#And the Wen very clearly wanted him and his family dead

[wishthefish]

Just as Wei Wuxian lost his golden core for Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng also lost his golden core for Wei Wuxian

[michealwilliams11]

My Loving Bodyguard

Summary: Tara falls in love with her personal bodyguard.

Tara Carpenter x bodyguard!Reader

After what happened with Richie and Amber, Sam decided to get a bodyguard for both her and Tara. More for Tara, of course. Tara was against it at first, thinking that Sam was overreacting, but as soon as she saw the bodyguard. It was a whole different story. Tara was confused about her feelings. She didn't know if she liked Chad or you. She felt all giddy with Chad, and he was very hot. She felt the same with you, but you were just hotter and just couldn't stop thinking about you.

When Tara went to parties, you always tagged along. Some drunk girls would try to flirt with you, but you would always decline. Of course, Tara would get jealous, but she was glad you always rejected them. Of course, her stay in parties would be short since you were there, like if she goes at 8, she'll come back home at 9:30. Sam was glad about that, and she was always informed about any parties Tara went to. The core four is the family you thought you never needed.

You and Tara were walking to another party with her friends. You suggested to use your car, but Tara said she wanted to walk with her friends. You of course agreed and went with her. "How do I look? Do I look like a pirate?" Tara asked, with her hands behind her back. You looked Tara up and down, your eyes lingering on her legs before you looked away. Tara somewhat was turned on from your gaze.

"The leggings don't give pirate style, but they sure do give Tara style." You said with a smirk, earning a chuckle from Tara. You and Tara kept on walking before Tara spotted one of her friends. "Oh, hey Tara." One of her collage friends greeted. You quickly went by Tara's side wen she walked a few steps closer to him. "Jason, are you and Greg gonna come to the OKB party?" Tara said, pointing behind to her friends who were still walking. "Well, if he finishes his Spanish project in time, yes we will." Jason said smiling.

"Is your sister coming?" Jason asked with furrowed brows. 'The fuck kind of question is that?!' You thought but kept a straight face. "No, Sam wouldn't be caught dead in a frat party." Tara said with a big grin. "There's a first time for everything." Jason said with a pointed look. "Not tonight though" Tara said while walking back with you. "Can't convince her?!" Jason asked with a stupid smirk.

'What is wrong with this kid?!' "No. That's not my problem, that's yours." Tara said with a giddy tone. "Save me a drink!" He called out. "All right, I'll see you." Tara said before completely walking away. You huffed, gaining attention from Tara. "What? You jealous?" Tara asked with a smirk. "Of what? That?"-You looked back at Jason-"Yeah sure." You said with a sarcastic tone earning a giggle from Tara.

-

The party was going great, surprisingly no one was flirting with you and Tara hasn't tried getting into people's pants. Everything was going well, Anika and Mindy were lovingly chatting on a coach, Chad and Ethan were taking shots and dancing, Tara went to go find you and her a drink and you're searching for her. That's when you saw her by the stairs, a bearded man was leading her upstairs. You quickly ran up to them.

"Sorry sir, she stays downstairs with me." You said with a fake closed lip smile. "Y/N!" Tara squealed as she hugged you tightly, clearly drunk. "Well, she wants to go. Right?" The bearded man asked Tara. "Yeah." Tara said, nodding her head, seeming unsure about her answer. "Where's my drink, Tara?" You asked, raising a brow to the girl. "We're gonna go get it." Tara said with the biggest grin, pointing upstairs. "See? She wants to come." The bearded man said before dragging Tara upstairs, making her fall on some stairs with an "Ow" and some hisses.

"Hey!!" You said, grabbing the bearded man from the collar and slamming him against the wall before headbutting him. He hissed but he groaned after you kicked him in the balls and threw him down the stairs. You started kicking him in the stomach all over, again and again and Chad had to pull you away from him. There were some gasps and a smirk from Sam's face from nearby. "Y/N! Why did you do that?!" Tara shouted at you, pushing you with an annoyed tone. She then walked away with a huff. You quickly ran after her, as well as the other members of the core four.

"Tara!! Wait up!!" You shouted, running after Tara. 'For someone who's small, she sure can run' You thought when you finally caught up. "Why did you that?!! You embarrassed me!!" Tara said, finally stopping. "You're worried about your reputation then getting raped?!" You said with no shame at all. "I wasn't-" Tara stopped herself as her fingers went down her face. "You need to stop." Tara said, pointing at you. "What did I do, other then I don't know, protect you?!" You fought back. Whenever you and Tara fought, it was like talking to a mirror. Both of you shared the same energy when angry.

"Well I don't need protecting anymore!" Tara responded, fed up about having a bodyguard. "You say that now but when fucking Ghostface pops up! Who are you going to run to next? Hmm?" You said out of anger. Tara stood shocked, her reply for anything gone. You suddenly realized what a dick you are. "Tara, wait, I didn't-" You said, reaching to hold her hand. "Fuck you Y/N." Tara said with tears almost dropping before she walked away. When Tara was out of sight, the rest of the group came running. "What happened?!" Sam asked, looking between an angry Tara and a sad Y/N. "Nothing. I'm gonna go visit my sister." You said, giving Sam a small smile before you were able to walk away. Some girls came over and threw a drink on you, one of them shouting "Murderer!". You sighed, having no energy for bullshit anymore before walking away.

-

You knocked on the door of your sister's apartment. "Come in!" Came from the inside. You shook your head. You had told your sister every time not to do that because you never know who is coming in! You came in and closed the door behind you. "Sis?" You shouted out in the room. Your sister, Olivia, came around the corner with only a towel around her body. "Y/N!" She shouted before running to you in full speed and pulled you in a bear hug. "I missed you too." You chuckled, hugging her small body. "How's collage been?" You asked, letting her go. "I missed you so much." She said with the biggest smile.

"Why don't you go get dressed?" You said, motioning to her towel. "Why are you wet and smell like alcohol?" Suddenly your sister gasped. "You went to a party?!" She asked, jumping up and down. "Only cause of Tara." You said, putting the McDonald's you got on the way here on the counter. "You like her, don't you?" Olivia asked with a smile. "I guess so." You said, not really paying attention. "Mind if I change clothes?" You asked, taking your suit jacket off. "Nope." Olivia said, already chowing down on the fries.

You went to the guest room that usually was where you slept when you came over. You opened the closet to find anything to wear. There was some stuff that didn't seem comfortable, so you just went with some sweatpants, white shirt and a sweater over it. You went back to the kitchen and Olivia was finally dressed and sipping on her Pepsi. "Leaving already?" Olivia asked with pout on her face. "Sorry, love you." You said, kissing Olivia on the forehead before leaving her apartment.

There was another knock on the door a few minutes after you left. "Come in!" Olivia shouted, sipping on her Pepsi while scrolling for a Netflix movie to watch. Officer Bailey came in; he closed the door behind him before fully coming in. "Miss L/N?" The cop asked, as Olivia quickly stood up. "Evening officer, what do I pay your visit?" She asked, somewhat confused on why a cop was in her apartment at this time at night.

Olivia gasped as Officer Bailey stabbed her in the stomach and twisted it. "You stole your dear sibling's death, bad decision." Bailey said with a sickening grin. Olivia gripped on Bailey's shoulder. Bailey quickly dodged her, resulting to Olivia falling against her dinner table and grabbing a butter knife in the process. Bailey stomped onto Olivia's right leg, a bone cracking sound coming from it, making Olivia scream her lungs out. Baily took her from her hair but Olivia quickly turned and stabbed him in the neck. Bailey let out a gasp as blood came out he's mouth as he did so.

Olivia twisted the knife as Officer Bailey fell on Olivia's body. She pushed his body off and laid there for a while. After a while, she crawled to her phone and dialed your number. God, she hoped you would be here soon.

[lgbtlunaverse]

One underdiscussed aspect of the bone-deep lack of mutual understanding during the nieyao stairs scene is that Nie Mingjue doesn't know - and can't know - what he's actually asking of Jin Guangyao. Not because he doesn't understand how his father treats him, or how tenuous his position is. But because he has no clue Xue Yang is a demonic cultivator.

Remember: Nie Mingjue is still alive, which means the position of chief cultivator doesn't exist yet and Jin Guangshan is facing heavy pushback for suggesting it. Most of that is coming from a fear that the Jin will try to become the next Wen. So having an outer disciple murder an entire clan and then not even punish him properly? This is a collosally bad move politically! You might as well be waving a red flag around yelling "I want to kill other sects with impunity!" There's a reason that years in the future, the moment Jin Guangyao becomes acting sect leader, he will immediately order Xue Yang's death (He doesn't actually die, either by accident or on purpose on jgy's part. But the point is that as far as the public is concerned he had Xue Yang executed.)

From Nie Mingjue's perspective, Jin Guangshan just shot himself in the foot politically for some random outer disciple. It's morally wrong, but it's also incredibly fucking stupid. In his eyes, he is asking Jin Guangyao to do the glaringly obvious right thing, even when exclusively looking at the Jins' self-interest. The thing that surely everyone else in the Jin also wants Jin Guangshan to do! Jin Guangyao can say that he has no influence on his father all he wants, but it is obvious how much work he does and so, as much as his father may not respect him, he clearly at least trusts Jin Guangyao's competence. Nie Mingjue has already tried shouting directly at Jin Guangshan during the trial and it seemed to work, but then Jin Guangshan went back on his decision like a complete idiot. So now Nie Mingjue is asking the guy who is famous for being good at rhetoric and convincing people to convince his donkey of a father to do the obviously correct thing with minimal downsides because again, to Nie Mingjue, this is all about some random outer disciple. It makes sense to ask this! It's a pretty reasonable request! Jin Guangshan can't possibly care that much.

Except of course he does. Because Xue Yang isn't some random outer disciple. He's the only good shot Jin Guangshan has at recreating the yin tiger tally. And Jin Guangshan reaaaaaally wants the yin tiger tally. So bad that he is fully willing to tank an ungodly amount of political goodwill to get it. Jin Guangyao is fully aware that not only will Jin Guangshan never kill Xue Yang, he isn't planning on keeping him locked up either. In fact, after Nie Mingjue is dead, he'll free Xue Yang and strongarm Chang Ping into denying the guilt of his family's murderer. Jin Guangshan cares a lot about keeping Xue Yang in his employ.

And Jin Guangyao knows this. But he can't tell Nie Mingjue that! Because then he'd have to admit they've been doing demonic cultivation. That the fucking ghost geneal is in their basement. That, oopsie, they actually also killed a whole other entire clan just a while ago after framing their sect leader for an assasination attempt and then used their bodies as fodder to make more fierce corpses. You know, in case one mass murder wasn't enough!

So obviously he's not gonna say that. Which means Nie Mingjue has no idea what he's demanding from Jin Guangyao, and therefore no idea why he absolutely can't fullfill that request.

I get why it's not mentioned very often because there are a lot of other problems which are both more obvious and more fun to talk about. (Who doesn't love a little overcomplicated trolley problem?) But I think it adds just another layer to the chasm between them in this scene. They're not just disagreeing, they're having completely different conversations.

[rosethornewrites]

Mom, who has only seen The Untamed, didn’t understand why Wei Wuxian was so feared.

I had to explain that he dug up cemeteries to get the bodies of their enemies’ ancestors to march against them, that Wen Ruohan was a megalomaniac but not into demonic cultivation, that every Wen soldier that was cut down was potentially another corpse wwx could raise to fight for him (but did he also raise allies?), that the very idea of him was so terrifying that he became the folk culture boogie man very easily with a few well-placed rumors. Children thought if they were naughty he would come for them in the night. Wei Wuxian was a living nightmare.

She was surprised none of that got into The Untamed, where it is made to seem like wwx just disrupts Wen Ruohan’s control and wwx is never shown controlling a fierce corpse—only Wen Ning, who isn’t technically dead in The Untamed, more like in between life and death. They couldn’t show it because then wwx would be morally grey and that’s not allowed. They can’t show shambling corpses, only living puppets, unless the controlling cultivator is absolutely evil. What is black, what is white?

Specifically she didn’t get why Jiang Cheng was so angry at Lan Wangji, and it’s like, mom, he spent 13 years angry with wwx and raising his nephew and grieving his sister and other family, and right in his salad Lan Wangji is parading around in mourning clothes for far too long to be considered appropriate, clearly acting like a grieving spouse, mooning over and, in going to where the chaos is to fulfill his promise with wwx, appears to jc to be searching for him instead. Shows up randomly where demonic cultivators mimicking wwx are causing trouble like he hopes wwx is back. Not that Jiang Cheng isn’t low-key doing the same thing. And so it becomes wrapped into the grief and anger.

She really wants to read the novels now.

Sorry, rambles here.

[idlebeks]

Random MDZS Recs Part 2

I found some more gems hiding in my bookmarks. The sheer number of MDZS/Untamed fics that I have found worth bookmarking is kind of remarkable. Part 1 and 2 of these lists make up less than half of the whole selection. This is such a prolific and talented fandom. This is another collection of favorites that I have enjoyed reading more than once, or that were compelling and/or unforgettable in some way. Same warnings as my other lists, all ratings and categories apply with no discernible organization at all.

we're starting at the end by Miss_Enthusiasimal

When Wei Wuxian fell at Nightless City he was, unknowingly to him, brought back in time to when Wen Chao pushed him into the Burial Mounds. Believing himself to be dead, and this afterlife to be some sort of punishment, he resigns himself to a painful existence. Until Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng rescue him, and he realises he has a chance to change things for the better - if he hasn't messed everything up already.

You are what you eat by deliciousblizzardshark

“What happened to you?” Jiang Cheng demands.

Wei Wuxian sighs. “I already said I don’t know. This conversation is so boring,” he says. “I’m hungry. Can’t we get some food? They’re all too dead,” he adds, flicking a hand at the dead Wen guards, “to be tasty.”

and

Then there’s a sound like someone hacking something up and Wei Ying comes back into the room and, with a very proud expression drops a handful of teeth on the map table. Human teeth. They’re bloody and… wet…

“What?” Jiang Cheng asks. “What’s this?”

“Wen Chao’s teeth!” Wei Ying says proudly.

and

Lan Wangji wants to hold him tight in his arms and cry. He wants to eat him out. He wants to perform an exorcism.

in this place where we don't have a prayer by Cerusee, Mikkeneko

And now it’s time for the canon divergence AU where Jin Zixun has the tactical sense to station archers on both sides of Qiongqi Path for his murder ambush, and Jin Zixuan shows up fifteen minutes late with Starbucks.

Heart and Hand - Daemon AU by updatebug

One month after Wei Ying first disappeared, twelve days since Lan Zhan learned of this and joined the search, Wei Ying's daemon landed in his lap. She was terrified, injured and, most importantly, alone.

She does not know what has happened to Wei Ying. No one does

from the other side of sorrow by Sour_Idealist

Yu Ziyuan cuts off Wei Wuxian's hand. The cultivation world changes.

The One-Body Problem by metisket

The good news is that Lan Jingyi has found a mentor, friend, and constant companion through the difficulties in life.

The bad news is that that’s because he’s been accidentally possessed by the Yiling Patriarch.

Fated Meeting by LtLJ 

Lan Wangji had come to Carp Tower to seal an alliance with the Yiling Patriarch, in order to prevent a war the Lan Sect couldn't win. But the deal was brokered by the Jin sect for reasons of their own, and instead Lan Wangji found himself all but coerced into an unexpected marriage.

Ticket to Ride by mistresscurvy

After one final look at the profile photo, Lan Zhan closed Grindr.

"Not even a flame?"

Startled, Lan Zhan turned to his left.

"I know not everyone wants to start chatting right off the bat, but you spent long enough looking at my face," said the man from the app, who was sitting at the bar.

Or: Lan Zhan gets stranded at the airport, decides to scroll through Grindr, and meets someone new.

Where the Lonely Ones Go by CSHfic, VSfic

“When did you arrive?” Lan Zhan asks, but he’s looking at the child in Wei Wuxian's arms, and the question is clearly, whose baby is this, and maybe, should I be concerned?

or

Accidental (haunted) baby acquisition

Wearing Down Every Bone by CSHfic, VSfic

“Sizhui, tell me,” Wei Wuxian says. “Does this feel... familiar to you?”

or

After running into Lan Zhan on a night hunt, Wei Wuxian is cursed to live the same day over and over and over.

climbing up that coastal shelf by Sour_Idealist

Jin Ling had begun to suspect years ago that there were parts of his family history that had been crossed out; long streaks of black where Wei Wuxian had been. The truth is more like whole books being brought up from their hiding places again.

Or: Jin Ling tries to figure out what family means, now.

he's still left with the river by Keiya

Jiang Cheng knows that he is dreaming because his silver bell won't make a sound no matter how much Jiang Cheng shakes it. He also knows he's dreaming because Wei Wuxian keeps acting as Jiang Cheng wishes he would, and that has never been a thing in real life.

