#Shidi Shi

[takenbytaj]

[disgracefulthings]

Wei Wuxian, hiding behind Lan Wangji: Does your dog bite?

Luo Binghe: I only bite Shizun!

Shen Qingqiu, hitting Luo Binghe with a newspaper: If you keep telling people that I'll get you neutered!!

[noturprobiem]

Imagine lqg finding out that sqq is actually shen yuan who is closer to lbh in age than to him and still had the AUDACITY to run around calling him "shidi" in thaat tone of his for YEARS

[lavender-phoenix-flames]

Love how wwx is canonically is the most competent guy, a genius prodigy who is great at everything and literally has no flaws but then he sucks at cooking.

It is the one and only thing he is notably kinda bad at and that's hilarious, imagine back in lotus pier all his shidis going on and on about how great and wonderful their shixiong is and someone says they heard he is bad at cooking and they all break out arguing he can't be cuz they have only seen him being the perfect most charismatic role model. Then someone suggests to get wwx to cook and they will see for themselves and when wwx finally cooks and now they are stuck with mouth burning chilly spice original dish #45 by wei wuxian, who is quite excited to see his shidis chew it down but they all scramble away with their mouths in flames, and at the end of it they all swear to either never talk about it again or tease their shixiong about it every chance they get lol.

[clownxian]

[tiredbitchposts]

Fine, this may be a conspiracy theory, but does anyone else thinks that after seeing the popularity of the non-canon ships in the scum villain fandom MXTX decided to write her next protagonist to be completely isolated on purpose? Because that has been on my mind a lot. Like, it's a fact that she hates it when people ship her MCs with anyone other than their canon love interest, MXTX wrote her first book with an MC that had a long list of people who adored him and were willing to die to protect him in-work, people ate it up, she noticed that a great part of the fandom ships her MC with basically anyone, she hates it, but no matter what she says the ships keep going, then she writes her next book. In that work her MC is a charming, popular cultivator, who suffers a terrible fall from grace and by the end of it he's lost pretty much everything from his past, except his canon love interest. Even if we take away all the love, respect and adoration Wangxian has towards each other it's pretty clear by the end of MDZS that Lan Wangji is the only one left for Wei Wuxian, everyone else is either dead, distant or just hates him

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

Parallels in the Yi City arc: Yi City Quartet & 3Zun

(Long post ahead!)

I think one overlooked detail about the Yi City arc is how closely its characters parallel the story of 3Zun – with Xiao Xingchen as Lan Xichen, Xue Yang as Jin Guangyao, and Song Lan and A-Qing as aspects of Nie Mingjue! Though we can't know if its intentional, the sheer number of similarities does suggest to me that it shouldn't be overlooked – so, let's investigate.

Both Xiao Xingchen and Lan Xichen play the role of the 'betrayed' — significantly, because of some sort of blindness.

While for Xiao Xingchen this is physical, Lan Xichen is also blind to Jin Guangyao's true nature. This blindness has been shaped by their betrayer: Xue Yan blinded Song Lan, leading to Xiao Xingchen sacrificing his own eyes for him, while Jin Guangyao deliberately acts to make himself appear honourable and innocent to the people he encounters. This means Lan Xichen cannot 'see' anything contradictory to this about him. This theme of blindness becomes important to the thematic implications of this arc, which we'll talk about later.

In both cases, the 'betrayer' has some role in shaping this blindness, and uses it to their advantage.

Xue Yang blinded Song Lan, causing Xiao Xingchen to give up his eyes for him. Jin Guangyao's crafted persona is the reason Lan Xichen doesn't suspect anything about him. Xue Yang uses Xiao Xingchen's blindness to conceal his identity/nature and thus get close to an unsuspecting him; Jin Guangyao is likewise able to be unsuspected, while using Lan Xichen's generosity to murder Nie Mingjue and gaining a strong ally/defender. Regardless of intent towards Lan Xichen himself, this is still true.

This leads to an identity reveal and betrayal, in which the former party is blindsided (...pun not intended, I couldn't find a better word).

Xiao Xingchen is shocked that Xue Yang is Xue Yang when A-Qing tells him; Lan Xichen likewise does not want to believe Jin Guangyao isn't the person he thought he knew (though, he does promise to evaluate his beliefs!), and when Jin Guangyao ends up sealing his spiritual powers and betraying him, he doesn't see it coming.

Additionally, Lan Xichen and Xiao Xingchen are both tricked into stabbing a member of their group, as a part of someone else's revenge.

