

“He’s….calling me…, ”Wei WuXian chanted, jerking against the tight grip on his person

The gates to the Cloud Recesses shimmered and dimmed as the search party was let in by the night-watch. Lesser disciples broke off, deciding to retire to their rooms for the night while the rest continued on towards the Jingshi.

“You’ve returned, “Wen Ruohan, Lan Qiren, and the Jiang parents were waiting for them at the entrance of the residence

“Calling....calling!, “twisting in his hold, Wei WuXian began to violently thrash against Nie Sect Leader

“Wei-Xiong!, “Huaisang gasped, flinching and taking a couple of steps back

“Damn it, “Nie MingJue grunted as he was thrown into a tussle with the bewitched man

Freeing his wrists, Wei WuXian pushed against Nie MingJue’s face, attempting to scratch at his eyes with his nails. Gritting his teeth, MingJue attempted to grapple him again as the enchanted man hissed and twisted against him. Minor sect members of the search party rapidly retrieved talismans from their sleeves but did not pitch them at the snarling duo. Afraid to hurt the leader of a Great Sect, they were stuck in place.

“Enough!, “Mingjue hollered, tackling the man to the group and forcing his arms above his head

“a-Xian!, “Jiang Yanli called wringing her hands at the sight

Untying his sash, Sect Leader Nie’s outer robe fell open as he tied Wei WuXian’s hands behind his back, the man’s screams not hindering him in the slightest. Hoisting him up, he held his fast against his chest. Growling in agitation, Wei WuXian shook his head back and forth, trying to pull himself free once again.

“a-Jie, don’t, “Jiang WanYin tried to reach for his sister but she slipped through his grasp

“a-Xian!, “Yanli ran towards the quarreling men, taking Wei WuXian’s face in her hands, “a-Xian, please stop!”

“Nng, “shaking his head and snarling at her, teeth nearly bit through Yanli’s smooth skin

“a-Jie!, “Sandu’s hilt held tightly in his grip, Jiang Wanyin stomped towards his sister while his mother in the background screamed, “a-Li, get away from him!”

“Away, “taking her arm, Lan WangJi gently pushed her away towards her brother who held her back from approaching once more

“Oh, a-Xian, “wiping tears from her eyes, she watched as WuXian continued to struggle

“Chifeng-zun, follow me, “Lan WangJi uttered while walking towards his residence

“Mm, “MingJue nodded, gripping Wei WuXian’s arms tightly while pushing the struggling man forward

“Aahh!!, “the enchanted man screamed while being forced through the doors of the Jingshi

As the voice slowly faded away, the sects couldn’t help but stare at the open doors of the residence as they made their way back to the Lan Sect’s discussion hall.

“We can’t let this happen again, “Lan XiChen started once everyone settled in and quieted down

“Does he wander off often?, “Sect Leader Yao asked

“For the past couple of weeks he’d rise every night and try and escape the Jingshi, “XiChen explained, “WangJi was normally there to make sure he didn’t leave and often has to restrain him.”

“And he says the same thing? Every night?, “Sect Leader Rong inquired

“That’s right, “Lan Qiren replied while smoothing out his sleeve, “We theorized that whatever attacked him must have a nest hidden away somewhere.”

“But why not devour him already?, “Jin GuangShan pondered, “It can’t have just attacked him for food; it must want something else.”

“It may want his Yang energy, “Lan Yu suggested, “His core is powerful; it may want to siphon his energy from him.”

Many found themselves nodding in agreement with this reasoning. There were many types of dangerous creatures that loved to suck the yang energy from cultivators, perhaps this was one that they haven’t encountered yet?

“But what a terrifying creature, “Jiang Fengmian said, “It’s left no trace whatsoever and seems hell-bent on having him.“

“Why don’t we just follow him to the thing, “Jin ZiXun grumbled, “It’ll be easy if we just let him lead us to it.”

“ZiXun, “Jin GuangShan sighed and shook his head, “It’s not that simple.”

“Isn’t it, uncle, “the man grunted, “Whatever it is wants him, so we just do what it wants until we find it and exterminate it.”

“Night-hunts take at least a day of planning, “GuangShan replied, “Being hasty only makes way for mistakes and unnecessary expenditures, “Besides, what you’re suggesting...”

“You want to use Wei Ying as bait, “eyes turned as Lan WangJi and Nie MingJue walked into the room, the Second Jade’s eyes pierced through Jin ZiXun as he walked to sit beside his uncle

“How is WuXian?, “XiChen asked

“Had to restrain him, left a guard, “WangJi replied with a displeased air around him

“He’ll break through those ropes eventually, “Nie MingJue added walking to sit down beside his brother once more

Many minor sect leaders started to express ideas about what sort of creature they could be facing. “It could be a bat king”, exclaimed a Yao senior disciple. “No, no, a seduction demon, “claimed another. The possibilities of what truly sent Wei WuXian under were endless.

“I’m just saying that we could have this whole situation over and done with, “Jin ZiXun stood and crossed his arms, “We use Wei WuXian’s compass to lure us straight to it while using him a sure guide, easy.”

“Except that puts him in direct contact with the creature, “Lan XiChen disagreed, “Wei WuXian should stay here until we find out more.”

“Are the Lan unwilling to take risks? Didn’t the Second Young Master say that the Lan would make every effort to cure Wei WuXian?, “Jiang WanYin jeered, “How can that be if you’re not even willing to do something as simple as this?”

“We won’t endanger him, unnecessarily, “XiChen said in a curt tone

“We can’t be certain if he won’t try and fight us again, either, “Jiang Fengmian added his input

“We should at least try, father“Jiang WanYin insisted, “Besides, isn’t this our responsibility?”

“What are you saying, a-Cheng, “the Jiang Sect Leader looked to his son

“I’m saying that the Lan Sect has no business interfering with disciples of our sect. This has gone on for too long; we should end this and get back to our own; we have enough problems as it is, “the Jiang heir said in a clipped tone

Standing up from the table, Jiang WanYin looked at everyone in the room with a sharp demeanor and a challenging glint in his eyes.

“The Jiang Sect are going through with Young Master Jin’s plan, “WanYin said with an air of finality, “Since the Lan are too cowardly, we’ll be assuming control of this situation.”

“Jiang WanYin, “Lan WangJi stood tall, “You’ve no right.”

“Second Young Master Lan is all talk and no action, “WanYin ridiculed him,

“Have you truly put any effort into mending this headache?”

“You cannot be trusted with his safety, “WangJi protested with a fiery look in his gaze

“Neither can you! It’s your fault he’s even in a coma!, “WanYin nearly shouted, “This would’ve never happened had he stayed in Yunmeng!”

The two got closer as they disputed; the sect heirs were almost nose to nose, Jiang WanYin a crackling lightning storm while Lan WangJi a quiet blizzard. Many of the people were astounded that the Jiang Sect heir was willing to rile up the Second Jade of Lan and even more were surprised that the Lan heir was even riled.

“Plan a safer hunt, “WangJi glared

“Show some gallantry, “WanYin countered

Jiang WanYin rubbed at his hand, a contemptuous glare adorning his face as he stared down Lan WangJi; fortunately, he was without Zidian. With how the situation was slowly escalating; many people feared the Jiang heir would raise his blade against the Lan.

“Shouldn’t we all be in agreement, then?, “the tension in the room suddenly shattered to pieces as Wen Ruohan’s luke-warm voice filtered through everyone’s ears

Turning to the Wen Sect Leader, the man sat with his legs cross and hands clasped in front of him. His eyes were lidded, a small smile splayed on his face as if watching a performance instead of two sect heirs disputing.

“It’s no question that a hunt is in order. The Lan want to prove that they are capable of taking care of Wei WuXian. And the Jiang need to prove that they are no longer a threat to him, so both sects will be a part of the hunt, “Ruohan mused, eyes shifting as the air seemed to thin and choke everyone else in the room, “Everyone else here is simply support.”

The Lans stared as the Wen Sect leader unclasped his hands and started to tap on the side of his seat, posture set as if he was waiting on a simple missive from a teaching disciple instead of forcing the other sects to make a decision. Nie MingJue glared at the man, slowly seething within at his arrogance. The Jiangs all found themselves glaring, but no words or actions were taken. The minor sects were all sufficiently cowed, everyone silent and afraid to speak.

Wen Ruohan smirked.

“I’ll say again....are we all in agreement?”

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The next morning, Lan and Jiang disciples were shuffling back and forth to hurriedly prepare the night-hunt that night. Back again in the discussion hall, leaders of the sects and Lan Qiren collaborated on who they would be sending in such a short manner of time.

In the Jingshi, Lan XiChen helped his little brother change Wei WuXian into a fresher set of robes.

“You know you could just ask a servant to attend to him, “XiChen raised a brow as he helped removed WuXian’s arms from the old robe’s sleeves

“No need, “WangJi succinctly replied

A fond smile coming over his face, XiChen reached for the nearby basin and ringed out a tower, wiping down Wei WuXian’s face, arms and torso before throwing the dusty rag back into the bowl.

“I’m going to tell him how loving you were when he wakes, “XiChen huffed as he slipped arms through clean silk

Lan WangJi did not reply, seemingly ignoring his brother, but XiChen was immediately delighted to see the tips of his didi’s ears darkening ever so slightly.

“a-Cheng!, “a frightful shout interrupted the brother’s peace

Standing quickly, they moved towards the window of the Jingshi and peered out to see who dared break their rules in broad daylight.

Yu ZiYuan with her arms crossed and a dark look upon her face as she glared up at her son. Her maids, ever-present at her side, sent sharp looks to any disciple frowning at their madam’s direct disregard of their rules.

“What are you doing, playing around! Do you normally idle this much before a night-hunt?! What a lazy son of mine, “Yu ZiYuan scolded her son in the middle of the path

Jiang WanYin scowled as his mother continued to berate him. Letting out a barely noticeable sigh, he nodded along to what she was saying.

“Don’t embarrass YunmengJiang tonight! Heavens already knows the madness we have to endure because of that boy; don’t make it any worse!, “ZiYuan barked while twisting the ring around her finger

The ring crackled slightly while slipping off its master’s slender finger. Landing in Jiang WanYin’s hand, he quickly slipped the ring on; the spiritual tool adjusting to his size and sparkling as it registered its current user.

“Xiongzhang, “Lan WangJi said with a tight-lipped expression, watching as mother and son continued to converse

“I don’t want Jiang WanYin going as much as you do, “XiChen replied, “but if we try to make the Jiangs stay behind, Wen Zongzhu....”

Eyes narrowing and fists clenching at the mention of the Wen Sect Leader, Lan WangJi vowed, “I won’t let him take Wei Ying.”

“Mother, a-Cheng, “the Twin Jades watched as Jiang Yanli slowly walked up the path to her relatives, “Father wants to see you both in the discussion hall.”

Both mother and son were tight-faced as they followed the Jiang heiress back down the path. The Lan brothers looked to one another.

“MingJue-Xiong is coming as support tonight, “XiChen folded an arm behind his back, “We’ll do our best to keep WuXian safe, from this creature....and everyone else.”

...