Jiang Cheng knows he's dreaming. It doesn't help.

when the sun goes out by travelingneuritis

Wei Ying was so strong, that was the thing. He needn't have sought out alternate methods at all. He didn't need to use talismans, he only did it for his own amusement. He invented new ones all the time. Useless ones, and silly ones; inventing just for the sake of it. He talked about tech cultivation like it was fun, not an embarrassment.

The stuffed bunny, the beautiful nephew, and other gifts from Lan Qiren by deliciousblizzardshark

Wei Ying was pretty sure his next door neighbor Lan Qiren hated him until he adopted A-Yuan. Now he’s bringing by disgustingly healthy food, taking Wei Ying and A-Yuan to family dinners, and let’s not even mention the nephews he keeps hinting Wei Ying should meet. Is it possible Wei Ying, consummate orphan, has found a family in his grumpy old neighbor?

The Children's Crusade by natcat5

Innocence isn't the only thing to die in war. Propriety is the last thing on the minds of the teenaged generals, the orphan clan leaders of the Sunshot campaign.

Jin Guangshan is the only leader who ascended as an adult, who didn't have his parents murdered by the Wen, who didn't come of age during a war. The last adult standing, the only one with experience and age. He assumes this will put him in the most advantageous position, once the war ends. That the infant leaders of the other clans will gladly fall into step within his shadow.

He is wrong.

Star Cluster by hypermoyashi

Born within the Empire are those who were able to break the confines of the possible and soar through the air with the strength of their minds alone. Wei Wuxian was one of these people, but in honor of his late mother's wishes and fear of the Empire itself, Wei Wuxian kept his feet firmly on the ground.

It wasn't all that bad. At least he had his two siblings to keep him rooted.

We Are the Afterlife by NevillesGran

Jiang Yanli wasn't breathing anymore.

Wei Wuxian lifted the Stygian Tiger Seal above his head and raised every dead thing in Wen Ruohan’s thrice-damned Nightless City.

Every dead thing but one. His sister, he dropped to his knees beside and began drawing every talisman he had ever used on Wen Ning.

A Corpse Called By Name by jaemyun

She loses her brother in a hoard of the undead.

She finds a corpse wearing his face in a convenience store.

The corpse calls her name.

Joy In the Midst of These Things by Glitterbombshell

“Wei Wuxian,” the man grits out, and he pauses with one hand reaching for the door handle. The disciple who had come in to speak to Lan Qiren brushes past him and exits the pavilion without a backwards glance. Wei Wuxian turns back to Master Lan, one eyebrow tilting up in question. “An urgent matter has come up,” Lan Qiren says, every word sounding like it’s being forcibly dragged from him. “His Excellency requests my presence. Their current instructor is ill, I was meant to take over classes for today,” he continues, gesturing towards the tiny juniors. He swallows heavily, and the next sentence sounds bitter. Choked. “I cannot leave them unattended.”

Wei Wuxian just blinks at him.

Or

Wei Wuxian is asked (under duress) to babysit a class of tiny Lan cultivators for just a few minutes. A few minutes turns into an hour, turns into two hours, turns into an impromptu literal field trip and now there's an entire class that is weeks ahead of their curriculum, their most junior disciples have apparently imprinted on Wei Wuxian like baby birds, and Lan Qiren has no one to blame but himself.

Like Arrows Pointing to the Sky by runningondreams

Oneshots from the Sunshot Campaign.

quail by celialoveslwj

“a-Xian,” Jiang Yanli calls, and he races to her, same as he ever has. “Help me with my hair.”

He is gentle, still. He slowly pries every knotted hair strand with the sharp edge of Wen-guniang’s hair stick, whiling away the hours on bent knees, picking through the muck and dried blood as if he had all the time in the world. He asks her now and again how she feels: if she is tired, unwell, or bored in a general way.

Jiang Yanli is dead, and quite literally beyond such trivial things.

She tells him, soft as she is able, that she is well.

or, rather than retaliate against the masses, Wei Wuxian takes Jiang Yanli's body and flees to Luanzang Gang.

one hundred, twenty thousand, thirty million by Mikkeneko

The Untamed... IN SPACE!

A retelling of the xianxia story The Untamed in a futuristic setting where spells and golden cores are replaced with cyberware and computer programming, sects become space stations, swordsmen become fighter pilots, resentful energy becomes killer nanobots, and love and sacrifice and heartbreak... well, they stay just the same.

floodplain (silt) by astronicht

Wei Ying’s neck is twinged because he fell asleep on the sofa watching celebrity dance-offs. His left wrist is twinged because two days ago he tracked down a daolao gui in the underground metro. They throw off venomous darts, and Wei Ying caught one between the two bones of his forearm. Radius and ulna.

(Or, "I need you to come and get me")

[silviakundera]

Moonlight Chicken Liveblogging Ep 6-7

Ep 6

Wow my otp talking like mature adults again. All Wen had to do was show up emotionally wounded & homeless. And now he's sleeping on Jim's floor. Seize the day, babygirl!

The cat treat product placements are the best in dramaland because they mean we get adorable cat moments. Never been excited for any product placement before (besides the infamous sex bread, of course).

We're back to THE YEARNING. Babygirl has figured out that Jim will let him curl towards him and rest his head against his shoulder. This is becoming his go-to move. They clearly both savor the closeness. This is emotional edging!! Jim, you freak!!!!#

Then we get flashbacks that show Jim confronting his cheating partner with his, er, cheating. But then he dies in an accident so they can't ever resolve things.

Wen getting flirty as he 'helps' steady Jim om his waist. The way that Jim rebuffs him BUT so gently holds onto Wen's hand for a moment and strokes it. It's the sweetest lowkey soothing gesture. I'm gonna hyperventilate.

"Can I sleep on your lap?"

The way that Jim always tries to go with it when Wen wants his attention, as if to make up for the 1 big yes he can't handle yet. ❤

Definitely just friends. The most friends. 100% platonic behavior. (a common colleague)

YAS! Wen continues his campaign by joining Jim for temple and convinces him to meet the girl his ex was involved in. That's right, let's shake that baggage and see what falls out!

"We just fell in love with a selfish man."

How great was it that they avoided making that woman also involved with his ex a scheming bitch caricature? It's been some years and she's just left with these memories too but she's put it all to rest. Jim and the audience can't really know if she's telling the truth that this man loved both of them, even if he was with her first and Jim unknowingly the interloper. Was the love Jim thought he experienced a lie? It's impossible to ever know; the dead keep their secrets. But she treated him like an equal in the conversation, with respect. She's frank about the fact that they were involved first and she told the boyfriend to break with Jim (fair!) but she even assures Jim that she's not sure he would have. There's the sense that she's moved on enough to be able to examine the past clinically - but then, she'd be seen as having the 'right' to ask questions of family & friends and the confidence that she had a right to know his whereabouts & the company he kept. She wasn't in the dark and so could face her demons head-on while Jim took 4 years and Wen's support to gear up the courage to approach for answers (knowing the reaction could potentially be very ugly).

And she's now happily married to a better guy. Good 4 her. Screenwriter could have played this another way with misogynist undertones but avoided that pitfall.

📢 we have graduated to hand holding! 📢 Wen continues to be THE best boyfriend-in-waiting and they enjoy beach time and a weight off Jim's shoulders because he finally has a true confidante.

Yes now all of my cdrama experience is showing but, like, this whole concept of The One Who Truly Knows You In This Life... That's what this otp has become. What they're allowing to happen.

Just underlines what I was thinking when Wen's ex gets in a drunk accident and needs caretaking. Jim sets everything aside, brings him to the hospital and totally understands that Wen will step in to help his ex. No explanations required.

Ep 7

Wen being a good ex partner, sheparding Alan to appointments. Learning to be kind to each other again. Love this for them. This whole plotline is so well done.

[asdfghjk I got so emotional about this that I texted one of my fav exes that we need to catch up & we're brunching this weekend]

Babygirl is irrepressible. He's totally making a beach date happen by force of will. He reaches out again & again but we can see the changes happening.

It's a sharp contrast to the next scene with Gaipa and that reminds the audience that Jim will clearly and decisively shut down a suitor. He's not passive or a such people pleaser that he can't make it clear when it's not gonna happen. The situation with Wen is entirely different - there's an understanding that Jim isn't ready to go there (yet) but the feelings are very obviously mutual and there's easy skinship that's not platonic.

aaaand the situation with the nephew comes to head!

Jim (freaking tf out) : oh great I made u poor AND gay

Sexually liberated teen Li Ming, to his uncle having war flashbacks of homophobic extended family, closeted gay childhood, and first gay love who betrayed him & died still in the closet to his family: what's the big deal?

😭😂😭

Leng the hapless straight boy employee has really grown on me. The dude is simple but he's actually THE greenest of flags boyfriend in the whole cast. Gonna marry his pregnant gf who he clearly adores and just do his best. Friend of the local disaster gays. The most chill.

seriously Jim, you know Wen is THE ONE WHO KNOWS YOU and helps you work out everything you're overthinking and widens your perspective. He's out here helping untangle your internalized homophobia and the shadow of your sister's continued discomfort with your sexuality. You need this man!!!!!!! Damn it Jim!!!!!!!

Wen: what are we? ☺ let's define our relationship? ☺ you know, I might give up on you... 😏

Jim: (gives a cheek kiss) (does not, in fact, want to be given up on)

Wen: (system crash & restart)

ok but I NOTICED that once last episode and now this episode Wen playfully threatens to give up on him, seeking a good faith gesture, and both times Jim gives in. He agrees to eat out of Wen's hand in ep 6 and now 💋

awwww Gaipa's mom passes away at only 49. And that's sometimes how life goes. Good showcase of the neighborhood community they built over the last few years, because he's not dealing with this grief alone.

Oh man, another flashback to the funeral of Jim's first love and the reality that so many queer people in previous generations had to go thru - when your partner passes away and you have no rights to common property that wasn't in your name. I LOVE that's the root of Jim's financial strain that we've been witnessing -- that he lost everything that was in Beam's name, and this is part of why his reaction to his nephew's sexuality was anxiety. This drama is so much about 3 queer generations. I just really appreciate that.

Jim looking out for Wen's ex Alan as he struggles with crutches and Wen is there at the funeral for someone he doesn't really know, working on his laptop inside. Holding hands as Jim stops fighting the inevitable and lets the diner (and its ghosts) go. Just supporting each other and being THE most functional boyfriends without being boyfriends* (*technicality).

The family stuff between Jim, nephew Li Ming, and the sister/mom is compelling. The most interested I've been in the kid's storyline.

[llycaons]

Ep3: man but jzx is such a dick

you know I love a good jc character study and I know there's a lot of complicated stuff going on there but in ep2 it's so just relentlessly cut and dry that lwj is nice and jc is mean. and it's never more straightforward than in that episode. just wanted to get that out of the way

SUIBIAN!!! HELLO BEAUTIFUL!!!

wwx hardly ever uses metal hairpieces oohh

subtitles are very wordy and go quick. I'm used to watching movies and shows with subs, but I'm having trouble adjusting to this and I have to rewind a bunch so I don't miss performances and action

wwx antagonizing jzx is so funny 'lan clan is really simple, do you think you'll survive up there? you're so used to be fucking gaudy and pretentious about everything'

here's my boy with his stupid fucking hairstyle and his asshole tendencies. 15 yr old lwj was such a pedantic downer

aww

SO interesting that jc says this despite it being demonstrably untrue. people give him shit for everything under the sun, including for things that jc does too but doesn't get in trouble for, because of his unstable role in the family and his parentage. hell, jc should know that wwx gets shit just for existing because myu is always on his case, but I think he truly believes this on some level. wwx does tend to start shit, but other people are just as ready to start shit as him and he's always willing to act for the sake of the jiangs or to stand up for others

ICONIC LINE. line that made me go 'oohh he's bisexual! and his family is cool with it!

SO true you legend. you king. you visionary. you cultural sensation. think about his impact

fucking love this face. one of his best faces in all of canon

it's subtle, but knowing how much lwj has changed makes it easier to notice stuff like this. lwj postres clearly did not give one iota of a shit about what jc was saying to him. but this lwj is quicker to respond, more defensive, more sensitive. he cares more about what ppl say

LAN QIREN!!!!! also lzx, who embodies the word 'gracious' better than any fictional character I've ever seen

wwx was treated so unfairly throughout this but he is literally just lying now

I really loved this part 😊 wwx recognizing a compassionate side of lwj even as lwj tries to keep it hidden, and responding eagerly to it

fuck I love the nightless city set. it's so much

yoooo wen qing!! very neat to see that wrh IS the cc now. I forgot this scene and was under the impression that it was a role created post-ss by and for jgs

he is so fucking dramatic standing in his one shaft of sunlight

the untamed: jumps through verbal hoops to keep from saying dead people ever come back to life

mdzs: these are three-day old corpses and wwx just woke them up to do some manual labor for him 👍

joking aside, I truly loved novel wwx's relationship with the dead. they were like his buddies. he kissed a corpse's hand once before they went back to rest. in the show there's a lot more fluff around it

things my mother also said about me.

it is so kind of lxc to imply he has any friends at all

reason no.2 wwx and lwj are soulmates: they're instantly and mutually attracted to each other by sole virtue of meeting their martial match. for lwj it's so significant that his brother immediately caught on and he felt he had to leave the conversation immediately

oh what a fucking liar all you want to do is party

okay I understand why he has secret info on the yin iron (descendent of the other xue guy) but why does he need permission to kill the changs? maybe wrh doesn't want to make a scene

personal highlights: ep3

'a mianmian or a yuandao' line

'barriers are made to be broken'

the adorable and mischievous smile of wwx's

lwj just fucking leaving the middle of a convo with his brother (first of many <3)

[mvsicinthedvrk]

You don't know that Wen wasn't dead. "No need to be cruel, Shae," he says with a scowl at the thought. Nothing happened to Wen, she's perfectly safe, and most importantly-- if something had happened to her, he would have already found out about it. That's not something they would have ever hidden from each other; not that they're in the business of being secretive each other in the first place. "What are you talking about, she wouldn't admit-- she would have told me." But the baseless idea of both his wife and cousin having died, and that being the connection to why their memories needed jogging back into place, is overshadowed by the fact that clearly Shae is only grasping at straws. "You remembered only part of what happened back at home-- what, does that mean you half-died?"

"I punched the man who looks like our brother, who was using his name," he leans forward and responds, as soon as Shae snaps at him. He aggressively points to some point beyond her, arm fully extended, as though the imposter Lan is lurking there this very second. "You think I'd allow some guy to walk around, making bold claims on our name like that?" He almost can't believe the question that comes out of her mouth; does she think she loved Lan more than he did? For starting this conversation with a cool head, it sure hadn't taken long for him to get riled up again, if only because Shae seems so set on not only criticizing everything he does, but also challenging his devotion to his family, which should have never even been in question. "Of course I want him to be here! What I want doesn't matter-- I'm not going to ignore the laws of life and death just because of a little wishful thinking!"

                       And yet, somehow, Lan is here too. Shae casts her gaze towards the ceiling in exasperation, willing herself to keep her mouth shut. There’s only so many times she can have this same argument before it turns into a chore. Fine, then. Wen wasn’t dead. Shae wouldn’t know— her memories were apparently still stuck somewhere between realms, or whatever the hell she traveled through to get here. Because of course Lan being here was somehow the most (and only) unbelievable part to her brother among all the other inexplicable incidents. If only he’d have the common sense to stop pushing the matter too, but no— why would he not test her limits, just this once? Where it comes from, she does not know, but when Hilo tries again to invalidate her experience, something inside of her snaps. Her common sense, probably; it may just be in their dna. “You don’t know that Wen wasn’t dead,” Shae argues back belatedly, her tone sharp. “Wen arrived here without her memories— who’s to say that wasn’t a result of her death? In fact, perhaps that’s why Anden’s memories are still missing, too.” It probably isn’t, but it’s not an altogether baseless theory. “Wen should be able to tell you the truth, but there is no way that she would ever admit to having died. Not to you.” Shae scoffs; not because it’s funny, not even to mock Hilo— simply because it is a ridiculous conversation to be having. Though, to be fair, probably not as ridiculous as what Hilo tells her next.

“You did what to Lan?” Shae snaps, argument forgotten. Hilo could be joking; she considers the option. But only briefly, because somehow, this should not even come as a surprise. “If you’d actually used your head for a second——— what the hell is wrong with you, Hilo?” A lot, Shae thinks to herself, and the sentiment clearly underlines her next words, “Do you not want Lan to be here?”

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 28

(Masterpost) (Canary’s Pinboard) 

Warning: Spoilers for all 50 Episodes!

Yunmeng Jiang Debate Club

The episode starts with the big breakup between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng is understandably not ok with WWX’s “raise my friend from the dead” agenda, and less-understandably not ok with his “save these helpless people including that girl you like” agenda. There is some tense back and forth, including a brief guest appearance by Wen Qing,

Jiang Cheng's arguments, outlined:

Necromancy is not cool

The bonds of friendship end when there is a risk of trouble for our clan

We will be squashed like a bug by the other clans if we piss them off 

*Yaz kicks in on the soundtrack*

Nations stand against him, he's your brother Been a long time, been a long time now I'll get to you somehow, yeah

(Move out) Don't mess around (Move out) You bring me down (Move out!) How you get about it Don't make a sound, just move out!

