#LanlingJin

[jknrtz]

Jin Ling

[amethystatherton2006]

Under The Lake - Chapter 1. In Which Wangji Has A Life Changing Encounter. (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1325166660-under-the-lake-chapter-1-in-which-wangji-has-a?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=Amethyst_Atherton&wp_originator=60HR2TavGmKPr%2BI8%2FuXhQCpEaoiqsYCXTL252yNVs2tAzN3kQHKnnBmds2v%2BaPkxYgyPgHJMPNjzZuo4c5IsTYSx%2BjpMUtLfRDiduaClfCjjh031MhDcKIXRadMRZ2mw Lan Wangji goes on a routine night hunt on the outskirts of BiLing Lake. But he ends up encountering far more than he expected. Now harbouring an extraordinary secret that could get him killed or far worse, he does his best to keep his situation under wraps. But life seldom goes the way we want it to.

[spriteofmushrooms]

If I don't read a Jin Guangyao and Jiang Cheng co-parenting fic right now I'm gonna die.

[gravitywonagain]

Okay, so. Please enjoy this dumb thing I made in ppt for my own knowledge, that I then didn't fucking reference basically at all during the chapter. (Maybe it'll come up in later ones, idk.)

I wanted him to look very pierced, but not insanely pierced. Turns out 24 face piercings is actually not terrible? Especially if 11 of them are in the ears.

WRT colors: The blue ones are all different gemstones that I haven't thought through -- except the long earring is all black diamonds, and the industrial is tipped by a pearl. Everything else is basically fair game.

Some of these have triad purposes that I've thought of, some have personal purposes that I've thought of, and many of them have neither ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

JZXuan's piercings (for funzies):

Total: 51 - Visible while clothed: 25

Vermilion Mark

right ear (6): first lobe has the officer earring with black diamonds; second lobe; two orbital -- one silver signifying interest in women, one gold signifying interest in men, the combination of the two is less restrictive than the binary, much like identifying as bisexual; helix; targus

left ear (5): Jin blood triple rings, industrial room key, rook

right eyebrow (1)

left eyebrow (2)

cheeks (3): left-side teardrop probably for his first kill or something; both dimples because they're adorable

nose (2): septum from his time as a soldier but with a smaller ring now; right nostril

lips (3): medusa -- the top lip thing -- is what you get when you graduate out of being a soldier because it would interfere with the larger ring so it's a mark of accomplishment in rising up the ranks; left spider bites

tongue (1, not pictured)

throat dermal (1, not pictured)

- Generally hidden while clothed: 26

collar bones (4): 2 in each side

sternum (2): down the center

nipples (2): 1 each

bellybutton (2): top and bottom, done for JYL's pregnancy and successful delivery, respectively

hips (6): 3 each side, JYL's request -- she thought they'd be pretty next to the fingertip- shaped bruises

spine (9): these denote major kills, human and yao

dick (1): palang, vertical -- this is definitely a kind of rite of passage but I'm not sure what... probably a virginity thing, that seems very JGS. possibly a marriage thing...? I think I like that better, but the logistics of it wrt xuanli seems... fraught. maybe JZX and LQY share a sneaky piercer (LQY definitely has a sneaky piercer, but we'll get to that later in another side chapter)

aaaaand none in the lower body, I guess? maybe? tell me what you think.

[fengshenjunlang]

I can't stop feeling annoyed at CQL for making up plot about Lan Wangji being involved in inviting Wei Wuxian to Jin Ling's full moon banquet.

It makes it when WWX was framed, ambushed and killed in QiongqiDao in his way to the banquet, the incident seemed like it was also LWJ's fault for inviting him---only to be framed and ambushed.

While Canonically, it is all LanlingJin! Who invited someone only to be killed in his way.

[catmaid-san]

There is a headcanon about Wen Chao not being Wen Ruohan's son, but Jin Guangshan's.

After all, Jin Guangshan was able to make Qin Cangye to wear a green hat for a lifetime, it is possible for him to put another green hats to other Sect Leaders, LOL.

Not to mention, Wen Chao's conducts are extremely disgusting, similar to LanlingJin's descendants, lmao.

[wutheringskies]

Wei Wuxian: The Untamed Hero

Wei Wuxian had to be killed even if:

1. He carried his sword

2. He didn't use gui dao

3. He didn't create Yin HuFu

4. The Wen remnants were not in the plot

Then, why? The reason is here, voiced by Jin Zixun of all people:

Wei WuXian, you are too bold! Did the LanlingJin Sect invite you today? And you dare run wild here. Do you really think that you’re invincible, that nobody has the courage to confront you? Do you want to overturn the Heavens?”

Wei WuXian smiled, “You’re comparing yourself to the Heavens? Excuse my language, but your face is a little too thick, isn’t it?”

So, you see, this untamed heart can only meet with tragedy as the world is unrighteous, as those who are in power think their actions cannot be contested (and they often aren't!), and that their words are like the law. How many times have we seen, a convicted powerful person escape the justice system? Far too many. And how many times innocents or victims were framed for crimes? Also too many. People like Wei Wuxian aren't condemned by fate, but rather, being born into a world where the "heavens" are those who are powerful and corrupted, he very well might be destined to live tragically, along with others of his type.

Returning to the matter of this particular scene: on one hand, the Jins throw private banquets, gilded with gold. The major scandals are: Jin Zixun is forcing the Lans to drink alcohol! You see, Lan Xichen can't outrightly refuse, so he is trying to be polite about his rejection. Jin Guangyao is trying to reason and excuse, and distract. The crowd spurs Jin Zixun on, wanting to see the Lans drink for once and fall to their level.

Everyone is in their own fine little world, doing their niceities in their golden halls drinking expensive wine, admiring pretty women, gasping at scandalous behavior, asking for favour, gossiping etc.

And then Wei Wuxian walks in. Uninvited. He simply drinks the wine himself, before demanding these people to spare him their time for real wordly issues, such as deaths, debts, cruelty, the parts that society wishes to hide. A few scenes later, we are shown with much description, just how terrible Qiongqi Path is. That's the Jin's backyard. You see their achievements that are drawn on those big walls? We see the reality of the people making them.