For Lan Xichen, it's an outside party (Nie Huaisang); for Xiao Xingchen, it's another member of this group (Xue Yang). Nie Huaisang wanted to take revenge on Jin Guangyao, and Xue Yang wanted to take revenge on Xiao Xingchen himself.

Also, Lan Xichen was tricked by his Xue Yang counterpart into being an instrument for a group member's murder, which could also parallel these events on Xiao Xingchen's side!

So, why is this important?

A common theme in MDZS is being critical of information/rumours. Don't accept something at first glance – question the validity, the evidence, the reason it's being brought up. We see this in the way Lan Wangji acts (eg when discussingg the case of the Chang clan) and in how he teaches the Juniors; we see this in how Wei Wuxian questions the words and intentions of Sisi and Bicao, even when having people suspect Jin Guangyao would be beneficial to him; we see this in the very premise of the novel, as something we were led to believe was true at first glance (by the title and prologue) is proven to be entirely false.

And, in Lan Xichen and Xiao Xingchen's case, we see the dangers of the opposite. That's not blaming them – Jin Guangyao is a very good manipulator and I’d argue Lan Xichen handled the situation very well when it was raised, and Xiao Xingchen was physically blind and couldn’t have guessed the body on the roadside would be Xue Yang of all people – but factually, both characters believed something without having seen the full picture, and were stabbed in the back for it. Lan Xichen could have considered Nie Minjue's words to provide another perspective, and Xiao Xingchen could have inquired into this mysterious person's background and questioned whether they were exploitative (even if it may have been unreasonable, and wouldn't have changed much since Xue Yang is a very good liar), yet both didn't. They both do accept or try to accept what we know is the truth when it's raised to them, but unfortunately it's too late and both pay a steep price. It's also worth noting that both are considered righteous figures (you can debate about Lan Xichen, but that's his in-universe perception), and neither had malicious intent towards any group member. But it doesn't matter how good your intentions are, or how good of a person you are – if you believe things unquestioningly, it'll still lead to harm. Both to you, and unintentionally by you, too. After all, this unquestioning acceptance of one-sided hearsay is a major driver of the mob mentality so heavily critiqued in the book.

And yes, this could've worked had their stories not so closely paralleled each others' – but I'd argue Xiao Xingchen's physical blindness serves to lampshade the metaphorical blindness of Lan Xichen, accentuating this theme. And also having two similar stories helps draw attention to what both of them are saying much more easily than if the stories had been very different.

At the end, however, Lan Xichen is left alive and able to reflect on what led him to this scenario – unlike his spiritual predecessor. Perhaps this is a glimmer of hope, a sign that there is more room for the questioning of rumours and for critical thinking skills in the world now, especially as the younger generation who embodies this begins to grow up; or perhaps it's just another detail of just how doomed Xiao Xingchen was, because despite embodying this theme, was there anything to reflect on and do differently, that would've changed the outcome of his story? As we said before, Xue Yang is a very good liar, and there really wasn't a reason to constantly suspect him from the information Xiao Xingchen had and (more importantly) could feasibly gather. Regardless, the difference in where they end up is important when analysing similarities, and I'm inclined to believe it is a small sign the world can change for the better.

(Similarities on other members under the cut – because there are a lot for everyone else, too, and this post isn't just about the two mentioned above. Once more, we'll be analysing both the 'what' and the 'why'.)

Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao play the role of the 'betrayer' or 'villain', hiding the fact that they're causing and wanting to cause harm – successfully from one member, unsuccessfully from the other(s).

The 'What'

Both kill the suspecting, the main difference being who they're targeting with this action (for Xue Yang, this taints Xiao Xingchen further, whereas Jin Guangyao was simply targeting Nie Mingjue and not Lan Xichen at all). Additionally, both are from a lower-class*, non-cultivator background, who were taken in by the Jin sect and rose to power through this and through doing… morally dubious things. Both share revenge as a motivator – specifically, revenge against an older, male Sect Leader who used them, rejected them and physically harmed them in some way too (Chang Ci'An due to Xue Yang being a street child; Jin Guangshan due to Jin Guangyao being the ‘son of a prostitute’). However, they have both accomplished this revenge goal at the time of their main story. They also have worked together and helped each other in their actions in the past (Villainous Friends extra). Also, both end up losing a hand to Lan Wangji, coincidentally enough.