Wei Wuxian's counter-arguments, outlined:

Necromancy is, actually, hella cool

The bonds of friendship transcend, like, everything

*cracks knuckles* *flexes shoulders* *spins flute*

(More after the cut!)

Wei Wuxian kind of naively thinks that if they just ignore everyone, everyone will chill and leave him and the Wens alone. Jiang Cheng speaks some truth to him about how the world works, which could be a good thing for WWX if it wasn't followed with the utterly terrible advice to just, you know, completely surrender to the Jins.

Jiang Cheng is the guy in the writing workshop who is great at clearly articulating the problems with your story, while always suggesting atrocious, unbearable ways to fix your story.

Great taste in accessories, though

Jiang Cheng explains that family extermination of anyone named Wen has been decided on, basically. This is pretty common in Xianxia and Wuxia stories; it’s why the hero of so many stories is a peasant who turns out to be the last survivor of the previous dynasty.  Jiang Cheng isn’t here to change the ways of his genre, so he wants Wei Wuxian and all the Jiangs to get the fuck out of the way and let it happen.

Jiang Cheng decides to settle things himself by finishing killing Wen Ning, but he discovers that Zidian can't get through Wei Wuxian's resentful rope work. That boy has a future in tying somebody up. 

Wei Wuxian’s turkey timer pops and he is officially done. He tells Jiang Cheng "abandon me" and says he’ll leave the Jiang Clan. This isn’t because he’s mad at Jiang Cheng, or disgusted by his choices, although he probably is; it’s because this is the only way he can see to protect the Jiang Clan and the Dafan Wens at the same time.  

And then he hits right at Jiang Cheng's heart, telling him that he would do all this for anybody, not just for the Wen sibs. It's not about debt, for him; it's about justice, and protecting the weak. This sentiment is as hurtful to Jiang Cheng as it would be thrilling to Lan Wangji. 

Jiang Cheng goes off, predictably, telling Wei Wuxian how much he sucks and that everything is his fault because he wants to be a hero. Heroism has no place in Jiang Cheng’s clan full of martial arts sword fighting dudes who run around with magic weapons hunting monsters for a living. 

Each brother hurts the other as a way to soothe their own pain, it seems. They decide to have a duel in the morning, to make it look like a real defection. Which...it is.

Empty Larder Days

That evening, Wen Qing gives her dinner to A-Yuan, who is understandably still hungry after his one piece of fruit. Wei Wuxian shows up with enough fruit for everyone, and makes a point of being super light-hearted with Wen Qing, whose heart is very obviously heavy.

Here I just want to point out that Wei Wuxian can't cook, but he CAN successfully forage in an extremely haunted orchard at night, so he has the important skills.

There are some nice little moments with the Yiling Wens that show us how kind they are to each other. Uh, that dude is massaging his companion, not punching her. 

They all talk about plans for planting food, and how things will be better later. A-Yuan gives Wei Wuxian his second piece of fruit to eat, while Wen Qing goes into the cave, getting ready to have A Talk with Wei Wuxian.

Wen Qing won't eat and is just generally super sad. She tells Wei Wuxian he should go back to Lotus Pier, and leave the Wens to die. She says that it's ok as long as she and Wen Ning are together. 

Wei Wuxian uses his power of deliberate obtuseness to reject her offer, pretending that she’s upset because he ate the last piece of fruit.

Stay Up All Night

Everyone spends a restless night.  Jiang Cheng has comb flashbacks; when he left the burial mounds earlier in the day, Wen Qing met him to return his comb of yearning and to tell him that he sucks. 

It's worth noting that this means she kept that dang thing with her through her time as a captive and while she was wandering around starving. 

It’s a tragic missed opportunity for both of them; Jiang Cheng’s fierceness and Wen Qing’s backbone, combined with both being super comfortable wielding physical violence, would make them a formidable pair. Unfortunately the one thing they really have in common is absolute devotion to their own people, which means they can never be devoted to each other.

Wen Qing goes to sit with Wen Ning while he bakes. He gets restless too, overwhelmed by pain, but Wei Wuxian settles him down by playing the Lan Clan's Song of Cleansing. This is the same song Lan Wangji played to heal him after he fought Wen Ruohan, and it’s the same song that Jin Guangyao will corrupt to kill Nie Mingjue. Lan Clan musical cultivation for the win...sometimes! 

The First Rule of Fight Club is Don’t Stab Me In The Liver

In the morning, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng fight.  Wei Wuxian looks like he’s playing and Jiang Cheng looks like he’s fighting his very hardest. At one point in his barrage of talismans, Wei Wuxian throws a paperman at Jiang Cheng. 

Cheeky bastard.  

This is our first time seeing Wei Wuxian put up a force shield with his flute against a sword-pointy attack. Note for those who care: the sword attacks in Xianxia are half physical, half spiritual energy, so when someone is pointing a sword at you, they are actually hitting you with spiritual energy. Or trying to, in the case of anyone vs. Yiling Flute Man.

The battle ends when Jiang Cheng stabs Wei Wuxian in the gut. Wei Wuxian says JC didn't need to be so ruthless, and JC doesn't answer him, just grips his own broken left arm. Jiang Cheng always hits harder than he needs to, maybe because when he fights Wei Wuxian, he’s always on the back foot. 

JC stomps back down the mountain to where his disciples are waiting, not a horse in sight. Are these like Zelda:BOTW horses, who run away if you don't register them at a stable? 

Jiang Cheng declares that Wei Wuxian is officially an asshole, and dramatically throws away his cape to make the point. Or maybe that was Wei Wuxian's cape and he's just returning it.

Ow

Later, Wei Wuxian will try to pretend he's not hideously injured while Wen Qing looks worried and takes away his potatoes.

Not Lotus Pier

Back at Jinlintai, Jiang Yanli is sleeping in the middle of the day, having a super on-the-nose dream about Wei Wuxian cheerfully sailing a boat right by the doc at Lotus Pier and Jiang Cheng looking dead-eyed after him, not trying to stop him.

Jiang Yanli comes out of her room to find that Jin Zixuan, the big dork, has planted a lotus pond for her in Jinlintai, even getting mud on himself in the process. They have a depressing love declaration scene, in which Jin Zixuan asks her to settle for him even though he can't make her happy, and she accepts. 

It's not as bad as it sounds because she genuinely loves him but she’s all out of joy, after so much trauma. Sometimes I need to be reminded that this show is really fucking sad, I guess. 

Just Passing Through

Fast forward...a couple of weeks, I guess? Lan Wangji is chilling in Yiling, listening to the teahouse storyteller and other patrons talk shit about the Yiling Patriarch. Lan Wangji is super grumpy listening to what they're saying even though the official storyteller is basically telling the truth, albeit dwelling on the gruesome parts. 

I should put a gif of the storyteller and the crowd here, but we’d all rather look at Lan Wangji drinking tea, right? Look, you can see his leg! 

The crowd gets all hepped up saying that Wei Wuxian should be killed, and Lan Wangji abandons his usual reserve and cuts loose with some expressive body language and his strongest murder glare. 

Then he leaves the teahouse to go have a series of memeable interactions.

First with the thirsty ladies of Yiling,

Then with future son A-Yuan,

Then with the advice dads of Yiling,

and finally with thirsty future co-dad Wei Wuxian.

So soon after Jiang Cheng refused to support Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, pillar of rule-following, is here to just...be kind to him for a little while. Lan Wangji is still struggling to reconcile everything he is trying to be, but in this moment he is entirely about Wei Wuxian. Both of them stand still for a few breaths while the world moves around them; Wei Wuxian’s smile keeps moving and changing, because that’s who he is, even in stillness. 

Although Wei Wuxian doesn't know it, Lan Wangji signals his new rulebreaking attitude to the audience by calmly lying when Wei Wuxian asks him why he's here.

Asking is Asking, Buying is Buying

Wei Wuxian bonds with A-Yuan about both being too poor to buy toys; Lan Wangji bonds with A-Yuan by being rich enough to buy him whatever he wants. 

He also theatrically catches Wei Wuxian's eye while doing it, which might be a reproach for tempting the kid with things he can't have, but might just be a sugar-daddy flex. 

His generosity is rewarded by A-Yuan’s devotion and by Wei Wuxian’s epic open-legged invitation sprawl.

It’s easy to see the first part of the toy interaction as Wei Wuxian being a little callous and a lot practical; his accidental Yiling Wei-Wen clan is super, super poor, and he is busting his ass to keep starvation away. But. Why does he tell A-Yuan to look at the toys? Why does he pick one up to play with it, instead of simply turning away? 

There’s a lesson here, and a parallel, I think. He is teaching A-Yuan to take joy in moments, in beauty, in playthings, whether he can keep them or not. Wei Wuxian enjoys every meal and every cup of wine to the utmost; loves every friend wholeheartedly, and lives joyfully even at death’s literal door. He doesn’t let the certainty of loss, separation, hunger, keep him from devouring every good thing that comes his way. 

In this moment, the gift he can’t afford to give himself is Lan Wangji. But he’s going to enjoy every second they have together today. 

And so is Lan Wangji.

Soundtrack: Situation by Yaz, Up All Night by Talking Heads, Consider Yourself from Oliver! The Musical

[fannish-karmiya]

Is Wei Wuxian's Cultivation Actually Harmful to Him?

Throughout Wei Wuxian’s first life, he frequently argues with Lan Wangji over his cultivation. Lan Wangji believes that his cultivation will harm him and eventually destroy him, while Wei Wuxian insists that he has everything under control. Many readers take Lan Wangji’s warnings at face value, leading to the common fandom perception that demonic cultivation (more accurately, the ghost path) is inherently harmful to Wei Wuxian and that he should indeed give it up.

But does the text actually back that up, when we examine Wei Wuxian’s use of his cultivation? While Wei Wuxian does experience a few losses of control, I would argue that they are far more due to circumstances than anything else, and not a sign that the cultivating with resentful energy is inherently harmful to a cultivator’s body or that loss of control is an inevitable conclusion.

Preconceptions

Lan Wangji is the character who most often tries to tell Wei Wuxian that his cultivation is harmful. Immediately when Wei Wuxian returns from the Burial Mounds and meets Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji again while torturing Wen Chao, Lan Wangji expresses concern:

One against two, Lan WangJi still refused to back off. He gazed at Wei WuXian, “Wei Ying, for cultivating an evil path you would eventually have to pay. Throughout time, there has not been a single exception.”

Wei WuXian, “I can pay.”

Seeing how unconcerned he seemed to be, Lan WangJi lowered his voice, “The path would not only damage your body, but your heart as well.”

(Chapter 62, Exiled Rebels translation)

Now, Wei Wuxian’s path (guidao, the ghost path) is brand new. He invented it, being the first person to ever successfully cultivate using yuanqi, or the resentful energy of dead humans. So why does Lan Wangji speak so assuredly of the harm it can cause?

The term ‘cultivating an evil path’ is telling. Wei Wuxian’s cultivation is a new path, but there are other dark paths of cultivation which exist. The Nie sect’s sabres are an example; they absorb the killing intent and evil energy of the yao and guai they kill, and over time their sabres become more and more powerful but also lead the wielder closer and closer to an inevitable qi deviation.

Of course, Lan Wangji is not aware of the Nie sect’s technique, which is a strictly kept secret, at this point. Nie Mingjue only seems to have told Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao because they were his sworn brothers. But there are surely other paths like this which are publicly known.

We know about other dark rituals which are not part of Wei Wuxian’s ghost path, after all, and ‘backlash’ is a frequent risk, either due to making the user vulnerable or failing to fulfil the contract one agreed to.

The body sacrificing ritual which Mo Xuanyu uses, for example, will cause backlash if you fail to keep up your end of the deal.

It was an ancient, forbidden technique. Compared to an array, it resembled a curse more. The caster of the array injures themselves by creating incisions on their body, and draws the array and writes the incantations using their own blood, finishing by sitting in the center of the array. They can then summon an extremely villainous ghoul and ask for it to complete their wish. The price to pay was to offer their body to the evil spirit, with their own soul returning back to Earth.

This was the forbidden technique opposite to stealing another’s body—offering one’s body.

[...]

The difficult part was that, as soon as the evil spirit has taken over the body of the caster, the contract is sealed by default. The evil spirit must grant their wish, or else the curse will cause a backlash. The spirit in possession of the body will be completely annihilated, never to be born again!

(Chapter 2, Exiled Rebels translation)

Interestingly, the harm here is to the ‘evil spirit’ if they fail to keep up their end of the contract. Well, also the caster who gives up his or her life in exchange. At any rate, this sort of thing seems to be a frequent risk of dark cultivation techniques. The paperman technique is also quite risky:

The good thing was that Wei WuXian had once learnt a certain technique of the dark arts—the paper metamorphosis.

Although it was indeed useful, it had a number of restrictions as well. Not only was the time strictly limited, the paperman must also return as it were, after it had been released. There mustn’t even be a single scratch on it. If, on its way, it was torn apart or broken in any way, the soul would receive the same degree of harm—from a year of unconsciousness to a whole lifetime of lunacy. Thus, one must be extremely careful.

(Chapter 47, Exiled Rebels translation)

This seems to be a frequent concern with any dark technique, which probably is what led Lan Wangji to believe that Wei Wuxian’s new path would be similarly dangerous. It’s also very worth noting that he grew up in Gusu Lan, which is known for being even more judgmental towards dark cultivation than other sects.

He immediately seemed to realize, “Oh. I forgot. Your uncle Lan QiRen hates crooked people like me. You’re his proudest disciple, so of course you’re the same as him, haha. I refuse.”

Jiang Cheng stared at Lan WangJi, cautious, “Second Young Master Lan, all of us understand the Lan Sect’s ways.

[...]

Wei WuXian had been angered as well, “Lan WangJi! Do you really have to make this difficult at such a point in time? You want me to go to the Cloud Recesses for the GusuLan Sect’s confinement punishment? Who do you think you are, what do you think the GusuLan Sect is?! You really think that I won’t resist?!”

(Chapter 62, Exiled Rebels translation)

While many people speak negatively of Wei Wuxian’s cultivation path, Lan Qiren is particularly virulent when Wei Wuxian first proposes the theory as a teen:

Everyone in the room was stunned. Lan QiRen sprang to his feet, “The essence of exorcising demons and annihilating ghosts is to liberate! You do not study the methods of liberation, and even think about increasing their energy of resentment! You reverse the natural order, and ignore ethics and morality!”

[...]

Another book came flying from Lan QiRen. He spoke harshly, “Then, let me ask you again! How do you make sure that the resentful energy only listens to you and does not harm others?”

Wei WuXian ducked while speaking, “I haven’t thought of it yet!”

Lan QiRen raged, “If you thought of it, the cultivation world would not allow your existence! Get out!”

(Chapter 14, Exiled Rebels translation)

Due to their father’s seclusion and their mother’s imprisonment, Lan Wangji and his brother were raised by Lan Qiren. With his uncle having such a black and white view of such matters, it’s understandable that Lan Wangji would absorb that and struggle to reconcile the Wei Wuxian he knows and loves with the man who is cultivating an ‘evil’ path.

With his own sect and family so negatively inclined towards Wei Wuxian’s cultivation, I think Lan Wangji was primed to see every behaviour of Wei Wuxian’s through this lens. Similarly, the audience hears the younger Lan Wangji repeat these warnings so many times that I think many readers wind up believing him, too.

Confirmation Bias

However, I think much of this is actually a case of confirmation bias. Lan Wangji is predisposed to see Wei Wuxian’s cultivation as harmful, and is actively looking for signs that it is; he winds up correlating all sorts of things to Wei Wuxian’s cultivation as a result.

He does so when he visits Wei Wuxian in Yunmeng:

Lan WangJi, “Last time, during the hunt on Phoenix Mountain, have you noticed certain signs?”

Wei WuXian, “What signs?”

Lan WangJi, “The loss of control.”

Wei WuXian, “You mean me almost getting into a fight with Jin ZiXuan? I think you got something wrong. I want to fight with Jin ZiXuan whenever I see him.”

(Chapter 71, Exiled Rebels translation)

Which is true! Wei Wuxian and Jin Zixuan just do not get on at all. And if we go back to Phoenix Mountain, it’s clear that this was a perfectly ordinary fight:

However, Jiang YanLi didn’t turn around. Jin ZiXuan was even more enraged. He caught up to her in just three strides and was about to grab her hand when a shadow suddenly flashed before his eyes. Before he could see who it was, he received a blow on his chest. Jin ZiXuan swung his sword across and backed away.

When he finally could see, he raged, “Wei WuXian, why is it you again?!”

Wei WuXian blocked Jiang YanLi behind him, raging as well, “I haven’t fucking said it yet—why is it you again?!”