Now, let us come to another incident. Think of the soup incident. I fully expect before Wei Wuxian came into the scene, people were simply gossiping, uninterested in finding out what was going on, why Lady Jiang is crying. Then, Wei Wuxian comes and realizes Jiang Yanli who never really cries... was crying, and firstly decides to beat the shit out of Jin Zixuan. Secondly, he understands the whole truth, beats Jin Zixuan up for humiliating his Shijie, and also makes the other girl face responsibility.

Although his shijie had an easy temper, except for how they cuddled and cried together the day the three of them reunited after Lotus Pier was destroyed, she hadn’t really shed many tears in front of others, much less cry so loudly, so pitifully in front of so many people. Wei WuXian was filled with panic. As he tried to ask her, Jiang YanLi was crying so badly that she couldn’t even speak properly. Then, when he saw Jin ZiXuan standing on the side, astonished, he fumed with anger, wondering to himself why it was the dog of a person again. With a kick, he pounced on Jin ZiXuan. The fight between the two would have alerted the Heavens. All of the cultivators around the base came to break up their fight. Amid the ruckus, he finally understood what was the cause of all this, and became even more angered. He spread his tough talk, saying that one day he’d definitely make Jin ZiXuan die in his hands, he told people to drag out the cultivator woman.

A round of questions later, the truth emerged, and Jin ZiXuan’s entire body was frozen. No matter how much Wei WuXian continued to curse at him, he returned neither words nor fists, his face dark. If not that Jiang YanLi held up her hand a while later, while Jiang Cheng and Jin GuangShan came to pull Wei WuXian away, it was likely that even now Jin ZiXuan wouldn’t be able to attend the hunt of Phoenix Mountain.

See.

The point is, perhaps, people feel Wei Wuxian's actions are unnecessary. But imagine if he wasn't there! The consequences as I predict them will have been:

1. Jiang Cheng who doesn't want to upset a prominent clan would've grumbled and cursed underneath his breath, but eventually just moved away from the ruckus and taken his sister away.

2. Perhaps the truth would never have been found out, unless Jin Zixuan later searched by himself.

3. Thus, Jiang Yanli's reputation would be stained for the years to come.

It's because Wei Wuxian dared that the truth was revealed. I took this small incidents simply to highlight this, without the addition of more factors. In the book, often, it might seem like people are trying to stop him from creating trouble. You might often wish, ugh, this is going to be so bad... The point is Wei Wuxian knows! He's not stupid, he knows of the consequences of his actions.

But he isn't the one creating trouble. It was already created by the likes of those very people who try to stop him from investigating deeper. The trouble in question is that immoral and unrighteous words and actions and decisions have already been made. Society tries to hide them. If you can't see it, it's not there. Yet, even if it is not visible, a crime has its traces and it will bleed into their world sooner or later.

Wei Wuxian forces people to snap out of their comfort zones. He doesn't care for the barriers they set around themselves. Here are some examples to explain what I mean by these barriers:

Who dares hit Jin Zixuan, who's the only heir of LanlingJin, even when he deserves it? Protected by his status, his birth, his clan who dares? Wei Wuxian does.

Who dares to annoy Lan Wangji, the second jade of Lan, who from birth is considered otherwordly, strict, immovable, rigid, untouchable and protected by his extreme cold aura? Wei Wuxian dares.

Who dares to enter cultivation society without even wielding sword, without even cultivating a core? Wei Wuxian!

Since time unknown, treasures have belonged to the powerful sects: The Lan Clan and their library, their many secret techniques. The Jin clan and their treasures, their gold. The Nie Sabres. The Zidian. Yet, a son of a servant somehow ends up possessing the most powerful treasure all by his own! Everyone goes to this popular refinery, some famed blacksmith, or that popular sect to get specially created spiritual weapons, yet Chenqing, one of the most powerful weapons, was forged alone by Wei Wuxian during his 3 months in the Burial Mound!

Since years, the cultivation world has taken to heart rules of Lans, words of the powerful sects, and their leaders! Then, once again, this orphan child comes and bends the world and changes the cultivation society forever! Yiling Laozu said that... Yiling Laozu created... Yiling Laozu's manuscripts...

His words literally become the law.

Think of how 13 years after Wei Wuxian's death when "all was peaceful" despite us knowing very well, just how much shit happened after his death - slaughter of minor clans, deaths of two prominent sect leaders, xue yang etc (because, you know, most of it was purely accidental, kept hush-hush, or the victims were people who weren't important), he comes back to life and in a matter of a couple of months, upends the cultivation society again.

The "problem" is that this guy simply doesn't conform. The problem is that he is better. The problem is that he is not unnecessarily humble about it, despite his origins. He doesn't seem to treat himself as an outlier, but an equal. (That's why I hate insecure Wei Wuxian, like this guy is righteous enough he won't even treat himself badly.) The problem is that all those barriers - social classes, power, the locked doors - they won't keep him away.

Even if he was only the Jiang Da-shixiong with a bright golden core, he will still not be a conformist. To those who aren't used to having their decisions questioned, he is their worst enemy. To whose who are used to talking in circles, spreading rumors, he is asking them. What source do you have? What is the factual evidence behind what you are saying? Why are you saying this now?

Think of how he cross questioned a petty seller selling Yiling Laozu portraits in Qinghe, and how he questioned the gathered cultivation sects in Lotus Pier during Sisi and Bicao's intervention with the same sort of attitude. Surely, there was a major class difference, power difference between the two. Yet, they don't matter to him. What matters is the truth.

So, no matter what, when the people who are in power, start having too much dirty laundry and corpses in their backyards, he will definitely know. For this guy, knowing isn't enough - he will get to the crux of the issue. The problem is, he even has the skill for it. He has the ability. One also can't distract him with offers, promises, gifts, riches, status, women. He doesn't care for any of that. He perhaps might even hate one's victims. Yet he will stand up for them.