The 'Why'

Though classism is a present theme in both their stories, I wouldn’t say this is what the parallels are drawing attention to — it’s drawn attention to much more when dealing with Jin Guangyao, and the idea that being treated badly isn’t an excuse for your actions is more prevalent in contrast (with characters like WWX and A-Qing) than similarities. Thematically, they instead serve to show just how easily information can be twisted and distributed – and again, why it's so important we don't accept everything at first glance. Outside of themes, their parallels do contrast them slightly, too — after all, Jin Guangyao’s treatment of Lan Xichen** is much more positive than Xue Xang’s of Xiao Xingchen, despite the ‘betrayed’ treating both of the similarly. But, one could argue, how much does this actually matter? Considering the eventual harm brought to this figure by them regardless, and everything else each of them did? Whatever the answer, the questions are raised by these similarities between them.

Finally, Nie Mingjue is paralleled by both Song Lan and A-Qing in different ways, though the Song Lan parallels are more prominent.

The 'What': Song Lan

All three were killed by the ‘betrayer’ — however, both Nie Mingjue’s and Song Lan’s murders occured before the betrayal, and their deaths and post-mortem identity reveals play an important role in it. A-Qing witnessing Song Lan’s death (as well as just discovering Xue Yang’s identity from Song Lan) is what makes her tell Xiao Xingchen who Xue Yang is, catalysing that betrayal, and Xiao Xingchen discovering Song Lan’s identity makes the betrayal have… let’s say even more of an impact :’). Meanwhile, the identity reveal of the mysterious corpse triggers the investigation of Jin Guangyao, and also starts to catalyse his downfall, leading to the events of the Guanyin temple. Additionally, both turn into fierce corpses encountered by the cast of the main story (both fighting Wen Ning and starting more antagonistic than they end up), with these corpses having been modified in some way by the ‘betrayer’: Nie Mingjue’s corpse is cut up, and Song Lan’s has the needles inserted and is under Xue Yang’s control. I wouldn’t especially say there are themes or questions raised here, it’s more similarities in the group dynamic, but it’s still very interesting to see.

There isn't as much to say here on the 'why' side of things, though there may be something I'm missing. The role of these characters here is mainly in service of the themes in the other characters' arcs – but it's still useful to analyse just how many factual similarities there are, again to give us hints as to whether these parallels between the groups were intentional or not.

The 'What': A-Qing

A-Qing and Nie Mingjue have less parallels, but they definitely exist. Their role here is their constant suspicion — they both suspect and keep suspecting the ‘betrayer’’s actions, despite the trust of the ‘betrayed’ in them (though Nie Mingjue is certainly more violent in this regard). Additionally, both play an important role in the death of the ‘betrayer’ as undead beings: the ghost of A-Qing by constantly tapping her bamboo pole to reveal Xue Yang’s position, and Nie Mingjue’s fierce corpse by directly killing Jin Guangyao. Both are souls through which Wei Wuxian experiences the events of their stories, and both also end the story in some sort of container — Nie Mingjue in the coffin and A-Qing’s broken soul in a spirit-trapping pouch — but admittedly that’s much more flimsy than the rest of my points.

The 'Why': A-Qing

Though at first glance it seems like this suspicion didn't do anything positive for the characters – both ended up dead at the hands of the one spreading/taking advantage of misinformation – it's important to note that these characters are the characters the truth is revealed through. Though I'd argue Nie Mingjue was probably blinded by his own assumptions as much as Lan Xichen was blinded by his own, even if it did end up lining up more closely with the truth, he still plays the same role as A-Qing in questioning and suspecting somebody despite it appearing – on the surface – that there's nothing wrong. And I don't think it's coincidence that in both these cases, the truth is revealed through somebody who did play this role.

Final Thoughts

Though it is possible these parallels were still coincidences, there really are a lot of similarities between the groups' storylines – and they do serve the purpose of important themes within the book. Therefore, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume they were intentional on some level! And even if I'm reading too far into things and they weren't? It doesn't mean they hold no value.

Finally, these parallels are really interesting on their own, but it’s also really interesting to compare where each group ended up. Both groups ended up destroyed due to murder done by the ‘betrayer’, with only one person left standing. However, while Xue Yang was the survivor of the Yi city group (and was later killed by LWJ), the survivor of the Venerated Triad was Lan Xichen — someone who, as mentioned, though heavily affected, now has the chance to grow as a person and fully take things with all their context because of it. So despite the prevalence in the Jianghu of the attitude MXTX is critiquing, despite Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Mianmian only really being able to find peace by stepping away rather than changing it, despite the tragedy of the stories of both the Yi City quartet and of 3zun... ultimately, these parallels could indicate hope.