The night came faster than they would have wanted. The full moon shined down on them, brightening up the quiet paths of the Cloud Recesses as disciples gathered in front of the Jingshi.

“Calling me.....”

Standing on the porch of the Jingshi, the Twin jades of Lan held Wei WuXian tightly by the arms. The enthralled man weakly struggled against their hold, trying to wander off once more.

“I’m still uncomfortable with this, “Lan XiChen said to his uncle

“I am as well, “Lan Qiren brows furrowed deeply as he watched the night-hunting party check their supplies

“He’s....calling me......, “Wei WuXian gave a weak tug at his arms

“Wei Ying, “Lan WangJi said, gently grasping the man’s chin to make him face him

Once again, Lan WangJi stared into glossy pink eyes, the man’s cognition completely gone. What was normally a smiling face held practically no emotion as he continued his endless chant.

“Calling me.....”

Letting out a deep sigh, Lan WangJi pressed his forehead against the other man’s. Take a few calming breaths, he nodded towards his brother who watched on with a solemn smile.

Simultaneously, the Twin Jades let go of the man’s arms; Wei WuXian instantly stepping forward and walking off the porch. Body slouched forward and hair covering his face, he was no different from the walking dead.

“He’s....calling me.....”

“Be careful, “Lan Qiren gave a sharp nod to his nephews

“Thank you, shufu, “XiChen smiled while WangJi nodded

As his nephews and the parties shuffled past, Lan Qiren said in a quiet tone, “I will see what I can do about Jiang Zongzhu and Wen Zongzhu.”

The night watch was waiting for them at the gate, giving the bewitched man a slight head start, they opened the barrier just enough for him to slip through while the hunting party trailed behind.

“Let’s head out!, “Jiang WanYin ordered everyone

Everyone was quiet as they followed Wei WuXian through the mountains. Crossing over creeks and fallen trees, they sometimes had to zoom forward to help the man overcome the obstacles. All the while, he continued as if those things weren’t there, ever determined to reach his destination.

“Calling me.....”

Tensions rose as they once again met at the waterfall. This time, however, they were better prepared and tensely helped the man cross the log bridge despite the tight feeling in their chests ever-worsening with each step across the dangerous basin.

“He’s....calling me.....”

Mountain range after range was crossed, the night sky dimming from midnight blue to the darkest of black. The chirps of nightly creatures continued on, trilling away as the hunting party followed their lure.

“Calling...calling.....”

The many trees soon thinned away in a clearing. Wei WuXian stopped dead in his tracks.

The hunting party was immediately set on edge.

“Ehh, what is he-”

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!”

The cultivators flinched at the sound, taking out banishment talismans for quick defense. Quickly shielding themselves within the trees, they could only prepare for the coming encounter.

Lan WangJi’s hand immediately went to his sword’s hilt, “The sound that made up separate, “he warned his brother

XiChen nodded in understanding, “Everyone, be careful.”

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!”

Sleeping birds woke abruptly, fleeing from their trees in fear, the cries of critters and prey animals scurrying away from the approaching creature added to the rising tension of the hunting party.

The wind seemed to shift as if noticing the creature’s arrival; the air grew colder. The sound of wings slicing through the sky reverberated through their ears.

Suddenly, a large being landed roughly on the other side of the clearing upon large stones. It was huddled, but then, its large wings flew out! Its silhouette was in the shape of a gangly man.

With a beastly growl, it stepped forward into the moonlight.

"Huh, “Jin ZiXun gasped in shock and horror

It was a horrible sight to see, a bony, stark white creature covered with leather -like skin. The wings of a bat protruded out of its back, clawed hands and feet digging into the rough bark of the trees. Blood red eyes blazed from behind black sockets; its mouth bared a pair of needle-like fangs.

Wei WuXian smiled at the creature, a pleasant sigh leaving his mouth.

“It’s you, “Wei WuXian murmured trailing forward with an enamored look on his face

Arms and wings spreading wide, the creature grumbled at its prey. Its scarlet eyes narrowed in on the bewitched cultivator as he approached. A few feet away from it, Wei WuXian jumped into its arms, wrapping his arms around the beast.

The Twin Jades hissed at the sight, filled with worry.

“Stay where you are, “Nie MingJue warned as Jiang WanYin and Jin ZiXun raised their blades, “It may kill him if we move too quickly.”

“It’s you, “Wei WuXian said once more, raising his hand towards the creature’s head, his fingers curled in the air beside its bare skull, as if twisting locks of hair

The creature captured Wei WuXian within its arms, followed by its wings attempt to hide the man from view.

"Master, “only due to their enhanced senses were the cultivator’s able to hear Wei WuXian’s amorous words, “I’m here.”

Removing one hand from his person, a clawed hand grasped Wei WuXian’s chin, forcing him to look up, eyes lidded, a dream-like expression and pleasant smile upon his face. The creature gave a low rumble and lowered its head, closing the space between them.

Lan XiChen forced himself to look away, while Jiang WanYin growled in disgust.

‘Wei Ying, ‘Lan WangJi thought, gripping Bichen with enough force to crumble even the densest of stone

Wei WuXian gave a gasp as the creature separated from him, an enamored smile splayed across his lips as he once again wrapped his arms around it.

“Master, “the bewitched man repeated, “I’m here.”

The creature moved Wei WuXian’s head to the side, exposing his neck. A sharp tongue unfurled from the monster’s mouth, trailing up the bewitched man’s neck; and he sighed in content.

The beast growled; the hunting party lifted their blades in preparation.

Suddenly, the monster’s fangs seemed to elongate before thrusting down upon Wei WuXian’s neck!

“Go, go!, “XiChen ordered in a near shout, eyes wide

Dashing from their hiding space, the creature’s eyes widened as glares from as many as twenty swords came its way. Ripping its teeth from Wei WuXian’s neck, blood splashed along the ground.

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!, “it thundered out towards them, throwing Wei WuXian behind it in one fell swoop

Charging ahead, the creature met Nie MingJue’s saber head-on. Sharp nails grated against the blade’s dark metal. Gritting his teeth, the Nie Sect Leader tried to push forward against it, but the beast held strong.

“Surround it!, “unfurling Zidian, Jiang WanYin barked towards his fellow Jiang disciples

Spreading out, some Jiang disciples took out arrows while the rest got into formation with their swords. Brandishing his whip and Sandu, Jiang WanYin looked for a break in the beast’s defense.

A clawed hand forced Nie MingJue back. Getting in line with Lan XiChen they both charged at the gangly beast as one, purple and light green sword glares lashed out.

The beast wrapped itself in its wings as the glares collided, dust rising up from the grounds as glare after glare pummeled into it.

“Fire!, “Jiang WanYin ordered to the archers

Aiming into the dust cloud, the archers struck true, arrow after arrow flying into the beast. A loud angry roar sounded from the cloud as they wouldn’t let up with the assault.

Rushing past them all, WangJi stormed up to the unconscious Wei WuXian. Ripping the arm off his sleeve, WangJi hurriedly pressed the fabric against WuXian’s bleeding neck.

“Enough!, “Jin ZiXun called an end to the assault with the raise of his hand

The archers halted and XiChen and MingJue lowered their swords ever so slightly. The dust cloud was thick with the smell of blood.

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!, “Suddenly, the strong flag of its wings, the cloud dissipated and the creature revealed itself once more

“What?, “Jiang WanYin gasped at the creature

The beast was full of arrows and covered in slashes, its leather-like skin punctured all over. Its bare head was covered in gashes from sword glares.

*Thump* *Thump* The beast growled at them a dark a guttural noise. The arrows were falling off of its body as if being pushed out; the beast’s wounds were healing!

“What the hell is that thing!, “a Jin disciple shouted

“Charge!, “Nie MingJue hollered

All raising their swords, they could only face the beast head-on with their blades. It screamed again, claws reaching out to tear them in two.

“Rah!, “Jiang WanYin tried to lash at it with his whip, but it deflected it as easily as it did their swords

“WangJi, go!, “XiChen ordered with a quick glance back, parrying against the beast

Taking the limp man into his arms, Bichen quickly hovered for its master to mount it. Long grasses danced and leaves were ripped from their branches as the Lan Sect heir shot out the clearing.

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!, “The creature shrieked at the sight of its prey being taken away and attempted to charge after them. Before it could, a pair of light green sword glares stopped it right in its path.

Lan XiChen and Nie MingJue glared the creature down, blades raised high as they prepared for another clash. Circling around the beast, Jiang and Jin Cultivators glared it down, harsh breaths coming out from the long fight before them.

Bearing its teeth at them, the monster’s eyes seemed to grow even redder in its anger as it glared them down. Shuddering, it opened its mouth and roared.

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!“

With a burst of wind, the creature shot up into the sky, the moonlight shining on its pale body.

“After it!, “Jin ZiXun shouted, about to mount his blade

“No, forget it!, “Nie MingJue hollered, “Get back to the Cloud Recesses, seal everything off in case it tries to come back for Wei WuXian!”

...

“Nnng, “Wei WuXian groaned as golden spiritual energy pulsed throughout his body

“Almost over, “passing over his own spiritual power, Lan WangJi sat in the middle of the array with Wei WuXian huddled in his lap

“Calling....calling, “Wei WuXian started to mumble while flinching at the energy seeping into him

Frowning at the cursed words, WangJi nodded to the other disciples in the room. The sound of Cleansing permeated and echoed against the walls, Lan Qing's long fingers danced along the silver strings of their guqin. The healing array shined brightly in the room, the golden energy a stark contrast to the looming shadows of the night.

On Wei WuXian’s neck, the bite marks slowly closed, a small trickle of blood still seeping out of the holes.

“Hah, “a loud gasp resounded throughout the entire room, sweat dripping from Wei WuXian’s creased brows

“Calling me.....”

Brushing his hair out of his face, WangJi held WuXian’s face as gently as he could. Harsh breathes blew against his hand, and Wei WuXian hissed again.

“Master....”

Ever so slowly, the bite marks were replaced with freshly healed skin; Wei WuXian groaned in agony. Calling out for the monster, he weakly shifted in Lan WangJi’s hold.

With a final flourish of the hand, Lan Qing slowly took their hand away from their guqin and the room soon quieted, the resonating sound of Cleansing abated.

"He’s....calling me.....”

Wiping the sweat from WuXian’s brow, WangJi tried to move him into a move comfortable position as the man weakly pushed against him.

“I’m sorry, “he said to the unconscious man

Holding him tight, he pressed his face deep into the crook of his neck. The sound of WuXian’s chants rumbled from his throat and thumped against his face.

With the wounds closed, the medics stopped distributing their energy into the array. As the light dimmed, the room grew darker and darker until they were all encased in shadows.

“I’m sorry.”

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

Author’s Notes:

-Wen Ruohan really just slapped me across the face and said “I’m the tertiary antagonist of this fic.”

Read my Prompts and WIPs [Here]

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 3 years

Note

1- you know JC stans always try to deflect claiming LQR LXC LWJ and NMJ are all equally at fault bc they didn't stand for trhe wens either but JC and WWX are literally the only two people who know the truth about the wen sibs and he decided not to tell anyone so the public has no means of knowing everything they did and risked for him, they literally committed treason to save the jiang sect and protect them from the wen army but in the eyes of the public they are known as loyal disciples to WRH-

Thank you for the question anon!