Of course, those who are in power, all smile at each other. They understand things sometimes have to be done. People sometimes have to be silenced. "We know better."

Then, Wei Wuxian comes in and says, actually you don't. He comes in with factual accounts, evidences, forces you to face your misdeeds. Says you're all a bunch of hypocritical people. No, perhaps what is worse is that he will make you realize that's what you are! Because he's got to be good at talking, too! He's not going to act on anger or be stunned in fear.

So, now you have someone who's not only digging into your evil deeds, someone who's capable, who's not easy to persuade, but also someone with high emotional intelligence who can play the same role as you do, of being a noble, accepted gentlemen with immaculate manners, of very high literacy and outdo you. Because this guy knows very well how society works, he can comprehend social cues perhaps better than you can. He can use your own polite words and nature against you.

It's precisely because of this he must be killed. Perhaps, in every world, Wei Wuxian will end up being the victim. It's only that in MDZS, these were the particular circumstances, and those were the particular excuses.

My personal take is: sometimes it is good to be a centrist, and hold everyone's better intentions in mind. most of the times it might not be, as there are many conflicting systems in place that allow for true victims who are stuck. most often, the victims are always the ones who DON'T have a voice, who are brushed over as numbers of corpses, rather than people with stories. most often, kindness is shown in little action that are trampled upon by those who hold true power. most often the people who are good, who are heroes die young, or are hated and ridiculed, for speaking up for the victims. it's not right, and never will be.

if someone like wei wuxian or his presence in the book makes you uncomfortable it might be because you hold the "niceities" and the pleasantries to be of more importance than the issues at hand. just because something is too troublesome doesn't mean it is wrong. if everytime he enters the scene you're scared of what he's going to do next, you should know it's not him who is the problem but the prople who aren't doing anything who are. don't be scared of "trouble-makers." he's not erratic or spontaneous. he has considered society's standards and deemed it useless. why is that that the koi tower scene, where he is in his "yiling laozu, loss of control, threatening" moment is followed immediately by him being extremely kind to Wen qing ? it's not that he's losing control. it's that Jin Zixun wouldn't have acted and told him where the people were without him using intimidation tactics. Wei Wuxian is the one forced into bad corners by the powerful people, where he has to show his edges. Don't end up twisted the narratives. if you bite someone for a while, expect to be hit.

[mxtxfanatic]

Heyyy !! Hope you are having a nice day. I've been scrolling through your blog for a while and I absolutely love your takes and analysis of MDZS as they pretty much match up to my interpretation of MDZS novel. I just wanted to ask you what do you think about wwx's death at the first siege?? As there was no confirmation how he died but a lot of rumors ??? Do you think he qi deviated and his corpses turn on him? Or do you think he intentionally killed himself as was implied (heck it was shown) in cql?

I'm personally of the opinion that he chose to die because all the people he was in charge of protecting died in front of him. Plus his former (sect) brother jc was leading the siege to kill the said people. Not to mention the whole cultivation world for baying for his blood. He was traumatized, exhausted (both mentally and physically) due to destroying stygian seal, grieving due to death of the wen siblings and his shijie (probably blamed himself for it all and people dying).

So what is your take?

Wei Wuxian was killed from the backlash created from trying to destroy the second half of the stygian tiger seal. I'm using the exr translation for my quotes. In the prologue, we are told this:

“The YiLing Patriarch has died? Who could have killed him?” “Who other than his shidi, Jiang Cheng, putting an end to his own relative for the greater good. Jiang Cheng led the Four Clans of YunmengJiang, LanlingJin, GusuLan, and QingheNie to destroy his “den”—LuanZang Hill.”

A couple paragraphs later, someone refutes this, saying:

“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.”

—and we also get this, which while spoken by the narrator is given a speculative rather than conclusive tone:

Nobody could summon Wei WuXian’s soul, which meant that his soul had disappeared. It might have been torn apart by the millions of ghosts that devoured him.

Later on, Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning have a conversation about the cause of Wei Wuxian's death:

After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian asked again, “What else have you heard?” 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.” Wen Ning finally looked up at him, “But, Sect Leader Jiang clearly...” Wei WuXian, “Nobody can walk safely on a single-plank bridge for their whole life. It couldn’t be helped.”

—Chapt. 43: Allure

Wen Ning hears that Wei Wuxian was personally killed by Jiang Cheng, and Wei Wuxian immediately refutes this and says he died from backlash. Wen Ning wants to argue this point, but I think, more than anything, that he is arguing that Wei Wuxian's death is Jiang Cheng's fault (the siege could not have happened without him being able to get past the corpses guarding the base of the Burial Mounds) rather than Jiang Cheng personally landing the killing blow. This is especially true since Jiang Cheng claims credit and glory for both leading the siege and "personally killing" Wei Wuxian, even though we know the latter is a falsehood.

Either way, Wei Wuxian, himself, says he died from backlash, and we know the backlash came from attempting to destroy the second half of the stygian tiger seal because that was what he was working on—having successfully destroyed the first half—when the first siege took place. Wei Wuxian did not kill himself; he knew he was on borrowed time and used it to destroy the weapon he knew the clans were really after.

[yiling-laozu-is-loml]

OP really said ARGUE WITH A WALL by disabling reblogs and its so funny to me. Why do you speak on public platforms despite knowing you're so utterly wrong that you cant bear to get dragged for your misguided 'canon' takes LMAO.

Let me spell this out for you, JGY and JC are both negative af and manipulative bitches in their own right. They DONT care. You're trying to tell me people should care for others solely because they're related? How do you explain domestic abuse, both canon and irl?? People hurt the ones they claim to love, ones they're related to on the name of discipline and love and thats a fact. You dont have to hate someone to hurt them, love in itself can be horribly toxic too.