—

*Although there is a big difference in how much lower this class is, of course.

**There is also the aspect of Xue Yang having a negative past with Xiao Xingchen before, with the opposite being true for Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen. Jin Guangyao is known to have a good memory and hold grudges — so, if the pairs’ roles were reversed, would anything fundamentally change?

[travalerray]

honestly it's pretty funny to me when people harp on Jiang Cheng (of all people) for not "defending" the Wen Remnants and pretend that the noble and upstanding Hanguang-jun absolutely did, when in canon, this is what he says in public:

"How dare you say that Wei Ying would ever disrespect his shidi" like there's so much to unpack here considering his OWN brother was defending Wen Qing more at that point in time.

Granted Nie Mingjue yells over him and everyone starts chiming in and then Jin Guangshan starts targeting Jiang Cheng's insecurities, but also??? The narrative surrounding Lan Wangji is so funny. Man doesn't do a single thing here apart from going "well WY would never" (there are other concerns????) and then he zones tf out until Mianmian storms out and then follows her out.

Like.

[fubuwu]

One of my favorite traits jc has is how despite his parents pitting him against wwx, he was still always proud of him and listened/believed everything he said.

---

I also love his desire to protect him without hesitation. Like when he put himself between wwx and his mother, begging to take the punishment for him and ofc when he ran out at the Wens to distract them, protecting wwx from getting caught.... That desire to protect him even seeped into the present canon events when he took a sword for him in the Guanyin Temple.

---

I guess old habits die hard \^^/

[mysblog]

It's him

[ddthebreadboy]

Wei Wuxian has one Good Shidi Pt. 1

Jiang Cheng, "..., No matter who they are, with a surname of Wen they have committed a most heinous crime! And those who protect the Wen are at risk of being condemned by everyone! All the people loathe the Wen-dogs so badly that the worse they die the better. Whoever protects them is against the entire world. Nobody would speak for them, and nobody would speak for you either!" ---MDZS Ch. 73

Meanwhile in reality, a few days ago in Jinlintai:

Lan XiChen responded a moment later, "I have heard of Wen Qing's name a few of times. I do not remember her having participated in any of the Sunshot Campaign's crimes."

Nie MingJue, "But she's never stopped them either."

Lan XiChen, "Wen Qing was one of Wen RuoHan's most trusted people. How could she have stopped them?"

Lan Xichen spoke for Wen Qing, the so called Wen Dog whom no one willing to speak for.

Still, in the same occasion, Lan Wangji:

Lan WangJi sat with his back straight, speaking in a tone of absolute tranquility,

"I did not hear Wei Ying say this. I did not hear him express the slightest disrespect towards Sect Leader Jiang either."

Lan Wangji spoke for Wei Wuxian. Thwarting Jin Guangshan's deliberate slanders toward Wei Wuxian, embarrassing a Sect Leader in his own banquet, just to defend Wei Wuxian.

Of course don't forget one more person:

Suddenly, a careful voice interjected, "It's not killing indiscriminately, is it?"

...

The woman seemed as if she was scared. She was even more careful, "No... I don't mean anything more. There's no need to be so agitated, everyone. I just feel that the words 'killing indiscriminately' isn't really suitable."

...

The woman tried hard to protest, "The Sunshot Campaign is a battlefield. In the battlefield, would it mean that everyone is killing indiscriminately? Let's consider this as it stands. I really don't think it's right to say that he killed indiscriminately. After all, there is a reason. If the inspectors really abused the prisoners and killed Wen Ning, it wouldn't be called killing indiscriminately anymore, but rather revenge..."

...

The woman said, "The other inspectors are scared that they'd be responsible for abusing the prisoners and killing people. Of course they'd insist that he fell off on his own..."

3 People Spoke for both Wen Dogs and Wei Wuxian.

2 of them even people with high status.

So much for "No one spoke for them. No one spoke for you" huh...

Jiang Cheng is really a very good Shidi🙂🙂🙂 A good Shidi who will tell his Shixiong that "Everyone else is against you".

[takenbytaj]

[gentil-minou]

Xiantober Day 8 - Head Disciple!Xian

Yunmeng Jiang celebrates the promotion of their newest head disciple with festivities and merriment that last well into the night. It's a right of passage a chance for the new head disciple to shine.