Jin ZiXuan, “Attacking because of nothing have you gone mad?!”

Wei WuXian struck with his palm, “That’s exactly what I’m doing! What do you mean because of nothing? What are you doing trying to grab my shijie just because of how ashamed you are?!”

Jin ZiXuan dodged to the side and returned to him a sword attack, “If I don’t grab her should I let her walk randomly around the mountain alone?!”

(Chapter 70, Exiled Rebels translation)

Jin Zixuan is described as being ‘enraged’ and tries to grab Jiang Yanli. He’s clearly being very hotheaded here himself. What brother wouldn’t be enraged after this, especially given Jin Zixuan’s pattern of speaking of Jiang Yanli derisively?

Earlier, Lan Wangji had forcibly kissed Wei Wuxian while he was blindfolded, and yet he didn’t display any loss of control or temper problems then.

(I also think this ties into how people tend to judge Wei Wuxian more harshly due to his lower social class; he’s often no more brash and arrogant than his peers, but because he’s the son of a servant only he is judged for it. Look at Jin Zixuan pulling his sword on a man who no longer carries a sword! He isn’t criticised for that. But I digress.)

Lan Wangji also believes that Wei Wuxian’s cultivation is doing him spiritual harm, using evidence such as Wei Wuxian’s unwillingness to carry his sword or receive spiritual energy to help him heal:

Suddenly, he felt an itch at his throat. Blood began to rise up his chest. Trying to restrain it, Wei WuXian coughed a couple of times. Seeing that Lan WangJi was going to grab his hand again, Wei WuXian dodged, “What are you doing?”

Lan WangJi, “Your injuries.”

Wei WuXian, “No need. Why use spiritual energy for such a small wound? It’ll get better after some sitting around.”

Lan WangJi didn’t waste any words with him, grabbing for his hand again. At this point, two people came from outside of the cave. Wen Qing’s voice sounded, “Get better after some sitting around? Did you think I’m dead?”

(Chapter 75, Exiled Rebels translation)

He observes this back when he visited the Burial Mounds in the day, and many years later tells Wen Ning that this was the conclusion he drew:

Wen Ning turned around. He couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master Lan, you don’t seem too surprised about this. Did you… Did you know about this as well?”

“…” Lan WangJi managed, “I only knew that his spiritual powers were somehow impaired.”

But to think this was the truth.

(Chapter 89, Exiled Rebels translation)

Working with incomplete information (since he doesn’t know that Wei Wuxian has no golden core, he instead assumes that he is being harmed spiritually by his cultivation) and a pre-existing bias against demonic cultivation, Lan Wangji viewed Wei Wuxian as someone who was bound to lose control at some point, and everything became evidence to prove what he already believed.

Loss of Control

However, I think it’s arguable that the instances where Wei Wuxian loses control are not an inevitability of his cultivation path. Instead, they occur in extremely dangerous combat situations where Wei Wuxian has no allies and is being besieged by hundreds or thousands of enemies.

I want to go over three instances where things go sideways for Wei Wuxian with his cultivation in his first life: Wen Ning’s awakening, the ambush at Qiongqi Path, and the battle at Nightless City.

Now, I wouldn’t even describe Wen Ning’s revival as a loss of control. Wei Wuxian had spent months trying to revive Wen Ning, and in the end he wound up waking up while Wei Wuxian was down in Yiling, not at the Burial Mounds to keep the situation under control. It’s like an unwatched pot boiling over.

Wei WuXian, “Didn’t I say not to touch the talismans on him?!”

Wen Qing didn’t even have the spare seconds to be surprised that Lan WangJi was here. She answered, “Nobody touched them! Not a single person went into the Cave! He tore them off on his own when he suddenly went on a rampage. Not only the ones on himself, he destroyed the restriction seals at the blood pool and the Cave as well! All of the fierce corpses in the blood pool got out. Wei WuXian, go save Granny and the others. They won’t be able to hold up much longer!!!”

(Chapter 75, Exiled Rebels translation)

Honestly, it’s hard to know based on this what caused Wen Ning to wake up or to return to consciousness. My suspicion is that Wei Wuxian’s efforts had worked, and he woke up with a lot of excess resentful energy he needed to work off; hence going to beat up all the other fierce corpses in the Blood Pool.

After this, Wei Wuxian takes measures to ensure that Wen Ning doesn’t lose consciousness again. For the next year until the ambush at Qiongqi Path, there are absolutely no incidents, and Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian go on night hunts together frequently.

Things only go wrong during the ambush.

Wei WuXian laughed coldly, “You’re seeking your own death!”

As he finished, Wen Ning raised his hand and tore off the red string that hung a talisman at his neck.

After the string snapped, his body wavered, and the muscles on his face began to twist. Marks that resembled black cracks crawled up his neck to his cheeks. He suddenly lifted his head, letting out a long, inhuman roar!

(Chapter 76, Exiled Rebels translation)

So Wen Ning wears a talisman which presumably suppresses his resentful energy, and which he must remove in order to fight at full strength. After Jin Zixuan shows up and completely fails to de-escalate the situation at all, Wen Ning kills him:

Wei WuXian was suppressing a blazing flame of hatred. His voice was cold, “Jin ZiXuan, move away right now. I won’t touch you, but you’re not going to provoke me either.”

Seeing that he still refused to yield, Jin ZiXuan suddenly lunged forward, as if trying to hold him down, “Why can’t you just back off for once?! A-Li is still…”

Just as he reached toward Wei WuXian, he heard a strange, heavy noise.

The noise was almost a bit too near. Jin ZiXuan paused in surprise. He looked down and finally saw the hand that pierced his chest.

(Chapter 76, Exiled Rebels translation)

It’s pretty clear that Wen Ning saw Jin Zixuan lunging towards Wei Wuxian and interpreted him as a threat. As objective observers, we can see that this is actually quite understandable, if tragic, and realistically could have happened similarly in a mundane setting with no magic. But Wei Wuxian of course would start to feel doubt when something so terrible happens:

He was clearly controlling Wen Ning properly.

Even though he activated Wen Ning’s rampage mode, he should still be able to control him.

He’d clearly always been able to control him perfectly.

He didn’t want to kill Jin ZiXuan at all.

He never had the intention to kill Jin ZiXuan at all! It was just that moment. He didn’t know why, but all of a sudden he wasn’t able to control it… He had suddenly lost control!

(Chapter 76, Exiled Rebels translation)

Wei Wuxian had always been able to control Wen Ning perfectly before. Honestly, it’s not a surprise that his control was looser in a situation like this; he’s in the midst of an ambush where 300 people are trying to kill him! Realistically, Jin Zixuan bears some responsibility in his own death, too. When you’re trying to negotiate a ceasefire, you don’t fail to give the target of the attack any assurance of his safety and then lunge for him threateningly! Of course Wen Ning saw him as a threat and acted to defend Wei Wuxian.

Later, Wei Wuxian observes that during his ‘rampage’ state, Wen Ning draws his guidance from Wei Wuxian’s impressions of people:

Listening to him stutter as he apologized over and over again, all of a sudden, Wei WuXian felt extremely ridiculous.

It wasn’t Wen Ning’s fault at all.

It was his own fault.

When on a rampage, Wen Ning was nothing more than a weapon. The person who created the weapon was him. The things it listens to were his orders as well.

At that time, with all the tension and the killing intent on top of how Wei WuXian had never hesitated to show enmity toward Jin ZiXuan in front of Wen Ning, when he was unconscious, Wen Ning recognized Jin ZiXuan as an ‘enemy’ when he attacked, carrying out the order of ‘exterminate’ without a second thought.

(Chapter 76, Exiled Rebels translation)

I actually think that if Wen Ning had killed, say, Jin Zixun, Wei Wuxian would simply have seen it as a case of self-defence and accepted it as that. It’s the fact that Jin Zixuan is the husband of his foster sister (and the one person there he didn’t actually want dead) which turns this into such a tragedy.

The intensely stressful situation in the aftermath of Jin Zixuan’s death is the only time we ever see Wei Wuxian express doubt in his own abilities or regret choosing the ghost path:

With the child’s cries coming to his ears from afar and the scared siblings who were at a complete loss as to what to do in his eyes, Wei WuXian felt his heart sink lower into darkness. He asked himself, Just why have I been locking myself up on Burial Mound all these years? Why do I have to go through all this? Why did I choose to walk this path in the beginning? Why did I make myself like this? What do others see me as? Just what have I gained? Have I gone mad? Have I gone mad? Have I gone mad?!

If only he didn’t choose this path in the beginning.

(Chapter 76, Exiled Rebels translation)

I think that during this period, Wei Wuxian was under an immense amount of stress. He was the sole protector of 50 people who the world wanted dead, and he had to be strong and confident for them at all times. Only during his initial panic after Jin Zixuan’s death does that confident front break down and show us just how much the stress must have been wearing on him:

As he thought and thought about it, Wei WuXian suddenly broke into tears.

His voice was submerged in a deep helplessness, “… Can someone tell me… what I’m supposed to do now?”

(Chapter 76, Exiled Rebels translation)

I honestly think that if Wei Wuxian had had someone to lean on and share responsibility with during this time, it would have helped him so much.

In the past, there were only others who asked him what to do. Now, though, he was the one asking others what he should do, and nobody was able to give him an answer.

[...]

Wei WuXian raged, “You can shut the fuck up! It’s already pandemonium the way things are right now! You two can stop adding more trouble onto my platter. Give yourselves in my ass. Did I tell you to do this? Take it out!”

(Chapter 77, Exiled Rebels translation)

Later on, at Nightless City, Wei Wuxian’s loss of control is directly tied by the narrator to his worsening mental state:

The more Wei WuXian panicked, the less control he had. The corpse ignored his command and instead lifted the sword in its hand, slashing it down at Jiang YanLi!

Wei WuXian had lost it, dashing as he shouted, “Stop it, stop it, right now, stop it!”

(Chapter 78, Exiled Rebels translation)

He manages to calm himself down and get back under control:

Jiang YanLi sighed, “A-Xian, you… you should stop first. Don’t, don’t…”

Wei WuXian hurried, “Yes, I’ll stop.”

He took up Chenqing, placed it by his lips, and began to play. He only managed to steady his mind with great effort. This time, the corpses finally stopped ignoring his commands. One after another, strange gurgles echoed in their throats as if they were complaining. Slowly, they bent down.

(Chapter 78, Exiled Rebels translation)

Only when Jiang Yanli is killed by a cultivator aiming for Wei Wuxian does he decide, in his grief and rage, to put the Yinhufu together again:

Yet, no matter the criticism, the blame, Wei WuXian could no longer hear any of them. As if governed by another soul, he reached out and took two objects from within his sleeves. Before everyone’s eyes, he put them together. One half on top and the other below, the two objects snapped into one, letting out a resonating clang.

Wei WuXian placed it on his palm and raised it high into the air.

It was the Stygian Tiger Seal!

(Chapter 78, Exiled Rebels translation)

We know that after the Bloodbath of Nightless City, as this battle comes to be known, Lan Wangji takes Wei Wuxian back to Yiling. However, Wei Wuxian is in a very poor mental state (most likely due to stress, exhaustion, and trauma), and only regains awareness a few days later at the Burial Mounds.

This is when he decides that the Yinhufu is a weapon which he should never have created, and determines to destroy it.

After using it for the second time, he finally decided to destroy one half of the seal. Before he could completely destroy the other half, the siege at Luanzang Hill happened, and it had since then been beyond his capabilities.

(Chapter 30, Exiled Rebels translation)

So Wei Wuxian was actually able to successfully destroy one half of the seal, and start work on the second, in the three months between Nightless City and the First Siege.

Toward his own creation, Wei WuXian was confident to say that even if the sect that got hold of it, made a temple for it, and offered it incense every single day, the remaining half of the Tiger Seal was just a piece of scrap iron. However, Lan WangJi told him something shocking—it appeared that Xue Yang could rebuild the other half of the seal!

Although Xue Yang was young, he was also quite clever, a bizarre eccentric. The LanlingJin Sect discovered that he could use the remaining half of the seal to roughly piece together the other half. Even though the recreated version wasn’t as powerful and couldn’t be used for as long, it could already result in terrible catastrophes.

(Chapter 30, Exiled Rebels translation)

I gather that the first half, he completely neutralised. The second half had not been fully drained of power when the First Siege happened. We never see the First Siege, but I think we can hazard a guess that once the Wens were massacred, Wei Wuxian knew that it was all over, and decided to destroy the second half of the Yinhufu so that no one there could get their hands on it. It is likely the backlash from improperly destroying/neutralising the Yinhufu which led to his corpses turning on him and ripping him apart.

Wei Wuxian does confirm that some sort of backlash killed him:

Wen Ning whispered, “Sect Leader Jiang, Jiang Cheng, brought a siege upon the Burial Mounds. And he killed you.”

Wei WuXian, “I’ll have to clarify this one. He didn’t kill me. I died from a backfire.”

(Chapter 43, Exiled Rebels translation)

“That’s merely hearsay. Although Jiang Cheng was one of the main forces, he did not give Wei WuXian the final blow. Because he cultivates the Demon Path, Wei WuXian’s powers had backfired and he was ripped to pieces.”

“Hahahaha… That’s karma! The ghost soldiers that he created are like unleashed dogs, biting everyone that they come across. It serves him right to be chewed to death!”

(Chapter 1, Exiled Rebels translation)

While the vast majority of information in the prologue is revealed later to be lies, Wei Wuxian does confirm this. Strictly, the ‘ghost soldiers’ were probably his fierce corpses. ‘Ghost’ or ‘Gui’ is used in Modao Zushi’s magic system as a catch-all phrase for dead humans, whether they’re actual ghosts (incorporeal spirits) or reanimated corpses. We know that Wei Wuxian was using huge numbers of fierce corpses to act as guards at the entrance to the Burial Mounds and protect the Wens, after all.

Wei Wuxian’s Second Life

So the risk of backlash is confirmed as a threat when using guidao and other dark cultivation techniques. However, it seems that they either have a clear contract which has to be fulfilled (like in the body sacrifice ritual), or a clearly defined risk which can be mitigated or prevented entirely through careful use.

It’s notable that Wei Wuxian is in control of his cultivation far more often than not, and in his second life we see absolutely no losses of control from him. This is probably down to a few things, one of them being greater experience. He also is no longer working alone; Lan Wangji is nearly always at his side or very nearby, which removes the intense stress of trying to fight against the entire world alone.

Honestly, I can’t even pull up any instances of Wei Wuxian struggling to control his cultivation in his second life or being even mildly harmed by it; there are absolutely none. We only ever see him dealing with mundane exhaustion, stress, and physical injuries.

He recovers very quickly from performing Empathy with Nie Mingjue:

Hearing this, Wei WuXian instantly pulled himself out!

He was still the thin paperman, stuck to the helmet that sealed Nie MingJue’s head. He had tugged loose the knot that tied the iron shells over Nie MingJue’s eyes, revealing a bloodshot eye, opened wide with anger.

[...]

There wasn’t much time left. He must return to his corporal body immediately!

Paperman WuXian flapped his sleeves, flying out as though he were a butterfly.

[...]

A while later, once his soul had returned successfully, Wei WuXian immediately took a deep breath. He raised his head, opened his eyes, and suddenly stood up. Yet, having not expected his body to still be disoriented, he felt dizzy and leaned forward. Seeing this, Lan WangJi caught him in his arms. Wei WuXian lifted his head once more, and the top of his head collided with Lan WangJi’s chin. With a thud, both of them grunted in pain. Wei WuXian rubbed his head with one hand and felt Lan WangJi’s chin with the other, “Ugh! I’m sorry. Lan Zhan, you alright?”

His chin having been stroked a couple of times, Lan WangJi lightly took Wei WuXian’s hand away before shaking his head. Wei WuXian tugged him, “Let’s go!”

(Chapter 50, Exiled Rebels translation)

After this, he is stabbed by Jin Ling and winds up spending four days unconscious in Cloud Recesses. I’ve seen it suggested that his short bout of hallucinating after he wakes up is due to harm from his cultivation, but I firmly disagree. He’d been unconscious for four days after being stabbed!

He immediately let go, almost wanting to roll away. His movement was so large that it hurt the wound at his stomach. He exclaimed an ‘ah’ as he scrunched his brows, finally remembering that he was still injured. Amid the stars before his eyes, Jing Ling, Jiang Cheng, Jiang YanLi, Jiang FengMian, Madam Yu… Many faces spun around in a large circle.

[...]

Only having ensured that his injuries were indeed fine did Lan WangJi finally let him go, “Four days.”

Jin Ling’s sword stabbed right through. The wound hadn’t been shallow at all. How it healed within four days without even leaving a scar behind meant that high level medicine of the GusuLan Sect had to have been necessary. Wei WuXian thanked him, mocking himself along the way, “I’ve reincarnated but somehow I’ve become even weaker. I couldn’t keep going after just a single stab.”