As for JGY, dude I am not going to argue about him wanting to protect JL this is the fucking guy who killed his own flesh and blood so his crimes arent exposed and used his 'murder' to put an end to clans opposing him. He does NOT care about JL, he's just chill with him because JL poses no risk to him in any way, neither in terms of stealing his post as Chief Cultivator and LanlingJin leader, nor as someone who has some dirty secrets he can hold over him. JL is harmless, why would he do anything?? Yea if JL ever got in his way...oops, accidents happen, dont they?

Edit: I never said JL doesn't care about JC and JGY. He clearly does, a lot. However spoiling someone is not equal to being good to them. A lot of people spoil others because they have no other way of showing their love I.e. have shit personality, etc which is the case with JC. He loves JL yes but is he a good role model? No. He uses money and other material things to keep JL's affection because he truly has no other way. JGY? Maybe he likes JL, maybe he doesnt but point is JL loves him and is clearly alive so...

[thatswhatsushesaid]

apropos of (almost) nothing--i'm re-reading the empathy flashback chapters (again) to suss out a specific detail about the watchtowers, and i'm just. i'm giggling again about wei wuxian's continued fixation on jin guangyao's attractiveness lmfao

After the Sunshot Campaign had ended, the LanlingJin Sect set up a flower banquet that lasted for days, inviting countless cultivators, countless sects to come and celebrate together.

On Koi Tower, people came and went. Before Nie MingJue’s high viewpoint, the crowd parted again and again, with both sides nodding at him in respect, calling him “ChiFeng- Zun”. Wei WuXian thought, Such a show of extravagance is going to reach even the heavens. All these people both fear and respect Nie MingJue. There’s quite a few people who fear me, though not a lot who respect me.

Jin GuangYao was standing right beside the base of the palace. Now that he had become sworn brothers with Nie MingJue and Lan XiChen, and been accepted into his clan, he had already painted between his brows the mark of vermilion and donned the white, golden-edged robes of Sparks Amidst Snow. Wearing a gauze cap, he was almost beyond recognition. As handsome as ever, his cleverness was the same, yet his air was calmer than it had ever been.

- EXR translation, ch. 49 pg 490

honestly no wonder lan wangji hates jin guangyao so much. not only is he suspiciously didi-shaped and stealing away the attention of his beloved xiongzhang, but wei ying thinks he's hot, too?? this crime will not stand

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Wei WuXian, “I hit you so that you can think about your uncle. He’s not someone who likes to poke his nose into other people’s business. For your sake, he went around flaunting his strength in front of all those other sects, receiving so many jabbing remarks. And now you’re saying his surname isn’t Jin. If he heard this, wouldn’t he feel disappointed?”

Jin Ling paused in surprise before he fumed, “That’s not what I meant! I…”

Wei WuXian asked instead, “Then what did you mean?”

Jin Ling, “I! I…”

The first ‘I’ was full of confidence, while the second ‘I’ began to lose air. Wei WuXian, “I, I, I—I’ll say it for you. This is what you mean. Even though Jiang Cheng is your uncle, after all, he’s still an outsider to the LanlingJin Sect. In the past, he’s already helped you a couple of times, but if he messed about too much with someone else’s domain, it’d be hard for him not to be a target of attack in the future, for you not to bring him any trouble, am I right?”

Jin Ling raged, “What do you think?! So you understand, don’t you?! Then why did you hit me?!”

Wei WuXian landed another slap, “That was exactly what I meant to do! Can’t you say anything properly? Such wholesome words, and out of your mouth they sound especially gross!”

So this is the part in the extra people are talking about, and its honestly hilarious that antis love to use this as Evidence that jin ling is cutting ties with mean nasty abusive jiujiu because he sucks in favor of Perfectly Loving da-jiujiu wwx. This is also often used for extra evidence that wwx hates jc and is done with him because when /I/ hate a guy I always advocate for our shared nephew to rely on him more. Don't we all do this.

I feel like Jin Ling could state "I love my jiujiu so much and am so grateful to have him in my life!" and people would be like HE'S ONLY SAYING IT BECAUSE JC MADE HIM! 😡

meanwhile, WWX could show up to Lotus Pier to clearly and openly communicate that he wants to still have a relationship with JC and clear the air between them to start fresh, and people would lament how tragic it was that poor uwu baby Wei Ying had soooo little self-esteem that he would voluntarily go be abused, or something.

(But for real, WWX, stop hitting the tween. Unless your end goal is to frustrate JL so much that he summons JC to kick your ass, you are undercutting your own point.)

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

Nie Huaisang and the Morality of Revenge

(Greatly expanded AO3 version here – I would definitely recommend that one more, but it's a little long for a tumblr meta)

"Take revenge on the ones who bite you. Wen Ning’s branch doesn’t have much blood on their hands."

There's a clear pattern as to how revenge is presented in MDZS. Though revenge against the ones who wronged you (or those close to you) isn't something you're morally obliged to do, it isn't condemned, and tends to be presented in the right. Revenge against innocents, however – that's where you draw the line.

All of which leaves Nie Huaisang in a very interesting position. Because though his target is the person directly responsible for his brother's death... those he's willing to harm to achieve that goal are not.

Vengeance in MDZS

MXTX: If you were to ask Wifi as to why he did not reveal [Nie Huaisang's] mask, it’s because there wasn’t enough evidence, there wasn’t a way to catch his tail (...) there was no way to punish him, because his reasons were righteous. - MXTX interview, translation here – 'Wifi' refers to Wei Wuxian

Now, it's one thing to say revenge is presented as right, and it's another thing to prove it. Why do I think this, and what material is there to support this in the actual text?

One major piece of evidence is Wei Wuxian himself.