Madame Yu canceled Wei Wuxian's ceremony.

She made a fair point, Wei Wuxian thinks. It was a difficult growing season and the harvest wasn't as good as last year's so it wouldn't do for them to celebrate while the villagers were suffering.

And yeah, the request for aid was also really important. It's just a shame that Uncle Jiang and Jiang Cheng both had to go for it, today of all days. Wei Wuxian had asked if he could have gone too, Jiang Cheng behind him nodding furiously as well. It would have been a great way to start his new role.

But Madam Yu said no.

Then, she took shijie off with her to visit their family. It wouldn't make sense for Wei Wuxian to go with them, he's not really their family. Shijie made him soup before she left, which will be perfect!

Wei Wuxian is okay with not having a ceremony. He sits on his favorite dock overlooking the lake, where the lotus blooms are especially big and he can see out behind the sea for miles, over to the vast landscape that awaits on the other side.

Years ago, when he first came to Yunmeng with Uncle Jiang, he couldn't even swim in the water for very long. It was the former head disciple who helped him then, teaching him to breathe between strokes so he's not holding his breath forever. They were also really kind, and never said anything about him being behind all the other kids. They gave him some extra practice after everyone left, and then some when Wei Wuxian had started to surpass the others.

He's gonna miss them now that they've moved off to marry into a new clan, but Wei Wuxian thinks he can keep their memory alive.

He didnt actually care much for the head disciple role. It was just a role and well as long as he gets to go on night hunts and save good people what does it matter what title he wears?

Still, when Uncle Jiang sat him down and told him he'd got the role, Wei Wuxian accepted it with gravity for what it would mean.

He liked helping with the younger trainees. At Yunmeng, everyone trains together, from the moment you can hold a sword properly you can join the older disciples.

Wei Wuxian had loads of experience helping the younger kids out, and it's a lot of fun!

They're a sneaky bunch and gangly and 3-shimei really needs to stop waving her sword around like it's still made of wood for crying out loud.

But they're also earnest and hardworking and adorable, and they look at Wei Wuxian like he could never do wrong, and well, he wants to prove them right.

So it doesn't matter if he doesn't get a fancy ceremony. He doesn't need it. All he needs is to help the other disciples and make Jiang Sect the best there is and ever was. Attempt the impossible, and succeed.

"Da-shixiong?"

A timid voice calls out from behind Wei Wuxian and he peers around to see a group of disciples, some around his age and some a little younger, loitering near the pavillion.

"Aiya, what are you guys doing here? Didn't Jiang-shuhu give you drills to run through?"

Technically, Wei Wuxian was supposed to help them with these drills, but okay maybe he needs a break sometimes and maaaaaybe he wanted to wallow just a little bit.

This disciples shuffle together, nudging at each other to say something. They're so funny Wei Wuxian has to bite his lips to keep from laughing at them.

Finally 6-shidi, the youngest and probably Wei Wuxian's favorite, comes over to Wei Wuxian's side. "Da-shixiong! We wanted to show you something!" he yells directly into his face, spittle flying everywhere. It's a good thing he's so cute.

Wei Wuxian raises a brow. "Okay…"

He follows the nervous group back from where they came, really hoping they haven't broken something. First day on the job and already there's something for Madame Yu to yell at him about.

Ah well, better him than the kids.

Before they turn the corner into the main training grounds, 6-shidi does an abrupt about face and stares determinedly up at Wei Wuxian, since he's still a good couple heads shorter than him.

"Da-shixiong, close your eyes!"

Wei Wuxian does so, and the little hands pull him forward. Someone covers his eyes so he can't perk but he can hear them moving around and whispering. At some point there's the sound of something dropping, a plate? Then the sound of furious whispering and Wei Wuxian has to laugh now.

Finally, the hand moves away from his eyes and he opens them, blinking as he adjusts to the bright afternoon sunlight illuminating the courtyard. When he can see, he looks around at the tables on the floor piled high with sweets from the market and freshly cooked dishes, even an extra large tureen of shijie's soup.

There's a space set up for games on the other side of the yard, simple ones like kite shooting and an archery set up with funny faces drawn on the target. A table near the center that must be the place of honor is covered with jars of liquor, and beside the table is… Jiang Cheng?

Wei Wuxian gapes at him. Jiang Cheng scowls at something unseen in a corner, arms crossed protectively over his chest. "I snuck away. Dad knows. Don't make a big deal out of it."