(Chapter 63, Exiled Rebels translation)

After being a bit muddled upon first waking up, he’s fine. He was also dreaming about his past while unconscious, which is why he’s described as seeing all these faces ‘amid the stars before his eyes’. The flashbacks in Refinement and Poisons-Evil are both framed as Wei Wuxian sleeping and dreaming about the past, and he’s thinking about them as a result; he’s not portrayed as actually hallucinating and thinking they’re really there.

Wei Wuxian is very drained by the events of the Second Siege and faints twice afterwards. However, it’s worth noting that during the Second Siege, he didn’t really use resentful energy (he couldn’t, as all the corpses there were under the control of the Yinhufu); he used talismans, which only require a small amount of spiritual energy.

Wei Wuxian even specifically states that Mo Xuanyu’s body is very weak, refusing to use Suibian before the Second Siege:

He wore it by his waist and didn’t seem like he was going to use it. Seeing how Lan WangJi looked at him, he fiddled with his hair and explained, “I haven’t used a sword in so many years. I’m not used to it.” As he spoke, he sighed again, “Alright. The real reason is that my current body is low in spiritual energy. Even if there’s a high level sword, it won’t be able to make the best use of it. And so, it’ll be up to HanGuang-Jun to protect the delicate man that I am.”

(Chapter 68, Exiled Rebels translation)

Wei Wuxian collapses due to exhaustion on the boat ride to Lotus Pier:

OuYang ZiZhen, “HanGuang-Jun, why did Senior Wei collapse?”

Lan WangJi, “Fatigue.”

Lan JingYi was amazed, “I thought that Senior Wei would never get tired!”

(Chapter 84, Exiled Rebels translation)

He collapses again during the fight at the Jiang ancestral hall:

Lan WangJi, “Wei Ying?!” His low voice rang within Wei WuXian’s ears, echoing endlessly.

Wei WuXian was starting doubt if something happened to his ears, “What’s wrong?”

He felt something streak down his face, but reached up only to retrieve a handful of scarlet. Accompanied by throbs of dizziness, blood continued to drip down his nose and his mouth, onto the ground.

[...]

Having come to the conclusion that Wei WuXian was only in a temporary state of unconsciousness due to extreme fatigue and anger, Lan WangJi finally tore his gaze away.

(Chapter 88, Exiled Rebels translation)

When he wakes up in Chapter 90, he feels unwell but recovers fairly quickly:

For a long while, he couldn’t figure out what was happening. Only when he saw the splatters of blood on Lan WangJi’s left sleeve, like a string of plum blossoms resting on snow, did he finally recall what happened before he passed out from anger. His expression twisted at once as he suddenly sat upright. Lan WangJi went to help him, but the ringing in Wei WuXian’s ears hadn’t stopped yet.

[...]

Lan WangJi knew that he wasn’t feeling well. Silent, he didn’t ask anything. He lay one hand on his back, sending him a warm thread of spiritual energy.

[...]

Looking around, Wei WuXian suddenly exclaimed, “I’m hungry.”

Lan WangJi looked up. Of course, Wei WuXian wasn’t hungry at all. He had just eaten three pies at the vendor in front of Lotus Pier’s gates. Lan WangJi only ate one, however, and it was the only thing he’d eaten in the past two days. The matter was on Wei WuXian’s mind.

(Chapter 90, Exiled Rebels translation)

The narrative again directly links it to exhaustion, not to anything more ominous than that:

In the fight at Burial Mound, Wei WuXian exerted too much energy and stamina. Both his mind and his body were strained for too long. A few hours earlier, Jiang Cheng angered him so much that he almost bled from his qiqiao.

He only recovered after a long time of rest. Although he didn’t feel too bad right now, if there was something he missed and he pushed himself all the way to Lanling, it was hard to tell whether or not an accident would happen at a critical moment. On top of that, he wasn’t the only one straining his mind and body in the past few days. Lan WangJi didn’t rest for a second either.

(Chapter 91, Exiled Rebels translation)

As said, there simply isn’t any proof, based on Wei Wuxian’s second life, that his cultivation is doing him harm, nor does he ever lose control of it.

This definitely indicates to me that Wei Wuxian’s losses of control in his first life were related to the circumstances and not an inevitable risk of his cultivation path.

In Conclusion

I actually suspect that Lan Wangji himself came to the same conclusion; he only ever gently warns Wei Wuxian to be careful when using dark techniques during his second life:

Lan WangJi let the paperman wriggle on his ribbon for some time. Just as he reached out to take it down, the paperman slid its way down as fast as it could. No matter intentionally or not, it bumped its head once against his lips.

Lan WangJi’s movements paused for a moment. Using two of his fingers, he finally caught it, “Do not fool around.”

Softly, the paperman rolled its body over his slender finger.

Lan WangJi, “You must be careful.”

The paperman nodded and flapped its wings. Clinging flat onto the ground, it climbed through the door slit and snuck out of the guest room.

(Chapter 47, Exiled Rebels translation)

He still does have some level of distaste for Wei Wuxian’s cultivation path, I would argue, due to the way he instantly latches onto the idea that Wei Wuxian would never have turned to the ghost path if not for his lost golden core:

“…” Lan WangJi managed, “I only knew that his spiritual powers were somehow impaired.”

But to think this was the truth.

Wen Ning, “If not because of this…”

If not because there really wasn’t a second path to walk on.

(Chapter 89, Exiled Rebels translation)

But the discussion of Wei Wuxian’s feelings on his cultivation is one for another day.

At any rate, I doubt that Lan Wangji is only holding back his feelings on the ghost path due to wanting to avoid any more fights with Wei Wuxian. After all, he spent 13 years mourning him. If he still believed that Wei Wuxian’s cultivation was going to eventually kill him, I doubt he would accept it so much more readily now.

I think the lesson he learnt, after looking back and thinking on the past a great deal, was indeed that Wei Wuxian would not have suffered such losses of control if he had had anyone to rely on in his past life. So now Lan Wangji always stands by his side and ensures that he will never reach such a state of desperation again.

[shanastoryteller]

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈Happy Pride🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 Can I request you continue the Time Traveller Nie Huaisang? Either that or the 'free brother one's

a continuation of 1

Wei Wuxian's plan is so bad that at first Nie Huaisang thinks he's joking.

"Do you have a better idea?" Wei Wuxian asks. "One that doesn't end in a bunch of our clansmen dying for no reason?"

"If we manage to kill the Wens-"

"We're not killing a whole clan all over again," Wei Wuxian interrupts.

"Especially since that clan is mine," Wen Qing adds mildly. "You said you wanted a coup. We're going to give you one. But to do that we'll need some firepower that we don't have right now."

Nie Huaisang has to remind himself that they're both dumbass teenagers and he's the adult here. "Why are you letting him do this? You're a doctor. Don't you have some sort of oath about not letting idiots kill themselves?"

"Not really," she answers. "But I'm not worried about that. That's why I'm going with him."

He stares. He really hadn't thought that this plan could get worse, but clearly he'd been wrong. "You'll die. You'll literally die."

"I didn't die last time," Wei Wuxian points out.

That's not as compelling as argument as Wei Wuxian thinks it is, because after he hadn't been dead but he'd been something almost as bad. "You don't need to go to the Burial Mounds to learn demonic cultivation. You invented it."

"Yeah, while I was in the Burial Mounds," he says. "Don't worry, this time will be better, since I still have my golden core and haven't just been whipped half to death. And I'll have a doctor! Who I won't let die. I think this is pretty responsible of me actually."

The sad things is that for Wei Wuxian, it kind of is. "And how are you planning to explain disappearing for three months? We don't have three months! The Wens will have already started gathering power by then."

"I can probably do it in a month this time around," he answers, which would be an absolutely insane statement coming from anyone else. "My old notes that you copied out for me helped a lot, plus the whole not being half dead thing. I probably spent a lot of time in the Burial Mounds trying to not die, and I'll spend a lot less time doing that this time around."

"A month is still too long for you both to go missing," he says through gritted teeth.

Wen Qing grins. "Oh, don't worry about that. We're going to spread rumors that we're running off together to elope since our families would never agree to arrange a betrothal. By the time they figure out that's very much not what we've done, I'll be the Wen Sect Leader and it won't matter."

"Lan Zhan agreed to shelter A-Ning, although I obviously didn't tell him why," Wei Wuxian says, then his brow furrows. "It was actually a lot easier than I thought it'd be."

Nie Huaisang has a moment of silence for Lan Wangji. The only person who's going to have a worse month than the two idiots who are purposely dropping themselves in the Burial Mounds is Lan Wangji who’s going to think that the love of his life ran off to marry someone else.

Oh well. One bad month is probably preferable to sixteen years of them, after all.

[robininthelabyrinth]

A-Yuan wasn’t the only child among the Wen Remnants, just the youngest.

Children's Day - ao3

Lan Wangji carefully scooped up the boy out of his hiding place, tucked beneath a pile of stones, sick with fever and fast asleep.

It was a good hiding place. If Lan Wangji hadn’t played Inquiry and demanded to know if there were any living beings around in this cursed place of death, he would never have found the small child.

He remembered him – this was little A-Yuan, who Wei Wuxian had taken down into town to play, the one Lan Wangji had bought all those toys for in his confusion, the one who called him rich-gege. Barely more than two years old, having never known anything but war.

He was all that was left, now. There was nothing else left in the battlefield.

No one else left.

Lan Wangji closed his eyes in pain.

I’ll care for him for you, he promised Wei Wuxian’s ghost, wherever it might be now. Now that you cannot.

I’ll take him back to Gusu to raise as my own – wishing you were by my side.

-

-Earlier-

“Sect Leader!” one of his aides cried out when he staggered back into camp. “What – who’s that?”

Jiang Cheng looked down at the girl in his arms. She was – four, maybe? Five? He had no idea.

She looked a bit like Wen Qing.

“I found her hiding in the corner of the battlefield when she made a noise,” he said hoarsely. “The Wen sect remnants…by the time I got there, they were almost all dead already, all her family. She’s – she’s young. It didn’t seem right.”

Wei Wuxian always liked children, he thought vaguely to himself as he looked down at her. It wasn’t so much of a surprise that he would keep one there…in fact, if he thought back to that horrible meeting they’d had that one time he’d come to the Burial Mounds to try to talk to Wei Wuxian, he thought he remembered there being a small child there. This must be her.

She was bigger than he remembered, but that was what happened with small children, wasn’t it?

“Her surname is Wen?”

“No,” Jiang Cheng snapped automatically, and his aide took a step back from his vehemence. “The Wen sect is dead, you understand? All of them. The cultivation world refused to allow them to live, that much is obvious enough. Her surname…”

He looked down at her.

I failed Wei Wuxian, he thought grimly. I won’t fail his legacy.

“Her surname will be Jiang.”

-

-Earlier-

“We found this child hiding in the Demon Subduing Cave,” one of the guards reported, looking nervous. “Lianfeng-zun – what do we do with them?”

Jin Guangyao frowned down at the child, judging the child’s age to be about five or six – maybe seven, considering the likelihood of malnutrition at the Burial Mounds. If they were any younger, he would’ve said that the child ought to just execute them as useless; any older, and he would’ve had no choice but to declare them an enemy combatant, and thereby order them executed.

At this age, though…they were still young enough to be taught to forget their current surname, and to learn new loyalties, and yet old enough to perhaps remember a little of what they had learned, living as they had for a few years with the inventor of demonic cultivation.

Jin Guangyao glanced at the papers in his hands, full of barely legible scribbles, laying out powerful new spells and interesting ideas. They would help Xue Yang with his work – but not as much as a helper would, and naturally they’d just brutally executed all the other ‘helpers’ that might have been available.

Not exactly Jin Guangyao’s personal preference, but he wasn’t the one leading the Jin sect army.

Still, his father, who had been the one leading, had retired to his tent, and now Jin Guangyao was the one with the power, left to be in charge of mopping up. That, in turn, gave him a little more leeway, which meant he could implement his own thoughts, rather than badly thought out instructions.

“Put the child in my tent,” he said, and smiled. “The poor thing must have gotten lost and entered the battlefield – after we arrived. You understand?”

The guard saluted deeply. “Lianfeng-zun is kind and beneficent,” he said, and his expression was worshipful. “I will tell the others that the child is from some distant Jin branch.”

Jin Guangyao hadn’t intended for him to do that, but – well, he couldn’t exactly refute it now, could he, and anyway there were worse things to happen. Everyone would know that he had kindly taken in some orphaned child of war, which would be good for his reputation.

He smiled and nodded, and thought of the future.

-

-Earlier-

“Well, shit,” Nie Mingjue said, staring at the trio of children: nine or ten years old, he thought, maybe a little older, two girls and a boy. They stared back at him, wide-eyed and terrified – they were very clearly trying to sneak off the Burial Mounds down the back way.

Nie Mingjue rubbed his face, glad that he’d insisted on doing the forward scout work before the attack tomorrow morning himself rather than let it go to someone else. He hadn’t wanted to come to this blasted place in the first place, being that he still wasn’t sure exactly what had gone down with Wei Wuxian, who’d been a good man once. But good Nie cultivators had died at Lanling City at Wen Ning’s hands, the Jin sect claiming that that brutal attack was at Wei Wuxian’s instigation, and at the Nightless City at Wei Wuxian’s hands directly, and he didn’t have any evidence to exculpate the man, either; he had no grounds to look the families of those Nie cultivators in the eye and tell them not to pursue vengeance against the man who had slaughtered their brothers and fathers and sons, sisters and mothers and daughters, like they meant nothing.

They deserved vengeance.

Just as he had, for his father.

But at the same time…

“You’re all surnamed Wen, I take it?” he asked, and they slowly nodded. “Dafan Wen?”

Another nod.

“Wrong answer,” he said, making a snap decision. This wasn’t like his father at all, not really; he had wanted to kill Wen Ruohan, who had done the deed himself, while these children clearly hadn’t done anything. “Swear to me here and now that you won’t seek revenge for your sect or family, and you can be surnamed Nie instead.”

They looked at each other.

“Your family didn’t send you to run away because they wanted you to take revenge,” he said. It was a guess, but he could tell from the way their shoulders sagged that he was right. “They wanted you to live. Well?”

They swore.

He took them home.

-

-Earlier-

She tripped and fell flat on her face.

“Hey, girl!”

She looked up, eyes wide with terror – she hadn’t expected to be caught so soon – but the cultivator in front of her didn’t strike her down. He was a young man, just a few years older than her, and he looked nice, kneeling to help her up.

“Are you all right?” he asked. “Did you get lost?”

Lost? From where would she get lost, exactly?

Despite that, she nodded.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Here isn’t a good place, though – we’re going to have a battle tomorrow…can you tell me where you’re from?” He frowned. “Or – can’t you speak?”

An idea suddenly came to mind, and she shook her head, lifting up her hands to mime signs like the ones she’d seen Lady Wen and her brother use sometimes when they needed to talk without disturbing others.

“Doesn’t talk,” he murmured to himself. “Clothing of white, ripped all to ribbons –”

She’d torn out any trace of the red sun. White was a common color, but she was old enough to know that she couldn’t let anyone know she was surnamed Wen.

“Oh, I’ve read about this before! Are you a bird yao that’s cultivated to humanity?”

What?

She’d been thinking of trying to pass as a traumatized war veteran, but she was only fourteen, after all; it wasn’t very believable. Of course, it was a lot more believable that bird yao – who would leap to that conclusion?

“My surname is Ouyang,” the man said, smiling brightly at her. “You should come back with me – I can teach you to speak, and we can give you a name…how about ‘Luo’ as a surname? That has to do with birds. Or we could surname you Bai, instead, since your clothing is white! Or maybe -”

She smiled helplessly at his nonsense. What a silly, cheerful man! Maybe she’d overestimated his age, he couldn’t be more than two or three years older, at most, and his brain was clearly not in the right place, filled up to the brim with romantic stories and adventure tales instead of facts.

It was a nice change, actually.

She accepted his hand as she stood.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

-

-Earlier-

Lan Wangji had returned home and submitted to a dreadful punishment. The elders he had injured on Wei Wuxian’s behalf were either in treatment or recovering.

As for the rest that had been at the Nightless City…

Many were dead.

Lan Qiren landed in the Burial Mounds, lips pressed tightly together.

He knew he was taking a risk in coming here to Wei Wuxian’s lair – no matter what Lan Wangji thought, whatever good points he’d had in the past, the man was now little better than a mad dog. He’d caused the death of three thousand people just the day before, three thousand innocents that hadn’t had anything to do with anything; why would he hesitate to attack his old teacher?

There was already talk of a siege – Jiang Cheng himself had promised to lead it, to wipe off the stain on the Jiang sect’s record, and the Jin sect had been right behind him. Even Nie Mingjue had been dragged in against his will, suborned by his sect members’ need for vengeance. As for the Lan Sect…Lan Xichen had looked so stricken by the thought that Lan Qiren had volunteered for the grim duty, despite Lan Qiren having never been much of a fighter and even less of a general. He intended to take only the smallest possible contingent, and to limit their work as much as possible to cleansing the dead rather than killing those who remained there – that much, at least, he could do for his nephew.