Relevant passages in regards to this issue posted first since a lot of it gets very misconstrued with what blame lies where with the Sect Leaders before the events when it came to the massacre at Nightless City and the deaths of the Wen Remnants. This is not necessarily clean cut after the fallout with Jin Zixuan and Jin Zixun's deaths. This is also still with the underlying plot of Jin Guangshan aiming for the Yin Hu Fu. There is a lot of political intrigue that goes ignored with this by manipulation of the Jin Sect and Jiang Cheng being blinded by his own jealousy.

“… Four inspectors were harmed. Around fifty of the remaining Wen Sect members escaped. After Wei WuXian led them into Burial Mound, he summoned hundreds of fierce corpses to patrol the base of the mountain. Our people still can’t get any further.”

When he finished, silence filled the Golden Pavilion.

Jiang Cheng only spoke after a few moments, “What he did was indeed a bit too much. Sect Leader Jin, I apologize to you in place of him. If there’s any way at all to help the situation, please let me know. I’ll definitely compensate for things however I can.”

What Jin GuangShan wanted, however, wasn’t his apology or his compensation, “Sect Leader Jiang, at first, for your sake, the LanlingJin Sect didn’t intend on saying anything. However, some of these inspectors weren’t from the Jin Sect. There were a few from other sects as well. This makes it…”

Jiang Cheng’s brows were knitted. He rubbed the vein that throbbed at his temple and soundlessly took in a deep breath, “… I apologize to all of the Sect Leaders. Everyone, I’m afraid you don’t know that the Wen cultivator whom Wei WuXian wanted to save was called Wen Ning. We owe him and his sister Wen Qing gratitude for what happened during the Sunshot Campaign.”

Nie MingJue, “You owe them gratitude? Isn’t the QishanWen Sect the ones who caused the YunmengJiang Sect’s annihilation?”

Within these few years, Jiang Cheng insisted on working late into the night every day. That day, just as he decided to rest early, he had to rush to Koi Tower overnight because of the thundering news. He’d been suppressing some anger under his fatigue since the beginning. With his natural competitiveness, he was already quite agitated since he had to apologize to other people. When he heard Nie MingJue mention the incident of his sect again, hatred sprouted within him.

The hatred was directed at not only everyone who was seated in this room, but also Wei WuXian.

Passage 2:

Using the atmosphere, Jin GuangShan turned to Jiang Cheng, “He’s been plotting for a while to go to Burial Mound, hasn’t he? After all, with his skills, it wouldn’t be too hard to set up a sect of his own. And so, he used this as a chance to leave the Jiang Sect, intending to do whatever he pleases in the bright skies outside. You rebuilt the YunmengJiang Sect with so much work. He’s got a few controversial traits in him to begin with, and still he doesn’t restrain himself, stirring up so much trouble for you. He doesn’t care about you at all.”

Jiang Cheng pretended to stand his ground, “That probably isn’t that case. Wei WuXian has been like this ever since he was young. Even my father couldn’t do anything about him.”

Jin GuangShan, “Even FengMian-xiong couldn’t do anything about him, huh?” He chuckled a few times, “FengMian-xiong just favored him.”

Hearing the words ‘favors him’, the muscles beside the corners of Jiang Cheng’s mouth twitched.

Jin GuangShan continued, “Sect Leader Jiang, you’re not like your father. It’s just been a couple of years since the reestablishment of the YunmengJiang Sect, precisely when you should be displaying your power. And he doesn’t even know to avoid suspicions. What would the Jiang Sect’s new disciples think if they saw him? Don’t tell me you’d let them see him as their role model and look down on you?”

He spoke one sentence after another, striking the iron while it was still hot. Jiang Cheng spoke slowly, “Sect Leader Jin, that’s enough. I’ll go to The Burial Mounds and deal with this.”

Here the sect leaders were aware of the Wen Sect remnants as prisoners of war and saw it as a justifiable reason to keep the remaining Wens imprisoned regardless of age status etc. When Jiang Cheng is asked by Nie Mingjue for clarification on the matter of the debt owed by the Wen siblings it is deflected by Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao with clever wordplay to rile everyone up. This leaves those who either asked for more information, Lan Xichen who is shutdown by not having enough information by the majority and Nie Mingjue distracted by his hate of the Wens already, and Mianmian and Lan Wangji who argued that Wei Wuxian was protecting innocents and was not trying to cause a coup ignored as being irrelevant opinions. Wei Wuxian is eventually labelled a defector and danger due to Jiang Cheng exasperating what they had actually planned in the staged fight.

After this several months pass until Lan Wangji comes to tell Wei Wuxian of Jiang Yanli's marriage in a week's time. Several days later the Jiang siblings arrive with the same news and Jiang Yanli is the one to extend a peace branch to try keeping the three connected with the courtesy naming or Jin Ling. Almost a year's time later Wei Wuxian is in fact invited to the one-month celebration as another peace branch by Jin Zixuan who was the one to extend the offer. Jin Guangshan, Jin Zixun and Jin Guangyao planned the murder of Wei Wuxian in Qiongqi Pass against Jin Zixuan's knowledge. This leads to the mess of his murder and Wei Wuxian being hunted down as well as all of the remaining Wens on order of Jin Guangshan in retaliation after Wen Qing is killed as the remaining leader of the Wens and Wen Ning secretly suppressed. This leads to days later to the Pledge Conference at the city which holds Jin Zixuan's body and Jiang Yanli who is there to keep the death vigils (Shou Ling) as family. It's also why her and Madam Jin are wearing the white robes when Wei Wuxian sees them and by bad luck comes across the sect leaders pact when he tries to flee.

After the the wine had seeped into the dirt, Jin GuangShan stated, “No matter the sect, no matter the surname—this cup of wine is to the soldiers who have died.”

Nie MingJue, “May their souls live on.”

Lan XiChen, “Rest in peace.”

Jiang Cheng, however, still had on a darkened expression. He didn’t say anything even after he poured the wine.

Afterward, Jin GuangYao walked out from the LanlingJin Sect’s array and presented with both hands a square box made of black iron. Jin GuangShan took the box with one hand and raised it high in the air, shouting, “Here lies the ashes of the Wen Sect’s remnants!”

After he spoke, he sent forth his spiritual energy and shattered the box with his bare hand. The iron box broke into pieces, and white dust drifted alongside the cold wind.

A scattering of the ashes!

A series of cheers exploded through the crowd. Jin GuangShan raised his hands, signaling for the people to be quiet and listen to him talk. When the cheers slowly died down, he continued, raising his voice, “Tonight, the ones whose ashes had been scattered were the two leaders of the Wen Sect’s remnants. And tomorrow! It will be the rest of the Wen-dogs and—the YiLing Laozu, Wei Ying!”

Suddenly, a low laugh interrupted his grand speech. The laugh was too untimely, sounding both stark and jarring. In unison, the crowd turned to look at where the sound came from.

The Palace of Sun and Flames was a rather magnificent palace. A total of twelve ridges made up its roof, and at the end of each ridge were eight heavenly beasts. Yet, right now, the people realized that on one of those ridges, there were nine. The laugh from before came from over there!

The extra beast shifted slightly. The next moment, a boot and a corner of black clothes dangled down from the roof, swaying softly.

Everyone placed their hand onto their sword hilt. Jiang Cheng’s pupils shrunk. Blue veins lined the back of his hand.

Jin GuangShan was overcome with both shock and hatred, “Wei Ying! How dare you show yourself here!”

The person opened their mouth to speak. What came out was indeed Wei WuXian’s voice, but he spoke in a strange tone, “Why should I dare not show myself here? Do you people here even add up to three thousand? Don’t forget that back in the Sunshot Campaign, let alone three thousand, I’ve fought against five thousand on my own before. And by appearing here, haven’t I granted your wish? No need for you to come all the way to my home tomorrow to scatter my ashes.”

A few of the QingheNie Sect’s disciples died in the hands of Wen Ning as well. Nie MingJue spoke coldly, “What arrogance.”

Wei WuXian, “Haven’t I always been arrogant? Sect Leader Jin, how does it feel, having slapped yourself in the face? Who was the one that said he’d let the matter go if the Wen siblings went to Koi Tower and gave themselves up? And who was the one that just said he’d scatter my ashes and the ashes of the rest of the Wen Sect’s remnants tomorrow?”

Jin GuangShan, “Let’s consider things as they stand! At Qiongqi Path, you slaughtered over a hundred of the LanlingJin Sect’s disciples—this is one thing. You made Wen Ning kill at Koi Tower—this is another…”

Wei WuXian, “Then let me ask you, Sect Leader Jin, at Qiongqi Path, who was the one being ambushed? And who was the one to kill? Who was the main schemer? And who was the one being schemed against? In the end, just who was the one that came to provoke me first?”

Keep in mind none of the other sect leaders were privy to the scheme between Jin Guangshan, Jin Guangyao and Jin Zixun. And they believe they are certainly fighting off a crazed Wei Wuxian and what they think are his fodder Wens meant for corpses. After this Wei Wuxian desperately fights against Lan Wangji who is trying to calm him down before it's too late which is unsuccessful leading to Jiang Yanli also trying to calm him down enough to get him away and talk some sense to get him out of there to run and get to the Wens. After her death he mentally blacks out and Lan Wangji is left trying to take him away to safety close enough to Burial Mounds. Lan Wangji then fights off his elders as Lan Xichen gathered the Lans to find them. Immediately after this is in sequestered secrecy Lan Wangji is punished. Lan Xichen presumably stays with his own brother while Lan Qiren is the acting Sect Leader for the actual Siege that the other three are part of as support. That leaves Jin Guangshan with the ulterior motive of getting the Yin Hu Fu, Jiang Cheng who wants revenge for the death of Jiang Yanli, and Nie Mingjue left to think he is killing what he considers disgraceful Wens.

So, in short, each of them had different motivations for actually being there, and different accounts for those reasons. The Jins for more power, Jiangs for revenge, Nies for justice and the Lans in solidarity. And the fault of it isn't meted out equally as all had misunderstandings and manipulated by Jin Guangshan's pull to each of their morals as cultivation sects. In the end each of the four were there to kill the Wens and Wei Wuxian aside from Lan Wangji and arguably Jiang Yanli when she was caught up trying to get Wei Wuxian to run.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #Nightless City and the First Seige #don't mind me #asks #I can never make these short it seems

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herenortherenearnorfar · 4 years

Text

3rd graduation ficlet! Wedding worldbuilding and Lan Wangji having some feelings.

The Jin and many lesser clans married in vermillion, bright as the ink used to make talismans or the tassels that ward away evil. Red and gold, for luck and safety.

Members of the Wen wore red everyday. A darker red, a more solemn red, but still too close to matrimonial scarlet to make the wedding dress unique. To compensate they dressed their brides and grooms in heavy gilt, golden crowns, and silver charms. Though the Jin were most wealthy, the Wen outdid them in sheer ostentation.