How can he not??? Wei Wuxian practically leaps across the courtyard to smother Jiang Cheng in a hug.

And even though Jiang Cheng complains, Wei Wuxian notices he doesn't try to shove him off.

6-shidi tugs on his sleeve to get his attention and says, "What do you think, Da-shixiong? We put this all together for you! I helped draw the faces!"

A chorus of voices sounds out around him as all his little shidi and shimei clamber over to tell him how they contributed. Wei Wuxian beams at them all, laughing and laughing and not sure if he's ever going to stop. He sniffles a little bit.

Like he said, he doesn't need ceremony when he has a sect like this one.

[quietly-sleeping]

Shen Qingqiu wanted to kill one of his fellow Peak Lords. 

At least, that was what the rumors swirling around Cang Qiong said. The disciples couldn’t seem to agree on who the Qing Jing Peak Lord wanted to kill; just that he had sent his disciples out with an order to retrieve. 

Shang Qinghua was the first of the Peak Lords to hear the rumors, his disciples had gotten more chatty than usual, the typical workload for anyone on the peak not leaving much energy to do much of anything. Other than gossip, as it turns out.

“Shizun,” His poor, overworked Head Disciple spoke up while they were sorting out yet another tower of papers into only mildly less intimidating stacks. “This disciple was wondering, has Shen-shibo said anything…worrying lately?” 

“In what way, Wu Xiaoli?” Shang Qinghua didn’t stop his work, he really couldn’t, he barely had any time at all to himself after working to the bone every day, if he stopped at all he’d have to forgo sleep to get it all done. “In a murderous way?” Wu Xiaoli was hesitant as she said this, her hands barely slowing as well, what a good disciple. 

“Your Shen-shibo is almost always like that, is something specific supposed to be happening?” Shang Qinghua glanced over at her, her prolonged silence stretching for a moment more before she spoke again. “In the way that most of Cang Qiong believes he is trying to capture and then kill one of his martial siblings.” Wu Xiaoli let that sit in the air for a moment before adding, “It should be fine, right Shizun?” 

Shang Qinghua really regretted being reborn. “Yes, you could say that Wu Xiaoli.” He felt faint. The paperwork, just the thought of the paperwork a murder like that would spawn nearly sent Shang Qinghua into a panic attack, nausea starting to build in his throat already. 

Which would lead to a visit from Mu-shidi, who while nice, was still trying to drug him with anxiety meds that Shang Qinghua did not need, thank you very much. He could feel Wu Xiaoli staring at him as he pondered how viable throwing himself off the mountain would be for knocking him unconscious, very viable, with only a mild threat of death, before she looked out the window and jolted. 

“Forgive this disciple, Shizun, Tan-shijie requested a meeting about the salary allotted for building a new garden on Qiong Ding.” Wu Xiaoli hurriedly sorted the last few papers in her hands before standing and nervously brushing at her yellow robes. 

“Don’t get scammed too badly this time.” Shang Qinghua said around the lump in his throat as he fished another very late work order for Bai Zhan, thank you Liu-shidi. Wu Xiaoli pouted for a moment, looking ten years old rather than nineteen before turning on her heel and marching out the door. “This disciple will try her best, Shizun!” She called out behind her.

Shang Qinghua did not hold back on the panicked sobs of dread now that his disciple was gone. He was more open with his sobbing response to issues when she was younger, but that led to a good year or so when Mu-shidi was very blatant in drugging his food and tea with anxiety meds. 

The despondent Peak Lord angled himself so any tears wouldn’t hit the delicate paper covered in ink. He may have to appear red and puffy later, but by the gods that had forsaken him, he would not ruin his paperwork.

Qi Qingqi was the next to hear about the rumors. Her usually on-top-of-things Head Disciple, Shi Fa, was distracted by the adorable new addition to their Peak, little Liu Mingyan. The four-year-old giving the poor girl a run for her money. 

It was amusing, but it did prove that perhaps Shi Fa wouldn’t be a great fit for Peak Lord. Which was an utter shame, the girl was perfect in every other aspect, Qi Qingqi mused on the issue for a moment before nodding to herself, a Hall Master then. 

They’d do better only interacting with the students in a more detached manner, still there to advise or support the Peak Lord’s decisions. Qi Qingqi looked back down at the report that had made its way onto her desk, the handwriting hurried with ink blotches and missed strokes. 