Either way, though, no matter his powers, Wei Wuxian would not live out the week.

If Lan Qiren desired vengeance, he need only wait.

And yet, here he was.

Alone, practically unarmed – and here nonetheless.

An old woman came out from the cave and squinted at him.

“It’s over,” she said sadly. “Isn’t it?”

Lan Qiren looked at her. One of the Wen remnants that Wei Wuxian had surrounded himself with, he assumed; the ones he’d given up his comfortable life for, claiming he was only acting as a righteous man ought. Perhaps he even had thought he was, back then.

Perhaps he really had been, back then.

“Yes,” Lan Qiren said, and cleared his throat. “After what he did at the Nightless City – the verdict is unquestionably death. But the rest of you…there are armies coming, and armies are not known for their leniency, especially not on passerby with the wrong surname. But they’re not here yet. There’s still time to flee – if you go now, you could take on a new surname and find some quiet place to live on.”

Lan Wangji had said they were civilians. Civilian life was to be prioritized above all else.

Lan Qiren was only doing what he must.

Despite his well-meant warnings, however, the old lady shook her head.

“There’s nowhere to go, and we won’t give up our surname,” she said, polite but stubborn to the last. “But thank you for taking the time to come here to tell us.”

“Wangji said that there were children here,” Lan Qiren insisted, ignoring her refusal. “If you won’t flee with them, at least send those that are old enough out on their own, and hide the younger ones. Tell them to forget their surnames – most people won’t rampantly murder children, so there’s a chance they’ll make it through, and live. Can you deny them that, just for pride?”

That gave the old woman pause.

“We’ll do what we can,” she said, and then eyed him. “How good are you at medicine?”

Lan Qiren frowned. “I can’t provide care –”

“She’s already dead. Come help anyway.”

The woman in question was not already dead, but dying – she was in her late teens, seventeen or eighteen at most, and she was in labor. From the glassiness of her eyes, the redness of her cheeks, and the threadiness of her pulse, it was clear that infection had long ago set in. It was not an exaggeration to say she was dead, little better than a corpse.

She was little more than a child.

“I don’t want her to die alone,” the old woman said. “But if you stay with her, I can use the time to try to take care of the rest. You’re not wrong, I suppose – the children, at least, deserve a chance to live on, even if it means leaving our surname behind.”

Lan Qiren looked down at the woman, unconscious already and unlikely to ever wake, and yet still whimpering. “And her child?”

The old woman looked surprised. “Can a child born like this still live?”

Lan Qiren had almost no medical training beyond the most superficial basics that were the necessity for any battlefield or night-hunt, with one sole exception: he had supervised the births of both his nephews by himself with little aid – his brother’s wife hadn’t wanted anyone else to be present, possibly in an attempt to prematurely enter her grave, possibly just out of spite. He had studied very hard in the days leading up to those births, and knew far more on the subject than most men did.

“It’s possible,” he said. “Unlikely, but – possible.”

He hesitated for a long moment.

“I can take the baby,” he finally said. “Pass him off as some war-orphan child of distant Lan cousins, sent to me on account of their deaths. I could raise him, or else give him to my cousin to raise; he’s got a large enough family that no one would question it.”

“Why would you do that?”

Lan Qiren looked at the woman who was dying, little more than a child herself. “Because of the children I can’t help.”

The old woman was quiet for a little while.

“Very well,” she said, and leaned forward to whisper the name the young woman had thought about for her child into his ear. “That works with Lan as a surname, wouldn’t it? That’s not bad.”

“Not bad at all,” Lan Qiren agreed, and rolled up his sleeves, settling down beside the girl. “Not bad at all.”

[plan-d-to-i]

Hi i just read the asks about the Jiang families.

How do you think, in general, JFM would've felt to witness the events after his death? From the whole golden core transfer to WWX leaving the Jiang Sect for protect the weak? What would've been his thoughts on his son and the son of his friend's?

It's just a curious question and you don't need to answer it if you don't feel like but from what ik, JFM is bashed very much by YZY and JC stans.

Unlike them, i find your opinion more canonical so...

I don't think you have to extrapolate very much, it's all here:

Jiang Cheng, “It served you right to be bored to death. You shouldn’t have played the hero and you shouldn’t have cared for such a hell of a thing. If in the beginning you didn’t…”

Suddenly, Jiang FengMian spoke, “Jiang Cheng.”

Jiang Cheng paused, knowing that he had said too much. He was quiet at once.

Jiang FengMian didn’t look as if he was blaming him of anything, but his expression had turned from calm to more solemn, “Do you know in which ways what you just said is not appropriate?”

Jiang Cheng’s head hung low, “Yes.”

Wei WuXian, “He’s just angry and speaking without care.”

Seeing how Jiang Cheng’s mouth and heart were still at odds, how he still felt defiant, Jiang FengMian shook his head, “A-Cheng, there are some things that can’t be said even if you’re angry. If you said them, it means that you still don’t understand the motto of the Jiang Sect, that you still don’t…”

Jiang disciples clearly had more of leeway, compared to a place like Cloud Recesses that had a much more rigid and established set of rules. However the motto and ethos of his clan are very important to JFM and he tries to instill that in his son. He repeats it before they leave for the Wen indoctrination camp too:

Having sat for a while, Jiang FengMian spoke up, “Tonight, I’ll count eighteen more people. You’ll depart together next day.”

Jiang Cheng nodded, hesitant on whether or not he should say anything else. He never knew how to converse with his father, while Wei WuXian was proficient. Finishing his soup, he replied, “Uncle Jiang, don’t you have anything to give us?”

Jiang FengMian smiled, “I’ve given them long ago. Your swords are by your side, and the adage is in your hearts.”

Wei WuXian, “Oh! To ‘attempt the impossible’, right?”

How do you think he would have reacted to jiang cheng not even attempting to aid people he owed his life to?

Jiang Cheng, “I’m the one who fucking wants to give you a thrashing! Yes, they helped us before, but why in the world don’t you understand that right now any remnant of the Wen Sect is a target of criticism! ...

Wanting to let innocent people die?

Jiang Cheng, “You burn this corpse right now and return to them all these leftovers of the Wen Sect. That’s the only way to make the subject die!” As he spoke, he raised his sword again, preparing to attack.

However, Wei WuXian clenched his wrist, “Are you joking?! If we return Wen Qing and the others to them, they’d meet nothing but a dead end!”

Jiang Cheng, “I doubt you’ll even return all of them. Why do you care what kind of end they meet? A dead end it is, then—what does it have to do with you?!”

jiang cheng knows it too, it's part of why he's so angry w WWX:

Jiang Cheng, “… All for the Wen Sect…? Wei WuXian, do you have a savior complex? Is it that you’ll die if you don’t stand up for someone and stir up some trouble?”

Wei WuXian stayed quiet. A while later, he answered, “So that’s why we should cut ties right now, in case anything I do affects the YunmengJiang Sect in the future.”

Or else, he really couldn’t make any guarantees on what he’d do in the future.

“…” Jiang Cheng murmured, “My mom said that you do nothing but bring our sect trouble. It’s true indeed.” He laughed coldly, talking to himself, “‘To attempt the impossible’? Fine. You understand the YunmengJiang Sect’s motto. Better than I do. Better than all of us do.”

jc's words here echo what his father reprimanded him for in WWX's room so closely! jiang cheng knows his father would not have approved of his own actions, but he's completely set aside the clan motto and adopted his mother's world views that conform to his own selfish, self serving nature ... How could any of this have pleased Jiang Fengmian? WWX is still living by YunmengJiang's teachings: doing everything in his power to help the Wens to stand by "the weak, the old the women and the children" who jc mocks, finding a way to truly do the impossible and get jc a core, especially at such huge personal sacrifice, finding a way to contribute to the war even without his golden core, helping jc as JFM had asked until he was firmly back in a position of power- which YunmengJiang was when WWX defected; but jc, his own son and heir has forsaken everything the Clan stood for and was established on. Maybe an amoral person like Jin Guagnshan would be happy just to see his clan be rich and steady, but the few glimpses we've had of JFM's character indicate he would most likely not feel the same. Especially later on when we find out how jc is setting up nets everywhere putting people in harm's way to help Jin Ling cheat, or how ppl are too afraid to go to YunmengJiang Clan for help bc jc low key turned Lotus Pier into a torture dungeon.

[cqlfeels]

may i add to your excellent addition to the wangxian-sizhui post? esp. in cql, it feels dishonest to portray lwj and sizhui's relationship as a typical father-son relationship the way ppl often do in fics/tweets? sizhui calls him hanguang-jun, they don't share living quarters like a father would with his unmarried children and sizhui isn't given special treatment (teen lwj dressed differently from pan disciples, teen sizhui does not) (1/2)

and it's fine because there's a whole village to raise sizhui! he has lxc, lqr and teachers/clan members/fellow disciples. he's clearly not been deprived of love. and that ties back in to the point that a family does not have to look like a nuclear family in order to be able to meet the emotional needs of its members. i've been terrified to voice this opinion in the cql/mdzs fandom, so thank you for that post. (2/2)

Adding to your addition to my addition, yeah, for sure! Societies inspired by Confucian values (which MDZS's probably is, but Cloud Recesses is even more) are very collectivist, and the idea of a child not being the collective responsibility of all its elders would've been... weird. Even in Burial Mounds, everybody is shown to be taking care of A-Yuan! Granny Wen seems to have been his primary caretaker, but all adults look after him at different times.

Now, I don't want to be too harsh, because MXTX does emphasize the relationship LSZ has with wangxian. It's clearly important to the three of them, and LSZ does seem to be closer to them than he is to, say, LXC. So I'm all for acknowledging that and letting him be attached to them (although he's clearly not formally LWJ's son - he apparently occupies the same type of unnamed space WWX did among the Jiang, only in a different way), but I really dislike it when this relationship is emphasized to the exclusion of others. Not just the Wen (dead and alive), but also LJY, for example, who seems to be a major part of LSZ's live but is often dismissed as being in a category inferior to wangxian. (Though the conversation about the hierarchy of relationships - romantic > familial > platonic - is a disk horse of its own so I won't get started on that.)

[bloody-bee-tea]

Get Together

This fic was also inspired by this prompt from @mingcheng-prompts​

Jiang Cheng stares at the letter in his hands.

“You can’t be serious,” he says, but when he raises his eyes at Nie Mingjue he seems deadly serious.

“Of course I am,” Nie Mingjue replies and pushes a scroll towards him. “My courtship gift.”

Jiang Cheng blinks but doesn’t move.

He knows he can’t say yes—could never, not with everything that happened—but he wants to.

Jiang Cheng learned to appreciate Nie Mingjue over the course of the last few gruesome weeks, learned to rely on him and trust him to have his back in battle—and yes, maybe even fell in love with him—so of course he wants to say yes.

But he can’t.

“I have nothing,” he tells Nie Mingjue and doesn’t make a move for the scroll. “My Sect burned. My parents died. My people are scattered.”

He’s not even sure he still has Wei Wuxian.

“There is nothing I can give you.”

“Good thing then, that I’m here for you and not your Sect or for what you can give me,” Nie Mingjue easily replies and doesn’t seem put off in the least.

“No,” Jiang Cheng tells him, though the word barely makes it out of his mouth.

Nie Mingjue observes him in silence for a few minutes, before he sags with a sigh.

“I respect your wish,” he says but he still pushes the scroll closer to Jiang Cheng. “You should still take this. Consider it a gift from one Sect Leader to another, if you must.”

“I shouldn’t take this,” Jiang Cheng replies as he gets up.

If he accepts this, and finds something thoughtful, something useful, something he would like, then his resolve will crumble.

And he can’t afford that. They are still at war. His Sect is still barely more than ground into dust.

“Nie-zongzhu,” he bows low, before he walks out of the tent, away from Nie Mingjue, without looking back.

Jiang Cheng wonders not for the first time when fate will stop taking things away from him.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng has to admit that he thought things would change between him and Nie Mingjue with the rejected courtship, but they don’t.

Nie Mingjue treats him the same as before, except that now Jiang Cheng flushes whenever Nie Mingjue comes close or smiles at him or is simply nice to him.

Jiang Cheng is flushing a lot, even though the war is still raging.

He really wishes he could have said yes to Nie Mingjue.

~*~*~

Fate does not stop taking things from Jiang Cheng. First his brother-in-law, then his sister and to top it off his brother as well.

The only thing left is Jin Ling.

And—inexplicably—Nie Mingjue.

“What do you want?” Jiang Cheng asks, a shade of desperation to his voice, because Jin Ling won’t stop crying and Jiang Cheng is inevitably going to fuck him up, just like he fucks up everything else.

“I’m here with an offer of courtship,” Nie Mingjue says and puts another letter and the same scroll on the table.

Jiang Cheng wonders if Nie Mingjue lost his mind.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he hisses, allowing the anger to take over instead of giving in to the want and hurt.

“Nothing. I simply have made up my mind about what I want. And what I want is you.”

He sounds completely serious as he says it, too, and Jiang Cheng wonders if Nie Mingjue lost his sanity on the battlefield.

“Look around you, Nie-zongzhu,” he snaps out, aware that Jin Ling flinches at his tone and Nie Mingjue at the title.

Jiang Cheng tries to calm Jin Ling down and tries to ignore Nie Mingjue and his reaction as best as he can.

If he calls him anything but Nie-zongzhu then he’ll crumble and give in. And he can’t do that.

“I have nothing left in my life,” Jiang Cheng belatedly finishes and Nie Mingjue frowns.

“That’s not true. You have your nephew and your Sect. That is not nothing. And you have me, too, if you accept the courtship or not.”

“Why are you so—” Jiang Cheng wants to say ‘good’ but the word chokes him up.

Nie Mingjue seems to understand it anyway.

“Because you deserve it.”

“I don’t,” Jiang Cheng says over Jin Ling’s head, the boy still crying and Jiang Cheng woefully unprepared to deal with him.

“I think you do,” Nie Mingjue softly says and then stands up to correct Jiang Cheng’s grasp on Jin Ling.

It doesn’t immediately calm him down, but Jiang Cheng feels more secure holding Jin Ling like that and the small kindness is enough to bring tears to his eyes.

“I can’t,” Jiang Cheng whispers, and hides his face in Jin Ling’s baby hair. “I can’t.”

There’s a brief silence where Jiang Cheng thinks that Nie Mingjue will simply storm out on him, but then he feels lips pressed against the crown of his head.

“I’ll be here when you can,” Nie Mingjue promises him right before he leaves.

Jiang Cheng can’t bear to watch him go, and it’s only much, much later that he realizes that while Nie Mingjue took the letter with the official courtship, he left the scroll behind.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t touch it.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng is shaking as he steps off Sandu and if he’s not careful he’s going to crush the scroll in his hand.

Maybe it would be better anyway.

“Where is Nie Mingjue?” he demands to know from the first disciple that has the guts to step close and to their credit, he is immediately led to a study room.

“What the fuck is this?” he hisses as he throws the scroll at Nie Mingjue. “What the hell are you up to?”

It seems like he caught Nie Mingjue off guard because the scroll hits him square in the chest but when he lowers his gaze at it, understanding crosses his face.

“It’s a gift,” Nie Mingjue slowly says and picks the scroll out of his robes to put it on the table.

“A gift,” Jiang Cheng hisses. “Preparing me for the fact that you’re planning to invade us?”

It’s—just the thought makes Jiang Cheng sick, because he barely had time to build Lotus Pier back up again. He only managed the most necessary buildings so far.

Not to mention the fact that he trusted Nie Mingjue, that he thought he was in love with him.

“It’s nothing like that,” Nie Mingjue reassures him and Jiang Cheng has to give it to him, he stays remarkably calm.

“Then explain what it is!” Jiang Cheng demands and Nie Mingjue sighs.

“I mean, I guess it was intended that way, once, when we first started? But it’s not anymore. We keep track of the layout of all the Sects. I know you all thought us stupid but Qinghe Nie always expected a war ever since Wen Ruohan first came into power centuries ago. We made it a habit to sketch out every Sect’s layout so that in the case of a war we could help them rebuild. None of you are as sturdy as we are.”

It’s a sensible explanation and it makes sense, Jiang Cheng guesses, but the hurt about the perceived threat from Nie Mingjue of all people still sits deep.

“Why give it to me?”

Nie Mingjue stares at him as if he’s stupid, and Jiang Cheng thinks that’s probably fair.

“It was supposed to be a courtship gift; my gift to help you rebuild Lotus Pier like it used to be if you wished it so. You rejected me, twice, and I thought it cruel to keep this from you despite that.”

Jiang Cheng can’t keep Nie Mingjue’s eyes any longer and so he stares down at the scroll again.

He had looked at it, of course, and he had studied it very carefully; there were paths and buildings on that plan that even he didn’t remember.

“Show me the other ones,” Jiang Cheng says, because he needs the proof that this was not simply to attack him again, now that Yunmeng Jiang is weakened beyond belief.