If he were Chang Ping, he wouldn’t have cared how prominent or powerful the LanlingJin Sect was, or how much glory the road ahead offered him, and he wouldn’t have let the matter [of his clan being murdered] go. Instead, he would’ve went to the dungeons on his own, cut Xue Yang up so that he was nothing more than a puddle of flesh on the ground, and summoned his soul back to repeat the process to the point that he regretted ever being born in this world. - Chapter 33, EXR translation

This is something that Wei Wuxian thinks in the present day – not under pressure, not in the aftermath of anything traumatic. And the important thing is that it's never questioned. There isn't a moment where Wei Wuxian or anybody else dwells on this and thinks/says 'maybe I shouldn't keep retaliating like this' or 'will harming more people after their actions have already been taken actually fix anything, or just cause more damage?'. It's also never framed as a tragedy that these views don't change. There is a moment of thinking his past self went too far with his vengeance, but look at the context:

And for every one of the Wen Sect’s cultivators whom he killed, he made them into puppets as well before controlling them to kill the friends and family they had before they died. (...) Not only others, even when he, himself, thought about it afterward, he felt that he had done a bit too much. - Chapter 60, EXR translation

Killing their friends and family – yes, this is a war between clans (people with blood ties to each other)/sects (in which you spend most of your time around fellow members), so it's likely many of these are on the battlefield... but do we know this is the case for everyone? We know there are people and branches of the Wen sect who are noncombatants, and we know outer disciples exist, whose families may or may not be affiliated with the sect in some way. We also know resentful corpses can seek out, recognise and target people due to their bloodline without direct control (see Nie Mingjue finding Jin Guangyao and then targeting Jin Ling in Hatred and Concealment), so seeking out family members outside of the battlefield is possible. Out of the potentially thousands of people Wei Wuxian killed in this way, is it really that probable that every single one was guilty?

This is what I believe 'done a bit too much' means – targetting people who may or may not have been directly involved in action against Wei Wuxian/the allied sects.

There are also other instances of vengeance, directly against the ones who harmed you, being framed as justified (resurrecting Wen Ning to kill the inspectors that killed him, for example); as well as instances that aren't exactly vengeance but are still linked to punishing somebody for their bad deeds (seen a lot with Xue Yang – eg Xiao Xingchen demanding "severe punishment" for what Xue Yang did to the Chang clan in Chapter 30*, Wei Wuxian's "Xue Yang must die" after witnessing the Yi City flashbacks in Chapter 41), also framed this way.

But, first, a clarification.

MDZS may not condemn vengeance, but it does condemn holding onto resentment and letting it twist you, particularly when it leads to the harming of other people. And this is something important to note about Wei Wuxian's character, as well – he is quick to vengeance and retaliation, but that's exactly the point. He does the deed and then doesn't hold onto those feelings (under normal circumstances), instead carrying on to live his life with his adherence to his moral code unaltered**. See the Second Siege – a lot of these people directly contributed to the first siege on him, but he doesn't hold onto his resentment and decide not to save them as a result. Instead, he and Lan Wangji work to save them as well as the Juniors at great personal risk to themselves. That's why most of his actions are justified by the narrative, and why the two times he does act based on feelings of resentment he holds (Sunshot Campaign in the above quote, and Nightless City***), his actions aren't.

Back to vengeance itself.

Of course, vengeance is not presented as the only course of action! Lan Wangji doesn't do anything to avenge Wei Wuxian's death, instead focusing his energy on helping people and on teaching the younger generation to avoid the mistakes his made, and he's all the better for it. The line immediately following Wei Wuxian's thoughts on Chang Ping and Xue Yang is this:

But, not everyone was like him[.]

Which is followed by understanding for Chang Ping's situation, especially taking into account the fact that "some of the Chang clan's people were still alive" and may have been casualities if vengeance was carried out. Revenge isn't something you're obliged to do – and when the alternative is protecting others, is arguably less important. But, in itself, it isn't a moral wrong. As someone I talked to about writing this meta said, it's often the only way to bring someone who has done bad deeds to justice (which the story supports: see my earlier points about Xue Yang, as well as MXTX saying Xue Yang "deserved to be beaten by the protagonist") in a society which often leaves bad deeds unpunished and good deeds condemned.

(Of course you're allowed to disagree with this view of vengeance and punishment – I do myself – but that's what I believe to be the story's view on the matter.)

When it does become a moral wrong is when it targets innocent people.

Going Too Far?

As we've discussed, there two scenarios where revenge is presented as in wrong: the above, and being corrupted by the resentment you hold due to continously seeking your vengeance. And more often than not, these scenarios are strongly tied to each other. The sects targeting the Wen remnants after the Sunshot Campaign is an example of the former, as is Xue Yang's murder of the Chang clan; Nie Mingjue's single-minded hatred of Jin Guangyao is a clear example of the latter. Even if Jin Guangyao did do the actions Nie Mingjue had hated him for (and he did!), the resentment Nie Mingjue carried due to this eventually led to his death (through its amplification by the Collection of Turmoil). We also have a reversal of scenario two with Jin Ling's arc of learning to let go of his hatred, which deserves its own post.

But even in the above, there are traces of the other problem. Were the sects not blinded by their resentment and prejudice against anyone with a Wen name? Did Xue Yang's experience with Chang Ci'an and the injustice/resentment he felt from that not negatively impact him? And did Nie Mingjue's anger at Jin Guangyao (even if it was supernaturally amplified) not lead him to lash out at Nie Huaisang, an innocent in this scenario? And other scenarios are even more intertwined with both, for example Jiang Cheng pursuing ghost/demonic cultivators after Wei Wuxian's death (scenario 1) due to his hatred and resentment (scenario 2).

This relationship is very interesting, since it leads to the idea that holding onto resentment does make you more likely to target innocent people – ie, it often leads to loss of critical thinking, something else that's strongly condemned in the novel (as the force behind mob mentality, etc). It's also eerily similar to people's ideas of what practicing guidao, aka cultivation using resentful energy, does to you ("damag[ing] your heart" – LWJ, Chapter 62)... as well as to the loss of discernment that occurs both times Wei Wuxian loses control of his cultivation (Wen Ning accidentally targeting Jin Zixuan, the corpses accidentally targeting Jiang Yanli)****!

As for why this sort of vengeance is presented as wrong, I think it's pretty obvious – it harms innocent people as well as yourself. There isn't really any good in that.

Nie Huaisang In Context

So, with all that said... let's finally look at Nie Huaisang.