Shi Fa had heard the rumor while attempting to track down Liu Mingyan on Bai Zhan and extract her from the feral child colony that populated the Peak. One of the eldest of the feral children had been hired by a disciple of Qing Jing, needing their help since they had left the sect more often and to varied places. 

Shi Fa had located Liu Mingyan and managed to contain the delightful ball of fury while gathering more information, Shen Qingqiu had ordered a fetch mission on a martial sibling. None of the Qing Jing disciples actually fessed up to which martial sibling it was, but Qi Qingqi was certain it was not one of the Peak Lords. 

Since a murder had not happened during the last Peak Lord meeting, and Shen Qingqiu had been no more nasty than usual. The true question was, out of the martial siblings wandering the world, which had managed to offend Shen Qinqiu so deeply while having not stepped foot into Cang Qiong in roughly ten years at this point? 

Truly, what an amusing situation, Qi Qingqi could barely keep herself from giggling like a young maiden at the possible reasons this whole situation played out. Her darling wife would suggest something along the lines of a romantic falling out, which Qi Qingqi would normally agree with, as her wife was always right, but it was Shen Qingqiu they were talking about. 

Honestly, the man wouldn’t know romance if it bit him in the ass. 

Shen Qingqiu heard the rumors and felt deep distaste for his gossiping martial siblings. They must be the ones to fuel this, the rumors wouldn’t have spiraled out of such control that they suggested he was hunting down a romantic partner that had scorned him. 

Truly, the imagination in his disciples was utilized in everything other than their studies. He’d be much more comfortable in sending his disciples out into the world if he didn’t have to read multiple poems about bamboo after every assignment. 

Other plants existed on Qing Jing, they had gardens, and they didn’t have to write about Qing Jing specifically. He could only read so many synonyms of the color green before he began to feel a deep frustration at the mere mention of poetry. 

However, there had been progress, of a kind. Sightings of his wayward shidi were documented in various areas along the border between the Human and Demon realms. Shen Qingqiu was reluctant to mark them as true sightings, at least the sightings given to him by his disciples. 

His network of spies, at the very least, gave more reliable sightings. He’s thrown out so many reports in the last year of a tall man with dark hair and some sort of pet. They fit the most basic description of his shidi but lacked any truly distinctive markers. 

It was infuriating. Shen Qingqiu knew that his shidi wasn’t hiding on purpose at least not anymore, his shidi probably wasn’t even aware he had forgotten about their meeting. A broken promise, Shen Qingqiu seethed. 

The only thing keeping Shen Qingqiu from actually ordering his spies to hunt his stupid, airheaded shidi down was that it would freak the man out, drive him into actually hiding himself. It had happened before, roughly around the time of the Qing’s ascension. The previous Ling You Peak Lord had ordered a manhunt of their youngest shidi. 

The forgetful man had hidden so deeply that the previous Peak Lords were half certain he’d died in some remote hidden realm. Of course, anytime Shen Qingqiu felt like vanishing for a while, he was always dragged back. 

If this continued for much longer, Shen Qingqiu might have to, with deep disgust, call in the brute to track down his shidi. Shen Qingqiu shuffled through the papers stacked neatly on top of his desk, however, other measures could be implemented before he had to rely on the brute. 

He paused, long fingers tapping on the paper he was holding as he hummed thoughtfully. This could do. Qi Qingqi certainly had contacts of her own, even the sniveling rodent of An Ding had his channels. A polite request for tea from his shimei was certainly unexpected, ah her wife must be coming along. 

Shen Qingqiu felt the corner of his lips twitch slightly, for a woman of such brutal background, Qi-shimei’s wife was such a stickler for formalities. 

Yue Qingyuan, despite the pains he went to keep an ear and eye on his Xiao Jiu, couldn’t keep track of everything the strategist did. So when Wei-shidi mumbled over his cup of tea about a manhunt, Yue Qingyuan felt a deep twist in his gut. 

He knew that Xiao Jiu had his reasons, but his Xiao Jiu had grown even more reticent since the ascension, but that had never stopped Yue Qingyuan. Wei-shidi had fled quickly, muttering about checking on a volatile sword, but the sect leader barely heard him, just nodding with a small polite smile. 

Blankly he stared at the wall for a moment, lost, before he called out. “Tan Liu?” Soft steps walked towards the office, “Yes, Shizun?” Tan Liu was the oldest of the Head Disciples and her command over her shidi and shimei made Yuq Qingyuan certain she knew about what was going on. 