Nie Mingjue simply nods and leads Jiang Cheng to a huge library. It seems like Nie Mingjue knows his way around here very well, because there’s no hesitation as he makes his way over to a shelf and gets three more scrolls out.

“We even have one of the Wen Sect, in case someone more sensible ever took over once Wen Ruohan inevitably destroyed everything,” he says as he hands the scrolls to Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng opens all three of them, just to be sure, but they are what Nie Mingjue promised.

“You wanted to help us rebuild,” Jiang Cheng whispers and Nie Mingjue shrugs.

“Qinghe Nie always wanted to help in the case of war,” he agrees and before Jiang Cheng can snap at him that he is deliberately misunderstanding him, he goes on. “But yes. I specifically wanted to help you rebuild.”

“Why?”

“It was supposed to be a courtship gift, remember?” Nie Mingjue asks with a sad smile and takes the scrolls back from Jiang Cheng.

“But why?” Jiang Cheng asks again, because that’s the part he doesn’t get.

Everyone left him alone; his family is dead, Lanling Jin is just waiting for him to die or move a toe out of line, Gusu Lan is too busy rebuilding themselves and for all that Nie Mingjue tried to court him—twice—even Qinghe Nie didn’t so much as offer help.

Well, Jiang Cheng guesses he has to rethink that part, because clearly Nie Mingjue did want to help.

“Why me?”

“Because you’re fierce and beautiful and strong. You’re a natural leader, you’re a good Sect Leader, a good uncle. Because I admire you and I’m in love with you,” Nie Mingjue easily says as if it means nothing to him to say all of that out loud, about Jiang Cheng of all people.

It means the world to Jiang Cheng.

“Ask me again,” he whispers, begs almost, because he’s tired of keeping himself from this.

He’s tired of rebuilding and of raising Jin Ling and having to do it all alone and if Nie Mingjue wants this, still, after Jiang Cheng was already stupid twice, then he’ll take it.

He will allow himself at least this happiness.

“Jiang Wanyin, will you let me court you?” Nie Mingjue asks without hesitation and just the thought that Nie Mingjue waited even though Jiang Cheng rejected him twice, that he still wants him, brings tears to Jiang Cheng’s eyes.

“Yes, please,” he breathes out and Nie Mingjue doesn’t waste any time before he pulls him into a tight hug.

“Thank you,” he mutters into Jiang Cheng’s hair as if he’s the blessed one here, when really, Jiang Cheng can’t believe that he should get this lucky.

“I’m sorry I was stupid,” Jiang Cheng says into Nie Mingjue’s shoulder.

“You weren’t. There was a lot going on, and I understand,” Nie Mingjue reassures him and Jiang Cheng slings his arms around his middle.

“I like you, too,” Jiang Cheng belatedly says, and even though he’s not yet ready to tell Nie Mingjue that he’s in love with him, too, it doesn’t seem to matter to Nie Mingjue.

“That’s good to hear,” Nie Mingjue gives back, and pushes Jiang Cheng away from him, just far enough to duck down and press a light kiss to his lips.

“We’re going to take this slow, okay? Rebuilding first.”

Jiang Cheng has difficulties swallowing around the lump in his throat, so he simply nods, grateful that Nie Mingjue seems to understand what he so desperately needs.

His Sect back to a point where he doesn’t have to fear for their simple survival every night, and a reassuring, steady presence at his side.

“Thank you,” he says again with feeling and Nie Mingjue smiles at him.

“Always,” he promises.

And for once in Jiang Cheng’s life, someone keeps that promise.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

@evilteddybear requested: I always love a LWJ/WWX fic where the sect leaders, especially Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue, and Lan Qiren, come to the Burial Mounds and see what it's like before attacking, try to negotiate.

Thanks for the request (and your patience in seeing it filled), hope you like it!

[Masterpost] [Ao3]

--

“Xiongzhang.”

“Wangji. I don’t like it any more than you do but it’s going to be the best solution for everyone.”

The weight of his brother’s glare is nearly a physical blow but Lan Xichen is used to it and stands firm. It helps that he can distract himself from the heat of it by focusing on the long trek down to the bottom of the staircase of Jinlintai. With Jin Guangyao busy for the afternoon Lan Xichen had offered to take Lan Wangji into the city for the day, though now he’s wondering just why he had though that would be a good idea in the first place. Now at least, he supposes, they have the excuse of going off to purchase paper fine enough to be suitable for an invitation for Wei Wuxian to attend his nephew’s one-month celebration.

“I will take him the letter myself,” Lan Wangji states, voice pitched low and steady. Though it’s an obstinate, unmovable tone that Lan Xichen has heard far too many times before, he can’t help but feel that it’s his duty to put up at least something of a token argument. He can never seem to argue with anyone but Lan Wangji, but even then he almost always ends up bowing out as gracefully as he can under the strength of his headstrong brother’s will.

“Wangji, it’s not safe…”

“Wei Ying will not hurt me.”

“I didn’t say that he would.”

“The Wens are not a threat.”

Lan Xichen sighs heavily and pauses as they reach a landing to close his eyes against the inevitability of his little brother getting to have his way. He always has until the day Wei Wuxian left with his band of Wens, and Lan Wangji has been doggedly pursuing him – whether Wei Wuxian is aware of it or not – ever since. He’s never done well with not getting precisely what he wants when he wants it, and Lan Xichen adores his brother and the fact that he’s grown up being given what few things he has wanted without much thought. However in this moment, for this situation, he can’t help but privately wish deep down that his brother knew how to practice the same sacrifice that Lan Xichen himself makes when it comes to those he wishes to protect.

“If you doubt me you may come with me.”

“Wangji-“ Lan Xichen cuts off with another sigh as his brother simply walks away, his piece said and his interest in the conversation clearly exhausted. They both know very well that he’ll do what he wants, and Lan Xichen will allow it. Which is why, in the end, it’s no surprise at all that Lan Wangji makes his way to Yiling with his invitation tucked safely in a qiankun pouch, nor is it particularly surprising that Lan Xichen has accepted Lan Wangji’s sort-of-bluff of an invitation to go with him. What isa surprise is that Nie Mingjue had elected to join them when he’d caught wind of where they were going and why.

“Mingjue,” Lan Xichen attempts to soothe now as the man in question paces back and forth in the confines of their room. In the interest of keeping the peace he had taken it upon himself to make sure that Lan Wangji got to have his own space, but any notions that Lan Xichen may have had about utilizing the relative privacy this arrangement affords to Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue have so far borne no fruit whatsoever. “I warned you that this would be a matter of patience, you didn’t have to come with us.”

“What? And let you both walk into the lion’s den? Of course I had to come.”

“Wangji and I are far from helpless, Mingjue, and he is certain that Wei Wuxian won’t harm us.”

“He’s the only one.”

“He’s not, I-“

“Xichen I will walk all the way back to Qinghe right now if you can honestly tell me that you’re completely and utterly certain that Wei Wuxian won’t hurt anybody!”

Xichen lets out an uncharacteristically audible sigh at that and fixes Nie Mingjue with one of his Looks that always make the man cave. “Even if I could meet those terms I wouldn’t want you to go back to Qinghe. It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other.”

“Can we stay on task here?”

“We are. We are waiting for someone to leave the Burial Mounds so that we may approach them in town rather than appearing threatening by attempting to infiltrate their settlement on the mountain. There is nothing to do now but be patient. What about our current activities are not on task?”

“We need to use this time to strategize. Plan. Things may go wrong. We may need to protect Wangji, he may need to protect either of us. We don’t know what we’re in for.”

“Mingjue.”

“Xichen.”

“This is not a battle, nor a war. We are approaching a young man – a young man Wangji trusts - who hasn’t done anything dangerous in a year so that we may invite him to a family event. Please sit down and relax.”

Nie Mingjue finally stops his pacing to turn a betrayed glare on Lan Xichen, but as with Lan Wangji he’s well used to absorbing Nie Mingjue’s frustration and neutralizing it with the soft, reassuring lines of his smile. Nie Mingjue has never been able to stay angry with him – or even near him – for longer than a few heartbeats anyway, and Lan Xichen watches the tension bleed from his broad shoulders with his next blustering exhale.

“Wangji believes that our presence may alarm the inhabitants of the Burial Mounds should we be allowed to enter their wards. You will need to remain calm in such a case so that we can show that we bear them no ill will.”

“Speak for yourself,” Nie Mingjue grumbles and Lan Xichen’s heart aches a bit for Nie Mingjue, so level-headed when it matters but so hot-headed when it shouldn’t. Nie Mingjue meets his gaze and then groans, covering his face with both hands and tipping his head back a bit as he says, slightly muffled, “Don’t give me that look, Xichen, that’s not fair. How do you always know how to get your way?!”

“It would be significantly harder to have my way if you didn’t know in your heart that I’m right. This is a delicate situation, Mingjue, we can’t let past anger cloud our judgement now. Wangji has been here before and he says that what’s going on here isn’t what everyone says it is. We’re only here to keep him safe on his errand and see things for ourselves, alright? Now is not the time to declare the continuation of Jin Guangshan’s blood feud with the Wens.”

“Yes, fine, fine! I’ll keep my thoughts to myself.”

“And no glaring.”

“Xichen!” Nie Mingjue manages an affronted look for only a scant moment before it too fades into grumbling acquiescence as he resumes his pacing. “Fine. As little glaring as I can manage.”

“Thank you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I love you.”

“Xichen!” Lan Xichen laughs softly to see Nie Mingjue’s blush overtakes his handsome features, turning his entire face a lovely shade of red as he splutters his way through returning the infrequently-expressed sentiment and accepts kisses that thoroughly distract him from any lingering anger.

It takes two full days of waiting before Wangji suddenly stands and strides off right in the middle of their morning meal. The behavior is so unusual that Lan Xichen is instantly worried, though as he stands to follow – with Nie Mingjue hot on their heels – he relaxes ever so slightly to see that Lan Wangji is heading straight for a young man Lan Xichen recognizes dimly as Wen Qionglin. He reaches out instinctively to rest a restraining hand on Nie Mingjue’s arm when he feels the man tense next to him, but though the Ghost General looks a little wary upon spotting Lan Wangji he doesn’t look hostile. In fact, he looks as timid and soft-spoken as he had when Lan Xichen had seen him during the lectures in Cloud Recesses. The only hint that he can see that something is different than it was then is the pallor to his skin and, just barely visible through the curtain of his mostly-unbound hair, thin spiderwebs of black cracks on his neck that creep up towards the underside of his jaw.

It takes some convincing from Lan Wangji before Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue are allowed to approach, and then further convincing from Lan Xichen before Wen Ning agrees to let them all come up the mountain. He takes the invitation Lan Wangji presents with gentle, steady hands and holds it as gingerly as one would expect someone to hold little Jin Ling himself, and once again Lan Xichen finds his heart aching – this time for the cruelty of the world that always seems to touch the gentlest of souls.

The trek up the mountain is slow and hot, but the further they get from the town the colder things get. The sensation of the sun on his skin is still there, but it somehow brings him no warmth. The shade cast by the twisting, barren limbs of the trees seems wan and thin, and yet the chill he feels in their shadows reaches into his bones with clawed fingers of dread. The soil becomes loose and dusty under their feet and before too much longer he can feel resentful energy crawling along his skin, seeking weakness. That sensation, at least, passes almost as soon as he notices it and he realizes they must have passed through the wards. Things grow, if possible, even more gray and sere from then onwards, though by the time he can begin to hear sounds besides the wind through dead, hollow trees there are a few with some life in them. A few gnarled leaves on some of the branches in the underbrush, a few trees bearing small fruits.

They pass the first field for planting before they see anyone to till it, though the next field has a figure bent to their task. They sit up straight to watch them pass and Wen Ning offers a little wave to the figure who nods back, wariness etched into every line of their posture. Lan Xichen chances a glance at Lan Wangji to find him facing staunchly ahead, fist held behind his back and his eyes glued to the invitation in Wen Ning’s hand.

“Wei-gongzi should be tending to his field this time of day,” Wen Ning says in his typical soft stammer as they approach what seems to be the heart of the settlement. There are more people around now, all going about various agrarian tasks with varying degrees of vigor. Lan Xichen is about to ask what he means by field when he looks ahead again and spots it, shocking in the gray landscape around them – a bright green space dotted with soft pink petals, and a man in shades of black and grey bent over it with his trousers rolled up to the knee.

It’s clear that Lan Wangji is aching to go to him but they’re stopped before they can go any further by a small young woman suddenly in their way, her feet planted and her arms crossed over her chest.

“Wen-guniang,” Lan Wangji greets with a salute as Wen Ning offers a quiet, “Jie..”

“A-Ning. What are they doing here?”

There’s a beat of silence that Lan Xichen abruptly realizes it’s his responsibility to fill, despite this being Lan Wangji’s errand.

“Wen-guniang,” he greets with a salute of his own that Nie Mingjue copies at his side a beat later. “Wangji has an invitation to extend to Wei Wuxian, and Nie-zongzhu and I agreed to accompany him.”

“An invitation?” At her prompting, Wen Ning hurries to hold out the document itself for her to take, which she does with another skeptical glance at the three of them before she opens it to read the contents. Lan Xichen watches her face for some sort of reaction to the news that Wei Wuxian is invited to Jinlintai, but if she has any sort of feeling about it she does an admirable job of hiding it.

“Wei Wuxian!” she calls without looking away from them. Lan Wangji’s spine stiffens and goes miraculously straighter, as if Wei Wuxian’s name alone is enough to electrify. The man in question waves a mud-stained hand in their general direction without turning around.

“What is it, Wen Qing? A-Yuan is playing with Popo right now.”

Lan Xichen glances up at Nie Mingjue at that with a question in his expression though he knows Nie Mingjue likely doesn’t understand that any better than he does. Nie Mingjue isn’t even looking at him anyway, as it turns out. Instead he’s looking around what they can see from where they are – a crumbling stone structure built into the side of the mountain. Crude wooden huts made from the subpar lumber available in the twisting dead forest around them. Tired farmers in clothes that look one hard winter away from falling apart. And over it all the pall of death and decay that’s inescapable in the midst of a field that had once been, as the name suggests, nothing but a hill of bones and restless spirits.

“You have…guests.”

Lan Xichen looks ahead again in time to catch Wei Wuxian whipping around so quickly he nearly falls off his perch at the edge of his ‘field’ of lotuses, thriving right there in the middle of the Burial Mounds, against all odds.

“Lan Zhan!” he squeaks, looking utterly shocked to see Lan Wangji, let alone him or Nie Mingjue. “What are you-“

“Rich-gege!!!” A tiny voice suddenly cries and Lan Xichen is startled to see a small blur come running from the direction of one of the other fields to plaster itself against Lan Wangji’s leg.

“Hello A-Yuan,” he says softly, almost too softly for Lan Xichen to hear, and he drops his hand down from behind his back to pet the top of the boy’s head, smoothing flyaway hairs back from his little face.

“A child, Mingjue,” he whispers, though the volume can’t hide his horror. This is the ‘band of Wen rebels’ the Jin Sect is so afraid of? This is who remains as the target of their revenge and hatred?

“I see him,” Mingjue replies quietly, jaw working with a little flutter of the muscles in his cheek. “I see them.”

“Rich-gege Xian-gege said you wouldn’t come back but you did!! Pick up, please!”

Lan Xichen wonders if it’s possible for his eyes to go any wider as Lan Wangji reaches down without hesitation to curl his hands under A-Yuan’s reaching arms and, heft him up onto his hip where the boy promptly clings and lays his head down, seemingly content to hug and be held.

“Lan Zhan what are you – what are you all doing here?” Wei Wuxian tries again as he stumbles out of the mud of his pond to traipse across the space between them, cleaning his hands rather ineffectually on his robes hiked up around his hips. When he draws level with Wen Qing she holds the invitation out to him with a look in her eyes that Lan Xichen can’t quite decipher. It’s the first time she’s taken her eyes off of them since she had intercepted them, and Lan Xichen is a little embarrassed to realize he’s relieved to no longer be the subject of her sharp attention.

“They brought you this. You can go see your sister.”

“What?!” Wei Wuxian scrambles to open the letter, eyes flying across the page as he reads whatever it was Lan Wangji had written – knowing him it’s probably as bare-bones as possible, conveying only the necessary information and nothing else. It doesn’t take him long at all to look back up from the page with suspiciously shining eyes. “Is this real?”

“Mn. It was agreed upon.”

“Jiang Cheng agreed to this? And Jin Zixuan?”

“Mn.”

For an alarming moment Wei Wuxian looks like he’s in desperate need of a place to sit, but he rallies quickly and all of a sudden his smile is absolutely blinding, the way it had been once when he’d been a younger, much more carefree teenager coming to study in Gusu. When his smiles had turned Lan Wangji’s ears red and made him glare daggers through whatever poor wall or floor or passing disciple happened to be in his line of sight.