The Nie, who counted among their ancestors the people of the north, worked sky blue amid the red of their wedding attire. Though the grooms of the Jiang still dressed in scarlet, their brides wore the turquoise of yesteryear and painted their foreheads with blush.

Uncle and their other tutors had a lot to say about weddings, as they combined the ever important topics of Rites, Family, and Proper Behavior. It was also a good way to introduce diplomacy and geography. Every place and every family had a different set of traditions. A laying hen was proper in one village, an old cockerel required in the next. Good luck in one dialect meant certain doom in another. The twin jades’ teachers made sure their pupils knew the customs of every great sect between Gusu and the northern plains. Each lesson ended with a reminder that the only truly good way of doing things was the Lan way. The Lan followed the old books, restrained their worst natures, did not give in to superstition, put respect and self-control first.

Even as a child, something about the presumption of that had sat uneasy in Lan Wangji’s heart. Lan An was wise and Lan An knew love, but didn’t the affections and cherished ways of the other sects deserve some credit?

It didn’t matter, in the end. He never intended to marry. When he read about the handfasting, the entwined ribbons, the modest banquet with abalone and red bean cakes, it was with distance. When he saw his cousins going to their wedding day in black and red, he was happy for them but he couldn’t possibly imagine himself in their place.

Wei Ying is always wearing wedding colors. Black silk, with red at his collar and sleeves. Subtler than the thick borders on the wedding robes of the Lan, in a style more modern than they used for their most sacred rites, but still undeniably matrimonial, at least for the Lan.

Lan An married in black, with red only around the hems, and his descendants followed him. Black was the color of mastery, of learning and of becoming. Though other sects now view it as unfortunate, a thousand years ago black was the most esteemed color, solemn and dignified. Though they wore white and blue to demonstrate humility and purity, on the most important day of their lives the Lan are allowed to wear black, with red ribbons and fittings. Lan brides and grooms dress like they stepped out of a historical illustration, dark spots of charcoal and cinnabar amid their pale blue (never white at a wedding) family members.

At the height of the Sunshot Campaign, Wei Ying wears clothing so dark it soaks up the gore they’re all bathed in without a trace. His underrobe is deep carmine, red circling his throat and his pale wrists. At the height of the Sunshot Campaign when stories of the Yiling Patriarch make people tremble in fear, Lan Wangji can’t help thinking how very easy it would be to marry him.

He won’t. Not unless he’s wanted, and he so clearly isn’t.

But if his affections were returned, if he had a chance at being loved, if he could throw carry Wei Ying back to Gusu and help him, or even if he couldn’t but he could ease his pain for a moment simply by being at his side...

Well, at least one of them is dressed for an elopement at all times. Traditions are important and wedding rites must be upheld.

#me looking up the history of wedding clothes #getting deep in my feelings about them #the jin and nie are modern the wen are bougie the jiang still have some tang holdovers and the lan plumbed zhou dynasty traditions #just to dress like hot topic models for their big day #the lan are hipsters whose wedding ceremony is 50% 2000 year old ritual #50% goth minimalism and do you know what? i respect that #the untamed #fanfic #graduation ficlets #lan wangji is constantly trying to figure out where he can get a cyan overrobe at a moment's notice #just in case wei wuxian needs to get emergency married #he wants to respect his jiang upbringing

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curiosity-killed · 4 years

Text

a bow for the bad decisions

canon-divergent AU from ep. 24 (on ao3)

They were so close to fixing this, so close to bringing him home safe and whole. They’d been hours away from having their family together once more and then only a few steps shy of having them safe. If Jin Zixun hadn’t gone — if Wei Wuxian had just restrained himself — if, if, if. A-niang would whip him with Zidian if she could hear him now. If it was anyone else, any other disciple — but Wei Wuxian isn’t any other disciple. He’s family, no matter his blood. They’ve grown together, fought together, bled for each other. Jiang Cheng gave up his core for him, his dreams and goals. Wei Wuxian gave up his chance to meet his grandmaster, his last fragile connection to his past. He could sooner cut out his own heart than abandon his brother. The night stretches long and sleepless before him. He goes to find Yanli. Though the surgery ended hours ago, Jin Zixuan still has not woken. A-jie sits beside his bed, face pale and drawn. Beside her, Wen Qing is a sallow shadow. She wears the same worn robes he last saw, ruddy colors of the earth so at odds with all the Jin gilt. Blood has stained the grey of her robe, the edge of her sleeves. She rises, still, and dips in a curtsy. “Jiang-zongzhu,” she greets.

Exhaustion is written into the line of her shoulders, the shadows under her dark eyes. He wants to reassure her, comfort her, but he can’t even think where to begin. They’re all captives here in one form or another, but she is the one with the least hope of escape. For so long the Jins have hungered for Wen blood; they won’t release her now that she’s caught in their golden snare.

“A-Cheng,” jie greets, reaching out her hand. He takes it in both of his, holds tight like he can help if only he doesn’t let go. Swallowing, he makes himself look at Jin Zixuan. He’s too pale, in that grey-tinged pallor of deep sickness, and he lies far too still. Only the faint rise and fall of the blankets over his chest give proof of life. “They say he’s in a healing sleep now. He should wake up within a week,” jie says. She pauses and twists to look over her shoulder at Wen Qing. “Is that right, Wen-guniang?” As if stirred from a trance, Wen Qing startles a little and swallows before giving a short nod. “Yes, Jin-xiao-furen,” she says. “The physical trauma was significant but has started healing with the aid of the infusions. The greater damage is to his golden core. If he wakes within the week, we will have a better idea of his prognosis.” Despite everything, she gives her report in a steady, even tone. They could be talking about a sprained wrist for how calmly she speaks. Somehow it settles the wild, terrified thing howling behind his ribs. Everything is wrong and he has no idea how to fix it but — but he has responsibilities, duties even now. He turns to face her without letting go of a-jie’s hand. “What happened?” he asks. He’s asked once before, but there’s a difference in what Nie Mingjue would be able to report and what Wen Qing might. He’s never received correspondence from her like he has from Wei Wuxian, but they’ve been working toward a shared goal regardless. She studies him a long moment, that unflinching evaluation that had unnerved him at first and then made something strange and bright shoot down his spine. Even now, he finds himself standing a little straighter under her consideration. “I didn’t see the attack,” she says, much like Nie Mingjue’s forewarning. “One of the Nie disciples flew to the edge of the wards and demanded I come help. I didn’t believe her at first but—” She pauses, shakes her head. “When I arrived, Jin Zixuan and Wei Wuxian were both unconscious. A— a-Ning had come back to himself,” she says, and there, for the first time, Jiang Cheng hears a faint tremor. “He knew better than to remove his hand and was trying to help, but he was — shaken. He said he remembered Jin Zixun surprising them, archers shooting at the both of them, but after that was dark.” Her hands are held tightly before her belly, like a lifeline or maybe a shield over her softer parts. “Once Jin Zixuan was stabilized, I made a-Ning take Wei Wuxian back,” she continues. “It seemed the best recourse, considering.” He’s grateful, briefly, for her clarity of mind in such a blood-soaked crisis. If Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian were brought here with Wei Wuxian incapacitated and Wen Ning still bloodied from killing Jin and Lan disciples— The thought alone makes cold horror creep frost-like up through his lungs. “And a-Xian?” a-jie asks. “Chifeng-zun said he collapsed.” Wen Qing hesitates a moment, expression tightening, before she gives a slow nod. “He overexerted himself,” she says. Her hand pinches tight around her fingers. “Between maintaining the wards from afar and then the summoning he did at the pass— His control has been slipping.” She stops abruptly, averting her eyes as her throat works. What does that mean? Jiang Cheng wants to demand, but the truth is that he already knows. He was given all the pieces to the answer months ago; he’s only been refusing to look at the way they align. “Is he—” jie starts but she stops short, as if she doesn’t want to ask for fear of the answer. Slow anger burns up where the frost-work horror traced. They’d been so close to fixing this. “The idiot,” he seethes. “He couldn’t just think for once? All he had to do was get here. All he had to do was not start a fight and then we could—” “A-Cheng.” A-jie looks at him with a horrible, heart-breaking softness. A bone-deep weariness seems to permeate her, sorrow already soaking into her soul. He bites down and swallows his words. It’s not fair, he knows. It wasn’t Wei Wuxian’s fault this time, really — except for the way it feels like they’ve been slipping down this road ever since Yiling, ever since Wei Wuxian promised he could fix Jiang Cheng’s core. Looking back now, he can see the path laid out so clearly it seems impossible he ever thought it could lead to any other end. “There is to be a pledge conference tomorrow night,” he says. His voice comes out strangely even, as if he is giving instructions to his disciples rather than speaking with his sister and his brother’s close friend. “All the sects have agreed to take the Burial Mounds by force and bring the Yiling laozu to justice.” A-jie’s hand tightens around his, hard enough it pinches the bones of his fingers. He swallows and holds steady. “Nie Mingjue has claimed custody over you,” he says, looking to Wen Qing. “Jin Guangshan has demanded Wen Ning as well.” There’s no need to say what sentence they’ve passed for Wei Wuxian. By technicality, he is Yunmeng Jiang’s disciple to punish, but he stands alone against the world now. Whoever kills him first will have the right. Wen Qing accepts the information without so much as a flinch. His chest tightens, clenches with frustration and anger at the way she seems so unbothered at being traded from hand to hand like chattel. It’s no surprise, nothing more than common practice. She is a prisoner, after all, even if she escaped. All of them are and as such, they have no right to ask for mercy or better treatment. After all, as much as Wei Wuxian had railed against the unjust treatment of the Wen prisoners in the camps, the argument the sects had used to actually relocate them had hinged more on the way dispersing them across the sects would reduce the likelihood of rebellion rather than concerns for the prisoners themselves. Watching her acceptance before him, though, feels deeply and innately wrong. Wen Qing has always held herself with pride, whether as a member of Wen Ruohan’s inner court or cast out by all the cultivation world. That she would resign herself to such a fate seems a perversion of her nature. “A-Cheng,” jie says, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Her eyes are beseeching. “Please, don’t let them hurt him. Bring him home, a-Cheng.” There are tears in her eyes, and her voice shakes as she pleads. That wild thing in his chest cracks, breaks like a fault-line through his ribs. His sister should never have to beg, his sister should not be sitting here with her husband dying and her little brother condemned. This is wrong, wrong in a way that cannot be mended no matter how tightly he holds on. “A-jie,” he says, voice breaking. How can she ask this of him? How can he refuse? How can he give her a promise he knows he won’t be able to keep? Tears sting his eyes, break burning on his lips. He cannot give her the answer she needs; he cannot give her a lie. His knees buckle underneath him and he slips down to kneel before her, supplicant, bowing. She folds over him as he presses his tears into her skirts. Her hand still holds his, her body shuddering with sobs. He clings to her and he weeps.