“What is this about a manhunt?” He asked, his thumb rubbing along the teacup. Tan Liu hesitated for the barest moment before she straightened, “Shen-shishu issued a retrieval order for a martial sibling of the Qing generation. The general description has made its way to this disciple's ears, but not the name. I apologize.” 

Yue Qingyuan hummed for a moment, gently setting his teacup down on the low table. Tan Liu scuffed her feet gently on the wooden boards before speaking up again, “This one knows she should have reported this earlier to Shizun, however, this one felt she didn’t have enough information or evidence.” Yue Qingyuan glanced over at her with a small smile, “This master understands, the description?” 

Tan Liu relaxed slightly, before reciting the short description she had made sure to memorize. “A taller man of slight build, favors lighter colors such as white and pale blues and greens, wears a simple hairstyle, typically braided, dark green eyes, with a slightly crooked nose.” Tan Liu paused a moment before continuing, “Likely to be spotted with a creature of some sort, the creature will be tame, likely rare. Will take requests regardless of reward or how simple the request may be.” 

Yue Qingyuan closed his eyes as his Head Disciple’s voice tapered out. He knew exactly who his Xiao Jiu was hunting. The man was difficult to pin down, even harder to keep in one place, the only person who had succeeded before was the man’s own Shizun, who had defaulted to tracking talismans. 

“Good. Thank you, Tan Liu.” Yue Qingyuan didn’t look over at the woman as he waved his hand. They both had paperwork to return to, and she didn’t need to be standing around waiting for him to come to a decision. He heard her soft footfalls as she left the room, the door shutting behind her. 

Yue Qingyuan sat in silence for a long moment, a deep exhaustion beginning to form deep within his eyes, Xiao Jiu was certainly hunting someone. Their youngest shidi in fact, someone they hadn’t managed to track down before their ascension, his courtesy name still sealed within a final letter from the Previous Ling You Peak Lord. 

It had been ten years, perhaps the man had slipped out of hiding, his guard falling enough for them to herd him back to the sect. If Xiao Jiu didn’t bring this up at the Peak Lord Meeting next week, Yue Qingyuan would, if only to bring their shidi and shimei into the hunt. 

Shen Yuan, the missing Ling You Peak Lord, and the youngest shidi of the Qing generation. He was still out there, at the very least, Shen Qingqiu believed he was, which knowing the man, was probably as good of evidence as Yue Qingyuan would get. A soft sigh left his mouth before he stood, his paperwork was still waiting for him, and if he was going to be ascending another Peak Lord soon, he’d need his schedule as free as possible to plan a ceremony. 

part two

ao3

[travalerray]

this guy is so funny. Jin Ling clearly has been fine all these years. "Jiang Cheng doesn't know how to raise kids", pls. I know you don't want to let go of a specific idea of your shidi but this is just so. Do you think Mr. Bully the kid was saving Jin Ling's ass all those years???? I'm.

[jonathankai]

Okay, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but details of Wei Wuxian's death are ambiguous. Was it Jiang Cheng, was it a loss of control, was it an act of self-destruction? And yet, readers who are 100% sure that JC killed WWX make me laugh and cry at the same time, and here’s why.

PEOPLE SAY that Yiling Laozu was killed by his shidi. PEOPLE ALSO SAY that Yiling Laozu kidnapped 1000 women to build a harem.

Okay, we all had a good laugh about sleepovers in harem, but speaking of the first statement - it's said once in chapter one by unknown person and is never mentioned again.

And this is Mo Dao Zu Shi – the book about Public Opinion and how it means jack shit. About people loving hot topics for the sake of hot topics. Noble cultivators, the most educated and experienced men of their land, wanted to kill Wei Wuxian.

Several hours later they wanted to kill Jin Guangyao.

AND WWX WAS THERE, SAW TIDE TURN AND MUSED OVER THIS FLEETING NATURE OF PUBLIC OPINION. One of the men who earlier today shouted death threats at him, now addressed him politely and asked if he's going to stay for banquet! WWX WENT FROM “ENEMY OF THE STATE” TO “ONE OF US” IN MATTER OF HOURS.

Because that’s how people are and it’s all over the book! They gossip, they believe what they are told in an instance, they change their opinion at the sound of twig snapping. It started in chapter one, it’s carried on in extras. Main character remarks on it repeatedly. And still...

TL;DR: JC killing WWX was a gossip spread by people, it may be true, it may be not. But if you DO believe it just because it’s stated by unknown someone, then how about Yiling Laozu’s harem?