As MXTX has said, she believes his reasons were justified. His aim wasn't to take revenge on innocents, which avoids scenario one (in motives, at least). Whether or not Nie Huaisang was 'corrupted' due to resentment he felt is a little harder to judge***** – we don't really know his inner workings before Nie Mingjue is killed, so we don't know his moral code or what he's willing to do before then. We're also not there for the vast majority of his planning, so we don't know how he changed during that period, and by the time we're in the story proper, his mask is too good to really discern anything about his attitude... and we don't see much of him afterwards, either, the only thing being him starting to his more competent side when organising the coffin sealing ceremony. So we'll leave scenario two as an unknown, and not comment – however, it should be noted that vengeance doesn't seem to affect Nie Huaisang's critical thinking.

But what's unique about his vengeance isn't motives, direct targets, or the effect it has on him. It's something we haven't really seen before – the effect on those who weren't his targets, but were still heavily harmed. In other words, collaterals.

The most obvious example is probably Mo Xuanyu:

Perhaps to gain information from Mo XuanYu, Nie HuaiSang talked to him once. From Mo XuanYu’s grievances, he knew that Mo XuanYu had once read the fragmented manuscript that recorded an ancient, forbidden technique in Jin GuangYao’s collection. He then urged Mo XuanYu, who had had enough of the humiliation coming from his own clan members, to seek revenge using the forbidden technique of body sacrifice. - Chapter 109, EXR translation

Was Mo Xuanyu a direct target, someone who Nie Huaisang knew was innocent yet decided to take vengeance on anyway? No. But was he provided an avenue to and motive for suicide by Nie Huaisang, as part of his plan to take revenge on someone else? Yes! And Mo Xuanyu isn't the only death Nie Huaisang had a hand in causing – perhaps his is even the least direct. After all, he was responsible for releasing the hand at Mo Manor as well, leading to the deaths of four people (the Mo family and A-Tong) and endangering many more (the junior disciples, the rest of the household's servants). Yes, this wasn't his aim – he wanted Wei Wuxian to subdue it and start investigating the case – but he knowingly endangered everyone while doing so, and in the end the hand was subdued as quickly as it was by Lan Wangji's involvement, who he couldn't have known was there!

There's also the case of luring the Juniors to Yi City, purely to place more blame on Jin Guangyao if they'd died there! That isn't even necessary to taking down Jin Guangyao and figuring out the case of the corpse, as resurrecting Wei Wuxian and releasing the hand arguably were (Nie Huaisang could've tried to expose Jin Guangyao earlier, but we don't know which way public opinion would've swayed – that isn't necessarily a point in his favour, just a remark)! Then he threatened Jin Guangyao with the letter, leading to the events of the Second Siege which endangered and nearly killed "thousands" (Chapter 68) of people, as well as to the events at the Guanyin temple which nearly killed Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian and endangered more... and there are the smaller things too, like killing those cats, potentially dismembering the innocent Meng Shi's corpse, and possibly knowing about Sisi for a while before freeing her (she said she was freed "recently" in Chapter 85 – but to be fair, we don't know how recently he found out, or how long ago exactly she was freed. She wasn't necessarily freed right before she gave the testimony). We can't forget about potentially endangering many people who lived in Qinghe due to causing the Nie sect to greatly decline, and making himself seem like somebody useless, meaning people likely wouldn't go to him for help if they needed it.

In conclusion: a lot of people were killed, harmed or endangered in his plan. So, with a potential body count that would've (...nearly. maybe. not quite.) rivalled Wei Wuxian's had things gone wrong... where does that leave him in the eyes of the narrative? Do the ends justify the means?

...It's interesting.

Slowly, Nie HuaiSang brushed together his storm-drenched hair, “I think that if this person hates Jin GuangYao so much, they’d probably be entirely merciless towards something he cherishes more than his life.” (...) Perhaps (...) he didn’t want to admit that he used others as pawns, treating human lives as nothing. - Chapter 110, EXR translation

Nie Huaisang's actions are certainly framed as some of wrong. This is consistent with the closest example we have to his actions also being framed as in the wrong (Nie Mingjue harming others by lashing out while hating Jin Guangyao, albeit on a much smaller scale, with durations, intentions, presences of plans, the effect holding onto resentment had on them also being very different; possibly Jin Guangyao himself in his plan to kill Jin Guangshan, although that's obviously not the only condemnable action Jin Guangyao takes, and he very much does intentionally harm others even if it wouldn't really contribute to his aims (burning down the brothel, giving the Tingshan He sect to Xue Yang to experiment on, killing the prostitues when he could've bribed them and forcing them to keep on going even once Jin Guangshan was dead, among many other things)... there really aren't many similar situations to Nie Huaisang's in the novel), even though they're framed this way for different reasons (being blinded by resentment vs knowingly endangering others as part of a wider plan).

Yet, on the other hand, it isn't considered a tragedy that his actions went unpunished – and with reference to MXTX's quote about Nie Huaisang, this isn't accidental (with a slight caveat we're about to talk about).

In the end, it comes down to another, very related, theme.

Conjectures were conjectures, after all. Nobody had evidence. - Chapter 110, EXR translation

MXTX: If you were to ask Wifi as to why he did not reveal [Nie Huaisang's] mask, it’s because there wasn’t enough evidence, there wasn’t a way to catch his tail. - MXTX requote, start of this meta

Think critically. Don't target somebody without evidence. Don't target someone who may not have done something wrong.

Don't target innocent people in pursuit of vengeance, or justice.

That's the main reason Nie Huaisang wasn't exposed. Would Wei Wuxian have exposed him had he had the evidence needed? Maybe – we can't really say. He did endanger a lot of people. But targeting him without evidence, letting suspicions drive actions, would make Wei Wuxian – and indeed, anyone who did so – no better than the mob that does the same thing throughout the novel.

They're also doing it in pursuit of what they think is justice, or vengeance, or an intertwined mixture of the two, after all.