#mdzs #cql #the untamed #untamed fic #my writing

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Note

Prompt - Nie Mingjue's temper is already not great at the Phoenix hunt, so when they haul out men and women, some who look a great deal more like frightened peasants than cultivators he snaps, this is not how you treat POWs, it turns into a riot/battle and Jiang Cheng has had enough of kowtowing to the Jin and he and the new Jiang sect members and Wei Wuxian all rally to Nie Mingjue, does anyone else? Where to the Lan fall? Was nie mingjue's snap directly at jgy or more in general?

ao3

Nie Mingjue was, probably for the first time in his life, tired of fighting.

He’d fought in secret against the Wen sect for years, thanklessly defending the other sects that had refused to even acknowledge Wen Ruohan’s actions for years on end, and yet it had not prepared him for the brutality that was open warfare, for the difficulty of being the general of the entire Sunshot Campaign, for the burden of knowing that so many lives depended on him and him alone. He’d fought battle after battle, won tremendous victories, and yet the last hope had seemed out of reach – he’d eventually resorted to a desperate stratagem that had gone wrong – he had been tortured, mocked, his men killed – and at the moment of when all seemed lost, he was saved.

Saved…only to realize that it was Meng Yao being credited with it, with being their spy, and Lan Xichen had not told him.

He’d limped back to his camp, but they’d chased after him, and the news of what Meng Yao had done got out – not really a surprise; given the man’s ambitions, if someone else hadn’t spread it he would have done it himself – and in the end, politics had meant that there really hadn’t been much of a choice about swearing sworn brotherhood with the two of them, binding them together in life and death, not unless he wanted to risk another war.

Nie Mingjue very, very much did not want another war.

He had still not fully recovered from his injuries by the time the Jin sect had set up a celebration in the Nightless City, with Jin Guangshan using Nie Mingjue’s refusal to take on any of Wen Ruohan’s ridiculous trappings as an excuse to all but name himself Chief Cultivator in the man’s place. Nie Mingjue knew he should have protested then, but he was tired, his sect in need of rebuilding – they had been the ones bearing the brunt of the war, as they always had, and the only reason they were not the worst off of the Great Sects was because of what the Wens had done to the Cloud Recesses and the Lotus Pier – and he’d never really wanted personal advancement, anyway.

After what had happened with his father, he’d had a lifetime’s worth of being promoted.

Besides, as part and parcel of their self-granted promotion, the Jin sect had promised to take care of the worst of the clean-up, including dealing with the prisoners of war, and that had seemed fine, even a good result. After spending half his life doing things for other people, Nie Mingjue would return home to focus on that which matter most to him, and for once someone else would take the lead in caring for the rest of the world.

It wasn’t like the Jin sect couldn’t afford a few more mouths to feed.

It wasn’t like their coffers were anywhere near empty, or that they needed to rebuild; it wasn’t as though they’d ever stopped trade with Qishan or actually led in a major battle or - he should stop thinking about it before he became angry.

He’d been angry for so long. It would be nice to stop for a while.

Of course, it felt as though he’d barely settled in back at home before he was being summoned for yet another celebration hosted by the Jin sect, this time at Phoenix Mountain. A hunt, no less, and it was so pointedly designed as the sort of thing that the Nie sect favored that it would have been impossible to turn down the invitation. Not to mention, the invitation had oh-so-casually mentioned that Jin Guangyao, his sworn brother, would be the one in charge of setting up the hunt, meaning that any disruption or failure cause damage not only to his own reputation but to Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen’s, for having sworn with him.

Jin Guangshan would either have his day in the sun or a reason to tear everyone else down - a win-win situation for him, lose-lose for everyone else.

Fucking politics.

Still, there wasn’t anything for it. They had to go, so they went.

Nie Mingjue felt himself drifting back into that disconnected state that had allowed him to survive years of discussion conferences hosted by his father’s murderer. It was a strange sort of state, that allowed him to do the things he had to do to support his sect while feeling as though the world was separated from him by a window through which he watched everything happen. Anything that occurred beyond that window – all sounds and sights and even emotional reactions – was dulled or even muted; he could look Wen Ruohan right in the eye and think to himself of how much he longed to slaughter the man where he stood for his crimes, look at Jiang Fengmian smiling quite sincerely at Wen Ruohan and Lan Qiren bowing to him as if he was a man worthy of respect, as if they weren’t hypocrites that took Wen Ruohan’s money in trade and said apologetically that there wasn’t anything anyone could prove about Nie Mingjue’s father’s death, and yet, no matter how much he hated them all, his body would do nothing.

He would drink tea, and nod, and he would not breach etiquette, he would not bring war down on his sect’s head, he would do nothing.

Sitting in a place of honor at Phoenix Mountain felt much the same: yet another burden to bear, a torment that he could only hope passed quickly.

(It wasn’t healthy, but then again, what was? His entire life was grist for the mill that was his sect’s well-being, shortened by excessive cultivation and stress and endless rage, and knowing it didn’t change anything.)

He saw in the corner of his eye the way his little brother’s eyes flickered to him and then frown – he’d never liked it when Nie Mingjue went quiet and passive, knowing how alien the feeling was to him, knowing through fellow-feeling what it felt like, though perhaps he was wondering why the state had come upon him now again when Wen Ruohan was already dead and gone, even though it had never really just been about Wen Ruohan.

Perhaps because of that fellow-feeling, Nie Huaisang found a conversational interlude hat allowed him to slide over a little closer than politeness dictated, casually putting a hand on Nie Mingjue’s arm as if to beg for something. He knew that Nie Mingjue took comfort in the touch, in the reminder that with his saber at his side and his brother within arms’ reach, Nie Mingjue felt as thought he had everything he valued most in this rotten world close enough that he could try to protect it.

And then the Jin sect – using Jin Guangyao as their mouthpiece, though whether it was because of his skillful silver tongue or simply because they didn’t think he was worth anything more than that, only he would know – announced that they would kick off the hunt with some entertainment.

Nie Mingjue lifted his cup of tea to his lips, feeling pained, and his eyes briefly met with Lan Qiren’s across the hall, no longer in the place of the sect leader but slightly behind, his expression making clear that the same thought was on both their minds – anything but the prostitutes again.

(Surely Jin Guangyao had a bit more self-respect than that…?)

When a bunch of people in chains were marched out, Nie Mingjue had only enough presence of mind to be briefly relieved that the presence of mixed genders meant that they were probably not prostitutes – Lanling Jin abided by rules relating to birth gender and sexuality that seemed nearly as strict as the rules they were always criticizing Gusu Lan over, and according to them no one ever switched or was misaligned or deviated at all, which frankly seemed more than a little bizarre and unbelievable – and then uncomfortable because, well, they were in chains. Weren’t they supposed to be done with war?

And then Jin Guangyao started announcing the rules of some sort of ridiculous archery contest that the younger generation would engage in, and for a moment that seemed almost a relief as well – as a sect leader, Nie Mingjue was excluded from the younger generation despite being only a few years older than the rest of them, and of course there was no point in expecting his brother to participate in any competition of martial skill, and so for a moment it seemed as though this could be another part of this torturous endless experience that he could just tune out.

Indeed, that he was obligated to tune out. No matter how idiotic it was, whatever it was, whatever he thought about it (and he wouldn’t like it, he knew he wouldn’t like it, he’d never liked anything Wen Ruohan – no, that Jin Guangshan, insofar as there was that much of a difference – he’d never liked anything Jin Guangshan had set up in nearly ten years of working together, and odds were good that he wouldn’t like this), Nie Mingjue still had to think first of his sect and the consequences of making a fuss, and that meant he didn’t. He didn’t want a war, and so he had to be polite, restrained, quiet, no matter what he thought.

It wasn’t that hard to simply pull back even further. Nie Mingjue had been suppressing righteousness in favor of etiquette at these horrible conferences for such a long time that it came naturally to him, the way all bad habits did.

Only this time he’d brought Nie Huaisang with him, which he’d always resisted before, and his brother’s hand tightened on his arm to the point of pain.

Nie Mingjue’s first thought, stupidly enough, was to be pleased by the discovery that Nie Huaisang actually had some arm muscle underneath all those prissy frills he favored. His second was concern that Nie Huaisang had suddenly taken ill – with admittedly a bit of hopefulness that perhaps it would be something they could use as an excuse to leave early, as long as it wasn’t that serious – but when he turned to look at him his brother didn’t seem sick.

He seemed – angry?

Not Huaisang, Nie Mingjue thought, heart abruptly seized with an ancient fear. He knew perfectly well what he’d gotten himself into when it came to the saber spirits, had accepted years ago that he would die young, die early, die horribly and alone with nothing but his rage, but that was not going to be Nie Huaisang’s fate, not if he had anything to say about it.

The fear curdled in his chest, and it felt as though a crack appeared on the window that shielded him from all sensation, all pain and desperation forced far away.

No one was talking, other than Jin Guangyao droning on and on about whatever the new entertainment was – Nie Mingjue had stopped paying attention long ago – and so he couldn’t ask Nie Huaisang what was wrong, but he looked at him and furrowed his brow, trying to convey the question silence.

Nie Huaisang caught the glance and understood, and his mouth moved, shaping silent sounds – it’s an execution, they’re going to kill them –

What?

Baxia, lying by his side as she always did during these meetings, shifted a little, her rage nudging against Nie Mingjue’s mind as it always did – sometimes he thought she hated these meetings as much as he did, other times he was sure of it – and the crack in the window got a little wider, let in a little more light and color and sound, and Nie Mingjue found a thread of willpower to force himself to listen to what the entertainment Jin Guangyao was proposing actually was.

He replayed the words in his mind, turned to look at the people in chains – Wen sect, apparently, and though he couldn’t tell on sight whether they were civilians or cultivators, that didn’t matter. Not even criminals were executed like this, by standing at a distance and waiting to die, not even able to hope for an expert aiming to kill quickly and cleanly, but through a misplaced arrow that could strike them anywhere, cause them a lingering and painful death…this was supposed to be a game?

This was meant to be their entertainment?

The window between Nie Mingjue and the world shattered.

And suddenly all he felt was rage.

“What,” Nie Mingjue said, even as Jin Zixuan got up with a set expression on his face to accept a bow from his servant, “are you doing?”

Jin Zixuan paused, looking puzzled – and no surprise, since Nie Mingjue hadn’t said anything beyond the most mundane greetings when he first arrived. “Sect Leader Nie..?”

Nie Mingjue rose to his feet, his brother’s hand falling off of his arm as if he’d shaken him off like a dog. “What are you doing?” he demanded, louder this time. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Da-ge –” Jin Guangyao said, an obvious hint, a reminder of their relationship – Nie Mingjue was the one bound by it, the older brother responsible for setting a good example, and for all that Jin Guangyao was supposed to listen to him and follow his lead Nie Mingjue had never seen a hint that he’d ever planned to do so – but Nie Mingjue didn’t listen to him.

He was angry.

It felt good to be angry – a clean anger, a righteous anger, anger at injustice being perpetrated right before his eyes.

(Something so poisonous as rage shouldn’t feel this good.)

“This is an abomination,” he said, a touch of the battlefield in his voice so that it would be audible throughout the hall, would spread far and wide for all to hear. “Those are people you’re putting on the line.”