“Oh. Oh wait come in, come in, you’re making everybody nervous out here,” he says with a laugh that doesn’t sound..entirely genuine, but another glance around the settlement proves that he’s got a point. The Wens are all watching them now, tasks forgotten in the need to watch for approaching danger. “Lan Zhan sorry about A-Yuan, he probably won’t be willing to let go for a while.”

“No need.”

“Aiyah. Fine, fine. Come in. Wen Qing and Wen Ning, you too. Come on, let’s go,” he says and just like that Lan Xichen realizes with amusement that they’re all being shepherded into…a cave. It’s a spacious cave, the dilapidated remains of the palace built into the mountain, but it is still effectively a cave. There are tables set up in what’s clearly a communal dining area and Wei Wuxian bustles ahead of them to swipe some accumulated dirt from a couple of the benches before gesturing for them to sit.

“Ah Zewu-Jun, Chifeng-Zun, apologies for my manners,” Wei Wuxian says with a salute for both of them that Lan Xichen is quick to smile away. “We’re not exactly ah…equipped for visitors such as yourselves, I’m sure you understand.”

Lan Xichen takes a seat at the table between Nie Mingjue and Lan Wangji, who has now transferred the child clinging to him to his lap where the boy sits looking at the two strangers to him with wide, curious eyes.

“Xian-gege, Rich-gege brought friends this time,” he observes and earns himself an affectionate ruffle of his hair from Wei Wuxian.

“He did! And they’re very important friends so behave for Rich-gege, alright?”

“A-Yuan is better behaved than you are, Wei Wuxian,” Wen Qing retorts in what Lan Xichen is sure is meant to be their usual banter, though it comes out flat and, if he’s not mistaken, too stressed for the joke to properly land. Wei Wuxian doesn’t seem to notice, or if he does then he is still adept at charging through any sort of tension with his usual charm.

“So rude, Wen Qing, we have guests,” he says with a little flourish as he finally takes his robes down from where they’re hitched up and pats them into place where they belong. It becomes even more apparent how threadbare they are with the full length of them on display. He sits down quickly enough and the Wen siblings move to stand behind him, arms crossed protectively over their chests though rather than looking intimidating, as he’s sure other people would find them, to Lan Xichen they just look…afraid.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says softly, and though Lan Xichen knows his brother well enough to know that there’s a whole thought tucked into those two words, he doesn’t know them well enough to know what those thoughts are. And that is strangely disconcerting, to realize that there’s an entire facet of his brother that he doesn’t understand anymore.

“Lan Zhan, not that I’m not pleased to see you, of course you know I am. But why are you here?” Lan Wangji flicks his gaze towards the invitation now stowed safely in the front of Wei Wuxian’s robes and the man rests a hand gently over it, though his resolved expression doesn’t waver. “This could have been delivered by post, or by messenger. The townspeople know Wen Ning, they would have gotten it to him if you had left it for us. Why did you come here in person? And - no offense Zewu-Jun, Chifeng-Zun, but..why are you part of this too?”

“Wei-gongzi,” Wen Ning speaks up softly, surprising everyone else in the room. “I don’t think you’ll be safe in Jinlintai.” It’s something of a non-sequitur but somehow the thoughts must be connected, and Wei Wuxian muster understand how they are judging by the way his entire demeanor changes into something much more alert.

Lan Xichen sighs softly as Wei Wuxian’s sharp gaze fixes on them, but it’s Nie Mingjue who speaks up first.

“Jin Guangshan wants your amulet.” It’s bold and barefaced in the way that Nies tend to be and though Lan Xichen is used to it, it still makes him feel a bit squirmy and anxious in the pit of his stomach to hear something so unpleasant laid out so plainly. Not that he’ll ever let it show, of course.

“Well he can’t have it. Next.”

“He thinks the Wens here are dangerous.”

“Clearly we’re not. Wen Qing, Wen Ning, and I are the only cultivators here. Besides, we’re barely feeding ourselves, let alone preparing to take on the Jins. Next.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji cuts in, and this agonized tone, at least, Lan Xichen recognizes.

He interrupts before they can begin any sort of argument. “Wei-gongzi. During the discussion of whether or not you should be present for Jin Ling’s celebration, Jin Guangshan presented concerns about both the amulet and Wen-gongzi. You can’t deny that these are valid concerns for those whom you consider to be enemies.”

“I don’t have enemies unless they make themselves my enemy,” Wei Wuxian shoots back, all trace of boyish excitement gone from his face now. “None of you were there that night in Qiongqi Pass. Did any of you even visit the work camps Jin Guangshan put the Wens in? Did you see, with your own eyes, the field of corpses they created because they knew that the cultivation world would turn a blind eye?” There’s ringing silence for a moment before he repeats his demand. “Did you?!”

“Wei Wuxian,” Wen Qing warns, low and quiet.

“If Jin Guangshan is so bored of watching over Lanling and sending his cultivators to protect the interests of his own Sect then by all means, create an enemy of me. I knew what I was doing when I took these people away and brought them here. I know what people say of me, and of the Wens, do you think I don’t? Words are nothing. Fear is nothing. But if someone acts against me and those I’m sworn to protect, can I not defend myself? Can I not defend them?!”

Lan Xichen curls his hands into slow fists on his knees under the edge of the table as Wei Wuxian makes a wild gesture in the general direction of the rest of the settlement, beginning to look desperate as he works himself up.

“You saw them with your own eyes. They’re just farmers, they’re just regular people, the kind that we’re supposed to protect! Popo plays with A-Yuan to keep him occupied while we work in the fields and Fourth Uncle makes wine from the fruit that grows here and everyone here is just trying to survive, yet you would rather see them all dead for the sin of having once been related to a man who has already been killed for his crimes?”

“Xian-gege,” A-Yuan says softly from his perch in Lan Wangji’s lap. Lan Xichen turns an agonized glance on him to find him reaching out for Wei Wuxian with one chubby little hand, his eyes still wide though now it’s with something like concern rather than the curiosity of before.

“A-Ning, take A-Yuan back to Popo,” Wen Qing instructs. Her brother obeys with a nod, reaching down for A-Yuan even as the boy tries to cling to Lan Wangji.

“Want to stay with Rich-gege!”

“I will come find you soon, A-Yuan,” Lan Wangji promises with something fierce and immovable in his eyes. “Go with Wen Ning.”

There’s a quick flutter of activity as the child allows himself to be carried away, and as Lan Wangji shifts his weight to get comfortable again Lan Xichen doesn’t miss the way he subtly positions himself a little closer to Wei Wuxian. It’s hardly noticeable, but it puts him on the same half of the table as Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing still standing behind his shoulder, and when Lan Xichen meets his brother’s eyes he knows precisely whose side he will stand on should it come to that.

He desperately hopes that it won’t.

“This invitation to Jin Ling’s celebration is a trap, isn’t it?” Wei Wuxian asks and unlike the boyish cheerfulness of before, or the anger of mere moments ago, his tone is now as cold and blank as the stones outside.

“No,” Lan Xichen protests, though it’s undercut significantly by Lan Wangji replying with a simultaneous (and much more convincing), “Yes.”

“Lan Zhan?”

“Jin Guangshan wants the amulet. He knows you will not miss a chance to see your family. He will demand you hand over your amulet and Wen Ning to show that you are no longer a threat to him, and if you refuse I do not know what he will do.”

“He just wants to destroy the amulet and the…weapon,” Nie Mingjue cuts in, gruff and clearly unhappy with the way things are going but it is, surprisingly, Wen Qing who rises to meet him.

“You can’t seriously tell me you buy that? That a man like Jin Guangshan can be handed something powerful and decide, out of the goodness of his heart, to get rid of it,” she snaps, eyes once again cutting and her hands clutched in her sleeves where her arms are crossed. “And that ‘weapon’ is my brother, who, in case you haven’t seen, is in full control of himself and his thoughts. He counts as one of us, and destroying him now would be to finish the murder that those guards at the work camp didn’t finish.”

An uncomfortable silence drops in the wake of her anger and in it Wei Wuxian rises slowly from the table to stand next to Wen Qing, his arms crossed over his chest as well. Lan Xichen can’t help but flick a cautious glance at the hand closest to the flute tucked into his belt but at least for the moment it doesn’t seem like he’ll be reaching for it.

“If you’ve come as nothing more than Jin Guangshan’s messengers then I’m taking you right back down the mountain, one way or another. I’m protecting these people, and that is not up for negotiation. You can tell Jin Guangshan that yourself.”

“Wei Ying-“

“Lan Zhan this isn’t directed at you. It’s them.”

Lan Xichen blinks slowly as he realizes that Lan Wangji’s subtle positioning hadn’t gone unnoticed by Wei Wuxian after all. Or, he supposes, it’s equally likely that Wei Wuxian simply trusts Lan Wangji. Despite their differences, their arguments, it’s possible that Wei Wuxian sees now how ardently Lan Wangji wants him to be safe. How far it seems he’s willing to go to ensure it.

“So what’s the deal, if we leave you keep Wangji here as leverage?” Nie Mingjue barks. Lan Xichen’s eyes go wide as he abruptly realizes he’s lost all control of this conversation and it is heading in a dangerous direction much more quickly than he could have expected.

“Lan Zhan is free to come and go as he pleases, he won’t hurt us. He allowed you to come here with him this time so I assume he trusts you to do the same. But if seeing the truth is going to do absolutely nothing to change what you want and what you’ll help Jin Guangshan accomplish in wiping the Wens off the face of the earth then we’re done here, and you will not be welcome back.”

Lan Xichen can’t deny the dread settling thick and heavy in the pit of his stomach, and only a small portion of it has to do with the resentful energy in the air. Wei Wuxian has proven himself time and time again as a formidable opponent, and while Lan Xichen doesn’t think that it’s necessary to see him as an enemy he knows that the majority of the cultivation world would disagree. It’s plain to see, though, that even should that be the case there’s no force on earth that could turn him aside from the path he’s on. He said it himself – his purpose now is to protect the Wens, and if the cultivation world sees that as a reason for him to die alongside them then he will.

“We’ll help you,” he promises. Rash, perhaps. Uncharacteristically sudden of him, perhaps. But it’s actually not really, in the end. Lan Wangji has been worried about Wei Wuxian ever since that banquet in Jinlintai and his disappearance with the Wens later the same night, and so Lan Xichen has been worried about his brother since the same moment. And not only that, but he still remembers Wei Wuxian as he had once been. Where now it seems everyone wants to paint him as a devil, as an evil mastermind, as a cruel and power-hungry tyrant amassing an army of the dead, all Lan Xichen can see is a young man whose heart has always been kind, who cultivates with evil things he can’t understand but who’s using it to keep a group of helpless people safe. It is not such a sudden change of heart for him to wish to see everyone around him treated well and fairly.

“Xichen,” Nie Mingjue says, startled by his declaration, but Lan Xichen puts a hand on his knee beneath the table, a silent promise to explain himself later.

“We’ll help you. The Lan Sect. What do you need?”

Wei Wuxian is staring at him, mouth hanging open rather comically, and so it’s Wen Qing who speaks up after a moment though Lan Xichen can see in her eyes that she doesn’t trust him yet.

“Food. Blankets for A-Yuan and for the elderly at least. And we want to be left alone.”

“These are the only demands you have?”

“What else could you possibly offer us, Zewu-Jun?”

“Fertile land,” Lan Wangji supplies, eyes beginning to alight with the first dangerous edges of hope. “Protection. Homes.”

“In Gusu?” Wei Wuxian cuts in to ask. There’s weight behind that question, a hostility, but when Lan Wangji looks at him all Lan Xichen can see is his desperation.

I want to bring a man to Cloud Recesses, his brother’s voice echoes softly in the back of his mind. Bring him there and keep him safe.

“It would not have to be permanent, necessarily,” Lan Xichen supplies, hand tensing a little more on Nie Mingjue’s knee when he feels the man shift restlessly beside him. “But it could be. None of this should have happened to you and your family, Wen-guniang. Will you allow the Gusu Lan to begin attempting to make reparations?”

Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing look at each other but whatever passes between them in their glances is beyond Lan Xichen’s comprehension.

“I will think about it,” she replies after a moment and Wei Wuxian turns on his heel to put his back to the rest of them, effectively hiding whatever expression he makes in response. “Come back in three days.”

It’s a clear dismissal and so Lan Xichen stands, Nie Mingjue at his side. Lan Wangji doesn’t move, his eyes fixed firmly on Wei Wuxian’s back, but he doesn’t seem to be included in the dismissal anyway. Wen Qing simply leads them to the doorway again where Wen Ning is standing patiently on the steps outside, likely to keep any eavesdroppers away.

“We’re escorting Zewu-Jun and Chifeng-Zun back to town,” she informs him and he falls in quickly at her side.

“Where is Lan-er-gongzi?” Wen Ning asks with a concerned glance over his shoulder. “Is he alright?”

“He’s fine. He and Wei Wuxian might finally be ready to stop acting like they don’t want to be together,” she replies so flippantly that Lan Xichen is suddenly grateful for Nie Mingjue’s hand at his elbow as he stumbles ever so slightly on the uneven terrain in response.

“O-oh,” Wen Ning stammers out and Lan Xichen is abruptly sure that if it were still possible he would be blushing. “Well that’s nice I suppose. Is Wei-gongzi going to go to Jin Ling’s one-month and see his sister?”

Wen Qing glances back at them at that, though what she’s measuring them for Lan Xichen isn’t exactly sure. “Whose idea was it to have him there?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Wangji’s.”

“Oh yes then I daresay he’ll go no matter if it’s a trap or not,” she remarks so dryly that she actually gets a chuckle out of Nie Mingjue, which is startling to say the least. Lan Xichen looks at him, trying to gauge what he’s thinking, but he’s got his expression carefully locked into stern, unreadable lines. They continue on in silence down the mountain and back to their inn in the town. Only when the Wen siblings have departed and he and Nie Mingjue have retired to their rooms does he unbend enough for Lan Xichen to see that he’s deep in thought.

“Do you think Jin Guangshan truly means to destroy the amulet?” Nie Mingjue finally asks when Lan Xichen has waited him out long enough for him to speak his mind.

“In all honesty no, I do not. At least not right away, and power corrupts. We already know he is a man of vices, it’s no secret that power is one of them.”

“Can you really offer the Wens land and protection without consulting anyone else? The elders, your uncle?”

“It will have to go through more official channels I suppose to actually begin the movement – we’ll need to send resources to keep them clothed and fed while travelling and cultivators to keep them safe, after all. But yes, that is something I can offer them. I will make my case to the elders with what we saw here today, Wangji is my witness, and you could be too. They’re nothing but humble citizens who simply bear the curse of an unfortunate name through no fault of their own. So many Wens have already paid the ultimate price for what Wen Ruohan has done. There’s nothing and nobody in this last remaining group to be so afraid of that they must be eliminated. The only part that should worry the rest of the sects is that Wei Wuxian is at the helm, but their fear of him is slightly misguided as well. I believe once Uncle and the rest of the elders know the truth they will allow such peaceful people to live and work in Gusu.”

“Hm. Well alright then, the Nie will support you.”

That pulls Lan Xichen up short and he stares at Nie Mingjue with undisguised shock. Nie Mingjue at first only raises an eyebrow at him, but after another moment he exhales sharply and shakes his head as if bedeviled by a fly.

“I still don’t like the Wens but I can’t in good conscience lead them to the slaughter. If you want to protect them, then protect them. And I’ll protect you. Maybe we can finally take Jin Guangshan down a notch or two in the process, I definitely won’t be opposed. Nor do I think Jiang Wanyin will take much issue with it either, not if it can get him his brother back. And we already know Jiang Yanli will support anything that repairs Wei Wuxian’s reputation, and Jin Zixuan will support anything that makes Jiang Yanli happy. I’d say the winds are in our favor if we act too quickly for Jin Guangshan to counter it.”

Lan Xichen can still only blink as Nie Mingjue finally cracks his expression to smile ever so slightly and offer him a wink.

“You should have agreed to strategize with me days ago, none of this would have been so surprising, I thought it may become an option. Now it’s just up to Wangji to talk Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing into agreeing.”

“I believe he will find it in himself to be persuasive, and Wen Qing at least is quite sensible. I believe she understands their position well and knows that it is not sustainable for much longer. Or that even if it were, it would be better if their people could get the care and treatment they need to thrive, not just to survive. I believe they’ll agree.”

“Well we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Lan Wangji doesn’t return once during the three days Wen Qing asked for them to wait. On the morning of the fourth day Wen Ning returns for them to bring them back up the mountain where they find Lan Wangji kneeling in the dirt with A-Yuan perched happily in his lap chattering away to Wei Wuxian, who is sitting far closer than necessary to listen as the rest of the Wens bustle around them, hurrying from field to field at a much quicker pace than mere days ago. Wen Qing meets them again at the entrance to the main clearing, arms once again crossed over her chest as she eyes them up like a hawk studying its prey.

“We accept. We’ll all come to Gusu with everything we can carry to start things anew.”

And just like that Lan Xichen gains a new branch of his family in the most unlikely of places.