---

*Which is quite similar to Wei Wuxian's own thoughts when first told about it (in the quote). This further supports the assumption that this line of thinking is presented as justified, due to Xiao Xingchen himself being written as an ideal of goodness:

When writing paragraphs about Xue Yang, I had to adjust my mentality to be in the darkest, cruellest state, while it was the exact opposite for Xiao XingChen, from whom I felt holy light every time I wrote about him. - MXTX's postscripts (Chapter 113.5), EXR translation

**"Forgetting the pain as soon as the wound has healed" is a phrase that's used to describe him in the novel, and while it's generally used to describe somebody not learning a lesson after a punishment, it describes this aspect of him perfectly.

***Relevant quote:

Wei WuXian had already lost his judgement. He was already half-mad, half-unconscious. All evil was being augmented by him. He felt that everyone loathed him and he loathed everyone as well.

Holding onto those feelings of loathing and resentment is directly tied to losing judgement and presence of mind – which demonstrates this theme better than any analysis can, I think.

****For more analysis on the themes of resentment and how resentful energy ties into that, this amazing meta by @rynne delves into it more deeply than I do here – I really recommend a read!

*****MXTX does say this earlier on in the same interview:

As to whether it was purely to take revenge, maybe he only had one motive. But afterwards, he wasn’t thinking purely on revenge.

Which does suggest that other more noble factors, such as prevention, may have played a role in his plan too. This seems to indicate Nie Huaisang wasn't completely overtaken by resentment, working to his favour in avoiding scenario 2. However, for the the purposes of this analysis, this isn't too important (and not just because there's nothing to prove or disprove it in the text) – such aims could be achieved by simply exposing Jin Guangyao without utternly destroying him, which is where the motivation of revenge and its effects comes in. It's this aspect of the plan that leads to Nie Huaisang endangering innocent people, which is what this meta dwells upon.

[kenmascat]

jiang cheng's role and involvement in the burial mounds siege against wei wuxian and how he is directly responsible for it, a mini thread :

quotes from the unedited mdzs translation by exiled rebel translations which clearly state he was the very reason behind the burial mounds siege success to kill wei wuxian

chapter 1, prologue

“But, if not for Jiang Cheng making a plan that aimed at Wei WuXian’s weaknesses, the siege might not have succeeded. Should I remind you folks of the item that Wei WuXian possesses? Did you forget about the day that three thousand skilled cultivators were completely annihilated?”

chapter 43 -

After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian asked again, “What else have you heard?”

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.”

(note how he doesn't defend the statement that jc brought the siege upon burial mounds, but only about the fact that he didn't directly kill him)

Chapter 68 -

Back then, during the first siege of Burial Mound, Jin GuangShan led the LanlingJin Sect, while Jiang Cheng led the YunmengJiang Sect; Lan QiRen led the GusuLan Sect, while Nie MingJue led the QingheNie Sect. The former two were the main forces, the latter two could’ve gone without. Now, the LanlingJin Sect’s leader hadn’t arrived at, having only sent people for the GusuLan Sect to command; the GusuLan Sect was still led by Lan QiRen; Nie HuaiSang replaced his brother’s position, shrunken within the crowd, his face still full of ‘I don’t know about anything’, ‘I don’t want to do anything’, and ‘I’m just here for the numbers’.

Chapter 104 -

(In the GuanYin temple scene, JGY himself says that if not for jc, things wouldn't have become what they were, implying he was a main factor behind the burial mounds siege)

Jin GuangYao wasn't swayed, continu- ing with a smile, "... Back then, the Lan- lingJin Sect, the QingheNie Sect, and the Gusulan Sect had already finished fighting over the biggest share. The rest co- uld only get some small shrimps. You, on the other hand, had just rebuilt Lotus Pier and behind you was the YiLing Patriarch, Wei WuXian, the danger of whom was immeasurable. Do you think the other sects would like to see a young sect leader who was so advantaged? Luckily, you didn't seem to be on good terms with your shixiong, and since everyone thought there was an opportunity, of course they'd add fuels to your fire if they could. No matter what, to weaken the YunmengJiang Sect was to stren- gthen themselves. Sect Leader Jiang, if only your attitude towards your shixiong was just a bit better, showing everyone that your bond was too strong to be bro- ken for them to have a chance, or if you exhibited just a bit more tolerance after what happened, things wouldn't have become what they were. Oh, speaking of it, you were also a main force of the siege at Burial Mound..."

all this clearly indicates Jiang Cheng played as the main force at the siege at burial mound against wei wuxian. If there's anything else I missed please feel free to add in.

Edit (22nd July 23')

adding this comment by @jiangchenganalysis

a great addition to the post, thankyou so much.

Another addition by me :

In ch72 (EXR translation)

wei wuxian finds that wens are being put in concentration camps, and that wen ning died, after learning about this he attacks the guards and frees the wens from them.

Following up, in the next chapter, there is a meeting at jinlintai with many sect leaders and people present, wei wuxian's topic is brought up and how he attacked the guards Jin's question Jiang Cheng who was present there about it, he apologized and said wwx's actions were too much and said they (wwx and jc) owe them for helping them during the sunshot campaign.

Then there is this -

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

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

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

(ch73)

During this meeting be never once defended wei wuxian (only lan wangji and mianmian did) and he agreed with Jgy when he was badmouthing wei wuxian.

This also shows that he did not step in at a crucial time where everyone was against wei wuxian and all the hostility lead to the nightless city massacre as well which lead to wei wuxian dying eventually

[ddthebreadboy]

The Case of Jiang Cheng's Canon Selective Amnesia

Jiang Cheng at MDZS chapter 59:

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

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

And yet Jiang Cheng at MDZS chapter 87:

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

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

Why?

Duh of course because Jin Zixuan has married his sister🥱

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes. It is Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan.

Not only Lan Wangji but also JIN FUCKINN ZIXUAN!

Alright, next:

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

Who talked back to Wen Chao?

Oh, let's look back a while ago:

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

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

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

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

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

That mighty Heir of the venerated LanlingJin, Jin Zixuan!

My my my...

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

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

Or maybe Selective amnesia?

Oh!