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Jin Zixun, Jin Guangshan’s nephew, broke it with an abrupt laugh. “Sect Leader Nie,” he said, pretending to smile, “surely you don’t think so little of us to suggest that my cousin would miss –”

“I don’t care even if he does strike true,” Nie Mingjue snapped. “You do not play with the lives of men.”

“Hardly men,” a minor sect leader, closely affiliated with the Jin sect, said. Sect Leader Qin, if Nie Mingjue placed him right. “Perhaps you did not hear, Chifeng-zun –” It was always his title they used when they wanted to avoid calling him sect leader, when they were trying to make a point about how young and angry and foolish they thought he was. “– but those are Wen-dogs.”

“I don’t care who or what they are,” Nie Mingjue shouted, and now he had fallen back into his body, back into the battlefield, because this was a battlefield; it was only that he had allowed himself – through tiredness or shock or a desire for peace – to forget it for a moment. “Is this not a celebration of peace, the end of war? If they are criminals, sentence them; if they are condemned, execute them with a sword. Even a rabid beast deserves to be put down cleanly, not to be used as target practice by children for the entertainment of others!”

There was movement in the crowd, multiple people shifting from one side to the other, the audience abruptly uncomfortable when faced not only with a gory spectacle but their own complicity in it.

“Sect Leader Nie, calm yourself,” Jin Guangshan said. His voice was stern, irritatingly condescending – as if he thought that styling himself as Chief Cultivator gave him the right to act as if he were Nie Mingjue’s father. “You go too far for proper etiquette; will you not give any face to me, as your host? Naturally, if you have a complaint, I will hear it –”

“I don’t recall the moment I yielded to your authority in matters of ethics, Sect Leader Jin,” Nie Mingjue snapped. “Please, feel free to remind me – the last I recall it, you were the one begging me for assistance.”

“Sect Leader Nie!” Jin Guangshan shouted, rising to his feet with his face starting to purple.

Nie Mingjue saw the furious glance he sent at a frantic Jin Guangyao – control him already! – and it makes his own rage surge even higher. It was not that he didn’t know that his sworn brother was being used as leverage against him, but to have it shoved right into his face like that, to think that they thought that etiquette and brotherhood would be sufficient to make him complaisant – to allow Jin Guangyao to run roughshod over his morality – to think that it had nearly worked –

“Sect Leaders, please.” That was Lan Xichen, standing up as well, his hands outstretched. “Is this not meant to be a celebration of peace?”

For a moment, Nie Mingjue thought he was standing up for his sake, supporting him in decrying what was happening in front of them – something he despised as much as Nie Mingjue did, that much was obvious from his stance – but then his eyes flicked from Nie Mingjue to Jin Guangyao as well, silently beseeching Nie Mingjue to remember how his actions could hurt Jin Guangyao’s standing, and Nie Mingjue felt cold.

So much for brotherhood, it seemed. How much was he supposed to bear on behalf of Jin Guangyao without receiving anything in return?

He turned his face away.

If the Nie sect had to make this stand alone, so be it. Even if it meant war, war against the rest of the cultivation world, war that would be ruinous to his sect...

There was no choice. The Nie sect stood for refusing to tolerate evil; to do any less would be to throw off the traditions of his ancestors more wholly than Nie Huaisang’s refusal to train the saber had ever been. Even on a personal level, he had long criticized others who stood quiet when evil was happening, and he would not let himself become the hypocrite that so many others had been.

Nie Mingjue had never before willingly backed away from doing the right thing, the righteous thing, simply because it was hard to do – he would not start now.

“It seems strange that a celebration of peace would begin with death.” That was Jiang Cheng standing up as well, the fourth of the Great Sects. His sister had once been engaged to Jin Zixuan, and she had been invited to the hunt as Madame Jin’s special guest – popular thought had it that the Jin sect would snap her up soon enough, allying with the last remaining sect, and leaving anyone who opposed them to stand alone. But even if that was the plan, it hadn’t happened yet, and Jiang Cheng was putting his voice on Nie Mingjue’s side – Nie Mingjue would have to find a way to repay him for his support later. “Weren’t the Wen sect supposed to be resettled somewhere peaceful? Or was the news I received incorrect?”

“The innocent branch members and civilians were of course resettled,” Jin Guangyao said, and his smile was strained – or was it? Was it actual concern, or some sort of show? Nie Mingjue could never tell with him, not now that he knew how easily the snake changed its skin. “These however are war criminals, sentenced to execution in the manner of our choosing. I hope you all understand: their deaths are in no way comparable to their crimes –”

You would know, having participated in so many of them, Nie Mingjue thought, and levelled a glare at his youngest sworn brother to remind him of that fact. It briefly interrupted the smooth flow of words, making them catch in Jin Guangyao’s throat; at least he had that much shame.

“Can I see?” Nie Huaisang asked in the brief interval, his high voice just as carrying as Nie Mingjue’s shouting – all those music and singing lessons had clearly been worth something.

“See what?” Jin Zixun sneered, stepping forward – and interesting that it was him that did so, while Jin Zixuan, the heir, remained still and silent. His expression was frosty, but he hadn’t yet spoken up in his own father’s defense; hardly filial, but given such a father it was difficult to see what else he could do. “See their crimes? Do you want a list, or for us to drag out their victims to testify? Is this how little your Nie sect thinks of our Jin sect?”

A strong effort on Jin Zixun’s part – it put the burden on them to prove that these were not evildoers and criminals who deserved what was coming to them, made the issue their rudeness and lack of etiquette, made it seem as if they were the ones looking down on everyone.

But for all that Nie Mingjue despaired of Nie Huaisang’s skill at arms, he had never doubted his skill with words.

“You misunderstand me,” Nie Huaisang laughed nervously, hiding his face behind his fan in a gesture of shyness – he made it look as though he were being bullied by Jin Zixun, rather than debating him. “I just meant, well, they’re criminals, right? They must be truly impressive cultivators to fight against the brave soldiers of our Sunshot Campaign…could we see their strength?”

Nie Mingjue knew a cue when he heard one. “Such strength must be considerable to deserve such a fate,” he said scornfully. “Even Wen Ruohan, who killed hundreds, was merely cut down, rather than tormented in the same manner he tortured so many of our cultivators…Or do you think to emulate him in this manner as well?”

“How dare you?!” Jin Guangshan was florid with rage – as if rage would ever stop a Nie. “You come to my home and accuse me with no basis –”

“I do accuse you!” Nie Mingjue shouted, letting his voice trample down Jin Guangshan’s. “But by your own acts you are condemned, by your own callousness and indifference. So much Nie blood was shed to stop Wen Ruohan from running rampant over us all – I would die rather than have spent that blood to buy us nothing more than the same dominion in a different color!”

And then everyone was talking at once, shouting, yelling, and Nie Mingjue took the opportunity to turn on his heel and stride over to Lan Xichen, standing there looking lost. Lan Wangji was beside him, only a step behind, and he caught Nie Mingjue’s eyes as he came over and nodded – he, at least, was with Nie Mingjue in this, and his support gave Nie Mingjue more confidence in what he was about to do. What he had to do.

“Will you abide by your Lan sect’s values and stand with me in this?” he asked Lan Xichen in a low, clipped tone. “Or was my oath of brotherhood only worth the benefits it could get for Meng Yao?”

“Da-ge!” Lan Xichen exclaimed, looking horrified. “Don’t think that, please. Of course I stand with you in this – what they were planning for the Wen sect members goes beyond bad taste and into the horrific.”

He hadn’t meant it the way Nie Mingjue had taken it, then. It must have only been Jin Guangyao’s pleading looks that had led him to take a stand the wrong way, seeking peace and friendship over justice.

“One should not look away from righteousness simply because it would be easier,” Lan Wangji added smoothly, sounding almost as though he were agreeing with his brother and not subtly scolding him. He saluted Nie Mingjue. “You have our full support, regardless of who is on the other side.”

Nie Mingjue continued to look at Lan Xichen who hesitated – no doubt thinking of the tough position they’d just put Jin Guangyao into – but in the end he nodded.

That was fine. Okay, no, it wasn’t fine, but right now he needed Lan Xichen’s support, regardless of his level of enthusiasm; the rest could be dealt with later.

He turned again and went to Jiang Cheng – Wei Wuxian was there as well, having appeared at some point, and he was vociferously yelling at some minor sect leaders. In Nie Mingjue’s favor, at least.

“Sect Leader Nie,” Wei Wuxian said, turning to him before Nie Mingjue could say anything to Jiang Cheng – not that he really need to confirm his support, given the public display from earlier, but it was only polite to come convey his thanks. “There’s something else you should know. I’ve heard some things about the innocent members Wen sect that were supposedly ‘resettled’ – and what’s been happening to them…”

Nie Mingjue glanced at Jin Guangshan, still shouting, and did a quick calculation. “Take Lan Wangji and go check it out at once,” he ordered. “They were supposed to be resettled by the Qiongqi Path. If Sect Leader Jin has been treating these ones so cruelly as this…I’m willing to believe anything right now. But whatever it is, make sure it’s both of you that see it with your own eyes, to make it harder to doubt your words.”

Wei Wuxian saluted him and headed towards Lan Wangji without even seeking approval from his sect leader. Nie Mingjue abruptly felt awkward and looked at Jiang Cheng, but the other man nodded his agreement before he could apologize for commandeering Wei Wuxian as if the other man was still his subordinate.

“At least he listens to you,” Jiang Cheng said, a rueful smile on this face. “Can I convince you to talk some sense into him when all this is done..? I must admit I wasn’t expecting another war so soon.”

“I had hoped we wouldn’t see one for another generation,” Nie Mingjue admitted. “I still hope we can avoid it – it depends on how the smaller sects fall out, and how determined the Jin sect is to dominate the rest, rather than willing to accept equality. But no matter how it goes, we can’t turn our faces away from injustice.”

“Agreed,” Jiang Cheng said with a sigh. “I think we have the better of the argument, and hopefully it sways the rest of them. But have you considered what happens if we win?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sect Leader Jin has been setting himself up as Chief Cultivator. After something like this, even if there’s no actual fighting, that’ll be impossible. You need respect to lead. So who will it be?”

Nie Mingjue experienced a brief moment of horror at the thought of having to take it himself – but no. It was a reasonable solution, of course, but it would also taint the whole thing. It would make his decision to stand up into a tawdry political play, designed to increase his power, rather than a genuine outburst of offended principle.

He might have proposed Lan Xichen as a compromise – he would have, even a shichen earlier. But after that display of weakness from earlier, however brief, he feared that it would somehow end up with Jin Guangyao (and Jin Guangshan behind him) pulling the strings from behind the scenes, using Lan virtue as a cover for their iniquity…no, that wouldn’t do at all.

The only other option was –

Well.

Nie Mingjue had thought to himself that he needed to do something to pay Jiang Cheng back for his support earlier, hadn’t he?

(And at worst, he’d owe him yet another favor.)

Nie Mingjue put his hand on Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. “You have my full support,” he said solemnly, and ignored the sudden look of panic on Jiang Cheng’s face. “Think it over before you say no.”

Being Chief Cultivator would do more to restore the Jiang sect to prosperity than anything else Jiang Cheng might do, and he’d put that together himself sooner or later even if the idea of that much responsibility had to be fairly terrible. But before they could decide things like that, they needed to win.

One more fight.

He could do that much.

#mdzs #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #jin guangyao #lan xichen #jin guangshan #lan wangji #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #my fic #my fics #roseunspindle #spectacle

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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years

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Hello! As a prompt, can I ask for an AU where WWX says "fuck it", gives the seal to the Jins, and disappears from the cultivation world with the Wens. At first ppl are happy, then they realize letting Jin Guangshan having the seal was a huge ass mistake, and now they have to find WWX, swallow their pride and ask for help.

Untamed verse

“In retrospect, Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have given Jin Guangshan the Yin Tiger Seal.”

“What choice did he have? Jin Guangshan had him over a barrel, especially with what he did in defense of the Wen sect…”

“At least he only abused his power to defend people, rather than –”

“Shh! Don’t say it specifically. He might hear.”

Lan Wangji continued walking, his head held high, and didn’t allow any sign of his displeasure to rise to the surface. It was all well and good for the various small cultivators to regret it now that Wei Wuxian was gone, but weren’t they among those who spoke against Wei Wuxian when he was still here? It was partly their disdain and revulsion that cause Wei Wuxian to give up, to give up the seal, to retreat from the world without leaving the slightest trace behind beyond the empty dwellings of the Burial Mound…

It had been a few years now.

At first, the cultivation world had celebrated Wei Wuxian’s disappearance; in fact, the only thing they regretted was that he hadn’t been killed outright. The right way for the end of such a tragedy, they said, was a grandiose battle that would live up to the rest of his legend – but Lan Wangji knew that their real motive was so that they could say to all who listened that they participated in taking him down.

And Jin Guangshan – with the power of the Yin Tiger Seal in his hand – had become Chief Cultivator, showering everyone with the Jin sect’s riches. The Nie sect had protested, but wasn’t interested in starting another war, and all the junior sects were inclined to support it.

It hadn’t been long before that had spoiled.

Jin Guangshan had always enjoyed having things go his own way, after all – and he’d never been good at restraining himself, especially when it came to women. At first it was limited to those who didn’t have the ability to protest, but after the first one did…

The Yin Tiger Seal gave him too much power. Who could resist him?

The first time Jin Guangshan wiped out a clan, he’d come up with an excuse for it. But when he got away with that, it seemed to go to his head, and he stopped even pretending after that. Female cultivators fled Lanling in droves, whether they could afford to do so or not, and the sects who tried to make trouble faced disaster.

The junior sects turned to the three Great Sects, but they had their own troubles. Jiang Cheng’s sister had disappeared, her son with her, and Jiang Cheng was certain that Jin Guangshan was behind it, though Lan Wangji personally suspected that Wei Wuxian might have had something to do with it – assuming he could get news from wherever-he-was, he would never leave his shijie to suffer.

Lan Wangji’s own sect…

A frown surfaced on Lan Wangji’s face, just as it always did when he thought about it. Jin Guangshan had seen the noises the Nie sect and the Lan sect were making about him; he’d sacrificed a pawn to trip them up, and very successfully, too.

The former Jin Guangyao – Jin Guangshan had cast him out of Lanling and told both his sworn brothers about the various things he’d done. Obviously, everyone knew that he’d undoubtedly done it at Jin Guangshan’s instigation, but he’d still done them…and he was the only one clever enough to think of using the Song of Clarity, Lan Xichen’s gift, as a method to poison Nie Mingjue through his family’s hereditary weakness.

The revelation had very nearly destroyed Lan Xichen, and Nie Mingjue wasn’t much better. The former had largely withdrawn into seclusion, while the latter had temporarily removed himself from his role as sect leader in order to try to heal the damage. Nie Huaisang had temporarily assumed the position, nearly red-eyed with rage that reminded everyone that his share of the family inheritance was merely latent rather than absent – Lan Wangji worked closely with Nie Huaisang these days, managing the resistance against Jin Guangshan.

They got along well. Lan Wangji had his own rage to work through, too – for Lan Xichen, of course, but not just that.

For Wei Wuxian, too.

Jiang Cheng was the third member of their group. They weren’t as easy with each other, as Lan Wangji couldn’t quite let off his suspicion that he knew where Wei Wuxian was and just wasn’t telling.

Lan Wangji couldn’t blame him if that were the case, and yet…

Their efforts had borne some fruit, creating a division in the cultivation world between them – they weren’t powerful enough to attack Lanling, but Jin Guangshan was too lazy to do much more than rule his own territory and occasionally lash out at people who disagreed with him, even from a distance. Even with the Yin Tiger Seal, he didn’t have the heart of a conqueror, and that was the only thing keeping them all safe.

It wouldn’t last, though. He lashed out more and more, his temperament affected by the resentful energy, his psyche cracking – one day, he’d attack, and they’d lose hundreds of lives trying to stop him.

At least, they would if they couldn’t find someone to beat Jin Guangshan at his own game.

They needed Wei Wuxian.

Lan Wangji needed Wei Wuxian.

He was on his way to the Lotus Pier once more to beg Jiang Cheng to share what he knew, if he knew it; perhaps this time, he would be successful.

Perhaps this time, he’d be able to show Wei Wuxian that he’d stand by his side, rather than in his way

#mdzs #lan wangji #wei wuxian #wangxian #jin guangshan #assorted others #my fic #my fics #Anonymous

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baoshan-sanren · 4 years

Text

Chapter 26

of the wwx emperor au I’m thinking of calling Lan QiRen’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week oh god it’s only gonna get worse

Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei WuXian, the direct descendent of the Immortal Empress, the Divine Ruler of the Shan Dynasty, the rightful Guardian of the Immortal Mountain, has been standing at the Peach Blossom Pavilion gate for entirely too long.

Arranging the short trip from the Jade Sword Palace to the Peach Blossom Pavilion had taken nearly an hour. Wei WuXian could have flown across the rooftops in a tenth of that time, and already accomplished his task five times over. But the Emperor requires an escort. The Emperor requires five layers of black and gold cloth, which is already proving unbearable in the midday heat. The Emperor requires a heavy gold hair piece, and a fan, and a parasol to protect him from the sun’s glare, servants who will carry the parasol and the excess material of his robe, ten Imperial Guards at the minimum, and four more servants to stand at attention, in the event that the Emperor finds himself in need of them.

Lan Zhan had asked him to use the door. Wei Ying is going to use the door. He is the Divine Ruler of the Shan Dynasty, not some rogue cultivator without a copper in his pocket, begging for favor. He has never been intimidated by Sect Leader Lan, and he is not intimidated today.

He should not care if Lan QiRen hates him. Wei Ying is very much aware that he is already hated by Jin GuangShan, Wen RuoHan, and another half dozen sect leaders. Between the memories of YanLing DaoRen’s tyranny, and his mother’s forbearance so often mistaken for weakness, the hatred of their direct descendent was always an inevitability. Years of unsuccessful assassination attempts have made the animosity pretty difficult to ignore.

But Lan Zhan loves his uncle. And Wei Ying cannot bear the idea of being hated by someone Lan Zhan loves.

“Your Majesty,” Nie MingJue says, “would you prefer to stay out here?”

“No,” Wei Ying says, “I just-- need a moment.”

Nie MingJue nods, and goes back to standing at attention.

There are times that Wei Ying hates being the Emperor.

The Lan Sect Leader has never shown the Emperor an ounce more deference than what is absolutely necessary. In the past six years, he had arrived at the Immortal Mountain City each time he was summoned. He never asked for a single favor, never spoke unless he was addressed, never attended a single outing, event, or a banquet, unless his presence was specifically required. Wei Ying was accustomed to the world in which sect leaders flattered him endlessly to his face, then tried to stab him the moment his back was turned.

He is not accustomed to men like Lan QiRen.

“Make the announcement,” he says.

His palms are sweaty and cold. How stupid, that his hands are freezing, while the rest of him is boiling under the bright, midday sun.

A-Sang’s plan is already in motion. The rumors of the Emperor’s agenda for the day have been carefully spreading through the Immortal Mountain City for the past two hours. They are false rumors, intentionally whispered into the wrong ear by one of A-Sang’s servants. Jiang Cheng will be taking Wei Ying’s place in the Imperial Gardens, pretending to participate in a clandestine meeting. Shijie has already extended a gracious invitation to the Jin Sect leader, Madam Jin, and Jin ZiXuan, an invitation that cannot be declined. Twenty trustworthy members of the Nie Sect have departed for YiLing on the pretense of participating in a night hunt.

All the pieces are falling in their place. All Wei Ying needs to do is speak to Lan QiRen.

The three Lan Sect members are in the courtyard to welcome him, their postures identical.

Wei Ying motions that they should rise. Lan Zhan is wearing a simple set of robes, utterly unadorned, the cloth light and appropriate for the heat of the day. His hair is free of ornaments; it is restrained by a plain, white piece of cloth, matching his robes. In the sunlight, the layers of his hair shift from black to amber, his eyes from brown to liquid gold. His face is soft and open. He looks as if he may smile.

The escort is ordered to remain in the courtyard. A-Sang had decided that their circle of trust cannot extend to the Imperial servants or the Imperial Guards. Even so, Wei Ying had forgotten how small the Peach Blossom Pavilion actually is; even five people in its receiving hall appears to be two too many.

In the past, Lan QiRen had never made use of the Imperial servants placed at his disposal. He is not the only Sect Leader to be wary of unfamiliar help, and Wei Ying had never given the man’s preferences much thought. However, he had assumed that this visit, requiring the presence of both Young Masters, would have incited the man to bring his own. Instead, Lan Zhan and Lan XiChen excuse themselves to perform the task of preparing tea, and any other refreshments that need to be served.

“This is an unexpected pleasure,” Lan QiRen says after all the courtesies have been observed, his voice unfailingly polite, “To what do we owe the honor of Your Majesty’s visit?”

“There is to be a small outing to YiLing this afternoon. I had hoped that the Young Masters would grant me the pleasure of their company.”

“I was not aware that the Emperor was planning on an Imperial Procession through YiLing during the festival,” Lan QiRen says.

“The Emperor is not planing to hold an Imperial Procession,” Wei Ying says, “in fact, the details of this outing must be kept secret. Our intention is to draw out the person responsible for the assassination attempts. Rumors intended to misdirect the assassin and their accomplices have already been spread throughout the court. A trap has been set in the Imperial Gardens. In the view of this, removing the targets of the assassination attempts from the Immortal Mountain seems the preferable course of action.”

Lan QiRen is silent for long moments, his face unreadable.

For the first time, it strikes Wei Ying that the Lan Sect Leader is not a young man. He had been born during YanLing DaoRen’s reign, into a world already rife with chaos. Lan QiRen’s grandfather, Lan XuYun, had been one of the first Sect Leaders to pledge his loyalty to the Immortal Empress.