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

(All Excerpts are from ExRebel FanTrans)

***

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

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

[wangxianficrecs]

Mark me with your devotion by orphan_account

Mark me with your devotion

by orphan_account

M, 18k, Wangxian

Summary: People attain marks of colour on their skin from those who love them. Wei WuXian has no discolouration on his body at all. Kay's comments: So, this story is a twist on a few similar stories that also feature a Wei Wuxian that has never attained a mark from someone who loves him and doesn't find reason in that in a curse of something similar, which of course, puts his relationship to everyone in his life in a perspective (not his parents though, because they died before they could leave marks on him). Wei Wuxian feels a lot about his lack of marks and hides this secret away, which unfortunately leads to people drawing the wrong conclusions as well. I really loved this exploration of his relationships and about how there can be friendship and fondness, but no love. But of course, that changes with Lan Wangji. I also enjoyed the canon-divergent twist of this story featuring no Sunshot Campaign and Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian going on night-hunts together during the Cloud Recesses Study Arc, allowing them to grow closer earlier. Excerpt: Jin ZiXuan was not liked by either him or Jiang Cheng. He hid the rosy discolouration that Jiang YanLi left on him as if ashamed. He had no problem showing the ones from his family but YanLi’s was always covered, his forearm never staying without some sort of fabric masking what’s there. “My engagement has nothing to do with my opinion on who would be the best amongst the young maidens.” The peacock ignored the others after claiming that and Wei WuXian lost it right about then. “Who do you think you’re talking about?” Straightening up, Jiang Cheng stood tall next to him as well, probably just as furious. “Why does that matter to you Wei-Xiong?” He could tell that Nie HuaiSang had no idea that the idiotic git was betrothed to their sister so he managed to keep his anger solely on the peacock. “Who do you reckon could be better than my Shijie?” Murmurs erupted as Wei WuXian was tempted to punch him but another person from the LanlingJin Clan has stepped forward. “WuXian aren’t you just a son of servant? Just who do you think you are to talk like that to a future Sect Leader?” “Wei WuXian is the head discipline of the YunmengJiang Sect, it’s you who should watch what you’re saying!” Jiang Cheng was shaking next to him and Wei WuXian could tell that he will lose it at any given second. “Oh...how silly of me. I seemingly forgot that your father had quite the life. Are you mad that he loves his illegitimate son more? Is that why WuXian is always so bundled up?! Ha, it must hurt to see how much deeper your father’s affection is for him than you.”

pov wei wuxian, canon divergence, soulmate-identifying marks, alternate universe - soulmates, slow burn, angst with a happy ending, jiang family dynamics, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, lan wangji/wei wuxian get a happy ending, child lan sizhui, adoption, found family, cloud recesses study arc, cloud recesses shenanigans, night hunts, loneliness, isolation, no sunshot campaign, everyone lives/nobody dies, lan family feels, top lan wangji, bottom wei wuxian, first time

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[fengshenjunlang]

I have seen that post about how WangXian owe their happiness to Nie Huaisang.

Okay, I don't know how people even come into such conclusion, but it is very clear that between WangXian and Nie Huaisang, it is a win-win situation. If anything, it is even more beneficial to Nie Huaisang.

1. NHS knew where did NMJ's body parts got thrown into. But he needs someone, to uncover the case.

Someone with considerable status and weight in their action and words. That someone is Hanguang-Jun. NHS must be betting that between JGY and LWJ, Lan Xichen would listen to his blood related brother more. Or even in the worst case where LXC was caught too deep in the lies woven by JGY, there are still Lan Qiren and other Gusulan member who would definitely chose to support their own kin Lan Wangji over the outsider, JGY (when things got worse).

2. However, just to uncover the case is not enough. He needs to completely overthrow JGY. And to achieve that smoothly, Nie Huaisang needs cover. Desperately needs someone who can cover the sky and the ground, and make him completely invisible.

That person can only be Wei Wuxian. WWX is like a bright light bulb, whenever WWX appears moths gathers. Whenever WWX appears he would always be the center of attention. It has always been the case. The reason why NHS chose to revive WWX was not only to add more manpower to fight against LanlingJin who has Xue Yang and Stygian Tiger Seal, or help to quell NMJ's transformed ghoul, but also to make WWX attract all the firepower and attention.

To put it simply, WWX is there to attract aggro from the monsters in a game! LOL

So when WWX is there, NHS can leisurely hide in the shades, leisurely pull the string, until the end of the orchestra. And that is really how it went on, in MDZS.

Why did NHS need cover? Naturally to hide from JGY and from the rest of cultivation sects, so that they won't meddle and ruin all his plan. WangXian knew from the early investigation that there are 2 parties who wanted to hide and wanted to uncover. So, how could JGY not notice such thing when he heard Hanguang-Jun is investigating NMJ body parts?

However, when there is WWX who attract all attention, JGY will have no time to think about the mastermind and focus on how to quickly reclaimed NMJ body parts, Xue Yang, Wen Ning, Yi City, and Stygian Tiger Seal. And that is how it did in MDZS. JGY was suddenly poured so much trouble in just 1-2 months of WWX's revival that he has no time to properly sort out the real enemy. He will focus more on how to lie toward LXC about the body parts, how to throw the blame into WWX, how to arrange things etc. But will have no time to investigate the mastermind behind.

***

Just like how WWX understands that NHS is not the pustule waste everyone mocks him as, but someone whose intelligence was put on something else, based on his observation during the 3 months of their acquaintance,

NHS also understands that WWX is someone who is destined to be the center of the room whenever he appears, based on WWX's personality and ability. This person will definitely gain his own place, and attract all attention wherever and whenever.

During their youth it is has been so. During the Qishan Education and Xuanwu cave it was also like that. During the war it was especially so. And even during his retreat as Yiling Laozu it was still like that. And finally even dying he has always been the center of attention. Lol.

NHS knew that perfectly. WWX is destined to gather all eyes on him and leave no space for others to be noticed😂 and that is why NHS chose him as the best cover.