Lan QiRen is not stupid. The man had understood how the Emperor’s attachment to the Wen in the Immortal City was adversely affecting the Lan Sect long before Wei Ying himself had come to the same conclusion. Lan QiRen had known, and he had said nothing. All these years of suffering resentment and humiliation, he had resolutely refused all assistance offered, without ever showing an ounce of bitterness or ill will towards the Wen Sect, or the Emperor. Instead, he had shouldered the ever-increasing burden with dignity, and then taught both of his nephews to do the same.

Wei Ying does not need this man to like him, but being hated by him no longer feels like an acceptable outcome.

“Sect Leader Nie,” Wei Ying says, “I would like to speak to Sect Leader Lan in private for a moment. Please see if the Young Masters require any assistance with their task.”

Wei Ying will need to make Nie MingJue’s title particularly grand, in order to compensate for sending him to the kitchens to watch tea being brewed. But he must speak to Lan QiRen of sensitive matters, and he must do so now, while he still feels brave enough to do so.

The moment he can be certain that they will not be overheard, Wei Ying takes a deep breath, and dives under, “Sect Leader, I understand that you do not like me, do not trust me, and disapprove of of my continued association with your nephew. I cannot be someone you approve of, and any attempt to meet your expectations will doubtlessly prove to be unproductive and frustrating for both of us. Let us simply acknowledge that you will never see me as being worthy of your nephew, and that in this, at least, we may find a common ground.”

Lan QiRen leans back slightly, his expression registering a hint of surprise.

“Regardless of your disapproval,” Wei Ying says firmly, “I intend to ask Lan WangJi to take his place by my side as the Emperor Consort. I will not list all the reasons why I personally prefer him to every person I have ever met, as I am sure that this conversation would become unbearably uncomfortable for both of us. However, I am very well aware that destiny saw fit to place me into a position of power regardless of my qualifications, and that I have often failed to meet the challenges this position presents. Therefore, you cannot begrudge me the wish to share that seat of power with someone who is infinitely superior in every way.”

“Your Majesty,” Lan QiRen says, his surprise shifting to cool politeness once again, “the Lan Sect is honored by your attention. We serve at the pleasure of the Emperor.”

Wei Ying cannot stand the man’s politeness right now. He would rather have Lan QiRen pull out his sword, and attempt to skewer him to the floor. At least in that, there would be some honesty.

“Sect Leader, we have a small window of time in which we may converse openly. If I must, I will order that you speak plainly, and without hesitation. But I believe no such order is necessary.”

Lan QiRen’s expression hardens, and Wei Ying braces himself for an attack.

“WangJi will never compete for Your Majesty’s attention,” he says coldly, “He is ill-suited to a life of frivolity and stagnation. He will surpass Your Majesty in cultivation, if he has not already done so, and he will never make himself less for Your Majesty’s sake. The petty rivalries and empty flattery of the court will make him wretched. And he is certainly incapable of providing an heir to the throne, which will serve as a continuous reminder that he can be easily replaced. In short, Your Majesty, I am finding it hard to believe that you have thought your decision through with care that it deserves.”

“Lan Zhan will never have to compete for my attention,” Wei Ying says, “It is more likely that the Empire will need to compete with him, and may often find itself on the losing side. I am certain that he has already surpassed me in cultivation; a fact that has only inspired admiration, not resentment. The petty rivalries and empty flattery of the court are inevitable, but he will have the power to deal with them in any way he sees fit. And the throne already has an heir.”

The last bit seems to take Lan QiRen off guard, and he is studies Wei Ying carefully for a few moments, as if unsure what to make of him.

“In the interest of full disclosure, I am not unwilling to share the name of the heir to the throne with the Lan Sect,” Wei Ying says, “However, I do believe that this information should be shared with Lan Zhan first, if he chooses to accept my proposal.”

“If he refuses?” Lan QiRen says.

Wei Ying meets Lan QiRen’s gaze with all the composure he possesses, “Lan Zhan is the best judge of his own happiness. If he refuses, I will respect his decision.”

The silence that follows is not long, but it is the most intolerable silence of Wei Ying’s life.

Just when he thinks he cannot bear it any longer, Lan QiRen nods.

His expression seems to reflect resignation rather than outright approval, but this is an acceptable outcome. Wei Ying wonders if he should offer to let the man stab him once. He is sure this would make Sect Leader Lan much more amenable. It is not an ideal solution, but Wei Ying has been stabbed before, by men a lot less worthy of his respect.

Luckily, the tea is finally ready, so that decision, at least, can be postponed until later.

#the untamed #cql #mdzs #wangxian #ficlet #m #wwx emperor au #poor lan qiren #i think we're finally closer to the end of this fic than the beginning #i would say another 10 chapters at most #ily guys #thanks for putting up with me

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baoshan-sanren · 4 years

Text

Chapter 4

of the wwx emperor au which probably won’t get a title before we get to chapter 30

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Despite only having a few precious hours to sleep that night, Wei Ying dreams of the rooftop encounter. In his dream, he is armed with Suibian, the hilt of the sword warm and comforting in his hand. The moon is bright, Lan Zhan’s white robes glowing like freshly fallen snow, the proud, cold expression on his face never wavering. They leap across the rooftops, blades clashing, and Wei Ying laughs in delight.

He is still smiling when he wakes. Not even the early hour can ruin his mood. Somewhere between his heart-pounding dream, and the first splash of cold water on his face, he has concocted a plan that Jiang Cheng will absolutely hate. There had not been a single hour of the next seven days that Wei Ying had looked forward to in excitement, but now, he feels energized. He is prepared to face all the tedium involved in his birthday, as long as he can manage to put his plan in action.

The first day is always the worst, however, and he mentally calculates how many events do not require the Emperor’s presence.

First, he must sit through hours of introductions and greetings. Jin GuangShan will attempt to secure a position for some bastard child or another. Wen Chao will attempt to secure a position for whatever minor sect he has divested of their most treasured daughter. The BaLing OuYang Sect Leader’s wife has recently given birth; Wei Ying must remember to offer congratulations. Not because he cares for the BaLing OuYang Sect Leader, who is a gossipy old hen on the best of days, but because he regularly feels admiration and respect for Madam OuYang, a woman patient enough to marry the old hen and give him a son.

Qin CangYe will attempt, once again, to reintroduce his only daughter, despite the fact that Wei Ying has met her two dozen times already. At this point, Wei Ying is tempted to make Qin Su an Imperial Concubine, just to get Qin CangYe to stop accosting him half a dozen times a year. MeiShan Yu Sect Leader is likely to ambush him with one of his daughters as well, a situation that will be much more difficult to avoid, as the man is Madam Yu’s older brother, and should not be insulted.

The single bright point of this excruciating event is Nie MingJue, who never asks for a single thing, and never brings another female Sect member anywhere near the Immortal Mountain. Just for this reason, Wei Ying makes it a point to give Nie MingJue the largest portion of his time, and to always bestow some favor onto the man, be it more land, or a new set of armor. He had hoped that his actions would send a clear message to the others. The message, of course, being please leave the Emperor alone. Five years have passed however, and aside from the numerous rumors about Nie HuaiSang being the Imperial Noble Consort in all but name, none of the other Sect Leaders seem to have grasped the message.

Maybe Wei Ying should send out a proclamation?

Only partially dressed, as three more layers of blue and gold are required for the first half of the day, he settles down to breakfast, still trying to compose the proclamation in his mind. Please leave your daughters at home seems too crude. Also, the daughter of the HeJian Fan Sect Leader is an absolute delight. Every year she wipes the floor with half of the young masters in the sword fighting competition. Three years ago, she beat Jin ZiXuan so savagely that he cried. Jiang FengMian had needed to physically restrain Wei Ying from gifting her half the gold in the Immortal Mountain treasury.

Do not speak to the Emperor may be a better proclamation to send out, and for a few moments, Wei Ying can find no fault with this plan at all. Then he remembers the white robes glowing on the rooftops, and a voice that had managed to be both respectful and insultingly cool. He may not get a chance to speak with Lan Zhan at all today, but he would very much like to try.

Do not speak to the Emperor unless you are Lan Zhan?

Nie HuaiSang shuffles in, interrupting that flow of thought, and drops heavily on the covers Wei Ying had kicked off the bed. He is not yet dressed, his sleep robes twisted and wrinkled, his hair a bird’s nest of tangles.

“It is too early,” he whines, burying his face into the closest cushion.

After the greetings and the introductions, there is a meeting of the Sect Leaders. The meeting is designed to foster a better relationship between the Sects by forcing them to be polite to each other under the Emperor’s watchful eye. Instead, the process always dissolves into the airing out of grievances, occasionally interspersed with veiled insults directed at the Lan Sect. Each year, Wei Ying requests an extra cushion on his seat, then sinks down and pretends to listen, his eyes glazing over within the first few minutes. Two years ago, he had actually managed to fall asleep.

“The Emperor is a cruel, unfeeling creature,” HuaiSang groans into the cushion.

Once the meeting is concluded, he has a few hours of freedom before the banquet starts. The banquet requires his presence for the first hour, but once the entertainment begins, he can take his leave. Wei Ying does very much enjoy watching the dancers, but not so much that he wants to spend hours in his seat, occasionally being accosted by men with daughters.

Still, the banquet is the one event of the day when he can demand that anyone attend him. The previous year, he had gotten a great deal of pleasure from forcing Sect Leader Yao to sit by his feet, and recite poetry for six hours. Sect Leader Yao could do nothing but be honored by the distinction, and the action had the added bonus of two days of complete silence, as the Sect Leader had unfortunately lost his voice in the service to the Emperor.

This year, Wei Ying plans to be much more pleasantly engaged. The idea of having Lan Zhan at his mercy for hours on end makes his chest light and giddy, and he grins into his steamed chicken, even as HuaiSang starts to beat his heels against the carpet.

“Cruel and unfeeling!” he shouts.

There is no use in trying to calm HuaiSang’s early morning temper tantrums, but Wei Ying tries anyway.

“Come have some breakfast.”

HuaiSang glares at him through the waves of messy hair, “I. Do not. Want. Breakfast. I want to sleep.”

“If you stop whining, you can pick out five of my presents for yourself.”

HuaiSang’s eyes narrow, “Ten presents.”

“Seven presents. And I need your help with something.”

“That sounds exhausting. No deal.”

“I have not told you what it is yet!”

HuaiSang kicks a cushion across the room, “The answer is still no.”

“Ten presents.”

“No deal.”

“Ten presents, a new set of robes, and I do not force you to entertain any of the Sect Leader’s daughters.”

HuaiSang rolls over and blinks at him, face half-pressed into the covers, “And I get to take a two-hour nap between your stupid Sect Leader meeting and the banquet.”

“Fine,” Wei Ying says, practically vibrating, “Great. We have a deal. Come over here. Have some food.”

“Fine,” HuaiSang grumbles, and gets to his feet, “I want the chicken.”

#the untamed #cql #mdzs #ficlet #m #wwx emperor au #a lot of these are gonna seem like filler chapters #i can't help it #i actually know where the story is going now #which is somehow worse bc now i know everything i need to get there #which takes a lot of build-up #anyway #ily guys #still 3 chapters ahead of publishing so fingers crossed

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